A long delay again this time - apologies. Thanks to all who reviewed. I really enjoy reading your comments. And Nickyfan - a big thankyou for your continued reviews and encouragement. Much appreciated : )

CHAPTER 17

The weeks passed by and Grissom remained in awe of Nick's recovery. He had put the prospect of an accomplice to the back of his mind. Nick's kidnapping had been a random act - to persue an accomplice would only open his wounds again. Grissom would follow through personally if any further evidence came to hand but the fewer people who knew about it the better. Nick's continued recovery was all that mattered.

Nick rarely spoke about his ordeal, other then the occassional off hand quip to Warrick or one of the uniforms. There was only one incident - which was recounted to Grissom by Sara. It had happened when he was away and the team had been investigating the disappearance of an entire family. Sara had confided in him that Nick obviously still had unresolved issues surrounding his abduction and that Grissom should exercise some caution in the cases that he was given. Without her going into specifics, she had emphasised that certain situations could potentially cause Nick to lose his cool. Grissom valued Sara's opinion - he always had - and had maintained a watchful eye over Nick but remained confident that he had dealt with his demons.

He watched as his younger colleague grew his hair long and, momentarily, housed a questionable moustache on his upper lip. But mostly, he watched as he got his life back on track.

Then Catherine walked into his office and expressed concern that the main suspect in a murder investigation that she and Nick were investigating was Kelly Gordan. While Nick appeared to be treating it as just another murder investigation, Catherine - ever the mother - was concerned that his judgement may be clouded and that he could end up getting hurt.

Grissom had called Nick into his office and spoken to him about it. He was momentarily thrown by Nick's admission that he had heard the tape, but was silently relieved that the accomplice had not only been identified but was now never able to hurt him again. He sounded relaxed about it - no big deal - but Grissom noticed the tension in his body as he sat before him.

"I'm pretty sure she had something to do with my kidnapping." Nick said, leaning back in his chair

Grissom raised his eyebrows and countered Nick's withdrawal by leaning forward.

"And now she's dead." he answered.

Nick shrugged and gave a humourless chuckle.

"Yeah." he said

Grissom pushed on.

"So...it's over."

Nick looked momantarily taken aback before regaining his pseudo relaxed composure.

"Yeah."

Grissom shrugged with his eyebrows again.

"Good" he said - a note of finality in his voice.

Nick shrugged again, bemused by his boss' clinical responses.

"Good" he answered back before pushing himself out of the chair and heading back to the lab to continue work.

Grissom watched him leave - the stiffness in his gait, the hint of self-consciousness that had plagued him in the weeks after his kidnapping. A knot of concern returned to his stomach. His guy wasn't fully healed yet. Not by a long shot.

The following two weeks passed. Nick had been a little quiet after the death of Kelly Gordan and looked more tired than he had in weeks. But he still smiled easily and was able to focus on his cases as normal.

Grissom had just finished up a long shift with him when it happened.

They had been speaking with a relative of a missing person on the eighth floor of an apartment building and were catching the elevator back to the ground floor with Brass. Nick had positioned himself at the back and the three colleagues were discussing the possible suspects in the young man's disappearance. Somewhere between floor 5 and 6, however, the elevator came to a sudden jolting stop and the lights flicked off briefly before coming back on. Grissom frowned and punched the 'Ground' button again before a flash of movement got his attention.

He heard a gutteral sound of sheer desperation as Nick pushed against his side and tried desperately to pull the doors open. He was tearing at the doors in such panic that Grissom's immediate thought was that he was going to break his fingers. He came back to his senses as he heard Jim's quiet voice.

"Hey, hey. Nick. It's alright, kiddo. Calm down."

Jim's hands were on Nick's shoulders trying to get him back from the doors.

"Gil! Give me a hand here, will ya."

Nick was on his knees by this stage, continuing to claw at the doors and with tears tracking down his cheeks as he chanted out the same mantra.
"No,no, no, no."

Please review. I was going to finish it up at the end of last chapter then I thought I'd just chuck in an extra piece. Tell me what you think. Please.