Disclaimer: I do not own CSI. If I did, then things would be a whole lot different.

Thanks to my Beta Alethea27 for all her help in editing. Here it is, the long awaited third chapter! Many of you must have thought I had abounded this story since I hadn't updated it for so long while I updated my other works. That's part of it the other being the numerous computer issues that have been plaguing me for the past two and a half years. But now I intend to give this story the attention it deserves.

The characters of Dr. Goodson and this is Nurse Wittney are of my own creation and not based on any actual persons.

Ascension: to rise, the meaning of this chapter's name.

Chapter Three Ascension

Nick Stokes knew he was dead. In his mind he knew it had to be true. There was no way he could have survived the hell of that Plexiglas box which had now become his tomb. Walter Gordon's chilling words of doom that played from the tape player and heard swirled in his head as he screamed and used his hands and feet to strike at the wall. Eventually his voice became raw after yelling and his fist scrapped as he banged against the walls and he realized that there was going to be no escape. He recorded his goodbyes to his family, his friends and most importantly to Greg. Then things got worse, as the fire stinging ants plagued him with their blistering bites.

Finally, beaten both physical and mentally, his face covered in sweat and his body weaken by thirst, swollen bites, and the weakness of his limbs Nick was ready to turn the gun on himself and end the misery. With tears in his eyes and the gun the pointed gun at his chin, Nick wrapped his finger around the trigger. On the count of three he would pull the trigger. He did not hear the gun go off but he knew he pulled the trigger.

So when he heard the sounding of shovels hitting the top of the box and the dirt being wiped away and he could see Grissom's face staring down at him, telling him that they were going to get his out of there, it was all false. The next time he opened his eyes, he saw the blurry faces of Warrick and Catherine and again he knew it was not real. He had pulled the trigger of the gun he had been buried with and ended his life. That was going to be the only way he was ever going to be free. Free of all the pain but not free to once again to take Greg in his arms and kiss him. No, he would never again be able to hold the man he loved.

The darkness was slowing giving way to a blur of white light. Slowly, the Texan became conscious that he was no longer in the box as his skin felt cool and not caked in dirt. He inhaled fresh air rather than the stale air he had been forced to breathe in before. Nick could feel a severe pounding in his head and the soreness of his limbs when he tried to raise his arm. He tried to think, but found his mind was foggy and it hurt to form a cognitive thought. As his eyes adjusted to the dim and his vision focused, he saw that he was in a dimly lit room and lying in a bed covered with white sheets. Looking down, Nick saw not only the red welts caused by the fire ants but a pair of IVs had been inserted into his right arm and a hospital I.D bracelet had been placed on his wrist.

'I'm…I'm alive?' Nick though as his mind started to clear. 'I'm in a hospital? But…how?'

Turning his head, Nick saw that he was indeed in a hospital room and a privet one at that. The only sounds were the monitors he now saw he was hooked up to. To his left was a small table with a small lamp which was solo source of light and there, sitting by his bedside was his mother. She appeared to be half way nodding off. Nick then saw his father standing by the window, looking out but not really at anything in particular. The inky sky told him it was night and the lights of the Strip were just visible in the distance.

Licking his dry and cracked lips, Nick gathered what limited strength he had and managed to croak out a word he never thought he would be able to again. "Mama?"

Jillian's head shot up at once. "Oh Nick," she exclaimed with joy when she saw her youngest son was conscious and went to hug him.

"Poncho," William called out when he heard his wife and rushed to her side to embrace his son.

"Crisco, Wha…" Nick rasped but was unable to finish. His voiced sounded raw and he noticed for the first time how dry it felt.

"Shhhh Dear," Jillian said soothingly as she ran her fingers through is hair. "You're in the hospital. Just relax."

"I'll go get the doctor," Judge Stokes said and left the room in a hurry.

"Mama…"

Jillian placed a kiss to her son's forehead. "It's alright dear. Everything's going to be okay."

