You rock Holly! Couldn't have gotten this far without you helping me!
~One Month Later~
Greg woke up in a cold sweat, gasping and panting in fear from the nightmare that he had just managed to wake from.
He had been experiencing the same dream for the past two weeks; in the dream he was back in the sanctum and all around him were the people he had killed. Demetrius James, his chilling ghostly eyes glaring up at him accusingly with his mangled body. Doctor Needles with the horror shining through his eyes like a beacon and his snapped neck that had a bone actually sticking out the left side. And lastly his father, his was the worst expression, surprised and horror struck eyes; looking up at him in a way that made him feel like a true monster and the bullet hole that went clear through his head, giving him a sick view through his head to the floor beneath him.
It would start as a low whisper, like the turning of a page in a semi-loud room then it would become as loud as a sonic boom. The word 'Monster!' being screamed in his ear so loud that it felt like his eardrums were going to burst.
He dropped to his knees with his hands pressed so tightly to his skull that it felt like two 200 pound weights were pressed against his skull. But no matter how hard he pressed, the voices kept getting through, seeming to only get louder. And every night he would wake up when he saw a shadow standing over him with blood dripping down onto his head and sliding sickeningly down his face.
Seeming to put a weight of guilt on his soul.
He would slowly look up from the ground, his hands moving away from his ears when the harsh words appeared to have stopped. When he met the glowering face of his father, the blood running down his face like a sick biblical river. His father would reach out for him and a silent scream would erupt from his throat, but right before his father would touch him he would wake up.
He got up from the bed, being careful not to wake Nick, and walked down the hallway to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
Stopping in front of the sink he reached over for a coffee cup and filled the cup with tap water. Raising the cup to his lips he took a large gulp, soothing his aching throat then set the cup down and with the heels of his hands, leant against the counter.
"Wonder if she's even there?" He asked himself as he leaned back from the counter and walked over to the phone. There was a moment of hesitation as he held the phone in his hand.
Should he really bother her with this?
He knew he should probably be talking to Nick or a psychiatrist but he didn't want to talk to a complete stranger about his bloody nightmares and he really didn't want Nick to know how truly messed up he was. But with her, he knew she wouldn't look at him any differently, and deep down he knew that Nick would help him overcome his fears and soothe him when he came out of a nightmare, but he didn't want him to know he was slowly cracking inside.
Coming to a resolve he dialed the number and held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hey Korey, I was just calling to see how you were doing?" Greg said, awkwardly trying to start a conversation, while thinking of how he should phrase what needed to be said.
"Hi Greg, I've been good. Getting ready to head home and see my family again. How about you?" She asked conversationally.
"Good, good...actually the past week has been kind of tough." Greg admitted, leaning against the counter.
"What's been going on Greg? Trouble with Nick?" She asked, carefully choosing her words.
"No everything's great with Nick, it's just something that's going on in my mind, and I guess I called because I need an outlet." Greg sighed, rubbing his brow.
"How about I meet you at that cafe across from the Hot Top and we can talk? I feel like we need to be face to face and I'm also a little hungry." Korey suggested.
Greg bit his lip and tilted his head to look down the hall at Nick and his closed bedroom door.
"Greg?" Korey asked, a little concerned when Greg remained too quiet for much too long.
'"Yeah sorry. Sure, I'll meet you down there in 15 minutes. Bye." Greg replied, mentally scolding himself for zoning out like that and causing his friend to worry more.
"Okay, see you then. Bye." Korey hung up.
Putting the phone down Greg pulled the pad of paper, that Nick and him used to leave messages, grocery lists etc. to him and wrote a letter to Nick in case he woke up before he got back.
Nick,
Couldn't sleep so decided to take a
jog around the park. Be back in an hour.
Greg.
After quietly walking back into the bedroom he set the letter down on his pillow and grabbed Nick's A&M hoody from over a chair, pulling the garment down over his head. Before he left he took his wallet off the dresser then one last glance at sleeping Nick before walking out of the room and quietly closing the door behind him.
He walked out of the apartment and was only mildly surprised to find that it was raining, after all he wasn't going through enough crap why not throw pneumonia into the mix!
