A/N- Welcome to my new Greg/Nick fic. This one is somewhat AU in where the two are at in life at this point in time. And if you have read my fics before you know I can write kind of dark stuff and this one will be along the same lines. As the story goes on you will be filled in on what happened in the past to bring them to this point. If you like how it starts off, be sure to review to let me know. Thanks!

He walked into the dark lit club and let his eyes adjust so he could see the action better. He had heard that a lot of drug activity was going on at this club and he was sent in to check it out and see if that was the case. He wore black jeans and a black leather jacket over a grey t-shirt. His closely cropped hair fit in with many of the other men in the club. Bodies gyrated on the dance floor while he watched the other patrons go up to the bar to order drinks. He causally went to the bar and ordered a rum and coke. Working undercover meant he had to fit in all the way and if he was not drinking alcohol he would look suspicious in a place like this.

It had been six years ago that Nick Stokes decided to make the change from CSI back to being an officer. Two years later he started working the narcotics division and now he often worked undercover to make busts. His full beard made him look rougher and his dark eyes showed his years of stress but the look worked in places like this. This club was considered more underground and was frequented by all types but mostly druggies looking for a hit so it was the perfect place to find dealers.

His eyes scanned the crowd looking for anyone who might be buying or doing drugs. Plenty of people looked high or strung out. He saw one woman standing in the corner seemingly having a conversation with no one. He figured she was most likely on LSD. He was looking for someone doing something a little more serious. Their sources told them that heroin was the main drug being dealt at this club.

A woman with long blond stringy hair sat next to him on a bar stool. Her blue eyes were glassy and her breath smelled of whisky. "Hey handsome looking for a good time tonight?" He had also heard this place was a known hang out for many prostitutes. It was a perfect combination for drug use to take place here.

Even if he was into women, which he was not, looking at this mess would turn him off from them. But she might know something about the drugs being dealt at this club. He looked at her arms and could see the telltale signs of heroin user by her track marks.

"Actually I am looking for a good time but I need some help. I think you might be able to help me. I need a good kick tonight and heard there is someone here who can hook me up with some good Smack," he told her. She looked at him a moment, seeming to be confused and then suddenly the light must have gone on.

"Oh, I see. You like the brown sugar too," she smiled showing off a chipped front tooth and other brown teeth. He started to think she might be a meth head too.

"Yeah, my old dealer got busted and now I got no source. Friends told me there is a guy here who deals it. I really need a hit," he said, acting a little jittery and anxious. He watched as she looked around the club, searching for someone. She nudged him when she saw who she was looking for.

"Over there in the back by the exit. See those two guys, the guy in the black hoodie can hook you up," she told him. Nick looked to where she gestured. The man in the hoodie's face was covered by it, hiding his features. He witnessed an exchange happen between him and another man in skin tight jeans and a green hoodie. Nick could only see his profile but it looked familiar. He saw the green hoodie guy nod at the dealer and quickly looked around nervously. That was when Nick thought his eyes deceived him. He had to be seeing wrong. It couldn't be him but he needed to know now.

He moved to stand up when the blonde stopped him. "Hey, not now. He's with a client. Wait until he comes back later." Nick watched as the two men went out the back exit. He needed to know for sure if it was him or not. He pushed the blonde out of his way and went towards the back exit. His pathway was blocked by more people coming in and out. By the time he reached the back exit and looked out they were both gone.

The stringy hair blonde caught up to him. "Boy you must really need a hit. He should be back though, he's just with G. It never takes them too long." Nick felt a cold chill go down his spine when she said "G". He turned around and asked her. "You know the other man with him?"

She laughed. "Everyone knows G and I mean in the most intimate of ways," she said with a soft purr as she ran her hand over his t-shirt, feeling his muscles underneath.

Nick was not sure he was hearing right. "What's that supposed to mean? Who is this G?"

She was looking a little annoyed now. "Are you into women or are you into men?" She suddenly asked him. He was not sure how to answer suddenly. He decided to be neutral. "Well it depends on my mood, but I like both."

She huffed. "Figures the hot men always like men too. G pays for his drugs like I do, we offer our services," she said as she ran her hands over her breasts. Nick felt like he had just been kicked in the gut. He did not believe what he was hearing. The more he heard the more he was convinced the man he saw was not who he thought it was. Granted it had been over six years since he saw his former lover but had he really changed that much.

