Sins
- by BiSciFiGuy -
Pairing: Nick S. & Greg S.
Genre: Action/Romance
Rating: T (Minor violence and minor gay themes)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations or anything. No copyright infringement is intended.
The night had started like any other, the team arrived and got settled for the few moments they had to themselves before the calls came in. Like any other night the team met in the briefing room and discussed various subjects, in the lab the technicians got to work on the backlog from the day-shift. Like any other night coffee was brewing in the break room, cigarettes were being smoked in the near vacant parking lot… and murderers were out in the city, prowling around for a victim or two, so still pretty much a night like any other.
Except this night wasn't going to be like the other nights, the day had been the hottest of the year, the city was at it's most crowded, the streets flooded with people. This night was unlike others because the CSI team would be working very hard, stretched to their limits but most importantly this night would be unlike others because by morning two of the team's lives would be changed, changed in ways neither of them had ever though possible.
Nick sighed as he and Grissom stepped from the vehicle outside the door of a small room in a dirty motel. Inside awaited yet another horror, another blood spattered room, another life cut short by someone who didn't get their way, didn't consider the value of another life, didn't understand…
Grissom was talking to the manager and Nick stepped within earshot.
"At what time did they arrive?".
"Around nine, they paid for the night with cash and slipped off".
"Anything strange about them?".
"No, they were just like most couples who come here for a dirty night of passion".
"You assume they were lovers?". Grissom asked in his non committal way.
"Look man, I worked at a place that renter rooms by the hour, I know when people come to sleep and when they come to… do more than that". Nick watched Grissom raise his eyebrows and he smiled, Grissom's face could tell you a thousand stories just by the simple act of arching the eyebrows, or the corner of his mouth twisting up. He turned towards Nick and nodded, Nick smiled and walked off to the scene. It was the last room of the set, the door stood open and Nick could smell blood as he came close.
He took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold and into the utter chaos of the room. The coroner looked up from the bodies and greeted him.
"They were pronounced by the paramedics outside if you want to talk to them". He said before stepping past Nick out into the warm night. Nick surveyed the room, it was garishly green and tacky, the light grey carpet looked old but was still thick.
On the bed in the centre of the room lay a naked young man, probably only nineteen years old, he lay on his stomach, towards the door, his legs on the bed, his upper body hanging over the side, leaving his head twisted at a strange angle on the floor, the right shoulder touching his cheek. Blood had pooled around his head, turning the carpet into a wet red mass. Nick could just see one of his blue eyes, the other hidden by the blood flow. Nick swallowed and walked around the bed, in the direction of the bathroom.
Near the bathroom door lay another young man, maybe two or three years older than his friend. He was wearing black boxers. He lay on his back on the dirty floor, his eyes staring up at the ceiling, an exit wound displayed itself on his chest, surrounded by six or seven thin streams of blood. Nick sighed again and his eye caught something, something about this boy looked familiar… He looked at the boy again, more closely. His eyes were dark brown, the eyebrows neatly sculpted above, his lightly tanned skin seemed almost creamy… Nick stared at the face, still unable to place it. He looked towards the wall above the kid's head and he noticed the hair, it was spiked, some of the spikes dyed blonde, there was blood on the hair but it was unmistakeable. Nick frowned and then it hit him.
"Greg". He mumbled and felt his stomach nearly give out. The kid looked like Greg. Nick felt himself slipping away for a moment, his mind numbed at the though of Greg, one of his friends, being dead. Obviously it wasn't Greg but still… Nick thought.
"Are you okay Nicky?". Grissom asked beside him and he jumped, startled.
"What?".
"Are you okay, you look like you've seen a ghost?". Grissom's eyebrows arched again.
"Yeah, no. I'm fine. It's just…". Grissom looked at the boy Nick was staring at, he twisted his head to one side and placed a hand on Nick's shoulder.
"He does look a lot like him you know".
"What?". Immediately Nick felt defensive, he had never told anyone, not even Grissom about what had happened to him in the last few years. No one had to know, it was his business but he suddenly realised that maybe Grissom had already figured it out, him being Grissom after all.
"The boy, he looks like Greg". Grissom said, almost thoughtfully as they got to work, gathering as much evidence as possible from the scene before and after the coroner took the bodies to the morgue.
"Grissom, are you guys done here yet, we got a hit off that number plate the manager copied down". Brass said in the doorway and Nick looked up at Grissom. Grissom looked up from the wallet he had just found under the bedside table.
