A/N -Another new chapter for you readers out there. If you enjoy, leave reviews. Thanks!

Nick had called and advised Greg he would be home soon. Nick did a little more research on Jason Carbone and found out he had a male partner who died from AIDS a few years prior. Nick was shocked to learn of this. He discovered his partner had been 20 years older than Jason was though. They had lived together from 2006 to 2009, shortly before he moved to Vegas. Nick told Doc to see if they could find out of Jason had HIV or AIDS. He had got his medical records and found out he was HIV positive. Nick couldn't help but think of Greg and his getting HIV and thinking there was some connection between them. He knew it was pretty ridiculous to think that but there was a nagging feeling he had that there was a connection.

Nick walked in the house and saw that Greg had made breakfast for him. He saw Greg standing over the stove, flipping pancakes and came up behind him. Greg stopped his hands from travelling around his waist. "Hey, not right now, I am cooking, can't you see that?" Greg said a bit huffy. Nick stood back, putting his hands up like he didn't mean anything.

"I just thought I would kiss the cook good morning and see how you were feeling. I guess not that great yet," Nick said as he put his keys down on the counter, next to the newspaper.

Greg didn't want Nick touching him, not after knowing what he did earlier or touch any sore spots. "I'm feeling better, hence why I am making you breakfast. But I just don't want to be bothered right now."

"Oh, now I am a bother to you. Okay, whatever. I got some news on the case anyway," Nick said, deciding to not get into a fight.

Greg finished a plate of pancakes and put it with bacon and placed it in front of Nick. Then he went back to making some for himself. "So what's new on the case?"

"It seems that Jason Carbone had a former lover who died from AIDS back in 2009 before he moved to Vegas." Greg turned around and looked at Nick. "Seriously? How old was the guy?" He asked, with some worry now, having forgotten about his health condition with the events of last night.

"He was 52 when he died. I guess he lived with it for a long time before actually contracting AIDS, from the guy's medical records. It seems he got sick when he traveled to Africa and got malaria and that started his decline and he got the full blown AIDS and died about a year later. Jason moved here afterward to start over but I guess didn't care for Vegas much either. He was HIV positive too." Nick watched for Greg's reaction and could see him taking it all in.

Greg thought about Jason Carbone. He was HIV positive. He had blue eyes, could he have been the 4th man? He was in the BDSM scene and maybe that is why he was killed. Maybe he passed on HIV to someone else and they knew and killed him for it. "Say, do you think that maybe he had passed on his HIV to someone else and that someone else was pissed at him about it and killed him for it?"

Nick thought a moment about what Greg suggested. "It's a possibility I guess. Something we can't rule out. Would you kill the person if you knew who gave it to you?"

"He's probably already dead, so it doesn't matter." Greg shrugged it off and went back to making his pancakes. Nick could feel that something more was bothering him but he was afraid to ask him and start a fight with him.

"That really didn't answer my question, would you kill someone?" Nick asked him again, now out of curiosity.

"So you think I could kill someone because of that? Wow, you don't know me that well if you think that," Greg responded coldly.

"You shot Jasper multiple times," Nick reminded him.

Now Greg threw down the spatula and turned around to face Nick. "Yeah, I did and if you recall I was an emotional wreck too at the time. I lost control, I admit it but I hated that man for what he did to me and I was not going to have him take me again. It was self-defense…you even said so. So now you don't think it was?" Greg's anger was flowing again and more freely since he had let it out earlier.

"Hey, whoa, I never said that. I was just wondering if you think you are stable enough now to face the man who gave you HIV without ripping his head off, like you are mine," Nick said quickly.

"You wouldn't even know the extent of my anger," Greg mumbled to himself. He knew what he was capable of to a point now and it scared him but he couldn't let Nick in on it. He would have him checking in to see the shrink immediately.

"Look, I'm sorry I even brought it up. Let's forget it. Thanks for making breakfast. I hope you eat yours." Nick said, hoping to drop the subject all together.

