Chapter Four

Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter online. It has actually been finished for a while now, but real life kept interferring with editing it. Chapter five is already done and I already started editing so hopefully it will be online very soon.

Thanks for all the reviews so far.

As Nick walked toward the DNA lab he noticed Greg was sitting at his desk writing out a report or something. It was not an unusual occurrence, however, the fact that the younger man was sitting very still as he held the pen was. As he stood and watched the younger man he noted that he seemed to be having trouble concentrating. He and Warrick thought Greg would practically be bouncing off the walls after returning from the field with Catherine.

"Hey Greggo," Nick spoke as he entered the lab before anyone noticed him staring at the tech.

"Hey," Greg replied without looking away from his paperwork. "You have evidence for me to process?"

"No, I just came to let you know that Warrick is coming over after our shift to hangout and play video games. Warrick is bringing the beer, I'm getting us pizza, and if you want you can bring chips or pretzels or whatever you want man," Nick told him.

Nick watched as Greg nodded his head before finally looking up at him. "Sounds good," Greg told him.

"Man, is everything alright? How did it go out in the field with Catherine today," Nick asked. Since he returned from his own crime scene with Warrick two hours ago he and Warrick had both noticed the younger man was unusually quiet. Warrick had told him, when he dropped off their DNA evidence, that Greg had barely spoke to him. In the years that they have known the crazy lab tech, they had come to recognize that a quiet Greg Sanders usually meant something was troubling him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Being in the field was alright, I learned a lot," Greg shrugged his shoulders. He looked back down to the paperwork he had been working on previously.

"Alright man," Nick relented knowing the lab tech obviously didn't want to tell him what was wrong. "I'll see you later."

"K, I'll bring the snacks," Greg assured him as Nick walked toward the glass doorway.

Nick nodded and turned to watch the younger man for a few more seconds before he walked out of the lab. He hoped that Greg would be more willing to talk about whatever was bothering him later. With a sigh, he walked back to the break room where Warrick was waiting for him.

Greg drove out of his way to go to a more expensive 24 hour grocery store, which had two guards on duty at all times. One guard walked outside the store or sat in his vehicle to keep an eye out for trouble while the second guard was located inside the store to ensure customer safety and be on the look out for thieves. Greg felt safer going to this grocery store after discovering that his stalker was also following him while he was on duty surrounded by police officers.

After parking his car as close to the entrance as he could, and getting out of his car, he noticed the powder blue Lincoln Continental pulling into the parking lot. He quickened his pace and hurried into the store. He had never gotten a good look at the man's face so he would not have recognized the man if he had followed him inside. Greg therefore made his way through the store as quickly as possible and grabbed a bag of chips, pretzels, and a jar of ranch dip. He paid for the items and hurried out of the store.

His stalker's vehicle, he noted, was parked in the fire lane near the exit of the store. The security guard spoke to the man. At first Greg thought the guard was telling him to move his car, but as he walked by he could hear the guard giving him directions to get back to the strip from where he currently was. Greg wished he could believe the man was truly lost and his showing up here minutes after Greg was just a coincidence. Greg sighed and hurried to his car. He tossed the bags onto the passenger seat and started the car. As he pulled out of the parking spot and headed toward the exit, he saw the blue car pull away from the guard. When he finally pulled out, after waiting for passing vehicles, the car was right behind him. It was the closest the car had ever dared to be to his own car. Greg felt even more uncomfortable than he had in the store.

He knew that a stalker's behavior often escalated from simply following someone, to showing up at their door, threatening them, and in severe cases becoming violent. He had not been able to find a lot of information about stalkers behavior toward their victims' boyfriends, but it did not reassure him that he had nothing to worry about. He realized he would most likely have to tell someone about his stalker now. He just needed to decide who he should tell; Grissom or Brass would most likely be his best bet. He wasn't sure if Warrick would tell him he was paranoid or not, Catherine and Sara would worry too much, and Nick was totally out of the question because he had already tried that and didn't want to upset him again.

Greg was forced to drive around for an hour before he was finally able to lose his tail. He did not want to lead the psychopath to Nick's house; Nick had had enough problems with his own stalker nearly two years ago. Greg refused to knowingly do that to his friend.

When he had first started working for the Crime Lab he had developed an immediate attraction to Nick. He had flirted with him more than anyone else at the lab and had even thought the older man had flirted back a time or two, but as time went on he had come to realize that what he thought was Nick returning his flirting was actually nothing more than wishful thinking on his part. He had abandoned any hope that there would ever be anything beyond friendship between them and focused his attention on Sara for a while. He had dated other people for a while, mostly females. Then he met Lisa nearly five months ago at a Coin Collecting Convention.