"The kid by the bathroom in Gareth Henderson". Grissom said, not reacting to Brass' words.
"Really, that's interesting, because the car the manager mentioned seems to belong to his father, you coming?". Brass asked again.
"Yeah, we're done here". As they drove towards the house where the car was registered Grissom quickly filled Nick in on how the motel manager had seen a car speed off into the darkness moments after he had heard the shots. Thankfully the man had had enough sense to copy the number plate.
They arrived at the up-class home of one John Henderson and his family. Grissom's knock on the door was quickly answered by a short balding man who identified himself as Mr. Henderson. They stepped into the living room and the man's wife joined them.
"Mr Henderson, this is about you're son…". Grissom began.
"Oh no, what has he done now?".
"Why would you assume that he has done something?". Mr Henderson swallowed and turned to his wife.
"Well, since he… since he… well…".
"I believe it's called coming out". Nick said slowly and the man nodded.
"Yes, since he "came out", Gareth has been acting more and more rebellious and has developed the tendency to be, well, angry and he's been arrested for vandalism a few times". The man's wife grunted and turned her head away.
"You seem dissatisfied ma'am?". Grissom said and she grunted again, walking from the room and into what he suspected was an office.
"My wife has had some trouble accepting our son for who he is, we are in therapy with him, but it's still hard".
"Yes, having a child come out must be hard for any parent". Grissom looked the man straight in the eyes. Mr Henderson leaned forward.
"I don't mean to sound like I don't love my wife but I do think she is the reason for my son's vagrancy, his behavioural problems".
"Why would you say that?". Grissom looked positively captivated.
"Well, she has a hard time accepting him and the other day when he brought home his boyfriend she was positively livid". He sighed and looked at the hallway.
"Gareth stormed out of here, the other boy in tow, a rather nice boy I must admit, he seemed a good match for Gareth".
"So you and your wife were at odds about your son's sexuality?". Grissom asked, his voice soft and caring.
"Yes, I don't care who he is with as long as he's here, but Claudia, she was brought up in a strict home and she can't see past what she believes". Grissom nodded to Nick, who stood up and with the permission of the husband went off into the house to question the wife.
"Did your wife ever threaten your son in…".
"Excuse me Mr. Grissom, I don't see what my wife's views on homosexuality have to do with my son's vandalism". Grissom sighed.
"Sir, I am afraid that our call here has nothing to do with vandalism. It seems your son and his boyfriend were murdered in a motel tonight". The man opposite Grissom seemed to fade away, all colour draining from him, leaving him a mere sketch of the man he had been.
"What?, Are you sure?".
"Yes, and someone saw your car driving away from the scene only seconds after other patrons at the motel heard gunshots".
"Gunshots! Oh my god. They were shot".
"Yes sir".
"And you think me or my wife did it". Grissom nodded.
"We would like to take a look at your car if you don't mind". Mr. Henderson remained on the couch, his breath rasping in his throat. He looked at Grissom, then at Brass.
"I… I don't know what I'm supposed to do".
"Let us see the car and we will either prove or disprove that it was at the scene".
"No, that's not necessary, there is no doubt in my mind that my wife did it". The bald man's head suddenly turned bright red and he scrambled to his feet.
"Claudia, you bitch, did you take him…". He never got more words out as an explosion from the back of the house cut into his words and drowned them out, it was followed by a shattering of glass that could be heard in the silence after the gunshot. Brass and Grissom were on their feet in a second and rushed towards the hallway just as second and third shots vibrated the walls and the portraits along them.
"Nicky!". Grissom shouted as he rushed into the study at the end of the hall. Claudia lay on the floor in front of a big oak desk, blood bubbling from the wound in her head. Grissom didn't even notice her past a cursory glance because all he could think of was Nick… Nick who was laying between four steel poles, a pile of glass under and around him, many of the shards stained red, like the glass in church windows. Grissom rushed forward and dropped down next to Nick just as he heard Brass making the call for an ambulance. Nick was breathing hard, the two wounds in his chest leaking his life onto his shirt.
"Nicky, are you okay?".
"Oh god Griss, I think she got…". His head lolled to one side.
"Nicky, stay with me, come on".
"Griss, I have to tell… I need to say…". Grissom cradled Nick's head as he felt Nick's body go weak.
"Just hold on Nicky, just hold on and you can tell him yourself". Grissom nearly begged as Nick went limp in his arms.
