First CSI story and I knew Nick and Greg would be perfect for it. Love them both!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, so don't sue me. I don't have much money.
XXX
He knew there would be something wrong that day, he could tell something was off about the lab. The atmosphere was completely different and everything felt sort of tense. He guessed it was just his imagination, but the CSI voice in his head told him otherwise.
Nick Stokes was walking from his car to the lab that day, grumbling inappropriate things under his breathe. They were mostly aimed at Gil Grissom, his boss. Maybe it wasn't Grissom's fault, but Nick didn't care. Either way, he was up way too early today. Or late, since he worked the graveyard shift. It was still bright outside with the afternoon sun and Nick had just woken up to his phone ringing.
Grissom wanted everyone in early for a team meeting. Great. Team meetings were only done when something important was happening. Actually, Grissom had met with a few officers and Ecklie about a new case yesterday. Maybe that's what this was about.
Nick had a hard time ignoring how tense everyone in the lab was, they knew something he didn't. Maybe this case had involved an officer, it wouldn't be the first time. Whatever it was, Nick didn't have time to figure it out before he was in the break room. Coffee, that's what he needed.
"Hey Nick." He almost jumped when Warrick called out to him. He was sitting at the table with Catherine and they were both sipping at their coffees, Catherine looked pretty pissed off. He couldn't blame her, really, it was pretty early for them to be in.
Nick grabbed a mug off of the counter, only nodding at Warrick in response. It was too early for words, he needed his coffee first. He felt better as he poured the dark liquid into his mug and sighed in relief. Coffee would surely wake him up.
He put the mug up to his lips and took a sip, but immediately spit it into the sink. It tasted like dirt, not coffee.
"Grissom made it." Catherine grumbled, and that's all she needed to say. Grissom wasn't the best cook, and he made the sludgy coffee of the lab even worse. If that was even possible.
"Where's Sanders?" Nick asked, already heading for the door.
Warrick managed to answer in time, "His lab, but Nick-"
He was cut off as the door closed behind Nick. He didn't have time to listen to Warrick right now, he needed coffee. It was an understatement to say Nick wasn't an early riser.
"Sanders." Nick called, entering the boy's lab. Though Greg was becoming a CSI, he had yet to find himself a suitable replacement. Until he did, he would most likely have to stay in the lab.
Nick scanned the room for Greg, but the blonde lab tech was no where to be seen. Well, no Greg that morning, but he still needed his coffee. He spotted a lone coffee mug sitting abandoned on the table and smiled to himself. If Greg had left it there, it would surely be a cup of that special coffee he spent so much money on.
Nick took one more look around, still not seeing the blonde, and made his way over to the cup. He pulled the mug up to his mouth and smiled as he tasted the coffee inside. So many times he had wondered if Greg tasted the same, but he would never know.
"Busted!!" Nick almost choked on the coffee in surprise, immediately pulling the cup from his mouth to breathe in some much needed air. He looked around again, but still couldn't see the lab tech. Weird, he could have sworn he heard Greg.
"Put the coffee down!!" Nick placed the cup on the table, shock on his face. Where was that coming from?
"Greg?"
"That's right, Nicky!" Nick jumped back as a familiar blonde head poked out from under the table, "I knew you were the one stealing my coffee!"
Nick raised his hands up in defense, trying to make the new CSI calm down, "It's just…Griss made the coffee…and I…well…"
Greg pulled himself from under the table, chuckling at Nick's reaction. Nick didn't exactly find it funny, but obviously Greg did.
"Relax, Cowboy." Greg chuckled and fell down onto his swivel chair, smiling widely. Nick glared, Greg was mighty proud of himself for this.
Then Greg pulled a mug out from behind one of the machines, he had obviously hid it from Nick. He smiled and offered it to Nick. The Texan raised an eyebrow at him as he took the coffee.
"You just need to ask, Nicky." Greg stated with amusement, drinking from his own cup, "You don't have to sneak around stealing it."
"You hid under a table just to tell me that?" Nick raised an eyebrow at his odd friend.
Greg shrugged at this, "I was bored."
To prove how bored he really was, Greg lifted his legs and pushed himself off the table. Nick watched as the younger man spun around and around at a high speed. He took another sip of his coffee and sighed when Greg just kept spinning. He grabbed a hold of the chair and stopped it's movements, raising an eyebrow at the giddy smile on Greg's face.
"How many cups of Joe have you had, Greggo?"
The blonde thought for a moment before he jumped from the chair and held up his fingers.
"Eight?" Nick recounted the fingers. Yes, the boy had eight fingers up. "Have you had your pills, G?"
Greg laughed at this like it was the funniest thing ever, "My ADHD isn't that bad today."
"Speak for yourself." Nick mumbled, turning towards the desk. He pulled open the drawer he had seen Greg gone through many times and retrieved the case. When he turned back to Greg, the blonde was pouting like a child would.
