title: Misconceptions
fandom: CSI: Vegas
pairing: Nick/Gil
rating: NC17
series: Second Chance
sequel to: #1 Second Chance: Miracle, #2 Second Chance: Breaking Away
spoilers: everything in a vague kind of way
author: nancy
email: the_tenth_muse1@yahoo.com
feedback: yes, please!
archive: sure, just let me know!
summary: misconceptions with the local sheriff cause trouble for Gil and Nick in their new home.
warnings: mild violence, bad language and sex.
disclaimers: not mine, never will be, not making ANY money. honest. I am flaaaat busted, mister!
notes: thanks to Rueful for the original challenge. I think this went juuust a tad beyond what we both expected. not that that's a bad thing, I don't think. *grin*

****

Nick raised his hand against the hot Texas sun, squinting against it as he looked for Gil. Just his luck to forget his damn sunglasses at home that morning.

"Nick! Over here!"

Turning, Nick grinned as Gil strolled towards him, his hands filled with grocery bags. "If Sarah could only see you now, man. Domesticated Grissom, tamed by hand."

Eyes rolling, Gil commented, "You're not funny."

"Sure I am. Lots of people think so."

Gil snorted and held out the bags. "Here, strong-man, carry these."

Grinning, Nick took the bags and followed his lover to the car. "Did you get what you needed?"

"For the most part," Gil answered. "I'll just have to order the rest online."

Setting the bags in the back seat of the sedan that they'd bought just after crossing into Texas, Nick said, "Walt said that Tom's going back to school early, that he's leaving next week for UT, so he can take me on at the sporting goods' store."

Gil sighed. "Nick, we've talked about this."

"I know, I know, but come on! Who's going to think to look for us in a tiny little town in Texas, let alone check for me working in a sporting goods store?" Nick exclaimed, practically bouncing in his agitation.

Gripping his arm, Gil said, "That's the problem. We don't know who these people are or how avidly they're searching for you. It was a risk using our first names, even changing the last ones."

Not sure why it was so important, Nick pleaded, "Please, Gil, just this. It's all I'm asking for. And it's only a couple of days a week."

Gil stared at him a moment, then heaved a sigh, his lips twisting as he tried not to smile. "I hate it when you look at me like that. All right! But don't get too attached. We're only here for another month or so."

"Yes!" Nick exclaimed. He had to force himself not to kiss Gil then and there and contented himself with, "I'll thank you properly at home."

A flush lined Gil's face and he turned away muttering, "I hate it when you do that, too."

"Nah, you love it," Nick replied, still grinning.

As he turned to get in the car, he caught sight of Sheriff Marie Jenkins looking at them with disapproval. It wasn't that she disapproved of them as a couple, just of Gil in particular. She'd cornered Nick a couple of weeks after they'd arrived in Renquist and told him flat out that she thought Gil was a manipulative, controlling man and that Nick would do well to get away from him. That it was only a short step to spousal abuse, no matter the gender.

While Nick appreciated the sentiment, and the concern behind it, he'd politely asked her to mind her own business, that he was an adult and knew what kind of relationship he was in. Of course, him just acting like a little kid and asking Gil's permission to work had probably weakened that stance. Just a little. He smiled and waved at her before getting in the car and she waved back, though there wasn't any smile.

Gil frowned at his sigh. "Problem?"

"It's just Marie," Nick answered.

Looking out the window to where Marie was still watching them, Gil said, "I don't like all her attention on you, Nicky."

Nick reached over and took his hands, assuring Gil, "It'll be fine. Don't worry about Marie. I've got her handled."

Gil's look was clearly disbelieving, but he shrugged and turned the engine on.

* * * *

Nick didn't even wince when Gil stuck him with a needle. It wasn't because he was used to it, though that was starting to be a factor, it just didn't hurt all that much anymore. He watched the withdrawal of the dark liquid and asked, "Anything new under the sun?"

"Not as of yesterday," Gil replied, smiling briefly. "Still working on it, hence the new sample."

Looking around the lab that Gil had set up, Nick asked, "What's my assignment for today, boss?"

"Laundry."

Nick snorted. "I know that. I meant in here."

Hesitating, Gil said, "I'd rather start working on this alone, Nicky."

"Why?" Nick demanded, hurt at the exclusion. "You don't think I can keep up?"

