Title: A Friend, A Mentor, & More
By: cameragirl
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG-13
Summary: As his supervisor, Catherine insists that Nick goes to therapy after finding out about his abuse. While at the meeting, Nick is asked to be a big brother to a new skittish member, who turns out to be Greg from the his lab.

***

As his supervisor, Catherine had insisted that Nick go for therapy or counseling. Although he didn't agree with it or want to go, Nick not only had to attend a male sexual abuse meeting, but he had to get a paper signed that proved he had showed up.

That is how, after a full week of research, Nick Stokes found himself at the meeting for males who had been sexually abused. It was called Abused Anonymous and Nick was hoping the name was meant to be humorously comforting.

According to the information he had found, thanks to Google, the meeting was the first of its kind in the way that it had banded groups from around Las Vegas into one single support system. This one support system combined five groups from the Las Vegas area and met up once a week to discuss, offer support, and consider any other general everyday problems.

The founder of the new group had responded enthusiastically to Nick's email. He had explained that it would be many peoples' first time in front of new people from the other groups that they had never met. They were all there to support each other, not judge.

While this didn't necessary soothe Nick's mind, it helped knowing that he wouldn't be the only one there that was nervous as hell.

Saturday afternoon was the first meeting at a community center halfway across town. There were seven men there already that all seemed normal. They were standing around, just talking and getting to know each other.

Nick went up to the group and introduced himself. They were kind enough to mention that the meeting would be starting soon. Only about twelve or so people were expected to show up and even eight was a big crowd for a group like this.

A particularly nice man that introduced himself as Robert, the co-founder of the group that had convinced the other groups to band together so they could maintain a larger support group. He then explained that during the meeting, each person would be asked to stand up and relate what exactly had happened to him. "Part of the healing process" He told Nick gently, when he saw the frightened look on the Texan's face.

"Everyone here has had a problem and it's just good to talk it out. You can't do it by yourself, so we're here to help." Robert's warm smile was the start to the meeting that got Nick into the mindset of thinking that maybe talking with people that had the same problems as him wouldn't be so bad after all. Of course he was still wary but being in the same situation as others put him at a bit more ease.

"Dave's running a little late." Robert added, after checking his phone. "He has a runner." He mused. He saw the look of confusion on Nick's face and explained. "Well, this kid isn't quite a runner but he's just very skittish. You'll hopefully hear his story later but he's scared of talking about his experience in front of others. It took him a while to open up to Dave in a one-on-one psychiatry session."

"Sounds like we'll get along fine." Nick murmured, loud enough for Robert to hear.

The co-founder laughed good-naturedly and agreed. "Very possible. This will be his first time in a group like this. Only his supervisor, a colleague, and Dave know what happened to him. His colleague was supposed to drop him off but she ended up having to work late." Robert continued talking as he looked over the messages on his phone. Nick was interested to hear a story about someone that seemed as nervous (or most likely more nervous) him.

"So instead of just letting him skip, Dave insisted on picking him up. They should be here any minute." Robert finished and gave Nick a reassuring smile.

"Just remember that we're all in the same boat. Some of us may have had it worse than others, like this kid, but we're still in this together. Hopefully, when we open up, he'll realize he can do the same." He told this to Nick sincerely, earning him a huge smile from the Texan.

"Thanks, I appreciate it, really I do. I'm here because its mandatory for my work, I'm still not convinced talking about it will help but…" Nick noticed that Robert caught onto the fact that Nick had used the word 'it' to describe his experience. "I guess it's worth a shot."

"That's exactly right." Robert gave Nick a huge grin. "Tell you what…if you end up feeling it helped and if you feel like helping others. How about you big brother for this kid? I mean, he'll need someone and maybe you can help each other." Robert suggested, knowing it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Nick hesitated; he had only come here because it was required for him to be able to work. There was no need for him to get involved with some teenager that could possibly need medical help with what he was dealing with. However, in the end, his sensitivity took over.

"Sure." He answered finally and was rewarded with another grin from Robert.

"Hello gang!" An upbeat voice came from the entrance of the giant room. A tall brunette, obviously the founder, came strolling into the room pushing a younger man ahead of him.

That was no kid. The support group's runner was Greg.

***

Greg woke up to the sound of his cell phone. In his ear, all of places. He groaned, blindly feeling around for it.

"'Lo?" He mumbled into the wrong end.

"Greg! Greg!" An extremely loud voice came through his speaker, effectively waking him up.

"Sara?" He asked sleepily, curling up under the covers and settling to talk to her. "It's early." The young lab tech pointed out the obvious.

"Yes, yes I did realize that." Sara responded. She was sitting in the break room, grinning now that she realized Greg was at least slightly coherent.

"I'm really sorry Greg, but I won't be able to take you to your meeting."

"Meeting?" Greg asked innocently, finally opening his eyes. Now he was definitely awake, but was feigning sleepiness to avoid the Sara's topic.

"You know which meeting I'm talking about." Sara said her tone quiet and serious. "I know that I said I could take you but Nick had an emergency. And I owe him a shift. Grissom still insists that you go. He'll be checking to see if you got the paper signed. Don't try forging it, he knows the founders anyway."

Greg fought back a moan as he turned his eyes towards the official looking paper that was lying on his night table. He could completely understand where Sara was coming from though. If Nick Stokes asked him to take over a shift, Greg would agree in a heartbeat, even though he was a lab tech and wasn't allowed to take shifts for CSIs.