Nick's dad returned with the doctor and a nurse a few minutes. He and Jillian stepped away from their son so the doctor, a middle-aged woman with curly brown hair could attend to him while the nurse, a young man in his twenties started to check on Nick's vitals.

"It's good to see you awake, Mr. Stokes. I'm Dr. Goodson and this is Nurse Wittney. Please, save your strength," she said when Nick tried to push himself up to speak. "First of all, you're at Desert Palms. You've been sedated since you were admitted so you wouldn't harm yourself and you wouldn't pull out your IVs. You're being treated for dehydration, heat exhaustion, fatigued, Charlie horses, weak muscle tone and mild malnutrition. We also put you on a course of anti-toxin to counteract the effects of the Fire Ants. Now I know you have many questions and I'm happy to answer them but they'll going to have to wait while I check you out."

Nick nodded and the doctor and nurse started to check him out. His parents sat in silence as Dr. Goodson and tested his reflexes. Nick tried his best when he was asked to push back when Nurse Wittney had him push with his hands and move his arms and legs, but he felt as if he'd failed. Yet Dr. Goodson did not seem disappointed.

"Everything is looking good," Dr. Goodson said as she wrote the results on Nick's chart. "Your reflexes are good and we can start to ease you off the medication in couple of days if you continue at this pace. For the moment, we'll keep your medication at the current dose. Now, I would like you to rest and start building up your strength, but we'll talk later. Alright?"

"Yes," Nick answered.

"Good. Now if you need anything in the meantime, Nurse Wittney will be here for you. You rest for now and I will see you in the morning. Goodnight Nick. Mr. and Mrs. Stokes.

"If you need anything, just buzz," Nurse Wittney said motioning to the call button and quietly left the room behind the doctor. Once they were alone, his parents returned to their son's bedside.

Judge Stokes put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "I texted your brothers and sisters and told them you were awake. They'll be here tomorrow afternoon and we'll call your friends at the lab tomorrow too. Is there's anything we can get you, Poncho?"

The only thing he wanted to say was Greg but he heard himself say "Water," instead.

"Here," Jillian said as she reached for a cup with a straw and brought the straw up to her son's lips. After Nick had drunk as much as he could, she put the cup down and gently wiped away the water that had dribbled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks," Nick exhaled as he leaned back against his pillow. He could feel the medication starting to take effect

"Just close your eyes and relax," his mother told him as she took his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. We'll be here in the morning."

"Okay."

Slowly, Nick allowed his eyes to fall shut and he was thankful for the fact that when he opened them he would not find himself back in the Plexiglas box. He could feel the medication starting to take effect and the room started to fill with darkness. The last thing he saw before he was claimed by the darkness were the faces of his parents but he knew in his mind he would have preferred the face of Greg. So much had happened to him. He had risen from the depths of Hell and now he only longed to be in the arms of his own angel to help him heal properly.

"You're improving at a very remarkable rate Nick," Dr. Goodson said with a smile after she had tested Nick on his reflexes a full week later after he had regained conscious.

"Thanks Doc," Nick said after he washed down the pills he had been given with a drink of water. "I guess it's the Texas in me. I'm just too stubborn to meet defeat."

"I believe so," the doctor replied with a chuckle. "But just remember not to push yourself too hard. I know you want to get out of here as fast as you can but you still need to build up your strength and stamina."

"Yes ma'am."

Doctor Goodson smiled and left after she told him that she would see him again a few hours. After she left, Nick sighed and turned on the TV and started going through the channels. After the third round of channel surfing, Nick came across a basketball game and settled on that. Nick was relived to be alone again. The peace and quiet was something lacking and Nick soon found himself craving it more and more each day. In the days since he woke up, he had had a steady stream of visitors that included his family along with numerous doctors and nurses. Eventually, Nick found it difficult to deal with all the people standing and hovering about him. They kept asking him how he was feeling and if he needed anything. And while the CSI was thankful to have his family at his side those first hard days but even they were starting to get on his nerves even though he knew they did not intend to. It was just another constant reminder of what he had gone through and of how still weak he was. If there was one thing Nick hated more than pity it was the feeling of weakness.

