Title: Make the Memories Leave
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 05, Memory
Warnings: previous non-con
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 Nick Stokes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Greg sat upright in bed with a soft cry, pressing his hand against his chest. Within seconds, Nick was sitting up beside his boyfriend, pulling Greg into his arms, comforting him. He hugged Greg close, running his hand through the younger man's hair, whispering soft words.

"Greg, baby, are you okay?" he asked anxiously, feeling Greg tremble in his arms. He had an idea what Greg had been dreaming about; it was the same nightmare as always.

Shane. He was dreaming about Shane, and what that bastard had done to him. Nick's grip on his boyfriend tightened; he could protect Greg from his vengeful ex, but he couldn't protect him from the nightmares -- and the memories -- that assailed him so unexpectedly.

They'd been doing so well, but now the memories were flooding back with a vengeance.

Nick could remember exactly how he himself had felt when he'd found out that Shane was abusing Greg; if he could feel so helpless, then he could only imagine how Greg felt. He didn't want to think of his boyfriend dealing with those kinds of emotions.

For what felt like the millionth time, he wished Shane into the deepest, darkest pits of hell, and wished that he could put the son of a bitch there himself. But until they found where Shane was hiding and flushed him out, he had to settle for protecting Greg as best he could.

Greg nodded against his chest, sniffling and looking up at Nick. "It was .... another bad dream," he gulped, obviously trying to recover his composure and not having an easy time of it. "Y-you know what it was about, I guess," he added with a soft sigh.

Nick nodded. Yes, he knew what the dram had been about.

But was it a dream -- or was it more of a memory? He didn't know exactly what Shane had done to Greg; he had an idea, but Greg had never talked about the attack in detail. Nick wasn't sure that he wanted to hear the details; he knew that he would explode in a murderous rage.

All he needed to know was that Shane had hurt the young man he loved, traumatized him to the point where Greg had been skittish about being touched for a long time. He wanted to rip Shane to pieces for all the pain he'd caused Greg, all the fear and uncertainty.

"I'll be okay," Greg whispered, pressing his face against Nick's shoulder. "Just hold me, Nicky. Make those memories leave. I don't want to think about them."

It was only after they'd laid down again, and Greg was asleep in his arms, his breathing slow and regular, before Nick realized that he'd used the word memories and not dreams. So he'd been right about what had troubled Greg -- not that it did them much good.

***