That didn't stop Greg from subtly pushing Nick's evidence to the front of the line whenever he was in the DNA lab.

Sara's voice over the phone brought Greg out of his thoughts and into different thoughts. More relevant thoughts about how he really didn't want to attend this meeting. He didn't want to talk about his problems and just the thought of speaking in front of a crowd was causing his body to shake.

"Sara. Sara!" Greg's voice finally broke through her apology spiel. "I need just a minute ok?" There was silence on Sara's end as she heard what sounded like Greg getting sick.

"Back." Greg told her a few minutes later, he sounded a little out of breath.

"Greg…this will help." Sara told him, her tone told Greg that she knew what had just happened. "It will help, talking helps. Especially with others who have been through this."

There was another minute of silence before Greg's response came. "I just don't know if I'm ready Sara." His voice sounded shaky, almost as if he was going to get sick again.

"Deep breaths Greg. You can do this. You just need to keep breathing, get dressed, and be ready to get picked up."

"But I-I thought…" Greg was confused. Sara had said she wasn't able to pick him up. "You said you were taking Nick's shift, didn't you?"

"I did but remember how I said that Grissom knew the founders? Dave is one of them; he's coming to pick you up. It'll be good to have a familiar face there right?" Sara asked him hopefully, trying to boost any ounce of confidence she could into her friend.

"Sure Sara." Greg answered; abandoning any fight he had left, in order to please his friend.

Sara frowned when she heard the empty tone of his voice. "You'll be fine Greg. Call when you're done. I'll drop everything." She promised before the call ended.

Once Dave had shown up, Greg had thrown up once more but had tried to swallow down a granola bar, knowing he's need something in his stomach. What sickened Greg was that he knew he didn't need the food in his stomach to keep him calm. He needed it so that when he undoubtedly threw up again, it would be something of substance, not just burning stomach acid.

"Good morning!" Dave's bright smile had the surprising power to lift Greg's spirits, even if it was only for a minute. His hands were still shaking but he didn't feel nauseous...yet.

"You're going to be fine Greg. Remember, it's all people with the same problems. And you don't have to talk this week"

Really? Greg thought hopefully and perked up at the thought.

"But I would really like you to, It'd make me proud."

Dammit. Greg hated being guilted into things.

"Robert, remember I mentioned him? He was the leader of the other group and he'll be there today. He said he was able to find you a big brother." Dave told Greg, as if this was supposed to cheer up Greg. "He says - " Dave looked down at his phone. "That it's this guys first meeting as well. He was forced into it by his work just like you. But, he's willing to mentor you. And apparently, he's cute." Dave ended, trying another way to lift his spirits.

All the talk just made Greg wonder if he could convince the other man that they could forge signatures on each other's papers. Maybe they could work out a deal. Greg's frantic thoughts were nonsense only because he was hiding what he didn't want to think about.

Now it was unavoidable. Dave had started driving towards the community center. They were there. Standing in front of an ominous building that probably only looked that way because it was twisted by Greg's mind.

They walked into the large room together, but with Dave slightly behind Greg, gently pushing him in front of him, making sure he didn't bolt. Greg hadn't gotten a good glimpse at anyone because the moment he heard a mix of voices, his head was down. His eyes were downcast and he had Dave leading him towards the group of people who were all sitting in a circle.

He was so wrapped up in his fright that he didn't hear a slight gasp come from someone when Dave said his name out loud.

"This is Greg Sanders."

***

"Hey man! You coming over tonight? We can have the usual Madden tournament, and an extra bonus: a new Indian place opened up around the corner." Nick grinned at Greg, who was facing the other direction, impatiently waiting for results to come out of the printer.

Greg jumped, startled at Nick's presence. He turned around and quickly hid his wide-eyed look and feigned a smile for Nick.

"Are you ok?" Nick asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"Yea, you just snuck up on me." Greg explained slowly. That was believable, the CSIs unknowingly snuck up on most of the lab techs.

"Tonight?" Nick prompted him, not sure if Greg had even heard his offer.

"Oh, sorry. I can't" Greg smiled apologetically. "I have to pull a double."

Everything finally clicked for Nick. The reason Sara had been so reluctantly to take his shift, the reason Greg hadn't been over in about three weeks, the reason that Grissom was spending more and more time checking up on the DNA lab

"It's nice to finally meet you Greg, I'm Robert." The co-founder pleasantly introduced himself. "And this is your big brother, Nick, Nick Stokes."

Greg's eyes snapped up at when he heard the name and he actually took a step back, the shock of seeing Nick at this meeting had rendered him speechless. His eyes opened wide and his mouth was gaping. For a few seconds, Greg had forgotten that he didn't want to be anywhere near this meeting and that his stomach was slowly churning into itself.

"Hi Greggo." Nick said, in a soft but friendly tone.

"You two know each other?" Dave asked curiously, doing an almost Grissom-like examination of their reactions to one another.

"We work to together, we're friends." Nick answered, still in the same quiet voice, thinking if he talked any louder, Greg would get spooked and run out of the building.

"Then you both can prove to Gil Grissom that you were here." Robert smiled, a little nervously, not knowing how either man was going to react. Nick seemed fine, almost relieved to see a friendly face. However, Greg was still as nervous as ever, his eyes frantically searching for anything in the room that wasn't Nick.

