He looked around frantically until he saw a flash of blonde hair that made his heart stop beating. He swam towards it as fast as he could, watching the hair thrash in the water as Greg tried to move. Nick swam up behind him and felt his stomach drop when he saw his feet were tied and he was being held down by a huge block of cement. He swam around in front of him and cupped his face gently so Greg would open his eyes.
Greg shook his head when he saw Nick. 'Nick...don't...go back up.' He mouthed. He would have screamed it if he had any air left in his lungs. His chest felt like it was on fire and his muscles felt like they had turned to stone.
Nick shook his head. He pressed his lips against Greg's and breathed into his mouth. The fresh oxygen relieved some of the pain in Greg's chest as he inhaled all he could.
Nick reached down and hooked his finger in the loop of Greg's jeans and pulled himself down. He stared at the complicated knot around Greg's ankles. There was a similiar one on the metal hook in the cement block. Nick tried untying both of them, but was unsuccessful.
He was starting to get dizzy and knew he was about to pass out, so he swam back up to the surface gasping for air. He inhaled as much as he could and went back down to Greg. He reapted the process of breathing air into Greg's lungs for him before he went to the rope again.
Seeing no other alternative, Nick began biting the rope. He had to bite through a strand at a time. The course rope cut up his gums and Nick could taste the blood before he saw it mixing with the water around him. He had gotten almost halfway through when he had to go back up for more air. When he came back down, Greg kept his lips sealed shut and shook his head. He wasn't gonna let Nick sacrifice himself to save him.
Nick laced his fingers through the hair on the back of Greg's head. When Greg still didn't budge, Nick removed his left hand and squeezed Greg's side, forcing him to open his mouth and exhaule in a short breath. Nick pulled Greg to him with his other hand and crashed their lips together, the air once again going from Nick's lungs to Greg's.
Nick went back to the rope. He started gnawing away as Greg tried to kick him to get him to go back up. Nick held his legs still and continued biting through the rope. He wasn't stopping no matter how bad his teeth or chest were hurting. He had to save Greg.
Just as his vision was starting to be overtaken by blackness, Nick broke through the rope. Nick pulled himself up and wrapped his arm around Greg's waist, dragging him up to the surface with him. Nick kicked as hard as he could. He was just about to pass out when their heads broke through the water. They gasped for air and clung to each other to stay above the water.
How they got to shore was something neither one of them could answer. Greg had managed to kick himself free of the ropes and dragged Nick onto the sand with him. Nick collapsed onto his back, his chest heaving from the strain he had put on his lungs. Greg's breathing wasn't nearly as strained as Nick's. He kneeled down next to his boyfriend and looked down at him sadly. He put pressure on the still bleeding wound on Nick's side. The small spaces in between Nick's white teeth were filled with blood from the cuts in his gums. They were shaking from the cold water and cool night air.
Greg ran his hand through Nick's wet hair with his free hand. "You shouldn't have done that..."
"I wasn't gonna leave you." Nick choked out.
"You could have-"
Nick cut him off. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly.
Greg nodded. "I'm fine...but-"
Nick shook his head. "That's all that matters."
Hodges couldn't have been happier when Brass ran into the breakroom with Grissom. He had been doing a pretty good job of annoying Warrick, and he was sure the older man was about to pound him.
"We found the car!" Brass exclaimed breathlessly.
"Where?" Warrick asked.
Grissom tried to catch his breath. "Some lady...car outside her house...Lake Mead...Matt Hayre...boat gone..."
Warrick nodded in understanding. "Where's Nick and Greg?"
Brass shook his head. "We don't know, so let's go find out."
Warrick's heart was racing as Brass sped towards Lake Mead. This was too much like when they had last hurried to find Nick. That time he had been buried underground and almost didn't make it. Warrick forced the images of Nick holding the gun under his chin out of his mind and counted the minutes until they arrived. He prayed they wouldn't be too late for either of his friends this time.
Greg looked around frantically. Nick had passed out from lack of oxygen and blood loss. There was a house behind them with the porch light on, maybe someone was awake. He thought about getting up and running to the door, but quickly decided against it. He was too scared to leave Nick. His pale skin was illuminated in the moonlight. Nick's entire body was shaking more violently and his breathing went from quick and ragged to slow and strained. Greg didn't know which was better.
Greg carefully applied more pressure to the wound in Nick's side. He tried to estimate how long they had been out of the water for. It couldn't have been more than 20 minutes...could it? He had no way to tell for sure. He looked down at Nick through the tears in his eyes.
A sudden fear overwhelmed Greg's body and mind. Where's Matt?
His eyes bolted back to the dark water and he could faintly make out the boat a hundred yards away from shore. Goosebumps ran down his spine when he remembered what had happened after he woke up.
Greg opened his eyes and sat upright as quickly as possible when he saw Nick's motionless body lying next to him.
"Nicky..." Greg gently shook his boyfriend's shoulder, but was interrupted with a powerful blow to his head. He turned around warily and fell back when he saw Matt.
"This is what it comes down to Greg." He said, getting right to the point of all of this. "One of you is going to die. I'd much rather kill him and be with you, but that could get complicated. If I can't have you, no one can."
"Leave him alone." Greg choked out. "Do whatever you want to me, just leave Nick alone."
Matt didn't respond. He just simply punched Greg in the face, sending him backwards. Before he knew what was happening, his feet were tied to a heavy cement block and he was being held on the edge of the boat by Matt.
"Why are you doing this for him?" Matt asked, his voice more hurt than angry.
"Because I love him." Greg said simply.
Matt shook his head and sneered. "Look where that got you."
Greg was snapped out of his flashback by the loud blare of sirens. He looked up and saw the flashing lights speeding down the street on the other side of the trees. Relief washed over him when he heard them screech to a stop in front of the house he was near. Someone knew where they were.
Greg's hands started shaking and his heart skipped a beat when he realized Nick's chest was no longer moving slowly up and down beneath his hands. His own chest started to throb with the intense beating of his heart.
"Oh God..." He said quietly as he stared down at Nick, begging him to breathe. "Please Nick...you can't leave me..." He choked down a sob and didn't even hear Warrick run up to him. "You promised everything would be okay..."
Warrick gently pulled Greg to his feet and a few steps back away from Nick as the paramedics surrounded him. Greg's hands were shaking harder than they ever have and his face had lost all color is had previously had.
The paramedics were talking quietly to each other, and one of them started shaking his head. Greg and Warrick could barely make out the oldest looking one saying, "This doesn't look good fellas..."
Warrick held Greg's shoulders tighter when he tried to run back to Nick. He turned him around so they were facing each other and he looked him right in the eyes and squeezed his shoulders firmly.
"Greg, listen to me. Nick is going to be fine." Greg started shaking his head, so Warrick repeated himself. "Nick is going to be fine. I promise everything will be alright."
"What if he..." Greg's voice broke with another sob and he trailed off.
"Listen to me man. I know Nick better than I know myself. I know how strong he is and how much he loves you. There's no way he's going to give up now after everything that's happened." Greg didn't look too convinced. "I know you're scared and I know it's hard to see him like this, but you've gotta trust me. He's gonne be okay because of you."