A week had passed since that night and the CSI team were sitting around the break room, it was a slow night, it seemed no one was killing anyone else tonight. The coffee was brewing again, filling the room with it's pleasing scent. Comforting them as they ate their lunches. In the lab Greg was finishing up a report on fibres Sara had found on her case the previous night. He was amazed at how quiet the building was, how quiet the whole night was. He had nothing to do, nothing!.
After finishing the report he looked at the clock, it was only eleven o'clock, so many more hours!.
"If it doesn't pick up soon I'm going to lose my mind". He whispered to himself as he pressed play on his machine and heard Marilyn Manson pouring out over the tiny speakers. He suddenly felt the urge to dance, and dance he did. The whole room was his stage he imagined, and beyond the glass walls that enclosed him he imagined his audience…
Little did any of his new friends know, but Greg had worked himself through college by dancing, not just dancing but dancing like Cath had danced. No one knew but he had been a stripper for most of the years he was studying, a stripper in a hot gay club where he had been the prize meat, the stripper everyone wanted to see, the one that everyone wanted to have. He had felt so powerful, dancing on the stage in his tight leather pants, the pole allowing him to be almost weightless Giving him the power to seduce the men who came to see him. For a moment Greg was back there, he felt the rush again. Looking around the lab he saw no one and grabbed the pole near the back of the room, spinning into wild turns, thrusting against it, making love to it. His muscles rejoiced at feeling the old strain he had put on them every night and he felt himself settle into his routine easily.
"That's some good moves you got there Greg". Someone said behind him and he felt his heart skip a beat, he nearly let go of the pole mid swing almost crashed to the floor, his face turning beet red as he turned to face Cathrine.
"um… Well… I try, you know". Cathrine smiled at him and he blushed more.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of Greg, how long did you dance?". She asked conversationally. Checking him up and down, as though assessing him.
"About four years". She grinned at him.
"Very nice, that move you did just before I interrupted you…".
"Yeah?".
"Where did you learn it?".
"From this guy who danced with me, Donovan. He said he'd learned it from some woman".
"Well Greg", Cathrine smiled "That, was my signature move".
"Really?". Greg didn't feel so embarrassed now.
"Yeah, glad it helped you".
"Thanks, is there anything else I can do for you, or were you just watching the show?".
"Yes actually, I was wondering if you'd seen him".
"No, why?".
"Because I heard he was here, Sara saw him just before she and Warrick went out on call but he hasn't been near any of us". Greg felt his heart skip a beat.
"No, did you check the office?".
"Yeah, he wasn't there, he was here for a reason, I checked the log book and he signed in but he didn't sign out so he has to be somewhere around here".
"I have some time, I can help you look for him". Cath nodded and they split up, intent on searching the entire building.
Greg suddenly realised that the reason the place had been so still was because the team had been broken up, ever since the incident with the Henderson woman nothing had been the same. The entire building was empty without him and, as Greg had realised a few days after it happened, his own life felt empty. Greg had been attracted to him but had never dared to act, no one knew… except for Cathrine, who knew now. He had hidden it well, maybe too well.
Greg walked through the offices and labs, looking for him and Greg realised that he was missing him, his presence had always made Greg feel comfortable, but alas he was nowhere in the building and Greg sighed, he decided to check the office one more time even though Cath had checked it earlier.
As he walked towards the creepy little room with all the preserved animals and insects and an assortment of other strange object he saw a shadow behind the stained glass, for a moment he was unsure of whether it was a person or just one of the shelves but then it moved and Greg couldn't keep his excitement in anymore, he rushed to the office and threw open the door.
"You're back, I knew…". His words stuck in his throat.
"Greg, I've always been here". Grissom replied even though he didn't look up from the beetle he was studying. Greg felt his heart sink.
"I thought he was here". He mumbled and Grissom looked up, Greg turned to leave and Grissom spoke to behind him.
"You know Greg, Sometimes people just need a new perspective, a better view, before they commit to change". Greg left the office and headed back to the lab, he would search the whole damn building again until he found him.
"Damn it". He whispered as he stepped into the lab again, he looked at the pole and it dawned on him.
"A better view!". He almost yelled as he ran down the hall, between labs and offices, getting curious glances from many of the other staff members. He reached the door and flung it open, it banged against the wall as he flew up the stairs towards the roof. The upper door was thrown open just as violently and Greg surveyed the scene for a second before spotting him, standing opposite the door, staring out over the city.
"Nick!" Greg yelled and stormed towards him. Nick turned just as Greg reached him, for a moment Greg stood undecided in front of him then crushed the bigger guy in a hug. Careful not to press too hard against the wounds or the arm in it's sling.
