A/N: Again I would like to point out that I do not own CSI or any of it's characters...yet! plots Oh and as always I am not to be held responsible for any mental or emotional damage that you may suffer as a result of reading this. It's not my problem!
'Well there he is! What now genius?' Hodges thought to himself when Ecklie walked through the door. He hadn't exactly thought his plan through, he had been blinded by rage and rejection when he had decided to come here so he never really gave much thought as to what would happen once he met Ecklie.
"What can I do for you David?" Ecklie asked in one of his nicer tones. He still wasn't sure how to approach this situation. Things between himself and David still ran a little high at times, he hadn't heard from him in months and now he was standing in his office. 'What's going on here?' He wondered.
"I...uh...I...was just...uh," Hodges' eyes nervously darted around the room, "I was just wondering what time your shift ended at." He finally finished his sentence. He waited, uncertain of what kind of response to expect and by the looks of things Ecklie was uncertain of what kind of response to give. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally spoke. 'I'm not going to let my evening be ruined.'
"Whenever I want it to." He smiled at the man in his office, enjoying the perks of his job title.
'You've gone this far...' A voice came from somewhere inside Hodges' head. "What are you doing afterwards?" He asked; trying to find some of the confidence he had felt when he was talking to Wendy and ignore the other voice that was screaming at him for being an idiot.
"Nothing, what did you have in mind?" Ecklie replied, he didn't know what was going on with Hodges but he was willing to go along with it; at least he knew Hodges wouldn't reject him, or yell at him.
"Uh...I don't know." He never thought Ecklie would agree. "Maybe we could go out for a drink of something?"
"Sounds good," Smiled Ecklie, "I just have a few things to tidy up here so I'll meet you in the parking lot in 10 minutes." He wasn't so much asking as he was instructing. Nodding in agreement Hodges quickly turned on his heels and left the office.
'What the hell are you thinking?' He had vowed he would never go near Conrad Ecklie again, not after the way he treated him like a lap dog; taking advantage of him, using him as an unwitting mole in the lab, manipulating him and making him think he actually cared. 'I know you're mad, but really it's better to be alone!' That voice he had been trying to ignore was now screaming louder than ever as he made his way to the locker room.
But it was too late to back out now, regardless of how strongly he wanted to, he couldn't. He had to see where this was going. That always was his downfall, he always wondered what if. Closing his locker he headed towards the car park somewhat reluctantly.
"You've one new message."
Beep.
"Hey SuperDave! Uhh...it's...uhh...it's Nick here. I was just wondering if we could meet up, to talk. Please meet me at 7 at the old bar...you remember the one. Thanks!"
Blinking a few times as he tried to make sense of the voicemail message David closed his phone. 'What the hell?'
Meet Nick at the bar? He hadn't been to that bar in years; not since he'd gotten engaged anyway. He knew he probably shouldn't go; he made a point in his life to never go back, it was his personal philosophy that reliving the past never does much good, but there was just something about Nick Stokes that always pulled him in and something in his voice in the message that drew David's attention. He had sounded almost pained, he was normally so smooth but in the message his Texan drawl was laced with a kind of sadness. Maybe it was his hero complex coming into play, but something about the voice made David want to meet Nick, to go back to the old bar, even just to make sure he was ok.
Sitting in the passenger seat of the car he made a quick phone call home to tell his wife he would be late and for her not to worry. When he hung up the phone he started the engine and headed towards the old bar all the while wondering what was going on.
Five minutes after Hodges had left the building Ecklie sauntered out of the lab with his car keys in hand.
"I'll drive!" His sentence sounded more like a command than a statement; Ecklie always had to be in control. Hodges nodded slightly and obligingly climbed into the passenger seat. He was way past second thoughts now, these were more like ninth or tenth thoughts he was having.
"The usual place then?" Ecklie asked, removing his eyes from the road only briefly to look at the man travelling beside him.
'As if you would ever have the nerve to be seen anywhere else in my company.' Hodges thought to himself bitterly. "The 8 ball it is." He agreed, his eyes fixed out the window at passing cars and trees and his mind drifted back to thoughts of Wendy.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence until they pulled into the parking lot if the 8 ball bar. It was a seedy kind of place; the neon sign over the door that didn't work properly most of the time and the inside was dank and dimly lit. It wasn't the most pleasant of places but it was somewhere they were unlikely to run into anyone they knew and that was more important to Ecklie than the décor.
They walked awkwardly into the bar and ordered drinks; now was not the time for beer, they needed proper hard liquor so both men ordered a double scotch. The awkward silence from the car returned as the downed their drinks and ordered more. They were a few rounds in before Conrad broke the silence.
"So what made you come to my office today David?" He asked, his ego was quietly purring inside his mind that it was because Hodges missed him, and was miserably without him.
"Honestly Conrad? I really don't know!" Hodges answered sounding dismayed, not that Ecklie picked up on it. "Why did you agree to come out with me?" He questioned.
"I knew you wouldn't yell at me for taking away the Grissom's precious holiday time!" Ecklie spat viciously, the alcohol was clearly starting to affect him. Hodges was quick to pick up on this. His ears pricked up and he pressed on with further questions.
"No, of course I wouldn't yell at you for that Conrad!" You catch more flies with honey... "Who did yell at you?"
"Judy!" He sneered angrily.
'Judy? Well, well isn't that new?' Hodges made a note of this new gossip. "She yelled at you?" He faked shock.
"Yes!" Slurred Ecklie in complete disbelief. "She said that they were nice to her and I promised her something or other! Can you believe that?" He was now swaying slightly in his seat. He reached his hand over and placed it on Hodges' thigh. "But you don't care, you don't want promises, you just want me! All you want is my attention 'cause you love me David!" He smiled a disgustingly self-assured smile at Hodges.
'Uhh...NO!' Hodges couldn't believe what he was hearing. Love Ecklie, he didn't think it was humanly possible. Maybe at one stage he had been infatuated with the lab director, but it was more his power that Hodges was attracted to than his looks or personality. 'I've heard enough! I've had enough! How could I have been so stupid? I'd rather be lonely and hold out in the hope Wendy will fall for me than ever, EVER go near Conrad Ecklie again!' David came to his senses. He was leaving; Ecklie was so drunk now he probably wouldn't notice.
Getting off his seat dramatically Hodges stormed off towards the door, he was so wrapped up in his suddenly clear thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and he bumped into a woman as he made his exit.
"I am so sorry Miss!" He apologised to the woman as he helped her up from the floor.
"No really it was my fault." She also apologised as they drew to eye level. Seeing the face of the man she had bumped into she was pleasantly surprised. "David!" She smiled.
"Wendy?"
