Title: One Too Many
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Post-ep for the S11 CSI: Vegas episode "Cello and Goodbye," and a sequel to the Greg/Nick fic "The Sound of Breaking Hearts". Completely unrelated to the other Greg/Nick series that I write.
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.

***

Nick frowned as he pulled into the parking lot of one of the many bars in Las Vegas; he wasn't sure, but he thought that he had seen Greg's car there when he'd driven by the first time, so he had doubled back and decided to have a closer look.

Yes, that was Greg's car, all right. Nick's frowned intensified as he pulled into the parking spot next to the silver car. He was sure that he knew why Greg was here; he had been going out far more than he used to since Jonah had been killed.

Greg was trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol, and from what Nick could tell, it wasn't working. All it did was make the younger man more miserable; he was unfocused at work, and Catherine had told him twice now to go home and sleep it off.

Nick didn't want Greg to lose his job -- and he didn't like seeing the man he loved falling to this level. He was going to get Greg out of this place, take him home, and sober him up, no matter what it took. Even if he had to use a kind of tough love to do it.

Getting out of his truck, he headed towards the door, his footsteps dragging. Greg would probably be drunk -- and he wouldn't be grateful to anyone for forcing him out of here to go home and sober up. In fact, he'd more than likely be angry.

That didn't matter, Nick told himself firmly, squaring his shoulders and pushing the door open. He already had his wallet out, flashing his driver's license at the bouncer. It only took him a few seconds to be given admittance to the bar; he stood by the door, looking around for Greg.

There he was, sitting alone at one end of the bar with a drink in front of him. Nick had no idea how long he had been here, but he didn't look as though he was drunk off his ass yet. He hoped not; he wanted to be able to talk to Greg and have his words get through.

As quickly as he could, he made his way to the bar until he was standing next to Greg. Leaning on the bar, he turned his head towards the younger man, offering the first pick-up line he could think of. 'Hey, you come here often?" he asked, wincing at the cliché.

Greg turned his head slowly, a small smile curving his lips when he recognized who had spoken to him. "Nicky. Fancy meeting you here." He looked down into his glass, then picked it up and tossed the rest of the drink back as though it was water.

"Easy there, Greggo." Nick put out a hand, even though he knew it was too late to stop Greg. "I think you need to get out of here and go home. You don't want to be too drunk to work tomorrow, buddy. The last thing you need is to be unemployed on top of everything else."

The look that Greg gave him was almost a glower; Nick could have bitten his tongue when he realized what he had said. He didn't need to remind Greg of Jonah's death; he should have tried to steer whatever conversation they had away from that subject.

Well, he'd put his foot in it now, hadn't he? And he had to try to get things back on the right track from here. "I'd offer to buy you a drink, but I think you've already had one too many," he said, trying to smile as he spoke, but finding it hard to summon the requisite facial expression.

"It helps me get my mind off .... things," Greg told him, swiveling around on the bar stool. "I don't want to think about anything other than the next case at work And when I'm not at work, I can't sleep all the time, so I need something to help. This is it."

"This isn't going to help you sleep, Greg," Nick said gently, picking up the other man's glass and handing it back to the bartender, shaking his head. "You don't need liquor. You need to face what happened, grieve for awhile, and then let yourself move on."

"Is that what you expect me to do, Nick?" Greg sounded angry now, his words coming at Nick like shots from a gun. "Is that what you hope I'll do? Grieve for Jonah for a short time, and then come running back to you, so you can treat me like I don't matter? No thanks."

"Greg, I'm not going to do that again. I've learned my lesson," Nick protested, taking a deep breath and pushing his indignation at Greg's words away. "I know I didn't treat you right when we were together before, but I wouldn't be that stupid again."

"Is that what you're here for, Nick? To ask me for another chance when Jonah's barely even cold yet?" Greg turned a look of such anger on him that Nick was momentarily stunned. How could Greg think that he would do something like that, even for one second?

That wasn't Greg talking, a voice in the back of his head insisted. It was the pain and grief that he was still feeling over losing someone he had cared deeply for. He couldn't take what Greg said now seriously; he had to remember that Greg was still hurting, and lashing out because of it.

"Come on, Greggo." Nick slid an arm around Greg's waist, pulling him bodily off the bar stool. "I'm going to get you home, get some coffee in you, and then put you to bed. Alone," he added hastily, shaking his head when Greg opened his mouth to speak. "I'm not sleeping with you."

