CSI: Texas Chronicles: Rescue Mission

Greg stared up at the horse, his eyes wide. Bill Stokes laughed a belly laugh as Jillian came out of the house with a duffle bag. It was only his second time in Texas. The first time he'd come with Nick they'd been attending a forensics conference in Dallas and hadn't had time to go riding as much as Nick had wanted to. He had, had plenty of chances of dinner with the Stokes family though, and they'd taken to him, even with his weird ways and hairdos, as quick as his old dog had been to jump for food dropped from the kitchen table.

"Here you go, dear. You're lucky Nick hasn't thrown much of his old clothes away. But I'm still not sure they're the right size... what's the matter, honey?" Jillian stopped when she saw Greg's terrified expression.

"I... I don't know how to ride... and that's big... and scary," Greg pointed toward the horse.

Bill chuckled, "Cucumber's not scary. More like gentle giant."

"Yeah, and it's the giant part that scares me."

"Well, I can give you riding lessons or James can go with you," Nick's mother offered.

"What's wrong with my car? I'm not getting on a horse. No offense."

"We don't allow cars on the property. Only horses and tractors. Besides, a car wouldn't get you where you need to go anyway. Neither would a tractor. He's pretty secluded."

Greg nodded solemnly, the fear gone, replaced by the seriousness of the situation, "Guess I'll just have to walk then."

"You sure about that? It'll take longer."

"I need to do this alone and I'm not getting on a horse. It doesn't matter how long it takes. As long as I get it done."

"I'm proud of you for doing this and I hope you can get through to him."

"So do I... So do I..."

A grim determination came over him as James led Cucumber away to be unsaddled.

"Well, I figured you for more the walking type anyway so I've got a hiking pack all ready for you," Bill said.

"How far out is he?"

"About a three days ride. But walking? It'll probably take you four or five if you keep up a good pace."

Greg's heart sank. "He must really not want company."

"Tread carefully, son."

And Greg liked how Bill called him 'son' like he was already a part of the family, but it didn't do much to elevate his mood, especially his previous words of 'tread carefully' in regards to his real son.

When he was packed, had a map to show him the way to the cabin Nick was currently fixing up, and had gotten a warm hug from both of Nick's parents he set out on foot with a heavy pack on his back and a heavy heart inside his body. It was early morning and still relatively cool but by mid-day he was beginning to swelter. He wished, for a brief moment he had someone to talk to, but then changed his mind and went back to brooding over his relationship with Nick.

He couldn't take back what Nick had done, but it still stung every time he thought about it. If his plans to convince Nick to go back to Vegas failed he doubted he'd be able to get closure. He tried not to think about the 'what ifs' as the day wore on and on. Deep down he knew Nick's reasons for leaving. He'd tried so hard, for so long to fix things, but he couldn't. Nick wouldn't let him in, wouldn't talk to him. More and more as time went on he'd closed himself off until the day he'd quit CSI and announced that he was going back home to the ranch. He hadn't even given Greg time to react, to say something, to stop him, before he was out the door and out of his life. He'd left Greg wondering what he could have done differently to help him.

When dusk came on, he felt like he'd been walking for days, weeks, months even. He didn't want to stop, but finally decided to rest his weary legs and get some food into his grumbling stomach. He found a landmark on the map of a lone tree and made camp underneath it. Gathering a handful of wood, he attempted to build a fire but a strong cold wind had come up and with his fingers stiff from the breeze he could hardly open a can of soup let along build a fire to cook it. So he ate a cold dinner before huddling in his bedroll and trying to stay warm.

Being so cold only reminded him of Nick and cuddling with him on the couch back home. And maybe if he thought hard enough he would actually be able to feel the warmth of Nick's body wrapping itself around him in sleep, keeping him warm. But he doubted it the moment he felt cold tears running down his face and freezing on his nose. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain in his heart until he fell asleep.

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