Immortal Love
Prompt for: Maryam: One about the CSI movie finale where nick is there. Include some morganders...specifically the part where Morgan freaks out when they have to cut the wires.
a/n: yes I know the title is cheesy ;) Enjoy!
Greg's heart beat painfully against his chest as he stared at the now disabled bomb before him. It had been close…way too close. He, Catherine, and Morgan, along with people in the apartment complex and other officers had come close to dying today. There was so many things he hadn't done; see the world, progress higher up the chain on the team…ask Morgan out…get married, have kids, the works. After cutting the wire, he thought for sure that was it. But it wasn't, they had survived miraculously. Morgan had freaked out, dropping her cutters and almost messing it all up; but he understood…she was terrified and all he wanted to do was hold her, but he had to be focused at the time. Now…
He looked at Morgan who was sobbing and then she turned to him. Almost immediately, they ran to each other and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, never wanting to let go. Morgan buried her face in his shoulder and he inhaled the scent of her hair, trying to remain calm. He had to be calm for her, because even though he had been through a lot since he started working here, she's been through a lot in the last couple months. This was another thing to add to her list of miseries. Catherine came over and joined in on the hug, bringing her arms around the two.
"Its okay, it's okay," she whispered. "We did it, we did it. Good team."
Greg breathed shakily, trying to keep his composure…but he couldn't. His chest felt tight and he was finding it hard to breathe. All he could think about was the fact that they almost died a fiery and painful death. And he knew what it was liked to be burned alive; he had experienced it a long time ago. It seemed like his memories of the horrible incident came flooding in; the stinging pain on his back as the fire burned his skin while glass cut his face as he was thrown through the window. The pain he had to go through, physically and mentally when he had to get skin grafts and live with the ugly scars on his back. He had almost gone through that again, except this time, he would be dead.
"Greg? Greg! Breathe, honey!"
He blinked furiously, gasping for air, realizing he was still in the parking garage with Morgan and Catherine staring at him worriedly.
"I think he's having a panic attack," Catherine said. "We need to get him outside."
His mind was hazy, but he felt himself being led out of the building until he felt cold fresh air hit his face. Only then was he able to breathe; he inhaled deeply before coughing harshly.
"Just breathe, sweetheart," Catherine said, helping Greg sit down on some stairs. Morgan glanced at the blonde man worriedly. She had never seen this vulnerable side of Greg before. She rubbed circles on his back comfortingly as he was able to breathe normally.
"Are you okay?" Morgan asked.
He huffed, wiping the sweat from his face. "Y-Yeah…I'm sorry, that was pathetic."
"No, it's not, Greg," Catherine said. "It's normal to have a reaction like that. Especially after what you went through before." She would never stop feeling guilty about what she put Greg through thirteen years ago. "I'm gonna go finish upstairs, you guys gonna be okay?"
The two younger CSI's nodded, and Catherine squeezed both their shoulders before disappearing back in the parking garage.
"Hey, are you sure you're alright?"
"I should be asking you the same thing."
"Yeah, I know I kind of freaked out back there."
"The reaction was logical…we could've died today."
Morgan let out a deep breath, looking at the scene before her. It was chaotic, but at least it was finally starting to be over. "Well we did it." She clasped her hands together. She didn't really know the whole story of what happened to Greg before her time here, but she knew it had to do with an explosion and him getting seriously hurt in the process. This whole thing must've brought back memories…and then some. "Do you want some company tonight?"
Greg perked up, surprised at the offer. He normally would've said yes right away, but after what happened tonight, he was afraid of having nightmares and scaring her. He didn't want to do that to the woman. "Uh…no, not tonight anyways. Can I take a raincheck, though?" He asked with a grin.
Morgan smiled, squeezing his hand. "Sure, I'd like that."
After everything got cleaned up, they went back to the lab before going their separate ways. Catherine had asked if they wanted to join Sara and Grissom and some of the lab techs for a celebratory dinner. Morgan accepted, but Greg declined, wanting to go home, put this all behind him and sleep. Catherine frowned, knowing that Greg was holding something in; the kid didn't want to admit weakness to anyone, especially girls. She pursed her lips as she watched the younger man leave the building. There was only one person she could call.
