Please enjoy everyone!
"Are you excited?" Nick asked Greg as they were making their way to the lab.
Nick had picked him up about fifteen minutes ago and it had taken that long to get Greg into a wheelchair, down to the parking garage and then into Nick's truck.
Greg had been dressed in some casual pants and a shirt. He hadn't been able to wear jeans since he had been able to wear his own clothes, as the material was too rough for the injuries and scars on his legs.
He wore a shirt because that was all he wore now. He needed something that came as far up his neck as possible. He had enough visible scars; the last thing he wanted was people seeing the one across his neck. The one that held the worst memories.
"Well, I must say, I'm surprised you're still breathing" the guy said who was hovering over him.
Greg looked up to him, his tormentor for so long. He could barely stand to move from all of the broken bones he now had.
"I have something that I think might finish you off for good" the guy said as he stepped back and Greg's eyes followed him as he moved to a table in the far corner of the room and picked something up.
He closed his eyes as tightly as he could once he had seen that it was a knife. They had used the knife on him many times and he didn't think he could handle anymore.
"Open your eyes" the man commanded but he couldn't. He couldn't stand to look into his attackers eyes another time.
"He said open your damn eyes!" another voice said and before he could even respond, two hands were on either side of his face and forcing his eyes open.
He saw the man's associate; the other man who had been torturing him for however long he had been there.
"Give me that" he said, grabbing the knife from his pal.
"You keep your eyes open for this and watch whilst we let you slowly die alone and like a scared little boy" he said as he spat in his face.
He brought the knife to his neck and Greg stared at him waiting for what was to come. He couldn't stop the tremor that ran through his body, making him shake vulnerably under the man above him.
The guy laughed and dug the knife in slightly, making it just catch his skin and make a small trail of blood run down the side of his neck.
"Your little buddies were so close to finding you earlier, then they left… but not after accusing me of everything that they thought I had to do with your 'kidnapping'. Now I'm going to make sure, that if they come back here, and they want to charge me of all those things against you, I might as well make it worth it and let them charge me with murder".
Greg closed his eyes again, subconsciously, and they were soon parted again to become wide open, "I said keep your damn eyes open".
Greg stared at him, tears starting to form and the guy laughed, looking to his friend. "You know what, let's not kill him yet. I know just what to do to cause you pain, make you bleed, make you hurt, but without killing you. I want to see you want to die. I want to hear you beg to die".
A stray tear rolled down his face and then more pressure was pushed into the knife over his neck. He could feel a slow but steady stream of blood tickling his neck as it rolled down.
"You're so weak, you're pathetic" one of them said to him, "Your friends sounded so helpless. They've lost any hope that they had of finding you. They didn't even seem upset that you were missing… I think they're over it. It's just their job now to find you. They just need to know where your body is so that they can give it to your mom to bury".
"Mrs Hojem… this is D.B. Russell from the Las Vegas Crime lab. I work with your son".
"What happened to him?" was his mother's first question. He hadn't wanted to make the call but he had to, her son was missing.
"Ma'am, your son is missing" D.B. told her and paused as he heard her begin to cry on the other end of the line.
"We are doing absolutely everything that we can to get him back quickly and safely" he tried to assure her, but he was also telling himself. They needed to keep believing that they would get him back.
He heard a sniff on the other end before she spoke, "Do you know who has him?"
Russell sighed quietly, "No. We don't. We're still working on the evidence, on anything that may help us figure that out".
"I need to come over there, I need to see my son come back safely" she said brokenly.
Russell nodded into the phone, "That's fine; we can arrange a flight for you…"
"I can sort my own flight; just expect me there sometime tomorrow".
"Mrs Hojem" Nick greeted her as he saw her coming through the terminal and stood from his seat.
"Nick" She greeted as he took her luggage from her. She had met him a couple of times before and knew how Greg looked up to him. Having only one child meant Nick was like a brother to Greg, and boy did she know it.
"I'm really sorry that we have to come together like this" Nick started, "but I promise I will get him back".
She smiled sadly and tried to hold back her tears, "You have to".
Nick nodded, "I know".
Nick opened Greg's door for his mom and she stepped in cautiously. He had booked her into a nearby hotel after she found out she couldn't stay at Greg's house. Although the scene had been cleared, they decided it best to not let his mom stay there for her own safety.
