CSI: Till Death Do Us Part: Chapter 1
A/N: AU. Warning: Character deaths. Full cast. Pairings: The Love, Mandy/Wendy, and Yo!Bling. Nick and Greg have finally decided to take the leap and be recognized legally as a couple. But with Ecklie in charge changing the laws and making up new ones as he goes, they find they can't hold onto the dream they'd been waiting for. What will happen as they risk everything, including their friends lives, to go against the law? Told mostly through the eyes of one unlikely witness who sees all and knows all: Lindsay.
I'm hoping everything here makes sense because it is AU. But I think it will. Most everything should be explained subtly over dinner in the first chapter. If something doesn't make sense, please ask! And if it doesn't jeopardize you knowing how this ends, I'll be glad to tell you. I will mention that this is based off an old poem, but I'm not going to tell you what until the end, because I don't want to give anything away. Two things I should explain: in the tv show Firefly, a Shepherd was what they called a minister or a priest. It means the same thing here, I just think it sounds better. Also, when I mention ballet, I mean ballet, and all other forms of dance except the stripping variety, you'll understand when you read. I hope you like this, and please don't forget to post reviews! I love to know how I'm doing. Thanks!
Greg Sanders ran up the stairs to his apartment, still dressed from a hard day at work. Looking at his watch he realized he had only fifteen minutes until they had to be at dinner. He thrust his key into the lock on his apartment door and was surprised when the door opened before he'd even turned the key or the knob.
A most beautiful and familiar sight greeted him as Nick Stokes, also still dressed from his easy day at work, pulled him inside and planted a kiss on his lips before slamming the door shut.
"Hurry up, G. We're gonna be late!" Nick scolded when they pulled apart.
"Sorry, I'm late. I had lots of papers to grade. You're not wearing that, are you?" Greg asked, eyeing Nick's dress clothes.
"Why? What's wrong with it? Why can't I wear this to dinner?
"Because, this is a dinner for friends! We're not going to a romantic dinner at some expensive restaurant. And even then..."
"Alright then, fine. What do you want me to wear?"
Greg ruffled through Nick's clothes in the closet and pulled out his favorite tight black t-shirt and jeans.
"Here," he handed them to Nick.
"Greg, wait. Look at you, you look so good in that, we should both just go as we are."
"You really like it? You think I look good in this? Really?" Greg was surprised, yet again, and he could feel a happy flush creeping across his face. Nick liked his outfit? But of course he did. It wasn't everyday he dressed this good.
"Really," Nick came over to him. "But I have to admit, I am surprised. When do you ever go to work in a suit? I thought you hated suits and I thought you were always afraid of getting chemicals..."
Greg cut him off, "The kids had a test today, so no chemicals involved. I decided to look professorly and I also wanted to turn you on..."
"You sure did that last one alright," Nick mumbled, leaning in for a quick kiss. "What was the test on?"
"Chemical compounds. Stuff you wouldn't understand," Greg said, wishing that Nick's new job didn't mean he got up after Greg had already left for work these days. A morning kiss like this was a wonderful wake-up call.
"Ah, right. Of course."
"I suppose since you like this look on me, you may keep what you've got on and we'll both go dressed up."
"Good."
Out of the corner of his eye Greg saw the overnight bag sitting by the closet, already packed and ready to go. Nick turned to head for the door but Greg pulled him back, his face heating up. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach and knew his hands would be trembling in a moment or two.
"What's wrong, G?" Nick asked, concern on his face and in his voice.
"Do you really have to leave right after dinner tonight?" his own voice sounded shaky and he was worried about turning Nick off to him. But he had to ask.
"Are you saying you don't want this after all?"
"No! Nicky, you know I want this. I want this more than anything in the entire world!" Greg's nerves turned to excitement for just a second. "I just don't understand why you have to go alone, without me."
"Awwww, you know I'll be back as soon as I can. Nothing could keep me from you forever."
"No, it's not really that, I mean, no one can resist the Sander's charm," Greg said, the smile he'd been wearing fading fast. "I mean, I'm worried. He wants you alone. What if..."
"Hey, calm down. Everything's gonna be ok. What he's willing to do for us could get him sent to jail, or even killed. You know that. This can't be a meeting of thousands to give it all away. It has to be secret."
"But three people wouldn't be obvious."
