Chapter Nine:
I turned the key in the door, almost falling through it, but I managed to grab the handle going down, slowing my crash slightly as I stumbled to my knees. I staggered to my feet, trying to push the door shut as quietly as I could, but my efforts were useless as Warrick and Nick were both sat on the sofa, glaring at me open mouthed.
"Greg? Are you..."
"Drunk?" I cut Warrick off with drunken a giggle. "I only had..." I held the door handle tightly beginning to sway with dizziness. "Three or Four."
"Three or Four what?" Nick asked, walking towards me to support me in case I fell face first into the floor.
"Bottles." I crashed into his body, feeling the world spinning around me. "Just a little though." He stood me up right, looking into my eyes.
"Jeez Greg, bottles of beer or wine?" I scratched my head trying to remember, but instead I just shrugged with another drunken giggle.
I felt limp again, literally falling into his arms this time. I spaced out a little after that, vaguely remembering being carried down the hall to my room. Nick removed my coat and shoes, placing a cold cloth on my forehead.
I suddenly felt a tight pain in my stomach as though my insides were going to turn inside out. "Wait . . . I'm gonna..."
"Throw up?" Nick asked. I managed to nod slightly as he helped me off the bed towards the bathroom. He kicked up the toilet seat for me, kneeling me down in front of it then disappeared out the door returning with a can of Pepsi. My throat burned as I vomited up three full rounds, including a few dry heaves that always scare me because it feels like your insides are going to tear apart.
Nick sat with me; softly smoothing his palm up and down my back then handed over the can of Pepsi.
"Thanks." I managed to choke out. "Where's Warrick?" I asked taking a swig of the Pepsi then held the cold can to my thumping forehead.
"He went home." Nick watched me wince as I leant back against the wall, holding the can to the other side of my head. "Are you okay?"
I nodded trying to keep my mouth shut. I have a habit of over talking about anything when I'm drunk and sometimes I don't even realise it. Nick sat against the wall beside me, listening to my breathing beginning to steady.
"So was it bottles of beer or wine Greg?" He asked curiously. I looked at him giving him are shrug. "Your first night out since . . . and you get completely hammered. Why didn't you want me to come with you?"
"I don't need a babysitter Nicky." I groaned, taking a swig of the Pepsi to clear my throat.
"I never said you did G. Maybe I just wanted to go with you." Nick grabbed the can as I almost dropped it, setting it down on the floor between us. "So where did you go?"
"Bar." I slurred, rubbing my eyes.
"Did you meet anyone?" He looked at my lips seeing I was keeping them tightly shut. "Are you afraid to talk to me drunk G?" He chuckled.
"No." I slurred, nodding my head.
He laughed, leaning right back against the wall beside me. "Did you go alone or with friends?"
"What's with the fifty questions?" I asked then winced holding my head. "Ow."
"You okay?"
"My head." I pointed.
Nick nodded at me as if I was insane. "It's called a hangover Greg." He chuckled at me. "I suppose you forgot to eat too?" I nodded taking another swig of the Pepsi beside me. "We should get you off to bed then. You wonna shower first, you're a sloppy vomiter." He chuckled looking at my clothes.
I managed to nod slightly then the next thing I knew he's pulling me to my feet, turning the shower water on, to get it warmed up. "Need some help?" He asked as I wobbled towards the sink, setting the can of Pepsi down.
"No . . . I can . . . I can." I struggled with my t-shirt trying to lift it over my head.
"Here . . . lemme help you." Nick stepped towards me, taking the rim of my t-shirt in his hands, slowly pulling it up over my head. He then worked open the belt of my jeans, popping open my flies. This was every one of my fantasies rolled into one, and he had no idea.
Nick slipped off my jeans, supporting me as I stepped out of them then went for my boxers, the last piece of clothing.
"I can take it from here." I said holding my hands over my boxers, keeping them in place. He gave me a smile then took a step back. "Can I have a little privacy?" I asked, bumping into the edge of the sink, almost toppling over.
"Greg you can barely stand. I don't want you to crack your head open too." I stuck my thumbs in the rim of my boxers looking at him. "Are you shy G?" He smiled at me.
"No!" I protested, blushing bright red. "Could you at least turn around?" He reluctantly turned around so I could whip my boxers off, heading into the shower. Maybe that should be a sign he might like me. Maybe that's just wishful thinking. I've got to get over him!
"I'll grab yah some clean clothes G." He called out, heading into my bedroom.
