Title: Hiding in the Shadows
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Gil Grissom
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 52_challenge
Prompt: 13, Shadows
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.

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Greg shivered as he looked around him at the crime scene; he was alone in the house, but thee were plenty of cops outside, so he didn't have to worry. No one was going to come in here and take him by surprise; they wouldn't be able to get past the officers.

He always worried about that whenever he worked a scene by himself now, even if he knew that another CSI was coming to join him. It would be so easy for the men who had kidnapped him to appear out of the shadows, just like they'd done the first time.

It was frightening to think about that, so he tried to push the idea from his mind. But it wouldn't go away; the image of those men surrounding him, grabbing him and dragging him out of here, back into their clutches, stayed with him, making his hands tremble as he worked.

Greg stood up, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves and center himself. He couldn't keep thinking like this; if he did, then he'd get to the point where he wouldn't be able to do his job, the job he loved and had worked so hard to get.

There was no reason for him to feel so nervous and shaky. There was nothing special about this place -- not really. The only reason he was feeling so unhinged was that this house was only four blocks away from the scene he'd been working when he'd seen one of his abductors.

He'd been shaken for days after that, feeling that he was being watched and maybe even followed. But they'd seen nothing more of the man, or of any others that Greg might have been able to recognize from his ordeal. It was as though they'd vanished into thin air.

How long would it be before he could feel that it was perfectly safe to go outside, before he stopped looking around cautiuosly every time he opened the front door? It had been months since the kidnapping, but he still didn't feel safe, even in his own front yard.

It helped that he was now living with Gil; his boyfriend made him feel safe just with his presence. Greg had to smile at the thought of the man he loved; Gil was so loving, so patient, so understanding. He didn't feel that he deserved a man who was so amazing.

There were times when he felt so guilty for not giving himself to Gil completely, for holding back as far as the physical side of their relationship went. But Gil had told him in no uncertain terms that he didn't expect sex, and that Greg should wait until he was ready for that step.

Not everyone would be so understanding, or so supportive of his feelings, Greg told himself. Gil was one in a million; whatever fate had smiled on him and finally brought them together, after years of loving Gil from afar, he had to thank that fate with all of his heart.

Sighing, he bent down to retrieve what looked like a piece of charred cloth, picking it up with tweezers and putting it in a plastic evidence bag. The acrid scent of smoke made him wrinkle his nose in distaste; he hated working cases that involved fires. He loathed the smell of smoke.

It took forever to get that smell out of his clothes, too, he thought ruefully. He'd go home smelling like smoke, and he'd have to send these pants and shirt out to a dry cleaner. But he'd known when he signed on for this job that he'd have to do things he didn't much care for.

Going back to work had been a big step for him, but he was back in the groove now -- though it still didn't stop him from having the eerie feeling of being watched. Maybe that was only because all of his colleagues were looking out for him, Greg thought wryly.

It seemed that every time he looked up, someone was watching him -- whether it was Nick, Sara, Russell, or anyone else he worked with. Everyone was going out of their way to keep him protected -- and he had to admit that he needed the support. He appreciated it.

Still, sometimes it could be a little wearying. He wanted to try to put the kidnapping behind him and go on with his life as normally as possible -- even though he knew that the repercussions would probably follow him for the rest of his life. The emotional scars would always be there.

But he didn't have to let them destroy him, or wreck his life with the man he loved, he told himself firmly. Those scars might always be on his soul, but he didn't have to let them define who he was. He didn't have to spend his life hiding in the shadows and being afraid.

There were so many shadows in this house, this burned-out crime scene. Anyone could emerge from those shadows at any time -- and he was alone in here. Someone might clamp a hand over his mouth before he was able to scream for help, and then ....

Greg resolutely pushed that thought out of his mind as he carefully picked up another piece of evidence and put it into a bag. No one who wished him harm was in here. No one was going to jump out of the shadows at him; no one was going to grab him and drag him away.

Yes, it had happened once -- but that had been a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It couldn't happen again, not given the law of averages. And there were officers right outside that door; they would hear anything that happened in here. He was safe; he was here doing his job.

Still, he'd feel a lot better when Nick got here; he didn't like being alone here in this shadowy place. It gave him the creeps to think that any one of the men who'd kidnapped him could sneak into the back of the house, find him here alone, and decide to finish what they'd started.

His hands were trembling again. Greg took another deep breath, trying to steady himself. He had to stop being so paranoid; that might turn out to be self-fulfilling prophecy if he kept thinking about it. The best thing to do was to concentrate on his job, and push the past out of his mind.

It would be easier to do if there was another CSI here with him, if he wasn't alone. Where was Nick, anyway? He'd said that he would be along shortly, but to Greg, it felt as though hours had already passed -- though one look at his watch told him that it had only been twenty minutes.

He would feel a lot better when Nick was here, he thought with an audible sigh. It wasn't that he couldn't do his job alone -- he was more than capable of that -- but with another CSI here with him, he wouldn't be jumping at shadows, and feel as though the place had a sinister aura.

There was nothing sinister about this place, Greg told himself firmly. That was all in his mind -- and so was the feeling that there was anyone hiding in the shadows. He had to stop thinking like that; he couldn't let one bad experience rule his life.

Still, when he heard a van pull up outside, and then heard Nick's voice greeting the officers who were stationed at the door of the house to prevent anyone from coming in, he heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to be alone in here any longer. Nick would be with him.

And later, he would be able to go home to Gil, and this oppressive feeling of being watched, of thinking that some danger loomed in the shadows all around him, would be gone. The sooner he could banish that feeling, the better -- but that would probably be a long time in coming.

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