Gil pulled out the needle and replaced it quickly with a cotton ball. Nick folded up his arm obligingly and glared pointedly at the other man.

"That's not it, and you know it. It's just.it's hard for me to be objective and if you miss something because the subject is you this time, it could be.fatal," Gil replied softly.

Nick had to give him that, however reluctantly.

Smiling a little, Gil rubbed his arm and said, "I'm starting to look at things on the DNA level and that's going to take a lot of focus and concentration. Aside from the fact that it's not your area of expertise, you're very distracting."

A short laugh escaped as Nick wagged a finger at him and commented, "Don't think that flattery's going to get you out of the dog house, Grissom. You should've stayed with your first line of reasoning."

The smile increased as Gil leaned against him. "It's only the truth, Nicky."

Nick sighed and gave in, "All right. Have fun with your toys, I'll just.find something to do."

"Well, you could always type up my notes for me."

"Fat chance. Do your own grunt work, boss."

Laughing, Gil kissed him, deepening the kiss just enough to throw Nick off balance when he pulled away. He had to think for a second, then laughed and said smugly, "No. You're just going to have to wait for your thank you until we go to bed tonight."

Gil grinned. "Can't blame me for trying."

"You want to eat in tonight?"

"Yeah. I want to get some good hours in on this," Gil agreed, motioning at the blood sample.

Nick nodded and said, "Okay. I'll fix up some hamburgers or something."

"If Warrick could see you now. Domesticated Nick, tamed by hand," Gil teased.

Snorting, Nick walked backwards to the door. "Enjoy your mad scientist routine, Grissom, I hear the couch calling your name tonight."

* * * *

There was no real threat to Nicky making him sleep on the couch and Gil knew it, but it always gave him pause that Nick felt so comfortable with him to make threats like that. Somehow, when Gil had let himself envision them being together, there hadn't been any of the camaraderie present in their friendship. It had been sweet and intense and loving, but not fun. Which was, of course, definitely stupid of him.

Gil knew that when it came to relationships, he was dumb. And wary. And unsure of himself. It all led back to the same thing; sex was easy, relationships hurt. The few times he'd tried them in the past had wound up with him having a broken heart. It was better to stick with non-complicated sex.

On the other hand, Gil could honestly say that he'd never been happier. Nick challenged him all the time, was his equal in so many ways, and surpassed him in others. His love was comforting and constant, and though they were probably in the honeymoon stage, Gil didn't see that stopping any time soon. And going to bed with Nick in his arms, or held by Nick.

Gil sighed happily and had to force himself away from the mental image. He had work to do, after all, and mooning over his lover, while extremely pleasant, wasn't going to get it done. Grinning to himself, Gil picked up the syringe with Nick's blood in it and squirted it evenly between three test tubes.

Time to get to work.

* * * *

Supper was eaten, as usual, in the living room, on the couch. Nick sat cross-legged and leaned against Gil while they both ate. He had three burgers on his plate, while Gil's held one and the vegetables that he'd steamed to go with them. One thing they'd learned fast was that if Nick didn't get a lot of protein, he couldn't function properly. Gil was still working out the specifics, but he was sure that a few protein shakes during the day, as well as vitamin supplements, would help a lot.

It amazed Gil that Nick didn't get any bigger, or change at all in his physique, and yet his strength had increased to ten times that of a normal man. His reaction times were a lot faster, too, about five times so, although Gil didn't have an accurate way of measuring that as yet. It was just as well that Nick was the aggressive one in bed, since Gil was pretty damn sure there was no way he'd be able to do the things that Nick did one-handed.

The many, wonderful, things that Nick did one-handed.

"Stop thinking about sex while I'm eating."

Thrown, Gil looked over at Nick, who was still watching television. "Excuse me?"

"You were thinking about sex. You can't do that because I can't eat at the same time," Nick replied, looking over at him.

"How do you know I was thinking about sex?" Gil demanded.

Nick flushed a little and answered, "I can smell it. Took me a while to figure out that that's what was going on, but yeah. Um, I can smell when you get excited."

Gil's jaw dropped and he put the plate on the coffee table. "When were you planning on telling me that?"

"It's no big deal. Not like my sniffer's going to do anything on its own," Nick replied.

Sighing, Gil said, "I need to know about any changes, Nick. Any. It doesn't matter how unimportant it seems to you. If you, if you start going to the bathroom different, I need to know."

