You Save Me

A story of opening yourself entirely to someone, loving someone unconditionally, and trust.

Nick/Greg friendship and eventually pairing. Characters are not mine. Please R & R. Thanks for all the reviews!

By: Animegirl1129

Chapter 9:

"Nick?" Greg called from the guest room of Nick's condo, the blankets pulled up to his nose.

The Texan poked his head in the room. "What's up, Greggo?" he asked.

The younger man motioned for him to come in.

"What's wrong?" Nick repeated, moving across the room to sit on the edge of the bed. "Nightmares?"

It was just after midnight now and the twenty four hour surveillance team was in place, Archie was linked directly to the camera's in and around the house, he had a high-tech alarm system rigged up that nothing had ever gotten past and several undercover officers were stationed outside.

After Greg had passed out in the car, Nick had driven him back to his home, carrying the younger man in and letting him rest on the sofa. He'd woken up several hours ago and he was still exhausted.

In response to Nick's comment, he shook his head. "Are the doors locked?"

Nick nodded. "Yes."

"The windows?"

Nick nodded again.

Greg dropped the blanket he'd been clinging to. "Could you…. Could you check them?"

Despite the fact that this was the third time he'd check them in the last twenty minutes, his own paranoia not making sleep come easier, he nodded, going to check them all again.

He returned a moment later, assuring Greg that they were all locked, the phone was unplugged, that all computers and cell phones were off, and that the alarm system was functioning, though he could tell this knowledge did not seem to comfort him let alone the younger man.

"If you need me, I'll be in my room."

Greg nodded, rolling over to face the window, his immobilized limbs not making him very comfortable.

He did somehow manage to fall asleep, but was woken what seemed like only minutes later by a loud crash of thunder. The sound of rain pounding against the windows and walls echoed in the still house. A flash of bright lightening illuminated the room making everything seem darker when it faded. He'd always hated storms and right now he was terrified.

"It's only a storm…." He reasoned with himself. "Yeah, but if the power goes out, everything Archie installed will be pointless… They'd be able to get in without worrying about being seen, the alarm system would disengage…" The scared part of his mind recoiled.

"NICK!" Greg cried, jumping, as quickly as the casts would allow, out of the bed, still clutching the blanket in his hands. He limped his way down the hall to Nick's room, quietly pushing the door open.

The Texan was still asleep, lost in his dreams, most likely of fatally injuring Greg's attackers.

"Nicky…" Greg whispered, poking the man several times in the shoulder.

"Mmphm…" he groaned, rolling over. "What?" he asked groggily, barely awake.

Greg looked down at his feet, another blaze of lightening streaking across the sky outside, the inevitable boom following it causing the younger man to whimper.

Seeming to realize the circumstances, Nick brought himself back into reality. "Greg, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"The storm…" he mumbled. "I hate them."

"Aw," Nick smiled subconsciously, unable to deny the fact that Greg looked adorable. The blanket was wrapped around him, the only thing visible were his eyes and spiky hair. He looked like a five year old boy who had a nightmare and came running into his parent's room to sleep in-between.

Greg seemed to hesitate. "Ugh… can I... sleep in here with you?" he asked nervously, biting his lip.

In response, Nick lifted the covers, moving to the other half of the bed.

The younger man smiled, crawling in beside him. "Thanks…" he whispered into the darkness, turning to face Nick to avoid staring at the window.

Now it was Nick's turn to be nervous. "Would you mind if I held you?" he asked quietly.

Greg shook his head. "When you held me before, when I told you, I felt better, so, no, I don't mind," He shifted closer to the Texan, burying his head against the older mans chest.

Nick wrapped an arm around the blonde's chest, holding him close. "The storm'll be over soon. Don't worry," he whispered.

"I'm not scared anymore…" Greg mumbled sleepily.

Nick smiled, his chin resting on top of Greg's head. "Try and get some sleep, Greggo."

"Mmmm…"

---------------------------------

Two hours passed and both men were finally asleep, and the storm was fading, the red numbers on the alarm clock on Nick's bedside table blinked '12:00' and the air conditioner sputtered back to life.

Greg sat bolt upright in the large bed, his eyes scanning the room. Nick groaned at the loss of contact and sat up as well. "What's going on?" he asked.

"The power must have gone out." He said, glancing toward the clock beside him.

Nick nodded. "It's just the storm, I don't even hear the rain anymore, it won't happen again." He said, reaching behind the younger man to reset the clock.

"But, what if-" Greg started, but cut himself off, lying back down and curling into Nick's arms again.

Nick ran a hand through the spiky hair and pressed a kiss to the top of Greg's head. "It's alright. You're safe."

As Greg drifted off into yet another uneasy sleep, Nick stayed awake, watching over his love. "I won't let anything hurt you."

Not fifteen minutes later, did Greg stir again, glancing at the door. "Nicky, I think I heard something."

"I didn't hear anything…" he replied, half asleep, his eyes closed.

"Could you go check the doors again?" he asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Nick nodded, pushing the covers away and trudging toward the closed door to his room.

He checked the front and back doors, satisfied that they were still locked; he checked the kitchen and living room as well as the basement and found all windows to be locked as well. He walked into the room Greg had been in, approaching the window.

"Ow, Damnit!" he growled, stepping on something sharp. "What the hell?"

He looked down, surprised to see a shower of glass on the floor before him. Now worried that someone might have gotten in the house he quickly surveyed the room, finding it empty, as he expected. He glanced down at the window again, spotting a medium sized object resting just under the windowsill.

It was a rock, a note taped to it.

"Nice try." Nick read aloud.

"Nick?" Greg asked form the doorway of the room. "What's that?"

"Archie's alarm system must have failed when the power went out. They threw a rock through your window." Nick explained, passing the rock, which he'd picked up using a sheet from the bed, to Greg.

Greg struggled to against the pair of arms holding him back. He knew that he was in serious danger and he needed to get out of it as soon as possible.

He thought he'd finally caught a break when the man behind him relaxed his grip. Taking what might be his only window of opportunity to escape; he squirmed and pushed himself away from his captor.

The one who seemed to be in charge of the attack was prepared for this, reaching out and tackling the young CSI to the ground. "Oh, no. You're not getting away that easy."

Greg whimpered as the man pulled him to his feet before throwing him against the brick wall.

"Nice try…"

"Why are they doing this? Why won't they just leave me alone?" he cried, running back towards Nick's room and diving on the bed. He grabbed Nick's pillow inhaling the older man's scent from the material which immediately calmed him down

Nick came in a moment later cell phone in hand. I called Archie and Grissom, and the detail's coming in to clear the house," he told the younger man, wrapping his arms around the younger mans frame. "We'll catch them. I'll make sure thy can never hurt you again."