~+CSI+~
Fire. Pain. Smoke. He couldn't breathe, why couldn't he breathe? He remembered smelling something strange before the next thing he knew, he was on the floor, the glass window shattered and fire engulfing the building. Everything hurt…everything burned. And then, when he opened his eyes, he was looking up at the sky. He was in much more pain than before. He saw shadows lurking above him and the moonlight soon illuminated one of the faces. A pig mask. Oh god, not again. It didn't even seem like they were hitting him, but he could feel each violent punch and kick, over and over again. They kicked the air out of his lungs and he couldn't breathe; pretty soon, they left him there to die…alone in a dark alleyway. Why was nobody helping him? Just when he thought it was it for him, he opened his eyes and realized he was standing in a warehouse. About a couple yards away, he saw a body on the ground with blonde hair…it was Morgan.
"No." He ran forward, praying he wasn't too late. "Morgan!" Greg fell to his knees, bringing the woman into his arms. "Morgan, wake up, please wake up." He felt for a pulse, but he found none. Her skin was cold and her lips were blue. She was long gone. Greg sobbed, bringing the woman to his chest, burying his face in her hair. "I'm so sorry, Morgan. I'm so sorry." Greg opened his eyes again and realized he was back in the parking garage, staring straight at the bomb in the trunk.
"I love you guys!" Catherine shouted from her position in front of the third bomb. Morgan was crying hysterically, and he was trembling as well. This would be his last chance to tell her how he felt. "Morgan."
She looked over at him, her face pale and streaked with tears.
"I love you," he shouted. "I've always loved you and my biggest regret is never telling you that before. I'm sorry."
She smiled sadly. "I love you too, Greg."
And the last thing he saw was her face before a loud explosion, followed by bright fire and then darkness.
Greg shot up from his bed with a gasp, cold sweat dripping from his clammy face and making his shirt stick to his body. Breathing heavily, he realized he was not dead, but inside his apartment, twisted in the sheets of his bed. It was just a nightmare; they had survived. Greg washed a hand down his face, feeling sick and trying to relax when he heard a loud knock at his door. He jumped, frowning while glancing at the clock. It was nearly ten in the morning; damn, had he really slept for ten hours? Good thing Catherine gave them the next couple days off. The knock came again and he threw his sheets back, quickly going to the door so the pounding would stop.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He swung open the door and his mouth dropped when he saw the person standing in front of him. Nick.
"Holy crap," he breathed. He hadn't seen the guy in almost a month. "Nick! What are you doing here?"
Nick grinned, bringing Greg into a tight hug. He missed his CSI family, but he missed Greg the most. They had pretty much been brothers for fifteen years and as much as he thought his decision to leave was right, it sucked that the time with his friends would be scarce. "Hey buddy!"
Greg suddenly pulled away, his stomach churning. Vomit crawled up his throat and he bolted towards the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before the bile made an appearance. His knees went weak and he hunched over the toilet, hugging the bowl tightly. He felt a hand touch his back and after a few minutes of heaving, he sat against the wall, breathing heavily.
"Here," Nick said, squatting besides him with a glass of water. He was already falling back into his role as a big brother. He missed it. Greg took it gratefully, taking a few sips to get the taste out of his mouth.
"Are you sick?" The Texan asked.
"N-No…I just had a bad night; I didn't sleep well and everything that happened yesterday…it's just hitting me now."
Nick pursed his lips. "Yeah, Cath told me. You okay?" She told him everything that happened in the last few days and he was a bit hurt she didn't call him to help. He would drop everything to come back to aid his family. Especially since Grissom apparently showed his face after almost eight years. She also told him about Greg and his panic attack.
"Yeah…I'm fine."
Nick snorted. "You want to try that again? I know when you lie to me, bud."
Greg chuckled, wiping his mouth. Nick could always see right through him. "It's just been hard. Everything's changed, Catherine left, you left, D.B is leaving, Fin is dead. I just wish things would go back to how they used to be. And then yesterday…we could've died yesterday, Nick. We couldn't just leave those bombs there and there was way to many people to evacuate in the five minutes the bomb had on them. It was either succeed and save people or die trying. I tried to stay calm for Morgan, because she was freaking out, but inside, I was too. I didn't want to die, especially that way. I already know the feeling of being burned alive."