"Man, how'd you know how to find me?".
"Grissom gave me a bit of a riddle to solve, you know how he is".
"Yeah", Nick smiled, "He tells you the right answer but you never know you got it until you've though about it for a while". The both laughed.
"Grissom said you were getting perspective up here, I hope you're not planning on leaving the team… are you?". Greg looked up at Nick.
"No, hardly. I'll never be able to leave this place. I'm just thinking about what happened".
"What exactly did happen Nick?". For a moment it looked as though Nick might refuse to answer but just as Greg was ready to change the subject Nick took a deep breath and sighed heavily.
"I came here today to talk to someone about exactly that, but I got talking to Grissom instead and he gave me a new perspective on it". Greg just nodded.
"For a long time now I have been feeling rather empty on the inside, like something was missing, and the incident with the Henderson woman made me realise just what exactly that was". He turned to Greg, the sun was just coming up, the first golden shafts of light shooting up into the dark sky. Nick took another deep breath and Greg noticed that he was shaking, he had never seen Nick nervous before and it scared him.
"The last time someone pointed a gun at me, I could think of nothing except the fact that I didn't want to die, yet after we found those kids in the motel room, I stood in that house, staring into the black barrel and all I could think of was…". Nick went silent, his eyes seemed to glaze over and he seemed to be thinking hard about something.
"What were you thinking about Nick?". Greg asked, fearing Nick might slip away into the recesses of his mind forever if someone didn't rescue him.
"I was thinking… about… about this". Nick leaned forward and touched his lips gently to Greg's, it was barely a touch at first then he leaned in further, pressing himself against Greg, his lips crushing against the younger man's. Greg stood shocked, his mind racing. What is happening, what is he doing, oh my god… Nick is kissing me!. He heard himself yell in his own head, unable to make a coherent thought, he reached up and grabbed Nick's shoulders, careful again of the wounds and mustered up all his energy, he felt his muscles tense as he readied himself to push Nick away.
He felt Nick's tongue brush against his lips and he felt the panic rise even more. What is he doing!. His brain yelled. Greg felt his whole body going rigid and then he gave way, felt himself slip into the kiss. He melted into Nick's arms and accepted the hungry kisses with his own hungry tongue shooting into Nick's mouth, begging for more. Nick's good arm slipped around Greg's shoulders and pulled him close. Greg could feel Nick's hard body against his own, the muscles in the bigger man's body twitching with what could only be described as happiness. Nick pulled away and Greg immediately felt the loss, it was as though Nick was suddenly missing from his life again.
"I wanted to do that the whole time the gun was in my face".
"Wow, It seems people should try to shoot you more often". Greg joked and Nick embraced him, hard. He felt his friend begin to shake, a choked back sob escaping his lips. Greg just held Nick as he wept, letting go of all the pain he had felt for so long. After the heaviest sobs and tears were gone Greg pulled away and looked Nick in the eye, using his thumb to wipe away the last remaining tears.
"So now you've kissed me, does it mean that we're…".
"Yeah, if you want to be". Nick replied and Greg nodded.
"I've been hoping for something like this for a while". Greg whispered and lifted himself to kiss Nick again. He was amazed at how good Nick tasted. Nick reached down and took Greg's hand and led him down the stairs.
In the break room the team was preparing to depart, their shift over. Sara and Warrick were both standing by the microwave, watching their breakfast heat up, their missing persons case had turned out to be nothing more than a woman out on the town with her boyfriend while her husband was supposed to be on a business trip. Catherine was sitting at the table, reading a message on her mobile. Grissom stepped into the room and looked at the three of them. He smiled and cleared his throat.
"It seems we have had one of the least exciting nights ever". Catherine smiled and turned to him.
"I'm not so sure it's going to be boring for much longer, the excitement is coming down the hall". Just then Greg and Nick stepped into the room, they saw everyone light up at seeing the injured Nick. Sara smiled broadly.
"Nick!, you're back…".
"And you're holding Greg's hand?". Warrick interrupted her. All attention turned to the two of them, standing hand in hand in the doorway. Catherine had a knowing smile on her face, Warrick looked shocked, Sara interested while Grissom just stood there, looking calmly at them.
"You knew, all along didn't you?". Nick asked.
"Yes Nick, Greg, it's my job to know". Grissom smiled and the new couple turned back towards the stares.
"So, I guess we have something to tell you". Nick said as he smiled at Greg while squeezing his hand.