Fumbling with his car keys he finally managed to get the right one and practically jam the key into the lock, turning the key. As soon as the door was open he jumped inside and slammed the door close behind him, a blanket of rain splashing off the car from impact, but was immediately covered by another blanket of rain.
Greg shook the rain out of his hair; the droplets splashing all over the interior of the car. Wiping his wet hands on his car seat, he stuck the key in the ignition, turned the key and the car came to life. He pulled away from the curb and out onto the road.
Arriving at the cafe 10 minutes later he pulled his hood on then quickly jumped out of the car, locked the door behind him and ran across the street to the cafe.
He entered the cafe, the bell on the door chiming his arrival and lowered his drenched hood down. He was soaked from the hair down and with every step he took a loud squelching sound erupted from the floor causing everyone to turn and state at him in annoyance. He ignored the stares and sat down in the nearest booth, picking up a menu and flipped through it. He didn't intend on ordering anything other than a coffee, but he needed to do something with his hands.
A minute later a waitress wearing the cafe's standard uniform that consisted of a pale green button up dress, white apron that went up to her midsection and a name tag that proclaimed the name 'Christine'. Her hair was curly red, held up in a ponytail, freckled skin, multiple pierced ears and she looked to be around 23, so most likely a college student.
"What can I get you?" She asked in a bored tone, having obviously asked this too many times in her employment here.
"I'll just take a cup of coffee." He answered, closing the menu and setting it aside.
"Decaf or regular?" She asked, her pen poised in the air.
"Regular."
She wrote his order down and ripped the page out. "Coming right up, that'll be $1.50." She turned on her heels and walked over to the counter to get a coffee cup and the pot of regular coffee. She brought the full cup of coffee over to him and set it down in front of him. He thanked her and when she turned to leave he reached over to the little basket that contained the packets of sugar and pulled a handful out, cafe coffee tended to taste like tar so he didn't know how much sugar he would need to make the coffee even semi-drinkable.
As he was adding the sugar the bell chimed again and a mostly dry Korey entered the cafe, closing her umbrella and placing it on the coat rack by the hook next to the door. She walked down the lineal floor, her shoes squeaking as well and she also received dirty looks from the other patrons but like Greg she ignored them and slipped in the booth in the cushioned seat across from Greg.
"You know you're supposed to wear the hood when you go outside in a rainstorm." She mocked, sliding the menu over to her and flipping the plastic book open.
"I did but I forgot to wear it when I was running to my car and so not only did my hair get soaked but the rest of me as well. Not that the hood would have done much good anyway, the material is too thin." Greg concluded. He had added enough sugar to his coffee, so he lifted the cup to his lips and took a cautious first sip, when no gagging or coughing came he took a larger sip and placed the cup back down.
The same waitress came back and stopped in front of Korey, waiting to take her order.
"What can I get you?" She asked, once again bored out of her mind.
"Hmm...I'll take the flapjacks with a side of eggs and a glass of orange juice." She handed the waitress the menu, something Greg had failed to do and returned her attention to Greg.
"Coming right up, that'll be $6.75." The waitress ripped the order out of the book and walked behind the counter to deliver the order to the cook.
"So...you want to tell me about what's been bothering you?" She asked, clasping her hands together on the table and leaning forward. Greg took another sip of his coffee and licked his lips. He sighed and set his cup down. Looking down at the table, not wanting to make eye contact with her.
"I...I've been...having these dreams lately and it seems like every night they get worse and I'm starting to...think I'm really screwed up in the head." He started, his hands flexing and un-flexing in front of him.
Korey looked at him with concern in her eyes and reached out to take hold of his hands.
"What were these dreams about?' She asked in a soothing tone.
Greg bit the inside of his cheek and squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to relieve the horrible dreams again. She noticed his anxiety and squeezed his hands in reassurance, and quickly spoke to calm his anxieties.
"It's okay Greg, after what you've been through its understandable to have nightmares. Hell I've had nightmares!" She assured him. He looked up at hearing news of her own nightmares.