That is why earlier that morning, Nick persuaded his family to go out and enjoy some of Vegas' attractions rather than spending all their time watching him lie about in a hospital bed. His siblings and dad thought that was a good idea but their mother thought otherwise. Nick was able to convince her he would be alright for a few hours on his own and she agreed on the condition that she could call him to check up on him. To which he agreed. The Stokes family left, leaving Nick with peace and quiet for a while before Dr. Goodson came in. The only time he did not mind being surrounded by a large group of people was when Greg and the rest of the team visited him the afternoon of the second full day after he had woken up in the hospital.

-Several days ago-

Nick had been resting when he heard a knock at his door. When it opened, he saw the smiling faces of his coworkers and Nick smiled truly for the first time. Catherine and Sara brought flower and kissed him on the cheek as soon as they were at his side while Warrick grasped his hand and leaned in for a manly hug. Grissom clasped him on the shoulder and gave a gently squeeze. Nick was happy to see everyone but it was Greg he wanted to see the most. When it was Greg's turn, the young CSI carefully took his hand and patted him on the shoulder quickly before stepping away. Nick knew that if possible, Greg would have taken him in his arms and not let go. Yet since their friends did not know about them, all he could do was act like he was just Nick's friend and not his boyfriend. During the visit, Greg remained in the background, silent and tense, but Nick could see the urge to rush directly to his side in his eyes. As a result, Nick did his best to tell Greg how he felt with his eyes and Greg relaxed.

"Ecklie is reinstating all of us as back on Third Shift," Grissom told him after a few minutes of talking.

"That's great news," Nick replied. Now he and Greg would be back on the same shift again and be able to spend more time with each other rather than one of them being at work during the day and the other sleeping before getting ready for the night shift.

"Well actually it was all Grissom's doing," Catherine said. "He told Ecklie point blank he wanted all of us back on the same team again and he wasn't going to take no for an answer."

Warrick let out a chuckle. "He basically put the screws to Ecklie, that night. I don't think Ecklie would have stood a chance had he told Griss no. And I've got the feeling he won't try to break us up again."

"So guess something good did come out of all this," Nick stated with a half smile.

"He also wanted me to tell you that he'll be by sometime later to talk about you about returning to work," Grissom added.

Nick nodded. He was not looking forward to that visit. "Will you be here when he does?"

"Of course," the supervisor answered.

"Thanks, Griss."

"Is there anything we can get you in the meantime, Nicky?" Sara asked.

There was that question again. Nick knew she was just trying to be helpful but it still annoying. "Yah," he told her. "You can tell me what happened that night."

His friends looked at each other with concern.

"I think that's a conversation for another day Nick," Grissom began in calm voice. "You're still recovering and you don't need the stress."

"Yeah man," Warrick said as he rubbed the back of his neck, an action he did when he was nervous. "Now isn't the time for that."

Nick turned and looked at Catherine and Sara. "Well, what do you two think? Do you agree with them? That I'm too fragile to handle the details how I was drugged then buried alive for twenty-four agonizing hours?"

"I have to agree with Grissom," Sara answered. "You don't need to hear all that now."

"He needs to know," Greg suddenly interjected, surprising everyone in the room.

Catherine looked at the young CSI and shook her head. "Greg, I -"

"Told me exactly what caused the lab explosion," Greg interrupted her, "and you didn't wait weeks till I was out of the hospital. You told me that very night, Cath and because of that, I didn't have to torture myself with the idea that I caused that explosion."

Catherine knew Greg was right and looked over at Grissom who nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Nick," the supervisor began, "I'll start at the beginning."

