Next chapter! A huge thanks to all who have reviewed; it means a lot to me! Enjoy this part!

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Chapter 7

Nick was sighing inside when he looked around the scene. It was five hours into his shift and he hadn't had the chance to talk to Greg yet. The minute he had stepped into the lab at the start of shift, Grissom had ushered him out again. There had been a big accident on the freeway with fifteen cars involved. So far seven people were dead, three were barely alive, and eighteen had minor injuries.

The scene looked like a war-zone with body bags and car parts all over. Nick had been on the road trying to save all the evidence so the road could be opened again. It was the main road from Henderson to Vegas, and the sheriff was pressuring the CSI's to clear it. With the last piece bagged, Nick made his way over towards Grissom.

"The road's clear now Griss. I've bagged every piece and put it in the truck. Is there anything else you need me to do here, or can I go back to the lab now?"

"No, I think we're done here for now. I'll notify the sheriff that the road is clear; I bet he'll be happy. Go to the lab, I'll be in soon."

Nick nodded and headed to the truck. He could feel the tension in his back lift as he thought about who he would meet back at the lab. He couldn't wait to see Greg, to let him know what life-altering decision he had made. Thinking about the lab-tech made him smile. As it always did.

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Thirty minutes later he was at the lab. After several turns all the evidence was finally moved from the truck into the evidence room. When the truck was parked, Nick decided to take a small coffee break before logging. He went into the break room and was lucky to find a new pot of Greg's Blue Hawaiian. He poured himself some of the delicious liquid before moving towards the DNA-lab, bringing with him a cup for the tech as well.

Inside the lab Greg was busy processing the samples from the accident. He had been swamped with work and was happy to see Nick standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee in his hand. He stood up and took one of the cups from the Texan.

"Now that looks wonderful, thanks babe."

With a look of pure bliss he sat back down and sipped to his coffee. Nick was still blushing from the endearment, but managed to compose himself at last and enter the lab. Both men were sipping at their coffee, the silence between them was relaxing, not tense as it had been the last couple of days.

"I've been thinking. About what you said yesterday. You're right. You were right about everything you said. I want to be happy, I really do. Will you help me?"

Greg looked up; the words from the older man were both surprising and not surprising. He had believed that he would manage to get Nick to give in some time; he just hadn't believed it to happen this fast.

"So what are you saying Nicky? Are you willing to give it a try? Give us a try?"

"Yes. I want this. I can't stop thinking of you G, I need you so badly. Please?"

"I'm all yours, this hasn't changed since yesterday. I'm thrilled that you want this as much as I do."

"Yeah. So how do we do this? What do we do now? This is new to me G."

"I know Nick. We'll take it slow, okay? Let's just start out with a date. Sounds okay?"

Nick visibly relaxed when he heard the tech say that they'll take it slow. He had been very confused when thinking about what to do next, but he decided to just follow Greg. He trusted the man, and knew that he wouldn't do anything Nick wasn't ready for.

"Okay, sounds great. When's your next night off? Mine's tonight."

"Aww, shoot. Mine's Sunday."

"Oh. Hmm… I think Warrick got Sunday off, I'll just ask him to switch. Could you just continue to look sad and snap at people? I'll just say that I'm taking you out to cheer you up."

"Sure thing. I better get back to work, thanks for the coffee. Let me know how things turn out."

When Nick left the lab he felt ten pounds lighter and a lot happier than he had been in a long time. Now, all he needed to do was to make Warrick switch days off with him. He didn't think that would be so hard, who would turn down an offer of Saturday night off? Not Warrick for sure.

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One hour later Nick was in the garage trying to piece the different cars together. He knew now what had started the crash, he just didn't know why. The driver of a SUV had lost control, causing the car to move over to the opposing lane where it hit a Toyota Corolla dead on. The Corolla had pushed the SUV back, which had made the cars behind collide with the two first vehicles. Now all he needed to find out was why the driver had lost control, whether it was by accident or mal treatment. Nick was lying under the SUV when Warrick came in.

"Hi man! How you doing? Need any help?"

Nick rolled out and looked up at his friend. "No thanks man. I think I'm done now."

"Yeah? Well that's cool. So you know the cause then?"

"I think so. From what I can see, the DSC somehow malfunctioned causing the driver to loose control. You should never trust the technology too much. He was also over-speeding, so I guess there's a string of causes."

"Damn. I'm done trusting the car, that's for sure. From now on I only trust myself. So what are doing on your night off?"

"Oh yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that. Would you mind swapping nights with me?"

"What? You want to swap a Saturday against a Sunday? Why?"

"I was thinking about Greg being a little out of the ordinary lately. I know he's got Sunday off and just thought I could get him to talk to me if we're without the pressure of having to go to work two hours later. I'm kinda worried about him."

"I know what you mean. I just came from his lab. He threw me out of there, yelling at me that he would page me when the results were done. If you can get him back to that usual happy mode, please do. 'Cause I don't like this new grumpy guy."

"Yeah, well I'll try anyway. So you're cool with switching nights off?"

"Totally man. Have fun trying to figure Sanders out tomorrow!"

Nick shrugged his shoulders with a laugh, and left the garage searching for Grissom. After reporting his findings he walked over to the DNA-lab to tell Greg the good news. He frowned when the tech didn't lift his eyes from the microscope, but laughed when he saw the earplugs in Greg's ears. Grissom had obviously gotten fed up with the loud music and told the Californian to keep it off. Nick walked over to the desk and tapped the tech on the shoulder, causing the younger man to jump.

"Fuck! You scared me man. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Greg removed his earplugs and the surprised look on his face quickly turned into a big grin.

"I was sneaking up on you? I've been standing here waving my hands for five minutes; you could just work without music you know."

Greg looked aghast by the idea and put one hand over his heart. "Oh man, are you trying to give me a freaking heart attack here? That's one lame joke cowboy. Anyway… What's up?"

Nick was still grinning because of the others very childish act. "I talked to Warrick. He was cool with switching, so I'm game."

"Yeah?" The Californian suddenly became serious. "Great! I'll make all the plans okay? Just be at my place at 6 pm on Sunday."

"Okay. I'm a little anxious about this, I just don't want to mess anything up. So what kind of date will it be? What should I wear?"

"Don't worry about it, everything will be fine. I promise. Just wear some nice casual clothes. It won't be that fancy."

"I can do that. So… I'm off now. Grissom let me go a little early. I guess I'll see you at work tonight."

"You sure will! Bye Nick, sleep well and sweet dreams." The tech moved closer, his mouth almost at the Texans ear now. "Hopefully about me! I'll definitely be dreaming about you!"

Whit that Greg turned around to continue working. He had once again managed to make the older man speechless. Nick could feel himself turning hard, and decided to get the hell out of there before someone saw him and started asking questions.

Greg snickered when he saw Nick's quick escape. It was still fun to mess with the Texans mind. He had always tried to find ways to make the older man blush, and it was quite easy, with Nick's naivety and old Texas schooling shining through.

During the last hour of his shift, Greg was planning the date. He wanted it to be something special, something they both would remember and look back on with joy fifty years from now. The Californian knew that Nick was the love of his life, but it might be smart to be done with the first date, before planning for the future. There were some questions that needed answering, but Greg was in no rush. He had promised the CSI to take it slow, and he knew that the saying; all good things come to those who wait, very much applied to this situation. He had longed for Nick for almost two years; he was not going to spoil this chance.

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Next chapter will come tomorrow, and it will contain the date! Please review, I love to hear what you think!