Nick's eyebrows rose. "If I crap different, you want to know about it?"

"Yes," Gil confirmed. "Everything's connected, Nick, you know that. Having an enhanced sense of smell could mean that you're going to develop other enhanced senses. And what happens if they overwhelm you, but I know nothing about it? I wouldn't be able to help you!"

Nick sighed and put his plate down too. "I'm sorry. I just.I wanted to pretend we were just normal, you know? For a little while? To pretend that I'm not scared out of my mind for a change."

Taking his hand, Gil smiled a little and said, "I understand, Nicky, but we aren't normal and probably never will be again. Is that why the job is so important to you?"

"I guess," Nick admitted.

Gil brought the hand up and kissed it. "It's okay to be scared, Nick. I am."

"You are?"

"All the time. I'm scared that something is going to happen to split us up. Something will happen to you that I can't fix. That we'll be found by whomever did this in the first place. But we can't let fear stand in the way of what we need to do," Gil replied.

A smile quirked Nick's lips and he said, "Sounds like an Army ad or something."

Relieved that Nick's sense of humor was re-establishing itself, Gil picked up his plate and held it out. When it was taken, he said, "I never claimed to be good with words, Nick."

Leaning against him again, Nick replied, "That's okay. I love you anyhow."

And the wonderful, incredible thing was, that Gil knew he meant it.

* * * *

Warm hands traveling over his body proceeded to drive Gil slowly out of his mind. It happened every time, too, but he never got used to it; the way Nick worshipped his body despite the middle-aged spread, the rough skin, and the gray chest hairs. Nick caressed him like he was the most precious thing in the world and Gil was almost starting to believe that it was true.

Nick turned them on their sides, moving behind him and Gil moaned in anticipation, his cock hard and leaking. Nick pulled one of Gil's legs up and over his, opening him to Nick's shaft, which pushed with agonizing slowness into him and then stopped when buried deep inside. Hands gripping Gil's hip to hold him firmly in place, Nick whispered, "Gonna come on my cock, baby, not going to touch that dick of yours tonight."

"Nicky, please!" Gil exclaimed, squirming desperately back on him.

Nick's chuckle was warm and somewhat evil as he denied, "No, baby, not a chance. I'm comfortable right where I am. I think I'll just stay right here."

And he'd done it before, too, it wasn't an empty threat. Nick had stayed buried in him for a few hours before, only giving Gil the occasional thrust to keep him on edge. Moaning, Gil begged, "Please, Nicky, not tonight. I need you!"

"Mmm.love it when you beg crazy like that," Nick murmured, biting sharply at his shoulder. "Let me hear it some more and I'll think about it."

Groaning, his cock getting even harder and more desperate for release, Gil begged, "Please, Nicky, please fuck me! God, I need it so bad, need you so bad! Need to feel you fucking me, driving your cock into me oh! God yes!"

Nick had started thrusting into him with hard, controlled pumping motions, angling to hit his prostate. Gil tried to push back, but Nick was too strong for him, holding him still with a single arm around his midsection. It was like every bondage fantasy come true for Gil, because he couldn't have escaped if he'd wanted to, only it was his lover keeping him there, not leather or cuffs.

He drew closer and closer to orgasm, his cock leaking steadily as Nick fucked him hard and merciless, but steady and controlled. He'd lost control once since the beginning of his new strength and the result had been a bad tear inside Gil, something he'd never risk again, no matter how much either of them wanted it, Gil knew.

"Oh fuck, Gil, God, so good, baby, so fucking tight!" Nick gasped, warning him that he was close.

Desperate to come, Gil tightened his leg around Nick, pulling him in deeper even though the awkward angle pulled at his thigh. The thrusting increased in force, Nick's control slipping, and Gil cried out at the friction and glancing hits to his prostate, arching and coming hard. A few more ragged thrusts and Nick came, biting too hard on Gil's shoulder and breaking the skin. Gil cried out again, in a mix of pain and pleasure, his heart still thundering with his release.

Nick collapsed heavily on him and Gil moaned, hanging limp in his grip. Nick's cock was still hard and he knew it would only be a few more minutes before it began again. Thankfully, the second time was a lot shorter than the first, generally only a few minutes.

