Title: A Series of Forunate Events
By: Fran Holland
Pairing: Gil/Nick
Rating: PG-13

Nick woke with his alarm and rolled out of bed.  Since he slept in the buff, there was no need to strip to get into the shower.  As he padded down the hall ten minutes later, with a towel slung around his narrow hips, his sub-conscious noted the wet carpet, but he attributed it to the water still clinging to his skin. 

**** 

Work that night was easy.   A low crime night in Sin City.   Grissom, Nick and Greg all worked a murder/suicide together.  It was pretty simple.  Husband lost his job, wife became the breadwinner, husband resented wife and shot her three times and then ate his gun.  The wife was found by the door still in her business suit and still gripping her briefcase.  The couple's two children, luckily, were still in the daycare at the time of the incident. 

Nick always enjoyed working with Grissom.  If he were honest with himself, and he wasn't, he would admit that he was attracted to the man.   As it was, Nick just knew that he loved being around Grissom.  Oh, Nick was comfortable with the fact that he was bisexual, he had come to terms with it several years ago.  He'd only acted on it a few times and only when he was out of town because though Las Vegas was a hugely populated city, with his luck, he'd run into someone he knew. 

As the sun rose over the Nevada desert, Nick turned the key in his ignition.  Nothing.  Perplexed, since his truck was running fine earlier, Nick tried the key again.  Again there was nothing.   

For once, Grissom left on time that morning.  He stopped outside the front doors to the crime lab and looked at the rising sun.   He found that he did not stop often enough and see the beauty surrounding him and vowed that he needed to do that more often to counteract all the horrible things he saw night after night.   

Speaking of beautiful things, Grissom watched as Nick yanked open his truck's door and stomped around to the front of the vehicle.  When Nick lifted up the hood and leaned his head in, Grissom walked closer. 

“Car trouble?”   

“It was fine before shift.”  Nick said without looking up.  He was fiddling with various parts of the motor and muttering under his breath.   

“Hummm.”  Grissom leaned his head in next to Nick's.  Together, both men touched, tapped and pulled on every part of the motor they could get to without tools.   

Finally, Grissom straightened up.  “Look, let me take you home and we'll call the motor pool mechanic and maybe he can look at it today.” 

Frustrated, Nick gave an exaggerated sigh.  “Sure.  Thanks, Griss.” 

Grissom nodded and turned towards his car, confident that Nick would follow.  When he didn't, Grissom turned.  Nick was leaning into his truck and all Grissom saw was Nick's perfect ass displayed in a pair of worn, tight jeans.  He felt a tightening in his groin and groaned softly.   

Nick turned and held out a roll of paper towels.  When Grissom looked at him in confusion, Nick held up one of his greasy hands.  Looking down, Grissom saw that his hands were covered in oil and grease from Nick's motor.  Smiling, he took the offered roll and tore off a few before handing them back.  “Thanks.” 

After their hands were reasonably clean, Nick tossed the roll back into his truck and pulled out a gym bag.  Pocketing his keys, he grinned.  “Okay, I'm ready now.” 

“Maybe you should leave your key at the front desk for the mechanic.” 

“Oh, yeah.  Good idea.”  Nick put his gym bag on the hood of Grissom's car and sprinted back inside the building.  Grissom watched the younger man and admired the energy.  Then found his mind wondering to what that energy would be like in bed.  Snapping back to reality with a muttered oath, Grissom silently cursed himself of letting his thoughts turn in that direction. 

Grissom got into the car and started the engine.  The old Mercedes purred.  He adjusted the air conditioner and leaned back to wait.  The sounds of La Boheme drifted out of the car's speakers.  Nick appeared a few moments later and after grabbing his bag off the hood, slid into the passenger seat. 

“I took a few seconds to call the mechanic.  Thanks for waitin', man.”  Nick said with a warm smile. 

“Not a problem. “  Grissom put his arm on the back of the seat and turned his body so he could back the car out.  His fingertips accidently brushed Nick's neck and an electric shock went through both men.  Nick laughed nervously and leaned forward to turn up the stereo. 

“La Boheme.  Nice, but sad, ya know?” 

“You like opera?”  Grissom looked so surprised that Nick laughed again. 

“Yeah, it shore is purty music.”  Nick replied in an exaggerated Texan accent. 

“I didn't mean….”  Grissom was sure he had insulted Nick and he hadn't meant too. 

