Title: A Turning Point...
Author: Dee
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1095
Pairing: Gil/Nick
Characters: Gil Grissom and Nick Stokes
Warnings: AU and fluffy
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Not mine; not now, not ever.
Unbeta-ed: All mistakes will be mine.
A/N 1: I'm nothing if not an optimist so here I go again...giving Lj another go! I do have my annual Halloween fic written...and I could post that on Lj; I'll see how this fares.
A/N 2: I found this fic in my WiPs but it was finished...I have no idea when I wrote it but here goes...

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Nick knew there was something wrong.

They'd been together for about a year and a half. But it had been a very disjointed relationship. Developing...if that was even the right word...in fits and starts.

There's was a forbidden relationship...nothing to do with their homosexuality...more to do with the fact that they worked the same shift and Gil was his supervisor. But their relationship had been clandestine and their work kept them apart for a lot of the time, sometimes for weeks on end when they were just too exhausted to meet up and have sex and talk and...well mostly just meet up and have sex and talk.

But just occasionally their rest days and their weekends off would coincide and they would make good use of them and maybe take a hiking trip or stay in an out of town hotel for a couple of days and rest and reconnect.

And that's where they'd been...in a hotel in Phoenix for two nights and now they were heading home with Nick driving Gil's truck.

But to Nick something had been off about the whole trip. Gil was usually quite happy and talkative but on this trip he'd been quiet and reflective, almost for the entire time...except maybe when they had sex. Although, thinking about it, Nick decided that even their lovemaking had been subdued.

Something was wrong and Nick thought he knew what it was. Gil had grown tired of him or the relationship...or both...and the end was in sight. That's what he thought and he was angry with himself for not broaching the subject with Gil before they'd left Phoenix. And now they were heading home together in complete silence. Not even the radio or a CD was playing and they hadn't spoken to one another in an hour...or more.

That wasn't so unusual since they were used to each other's company and companionable silences were fairly common since Gil did do a lot of thinking. He was clearly thinking now...but something was different. Nick could almost feel the atmosphere and it was very different.

Nick was thinking all these thoughts as he drove along the familiar highway and was in turn angry and then almost tearful at the thought of the end... They may not have had a great deal of time together and they may not have been demonstrative and gushing with each other and certainly no pledges of love and devotion had been made...but that didn't mean that there wasn't love and devotion...did it?

Maybe that was it...maybe Nick had read more into this relationship than there really was...in the eighteen months they really hadn't been together that much...but when they had...well it had been good. No...that wasn't right; it had been very, very, good.

Nick was lost in his maudlin thoughts so much that when Gil did speak he jumped and the truck jerked around a little.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to make you jump but could you pull in at that parking...or picnic area, I think it is." And Gil pointed up the road to the area they were fast approaching.

"Okay." Though they rarely stopped on the outward and return journeys, Nick thought that Gil maybe wanted to use the facilities.

He pulled onto the parking lot and pulled up by the bathrooms.

"I don't want the bathroom; I want to talk to you." Gil smiled at Nick and Nick noticed that his blue eyes were shining brightly and it didn't seem to Nick as if Gil was about to deliver bad news.

Nick smiled back. "I'll move down a bit...better view." And he moved the truck along about fifty yards so that they overlooked a valley. As he turned off the engine he spoke again. "So what's on your mind?"

"Ah. You've noticed I've had something on my mind?"

"Difficult to miss when you've been so quiet for the entire trip."

"I'm sorry. But you know I like to think things through and sort things out so I'm sure of what I want to say?" Gil was still smiling.

"I guess I do." Nick returned the smile.

"Well I have been thinking. I've been doing a lot of thinking..."

"...you don't say?" Nick couldn't help the light sarcasm that crept into his voice, though he kept smiling.

"Important thinking, Nick, about us." That surprised Nick and his eyebrows shot up. "We've been ambling along at a snail's pace and I was just thinking if we might be ready to...to...well, up the ante?" Gil ended the sentence almost stuttering...as if his confidence in what he had to say had petered out and all his thinking had been in vain.

"Up the ante? How?" This had certainly come as a surprise to Nick...who'd been expecting the complete opposite.

"I thought we could move in together?" Gil's was now sounding very unsure of himself and the statement had become a question.

Nick grinned. "Move in together? That's what you've been thinking about these past couple of days...living together?"

"Yes. I take it you're not in favour...look forget I asked. Okay."

"No! No, no. no...it's not that. Not that at all. I've spent all the time until a few moments ago thinking you were getting ready to dump..."

"...dump you? I don't want to end this...I want to...I want more, Nick. More."

"Yeah, I get the drift." Nick sat back in his seat and stared out of the window but not looking at the view. "Gil?" He looked back at Gil with a serious expression.

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

"What? Of course I love you, why on earth would you think that I didn't?" Gil did look genuinely puzzled.

Nick chuckled. "You've never said."

Gil thought for a moment before speaking. "Neither have you."

"No, I was waiting for you to say it first."

Gil let out a loud guffaw of a laugh. "I thought we did. Love one another, that is. The way we are with one another...it didn't occur to me that we were not in love. Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want to frighten you off. Come on too heavy."

"I thought you knew that I love you more than anyone I've ever loved before. We've been together for so long."

"You love me more..."

"...yes."

"I love you. I guess I have done since the early days..."

"...there you go then. You knew. I knew. Do you think we should move in together then?"

"Absolutely. Yes, I do."

"Good. I'm pleased we've sorted out that. You know I think I could do with taking a piss..."

The End

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