It started even before Gil had finished catching his breath, Nick's hips rolling against him, the thick cock reaming him hard, but not too hard, just shy of violent. Nick sucked on the wound on his shoulder and Gil thought briefly about vampiric habits, but knew Nick wasn't even aware of what he was doing. And since it didn't happen all that often, he dismissed it from thought.

The second time was for Nick, for his body to find complete release since there was no way Gil could ever respond that fast. Nick pushed him flat and humped into him, still sucking on the bite as he fucked Gil's limp body, digging his cock in as far as it could go. Then he arched hard into Gil a final time and came again, moaning in what sounded like pained ecstasy.

Face into the pillow, it was difficult for Gil to breathe, even if that moan hadn't made him breathless and cause his legs to spread and offer Nicky more. But Nick was done, a heavy weight on him, breathing slow, even though Gil could feel his thundering heart. Smirking a little, Gil turned his face so he could breathe properly and sighed in contentment. He was going to be really sore come the morning, especially since Nick was still lodged inside him, but so sated that he didn't even care.

This was what being loved was, having this heavy, sweaty body on top of him, lying trusting and asleep on him. Complete trust, in Gil's opinion.

Yawning, he laced his fingers with Nick's and drifted into sleep.

* * * *

"Nick! Wait up!"

Nick winced at Marie's call, but stopped and faced the woman, who was definitely not smiling. "You need to smile more, Marie."

"When I have cause to smile, I do," Marie answered. "I hear from Walt that you changed your mind about the job. What happened? I thought you were excited about that."

Even though he knew perfectly well that she was only being concerned, Nick replied, "Exactly what Walt said, I changed my mind."

"You mean Gil changed it for you," she stated, jaw set.

Nick sighed. "Look, Marie, I know you mean well, but there's nothing abusive about my relationship with Gil. He loves me and I love him. That's the end of the story."

"Nick, honey, I know you think that, but you have to believe me. He's going to get more and more controlling until finally, he resorts to violence," Marie said gently.

Trying to put it in a way that she might believe, Nick countered, "He would never do that. If it ever happened, which it wouldn't, I'd be out the door like a bat out of hell and he knows that."

"How?"

"Excuse me?"

"How would you leave him? You don't have a job, so you've got no income. You told me that your family disowned you, so there's no one to help there. And it's not like we got a Gay and Lesbian Crisis Center around the corner to put you up."

"Marie."

"No, just listen. I had a cousin I was real close to growing up that wound up in this kind of situation. I couldn't help him and he ended up on a slab, but I'm going to help you. If you ever need anything, I want you to call or come and get me. Day or night. Okay?"

Nick smiled a little and nodded. "Okay."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

She stared at him a moment longer, then nodded. "Okay. So. You going to the game on Friday night?"

Relieved at the change of subject, Nick said, "Wouldn't miss it!"

"Good! I'll see you there."

"Sure thing!"

Nick continued on his way back to the car. Damn, word traveled fast. He knew that, being that Renquist was a smaller than average small- town, but this was like a display of light-speed gossip. Although, it was entirely possible that Marie had asked Walt to let her know of any developments.

Maybe Gil was right. Maybe they should pack up and go before Marie's interest in him turned to something more invasive than just checking his well-being to his face. What if she started digging into their histories? They'd been pretty thorough making them up, but if she ran either of their pictures through any federal databases, or managed to snag their fingerprints, they were screwed.

Nervous, he looked back, but she'd already gone into the small Sheriff's building at the other end of the street. Frowning, he hurried the rest of the way to their car.

It was a lazy night, curled in Gil's arms as they watched television on the sofa. They had a late dinner while Gil typed up his daily notes on his laptop. Only one of the toys he'd bought from his card counting trip through Nevada, before they'd left the gambling state. They had a few internet bank accounts under false names, but carried a good amount of money in cash with them so they didn't have to sign for things.

"So did anything come up today?" Nick asked, munching on some chips.

Gil brushed off the crumbs before answering, "Actually, yes."

Surprise, Nick straightened a bit and demanded, "What?"

"You're a slob when you eat chips."

Nick paused, then pinched Gil's stomach and laughed. "Very funny. You know what I mean."

Chuckling, Gil's arm went back around Nick's shoulder and he replied, "I do, and no, nothing has changed. I'm still running preliminary tests."

"But...?"

After a brief hesitation, Gil finished, "But there were some abnormalities at the genetic level. I wish I had better equipment, or that I could have Greg work on this, but I'll have to make do with what I have."