Robert & Dave went over to the rest of the group so Dave could introduce himself. This left Nick and Greg on the outer circle, Nick trying to read Greg's nervousness and Greg trying to control his gag reflex, which had returned with a vengeance.

"G?" Nick tried again, debating on reaching out to touch Greg's shoulder. He reached out cautiously and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Greg looked up at him.

"Hi." He said, barely in a whisper.

Nick grinned, "Hi yourself."

"Hi." Greg said again. He was now staring at Nick and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Nick Stokes was not only at an abuse meeting, but was assigned to be his big brother. It was a slight relief having someone he knew that had gone through the same thing. It was that strong aspect that cancelled out Greg's feelings of humiliation of what was done to him. Not that he would be able to speak about what happened to him, almost a month ago. But with Nick there, he might be able to stomach the other stories. With this thought in his head, Greg gave Nick the smallest smile.

"You said that already." Nick grinned, not knowing why Greg was smiling but he certainly didn't want to dampen any good thoughts Greg was going to have over the next few hours. He still didn't know what had happened to Greg but he was determined to get his friend back.

It was hard enough listening to Robert talk about a kid that was so scared and skittish, someone had to take him to a meeting. Now that Nick knew that he had been talking about Greg, it made him sick to his stomach.

It was Greg, his Greg. The Greg, with whom he played video games, watched football, drank, and conversed in the lab when his results seemed to take hours.

"D-Dave said it was y-your first time here." Greg tried to get a full sentence out, trying to prove to Nick that he wasn't as broken as Nick might think he was.

"Yea, well, Catherine finally was fed up with cases getting to me. She insisted I needed to talk to someone. So here I am." Nick told him. When he had finished, he realized that putting this off nonchalantly wasn't what Greg or he needed right now.

"And then I met Robert," Nick continued. "And it all seems like a good idea. Talking about what happened and just knowing that you're not alone."

Really? Because Greg sure felt like he was alone. Of course he knew he wasn't. That really didn't mean anything because the rational part of his brain hadn't really been working the past three weeks. Greg nodded though, as if he agreed with what Nick was saying.

Nick saw Greg nodding, but the young tech's eyes were blatantly contradicting his actions. Greg might have been able to easily lie inside the comfort of his lab, but this was completely new territory and he was thrown off. Nick slung his arm around Greg's shoulders, partially in reassurance and partially because he didn't want Greg to leave his side or leave the room. They were going to get through this together, whether Greg liked it or not.

Greg liked it. Well, at least, he liked the feeling of Nick's arm. He looked up at Nick and gave that same little smile. He knew that Nick's words were sincere. This first meeting was going to be hard for the Texan. Greg was sure it was going to be ridiculously difficult for himself as well but was trying to block that out of his mind. Maybe if he focused on helping Nick, then his own problems would go away.

***

Ten attendees in all. According to Dave and Robert, the meeting was already a success, just because everyone had the courage to make it out.

It was a cliché support circle of chairs, with each occupant telling their story. The stories about molestation were a new insight for Nick and he felt as if he could open up to these people. The one man, Ben, had a similar experience to Nick. When he described his feelings of humiliation, nervousness, and being frightened, Nick could relate.

Greg was a nervous wreck. He was sitting next to Nick in the circle and trying to listen attentively to everything that was being said. There was one story that sounded like his…a little bit. Not really. But then again, he shouldn't have been surprised. It was a small group. Maybe next time…Next time. Greg involuntarily swallowed again at the thought of having to come back here again.

"Nick?" Dave asked, expectantly. Nick looked around and realized that it was his turn. He didn't really want to dwell on his story. He wasn't sure how painful it would be for the memories to resurface. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"I…I was nine." Nick started, looking around at the group. Particularly at Greg, Nick had his full attention. "She was a last minute babysitter…." His went on to explain how he had felt like Ben; he thought he had done something wrong, even though logic had told him that he was innocent. Nick told them that he had never seen her again but just that one night and what she had ruined for him would be in his life forever.

He finished and was rewarded with reassuring smiles and many responses of "Thank you for sharing." There was a nod from Ben which Nick recognized as an almost congratulations for finally talking about it.

Greg was looking at him, not with pity, but with awe. He was amazed that Nick was strong enough, his first time, to tell total strangers about his horrific experience. Nick gave him a huge grin of reassurance that reminded Greg that he was the next, and last, to go.

"Greg…" Dave said quietly, "It's your turn." Greg went from looking at Nick to becoming fascinated with the floor again.

"I-I-I….umm…" Greg tried to start but his mouth was dry and his tongue was swollen. Whatever power of speech he might have had was taken over by the simple fact that he really didn't want to talk. He was scared.

"It's ok Greg, take your time." Dave told him.

"You're fine Greggo." Nick added, wishing he could do something to help Greg.

"Um-uh. Three…Three weeks ago…I was at a… I-I was… I was raped." Greg said the last word softly before his entire face turned green. He opened his mouth again but nothing was able to come out. His body jerked forward a little and Dave could see what was coming.

"Come on Greg, you did well. That was great. It was a fantastic step." He hastily helped Greg out of his chair, with Nick following close behind. There was a bathroom in the hallway outside into which Dave quickly ushered Greg.

