Title: Rise of the Grasshopper
Author: msmaggs
Pairing: Nick/Greg & Catherine/Vartann
Rating: NC-17
Warning: WiP
Summary: Greg, on the verge of turning 35, realizes that with age comes wisdom. Nick, on the other hand, is feeling older by the minute. But as Catherine and Vartann have discovered, nothing cures the blues like a little romance.

***

Strutting into the soothingly decorated office that reminded him of his Nana's home, Greg unfurled a sunny smile. "Morning, Doc."

Dr. Sylvia Myers lowered her new reading glasses and matched the intensity of her patient's grin. "Good Morning to you."

"I almost didn't recognize you with those new peepers and the new do."

"You're always so observant, CSI Sanders." She patted her freshly dyed honey-blonde and sophisticatedly bobbed hair. "My granddaughter is graduating next month. I thought I'd update my look for the affair."

"Won't she be surprised when a cougar shows up instead of her grandmother?" He punctuated his comment with a cougar growl and a paw in the air.

After a chuckle, she sweetly asked, "How are you feeling today?" He was positively radiant, light years from how he appeared when he had first trudged into her office four years ago as a physically and mentally battered man who had just killed Demetrius James.

"Fantastic!" he answered while opening the doctor's mini-fridge and grabbing a complimentary bottle of water.

Sylvia replied with a familiar inside joke, "So your mother finally made good on her threat and moved to an island without cell phone service?"

Laughing, he plopped down onto his favorite overstuffed green leather chair. "No, if that happened I would have bought a magnum of champagne for us to split."

"I'll be out of job if your mother ever makes good on her threat."

"Nah, we both know my mom is only 7/8ths of my problem, so I would still need to see you." Truthfully he couldn't imagine not seeing her twice a month. As a single guy and only child, he didn't have a loved one or sibling to openly talk to about the stress and baggage in his life. He used to confide in Sara, but once she became seriously involved with Grissom the dynamic of their relationship changed and he no longer felt comfortable baring his soul to her. "I'll be coming here until you retire."

"So, don't keep me in suspense, tell me what has you beaming from ear to ear this morning?"

"I just cracked a case and not just any case. I solved the murder of another Vegas legend."

"I remember hearing something on the news this morning. Bernie Nash, right?

"None other." With excitement building in his voice, he said, "It was unbelievable. Instead of being front row at the Knuckles and Nash reunion on Saturday night, I ended up with a backstage pass to Nash's untimely demise."

"Wow."

"Yeah." He beamed with pride. "And guess which superstar CSI couldn't figure out the key to the whole mystery?"

After four years, the doctor knew her patient well. "From the look on your face I'd say the answer is Nick."

"Bingo!" He laughed, remembering that Bingo was the name of the stage manager they busted. "I schooled him for the tenth time, not that I'm keeping track." Relaxing into the fluffy pillows, he sighed, "Yep, once again, the grasshopper taught the master."

"How did that make you feel?"

"For twenty seconds I felt completely and totally superior. Then I remembered the plethora of geek-tastic moments I had already had in front of Nick that day and got over myself."

"Example."

"There's so many to chose from. Hmm. I'll go with blabbering on about Viagra."

"Viagra?"

"The case context being that at Bernie Nash's age, he probably needed help to make it with a showgirl, but somehow I ended up proclaiming the functionality of my penis." Lifting his eyes to the ceiling he replayed the scene in his mind. "First I very innocently said something like 'I guess you're never too old with the little blue pill', which would have been fine if I had stopped there, but I kept talking." He mocked himself, "'I even know guys my age using it. I mean guys who need a boost…other guys…not me."

"And what was Nick's reaction?"

"He just did his usual 'stare and smile' thing while waiting for me shut up, which I didn't. He eventually ended the tortuous ramble by telling me to check out what he had found under the microscope." Greg's radiant smile returned. "But we both know he just does that so he can check out my ass on the sly. Right, Doc?"

---

Sitting in his truck in the medical building parking lot, Nick couldn't stop staring at the results from his required annual physical exam. "I can't believe this." The thought of having to tell Catherine he failed his physical made his blood boil and he felt a familiar tension bubbling up inside him. "Dammit!" The bad news kept replaying in his mind…

Stunned by the news Nick loudly insisted, "I workout five days a week for cryin' out loud. I'm in great shape. I can't have hypertension."

"Mr. Stokes…" Dr. Manuel Ortiz, a thirty-one year old jock himself, felt the man's pain. "Unfortunately, exercise alone sometimes isn't enough to…"

"Maybe the nurse didn't do it right." The desperate man rationalized, "She seemed pretty young. Did she just get out of school? Or is she an intern? We have interns at the lab and they screw things up all the time."

"Sandi has been with the practice for three years and has a spotless work record."

"Oh." Nick's mind jumped to the next logical possibility. "Then the cuff must be broken." Holding out his arm, he pleaded, "Take it one more time with a different cuff."

"I wouldn't be able to get an accurate reading when you're this tense." To end the debate, Dr. Ortiz put the cuff on himself. "I'll take my blood pressure. It normally reads about 100/70. If it's off the charts, then we'll know it's the cuff. Sound good?"

"Thanks."

When Nick frustration escalated when he saw the numbers 100/68 pop up on the digital display. "Son of a…"

"Mr. Stokes, I know this is upsetting for you, but it's not a death sentence if you heed my advice. Trust me, I do LE and Fire Department physicals all the time and this is a common scenario. Hypertension runs in your family, you're in a high-stress occupation with demanding hours, you drink a ton of coffee to compensate for sleeping poorly, you eat high sodium/high fat fast food on the run, and you don't have a personal life. If you didn't exercise as much as you do, you might be in a crisis situation by now. Be grateful we're having this conversation in my office and not the hospital."

Nick quietly gave up the fight. "Okay, okay, tell me what I have to do."

"You have sixty days to improve your reading and get an all clear from me." While handing over a bag of pamphlets, the doctor spoke in an optimistic tone. "A combination of medication will lower it fast, but I'd recommend that as a last resort."

"Yeah, I'm nearing forty, so the last thing my ego needs is a weekly pill box full of heart medication."

"With someone as active as you, I always recommend lifestyle change first. If you can follow the suggestions, I know you'll be successful. Just cutting your caffeine intake in half and reducing sodium to 1500mg a day should help significantly. Make an appointment for next month and we'll see if you're making progress. If not, I'll prescribe the meds so you can get an all clear. The office will call you with your blood work results in a few days." Before leaving the room, he made one last suggestion. "I've had a lot of patients experience success by doing yoga three times a week. There's a flier in your bag for two free Body Flow classes at the gym across the street. It's a great class - a combination of Tai Chi, yoga, pilates and meditation. All you need to get started is a mat and an open mind."

"Yoga?" Nick laughed at the idea. "Pilates? Doc, c'mon, do I really seem like the kind of guy who would do that stuff?"

"No, you seem like a tightly wound, beef-eating, caffeine-binging, jock cop with hypertension. Do you even know how to relax? When was your last vacation?"

"My parents' 50th anniversary. I flew back home to Texas, but now that I think about it, I wouldn't call it a vacation."

"Can you even remember the last time you felt really relaxed?"

"Yeah, it was about six years ago. I went fishin' in Key West. It's a beautiful place to fish."

"I completely agree." The doctor grinned. "Did you go to Benny's when you were there?"

Nick tensely answered, "I don't see how that question is pertinent to my condition."

The doctor quickly apologized for the error. "Sorry, I..."

"Drop it."

"I honestly thought you were casting a line."

"I wasn't."

The doctor backpedaled, "My mistake and a completely unprofessional one at that. I can get someone else to come in if…"

"No, no." Nick paused for a deep breath. "It did sound like I was fishing. Sorry for snappin' at ya. I just have this thing about feelin' trapped. I get a little defensive."

"Yeah, I think your pressure just notched another ten points. I mean this in all seriousness, Mr. Stokes, you really need to learn to relax."

"You're not the first person to tell me that."

"I can refer you to an excellent therapist."

Nick quickly changed the subject. "Yeah, I went to Benny's."

"Nice deflection." Dr. Ortiz smiled. "Let me guess, you think therapy is a worthless as yoga."

"No, it's done a world of good for a buddy of mine, but it's not for me. I went to three mandated sessions after somethin' happened to me on the job and that was enough to last me a lifetime."

"Okay, back to yoga."

"C'mon, guys don't do yoga, well I know some do, Greg does, but not guys like me."

The doctor lowered his voice an octave. "You mean real men?"

A sheepish smile fanned over Nick's lips.

Before reaching for the door knob, Dr. Ortiz decided to dispense a parting thought. "Real doctors know that high blood pressure causes erectile dysfunction while yoga and pilates actually improve a guy's performance by increasing flexibility, strengthening the core, and increasing blood flow to every part of the body. Think of it as the natural alternative to 'the little blue pill', which you will most definitely need if you start taking the meds. But if that's not important to you…"

"Where can I buy a yoga mat?"

On his way out, Dr. Ortiz answered in a husky voice, "Real men shop at Sports Authority!"

---

"So how did you end up solving the case?" Dr. Myers sat back and waited for the details.

"I remembered that Knuckles wore a brown toupee."

"I thought you said the hair you found was red."

"It was."

"So how does a brown toupee help?"

"That's what Nick said, right before I dazzled him with my intimate knowledge of discrete hair coloring and the importance of highlights and lowlights to achieve certain effects. I bet him that we'd find red hair in the toupee and we did."

"What did you win?"

"Bragging rights and breakfast." His grin expanded. "Nick didn't remember he had an appointment for his annual physical and cholesterol test until we got there, so on top of being schooled by the grasshopper, he had to drink water while I ate my free breakfast."

---

Depressed and starving, Nick pulled off the road and into the In-And-Out Burger drive-thru. Remembering the doctor's advice on sodium reduction, he reluctantly asked, "Hi. Um…do you by any chance know how much sodium is in a double-double combo?"

An energetic boy's voice immediately answered, "Yes, we have a nutritional informational chart with all the details; I just have to add up the components. A double-double combo contains 1777mg of sodium."

Remembering his daily intake wasn't supposed to exceed 1500, he asked, "How much is it if I don't get the soda?"

"1765."

Since no one was behind him, he asked one more question, "What if I don't get the fries or the soda?"

"1520."

"Really?" he whined as his stomach growled. "Just make it a large iced tea, thanks." While the delicious aroma of seared beef filled his nostrils, he pulled up to the window to retrieve his unwanted beverage. "This sucks."

Travis, a seventeen year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome who consistently won employee of the month, carefully handed over the cup. "Here you go, sir - one large iced tea and a straw. Would you like sugar, sugar substitute, or lemon with that?"

"Sir?" The last thing Nick wanted to feel was old. "Do I look like your dad?"

"No." Travis smiled and honestly answered the seemingly random question. "My dad has blonde hair and he's a lot younger than you. Would you like sugar, sugar substitute, or lemon?"

"Lemon, thanks." The depressed man mumbled, "It matches my sour mood."

"Come back again."

"In sixty days," Nick grumped, "count on it."

"Okay, sir," Travis instantly replied, "I'll see you on June 28th."

Nick drove away shaking his head. "And I thought Greg was quick at math."

---

"With age comes wisdom." Greg informed the doctor, "My birthday is next week. The big 3-5."

"Yes, I know, I even have a little gift for you at the end of the session."

"Thanks."

"How do you plan to celebrate?"

"I'll be at work, so it'll be cake in the breakroom and breakfast at the diner."

"You could take the day off," Sylvia suggested.

"And spend my birthday alone? Nah." Greg shook his head and forced a smile. "Then I'd just stay home and get drunk and depressed."

"Have you been making an effort to establish interests outside of work?"

"I have a lot of interests outside of work." He explained, "I have my writing. After this latest case, I'm seriously considering a book on Knuckles and Nash. I play Rock Band and do yoga five times a week. And recently I got a pet turtle."

"What about outside interests that involve people? Have you tried any of the things we discussed during our last session?"

"I thought I'd wait until after my birthday, because what's more depressing than getting rejected by someone right before your birthday." Anxious about the subject matter, he rambled, "I guess getting dumped on your birthday would actually be worse, but not as bad as getting dumped on Valentine's Day or New Year's Eve, that would be really bad…not that I've ever had someone in my life on either of those days."

"Greg…"

"No, really, I am going to make an effort." He nodded to convince her and himself. "I have to. It's like Noah's Ark at the lab right now. Everyone's pairing up, even the previously unwanted beasts like Hodges. That dork actually had a decent woman throw herself at him in the middle of the lab. Hodges. Unbelievable. And Nick and I have a sneaking suspicion that Catherine and Vartann are going at it like rabbits between every shift." Feeling pathetic, he slumped in his chair. "The worst was when I heard Sara getting frisky on the phone with Grissom."

"How did that make you feel?"

"Horny actually." His goofy laughed returned. "But so does watching National Geographic animal mating scenes, so take it with a grain of salt."

---

After washing down his low-sodium turkey sandwich with a bottle of water, Nick tossed his deli container into the trash can outside of Sports Authority and hurried inside. He had been in the store many times for running shoes and workout wear, but he hadn't a clue where to find a yoga mat.

"Excuse me." He flagged down an attractive female sales clerk.

"Hi, I'm Tammy, how can I help you today?"

"Hi, Tammy, I'm lookin' to buy a yoga mat for my niece's birthday. Where would I…"

"Holistic section."

"Holistic?" The word was foreign to him.

"The Mind/Body section. On the left wall, about half way through the store." The single, thirty year old decided to escort the hunk. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Thanks." Nick felt his testosterone rapidly declining as he walked past the barbells and the dumbbells on his quest for a yoga mat.

"We just received a shipment of really cute pink and yellow mats." She plucked one from the shelf. "I'm sure your niece would love one of these."

"Actually, she's not a girly-girl type of girl. She's um…into nature, so probably somethin' in a green or blue would be more her style."

"How about this one?" The clerk grabbed a powder-blue and white mat from the display.

"Uh…" Nick scratched his head. "I was thinkin' more like a dark blue."

"It's for you, isn't it?"

After glancing around, the jock reluctantly confessed, "Yeah. Trust me, I'd much rather punch a heavy bag or run six miles, but my girlfriend's really into this stuff and she wants me to try it."

"I don't blame her." Tammy let her eyes linger on the man's ass. "I'd love to be behind you during downward dog." She winked. "I wonder if your girlfriend's happy baby pose is as good as mine.

"I have no idea what any of that means, but it sounds dirty as hell."

Jealous of the stranger's girlfriend, Tammy sighed, "Don't worry, I'm sure your girlfriend will be more than happy to demonstrate all the positions and explain the lingo to you so you're not the token clueless newbie in the class.

---

After feeding his turtle, Greg took a seat on the couch with his lap top and a second bottle of Corona. "Twenty-six new emails and half of them are from my mommy. Cut the cord, Mrs. Sanders!" he yelled at the screen. "I'm going to be thirty-five next week." When his cell phone rang a moment later, he assumed she had heard him and called to chew him out for being an ungrateful son.

