CSI: Live and Love: Chapter 3

A/N: I must apologize to you all for that last chapter. I am a mean author to leave you off on a cliffhanger like that, but I just couldn't help myself! So far I've just been typing what I've already handwritten. In the middle of this chapter that will change and I'll be posting as I get chapters written. I am hoping there will not be long breaks between chapters. Just remember that comments feed authors and yours so far have been doing a wonderful job! Thanks for all of them! And, as you've all requested, here's chapter three! Enjoy!

Nick ran over to the bed.

"How do you get that off?" he pointed to the metal collar around Greg's neck.

"Key. But Nicky, please, don't. Just leave. I might not make it to work tonight. Tell Griss I'm sick."

"No G. I'm getting you out of here. Don't worry. I promise not to let anything happen to you."

Greg looked up at him with huge, unbelieving eyes.

"Yes, Greg. I know what I just said. Just...can you roll over so I can unlock this?"

He obliged and Nick found the lock. Once the collar was off he was able to see the red, irritated skin on his neck caused by the chafing of the sharp edges of the collar.

"Oh Greg."

"Promise me you won't tell anyone."

Nick paused for a moment before answering. Gil wanted to know everything that was going on. Greg needed time off work, and he needed someone with him twenty-four seven to make sure this creep didn't come back for him. He wanted to be that person. But how could he convince their boss it was the right thing to do if Greg wouldn't let him tell?

"I promise. Now come on, let's get you dressed and packed."

"Where are you taking me?"

"I've got room at my place. You can crash there until you get back on your feet."

Those big beautiful brown eyes were looking up at him again and Nick wanted to dive right in. But he held back. Why, though, he didn't know. But what would Greg say if he did?

"Nicky? Clothes?"

He came out of his daze. "Oh right. Sorry."

"Dresser, bottom drawer," Greg said with the hint of a smile on his face.

Nick went to the drawer and found Greg's clothes. Two pairs of old jeans, three old t-shirts, two pairs of socks, and two pairs of boxers. He already had an idea of what had been happening from the moment he'd seen no Greg in the livingroom. That was only more solidified with the clothes, but he asked the question anyway, "You got more in laundry?"

Greg had since sat up with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed. He looked at the floor upon hearing the question.

"No," he whispered.

Nick handed him some clothes.

"You got a suitcase I can put these in?"

"Box under the bed."

Getting down on his hands and knees, he found the box and pulled it out. Inside, he found several Marilyn Manson cds along with two dvds: Brokeback Mountain and Rent. So maybe Greg wouldn't freak out if he'd dived into those beautiful brown eyes and kissed him like he'd wanted to for so long. But they were coworkers. And the movies might not be his.

"Just put my clothes in with them."

Nick nodded, "Anything else you want me to grab?"

"That's it."

He looked up to see that Greg had finally gotten his shirt on.

"You need help?"

"No."

"I'll just take this out to my car. I'll be back in a sec for you. Ok?"

"Sure."

When Nick got back from putting the box into his trunk Greg had struggled into his jeans and was on his feet holding tightly to the bed post.

"You ok?" Nick asked. "Want some help out to the car?"

"No."

Greg let go of the post reluctantly and took a step forward and then another. He was struggling and it was evident by the look of pain on his face that he was trying hard to suppress. Halfway across the room five minutes later he stumbled and Nick caught him just in time. He had Greg off the ground and in his arms within seconds, hurrying him out the front door and into his car.

"Nick! Please! Put me down!" Greg begged.

"I told you I'm getting you out of here. Now stop complaining."

The younger CSI dutifully shut up as Nick buckled him into the Denali. The ride to Nick's apartment was quiet, neither one saying a word. Nick wanted to say something, to be able to ask what was going on and how long it had been happening, how he hadn't noticed it before like he should have, but he didn't. It was probably better to wait until Greg got settled at the apartment before he barraged him with a lot of questions. He didn't turn on the radio either. Right then didn't seem like the right time to play music.

When they arrived Nick took the box of Greg's things upstairs to his apartment before he helped Greg out of the Denali. This time he held him upright as he struggled to walk on his own. Greg tried to shrug Nick off him but he was still too unstable to walk on his own.

Inside Nick's apartment the front door opened up to a small livingroom. On one wall hung a medium sized flat screen tv. Underneath it was a wide two shelf bookcase that held numerous dvds, videos, and video games. On top of the bookshelf was a dvd/vcr combo and a video game console. To the right of the tv was a small desk with a computer and a rolling desk chair. On the walls either side of the tv were two tall dark wooden bookcases filled with books. One case held a steadily growing collection of forensics books while the other held a growing collection of Dean Koontz's novels. On the final wall hung a large painting of a herd of horses grazing amongst tall prairie grass, the one stallion keeping a watchful eye for predators. In the middle of the room closer to the back wall with the painting sat a large, ultra comfortably cushioned brown corduroy couch with two similar chairs on either side of it, all facing the tv.

