"Greg?" Nick called into the bedroom from the living room.
"Yeah?" Greg said, appearing from their room and walking up to Nick, wrapping his arms around his neck.
Nick smiled and put his hands on Greg's hips. "I gotta go to the DMV and then interview a witness with Warrick for the Cameron case."
"Okay." Greg said.
"I'll be back in a couple of hours."
"And I'll be sleeping." Greg smiled.
Nick leaned in and kissed Greg, who tighten his grip on Nick's neck and pulled him closer. They both groaned when after a few minutes Nick's cell phone rang. He unclipped it from his belt and answered it.
"Hello? Okay…yeah…bye." He hung up and returned his phone to his belt clip. "I gotta go now…Warrick's three seconds away." He kissed Greg's quickly before walking away. "I'll see you later."
"Bye." Greg said before Nick was out the door. He waited 20 minutes, making sure Nick wasn't coming back in case he forgot something or for some other reason before grabbing his keys and leaving as well.
Greg clenched and unclenched his fists several times in a failed attempt to get his hands to stop shaking. He sat on the painfully familiar couch, staring at the coffee table in front of him. He forced himself to look up when he heard the bathroom door open and watch the tall, brown haired man he knew all too well walk over and pull him to his feet and pressed their bodies together.
"Isn't it much better this way?" He whispered into Greg's ear.
Greg nodded. "Y-yeah…"
"You don't seem so sure. Would you rather me ask Nick?"
Greg tried to back away, but the firm grip on his arms restrained him from doing so. He could feel the bruises starting to form already. He couldn't form any words, so he just shook his head.
"That's what I thought. We don't need him messing anything up…there's consequences for that."
Greg shuddered as he felt a hand slide up his shirt. "Just leave him out of this, Matt." He said, pulling his face away from Matt's.
"This is all about him, though, isn't it?" Matt said, tightening his grip on Greg's arm. "He's the one you left me for and why you won't come back to me."
"That…and I never loved you." Greg said.
Matt released his hand from Greg's arm long enough so he could punch him in the face, sending Greg stumbling backwards. He pushed the smaller man to the ground and kicked him in the ribs before kneeling on his chest and pulling his head up from the floor by his spiky blonde hair.
"And you love him?" Greg nodded, his jaw set and eyes dark brown. Matt snorted. "Yeah, and I'm sure he loves you just as much. That's why he's been protecting you all this time…oh, wait…" He smiled evilly. He leaned in towards Greg, holding his head in place so he could kiss him. Greg had to fight back the urge to throw up. "Whether you like it or not, you're mine now." He hauled Greg to his feet and pushed him down the hall towards the bedroom. "Shall we?"
This time was different. Greg didn't go to a bar after his 'visit' with Matt and get drunk before he went home. He couldn't. He could feel his heart slowly breaking as he remembered what Matt had said to him while was huddled in the corner after he had sex with him.
"When he finds out what you're doing, he'll leave you, and we can be together again." Greg shook his head weakly. "How about I just have some fun with him...then kill him right in front of you?" Greg's heart dropped to his stomach. "It'll be slow and painful, like how you're torturing him now." There was nothing Greg could to do hold back his tears. "He doesn't love you anyway, so why does it matter if I slice his throat?"
He drove as fast as he could, tears stinging his eyes all the way home. He stumbled into the house, heading for the bedroom he shared with Nick, but changed his mind. He couldn't sleep there after doing what he just did, regardless of why he did it. He went into the guestroom instead and fell onto the bed, letting the tears fall from his eyes.
He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down, but that didn't work too well. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard the front door open. Relief washed over him when he thought Nick was home, but something felt wrong. He knew Nick's footsteps…and those weren't his. You're going crazy, Greg…he thought to himself. He sat up when the door to the guestroom opened. Greg's heartbeat increased tenfold when he couldn't see who the dark figure standing in the doorway was. Even though he knew better, he prayed and hoped it wasn't who he thought it was.
Greg swallowed the lump in his throat. His voice was shaky and filled with fear. "Nick?"
"Things with Greg any better?" Warrick asked as he turned onto Nick's street.
"Getting there." Nick answered with a sigh. He frowned when his house came into view.
"Whose car is that?" Warrick asked, coming to a stop in front of Nick's driveway and turning the car off.
"I don't know…" Nick's eyes fell on the front door. "Greg would never leave the door open…" He turned to Warrick, fear in both their eyes. They quietly got out of the car and walked up to the front door, each drawing their guns.
Warrick opened the door a little more so they could go inside at the same time. They looked around the living room with their guns raised and ready. They snapped their heads to their left when they heard the scream come from down the hallway.
Nick ran down the hall, followed closely by Warrick. Nick checked the bedroom while Warrick cleared the bathroom. Nick tried to open the guestroom door, but it was locked. He didn't even hesitate before kicking the door open and running into the room, Warrick right behind him. Neither one of them could, or wanted to, believe what they saw.
