Title: I'll Stand By You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Gil Grissom
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Gil Grissom, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Gil looked down at Greg lying in the hospital bed, his face pale, his eyes closed. He was waiting for his boyfriend to wake up after the surgery that had removed the tumor; he had no idea how long that would take, but he would wait as long as he had to.

Greg had come through the surgery with flying colors; that was what the doctors had told him, and he had almost wanted to cry with relief. He had sat there in the waiting room with clenched fists, all kinds of awful scenarios going through his mind.

He didn't like being in a hospital at the best of times; when he'd had surgery to correct the problem with his hearing, he hadn't wanted to be there. He hadn't wanted to think about the operation; he'd just wanted it all over as quickly as possible, and to get back home.

Gil had thought that he would never feel more helpless and alone than he had when he'd been in the hospital to have that surgery, but that feeling had come back ten times stronger when Greg had been the one having surgery. It had been harder to wait than he'd dreamed it could be.

All he'd been able to think of was that something could happen, that Greg could be taken from his forever in no more than a few seconds' time. Just the thought had made tears rise behind his eyes; he'd begun making inward promises that he doubted his ability to keep.

As long as Greg would be all right, he'd have done anything in his power that was asked of him, Gil told himself, reaching out to take one of Greg's hands in his own. He had been so terrified of losing this young man; if he had, his life would have been empty from that moment on.

But he hadn't lost Greg -- and he wasn't going to, he told himself firmly, trying to banish all of the fears that had beset him when his boyfriend was in surgery. Greg was doing fine; he was resting comfortably, and the tumor had been completely excised.

After all that Greg had already been through, it had seemed like some kind of cruel joke that he'd had to deal with the fear of cancer on top of that. But at least they'd made it through that scare, and Gil fervently hoped there wouldn't be any more nasty surprises ahead of them.

Gil studied Greg's face, alert for any change in his boyfriend's breathing. But there was no movement on his lover's face; at least he could be glad that Greg was sleeping soundly, and that no nightmares were disturbing this peaceful rest.

That was something they were going to have to deal with soon, Gil told himself with an inward sigh. Greg had terrible nightmares almost every night; he wanted his boyfriend to see a counselor, to talk about what had been done to him rather than keeping it bottled up inside.

He had known that Greg wouldn't want to do that; the few times he'd tried to bring up the subject of seeing a rape counselor, Greg had flatly vetoed the idea, saying that he didn't want to talk to anyone he didn't know about what had happened to him.

It wasn't going to be easy to talk Greg into getting some kind of counseling, but Gil was determined that he would do so, no matter how much pushing it took. It was the right thing for Greg to do in the long run; he was absolutely convinced of that.

But that was something for later, he thought, moving his hand to stroke gentle fingertips down Greg's soft cheek. He was just glad that his boyfriend had come through the surgery with no problems, and that he could take Greg home tomorrow morning.

He intended to spend the night here in the hospital; he wasn't going to leave Greg alone. They hadn't had any indication of how had kidnapped the young CSI, but Gil wasn't going to take any chances of them showing up here to finish what they had started.

No matter what happened in the future, he would stand by this man through thick and thin. He would show the world that he was proud to be with Greg, that this man took first place in his heart and in his life. He would always be here by Greg's side, giving him any kind of support he might need.

Gil bent to brush his lips against Greg's cheek, closing his eyes and breathing in the soft vanilla scent of the shampoo his boyfriend always used, the soft tang of Greg's skin. He longed to sit down on the bed and take his boyfriend into his arms, to hold him close.

But he couldn't do that, not when Greg had an IV in his arm and he hadn't woken up yet. Gil sighed and settled back into his chair, but he didn't take his eyes off Greg. He couldn't have done so even if he had wanted to; there was something about his lover's face that mesmerized him.

Had anyone else in existence ever been so beautiful? Gil thought as he reached out a hand again to trace the outline of Greg's slightly parted lips with a gentle finger. He didn't think so. The man he loved was the most exquisite creature he'd ever laid eyes on.

As though he could sense Gil's touch, Greg's eyelids fluttered, then opened, his gaze unfocused for a few seconds. He smiled as he recognized Gil, shifting his position slightly so that he was lying more on his side than on his back, looking at his boyfriend.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm guessing everything must be okay, judging from the look on your face. You'd look a lot more worried if anything had gone wrong." He closed his eyes again, as though he couldn't keep them open for long.

"Just a couple of hours, since you've been out of surgery," Gil told him, keeping his voice soft and low-pitched. "And you came through it just fine. The tumor is gone, and you can come home tomorrow." He couldn't keep the happiness out of his voice.

"I just want to go home and curl up in bed with you," Greg murmured, not opening his eyes. "I hate lying here in a hospital bed. I want you next to me. I want you to hold me." He sighed softly, opening his eyes to look up at Gil. "It's forever until tomorrow, isn't it?"

Gil couldn't help laughing at the half-petulant, half-woebegone expression on Greg's face. "It's not that long," he said, hoping that his tone sounded soothing. "I'll stay here overnight, Greg. I wasn't planning on leaving you. I'll be right here by your side."

"Thank you," Greg whispered, his voice husky. Gil could almost swear that there were unshed tears sparkling on his boyfriend's long lashes; he hadn't realized that having him here in the hospital with him meant so much to Greg.

"There's nothing to thank me for," he said softly, moving his chair as close to the bed as he could get it, reaching for Greg's hand and twining their fingers together. "I'll stand by you, Greg. Now, and always. I'll always be here for you, no matter what. Count on that."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Greg whispered, raising his free hand to wipe at the few tears that escaped and trickled down his cheeks. "I don't think I could have gone through this alone. I was so sure that I had cancer and I was going to die."

"If we'd found out that you had cancer, I'd still stand by you," Gil whispered, reaching out to wipe away Greg's tears, feeling as though he wanted to cry himself. "Don't ever think that you'll have to be alone again, Greg. You won't. I'm with you until the end of time."

Greg nodded, smiling up at him with an expression on his face that took Gil's breath away. If he had thought that Greg looked beautiful when he was asleep, he was even more so now. Gil couldn't look away from the other man, his gaze held in place.

He would stand by this man for the rest of their lives in this realm, and in any other that they would enter, he told himself, unable to tear his gaze away from Greg's. All he wanted to do was be with Greg; at this moment, nothing else seemed to matter but that they were together.

Throwing caution to the winds, he got up from his chair, sitting down on the bed. Slowly, carefully, he helped Greg to sit up; being careful not to dislodge the IV, he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, holding him close, resting his cheek against Greg's hair.

"I'll stand by you, Greg," he whispered. "Always." He didn't know why he felt that he had to say those words again, but he wanted Greg to know that they were true, that he meant them with all of his heart and soul. He didn't want there to be any doubt.

If the way that Greg held on to him was any indication, his boyfriend didn't doubt his words in any way. Gil tilted Greg's face up to his, their lips meeting in a sweet, gentle kiss that seemed to seal his promise to stand by Greg -- and to return that promise to him a thousandfold.

***