Chapter One – In The Thick of it

"Gil, I told you already," Catherine sighed into her phone, pulling her car up to the crime scene. "I have to get out early today. I don't know if you noticed, but its Christmas Day in… four hours." She checked the time on her watch to be sure. "Lindsey will be awake and wondering where I am if I don't get out of…"

"Catherine," The man finally snapped, trying to stop another one of his CSIs from going off at him today. "I have five open cases and not enough CSIs to cover them, especially with Nick... what do you want me to do?"

"I just want you to acknowledge the fact that I am a mother first. I barely see Lindsey as it is. Christmas Day is the one day a year that I have to be there for her, Gil. I have to be there."

"Then go." Grissom sighed in defeat, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll call in some reinforcements from Day Shift. Just make sure that Nick's okay, before you head off."

"Alright, I've just arrived. I'll call you back." Catherine snapped her phone shut, breathing in a deep breath, before she climbed out the car. She waved to the deputy on duty, ducking under the tape surrounding the scene. There wasn't much to look at, thankfully, but the moment she laid eyes on Nick sat in the back of the ambulance, her pulse started to race.

"They don't appear to be broken." The paramedic reported, checking over the Texan's busted hand. "I'd still like to take you in for an x-ray to be sure."

"Nah, I'm not goin' in." Nick refused.

"Oh, Nicky," Catherine hurried to her colleagues side. She knew the call out was going to be bad. When a case involved one of their own, it was always bad, but she wasn't expecting to see Nick in the back of an ambulance, clutching an ice pack to his side. "How do you get yourself into these messes… and at Christmas as well?"

"I just wanted a quiet drink… ah," He winced, yanking his hand away from the paramedic. "I said its fine."

"Nick, they're here to help you." Catherine tried to calm him down.

"Pokin' and prodin' me isn't helpin'." Nick glared at the paramedic until he backed off, before he turned his attention towards his colleague. "Are you workin' my case?"

"Oh no, I'm off home. I want to open presents with my daughter on Christmas Day for a change. I just thought I'd stop by to see how you were first." Catherine felt a little guilty for admitting that out loud to him, but he didn't look as bad as she originally feared. "What were you doing out here anyway?"

"Hey, enough of the victim blamin'," Nick snapped back at her. "I was mugged. A little sympathy can go a long way, Cath."

Catherine gave him a sympathetic smile, taking her seat beside him. "So, how many guys?"

"Oh… just the one." He confessed, catching another look from her. "He caught me off guard, okay. I'd had a few… I didn't really get a good look at him." Nick sat himself up straight, clutching his ribs as he did. He didn't realise how badly he was hurt, until he started to sober up. Now he would have welcomed just one more drink. "I saw his partner in crime. She tried to hit on me in the bar. He must have been waitin' outside to jump me. They got my wallet, keys, phone… my truck."

"Brass sent a patrol car to your place, just in case they try to rob you too. How much cash was in your wallet?"

"Not much." Nick shook his head. "Maybe forty bucks… is that Greg out there?" He noticed the younger man taking notes outside. "When did he get back?" He thought he was still in California on his book tour. He thought he would have at least stayed there during the holidays.

"Oh… about an hour ago now. Sara picked him up from the airport, brought him up to speed." Catherine checked the time on her watch. "He's not even supposed to be back on shift yet, but he insisted on being here for this." She gently tapped her colleague's leg. "You better get yourself off to hospital, get yourself checked out."

"I'm fine." Nick insisted, ditching the ice pack beside him. "I can help."

"Grissom won't like that one bit. Ecklie already thinks this whole thing is a waste of time, especially at this time of year. We're short staffed as it is and you know how crazy people go during the holidays." Catherine pointed out to him, stepping down from the ambulance. "You weren't planning on driving home in your state anyway, were you, Nicky?"

"No." He answered rather gruffly. "I was mugged, Catherine. All I wanted was a quiet drink."