I barely remember my shower, next thing I know I'm waking up in my bed in boxers, clean boxers that is, lying in the centre of my bed. I looked around the room then started to feel my head pounding again. Ugh... I hate hangovers!!! That's the one part of drinking I hate, but I never learn my lesson.
"Hey Greg!" Nick's voice sounded through the door. I pulled the covers over my lower half then flattened my hair slightly. "You awake G?"
"I'm up." I called back. He opened the door holding a coffee mug and a bottle of aspirin. "Thanks."
"How's the head?"
"Okay." He handed me the coffee, taking two pills from the aspirin bottle. I smiled to him throwing back the pills with some coffee. "So um . . . Nick, how did I get from the shower to the bed?" I awkwardly asked.
"Oh, you passed out. So I carried you." He sat on the edge of my bed, watching me drinking my coffee.
"Oh." I answered, sure I was blushing.
"I didn't look I swear." He promised me with a wide smile.
"That's what Sara said right before she looked." I chuckled, watching him blushing.
"When did Sara see you naked?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I teased him, making him blush brighter as he looked at my bare chest.
"You are still comin' into work today, right?" He awkwardly asked as he climbed to his feet, trying to change the subject.
"I guess." I shrugged.
"Good enough." He laughed, making a quick exit out my door. I smile wider at his hasty exit. It was so easy to mess with him because he was completely clueless of how I felt about him.
"Greg! Welcome back, heard you were sick." Sara shouted, walking towards me in the hallway of the lab.
"Yeah, I'm all better now. Miss me?" Despite the hangover so please don't shout again!
"Course." She chuckled, ruffling my hair, Ouch! Don't touch the head. I winced away from her hand giving her a half smile. "The labs never the same without cha here Greg." I ducked out of her grasp, flattening my hair again. I hated it when she did that, she treated me like her baby brother. Not that I minded of course, I'd gladly have Sara as my big sister. I just didn't like the hair ruffling; it takes me ages to achieve this style.
"You heading for the breakroom?" She asked me.
"Yep." She linked arms with me, heading in that direction. Nick had convinced me to come into work today, all day yesterday actually; he wouldn't shut up about it, so here I am. Apparently Grissom had news for us all, hopefully it was an extended vacation or something, but he asked Catherine, Warrick and Nick to come in too.
Sara and I walked into the breakroom where everyone was already waiting, except for Grissom! He's always late, even for meetings he planned. I sat down on the sofa between Sara and Nick, watching the seconds hand on the clock ticking around as everyone talked amongst themselves. Though I could hear the chatter, I couldn't make out the words, but their speech was soothing. I had been hiding out in my apartment for over a week in the silence, only going out with Nick occasionally to the grocery store as he was trying to help getting me out of the house. It was nice to be back around people with their noisy chatter filling the silence.
"Man where is Grissom?" Nick suddenly shouted, making me wince from my slight hangover. "He's over..." Nick checked his watch. "Twenty minutes late and he yells at us for bein' late."
"Relax Nicky. He'll be here." Catherine groaned, checking her watch. "I was a better supervisor then this." She muttered under her breath. Nick groaned, folding his arms across his chest as he fidgeted on the sofa beside me.
Grissom finally walked through the breakroom door a further ten minutes later, with assignment slips in his hands. "Sara and Warrick . . . missing child." He announced handing a slip to Warrick. He glanced over at the rest of us sat on the sofa. "Nick and Greg . . . possible body dump." Nick took the slip from his hands reading the address. "And Catherine you're with me."
"Whoa, hold on Gil!" Catherine climbed to her feet, looking at him confused. "We're all back on nightshift together?"
"Yeah . . . you didn't get the memo?" He asked her, peering over the top of his glasses at her.
"So we're all back on nightshift as of now? Do you really think I'm that incapable of running a team? It wasn't my fault Nicky got kidnapped." She shouted at him angrily.
"No one's blaming you Catherine. I thought you'd be happy we're all on the same team again."
"Oh perfect!" She shouted sarcastically, snatching the slip from his hands then storming off out the breakroom.
Grissom turned to the rest of us, waiting for us to speak. "Are the rest of you okay with this?"
"We're Cool." Warrick nodded. "C'mon Sara." He said waving the slip around in his hands. Sara tapped me on the knee then jumped up from the sofa, following Warrick out the break room.
"And are you guys are okay with it?" Grissom asked Nick and I still sat on the sofa together.
"Yep, we're cool with this." Nick smiled to him, climbing to his feet. "C'mon G, I'm drivin'." He said looking round at me then walked off out the breakroom past Grissom.