Nick thought back to the last time he saw him. It was a month after his criminal trial and three months after his coroner's inquest, the verdict that changed his life forever. The jury had found Greg Sanders, CSI, responsible for the death of Demetrius James, which meant criminal charges could be brought up against him for the death. After that verdict Greg began to pull away from Nick. They had been a couple for three years up to that point but the devastating verdict changed Greg. He became withdrawn and even though the criminal trial found him not guilty by way of self-defense he had still lost his job as a CSI in the meanwhile and his reputation in the public eye. Nick had come home from work one day to find Greg's luggage in the hallway. Nick walked into their home and saw Greg sitting on the sofa looking like he was in a daze.

"Greg, why are your bags packed?" Greg looked up at Nick. His eyes looked sad. "I can't do this anymore. I am moving back to California. I might not be in jail but I still feel as though people think I should be. I can't stay here in Vegas anymore."

Nick couldn't believe what he was hearing. He mentioned nothing of Nick in this. "What about me…About us?" Greg shook his head in response. "There is no 'us' anymore. There hasn't been for several months now. You've been able to move on with your life but I can't and I can't be with someone who reminds me daily of what I lost."

"What do you mean by that?" Nick asked feeling scared of losing the man he loved.

"I mean you still work as a CSI. You come home and talk about cases but you don't seem to realize how much it kills me that I can't do that anymore. I can't ever be a CSI again in this town, heck if any town. It was all I ever wanted to be but now my dreams are over. And here you are everyday reminding me of that dream being gone. I can't take it anymore," Greg said to him with anguish in his voice.

Nick got upset. "Don't you love me still?" he asked, his eyes filling with tears. Greg shook his head. "It's not enough for me anymore. I need to move on with my life and so do you. Just forget about me." He got up and went to grab his luggage.

Nick grabbed his arm. "Don't do this. We can think of something to work this out." But Greg pulled his arm free of Nick's hold. He turned around and looked directly into the deep brown eyes that he knew he was hurting. "There is nothing to change my mind. I already packed all my stuff and have it in my car. The rest I had shipped to my parent's house. My parents are expecting me tomorrow. I am going."

"So that's just it? You're just walking out of my life; no regrets?" Nick asked him as the tears flowed freely.

Greg finally showed the first sign of remorse. "Of course I have regrets but I have to do this. I feel like I am suffocating here. Do you really want me to feel that way?"

Nick thought about it and knew all he wanted was for Greg to be happy and he knew he had been anything but that lately. He scared him sometimes how depressed he seemed. "Do you think you'll ever come back?"

Greg shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I just know I need to start a new life. The chapter here in Vegas has ended. I need to start a new one," he told him sincerely.

Nick suddenly pulled Greg into a hug. "I'll never forget about you. We can still email and call each other. I will pray for the day you come back to me."

Greg let him hold him a little while before finally pulling away. His own eyes were wet now. "Maybe someday I will but I don't want you to hang on to me forever. You need to move on too, Nick."

Nick stood back as Greg picked up his luggage and headed for the door. "You love me, don't you?"

Greg didn't turn back around. But he nodded and said. "Yes, I do but I have to move on."

That was the last Nick saw of Greg. He walked out that door and had not seen him since. Greg had changed his cell phone number and cancelled the email account he had been using, totally cutting Nick off from him. He had never expected that.

Now six years later those old feelings crept back in. He had never gotten over Greg completely. Sure, he dated and even was steady with a guy for about a year before they broke it off, but he always knew Greg was the one for him.

"So are you going to party with me or what?" Nick had been so lost in thought he forgot about the woman. He turned to her. "Do you know where this G lives?"

She seemed annoyed again. "I thought you wanted the drugs? Why are you asking about him?"

"I think I know him and I have not seen him in years. We used to have a lot of fun parties together," he told her, which was not so far from the truth.

She looked like she might hurt herself thinking by the expression on her face. "So you rather party with him, you mean," she said more as a matter of fact.

He shrugged. "Sorry. So do you know where I can find him?"

She sighed heavily. "I think he stays at that monthly down the street from here. I am not sure though. I know when he is with Gus he goes to Gus's place."

"Is Gus the dealer?"