She looked around and tears swelled in her eyes once more. Nick put his hand on her arm comfortingly as she made her way through to Greg's kitchen and looked at the photos on his fridge. There were photos of him and his friends, vacation photos, but the one that made her break was the photo of her and Greg, Greg standing behind her, chin on her shoulder, hugging her from behind. She was laughing and Greg had his trademark grin on his face. She pulled it down from the fridge and held it to her chest as she cried. Her only hope was that she could take another photo like this again.
"Greg's mother is flying back, she said she was going straight to the airport and was going to wait for the next available flight" Russell told the team quietly as they stood at the window observing Greg.
"She's going to breakdown seeing him like this" Nick said just as quiet, not taking his eyes off of Greg.
"Yeah she will" Russell agreed, "but he'll get better, and she'll start to cope better. Things will work out."
"He opened his eyes today" Morgan told Greg's mother as she joined him at Greg's bedside.
"He did?" His mom said hopefully. She grabbed her sons hand and carefully gave it a squeeze, being cautious of his injuries.
"You can do this Hojem… keep getting stronger".
"Greg? Greg, it's me… You're safe" Mrs Hojem said as she watched her son start to wake again.
As his eyes opened a little wider, he turned to face his mom and she smiled down at him.
She saw the moment of recognition in his eyes and saw his lip twitch slightly as he attempted to smile at her, "That's my son. I love you".
"Greg's mom is flying home today" Morgan said as they sat at the lab.
"She is?" Sara asked, putting her cup of coffee down.
Morgan nodded, "Yeah, I don't think she can spend any more time here, she's going to miss him".
Nick sighed, "Yeah? Well I bet Greg will miss her more".
"She can't stay forever though right?" Finn said, "I mean how long has she been in Vegas?"
"Well she was here when he first went missing" Russell said, "So, six, seven months?"
Nick shook his head, "But Greg only got half of that with her".
"I'm sure she'll be coming back soon enough. But she left everything to be here, and how old is she? Most people her age probably wouldn't even be able to fly out to see their son" Sara said, sticking up for Greg's mother. He could understand why one might think it was not right that she was going back when her son needed her more now than ever, but she had stayed for as long as she could, she had done as much as she could. And she was sure Greg would want her to go back home on some level. He wouldn't want her spending all of her time in Vegas because of him. He knew his mom loved him, sometimes he would say a little too much, but she had her own life. And that wasn't here.
"I'm sorry I have to leave" Mrs Hojem said to her son who was still in his room at the hospital.
"It's ok" Greg told her quietly. He really didn't want her to go, but he knew she had to. For herself and for him. She was drained more than she had ever been in her whole life, and Greg could see that, everyone could see that. It was important to Greg that she spent the rest of her life doing something, anything other than looking after her son. She had done enough of that when she was raising him. And besides, there wasn't much she could do for him now anyway. It was her company he would miss.
"I'll call you as soon as I land" She told him, "I love you, and don't forget that".
His mom gave him a kiss and he tried to hold himself together, "Love you too".
She wiped the tears that fell from her eyes with a tissue and gave him one last hug.
"I love you" she said again before walking out, Russell putting his arm around her as he led her out, being the one to take her to the airport.
Once they had gone, Nick came over from the other side of the room and put his hand on his friend's knee, "You ok?" he asked softly, seeing that he clearly wasn't.
Greg looked down and tried to take a deep, calming breath, but instead he choked on it as he tried to hold in his tears.
Nick scooted closer and wrapped his arms around his friend and pulled him closer to himself as he comforted him.
Nick parked up in the lab's parking lot and turned to his friend, "You ready?"
Greg nodded slightly and Nick got out and came around to the passenger side to help him out and set up his wheelchair. Once he was sat down in it, Nick locked his truck and began pushing his friend inside.
Everybody was excited to see him. Nick had let the team know that Greg would be visiting and word had gotten around the lab pretty quickly, so everyone couldn't wait to see their friend outside of the hospital.
As they entered the lab, the first face they saw was Judy's on reception.
"Greg! It's good to see you" she said as she came around from behind her desk and out to the front.
"How are you doing?" She asked him.
Greg didn't want to be rude but he couldn't find the words to say so just nodded and gave her a small smile.
"You're on the mend, aren't you?" Nick said for him and he nodded again.
Judy smiled at Nick and then back at Greg, "Well it's good to see you here" she told him before going back to her seat.
Nick told her they would see her later and said goodbye, whereas Greg just sat quietly as Nick made his way through the lab.
The next person to see them was Russell.
"Hey Greg, it's good to see you, Nick told us we might be seeing you today" He welcomed him as they met in the hall.
