A/N- I've decided to post the second chapter already since so far the response seems pretty good and I have time to post another chapter. This one will start to reveal a little of what happened. Don't ask me why I always seem to put Greg through hell because I truly love the guy. LOL I guess it's just my desire to see him get some really emotional stuff and then I do it 200%. Remember my Mature warning, as chapters go on and more gets revealed, it get uglier. Poor Greggo. Please review if you like.

As consciousness slowly came to him, the pain did not seem as bad as it had been previous times he woke up. He didn't bother opening his eyes because it was usually too dark to see anything anyway. Besides half the time his eyes were swollen shut as it was. There was something different about the noises and smells around him though he was beginning to notice. He heard beeping and did not smell the sweat, blood and urine this time around. Things smelled clean, antiseptic like. Had they been there and cleaned while he was unconscious? That would have been something new. Maybe Chris was starting to feel bad for him and figured the least he could do was clean the place up some. But he didn't think that was it. There was something different.

Then he suddenly realized someone was holding his hand. Then a voice spoke.

"Ahh, Greg, I'm so sorry it took us so long to find you. This should have never happened. But when I find out who is responsible, I'm going to kill them." The voice was sweetly familiar, a voice he never thought he would hear again. That slight Texan drawl had him thinking he was daydreaming again. So often he thought he would hear Nick's voice calling him from afar, trying to reach him but it was never the case.

He felt his right hand being squeezed lightly. "Come back to me, Greg. I need to know you are going to be okay," he heard him say.

Greg was scared to open his eyes and that it would all have been an evil dream again. In any case he knew he would never be okay again, not after what he went through. It would haunt him for the rest of his life, if he lived to tell about it.

He decided to dare to squeeze the hand back. "Greg! Can you hear me? If you can hear me, open your eyes, Baby. Open those beautiful brown eyes of yours, please," he heard Nick beg him. It seemed too real, please let it be real this time, he thought. Please no cruel dreams.

He cracked open his eyes and noticed the brightness of the room. It actually hurt his eyes; he was so use to the mostly dark basement. He kept his eyes squinted from the light but turned his eyes to the right and saw him. He saw tears come to the Texan's eyes as he smiled at him in joy.

"Greg, you're safe now. It's okay, Baby. You're in the hospital. You're safe," Nick kept telling him as he rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand.

Greg opened his mouth in an attempt to say it was bright but his throat was so raw and dry nothing came out.

Nick saw him attempt to speak and stopped him. "Hey, no need to say anything. Do you want some water to drink?"

He nodded slightly and realized it hurt to move his neck. He took his free hand and touched it to his neck. He felt a bandage wrapped around his whole neck.

Nick saw him make the movement. "Your neck was pretty messed up. They have you wrapped up for now. I should probably call your doctor and let her know you are awake." He made to get up but Greg clutched his hand tighter.

Greg was afraid of being left alone suddenly. He was afraid they would find him again and take him back to his hell.

Nick saw the fright on his face suddenly and sat back down. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I'll sit right back here and just use the call button instead, okay?" He pushed the button on the bedside instead and smiled softly at him as his clutch on his hand remained tight. He brushed some hair that had fallen into his eyes out of them. "We'll have to give you a shave when you feel a bit better. You look rough with the scruff. You're much more handsome clean shaven."

Suddenly Greg's eyes opened wider and he pulled his hand away from Nick's and attempted to move away from him. He looked scared out of his mind.

"Hey, what did I say? It's okay, Greg, it's me, Nick. I'm not going to hurt you," Nick said hurriedly, wondering what he said to trigger such a reaction.

Little did Nick know that he said almost the same thing that Jasper Marks had said to Greg frequently before he went to shave his face. Jasper had always liked Greg clean shaven and preferred him that way overall. The first time Jasper tried to shave off the growth on Greg's face after he held him captive for about 5 days; Greg tried to break out of his strong grasp, only to be hit in the face so hard that he thought his face would be swollen forever. He eventually just let him do it, but felt like a fool having him do it to him so often.

Jasper would finish shaving his face and look admiringly at him, saying, "Now you look so handsome, not so rough like you do with facial hair. You're just how I always loved you looking, so handsome and young and all mine, forever."

Greg shuddered at the memory and looked at Nick again, who was at a loss of what happened to cause his reaction.

