Title: Should've Been Me
By: LeggoMyGreggo112
Genre: Angst, Romance
Ratings:PG
Pairings/Characters: Nick/Greg
Synopsis: Post Grave Danger One-Shot. It should have been him beside Nick through all of this... 

Greg sobbed quietly, sitting in the waiting area outside of Nick's room. Warrick and Catherine had been with him constantly since he'd been pulled out of that hell, and he wanted to be with him.

"Greg," the deep voice behind him caught the young CSI off guard, he looked up to see Warrick behind him. "Nicky's asking for you."

"Thanks," he nodded, standing on unsteady feet as he made his way to Nick's room.

He almost wished he hadn't stepped into the room upon seeing the older man. Inflamed, red welts covered every inch of skin that he could see, He'd sprained an ankle trying to get out, and he had a mild concussion as well. But, what Greg noticed the most, was how broken and terrified the Texan looked.

Unsure as to whether or not he was sleeping, he silently took the seat beside Nick's bed, glad that Catherine had also left the room when he had arrived. "I'm so glad you're okay…" he whispered, taking the older mans hand carefully in both of his own.

When he got no reply, he felt it was safe to continue talking, sure that no one was listening. "I wish it had been me, Nicky. I would have traded places with you in a heartbeat if it meant you didn't have to go through that. It should have been me, Nicky."

"Don't ever say that again," Nick's fragile voice ordered, his hand gripping the other's tighter.

"Nicky? You're awake…"

The injured man opened his eyes, locking them with Greg's. "Why would -you- want to trade places with me?"

"I would have done anything not to have seen you screaming on that damn video feed. Not to have seen you nearly eaten alive. Not to have had to pull you out of that box, or watch you try to eat your gun."

"Greg, don't…"

The younger man hung his head. "I… I'm sorry. You don't need to hear me ramble on right now." he stood, turning to leave the room.

"No, don't leave."

Normally, the younger man would have been able to walk away, but the tone of neediness in the Texans voice made him freeze, turning back to him, taking his seat in the chair again. "Okay."

Nick reached out again, taking the younger mans hand in his own scarred one. "Do you know who did it?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, he… blew himself up."

"…Why me?"

"It had nothing to do with you, Nicky. His daughter's in prison, he was a psychopath out for revenge, he buried you where she worked." Greg explained, surprised that no one else had told him anything. "Didn't Cath or Gris explain this?"

Nick shook his head. "They wouldn't tell me anything."

He silently worried of he was supposed to keep his mouth shut about it, but Nick had a right to know what had happened.

"I didn't think you guys would find me…"

Greg looked up at him. "We never would have given up. Hodges tried to beat up a delivery guy for you."

Nick was crying now, the effects of what he'd been through really setting in for the first time. "I was so terrified I wouldn't make it out of there."

"It's okay, now. You're safe…" the younger man whispered, pulling the broken man into his arms. "You're safe now. He can't hurt you anymore., it's alright."

The older man broke down, sobbing against the other's chest, soaking the pale blue t-shirt with salty tears. They stayed like that for several minutes, neither of them having any desire to move from the comfort of each other's arms.

"You're safe…"

Nick sniffled, wiping away his tears. "Are you sure?"

"I'll keep you safe, Nicky…"

"I'm safe?"

"You're safe," Greg repeated. "I'll never let anything hurt you again."

Nick looked toward the man sitting beside him. "That's why you wished it was you in that damn box. You want to protect me?"

The younger man nodded. "I'd die for you, Nicky…"

The Texan, momentarily taken aback, stared at the rookie CSI. "Why? I've never done anything for you… Why do you care about me so much…?"

Greg hung his head again, not daring to look the other in the eye. "I'm in love with you."

"You're what?"

"I love you. That's why I gladly would have traded places with you tonight." Greg admitted, his head in his hands.

He expected to be yelled at, maybe even if the older man felt up to it, punched or fatally injured. What he didn't was for Nick to lift his head up and kiss him passionately.

"Wha…" His half-hearted protest was cu short, as the other mans lips connected with his, and Greg subconsciously wrapped an arm around him. This, however, did not prove to be the best of ideas, when Nick pulled away cringing.

"Ouch…"

"I'm sorry, Nicky. I didn't mean… I'm sorry." he rattled off several other incoherent apologies.

Greg moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "It's fine, Greggo. It was an accident." The Texan wrapped one arm around the younger man, holding him tightly against his chest.

"Just… stay…" he whispered, pulling the other man down until he was lying beside him in the hospital bed. "Please. Don't leave this room. I don't care who comes in and tells you o leave. Stay for me."

Greg nodded, holding the Texan against his chest, careful to avoid anything that might hurt the man. "I'll be here, Nicky. Try and get some rest." he pressed a kiss to the top of the older mans head.

"Love you…" he mumbled sleepily, the pain meds the doctors had given him kicking in to their full effect.

He, too, fell asleep his mind finally free of images of being buried in that damn coffin with Nick. He knew it would be a long, slow process, working to get the man he loved through this, but they could do it, and they would. Those thoughts had allowed him to drift off for a while, the older man still locked in his embrace.

About an hour later, Catherine and Warrick poked their heads back in the room, smiling at what they saw. Greg should have been the one in the ambulance with their friend, should have been with him through the tests he'd gone through before they'd allowed him into the room. Because, Greg was what Nick needed more than anything right now. It should have been Greg.