Buried Alive

Chapter 6

His coffin opened and light shined in his face. Greg blinked his eyes open and squinted as the sun pierced his eyes. He was confused; wasn't it supposed to be hot, dark and smelly? Where he was there was fresh air and bright blue sky. Frowning, Greg pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around. He felt no pain, he wasn't breathing through a clogged straw…and then he realized where he was. He was in Heaven. He was dead.

"Shit."

"Watch your language young man," a familiar voice spoke.

Standing up and climbing out of the box, Greg turned to see his Nana Olaf beaming over at him.

"Nana!" He walked over to her and they hugged for a long time.

"Hojem, it's so good to see you…but it's early," she spoke, her voice thick with the recognizable Norwegian accent. "I didn't expect to see you until you were old and grey like me. How did you get in this mess?"

"It's a long story, Nana."

"Hmm."

They went over to a bench and sat down, silently watching the clouds drift by.

"You shouldn't be here, Hojem," Nana Olaf said softly. "You need to return back to your family."

"You know how badly I want to, Nana, but I can't…I'm dead; it's over."

"Not necessarily."

"What do you mean? Is this a dream?"

Nana Olaf shrugged. "You could say that."

"So…I have a choice."

"Yes Hojem. But I must advise you, it's not your time. Go back, live your life, grow old. Then come back and I'll be right here waiting for you."

Greg hesitated.

"Go, my Hojem. Go back home."

It suddenly became dark and before he knew it, he was falling into oblivion once more.

~+CSI+~

Ants. So many ants; crawling around and clinging onto Greg's skin. But that's not what Nick was drawn to; he was more focused on Greg's deathly pale face and the pool of blood by his head. His fingernails on his left hand were gone due to all the scratching on the lid…along with wood embedded in the tips of his fingers. His right arm looked dislocated and it had Nick wondering what the hell happened beforehand. And above all, his eyes were closed and chest was still. His little brother wasn't breathing.

"Greg! Oh god, please no." He was about to reach down and grab his friend, but he was stopped by Grissom.

"What! What the hell are you doing? We need to save him!"

"The ants Nick; if we move Greg they'll get angry."

"I don't give a shit about the ants! Greg is dying!" He pulled away from his supervisor and went back to Greg's side. "It's alright, buddy, I got you. You're gonna be alright." Carefully, and with Warrick's help, they began to pull Greg out of the coffin. It wasn't even a struggle; the kid was so scrawny and light. "I'm bringing you to an all you can eat buffet after this, Greggo."

Sara and Catherine watched as the two boys lifted their ex-lab rat out of his grave. They watched as his head lolled lifelessly on his shoulders and it scared them. Was Greg…dead? He couldn't be; they couldn't lose that kid. But it might've been too late.

Nick gently laid Greg on the ground, brushing the remaining ants, which were crawling around, away. Some were still implanted in his skin, but Nick didn't want to try and pull them out if it meant hurting his little brother.

"Greg…Greggo, wake up man."

Nothing

"G, come on." His chin quivered.

Greg still remained motionless. Tears were at the brim of Nick's eyes as he brushed away the blonde strands from Greg's clammy forehead before his fingers trailed down to his neck. Please let there be a pulse, please let there be… Nick's heart stopped beating. "Greg." He quickly went to check his wrist. He waited for a minute…

"Nick?" Sara said agitatedly.

"Greg, I swear to god…p-please don't do this to me."

And then they all knew they'd been too late; they'd lost Greg.

"Greg!" Nick harshly pressed his finger into Greg's wrist, determined to find a pulse. But there wasn't going to be one. "God, no. Greggo, you can't leave me."

Warrick kicked the ground in pure rage, swearing loudly while Catherine put her hands on top of her head and walked away. Sara was just standing there, tears pouring from her eyes and Grissom, surprisingly, was shedding a few tears himself. But who wouldn't for Greg Sanders? He was the guy that lit everyone's day up; the guy that'd make you laugh no matter what mood you were in. The guy that was determined to prove himself a valuable CSI…and Nick had put him down. And he'd never have a chance to take it back and apologize.