"Okay, consider it dropped for now. And you're welcome. I figured it was the least I could do since I bailed and left you working alone and I was feeling better now," Greg said to him. He had finished his pancakes and was turning off the stove top. He took his plate and sat across from Nick.

Nick looked over at him and saw dark circles under his eyes. He had not been sleeping as good as he was letting on. "Did you sleep any while I was working?"

Greg shook his head. "No, I was just watching some TV. I couldn't sleep," he lied. He felt horrible lying but it was necessary.

"Well I am tired and I think after I am done eating here I am going to take a shower and hit the sack." Nick hoped Greg would take the hint and go to bed at the same time he was.

"I already showered. I'll head to bed when I know I can fall asleep. I think I want to do a little research on our case some more. See more about the current BDSM scene here in Vegas, maybe hit some message boards and see if anyone is talking about Jason Carbone's death."

"That sounds like something for Archie to be doing, not you," Nick said to him, worrying why he wanted to look into this more.

"Archie would not know what to look for. I've been in that world before so I know what to look for."

Nick noticed he was extremely touchy today and was not sure if it was the visit to the Jamison mansion that caused it or he was just plain grumpy. He could see that Greg was almost looking for a fight so he decided to let him do what he wanted to. "Fine, you do what you want. I'm going to take my shower and go to bed still. I'll see you when you decide to go to bed." Nick got up, after clearing his plate and put his dishes in the dishwasher and headed into their bedroom.

Greg frowned but figured the less he had to talk to Nick, the easier it would be to keep the truth from him. He put away his dishes after he finished his food and then took his laptop and brought it with him. He was leery of opening his email, afraid another video might have been sent to him, but no emails from any one unusual. He decided to look up the website for Vegas Underground. First he came across the underground tunnels that the term mostly referred to, but then he found the page for the club. It had pictures of the interiors and a backstory on the show. He eventually found what he was looking for. He saw a link to a message board.

He started searching the board for any reference to Jason Carbone or Crow, as that was his nickname. He couldn't find anything. Perhaps if there was they had deleted the posts knowing there was a police investigation going on into his death. He was going through the posts and about to give up when he came across a new thread topic that had just popped up. It was titled "Hawk's Night". He had used the nickname Nighthawk last night and he was in Blackhawk's company during the show at Vegas Underground. He clicked on the topic to see what the discussion was.

The post was started by someone named "Observer".

Last night Blackhawk brought his party to the stage again putting on a good show, but it got even more interesting when he pulled another observer into the mix. The guy went by Nighthawk. No one recalls seeing him before but the man had some serious issues the way he was throwing that whip around. Blackhawk actually had to pull him back and then he took off. My guess is that this guy was once a slave and now is trying to make up for his years of being dominated. I do wonder why Blackhawk happened to zero in on him. My bet is he knows him somehow and wanted to see him in action behind a whip. Now I wonder if he will be back for more. Nighthawk looked pretty hot, even though he was thin, that's what makes me think he was once the one getting the whip. Nothing like taking it up and changing the tables after years of it though. I know it's been great since I've been the Dominator. Everyone should get the chance to have the table turned at some time. I know I'd love to see that hot fuck Blackhawk on the bottom. I doubt he's ever had the tables turned on him. Maybe someone will get to enslave him someday…that person will be lucky. For now I am eager to see if this Nighthawk will be coming back with a little more control next time. This is the Observer and I will observe you all another night.

Greg thought about what the Observer had posted about him. He somehow read him pretty well and that worried him. Did everyone there read him the same way? Could they all tell that he had been a slave before? They couldn't know the extent of his torture though. No one could except those that knew him and had been there. He remembered Brad Jamison, aka Blackhawk saying that the whipping was therapeutic. It really had been in many ways. It also made him wonder if what the Observer said about Blackhawk was true. Had he always been the dominate one in his relationships? How could he know the whipping was therapeutic if he hadn't been in that place himself? In any case, it was no excuse for what he did to Greg in that basement with Jasper and the others.