"Alright," The woman gave him a knowing smile. "Don't worry, we'll find your baby. Or Greg will. He's working your case. I have to get back…"

"To Lindsey." He cut her off, giving her a smile. "Thanks… for the visit. You should be with your daughter. Hey, I could use a ride home."

"So, call a cab. Bye, Nicky." She couldn't help but chuckle, returning to her car on the sidelines.

Clutching his ribs in one hand, Nick hoisted himself down from the ambulance with his busted hand, breathing out a deep breath of relief. He felt a little queasy, but he just about managed to put one foot in front of the other, finding himself face to face with the younger man he hadn't seen in over a year.

"Hey, G."

"Nick… hi," He sounded somewhat surprised to see him. He stared at him for the longest moment, almost as though he was seeing him for the first time again, before he lowered his gaze to his notebook in his hand. "Uh… the first officer on scene said you got a good look at the woman, but not the guy. Do you remember anything about her that might help us to…"

"I already gave them my statement. Greg…"

"Red hair?" Greg double checked the earlier description, trying to avoid direct eye contact with the man.

"Yeah, I know, right. My curse. Greg…"

"You didn't see the guy at all?"

"Is this how it always is with you?" Nick finally snapped. "Someone tells you that they love you then you disappear on them?" He didn't like opening up old wounds, but he had to know if he was the reason why Greg left them so suddenly after they lost Warrick. "Can you at least look at me?"

Warmth immediately flushed the younger man's cheeks, threatening his entire relationship with the older man, but how could he still deny him when he looked so adorable. "You just lost, Warrick. You weren't thinking clearly."

"I was." Nick took a brave step closer to the object of his affection. "I should have acted on it after I was rescued from my torture chamber six feet under, but Warrick was the only one who took it as a sign to really live his life. Greg, my feelin's for you have always been real. I finally got the courage to tell you how I felt, and you left. You left me. You wouldn't even return my calls."

"Nick," He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, looking around at his scene. "I can't. I have to get back to work."

Greg swallowed hard, his pulse suddenly racing as he looked into the eyes of the man in front of him. He couldn't seem to look away from him. He looked so lost, as if life had become too much for him over this past year and he didn't know which way to turn.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Can't any of it. I wish things were different…"

"Yeah," Sighing softly, Nick took a step back. "I wish a lot of things too."

"Nick, are you going to be okay?" He noticed him clutching his chest with his swollen, bruised fingers.

"Yeah… of course." He held his side, gritting his teeth together. "Unless you fancy givin' me a ride home. Mine got kinda stolen."

Greg knew that he shouldn't, but how could he resist those eyes. "Yeah, okay. Just give me a few minutes. I have to get back to the lab anyway. I can drop you on the way."

"Okay, I'll wait." He stuffed his good hand in his pocket, giving the younger man a half smile.

"Would you step back," Greg ushered him away, struggling not to smile. "This is a crime scene you know. Victim or not, you know you're not allowed past the yellow tape." His eyes lingered on the older man's lips as he slowly backed away from him, taking himself back to the ambulance. He loved that boyish Texan grin of his, but he couldn't take advantage of him at a time like this.

A little over an hour later, Greg had everything he needed from the crime scene, making his way over to Nick sat on the hood of a patrol car.

Since he wasn't about to take the advice of the paramedics and get himself off to hospital, they decided to leave him at the scene, so they could assist people who really needed their help. He looked as though he was in agony, but Greg knew there was nothing he could say or do to get him in front of a doctor.

He was still the same stubborn Texan he had left behind.

When he met his gaze, he was reminded of his attraction for the man. He had kept his desires hidden from him for so long, it felt as though he was opening Pandora's box by even entertaining the idea of being close to him again.

"Hey, so are you ready to go?" Nick climbed up from the hood with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Yeah," Greg fumbled with his keys in his hand, pointing the man over to his car. "Can you walk that far?"

"I think I can manage it." He held his ribs as he straightened up.

