Buried Alive

Chapter 9

He remembered this place; he had been here before and he prayed that he'd never return. It was Heaven…or at least he thought it was. Greg blinked around and noticed how familiar it looked…like his Nana Olaf's place. He used to love going to visit her, eat her freshly baked cookies and then run around the field with Bart- the Border collie. Greg smiled. He missed the place. Sighing sadly, he knew he was dead…and probably for good this time. Might as well make the best of it. He walked over to the little cottage and opened the door.

"What did I tell you, Hojem? I didn't want to see you again until you were hunching over and had no hair."

Greg looked over into the living room and saw his Nana sitting on the couch, knitting a pair of gloves. He smiled and went to go sit next to her; and like always, there was a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table. After he ate two, he leaned back and sighed.

"Well, I'm waiting for an explanation, Hojem."

"I don't know, Nana…I just…I think Nick and everyone else would be better off without me. I mean, Nick absolutely hates me, even said I'd never become a CSI."

"But he didn't say he hated you."

"He didn't have to…it was just the look in his eyes. He thinks I'm worthless."

"Well, get this Nick guy out of the picture. What about your parents?"

"I'm a horrible son, Nana. I can't even take five minutes out of my day to call and say hi."

"You're a working man; they understand. And you think people that hate you would be begging you to live and crying?"

Greg scoffed. "Nick doesn't cry."

"Oh?" The house faded into darkness filled with clouds floating around them. Nana Olaf stood beside Greg and before he knew it, they were in a darkened room. He blinked as sounds became present and boy were they frightening. What was even more frightening was that he could see his motionless body lying in the hospital while the doctor was trying so desperately to revive him.

"Nana-"

The older woman stopped him and pointed out the door. His brow furrowing, he slowly made his way out the door. What he saw made his heart break; his parents looked like they were going to have their hearts torn to itty bitty pieces. His mom looked tired, her mascara smeared from crying and his dad seemed to look thirty years older. They were stressed. And Nick; the guy looked like one of Doc Robin's corpses. His eyes were red and his face was pale and streaked with tears. It also looked like he had lost some weight…had the guy stopped eating?

"Yes, he did Greg," his Nana spoke up. "Because he was so focused on saving you as well as staying with you until you woke up, that he hasn't had more than a few crackers and water."

"He's gonna get sick," Greg said worriedly. He could care less about himself, it was Nick he had to worry about.

"Then why don't you do something about it?"

Greg turned around and saw that the doctor had stopped administering CPR. It was too late.

"I can't…I'm officially dead."

Nana Olaf shook her head. "Not if I can help it. I've talked to the big man and he said it's not your time…come here."

A bit suspicious, Greg walked over to her and she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Go back home, Hojem…and I never want to see you here again for a very long time. Promise?"

Greg smiled. "I promise, Nana."

"Good. Now close your eyes and wake up."

"Nana?"

"Yes, Hojem?"

"Thanks."

"You are welcome." With that, she touched his forehead and there was a big flash of light before Greg knew nothing at all.

~+CSI+~

Seconds passed. Minutes. But nothing was happening…Greg remained dead. Nick saw Dr. Moorhead stop and shake her head. He watched her lips move slowly and he knew what she was saying. Time of death. Tears trailed down Nick's face before his legs weakened and he slid down the wall to the floor. He was vaguely aware of the distraught sobs coming from both Greg's parents; he was lost in his own world right now…a world that would be without his little brother forever.

"Oh god…oh, Greg." He was responsible for Greg's death.

"Nick?"

He wanted to ignore the voice, but they were gonna keep bothering him until he answered. Looking up with red-rimmed eyes, he saw that it was Dr. Moorhead. She gave him a sympathetic smile, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"I'm really sorry; I know he meant a lot to you."

The Texan choked a sob and nodded, rubbing his face. He then looked over and saw that Greg's parents were gone. "Um…where did they-"

"Inside…you can go, too, if you want."

He didn't know if he could. He didn't know if he could look at Greg's bruised and lifeless body. He didn't know if he could see Greg never talk again or bounce around again or never hear that crappy music he listened to. But before he could answer, he heard shouts coming from the room and Mr. Sanders came running out. He looked shocked but…happy. How could the man be fucking happy? His son just died!

"What's going on?" Dr. Moorhead said, completely alarmed.

"He's alive!"

Frowning, she shared a quick look with Nick before following Mr. Sanders back into the room. Nick scrambled to his feet, doing the same…and what he saw made his heart slam through his chest. Greg was indeed alive; he was sitting up, trying to take in copious amounts of air just like he had back at his grave site. A huge smile formed on his face and Nick ran into the room, standing behind Greg's parents. Mr. Sanders was helping his son sit up, rubbing his back while Mrs. Sanders was whispering thank you to someone named Frida. He didn't think too much about it, but he sort of remembered Greg talking about his Nana Olaf having that name. However, he didn't really care right now; Greg was fucking alive! The doctor quickly placed an oxygen mask on Greg's mouth before injecting his I.V. with morphine to knock him out for a while. Greg's violent coughing started to cease and before they knew it, Greg slumped against his pillows once more.