Instead of seeing his mother's name on the screen, he saw it was Nick calling. "Greg Sanders, superstar CSI, is celebrating his latest success with a beer right now and is therefore unable to come to the phone, so if this is his supervisor calling, you'll need to find another sucker to take the extra shift. Beeeeeeeeeep."

"Very funny. You should ask Knuckles if you could be his new partner."

"He's a little old for me, don't you think?" Laughing along with Nick, Greg lifted his beer to his mouth. "If we played the prison I'd least I'd be guaranteed a date after the show."

"Hey, Chuckles, I need a favor."

Wishing Nick would call about something other than work for once, Greg whined, "Seriously, I'm on my second beer and I'm beat."

"I don't need you to come to work. I need your help with something personal and I called to see if I could come over."

"Yeah, sure." Greg jumped off the couch to tidy up. "What time?"

"Ten seconds. I'm on the front steps of your condo."

Intrigued by the spontaneous visit, he hurried to open his front door. "Hey," he said into his cell phone. "What do…"

"You can hang up now, genius."

"Right." Greg snapped his phone shut. "Cool! You got me a new yoga mat for my birthday."

"Your birthday isn't until next week. It's my yoga mat."

"Whoa. You doing yoga has to be a sign of the apocalypse."

Nick handed over his physical form. "I have to lower my blood pressure pronto and the doctor suggested yoga. I don't know shit about…"

"Dude!" Greg stared at the number. "My grandfather has lower blood pressure than you."

"Enough with the jokes. Are you gonna help me or not?"

"You know I'd do anything for you. Of course I'll help you." The concerned friend nodded. "Come on in."

***

"Take off your shoes," Greg instructed as he shut his front door.

"Why?" Nick glanced at the floor. "My boots aren't dirty and you don't have carpet anyway. Why do I have to take off my shoes?"

"At risk of stating the obvious…yoga requires bare feet."

"Right."

Greg chided his friend. "If you get that bent about being told to take off your shoes, it's not a surprise you have hypertension."

"What can I say, I'm from Texas, we're raised to die with our boots on." As Nick bent down, he said, "I really thought you had carpet."

"Dude, you haven't been here since the day you helped me move in last year. I pulled the carpet out six months ago and replaced it with wood."

"You put this floor down yourself?"

"My dad came out and helped me." Greg snickered, "Any excuse to get out from under my mother's thumb for a couple of days."

"And I see you replaced your yard sale furniture collection." Instead there was a sleek black leather couch with a large matching footstool, contemporary storage cabinets, and an enticing black leather chaise lounge. "Where'd you get all the nice stuff?"

"Where every good Nordic boy shops - IKEA. Except for the plasma, I got that at Best Buy and the plants I bought at this wholesale store that Mandy told me about."

Studying the mature furnishings and artsy décor, Nick commented, "This place really is a 180 from your frat-boy apartment."

"I know this will come as a complete surprise to you, but I haven't been a pink-haired punk in a quite while."

"Really?" Nick sweetly teased, "Rumor has it you went to a rave last month dressed in neon from head to toe."

"You mean when I went undercover to help nail a notorious drug dealer responsible for killing kids from here to Reno while you attended a panty-sniffing convention?" In a voice filled with pride, Greg confirmed, "Yeah, that was me."

"Please don't make me relieve that memory." Nick cast his boots and socks aside. "I don't know what was more horrifying, watching guys get off on that shit or having to pretend I'm into cheerleaders for Ray's benefit. Hell, that's why I went to A&M, no cheerleaders." Standing up, he asked, "How did you swing the expense for all this fancy redecorating?"

"Nana Olaf decided to give me some inheritance money while she was still alive. She was saving it for my wedding, but when she figured out that probably wasn't going to happen, she gave it to me and told me to use it for my first home." Greg grabbed his open, but untouched beer from the glass coffee table. "My mother of course is still planning my wedding."

Nick pointed at the Corona bottle. "You got anymore of those?"

"You want to drink beer and then do yoga for the first time?"

"Good point." Nick strolled toward the kitchen. "Booze will relax me much faster."

It was a really stupid idea, but Greg decided to do to Nick what Nick had done to him many times – let the student learn the hard way. "If you insist. Personally, I can't wait to see you do tree pose under the influence."

"Tree pose?" The silly name only increased the jock's reluctance. "If I have to dance around like a tree you better make it a double."

"Maker's Mark?"

"The good stuff." Nick could recall a time when All Greg had on hand was cheap wine and beer.

"I not only have a sophisticated apartment now, I have discerning palate." Grabbing two glasses from the cabinet, Greg asked, "What else did the doctor suggest besides yoga?" Because he knew the odds of Nick enjoying yoga were slim to none. "Is he prescribing medication?"

"Only if I can't get my numbers down in thirty days." Recalling the doctor's warning about erectile dysfunction, Nick shivered. "I definitely don't want to be on meds, so I'm gonna do everything on the list…lower my sodium and caffeine intake, eat healthier, get more sleep, and try to relax more…you know, like maybe have a little more downtime outside of work." Taking the glass his co-worker was offering, he said, "At some point, I don't know when, I turned into Grissom."

"But with better hair and a tighter…approach to paperwork." Greg laughed into his glass. "C'mon, if you were really Grissom, you'd be racing cockroaches and telling Catherine to peel herself off Vartann when she's at a crime scene."

"I'm happy for Cath," Nick announced upon polishing off his drink. "She was really hurtin' after 'Rick died."

"Thinking about what could have been."

"Yeah." Nick pursed his lips and nodded. "I think she regretted not goin' for it when the time was right the first time and then she passed up another chance when 'Rick split from Tina."

Greg lifted his glass. "That's why my motto is Carpe Diem."

"I guess that's what Wendy was thinkin' when she planted one on Hodges."

Greg rolled his eyes.

"Do you think they're sleeping together? It's against department policy if they are…not that I'm gonna rat them out."

"I prefer never to think of Hodges in the sack, and I'm really surprised to hear you enjoy it." While Greg reached for the whiskey bottle, Nick choked on his bourbon. "My guess is they haven't made it past first base yet." Filling their glasses, he added, "But it could just be my reluctance to visualize anything past first."

"No, you're probably right." Nick's mouth curved into gentle smile. "I think it's sweet that they're takin' it slow."

"Of course you do." Greg locked his eyes on Nick's. "You're a romantic who thinks the planets have to be perfectly aligned for love to happen."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Not bad, just frustrating and limiting. Look at Catherine - she was waiting for things to feel perfect and they never did. So instead of having happiness, even short-lived happiness, she only has regret." While Nick listened intently, Greg waxed on, "Vartann doesn't strike me as the romantic type. He's a gruff cop who hasn't lived with a woman in over a decade. He probably doesn't even remember to put the toilet seat down. I'm sure it's not perfect and it probably won't last, but she's happy now and that's cool."

Confused by the ramble, Nick said, "So that's your theory on Wendy and Hodges too?"

"No, I think Wendy's been turned on by the "40 year old virgin" mystique, but once she gets him, she'll wake up from the trance and be horrified."

"I think you're wrong." Nick shook his head. "They have lots of things in common, like all that wacky space show crap. They're two peas in a pod."

"That combination never works, "Greg countered. "Opposites attract for a reason - you need to be different to be successful in the long haul. My grandparents and my parents are perfect examples. What about your parents? They're still together after decades. Are they alike or opposite?"

"Totally opposite."

"See. I'm right."

"Hold on, Dr. Phil." Nick polished off his second drink before asking. "You've never even had a serious relationship, outside of your pretend one with Sara, how can you expect me to believe you know anything about one?"

"When did you ever have a serious relationship, Tex?" Feeling relaxed, Greg chuckled, "And loving your mommy doesn't count."

Placing his empty drinking glass on the table, Nick changed the subject. "I'm ready to be a tree. Let's go."

"Sorry." After downing his second bourbon, the yoga expert moaned, "I'm going to need a few minutes before I can bend over." When he saw his buddy gaping at him, he clarified, "A yoga demonstration requires a lot of bending over. I need to let the bourbon settle or I'll hurl."

"Right." Nick stood. "Why don't you kill a little time showin' me the rest of the place."

Happy his pal was taking an interest in his home, Greg led the way down the hall. "You've seen everything but two bedrooms and two bathrooms…and the laundry room, but I didn't change anything in there." Stepping into the first room, he said, "I made this one into a den. I do all my research and writing in here as you probably surmised from the huge stacks of paper and books on Vegas history. The built-in book case is my favorite part." It took up one whole wall. "All my stuff fit and I still have room to grow my collection."

"I have my books in three different rooms." Nick ran his hand along the oak book shelves. "Maybe I should put something like this in my house when I have the cash."

"I'll give you the guy's name who built it and tell him to give you a good deal."

"Thanks."

"Check this out." Greg pointed to his box turtle's glass tank. "This is my roommate. Nick Stokes, meet Jimmy Dean."

"Why'd you name your turtle after a sausage?"

"I named him after the actor. It's supposed to be ironic, James Dean drove fast cars and turtles are slow…like you apparently."

"Sorry, I have meat on the brain today." When he saw Greg grin, he explained, "I went to In and Out, but their burgers have a ton of sodium and I couldn't have one. Instead I went to the deli and had a crappy low-sodium turkey sandwich. I'm still craving the burger."

"I believe you." Grinning, Greg led the way out of the room. "The guest bathroom is right over here." The tour guide stepped into the hall and opened the door. "Do you want to powder your nose before yoga?"

"Good idea." Nick hurried into the bathroom and locked the door. This room looks great too. When did Greg become cooler than me? Checking his reflection in the mirror he noticed two new wrinkles above his brow. "Dammit."

Standing in front of the toilet, he yanked down his zipper and sighed. Greg is cool and I'm turning 40 and have friggin' high blood pressure like my old man. Unbelievable.

He couldn't flush the toilet and get out of the claustrophobic bathroom with the giant wrinkle-revealing mirror fast enough. "Where are ya, G?"

"Bedroom!"

Nick followed his buddy's voice. "I like what you did with the…bathroom." He froze in the doorway when he heard erotic music and saw a dimly lit room. "What are you doing?" He was surprised to see one side of the large master bedroom was set up like a spa and the other had a huge plush bed and another plasma TV.

"You can't do restorative yoga in a bright room," The Zen Master answered as he dripped several drops of oil onto his diffuser.

"We're doin' it in your bedroom?"

Greg forced himself to ignore the string of naughty thoughts that popped into his mind. "Yeah, I specifically set aside this space for yoga. It's my holistic sanctuary."

Glancing around, Nick skeptically asked, "Do you really think all this holistic crap works?"

"Totally." Greg went off on a Zen rant. "This scent I just poured is Ylang Ylang. It's been proven to reduce tension and lower blood pressure. You should definitely get one of these diffusers from The Body Shop. Lavender is another great scent. It helps you sleep. It was the only thing that worked for me after the attack. See, the mind controls the body, if the mind isn't relaxed, your body won't be able to relax."

"Hey, what's your blood pressure?"

"Last time I had it checked I think it was about 100 over 70."

"Unbelievable." Nick shook his head. "You don't even work out."

"We'll see if you still think that after we do yoga."

Ready to give it a shot, Nick stepped into the bedroom.

"Do you have a t-shirt under that button down?"

"Yeah, I have a tank on. Why?"

"You need to wear comfortable clothes," Greg explained on his way to use the bathroom. "Lose your shirt and grab a pair of shorts from the top right drawer of my dresser. My clothes are in my bathroom." He had tossed his black yoga pants and organic cotton t-shirt on the floor when he was running late for work. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." When he was alone in the bedroom filled with exotic aromas and rhythms, he laughed. It was starting to feel a little like being in a soft core movie. A moment later when he opened the top left dresser drawer, he saw Greg's porn stash. "Whoa. This is definitely not soft core."

Greg burst out laughing when he returned and caught his guest red handed, "I said top right drawer, Snoop Dog."

"It's not like I expected to find it in here. Who keeps their porn this far from their bed?"

"I ran out of space in my naughty drawer." Greg hustled toward the door. "Feel free to browse while I grab your mat from the living room."

Perusing the risqué photos, Nick muttered, "I don't think this is gonna help lower my blood pressure." Instead he walked over to the nightstand drawer and took a peek. "Someone likes toys."

"What are you doing?" Greg glared at his guest.

"You told me to browse."

"The magazine.

"Oh."

"Get out of my drawers, Stokes." The phrase went against every fantasy he ever had about Nick.

"Sorry, it's a job habit." Nick stepped back and reopened the magazine to hide his smile. "Nice collection."

"See something in there you want to borrow?"

"Huh?" Nick kept a straight face and innocently showed the magazine page. "I was talkin' about this guy's car collection." He pointed to the naked model posing in front of three classic cars.

"You know I like cars." Greg taunted his guest, "Whatever you do, don't check out the guy on page forty-two." He laughed when he immediately heard pages turning.

After studying the picture, CSI Stokes' bullshit alarm sounded. "There's no way that's real."

"That's what I thought, but if you can tear your eyes away from the details and read the article, you'll see it's real. There are several descriptive testimonials from survivors."

Feeling a twinge of excitement, Nick decided to return the magazine to the drawer. "Let me grab those shorts so we can get started." He quickly turned his back to change out of his pants and shirt. "What kind of music is this?"

"It's just a yoga playlist I made. I can upload it onto your IPod if you like it." Greg fought to avert his gaze, but his eyes remained fixed on the backside of Nick's grey boxer briefs. Clearing his throat, he said, "So, um…I should probably give you some background yoga because it's way more than just body postures, which we can asana. It's about breathing, which is called pranayama. When you're doing the postures, you soothe your mind and lower your blood pressure by breathing properly."

"I should have known there'd be a wordy explanation if you were involved."

The sight of Nick Stokes tossing his jeans on the bed made Greg's already overactive imagination work overtime. It was a moment he had fantasized about many times, so to have it actually happen, even in the context of a yoga lesson, was shocking. "So…you um…you use your senses. Ergo, the aromatherapy and music, and of course you use your eyes." His voice crackled as Nick walked toward him wearing only a tight white tank shirt and a fitted navy gym shorts. "You can use your gaze to quiet the mind by focusing it on a single point, that's called drishti." Unless of course your gaze is focused on the object of your lusty fantasies, then you're screwed. "It's about learning how to stay in the present rather than dwelling on the past or, um, obsessing about stuff that will never happen anyway." Like us hooking up. "Dwelling and obsessing are what causes a lot of stress."

"Okay, yeah, I think I got it." Nick pretended to understand what had just been said. "Now show me how to be a dog and a tree and whatever else I need to know."

Feeling a bourbon buzz coming on, Greg shook his head. "Rule number one of yoga – don't attempt it immediately after doing shots, but here it goes."

Nick stood against the wall to observe.

"We'll start with Surya Namaskar, also known as Sun Salutation, a series of 12 postures done in a single flow." Greg stepped to the edge of his mat. "Mountain pose. Stand with your feet hip width apart and hands at heart center, or prayer position to a cowboy raised in the Bible Belt. Take two deep breaths and then hands up, arch behind, then bend over and put your head by your ankles."

Nick winced. "I'm supposed to do that in public with some strange guy behind me? I don't think so."