“It's okay, Griss.  There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me.  And let's face it, after eight years together, I don't know much about you either.” 

“No, I guess that's true, we really don't know each other outside of work.” 

Grissom faced forward and concentrated on his driving for a few minutes, very aware that Nick was beside him staring out the side window. 

Grissom surprised himself by saying, “I'd like to change that, Nick.”   

Nick swung around to face Grissom.  “Yeah?” 

“Yeah.”  Grissom smiled.   

Nick nodded and turned down the stereo.  “So, what do you like besides bugs and opera?” 

“I like old movies, baseball and good Italian food.   What do you like besides birds and opera?” 

“I like paragliding, football and imported beer.  What's your favorite color?” 

“Blue.”  Getting into the game, Grissom asked.  “What's yours?” 

“Blue?  I expected you to say some obscure color like persimmon or something.”  Nick grinned. 

“Persimmon is a fruit, Nick.” 

“Ahhh, when was the last time you opened a box of crayons?  Persimmon, Carnation, Eggplant, Jazzberry.” 

“I'm worried.  How did you become so knowledgeable about crayons?” 

“Lots of nieces and nephews.  Uncle Nick loves to color.” 

Grissom laughed.  Nick found that he loved the sound of Grissom's laughter and wanted to hear it again and again. 

“Favorite TV show?”   

Grissom pondered this for a minute.  “Hard to say, I really don't watch a lot of television, but I have to admit that I like Survivorman and Dirty Jobs.” 

“Really?  That's cool.  I love those shows.” 

“So, we both like opera, and we like the same television shows.  You learn something new every day.” 

Grissom had enjoyed the conversation so much that he was disappointed to see the turn to Nick's house coming up.   

Nick noticed too and was equally disappointed.  Both men settled into silence as Grissom made the turn and then turned again into Nick's driveway. 

Opening the door, Nick turned.  “Hey, want to come in for a beer?  I got a six pack of Warsteiner.” 

“Warsteiner.  I haven't had one of those since I was in Germany, God, it's been fifteen years.”  Grissom shut off the car and followed Nick up his walk. 

**** 

It took Nick a few seconds to figure out that something was amiss.  “Shit.  What the fuck is going on?” 

Grissom, who never approved of foul language, frowned.  Then he, too, noticed the inch of water on the floor of Nick's house.  “I think you have a water leak somewhere, Nick.” 

“Ya think?”  Nick said sarcastically, as he sloshed through the water headed for the bathroom.  His first thought was that his toilet had overflowed.   

Grissom, thinking logically, not with emotion like Nick, turned and went out to his car.  Opening the trunk, he pulled open his toolbox and grabbed a wrench.    Eyes sweeping Nick's front lawn, he finally spied the water company's cast iron cover for Nick's service.  Flipping the heavy cover over, Grissom cut the water valve off.  In stood, brushed the grass off of his pants and headed back inside to see what he could do to help this situation. 

When he stepped gingerly into the flooded house, Nick was on the telephone.  Since his voice was raised and he was gesturing as he spoke, Grissom decided it wasn't a pleasant call.  Leaving Nick to finish his conversation, Grissom walked down the hallway leading towards the back of Nick's home.  He took in the clean bathroom and neatly made bed.  He appreciated orderliness and approved of Nick's house.  If it wasn't for all the water, Grissom felt he could be very comfortable here. 

The sound of Nick's voice stopped, so Grissom made his way back to the living room.  “Everything okay?”   

At the sight of Nick's expression, Grissom added, “Poor choice of words.  Everything is obviously not okay.  What I meant to ask is what can we do to fix this mess?” 

“Thanks, Griss.  But it ain't your problem.”  Nick kicked at the water and with a soulful expression looked around his flooded living room. 

“You're my friend, Nick.  So, if you have a problem, it's mine too.  That's what friends do for each other.” 

“We're friends now?”  Nick asked with a teasing grin. 

Relieved to see the old Nick back and not the scowling man of a few minutes ago, Grissom returned the smile.  “Sure we are, you know my favorite color and I know that you  love opera and imported beer.” 

“Riiiiight.”  Nick laughed. 

“Okay, let's work on this problem, shall we?  I cut the water off at the meter.  Have you found the source of the leak yet?  Have you called your landlord?  Insurance company?” 

“Thanks.  No.  Yes.  And yes.” 