"Mr. Stokes, oh, I see our patient has woken up," a warm female voice said. Greg looked over and saw a short-haired, blond woman in her fifties approximately, in a doctor's coat, walk into the room with another female who appeared to be a nurse.

Greg relaxed a bit seeing the two females come into the room. Nick noticed this also. "Uh, yeah, he just woke up a couple of minutes ago. I was just going to get him some water to drink," he said to them. He looked back at Greg who was avoiding him suddenly.

"Hello Mr. Sanders, my name is Dr. Lois Clark. I was here when you came into the emergency. I'm glad to see you awake," the blond haired doctor said to him.

Greg nodded slight to her and then looked nervously over at Nick. He did not want him around now. He felt that Nick would not understand why he was feeling scared of him and not wanting him to hear what the doctors might say about him.

Dr. Lois Clark noticed his leery glance towards his partner and understood his discomfort. "Mr. Strokes, is it alright if you step out a moment while I have a talk with Greg here?"

Nick looked dejected when he noticed that Greg seemed to want this too. "Yeah, sure. I'll be back though once you are done."

"If that's what Greg wants, then you can," Dr. Lois told him. He seemed perplexed by this response but left the room, looking back at Greg as he opened the door. Greg seemed still so scared. He hated seeing him like that, especially seemingly due to something he said to him.

The nurse handed Greg a cup of water with a straw in it. She held it for him as he gingerly took a sip. His raw throat finally felt some relief. "Thanks," he said in a raspy voice.

"Melinda, can you excuse us for a moment?" Dr. Lois asked of the nurse. The dark haired nurse nodded and left the room.

Dr. Lois pulled up a chair and sat down. "Greg, I want to go over your injuries with you and then try to ask you some questions if I can."

Greg nodded cautiously. He had a good idea what the questions might be but he felt comfortable around her for some reason. She sort of reminded him of his mother.

"You're extremely malnourished. You have some broken and bruised ribs which are probably causing you some pain when you breathe. You have some pretty serious small burns on your body but they should heal pretty well with time. Your left wrist is broken and I am pretty sure by now I am not telling you anything new. I am pretty sure you are well aware of your injuries. I'm leaving out some but as I said I am sure you already know," she said somberly. She felt sorry for the young man. She had heard about the search for him on the news and when she saw him come into her ER, she felt even sorrier for him. She had seen a lot of crime victims in her lifetime come through the ER but never one that had so many various injuries and signs of torture as he had. She also knew that there was even more to it than that and then the unseen emotional effects.

He nodded slightly, aware that she was leaving out injuries he rather not be reminded of. He shifted to try to get more comfortable on the bed. "My neck," he asked with that raspy voice.

She nodded. "Yes, your neck will have some scarring from the collar that was around your neck. Honestly, you will have a lot of scars remaining from what happened to you. May I ask you some questions now?"

He nodded that she could. He knew she would have to ask certain questions and decided to not avoid it. He trusted her for some reason.

"Can you tell me what they used to cause those burns you have? Some seem like cigarette burns but others are more vicious looking?"

He closed his eyes, remembering the first time Jasper took out his mini torch and took it to his bare chest. He shuddered momentarily at the memory. "It was a mini torch," he said so softly she could barely hear him.

She bit her lip, feeling so horrible she made him remember something like that. "I'm sorry, Greg. I know this has got to be rough to talk about. I just want you to know we've run some preliminary blood tests and see no signs of sexually transmitted diseases. But you will have to take some every six months."

He felt a little nauseous at her mention of the tests. He knew it was inevitable but still hearing it made him realize there was that chance he could end up with one, even though no one knew who was responsible for what happened to him yet. He was actually surprised that was not what Nick asked him first; who did this to him. It didn't matter, he would never forget who was responsible for the four months of hell he went through.

"I understand," he said softly again.

"Okay, well you need your rest so I will not keep you much longer. You can give yourself more morphine by pushing this button," she said as she showed him where to push.

"Also, if there is anything you need, just use the call button. I'll be leaving soon but I will check on you tomorrow when I come in. You will be here for at least a few days while you regain your strength and we get you back to health. Do you want me to send Mr. Stokes back in or do you want to be left alone?"

"Alone for now…just really tired," he said weakly as the pain he was in started to flare up.

