Title: Meet you there
Author: I.S.O.D
Fandom: CSI
Pairings: Greg and Nick
Spoilers: Nope
Sequel/series: Nope
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine but I would be soooo happy if they were!
Summary: Greg's story of Nick's life, when something happens to Nick

A/N First slash and death story so please review nicely!
A/N2 The song is one by Simple Plan called "Meet you there", thought it was fitting.

Greg sat on their bed, his head in his hands.

He heard a knock on the doorframe, looking up he saw Warrick standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hey," Warrick smiled weakly. "They're ready."

Greg got up gingerly from the bed not really wanting to leave the safety of the bedroom and his memories.

'Here goes nothing,' he thought sadly following Warrick out of the bedroom.

He walked into the living room to find a sea of faces he hadn't expected. There was literally everyone from the Crimelab, even Ecklie and Covallo.

This alone brought tears to his eyes but he refused to let them fall in front of everyone. He allowed himself to be guided to the front door towards the hurse and cars.

He climbed into the Mercedes stationed behind the hurse in which was the body of the one person he truly loved with all his heart.

The journey to the church was silent as the six of them were lost in their own thoughts.

Greg's were of the past year.

£$£$£$££$£$£$ (the previous year)

No one had noticed the way Nick began complaining of pain in his joints or the way he started limping his way through crime scenes or around the lab.

Everyone except Greg.

"Hey Nicky," he asked softly one day, February 23rd 2004. "Are you sure you're ok?" Greg stood in front of his lover dreading the answer.

"No," Nick answered sadly looking down at the floor.

"Why? What's happened?" Greg asked panic rising in his stomach and tears springing in his eyes.

"I've got cancer," Nick replied still staring at the floor.

When Greg didn't say anything Nick had to look at him. What he saw shocked him to the core. Greg had tears streaming down his face and was almost hyperventilating with the task of holding back heart-wrenching sobs.

"What?" Greg finally said his voice sounding hollow and distant to his ears.

"Cancer," was all Nick could utter before pulling Greg towards him and Greg collapsing in his arms.

£$£$$£$£$£$£$

Greg's memories were abruptly stopped when he found himself in front of the church.

Climbing out of the car on autopilot he was again guided by Warrick towards the hurse.

Oh yeah, he'd almost forgotten. He was carrying the coffin.

The undertakers got them lined up in height order, Catherine, Sara, himself, Brass, Grissom and finally Warrick.

As he stood between Catherine and Grissom with Brass by his side he found his mind drifting once again to the previous year.

£$£$£$£$£$£$£$

People were shocked when Greg shaved his head, they knew how proud he was of his hair but by doing what he had they found out that Nick meant so much more.

The chemo had been hard on Nick it was the final realisation that his body was not as strong as he had previously thought and when he had lost his hair, his eyebrows and even his eyelashes Greg knew exactly what to do.

Stepping into Nick's hospital room he was pleased by the look of pure, unadulterated shock on Nicks face.

"Wh… what happened to your beautiful hair?" he stuttered sitting up as Greg walked towards him.

"I didn't want you to be bald on your own," he smiled.

"Oh, thank you," Nick sighed filling his voice with as much love as possible while he ran his fingers lightly over Greg's bald head.

£$£$£$£$£$£$£$

The sensation of someone lightly touching his hand brought him again back to earth, he found it was Catherine guiding him into the pew at the front of the church, he had walked all the way down the aisle with the coffin without even realising what he was doing.

His gaze wandered around the church as the vicar began his account of Nick's last few months.

Greg's gaze finally rested on Nick's parents, his mother inconsolable, she still somehow blamed Greg, like him and Nick being together in a very un-Texan way had given Nick cancer. God, people could be so narrow-minded.

His gaze continued round the church, there were so many people there, Nick had somehow touched so many lives but now he was gone. God was cruel.

He suddenly felt eyes upon him, oh yes, his speech. He got unsteadily to his feet and walked towards the pulpit with Warrick following him, he was Greg's back up, Greg couldn't trust his voice right now.

He stepped up to the microphone and looked down at the words written in front of him, he found his hands were gripping the pulpit so hard his knuckles were white.

He tried to focus on the words, they were from a song he had once heard and he found them comforting. They also brought back strong memories of Nick. He began to read.

Now you're gone
I wonder why you left me here
I think about it on and on again
I know you're never coming back
But I hope that you can hear me
I'm waiting to hear from you
Until I do

You're gone away
I'm left alone
A part of me is gone
And I'm not moving on
So wait for me
I know the day will come

I'll meet you there
No matter where life takes me to
I'll meet you there
And even if I need you here
I'll meet you there

I wish I could have told you
Things I kept inside
But now I guess it just too late
So many things remind me of you
I hope that you can hear me
I miss you
This is goodbye
One last time

You're gone away
I'm left alone
A part of me is gone
And I'm not moving on
So wait for me
I know the day will come

I'll meet you there
No matter where life takes me to
I'll meet you there
And even if I need you here
I'll meet you there

And where I go you'll be there with me
Forever you'll be right here with me

I'll meet you there
No matter where life takes me to
I'll meet you there
And even if I need you here
I'll meet you there

His voice cracked towards the end but he forced himself to carry on. Nick had meant so much to him he owed him this.

As he stepped down from the pulpit his knees gave way beneath him, luckily Warrick was there to catch him.

He made it back to his seat just in time, his mind once again remembering.

£$£$£$£$£$£$£$

Towards the end Greg had been given leave off work to look after Nick. The chemotherapy hadn't worked; the cancer had been shrunk but was too far gone to be destroyed. In the end his body couldn't physically take anymore of the chemicals and so there was nothing to be done.

Nick had been allowed home but his mother refused to look after him; she still hadn't forgiven him for the lack of grandchildren she was going to get because he refused to leave Greg.

So Nick was moved into their bedroom permanently and Greg either slept on the couch or next to Nick depending on how Nick was feeling.

One night Nick was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep, Greg had stayed up all night with him, they sat talking about what Greg should do when Nick was gone. Well Nick talked and Greg listened sadly, occasionally interjecting to refuse what Nick had just asked.

In the end Greg agreed just to keep Nick quiet.

"Fine," he sighed sadly at a little after two in the morning. "Now please get some rest and conserve your energy."

Fat lot of good that did.

£$£$£$£$£$£$£$

The coffin being placed on his shoulders by the undertakers brought back to the present day again.

He walked slowly down the aisle with his closest friends who had done so much for him the past month after Nick's death. Catherine had made sure he was well fed; she was on full mother overdrive. Warrick had been his closest ally against Nick's parents during the funeral arrangements. Nick and Greg had discussed what Nick wanted but his parents had refused to listen to Greg when he tried to tell them.

"No!" Nick's mother had told him flatly. "Nicky wanted to be cremated."

"No. He did not!" Warrick jumped in before Greg did or said something he regretted.

"Who asked you!" asked Nick's father turning fiercely on Warrick.

"Nick," was all Warrick said.

£$£$£$£$£$£$

They reached the graveyard and the procession began again.

The procession arrived at the spot Nick had chosen, in the shade of a weeping willow in the corner of the graveyard. Greg stood on one side of the grave with all the people who had meant so much to him and Nick's parents on the other.

The coffin began its descent into the grave as the vicar said his final speech but all Greg could hear were Nick's last words to him.

"Meet you there."