The room fell silent at Ryan's revelation. The image his words had conjured up was bad enough for the Miami C.S.I.s, but it was downright horrifying for the Vegas team. Every one of them flashed back to the last time Nick had been taken – the paralyzing fear, the constant worry, the voice deep inside them that told them they were too late.

Sara sat down hard, her chest constricting and making it difficult to breathe. She had nearly gone crazy the last time, and she wasn't sure she could really go through it again.

Catherine sat next to her, and Sara promptly rested her head on her shoulder.

"Why him?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Catherine answered honestly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "But we'll find him, Sara. We did it before and we'll do it again."

"This has happened before?" Horatio interjected.

It was Grissom who responded. He explained to their new team members what had happened to Nick the last time. Their faces took on horrified expressions, as the full gravity of the situation settled down on them. Not only was one of their own being put through hell, but it was the second time.

Sara's mind wandered as the discussion went on. She remembered how Nick had struggled after being rescued. He had had nightmares constantly, and he couldn't stand to be left alone. She had helped as much as she could, staying with him and coaxing him to talk about how he was feeling. It had been a long road, but he had stayed the course and overcome his fears.

And now he was going through it all again. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she imagined what it must feel like – to come through that torment, to think that you were finally safe, and then to be thrust right back into the hell you thought was behind you.

She found herself panicking for him. Her breathing became labored as her lungs screamed at her that they weren't getting enough oxygen. The room spun as the words of the riddle came back to her, running through her head in tight circles, making her dizzy –

"Oh my God!"

Everyone stopped and looked at her, surprised by the outburst.

"What is it, Sara?" Grissom asked.

She stood up then and moved to the table, where a copy of the riddle rested. Pulling it towards her, she ran a finger over the lines until she found what she was looking for.

"Look," she pointed. "The last word, "forever," it's italicized – it's a point of emphasis. And the lines about beams growing toward the sky – it's like something is being built."

"So?" Calleigh asked, not catching on.

"The casino," Catherine murmured, the clues finally clicking. She raised her voice so the others could hear her. "They're building a new casino down by the old reservoir. And it's called 'Eternity'."

"But how could he be there if there's construction going on?" Ryan asked. "Wouldn't somebody notice him?"

Sara shook her head. "They halted construction three days ago because of the heat."

There was silence as they all took in the closest thing to a lead that they had.

"Then let's go," Horatio finally said. "Mr. Stokes doesn't have much time left."

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The basement was absolutely stifling as the C.S.I.s made their way down into it. It was as though there were walls of heat to match those of concrete, though the former seemed just as firm as the latter.

Guns drawn they moved off the stairs and into the cavernous room. Everything was shrouded in darkness, but the team had prepared for that, carrying high-powered flashlights with them.

As they fanned out to search the basement, a loud pop sounded somewhere above them. Suddenly, flood lights turned on all over the room, momentarily blinding them. Then a grinding noise reached their ears, and they all froze.

"Shit!" Warrick cursed, pointing ahead.

Standing across the room was an upright box. The grinding noise was made by the gears as they slowly lowered the box into a hole in the ground. Over that noise, a faint banging could be heard, mingled with shouting.

The spell broke and they all surged forward. Sara and Warrick reached it first, both of them running their hands over the wood as they desperately searched for a way to open the box.

"The stairs must have been wired," Ryan said quietly. "Our coming in here must have triggered the trap and started the box sinking."

"Nick?" Sara called. The shouting grew louder. "Nick, we're here. We're going to get you out of there! I promise!"

"The box is glued shut," Warrick told her. "There's nothing to pry open."

"Greg!" Horatio yelled, turning to face him. "Get the sledgehammer out of one of the SUVs. Hurry!"

As Greg bolted up the stairs, something in the bottom of the hole caught Warrick's attention. Squatting, he peered down.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"Look."

Reluctantly, she let her gaze move down into the hold. Her blood ran cold as she saw wet concrete pouring into it from tiny holes on the sides of the shaft.

"My God," she whispered. Then her head whipped up. "GREG! That sledgehammer!"

Greg jumped the last few steps and stumbled toward them, the sledgehammer held out in front of him. Warrick grabbed it and immediately began swinging at the top of the box. He knew that there was a chance tat he could hit Nick, but he had to focus on breaking through the wood. Steeling his resolve, he swung again.

Sara moved until she was standing in front of the box and out of Warrick's range of motion. The wood began to splinter and her pulse quickened, the worry nearly choking her.

She almost cried in relief when she saw the wood break from inside the box. Warrick saw it too and dropped the sledgehammer, using his hands to help Nick break out. Sara ran forward and joined him, the rest of the team left to stand idly about.

Finally, the weakened wood began to give way and Sara could finally see Nick's face. He was pale and sweating, a desperate terror in his eyes. When their gazes locked, he froze for a second before redoubling his efforts. Soon, his torso was clear, and Sara and Warrick could reach in and grab him. Pulling with all their strength, they managed to lift him out of the box. Sara took a few steps backwards, still pulling him. Her legs buckled under his weight when Warrick lost his hold and she went down, Nick landing on top of her.

Neither of them moved to get up. Instead, Nick's arms snaked around her body as he clung to her desperately, burying his face in her neck. Sara closed her eyes and hugged him back, one hand coming up to comb her fingers through his short hair.

"It's okay, Nicky," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion as she felt him shake in her arms. "I've got you. You're safe now, I promise."

Unable to watch his friends' painful reunion, Greg's eyes wandered back to the still sinking box. He found it hard to believe that someone could be that sick and twisted, but the evidence was staring him right in the face.

Something caught his eye just as he moved to look away. Stepping closer, he saw that an envelope was taped to the spot where Nick's head had been. Dread building in his stomach, he grabbed it and read the letter inside.

"Uh…guys?" Everyone but Sara and Nick turned to look at him. "We've got another riddle."