"I don't want to."
Nick shook his head, "You said it yourself, Greg, you need these pills. Now come here."
A wicked smile spread itself across Greg's face as he glanced over to the door, "Catch me first!"
Nick stared in disbelief as the newest CSI burst out of the door and sprinted down the hallway. This was going to be a long shift. He sighed, taking another sip of the coffee before dropping it and running after his friend.
"Too slow, Nick!" He could hear Greg teasing him in a singsong voice and this made him run faster. People were watching him quizzically, but he was smiling despite them. No matter how annoying the blonde could be, Greg always managed to make Nick smile.
"Nick?"
Nick screeched to a halt when he saw Sara in his way. She had an eyebrow raised at him, probably questioning his sanity, and she had an open case file in her hands.
"Have you seen Greg?" He asked, looking around as he spoke. Damn Greg for being so fast, he could be hiding anywhere. He was small too, so his hiding spot was probably somewhere Nick couldn't get to. No, this was just a little game. To tell the truth, Greg wanted to be found, he just loved the chase.
"Umm…he just ran by here. I think he's with Archie." Sara answered, still giving Nick that weird look, "What's going on?"
Nick lifted the bottle of pills to show her. That's all she needed to see because she nodded in understanding and sighed, "Don't take long, Nick. We have the team meeting in a few minutes."
"I won't." Nick called over his shoulder, running towards Archie's lab. Sure enough, there was Greg, trying to hide behind the door. Nick couldn't help but laugh at his friend, did he not realize that the walls were glass?
"Found you." Nick stated as he entered Archie's lab. Archie was giving them both the same look Sara had, but nodded when he saw the pill bottle in Nick's hands.
"Not yet." Greg stated, making a run for the exit, but Nick was faster. He grabbed Greg around the waist, stopping him from getting free again. Greg was smiling widely, trying to squirm his way out of Nick's hands.
Nick laughed at Greg as the boy struggled against the hold and failed. Finally done with Greg's game, Nick picked Greg up by his arms and threw him over his shoulder. Greg was laughing even harder than before as he was carried on Nick's shoulder out the door. Once again, people were watching, but Nick didn't care. He was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning, no one could understand how happy he was to be this close to Greg.
"Look, it's Nick's ass." Greg stated with a laugh from behind the Texan. Nick tried to turn his head to look at his friend, but was quickly reminded that Greg's butt was right beside his head. Whatever happened, he couldn't look at it. Not here in the open hallway.
"Ummm…Nick?" Nick froze and turned around instantly, met with the face of his boss.
"It's Grissom!" Greg called from behind Nick, making Nick blush slightly at being caught by his boss.
"Is Greg drunk?" Grissom asked, looking around Nick's form to see the blonde that was still thrown over his shoulder.
Nick shook his head, holding the pill bottle up for the third time that day. It seemed everyone knew about Greg's ADHD, because Grissom just nodded in understanding.
"How you doing back there, Greg?" He asked the lab tech.
Greg laughed loudly and peered around Nick's butt to look at his boss, "Blood's rushing to my head."
Grissom sighed, turning his attention back to Nick, "Get those pills in him soon. We have a team meeting in 2 minutes and I don't want him to be carried there."
Nick nodded, blushing as his boss turned around and left. He quickly turned himself and almost jumped when he heard the loud "THUMP!" as he did so.
"Ow." Greg stated behind him, the humor in his voice was gone.
"I'm sorry, G. You okay?" He turned again and jumped when he heard another "THUMP!" as Greg's head hit the doorframe again.
"Ow." Greg stated again, in the same tone as last time.
Nick sighed, finally stepping into Greg's lab, careful not to hit the blonde's head again. He pulled Greg off of his shoulder and dropped the thin CSI onto his swivel chair. Greg narrowed his brown eyes at the Texan and crossed his arms in a pout again.
"I'm sorry," Nick stated, taking no time to open the pill bottle. He pulled two pills out and handed them to Greg.
"You hit me with the door." Greg complained, taking the pills with a glare still on his face.
Nick chuckled, "It sobered you up, didn't it? I haven't seen you this hyper since you first started in the lab."
Greg swallowed the pills with his coffee, smiling despite the bruise appearing on his forehead. He gave his signature Greg smile to Nick and answered, "I have a feeling it's going to be a good day."
Nick didn't agree at the least, did Greg know how early they were at the lab? Did he notice the weird tension and odd atmosphere of the lab? For a CSI, Greg wasn't that great at picking things up. Still, if Greg was happy, then Nick was happy too. Greg had a way of making people around him happy, even on their worst days. After being kidnapped, it was Greg who first made Nick laugh again. He didn't even remember what Greg had said, but it didn't really matter.
"I think we have a meeting." Nick stated, grabbing his coffee he had abandoned earlier, "Still think it's going to be a good day?"