"Good to have you back Greg." Grissom smiled, tapping me on the shoulder as I walked by.
"Thanks." I shoved my hands deep into my pockets, following after Nick towards the locker room. We grabbed our vests and kits then walked off down to the garage to his car.
Nick completely ignored me as he started to drive off. Usually he'd be fiddling with the radio at this point, but he left it off, for a very awkward moment of silence. Deadly silence that I absolutely hate.
"So when's Scarlas next doctor's appointment?" I asked, trying to end the silence.
"Dunno," was his reply. I tapped my fingers on my knee, trying to stop my awkward habit of overtalking before it started, but I couldn't hold in the chatter any longer.
"So you cancelled your date and invited Warrick over yesterday?"
"Uh huh."
"I thought you were really looking forward to going out with Linda?"
"Lilah." He corrected, without looking at me still. Great! What have I done this time?
"Are you going out tonight?"
"Nah." He stopped the truck on the side of the road, near where the call out had come from, climbing out his truck in record time. I've been on the receiving end of Nick's icy cold moods before, but this one was pure torture. What could I have possibly done?
Unfortunately Grissom had paired us together on a possible dead body out in the middle of nowhere. Near the Lake to be more precise and as it was only a possible dead body tip. It was just the two of us without any officers around. Completely bogus tip and waste of our time. I say bogus tip because we've been looking for three hours and it's only getting colder. Especially the tension between Nick and me, it was so cold it was icy. He hadn't talked to me once. I didn't know if it was because I said something to him while I was drunk yesterday. Or he was pissed at me about something else. He seemed fine when we left for work.
"Got anythin'?" He shouted over to me.
"No!" I shouted back.
"This is total BS. There's nothin' here!" Nick shouted, dropping to sit on a log. I clicked my flashlight off, walking towards him, trying to think of something to say. "Why couldn't we get the missin' child case or somethin'? We always get the bull shit assignments!"
"Nick..."
"I can't believe you Sanders. You call me your best friend, but you're keepin' secrets from me."
"Okay." Crap! What did I say to him? I shoved my hands in my pockets, taking a few steps closer to him. "Nick, what exactly did I keep from you?" I asked confused.
"Well think of the one things you're keepin' from me smart ass."
"Did I say something to you last night? Because I don't remember it." I involuntary shivered as a cold tremor shuddered down my spine. "Nick whatever it is . . . you're gonna have to tell me. It might not even be true."
"Greg . . . how could you lie to me all this time!" He shouted looking up at me.
"About what?" I asked completely confused.
"Well what are you keepin' from me G? I tell you everythin'."
"Um... I don't know . . . I've never told you I'm scared of spiders. I've never told you I wanted to be a fireman when I was a kid. I never told you I wore braces in Highschool. I never told you my first time with a woman was at the bunny ranch. I never told you my first time with a guy was after prom." I looked at his eyes slowly widening. "Was it any of them?"
"No. You told me you didn't go to prom."
"I didn't . . . he came over mine after." I slumped down against a large tree nearby, looking out at the lake.
"What else haven't you told me?" Nick queried.
"I'm not into bondage." Nick's face erupted into a smile. "Can't think of anything else." I lied, looking at his expression. "What did I say to you? Was it last night? You know I ramble when I'm drunk." Nick dropped his head in his hands, avoiding eye contact with me. "Okay there is one more thing." He looked up at me, waiting for me to speak. "I never told you . . . I never told you I loved you." His eyes grew wider. Damn it. I really just said that. That obviously wasn't it! Nick stared at me a moment in disbelief. "That wasn't what your mad at me about was it?" Nick shook his head, dropping his head to his knees. "Okay if it wasn't that then what was it?"
"You mean you real..." He looked up at me again curiously. "You love me?"
I sheepishly nodded avoiding eye contact with him. "I know that puts a big strain on our friendship . . . I wasn't expecting you to love me back if that's what your worried about. I'm fine with just being friends." I looked up at him; he looked as though he was going to be sick. "Nick, say something please."
"You're an asshole Greg, you know that?" He snapped, climbing to his feet. He ran his fingers through his hair, anxiously looking around at the lake. "I gotta..." He stopped mid-sentence and starting walking away.
I watched him disappearing under the moonlit sky. If that wasn't it then what could it have possibly been?
"Story of my life." I mumbled, leaning back against the tree. "Holy Shit!" I crawled away from the tree seeing the body stuffed up the tree looking down at me. "Nick! Nick!" I shouted after him but he had completely vanished. "Fine." I huffed, pulling my brand new cell phone from my pocket calling Brass myself.