"Get to class early and nab a spot right in front of the back wall and preferably behind a hottie."

"That'll work."

"Inhale and step your right foot back. Exhale and step your left foot back into plank position." Turning his gaze toward his student, Greg smiled. "Push up position in jock language. Exhale and come down slowly."

"I'll at least be good at that part."

"I can't wait to see you try it. Inhale and stretch forward, bending at the waist into upward dog."

"That doesn't remind me of a dog." Nick studied the pose. "It's more like a seal."

"Exhale, push you hips back into downward dog." Holding the posture, Greg asked, "Now do you see it?"

When his buddy's baggy t-shirt slid and exposed previously nonexistent abdominal muscles, Nick got distracted. "What?"

"I look like a dog stretching after it wakes up from a nap."

"Right." Tearing his eyes off the shocking discovery, Nick vehemently nodded. "I totally see it now." He gulped. "I don't know why I didn't see it before." He couldn't figure out when his geeky hair-challenged sidekick had become a man.

"Inhale and rise up."

Grissom was married, Catherine was in a monogamous relationship, Hodges had a girlfriend, and the grasshopper was teaching his master. Disappointed in himself, Nick slid down the wall. Everyone has their act together and I'm turning forty, have high blood pressure, and haven't had sex in a year. It was all too much to bear. When did I become the lab loser?

"You okay?" Greg knelt down in front of his friend.

"This is impossible." Nick blurted while holding his head. "I'm thirty-nine…"

"So, I'm thirty-five. That's the beauty of yoga, you don't have to be twenty to be great at it, you can do it at any age. My Nana Olaf is seventy-five and she still does yoga."

"You're thirty-five?" Nick asked in a puzzled tone, "You're only four years younger than me? It always seemed like you were a lot younger."

"It was the outrageous hair and wardrobe." Greg laughed at himself. "Not to mention outlandishly immature behavior from time to time. Come on." Greg took Nick's hand and yanked him to his feet. "Enough observation. I think you just have to jump in and face your fear of yoga."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Greg huffed.

"Cause you're still holding my hand."

"Doh." Greg immediately released his grip and returned to the edge of his mat.

Nick assumed the same stance on his mat, which was parallel to Greg's.

"Deep breath in."

When Nick filled his lungs with the erotically scented air and opened his arms, his hand accidently brushed his buddy's ass. "Sorry."

"Not a problem." Watching his flummoxed friend quickly bend down to move his mat two feet behind him, Greg released a bourbon-enhanced laugh. No, really, it wasn't a problem for me. "Deep breath in." He struggled to focus.

Certain that he was now far enough behind not to touch his pal, Nick took a deep breath and followed along. "This isn't too bad." He had made it through the first seven poses with surprising ease…and then he noticed his geeky little buddy at some point had acquired a really hot ass.

"You okay back there?" Greg asked, unable to see exactly what Nick was doing.

"Yeah," Nick replied as he continued to gape. "Let's keep goin'…"

***

After running through the sun salutation poses four times, Greg turned to his protégé. "I think you're ready for your first solo."

Always eager to show off his athletic ability, Nick didn't hesitate. "Mountain pose, prayer position, deep breath, hands up, head to ankles, feet back…"

Greg watched with great amusement as his jock buddy powered though what was supposed to be a slow series of purposeful motions.

"Plank!" While doing push-ups, Nick asked, "How am I doing?"

"Great…if we were filming a P90X infomercial." When the show-off started doing plyometric push-ups, Greg's gaze shamelessly shifted to the ripped biceps flexing in front of him.

"You wanna give these a shot?" Nick teased as he switched to one-arm push-ups.

"I'm fine right here, thanks." Uninhibited from the bourbon buzz, Greg's lips spread into a salacious smile.

Rolling onto his back, Nick panted, "Okay, show me somethin' else while I catch my breath."

"Next up – the warrior poses. There are three." Still drooling, Greg returned to his mat. "Warrior One - start in mountain pose, but this time, instead of bending over, you're going to move your left foot out so your feet are about four feet apart. Then turn your left foot ninety degrees and point your right foot forward. Bend your knee so you're in lunge position and lift up your arms." Feeling a little tipsy, his legs started to tremble. "For Warrior Two, you open your arms and move them parallel to the floor. To get to Warrior Three, you make a T with your body, extending one leg straight behind and moving your…ahhhh!"

When his pal squealed like a girl and landed on his back, Nick said, "I don't know, I didn't really get a warrior vibe from that last move."

"Shut up, muscles." Rubbing his hip, Greg whined, "Real friends don't let friends drink and pose."

Even though it was a lame joke, Nick belly laughed.

"When people at work ask why I'm walking funny tonight, I'm going to tell them I got hurt fooling around in my bedroom with Nick."

"That'll get 'em to stop talking about Hodges and Wendy."

"Wouldn't it?"

"You're not really gonna tell anyone I was in your…"

"Don't worry." While rolling onto his side, Greg cracked a huge grin. "What happens in my bedroom stays in my bedroom."

Facing his buddy, Nick propped up on his elbow. "Is that what you tell all the guys you lure back here with the promise of a yoga lesson?"

"Dude, you're the one who showed up on my doorstep clutching a yoga mat and begging for help." Feeling comfortable enough to push the envelope, Greg inched closer and whispered, "So um…exactly how many times have you used this 'I'm a hypertensive jock who needs help with yoga' ploy?"

Keeping a straight face, Nick suavely replied, "At least a dozen times. You'd think I'd be better at it by now, huh?"

"Do you always pull that cute push-up stunt?"

"It's my signature move." When Nick could no longer hold back his laughter he said, "I don't know about yoga lowering my blood pressure, but joking around with you probably is."

"You know what they say - laughter is the best medicine."

Enjoying the intimacy, Nick softly said, "The other day when I was in Pahrump with Cath, I told her she seems a lot happier lately."

"Yeah, I can't even remember the last time she snapped at me."

"She said that the best thing about her relationship with Vartann was having someone to relax with and talk to after a shit day."

"I guess all those fun conversations and meals we shared with her after shift weren't that fun after all."

Nick grinned. "Probably 'cause we weren't spooning her in the afterglow."

"Yeah, if I had someone like Vartann snuggling up to me after a long hard…day at the office, I'd be content too."

"Seriously? He's your type?"

With a self-deprecating laugh, Greg replied, "I don't have type. I like anyone who is still attracted to me after I've been speaking for five minutes, which narrows the field to my mother. Since I don't have an oedipal complex, my love life is pretty boring."

"Your naughty drawer tells a different story."

"I'm a good Eagle Scout. I like to be prepared." The flirt teased, "In case one day a jock with a yoga mat shows up on my doorstep using hypertension as a ruse to get into my shorts."

"That's not why I…" After glancing down at the borrowed gym shorts he was wearing, Nick rolled on his back laughing.

"Want another drink?"

"Definitely."

Greg jumped to his feet and hurried toward the door. "Be right back." But when he arrived in the kitchen, he couldn't wrap his hand around the bottle. "This is a really bad idea." It didn't take a mathematical genius to figure out the odds of something happening between two intoxicated and affection-deprived best friends enjoying each other's company in a dimly lit bedroom. The last thing he wanted to do was damage their relationship or make things awkward at the lab. "No way is this a good idea." Although he had gotten drunk with Nick many times without incident, there were always other people around. "I need to kick him out."

"What's takin' so long?" Nick shouted from the bedroom. "I'm thirsty! Get in here already!"

The enticing sound of a husky voice commanding him to the bedroom resulted in an immediate shutdown of Greg's reasoning abilities. "Coming!" Hoping his reply was foreshadowing, he snatched the bottle and rushed out of the room clutching two glasses.

"It's about damn time," Nick huffed while walking to meet the bottle. "I thought you went to Tennessee to get a fresh batch."

"Maker's Mark is distilled in Kentucky, the bourbon capital of the world." Greg pointed to the label. "Tennessee whiskey is an entirely different style. It's distilled through maple charcoal, which is what gives it its unique flavor. Bourbon, on the other hand, has a…"

"You're reminding me of my sister goin' on and on about a bottle of wine while I'm standing there frustrated waiting for her to fill my empty glass." While his pal continued to school him on whiskey brewing locales, Nick grabbed the bottle and took a swig.

Greg was just about to tell his guest that he didn't want backwash in his sixty dollar bourbon when he saw him wipe his mouth with the back of his hand and sit on the edge of the bed. "Uh." Nick Stokes sitting on his bed wearing a beater and holding a bottle of whiskey was without question the sexiest thing that had happened in his bedroom in a long time and he wasn't about to say or do anything that would cause the spectacular moment to end.

"Sorry if I sounded pissy just now." Nick clutched the bottle. "I've been in a funk since I failed that physical. "It's just so friggin' humiliating."

"Worse than when you failed your firearms test?"

Nick gaped at his supposed pal. "Thanks for reminding me of that when I already feel like shit." He took another quick gulp.

"Sorry." Retrieving the bottle, Greg said, "I think you're being way too hard on yourself. It's totally explainable high blood pressure that can be corrected."

"It's what it represents."

"Which is?"

"I'm a stressed out, lonely, middle-aged man with nothin' waiting for me at home except an empty house and an overinflated mortgage."

When Nick reached for the bottle, Greg shook his head. "I think you've had more than enough to fuel the mid-life crisis you're having in my bedroom."

Thinking about where he was and how he felt, Nick stood and nodded. "You're right. I should go." He immediately regretted the statement.

"I wasn't kicking you out and besides, there's no way you can drive home."

"Obviously." Nick rested his hands on his hips. "I'll just walk until I can catch a cab. A walk will do me good."

While every ounce of common sense told him to let Nick walk out the door, Greg replied, "You don't need a lonely walk, you need a friend and more laughs." Placing the bottle on his dresser, he announced, "I will now attempt Tree Pose with a BAC of point one."

Watching his buddy hop on one foot, Nick's smile returned. "Must be a jumping bean tree." Remembering the reason he was there in the first place, he said, "Okay, yeah, let's get back to yoga. Show me the happy baby pose the sales girl mentioned."

Laughter bubbling up inside him, Greg dropped to his mat, rolled onto his back and grabbed the soles of his feet. "Give it a try. You can't be depressed when you're in Happy Baby Pose. It's a nurturing position."

"People actually do this in public." Shaking his head, Nick returned to his mat and attempted to mirror his instructor. "How the hell did you do that? I can barely grab my ankles, no less the soles of my feet." He continued to strain. "Shit, I think I just pulled a muscle in my hip."

Greg snickered, "Now that we have the top/bottom question out of the way…"

Nick's laughter resumed with a vengeance.

"Not that I don't enjoy changing things up every now and then." Rolling onto his side, Greg mischievously asked a loaded question, "Any other positions you want to try?"

Staring into Greg's inviting brown eyes, Nick resisted saying the first answer that popped into his inebriated mind. "I think I should probably go."

"Yeah, you probably should."

A hint of vulnerability creeping into his voice, Nick asked, "Do you want me to go?"

"No, I want you to stay, but you should definitely go." Greg bluntly confessed, "I'm tanked and it's been a long time since I had a guy I liked in my bedroom."

"How long?"

"Too long."

"Me too."

"That's exactly why this is a dangerous situation." As Nick inched closer, Greg warned, "You're drunk, pent up, and emotionally off balance - not a good state to be in when decision making. Not that it would be a hard decision if we weren't coworkers, because there's no denying the obvious attraction between us or the fact that a hook up right now would be incredible…beyond incredible actually, because the sexual tension has been building between us for a while now and to finally act on the urge would be amazing."

"Here's a little piece of advice." Nick sweetly teased, "If you're tryin' to convince me to leave, you should probably stop talkin' about how hot the sex would be if I stayed."

Acutely aware that the space between their bodies had been reduced to inches, Greg flirtatiously replied, "Sorry, but it's hard to think clearly when you're practically on top of me."

"How did that happen?" Nick pretended to be surprised. "I blame the music and the mood lighting."

"All part of my genius plan." Greg nodded. "I actually paid the doctor to lie about your blood pressure and tell you to do yoga, knowing that you'd come to me for advice."

While sharing a laugh, their bodies gravitated closer and their toes touched.

"I um…" Though they were barely touching, it was enough to ignite Nick's body. "I'm gonna go," he whispered without moving an inch.

"Okay." His heart pounding and stomach swirling, Greg smiled and slid his foot over Nick's bare leg. "Admit it, you're not going anywhere."

"I'm not goin' anywhere." After almost a year without physical contact, the slightest touch felt fantastic.

Slipping his foot between the warm legs in front of him, Greg entwined their bodies. "I…" He shivered with delight when his future lover's hand slipped under the soft cotton of his t-shirt and began exploring. "I can't believe this is really happening," he stated along with a nervous chuckle. Just the thought of what was to follow made his body pulsate with excitement. "After all those years of resisting temptation, we're going down."

Nick playfully replied, "I will if you will." Then he closed the small gap between them with a brush of his mouth across Greg's irresistible smile. The lingering almost-kiss drove him wild, but instead of diving in for more, he paused to let the heat build and give them both a chance to savor the first moments of their physical relationship.

"You really are a romantic, Stokes." Greg's voice was thick with appreciation. By now the losers he used to date would have been pushing him to his knees or tearing open a condom wrapper with their teeth.

"Too slow?" Nick whispered while their noses brushed.

"Just right." The reply came just as their mouths met for a second time. "Mmm," he groaned as his mouth was tantalized. As far as first kisses went, it was off the charts…a perfect balance of give and take, lips and tongue, and each kiss that followed only fueled the fire building between them.

"Greg…" Kissing someone he actually had cared about was a new experience for Nick and it quickly left him feeling overwhelmed. "Do you…"

"Yes," Greg panted in between frantic kisses, "Let's move to the bed."

"You read my mind," Nick replied as he peeled himself away, stood up, and tossed his shirt. Extending his hand, he pulled his best friend to his feet and quickly rid him of his white cotton tee.

Eager to feel their bare chests pressed together for the first time, Greg circled his arms around Nick's waist and initiated a steamy kiss that left both men hungry for more. "Yoga pants and gym shorts tell no lies," he announced when the physical attraction between them had grown painfully obvious.

Grinning wildly, Nick backed his playmate up to the bed and gave him a little push.

Landing on his back, Greg trembled with anticipation. "Since you already had a self-guided tour of my naughty drawer, you know where the…"

"Why the rush?" Nick asked as he blanketed his new lover's body.

"I'm not rushing things, I'm just taking care of business up front so when I'm in the heat of the moment and too incoherent to speak, you'll know where to find stuff, because even though I know you, I don't fly without a net."

"You really are a good boy scout." Nick lingered a kiss on Greg's neck.

"Eagle scout, remember? I told you the whole story about how my…"

"G, what's with the chatting?"

"You know I always get extra talkative when I drink."

Smiling at the jittery man beneath him, Nick half-joked, "Are ya nervous?" If there was one thing he had learned about Greg in their early years working together, it was that he talked big about everything, but had hardly experienced anything. "Be honest, have you ever made it past third? Not that I think you haven't been with anyone, but you know, some guys don't…"

"Yes, I've made it past third!" Greg's drunken laughter returned. "A few more times than I should have actually."