Greg raised his eyebrows and gave him a smile to try and acknowledge him but he still couldn't get any words to leave his mouth.
"I think most of the team are in the break room if you're trying to find them" Russell told them both.
"Thanks, I think we'll head there next" Nick said to him.
"Alright, well I've got to drop this off in trace, but I'll see you later, alright?" Russell said to Greg and then gave them both a smile as he left.
Nick stepped around so that Greg could see him and knelt down, "You up to seeing everyone together?"
Greg stared at him for a minute and then nodded, "I'll be ok" he told him quietly.
Nick smiled, "Alright, just let me know if you want anything or you want to go" he reminded him, having already told him this in the ride over. Again, Greg nodded and Nick stood to take his place behind the wheelchair and made their way to the break room.
"Look who's here" Morgan said as she saw Nick and Greg enter the break room.
Sara and Finn turned to face them at the table and then stood when they saw who it was.
"Hey, it's nice to see you outside of those four walls at the hospital" Sara greeted him as she came over and gave him a hug.
"Yeah, I bet it's good to be out for the day isn't it?" Finn asked him.
Greg shrugged awkwardly and Morgan smiled at him, "Do you want a drink or something?"
He shook his head and looked down shyly. "How about some of your best coffee?" Sara asked and he looked back up to see her and Nick sharing a knowing smile.
Sara took something from behind her back and Greg smiled seeing his old obsession, Blue Hawaiian coffee, in front of her.
"I knew that would get a reaction out of you" Nick said with a laugh as he started to boil a pot.
"Nick got some delivered here a week ago and we weren't allowed to touch it" Sara told him.
"Yeah, and I've been wanting to taste this famous coffee" Morgan chipped in.
Finn sat down near Greg and smiled, "We have high expectations because of how everybody's been raving about it" she explained, "It better live up to the hype".
Greg smiled at her and quickly looked down. He was feeling a little… claustrophobic, with everyone around him. He was trying hard not to think about it, but being at the centre of attention was just reminding him of what had happened to him.
"Here" Sara said as she poured some coffee for everyone and passed one to Greg.
He shakily took it from her and she held onto his hand as she gave it to him, feeling and seeing the shaking of his hand, worried that he would spill the hot coffee.
"Do you have it?" She asked him quietly.
He shook his head slightly, knowing that if she let go he wouldn't be able to hold it firmly enough to not drop the mug all over himself.
"Ok" she said gently and pulled it back, putting it on the table, "we'll leave it there a little while, it's still quite hot" she said, coming up with an explanation in front of the team.
They all smiled at Greg and he couldn't stand to look at them, so looked down and tried to calm himself. Since his first couple of panic attacks in the hospital, he had met with a therapist who had taught him a few breathing techniques that would help him to calm down. Well, that was the theory anyway. He had had many more attacks since and it would take longer than he would have liked for him to calm down.
He could feel the familiar panic start to rise inside of him and tried to not let it show. It had been embarrassing enough the first time that the whole team had been with him and witnessed his weakness, the last thing he needed was for them to see him like that again.
"Greg, are you alright?" Morgan asked him. She had turned to make sure Greg was still listening to them all chat and that he wasn't falling asleep like many times before when they had all been sat with him. But she was upset to see that he had his eyes closed tight and his forehead getting sweaty.
"Greg?" Nick asked when they all turned their attention to him.
Nick moved over to him and perched on the edge of his bed.
"Hey buddy, listen to me, you're alright, you're safe. You're at the hospital" he told him softly, "You're ok".
Greg's breathing had increased and his eyes were still screwed up impossibly tight, but a few stray tears had managed to creep out.
Nick leant further over the bed and put his arm around Greg, "Greg, you're ok, we're here, it's alright" he shushed him, looking up to the team as Greg put his chin down to his chest.
The others were quiet as they watched Greg crumble to some unknown pressure inside of himself.
His breathing hitched as he choked on a breath and Nick squeezed his arm, "Will someone fetch his doctor" he said quickly but as calmly as he could. Greg was getting worse and he had sat with his friend many times as he endured a panic attack and knew when it was getting out of hand.
Finn was quick to come back with a nurse and his doctor and in just a few seconds they were all ushered out of the room bar Nick, and left to wait in the corridor.
"Nick" Morgan said and looked to Greg.
Nick sipped his coffee and turned back to Greg and saw what was happening.
