Okay, so this is a post-ep for the Season 2 episode Caged. I recently got it on DVD; Season two is a GREAT season for Labrat!Greg/Nick interraction, huh? In case you're unfamiliar with the episode, the main witness/suspect is an autistic man. There's one scene where Nick asks Grissom why he isn't in custody since he has motive and there's a little bit of evidence. Greg says, "Hey man, he is autistic." The scene cuts off soon after, and this is my version of what happened next. I would love a review, even if you aren't in love with the story! Constructive criticsm is my favorite thing in the world!
"You know, my older sister had autism," Greg said. His voice was casual, but his eyes were fixed on Nick's face in a very serious, steady way. It was making Nick uncomfortable.
"Yeah?" he said, surprised. "I didn't know you had a sister."
"Yeah, 'had' is right." Greg sighed, leaning against the desk. His posture reminded Nick of either a principal, or Grissom. Either way, he was in trouble. "She was murdered, when I was five. She was nine."
The information sent a jolt of surprise into Nick's stomach. He had always wondered why Greg chose this lab to work at. Frankly, working as a researcher would have been a lot cooler. But helping to solve crimes, even in a small way, after his sister was killed… it made sense.
"That's awful."
"You know what happened? We were at the public pool, just when it was supposed to be closing. Our mom was talking to another mom, so Vanessa was hanging out in the bushes, playing hide and seek. There was a teenager there, Gary Delano. His girlfriend was on the swim team, in the pool house. He murdered her, and Vanessa saw. When he noticed, he tried to convince her to lie, say she hadn't seen her, but she couldn't. She needed things to be in order. She just kept saying 'You choked her and she fell, you choked her and she fell'--so he strangled Vanessa too."
Nick suddenly went cold. He hadn't realized… it could be that bad. "I'm sorry," he said finally. His voice was quiet. "Greg, I didn't mean to…"
"Yeah, well." Greg shrugged. "Just be careful, all right? Next time you don't know what you're dealing with."
With a light sigh, he made to move past Nick and out the door. Nick moved without thinking, twisting his body and catching hold of Greg's wrist. Their eyes locked, and he knew that Greg understood. He said it anyway. "I'm sorry, Greggo."
Greg's face softened slightly. Nick felt a momentary relief; he hated seeing Greg disappointed--or unhappy, or angry, or anything besides cheerfully, optimistically happy. So, he did the one thing he thought of that could possibly make Greg happy.
He kissed him.
It was nothing, just a soft brush of lips on lips. There were no fireworks, no spark, no hearts or rainbow starbeams. It was just a kiss.
"So… what was that for?" Greg asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"What was that?" Greg pressed. "An apology? A show of sympathy for my twenty-years-dead sister? What?"
"I… don't know," Nick said bewildered. He hadn't thought that far ahead. "I think… I think it was just a kiss."
"Oh, well if that's all."
Suddenly Nick's head was in Greg's hands, yanking him down. There was another kiss, just long enough for him to feel lips and teeth and tongue clash, and then there was Greg again, smirking just a little bit.
"Just be careful, all right? Next time you don't know what you're dealing with."
He sauntered out, leaving a very jumbled Nick behind him. He really had no idea what he was dealing with, he thought, amused. But he was looking forward to finding out.