Greg grumbled from behind his own cup, "I stand corrected."
Nick laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder. Everyone hated meetings, but he knew Greg hated them the most. He just hoped the pills would last Greg the whole meeting, the last thing he needed was to be distracted by a hyperactive Greg in a small room. Nick shuddered at the thought.
"Let's go, Greggo." He stated, letting go off Greg's shoulder. He headed for the door, hearing Greg's quite footsteps and loud grumbling behind him. He had always wondered why someone so small could be so loud, but maybe it had something to do with Greg's ADHD.
When Greg and Nick finally made it into the meeting room, everyone else was already there waiting. Grissom was giving them that authoritive look he always had, and Nick really didn't like it. He sat down beside Warrick, watching Greg sit down on the opposite side of the table beside Sara. She whispered something to Greg, causing him to glare at her. Nick suppressed a laugh, poor Greg was being teased again.
"Alright, since we're all here," Grissom looked in Greg and my direction as he said this, "Let's begin."
I looked across the table at Greg and noticed he looked sort of embarrassed. His pills must have been working because he was becoming extremely calm.
"We should get straight down to business then." Grissom stated. The room quieted to listen to him. Grissom went silent for a moment and everyone waited patiently for him to continue.
"Greg, why don't you come up here." Greg's head shot up as Grissom called his name.
The blonde was confused, looking at everyone at the table for an answer. He didn't find one, though, because everyone's expression mirrored his. No one could understand why Greg would be called up front.
"Okay." Greg looked nervous as he got up from his seat. Sara was giving Grissom a questionable look, and Nick could tell what she was thinking. She was very protective over Greg and she didn't want him to be embarrassed in front of everyone.
Grissom ignored Sara's expression and focused his attention on Greg. Greg walked up to Grissom nervously, stopping when they had some distance between them.
"Closer." Grissom ordered him. Greg turned his head to give Sara a look, but she just shrugged in return. Greg sighed, moving so that he was right in front of his boss.
Grissom immediately grabbed a hold of Greg's chin, making the boy flinch. He moved Greg's head from side to side, examining the CSI's face like it was one of his bugs. The thought made Nick's stomach churn, what was Grissom doing? Greg had an eyebrow raised at Grissom in question, he obviously had no idea what was going on either. Grissom stayed like that until the door opened. Everyone looked up to see Ecklie enter the room.
"So?" Ecklie asked, watching Grissom carefully.
Gil Grissom let go of his CSI's face and nodded in response, "The sideburns are a little long, but I think it might work."
"Grissom," Sara cut in, obviously angry that she had no idea what was going on, "What's happening?"
Gil sighed and pulled out the case file, dropping it on the table in front of their CSI's. All of them leaned forward to examine the file.
"This case was presented to us last night." Grissom explained. "A body was found a few blocks away from a bar that is under investigation. We have reason to believe the bar is a trafficking site for male teenagers, but we haven't been able to get a guy in there to check it out."
"They only except young teenage boys," Ecklie stated, obviously irritated that he had to explain this, "But we were never able to find a cop that could pass as that age. Well, until now…"
His voice trailed off at the end and everyone looked over at Greg in surprise. He looked just as surprised as they were and was fidgeting with his hands.
"We got a tip from one of the kids that had been in the bar," Grissom continued, holding up a picture, "This is him."
Sara grabbed the picture from Grissom's hand and stared at it. Catherin leaned over her shoulder to get a better look at it.
"What?" Warrick asked, irritated that he couldn't see what they were looking at. Sara shook her head and handed the picture over to Warrick. He examined it and Nick leaned over to see it too.
"Besides the hair color, he looks a lot like you, Sanders." Warrick stated and Nick nodded in agreement. The kid did look a lot like Greg, it was kind of scary.
Greg walked over to them, looking over their shoulders at the picture. His eyes widened when he saw it and he looked up to stare at Grissom. Greg looked like a fish out of water and, if it wasn't a serious moment, Nick would have laughed and teased him. That could wait, though, because now wasn't the time.
"We need you to go undercover as this kid, Greg." Grissom stated, "It's the only way we can stop this trafficking once and for all."
Greg opened his mouth to say something, but Sara cut him off before he could begin.
"No, Grissom." Sara growled in anger, "Do you know how dangerous that is?"
"I know, Sara, but I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important." Grissom tried to reason, but Sara was glaring at him, making him nervous. Sara could be scary when she was angry.
"Sara's right." Warrick chimed in, "Sanders doesn't even carry a weapon."
Ecklie laughed at this, "He doesn't need one, he'll have a wire so he can communicate with us. There will be plenty of police officers in the area if he needed them."
"It's your choice, Greg. You don't have to do it." Grissom added, trying to be the reasonable one.
There was a moment of silence as Greg looked at the picture. No one expected him to answer so quickly, but then again, Greg was full of surprises.