"Duh! But I don't know where Gus lives. He only comes to us," she told him. Nick thought for a moment. He was here to bust the dealer but if it was Greg he saw then he could see him and maybe find out about this dealer. Was Greg really a druggie now or was he somehow working to help bust him too? Maybe he got a job that put him undercover too. That would explain why he was back in Vegas and never contacted him. No, Greg could not be what this woman thought he was. He had to be working some angle. If he got in touch with him then maybe they could work together. The more Nick thought of it the more it sounded plausible to him. Nick and Greg could work together again to bust the bad guys. He smiled.

He pulled money out of his wallet and gave the prostitute $50 for her time. "Thanks for telling me what you know. I don't want you to think you wasted your time with me. I'll try to track down Gus so I can get some smack and then maybe G and I can party together like the old days." She took the money, looking at it like it was foreign but then pushed it under her bra.

"Anytime you are ready to party with a woman again, look me up. My name is Candy," she smiled that horrible smile again before walking back towards the bar.

Nick decided to check out the monthly motel down the road. He got there about ten minutes later and walked into the front desk. He looked at the straggly haired young kid behind the desk, another druggie by the looks of it.

He dug through his wallet and pulled out an old photo of Greg that he still carried with him. Yes, Greg was still very much a part of his heart and if he was back in town he had to see him.

"Hey, I have to ask you a question," Nick said to the kid. "What are you? A Cop?" Nick shook his head. "No, I am looking for a good time and I heard this guy, G, lives here." He flashed the photo of Greg to the young kid. The kid scratched at the scruff on his chin. "I've seen him around."

"So he lives here then?" Nick asked the kid again, hoping for more of a direct answer.

The kid shrugged his shoulders. "I guess but look we don't give out where a person stays so if you are looking for that I can't tell ya, unless you are a cop and have a search warrant."

Nick shook his head. "Nope not a cop, just a guy looking for a quick hook up."

"Well, then I guess you will just have to stick around and see if he shows up. I can't make any guarantees. Now can I get back to my magazine?" The kid asked. Nick looked over the counter and saw the kid had a Playboy under the counter. Nick snickered. "Sure." He wasn't here to bust his balls. He was here to see if that was Greg and if it was what he was doing back in town. So he walked outside and got back into his car. He decided to stake out the motel in hopes of seeing Greg Sanders show up.

Nick was dozing off in the car when he suddenly saw the man with the green hoodie walking hurriedly across the parking lot. The hood was pulled over his head so Nick could not tell if it was him or not. He watched as he went to a door at the motel and put in a key in the door. Nick had not thought about what he would do when he saw him. Now he was not sure if he should approach him or not. But he waited too long as the man went into the room and closed the door. He thought about going to the door and knocking but what if it was Greg and he somehow blew his cover by doing that. Or what if no one answered the door. No, none of that would work he figured. He had to draw him out somehow to see if it really was Greg before going any further. He decided to get out of the car. He walked up to the room and the drapes were all drawn.

He thought about how to draw him out just to see if it was Greg or not. Suddenly an idea came to him. He got on his cell phone and walked off to the side of the property. It was the middle of the night now and the lights in the parking lot were casting shadows over the lot. He got the number to the motel. He placed a call and asked to be put through to room 29, the room he saw the man in the green hoodie go into.

He waited for someone to answer the phone in the room. "Hello?" asked the raspy voice. Nick thought it sounded a little like Greg's voice but he couldn't be sure. "Gus wants to see you right now. Come out to the east side of the motel," Nick said in a disguised voice. He was not sure it would work but it was worth a try.

"Why does he want to see me? I just came from him," the raspy voice asked with some concern to it.

"He has something extra to give you," Nick said, not really thinking this through as well as he wanted to.

"Uh, okay. Give me a minute," the other man said before hanging up. Nick thought he sounded more and more like Greg.

Nick grew nervous as he waited. What if it wasn't Greg? What was he going to say to this guy? And if it was Greg what was he going to say? 'Hi Greg I spotted you tonight in the club buying drugs from a known dealer?' He realized that the possibility of seeing Greg threw off his normally savvy mind.

He suddenly saw the door open and he hid himself behind the wall at the end of the walkway. His heart beat rapidly as he realized maybe he should be better prepared in case this was not Greg. He clutched his gun in his holster just in case.

He could see the shadow of a man approaching. "Gus?" he heard the man asking as he approached. The man rounded the corner cautiously.

Nick stepped out and looked at the man. He gasped as the man raised his head and looked at him. "My God!" Nick exclaimed at seeing the man he thought he would never see again.