Nick glanced at the clock as he and Warrick played a video game while they waited for Greg to show. Nick was becoming worried about Greg. It should not have taken so long to get chips and pretzels. The pizza that he had ordered while driving home had already been delivered and he and Warrick had already had two slices each.

"So how is it going having Greggo stay here with you," Warrick questioned.

"It's alright," Nick replied glancing at the door momentarily before looking back at his friend.

"Is he driving you nuts yet," Warrick grinned glancing over at him as he took a sip of his beer.

"Not as much as you would think, although I was surprised when he started cleaning my house yesterday after we ate. If I would have let him I think he would have cleaned the entire house. I had to argue with him that I could clean my own bathroom. I think he cleaned it when I went to get some groceries though," Nick chuckled.

"Whoa man are you trying to tell me that Greg Sanders, Mr. Crazy Rock N' Roll man, is a clean freak? The same Greg Sanders whose desk is always cluttered with samples that he needs to run," Warrick questioned.

"You should see his apartment," Nick chuckled. "He has his DVDs, CDs, and books organized alphabetically. It's very clean, but with so many books, CDs, and DVDs it looks somewhat cluttered. Organized clutter I guess you would call it."

"Wow, you know I guess I could see where his desk at the lab could be called organized clutter. He does seem to know where everything is in the lab. He just doesn't look like a neat and organized person," Warrick commented.

"There's a lot about him that you'd never expect," Nick grinned.

Before Warrick could respond to Nick's comment the door opened with a creak and Greg entered the house carrying two plastic bags. "Did you get lost getting the chips man," Warrick questioned as Greg entered and locked the door behind him.

"Nah, I ran into a friend at the store and we were talking for a while," Greg told them. He took the bags to the kitchen. Warrick and Nick could hear Greg walking around in the kitchen opening and closing cupboards.

"G, what are you doing?" Nick asked.

Greg walked back into the living room balancing two large bowls filled with chips and pretzels and a jar of dip in his arms. "I got bowls for the snacks," he replied as if it was a stupid question.

"So Greggo, what was wrong with you today. You looked like you were ready to ring someone's neck when I dropped our evidence off today," Warrick questioned.

"Nothing, just a bad day," Greg said as Nick took one of the bowls out of Greg's hands and placed it on the coffee table.

"Greg, you're our friend," Warrick said. "We are worried about you, now...."

"It was Catherine," Greg began running a hand through his hair. "She was just unbearable at the crime scene today. I think she hates me or either she just doesn't want me to be a CSI."

"Greggo," Nick began, "why wouldn't Catherine want you to be a CSI, I know she can be... a bitch at times, but I doubt..."

"Nick, she kept telling me I was doing everything wrong. She told me I was too distracted. There was nothing I could do that was right and she... she..." Greg shook his head refusing to finish his sentence.

"What else did she say," Warrick asked studying the agitated younger man.

"She said I was... she said I was flirting with the police officer outside our crime scene. She made it sound like I was gay," Greg sighed as he laid his head back on the cushion of the couch.

"Catherine was just in a bad mood last night. Lindsay was giving her trouble and she was mad at Grissom for giving her the 407 instead of the 419 that Warrick and I worked on," Nick explained. "I think it might be that time of the month too man."

"So," Warrick glanced at Nick and then back at Greg. "You are bi-sexual aren't you?

Greg immediately sat up straight and looked at the taller man sitting on the floor beside Nick. Both men looked at him intently. "Who told you that?"

"No one; Greg, the way that you flirt with everyone whether they are male or female and all your kinky sex stories about liquid latex and bondage, I assumed you are not entirely straight. You can tell us man; we are not going to think any less of you. You know one of my best friends is gay. You know Sanders; I think he would like you. Maybe one day we can go on a double date, I'll find a girl and bring him along and you can meet us," Warrick said.

Nick glared at Warrick and tried to quell the sudden anxiety that flooded him as he waited for the younger man's answer. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer; he didn't want to hear Greg say that he was straight. Hearing him say it, although, he already assumed it was true would ensure that he would never have even a slim chance with Greg that he now had.

When Greg didn't immediately answer, Warrick persisted. "Come on Sanders, you know you can trust us man."

"Fine," Greg said rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I guess you would say I was bi-sexual. But I don't need you to set me up with anyone." Greg said with a glance at Nick.