"Wow," Dr. Moorhead breathed. "This-This is a miracle. The best one I've seen in my entire career, actually."

"Our Greg's a strong boy," Mr. Sanders beamed.

"And he had some help from his Nana Olaf," Emma smiled down at Greg.

Dr. Moorhead raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "Well, I'll leave you three alone for a little bit. I'm gonna get Greg set up for a CAT scan in thirty minutes to see what caused his crash." With that, she left, leaving Nick and Greg's parents musing over what just happened.

Mr. Sanders glanced at Nick who was sitting down and taking deep breaths in a corner chair, still a bit overwhelmed by the past five minutes. Pursing his lips, he squeezed his wife's shoulder gently.

"Emma, why don't we go take a break. We've just had two heart-stopping moments and we should go eat and relax."

"But-"

"Greg will be okay now; he's got Nick too."

Emma looked over at Greg's friend and sighed. She nodded as she stopped carding her fingers through Greg's hair and went out the door. Mr. Sanders went over to Nick and put a firm hand on his arm. The man's head jerked up, his eyes watery and almost out of breath.

"Can you keep an eye on him? Emma needs to take a break from all this."

"Yes, yes of course."

"Are you gonna be okay, son? You don't look very well."

"No…no I'm fine; just a little shaken up, that's all."

"I don't blame you." He patted Nick's shoulder and started to leave. "We'll be back later. Just keep our Greg safe."

"That's something I'll never stop doing, Mr. Sanders."

The older man smirked and he followed his wife out the door. Nick sighed heavily, pinching his nose and getting up to go sit by Greg. His little brother who was one crazy guy; one minute he was dead, the next he was alive. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he watched the man breathe…it was a bit scratchy and muffled with the mask, but he never heard something so wonderful in his entire life. Gently, he picked up Greg's hand and held it to his forehead, reciting a short prayer before setting it back down on the bed.

"I'm right here, G…and thank you…for not giving up. I knew you could do it. Just please keep hanging on."

~+CSI+~

Nick was lightly dozing in his chair when he heard someone knock on the door. Blinking his eyes open, he saw Warrick and Sara standing in the doorway. Nick smiled tiredly before sitting up and glancing at Greg.

"Hey. Did you guys just get here?"

"Yeah, wanted to see how everyone was doing," Sara replied. "How's Greg?"

Nick swallowed. "He's okay now but…"

"But what?" She said, getting worried. "What happened?"

"He…he died…for five minutes. The doctors gave up and they called it, but a miracle happened and he's alive now."

"Thank god," Warrick whispered. "Geez, how many heart-attacks is this kid gonna give us."

"Too many," Nick smiled sadly. "That's why- as the older siblings- we have to protect him with our lives…no matter what. Hell, I'd die for him in a heartbeat; I'd die for all of you. We're a family."

"Damn straight, man," Warrick grinned, patting Nick on the back. "Hey, why don't you come to the cafeteria with me, get something to eat." Because you look like a twig right now. Warrick was worried for his friend; the guy seemed all skin and bones since he 'forgot' about eating to focus on Greg. Well, now Greg's okay, so there was no excuse; there had been no excuse before, but he needed to get the guys mind on something else for a change.

Nick hesitated, looking at his slumbering friend. Warrick gave Sara a look and she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Nick…you need something to eat. I'll watch over Greg."

The Texan thought about it some more, but finally gave in. He squeezed Greg's hand for a moment before he stood up and went out the door, followed by Warrick. Finally. Sara sat down in Nick's vacated chair and ran her fingers through Greg's curls now that the bandage had been removed.

"It'll be okay, Greg. We're all here and eager for you to wake up. There's no need for you to be scared, alright? You're safe now and nothing can hurt you."

All of a sudden, Greg's head moved beneath her hand. Sara gasped as she leaned forward, trying to see if she wasn't imagining things.

"Greg? Greg can you hear me?"

And then the moment she had been waiting for- that everyone has been waiting for-finally happened. The young CSI's brown eyes blinked open and searched the room. When he made contact with Sara, she smiled warmly…but he didn't do anything…and then he said something in a hoarse voice that made her heart sink.

"N-Nick…hurt…me. Keep…h-him…'way." He tried to keep his eyes open longer but the morphine kicked back in and took him away from Sara once again. The brunette was lost for words; this information was gonna kill the Texan.

TBC…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0