"I'll do it." He stated, looking from the picture to Grissom, "Just tell me what I need to do."
"You can't be serious, Greg!" Catherine breathed, worry on her face, "That's crazy!"
"I'm the youngest, I'm the only one who could pull it off." Greg explained. He was trying to sound strong, but Nick knew him better and could tell he was nervous. "If I don't do it, these kids will keep being trafficked."
Nick shook his head, staring at Greg in disbelief, "I don't like this, G. Walking right into a scene like that, it's suicide."
Greg looked at Nick for a second before turning back to Grissom, "I've made my decision, and I say I'm doing it."
Sara glared at the CSI she had come to know as a brother, "No, you're not."
He shook his head and gave her a small smile, "Sorry, Sara."
She looked at Grissom for help, but he had made his decision too. She had lost and she knew it.
"Fine!" She growled, slamming her coffee cup against the table in anger, "Go ahead, Greg! But I won't be part of this! It's going to be your" –She pointed to Grissom angrily- "fault when one of you CSIs is killed!"
With that she stormed out of the room, leaving her coffee abandoned on the table in front of her.
"I'm done with this too." Catherine grumbled, getting up and following Sara out the door.
Warrick stood up too, placing a hand on Greg's shoulder and shaking his head. Then he walked out after Catherine.
Nick stayed, though, staring at Greg like he was crazy.
"When?" Nick asked, looking at Grissom for an answer.
Grissom sighed, "Tonight. That's why I called you in here so early."
Nick shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. This couldn't be real, it had to be a dream. Greg couldn't have just agreed to this, it was insane!
"Are you sure your ready, Greg?" Grissom asked.
Greg smiled at him, "Yes, just let me finish some lab work first."
Grissom nodded at Greg, pulling something out of his bag. He tossed it to Greg, who caught it and gave it a questionable look.
"It's a wig." Grissom stated, "Our witness had black hair."
Greg just nodded, looking down at the wig again. He gave Nick one last look before he turned and left the meeting room.
"Nick…" Grissom tried to reason, but Nick put his hand up to silence him. The Texan sighed, turned away from his boss and following after his lab tech friend.
When Nick got to Greg's lab, the blonde was hunched over in his swivel chair and staring at the wig. He looked up as Nick came in and forced a smile.
"I don't like this, G." The Texan stated seriously, "It's dangerous."
Greg stood up from his seat as his smile faded. He sensed the seriousness in Nick's tone and knew this wasn't the time for joking. "I know, but I need to do it."
Nick stared at Greg for a moment, just taking in the younger CSI. Nick had grown to care deeply for the lab tech and in more than a friend way. The thought of losing him made Nick sick. Finally, Nick spoke, "What if something happens to you? What will I do then?"
"Nothing's going to happen to me."
Nick shook his head at this, "How can you be so sure?"
He heard Greg sigh and the Texan looked at the floor. He was trying to stop thinking about the what ifs, but they kept going into his head. What if Greg got hurt and Nick wasn't able to tell him how he really felt about him? Nick wouldn't be able to handle that.
"I'm sure I'll be okay because you'll be there to help me," Greg stated and Nick looked up at him in surprise. Greg was looking at the floor, but he lifted his eyes and peered at Nick through his lashes, "You'll be there, won't you?"
Nick couldn't help but smile, "Of course I'll be there, G. You couldn't keep me away."
Greg watched Nick for a moment, letting the silence take over. Then he looked at the floor, and Nick could tell Greg was trying to make a decision. The CSI watched the lab tech for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the blonde was thinking.
Before Nick could figure it out, though, Greg had surged forward. Nick was taken aback when the smaller CSI hit him, throwing his arms around the Texan's large torso. Nick looked around, seeing that no one was looking, before he wrapped his arms around the smaller man, pulling him closer.
"I just want to help, Nicky." Greg breathed, burying his face into Nick's shoulder, "I don't want to make everyone mad."
Nick smiled and ran his hand through the spiked blonde hair, "I know, Greggo. We're all just worried about you, that's all."
Greg pulled away from Nick just enough to look him in the eye, "Thanks, Nick. I really needed this."
Nick smiled at his friend, but it disappeared when he felt Greg let go of him. It had ended too fast.
"I better get some work done." Greg stated with a smile back on his face, "We'll be going soon."
Nick just nodded back at him, already missing the warmth Greg had created. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of it, Nick had a feeling something bad was going to happen. He kept thinking about what could happen to Greg.
He shook his head, he was being such a baby. Greg could protect himself, and Nick would be right there to help him.
Still, Nick couldn't slow his heart rate, his CSI was telling him something was wrong.
"Still think it's going to be a good day, G?"
Greg smiled sadly and shook his head, "Not anymore."
XXX
Only the first chapter, more Nick/Greg in the second chapter. Please Review!