Song at the end isn't mine. It's "If All Else Fails" by Matchbook Romance.
Greg would have been really mad that Grissom had called him in on his day off, again, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was working with Nick. The younger CSI knew that the only reason he had been called in was so that Nick wouldn't have to work alone. Even though the abduction had been a long time ago, Grissom was still wary about letting Nick work alone. He didn't even like letting anyone else go solo, so he cut down on doing that as much as possible.
Now that he thought about it, Greg was actually glad he had got called in. He thought of it as getting to spend more time with Nick, and now he wouldn't have to worry about him while he was at work without Greg there to make sure he was okay. The case was easy enough, and the night seemed like it was going to continue to go on smoothly.
How was Greg supposed to know that the killer was going to come back to the scene?
"Hey G?" Nick called from the kitchen as he walked back into the foyer of the large house in Henderson.
"Did you find anything?" Greg asked.
Nick shook his head when he came into view with Greg. "Nothing good. Just some more prints and what I think might be apple sauce in the bedroom."
Greg raised his eyebrows and smiled slyly. "Kinky."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Can you check the other bedroom? I'm gonna do the bathrooms."
"Okay." Greg said as he headed for the stairs behind Nick. "Let me know if you find anymore apple sauce."
Nick couldn't help but smile as he walked into the bathroom and flicked on his flashlight. He scanned over the sink and tub before his eyes wandered over to the window. He walked up to it when he spotted blood on the broken glass. Without even having to look too hard, he noticed that the blood was still wet. Nick furrowed his brow in confusion. All the other blood pools had dried already because the crime scene was so old. This blood was fresh.
Someone had just broken this glass and came into the house.
Nick froze when he heard someone walk up the stairs and into the bedroom next to the room he was in right now. It was too dark to see who it was, but he knew it wasn't Brass or any other police officers. He wasted no time getting out of the bathroom and making his way into the bedroom he knew Greg was in by himself. It was dark in the room, but the light coming in from the window was enough for Nick to see Greg standing as straight as an arrow with a taller, blonde haired man behind him holding a gun to his head.
"Don't move." The other man said. He kept the gun pressed against Greg's temple. Nick could tell he was scared by the intense shaking of his boyfriend's hands.
The Texan remained calm and kept walking forward. "What are you doing?" Nick asked.
"You're gonna find stuff to put me in jail for this. I can't let that happen. Stop moving or I'll kill him."
Nick stopped walking forward, but didn't stop talking. "What good do you think that'll do?"
"You'll loose a cop." The man gestured to Greg with his free hand as he said this.
Nick shrugged. "He's only a CSI One. It's not like he's important to our team or anything. We can replace him easily. It'd be a waste of your time man."
The blonde pressed the gun against Greg's head harder. The youngest member of the CSI team closed his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at Nick and see the honesty in his eyes that he thought would be there. He thought Nick meant what he was saying.
"Just...stay back. I'll kill him I swear."
Nick laughed humorlessly. "I'm tellin ya it's a dumb idea. Do you really think anyone would miss him?" A single tear fell from under Greg's closed eyelid and slipped down his cheek. Nick ignored it because he thought his plan was working.
"What do you suggest I do then smart guy?"
Nick took a couple more steps forward. "I'm a much higher level than he is. I've been doing this for a lot longer and I'm better at it. A real loss would be losing me, not him. Let him go, you can have me."
The killer shook his head. "If he's so insignificant, then why are you trying to save him?"
"I'm not." Nick said, shaking his head. "I'm trying to help you. Why would I wanna help him?"
Nick kept walking forward until he was standing right in front of the man with the gun and his captive. Nick was standing so close to Greg he could feel his hands shaking against his own. All he wanted to do was grab him and hold him and make everything okay. But he knew he couldn't risk it. He had to make sure Greg was safe first before he could think about doing anything else.
"Why don't I just kill you both? That'd solve a lot of problems." The man sounded desparate and scared. He looked like he was willing to do something stupid if he had to.
Nick had to make sure it didn't have to come to that.
"Just...let him go. We can talk about this, okay?"
The guy started to loosen his grip on Greg a little, but didn't pull the gun completely away. "I don't trust you."
"I'm not the one with the gun. Let him go." Nick tried to reason.
The blonde just shook his head and moved his finger to the trigger. Before he even had to think about it, Nick lunged forward and grabbed the guys wrist, pulling it forcefull away from Greg's head and toward the far wall. He used his free hand to punch the other man in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him. He ripped the gun from the killer's hand and forced him to the ground. Nick wasn't aware that Brass and other police officers had come running up the stairs when they heard the strange voice until Brass was gently pushing him off the killer so he could be arrested. Nick got to his feet and looked around him, but Greg was no where to be found. Forgetting the scene before him, he went down the stairs and outside in search of the younger man.
Greg was nowhere to be found at the house. An officer told Nick that he had left, most likely heading home. Nick got into his Denali and sped off towards their home, praying that Greg would be there.
