I used a different song in this chapter, "Miracle" by the Foo Fighters. I was listening to it, and thought it was perfect for this chapter. Hope you like it:

Warrick listened intently to the beeping of the machines attached to Nick. It was slow and steady, like the rising and falling of his chest, and the only thing proving he was alive. His pulse was so weak Warrick could barely feel it, and that scared the hell out of him. He was motionless and seemed to get paler ever second Warrick stared down at him. His hands were cold and clamy, but Warrick held onto them as tightly as he could without hurting his best friend. The oxygen mask over Nick's mouth wasn't helping either. He needed Nick to wake up so he could see his deep brown eyes, full of life that would bring the warmth back to his hands and dark tone to his skin. He needed Nick to wake up so he could talk to him, see him move and hear his deep Texan accent. He needed Nick to wake up so he would know everything was going to be okay.

Catherine sat across from Warrick on Nick's right, gently stroking his hair back from his forehead and tracing patterns out of the freckles on his arm carefully with her long nails. She softly sang the song that had been stuck her head for the last couple of days.

"Crazy but I'm relieved this time...begging for sweet relief of blessing empty sky..." She looked over at Warrick and smiled, trying to lift his spirits. He smiled weakly back, but looked to worried to really mean it. "Dying behind these tired eyes...I've been loosing sleep...Please come to me tonight. Hands on a miracle...I got my hands on a miracle..." She hoped Nick could hear her and could somehow understand how grateful she was to him. What he did for her was beyond anything ever has before, and she took him for granted. She was gonna find some way to repay him, no matter how long it took.

Dr. Kahys knocked queitly on the door before entering. Warrick and Catherine stepped back so he could check Nick's vitals and jot down some quick notes. Catheirne moved to the other side of the bed and allowed Warrick to wrap his arm around her shoulders and gently kiss her on the forehead. When Dr. Kahys finished, he turned to Warrick and Catherine.

"He hasn't gotten better, but he hasn't gotten any worse."

Warrick nodded silently before quietly asking, "Why won't he wake up?"

Dr. Kahys turned and looked at Nick, then back at his patient's two best friends. "He's in such a state of exhaustion and pain...I think it's best if he doesn't wake up."

A tear rolled down Catherine's cheek and she quickly wiped it away before resting her head against Warrick. "Is he ever gonna wake up?" Warrick asked.

"I don't know, it's still too early to tell. What his body went through...I'm gonna be honest with you...I'm surprised he's alive." Warrick closed his eyes as Kahys continued. "The strain put on his heart may cause complications, and he's still not even close to being able to breathe on his own."

Warrick opened his eyes and nodded, trying to stay calm "What's the worst that could happen?"

Dr. Kahys sighed. "As it's looking...if he doesn't singnifically improve, one of his lungs could collapse because of all the damage done to his ribs, and his heart could fail if any further stress is put on it."

"What's the chances he's gonna live?" Warrick asked, dreading the answer.

"I'm not sure how to answer that. Give it more time, his condition could improve. It's up to him now." Dr. Kahys left as queitly as he had come in, leaving Warrick and Catherine standing there, unsure of what to do.

Catherine lifted her head from Warrick's shoulder and looked up at him. "He's gonna be okay, he has to be..." She said, more tears falling from her eyes.

"I know...he can do this, I know he can." He bit the inside of his cheek and tried to fight back the tears, tried to be strong for Nick.

Catherine looked at her watch and swore. "Damn it. I have to go pick up Lindsey...you gonna be okay?"

Warrick nodded. "Yeah, I'm just gonna stay here with him."

"Okay. I'll come by again as soon as I can." She walked over to Nick and kissed his forehead, squeezing Warrick's arm as she passed and left the room.

Warrick sat back down in his seat, but couldn't look at Nick. He closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands. He took several deep breaths and didn't try to ignore the fact that he felt comepletly helpless. He couldn't help but think of what would happen if Nick didn't make it. I'd go completely insane, that's what. Warrick thought back to the last time he had thought he was gonna loose Nick. That was all my fault...and so was when he was kidnapped...and so is this. I should have stopped him, or at least saved him when I had the chance. I just sat there the whole time and watched him sacrifice himself for me... Warrick looked up at Nick and couldn't stop the tears from overflowing down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Nicky..." he whispered, leaning in to grab Nick's uninjured hand once again. "Please forgive me bro..."

