Title: Birthday Blues
By: Rabidfan
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nick may have forgotten, but Greg won't.

Sometimes Nick could be so clueless.

Sara had been talking to him for several seconds before he even recognized her standing in front of him. He was busy analyzing trace gathered from his crime scene, and didn't want to be interrupted.

"Nick! Are you paying attention?"

Nick stared blankly at Sara. "What was that again?"

"I asked you what you got for Greg?" Nick still didn't get it.

"Get Greg why?" No, he didn't get it at all.

"Today is his birthday. Surely you got him something, if only a card! Tell me you didn't forget!" Sara was aghast. Nick had been dating Greg for several months, surely he knew when his birthday landed…and knew it would have to be recognized somehow!

"It can't be his birthday." Nick was confident of that. "Can it?"

"July 24, Nick. Same as last year." She felt bad for Nick. Greg placed a lot of emphasis on birthdays. No one he knew even slightly failed to get a card or some thoughtful gift on their birthday.

"You honestly forgot! He's not going to be happy. You'd better make reservations somewhere, and pick up a card!" Yeah, Stokes was toast. It would have been funny, except she liked Nick. He was so earnest, so upright, so…'Dudley Dooright' of Las Vegas. The comparison made her laugh as she walked away from the befuddled Nick.

"Thanks for the support!" he called after her. "You don't have to find this so funny!" There was no way he was getting out of the lab in time to even pick up a card. Sara was right; Greg was going to be hurt. Still, maybe he could get a reservation at one of the nicer restaurants in town. There were hundreds of them. Surely one would have a nice table available on short notice. "Now I just need to find the phone book."

Forty frustrating minutes later, Nick was realizing that leaving birthday arrangements to the last minute meant not getting what you want. None of the places Greg loved, liked, had expressed interest in trying, or even mentioned were accepting reservations for tonight. Who knew you had to book sometimes weeks in advance! He closed the phone book with a sigh. It was looking like he'd have to 'fess up to Greg that he'd forgotten his birthday. It sucked, especially as Greg had given Nick a book he had wanted for literally years for his own birthday just a couple of months before. Obviously, Greg planned in advance.

"Problem, Nick?" Catherine's voice startled Nick out of his vision of sleeping on the couch for the next few days.

"It seems I've forgotten Greg's birthday. I tried to get a table at one of the restaurants he likes, but no go." He looked at his watch, only five hours left on shift. Once they were both home, planning anything…providing he thought of anything…would be impossible to keep secret. "One of the places he wanted to try did give me a table for next Tuesday. But Greg is on the schedule, and I can't tell him why to change it, 'cause then he'll know I forgot. I can't lie worth a damn, and he's too smart to fall for any excuse I can come up with."

"Just tell him, Nick. If you try to pretend you remembered, it's going to sting more when he figures it out. And he will. Greg is relentless, you know that better then the rest of us." She gave him a vaguely suggestive look, letting him know what Greg had pursued so relentlessly. She smiled when Nick's ears pinked at even that tiny acknowledgement of his sex life. Such a boy scout!

Nick knew she was right, knew he was only going to make things worse, but he pictured Greg's face when he found out Nick had forgotten. The hurt in those eyes…no, he had to find a way to pull this off. He was smart, damn it! He should be able to think of something!

The last twenty minutes of his lunch break didn't bring any solutions to mind. Completely frustrated, Nick went to find Grissom and try to apply his mind to his job. Maybe he'd have a revelation by shift's end.

He hadn't by the time Grissom called him on his lack of attention, picking up some trace that Nick had missed. "What's with you today? Try to stay focused on the case, Nick. If you're having a problem, go home early, but let's get this finished up first." Grissom's glare over the top of his glasses would normally really bother Nick, but all he heard was 'go home early'. Hallelujah! There was an opportunity to figure out something before Greg got home!

Two hours later, Nick stood in front of a bank of birthday wishes at the local Hallmark. It was worse somehow to have such a huge choice. He knew he was dithering, and hated himself for it. "Do you need some help picking out a card?" Oh dear God. The store clerk offering her assistance to Nick was cherubic, pink cheeked and probably eighty. How did he explain he needed a birthday card for his boyfriend to someone so much like his grandmother? Mindful that he was fast running out of time, Nick decided he'd better try.

"Um…I need a birthday card. It's today. I forgot." Yes, the patented Stokes articulation! People will be begging for classes, it was such a gift.

"For whom, dear? Your girlfriend? Your mother?" She started to move off towards the cards clearly designed for women.

"Um. Well. Not exactly. No." Yes, he was going to be rich. He'd make tapes, and how-to videos. "He's my boyfriend."

It struck him at that moment that he had never said those words out loud. Every one knew, of course. They weren't exactly subtle. Their parents were cool; the office was a little less so, but nothing too uncomfortable. He'd never just told any body else. Nick finally raised his eyes to meet those of the helpful clerk.

"In that case, we'd best try over here." That seemed to be as much reaction as he was going to get to a statement that still left him breathless. We'll just look at different cards. All right, then.

"If you've forgotten, dear, might I suggest you also pick up some champagne?" She smiled up at Nick, and handed him a card to look at. Leave it to Hallmark to have cards perfect for a man to give his male lover! Got to love 'em.

When Greg opened the door just three hours later, he was struck dumb by what he saw. Candles were lit. Champagne was in the ice bucket. Roses where on the table. Roses! And Nick, sweet Nick, standing there looking so pleased with himself.

"Happy birthday, G!" Nick grinned, handing Greg his card.

"Wow. Really, just wow. How did you get all this done so fast?" Nick just smiled, pulling Greg to him. He'd pulled it off! He'd successfully avoided the 'bad boyfriend' label for at least one year! He leaned into Greg's space to claim a kiss, but was a little put off by the bemused expression on Greg's face.

"What?" Nick was getting a little worried. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." His expression put the lie to that statement. "Did you talk to Sara today?" What? Did Sara rat him out?

"I saw her about an hour into shift, but not after that. Why?" Nick tried to be casual while wiping the collecting sweat off his upper lip.

"She came in on her day off. She thought it was Wednesday. You know, the twenty-fourth." Greg was grinning broadly now. The game was up, he knew.

"Today isn't the twenty-fourth?" Yeah, it was going to be great when he started pulling in the big bucks teaching other people to be a smooth as he was.

"No, Nick. My birthday is tomorrow." Greg gave Nick the kiss he'd been trying for earlier. Nick heaved a relieved sigh. It seemed that Greg was not going to make him sleep on the couch after all.

"But there's no rule that says we can't start celebrating right now." Greg started to pull Nick's shirt out of his jeans.

It was a really good idea. A much better idea then any Nick had come up with all day. And so it proved to be.