"Mrs. Stokes, I must ask you don't go after Nick," Grissom's calm voice caught the woman's attention.
"You're going to tell me how to take care of my son?" she demanded, turning on him.
"No; this happened two and a half years ago and we all know how to deal with these panic attacks," Grissom replied evenly. "Greg is by far the best at it though and will be able to help Nick. If I may suggest go back to your hotel and sleep. Call Nick around eight in the morning when he gets off shift and take him to breakfast. Just don't push this issue any further."
Judge Stokes leaned forward. "You can't just ignore it."
"We're not; Nick has been in counseling for his fears and is working through them. His family here at the lab is helping in any way we can," Grissom said. "Don't blame him for this, it was a horribly traumatic experience for Nick and he's just starting to open up again."
"I don't like it," Judge Stokes said. "I especially don't like being told how to interact with my son."
"That's not my intention," Grissom said. "I can only advise based on the evidence presented to me. I don't insist you take my advice." He stood up and made his way back into the labs, but paused in the doorway. "Until you have lived through something as life-altering as Nicky has do not expect to understand what he has been through."
Greg closed the men's room door behind him, locking it and looking towards the stalls. He could hear Nick in the second from the end and made his way slowly towards the sound of his lover being violently ill talking softly the whole time. "Hey," Greg said gently, "its okay, you're safe."
"Greg?"
"Yeah," the young man said, sitting down on the floor by Nick and rubbing his lover's back. "Are you feeling better?"
"I think so," Nick replied. "Water?"
The lab rat stood and grabbed a cup. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Nicky," he said. "It's not fair for anyone to make you relive that pain."
"My parents needed to understand," Nick replied. "But I'm going to insist they don't talk about it any more. At least not if you or Gil ain't around."
They both looked up at the tap on the door. Greg went over and peeked out. Grissom was there and had turned over the do not disturb sign on the door that everyone knew meant Nick was in there and needed some time to himself. They all knew how lucky they were that the lab techs and their shift mates were so understanding.
"I thought Nick might need mouthwash," Gil said, easing into the restroom and locking the door behind him. "Are you okay, Nicky?"
"Yeah, it's just hard," Nick replied taking the mouthwash and making his way to the sink. "I don't feel like punching anyone this time though."
Gil wrapped his arms around Nick's waist from behind and pulled him into a hug. "That's good, you're making progress," he said, resting his chin on Nick's left shoulder. "I told your parents to leave you alone for a while."
"Bet they weren't happy," Nick said.
"You're right. I don't care though, they need to realize that they don't know what's happened to you since you left Texas and they might not know what to do to help you," Gil murmured.
"And you do?" Nick asked, eyes sparkling.
"I think so," Gil replied, nuzzling Nick's neck and pressing in against him. "I'd take you home right now if we didn't have cases to work."
Greg joined them in a sandwich hug, kissing at Nick's neck on the opposite side from Gil. "We could take off early," he suggested softly.
"Let's see how the night goes," Gil said. "But I think I might just order Nick home for some extra rest and he'd need someone to go along with him, Greg."
"Hmmm, I like the sound of that," Nick said. "Are my folks still here, Gil?"
"They were when I left the lobby," Gil commented. "I don't think your father likes me."
Nick caught his lover's eye in the mirror. "That's because you were in full supervisor protective mode. I bet you don't even remember what you said to them."
"Of course I do," Gil said. "Why don't you go and check in with Cat and see where your case is? Greg, I know you have work to do and I need to check in at the morgue."
"Do we have to move?" Greg asked. "I like it here."
"Yes," Gil replied. "I'm sure someone will need to be in here soon. I love you both but I will order you back to work."
The younger men laughed and, to Gil, it was the best sound in the world. It meant Nick truly was healing as each of these attacks was becoming less harsh.
Nick and Catherine's kidnapping case ended up linked with Grissom's homicide and, once Greg had processed all the evidence they had, Gil sent his two young lovers home, knowing that Nick was probably stressed out from the encounter with his parents and needed some quiet time to rest and regroup.
"That was quite a shock," Catherine commented, not looking up from the folder she was reviewing.
"What?"
"Nick's parents showing up like that. Did you know they were going to be in town?"
"No, I didn't," Gil replied. "But I'm afraid they're going to push the Crane issue with him. I had to stop his mother chasing after him earlier."
"I saw the sign up," Catherine said. "Nick's been doing so good with his counseling too. I don't know how this could affect it."
Grissom frowned. "I'm not sure I want to find out." He paused as his cell phone rang. "Grissom."
"It's me; we're being followed."
"Are you sure, Greg?" Gil asked, walking out into the hall and towards his office.
"Yeah; it's a black something, looks American," the young man said. "It caught us as we came out of the lab parking lot and has been with us ever since."
"Where are you now?" Gil asked.
"Nick's taking us to the mall," Greg replied. "I'm leaning towards it being his parents and, if it is, then we can have breakfast with them."
"I want to know what's going on with them," Gil said. "Catherine and I have reached a point where I should be able to get away. Where in the mall are you going to be?"
There was murmuring for a moment. "Barnes and Nobel," Greg said finally. "Probably in the coffee shop."
"All right, let me talk with Cath and I'll meet you there," Gil said. "Take care of Nicky."
"I will. Love you."
"Me too." Grissom put his phone back in his pocket and made his way back to the break room. "Hey Catherine, something just came up with Nicky. Can you handle things here for the next hour or so?"
"Definitely," she replied. "You go and make sure Nick's all right."
"Thanks, I owe you."
"Yes, you do," Catherine said softly as she watched her friend leave.