Nervous, Nick swung his legs over Gil's and curled close. "You don't think the abnomalities are harmful, do you?"

Kissing the top of his head, Gil answered firmly, "No. You're better than fine, Nick, and you know it."

Nick nodded, reassured, and sighed in contentment. "I wish we hadn't had to go through this to get together, but I wouldn't trade you for being normal."

Gil's arms tightened and his lips pressed against Nikc's temple for a long moment before whispering, "Neither would I, Nicky."

Maybe it was because of the topic, or that the rest of the night was so quiet, that Gil had his nightmare. All Nick knew was that one minute he was sleeping soundly, and the next, Gil was shouting and pain exploded in his right eye. Before he was even really awake, Nick had wrapped his arms around Gil and exclaimed, "Wake up! Gil, wake up! Come on, man, it's a nightmare!"

Gil froze in his arms, stiffened up completely and Nick could feel the heavy thudding of his lover's heart under his hand and suddenly worried about a heart attack. "Gil? C'mon, don't do this, man, you with me?"

Shuddering, Gil relaxed into his arms and then wrapped every inch of himself around Nick, plastering himself over Nick like a second skin. Breathing a little heavy himself, Nick rubbed his hand up and down Gil's back, pressing kisses to his face and temple. When the shaking stopped, he murmured, "Must've been some nightmare."

"Yeah," Gil agreed hoarsely, not moving. "They, they had you and were experimenting on you, but not like I'm doing. They were, they were cutting you open, Nicky, and you were screaming in pain and I was trapped in another room unable to do anything except watch it happen. Oh God, Nicky, I can't let that happen to you! I can't go through that! It would kill me!"

"Ssh, it's okay, baby, it's okay," Nick soothed, holding on tight. "You're never going to go through that. We're always going to be one step ahead, baby, I promise. You've covered all the bases. We're safe."

Releasing a shaky sigh, Gil asked, "What if we're not? What about something beyond our control?"

"Like Marie."

"Exactly."

Nick sighed and kissed his temple again. "If you're that worried about it, we'll move. Let's start packing tomorrow, and we can be gone the day after."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh yeah. Nothing's worth you having nightmares like that. Or me getting black eyes in the process."

"What? Oh, Nick, damn, I hit you?" Gil demanded, finally shifting out of his arms to switch on the light. "Come here, let me see."

Wincing at the brightness and the renewed throbbing as Gil carefully looked at his eye, Nick said, "Just as well we'll be busy packing, because if I go out like this, Marie will haul your ass in for domestic abuse."

Gil grimaced and replied, "I'm so sorry, Nicky."

Sitting up, Nick took his hand away and stated, "It was an accident, Gil. You had a nightmare. God knows I've given you a couple of cracked ribs over the last month or so with my own."

A half-grin surfaced as Gil reluctantly agreed, "True. Can you see?"

"Yeah, but I probably won't be able to when I wake up, though," Nick answered ruefully.

"All right, stay put. I'll get some ice."

Gil rolled out of bed and Nick settled back down on the mattress with a yawn, thinking sourly, What a killer nightmare. I hate that he's going through this!

But Nick knew that if he tried to leave Gil, the other man would just follow and find him. They were in this together, whether Nick wanted it that way or not. And if he were strictly honest with himself, he had to admit that he was glad Gil was with him.

"Here we go."

Nick gasped when Gil carefully put on a ziplock bag of crushed ice. "Ow!"

"Sorry."

"Nah, it's okay. Just been a while since I've had one of these. Used to get them all the time in college."

Gil settled in beside him and rested his head against Nick's chest. He drifted to sleep almost right away, but it was a restless one, despite Nick's soft murmurs that everything was going to be all right.

* * * *

"You'd think that only being here a couple of months, we wouldn't have anything to pack!" Nick complained from across the room.

Gil grinned and replied, "Humans collect things, it's in our nature."

Shaking his head, Nick said, "You maybe, but I never used to be a packrat."

It was amazing how much relief he felt at the fact that they were moving on. Gil hadn't really realized just how nervous he'd been about Marie's interest in Nick. The fact that she considered him a potential abuser didn't sit well, either. He knew that he could be overbearing and something of a know-it-all, but Gil didn't understand how or why she'd jumped to that particular conclusion.