Off the livingroom were the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.

"Why are you doing this?" Greg finally asked when he was sitting on Nick's couch.

Nick sat down in one of the matching chairs.

"Because you were in a bad situation. I wasn't going to let anything bad happen to you. I told you that."

Nick debated how to get the answers he needed and decided a direct approach would probably be best, "G, I need to know what happened. Who did this to you and why?"

Greg shook his head but didn't say anything. His eyes betrayed his inner feelings as he looked away from Nick. He could tell his friend had once trusted this person, even loved them, before he'd been hurt by them in the deepest way possible. Now, his eyes seemed to hold a constant sadness, hurt, and fear. This was not the same Greg that had been bouncing around the lab not that long ago.

"Greg, I promise not to tell anyone. But I need to know."

"No. I don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry."

It was time to let the subject go. For now. Nick still wanted to know, and would get his answers eventually, but he had to be patient until Greg was ready to talk about it. Even if he didn't want to be. Even if he wasn't sure he knew how to be.

"It's ok," Nick said in a near whisper as he stared at the floor between his feet.

After awhile he looked up at Greg who's eyes were slowly closing as his head nodded.

"Greg?"

His co-worker nearly jumped to his feet at the sound of Nick's voice.

"Huh? What?"

"Sorry to wake you. I'm gonna call in a grocery order."

"You get your groceries delivered?!" Greg almost sounded surprised.

"Yeah. Just makes life easier, specially since my clock isn't running the same as everyone else's. Is there anything you need? Deoderant? Toothpaste? I'd share mine if you like Colgate?"

"No, no. I use that Arm and Hammer stuff. Whatever they've got is fine. I'll have to pay you back though, when my paycheck comes in."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I was thinking of a real Texas steak for dinner. What do you think?"

Greg's eyes went wide as saucers for a moment.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds good. I've had steak before, you know. But probably not the way you make it. I'd love to try your version."

"Good. It's settled then. Look, G, you're tired. It's almost noon and we should both be asleep. Why don't you get some rest and I'll call in that order. You can crash in my room."

"No, no, no. I couldn't take your bed, Nick."

"It's ok. Most of the time I prefer the couch anyway."

"You sure?"

"Totally."

Nick helped Greg to his feet and into his room. Inside a large queen-sized bed dominated the space. On one wall there was a different painting of the same herd of horses that hung in the livingroom. On another wall, hung a drawing of a microscope. A dresser, night stand by the bed, and a rocking chair with a warm fleece blanket draped over the back were the only other furniture in the small room. On the night stand was a well worn book entitled "One Door Away From Heaven" by Dean Koontz.

Nick lowered Greg onto the bed and pulled his shoes off.

"I like that drawing," Greg smiled briefly. "Reminds me of my days in DNA."

"It always did remind me of you somehow..." There was a long pause before Nick spoke again, "Tonight we'll worry about getting you some more clothes, ok?"

"Nick, don't. Don't do all this for me. Please. I'm not worth it. I don't want you to waste all your time and money on me. I'll just stay for the day. After work tomorrow morning I'll head home."

"You're not going anywhere. Now, you just get some sleep. We'll talk about this over dinner if you insist. And that's final."

Greg hung his head and sighed, "Alright. Whatever you say."

He lay down and Nick covered him with the sheets and a blanket.

Back out in the livingroom with the bedroom door closed Nick grabbed the phone and called Warrick.

"Yo, Nicky, what's up? How's Greg?"

"He's doing ok. I think he'll be fine. Look, Warrick, I was wondering how your caseload was."

"My caseload?"

"Yeah, I mean, can you handle one more?"

"Man, you are in luck. Both my cases last night were slam dunks!"

"Awesome, that's great, cause I'm gonna need you to take over my case. Sophia can update you."

"Does Griss know?"

"Not yet. I was gonna call him next."

"What's going on that you need me to cover?"

"I think...I think I'm comin' down with something?" Nick coughed for effect.

"Sure, sure, Nicky. I'll believe that when pigs fly. Really, how is Greg? Is it that bad?"

Nick paused, surprised Warrick had figured him out, but then again, he wasn't a CSI for nothing.

"Yeah, it's bad. I promised I wouldn't say anything. Well, that, and he hasn't said much." Nick lowered his voice, "but someone's got to look after him for awhile. Just...don't say anything to anyone. Ok?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem. By the way Griss is still here, pulling a double. I was just about to leave."