"Greg, honey, I need you to stay here where I know it's safe. If something happens to him, or me, at least I'll know that you're ok."
"It shouldn't have to be like that. And you know this place isn't safe. For either one of us. Remember what Brass did to you last week? It's a miracle you managed to find a new job so quick."
His fingers began to tremble and Nick pulled him into his arms for a tight hug.
"You know it wasn't Brass's fault I got kicked off the force. It went above his head. He told me himself that day if he'd had his way I would have stayed, no matter what."
"But us getting those papers won't make any of this easier. You can't stay at your current job forever. You don't get paid enough. And it's only a matter of time before I lose my job too because of it."
"Hey," Nick lifted Greg's chin so that he could look into the younger man's face. "You love your job. I love seeing the look on your face when you're in that classroom teaching those kids. I will never let them take that away from you. I'll find another job. And if I have to stay where I am, then I will."
"But you loved your job too. Being a cop is what you were, what you are. And they took that away from you so easily. Not even those who support us could stop that. I just want us to be together and safe, Nick. I don't know why I'm getting so worked up about this. It doesn't matter whether you get those papers or not. People know, and we're doomed either way."
"The important thing is that you and I stick together. I'm happy at my job as long as I've got you beside me."
Greg leaned in for another sweet kiss. When he pulled away there was a grin on his face.
"What? What're you laughing at?"
"Willows Dance Studio, this is Nick, how can I help you?" Greg repeated the lines Nick had fed him upon answering the phone at work when he'd called the day before.
"Hey, come on! Besides, that ballet stuff looks hard. I can't imagine bending that way. It's gotta hurt!"
"I'm sorry, Nicky. I love you, you know that right?"
"Of course, G."
"But that's just funny. A guy working in a dance studio as a receptionist...it's...cute..."
"Come on, Romeo, we need to hurry up or else Catherine's gonna beat our asses if we're late."
"Correction, Warrick will beat our asses and Catherine will just stand by and watch with a smile on her face."
A grin matching Greg's creeping across his face, Nick took Greg's hand in his and pulled his boyfriend out the door.
Lindsay Willows, now Lindsay Willows-Brown, viewed herself as The Observer of the rest of the gang. Mainly because she was the youngest at the age of ten and though everyone was like family and saw her as their daughter or niece, they still didn't always see her or pay attention to her. So, she paid attention to them instead. And she learned a lot, just by listening in. If they only knew what she was learning from them, her mother and step-father would both have a heart attack!
Now, she sat at the large dinning room table, sandwiched between her mother and Archie. Only four seats were empty. The rest were filled with her parent's closest friends: Bobby, Wendy, Mandy, Sara, Gil, Al, David, and Hodges. Her mother was getting a little anxious because she didn't want to serve dinner until everyone had arrived.
"Honey, sit down. I'll bring in the dinner. I'm sure those two will be here shortly," Warrick said as he stood up and headed into the kitchen.
The unlocked front door opened just then and someone knocked on the doorframe and Nick's voice rang out into the room, "Hello! Sorry we're late!"
Nick and Greg walked in, all dressed up as if they were going to a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant. Both had radiant smiles on their faces as they took their seats next to Al and David.
"Oh! You two look great! Why on earth are you all dressed up?" Wendy asked, as everyone else was in jeans and casual shirts.
Nick laughed, "He wanted to look professorly at school today, and somehow, I managed to convince him not to change."
"Nice job, Nicky," Catherine said. "But you're late."
"I'm sorry, but..."
"Cath, would you shut up," her husband called from the kitchen. "Give those two a break. You know what's going on."
Warrick came out of the kitchen with a large pan of steaming hot lasagna and set it in the middle of the table before going back into the kitchen for the vegetables and side dishes.
Catherine nodded, "he's right. I'm sorry, guys. I shouldn't be making this more nerve wracking than I'm sure it already is." A smile spread across her lips. "So, are you guys excited?"
Greg's eyes lit up like he truly could have been the Christmas tree that sat in their living room right then. And, in Lindsay's mind he sure was handsome enough to stand in its place with presents surrounding his feet. But, then, Nick took the man's hand in his own, squeezing it tight, and she knew he would never wait around for her to grow old enough. He couldn't. He was in love, and it was a beautiful sight to behold!
"Yeah, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!" Greg exclaimed. He looked over at Gil seated at one end of the table. "Gil, are you still willing to do the ceremony on New Years Day for us?"