They each took turns telling the horrific story, taking over for one another when they got overwhelm by the details. As they spoke, Nick listened to them in disbelief. Everything he went through all because one man had been upset with his daughter being sent to jail. When he heard how they witnessed Walter Gordon blow himself up, never intending to accept the ransom or reveal where he had buried Nick, the Texan was at a loss for words. He could see the agony in Greg's eyes when he spoke of how he thought he had found Nick but only to learn it was just the remains of a dog Gordon had practiced on. Grissom concluded, telling of how they rushed to the nursery and dug till they found him and saved him.

When they were finished, Nick did not say anything for several minutes. Finally, he looked at his friends, Greg in particular and said, "Thank you for telling me. I…I can't thank you enough for everything you all did. For not…giving up."

"We love you Nick. We could never give up on you," Catherine told him.

"I think that's enough for today," Grissom spoke up. "We should head on out."

"Good idea," Warrick said in agreement. "You take it easy, Nicky. Try not to make all the nurses faint when it's time for you to give you a sponge bath."

"No problem," Nick replied as he grasped his friend's hand.

Catherine and Sara both gave him a kiss. "We'll come by again later," Sara told him.

"Call if you need anything," Catherine said before she followed Warrick and Sara out the door.

Nick nodded then noticed Greg and how he had not moved from the spot he had been rooted to during the course of the entire visit. The young man was biting his lip and had a conflicted look in his eyes.

"Greg, are you coming?" Grissom asked as he held the door open.

"I'm coming," Greg quickly answered and hurried over to the door where he stopped and turned back to Nick. "I'll be by later when I can get a chance. Call me if you need anything Nicky. I'm glad you're alright."

Nick understood what Greg had truly meant. "Thanks, G. For everything."

Greg smiled but it was a woeful smile. He left without another word. Grissom gave Nick a final nod and closed the door behind him, leaving Nick alone. He only had to wait a few minutes before his family arrived.

-End Flashback-

Nick had been visited several more times by the team in the days that followed along with the lab techs including Hodges. Warrick, Catherine and Sara had even spent the night with Nick so his parents could get some rest themselves and they were both thankful for the offer and glad that their son had such caring friends. While Nick was glad to have his family and friends there at his side, the only one he wanted to be alone with was Greg. He wanted Greg to be the one who was constantly there at his side, holding his hand, the one he woke up to see after one of many nightmares he was starting to have of waking back up in the box and feeling the ants crawl over him.

Having lost interest in the game, Nick turned off the TV and closed his eyes. Gradually, he could feel the medication taking effect and he started to fall asleep. In his last moments of conscious, the Texan knew that the next time he opened his eyes; he would see the faces of those who cared for him but not the face of the person he cared for most in the world.

Hours later, Nick awoke but he kept his eyes close as he felt another presence in the room. He knew the moment he opened them that whoever was in the room would immediately start to fuss over him, asking him what he needed and then the doctors and nurses would enter and start checking him out again. So for the moment, he faked still being sleep but used his other senses to determine who was sitting by his bedside.

Not hearing the TV told the CSI that none of his brothers or Warrick was there, as they tended to watch sports. He also didn't hear any quiet talking or whispering so that ruled out his sisters. There was no gentle turning of magazine or book pages which meant it was not Sara or Catherine. And not hearing the soft sound of a pencil being tapped against a tablet of paper meant Grissom was not there going over paper work or making notes. And not smelling his mother's perfume, Nick concluded that his father was watching over him. While he deeply wished it was Greg who was at his side, Nick was okay with his father as he knew the man would not fuss over him so much as the others were prone to doing. Just as Nick was set to open his eyes; he felt a hand take his. It was strong hand but it held his gently. Then he felt a thumb softly stroking his hand's backside, careful as to not aggravate his blisters covered skin. Opening his eyes, Nick saw it was not his father at his side and holding his hand.

"Greg?" he called out in surprise when his eyes focused.

"Hey Nicky," the young CSI answered with a warm loving smile. Nick could tell Greg had not had a decent night's sleep in days. Greg looked exhausted. His hair was unkempt and there were dark circles under his eyes which were dull and lifeless.