Nick, who had been looking away from Greg toward the paused video game, immediately turned his head to look at the younger man. He felt his stomach begin to twist in knots. That was not the answer he had expected. He assumed there could never be anything more than friendship between him and Greg. He couldn't help stare at Greg as his mind became overrun with thoughts of whether Greg would want to go out with him. Just because he liked both men and women didn't mean the lab tech liked him.

Warrick glanced at Nick and winked his eye. "Man, let me know if you change your mind about the double date, I really think you and my friend would like each other."

"Yeah, I'll let you know," Greg nodded with a quick glance at Nick before lowering his gaze to stare at the floor.

"You know it's getting I'm getting tired. I'm going to head home," Warrick said looking at Nick. "Don't think that you are getting out of losing though Stokes," Warrick grinned as he stood up.

"You were the one losing Brown," Nick teased.

"I'll see you guys at work tonight," Warrick said walking toward the door.

Nick shook his head knowing that Warrick was leaving so he could talk to Greg. Although the younger man had admitted that he was bi-sexual, it didn't mean he liked Nick as anything more than a friend. Greg stood up and began to put the potato chips away without saying anything else. "Greg, I'll clean up, you don't need to worry about it," he told him.

Greg nodded his head and walked away. Nick watched him walk toward the guest bedroom without looking at him. He knew something was wrong with the younger man. He assumed it had something to do with Greg admitting that he was bi because he had barely spoken since.

Nick quickly put the snacks and drinks away and walked toward the guest bedroom. The door was still open and he could see Greg sitting on the bed with his hands over his face. "Greg," Nick said from the doorway, "you alright?"

"Yeah," was Greg's simple reply.

With a sigh Nick entered the guest room and sat on the bed a foot away from Greg. "Are you really bi?" He closed his eyes as soon as the last word left his mouth. It was a stupid question. The lab tech had just admitted it; why would he admit it if it wasn't true?

Greg moved his hands away from his face and looked at Nick. "Yes. Do you want me to leave?"

"No," Nick said wondering why he would think he wanted him to leave.

"You don't have to be nice to me," Greg sighed. "I understand if you are uncomfortable around me now." His words were spoken so softly Nick could barely hear him.

"Greg, I'm not uncomfortable. I'm glad you are here; I like having you around. Besides if I felt uncomfortable around you, then I'd have to feel uncomfortable with myself. Warrick wasn't entirely correct about his friend being gay. I'm bi, although, I usually prefer men," Nick explained.

Nick watched as the younger man's eyes widened. "But... I... I thought you were straight. You always talk about women, you even... you.... Are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

Nick smiled, "Maybe this will convince you," he said leaning forward until his lips gently brushed against the younger man's. It was a short simple touch of lips because even if Greg did like him, it was probably too soon after his break up with Lisa. "If I was lying would I have did that?"

"I guess not," Greg said still looking at him disbelievingly.

"You know I've kinda liked you for a while now. I don't expect you to feel the same..." Nick was interrupted by Greg pulling him close for their first passionate and breath taking kiss. Each of their tongues fought for dominance until they were forced to part for air.

"I was attracted to you since I first met you, but I thought you were straight so I tried to ignore it. Eventually I just moved on and settled for only having your friendship. Although there were times I wasn't sure you really were my friend."

"I hated hearing about your girlfriends. And you were always talking about Sara. When you dated that model for a while I thought I had no chance. I thought that you had to be straight."

Greg chuckled, "First of all not all my dates were girls, I just let you guys assume they were like with Alex. And as for the model, that day she met you guys she tried to convince me to ask you to join us. She was only straight in public and she knew that I was bi. I told her that you were straight though. She was into some very wild stuff. Lady Heather would have been proud."

"You're not kidding are you?" Nick asked his eyes just as wide as his friend's had been a few moments earlier.

Greg shook his head while grinning.

"Shit that's hot. I should have told you about me a long time ago."

"I didn't tell you either."

"No you didn't. So would you want to go out on a date sometime," Nick suddenly felt nervous again.

"I thought you'd never ask," Greg grinned again.

"So how about tomorrow evening before work? We could go out to dinner, maybe a movie too," Nick suggested.

"Sounds good," Greg agreed.

"Good. Well, I'm going to go to bed now man, I'll see you later," Nick said and leaned forward to give Greg another quick kiss on the lips before getting up off the guest bed.

"Night," Greg told him.

Nick left the room and grinned. He owed Warrick, he realized. He would have to find a way to thank his older friend.

TBC