Title: One Year, Two Mismatched Men and Three Million Dollars

Rating: PG-13/T

Warnings: Pre-Slash, Slash, Angst, Violence, Alternate Universe, WiP

Pairings: Past Greg/Archie, Past Nick/Mandy, Nick/Greg, Grissom/Sara, Catherine/Warrick

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with CBS or Jerry Bruckheimer; all of the recognised characters belong to them and this story is written only for fun. Any characters you do not recognise belong to myself.

Notes: As of 21st February 2008, I have began to re-write the incomplete story, making improvements and edits to the storyline to provide a better read as well as being able to complete it. I hope you enjoy, reviews are always welcome.


Chapter 1: A Prologue to a Play

There were two things Greg Sanders noticed when he awoke that fateful Saturday morning; he had a thunderous headache and that he was in a room he didn't recognise. He had no doubt as to what had happened and he could feel his stomach convulsing at the mere thought of it as guilt settled in the back of his mind.

Scrambling from the bed, he was very much relieved to find all his clothes still intact- with no signs of drunken removal or drunken redressing. That went somewhere towards easing his jittery nerves, because he wasn't the type of person that would willingly cheat in a relationship and this particular event could be detrimental to that philosophy, but when he saw the stranger still fully clothed he could feel the relief pouring through him.

The potential disaster had been averted.


When Nick Stokes awoke that morning two things immediately hit him; he was still dressed in the clothes from the night before and he could smell freshly brewed coffee. He rolled out of his bed, wondering exactly how much he'd embarrassed himself the night before (because undoubtedly to crash out in his clothes, it had to be large) and he wondered exactly who he'd brought home this time.

Because she wouldn't be the first.

He dragged himself towards the kitchen, grimacing when he realised he'd have to try and explain to Mandy exactly what happened this time…and he honestly couldn't remember.


Greg thought it was only courteous to stay and thank the stranger for their hospitality, because he wasn't going to slip out like some people. After all, that would be rude, and rude was one thing he was not. He flicked on the percolator, pleased that he'd managed to locate himself some coffee and settled in for a long wait, pondering exactly what he could have got up to the night before.


When Nick saw a man settled on one of his stools, his mind went completely blank. What on earth was a guy doing in his house? And why on earth was he drinking his coffee?

"Who the hell are you?"


That wasn't exactly the reaction Greg had been going for, he was hoping that this encounter would be a light-hearted embarrassed moment where they could share a coffee before he departed and they'd both erase the memory from their minds. The angry tone of voice put a slight dent into that plan; this was not going to be an amicable coffee.

"I'm Greg," he offered the other a small smile, "coffee?"

He nodded slowly, a frown settling onto his features as he obviously tried to fathom what was going on because it was quite a surreal experience if you weren't used to it. Greg hopped off the stool and busied himself with the other cup of coffee, giving the stranger time to compose his mind enough so he could ask the questions he probably needed to ask.

"Why are you in my house?"


He knew it sounded stupid; but it was the best his still alcohol-impaired mind could come up with. There was one possibility that swam in amongst the confused thoughts, but he didn't want to acknowledge its existence, because that would lead to other questions that he didn't want to answer.

"I hope you could have helped me with that one." He answered, setting the liquid down and hopping back up onto 'his' perch. "My recollection of last night is a little foggy." And he laughed.

Goddamnit, he had the front to laugh about it!

Nick could feel the rage building up, and he could already feel the satisfaction of wiping the smile from his face, that would be perfect.


He was trying desperately to make this a little less confrontational by laughing, because to diffuse a tense situation one had to laugh; but it didn't appear to be working. He could see his face darkening, and the frown becoming deeper and his jaw tightening.

Greg knew how to recognise when someone was going to beat some sense into him; and he knew exactly when to high-tail it out of there.

Draining the rest of the mug, he tried to smile again but it came out more as a grimace.

"Well, I better be off. Thanks for everything."

It might not have been the bravest thing to do, but Greg certainly did not need to explain away a black-eye to Archie when he got home. He knew it would be better just to cut his losses and run and in the process prevent himself any bodily harm.

But it seemed like the Texan had other ideas, immediately grabbing onto his wrist as he tried to slink on past. Greg inwardly groaned, somehow doubting that laughter had done anything for the situation and he could already feel the fingers making marks on his skin.

"Oh no you don't."


Nick was beginning to hate this guy.

First he had the front to make his own coffee, then he had enough courage to laugh and now he was simply trying to dodge the impending fight? That wasn't going to happen. He was willing to fight this arrogant wise-ass that intruded on his territory and didn't even apologise.

"Ouch, shit, let me go!" The younger man thrashed in his grip, but he didn't particularly care. "Hey, I don't mean you any harm!"


He was panicking; there was really no doubt about it. This guy was twice his size and could easily flatten him; and he didn't want any trouble in the first place! He knew for a fact he was like an antelope to this guy's lionesque stature and if he wasn't careful he'd be slaughtered.

Looking down to the hand on his wrist, trying to formulate a plan, Greg noticed what probably was causing all the problems. The golden band of a wedding ring; there was little wonder the guy was spooked!

"Look, I won't tell your missus if you're worried. I don't want any trouble."


"How the fuck do you know about Mandy?" He snarled, his temper really beginning to flare. This guy had been stalking him, he'd been watching for his perfect time to entangle himself into his life and ruin everything. "You think you're clever, you sick bastard!"

He knew he was puffing out his chest and trying to make himself look bigger and more imposing; he also knew how much it was working judging from the pale complexion the other had adopted. He was physically bigger and psychologically bigger than the other and he knew this 'Greg' (if it was even his real name) was getting spooked.

"I just looked at your wedding ring!" He yelped, really thrashing in his grip now. "I don't want any trouble!"

Nick retracted his hand as if he'd been burnt, realising that there was a ring on his finger and he had no clue how it had gotten there. The younger man stumbled away, slowly backing away and trying to make his bid for freedom in light of this shock evidence.

"I'm not married." Nick mumbled more for his own benefit than the others. "How on earth—"

But his answer came in a wounded cry from the other.

"We're married!"