Brass showed up with David within a few minutes, finding me in no time. I had to photograph and document the scene myself as Nick was still walking off somewhere. Probably ran back to the apartment to move all his stuff out before his disgusting roommate got home.
"Sanders, where's Nick?" Brass shouted over at me. I shrugged, seeing if I could spot him in any of the directions, but it was too dark to see.
"Hey Greg." Sara smiled walking into the breakroom. She poured herself a coffee then looked at the blank stare on my face. "Greg, what's up with you?"
"I just told my best friend I love him and no one's seen him since." Sara walked towards me, sitting down on the coffee table in front of me.
"Who?" She asked curiously.
"See that's what I love about you. You didn't even register the fact that I said him you just ask who he is." I chuckled slightly, leaning back against the sofa cushions.
"Well . . . who is he?" She asked again, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Nick."
"You told him you loved him and now he's missing?" I sheepishly nodded. Sara placed on hand on my knee looking into my eyes. "You really love him?"
"Yes." I muttered.
"Then why didn't you go after him?"
"He could snap me like a twig. I've already got a few holes in my walls from his anger strikes."
"Nick wouldn't hurt you Greg. Maybe he just needed some time to think?"
"Four hours?" I asked looking up at the clock. "He's probably booking his tickets to the other side of the world, or moving all his stuff out of my apartment."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he looked like he was going to throw up when I told him." I dropped my head into my hands, running my fingers through my hair. "I'm so stupid. I should really learn to keep my mouth shut."
"You wouldn't be Greg if you did." Sara told me, shifting onto the sofa beside me, putting her arm around my shoulders. "You just told him straight up front?" I nodded. "Well I think you should wait for him to cool down before you talk to him again." We both looked up as someone walked in, loudly clearing their throat. "Grissom." Sara smiled in surprise, removing her arm from my shoulder. "Greg was just... upset about something."
I looked up at the jealous rage look in Grissom's eyes then the awkward attempt of Sara, trying cover her tracks. Holy Shit! Grissom and Sara? Together? No way!
"I'll talk to you later Greg." Sara patted me on the knee, walking out the room past her fuming partner. I've never seen Grissom look at me with such green eyes of envy before. Then it hit me. This morning I told Nick that Sara had seen me naked. He was acting really strange and cold towards me after that! Oh No! He thinks I've sex with Sara . . . and he's totally jealous!!! He does love me, that's why he freaked. Shit, I have to go find him.
I ran through the halls of the lab, hoping that Nick was back. I reached the garage lab seeing Nick printing a driver's side door. I took a deep breath then walked inside, startling him as the door clicked shut behind me. "Hi." I smiled to him. He looked away from me, continuing what he was doing. "Nick, you can't ignore me forever . . . well you could try, but I'll probably get on your nerves."
"Look Greg, I've..." He started but stopped mid sentence, still not able to look at me directly. He climbed to his feet, tossing some fingerprint strips onto the table behind him. "See the thing is..." He started again, slowly taking a few steps closer to me. "Although I like you Greg . . . I just don't like you, in that way. You get what I mean?"
"I guess, but you didn't even know I loved you when you were mad at me before. So what were you mad at me about? Was it about Sara seeing me naked?" Nick looked away from me, turning back to the car. "It wasn't in a sexual way, Nicky. We had to be showered down and disinfected at a crime scene from this flesh eating mould stuff."
"You're a scientist and you say 'mould stuff?" He chuckled slightly, looking round at me slightly relieved. "Greg it's not that..."
"But that's what you were mad at me about before though right?"
"No." He badly lied, dropping to the driver's seat of the car, printing the steering wheel.
"Then what was it? I say lots of things Nicky; I can barely remember half of the things I say, so you have to give me a hint or a slight clue."
"Look it doesn't matter okay. Can we please just drop it?" He asked, staring at me out of the front window of the car. "I'm really sorry Greg . . . I'm just not into guys. I'm sorry. Can we just drop it?" I nodded, leaning back against the wall behind me. I never get used to rejection, you'd think with all the practice I've had it would be easier each time it happened.
"I told you if you don't feel the same way, I'd never bring it up again. And I won't." I added.
"Okay, thank you. Now can we get back to work?"
"Sure."
Please Review.
Slightly shorter then the other chapters, but the next ones much longer and almost finished!
Poor Greg! Did you catch onto Nick's jealously when he thought Greg had been with Sara? What's gonna happen next? Got a few more exciting chapters for you still to come. I hope your still enjoying the story.
Thanks to Tish for beta-ing
