Title: Ending It
Author: podga
Pairing: Gil Grissom/Nick Stokes
Rating: NC-13
Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me and I don't make money off of them
Summary: Gil tries to do the right thing.

Gil knows he needs to end it.

He knows he needs to end it when he realizes that he's looking at Nick's mouth instead of listening to his report. He knows he needs to end it when he decides to let an oversight on Nick's part slide, telling himself that it was only small, even though it's most often small details that make all the difference in a case. He knows he needs to end it, most of all, because he's Nick's supervisor, and whatever is between them, if not brought to an end, if discovered, puts their mission, and that of the entire lab, at risk.

So he tries. He keeps Nick out of his way, and he keeps out of Nick's way. He works cases with other members of his team, even when he knows that on some of them Nick would be a better choice than Warrick or Sara. He declines invitations to breakfast and stays clear of the break room. It's alright, he thinks, when he refuses Nick's offer to help him with a case, and Nick doesn't seem even remotely bothered, joking with Sara instead. It's over and everything is back to normal.

Returning with Catherine from interviewing the female trucker, he sees Nick talking to a woman in the parking lot in front of the lab, standing a little too close to her, his face animated, Gil tells himself he's angry only because he has a fair idea of who the woman is, and because by being out there with her like that, Nick is definitely compromising the unit.

"Something wrong?" Catherine asks when he slams the door of the Tahoe. He shakes his head. He'll read Nick the riot act after Catherine and he have solved their case.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Come in, Nick. Shut the door behind you."

Nick hesitates slightly before stepping fully into the office. He shuts the door, then leans against it and crosses his arms across his chest.

Gil finishes filling out a form and closes the file. Now that the moment's on him, he's not quite sure how to frame a reprimand. The anger he felt earlier has receded, and he starts to wonder if he's making too big a deal of this. He looks up at Nick, waiting for Billy Bass to stop singing, looking for a place to start.

"You solved your case."

Nick shrugs. "Once Muhammad went to the mountain, it wasn't that tough."

"Was that her? In the parking lot, a few hours ago?"

There's a muscle ticking in Nick's jaw. He doesn't answer and Gil starts to get angry again. He doesn't deserve this attitude.

"I asked you a question."

"I know. I heard you. I just don't know why I should answer you."

Gil takes a deep breath.

"Look, Nick—"

"It's nothing to do with you, boss. The security guard dropped the charge. Case closed. Are we done here?"

"You're out of line."

"Really? This time I'd say it's the other way around, but if you really feel that way, you can always file a report on me. May I go now?"

"What's wrong with you?" Gil asks hotly.

Nick stares at him. "Nothing," he says finally, in a quiet voice. His posture softens a bit and he drops his arms, putting his hands in his pockets. "You don't have to worry, Grissom. I know enough not to compromise our work here."

He pauses for a second.

"At least, not for her," he finishes in an undertone, continuing to stare at Gil.

Gil wants to look away from Nick's eyes, which suddenly seem too knowing, but he finds that he can't.

"So, is there anything else you want to say to me, or I can I go?"

"Yes," Gil tries to say, only it's more a puff of air than an actual sound.

"What?"

Gil clears his throat. "Yes, you can go."

Nick straightens up from the door and starts to turn away, putting one hand on the door knob. "We need to resolve all this at some point," he says, then opens the door and walks out, not waiting for a response.

In any case, Gil has no ready response, because what he wants to say and what he should say are two completely different things. And he realizes that nothing is over, it's all here, still unresolved, and he has to start trying all over again.