Nick finally found him on his knees in front of their bed. Nick slowly walked up and kneeled in front of him. He put one hand on Greg's hip in an effort to try and steady his shaking body. He used his other hand to lightly brush away the tears on Greg's cheeks. When Greg looked up, he was surprised to see Nick's own tears falling from his eyes.
"Greg, I didn't mean what I said. I only said that so he'd let you go. I thought that if he didn't think it was worth killing you that'd he'd leave you alone. I just didn't want you to get hurt."
Greg sniffed slightly. "But you were right. I'm not a good CSI and you are better at than me."
Nick smiled. "No I'm not. It may seem that way because I've been doing it longer, but you're a lot better at this than I am. I'm not just saying that either. You have a knack for this G. And if you're not better than me right now, you will be very soon. "
Greg shook his head slowly. "But I messed up my proficiency tests before and everyone kept telling me I should just stay in the lab."
"That's why you're gonna be so good. Because you want to be. No matter what anyone says, you're a great CSI and you have no idea how proud I am of you." Nick leaned forward and kissed Greg gently.
"You were really gonna let him take you instead of me, weren't you?" Greg asked.
Nick nodded. "I would do anything to keep you safe. You mean so much to me I'd give you my life if I had to."
"Why?"
Nick frowned slightly. "Why what?"
"Why would you do that for me?" The younger of the two asked.
"Because I love you." Nick said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I know you don't trust me because of what I did, and I don't blame you for that at all. I fucked up big time. But that doesn't mean I don't love you."
Greg smiled and kissed Nick. "I know. And I do trust you. It's just hard to believe that someone like you loves someone like me. You could do a lot better Nick."
Nick shook his head. "No I couldn't. No one could do better than you. And even if I could, why would I want to?"
Greg's smile widened as Nick's lips connected with his own again. He deepened the kiss and pulled Nick's body flush with his. Greg wrapped his arms around the Texan's neck and shivered when Nick firmly put both of his hands on Greg's waist and held him close. When Greg's shaking didn't stop, Nick pulled away enough so that Greg could bury his head in the crook of Nick's neck.
"What's wrong?" Nick whispered in Greg's ear.
Greg closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I...sometimes I don't think this is real. I forget you're real."
"This is real G." Nick said as he ran his hand back and forth through Greg's soft hair. "I promise you everything's okay."
Greg nodded slightly and lifted his head from Nick's shoulder. He looked into his boyfriend's deep brown eyes and saw nothing but love and caring in them. He pulled Nick into another kiss that quickly escalated. Nick's hands pulled Greg's shirt off as they got to their feet. Nick's shirt was soon gone as well and his hands were working on Greg's jeans as they fell onto the bed. Greg's body was covered in the warmth of Nick's and he pulled the other man as close as possible by hooking his fingers through Nick's belt loops and tugging to create more contact.
They broke their kiss for the necessity of oxygen. Greg slipped his finger from the loops and let them roam to Nick's zipper, but stopped when Nick whispered in his ear.
"I'm not doing this to take advantage of you." He said.
Greg didn't really understand what he was talking about because he was so lost in a cloud of lust. "What do you mean?" He asked.
Nick pulled back more and looked Greg in the eyes. "I'm not doing this just because. I want you to feel that it's real...that I'm real...I wanna make everything okay again."
"I know. I trust you." Greg leaned up and kissed Nick's neck. Against the warm skin of Nick's jaw he said, "I know you need this as much as I do too."
Nothing was said after that. Nothing else needed to be said. They both knew how the other felt and what the other needed. All they had to do was go with what they already knew. The familiar feeling of fingers running over warm skin wasn't new, but it still brought goosebumps. Every feeling that needed to be expressed and every word that needed to be said were all taken care of just by their actions.
Now, laying in Nick's arms with his head on the other's chest, Greg couldn't keep his eyes open and soon gave up trying. He surrendered to the overwhelming feeling of sleep and let his eyes close, knowing that he was safe right where he was. He knew Nick was still awake because he coud still feel his fingers lightly tracing over the scars on his back. He let the calming motion lull him into sleep.
Nick was exhausted, but didn't feel the need to sleep. All he wanted to do was lay right where he was with Greg and stay like that forever. Nothing needed to be changed. Everything was perfect. He had lost what he loved most, but then he got it back. There was nothing that could ever take Greg away from him ever again.
"Nicky?" Greg asked sleepily.
"Yeah?" Nick was surprised at the sudden voice. He thought Greg was still asleep.
"You meant it when you said you were gonna stay here with me forever, right?"
Nick smiled and kissed Greg's forehead. "Of course. You're my heart Greg. I can't live without my heart."
If all else fails
You can look up at the sky
Because it's the same one
That shines above you and I
And if all else fails
You can close your eyes
And I'll be right beside you
I'll be the one by your side
Thanks to all who read this and a special thanks to everyone who reviewed.