Nick sighed sadly. He knew Greg was talking about the lab explosion. "It brought back memories?"
"Yeah…bad ones. I just wanted to put it all behind me, but of course eight years later here we are, the nightmares being dug up again."
"I'm sorry, man. Have you talked to anyone about this?"
"Yeah…you," he chuckled.
Nick rolled his eyes. "I meant professionally. It helped the last few times, right?"
"Yeah…I'll think about it."
"If it gets worse, promise me you'll get help. And even if you decide not to, I'm just a phone call or plane ride away."
Greg smiled. "Thanks…so what are you doing here anyways? Did your big brother senses tell you to come?"
Nick laughed. "No, Catherine called me. She wanted me to make sure you were okay, and I guess I'm the only one who can talk some sense into you."
Greg rolled his eyes before taking Nick's outstretched hand. The older man helped him off the floor and they walked into the living room, sitting on the couch. They talked for a bit about life, Nick's new job, and how things were going at the lab, besides the last week's events.
"What about Morgan?"
"What about her?"
"Don't play dumb, Greggo," Nick laughed. "You know what I'm talking about. Have you asked her out yet? Or kissed her or anything?"
"No, god, you're so nosy."
"Hey, that's what big brothers are for. But seriously man, it's now or never. Like you said, you almost died yesterday, life is short and it's time to change. She likes you…a lot, but it's up to you to get the ball rolling."
Greg smirked. "Yeah, yeah. She did ask if I wanted company yesterday."
"And you declined?! What the hell's the matter with you?"
"I didn't want to scare her. I knew I was probably going to have nightmares and I knew it would've freaked her out and then she'd never look at me the same way again."
"You don't know that. I'm sure she knows what you're going through."
"Yeah…I guess you're right."
"Of course, I am, I'm always right."
Greg shook his head. Same old Nick.
~+CSI+~
The Next Evening
Greg yawned as he walked to the door after he heard knocking. He had slept a lot better last night, even had less nightmares; he was glad Nick showed up. Catherine was right, he was the only one who could actually help him. The blonde opened the door and smiled.
"Morgan, hey! What are you doing here?"
She smiled nervously. "I, uh, I was just coming to check and see how you were doing. I was worried; I haven't heard from you in a couple days."
"Sorry, I was just trying to come to terms with everything that happened."
"Yeah, me too. Can I come in?"
"Absolutely." He stepped aside and let her walk into the apartment. She had only been there once for a Christmas party he hosted a couple years ago. But she had never been there with just Greg.
"I was actually gonna call you later," he said as they sat down on the couch. "I've been worried about you, too. How are you doing?"
Morgan shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I've had a few nightmares here and there. Haven't been able to sleep well. You?"
"Pretty much the same. I think it just hit me worse, because…of what happened to me before. It just brought back bad memories, but Nick showed up and talked me through it a little. He thinks I should see a therapist, because it's helped the last few times I've gone through some issues."
"Are you going to?"
"I don't know. Nick said I can talk to him, but since he moved it's difficult and talking on the phone isn't really the same."
"Yeah, I get it. But you're not alone…if you ever need to talk about things, I'm here for you." She placed her hand on Greg's knee.
The older blonde's heart fluttered, and he remembered his dream. Nick was right, life was short and he needed to tell Morgan how he felt. One of them could be hit by a bus tomorrow and he didn't want to miss out if he could've had a chance. He put his hand over hers, pressing his lips together. "Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"I…ever since I met you, I've…had feelings. You're amazing, smart, funny, and beautiful. After two nights ago…I realized that life can be taken away quickly and when I thought we were going to die, I hated that I didn't tell you this sooner."
"Tell me what?"
"Morgan, I…I love you. I have ever since I met you."
The younger blonde was speechless for a moment before smiling. "I…I-" she couldn't hold herself back any longer. She loved Greg too, now more than ever. She leaned forward and planted her lips on his. Greg's eyes widened in surprise before he leaned into the kiss. Morgan cupped his face before pulling away. "I love you too."
