I dunno what your gonna make of this but please note that it's my first CSI fic, so go easy on me ;-)

 Nick wandered into the lab, a couple of DNA samples in his hand. He looked up, opening his mouth to say something but stopped. Standing in front of him was Greg, reading a newspaper. Normally this wouldn't have bothered him, had it not been for the look of absolute terror on Greg's face. Add that to the fact that he was white as a sheet and shaking and Nick was worried.

   "Greg- Are you ok man?"

Greg jumped, and closed the newspaper, which Nick identified as the 'Las Vegas Times'. The look of fear in Greg's eyes for that split second chilled Nick to the core before Greg slapped a fake smile on his face.

   "Uh- yeah, I'm-I'm fine..."

As Nick entered further into the room, Greg edged nearer the door. Greg looked at his watch.

"Whoa- look at the time- end of shift, later!"

And with that he made a swift exit. Nick stared after him. What was that about? What was Greg so terrified of? He had no idea of what would cause that kind of fear in his normally so easy-going friend, but his own shift didn't end for another hour yet and this case needed his full attention. By the end of the hour, Nick was tired, and had completely forgotten about the whole incident, still caught up in the complexities of his current case.

*********************************************************************

*~*~*~* AT THE END OF GREG'S SHIFT*~*~*~*

Greg practically ran out of the building, still shaking; but immediately came to a dead stop. In front of him was the cause of his fear. In front of him was somebody he'd hoped he would never see again. He stood frozen to the spot. He could barely breathe as panic found its' way inside him.

"Nice to see you too son."

The man said, before he knocked Greg out with a chunk of wood. He picked up the newspaper Greg dropped.

*********************************************************************

 Greg was beaten into consciousness. He ached all over. Looking at his surroundings- he identified it as an old warehouse. In front of him were around 15, 16 men, smiling maliciously. One stepped forward. It was his dad.

   "You can make a lot of friends in 16 years Greg. Spend some...'quality time' together and I know you'll get along just fine...especially with my friend Billy here..."

One of the men stepped forward and looked Greg up and down. Greg shuddered and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe this was happening. He knew by the fact that he wasn't wearing a blindfold they were going to kill him. His father continued.

"I'm going to ruin your life Greg, just like you ruined mine; I'm going to shred it into tiny pieces, and then I'm going to kill you."

He laughed and took a step back, motioning to the men behind him.

"Do what you will. And- don't hold back."

He said, without leaving eye contact with Greg, before turning and walking out of the room. Greg was sitting on a chair, hands tied behind his back; but as soon as his dad left, the men untied him from the chair and dragged him nearer the centre of the warehouse. He knew fighting back against 15 burly men, with no where to run to was pointless, and so did nothing as they tied him to two horizontal bars, one attached to the floor, the other on a pulley system which was hoisted until Greg's wrists were above him. He winced slightly. He wasn't touching the floor, and the ropes around his wrists and ankles were painfully tight- in fact, he decided, this was possibly the most uncomfortable position he'd ever been in. Then he thought back to when his father had broken his arm and stuffed him in the small room under the stairs when he was eight and couldn't quite decide.

Then it began.

He got whipped, he got beaten, he got cut and he got burned. He had never been in as much pain in his life. He reached knew levels of agony that he didn't even know you could reach.

   After what seemed like an eternity of endless pain, it stopped. The men left silently-all except one. Billy. Billy untied Greg's ankles first, and then his wrists, letting him fall painfully to the floor. He kneeled down beside him and whispered in Greg's ear.

"Do you want to know...what I went to prison for...?"

And for the next hour, Greg wished the eternal pain had continued without stopping. As the fading afternoon sun shone into the cold warehouse, Billy left, and his father entered with a hammer.

"Please...stop..."

Greg choked out in between sobs.

"Look at you Gregory- you're pathetic. A pathetic little lab technician who nobody cares about. Nobody is coming to save you Greg- Why would they? To them you're just the loser behind the scenes, a tool which they use to get the credit. You disgust me."

He lifted the hammer and brought it down on Greg's left leg with a sickening crunch, and Greg finally fell unconscious.

*********************************************************************

Nick woke. He looked at the clock by his bed. 4.00 pm. He rubbed a hand over his face. Something was nagging at the back of his mind. He tried to recall the dream he was having, but it was hazy. Getting up, he started to make himself a cup of coffee, knowing that he wouldn't get any sleep until he'd figured out what was bothering him. He picked up the mug but his hand slipped on the handle and it jolted the short distance back onto the counter. He sighed as the coffee spilled over the edge, leaving pools of coffee next to the mug. And then it hit him. In the next few minutes he got changed in lightening speed and grabbing his coat and cell phone, he jumped into his car headed for work, despite the fact that one, it was day, and two, it was independence day; he wouldn't be working today even if he did work the day shift. Should he call the others? Only if his fears were confirmed when he got there. It would be really embarrassing to wake up all of his colleagues and friends just because he'd jumped to conclusions. Suddenly another thought struck him, and he pulled in to the 24 hour shopping at the sign. Hopping out, he actually ran to the shop, grabbing the L.V. Times and rushed out after having paid for it. Slinging it on the passenger seat, he started off again. His instincts were telling him that something was wrong, and he trusted his instincts.

When he arrived, he parked next to Greg's car. He knew it- Greg's car had stayed in the parking lot all day- in which case, how did Greg get home? A cab maybe? Lost his car keys? Then he saw the small pool of blood by the entrance, like his coffee. A small scrap of newspaper was nearby. He sat back down in his car and opened the newly bought newspaper. Nothing...nothing...page 20. Something. As he read the article, Nick's eyes widened. He grabbed his cell phone and dialled. After two long rings, Grissom answered.

"Grissom."

"Hey- It's, It's Nick, I think- I need you to come down to CSI now- It's important, I...I think Greg's in danger!"

There was a pause.

"Nick, Calm down, I'll be there as soon as I can, I'll call Cathy."

Nick took a deep breath.

"Ok, see you in a little while."

*               *                *                 *                 *                 *                 *                *                

The five CSI's each read the article:

'MURDERER RELEASED AFTER 16 YEARS