Before Nick could speak, Greg leaned and pressed his lips to Nick's and the two finally kiss for what seemed like ages. Nick felt Greg's tongue move across his lips and he allowed it to slip into his mouth. Gathering his strength, Nick reached up and cupped the back of Greg's neck and pulled the younger man closer till Greg was on the bed next to him. As their kiss deepened and their tongues gently moved over each other, Greg wrapped one arm around Nick's waist and the other around his neck, being extra careful of his IVs. After what seemed like the greatest kiss the two of them ever shared, the need for air became too great and the two of them reluctantly pulled away from one another.

"I never thought I'd get the chance to do that again.," Nick said as he ran his fingers through Greg's untidy hair.

"Me either," Greg cooed as he traced Nick's cheek with his finger.

"Wait a minuet," Nick suddenly exclaimed in fear as he pulled his hand away from Greg, "you can't be here. My parents might walk in!"

That was all he needed, his parents walking in on their son kissing his boyfriend who they had no idea even existed. Nick had been fearful that his parents would somehow find out about Greg as they were staying at his house. He was afraid they would discover Greg's clothes mixed in with his and everything else Greg had brought over since Greg had all but permanently moved in with him but nothing was ever said. The recovering CSI could only guess that Greg had somehow managed to get in and out with his stuff before his parents got to his place.

"It's alright, Nicky," Greg said as lightly rubbed the Texan's cheek. "It's just you and me tonight. Both your parents are back at your place and your brothers and sisters are at their hotel. And as for Grissom and the rest of the team, they're all working cases to night."

Nick was lost. His family had made it a point that there be someone there with him during the night. "How did you arrange this?"

"It was all Arleen's doing," Greg started to explain with a smile. "She called me a few hours ago. She said that when they got back here, you were already asleep and your mom said she was going to stay the night. Arleen told her that she hadn't had a proper night's sleep in days and to go back to your place with your dad. She didn't want to at first but she managed to persuade her and Arleen told your mom she would stay. Once everyone had left, she called me and I got over here as fast as I could. Since then, we've been sitting right here," Nick then saw the other empty chair next to the one Greg had been sitting in, "keeping you company. Arleen left a while ago to take a stretch and get us something to drink."

"But how can you be here if everyone else is working on cases?"

"I called Grissom and said I need to have the night off otherwise I was going to burn out. He agreed and told me that I could have the next three days off so I could rest up."

"You're really something, you know that, G?"

"Of course I do."

Nick started to grow worried as the smile that had been on Greg's face just moments ago slowly disappeared and was replaced with a grim expression. Even his eyes took on a haunted look as he placed his hand in his lap and fixed his eyes on the white bed sheets.

"I thought...I thought I was going to...to lose you," he uttered in a trembling voice. "When we got the news and then the...the live...live video feed; I was so afraid when I saw you hold up...hold up the gun I..."

Tears started to fall from his eyes and Greg could not go on. As he started to sob, Nick instinctively wrapped his arms around the young CSI and pulled him close. Laying them against his pillow, Nick helped maneuver Greg was lying comfortably and his face was nestled in the crook of Nick's neck.

"Don't think about it anymore, Greg," Nick instructed as he tightened his hold on his trembling boyfriend. "Just don't think about it anymore. I'm safe and we're together again and that's all that matters."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Placing a kiss to the top of Greg's head, Nick continued to hold him as he cried about the almost lost of the man he loved. Slowly but eventually, Greg's shaking and cries subsided and the young man fell asleep due to exhaustion. Nick kept his firm hold on Greg as he too slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep. For the first time in days Nick slept peacefully through the night .

-Author's Note-

I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. As always I'm looking forward to what you thought.

I hope to get a good rotation schedule going with this and my other works to where I get a new chapter done for one and starting working on the others.

Writing this chapter help me get through a difficult time for me this past month Originally this chapter was just going to be from Nick's point of view and end with him waking up to see Greg. Then I added scenes with Arleen and Greg with Nick and eventually the chapter started to get away from the main point so I scaled it back to its current state.

I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks. Have A Happy Easter.