"Greg, of course I am! And would you stop asking every second, I'm not going to change my mind. At least not until pigs fly, and that will never happen."
"Well, I just didn't know, if, you know...you'd heard something from Ecklie..."
"No. I haven't. But, I promise you, even if I did hear something from him, I would still do the ceremony."
"You remember our ceremony?" Mandy asked, following Nick's example and taking Wendy's hand in her own. "He did ours, and it came out soooo good!"
"That's not the point," Warrick spoke up as he delivered the last of the food and sat down.
Lindsay piped up right then, "Daddy, wait. Shepherd has to say Grace. Then you can finish your thoughts."
Warrick, startled, looked up at the young girl and smiled. "You're right." He looked at Gil, "Shepherd?"
Gil Grissom nodded and stood up, his hands folded in front of him, and began to speak, "Dear Lord, may we ask that you bless this food that we are about to eat and that you please return Nick safely to Greg from his important journey. Amen."
Everyone whispered an Amen and Lindsay noticed Nick and Greg still holding hands tightly. Gil sat down and everyone began digging into the food.
"The point is," Warrick continued, "that Ecklie can do what he wants, when he wants, to whomever he wants. And get away with it. He's already ruined enough lives around here...we all know that. What's one more to him? If he finds out that you're performing a wedding ceremony for Nick and Greg he could have you sent to jail for it."
"I'm not changing my mind, Warrick. These two deserve to be recognized legally as a couple, the same as Wendy and Mandy. They were just lucky enough to have it all done right after Sam Braun came into power and made it legal for them. But these two have found a way around the law, and all I have to say is more power to them."
"Until Ecklie finds out," Catherine spoke up. "I know he killed Sam to take over this little town. I just know he did. But there's no proof and I'm not a cop or a lawyer who can say anything safely."
"Yeah, well, even if you were," Al said with a fork full of food half way to his mouth. "If you so much as thought that you were going to go against him, he'd kill you too. I know this is a small town and not many deaths occur here, but I am the coroner, still, and he did a damn good job hiding the evidence on Sam's body. I couldn't be sure myself if it was just an accident or real murder. Neither could David."
Switching to a lighter topic, Nick said, "Yeah, we don't have many deaths here cause you're the doctor too, and you do a damn good job. When I broke my leg last year on the job, you had me up and walking in no time!"
"Are you sure you broke your leg on the job?" Sara asked with a smirk.
"Yes, I'm sure, Sara. I was chasing this perp down the street and when I caught up with him, I knocked him down, but he took me with him..."
Greg stared open mouthed and wide eyed. "Oh my God! Nicky! How could you?" he interrupted, over dramatizing his words.
Nick looked at him in confusion.
"You went down on a perp?! You...you...you cheated on me?! Already!"
Seeing the look of horror on Nick's face, Greg burst out laughing. Nick only shook his head with a smile.
"So...Nick," Hodges piped up. "When exactly are you leaving? And when are you coming back? I mean, you do realize that Christmas is the day after tomorrow, right?" The man had an interested gleam in his eye as if he was learning how to cheat a game of checkers.
"I know," Nick sets his fork back down on his plate. "I'm leaving tonight, right after dinner, and hopefully, I'll be back for Christmas morning."
Hodges nodded, the cogs in his brain turning, though Lindsay didn't know why he seemed to be over processing this particular piece of information.
"But, that means you'll miss Christmas Eve dinner with everybody!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, I will. I'm sorry sweetie. But I'll do my best to get here for the actual Christmas dinner, ok?"
"You'd better be here, or else I'll file for divorce!" Greg said with a wink.
"Good, I'm glad you will be because this will be a momentous Christmas and everyone else will be here. Besides, I've already got a huge ham in the freezer. Oh, Warrick, remind me to take it out to thaw later, ok?"
"Already done."
"You're a sweetheart!"
"That's good you've already got yours cause I've run out at the store and my supplier can't bring me any more since he's technically on holiday now," Sara nearly scowled.
Just then there was a knock at the door and Warrick got up to answer it. When he came back Captain Jim Brass and his second in command, Sophia Curtis were behind him.
"Jim! Sophia! Glad you could join us!" Catherine welcomed them to the table.
"Hey! You read Nick and I the riot act for arriving late, what about these two?" Greg asked. "They're later than we were!"