Setting the microscope carefully in its case, Gil locked up the metal carrier and set it on the floor. They had the lab mostly taken down and just needed a few more things packed away. The rest could be left behind. Gil knew that no amount of cleaning he did would remove all traces of them from the house, so he wasn't even going to try. As long as he had his notes and the equipment, that was all he cared about. The Men In Black, for lack of a better thing to call them, could do what they wanted with the trace evidence.

The doorbell startled him and Gil looked over at Nick, who was frowning. "You expecting anyone?"

Nick shook his head.

"I'll get it," Gil said. "We don't want to advertise your face right now."

Snorting, Nick replied, "Thanks."

Gil grinned and walked out of the lab towards the front. He really felt bad at the black eye Nick was sporting. The icepack had helped, but it was pretty much swollen shut. Gil was hoping that his new `powers' would include accelerated healing, but no sign of it so far.

Opening the door revealed Marie standing on the front steps. Forcing a smile, he greeted politely, "Sheriff. Something I can do for you?"

"I'd like to speak with Nick, if you don't mind," she replied tightly.

"I'm afraid he's busy at the moment," Gil countered.

"I can come back with a warrant, Mr. Welsh."

"Why don't you just tell me what the problem is?"

Jaw set in an unflattering line, Marie stated, "The problem is that your neighbors heard shouting last night and now you're packing to go somewhere."

Damn. He must've been really loud. Maintaining the smile, Gil explained, "I had a nightmare last night, that was the shouting that they heard. As for the packing, my employer is moving me back east unexpectedly."

"Nick never really said who that was."

"I'm sure it's no one that you've heard of, just a biochemical company."

"Try me."

Double damn. He'd been hoping not to use the dummy corporation so soon in their flight. "Wilsen Technologies. W-I-L-S-E-N. They're based out of Boston."

"I'd still like to see Nick, if you don't mind," Marie said, writing down the name.

"Of course. I'll get him."

"I could wait inside."

"No, I don't think so."

She smiled thinly at him and stayed where she was.

Silently cursing the bad luck, Gil strode across the room into the lab.

Nick looked up from packing his blood samples and observed, "That doesn't look good."

"It's Marie. She wants to see you," Gil informed him.

"Shit."

"I agree."

Crossing over to him, Nick asked, "What do we do?"

"Nothing we can do. We'll be gone in a few hours anyhow. Just go out there and tell her the truth. I had a nightmare and accidentally hit you in my sleep. Oh, and Wilsen Technologies has recalled me to Boston."

"Damn. Had to use it already, huh?"

"Yes," Gil confirmed. "Now go before she thinks I'm coaching you."

Nick grinned and replied flippantly, "You are coaching me."

Slapping him on the ass, Gil reproved, "Not funny, Nick."

"Sure I am."

"Lots of people thinks so, yes, I know. Now go!" Gil shooed.

Nick stole a quick kiss before heading out of the lab.

Unable to let go of the sense that something bad was going to happen, Gil continued packing up the blood samples that Nick had been working on.

* * * *

Nick knew the second that Marie laid eyes on him that she wasn't going to believe a word he said. Sighing to himself, he greeted, "Hey, Marie."

Horrified, Marie's eyes never left his face as she exclaimed, "Are you all right? Did he hurt you anywhere else?"

"Marie, come on, he did this by accident! He had a doozy of a nightmare last night and I got caught in the crossfire. End of story," Nick snapped.

Stiffening a little, Marie countered, "It's not the end of the story! Nick, you have to let me get you out of here! If you leave with him, I won't be able to officially help you."

Nick forced himself to calm down. She was only trying to do what she thought was right. Maybe he'd have thought the same under similar circumstances. Taking a breath, Nick said, "I'm not suffering from battered woman syndrome, Marie. I know all of Gil's faults and, while they are many, beating me is not included among them. You have to believe me on this, okay?"

She sighed, backing down. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, Nick. You're a really good guy and you deserve to be happy."

"I am happy," Nick assured her, willing her to believe him. "Gil makes me happy."

"All right. Since you're obviously not going to press charges, there's nothing for me to do here," Marie said.

Not exactly the response he wanted, but it would do. And as Gil had said, they'd be gone in a few hours anyhow. Smiling for real, Nick replied, "Thank you. You're a good friend."

"You have my number if you need anything."

"I do."

"All right. Well, good bye, then."

