Title: A Walk In The Desert
By: Rabidfan
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Summary: A simple errand into the desert becomes anything but simple.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Confucius said that. Clearly, Confucius never faced walking across the hot desert in mid-day. Greg was fairly sure he hated Confucius. It was good that he'd died so long ago; Greg didn't have to hunt him down after getting out of the mess he found himself in.

"You sure you'll be okay? 'Cause you don't look okay." Nick had bone sticking out of his calf. How okay could he be?

"I'm gonna be fine, Greg. Just get to where you can get cell service and make the call. I'll be here when you get back." Greg could see that Nick was trying for humor, but the lines that pain had etched into his face robbed the effort of it's desired effect. He looked at the harmless looking crack in the desert floor that had snapped Nick's leg like a twig when he'd stumbled into it with a frown.

"What if you go into shock?" Because the ugly gash surrounding the bits of bone made Greg queasy. It had to be hard for Nick to look at. Greg remembered the "You Can Survive Alone in the Desert" book his mother had pressed into his hands when he'd left to start his job at the lab. He'd just rolled his eyes at the time, but now he found he wished he still had that book.

"Get going, Greg" Nick smiled. "I'll be fine." He carefully leaned forward from the front fender of their broken-down transportation to show Greg his eyes. "See? Not shocky. Just walk back until you get cell service and get us a ride home."

"You know it's just like you to break your leg two feet away from the car. We could just walk back together, but no…" Greg trailed off, not really interested in teasing Nick about this mess. It was scary, and he knew leaving an injured man alone was a bad thing. He just couldn't come up with a reasonable alternative.

With a reluctant sigh, Greg checked once more that the water, Nick's gun, and the sunshade from the Denali were near at hand for Nick. He straightened up, ready to start his walk.

"I don't know how far I'll have to go, so I don't know how long I'll be." He was very reluctant to leave Nick. Nick just nodded. They'd covered this ground already.

"Go, Greg," he repeated. "The sooner you go the sooner we'll be home." Yeah, okay. He could do this. For Nick, he could do anything. He bent one last time, pressing his lips against Nick's forehead. Nick smiled and patted Greg's head. "Go on, you freak. I'll be right here, totally staying out of trouble. I'll work on my tan." The joke worked a little better this time, and with one more backward look, Greg started walking.

The day had started out so great. Working with Nick, when they almost never let them be together, was just great. Stupid rules. It's not like they made out at work. Well, that one, memorable time, but Greg was pretty sure Grissom didn't know about that. They worked well together. They liked working together, so of course no one let them.

Driving out to interview the sheriff in the tiny desert community outside of Vegas had seemed simple. Too simple to screw up, and they didn't even have to go back to the lab when they were done. They were free to go home and start the long weekend they had scored. It was going to be great. Right up until it wasn't.

At first the department Denali started to make an odd noise. When Greg is pressed to describe it later he will say the car wheezed. Just moments later the big engine seized, throwing the two of them against their restraints.

Stuck. They were stuck in the middle of nowhere, in the hottest part of the day. Sadly, no one would even think to start searching for them until after the weekend. They'd agreed to work July 4th for a long weekend off together. No one would suspect anything when they didn't call in or bring back the car. It wasn't against department regulations to take one home, as long as it was properly signed out.

No one would come looking for them, and they were miles out of range of the nearest cell tower. That left walking. That left Greg walking and Nick sitting on the hot sand, waiting. It left Greg with an ache in his chest that he was pretty sure had been obvious to Nick.

He couldn't go more than a dozen feet without checking his cell phone for service. Then he'd have to look back to make sure Nick was still upright against the fender, still watching him, still breathing. Each time it was harder to turn back to the lines of their tire tracks. Harder to not look back over his shoulder. Harder as Nick became smaller and smaller as the distance between them grew.

Greg's watch battery had picked this time to bite the big one. He could hear Warrick in his head. Lecturing on and on about the necessity of preparedness in all things. "Check it out" he'd said, with a heavy dose of unspoken but clearly stated "You are a moron" thrown in for dramatic impact. It had been a long time before he was able to look Warrick in the eye after that. He was not looking forward to the repeat he knew would be coming when he finally got help.

Greg checked the time on his cell phone almost as compulsively as he checked for service. He'd only been walking for a little over an hour. In all of his best projections, he figured he'd have to cover twice as much ground before he found even spotty service. He hated leaving Nick alone that long, but with a broken leg, they couldn't very well walk out together. He couldn't see the Denali when he stopped again to look. Not even a vague shape in the distance.

He'd better get moving, he only had day light to see the tracks to cell service heaven, and then back to Nick. No way was he leaving Nick out there alone in the dark. No way. Greg lengthened his strides.

It didn't take long for the heat to become a factor. Greg had been walking at a fairly brisk pace for almost an hour and a half. He should stop and rest, maybe drink some of the water he'd brought. He didn't want to take the time, but he couldn't afford to suffer heat exhaustion. Not with Nick depending on him. With a sigh, Greg sat cross-legged on the hot ground. He took two long pulls off his water bottle and pulled out his cell phone for the hundredth time to check for service. Still no, but the roaming icon was coming on intermittently. So, maybe not too much longer. Greg allowed himself another drink of water and another five minutes of sitting. Okay. He could do this. He was pretty sure.



