Part 5:

God, I don't believe how nervous I feel," Greg had followed Nick
through into his living room dumping his bag where Nick had
directed.

Nick laughed softly. "You're not the only one."

"Good." Greg grinned.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Yeah, something cool will do, thanks."

"Okay."

With something to do, Nick set to work.

"So where's this cactus?"

"In here."

Greg followed Nick's voice into the kitchen. "Ah ha," he said
spotting the plant in question. "A fine specimen indeed." He looked
at the thick spikes. "And good body armour too," he smiled.

Nick grinned. "Uh huh. I can vouch for that. And before you ask,
no, she doesn't have a name."

"But she has a gender?"

"Dang," Nick dropped his head in mock shame, "caught me."

Greg laughed gently. Nick turned and watched entranced at the man in
front of him. Sensing he was being watched, Greg turned and catching
Nick's gaze, smiled. Nick's breath caught slightly in his throat.
Slowly, oh so slowly, he moved forward, watching Greg's face for any
sign of uncertainty. Seeing none, he reached over and touching his
fingertips to the side of Greg's jaw, leaned over and pressed his
mouth to Greg's.

Greg's eyes were closed. He hesitated for only a brief moment,
before responding slowly, a low whimper breaking free from his
throat. Opening his mouth slightly he welcomed the kiss, brushing
his lips against Nick's before letting him deepen the embrace. At
the first touch of Nick's tongue against his, he moaned and reaching
out with a hand blindly, grabbed onto Nick's shirt awkwardly, hooking
onto the waist band of Nick's trousers with the other.

Losing himself in the sensation of Greg's mouth Nick steadied him
with his free hand, sliding it around Greg's waist, still cupping his
jaw with the other.

When they eventually pulled back, Nick didn't move far away, his
breath still caressing Greg's lips, his thumb brushing the corner of
his mouth.

Greg's small breathy pants made Nick's blood course. Unable to
resist, he leaned over and claimed his mouth again for a short but
slow kiss. They both smiled when they pulled back again..

"Wow," Greg breathed, his eyes riveted to Nick's mouth. "I never
thought it would be that...intense."

"What?"

"Kissing a man."

"You've never kissed another guy before?" Nick's tone was open and
non-judgemental though. Greg shook his head. "I'm honoured." Nick
smiled, reaching up to brush his finger over Greg's bottom lip.

"You like touching me," Greg observed quietly.

"I know. I'm a CSI, I like hands on," he grinned still stroking
gently.

"I like."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Nick shuffled closer, sliding both hands around Greg's waist, feeling
Greg do the same. "So I guess this means you are interested then?"

"Oh yeah," Greg smiled, ducking his head down and to the side. He
dug his fingers into Nick's back gently, feeling the strength lying
hidden there.

"I...,"he stopped, not sure of how to put it.

"What?" Nick encouraged.

"I'm interested, I mean, believe me, I am," he gazed hungrily at
Nick's lips even as he spoke, "but...I know its been eight years, but
go slow, okay?" He gazed up into Nick's eyes with such trust that
Nick felt his heart skip.

He nodded, squeezing his grip on Greg gently. "Of course. This
is..God, this is so much more than I had ever hoped for, ever dreamed
you would give me. One step at a time. I promise."

"Cos, I don't know if I'll freak, even now," Greg sighed, "after all
this time."

"Slow and gentle. Anytime we do anything or I do anything, you're
not happy with, just tell me. Tell me and I stop."

"I know. I trust you."

*******

Greg stayed at Nick's for the rest of the day, until it was time to
go in for their next shift. It was, however a totally innocent
affair. They settled in Nick's living room and indulged in what Nick
could only describe as a long and thoroughly enjoyable bout of
necking. He wasn't sure he'd done that much making out since he was
a teenager.

But, God, was it good. It wasn't ferocious or fierce or 'I'm-going-
to-remove-your-tonsils-right-this-minute' but it was passionate and
sensual. Slow, hot open mouthed kissed, filled with emotion, heat
and intensity. By the time their both made their way to bed, they
were pleasantly exhausted. Nick ushered Greg into his bedroom, with
the promise that he would sleep on top of the covers. After some
mild protesting over taking over his bed, Nick produced another
blanket, disproving Greg's assurance that he would freeze to death if
he weren't in his own bed.

Greg, in a T-shirt and boxers, snuggled under the covers, watching as
Nick stripped, self consciously, to his own T-shirt and boxers and
settling on top of the bed, spread the blanket over on top of
himself.

Laying back, Nick turned so he was facing Greg, who was lay on his
side, brown eyes watching him intently.

"Hey."

"Hey," Nick whispered back. He leant over slowly and kissed Greg
gently on the mouth, tasting, feeling the warmth there. Pulling back,
he whispered, "Thank you for trusting me."

Eyes sparkling, Greg just snuggled into the pillow, curling round
until his head was pushed in against Nick's shoulder. Smiling, Nick
sank back into the covers, turning his head slightly and breathing in
the scent of Greg's hair, allowed it to lull him slowly to sleep.