"You still want to, don't you?" Greg asked, his voice very small. "Jonah said you still loved me. Do you, Nicky? Do you love me the way he did? Would you want to marry me and put me first in your life?" The words were spoken softly, but to Nick, they sounded like a shout.

"I could never stop loving you, Greg," he said softly, aware that Greg's mood was swiftly changing from anger to grief, in a quicksilver flash. He knew that Greg's moods could change quickly when he wasn't drunk, but he wasn't used to dealing with his former boyfriend in this state.

He led Greg out of the bar and into the cool afternoon air, hoping that he could get the younger man into a more sober state by the time they had to go to work. He still had eight hours or so, he told himself; Greg should be okay by the time they had to go in.

Greg didn't object as Nick led him out to the truck; he didn't really want to leave Greg's car here, but he could bring the younger man back tonight on their way to work so he could pick it up. He was sure that Greg would be all right to drive by that time.

Nick looked over at Greg as he got into the driver's seat; the younger man had managed to fasten his seat belt, and he was looking over at Nick blearily, as though he wasn't sure who was sitting beside him. "Why did it happen, Nicky?" he whispered, the words almost a sob. "Why?"

"I don't know, baby," he said softly, his heart aching for the young man beside him. "But what I do know is that you've had one too many tonight, and you need to go home and get some rest before you go to work tonight. You can't keep on like this, Greg."

"He would have married me, y'know," Greg murmured, closing his eyes and resting his head back against the seat. "He wanted to. He said that he wanted us to be united. I wanted to marry him, too. Not any time soon, but it was going to happen in the future. A future we'll never have now."

"You shouldn't be thinking about that," Nick admonished him gently, wishing he knew how to take Greg's mind away from his pain, to turn the subject to something else entirely. "You need to think about your future, Greg. Your job. And staying sober."

"What if I don't want to have a future?" Greg asked, his voice barely a whisper. "That should have been me, Nick. I should have been the one to take those bullets. I was more prepared to die that way than Jonah was. I should have been there instead of him."

"Don't you ever say that!" Nick had reached for the key to start the engine, but at those words, he turned to Greg, grabbing the younger man's shoulders and shaking him. "Don't you ever say that you could leave me like that, Greg Sanders! Ever!"

Greg's eyes widened in shock, a gasp coming from his throat. It took Nick a few moments to get his own emotions under control, even longer for him to let go of Greg. It hadn't occurred to him before just what a fragile tightrope Greg was balancing on.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, taking his hands away from Greg's shoulders. "I just can't stand to hear you talk like that, Greg. I've already lost you as a lover. I don't want to lose you as a friend and colleague, too. It's hard enough to deal with losing you once. Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"I promise," Greg whispered, slowly reaching out to place a hand on Nick's knee. "I don't have the courage to do anything like what you're thinking about, Nicky. And Jonah wouldn't have wanted me to. He'd have told me that I have to go on living and find my own happiness."

"He was a smart guy," Nick said softly, laying his hand on top of Greg's. "Now, I'm going to get you home, and if you want to talk, then we can. But for the moment, you've had one too many -- or maybe even more than that. I want to make sure you're ready to go to work tonight."

"I don't feel like going anywhere right now other than bed," Greg admitted, closing his eyes and leaning his head back again. "I think I just want to lie down and disappear into oblivion for a while before I have to get up again. And -- Nicky?"

"Yeah, baby?" Nick kept his voice gentle, wanting Greg to know that he wasn't angry, just concerned. He was determined to be Greg's friend now; anything else that might be built between them again could come later. He would have to take his time and be patient.

"Thanks for rescuing me. You're right, I have had one too many," Greg murmured, putting a hand to his head. "I'm already starting to get a headache. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't shown up. Probably gone home with some guy I didn't know."

"I'm glad I stopped you from doing that," Nick told him, putting the truck into gear, skillfully pulling out of the parking lot and into the flow of traffic. "Just sit back and relax, Greg. We'll be at my house in a few minutes, and then you can lie down and rest."

Greg only nodded in response; Nick glanced over at him, hoping that they would have a while to talk before they went to work tonight. For the moment, he was just relieved that Greg was all right -- and that it seemed there was still a link between their hearts, however tenuous it might be.

***

Next story in series - Don't Walk Away.