There went that morning's granola bar. Greg knelt beside the toilet and just took deep breaths. He hated himself for not being able to go through with his entire story. It didn't feel like he did great or that it was a fantastic step. It felt like he just wasn't strong at all and that from now on, every time he got nervous, he'd lose his lunch.

"I'm so proud of you." Nick whispered, he knelt beside Greg and rubbed his back. "You did great."

Really? Greg thought. It certainly didn't seem that way, seeing as he was leaning his forehead against the toilet.

"You did great." Nick reiterated, seeing the doubt on Greg's face. He took a hold of Greg's hand and squeezed it, earning him a surprised but grateful smile from Greg.

"Next week, you'll have even more progress." Dave confidently told him.

Greg didn't even want to think about next week. He just wanted to get off the bathroom floor and crawl back into bed. Although, he would compromise for some food, considering his stomach was empty again.

"I'm going to go out and end the meeting, Nick will stay here with you." Dave looked at Nick for conformation and the Texan nodded vehemently.

"Then I'll come back so I can give you a ride."

"I'll give him a ride." Nick said quickly and Dave shrugged.

"If it's ok with Greg."

It was definitely ok with Greg, who was staring at Nick wondering if he had dreamt the entire morning.

"Greg?" Dave questioned.

"Yea." Greg said quietly, his voice raspy. "That- That's fine."

"Alright then," Dave stood up. "I am so proud of you Greg, remember that. I'm proud of both of you." He said before standing up and leaving the bathroom. He had left both of their papers of the floor, signed and dated.

Nick sat, back against the wall, facing Greg who was against the other wall of the tiny bathroom stall. Greg was mostly just watching him so Nick decided it was as good a time as any to talk.

"Is it ok if I take you home?"

Greg nodded slowly.

"Do you want to, maybe, grab some breakfast too?"

Greg nodded again.

"I know you have off the same days as me, do you want to drop off these papers so you won't have to think about it before your next shift?" Nick offered.

Greg just cocked his head to the side. He wasn't sure about that. Nick's logic made sense to him but lately he hadn't felt like facing many people. He tried to keep to himself.

"We can even just go back to my place after if you want." Nick suggested. "A movie marathon at my place, it'll be comfortable, we don't have to do anything, and you won't be by yourself," Nick ended quietly. He could see that Greg wasn't ready to be on his own again just yet. The meeting had taken a lot out of him.

To Nick's surprise, Greg nodded again, this time with that small smile that Nick was starting to find addicting.

"Ok, so it's settled. Drop the papers off at the lab, grab some breakfast, and then back to my place." Nick gave Greg a huge smile and helped him up off of the floor. They walked out the community center together, with Nick's arm protectively around Greg's shoulder.

***

They hadn't talked the entire car ride but it wasn't an awkward silence. Greg was looking out his window and would occasionally look over at Nick. It was almost as if he was checking to see if Nick was still there.

On the other hand, Nick was in great spirits. He had talked about his experience, he was with Greg, and they were going to get food to start their day, which they were spending together. The CSI wasn't about to push Greg to talk; today was just about letting Greg know that Nick was there for him with whatever he needed.

"Do you want to come in, or stay in the truck?" Nick asked quietly, as he pulled into a parking space. "I mean, if you're too drained, I could just submit your paper too." He offered.

Greg looked over, surprised that Nick had given him a choice. "Thanks but I…I need to give mine directly to Grissom." He said softly, looking down at his hands.

"Greg." Nick said suddenly. He waited until Greg was looking up at him. "This is nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me. I may not know what happened but I know that you can't let it control your life. Whenever you want to talk, I'm there. And until then, I'm here, with you. We're friends, good friends, possibly even great friends." That got Greg to smile shyly at Nick.

"Thanks." He replied, with a little more confidence.

"Anytime."

The hallways were unusually quiet for a Saturday afternoon. Everyone was so absorbed in their own cases and Greg looked relieved that no one came up and questioned why they were there on their day off.

"Relax…" Nick whispered and Greg nodded. They were heading to Grissom's office first.

"Come in." A voice said after they had knocked.

Grissom looked up from a pile of case folders. Catherine was seated in the chair in front of the desk. "Greg? Nick? Isn't it your day off? What can I do for the both of you?" He asked curiously.

"We just wanted to hand these papers in. Didn't really want it lying around my apartment." Nick told them, handing his to Catherine. Greg hesitantly placed his on Grissom's desk.

"Wait…" Catherine started but then looked over at Grissom who was giving her the same confused look.

"You sent Nicky to a…"

"You sent Greg to a…"

Both of them stopped mid sentence and stared at the two young man in front of them. Greg was leaning against a doorpost, exhausted from the day's activities. Meanwhile, Nick was watching Catherine & Grissom, waiting for their response. He was also carefully observing Greg out of the corner of his eye.

"We'll discuss this later." Grissom told Catherine; he took a look at Greg's sheet and nodded. "Well?" He asked the young lab tech. Greg sort of nodded but shrugged at the same time.

"And you?" Catherine turned to Nick.

'

"Good, well, ok. Fine, I guess. No, it was good." Nick decided, noticing how Greg grinned a little when Nick stumbled with his words.

"Glad to hear it." Catherine smiled at both of them.

"Yea," Nick continued, "I was even assigned as a big brother."