“Great.  What did your landlord say?”  Grissom asked, pulling a chair out from under the dining room table and sitting.   

Nick began to laugh and couldn't stop.  Grissom looked so normal just sitting at his dining room table with an inch of water around his feet.   And when Grissom gave him a puzzled look, he laughed even harder until tears coursed down his cheeks. 

“Nick?  Are you alright?” 

“Sor…sorry, Griss.  It's just kind of surreal, ya know?  You are sitting here, in my flooded house, acting like this is an everyday  occurrence.”  Nick wiped the tears from his cheeks and joined Grissom at the table. 

Grissom continued to look at Nick for a few more seconds before he deadpanned, “My socks are wet.” 

That got Nick laughing again and soon both men were laughing.   

“I'm glad you find it so funny, Mr. Stokes.”  The voice caused both men to sober instantly. 

“Mr. Seale.  Glad you could get over here so fast.  We've cut of the water but haven't found the leak yet.” 

“You probably left the bathtub running.”  The man's tone was accusatory and Grissom immediately did not like the man. 

“The bathtub was not running.”  Grissom had stood and his tone was cold.  “There is a leak someplace and it was not Mr. Stokes' fault.” 

“Who are you?”   

“I'm Mr. Stokes' supervisor.  Who are you?” 

“He's  my landlord.”  Nick said softly behind Grissom. 

“Well, you have a large mess to clean up.  So, while Nick packs a suitcase, you can look around and see if you can find the source of the leak.” 

“Suitcase?”  Nick whispered. 

“Obviously, you can't stay here.”  Grissom told him. 

The landlord muttered under his breath and began his inspection of the house, somehow knowing that he would not win an argument with Grissom.   

“Go pack, Nick.” 

“Okay, let me call Greg first to see if I can crash at his place a few days.” 

“You're staying with me.” 

“You?”  Nick's squeaked. 

“Unless you don't want to, but I just assumed it would be easier.  I'm already here.” 

“Sure.  I mean, thanks.  I'll go pack.”  Nick almost ran out of the room. 

“Looks like the pipe behind the kitchen sink….”  The landlord stopped and looked around.  “Where's Stokes?” 

“He's packing.”  Grissom answered.  “You may continue.” 

At Grissom's superior look, the landlord tried and failed to look tough.  “I found the problem.  A pipe between Stokes' kitchen and the one next door burst.  I'm going next door to see if they have any damage.” 

Grissom nodded.  “I assume you have Nick's cell number and you can call him when it is cleaned and ready for occupation.” 

“Yeah, sure.”  Without a backwards glance, the landlord slammed the front door. 

Nick appeared a few minutes later with a large suitcase.  “I guess I need to talk to Mr. Seale before we go.” 

“He went next door.  I took care of everything.  He's going to fix the leak, that was in the wall between your kitchen and your neighbor's by the way, and after it's cleaned up, he's going to give you a call.” 

“Oh, okay.  Thanks, Griss.” 

**** 

Grissom did not know why he invited Nick to stay with him.  It was totally out of character.  He did not socialize with his team except for an occasional breakfast.  Though he admitted that he liked Nick more than he should and really enjoyed his company. 

After showing Nick the guest room, Grissom went into hi s room to change out of the wet shoes and socks and changed into a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt.  Hank, who he had let out as soon as he got home, was scratching on the patio door and Grissom went downstairs to let him in. 

Once he had fed the dog, he called up to Nick.  “Hey, I'm going to fix something to eat before I go to sleep.  Do you want anything?” 

The house was silent.  Grissom quickly walked upstairs and knocked quietly on the guest room door.  When he got no response, he silently opened the door and stared in awe at the beautifully naked Nick lying across the bed sound asleep.  Grissom stood in the doorway memorizing every inch of skin and longed to run his hand down the curve of Nick's spine to his perfect ass. 

Frustrated and horny as he could ever remember being, Grissom shut the door and forgetting that he was hungry, went straight to his bathroom and took a long, cool shower.   

Fifteen minutes later, he was lying in his own bed, tossing and turning.  So tired, but unable to erase Nick's image from his mind, Grissom finally got up and went downstairs to read. 

**** 

When Nick awoke, he was confused.  Where was he?  Then the events of the morning came flooding back and he groaned.  His mind calculated the deductable from his renter's insurance and no telling how much his truck would cost to repair.  He had been saving for a motorcycle.  He'd wanted one for a long while now and every extra dime went into the bank, but now he guessed he'd be spending about a thousand dollars between his deductable and the truck repairs. 