"Great, thanks Warrick."

Nick hung up and dialed his boss's cell phone.

"Ello?" came a groggy voice on the other end.

"Griss? Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, this was my only ten minute nap for the whole day. I'm pulling a double that's going to turn into a triple the way last night went," he almost sounded angry, which was a first for Gil Grissom who was known around the lab as the guy with no emotions.

"I'm so sorry. Warrick just told me you were still at work, I had no idea. Why...why don't I call you back in half an hour?"

"Too late now, Nicky. What's up? How's Greg?"

"That's what I was calling about. Warrick accepted my case. I need to stay here and keep an eye on Greg. This is not good, Griss. Someone's got it in for him, I can't explain too much. I promised Greg I wouldn't. I'm not even sure all of what's been going on cause he won't talk about it. But it's bad. And it's been going on for a long time. I just...could you...would you mind giving us some time off together? I don't want to leave him alone for even a second and he's in no shape to work at all."

"Nick, after last night, taking two of my best CSIs off the roster isn't a good idea. Besides that, you know how Ecklie would react to that."

"Griss, with all due respect, I don't care about that right now. Not any of it. Tell Ecklie to come to me, if he has problems with it. This is for Greg's own safety, for his life. I'm certain, near a hundred percent, that if someone doesn't keep a close eye on Greg, he might not be here tomorrow. Then you'll have one CSI permanently off your roster. I'm just trying to make sure he stays alive and gets better. Griss, you've just got to trust me on this one. I promise you, I'm not lying to get time off."

"I believe you Nicky. If it's as bad as you say, the most I can give you right now, is a week. Take it. Do what you can and keep me updated. Ok?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks Boss."

"I feel good knowing you're in control of the situation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to catch some winks."

"But I thought you said it was too late?"

"Na, not really. And even though you did wake me up in the first place, I'm glad you called."

"Yeah, you're welcome."

After calling the local grocery store and setting up an arrival time for the groceriesNick opened his bedroom door to check on Greg. The younger CSI was sleeping soundly, curled up in a ball. He looked like a lost puppy who hadn't been able to find his way home. The bruises covering his face and body were still as alarming as they had been earlier that morning, and Nick couldn't wait until the day they disappeared for good.

Smiling through the sting in his eyes he grabbed the blanket off the rocker and the pillow that had been underneath it and went back out to the couch. He pulled his boots off and lay down, covering himself with the blanket. He rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes for a few moments before popping them open again. He grabbed the cordless phone again and ran into the kitchen. On top of the fridge he pulled down the phone book and pawed through the yellow pages until he found what he was looking for.

"World Peace Coffee and Tea Shop, this is Tiffany, how can I help you?" a light, peppy, female voice greeted Nick on the other end of the phone.

"Uh, yeah, hi, I was just wondering if you sold Blue Hawaiian coffee by any chance?"

"Is a matter of fact we just got a shipment in this morning."

"Oh, great! I'm gonna need a lot of it."

"You wouldn't happen to be calling for Greg Sanders, would you?"

"Greg? You know Greg?"

"He's the only customer who calls ahead of time to order a few cases of Blue Hawaiian. He's our best customer, in fact." Tiffany's voice took a down turn all of a sudden and she seemed less peppy. "But, he hasn't been in to get his coffee in a long time."

"He hasn't? How long has it been?"

"About six months, I think. And the way he goes through that coffee he should have run out ages ago. It's not like him to wait so long to get more."

"Well, don't worry. I'll have him back buying lots of coffee before you know it. Now, how much does he usually get at a time? And can you deliver?"

"For Greg, we always deliver. He says his clock doesn't run the same as everyone else's."

Nick smiled at that.

"And he usually gets six cases."

"Six cases?! Man, that's gonna burn a hole in my wallet. Might as well light a match now and be done with it."

"He's our best customer, remember? He gets a discount for ordering in bulk."

Oh Greg, I love you so much! If I could fit a hundred cases of Blue Hawaiian coffee in my apartment right now, I would.

A/N: I know, a much better, sweeter ending than last time right? But trust me, the gruesome crime scenes and problems with Greg are far from over! And yes, I hope you all caught the tiny hint of humor with Gil. I wanted to make it a little funny, but decided that this wasn't the time for it, and at the end of their convo turned it serious again, I hope it worked. I hope you liked this chapter too. I surprised myself with the length, originally it wasn't going to be this long! Anyway, comments are always welcome, don't forget, and perhaps in a few days I'll get another chapter up! Thanks for reading!