Greg grinned before they embraced once more, holding each other tight for a few moments. While their lips were still locked, Morgan began unbuttoning her shirt, shedding it quickly. She then reached forward, grabbing the hem of his shirt and started pulling it up.
"Mmm, wait," Greg breathed, pulling away. "Don't."
Morgan frowned. "What's wrong?"
Greg bowed his head. He wanted to be with Morgan so bad, but he was embarrassed of the scars that made him a freak.
"Greg?"
"The explosion…I got some pretty bad burns and they had to give me skin grafts. It left some pretty bad…ugly scars." Half of his back was a pink ugly mess. The worst of it had healed, but they were still there and still visible.
Morgan sighed. "Can…can I see them?"
Greg clenched his jaw, hesitating.
"Please?"
The blonde inhaled through his nose before nodding, letting Morgan lift his shirt over his head and toss it on the floor. Greg turned around so that his back was facing her; he had never let anyone see his scars. Every time he had a girl over or a girlfriend, he would make sure to keep his shirt on or have the lights off. Catherine saw them once, as did Nick, but that was by accident.
Morgan gently traced the scars, her heart breaking that this happened to him. He must've felt so distraught when he saw them for the first time.
"These scars don't make you a freak, Greg, they don't define you as a person. In fact, I think they're kind of sexy."
Greg let out a short laugh. "Seriously?"
"Yes, seriously," Morgan chuckled. "I don't care about them, Greg, I just care about you."
Greg turned back around, staring into Morgan's deep blue eyes. He guessed he didn't have to hide them anymore. He weaved his fingers into her hair and they started kissing again, more passionately this time. Morgan laid back slowly, letting Greg tower over her and he was just about to take off her bra when there was a knock at the door. The two groaned in annoyance.
"Who is that?" Morgan gasped.
"Greggo open up! The pizza is getting cold!" It was Nick.
"Shit…I forgot that we were supposed to hang out tonight since we haven't seen each other in a while." He pulled away and sat back down while Morgan got up. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Greg" Morgan said with a smile, smoothing her disheveled hair. "I understand."
"I can tell him to leave."
"No, no, don't do that. He already came all the way over here and who knows how long he'll be in town. You got me here indefinitely. But maybe…maybe we could pick up again tomorrow? Like after dinner?"
Greg smirked. "I'd like that a lot."
Morgan grinned widely, before picking her shirt up from the ground, Greg doing the same and pulling it back over his head as he walked to the door. He swung it open and greeted the Texan.
"Hey, sorry, I completely forgot you were coming tonight."
"Don't worry about it." He looked over Greg's shoulder and saw Morgan getting up from the couch, buttoning her shirt. "It seems like you were pretty occupied anyways," he beamed.
Greg's cheeks tinged red with embarrassment as the Texan pushed his way into the apartment. "Did I interrupt something?"
"No," Morgan and Greg said in unison. The two shared a look as Morgan got up, grabbing her coat and walking towards the door. "Bye Greg…Nick." Once the woman left, Nick turned to Greg with a huge grin.
"So? Spill the details…well, not all the details."
Greg rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen, Nick following with the food and beer. "Well, she took of my shirt and mine and I got as close as touching her bra hooks before you knocked on the door."
Nick groaned. "Ah, damn, I'm sorry. You should've told me to scram, G, this is a long time coming."
Greg opened his beer and shook his head in disbelief yet smiled. "It's fine. We should probably go on at least one real date before we head to the bedroom."
Nick chuckled. "And when's that gonna be? Soon, I hope?"
"Do you ever mind your own business?"
"When it comes to you and Morgan, no. I lost a bet because of you, however, that doesn't mean I'm still rooting for you two. You guys have been dancing around each other since the day you met."
Greg sighed. The Texan had a point. "Tomorrow night, I'm taking her to dinner tomorrow night, happy?"
Nick grinned, patting the blonde's shoulder. "It's about time, buddy. Now lets go watch some football, specifically my team kicking your team's ass…like old times."
"If I remember correctly, my team kicked your team's ass nine times out of ten…like old times."
Nick snorted. "There's definitely time to change that." He playfully shoved the blonde before they got to the couch.
Greg smiled. "We'll see about that."
End.
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