"During your PLUR days?" Nick rolled his eyes.

"Oh like you never went through an unexplainable phase, cough, porn mustache, cough."

"Touché."

"But to answer your other question, this is the first time I've ever been with anyone I care about and have to see on a regular basis afterward, so yeah…I'm a little nervous." He was actually terrified he would disappoint and have to live with awkwardness every night for the rest of his working life. "One more shot of whiskey and I'll have my sea legs."

"You don't need booze to relax." Nick snickered as he lowered his mouth to the rapidly rising and falling chest beneath him. "As a Zen Master, I have a much more holistic approach to soothing your nerves."

"Ha!" When his lover's lips returned to his chest and began moving in a southerly direction, Greg gasped. "So far I'm not really feeling the calming effect of your Zen magic."

"Patience, grasshopper." Nick smiled, enjoying the comforting combination of bourbon and friendship that was making the romp unusually playful. Wrapping his fingertips around the waistband of Greg's yoga pants, he rejoiced, "Finally I get a chance to see what had Sara all flustered after you two shared in that cozy little HazMat shower."

"I knew you were jealous."

"Yeah," Nick freely admitted while enjoying the view. "I hope she didn't get to do this."

"Ah!" Greg propped up on his elbows to watch the historic event. "No, um…I definitely would have remembered her…doing…that." Overwhelmed by the image of Nick's head between his thighs, he fell back on the pillows and closed his eyes. "That feels…" Resting his palm on the back of his skilled lover's head, he pleaded, "Don't stop."

---

"Give it up, Lou," Catherine smacked her lover with a pillow. "I can't."

"C'mon," Vartann whined as he lounged on top of the sheets randomly kissing parts of Catherine's irresistible body. "The guy lives to work and he needs the extra cash. You know he'll cover your shift for you."

"I thought tough guys didn't whine?"

"I hate spending my night off alone." Like the devil on his lover's shoulder, he whispered, "C'mon, call Stokes and tell him you're sick."

Glancing over, she shook her head. "Nick's already covered for me three times. Seriously, I've already had food poisoning, a personal crisis with my daughter, and a broken alarm clock…not that he believed any of them. Well, I think he believed the one about Lindsay."

"One more time." He reached for her cell phone from the nightstand. "I'll make you breakfast in bed." He leaned in for a proper kiss. "And later, when you're playing hooky, I'll make you dinner."

"What about lunch?"

He winked. "You'll be too exhausted." Once he opened the phone and clicked Nick's cell phone number, he handed it over. "I promise, I'll be at your beck and call all night."

"I can't believe I'm doing this again." Then she saw the handsome man beside her. "Hey Nicky," she began the message, "I think I'm coming down with something." She was on the verge of faking a cough when she decided to tell the truth for once. "I'm being held captive by a horny homicide detective. I need you to cover my shift one more time. I'll owe you big."

"I'll owe you too, Stokes!" Vartann laughed and crashed against the sheets. "I seriously feel seventeen again."

"Love ya, Nicky. Call me when you wake up and get this message."

Once the phone call was over, Vartann said, "You don't say you 'I love you' to me, but you can say it to Stokes?"

"I didn't say 'I love you', I said 'love ya' like a sister would." Amused by the misguided jealousy, she chuckled. "Once upon time, after my divorce, I had a little too much to drink after shift and came on to Nick and kissed him. He said it felt like he was kissing his sister and politely declined my advances. It took my bruised ego a while to get over the fact that he had no problem falling into bed with other women, but I was a turn off."

"You kissed Stokes?"

Rolling her eyes, Catherine said, "You want me to tell him to meet you on the football field after school so you can teach him a lesson?"

"Kinda." Vartann laughed. "But I'll let him off the hook if he covers for you tonight."

"Of course he will." Catherine snuggled up to her man. "What else does he have to do?"

---

"Who are you calling?" Greg asked when he returned from the bathroom and saw Nick sitting on the edge of the bed wearing his boxer briefs and holding his cell phone. "Are you calling a cab?"

"What? Are you kidding?" Nick tossed his head back and laughed. "Like I'm going anywhere before we have sex again."

"Sorry." Greg laughed at his own insecurities. "It just wouldn't be the first time I thought things went well and then found myself alone when I woke up, so..."

"Not gonna happen." Nick returned to the pillows and patted the sheets, urging his anxious lover to join him. "When I went searching for my underwear, I saw my phone on the floor. I had a message from Catherine."

"Let me guess, she needs you to cover for her. What's her lame excuse this time?"

"No, this time she went the honesty route and admitted she wanted to stay home and screw Vartann."

"How refreshing." Greg laughed as he slid into bed. "What did you tell her?"

"I'm just gonna call back now." He flipped open the phone and made the call. "Hey, Cath…" He made sure his voice sounded extra scratchy. "I'd love to help you out. I was plannin' on coming in anyway to work on the Martinez case." While she excitedly thanked him, he cleared his throat hard. "But here's the thing…when I went to the doctor for my physical, he told me I had a wicked case of strep throat. I'm contagious for twenty-four hours until the antibiotics kick in and honestly, I feel like hell."

"Nice job," Greg whispered.

But Nick wasn't done yet. "Here's the other thing…I called Greg to see if he could follow up on the Martinez stuff for me tonight and it turns out he's sick too. You know how responsible Greg is, he never calls in sick, but he sounded like shit, so as Assistant Supervisor, I ordered him to take the night off and told him to go to the doctor to see if it's strep. That stuff is nasty and so easy to catch, the last thing we need is for him to infect the rest of the team. I think we picked it up when we were processing that robbery at the day care center over on Main. He was worried about missing his shift, but I told him it would be fine and that I'd let you know. Wendy could use the extra field hours anyway. Okay." He winked at his stunned bedmate. "Tell Vartann to give you his schedule and then you and I can sit down and tweak our schedule, 'cause I need to do a little rearranging myself."

Greg's smile lit the room.

"I will. Okay, thanks. Bye."

"I totally believed you," Greg chuckled, "and I know you're lying. Thanks for getting me the night off."

Turning off his cell phone, Nick mischievously grinned, "As I'm sure Sara has told you, boffing the boss has its privileges."

"Until Ecklie finds out."

"Hell, at this point he'd have to can half the department." Nick snuggled closer until they were sharing a pillow. "And unlike like everyone else, we're used to living on the down low."

"I promise not to plant one on you in the Trace Lab or start our first lover's quarrel in the break room."

The hopeful romantic, teased, "I'm still basking in the afterglow of our first time and you're already worried about our first fight."

"Honestly, I'm worried that you'll have regrets a few hours from now when you're sober."

"It takes a lot more than four shots to cloud my judgment."

"Technically you had five if you count the swig from the bottle."

"Greg…"

"I just want to make sure that if things get awkward between us at work, that you'll take full responsibility for the drama."

"Like hell I will." Nick laughed. "I showed up at the door, but you let me in, plied me with booze, and led me to your bedroom."

"Drinking was your idea, not mine."

"Right. Okay, yeah, but the bedroom…"

"Is where I always do yoga."

"And the music and the incense?"

"I use the same stuff when I do yoga alone."

"Yeah, but you were flirting."

Greg laughed, "I'm a flirt, I'm always flirting."

"Whatever." Nick shook his head. "You tore open the condom, put it on me, and gave me an all access pass, so I'd say we're equally responsible for complicating our lives."

"I just don't want you to..."

"Hey." Nick decided to end his lover's semi-panic with a slow, soulful kiss and a confession. "I honestly came here for help, not to hook up, but once I was here, I knew exactly what I wanted and what I was doing. Hell, I can't wait to do it again," he sweetly laughed, "and again and again."

"Do you have a stash of little blue pills I don't know about?"

"No, that's why I had to get you the night off, to allow for recovery time."

After a mutual chuckle that led to a series of long, slow kisses, Greg whispered, "I'm going to be very good for your blood pressure."

***,/p>

"Wait." Vartann gently grabbed Catherine's wrist so she couldn't walk out his front door. "I won't make it through my shift without one more kiss."

"Nice try, but it's your night off."

"My shift as a lonely guy," he joked.

"No." Already in work-mode, she shook her head. "It's almost nine. I'll be late for my meeting with..."

"C'mon." He pulled her close. "Just one more."

Smirking at the romantic who had been wooing her for weeks, Catherine replied, "How did you survive without me?"

"Surviving was all I was doing before you came into my life." Cupping her face in his hands, the enamored man whispered, "Now I'm living."

Unaccustomed to romance, Catherine shook her head and sighed.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know how to handle..."

"Handle what?" He tensed, fearing what she was about to say.

"This. You. The constant affection." Scrunching her brows, she explained, "I'm not used to dating nice guys. Typically the men I date only romance me until I put out or until someone else catches their eye, but you have been going full throttle for nearly a month and I've made it abundantly clear that I'm a sure thing, so I'm in uncharted waters here, Lou. I don't know how to handle this…whatever this is."

Holding her in his arms, Vartann softly replied, "I'd like to call it a relationship." When he saw her bristle, he smiled, "But if that word doesn't work for you, we can pick another word for an exclusive arrangement between two consenting adults who enjoy each other's company both in and out of the sack." He teased, "I have a thesaurus inside. I'll spend my lonely night off making a list of relationship synonyms."

"I'm going to work now, detective." After pecking him on the lips, she strolled to her car grinning. "About your definition…" She turned so he could see her smile. "I like the 'exclusive' part. It's a refreshing change of pace."

"Good to know." He couldn't believe how much he hated seeing her go. "Be careful out there tonight, CSI Willows."

"I'm the one who almost got killed saving your ass during the stakeout, remember?"

"Yeah." Her tenacity only made him love her more. "And you're never gonna let me forget it, are you?"

"Nope." After a flip of her hair and a chuckle, she opened her car door.

"I love this thing we've got going on!" he proclaimed.

Overcoming her nerves, she finally shared, "Me too."

Realizing his nosy neighbor, Mrs. Jensen, was eavesdropping, he passionately declared, "I love waking up next to your naked body!"

---

When Greg's eyes fluttered open, he was stunned to see Nick's arm wrapped tightly around him and to feel his warm body pressed against his back. A smile fanned across his face as he realized that the day's events really happened and weren't just another hot fantasy concocted by his hungry libido and overactive imagination. He and Nick had finally gotten together. But how long would it last? Sure it seemed perfect while under the influence of bourbon and desire, but what were the odds of Nick waking up and proclaiming his undying love?

"Hey…" Nick's scratchy morning voice startled his already jittery bedmate. "Were you expectin' to be alone?"

"Yeah." Greg turned around. "Because I thought I dreamt the whole thing." Grinning, he said, "You doing yoga in my bedroom seemed as far-fetched as the fantasies I had about us getting it on in the back of your Denali at a crime scene, so of course I was skeptical that it really happened."

"It happened alright."

"Any regrets?"

"Yeah." Nick gave a serious nod. "I really regret that it didn't last longer." After cringing, he broke into a lighthearted laugh. "Was it even two minutes?"

"Two and half at least," Greg teased his self-conscious lover. "Don't worry, the quality more than made up for the brevity."

Nick confessed, "I haven't been with anyone in while and to be with you after years of flirting…it was all a little overwhelming. Add the booze and working a twelve hour shift…"

"You know what I really liked?"

Always critical of himself, Nick anxiously asked, "What?"

"Hearing you say my name in the heat of the moment."

"That was the best part?"

Sensing he had offended his lover, Greg clarified, "I'm totally serious. It's a compliment."

"A compliment? That sounds like the polite thing to say when you can't say anything good about something."

"No, that's not it."

"Seriously?" Nick wasn't convinced. "The most memorable part of sex with me was what I said not what I did or how it felt and you want me to believe that's a compliment?"

"I didn't mean it to sound like I didn't enjoy what you did or that it didn't feel great." Greg rolled onto his back and blushed. "I'm not really good at this because I have very limited experience when it comes to pillow talk, which kind of brings me back to my original point that I wasn't making very well because it involves an embarrassing confessing." He chuckled at his inelegance before trying to explain his comment again. "The foreplay and the sex were fantastic, but hearing you say my name when you lost it…that brought it to a whole different level of awesome for me. I've never had anyone say my name in the throes of passion because they were either too wasted to remember it correctly or they didn't bother to get to know it in the first place."

It was an unexpected and sad answer that Nick didn't know how to respond to. "Uh…"

"Just when I thought I couldn't make things more awkward." Braving eye contact, Greg rolled onto his side. "I didn't plan on doing a baggage dump, but I don't really see a way out of it now, so here's the rest of it." He paused. "Uh…since we slept together, I feel compelled to say this is all ancient history and I've passed all drug and HIV tests for years now."

"I wasn't worried."

"Thanks." After a deep breath, Greg continued, "I had issues, which I'm sure you assumed from my erratic changes in behavior, clothes, and hair color over the years."

"Issues?" The CSI in Nick prodded, "Drugs?"

"When I partied. It's not something I'm proud of, but it there's no denying that it was part of the total avoidance package. I was sexually confused, my mother was pressuring me to be something I wasn't, I hated being stuck in the lab and treated like a clown, which I realize now was because I looked and acted like a clown. Anyway, to make a long, pathetic story short, I had this epiphany one night when I woke up naked in an apartment I didn't recognize with two guys I couldn't remember getting naked with and there wasn't a condom wrapper in sight. That's when I decided to drop the partying and become a CSI, which as you know, I barely accomplished, and then just when things were going well in the field I killed Demetrius James and the whole self-loathing thing came back with a vengeance. After a minor backslide, I found a good therapist and I've come a long way in a lot of areas, but I've never been in a relationship, so that's why hearing my named seemed really significant to me, but I get that it wasn't a big deal for you and why you were tweaked that it was my favorite part. I'm gonna stop talking now."

Seeing his friend's embarrassment, Nick felt compelled to share. "I kinda had a similar epiphany during my sophomore year of college."

"You?" Greg's ears perked. "Mr. Responsibility did something irresponsible?"

"Oh yeah. There were times I really hated myself for not being 'normal' like the rest of my family and I didn't really give a shit what happened to me. My eye opening experience was waking up in a field hungover with my pants around my ankles and a really sore ass." Nick calmly admitted, "I'm not kidding when I say my life probably would have ended badly before I graduated if I hadn't met someone who helped me get my act together."

"Sophomore year of college, huh? It only took me until I was thirty." Greg rolled his eyes, "And I'm still in therapy."

"Hey." Nick smiled and snuggled closer. "You gifted types are always late bloomers."

Relieved that his friend wasn't running for the door, Greg quietly asked, "So does my comment seem more like a compliment now?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry you had to suffer through my boring life story to understand it."

"It feels good to talk. I mean we talk all the time, but never like this."

"Naked?"

Nick enjoyed the return of Greg's brilliant smile. "Intimately." Sliding his palm over Greg's bare hip and around to the small of his back, he contentedly said, "I forgot how nice it is wakin' up with someone you care about."

"That's another area in which I have very limited experience. Actually if you eliminate the times I slept in my grandparents bed when I was little, I have no experience."