"Oh?" Grissom looked over his glasses at Nick.

"Me." Greg said quietly.

"They didn't know." Nick said quickly, before the older CSIs could respond. "But I wasn't sure if we were supposed to tell you or not."

"It's good to know." Grissom told him.

Nick and Greg stood there for a couple seconds, not knowing if they were dismissed or not.

Grissom smiled, "You can both go. But Greg, see Sara before you leave. She was getting worried since you didn't call her."

Greg's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten to call Sara afterwards. He hadn't even given it a second thought since they headed right to the lab.

Nick followed Greg through a maze of glass walls, into the partially isolated lab where Sara constantly found herself working.

"Sara?" Greg asked timidly, as he stood in the doorway to make sure he wasn't interrupting anything important.

Sara looked up from some photographs that she had spread across the table. "Greg!" She exclaimed. He quickly went over and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a tight hug. Sara frowned as she hugged him back, saddened at the desperate attitude of the hug. "You're fine, you're fine," Sara whispered. She looked up at the door and was surprised when she saw Nick.

"Nick? I thought you couldn't work tonight…" She looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering if she had missed something.

"He was at the meeting." Greg said quietly, pulling back from Sara.

"Your meeting?" Sara asked.

"Yep." Nick confirmed.

Sara paused but decided not to dwell on any of Nick's private matters. She turned her attention back to Greg, "Well? How'd it go?" She asked expectantly.

"It was…" Greg looked unsure. "I don't' really know. I mean, I- I- I tried to talk. I got sick b-but I was able to get some out." Greg spoke in a quiet voice, barely above a whisper. "Then Dave told me on the way over that they had found me a big brother…and i-it turned out to b-be Nick so…" He just let his sentence trail off there.

"You're going to be his mentor?" Sara asked, ready to do a whole third degree on Nick even though he worked with him daily.

"Yes." Nick said firmly, bracing himself for whatever was coming.

"Are you ok with this?" Sara asked Greg, who nodded right away. "Ok…well, how about you just call me later? And let me know when you get home, too." Greg nodded again.

He gave Sara another hug, whispering "Thank you," in her ear. She gave him a warm smile and noticed Nick's expression. The Texan was staring at Greg with a fondness that Sara couldn't quite place but it was definitely a good emotion. Greg pulled back from the hug and walked over to Nick, who put his arm back around Greg's shoulder. Greg didn't flinch or jump; he was comfortable with Nick. The first time that Sara had seen him content in a long time. Maybe this mentor thing wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

…

A half hour later, Nick found himself in his living room with Greg. They had stopped to grab breakfast sandwiches and then start watching movies.

"That's crazy man." Nick was staring wide-eyed at the TV, watching Jason Bourne take on seven guys at once.

"Well, he is Jason Bourne." Greg pointed out. He was at ease now; it was just him and Nick. No meetings, no talking, just hanging out and watching movies.

"Have you seen this before?" Nick asked. Greg had watch him struggle through cutting off the plastic on the DVD case that he had bought ages ago but never had gotten the chance to watch.

"No, I read the book series though." Greg told him. "It was…kinda like the movie." He cocked his head to stare at the screen as something else blew up.

Once the movie ended, Nick took dishes from Greg and put them in the sink. When he went back into the living room, Greg was looking nervous.

"Greg?" He sat down next to the lab tech on the couch, placing a hand on the slightly shaking arm.

"I-I-I want y-your help," Greg was back to stuttering, his thoughts obviously back with the meeting.

"Yea, of course. Anything." Nick said automatically.

"I want to p-practice. Practice talking." Greg tried to clarify and his voice dropped to a whisper. "I know that I'm gong to have to t-t-talk at the meeting next…next week. I don't want to get sick." He added, sounding ashamed of himself. "I want to tell you what happened."

"Whenever you're ready, I'm here" Nick told him sincerely and reassuringly squeezed the part of Greg's arm he was touching.

Greg leaned back, relieved. Nick was truly there for him. He planned to wait until Greg was ready. And when Greg was ready, Nick was prepared to offer support and friendship. Greg took a deep breath, knowing that he had taken another step.

***

Over the next three days, Nick and Greg were practically inseparable. Nick would spend all his breaks in the lab, just talking to Greg. He was able to take Greg's mind off of anything that made him nervous or uncomfortable.

By being around Greg, Nick had discovered that Sara knew where Greg was at all times. It was constant; she seemed to know where he was even thinking of going. When Nick asked Greg about it, he had gone quiet and Nick hastily told him to forget about it. He knew they would eventually talk about it.

Another something Nick noticed is that Grissom would wander into the lab regularly, just to see how Greg was doing. Just a subtle greeting but Greg froze up every time it happened. Greg finally muttered loud enough for Nick to hear: "I hate it when he checks up on me."

When they weren't at work, the two were most likely to be at one another's houses. Sometimes they would hang out at Greg's apartment and other times they would be at Nick's house. Greg was slowly becoming more comfortable with other people, or, at least with Nick.

"Ready to go?" Nick poked his head in the lab and found Greg cleaning up while Sara was talking to him.

Greg nodded slowly, trying to focus in on the image of Nick leaning against the doorframe. "I'll talk to you later Sara," He said quietly.

They had made it back to Nick's house with Indian food in tow. Greg was oddly silent during the ride and Nick knew what was coming.