"Goodbye, Marie, and thanks again."

He hugged her gently and then went back inside and shut the door, relieved that that was over and done with. Heading back to the lab, he was surprised to find Gil just staring into space instead of packing. Frowning, he asked, "Gil? You okay, man?"

Gil's eyes swept over him and a smile surfaced. "Fine, thank you, Nicky. Is she gone?"

"Yeah," Nick agreed, lips pursing at the curious response. "What's going on? You looked awfully deep in thought."

"I was, I suppose."

"About?"

"Just.things."

Closing the distance between them, Nick put his arm around Gil's shoulder and leaned on him, sighing. "We should finish up in here and take off."

"Yes," Gil agreed, not moving.

Nick kissed his cheek. "What's wrong?"

Gil's lips twisted and he answered, "This is our first home, Nicky. Our first home as `us' and we won't ever be able to come back. I think.I'm going to miss it."

Smiling, Nick replied, "So will I."

* * * *

Everything was packed and ready to go a couple of hours later. Nick set the cooler in the back seat within easy reach and then moved up front.

Gil slid into the driver's side and started the car, saying, "We just need to stop for gas and then we can get going."

"Sounds good to me," Nick agreed, taking his hand.

Bringing it up to kiss, Gil released it and started driving. It was only a few minutes to reach the gas station, nothing in Renquist being more than fifteen minutes apart, and Nick closed his eyes to get some sleep. He was exhausted, thanks to the interrupted night's sleep and intense packing.

The loud screech of tires got his attention, though, and he looked out of the car to find the Sheriff's cruiser stopped only a few feet away. Alarmed, Nick got out of the car just as Marie and her deputy got out of theirs. He looked over at Gil and asked, "Gil?"

Calm, Gil replied, "It's okay, Nicky. They have nothing to hold me on. This just delays us a bit."

Marie arrived just then and said, "Gil Welsh, aka Gil Grissom, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney."

Things went fuzzy for Nick for a few moments after that as shock ripped into him. Marie knew exactly who Gil was, which meant that she'd gone through a federal database. And that meant that she'd unknowingly tipped off their pursuers. Coming back to awareness as Gil was cuffed, Nick lurched forward and exclaimed, "You can't do this, Marie! Please, you have to let us go!"

She pinned him with a look and replied, "I don't know what the hell is going on here, Nick, just that this man has a federal warrant out on his ass and I aim to see that it's executed here and now. The Feds will be here in a few hours to take him into custody."

"No, you don't understand!" Nick pleaded.

"Nick, listen to me, you're going to be all right now," Marie assured him.

"No, damn it! Marie, please, please, you have to listen to me!"

"I'm sorry, Nick, but this has nothing to do with you. Come on, Mr. Grissom, it will be my pleasure to book you."

Wry, Gil answered, "I'm sure it will, Sheriff. Nicky, calm down. I want you to get in that car and drive as far away as you can. I don't want you anywhere near here! You understand? Nicky?"

But Nick just stood there, dumbfounded, as Gil was pushed carefully into the cruiser. What was he going to do? What could he do? Just before the door closed on Gil, Nick called, "I'm not leaving you!"

From the irritated expression on Gil's face, it was clear the other man had heard him.

Then the cruiser was gone and Nick was alone. Arms crossed over his chest, Nick didn't move for another long moment. Shaking himself out of the panic, knowing that he had to do something, Nick got into the car.

Worse came to worst, he'd just break Gil out of prison.

* * * *

Gil suffered through the strip search, fingerprinting, and the photographing with as much of his usual aplomb as possible, but he hung on to it by a thread. The thing that kept running through his mind was that Nick wasn't going to leave. That his lover would still be here when the Feds arrived to take him into custody. That was something that he just could not allow to happen.

With that in mind, Gil waited in the interrogation room, cuffed and dressed in a standard gray prison outfit, for the Sheriff to arrive. It wasn't a long wait and when she entered, it was with a neutral mask in place.

She sat across from him and said, "You're an interesting man to read up on, Mr. Grissom."

Gil shrugged. "Not the first time I've heard that, although the circumstances are vastly different."

"I imagine so," she agreed. "Tell me something. What would a respected member of the Las Vegas PD be doing stealing bodies that aren't really dead? You essentially kidnapped Nick, from what I figure, and you've been drugging him to keep him reliant on you."

