Title: Precious Time
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
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 Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ryan sighed as he turned over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Greg had drifted off some time ago, after they'd made love; he had held his boyfriend close afterwards, whispering words of love into his ear, meaning every word he'd uttered.

It was crazy of him to think that he could use himself as bait to flush out the man who threatened both of them. He had seen plans like that turn sour before, and he didn't want to put himself into the line of fire. Not now that he had so much to live for.

He might have been more willing to take such a risk when he was in Miami, when there was no one special in his life and he hadn't felt that he had much besides his friends and his work. But now, everything in his life was different. Now he had Greg, and their future.

He didn't want to put that future at risk, but he felt that he had no choice. If he didn't do this, then his enemy would keep coming after him -- and after Greg. And he wasn't going to let his lover be put in any kind of danger, not if he could do something to prevent it.

His time with Greg was precious, and he didn't want this ghost from his past to continue disrupting their life together with his threats. Maybe he should have expected something like this, but it had come like a bolt out of the blue, the fly in their ointment.

Thank goodness that Greg's nightmares were from the far-distant past, and they wouldn't come back around to haunt them in real life, Ryan thought ruefully. With this appearance of his nemesis from Miami, they had all the trouble they could deal with.

He didn't want to think about all of the possible outcomes of what they were heading into; some of them were too frightening to put into words. He had nightmares about what could happen, none of which he had ever talked about with his boyfriend.

The last thing he needed was for Greg to have some of the images in his mind that he himself did, images of them being separated forever. The worst of them was etched on his mind in living color, a picture that he could never quite convince himself wouldn't spring into vivid life.

Ryan turned over onto his side, gently sliding his arms around Greg and pulling his boyfriend closer. Greg sighed softly in his sleep and turned to face him, snuggling closer into Ryan's arms. He couldn't hold back a smile, closing his eyes and trying to relax.

Greg trusted him so much -- and Greg needed him. He couldn't take any risks that could end with Greg losing him, and making all of his boyfriend's fears come true. He couldn't let himself walk into a trap; he had to be sure that he knew what he was doing.

He wasn't going to leave his boyfriend alone, with only memories of what the two of them had shared, and broken dreams of the life they'd been planning to build together. He wasn't going to let this phantom from his past destroy his future happiness with the man he loved.

Ryan closed his eyes, resting his cheek against the softness of Greg's hair, inhaling the soft cinnamon scent that he had come to associate with his boyfriend. He had already wasted too much of his precious time with Greg over worries from the past.

Every second he had with Greg was precious time that he didn't want anything else to distract him from; he wasn't going to let his adversary from the past take the time he had with Greg away from him by keeping him tense, nervous and on edge.

Of course, that was more easily said than done, Ryan thought with a soft sigh. There was no way that he could keep himself from worrying, not as long as he knew that his enemy was out there. Especially after what had nearly happened so recently in the park.

He could swear that seeing the bastard grab Greg and being so unprepared for something like that to happen had taken a few years off his life. If it hadn't been for Wolfie, there was no telling what could have happened to Greg -- and he himself would have been powerless to stop it.

That had really been his catalyst to form the plan that he had outlined to Jim Brass and everyone in the crime lab only last night, the plan that he hoped would stop his adversary in his tracks. Yes, it involved some risk, but he was willing to take that chance.

If he didn't, then the two of them would spend all of their time looking over their shoulders, and they would never be able to feel completely at ease. That wasn't the kind of life that Ryan wanted to live, and it wasn't what he wanted for his future with Greg.

He wanted them to have a life free of that kind of worry, to be able to go out and do whatever they wanted without having to worry about someone watching them all the time. He wanted to have the kind of freedom that anyone else could enjoy, anyone who didn't have enemies.

Unless they got rid of this threat, they would never have that kind of freedom. They had to catch this man now, before he had a chance to disrupt their lives any more than he already had. They had to be the ones to step forward, to take the risks.

But he wouldn't put Greg at risk, Ryan thought to himself, that vow firm in his mind. He was going to be the one who stepped into the line of fire. He was the one who had brought all this trouble into their lives, and he would be the one who neutralized it for good.

He had already spent so much of his precious time with Greg worrying about this threat, and what could happen in the future if it wasn't dealt with as quickly as possible. He was determined not to waste any more of that time -- or to let his nemesis go unpunished.

He'd been willing to leave his problems behind him in Miami; he hadn't thought that they would follow him here to Vegas, but now that they had, he was going to get rid of them. He should have had the courage to do that long ago, before he'd built a new life for himself here.

Ryan pressed a gentle kiss to Greg's forehead, looking down at the man clasped in his arms. He had never felt so close to anyone; Greg was a part of his heart and soul, a part that he never wanted to lose. The best part, he thought with a smile.

He intended to build a life with Greg, a life that he didn't want blemished by his past. He had to get rid of this threat, to make sure that it could never touch either one of them again. If he didn't then it would hang over his head for the rest of their lives.

There was too much in their future, too much happiness that lay ahead of them, for him to let his past get in the way of that happiness, Ryan told himself firmly. This was something he had to do, to ensure that their precious time together wouldn't be taken away from them.

Greg wasn't happy with the risk he would be taking; he was all too aware of that. But if they wanted to have their future free of this kind of threat, he needed to take that risk. It was only one time; after this was over, he wasn't going to put himself in this kind of danger again.

Every moment of precious time that he had with Greg was something to be cherished, to be preserved and kept safe. And until he had managed to take down the threat that was looming over them now, he would never be assured of their safety.

He couldn't live like that, Ryan told himself. He was sure that Greg wouldn't want to live in fear that the past could leap out at them with guns blazing, either. So this was the best thing for them to do, even if it did involve a risk that neither of them was happy about.

Still, the plan was already put into motion. There was no way to put it out of his mind now; the CSI team knew about it, as well as Brass and all the cops who worked with him. It was going to go forward, and he had to have the strength to see it through.

He was going to do that, Ryan vowed to himself, his inner voice strong and firm. This was the best way to keep Greg safe -- and himself as well. He had to neutralize this threat to make sure that their future was protected. It was the least he could do for his love.

Once this threat had been taken care of, they would have all the time in the world to be together -- with no fears of anything from their pasts jumping out to threaten them again. They just had to get through this, and the future would be clear and bright.

Ryan closed his eyes, resting his cheek against Greg's hair, hoping that he was right and that this would be the last situation of this sort that either of them would have to face. After this, he would make sure that nothing threatened their precious time together ever again.

***