Chapter 1
Nick stood in the DNA lab, tapping an evidence envelope against his fingertips, as he waited for, Ronnie, the DNA tech to arrive. He looked up in surprise when his supervisor, Gil Grissom, walked in leading a boyishly handsome young man perhaps a few years Nick's junior. The young man was wearing black trousers, and a brilliant purple T-shirt with some kind of band logo on it, as well as a pair of bright purple tennis shoes.
"This is where you'll be working, Greg. It looks like you may already have a customer, too," Grissom said, gesturing towards Nick. "This is one of our graveyard shift criminalists, Nick Stokes. Nick, this is Greg Sanders. I guess you didn't hear that Ronnie up and quit on us mid shift last night."
As Grissom had been talking, Nick had been closely studying Greg. Perhaps a few inches taller than Nick, Greg had dark brown, nearly black hair, buzzed oddly on the sides and slicked up into an imitation mohawk on the top. His caramel brown eyes flitted around the lab, taking in everything, starting with – Nick noted – where the exits were. Nick's empathy was screaming at him that this man was terrified, hiding it well, but terrified. And the worst of his fear seemed to be directed at Grissom.
Greg took in his surroundings, starting with the two doors leading out to the rest of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. He wasn't sure if anyone would come after him, but it was wise to be prepared. Plus, he'd just been straight up unnerved when he'd met the graveyard shift supervisor, heightening his paranoia. The man's piercing blue eyes reminded him of the Nazis he'd been forced to work for and with. As Grissom introduced him to Nick, he found his gaze drawn to the other man, had the feeling Nick knew exactly how scared he was.
"It's nice to meet ya, Greg," Nick allowed his southern drawl to thicken, hoping it might help to put Greg at ease, as he had used his voice so many times back in Texas to calm frightened horses.
Nick's eyes were drawn to Greg's right hand, where it worried at a leather cuff secured around his left forearm. Catching Nick staring, Greg dropped his hand to his side. The way Greg's fingers were twitching, Nick knew the younger man wanted nothing better than to start fiddling with the cuff again. It must have been a recent addition to his wardrobe, since it seemed to be bothering him so much.
The leather cuff covering Greg's identification tattoo was chafing his skin. He'd have to find some other way to hide it, as it would just raise awkward questions if anyone saw the tattoo. He could see concern flash through Nick's chocolate brown eyes, and wondered what it would feel like to be comforted by the older man, wrapped up in his muscular embrace.
Grissom broke into the suddenly awkward silence, "Nick, don't you have some DNA that needs processing?" Grissom had raised an eyebrow at how intently the two men had been studying each other.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," Nick said, thinking to himself, Smooth, Nicky! Holding the envelope out to Greg, he watched as the younger man gingerly took it and moved towards the machines. The younger man had only just avoided flinching when Nick extended the envelope to him. Rage boiled up inside of Nick. Rage at whomever had hurt Greg so badly that every movement made by others was considered a threat. With an effort, he forced the anger away, until he could deal with it later. This was definitely not the time or the place. He wouldn't confirm Greg's obvious fears that no one could be trusted. He'd find a way to earn the younger man's trust.
"I'll leave you to it, then, Greg. Just let me know if you need anything," Grissom said, taking his leave of the DNA lab.
Greg let out a small sigh when Grissom finally left the lab. He turned towards the machines, unconsciously mimicking Nick's earlier action with the evidence envelope, tapping it against his fingertips. Gleaning all he could from just looking at the machines, he approached one, and allowed the fingertips he'd been tapping the envelope against to trail over one of the larger machines, the GCMS. He knew what it was, he even knew how it functioned, he just had never seen one quite this advanced, quite this small. Technology had come a long way.
As Nick continued to watch Greg, the younger man's actions gave Nick the impression that while he knew the function of the GCMS machine, he wasn't as familiar with it's use as he should have been. Worried about his evidence, he cleared his throat – which caused Greg to jump, which made Nick berate himself for startling the younger man again – and said, "You do know what you're doing, right?" He couldn't see how an unqualified person could have gotten hired, but he had seen stranger things happen.
After jumping, Greg turned and took an involuntary step back, recoiling from Nick. "Yeah- yeah. I'll, uh, I'll get right on this for you."
Nick's heart clenching in near physical pain at Greg's reaction to him, Nick decided then and there that he would make it his mission to draw the younger man out, try to erase that look of fear from his handsome features. If it meant the younger man ended up in his bed, then so much the better, as Nick felt that somehow, their futures were tied together. If asked, he wouldn't be able to put into words how he knew, but he knew that whatever had happened to Greg to make him so jumpy and frightened, it wasn't still happening.
"I'll stop back by later, see how you're doing," Nick spoke softly. As with any frightened animal, the first step was to get it used to being around people again. If Nick stopped in frequently, expressed interest in the younger man, he might calm some. From there, Nick could start to acclimatize Greg to small touches, and invasion of personal space. He didn't know how long it would take, didn't even really care. He just wanted to help the younger man trust in others again.
Pausing in the doorway, his right arm on the doorjamb, as he twisted to look back over it, he murmured quietly, "You're safe here, G." He wasn't sure if the younger man had heard, but it made him feel better to have voiced it.
When Nick finally left, Greg let out a sigh of relief. He had heard what Nick had said, and it sent a bolt of... something... through him. This wasn't supposed to be permanent. He had planned to stay here for a year or two, then move on. He figured he still had another jump or two before the bracelet gave out. But something deep inside of him told him that this was it. This was when he would be spending the rest of his existence.
His thoughts wandered back to Nick. He got the disturbing impression that Nick could see right through him, to his very soul. More importantly, Greg seemed to know that Nick would make it his mission to find out why he was the way he was, and to help him get past it. And for some reason, Greg knew that this included him going to Nick's bed. After everything that had happened to him at the Nazis' hands, he had never thought he'd be okay with a thought like that again, but he actually found himself half hard with anticipation.
Shaking his head, he brought his concentration back to doing his job and becoming familiar with the more complex machines of this time.
If Greg had thought to look up at that point, he would have found Nick watching him from the corridor through the glass walls of the DNA lab.
Nick watched the younger man don a pair of latex gloves and carefully open the evidence envelope he'd been given. He watched how the tension seemed to drain from Greg's face, as the younger man became absorbed in his work. Greg moved confidently around the chemicals and low tech equipment, choosing everything he needed with ease. It was when he moved to the GCMS machine that his features took on a more hesitant cast. He carefully set the sample in the machine, then chose the settings he wanted, double checked everything, and checked one more time for good measure, then hit the start button.
When the machine started its cycle, Greg seemed pleased, and a genuine smile spread across his face. This was the first time Nick had seen the younger man smile, and found that he desperately wanted that smile directed at him.
"Hey, bro. What're you..." Warrick called to Nick, startling him from his observations and thoughts. Warrick's eyes followed Nick's gaze to Greg, where he was suddenly dancing a little jig of happiness as the GCMS continued to process the sample he'd fed it. "Aw, fresh meat!" Warrick said, having apparently already heard about Ronnie's sudden departure.
Nick had expected the protectiveness he was feeling. What he hadn't banked on was the jealousy that suddenly swept through him. He grabbed Warrick by the forearm, meeting surprised green eyes, "Don't give him a hard time, 'Rick, and hands off!" He really didn't know why he said the last part. He knew Warrick was straight. He knew that! So why was he suddenly feeling so possessive of the new DNA tech?