"It's not...your fault." Warrick jumped and accidently squeezed Nick's hand hard, making him wince slightly. Nick's voice was weak and muffled because of the oxygen mask covering his mouth, but clear enough for Warrick to understand him. Nick slowly opened his eyes and looked around, and Warrick watched as the confusion set it. Nick looked around the entire room before he focused on Warrick. "Where...what's going on?"

Warrick took a few seconds to revel in the fact that Nick had woken up and was able to talk before he answered. "You're in the hospital...you were hurt pretty badly."

"Are you okay?" Nick asked a little louder, but his voice was scratchy and cracked from the strain it was taking on his throat.

Warrick smiled. "Yeah, thanks to you." Nick nodded slowly. "Do you remember what happened?"

Nick struggled to keep his eyes open. He racked his brain for a moment until he vaguely began to remember the events of a few nights ago. "Yeah..." he nodded slowly. "Where's Catherine?" His voice was getting weaker. He had to use all the energy he had just to talk.

"She's fine Nick, she just had to go pick up Lindsey. You saved us man...thank you so much..."

"Don't mention it..." Nick choked out. He hated being too tired to move, his muscles refusing to listen to him telling them to work. He couldn't even lift his arm off of the bed. He felt like he was stuck in a tub of cement. He didn't even have enough energy to breathe on his own. The pain in his chest and ribs was so extreme, he forgot what it was like to not feel pain. He looked up at Warrick. "Please make...it stop...it hurts...so much..."

More tears started falling from Warrick's eyes. "I can't...I wish I could bro..." Warrick's heart broke when he saw the pleading in Nick's eyes, begging him to make the pain go away. Nick's body started shaking slightly, and he closed his eyes again.

"Do me...a favor..." He said, on the verge of falling back into a deep sleep.

"Anything." Warrick said, leaning closer so Nick wouldn't have to strain to be heard.

"Ask her." Nick said softly before his head fell to the side slightly and he was overcome by sleep.

Warrick didn't even have to think about what Nick had meant. He wants me to ask Catherine to marry me. He's in more pain than anyone could ever imagine, and he's thinking about that. Warrick shook his head and smiled.

"You got it Nicky." He slowly rose from his seat and walked to the door, turning around and looking back at his best friend before leaving. He walked into the waiting room to find Grissom and Greg slumped in their chairs, staring at the floor. They both stood and walked over to Warrick when they saw him, and relaxed when they saw he was smiling.

"He woke up for a minute." Warrick said, his smile spreading to Greg and Grissom.

"What did he say?" Greg asked.

Warrick's smile faded and the worry returned to the oldest and youngest CSIs faces. "He's in a lot of pain...remembers what happened...and told me to ask Catherine to marry me." He said, the smile returning.

Greg and Grissom exchanged glances before Grissom clapped Warrick on the shoulder. "Well, you don't want to disappoint Nicky."

"Yeah, but I don't want to leave him either..."

"We'll stay with him." Greg said, and Grissom nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you took a few hours to go do something he told you to do, Warrick." Greg added.

Warrick gave in with a laugh. "Good point. Alright...I just hope she says yes..."

"She will." Grissom said reassuringly. "Now go, don't worry, everything'll be fine."

Everything that we survived

It's gonna be alright

"This was a great idea, Warrick." Catherine, taking another sip of wine. "I should let you cook more often, you're not too bad."

Warrick laughed. "My Grams taught me, said it might come in handy when I met the right girl." He said as he reached across the table and took her hand.

"Has it come in handy before?" Catherine asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Not until now."

Catherine gave in to the smile and let it spread across her face.

Warrick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Alright Nicky...here it goes...

Warrick looked deep into Catherine's eyes for a minute, then slowly got down on one knee in front of her, taking her hand in both of his. She put her hand to her mouth and her heart started beating ten times faster than normal.

"Catherine...these last five months have been the best of my life. I've known since the minute I met you that you were the one...I just never thought I could be so lucky yo have someone like you in my life. Now that I do, I never want to let you go. I want to spend the rest of my life where I've always belonged...with you." He reached into his pocket and took out the small velvet box, openening it to reveal the diamond ring inside. "Catherine...will you marry me?"