"Yeah, my dreams were about me being back in the sanctum with the gun aimed at my head, only this time you weren't there to save me so I ended up pulling the trigger, and the last thing I heard before waking up was the sound of George's laughter." She visibly swallowed and Greg saw that she was fighting back the tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry." Greg spoke, feeling responsible for the ordeal Korey had been put through.
"It's not your fault Greg. It's George's and he's dead, now meaning both of us are safe and I don't have to worry about him finding me." Korey assured him.
The waitress decided at that moment to return with Korey's food and set the plate, small pitcher of maple syrup, small packets of butter and a cup of orange juice in front of her.
"Thank you." Korey picked up a knife and a packet of butter up and began buttering her pancakes.
The waitress walked away to tend to another patron.
"You want to tell me what yours was about?" She picked up the pitcher of syrup and drenched the pancakes in syrupy goodness.
Greg grimaced in fear but since Korey had trusted him enough to tell him about her own nightmares he decided that he could trust her with his own, after all that's what he wanted to talk about anyway.
"Like you I'm back in the sanctum only...I'm surrounded by...corpses...corpses of...the...people I've killed! And they're just laying there! In the same position I last saw them. But the worst of them all was the face...of...my father. He was just staring up at me with horror in his eyes and there was this hole in his head with blood leaking down his face..." Greg's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he took a shaky breath of air, lifting his gaze to the ceiling to keep the tears from pouring down.
The words that had been shouted at him before came back to mind and he physically had to stop himself from bracing his hands against his ear. 'Monster!' He shook his head as if in denial then brought his gaze back to Korey and continued his story. Rather reluctantly.
"Then I would start hearing their voices screaming 'monster!' and then I would find myself on my knees, but no matter how hard I held my hands against my ears, the voices kept getting through and only seemed to get louder in octave. Then HIS shadow would appear in front of me and HIS blood would start dripping on my hair down my face and when I looked up I saw George standing over me, glowering with the blood dripping down his face making him look like a demonic being. When he starts reaching for my throat I scream soundlessly then before he can even touch me I wake up." Greg concluded.
Korey's appetite suddenly vanished and she set her fork down, pushing the plate aside. She reached across the table for one of Greg's hand and squeezed gently.
"Listen to me Greg. You. Are. Not. A. Monster. You are a hero."
He scoffed at the last part and tried to pull his hand away but Korey's grip increased and he was forced to stay in place. "A hero? You call someone who has killed people the way I have a hero?" He scoffed.
"All you did was protect yourself, so yes you are a hero; you had the guts to do what needed to be done and if you were a monster you wouldn't feel regret or remorse for what happened, but you do, so no I don't believe that you're a monster." She persisted, needing him to understand that what she was saying was the truth.
Tears started trailing down his cheeks and he didn't try hiding them because they weren't tears of self hatred or remorse but of happiness. Sappy but true.
"You know you sound just like Nick when I was in the hospital, guess great minds think alike, huh?" He chuckled, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Korey smiled at his positive change in attitude and let a little chuckle pass her lips.
"Yeah, I guess so. But seriously Greg you need to believe in the goodness in you because that shines through more than any of the bad you think you harbor." She said, making sure he got the message.
Greg nodded in understanding and pulled his hand away from Korey's grasp and picked up his cup to drink.
"There's something else I have to know Greg, why didn't you tell Nick any of this?" She asked curiously, going back to eating her meal.
Greg froze in his seat and a feeling of nervousness washed over him.
"You know how when you love someone you only want them to see the best of you? Well Nick has seen of a lot my dark times and I'm afraid that if he hears that I'm dreaming about death he'll leave me and I know that I wouldn't be able to handle a life without him" Greg confessed.
"I'm sure Nick would understand the dreams you're going through just or maybe more than I do. He loves you with all his being Greg, you should have seen him at the warehouse. He was and still is willing to do anything to make sure your safe, even if it means losing his life in the process. Now get off your ass and go to him, tell him everything and I promise you that he will love you no less." She promised.
After her speech her words finally got through Greg's thick skull and he finally understood and agreed that Nick would love him, Nick had said so himself.
