Ellie and Gibbs sat silently for what felt like an eternity, barely daring to breathe as they held Nick between them. Between all the blood on the left side of his face, the ashen pallor of his usually warm brown skin and the fact that he never stirred, Ellie found herself having to constantly remind herself that Nick was still alive in her arms. That if she could just hold on to him long enough, everything would be fine.

But despite her reminders, she still found herself staring hard at his chest, waiting to see the telltale rise and fall of his breath. She held her own as she watched, as if she could keep him breathing simply by refusing to take any air for herself.

Gibbs was like stone at her side, only peeling his eyes away from Nick long enough to check his watch once. And then, finally, salvation. Sirens sounded in the near-distance, growing louder by the second. They didn't dare move Nick, so Ellie stayed behind while Gibbs left to go back to the road, to guide the paramedics in.

The next few hours passed in a blur of sirens and multicolored lights. When the medics had gone to lift Nick from Ellie's arms, she had opened her mouth to snarl at them, but a calming hand on her shoulder from Gibbs had stilled her protective instincts. Instead she had let them take him from her, had let Gibbs help her to her feet, and had let him lead her from those blood-infested woods.

As Nick was loaded into the back of the ambulance, Ellie had reluctantly started toward the car, but Gibbs stopped her with a murmured, "Bishop."

She looked at him, seeing that he suddenly looked older than she'd ever seen him.

"Go with him," Gibbs said quietly.

Her heart leapt, and without a second glance she climbed into the ambulance behind the paramedic. She took the seat next to the stretcher and leaned forward closely.

"We're almost home, Nick," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. "Stay with me."

His brow furrowed slightly, almost as if he heard her voice and was trying find her in the dark.

"I'm here," she said. "I've got you."

She held Nick's hand the entire way to the hospital.

-(x)-

Stay with me.

Nick tried to turn his head to look for where the voice was coming from, but his body refused to cooperate.

Stay… where? he thought.

What happened? The last thing he remembered was falling… falling… down through the forest floor and sinking into the darkness beneath. All the pain was snuffed like a candle flame and everything was still. But now…

Nick listened, his ears slowly picking up on random sounds, like a machine slowly rebooting. Soft beeping nearby. The hush of air from a vent overhead. Incoherent voices somewhere behind a wall.

He felt the pain then, but it was dull now, as if someone had skillfully packed it all away in cotton and wool. His head was a dull throb, his arm barely more than a muffled twinge. He was warm. His body was cradled in something soft.

Nick opened his eyes.

Light assaulted him, forcing him to blink heavily a few times until his vision cleared. He swallowed heavily, throat dry as a bone. He blinked again, shifting slightly as his muscles slowly woke up. A little above him to the left, a machine monitored his vital signs, the beeps steadily increasing beat by beat as his body came back to itself.

To his right, someone drew in a sharp breath. There was a rustle of paper and the muted thunk of a book being shut.

"Nick?"

Gingerly he turned his head toward the voice, the same one that had called to him in the dark.

Ellie's face split into a grin, her eyes were red-rimmed and tired. She leaned forward in the chair next to his bed, a book resting on her lap. "Hey."

Nick blinked at her. "Hey," he whispered back, his voice hoarse and thin.

"It's OK, you're in the hospital," she said slowly, taking one of his hands in hers.

"Figured," he choked. "How… long?"

Her smile flickered. "You've been unconscious for four days. Kinda had us worried there for a while."

Memories from that night, the one he thought for sure would be his last, trickled in faster and faster. He swallowed again, trying to tamp down the fear that had begun to rise unbidden in his chest.

"Hicks?"

She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "It's over, Nick. You got him."

The fear that maybe he'd been wrong, that maybe the monster had survived somehow, receded. Nick let out a long breath.

Ellie leaned down a planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. He looked up at her, startled.

"What… was that for?"

She smiled. "For not making me have to find a new partner. We'd just gotten you broken in! It would have sucked to have had to train another newbie just because you'd gone and gotten yourself killed. Don't you ever do that again. Got it?"

Nicked smirked up at her. "Got it."

THE END

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who read / reviewed this story! It's been super fun. ^ _ ^ I first started writing Rule 48 because there was so little Nick fic out there, so if you have any recommendations for other fics to read, please share! I have an idea for another fic already brewing, so I hope to start posting that soon. And if you have any Nick-centric requests or challenges for fics you'd like to see, I'd love to hear them! Feel free to send my way. Thanks again, love you all!