Catherine nodded, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Yes...of course I will..." Warrick smiled as he slipped the ring onto her finger. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled at the thought of spending the rest of her life with him.

Just lucky we're alive

Got no vision, I've been blind

Warrick's smile vanished and his legs stopped moving forward when he saw Grissom talking to Dr. Kahys with that Grissom look on his face. That look he gets when he's doing the best he can to understand something while keeping his emotions buried inside of him. Greg was sitting on the floor with his back and head pressed against the wall, his eyes closed tightly and his fists clenched at his sides. Warrick was just out of earshot of the converation that was coming to an end between Kahys and Grissom. When Kahys looked over Grissom's shoulder, causing him to turn, Warrick saw Grissom sigh as he and Dr. Kahys walked over to him slowly. Warrick looked back and forth between the two older men, waitng for one of them to say something.

"Mr. Brown..." Kahys began carefully, trying to plan out what he was going to say. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." Grissom stood silently next to Warrick, staring at the floor. Greg didn't move from his spot on the floor, he didn't even look in their direction. "Mr. Stokes had a heart attack."

Warrick's heart jumped into his throat. "Is...is he okay?" His voice didn't sound like his own.

"We lost him a couple times for a few minutes..." Warrick's mouth went completely dry and he choked on his own breath. "But we were able to bring him back. Unfortunatly, the possibility of it happening again is very high...if he makes it through this one. He's still unstable, and is getting worse." Warrick could barely comprehend what was happening. He looked at Grissom, who finally spoke.

"He's gonna die, Warrick." He said softly. "You have his power of attorney-"

Warrick shook his head and held up a hand. "Wait...you're saying you want to pull the plug?" Grissom didn't respond, but Dr. Kahys slowly nodded.

"Some of his organs could be donated and save-"

Warrick cut him off. "No. He's not gonna die. He can't just die. I'm not just gonna give up..."

"He's suffering, he can't even breathe on his own. Do you think this is what he wants?" Dr. Kahys asked with as much compassion as he had in his heart.

Warrick hated to think of how much Nick was suffering, but he wouldn't give up. "Yes. He would never give up on me, and I'm not giving up on him."

"Mr. Brown, you don't understand, he-"

"He's not gonna fucking die!" Warrick said angrily, making a few nurses and other bystanders turn their heads and look in their direction. "This is my last chance to save him. I've let him down too many times. I don't give a shit how selfish I'm being right now, Nick is not going to die."

Dr. Kahys opened his mouth to protest, but Grissom was quicker than he was. "That's your decison, Warrick. And it appears that you have made up your mind." He looked at Kahys, who simply nodded and walked away. Warrick fell back into a chair and stared down at the floor. Nick actually died. He died and came back. He's not giving up, so neither am I. They can give up, that doesn't matter. I'm never giving up. I promised him...

"You gotta understand, Griss...I can't just..." Warrick's voice trailed off as the tears came.

Grissom sat down next to Warrick and put his hand on his shoulder. "I know." He said quietly. "I'm just glad you have the guts to do this for him, that you can be this strong for him." Warrick looked up and was surprised to see a few tears rolling slowly down Grissom's cheeks from under his glasses, disappearing into his beard. "Thanks Griss." He said, turning away to look down the hall at the youngest member of their team. "Poor Greggo...he really looks up to Nick."

Grissom followed Warrick's gaze and looked at his former labrat, still up against the wall. "You guys are like his big brothers. He wants to be just like you."

Warrick got up and walked the few yards down the hall and sat up against the wall next to Greg. The younger man opened his eyes and looked at Warrick blankly. "Is he gonna die?" He asked, the life and emotion gone from his usually chipper voice.

Warrick shook his head. "No, he's not." Greg swallowed the lump in his throat and looked back down at the floor. "Ya know, Nick was really proud of you when you became a CSI. Ya know what he said?" Greg looked back up at Warrick. "He said he wished he could be more like you, because you never gave up on what you wanted and you always see the silver lining in everything." Greg smiled. "As long as we keep fighting, he will too."

Searching every way

You're right here in my sights

Hands on a miracle...

I'm sorry that the medical part of this is a little shaky, I did my best. The point is Nick and Warrick's friendship anyway. Thanks for the comments and suggestions, I wanna write what you guys wanna read.