Author's Note: Thank you all for the nice reviews. With this chapter I just want to remind you that I am no legal expert and I know I am probably not accurate with the details of what would happen in real life, but this is why it's fiction, based on fictional characters. :) Enjoy!
Greg returned back to his motel room an hour later. He had stopped to get a fast food meal on the way home. He realized he had never eaten anything for breakfast. It was probably another reason he had been shaking some.
He lay back on the bed, with his hands behind his head. He stared up at the slightly grungy ceiling. "One day out of prison and you already have a job offer. How can this be?" He asked himself. He really thought his chances of finding a decent job outside of fast food joints or convenience stores were hopeless. Perhaps what Nick and his parole officer told him was true, people out there really did see his innocence.
He thought back to the day the plea bargain was put on the table to him by his lawyer. He had already been dragged through the mud and back by the media and the protests that broke out citywide, calling for his head.
"Listen Greg, the DA has put a deal on the table that will prevent you from having to go through what could be a very long trial, during which time you will still have to have protection from those who wish you harm. I know that has put a ton of stress on you, having no job, worrying about yourself and Nick's safety from those crazies that burned your car. The DA has a very strong case against you. If there had not been that bad angle video in that alleyway, you might be in the clear but it is your word against many of those who witnessed it, even though they took part in the beating.
"The deal is that you will be sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter and set to serve 10 years in prison, with parole possible after 6 years. If we go to trial and you are found guilty, which is a very good chance, you will serve at least 20 years in prison. If you take this deal, Nick will be safe again and the community will see that justice is served," his lawyer told him.
"Justice is served? I didn't purposely kill him. It was in self-defense…how can I serve prison time for something I didn't do on purpose?" Greg yelled back at him. He was at his wits end by then. He had actually discovered his first gray hair the other day. He knew it was from the stress he was under. He lived in fear for his life and for Nick's after coming home the one day to find his car burning in their front yard. They knew where he lived, the media followed his every move, and he had no peace.
"I know Greg, I know but a jury will not see it that way. You already had one jury who didn't see it that way, which is why you are here now. How much longer do you want to live like this?" His lawyer asked.
Greg was exhausted and knew he could not take it much longer.
The DA had entered the room. "Have you heard the plea deal? Are you going to take it Greg? It's really best at this point. Look, we will make sure if you are in prison, you are placed under special protection. Nothing will happen to you."
Greg frowned, remembering that promise. It was complete bullshit. He took the fall and then he really took the punishment in prison.
He sat up and suddenly felt the need to practice his tai chi. He took off his tie and shirt and stood at the foot of his bed. He took a few deep, calming breaths before getting into his stance. He started stretching his arms out and pulling them in, in the graceful motion that tai chi had.
Five minutes in and he felt a lot of the tension that had built up by the memory leave his body. He was startled by a knock at his door.
He walked over to the door. There was no peephole so he asked who was at the door.
"It's Nick. I decided to stop by before work."
He relaxed the tension that had briefly built in him and unlocked the door to open it.
He opened the door and saw Nick with a bag in his hand. He noticed Nick silently looking him up and down and realized he still had his shirt off.
"Uh, come in," he said bashfully. He quickly grabbed his shirt and put it back on.
Nick was shocked at seeing his body. He really had more defined muscles but he also had seen the few scars that littered his chest. Some of those prison beatings he got early on still lived on his body.
"Hey, I brought you a few things I thought you could use." He threw the duffle bag on the table. "I still have most of your stuff in storage. I have a box or two I keep in the house and got these clothes out of it. I hope they still fit. I mean, usually you wore stuff kind of baggy anyway, back then," Nick shrugged.
Greg walked over and looked in the bag. He saw a couple of his old, beloved t-shirts and a couple pair of looser fitting pants. Casual clothes are what he needed right now and he was grateful Nick had brought them.
He dug in further and pulled out a cord that had a plug. He pointed to it and asked, "I assume this is for the phone you gave me?"
Nick ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, sorry about that. I forgot that yesterday. I figured your phone is nearly dead now, since I tried to call you and got voice mail."
Greg pulled the phone out of his pocket and checked. Nick was right, it was dead. He took it and plugged it into the outlet by the nightstand. "Thanks, this has come in handy." He noticed Nick looking around the room.
