A/N: Thank you so much for your review, I really appreciate it!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

Title: Nick's Story

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"Are you serious about this, Grissom...?" Nick asked, glancing around the fire at the faces of his friends and colleagues.

Grissom merely nodded. "I am... we're a family, whether you all know it or not..."

"Okay," Nick sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Looking around at his friends, he gave a small smile. Once again staring at the flames, and holding his hands out towards the fire for warmth, Nick sighed. "I might as well go first."

"It's... okay, Nicky," Catherine finally said to him. "Like Grissom said, we're listening...and we're family."

"Right," Nick replied, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone. "Well... like I said before, my biggest fear is being a failure..."

"Well that's a stupid fear," Greg spoke up. When Sara gave him a nasty look, he hesitated. "What I meant to say is that you are one of the smartest people that I know... and... I can't see you ever being a failure..."

"Let him talk, Greg," Grissom quietly admonished the young CSI, stoking the fire. "He talks, we listen."

Nick nodded, taking a deep breath. "I, uh..." he started to say. "I, uh, feel like... I'm already a failure, I guess..." he quietly said. "My father... wanted me to follow in his footsteps, and go into law... actual law," he clarified, "Not forensics. And my mother? Well... I don't really know what she wanted for me, except... I feel like I haven't done what she wants." Clearing his throat, Nick once again gazed into the fire, and tried to focus his attention on the pop and glow emanating from the embers. "I...you know... when I almost died last year...?" he asked, still not making eye contact with anyone.

"Uh-huh..." Greg replied. Sara wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, staring down at the ground, while Grissom added some more wood to the fire.

"We remember," Warrick told him. "We... were there... with you..."

"Right," Nick mumbled. "Well, while I was... locked inside the coffin, I had time to think," he fidgeted, again rubbing the back of his neck. "And you know what crossed my mind...?" he quietly asked. "That... I made a stupid mistake at a crime scene, and let you guys down... I..." he took another deep breath. "I saw my life flash before my eyes, and... there were things that I saw that I regretted. I regretted... not trying to have more fun in life, and not going out with you guys, or whipping Greg's behind in Final Fantasy."

"HEY!" Greg said.

"I regretted not going out for dinner and drinks with you, Catherine, on the night that you ended up at the bar alone, or Sara, going to the diner more often with you after finishing a case. And most of all, Grissom... I regretted not turning out to be the CSI that you claimed I could always be…I..." he swallowed, once again staring at the ground. "I... found a lot to regret."

Sara frowned, her eyes slowly moving from the fire, up to Nick's face. "Nick, I--" she started to say, before he cut her off.

"I... don't know..." Nick continued. "I... don't want to let anyone down..." he trailed off. My father was... always so busy. He came to my games when he could, and... he supported me in my activities, but..." he quietly said, "He wasn't... there for me. Emotionally. He always told me that I could do better, that I could be a better man. But... I don't know how to do that... I'm... doing the best that I can, you know...?" he whispered, finally looking around the camp fire, desperate for someone to make eye contact with him, so that he didn't feel quite so alone. Only Sara was looking at him, her eyes riveted to his. The others, he realized, were trying to give him some space... to process what he was saying.

But that's not what he wanted... he wanted to feel connected with them. Staring at the fire, Nick took another deep breath. "When I was buried alive, I... did some thinking. A lot of thinking, actually..." he quietly told them. "Warrick?" he asked, as the other man's head snapped up. "You have it together, man... a wife, even though you weren't married at the time, and a career... I envy you. And Catherine," he continued, as she slowly looked up at him. "You... are strong, and sensitive, all at the same time... a born leader." Turning his attention to Greg, Nick gave a small laugh. "And Greg... you... figured out what you wanted at such a young age, and... made the switch from DNA to field work... I envy your drive. And Sara?" he said, although her eyes were already fixed on his. "And Sara?" he repeated, "You... are one of the people whom I trust the most," he shrugged, before looking over at Grissom. "And Grissom, I..." Nick mumbled, looking down at the ground. "You're... the man that I have strived to please the most; the person who's opinion has always mattered the most to me; the man who I thought of as a second father," he said, burying his head in his hands.

Sara finally returned her gaze to the ground in front of her, staring at a pebble, while Greg ran a hand through his spiky hair. Catherine leaned back on her log, before clearing her throat. "Nicky, I… had no idea that you felt that way, honestly," she finally said. "I… can't imagine what you went through in that coffin. But do you really… feel like a failure?"

Nick nodded.

"But… your life has so much meaning, Nick," Warrick told him. "You get to wake up every day, and put bad guys away…"

"But… that's just it," Nick told him. "How… can we put bad guys away, when they are doing their best to kill us at every step of the way?"

"Are you… afraid of dying, Nick?" Sara quietly asked him, lifting her gaze to meet his again.

"I… don't know…" Nick shrugged, looking down. "I'm… afraid that they will come after me again, or… I'll have another gun pulled on me, or… someone will finally be able to take me out. What if… what if something happens, and I fail to solve the problem…?"

"It's like in Final Fantasy X," Greg told him.

"Not now, Greg…" Catherine said, frowning. "Now is not the time for video games…"

"No, wait, hear me out…" Greg firmly replied, holding up his hands to silence everyone. "The main characters have to save the world, right? Well… Tidus tries to save the world, but he can't do it alone. His friends help him. He starts off with very little powers, skills, and weapons, but through the help of his friends, he starts to learn how to survive… and how to fulfill his destiny," he finished, grinning.

"What I think that the Game Genie is trying to say, Nick," Warrick put in, "Is that you don't have to do things alone… we're your team, your family. We can learn, and grow, together. You aren't a failure… until you give up. And we won't let you…" he finished.

"Well said," Grissom finally told the group. "See, Nick? Family. We're your family. And for the record…? You never once let me down. Not even for a second."

Nick nodded, trying to unobtrusively wipe his tears away.

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TO BE CONTINUED 