"Greg I'm so sorry." And then a determined look flashed across his face. No…Greg wasn't getting away this easy. They could still save him; he had no idea how long Greg's heart had stopped beating, but Nick was gonna try anyways. "He's not dying…not on my watch."

"Nicky," Grissom said.

Ignoring the older man, Nick moved closer to Greg and checked his pulse again. Once again, there was nothing like he was expecting, but it wouldn't be like that for long. He tilted the younger man's head back, opened his mouth and pressed his mouth over Greg's, breathing for him. As he went onto compressions, memories of joking around with the kid flashed through his mind; times where things were simpler and Greg was safe in the lab. He breathed more air into Greg's mouth, thinking about the countless times Greg talked about his conquest with girlfriends…and it made him press harder onto the man's chest. Greg had to live to date more girls; he had to live and get married and have kids. Dying at age twenty-four was not acceptable.

"G, come on! Breathe!"

"Nick, we were too late. I'm sorry."

"No! Greg, wake up dammit!"

"Nick, come on," Warrick said, grabbing his friend's biceps and helping Grissom pull him away from the body.

He was numb all over and he couldn't control his movements as Warrick led him away from his little brother. He had failed; he was a fucking failure! Greg had managed to save him when he was buried alive, but the one time when Greg needed his help, he'd been too late and now they lost a family member.

"I'm sorry, m-"

Muffled coughing interrupted Warrick and everyone turned around to see Greg's forehead creased and his chest heaving as he tried gulping in copious amounts of oxygen.

"Get the medics over here!" Catherine shouted.

Nick bolted over to Greg and slid to his knees beside him. He brushed Greg's hair and lingered his hands over his face. "Greggo, Greg it's alright, you're okay. Can you hear me?"

Greg coughed violently but he nodded slowly. Nick let out a huge sigh of relief. And fully hating himself for doing this- because he knew it may hurt the kid- Nick grasped Greg's shoulders and brought him into a gentle hug. "Jesus Greg, I thought I was gonna lose you." He didn't care if some of the ants were biting him…and they hurt like hell. Greg had to go through this and it was worse, so suck it up Stokes.

Tears trickled down the Texan's cheeks. "I've got you, buddy, I'm right here. I'm never letting go."

Greg, who was barely conscious, dug his face into Nick shoulder while trying to breathe. He smelled the familiar scent of the Texan and realized that he had made it. He was out of his grave and alive. Knowing that, he let darkness claim him; he knew that'd his friends would be waiting with him when he woke up.

When Greg stilled, Nick was about to puke. He pulled away and his heart regained normal speed; Greg had just passed out. In a way, that was a good thing so the kid wouldn't have to feel any more pain.

"We're gonna get you out of here, Greggo. Just relax; I'm staying right here with you."

In a blur, the paramedics came rushing over and got Greg ready for transport.

"Damn…bullet ants?" One of the paramedics said.

"You will be able to get them off right?" Nick asked, not caring if he sounded like a mother-hen.

"Not here, but at the hospital…it's sort of a complicated process." They placed an oxygen mask onto Greg's face, loaded him onto the gurney, and wheeled him towards the ambulance. And not once did Nick let go of Greg's hand. He refused to break his promise.

"What are his chances?" Grissom asked, running alongside the stretcher.

"Umm, not sure; it really depends on a lot of things like how many of these little bastards bit him and how long he was dead for."

Nick and Grissom shared a look before Greg was lifted into the back of the vehicle.

"Is anyone riding-"

"Yes," Nick interrupted.

"Me too," Sara said, climbing in behind Nick and sitting on the other side. She grasped Greg's other hand gently, stroking his knuckles with her thumb. The doors were slammed shut and they were on their way to the hospital.

In the ambulance, Nick swallowed as he looked at the many bite marks on Greg's bare skin. How the hell were they gonna fix all that?

"He'll be okay, Nick," Sara's voice broke into his thoughts. He looked up and smiled tersely before squeezing Greg's hand.

"I hope so." God, I hope so.

TBC…

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A/N: Ooh they found Greggo! But will he really be okay? Stay tuned! REVIEWS! Also: I need more prompts for 31 days of hurt Greg! BTW the next chapter for that story will be up today!