"It's not that bad, really," Greg said sheepishly.
"I guess compared to prison, it probably isn't."
"Exactly!"
Nick took a seat at the table while Greg sat down on the edge of the bed. "So how did today go so far?" Nick asked him.
Greg suddenly smiled and Nick thought it was beautiful. "I think I got a job already. I mean he just said he needs to clear it with HR and work out the details and stuff. He said he will call me back in a day or two to let me know for sure."
"Wow, that's fantastic Greg. Who and where is this place?" Greg started filling him in on the first job bust and then the second job excitement.
"He knew Grissom? Wow, I didn't think Grissom knew many people outside of work," Nick said with some amusement.
"Yeah, I know. Say, so who else is still at the lab anyway?" Greg decided to ask Nick.
"Well, these days the only ones that have not moved out of town are Hodges, Henry, and Doc Robbins. The place lost something very special after you were gone. It's never been the same. Everyone started looking for jobs elsewhere. They were repulsed by what this city did to you," he told him somberly.
"And you?" Greg asked him. He wanted to hear him say why he had not moved on.
Nick smiled sadly at him. "You know why. You were still nearby. Granted, you were in state prison several hours away, but you were still here. I knew one day you would be coming home again."
Nick stood up and walked over to Greg, pulling something out of his pocket. "That being said, I have something for you. You don't have to do anything with it, but I want you to have it to know you are always welcome to stay with me." He had pulled out a keychain with a key on it.
He looked at Greg, who seemed hesitant. "Hold out your hand." Greg held his palm out and Nick put the key in his hand. He closed Greg's hand around it. Greg looked up at him with wonder.
"You still want me to live with you, don't you," he said more matter of fact than a question.
"Yes, the address is on the back of the keychain. It's also in your cell phone. You know I had to move after everything. I couldn't stay there anymore, since the media was still hounding me even after you were gone. This place has three bedrooms. One I turned into an office, the other has a queen size bed in it and everything. My parents have stayed there on a couple occasions when they have come to visit. You can stay in the bedroom. I'm not asking you to come back to our bed. I know time has passed and things have changed. I just want you to have a decent start. Once you get your feet planted back firmly on the ground, if you want to move out, you are free to do so. I just can't stand seeing you stay in a place like this when you have a perfectly good place waiting for you. I won't crowd you. Heck, if you get this job, we may not even see each other that much. I am sure we will be on different work schedules. I just want you to be successful Greg. You don't have to take the hard road. Haven't you already traveled that road over and over again in the last few years? Give yourself a break."
Greg swallowed hard and looked down at the key. "I'll think about it." He heard Nick sigh. He couldn't look at him, knowing he just disappointed him. He did not want to make promises he might not be able to keep.
Nick looked at his watch and stepped back from Greg. "I have to get going to work. Think about it. You are free to go whenever you decide. The security code is the same we had before. I hope you at least remember that."
Greg looked up at the disappointed face of Nick Stokes. He felt terrible but he could at least give him this. "I remember. I'll always remember that day. It's one of the best days of my life." He earned a small smile from Nick.
"Good to hear. You think about that day and think of my offer. I've got to be leaving now. Lock that door behind me. This place still gives me the creeps," he smirked as he left.
Greg followed him to the door. He grabbed Nick's hand before he left. Nick turned around, looking down at his hand in Greg's and then up into those huge chocolate pools.
"Thanks for the stuff. And well everything. I'll think about it, I promise. You take care," Greg smiled at him warmly.
Nick so badly just wanted to kiss him, since they were so close but he knew that move might scare him away at this point.
"You're welcome. You are always welcome, Greg." He squeezed his hand tightly before letting go and leaving him behind.
Greg locked the door behind him and went back and slumped in the chair. He looked at the key in his hand. He looked at the pendant on the keychain. It was a little house in silver. He turned it over and saw engraved on the backside was the address. Smart and yet not so smart if he lost the keys and they fell into the wrong hands. He would not let that happen.