He quickly put his coffee down and knelt in front of him, "Hey… hey" he said when Greg didn't respond the first time.
Greg brought his head up that was facing down and looked at his friend.
"Greg, look at me, take a deep breath alright" Nick said to him, "Go on, it's alright".
Greg copied Nick's breathing and glanced to his friends and work mates. They all gave him a sympathetic smile and he quickly looked away, focusing on his breathing.
"That's it, relax" Nick told him once he had started to cool down, "Do you want to go outside and get some air?" he asked him with a reassuring smile.
Greg nodded ever so slightly and Nick quickly stood up and went behind him to start pushing the wheelchair, "We'll be right back", he told the rest of the team.
He quickly pushed Greg back down the hall and they were nearly out when Henry and Hodges spotted them both and came out to see Greg.
"Hey Gr-" Henry stopped mid-sentence when he saw Nick shake his head gently and saw how pale Greg was. He grabbed a hold of Hodges' arm and held him back before he went out to see their friend.
Nick managed to get them both outside in less than a minute without any disruptions and once they were out he went to the nearest bench and sat on it, with Greg next to him.
"You ok?" Nick asked him and Greg took a shaky breath.
"Will you... take me back?" he asked his friend quietly.
Nick frowned slightly, "Back inside?"
Greg looked away tearfully and shook his head, "the hospital" he said and looked down.
Nick's frown slowly faded and sorrow soon appeared on his face. Greg was refusing to look up again and Nick saw a tear fall from his eye and land on his pant leg.
"I'll take you back, man. Whatever you want" he said to him.
He stood quietly without another word and pushed Greg to the parking lot and towards his truck. As they walked by two lab techs having a cigarette, Nick noticed Greg tug on his shirt collar, pulling it up further around his neck.
As soon as Nick had managed to help Greg into his truck, they set off back to the hospital. The drive was silent, with Nick giving Greg quick glances every few minutes.
Without a word, they were getting out again at the hospital not half an hour later and Greg was heading back to his room.
The hospital staff helped Greg change into some pyjamas that he had been bought and Nick stood back as they settled him into his bed again. He thanked them as they left and went to sit by his friend.
"You want to talk?" He asked him, breaking the silence.
Greg didn't react for a moment but then turned his head away slightly, "Sorry" he said lightly, swallowing the lump forming in his throat.
Nick shook his head, "What you sorry for, man?"
"Making you, drive… all the way here, to the lab, just… to come back five minutes later" he said, sniffing to try and hold in his tears.
"You didn't make me do that" Nick told him, "I wanted to do it".
Greg didn't reply just bought a hand up to his face and awkwardly wiped a tear away with his still healing fingers.
"Greg, I thought you might have wanted to go to the lab, that's why I suggested it. We can always go another time, any time" he told him.
"I did" Greg told him, "I just…"
Nick waited, knowing that it was hard for him to even talk, never mind talking about whatever problems he had going on.
"I don't know" Greg finally settled on saying quietly.
Nick leant forward in his chair, "I get it. That was the first time you've been out of the hospital in, I don't even know how long. The outside world is scary" he told him in a soft voice, "But, it'll get easier. You just got to give it time."
Greg sniffed and tried to compose himself again and lay his head back into the pillows.
"But, I want… I want to get out of here now" he said to his friend brokenly.
Nick edged forward again and put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "I know, man, I know." Greg began to cry and turned his head away from his best friend.
Nick shook his head, "Hey, look at me" he said softly.
Greg turned his face back to him but it screwed up in anguish as the onslaught of tears began.
Nick squeezed his shoulder, "You're going to get out of here. Alright? It might be a little while, but you'll get out. And when you do get out, you're going to stay with me, and everything is going to be alright. Ok? It's going to be alright".
They stayed like that for almost half an hour, Greg sobbing with no control and Nick doing his best to comfort him. After that they fell into an easy silence.
Nick was sure Greg had dozed off until he spoke gently, "Can I actually stay with you?"
Nick sat up a little straighter from hearing the croaky voice and looked at him, "Of course, bud, I'm not going to let you stay on your own".
Greg closed his eyes briefly before speaking again. "I'd go back to my house… but I don't really want to stay there anymore" he told him, tearing up again.
Nick shook his head, "I know, that's why you can come to my house. It'll be like we're roommates in college. And hell I'll even help you sell your house if you want" he offered, feeling like he had to speak quietly or his friend may break again.
Greg sniffed and nodded gently, "Yeah, never want to see that place again".
I hope you liked it.