"Yeah, but our job is a 24 hour job. We're never off the clock, unlike you, Greggo," Brass commented as he sat down.
"I see your point."
Sophia sat down beside her boss and passed the latest local newspaper around the table.
"I'm sorry we're coming with more bad news," she said. "But Ecklie's passed more laws. And they're not good."
The newspaper was passed over Lindsay's head and she was disappointed that she wouldn't be given an opportunity to read it for herself. But as always happened at dinners before, she knew they would talk about it, and in a round about fashion, she would learn what was going on.
After reading it over for himself, Nick looked up at his now ex-boss, "so, you mean, no one's allowed out after dark?" he asked.
Jack pot!
"That's right,"Captain Brass replied with a grim expression as he helped himself to some lasagna.
"Wait, what does that mean in a medical emergency?" David spoke up, being Al's assistant in everything that he did.
"That will have to be cleared through him at the time. If determined an emergency by him, then yes, you can go out. All working cops are allowed out at night. Have to enforce the laws, you know."
"Yeah, right."
"These are...these are stupid! He's tightening the leash he has on all of us!" Sara said unbelievably. "He's telling me what I can and cannot do. Why does my grocery store have to be closed at a certain time just because he says so?"
"He's the boss. That's why."
"I'm just glad he hasn't decided to make all previously legal gay marriages illegal."
"Believe me, he's thinking about it. Long and hard. He wants to, I'm sure of it."
It was then that Lindsay felt something from these people that she'd never felt before. Everyone was looking at Mandy and Wendy and at Nick and Greg. She knew what they were thinking. They were all afraid for their friends. Afraid that Ecklie might just pull the plug on all gay marriages, even if they'd been legal when they'd happened. From overhearing several conversations before, she knew that it was Sam, her grandfather, who'd made it legal in this small town for about a year before he'd died. When Ecklie came into power, he quickly changed the laws back. But those who'd been married when it was legal for a year, were still recognized as being such.
She'd heard Catherine and Warrick talking about how the man Nick was going to see was going to be giving him the real documents that said he and Greg were officially recognized as married. But the date would be set within the year that it had been legal. It made her want to cry to think about everything they had to go through to be together and she hoped it would all work out, that they could live happily ever after in the end and not get hurt by Ecklie.
"I honestly hate to say this," Brass spoke up again, "but really, the only people I trust in this town, in this whole town, are those sitting at this table right now. It still boggles my mind how over half a town voted this guy into office after Sam died so that he could come up with crazy laws like this to ruin our lives. But they support him, even the rest of the police force. They all agree to whatever he says. I can't get over it. It's like they've been brainwashed or something."
The mood had turned somber and Lindsay was sure that not even one of Greg's famous, make everyone laugh jokes couldn't lighten the mood.
"I'm sorry guys," Nick said looking at his watch. "But we've gotta get out of here. It's getting late."
For a second a look of pure panic covered Greg's face, but Nick's hand on his arm seemed to calm him in moments as everyone wished him well, glad to be on another topic. Conversations bubbled up around the table, but Lindsay was only interested in the one on the other side. Brass had gotten up to talk privately to Nick before he and Greg left. She could just barely make out their words and was glad Greg didn't seem to be paying attention as he graciously thanked her mother for dinner.
"Nick, promise me you'll be careful out there when you leave?" Brass asked. "I know you said you were leaving tonight the last time we talked."
"Yeah, I will. And I still am. Though after reading that paper..." Nick trailed off.
"Night is the best time to go. Undercover. You'd still be suspicious in the middle of day, around here in times like these. Just go and be careful. Come back in one piece. You planning on carrying when you go?"
"I wasn't. Didn't want to scare Greg. But if you think I should, then I will."
"Yeah, I think it would be good. I want you back here, to keep him happy, Nick. Remember I know what he's like when he's not happy, when you're not around. I don't want to have to deal with that," Brass smiled slightly.
"Right. I won't forget," Nick returned the faint smile as Greg caught his arm and escorted him out of the room, waving over his head at the friends they were leaving behind.
Though she didn't know why, Lindsay felt something odd in the pit of her stomach. Something hard. Like a rock. Something that made her sad to see them go.
A/N: I claim all mistakes, as I edit my own work and did this one at 2am, too excited to wait for the next day. If you see anything glaring that needs fixing, let me know. Also, please post a comment, I feed off of them! And I would love to know what you think so far!