He went over to the bed and looked at the cell phone. It already had some juice in it. He pulled up Google Maps and noticed the address had already been searched. He had to chuckle a little seeing how Nick really did think of everything. He put in his current location and directions to the house. It was about 20 minutes away, on the good side of town. Of course, where Greg was now was close to the LVPD, as typically the police stations are located in the older, not so good area of cities. LVPD was only about 10 minutes' drive from his current location.
He looked at the house location again and noticed the satellite setting. He chose that and zoomed in to see the house. It looked really nice, nicer than their old house. He looked up and around his current living conditions. He chewed on his lower lip and looked back at the house image. He felt anxiety kick in at the thought of living with Nick again.
There was no bad breakup or anything. It was simply Greg pulling away from Nick as the case closed in around him. Once he was sentenced, the distance became real, as he was shipped away to Prison. Nick would visit him early on, especially after all the times he ended up in the infirmary from an injury he sustained in a beating from a "fight." That's what they called them but truly it was a plain old beating he received since he was not in the protected area he was promised to be in.
Things got worse when they moved him to another area of the prison. Those prisoners were interested in things other than beating him up. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts into the dark corner of his mind again. Those other things had driven him to try to take his life though. He had tried hanging himself but his attempt was caught in time by a guard.
He remembered seeing the pained look in Nick's eyes that first visit he was allowed after the attempt. He hated that he caused it, he also hated that Nick was still holding on to him. That was when he decided to cut off all communication to those on the outside. He refused visits from them and refused to read any mail he received or reply to it.
There was only the one time Nick had the guard work with him and fool Greg into thinking he was seeing his lawyer. He remembered seeing Nick's face as he entered the visitor's room. He immediately turned around and asked to be taken back to his cell. He heard Nick call him name and beg him to talk to him. He turned back to see those tear-filled eyes of Nick and shook his head before heading out. The last thing he heard Nick yell was "Happy Birthday, I just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday." Greg had forgotten it was even his birthday. After being in prison for almost five years at that point, he no longer knew what day it was half the time. He only knew how many days he had been in there, which was the only thing he kept track of.
Since that day, Greg never heard from Nick again until he pulled up yesterday to pick him up at Prison. He still could not believe he acted like nothing had happened. Suddenly Greg felt mad at Nick. Why was he not angry with him for the way he treated him? Why was he being so nice to him after he treated him like shit? But then he knew the answer, as Nick had already told him a few times, he was punishing himself for something he should have never been punished for in the first place. He had already suffered so much. Those memories he had in the dark place in his mind was where his real pain was kept.
He looked down and noticed his hands were shaking again. "Damn it!" He threw the keys across the room and then clenched his fists. He heard in his mind his doctor telling him to calm down and think of those happier times. The thing was, those happier times always involved Nick. When he was with Nick, he was happiest.
He thought of that day he would never forget. Greg had been working on his assessment to be a CSI. He had just thought he failed the exam when Nick and Warrick both told him Grissom wanted to see him. He was ready to get the word he had failed again and would never be a CSI. To his surprise, they fooled him and had a dummy in Grissom's chair spin around that had a sign saying he passed.
They all came to congratulate him. Nick put his hand on his shoulder and whispered to him that they would have a private celebration later. He smirked and then left to get working on his case. Greg could not wait for their private celebration. They had been dating for at least a year if not longer, in private at that time.
Greg later cornered Nick in the locker room. "Where's the celebration tonight? Your place or mine?"
Nick just smiled at him. He took his hand and put something in it. Greg opened his hand and saw it was a set of keys. "Your place?"
Nick smiled wider. "I want it to be my place all the time. I want to come home with you on a daily basis. I want to wake up with you on a daily basis. Will you move in with me?"
Greg remembered fondly hardly being able to contain his excitement. He had waited for the day that Nick would ask him to move in. "If I say yes, does this mean we will be telling the others about us?"
"If you say yes, that is what it means." Nick was finally willing to go public that he was gay and in love with Greg Sanders. Greg wanted to jump up and down he was so happy.
"Yeah, that was a good day," he smiled fondly at the memory. He looked down at his hands and he was no longer shaking.
He walked across the room and picked up the keychain. Nick made him happy before. Could Nick make him happy again? 'Stop punishing yourself,' he heard him again in his head.
He squeezed the keys in his hands. "I'm going to try, Nick. I'm going to try."
TBC...