Title: Shaken
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: Horror, mission_insane
Prompt: 2, Nightmare
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Nick Stokes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Nick was awakened by a sudden movement next to him; when he opened his eyes, he realized that Greg was sitting up in bed, gasping for breath, one hand on his chest. He sat up, wrapping his arms around the younger man and pulling him close, whispering soothing words in his ear.

"Greg, baby, what is it?" he murmured, sure that he already knew what had caused the nightmare Greg had obviously pulled himself out of. "Talk to me, babe. Tell me what's wrong. If there's anything I can do to make it better, you know I will."

Greg only shook his head, burrowing into Nick's embrace, not speaking. Nick closed his eyes, holding Greg close, feeling his lover's heartbeat pounding against his own. Whatever the nightmare had been, it was bad enough to have shaken Greg more than usual.

He didn't have to ask what it had been about; the only thing that gave Greg nightmares lately was Shane. He knew that his boyfriend often had horrific dreams about what had been done to him -- and that Shane would come back to finish what he had started.

Nick hated that Greg was still haunted by the past, but he didn't know how to remedy the situation. He wasn't surprised that Greg still suffered from nightmares periodically; anyone would, after what that bastard had put him through. And Shane was still out there somewhere.

He had no doubt that Shane would surface again; people like him couldn't resist coming back when they had what they considered "unfinished business" to take care of. But this time, he wouldn't be able to get to Greg. His intended victim would be more protected than he'd been before.

Shane wouldn't count on that. Or maybe he would, and anything they tried to do to protect Greg from him would already have been anticipated, Nick thought with an inward sigh. There was no way to tell; Shane was wily, and he definitely had a vendetta against Greg.

But he wasn't going to let that bastard get to his boyfriend agian, Nick told himself, his inner voice strong and firm. No one was going to hurt Greg -- not on his watch. He would tear Shane apart with his bare hands if he had to -- and he was sure it could easily come to that.

It seemed like a long time before Greg finally raised a tear-streaked face from Nick's shoulder, gulping as he spoke. "I-I was dreaming a-about Shane," he managed to whisper, raising a shaking hand to wipe away his tears. "It's n-not like I wanted to -- b-but the nightmares w-won't stay away."

"I know, baby, I know," Nick murmured, pulling Greg close and kissing the salty tears from his cheeks. He hated to see Greg like this, but he knew that until Shane was safely behind bars, breakdowns like this were inevitable from time to time. He didn't blame Greg for his loss of control.

Most people who had been through what Greg had been forced to endure wouldn't even have the capacity to return to work, or to do much of anything. They'd have spent time in therapy, and would probably be afraid of their own shadows. But Greg was made of sterner stuff than that.

Nick was proud of his boyfriend for how he had come through all of this, but he didn't expect Greg to be completely unscathed by it. No one would be, and Greg was a sensitive soul. Nick knew that, deep down, he was more affected than he appeared to be.

"Do you want to talk about it, babe?" Nick asked, keeping his voice soft and soothing. He hoped that Greg would start talking about his nightmares; he was convinced that doing so would help them to go away, that they wouldn't seem so frightening if Greg could put them into words.

Greg sighed softly, shrugging his shoulders, not looking at Nick. "I-I don't know," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm not even sure that I remember a lot about it now. It w-was just s-so .... so real when it was going on. They always are."

Nick nodded, his heart breaking for his boyfriend. How he wished that he could do something, anything, to take those nightmares away! But there was nothing he could do, other than be here for Greg when his lover needed him, and offer all the support that he could.

"Talking about it might make it seem less real," he ventured, hoping that Greg wouldn't feel that he was being pushed to talk about something he wasn't ready to discuss. "But if you don't feel like you can, that's okay, too. I want you to do whatever feels comfortable for you, Greg."

"I don't know if talking about my nightmares would make them just go away, Nicky," Greg said, shaking his head, his voice cracking on the last words. "I'm just not ready to do that yet. I think I need to struggle through this in my own mind first before I can share it with anybody. Even you."

Nick nodded, wishing that Greg felt differently, but respecting his boyfriend's decision. It hurt that Greg didn't seem to feel that he could talk to him about this, but he didn't want to push the younger man into anything he wasn't ready for. Maybe it would happen, in time.

"But I wouldn't mind it if you want to j-just ... hold me for the rest of the night," Greg whispered, his voice trembling again. "I'm afraid to go back to sleep, Nicky. I don't want to have another nightmare. I-I can't deal with feeling like they're always going to attack me any time I close my eyes."

"If they do, I'll be here to keep you safe, baby," Nick promised, his heart breaking all over again at Greg's words. He wished more than ever that there was something he could do to banish those nightmares for good, to give Greg the nights of peaceful rest that he deserved.

Unfortunately, that probably wasn't going to happen for a while -- at least, not as long as Shane was still out there, and Greg felt threatened in any way. It was imperative that they track him down and put him behind bars where he belonged, Nick thought grimly.

No matter how much he wanted to protect Greg and keep him completely safe, he knew that wasn't going to be possible. There were so many ways that Shane could slip past his guard and get close to Greg; he only hoped that the bastard wouldn't discover any of those ways.

He wanted Shane out of Greg's life completely -- and the only way to do that was to catch him and make sure that he answered for the crimes he'd committed. He belonged in jail -- and Nick had the feeling that putting him there was the only way to keep Greg safe from him.

As long as Shane was free, then Greg would keep having these nightmares. And unless he was mistaken, they were getting worse as time went on, Nick thought grimly. He could swear that each time he had a bad dream about the past, Greg was more unsettled.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it at the moment other than hold Greg close and offer what comfort he could. Maybe there would be a day when Greg wouldn't need that kind of comfort, but Nick knew that day wouldn't come for a long time.

"Thanks for being here for me, Nicky," Greg said softly, resting his forehead against Nick's shoulder again, his voice very soft and a little hesitant. "I should be over this by now. I shouldn't be jumping at shadows and freaking out over nightmares. But I can't help it. They still shake me up."

"They probably will for a while, babe," Nick said, his voice soft and loving as he gathered Greg more closely into the shelter of his arms. "I'm here for you whenever you need me. And maybe sometimes even when you don't, and I just want to be there," he added with a smile.

Greg snuggled closer into his arms with a soft, contented sigh, and Nick leaned back against the pillows with his boyfriend in his arms. He hoped that there wouldn't be any more nightmares tonight, but if there were, he would be here to keep Greg as safe from them as he possibly could.

***