As they brought the food into the kitchen, Nick looked at Greg. "Tonight?"

"Tonight," Greg affirmed, quietly with a shaky voice.

"You want to eat first?" Nick offered.

Greg thought about it before shaking his head. "Not worth it," He sighed and let Nick lead him over to the couch.

"A-about three weeks ago. Maybe three and a half," Greg paused, waiting to get this detail correct but knowing, all the same, that it wasn't that important. It took a few deep breaths before he was able to begin talking again.

"I-I-I was at a bar, not like a flashy bar or a nightclub. It was just a bar, it was just wa-watching a game with Archie & Bobby and j-just talking about stuff," He told Nick, not looking his friend in the eyes.

"When I left I was…well, I was raped," Greg stopped, catching his breath. Nick cautiously put his hand on his arm, causing Greg look up at him. He didn't say anything but sort of nodded before continuing.

"He surprised me in the alley," Greg whispered. "He pushed me against the wall, my head…my head hit the wall and I couldn't get up. It hurt so much…He held…He…He injected me with something…I-I didn't know what was going on and-and I…I couldn't move. I was awake but I couldn't move," He was getting close to hysterics now; Nick moved closer and started rubbing soothing circles onto his back.

"I saw him and I saw his face. He wouldn't stop. And he wouldn't stop hitting me. Then something happened. Something interrupted him. I remember him saying that he'd be back. H-h-he swore that he would be back for me and find me," Greg paused here, trying to get away from his chilling memories.

He cursed himself for having brought them back to life even though he knew he had to tell Nick. Greg knew it was the right thing to do. That didn't stop his hatred of the, once again, tangible feelings. The solid brick wall and the pungent smell of an alley that Greg had been fighting so hard to get out of his mind.

Then I-I remember Sara. And Grissom. They were the CSIs," Greg continued, he seemed a little better now that he was past the most difficult part of his story.

"I remember Sara was crying and Grissom kept asking me questions. I had to go to the hospital but my next of kin was my friend in Miami so Sara sat with me while Grissom worked the case and it-it's still open," Greg was starting to shake now. He had stopped talking but Nick could tell what had happened. Or, more accurately, what didn't happen.

"They haven't caught him yet," Nick said bitterly, almost angrily but he didn't want to upset Greg. Nick was pissed. He was angry this had happened to Greg and he was almost insulted that Sara or Grissom didn't tell him. It took him only a second to realize the stupidity of that train of thought. Why would Greg want anyone to know what had happened to him?

"That's why I need to tell Sara wherever I'm going," Greg said, still talking in the same hushed voice. "Umm Nick?" Greg looked up suddenly. "I'm really really sorry but…."

"Oh!" Nick caught on quickly. "No, Greg, really. It's not a big deal. Seriously," He tried to convince him as he helped the now dangerously shaking Greg to the bathroom so he could get sick.

They found themselves in the same position they had been in after the meeting: sitting on opposite sides of a toilet.

"Nick…" Greg started; his voice a little shaky. Nick thought he could see wetness in his eyes but ruled it out as a factor of having just gotten sick.

"Yea Greggo?" Nick asked warmly, not wanting to scare away Greg when he had just shared something so personal with the Texan. Nick was his mentor, his friend, one of his best friends and he didn't want Greg to forget any of those things.

"Thanks," He weakly told Nick.

"Of course," Nick said instantly. "Come on, are you ready?" Nick gave him a huge grin and helped him off of the floor. "There's Indian food to eat and crappy movies to watch."

"I'm just going to-" Greg paused for a minute and Nick's heart almost stopped. That split second pause was used by Nick to pray that Greg wasn't going anywhere. "Clean up a little." Greg finished, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, right, definitely," Nick grinned right away. "There's an extra toothbrush under the sink, feel free."

"Thanks Nick." Greg said quietly, and then he looked up at Nick, staring right his eyes. "Really, thank you so much."

"Always."

…

…

"Uuugghhh! Greggo!" Nick dropped his head on the top of the hard table in Greg's lab.

"It's your own fault it's not done yet." Greg told him, very matter of fact. "It was practically a dry swab!" Seeing the desperate look on Nick's face, Greg quickly added, "I'm sure it'll work out though, I've seen worse."

"Hey guys?" Sara poked her head into the lab. "There's a meeting in the break room now. Let's go."

"Now?" Nick looked over at the clock and was confused to find out that it was mid-shift.

"I have to go too?" Greg asked curiously.

"Yes…well, no, not really. It's…" Sara paused and bit her lip before continuing, "It's concerning a serial rapist," She sighed.

"My case?" Greg whispered, his eyes widened and Sara nodded.

"There were strong similarities to a case in Miami so we're combining forces. One Miami CSI is coming here in about a day or two. The other was at a two part investigating conference that started about a month ago. He's back in Vegas to finish it so they'll both be with us." Sara explained. Greg just watched her talk, still not sure why he was being involved in this. He didn't really want to know anything about whatever the creature was doing to others. Greg just wanted to know when he was caught so he could feel safe again.

"We just want to keep you updated." Sara told him softly. "The whole team is going to see the case files and they're going to see your name. I just…I just want you to be prepared. And whatever we find out we'll tell you."