Listening to Greg's goofy laughter, Nick's affection grew. "You really are freakin' adorable, you know that."

"And you are…mmm." The sensation of strong hands exploring his body had Greg squirming. "I really could get used to this."

"This?" Nick nibbled on the ear lobe in front of him. "Or this?" He teased his lover's parted lips. "Or this?" he asked with a devilish grin while gripping the most sensitive inches of his Greg's heated body.

"All of the above," Greg replied while returning the favor and initiating a string of fiery kisses.

Eager to break his two minute record and redeem himself, Nick excitedly asked, "G, are you up for…"

"Yes!" Greg replied while turning his back and reaching into his nightstand drawer. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to being asked." Tossing the box over his shoulder he grinned. "Keep the rest under your pillow for later."

"I'm not just gonna stay in bed and have sex with you all night," Nick announced while positioning himself behind his eager lover.

"Why not?"

"Because after this romp," Nick paused to tenderly kiss Greg's shoulder, "and a hot, steamy shower together, I'm gonna take you on the romantic date we should have had before falling into bed together."

"Careful, I'm not used to being romanced. I could end up falling…" The remaining words were cut off by a gasp as Nick suddenly joined their bodies.

In an instant Nick knew the alcohol had nothing to do with the ecstasy he had felt the first time.

---

Strolling through the parking lot with her best friend, Mandy asked, "I don't get it. How could you spend hours at your apartment with Hodges and still be stuck on first base?"

Gushing from an odd combination of joy and embarrassment, Wendy replied, "It just doesn't come up."

Mandy grabbed her pal by the arm. "They make pills for that problem. Haven't you seen the commercials? They're on every two minutes."

"What?" Realizing what she said, Wendy clarified, "No, no, the subject of sex doesn't come up."

"Maybe that's why the subject doesn't come up – he doesn't know how to tell you that it doesn't come up."

"I really don't think that's the…"

"Have you seen evidence?" Mandy folded her arms and waited for a reply.

"No, but it's not like I've been looking for it."

"I'm sorry, honey, but no healthy 42 year old man would be able to abstain when his girlfriend is clearly interested and they're alone in her apartment for hours." Mandy stood her ground. "He suffers from ED and he's too embarrassed to deal with it."

"You're wrong." Wendy returned to her blissful state of mind. "He's just a sweet guy who likes to take his time and do things right."

---

"That was…" Waiting for his breathing to return to normal, Greg gripped Nick's shoulders. "Wow."

Their hearts still pounding in harmony, Nick remained poised on top, savoring the satisfaction in his lover's eyes.

The notorious overtalker fought the urge to share everything he was thinking. "Wow."

"One thing's for sure, rendering you speechless is definitely a compliment," Nick sweetly chuckled before kissing his lover's ecstatic grin. "Better than the first time, right?" The perfectionist couldn't help looking for validation.

"This time was…" Desperate not to go off on another long-winded emotional speech, Greg considered several word choices and then summed up his thoughts in the one perfect word. "Different." He exploded into a radiant smile.

"Different?" The word wasn't exactly what the validation-seeking perfectionist was hoping to hear.

When Nick's trademark worry-lines appeared on his forehead Greg knew he should have picked another word. "That was another compliment. Different, meaning it wasn't the kind of sex I'm used to having - meaningless sex, but I didn't want to say that in case it…um…in case it didn't really mean anything to you, even though it really seemed like it did especially because of what you said in the heat of the moment, but what do I know about making love, right? And maybe you're just one of those guys who doesn't even realize what they're saying when they…" He gulped. "I should have gone with fantastic, that was my first choice." He shook his head. "Just like when you're taking a test - always go with the first choice. You know my SAT scores would have been perfect if I had just…" Thankfully Nick put him out of his misery with a kiss.

"Now that I've heard your explanation," Nick whispered when their lips parted, "I have to say - it was different for me too and what I said in the heat of the moment…" He froze for a second. "Even though I don't remember anything I said, I probably meant it." Not ready to say anymore, he slid out of bed and extended his hand. "C'mon, let's hit the shower and get out of here."

"Going stir crazy?"

"No, I could spend the next twelve hours in bed with you." Nick flashed a shy smile in his buddy's direction. "But I'm a gentlemen and I'm embarrassed that we made love before I took you out on a proper date."

---

"It has to be perfect," Hodges lamented to Catherine. "The ultimate romantic date. Romance to spare. Moonlight, candles, flowers, the ideal song, me sweeping her off her feet. Does that sound like me?"

"No." Ever a realist, Catherine shook her head. "Not even close."

"That's the problem," He confessed. "I'm not worthy. I've never been worthy and I can't get past the feeling that if I push the envelope, I'll make a wrong move and the illusion she's created will disappear and she'll see me the way she used to see me. Like Cinderella, only she won't chase after me with a glass slipper, she'll start throwing glass beakers at me again." He glanced across the hall. "Look at her…she deserves a hero, not a zero."

Deciding to delegate the chore, Supervisor Willows said, "I think you should talk to Nick about this…man to man."

"Oh right, I'm going to confess my ineptitude with women to the department's number one ladies man." Hodges laughed at the ridiculous suggestion. "If I wanted to feel that inferior, I'd challenge your boyfriend to a wrestling match."

The thought of her lover in tights with his crotch in David's face made Catherine squeamish. "Hey, why don't you ask Sara how Grissom managed to close the deal? He was even more remedial than you when it came to romance, but he must have figured something out and I really doubt it was flowers and dancing at a fancy restaurant."

Appreciating the logic in her reply, Hodges nodded. "I think you're on to something, boss." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at Wendy through the glass. "Maybe it's not hopeless after all."

"Yeah, and if everything else fails, just accidentally fall on top of her and let nature take its course." Catherine winked from the doorway. "Now that I think about it, that was probably Grissom's big move."

---

"This is your idea of a romantic date?" Greg asked when Nick parked his truck in the middle of the desert brush. "This looks like a great place for a body dump."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing the first time I came out here." Grabbing his gun from the glove box, Nick assured his date, "But so far the psychos haven't discovered it yet."

"What's the gun for?"

Nick chuckled at the apprehension in his buddy's face. "Mountain lions. I've never seen one, but better to be safe than sorry, right?" Reaching over, he pecked his concerned date's lips. "You weren't really expectin' a fancy dinner on top of the Eiffel Tower from me, were you? Tellin' you to wear boots and to bring a warm jacket should have been a hint."

"Honestly, I was thinking burgers and beer in a place with great air conditioning."

"I've got beer and food in the cooler I grabbed from my house when I went there to get my pack and the rope."

"Rope?"

Opening the door, the outdoorsman urged, "C'mon, Eagle Scout, where's your sense of adventure? We're wastin' time and moonlight."

Getting out of the truck, Greg kept an open mind. "Wait a minute…are we working a cold case?" It would probably be Grissom's ideal romantic date and since Nick was becoming more like Grissom every day…

"No!" Nick belly laughed. "Would ya just trust me and come over to the edge of this cliff."

"What?" Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark he saw they were parked ten feet from a huge drop off and Nick was anchoring his rope around the base of a boulder. "Midnight rock climbing? What in our decade together has given you the impression that I like to risk my life in the dark?"

Grinning like the lovestruck fool he was, Nick said, "It's not dangerous, the rope is to lower the cooler because I can't drop it without the beer bottles breaking." He tossed his pack over the edge and then tied the cooler onto the end of the rope.

"Exactly how many guys have you brought here, Romeo?"

While lowering the cooler and avoiding eye contact Nick replied, "Like those words I said in bed earlier, this is something that I've never shared with anyone."

"You told me you didn't remember what you said in the heat of the moment."

Lifting his gaze, Nick confessed, "I lied." Then he extended his hand. "C'mon…just trust me."

Stepping closer, Greg laughed at the irony. "You just said you lied to me and in the next breath you expect me to trust you."

"I lied because I was scared, not because I'm a liar."

"I could fall..."

"You won't." Nick pointed to the edge. "When you get over here you'll see…"

"No, I could fall hard for a guy who says those words in the heat of the moment and then takes me to his secret hideaway to look at the stars." Greg peered over the edge. "So if that's not what you're going for, I think we should get back in the truck and call it a night." Standing on the edge, he asked, "What is this?"

---

"An affiliation?" Catherine laughed at Vartann's text message and quickly replied, Too impersonal. You don't just have an affiliation with my body, you have an obsession. Keep trying.

***

"There you are." Catherine walked into the break room where Wendy and Mandy were chatting. "It's your lucky night, Simms." She handed over an assignment slip. "Greg's sick, so you get to be him and clock some more field hours in the process."

"What?" Wendy stated with surprise . "Greg never calls in sick. Even when he had the flu, he worked like a dog. He hasn't had a sick day since the beating and even then he returned early."

"It must be serious," Mandy fretted, "is he in the hospital?"

"He'll be fine," Catherine assured the worrywarts. "It's just strep throat, but he's contagious for twenty-four hours so Nick ordered him to stay home. Nicky has it too."

"I know how they caught it." Wendy nodded. "That daycare center robbery we processed on Main. The kids were freaked and you know Nick around little kids, he was handing out lollipops, letting them use his flashlight and wiping their noses. He wanted us to help him calm the masses, but I politely declined because sticky, germy toddlers aren't my thing. Greg helped, because let's face it, he would jump off a cliff if Nick asked him to."

---

"You want me to jump from all the way up here?" Greg yelled while clinging to the side of the cliff. "Look, the sex was amazing, but I'm not gonna jump off a cliff to get more."

"Wouldya stop whining and get down here already."

"That's part of the problem. I can't even see what's down there!"

"You only have to drop five feet to get to the ledge I'm standing on and the ledge is at least thirty square feet." In his most trust-inspiring voice, he said, "You know me, I'm all about safety, I promise you won't get hurt."

"That's what you said when we were pranking Henry, right before you rolled the car."

"That car we borrowed from the junkyard was a piece of crap."

"And do you remember who got us out of that mess?" Greg muttered. "Me."

Appealing to the geek's logical brain, Nick reasoned, "Honey, why would I risk breakin' your ass when I have a vested interest in it?"

"When you put it that way." Greg let go of the rocks and jumped down. "You were right. That was nothing." Glancing up he saw that he really only dropped five feet. "I kinda feel like a wuss for whining about it now."

"Kinda?" Nick teased.

"Date buzzkill?"

"No."

"Be honest," Greg said, "if we weren't already longtime friends who just had amazing sex and this really was our first date and you knew nothing about me, would you still be attracted to me after the whining?"

"Keepin' it real?" Nick shook his head. "I'd be pretending I got called into work and running for my truck. Explains why I've never had a relationship, huh? I always write off guys before I get to know them."

"Being uber-picky is the commitment-phobe's modus operandi. It's impossible to find someone perfect, so by demanding perfection in a mate, you're guaranteed to remain alone." Greg smiled, "I learned that in therapy when I mentioned that I met a really hot, smart, funny guy at a writer's workshop, but I didn't give him my number when he asked because I knew it wouldn't work out. He hated Disneyland and some of my best childhood memories are of my grandparents taking me to Disneyland, so…"

"What kind of freak hates Disneyland?" The seasoned CSI was instantly suspicious. "Hell, I flew out there last year to meet my sister and her kids and had the best time. It's the one place on earth a grown man can act like a kid and nobody cares." Stuffing his hands on his hips, he emphatically said, "I'm tellin' you right now, that Mickey-hater is hidin' something."

"That's what I thought too."

"Do you pay for therapy?"

"No, if you kill someone in the line of duty you get to go for free as long as you need it."

"Good, 'cause I was gonna say if you're payin' for a doctor to tell you it's normal for someone to hate Disneyland, you're gettin' ripped off." Nick opened his pack and grabbed a flashlight. "Now if you said he hated clowns…"

"I would have thought he was normal." Watching Nick illuminate the ledge, Greg muttered, "I could have used that light a minute ago when I was working up the nerve to jump into an abyss."

"But then it wouldn't have been a true test of your commitment." Nick winked. "Now I know you're willing to overcome obstacles to be with me."

"I'm pretty sure my therapist would think that's far less normal than hating Disneyland."

Nick's laughter echoed in the canyon. "Here." He handed over the flashlight. "Hold that while I use my night vision binoculars to check for bats and scorpions."

"Another line you don't expect to hear on a first date." Greg chuckled, "Sara's going to be jealous when I tell her I got to play with bugs on my first date. I think Grissom made her wait until their third."

"Yeah, and I bet she didn't have great sex with Grissom until…never." After sharing a laugh with his buddy, Nick grew serious. "You're not really going to tell Sara that we…I mean I know she knows about you and she knows about me and she's a trusted friend, but I don't think it's a good idea to tell her about this because..."

"Don't worry, if I get excited and need to tell someone, I'll confide in Mandy, because everyone knows she can keep a secret." Greg shined the light on Nick's face and laughed at his tension. "Now that you've had a panic attack on this cliff, we're even." He rolled his eyes. "As if I'd confide in the lab's most notorious gossip girl."

"Who are you gonna talk to?" The private man anxiously asked while shifting his eyes to the ground and wondering if he had made a huge mistake.

"If I had someone to talk to I wouldn't need a therapist."

"Sorry." Nick lifted his gaze and pushed out a smile. "I had my first 'what the hell did we do' moment of panic, but I'm over it."

"Your first?" Greg's laughter returned. "That makes me feel a lot better, because I've had like fifty."

"Then maybe I'm the one who should be worried."

"No, thanks to my overprotective mother I always get a little neurotic when I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. Growing up all I heard was 'carefully, Gregory', 'you don't need to do that, it's not worth the risk'. That's why my parents didn't know I was a CSI until Grissom called them from the hospital." Greg shook his head. "If I had told her before I did it, my mom would have had a fit and spent every day trying to talk me out of it."

"That bad, really?"

"You know why I picked a turtle for a pet?" Greg laughed at himself. "Empathy. I felt sorry that the little guy was living in a protective shell under the watchful eye of his mommy."

"But you worked up the nerve to come out to your folks, you can't be that worried about what they think if..."

"I didn't come out, I got busted." Still traumatized by the experience, Greg shivered. "I was home on Spring Break my freshman year of college and I thought I had the house to myself for two days before my parents came back from my dad's sales conference. Of course my mother freaked out that something would happen to me if I were alone in the house. Unbeknownst to me, she made my dad come home a day early. When they didn't find me in the house, they went out back and saw me giving the pool boy a hummer."

"Whoa." Nick didn't even want to imagine being in the same traumatic situation happening at his parents' home. "That's the stuff my nightmares were made out of in college."

"Yeah, and the only other person who knows this nightmare story is my therapist, so please keep it to yourself."

"Duh."

"Right, then I'll tell you the rest of the horrifying story."

"There's more?"

"Oh yeah." Greg cringed, "It gets much worse. I had been eating lunch poolside, so my plate and everything was still out there. My mother saw a table knife on the ground where the action was going down and called the cops because she was convinced the Pablo, who was a few years older, six foot two, and totally ripped, had forced her scrawny eighteen year old heterosexual son down to his knees at knifepoint."