He got up and drew on a pair of boxer briefs.  He was thirsty and thought he'd go grab some water from Grissom's kitchen before showering and figuring out what he was going to do about supper.  He would not impose on Grissom any more than he had too. 

Padding down the stairs, Nick was startled by Hank's single bark.  “Shhh.  It's okay.” 

Nick reached out to pet the dog when movement from the couch caught his eye.  “Holy shit.”  Nick whispered.  Grissom was sprawled out on the couch, in a deep sleep.  But what had Nick's attention was the pair of black silk boxers that Grissom was wearing.  The fly of the boxers was gaping open and Grissom's cock was out and lying against his thigh.  Nick quietly backed away, not taking his eyes away from Grissom's exposed penis, and tripped over a pile of forensic magazines.  Nick yelped as he went down.  Hank began to bark and Grissom woke with a start. 

Nick scrambled to stand and realized that if he stood, Grissom would see his erection, so he sank back down on the carpet and groaned in embarrassment. 

Grissom  stood quickly, not noticing that he was exposing himself and rushed to Nick's side.  “Are you okay?” 

Blushing crimson, at both his erection and Grissom exposed cock right at eye level, Nick just stuttered.  “Fi..fine…I'm….fine.  Just…slip….slipped…ya know.” 

It was only when Grissom reached a hand out to help Nick up that he realized two things.  First, Nick was aroused and second, his own cock was out for the world to see.  Turning his back, he moved quickly behind the kitchen counter. 

Neither man spoke.  Hank whimpered and sniffed at the back door.  Closing his eyes for a few seconds, Grissom took a deep breath, adjusted his boxers and moved to let the dog out.  Keeping his back to Nick, who had slumped back down onto the carpet with his eyes shut, he mumbled that he was going to go shower and dress. 

Nick kept his eyes shut until he heard Grissom's bedroom door shut.  He rolled over onto his stomach and pounded his forehead on the floor.  “Why me?  Can anything else go wrong today?” 

**** 

Grissom couldn't remember a time when he was more embarrassed.  He stood under the warm water and then began to giggle.  Soon the giggle became a full belly laugh.  Bracing one hand on the cool tiles, Grissom just shook his head.  This whole day had been one unfortunate event after another for Nick.  Today, he had seen Nick at his worst and at his best.  His best being naked across his guest bed.   

Then a thought began to form in Grissom's brain.  Nick was aroused.  Had he seen Grissom's cock and gotten aroused?  Evidence, Gil, process the evidence.  And he did.  He processed the last eight years in a few moments. 

When Grissom was finally dressed, he opened his bedroom door and listened.  Not hearing anything, he briefly was worried that Nick had left but remembered that Nick did not have a vehicle.  Since Nick wasn't downstairs, he had to be in the guestroom or bathroom.   

He knocked on the closed guestroom door.  “Nick, are you in there?” 

“Yeah.”  The voice was barely audible. 

“May I come in?” 

“I guess.”   

Grissom opened the door and walked inside.  Nick was sitting on the bed, now wearing a pair of jeans and a Dallas Cowboys t-shirt.  His eyes were downcast and he was picking at one of his fingernails. 

“Nick, would you look at me please.” 

Exhaling deeply, Nick looked up.   

“I need to ask you a question, but first I need to tell you something about myself that no one in Vegas knows except for Lady Heather.  I need your promise that you will not tell anyone.” 

Forgetting his own embarrassment, Nick looked intrigued and nodded.  “I promise.” 

“I'm bisexual.  I enjoy sex with both men and women.” 

“Oh.”  Nick's head could not wrap around what he had heard come out of his boss's mouth.  So, he sat there staring up at Grissom with a completely blank look on his face. 

Worried that the evidence was wrong, Grissom stared back. 

“The question?”  Nick whispered.  “What's the question?” 

Taking a deep breath, praying that he was right, Grissom spoke.  “Do you find me as attractive as I find you?” 

Giving Grissom as slow smile, Nick whispered.  “Well, that depends on just how attractive you find me.  Because I think you are hot.” 

“Hot?  Me?” 

“Yeah.”  Nick laughed and silently thanked God for giving him the best day of his life. 

THE END