Title: Sugar, We're Goin' Down Swinging (9/18)
Author: Emono
Rating: PG-16
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas – Miami – New York
Pairings: Grissom/Greg, Horatio/Speed, Mac/Danny, Warrick/Nick, Don/Eric
Disclaimer: I may give my heart to CSI, but I am only aloud to play with the characters.
Summary: Gil and Greg share a morning, but out there someone gets shot.
Warnings: I'm messing with the timeline between Greg's transition between lab and field, but I don't care. AU, bite me.
Beta: gil_follower
Word Count: 2,537
Author Note: I saw this part of the show where the comedian got killed and freaked out and said, "There it is! They're together! ...is everyone blind? Climb out of your hole, people, it's right there!" So I totally wrote this and made it longer by shooting someone.
"You know what I have that you want in the mornings? Apart from my devilish grin and rakish good looks, of course."
"I like your coffee."
"No, no. You love my coffee. And you wanna know why? It's Blue Hawaiian."—Grissom and Greg
Grissom read the paper, seated at the table in his kitchen area in the early morning. A yawn made him look up, there in the doorway stood his young lover. Greg was rubbing at his eyes, blinking dully at the sudden light that flooded the kitchen. He was clad in a pair green plaid sleeping pants, though he hadn't bothered to put on a shirt. Greg stretched, stomach muscles working beneath the smooth skin there. The light caught his hair, making it look more blonde than normal, bouncing off the soft spikes and giving him a halo.
"It's about time you got up, I was waiting on your coffee" Grissom ran his eyes over his lover, taking in every detail almost hungrily. A little voice in the back of his head scolded him for being so lecherous this early in the morning, especially since he had his boy not eight hours ago.
Greg smiled sleepily, "Morning to you too."
The man walked over to the cabinets, pulling out his Blue Hawaiian blend of coffee along with two mugs. One was black, a little skeleton in a marching band uniform playing the drum was printed on it. The other was more conservative dark blue color, a white outline of a moth printed across it. Greg set them both on the counter, going about fixing the coffee.
Grissom tuned out for a second, cocking his head and letting his eyes drift up and down his boy and noting how much he had changed from the scrawny lab rat to the man he had before him. He was still into metal bands and wore their shirts, still had those worn jeans, but his wardrobe was getting different. There was a suit in their closet now for court, jackets that were really work-appropriate, some solid color shirts. Dress pants, even.
It surprised Gil, since his own wardrobe was a little eccentric as well. But Greg was still fun-loving, still smiled that certain smile that made his heart flutter, and they were just too much alike and too different not to be in love.
The coffee started slowly pouring into the glass container, and Greg stepped back to admire his work. He made a large pot, since they both usually drank a cup before work and then two more before the morning was over from the thermos. Greg snagged a blueberry muffin, a batch he had made last night right before bed so he would have breakfast today and tomorrow. He walked over to the table, peeling back the wrapper absently as he stared at his thoughtful lover.
"Anything particular on your mind?" Greg rose a brow at the secret smile he was given "Gil?"
Grissom gestured toward himself, "Come here, sweetness."
"We can't" Greg bit the side of his lip "We have to be at work in less than an hour-ah!"
Grissom seized the edge of his lover's pajama pants, getting him close enough to wrap his arms around his hips and getting him right on his lap. Greg tried to protest, but found that he couldn't put up much of a fight when the man was more determined than him and had him held so firmly in his lap. He settled back into the warm embrace, closing his eyes and savoring the kisses placed along the curve of his neck.
He managed a single protest, "What do you want?"
"Nothing" Gil replied honestly "I just want to hold you until the coffee's done..."
Greg smiled, breaking his muffin into four equal parts on the table and offering a quart. Grissom took the piece into his mouth, swallowing the bit of breakfast as his thumb idly traced the curve of his lover's belly button.
"I love you, you know that?" Greg stated, biting a piece of his own quart off.
"That could use some butter" Gil stood suddenly, causing the young man to give a cry and almost fall to the floor. Strong hands secured his place in the seat his lover just left, brilliant jade eyes locked on his as he looked up from his seat. "And I love you too."