"Oh!" Nick slapped his hand over his mouth and vicariously lived the horror.

"So in order to prevent Pablo from getting unjustly accused of a sex crime, I basically had to tell the very burly police officer that my mother had it all wrong. I confessed that I was a horny twink who chose to blow the pool boy, hoping he'd return the favor."

"Hey, at eighteen, in front of your parents, that took a lot of guts." CSI Stokes nodded in approval. "I'm impressed. A lesser man would have sold out the pool boy. Hell, as afraid as I was of my father at eighteen, I'm not sure I would have told the truth until the guilt started eating me alive."

"I never thought of it like that." Suddenly the horrific memory felt significantly less horrifying. "Thanks."

"Ready to make a new and hopefully more pleasant memory?" After tossing his binoculars onto his pack, Nick instructed, "Turn around."

"Is this another test of my commitment?" Greg half-joked as he faced the abyss.

"No." Smiling, Nick wrapped his arms around his friend's waist and rested his head on his shoulder. "Check it out, doesn't it look that photo you have on your desk of old Vegas, but fast forwarded fifty years."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Staring at the twinkling city skyline in the distance, Greg's tension disappeared. "I shouldn't be surprised that your bat cave overlooks the city you protect."

Rolling with the joke, Nick said, "It's no Wayne manor, but it works for me and there's no cell service out here, so Catherine can't call me."

"I'm surprised she hasn't asked Archie to set up a giant 'S' light to flash in the sky when she wants you to cover for her."

"Don't give her any ideas."

Relaxing in the strong arms embracing him, Greg sighed, "It really looks like such a peaceful place from up here."

---

"Hey!" Catherine yelled over the accident chaos to get the attention of a frantic man trying to catch loose chickens. "Are you the driver of the truck?"

"Yes," the obese fifty-eight year old man covered in white feathers yelped, "please help me. They're getting away!"

"Sorry, I have an unexplained accident and a homicide investigation on my plate right now." Catherine gaped at the dozens of chickens whizzing around. "How many hens were you transporting?"

"I…" The overheated trucker plopped down on the highway and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I think…I…"

"Sir, are you feeling okay?"

"I ate pie," the man announced before falling backwards and slamming his head on the ground.

"I need an EMT at the chicken truck, stat!" Catherine radioed as panicky chickens clucked and darted all around her. "Sir! Can you hear me?" When she knelt down her knee landed in a patch of chicken poop. "Shit."

---

"The best part is you can't see the crime and the slime from up here." Nick spread out his favorite camping blanket. "Before I got promoted, I came out here to chill at least once a week, but now I'm always working late and bringing work home so I never have time."

"That explains the change in blood pressure." Greg filled his lungs with fresh air and enjoyed the view. "You need stop bringing work home when you're already putting in OT at the lab and don't tell me it's because you're a supervisor, because Catherine never brings work home."

While stoking the campfire he was making, Nick sweetly replied, "Yeah, I realized today there are much better ways to spend my free time."

"Yoga?" Greg joked. "It's great, isn't it?"

"You know, I have to be honest, I really didn't like it all that much." Nick grinned as the fire's flames intensified. "But I loved everything else we've done today."

"Here's my new Zen plan for you." Greg took a seat on the blanket and excitedly shared his idea. "I think we should come out here a few times a week after shift and do Tai Chi in the fresh air. It's even better than yoga when it comes to blood pressure reduction."

"One of my college coaches was really into martial arts and he made us do it a few times." Nick nodded. "I think I'd like that better. Yeah."

"Good. Then after chilling out with Tai Chi we'll go back to your house or mine and you can work out any remaining tension with me in the bedroom. You'll sleep great after all that exercise and rhythmic breathing, so you'll wake up refreshed and better equipped to handle stress on the job."

"Sounds like a plan." Grinning wildly, Nick reclined against his large camping backpack and pulled Greg into his arms. "Except for the frequency, because a few means three and I don't think three times a week is enough to lower my blood pressure that quickly." He grabbed two beers from the cooler and popped the caps. "I'm thinkin' five or six times a week…maybe even twice daily to start."

"And I thought I was a horny bastard." Greg chuckled as he took one of the open beer bottles. "I don't think my body can handle being on the receiving end of that much ecstasy, but there are other mutually satisfying things we can..."

"Sorry, I know I hogged the top spot so far, but I really do like changin' things up." Nick winked and tapped his bottle against Greg's. "I'll prove it to you when I take you home later."

"That's okay."

"You don't want me to come home with you?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I do."

"Then why did you say…"

"Just look at that sky. Wow." Greg shifted his gaze to the stars. "Amazing."

When it was clear that his buddy was changing the subject, Nick only grew more curious. "You told me you like to change things up."

"I do." Greg mumbled into his beer bottle, "in theory."

"Huh?" It took a second to put the puzzle together. "You mean you've never…"

"Look! A shooting star!"

"Ever?"

"And there's Orion's Belt and The Big Dipper."

It boggled Nick's mind that his friend was about to turn thirty-five with his top-ginity intact. "Not even with a girl?"

"With a girl, yeah." Then he thought about it. "Well…does it count if the girl was on top and controlling the shots?"

"Technically yeah, but not really."

"I don't know why you're shocked," Greg shyly remarked while keeping his eyes on the horizon. "I only recently got assertive on the job and I still yell 'how high' when Catherine says jump."

"You never cease to amaze me, G."

"Good." When he resumed eye contact, Greg matched the intensity of his partner's smile. "It'll keep our relationship interesting"

"Relationship?" The commitment-phobe rode a wave of panic. "Is that what we're callin' this?"

---

Taking a break from the chicken massacre to check her messages, Catherine was happy to see a new text from Lou. Affinity – I definitely have an affinity for your outrageously hot body and your beautiful smile…in that order. Sorry, honey, but I'm a guy.

Eager to hear her man's sexy voice, Catherine called instead of texting. "I have an affinity for fine wine, but I don't want to give it a slow, sensual lap dance like the one I want to give you later…that is if you have an affinity for lap dances."

"I guarantee my affinity for lap dances will be obvious to you." He laughed, "Hell, it's getting obvious just talking about it."

Watching Doc and Ray inspect the bodies they found in the trunk of one of the wrecked cars, Catherine sighed, "You need to take a cold shower, detective. Ray and I are knee-deep in chicken shit and John Does, so it's gonna be a long night."

"How the hell did you get stuck working that mess?"

"My lackey is out with strep throat." Realizing she smelled like a chicken coop, Catherine grumbled, "Sanders better be on his death bed."

---

"When was the last time you used this blanket?" The CSI in Greg inquired when he discovered an interesting piece of evidence stuck to it.

"Last time I came out here. Why?"

Greg shined the flashlight's beam on a silver hoop earring. "You said you never shared this place with anyone."

"I meant romantically." Nick lunged forward and grabbed the earring. "This belongs to my sister. I never noticed it was in the blanket. She thought she lost it back at my place." Smiling, he slipped it in his jacket pocket. "I'll mail it to her tomorrow."

"Your sister, huh?"

"Doncha think it's a little early in our relationship to accuse me of lyin'?"

"Sorry."

"The explanation is a little morbid, but I know your curious mind won't rest until it has an answer, so here it is." Nick put his empty bottle in the cooler and took a deep breath. "Karen was out here on business..."

"Karen, she's the one who is a year older than you, right? The one you were closest to growing up?"

"Yeah, and the only one in my family who knows the score." Rolling onto his back, Nick stared at the stars. "After 'Rick was killed I got to thinking about what would happen if I died. Karen's a lawyer, so when she came out here, I asked her to help me write a will. I told her I really didn't care who she gave my money or my stuff too, that she should give everything to whoever needed it at the time, that there was only one thing I absolutely needed her to do on my behalf, even if it meant standing up to the family, which it would." He motioned to the landscape around them. "She's gonna make sure I'm cremated and scattered here, because as far as I'm concerned, I've already spent eternity in a coffin and the idea of goin' underground in the Stokes family plot makes my skin crawl."

"No doubt."

"I drew a map and took her out here to make sure she could find it when the time comes."

"I'm not surprised you want to watch over the city after you die." It fit well with Nick's tortured superhero vibe. "What if your sister goes before you?" His analytic mind had to ask. "You should have a back up plan."

"Doin' the work we do in this crazy town?" Nick grabbed a second beer from the cooler. "Hell, we both almost died on the job already. I'm sure she'll outlive me."

"You're right, this is a morbid conversation." Greg leaned in front of his date. "But for the record, even though you've made me jump off a cliff, confess embarrassing sexual secrets, and face my own mortality, I'm having a great time." He stole a kiss and cracked a smile. "If we had stuff to make s'mores the night would be perfect." Just saying the word made the craving stronger. "I love s'mores."

"I know."

"Papa Olaf and I used to…"

"I know. You used to make them every Sunday in your backyard. You've only mentioned that a hundred times over the years and because you have..." Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Nick ran his fingers through Greg's hair. "Guess what I bought at Circle-K and snuck into my pack when we stopped to get gas?"

"Seriously?" With the zeal of a five year old, Greg opened up the back pack and discovered a plastic bag filled with graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey bars. "Yes!"

"I think I just hit a first-date bull's-eye." Getting up to break a couple of sticks off the desert brush, Nick beamed with satisfaction. "It's so much easier dating someone you've known for years."

---

"I don't know how to date someone I know," Hodges lamented to Sara. "Honestly, I was never very good at dating strangers either."

"The biggest mistake you can make is trying too hard." Drawing from first hand experience, she shared, "When a guy who doesn't normally give off a romantic vibe tries too hard to bring the romance, it seems contrived and makes things awkward."

"Every aspect of dating seems awkward to me."

"Then you need a paradigm shift." Sara suggested, "Don't think of it as dating. Drop the formality and just think of it as hanging out with your best friend."

"Great, but how do I get from buddies to…" Hodges fidgeted and ultimately folded his arms across his chest. "I think you know where I want to go."

"Yeah." Sara felt her cheeks flush. "And I really want to help, but..."

"When the going gets tough…"

"Okay, okay." Sara pushed beyond her comfort zone. "The next time you're together in private make a small romantic gesture, something that shows her that you've been paying attention to her – rent a movie she's been dying to see or bring her favorite dessert or the book she said she can't wait to read. Nothing turns a woman on like knowing they've been heard."

"She has mentioned an affinity for daffodils on more than one occasion." He pondered out loud. "And she loves the Belgian chocolate croissants from the bakery around the corner."

"Perfect." Sara encouraged him with a smile. "Bring one or both over to her place and when she thanks you with a hug, return the embrace, gaze into her eyes, and go for it." When she reached the door, she turned to offer another morsel of encouragement. "Admitting everything and acting on the feelings is the toughest part, but the good news is when you finally admit you're in love with your best friend and fall into bed together, you realize you've been in love for a while and everything feels incredibly right."

---

After tossing the last of the bags in the back of Nick's truck, Greg said, "Best first date ever."

"I was thinkin' the same thing."

"I'm never relaxed on first dates." Greg explained, "I hate all that small talk you have to do to find out if the person is a weirdo."

"Me too." Nick winked. "Already knowing you're really weird made things much easier."

"Yeah, and we've already farted in front of each other a bunch of times, so no pressure there."

"And having sex up front was a stroke of genius." Nick's sweet laughter pierced the night sky. "Usually I spend the whole time pent up and wondering if I'll see any action."

---

"Romp?" Catherine laughed out loud as she walked into the break room reading Lou's latest suggestion. Taking a seat on the couch she typed, Romps are short-lived. I plan on having my way with you for a while.

She grinned at his reply - I love when you get all Dom on me.

The toughest guys always do. She wrote back. After the night I've had, I'll definitely need to work out some aggression in bed. Closing her phone, she dreaded the pile of paperwork waiting for her.

"Willows!" Ecklie marched into the break room. "Stokes was supposed to have the updates to the Martinez file complete and a formal report done. All that's in here is chicken scratch."

"Please don't mention chickens…"

"This isn't funny, Catherine!" Under tremendous pressure from above, Ecklie vented, " I have a meeting with the DA later this morning and I need that information."

"Sorry, we got swamped yesterday and today is Nick's day off."

"You shouldn't have let him leave without it being done."

"Come on, Conrad, he already worked fourteen hours and..."

"So? I would have told him, 'welcome to management, Assistant Supervisor Stokes'." He tapped his watch. "It's four in the morning. Do you think I'm supposed to be here this early? No, but there's work to be done and the Sheriff is all over my ass. Since you didn't have Stokes do his job, this becomes your problem."

"But I hardly know anything about the case."

"You're an intelligent woman, I'm sure you'll figure it out." He slapped the file on the table. "Have it completed and on my desk by eight."

As soon as her boss left the room Catherine pulled out her phone and called her man to vent. "I just got chewed out by Ecklie, so now I'll need to work out a lot of aggression."

"Leather items are twenty-five percent off at Pleasure Castle this week, maybe you should stop there on the way over."

Her brow wrinkled. "And you know this how?"

"I saw the sign in the window when I was working a 419 across the street."

"Mmmhmm." She picked up the Martinez file and headed for the door.

"What about 'liaison'?"

She pondered the choice and replied, "Sounds appropriately risqué for our libidos, but aren't liaisons usually a secret? From the looks I'm getting from your cronies, I can tell the cat's out of the bag"

"Okay, how do you feel about 'venture'?"

"Venture?" Catherine smiled into her cell phone as she strolled to her office. "Read me the definition."

Vartann cleared his throat and replied in the voice of a college professor. "A venture is an adventurous undertaking, something worth taking a risk on."

"I think we may have a winner," she excitedly replied while sitting down at her desk and opening the Martinez file. "Because so far you're proving to be well worth the risk."

"I feel the same way about you, honey." He chuckled into the phone, "Good thing you liked this one because the next one on the list was commitment."

"A commitment is something only crazy people do." Putting on her reading glasses, she said, "That's why they call being put in an insane asylum being 'committed'."

"Did you know that a venture can be short or it can last a lifetime?"

"So can incarceration."

Vartann whispered, "Is that your subtle way of telling me I'll be wearing cuffs later?"

"And nothing else."

"I'm starting to enjoy this conversation too much."

"Me too," she snickered. "So I'm hanging up."

After returning her phone to its clip, she tried to make sense of Nick's notes. "I couldn't figure this out in four days and he wants a formal report in four hours." After pondering the problem for a minute, she jumped up and grabbed her purse. "Ray!" she flagged him down in the hall. "I need to get some time-sensitive information on a case from Nick and his signature on a report. Would you hold the fort down while I go to his house and bribe him with chicken soup?"

Always willing to pitch in, Ray nodded. "Tell him I hope he feels better soon."

"If we don't get this report to Ecklie, his throat will be the least of his problems." Walking away, Catherine grumbled, "Our asses will be in slings."

---

"You sure you don't need anything from your condo?" Nick asked when he parked his truck in his driveway.

"I don't know," Greg joked, "Do I need any special clothes for what you have planned for phase II of our date?"

"Only if you insist on playing Wii Golf in a polo or hate skinny dippin'."

"No, I'm good."