He refreshed the page to see if anyone posted after the Observer's comment. There was a new post by Red Rose. Greg smiled slightly knowing he had met her there.

I met Nighthawk before I went in for a private party in a back room. I wish I had seen him in action. He said he had been waiting for his boy but by the sounds of it he was looking for a new boy possibly that night. That or just some action. I guess he got some. Hope he comes back so I can see him. I wouldn't mind being his slave for a night.

Greg found himself amused by what she said. Maybe he would go back again, but it would mostly be to see Blackhawk and try to figure out what his game was.

He yawned and looked at the time. He would have to go to work in a few hours. He thought he better try to get some sleep before he did. He closed his laptop and went to the kitchen to take his HIV meds before he tried to sleep. After taking his medication he went into the bedroom and saw Nick sleeping in their bed. The sheets were down at his waist, leaving his bare chest exposed as he lay on his back. Looking at Nick naked always made him feel inferior lately. His own body was riddled with scars and marks that he found hideous, even though Nick claimed they weren't that bad. He was skinny and hardly had any muscle tone like Nick had. He didn't understand why Nick stayed with him, except out of some pity.

He loved Nick dearly and was grateful Nick hadn't left him because he know if he had he would not be there today but he felt bad for Nick being stuck with him. He knew Nick could do so much better than him. He sighed, staring at his beautiful Nick, wondering when the day would come that he finally let Nick free.

He walked into the bathroom and used it. He stared at his reflection in the mirror as he washed his hands. He looked tired and not the same man he had been a year ago. He frowned and opened up the medicine cabinet. He pulled out a box of old Band-Aids in the back that he had pushed behind the newer box. He took out the straight-edged razor and placed it on the vanity. He pulled up his shirt and looked at the cuts he had been making over the last couple of days. Nothing too deep. He ran his fingers over them, feeling the uneven texture of the old and new marks. He figured a few new disfiguring marks on his body would be nothing new. He took off his shirt completely. He looked down at his chest and saw the marks left behind by Jasper and his friends. He focused on one scar from a burn he had got from the mini torch. He felt the rough texture from it. He remembered the pain he felt when Jasper held that flame to his chest, smelling his own skin burn. He had no choice, no control over what they did to him. He had his hands tied behind him at that moment and Jasper had been sitting on his legs. He couldn't move and just had to withstand the pain.

Now he could control it and he would. He picked up the straight razor and held it against his chest, right to the scar. He pressed it down into his skin and barely felt it as he dragged it slowly across his chest, leaving a one inch mark. He placed the razor back down and looked at the mark he left in the mirror. Blood dripped down his chest from the cut, covering the burn scar. He smiled to himself as he began to blot away at the blood with a cotton swab. He had hardly felt the pain but knowing he made his own mark over the one Jasper had left on him made him feel better, somehow.

He finished cleaning up the blood from his chest and placed a new band aid over it. He placed his razor back in the old box and placed the box towards the back of the medicine cabinet. He pulled his long sleeved shirt back over his head and patted it down. No signs of what he had just done. He took the bloodied cotton swab and placed it under a bunch of other garbage so Nick would not see it.

He proceeded to brush his teeth and then finally walked back out into the bedroom and crawled into bed. He turned onto his side right away, his back towards Nick. A few seconds later he felt arms come around him. "It's about time you came to bed," the sleepy voice said.

"I had to finish a few things first but now I am ready. Goodnight Nick," he said quietly, trying not to hiss with pain after Nick's arms around him touched the spot he had just cut. He took Nick's hands and moved them down his body more, so they wouldn't be so near to his newest cut.

He drifted off to sleep, thinking one by one, he could obscure the scars Jasper left on him with his own new ones, thereby hopefully erasing all traces of Jasper, Rex, Chris and now Brad Jamison off his body.