A soft kiss bussed his forehead, the older man walked over to the coffee pot to pour them both a cup of the caffeine. Greg smiled at the gesture, knowing it was true. Fall Out Boy's 'Parker Lewis Can't Lose (But I'm Going To Give It My Best Shot)' played suddenly on the counter next to the coffee pot, signaling the younger man's cellphone.
Grissom rose a brow, "Who's that?"
"Huh" Greg chewed thoughtfully on another piece of muffin "That's Speed's tone, I wonder what he wants."
The older man reached for the cell, "Should I...?"
Greg thought about how this morning could go, "Nah, it's probably nothing important."
The younger man got up and went over to his lover, kissing him full on the mouth and sharing the taste of their coffee. Meanwhile, the cell kept ringing...
'It's not like I don't respect your opinion
Your quick wit lips just rip me apart sometimes.
Sometimes like this.'
~*~
Meanwhile, down in Miami, a worried blonde was practically running off the plane. Calleigh met him halfway down the parking lot, immediately hugging when they met and both near tears already. They pulled back, both drawn and biting their lips.
"...is he ok?"
"They think he'll be ok, but they don't know" Calleigh whispered "He would want you here...where's Greg?"
The blonde scowled, "I don't know."
~*~
'You remind me of a former love, that I once knew
And you carry a little piece with you.
We were holding hands, walking through the middle of the street:
That's fine with me,
I'm just taking in the scenery'
Greg sang along with the tune as Nick gave him a strange look, digging into his pocket with one hand while the other shined a flashlight along the carpet he was searching for evidence. 'I Have Friends In Holy Spaces'...that meant it was Danny.
"Danny-boy" Greg smiled into the phone "What can I do for you?"
"You can pick up your fuckin' phone when a friend calls, for starters!" came an angry growl over the line, making him wince.
"Danny, hold up for a second" Greg stood, giving the call all his attention "I just picked up the phone, didn't I?"
"Where were you this morning?" Danny hissed, clearly irate at the brunette "Horatio tried to call you from Tim's cell, but you didn't answer."
"I was having breakfast, I decided not to answer my phone early" Greg made a face "Who shoved a stick up your ass?"
"Are you bein' intentionally dense or just cruel?!" Danny's accent was getting thicker by the second "Someone gets shot, and you just blow it off for-"
"Shot?" Greg's voice went low, paling "Who was shot?"
Danny's voice softened, "Wait...you don't know?"
"Tell me!" Greg demanded fiercely, getting strange looks from Nick and Sara.
Danny said the one word that broke his resolve and his composure, "Tim."
"Oh God..." Greg dropped to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes "I-Is he...ok?"
"No, Greg, he's in the hospital" Danny sounded empathetic now "I thought you knew, but-...nevermind, G, can you come down? He's not awake-"
"I don't care, I'll be right down" Greg stated strongly, even though he was breaking inside "What do the doctors say?"
Danny sighed into the phone, "They're just giving us doctor answers, even Horatio can't make them give a straight answer."
Grissom was attracted to the scene when his lover gasped harshly at the realization, "Horatio! Oh man, how's he holding up?"
"He's more pissed than anything" there was a beep in the background "I'm here with Tim right now, H is out gettin' the guy. I gotta go, man, if they catch me with my cell phone out..."
Greg made an understanding sound, "I won't let you go through that alone."
They both hung up at the same time, but Greg couldn't take his eyes away from the floor.
"Gregor?" Grissom whispered, kneeling down to his boy and touching his shoulder "Are you ok? Did something happen?"
"Speed's been shot, Danny's already down there with him" a tear escaped, but he wiped it away roughly with the end of his sleeve "I gotta go, Gil, I have to. That call this morning...it was Horatio trying to get a hold of me. I-"
"Shh, I understand" Gil moved his hand up, cupping the side of the boy's face "Go now, I'm not going to stop you."
"Thank you" Greg leant in as if to kiss him, but forced himself away and out of the crime scene after handing his collected evidence and his camera over to Catherine. The blonde woman peered after him thoughtfully, watching as the boy took one of the officer's aside and asked for a ride to the airport. In a minute, he was gone.
"What was that?" Catherine asked, walking up to Grissom "He's been leaving a lot lately, can he afford any more time off?"
"I'll cover him" Gil replied smoothly "He needs to leave."
~*~
Greg arrived in Miami by the morning, thankfully Calleigh was there to meet him and drive him to the hospital. She couldn't stay, she was going to accompany Horatio to some of the suspects houses. But she did leave a tidbit behind...