"Let's go then." Nick enthusiastically led the way to his front door.

---

***

"I haven't been here in months," Greg remarked while walking through front door and into the cozy living room.

"I had to stop inviting you over." After tossing his keys on the entryway table, Nick joined his guest. "The last time you were here I almost jumped you and I wasn't ready to go there."

"Are you talking about that awkward moment we had in the kitchen?" Greg remembered it well, they had bumped into each other and their mouths came dangerously close to meeting. "It seemed like you were holding onto me longer than you had to, but I assumed that was wishful thinking."

"No, you were right. For a split-second I wanted to bend you over the counter and have my way with you like we were in some cheesy porno flick. You know the type: co-worker comes over to handle some work and ends up gettin' manhandled."

Trying to take his mind off the enticing image Nick had just planted in his head, Greg changed the subject. "So, uh, are you still happy living here?"

"Happy or not I'm in this house until the Vegas housing market turns around because I'd take a huge loss, but yeah, my backyard sanctuary makes it all worthwhile." He had specifically purchased the home because of the hot tub, pool, and the privacy the tall shrubs lining the yard afforded. "I planted a few more things out back, but other than that, nothing's really changed since you were here except some new photos of my nieces and nephews." He grabbed an oak frame from the wall shelf. "And Tina gave me this a few weeks ago. I didn't even know she snapped it."

Greg studied the picture of Nick teaching Warrick's son how to throw a football. "He has his daddy's eyes."

"Yeah."

"How's the scholarship fund going?"

"He'll have a full ride for sure." Returning the frame to its spot, Nick smiled. "When I was home for my parents' anniversary, my brother kicked in a bunch of money hoping it would make up for all the crap he did to me as a kid and my sister got her law firm to match her donation." He caught his best friend staring at him with a silly grin on his face. "What?"

"It just hit me - I'm in a relationship with a great guy." Suddenly feeling like a love struck dork infatuated with the Big Man on Campus, Greg shifted his eyes to the floor and fell silent.

"Hey." Watching his obviously insecure friend keep his gaze glued to the floor, Nick said, "I hope you know that you're not the only one in a relationship with a great guy. I am too."

While desperately trying to feel worthy of everything happening, Greg mumbled, "You really believe that?"

"Yes! Think about it, when was the last time you saw me as happy and relaxed as I've been in the last twenty-four hours?" The skepticism in his lover's eyes was unfathomable. "Why is it so hard to believe I want this as much as you do? Or that I've wanted it for a while. And when did it become so easier for you to believe I'm a liar?"

Still actively fighting the voice in his head telling him he wasn't worthy, Greg remained mute.

Having seen the look of someone battling their inner-demons in his own mirror, Nick figured out the problem and took a different approach with the validation-seeking man. "I have about six hours to kill before I need to catch some z's and I really wanted to spend that time gettin' drunk with my boyfriend, kickin' his ass at Wii Sports, and fooling around, but from the way he's looking at me I don't know if he wants to stay and I'm devastated…which makes me think I actually need this relationship way more than him, because if he can just stand there and not care that we're wasting our night off playing hooky together when I'm dying to spend time with him..."

"Boyfriend?" Greg couldn't believe his ears.

"I knew that would get your attention." Nick chuckled. "For the record, I don't plan on sharing that term with anyone but you and my sister, but yeah, I like it, it makes me feel twenty instead of forty." Grabbing his Greg's hand, he playfully said, "For the next six hours I'm twenty again. I have low blood pressure, a cute boyfriend with a tight ass, and no job responsibilities." He brought their mouths together for a flirtatious kiss. "Promise me you'll relax and let that that be your last crisis of confidence for a while."

Somewhere between hearing Nick's validating words and swept up in his arms, Greg's worthiness returned. "I promise."

"Excellent!" Rubbing his hands together, Nick led the way to the kitchen, "Let's get this private frat party started." He grabbed two shot glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Stickin' with the theme of revisiting my youth, we're drinkin' my college beverage of choice." Pouring their drinks and dreaming of the fun yet to come, Nick's lips spread into a smile. "If the boss only knew," he toasted.

After clinking his glass to Nick's and downing the shot, Greg said, "It feels so liberating being bad behind an authority figure's back." He chuckled like the rebel teen he used to dream of being. "I'm getting the same rush as I did when I pleasured Pablo the Pool Guy by the family pool…until I got caught of course."

---

"Dammit!" Catherine gave up ransacking her purse for her keys and marched for the Lab entrance clutching the Martinez file. "First I get stopped ten times on the way to the exit and now this."

"Hey, Catherine," Detective Monte Valdez waved to his co-worker's bed buddy. "You seem a little crabby this morning. Hormones or trouble with your boyfriend?"

Sick and tired of placating Vartann's crude co-workers with politically correct responses, the fed-up girlfriend pushed out her chest and told the fifty year old ball buster, "No, I'm on a thirty minute break and I forgot my keys. Now it's already 4:30 and I'm going to be late for my naughty motel sex rendezvous with Lou. You'd think already having sex twice in twenty-four hours would be enough, but we just can't seem to get our fill of each other."

---

"Shoot!" Greg paused the Wii Golf game.

"What's wrong? Why are you stopping before the last hole?"

"My phone is vibrating." Greg put his finger over his lips. "It's my mother."

"How do you know if your phone is still in your pocket?" Nick asked with the wonder of a guy who had rapidly consumed more whiskey than he should have. "Another psychic ability inherited from Nana Olaf?"

"If I don't text my mother by 4:44 to confirm I'm alive, she calls when she wakes up at 4:45 to get ready for her 5:15 spin class." The frustrated son extracted his phone from his jeans. "If I don't answer it, she'll call the lab and they'll tell her that I'm out sick. Then she'll flip out and think I have AIDS or a brain tumor."

Nick used the opportunity to refill their glasses.

"I'm fine, Mom," Greg answered the phone. "Sorry, I got distracted and didn't realize the time."

"Distracted?" Nick teased as he tossed his shirt. "By what?" He popped open the button on his jeans and rested his hand just inside the waistband.

'Are you crazy?' Greg frantically mouthed before putting a finger to his lips and begging him to stay quiet. "Yeah, that was Nick." He rolled his eyes. "We're working in the Layout Room together."

"Oops." The whiskey flowing freely through his veins, Nick merrily played along. "Hi, Mrs. Sanders!"

Greg clutched his head. "Sure, I'll put you on speakerphone." He set his cell on the coffee table and cursed his smartass boyfriend with a shake of his finger.

"Hello, Nick," Mrs. Sanders warmly greeted the man responsible for proving Greg was only acting in self-defense when he killed Demetrius James. "How are you, Dear?"

After handing a shot glass to Greg, the overgrown frat boy replied in his friendliest Texas twang. "Never been better, ma'am." Sliding an arm around his boyfriend's waist, he grinned. "Life is good." He planted a kiss on Greg's neck, making him shiver with delight.

"Good to hear." Hoping her son was struggling in the field and ready to return to the safety of the DNA lab, the worried mother asked, "Now tell me…how is my son's performance?"

The men simultaneously covered their mouths to stifle their laughter.

"Hello?" Mrs. Sanders tapped the phone when she only heard noise. "Can you hear me now?"

"Yes, ma'am." Nick pulled himself together and finally answered her question. "I can say first-hand that Greg's performance has been top-notch. Just this morning he was handling something for me and I told him he was doin' a much better job when I handle the same thing myself."

Greg grabbed a couch pillow to cover his face and burst out laughing.

Refusing to accept that her son was doing well in the field, Mrs. Sanders asked, "But do you really think he should keep doing what he's doing?"

"Absolutely!" Nick vehemently replied, "As a matter of fact I recently told him that he's spent enough time on the bottom and I think he's ready to step up and take the lead."

"Oh." She couldn't mask the reluctance in her voice. "I suppose if he's doing that well he should keep it up."

Greg fell onto the couch and stuffed his head in the cushions.

"Mrs. Sanders, we're workin' against the clock so we really need to get back to what we were doing." Nick sweetly said, "It was nice talkin' to you."

"Same here. Please take good care of my son."

"You can count on it," Nick answered while grinning at his lover.

Mrs. Sanders sighed, "And please be careful, Gregory. Don't do anything risky."

"I promise," Greg managed to reply when he caught his breath. "I love you, Mom. Bye."

When the call ended, Nick smooched his boyfriend's cheek. "Aww. You're such a good boy."

"And you're not!" Greg threw the couch cushion at his rowdy mate. "I can't believe you did that."

"This is why you shouldn't answer the phone when you're drinkin'." Nick yanked his phone out of his pocket and proudly displayed that it was off.

"Let's go." Greg unpaused the golf game. "You're up. Hey, did we say what we're playing for?" Their previous Wii tennis game was for taking the next 'dumpster dive'.

"I said the winner tops and the loser buys pizza." Nick sliced the ball into the imaginary trees and ruined any chance he had of winning. "Uh oh. Looks like I'm buyin' pizza."

As he watched his Mii character celebrate its golf victory, Greg froze. "Did you throw the game?"

"Yeah." Nick flashed a naughty smile. "Cause you're well overdo to lose your top-ginity." Opting to wear only a brilliant smile, he quickly discarded the rest of his clothes.

His face flushing bright red, Greg nervously said, "I don't know…I don't think I'm drunk enough yet."

"If you get too wasted you won't be able to." Nick sweetly chuckled as he took his boyfriend's hand. "I don't know why you're worried. You've already done hundreds of things with me for the first time."

"On the job!" Edgy laughter spilling out of his mouth, Greg let go of his randy lover's hand and grabbed the shot of whiskey that had been poured for him. "This is a little bit different than lifting prints for the first time."

"You're right; lifting prints is a complicated, multi-step process. Sex is a lot easier." Relaxing on his cushy living room area rug, Nick told his co-worker the same thing he had told him dozens of times on the job when he was anxious about attempting a new procedure. "C'mon, I wouldn't let you do it if I didn't think you'd be good at it."

After downing his drink, Greg plunked the glass on the coffee table, flung his clothes, and joined Nick on the rug. "The Mii characters cheering in the background are a nice touch."

While snuggling close, Nick murmured, "I love how you went from being too shy to talk about this to wantin' an audience."

"Actually." Greg reached up to the coffee table and grabbed the remote to shut off the TV. "I only want to share this with you."

---

"Nicky, would you answer already!" Catherine shouted into her phone as she drove. "I'm five minutes from your place and you have to wake up. Come on, I really need you to do this for me."

---

"I can't do this!" Greg rolled onto his back laughing. "I can't take the lead after following your lead for a decade. It's unnatural."

Rolling on his side, Nick prodded his hesitant lover with words and body language. "You had no problem schooling me during our last case."

"On the intricacies of hair dye!" Greg chuckled, "I've dyed my hair a hundred times. It's an area of expertise. This isn't and I've never been above you in any capacity."

"Hey." Nick took a serious tone. "We can't be together if you feel inferior to me. In a serious relationship all things have to feel equal or it won't work."

"Serious relationship?" The addition of the adjective took Greg by surprise. "Really? When did the upgrade happen?"

Nick's smile returned. "Trust me, sweetheart, if I'm beggin' to bottom, it ain't casual." Concerned he was pushing too much, his voice softened, "Hey, you never have to do something you don't want to do. I just think if we're a couple you shouldn't feel too intimidated to do something you really want to try."

"I know. It's stupid." Feeling ridiculous, Greg admitted, "I've wanted to a bunch of times, but I never could make the first move and that always made the other person take the lead and every time that happened I lost a little more confidence."

"Well, as far as the first move goes…" Nick smiled as he tore open the condom that he had raced to the bedroom to retrieve earlier. "It's always safety first." After rolling it on, he used drunken humor as an ice breaker. "Okay, captain." Saluting, he said, "Your love rocket is clear for launch. All you have to do now is heat things up and overcome friction."

"Making me giggle isn't helping me feel aggressive." As much as Greg wanted to take the lead, it still seemed daunting to make the bold move required.

"Okay, I have another idea." Nick straddled his timid lover's hips and caressed his mouth with a steamy kiss. "We always work best as a team, so how about I set things up and you take it from there when you're ready." Instead of waiting for an answer, he heated things up with a string of passionate kisses.

"I love…" Greg fought the urge to say 'you'… "it."

"I love it too," Nick confessed, knowing exactly what they were both thinking. "Mmm." He caressed the parted lips in front of him while positioning himself to bottom from the top.

"This is good." Every bump of their bodies lowered Greg's inhibition. "Yeah." He slid his palms over his lover's strong arms and down to his waist. Sinking his fingers into his hips, he gave a little push.

"Are you tryin' to tell me something?" Enjoying the tease, Nick delayed their union until they were both panting with desire. "Okay," he whispered. "Real slow."

---

"Make it quick," Catherine snipped upon answering her phone.

"I love you too, Cath." Brass grumped.

"Sorry." Parking her Denali in front of Nick's house, she apologized, "Ecklie is all over my ass about the Martinez case. What can I do for you?"

"I wish I had good news, but I don't. I'm working that 419 on Madison with Sara and Wendy. Wendy got hurt. I don't how serious it is, but you should probably get down here since she's a trainee and you're her supervisor. Sara would have called but..."

"Not what I needed to hear right now." Whipping her Denali around, Catherine huffed, "I'm coming."

---

Gasping for air like a beached flounder, Greg collapsed on top of his lover's sweaty back.

"I'm never topping again, am I?" Nick teased as he lay trapped under his boyfriend's spent body. "You sure found your stride fast."

"It's all a blur."

"Tell me about it. I'm not even sure how you ended up behind me."

"Does it really matter how?" The proud man groaned with satisfaction. "I got there."

"You're still there."

"Hey, it took me thirty-five years to get here and I'm not ready to leave yet." Greg laughed. "Mmm…was it good for you? Not that I honestly care right now."

"You couldn't tell I was enjoying it?" Nick chuckled into the sheets. "I thought I was makin' it pretty damn clear."

"Sorry, I was a little self-focused and I couldn't hear anything but the noise I was making. Good thing we didn't attempt this at my condo, even though she wears hearing aids, my neighbor Mrs. Delaney would have heard me through the wall." Greg sighed with contentment. "If I died right now I'd die a happy man."

"And I would have a lot of explaining to do if Catherine and Doc showed up to process this 'post-ecstasy death in the sack'."

"And I'd be grateful that I wasn't the one left alive when Doc pried our sticky bodies apart."

"Speakin' of that, McToppy." Reaching around, he playfully smacked his boyfriend's ass. "Time to hit the shower."

---

"A decontamination shower?" Catherine stared at the white tent in front of the residence where she sent Wendy and Sara. "Why did they have to…"

"We found an unidentifiable substance." The Haz Mat commander explained, "We couldn't take a chance waiting on the results. I don't know how she hurt her ankle though."

Watching Wendy, who looked like a soaked rat, being treated in the back of ambulance, the concerned supervisor asked, "Sara, do you know how she got hurt?"

"One of the guys in white suits got a little overzealous bringing her to the tent and she banged it on one of the cement yard gnomes." Sara pointed to the oddly landscaped lawn. "Check it out, they have at least three dozen sitting out there. It's creepy."