Nick leaned back into the hot metal of the fender. He thought idly of opening the windshield sunscreen but decided it was too much effort just yet. He did swallow some water, hissing when his minimal movement tugged at the leg stretched out in front of him. It looked bad. He was keenly aware that it hurt like hell, and it was bleeding pretty freely. If they were out here all night, he was in trouble.

Nick was pretty sure he'd been successful hiding his fear from Greg. He was pretty sure he'd been able to hide how much it hurt. He was pretty sure Greg would hurry, make the call and come back to him. He wasn't really sure if the intensity of his need for Greg right now made him a wimp or not. He was pretty sure he didn't care.

Confucius said that a journey of a thousand miles began with a single step. Nick was pretty sure that Greg had been gone way longer than he needed to be, and was seriously getting worried. He shouldn't have had to go a thousand miles beyond that first step away from the car. It had seemed like hours ago that he's last looked over his shoulder at Nick. Where the hell was he?



Greg tried his cell for the hundredth time since he'd started walking. Finally! Sweet Jesus, finally he had service!

Judy's practiced, perky "Crime Lab, how can I help you?" never sounded so good.

"Judy, this is Greg. Get Archie to get a signal on the GPS on the Denali Nick and I signed out with. We need medical help."

"Greg? What kind of medical emergency do you have?" Judy may look and sound like a ditz, but she'd worked around the lab for a long time now, and was surprisingly level headed when it came to the uglier side of their jobs.

" Nick has a broken leg. It's bad. He's lost a lot of blood, and I don't think he can take being out in the desert over night." His voice was not shaking. He definitely wasn't shaking all over with the hot relief of having someone calling in the cavalry. The hot sting of tears was just a reaction to the heat and his exhaustion. He was pretty sure.

"Archie's got a fix on you. Can you wait for an ambulance to drive out? Is Nick's condition serious enough to warrant a helicopter?" Judy was being practical. Greg liked that in a girl.

"Definitely a helicopter. The sooner the better." He was pretty sure Grissom wouldn't tear him a new one for the expense. That's why they had the good insurance, right? Yeah.

"Dispatch reports the Medivac helicopter just lifted off. Their ETA is forty-seven minutes." Judy paused, waiting for Greg to reply. "Greg? Did you get that?"

"Yeah." Greg was running as fast as he dared back to where he'd left Nick. He'd have to hurry or he'd miss his ride. It would be funny in a couple of days. Right now it just sucked. He was hot, and thirsty and running full out in the heat of the Nevada desert. It had to be true love. "Thanks. Running now, talk later." All of the good thoughts he'd had about Judy soured somewhat when she laughed until she snorted.

"See you soon, Greg. Good luck." She sounded like she was still smiling, but the genuine concern was pretty obvious, too. Okay, he still liked her.

Greg alternated running and walking as quickly as he could for the next thirty-five minutes. Finally taking a break when he could just see the Denali in the distance, he leaned over, gasping. He felt light-headed and more than a little nauseous. He could hang on until he got back to Nick. Ten more minutes. Just ten. Confucius was a moron. Journeys didn't have anything to do with steps. Journeys only begin when you have somewhere to be, someone to be with, and Greg's someone was just a few more yards away.



Nick caught sight of Greg as he neared the stalled car. He was weaving slightly. That worried Nick. He knew that Greg had left most of the water with him, arguing that he couldn't carry it very well, and Nick was bleeding. He'd let it go then, but watching Greg struggle those last few yards to him made him realize that had been a mistake. As soon as he sat, Nick thought, he'd get him to drink some water. He was pretty sure he had enough energy left to make sure he did.



By the time Greg could slide down the Denali to sit next to Nick, his legs were shaking and he had dots dancing before his eyes. Nick was in his own haze of pain and exhaustion, barely registering that Greg had finally, finally made it back. The afternoon sun was starting to set. It had been a long day.

"Chopper should be here any minute" was the best Greg could do. He was so thirsty his throat hurt. Nick blinked a few times before nodding. "We'll be home before full dark." This time, Nick managed a small smile with his nod. In the distance the sound of the approaching helicopter was sweeter than a choir.

"Thanks, G." Nick whispered. It was Greg's turn to nod, the tight lump in his throat keeping any words from escaping. Just a few more hours and it would probably be too late for Nick. A freak accident could have taken away the most important part of Greg's world. Nick fumbled something against Greg's arm. Looking down, Greg saw a bottle of water in Nick's hand. "Drink this," Nick indicated the water. "You looked trashed." Greg smiled and complied. Nothing tasted better than that hot, plastic-y water. It made some of the nausea recede.

There were going to be six kinds of hell to pay for all of this, Greg was sure. He couldn't wait to hear Ecklie's take on the whole thing. No doubt it would be colorful. There would have to be some changes to procedure. This couldn't happen again. It was too raw, too horrible to contemplate.

For now, the helicopter was sending up a wall of dust as it set down. Greg leaned over Nick, trying to cover his exposed injury with his body without actually touching him. He was rewarded by the smile playing across Nick's face. "Thanks again." This time with a small twinkle. Not too late. He was going to be fine. "Ready to go home, Tex?" Nick managed another smile as the paramedics ran towards them.

"Yeah. We've worked on the tan enough. We can go now." For the first time since the SUV wheezed, Greg found himself relaxing, letting the professionals bundle Nick into the basket, checking his vitals. They were safe. It would be a while until they could go anywhere. Nick would be wearing a cast for many weeks to come. But eventually. Eventually they would start up their journey again. Of that, Greg was very sure.