Nick got up off his chair and went to stand by Greg, seeing if he could offer support just by being in close proximity. It was definitely a confidence boost. "Ok, just, I…" Greg tried to think of the right response, "Ok, I'll come." He finally ended, softly.

"I'll be there in a minute." Nick told her, "I just need to get these results." Sara nodded and left.

Just on time, the printed beeped.

"Are you ok?" Nick asked as Greg wordlessly handed him his results.

"Not a match to your vic." Greg told him, ignoring the question and refusing to look at Nick.

"Greg?"

"…"

"…"

"…I don't know. I guess I'll find out."

"Hey," Nick started, putting the paper away in his folder, "Greg, look at me." Greg looked up. "You're going to be fine. You hear me on that? I'll be right with you and if it gets bad, you can always leave. If you feel uncomfortable or someone asks you a question about it, let me know." Nick said firmly and mentally swore to maim anyone that decided to comment about anything to Greg.

Greg swallowed and nodded. "Thanks," He whispered. Nick smiled at him and gave his arm a squeeze before they left the room.

Nick was about to poke his head into layout room five when Greg's eyes widened. That was the room where Warrick was working on a child abuse case. All the photos and DNA results would be on the table and on the wall and –

"Nick! Warrick's already in there." Greg told him, maybe a little too sharply, pointing to Grissom's office, where Warrick's outline could clearly be seen. Thank god.

Crisis diverted. Greg walked into Grissom's office and only stayed to hear him discuss the Miami CSIs and the DNA chain rules. He made his pager beep and excused himself when Grissom started talking about the actual case. Nick's leg brushed against him before he left, which earned the Texan a timid smile of thanks.

***

"Hey there." A smiling Nick poked his head into the lab. "Are you ready to go? There's a Back to the Future Trilogy with our names on it."

"No way!" Greg exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Yep, they're running them all on HBO this morning." Nick waited for Greg to clean up before the left the lab.

"Sara?" Greg called, curiously peeking into a layout room where he swore he saw her working earlier.'

"Mmmm?" She responded, not really looking up from a box of phone records that need sorting.

"I'm headed to Nick's. Just letting you know."

Sara looked up and smiled at the sight. It was a happy Greg and a happy Nick. This phenomenon hadn't happened in a very long. Although Greg was waiting for Sara's response, all Nick could look at was Greg.

….

"There are way too many timelines to follow," Nick shook his head at the television screen.

"I'm sure you understand it when you're not dead tired after a double shift. In fact, we've gotten in arguments in the lab over the plot holes and time lines." Greg pointed out.

They were both sitting in the middle of the couch, watching Back to the Future. Greg was content being shoulder to shoulder with Nick and Nick was excited because Greg's head was almost resting on his shoulder.

It was definitely late and Nick was slowing starting to nod off. This didn't bother Greg, who decided that it was easier to situate himself closer to the security of Nick's warmth.

Nick's hand twitched. Greg tilted his head to look at Nick's face but the CSI was, without a doubt, asleep. Nick's whole body twitched the second time and Greg frowned. Something wasn't right. This wasn't right. Nick shouldn't be jerking like that.

"Nick…Nick," Greg whispered. When that didn't work, he shoved. "Nick!" He said louder. Success. Nick startled awake and his heavy breathing stopped when Greg put his hands on his shoulders.

"You're fine Nick." He said firmly. "Everything is ok. It was only a nightmare."

Nick looked confused for a minute but then he looked relieved. "Thank you." He whispered breathlessly, still trying to get himself under control.

"Don't talk," Greg told him, almost stubbornly before changing his tone of voice softer. "Just breathe. You're fine." Nick looked up at him and smiled gratefully.

"Thank you," He said again. "No one's ever gotten me out of them before. Thank you for waking me." Nick told him, sincerely grateful. He took a deep breath before giving Greg an innocent but affectionate kiss. When he moved away, Greg just stared at him.

"Wow." Greg whispered; his eyes had lit up.

"Wow?" Nick teased, still relieved to have been saved, finally, from his nightmare. "Just wow?"

Greg looked down and grinned but then looked back up at Nick. He leaned in and matched Nick's kiss.

"Wow." Nick whispered when he pulled away.

"Told you." Greg smiled shyly. He gladly leaned into Nick when the Texan put his arm around him.

"Hey Greg?" Nick started.

"Yea?" Greg sleepily responded.

"We're going to be ok." Nick kissed the top of Greg's head as they both drifted into sleep.

…

Four hours and a few pleasant dreams later, Nick was awoken by a loud banging coming from his front door. Really loud, obnoxious banging. Nick carefully removed Greg was his shoulder and made sure he was lying down on the couch before getting up. Whoever was outside sounded like they were about to kick in his door.

Nick peered through his peek hole and squinted at the sunlight. It had to be at least noon. Sara, Brass, and three other officers were waiting outside his door. He quickly opened it.

"Sara?" Nick asked incredulously, watching as they all filed into his front hallway.

"Where's Greg?" Sara asked quickly and Nick saw that she was nervous. Hell, she was beyond nervous. Her eyes were glancing around furiously and the cops started moving down the hallway.

"Greg's here." Nick said simply. And everything stopped. The cops froze and Sara was looking at him for an explanation. "He's sleeping. He- we both fell asleep while we were watching some movies. I just woke up now. Why? What's wrong?" He asked uncertainly.