"God help the man who shot Horatio Caine's husband...he's out for blood, Greg."
And Greg didn't doubt it for a moment
Greg gave his name and his friend's name at the head desk, bouncing on the balls of his feet and chewing his bottom lip the whole time. The secretary took her sweet time typing in the information, and it was a thirty year wait between her fingers pausing on the keys and the utterance of the correct number.
She looked over the rim of her glasses distastefully as he sprinted down the hall.
It seemed Speed's medical insurance covered a room by himself, either that or Horatio's badge had. Greg paused to knock, but smiled faintly as he recalled Diamond Dog rule 2: 'You never have to knock' (of course, that only applied to the three of them. Because of that rule they had all walked in on some rather provocative scenes. Maybe that's why Speed had suggested that rule in the first place?) He opened the door, heart pounding at the prospect of what he was about to see. The room was rather spacious, a nice cream color painted the walls and ceiling. The floor was a smooth stone, cool to the touch and unfeeling. There was a private bathroom in there as well, just as nice as any hotel.
But what caught his eye was the bed. Speed was there, machines beeping all around him. He was bare beneath the sheet over him, though paler by far. His normal scruff was a little thicker then usual, an oxygen mask covered his mouth and rhythmically pumped air past his lips and through his nose. A thick white gauze covered his shoulder, hiding the wound that lay beneath.
Danny was beside him, still dressed for work in a smart tan jacket and pants. Though Greg could note the wear on him, he didn't have on his glasses and his clothing was rumpled. The blonde looked like he hadn't slept at all, his hands clasped over one of Speed's as if trying to infuse him with his life and warmth.
Blue eyes looked up at him, "...you came?"
"Of course I did" Greg pulled up a chair, taking the scruffy CSI's other hand and rubbing his thumb across his knuckles (wincing when he touched the silver wedding ring there) "How is he?"
"The doctor..." Danny cleared his throat, trying not to sound so hoarse "The doctor said if he didn't wake up today, they weren't sure he was ever gonna."
Greg forced back any tears that welled in his eyes, staring into Speed's face and knowing just what ignoring a phone call had cost him.
"I've got a confession" Greg placed a kiss on the back of his best friend's hand "I've...been screening Speed's calls."
Danny didn't look surprised, but he didn't look away.
Greg smiled sadly, "I just assumed, since I was the last to befriend him, I was the most expendable. I always thought that whatever he had to tell me...he would want to tell you first."
Danny looked sympathetic, "Greg-"
Greg let his tears go as his voice broke, "I'm a horrible friend!"
"...oh, quit bitching already..."
They both looked up, finding Speed conscious and glaring at the brunette.
Danny perked up, "Tim?"
"Damn, you're alive!" Greg smiled brightly, wiping away his tears.
"You know we love you, G" Speed sat up on his elbows a little, taking back his hands "But quit being an asshole and stop screening my calls."
Greg opened his mouth to agree, but was cut off.
"Tim?"
All three looked over at the door, Horatio was there. The older man removed his sunglasses, showing off the redness mixing in with the blue of his eyes. Danny and Greg exchanged a look, nodding at each other in understanding and standing up. As they snuck out, they couldn't help but hear the beginning of the lovers conversation.
"Tim, you're awake...are you in any pain?"
"You can't get rid of me that easily, H. And I'm fine, I promise."
Greg followed Danny down the hall to the vending machines, the blonde pulling a handful of quarters out of his pocket and putting them in two of the machines. One Three Musketeers bar and a Dr. Pepper later, they were sitting against he wall (on the floor, for lack of chairs) and trying to process everything that had just happened.
Greg sighed around a mouthful of chocolate, "I was seriously worried there for a second."
Danny peeled the plastic wrapper off his bottle childishly, "Me too."
"What..." Greg's voice cracked, so he tried again "What the hell are we going to do once we really lose one of us?"
Danny slid his arm around the brunette, silent as he let the other rest his head on his shoulder. The blonde pressed his cheek to the boy's hair, eyes shut in sheer exhaustion.
Greg hesitated, "...Danny?"
Danny couldn't lie to the boy, "I don't know, G."
TBC
R&R, I feed off it
--Emono
