Title: The Devil On the Stairs
By: Caroline Crane
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: R
Summary: Sometimes Nick has a little trouble letting go. A missing scene for "The Execution of Catherine Willows".

Greg let himself into the house and dropped his keys on the table near the door. He had no idea where Nick was; usually they saw each other at the end of shift, but tonight Nick hadn't come into the lab and by the time Greg finished all his work the rest of the night shift was long gone. He didn't expect Nick to wait around for him, but it kind of hurt to be blown off completely.

He heard a loud bang from the end of the hall and headed toward the sound, stopping in the bathroom door to watch Nick fumbling with the bottles lined up on top of the medicine cabinet.

"Hey."

Nick glanced over his shoulder and nodded before turning his back on Greg again. "Hey. Where've you been?"

"Working." Greg tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but it was hard to ignore the fact that Nick had barely glanced at him before going back to cleaning the bathroom. "Catherine was on a rampage tonight, I've been totally swamped. I mean it was a heavy case and all, but she didn't have to be such a bitch." He paused and waited for Nick to look up, but the other man didn't even seem to be listening. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Needs to be done, right?" Nick did glance up at him then, letting out a heavy sigh when he registered Greg's expression. "Sorry. Guess everybody had a rough shift. I just…that house, you know? I can't get clean."

He shuddered at the memory and Greg instantly forgot all about Catherine and his own workload. He pushed himself off the doorframe and reached for the rag Nick was holding, dropping it on the sink before he reached for the hem of Nick's shirt.

He knew enough about what went on in the field to know there were some nights when Nick couldn't just leave the case at work. Sometimes – most of the time – he could shake it off, but every once in awhile he had a hard time letting go. There was no way to know what would set any of them off, but Greg knew what he could do to help now.

Nick let Greg pull his shirt off, then leaned back against the sink as Greg turned on the shower. "I already tried that, G. It didn't help."

"Humor me." Greg grinned as cheerfully as he could as he pulled his own shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. The next minute or so was spent in silence, Greg methodically removing their clothes while Nick stood patiently and let him. And he knew Nick was having a rough night if he was letting Greg do all the work; generally he was a take-charge kind of guy, and if Greg wanted the upper hand he usually had to fight for it. So he felt a little bad about the thrill he got when Nick just stood there and let him do whatever he wanted, but it was nice to know the other man trusted him this much.

When they were both undressed Greg herded Nick into the shower, turning his back long enough to reach for the soap. He smiled when he felt a strong hand slide down his back, the skin of Nick's palm rough from hard work and the chemicals they used at work. He suppressed a shiver at the touch and turned around again, gently pushing Nick's hands away when the other man reached for him.

"Shower. Soap. Clean. Remember?" Greg grinned and smoothed the bar of soap over Nick's damp chest, working it into a lather before he moved on to first the left arm, then the right. When he reached Nick's hands he lifted each one carefully, placing a kiss in the center of each palm before he scrubbed it too. "You've gotta be more careful in the lab. Your skin's a little discolored right here."

He traced the slight yellowing on the heel of Nick's hand with a fingertip before glancing up at the other man. It was the first time he'd let himself look at Nick's face since he'd started the process of cleaning him, and his heart skipped a beat when he registered the other man's expression. They didn't spend a lot of time talking about feelings – they didn't really spend a lot of time talking at all – but he thought he knew how Nick felt about him. He was pretty sure Nick felt the same way he did, even if they'd never gotten around to saying it.

There were times when he had his doubts, though, when he wondered if maybe he needed Nick a little more than Nick needed him. But looking at Nick now he could see the gratitude in the other man's eyes, he could see affection too and something else that he didn't dare put a name to. Nick looked tired; there were lines around his eyes and even though they weren't even close to done with their shower Greg had the sudden urge to dry him off and put him to bed. Instead he reached out and touched Nick's forehead, smoothing out worry lines with his thumb. "Feeling any better yet?"

"Yeah," Nick answered, and even though Greg could tell he was lying he didn't argue. There was nothing that could really erase the worst cases except time, and four dead girls was a lot to forget, even if three of them had died fifteen years ago. But he was willing to try, and whatever Nick wanted Greg would give him. He let himself be pulled forward for a long, slow kiss, the kind that made his toes curl and didn't happen nearly often enough for his taste. When they finally parted he was breathing heavily and he knew his face was probably flushed, but he just smiled and slid out of Nick's embrace.

"Turn around and I'll do your back," he said, grinning at the soft laugh Nick let out before he turned and braced his hands against the wall.

Greg sucked in a sharp breath at the sight before him, doing his best to ignore the stirring in his cock and focus on the task at hand. After all, he knew Nick was worth the wait.