Title: Closure
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Gil Grissom
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: Un-themed 5, mission_insane
Warning: non-con
Prompt: 2, Justice
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Gil Grissom, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Gil sat down on the couch next to Greg, turning to his boyfriend with a slight frown on his face. Greg had been melancholy all day, which wasn't like him. Those moods would come upon him, of course, as they did anyone. But Greg usually stay depressed for long.

It wasn't in the younger man's nature to stay upset about something for a long time. Gil couldn't help but wonder just what it was that had taken the light and laughter out of Greg's eyes and put such a serious look on his face, but he could guess what the problem was.

He didn't want to come right out and ask Greg what the problem was; that could be construed as prying into a subject that was still too sensitive for Greg to talk about a lot. But he had to get to the bottom of this. He didn't like seeing Greg depressed or unhappy.

"Greg, what's the matter?" he asked, his tone soft and gentle. He reached out to take his boyfriend's hand, twining their fingers together and squeezing gently. "I can guess what it is, but I'd rather have you tell me so I"m not just groping along in the dark here."

Greg looked over at him with a soft sigh, shaking his head. "You know what I was thinking about," he said, a slight rebuke in his tone. "I was thinking about those guys who kidnapped me. And wondering if we're ever going to be able to find them and bring them to justice."

Gil wondered about that, too, but he wasn't going to say as much to Greg. His boyfriend had to feel that there was hope of his assailants ending up behind bars where they belonged. He had to feel that there would be justice done at some point, that he could get some closure.

Greg needed that closure, he told himself. He needed to know that the men who had abducted him would face justice, that they would be punished for what they had done to him. It would be small comfort, and it wouldn't change what had happened, but it would be something.

More than anything, Gil wanted the CSI team and the cops to find the men who had harmed Greg. If they did, then maybe Greg could rest easier; maybe the terrible nightmares that he still suffered from on some nights would stop, and he could finally move forward.

He was already doing that; just the fact that he was now living here with Gil attested to that fact. Greg had come a long way since that first night he'd spent here; he might not have been able to let Gil make love to him yet, but they were closer than they'd been at first.

That terrible experience needed to be put in the past, Gil thought with an inward sigh. Greg needed to turn his back on it and just walk away, though he understood why his boyfriend hadn't been able to do that yet. It was still too fresh, too new, too fixed in his mind.

Gil knew that it could take a long time for Greg to get past what had been done to him -- and he wanted to give his boyfriend all the time that he needed. But he also felt that Greg's recovery would happen much sooner if he knew that his abductors were safely behind bars.

He'd never felt so helpless in his life; he didn't want to mouth platitudes at Greg, because he knew that they were ultimately empty. And yet he didn't want to add to his boyfriend's depression and sense of unease; that wouldn't help either one of them in the long run.

"It's hard to deal with me when I get like this, isn't it?" Greg asked, sighing again. "I'm sorry, Gil. I don't mean to be such a downer. But sometimes I can't help thinking about everything that's happened. And feeling like justice isn't ever going to be done."

"It will, Greg," Gil assured his boyfriend, hoping that he was right. He didn't want to think that Greg would never find the closure he needed; that thought was only going to plunge him into the depression that now had such a hold on Greg. "We'll find them. It's just going to take some time."

Greg nodded slowly, but didn't look over at him. Gil wondered if his boyfriend still believed those words; after all, it had been a few months now, and the only indication they had that those men were even still in Las Vegas was that glimpse Greg had gotten of one of them in the alley.

Since then, there hadn't been any sign of them. Greg had gone over and over every mug shot that was available, but he hadn't been able to identify any of the men. Gil knew that he felt frustrated, and he felt more helpless than ever, knowing that there was nothing he could do.

But he could be here for Greg, holding him, loving him, and being with him. And that was what he intended to keep doing. He only hoped that having a strong, secure love in his life would be a help to Greg; he thought it would, but he couldn't be sure that he was doing much good.

"Thanks for being here, Gil," Greg said suddenly, the words surprising the older man. How had Greg known that his own thoughts were moving along those same lines? It almost seemed that there was a connection between them at times that went far beyond their emotions.

Sometimes, it was almost as though Greg knew what he was thinking. It was almost scary -- but it was something that Gil wasn't going to question. It made him think of the case they'd worked on together, when Greg had said that he might be somewhat clairvoyant.

At the time, he'd laughed about that -- but now, he couldn't help feeling that those words might have had the ring of truth in them. "I always will be, Greg," he said, squeezing the younger man's hand again. "And they will be brought to justice. One way or another."

"I hope you're right about that," Greg said, his voice very soft, barely a whisper. "Because I don't want to keep feeling like I'll see one of them every time I go outside. I don't want them to keep popping up in my life. I want to be able to push them out of my mind for good."

"I want that too, sweetheart," Gil answered, his throat tightening on the words. He slid both arms around his boyfriend's waist, pulling Greg into his arms and resting his cheek against the younger man's hair. "I want you to get closure. To be free of them, and everything that happened."

"I hope that's going to happen someday," Greg said, resting his forehead against Gil's shoulder. "Because I don't want to spend the rest of my life feeling like I'll never get them out of my head. Or that they could come out of nowhere at any second."

Gil nodded, feeling uneasy at his boyfriend's words. He didn't want that for Greg, either -- especially the last part. He didn't want Greg to have to be on guard for the rest of his life, to feel as though he could be attacked at any moment, no matter where he was.

Those men had to be brought to justice. Not only because it would be getting dangerous criminals off the streets, but because it would be the only thing that could give Greg complete peace of mind. They had to find those men and make sure that they paid for their crimes.

The problem was that Gil had no idea how to go about finding them. He didn't want to wait for them to simply show up in Greg's life again -- but it seemed that was the only thing they could do. He and the CSI team would just have to be sure that Greg was protected in every possible way.

Gil only hoped that could be done -- and that when they finally did catch the bastards who had harmed Greg, that he himself was in the forefront. He wanted to see those men punished to the full extent of the law -- and to make sure that they could never hurt Greg, or anyone else, again.

He held Greg more tightly against him, nuzzling his cheek against the softness of his boyfriend's hair. He would keep Greg safe, no matter what he had to do, he vowed. And somehow, he would make sure that those men were brought to justice, so that Greg could get the closure that he so badly needed.

***