"Nothing you say or do will ever make me think of you as a monster or stop loving you." Nick's words rang through his head, adding on to his assurance.
Greg stood up from the table and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out a $5.00 leaving a descent enough tip.
"Thanks Korey, for everything. Have fun visiting your family." Greg smiled, finally starting to feel at peace.
"No problem, and if you ever need anything just give me a call." She replied, standing up from the table she embraced Greg in a hug who hugged her back full heartedly. When they pulled apart Korey was smiling happily at him.
"Have a fantastic life Greg and as I said before if you ever need me for anything or you just want to talk or hang out give me a call." She repeated.
"You too Korey and the same goes for you." He gave her shoulder one last squeeze then turned and walked out of the diner.
When he was gone Korey sat back down and went back to eating her late breakfast.
~10 minutes later~
Greg parked in front of the apartment building and jumped out of the car. The rain had thankfully stopped by now so he wouldn't have to worry about tracking water in the building because that would really piss off the owner and Nick.
Running up the flight of stairs to his apartment Greg wasn't even winded when he reached his door and took his key out to unlock the door. Putting the key in the doorknob he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Quietly closing the door behind him Greg crept across the room and down the hallway back to their bedroom. Quietly opening the door he looked to the bed and was relieved to see Nick was still asleep. Tip-toeing over to his side of the bed, he crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trashcan. He removed his soaked clothing and changed into a dry pair of pajama pants then crawled under the covers.
Nick suddenly rolled over and rested his arm on Greg's chest and Greg thought this to be the best time to talk to him. He reached out towards his face and ran his fingers down his cheek. Nick smiled and leaned into the touch.
"Mmm...Greg..." He mumbled in his sleep.
"Nicky, wake up I need to tell you something." Greg said, leaning over and planting a kiss on Nick's lips. Nick's eyes opened and he responded to the kiss by cupping the back of Greg's head and deepening the kiss.
Nick pulled back and smiled at his lover.
"Hey, what's with the impromptu wakeup call? Which I enjoyed very much by the way." Nick asked, stealing another kiss.
"I need to talk to you about something, something really important." Greg said.
At hearing this Nick's expression turned serious and he sat up in bed, Greg did the same.
"What is it? Did something happen?" Nick desperately hoped this had nothing to do with their relationship, unless it was in a positive way of course.
"You know how I haven't been getting much sleep lately?" He began, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
"Yeah, I've been pretty worried about you." Nick reached out and ran his thumb over one of the black ring under Greg's eye. He had tried getting Greg to take some sleeping pills but Greg refused, stating that he didn't like the idea of going to sleep 'unnaturally'.
"The reason for that is because I've been having these nightmares and I've come to realize that no matter what I say or do you'll never think any less of me. You see, in these dreams I'm..." and Greg went on to tell Nick all about the dreams and even told him that he had met up with Korey and she had been the one to convince him to talk to Nick. Nick admitted to being a little hurt that he went to Korey first but understood his reasons for doing so, he was just afraid of losing Nick over this, which was completely impossibly, he would always love Greg.
After finishing his explanation he sat in silence, waiting for Nick to speak.
"You don't have to worry baby, no matter what you think I love you, and I will for the rest of my life. You have nothin' to feel scared about anymore because from now on I'll be there to protect you and whenever you have a nightmare I want you to wake me up and together we'll fight through it. Nothin' is ever going to tear us apart." Nick pulled Greg towards him and engaged him in a powerful kiss that left both of them breathless.
It was when air became a necessity that they had to pull apart so Nick pulled Greg close and burrowed deeper into the warmth of the blankets.
"I love you Nicky." Greg said, resting his head on Nick's chest.
"I love you too Greg, no matter what." Nick placed a kiss on the top of Greg's head and together, they thought of their future together.
No matter what life threw at them they knew that they would always stand together in the end.
THE END :)
Just in case anyone is wondering Greg's mother is fine and back with Nana and Papa Olaf. The CSI's tracked down the remaining shifters and arrested them for kidnapping and other charges.
A/N: There you have it, the end of Shifting into love! I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did! Review and tell me how you thought about it! Thanks for sticking with me!