"Okay, I will tell him to come by later on today and that you need your sleep. Take care, Greg."

"Thanks," he whispered. He watched her leave and then pressed the button for the morphine. His whole body ached something fierce, reminding him of all that happened to him. He momentarily wondered if they had caught Jasper and his friends before sleep claimed him.

Nick could not believe that Greg did not want to see him until later on. He had so much he wanted to say to him and ask him. He had not even had a chance to ask him who did this to him. But he knew Greg did need his rest and he only wanted him to get better.

"Hey, how's he doing?" He looked up and saw Catherine and Sara arriving to the hospital waiting room.

"He's sleeping. He woke up and talked to his doctor some, I guess. He woke up when I was in the room with him and seemed okay but then I said something and he sort of freaked out and pulled away from me. That was when his doctor came in and took over," he sighed.

Sara sat down next to him. "What did you say to him that freaked him out?"

"I was commenting on how he needed a shave, he's all scruffy. But then he pulled away from me and I don't know why," he frowned.

"Well he did not have a full beard which I would think after four months he would have. Maybe the guys let him shave for some reason," Catherine said to him.

"Or they shaved for him," Sara suggested. "Maybe just the thought of someone doing that to him brought back painful memories."

Nick thought for a moment. "I guess that is possible. Why would they shave him if they are keeping him prisoner?"

"Maybe whoever had him liked him clean shaven instead," Sara said.

"That makes no sense but then again we have no idea who held him. We need to ask him once he wakes up again," Nick said.

"Well we might not have to. Wendy is processing DNA evidence we found right now. I do not think it is all Greg's," Catherine told him.

"What did you find, exactly?" Nick asked, now curious for some answers.

Sara gave Catherine a look that said she should have never brought it up.

"Well..." Nick pressed them.

Catherine's cell phone rang, saving the moment. She looked to see who it was and frowned. "Hey, what's going on?" she answered.

Wendy was on the other side giving her the preliminary results from the specimens they came in with earlier. Catherine's face seemed to pale a bit after hearing what Wendy had to say. "Okay thanks. Keep working on the other stuff."

"Who was that?" Sara asked.

"It was Wendy. She has some results back from the semen found at the scene." She looked gravely at Sara then to Nick. "They were from four different men, one being Greg, two unknowns and then one belonging to a Jasper Marks."

Sara felt sick but no one felt as sick as Nick did. He realized what it meant, that Greg had been sexually assaulted by at least 3 men. He figured when he found Greg naked and the bruises and condition he was in that something like that may have happened but he had hoped it was not so. He just did not want to believe it. Now he knew it had to be true and worse than just one guy, but three.

"Christ, who are these guys and why did they pick Greg?" Sara asked.

Nick thought for a moment. "What was the name of the one person ID'd?"

"Jasper Marks. Wendy said he has a record. He was only released from prison six months ago. He had served a nine year sentence for aggravated assault and battery," Catherine told him.

"Jasper…you know Greg told me that he once had this abusive boyfriend back when he first moved to Las Vegas…his name was Jasper, I believe. All he told me was that he didn't have to worry about him anymore. This has to be the same guy. I've got to talk to Greg." Nick stood up and started to walk off. Sara got up quickly and grabbed his arm.

"Hang on, Nick. You can't just go in there and start asking him about this Jasper guy. Greg's doctor said we have to take it easy with him. Don't go upsetting him again. You said you already did it once. You need to approach this all carefully. We still don't know the half of what he's been through. It was almost four months that he was gone…a lot could have happened we can't even imagine. Take it easy on him," Sara warned him. She cared a lot about him too and did not want to see him hurt any more than he already was.

"You're right. I'll take it slow with him. I don't want to cause him anymore pain that he's already in. You should have seen the look on his face when he opened his eyes, he look petrified but then relieved even if momentarily. The pain was evident in his eyes though. No, I'm not going to be responsible for causing any more pain in his eyes. I will take it easy on him," Nick said, realizing just how careful he had to be with him.

"Say hello for us," Catherine added before he walked away. Catherine looked at Sara. "This is going to be hard on Nick too. He's not one for being patient but he's going to have to be with him."

"I know. I just trust that his love for Greg will give him patience. If anything we will be around to remind him," Sara told Catherine.

"Yes, we will be."