Avoiding eye contact with the man in desperate need, Greg took the lead to his car, wishing his heart would stop torturing him like this. He took the leave of absence after Warrick died to give himself some distance from Nick after his confession and the horror of losing someone close to him for the first time.

But now he was right back where he started again.

Head over heels in love with his best friend.

Greg popped open the passenger side door for him, watching him ease himself inside with anguish. He wished he could take the pain away for him, but he was utterly powerless once again. He closed the door for him, holding his pounding heart as he made his way around the other side. Greg dropped behind the wheel, nervously licking his lips as he started up the car.

A heavy silence settled over the interior of his car as Greg backed out of his parking space and followed the dimly lit streets back into town.

He had wondered why Nick would pick a bar so far outside the main city to drown his sorrows in. On the drive there, he passed by dozens of bars that looked just as accommodating. Slightly more so with their Christmas decorations outside, but Nick seemed to choose the only place on the block that looked like a target for crime.

He wondered what had changed in the past year to make Nick want to put himself in danger like that.

Greg felt as though he was having an out of body experience from the first moment he laid eyes on him again. He felt as though he had been standing apart from himself, with no control over his actions or decisions.

He almost lost him.

Nick could have died out here tonight and he would never have known if the feelings he had for him were real or not.

"So, how did the book tour go?" Nick tried to make small talk with him.

"Huh?" He tried to focus on the road in front of him.

The older man shifted himself in his seat, making it impossible for Greg to avoid him any longer. "You left us last year for your book tour. Sin City Secrets, right?"

Greg couldn't help but smile at him. "You know the title. Does that mean you read it?"

"Yeah. Well, I got through a couple of pages." He smiled back at him. "It's a pretty thick book and I haven't exactly read a book cover to cover since High School. But from what I read… it's good."

"Really?"

"Wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, G." His smile spread wider.

"In that case, you're the only one who thinks so." The younger man confessed, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. "There was no book tour. My book completely tanked. My reviews were overly critical and my publisher couldn't get anyone to buy it. Apparently my theories were reaching and I had no proof that any of it ever happened. If I wrote it as a fiction, then maybe I could have gotten it on the shelves." He paused as he felt Nick's hand on his.

"I liked it." The man affectionately brushed his thumb across Greg's hand, giving him that familiar boyish grin that made his heart swell. "Greg, pull over." His hand suddenly left him as he noticed someone on the street. "Pull over. That's her. That's Crystal."

"The hooker?" Greg spotted the woman in fishnets.

From Nick's description of her earlier, he was expecting to see someone with more class, not a woman in a tattered top and mini skirt that did nothing to cover her dignity. She didn't even have red hair anymore.

"Pull over." He practically ordered him this time.

"What are you going to do, Nicky? You're not exactly armed." Greg reluctantly pulled over to the side of the road, tempted to quickly lock the doors to prevent him from getting out, but he wasn't quick enough on the draw. "Nick, wait." He watched the man bolt out the car.

Greg scrambled for the holster on his belt, forgetting his seatbelt was still on as he tried to get out. "Nice one, Greg." He groaned at himself as he unplugged it, getting out just in time to watch the man he adored disappearing down an alley way.

He had no idea what he was supposed to do in this situation, but he had to protect the man who seemed to have no regard for his own safety at the moment.

"Hey," Nick followed her down the alley, grabbing hold of her arm. "I shoulda known you weren't a natural red head. Where's my truck? What did you do with it?"

"Hey, don't touch the merchandise, Pal." Blonde Crystal snatched her arm back from him, tempted to kick him where it hurt. "Oh, it's you." She smugly smiled at him. "I'm surprised you managed to get up after the beating we gave you."

"Where's my truck?" He demanded to know. "Did your boyfriend give you a percentage of the sale or is he just your pimp? Where did you take my truck?"

"You shoulda just taken the drink." The woman revealed her concealed weapon, aiming it directly at his chest. "Merry Christmas, Nick."

A single deafening shot echoed through the alley.

Stay tuned for more. Thanks so much for reading.

Happy Holidays!

~ Holly