"Drugging him?" Gil questioned curiously.

"Whenever he wears short sleeves, I see a band-aid over his vein."

"Ah. No, that's not for drugging him. That's to take blood samples."

Marie frowned, leaning forward. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Gil shrugged again and answered, "Exactly what you think it means. Look, Sheriff, things are not what they seem here. I am not the bad guy in this. I'm trying to protect Nick."

"From what?"

"From whom."

Irritated at the correction, Marie repeated, "From whom?"

"We don't know, precisely, but the fact that I've got a federal warrant on me for stealing a body should lend some credence to the conspiracy theory," Gil pointed out. "When was the last time anyone in the federal government cared if a body was stolen from a morgue? Never, that I can recall. And do you really think that I would leave my entire life behind for something like that? I left everything because I love Nick and I want to keep him out of the hands of.well. whoever killed him in the first place."

Shaking her head, Marie stated, "You know how crazy you sound, right?"

"Of course."

"And even if, even if I believed you, you know my hands are tied now."

"Of course."

"So what are you looking for?"

"I want you to get Nick as far away from here as you can before those Federal Agents show up," Gil explained intensely. He leaned on the table and stared directly into her eyes, continuing, "He's the one that they're after. They want to exploit and experiment on him and I will do anything to make sure that doesn't happen."

Before she could answer, a loud thumping sound came from outside. They both looked at the door as it was torn from its hinges and Nick appeared in the doorframe. A gun was leveled at Marie and he warned, "Don't even think about doing something stupid, Marie."

Mouth open in shock, Marie recovered a little and demanded, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting Gil out of here," Nick replied. "Uncuff him. Now."

Confident, Marie retorted, "You wouldn't shoot me."

"No, but I'll knock you out and take the keys from you after. So if you want to stay conscious, I suggest you move."

Obviously taking the threat seriously, Marie stood and walked over to Gil. She helped him stand, and then uncuffed him. Gil turned around and cuffed her with the same set and kept the keys as he walked over to Nick, grinning as he looked at the door on the floor. "This is a little overkill, don't you think?"

Nick grimaced and said, "I wasn't thinking about finesse, Grissom."

"Apparently not," Gil agreed, wry. Looking back at Marie, he apologized, "Sorry about the damage, Sheriff, but we need to get going. If you care for Nick, please don't give the people coming after us any information. Come on, Nick, let's go."

Nick paused and said, "You're a good friend, Marie, I'm really sorry about how things turned out. But thanks for caring about me."

Following Nick out of the jail, Gil found all three deputies unconscious at various points, and the door separating the main office area from the jail also torn off its hinges. Shaking his head at the casual display of power, Gil trailed after Nick to the car, which was directly outside the back entrance.

Nick got in the passenger side and Gil the driver's side, just as they had before all of this, and he drove out of town as fast as he safely could. Not because any law would be after them, but because pedestrians were plentiful in Renquist.

Once driving on the highway, Gil asked, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Taking Gil's free hand, Nick grinned and answered, "Mostly that they can't charge a corpse with busting you out of prison."

A short, ironic laugh escaped Gil and he warned, "It was a stupid thing to do, Nick. If this ever happens again, I want you to promise to leave."

"Only if you promise to leave me, if the situation is reversed," Nick countered.

Damn. Gil looked over at his lover and sighed, exasperated, then turned his eyes back to the road. "You know good and well that I won't do that."

"Yep."

Shaking his head, Gil said, "We should get a new car."

Nick yawned and replied, "Sure. When you think it's safe to stop. I need a nap."

Bringing Nick's palm up to kiss, Gil ordered, "Get some sleep, Nicky, we'll be driving for awhile."

"Mmm."

Nick didn't let go of his hand, even after Gil heard the soft snores that told him he'd fallen asleep. Every so often, he looked over at his lover, just to trace his features with his eyes. This had been far too close of a call and his stomach was still clenched in the fear that he could have lost Nicky because the younger man had refused to leave. If the Feds had been faster, or if Nick had been slower, the outcome would have been so much different.

He wanted to stop at a hotel and reaffirm that Nick was all right in the most basic of ways, but they couldn't afford the time. It would have to wait. Of course, once they got somewhere safe, Gil was pretty sure he wouldn't let Nick leave their bed for at least a week.

Next part of the story - Second Chances: Fear