"He never texted me." Sara said, obviously worn out. "And he's not answering his phone. Neither were you. We couldn't find you."

Nick's eyes had grown wide, "Sara, you have to believe me. We accidentally fell asleep on the couch. Our phones are probably still in the kitchen. He was too tired and just nodded off. He completely forgot. I'm really sorry!" Nick pleaded.

"Nick, its fine. I'm just tired. And thankful that he's ok." Sara told him. She leaned against the door frame as the cops assembled behind Brass again.

"Nick?" A sleepy voice floated through from the living room. An asleep-on-his-feet Greg came shuffling out into the hall way and decided not to stop squinting his eyes until he saw more than one blurry figure.

"Nick?" He asked again, confused. "Sara?" He asked even louder. His eyes tried to open but they were as wide as they were going to get. Suddenly, realization came over Greg.

"Sara! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so so so sorry!" Greg flung his arms around her. "Sara, I'm so sorry. I fell asleep. We both fell asleep." Greg sounded as if he was going to start crying.

"Greg, its fine. I'm just glad you're ok. I need to go call Grissom and Catherine to let them know we found you. Get your phones off of silent and put them near your ears." She told them in a threatening tone. Greg nodded vehemently and Nick mirrored him.

That swiftly, they were gone. The cops, Brass, and Sara left and, again, it was only Nick and Greg.

"Greg?" Nick asked. The drowsy lab tech was leaning against the wall, hating himself for making Sara worry. "It's not your fault Greg. We both fell asleep. And it's fine. Come on." Nick went to the kitchen and grabbed their phones, deleting their missed calls so they wouldn't keep lighting up.

"Let's go back to sleep ok? You need some more rest, we both do," Nick insisted. He gently slipped his hand into Greg's and was thrilled when Greg looked up groggily and smiled.

…

The first thing that Greg realized when he woke up was that Nick wasn't there. The warmth he had fallen asleep with was gone. That made him extremely nervous. Why would Nick have left him by himself?

The second thing Greg noticed was that it was dark in the room even though it was supposedly morning. Or…afternoon, Greg didn't spend any time musing over this. He was incredibly tired and wondered why he had woken up. The reason was the third thing Greg ended up noticing.

"Nick?"

There were muffled sounds coming from the hallway. It had to be Nick. Greg got up off and the couch and waited a minute for his lightheadedness to pass before shuffling off to the hallway.

"Nick?" He saw the shape of Nick and then more shapes came into focus.

"Sara?" Greg felt a sudden wash of shame came over him. He hadn't felt this awful in his life. He hadn't forgotten to tell Sara that he was staying at Nick's. He told her that he was headed over there but he never mentioned everything about staying there.

"Sara! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so so so sorry!" Greg flung his arms around her. "Sara, I'm so sorry. I fell asleep. We both fell asleep." Greg felt like he was going to start sobbing. But he couldn't start sobbing because cops were there and oh god was that Captain Brass? He just decided to bury his face in Sara's shoulder and hope everyone went away. Except for Nick of course.

"Greg, its fine. I'm just glad you're ok. I need to go call Grissom and Catherine to let them know we found you." Oh no…Sara had to go. Crap. Crap. Crap.

"Get your phones off of silent and put them near your ears." Oh, that sounded a bit like a threat.

Greg reluctantly pulled back to lean against the wall and furiously nodded. And then he realized that everyone had left. Everyone, except Nick. Just like Greg had hoped.

"Greg?" Greg heard a quiet voice from behind him. He knew it was Nick but couldn't quite bring himself to get over what Sara had to have been feeling while searching for him.

"It's not your fault Greg." Oh really? Cause it sure felt like Greg's fault.

"We both fell asleep. And it's fine now." Oh…that's a good point. Everything is fine. Sara had told him that too.

"Come on." Nick left for a split second but then returned.

"Let's go back to sleep ok? You need some more rest, we both do," Nick insisted. Greg felt Nick's hand slip into his. He looked up and smiled, remembering what had happened before they both had fallen asleep.

Sara and Nick had told him everything was fine so everything was fine. Greg could deal with that. Everyone was fine, he was starting to remember. He was with Nick, in Nick's house. And Sara had left him there, explaining that everyone was all right. That everything was ok. Greg let Nick lead him back to the couch

Sara had left him in Nick's capable hands. More specifically, leaning against Nick's capable shoulder while Nick whispered that everything was perfectly ok.

…

"Greeeeggoooo." Nick called in a singsong voice. "Wake up; you need to shower, because you stink. Then you need clothes. New clothes I mean, for work," Nick flustered a bit at the end.

Greg gave a sleepy grin and stretched out on the couch. "I'm up, Nick. I'm up." He told him sleepily.

"You don't have much time; I wanted to let you sleep though." Nick said apologetically.

Greg's grin got larger. He sat up and stretched again before looking around for his shoes.

"Right here." Nick held up a pair of red Chucks.

"Oh, thanks." Greg kept his grin but kept his head down. He was ridiculously happy right now and if he looked at Nick he might just burst.

Too late. Nick dropped down to Greg's eye level and matched his grin.

"Good morning." He gave Greg a quick kiss.

"Very good morning." Greg raised his eyebrows and decided that maybe bursting from happiness wasn't the worst thing that could happen. 

***

Next part of A Friend, A Mentor, & More.