*******

That night, Greg sat in his lab, watching one of his machines quietly
churning over its latest data. He knew that if anyone happened to
look into his lab they would wonder what on earth he was grinning
about. He knew the smile he wore was even more goofy than usual but
he couldn't help it.

He couldn't stop thinking about Nick. He knew it was corny, but
since they'd said goodbye around the corner from work, he couldn't
get his mind off the other man. They'd both agreed to go into work
separately that morning, not wanting to deal with any work gossip
just yet, so the quick, furtive kiss in Nick's car had been the last
Greg had seen of him. He was somewhere out on the strip with Warrick
and a D.B.

He sighed, smiling ruefully as he couldn't help but picture himself
as the love-struck teenage girl, counting down the minutes till she
next saw her new boyfriend. Of course, he wasn't even sure whether
that's what they officially were. They hadn't actually discussed
that part out loud, but he had the feeling though that they were both
on the same page.

He couldn't believe how gentle Nick had been last night, how safe
he'd felt in his arms. But of course that was the type of person
Nick was. Very gentle, very caring. He'd been gentle and
understanding with Greg, yet passionate and intense at the same time
leaving Greg in no worry that it was just pity. He'd felt real
feelings, real passion from the other man and felt similar feelings
evoked in himself. Feelings he never thought he would feel, not for
another man.

The attack had left him years of self-doubt, guilt, anger, fear of
his own feelings; of his own sexuality. It had taken him years to
come to terms with it. To accept and realise that it had nothing to
do with him, not his lifestyle, his behaviour or his sexuality. He'd
been a random victim, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mentally
realising this had been the first step. A big, major step. Being
able to allow himself to be physically, sexually, close to other
people had been the next. And somehow, over the following years,
he'd never quite managed it, not completely. He'd tried to date a
couple of girls, got as far as kissing and making out, but never
seeming to be able to move past that and any feelings he might have
had towards other men had been squashed altogether.

Until he'd moved to the Las Vegas Crime Lab.

As soon as he'd seen Nick on his first day in the unit, he'd felt
it. A pull, a connection, a spark of interest, but he'd quickly
ignored it. Hadn't been prepared to got there. Not just yet.
They'd become friends, work colleagues and Greg had managed to
forget.

For a while.

Now in a few swift and totally innocent moves, Nick had broken down
any barriers or protection Greg had built up since college and left
him feeling....warm.

He smiled again, gazing up at the clock on the wall; rolling his eyes
at himself after a second and re-focusing his attention back onto the
readout in front of him.

*******

Nick was supposed to be fingerprinting a hotel room, but all he could
think about was Greg. Mentally shaking himself he took a deep breath
and attempted to focus himself on the job at hand. There would be
plenty of time for him to daydream later when he wasn't on location
with a crime scene. A scene that needed one hundred percent of his
concentration.

He could count the hours though and probably the minutes too if given
time, since he'd last seen Greg. They'd said a quick and hidden
goodbye around the corner from work, but he'd passed the DNA lab on
the way out to this job and had spied the familiar blond spikes bent
over a microscope. Greg hadn't looked up and he hadn't been able to
stop, but it had put a smile on his face that had lasted long enough
for Warrick to call him on it.

He still couldn't believe what had happened that morning. It was
something that he'd fantasised about for a long time, but never
believed would ever happen. Greg Sanders in his arms, in his bed.
The latter had been almost completely innocent though, apart from
some tentative kisses when they woke that evening. But the image of
him lying under the covers of his bed in nothing more than boxers and
a T-shirt, would if nothing else, fuel his fantasies for weeks, if
not months.

That Greg trusted him though, that one, he felt that way about him
and two, trusted him enough to let those feelings out blew his mind.
He didn't care how long it took for Greg to get comfortable in
physically taking the sexual side further, just being able to hold
Greg and know that he wanted to be with him was more than enough. Of
course he couldn't wait to explore Greg's body further, to bring him
pleasure, to join with him, but that was just the bonus and however
long Greg needed, he would get.

Besides they certainly had the kissing side of things more than
worked out. They'd both re-discovered and confessed to a love of
kissing and cuddling, even though both had been worried how girly
that might make them seem to the other. But once both had found out
the other felt the same way they discovered it didn't matter at all.
What mattered was they both loved it and it was one area that Greg
had absolutely no problem with in the slightest.

Checking his watch, he sighed and then smiled ruefully.

*******

Nick slipped in through the lab door quietly. Greg was over the far
side, hunched over another microscope. He smiled and checking around
him to make sure no one was about, moved over.

"Hey."

Greg's voice took Nick by surprise, as he hadn't spoken yet to let
Greg know who it was. Looking up and seeing the puzzled look on
Nick's face Greg smiled. "I have good sense for people around me;
sort of a proximity alarm if you like," he explained.