Greg was handcuffed to the bed, blood running down his arms from the cuts on his wrists from his struggling. His shirt was ripped and thrown to the side. His exposed chest was bruised and cut up. He had similar cuts and bruises on his face and neck. His faded blue jeans were unbuttoned and unzipped and were being tugged down by a muscular blonde man a few years older than Greg. He was straddling Greg's knees and turned in frustration when he was interrupted.
"Get off of him!" Nick ordered, training his gun on Greg's assailant.
The man did as he was asked. He got off of Greg, then the bed. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he grabbed the gun he had hidden in the back of his jeans and pressed it against Greg's temple forcefully. Greg's eyes were squeezed shut and his body was shaking violently.
"Put the gun down and get away from him!" Warrick yelled.
The man only smiled. "Why don't you put your guns down and leave us alone?" He said. "I swear I'll kill him." He pressed the gun to Greg's head harder.
Nick's voice was surprisingly steady. "Just leave him alone…point the gun at me." He said, raising both of his hands above his head.
"You're Nick, aren't you?"
Nick ignored the question. "Just point the gun at me."
"I'd rather just kill this little son of a bitch."
The man turned his attention towards Greg, but that's as far as he got. Nick lowered the gun and aimed it straight at the man's chest and fired twice. His target fell backwards and lay still.
Nick dropped the gun and ran over to the bed. Warrick went around the other side to the guy laying on the floor, but Nick forgot he was even there. He carefully straddled Greg's waist and put his hands on either side of Greg's face and tried to calm him down.
"Greg…it's me. You're safe, okay?"
Greg's body was shaking uncontrollably from his sobs and he couldn't hear Nick because of the loud beating of his heart in his ears. He struggled against Nick's weight and the handcuffs, trying to get free. He succeeded only in deepening the cuts on his wrists. The handcuffs were as loose enough to make Greg think he could get away, but tight enough so he couldn't.
Nick slipped his fingers in between Greg's wrists and the metal handcuffs, stopping him from doing anymore damage. The pressure cut Nick's knuckles, but he didn't care. He gently rubbed Greg's wrists with is free thumbs and kept talking to him.
"Greggo…open your eyes. It's me, you can open your eyes now." Nick's eyes scanned over all the cuts on Greg's face and followed the trail of blood down to his neck, tears stinging his eyes with everything he saw. There were painful looking bite marks on his neck and chest. Nick fought back his own tears as he watched Greg's spill down his face.
"Nicky…" Warrick said softly. Nick looked over at Warrick, who was standing next to the body on the floor. He shook his head and Nick understood. He was dead.
Nick didn't dwell on it for too long. He turned back to Greg, who was still having a panic attack. Nick knew he probably couldn't hear him, so he slipped one of his hands out from under the handcuffs and threaded his fingers through Greg's hair and gently brushed his lips against Greg's.
He moved his mouth next to Greg's ear, breathing against his neck, calming the younger man down a little. "Greggo...it's me, it's Nick." He said softly. "You're safe now. You need to calm down, okay?" Nick felt Greg nod slowly before burying his face against Nick's shoulder. "It's okay, I promise." Nick said soothingly. "I'm gonna take the handcuffs off, but you have to promise to lay still so we can get some evidence from you, okay?" Greg's breathing was still ragged, but he was starting to get himself under control. "I know you don't want to, but we need to, okay? It won't be long I swear."
Greg nodded and opened his eyes slowly as Nick leaned back and slowly got off of Greg. Warrick quickly took off the handcuffs on Greg's left wrist before moving over to the other side. Greg's hand fell limply to his side. Nick slid his warm hand into Greg's and squeezed it gently.
Warrick freed his other hand and immediatly began taking samples from Greg with the kit he had produced from the bedroom across the hall. Greg kept his eyes on Nick the entire time. Nick rubbed the top of Greg's hand with his thumb and ran his hand through his blonde hair.
Just as Warrick finished, they heard police sirens coming up the street. Frowning, Nick looked at Warrick.
"I called Brass while you were calming him down." He explained simply. Nick nodded silently.
The chaos that ensued was surreal. Nick and Warrick were taken away from Greg, who was put in an ambulance and driven away. A young officer put Nick and Warrick into the back of a police cruiser, the battle easily won by the cop. Neither one of them had the energy to protest.
"We just needed to get you guys outta there." Brass' voice came from the front of the car, and Nick and Warrick both sighed in relief. They rode the rest of the way to the station in silence. They walked in the same way, but they were disrupted by Sara's angry yells from down the hall.
"What the hell Nick?" She yelled, trying to run towards him. Grissom held her back by her shoulders.
Nick didn't look up. He didn't even seem to hear her.
"You're supposed to protect him!" She choked out through a sob.
Nick turned and looked at her silently before Warrick pulled him into the interrogation room with Brass. Nick let Warrick lead him to a chair and sat down across from Brass. He sighed heavily, unable to postpon the inevitable.