Noting that Brass looked no worse for wear, Catherine asked, "How did you escape the power shower, Jim?"

"I left to get coffee and by the time I got back they had called the all-clear."

"How did Henry get involved?" Catherine queried when she saw the Toxicologist walking toward her wearing Sara's spare coveralls.

"I called him to see if he could help us identify some of the odd stuff we found in there. The next thing he knew he was being stripped in the shower with Wendy and me."

Brass's dirty mind caused him to snicker. "He went in there a boy and came out a man."

---

Stepping out of the sweltering shower, Greg joined his lover at the sink. "Thanks for the early birthday present. You don't have to get me anything else." He filled his lungs with air. "I'm good."

Returning his toothbrush to its holder, Nick shook his head. "Nah, it's not really a present if I got as much out of it as you." Opening a drawer, he grabbed a new toothbrush from the economy pack he bought at Costco. "Happy Birthday."

"Just what the son of a dentist always wants."

"I figured." After a peck on the cheek, Nick asked, "What kind of toppings do want on your victory pizza?"

"What every real man wants," Greg replied in a huksy voice. "Meat! Lots of meat!" Then he thought about it. "That's not really good for your blood pressure so make it a Veggie Lover's."

"Aww." Nick covered his heart with his palm. "You really know how to take care of me." Turning around he hobbled out of the room clutching his ass and waddling. "Oh yeah." He joked, "You took care of me real good!"

Joining in the laughter, Greg confessed, "You had me worried for a sec."

---

"What do you mean Wendy's going to the hospital?" Hodges yelled into his cell phone at Henry. "Why?" He grabbed his keys from his desk and raced for the door. "Which one? What happened?"

When he heard it was just a hurt ankle, the concerned man stopped to breathe. "How did it happen?"

After Henry ran through the story, Hodges screamed into the phone. "What? You saw her naked!" He couldn't believe Henry got the pleasure before he did. Afraid that the traumatic experience and mutual nudity somehow bonded the two of them together, he took off down the hall. "Tell her I'm on my way and then stay away from her!"

---

"You're in good hands." Catherine patted Wendy on the shoulder. "So if it's okay I'm gonna go and handle a few things."

"I'm fine. David is meeting me at the hospital." Wendy relaxed on the stretcher. "And the morphine shot is kicking in."

"I'm kind of jealous," Catherine joked. On the way to her Denali, she checked her phone for messages. When there was no reply from Nick, she grumbled, "I know you're punishing me for asking you to cover for my romp with Lou, but I'm coming over and I'm not taking no for an answer."

---

"Pizza!" Greg exclaimed when Nick's doorbell rang.

"That was fast." Nick handed over the TV remote and rolled out of bed. "We'll come back to naked channel surfing before we crash."

"Definitely."

"You want to eat naked by the pool?" Nick asked while grabbing a pair of jeans from his closet and pulling them on.

"You know me, there's nothing I love more than enjoying a tasty poolside snack with a hot guy."

"Ha!" Nick lunged for a lusty kiss and then rushed for the door. "Hey, I don't want the pizza guy thinkin' we're together so wait two minutes before you come out of the bedroom."

Greg reclined on the bed and relived the memories of the morning. It was hard to believe he and Nick had gone from friends to lovers in less than twenty-four hours, but at the same time it seemed like the love had been there for years.

"Mmm." He stretched and sniffed the pillow Nick had been reclining against. One sniff of the arousing scent made Greg's body react. "Pizza's better cold anyway," he snickered, believing he could convince his boyfriend to go another round before eating.

"It has to be two minutes," he announced while jumping out of bed. "Safety first!" A drunken giggle rolled off his lips as plucked a condom out of Nick's nightstand drawer. "Pre-lubricated Trojans and not a toy in sight, not a surprise. My boyfriend is efficient and traditional."

When he heard the front door shut, Greg darted into the living room. "Pizza has to wait," he laughed, "something came up." He pointed to his crotch. "Just in case you up for another round I came packing, but if you need a little more recovery time I have a Plan B – reenacting my Pablo the Pool Boy fantasy with you playing the part of Pablo."

"Plan B is more practical poolside." He handed over the pizza and hurried to the fridge for a couple of beers. "But definitely Plan A before bed."

Greg tossed the condom toward the couch and headed for the sliding door that led to the backyard. "Grab a pool net and start skimming, pool boy."

"Okay, but I don't usually do role play." Nick placed the bottles on his patio table. "In case I'm not good at it, that's why."

"You're a natural for the part, all you have to do is look bronzed and beautiful."

Even though he felt mildly ridiculous, the willing boyfriend grabbed his skimmer and went poolside. "Like this?"

"Perfect." Greg walked over and smiled like the desperate geek he was at eighteen. "Hey."

"Hey." Nick posed and eyed his man from head to toe. "Who are you?"

"I live here…when I'm not away at college."

"College boy, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm a freshman. This is my first Spring Break. My parents wouldn't let me go to Mexico with my friends."

"That sucks."

"Yeah."

"You're cute."

"Thanks."

"Let's see if you're smart too." Trying to minimize his lines, Nick unzipped his fly and asked, "Do you know what to do with this?"

"Yeah, of course." Greg nodded like a crazy person. "I watch movies."

When Greg dropped to his knees and dove in with the skill of an inexperienced co-ed, Nick tried not to laugh. "Slow down, Speedy." With his back to the pool and the sun warming his chest, he relaxed and ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. "Much better." He closed his eyes and moaned. "Yeah…just like that. That's real good for your first-time."

"Ahem!" Catherine released the side gate from her hand and let it close loudly.

Nick's eyes flew open. "Oh shit!" In a panic, he jerked away and crashed into the water.

Catherine lowered her sunglasses and approached her stunned employee who was still on his knees with his mouth gaping open. "Is that what the doctor recommended for your strep throat or do I have a sexual harassment suit on my hands?"

***

Nude and speechless, Greg sought cover in the water with Nick.

"We really don't have to make a big deal out of this," Catherine said, hoping they could somehow gloss over the incident and get right to work.

"I think we do," Nick snapped.

"We do?" Still buzzing from the whiskey, Greg turned to his boyfriend for the logical explanation he couldn't find on his own. "Why?"

Shock rapidly turning into anger, Nick barked, "Because she invaded my privacy, that's why! And it's not the first damn time."

"Are we still pissed about that?" Catherine stuffed her hands on her hips and glared at her peeved friend as he clung to the pool wall. "That stupid forensics conference was how many years ago? And it wasn't my fault you forgot to lock the adjoining door when you had a guest."

"You were supposed to knock first!"

"I did knock! And like I've explained many times, I thought you were yelling 'come in'." Having no time to waste, she pleaded, "You know I wouldn't have shown up here if I thought you had company, but after that Academy Award worthy acting performance you gave on the phone – hacking a lung and telling me you have strep throat, I really thought you were sick." Holding up the Martinez file, she snipped, "I came here to save your ass, not see it poolside. If I don't have this file on Ecklie's desk in an hour, he's going to take disciplinary action."

Remembering that he was supposed to have the Martinez file completed for Ecklie's meeting, Nick's ire dissipated. "Okay…but you coulda called first."

"I called ten times and left ten messages."

Greg reminded him, "You turned your phone off."

"Right." Anger morphing into embarrassment, Nick averted his eyes. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Really." Hoping humor would cut through the awkwardness, Catherine announced, "It was hardly shocking. I've assumed the two of you were together for a while. Honestly, the only thing I saw that surprised me was the Norwegian's lack of foreskin."

Greg mumbled, "As if my overly protective mother would have let me keep it."

"So we're good here?" Catherine asked with a hopeful lilt in her voice.

The private man anxiously said, "I don't know. Are we? Are you gonna tell Vartann about us?"

"Nicky, I grew up in Vegas, took my clothes off for cash, and I work in Law Enforcement – how can you possibly think I'm that naïve? I know we don't work in a gay-friendly environment. Hell, I'm still waiting for it to be a female friendly environment. If Lou's crusty cronies are giving me shit on a daily basis, I know they'd have a field day with this." Sighing, she shook her head. "Even if Lou asked, I wouldn't tell. I may be in a joint venture with him, but you're family."

"A joint venture?" Greg chuckled at the term. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"It's a long story," Catherine replied through a smirk.

"Okay. We're good." Nick breathed a little easier. "But joking about this is off limits."

"You wish." Catherine burst out laughing. "You're family! That means I'm obligated to taunt you and make you miserable. Ask Lindsay if you don't believe me." Strolling over to the patio table she said, "You have exactly five minutes to take care of business and report to work." Snickering, she grabbed the pizza box. "I'd give you the customary fifteen, but I'm in a rush and I figure you had a head start."

Nick rolled his eyes.

"Do you want me to go?" Greg vulnerably asked once Catherine was inside the house. "I mean, I don't want to go, but I'll understand if it's too weird to walk in there together after being caught."

"We have to face her tonight at the lab."

"True."

Nick filled his lungs with air and contemplated the situation. "Honestly, the longer we wait the more awkward it'll be so we may as well get it over with and it's not like she's in shock since she already thought we were together."

"That was kinda cool to hear actually." Greg rationalized, "It makes me believe that it's plausible for us to be together and not just some impossible fantasy only in my head."

Nick faced his anxious boyfriend and slipped his arms around his waist. "I want you to stay." After making sure Catherine wasn't watching from a window, he cupped Greg's face and planted a reassuring kiss on his lips. "I just hope she didn't hear me bein' Pablo the pool boy."

"You shouldn't be embarrassed." Greg's goofy grin returned. "Your 'let's see how smart you are' line was inspired. Seriously, the whole experience was exponentially hotter than the original."

"Really?" Nick bashfully confessed, "I only tried that kind of thing once before and hated every second of it, but with you it was honestly kinda fun…except the getting caught part."

"At least it wasn't my parents that caught us."

"Or worse." Nick hopped out of the pool and exchanged his soaking wet jeans for a towel. "My parents." He grabbed a second towel and tossed it to Greg. "Let's hurry. I don't want to give CSI Willows time to find any incriminating evidence."

"Uh…" Greg frantically cinched the towel around his waist. "Remember when I couldn't find a tissue or anything to put the used…"

Nick rushed for the door clutching his towel, but it was too late, Catherine was already staring at the evidence of safe sex floating in a whiskey glass.

"Classy, Nicky." Still holding the pizza, she teased, "I think I'll skip asking for a plate and just eat from the box."

"Sorry." Greg hurried over and grabbed the glass from the coffee table, hiding it behind his back. "I thought it was better than taking it off and leaving it on the floor."

"You were wearing it?" Catherine blurted with genuine surprise in her voice. "That's a drastically different scenario than the one I walked in on at the forensics conference."

"Uh." While his boyfriend stared at the ceiling and shook his head, Greg scurried to pick up their discarded underwear. "Kitchen table's a safe zone!"

"Really?" Catherine pondered the statement and scanned the room. "Would you be offended if I grabbed my ALS to make sure?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "If you need me to focus on the case, you really should stop torturing me."

"And if you need me to focus, you'll both need to put on some clothes."

"Figures," Greg huffed as he turned for the bedroom. "I threw myself at her for years but now that I'm off the market she wants to peep." He mumbled to Nick, "I guess being in a joint venture means you can still check out other guys."

Strutting toward the kitchen she set the record straight. "If I ever stop checking out guys, you better check for a pulse!

---

His heart pounding in his chest, Hodges raced into the ER and rushed over to the information desk. "I'm here to see Wendy Simms. She was injured on the job and brought in by ambulance."

"And you are?" Betty, the silver-haired triage nurse, calmly inquired.

Still trying to catch his breath, he flashed his ID.

"And your relationship to the patient is?"

"I'm her…her um…" Since they had never formally discussed official titles, he only felt comfortable sticking to the facts. "I'm her co-worker…and her friend. A very good friend…a close friend….a very good close friend and a concerned co-worker."

"Got it." Betty checked her computer. "I'll look up her curtain number."

"I need to run to the Gift Shop before I see her." Still shaking, he glanced around looking for a sign. "Do you know if they sell daffodils?"

"I doubt it, because most 'very good close friends' that come rushing into the ER to breathlessly ask about their co-workers want to buy red roses."

"But Wendy isn't a normal girl." When he saw the nurse's reaction, he rephrased, "I mean she's not the kind of woman who likes red roses, chocolate, and dinner in a fancy restaurant. She's different…special." His lips spreading into a smile, he waxed on. "One of a kind."

"She's fine." Henry grinned as he walked over to his co-worker. "Fiiiiiine," he teased, finally getting some payback for the torture Hodges had put him through on the night he was supposed to be wining and dining Wendy. "I always suspected she was hiding an amazing body under that mundane lab coat. The only thing that shocked me during our quality time in that steamy decontamination shower was her tattoo."

"Tattoo?" Hodges gaped at his beaming co-worker. "She has a tattoo? Where?"

"How could miss it?" Realizing that his co-worker had never seen Simms sans clothing, Henry explicitly said, "It's right above her cra…" Noticing the elderly nurse who reminded him of his mother, he took Hodges by the arm and whispered as they walked. "It's centered on her lower back…the very low portion of her lower back. I noticed it as soon as they had her bend over in front of me. I don't think she noticed me gaping at her though because she was too busy checking me out. Those power showers are really stimulating for a guy, but since I have nothing to be embarrassed about below the waist I didn't feel self-conscious. In case she's still moaning my name when you see her, that's why." Feigning concern, he said, "Uh oh…I think I better go find a vomit basin because suddenly you're looking very green."

---

"Veggie?" Lifting her gaze from the pizza box, Catherine smiled at Nick. "I thought you liked meat?"

Ignoring the jab, he pointed to the wall clock. "Tick tock. Ecklie's on the war path."

"Right." As much as she hated to get down to business, she slid the file across the table. "You do the summary while I ask you questions and when Greg works up the nerve to join us, he can make sure the file and the photos are in order."

"Sounds good," Nick replied while grabbing a slice.

"So when exactly did you guys hook up?"

"I thought you were gonna ask me questions about the case." Nick walked to the fridge for a cold beer.

"After we lost Warrick, right?" Her tone turned bittersweet. "That would be my guess, because we all saw life a little differently after that."

"If I tell you, do ya promise to drop it and work on the case?"

"Yeah."

After a swig, he took a seat and answered truthfully. "Yesterday. That's why I lied about us bein' sick. It caught us off guard, it was a little overwhelming and we wanted some time to deal with everything." He quietly said, "That's why I got so pissed at you for showing up."

"Hey." Trying to act as comfortable as possible, Greg took a seat at the table and eagerly asked, "How can I help with the case file?"

Feeling bad for interrupting what was obviously a pretty big deal, Catherine stood and picked up the folder. "I changed my mind. Ecklie needs to understand that I won't work my team to death. We're employees, not slaves. It's not our fault the budget is shot and we can't staff properly." Heading for the door she said, "Don't worry about Ecklie, Nicky. I'll take full responsibility for the file."

Appreciating the gesture, Nick smiled, "Thanks, Cath."

"Save it." Smiling, she twisted the knob without looking back. "Now you both owe me."

***

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