"Ah."

"Good day?"

Nick moved forward so that he was stood next to Greg though facing
the other way. "Long," he said quietly, with meaning. Greg looked
over and smiled shyly.

"Yeah."

Nick edged a bit closer, leaning his back against the counter
top. "Do you want to come round to mine again after shift?" He
gazed at his feet, hands braced against the table either side. He
felt something brush his right hand and looked down to see Greg's
hand just barely touching his. As the fingers slowly covered his, he
curled his around them in a loose grip. Greg was looking down at
their joined hands. "I'd like that."

*******

Part 6:
(One week later)

"We've got him."

"What?" Catherine turned.

Sara was stood by the door, her toothy grin wide. "DNA sample. Lab
found a small sample from under the vic's fingernails where he
scratched him. Sample was so small they weren't sure they could get
a match, but...it worked." She waved the folder in glee. "Not only
that, we got a match on the blood from his van. Hair and fibres
match current victim *plus* Paul Edwards."

Catherine just stared, a wide smile slowly crossing her pretty
features. "Yes!" she breathed.

*******

When Nick walked into the locker room, he saw Greg sat on one of the
benches, head down , shoulders hunched, hands held loosely over his
knees.

"Greg?" Nick was instantly worried. As he drew closer he bent down
in front of the still figure. "What's the matter?"

Greg raised his head and Nick could see the puffy red eyes where he'd
been crying. "God, what's wrong?"

Not caring where they were, he took Greg's hands in his shuffling up
closer.

"They did it," Greg whispered, a small smile appearing on his
features. "Catherine and Sara. They did it. They got him."

*******

"We found your blood as well, Greg."

"Wow."

"I know."

"But it means we can tie you to the van, which means we can add you
to the list of victims, which means..."

"Longer sentence," Catherine finished for her.

"And I know that it was definitely him."

They both looked at Greg.

"I know, now, without a doubt, that the man who took away my
innocence, my freedom, is now...he's been caught. He's been
stopped. He can never come after me again and he can't do it to
anyone else." He swallowed and then flashed them both a brilliant
grin. "This calls for a celebration."

*******

Two hours later and Greg, Nick, Catherine, Sara, Warrick and Grissom
were at McGee's, a local all night bar that was still fairly busy
even at four in the morning.

"So why are we all down here anyway?" Warrick asked, "not that I'm
complaining. Finishing early and everything."

"We're celebrating the closure of a case," Sara explained.

"Yeah, but we close cases all the time. Well at least I do," he
smiled slyly with humour, "what's special about this one?"

Catherine looked over at Greg, who nodded.

"It's a special case; an old case. Involving a friend."

"Who?"

"Me." Greg shifted slightly on his stool, feeling his knee brush up
against Nick's. "I was attacked eight years ago by the same guy from
Catherine and Sara's recent case."

"Ed Monan? The rapist?" Warrick's expression has gone still, his
tone sombre.

"Yeah." Greg swallowed nervously. "They managed to get enough
evidence to not only convict him of the current case, but mine and
another one three years after me."

"Jesus." Warrick stared at Greg who shifted uncomfortably, staring at
his own drink, twirling in his hands. "Jesus man, I'm sorry." Greg
looked up at the soft lilt to Warrick's voice. "You got the son of a
bitch though."

"Yeah."

Warrick raised his glass. "To Catherine and Sara."

"Catherine and Sara," Grissom and Nick echoed.

"And Greg," Catherine chimed in. Greg smiled shyly, tilting his head
to the side in a manner that Nick was falling in love with.

"Greg," Nick echoed softly.



"Those two seem close."

"Hmmmm." Catherine leaned in her chin in her hand, turning to look in
the same direction as Sara. "I'd just been thinking the same thing."

"You don't think...?"

"Don't know. If they are, then good luck to them."

"Are we on the same wavelength?" Sara smiled, sipping her beer.

"Who knows," Catherine grinned back at her. "Women's instinct?" she
squinted back at her.

"Yeah," Sara laughed. Sobering, she gazed back over at Nick and
Greg. "God knows, Greg could do with some happiness right now. You
know, relationship happiness. I don't think I've seen him with
anyone, the whole time I've known him. I hadn't realised that until
just now." She frowned.

"No," Catherine grimaced, "I suppose something like that would put
stuff like that in a whole different light." She frowned at her mix
of words. "If you see what I mean."

"I know what you mean," Sara smiled before taking another drink. "I
suppose. He's flirted with people; heck even me, so I guess I just
never noticed."

"Good camouflage." Catherine gazed at Greg, watching as he laughed at
something Nick said. "For both reasons," she glanced sideways at
Sara, "if the second reason exists."

Sara watched Greg lean in closer to Nick, as Nick bent down to listen
to Greg whisper something intimately into his ear. "Oh, I think it
does," she smiled over at Catherine. "But as you said, if it does,
then good luck to them."

Both women raised their drinks in a silent toast.

tbc.