Title: The Fury
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 52_challenge
Prompt: 41, Fury
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 closed his eyes as he rocked back and forth with Greg in his arms, trying to comfort his boyfriend. The other man had awoken from a particularly bad nightmare with a scream; Nick had never heard a sound that was filled with so much fear.

For what felt like the hundredth time, he cursed Shane for making Greg feel like this. If that bastard was here in front of him right now, Nick would beat him to a bloody pulp, then strangle him with his bare hands. He had never felt so furiously angry before.

Yes, he had, he corrected himself, his mind going back to the moment when he'd found Greg in that abandoned house. That was the angriest he'd ever been; his fury had known no bounds, and he could have committed cold-blooded murder if they had caught Shane at that moment.

That was better than what the bastard deserved, Nick thought, another surge of fury moving through him. He might have damaged Greg for the rest of his life with what he'd done; no one deserved to have to deal with the kind of nightmares that Greg had been having.

No one deserved to have suffered all that Greg had been through, either; he told himself as he stroked a gentle hand down Greg's back. His boyfriend had come a long way from those few days after Shane had kidnapped him from the hospital, but he was still in recovery.

Maybe he always would be, Nick thought with a soft sigh. But he couldn't blame Greg for that; nothing that had been done to him was his fault. He hadn't realized what Shane was like when they'd first gotten together; he had been too young and inexperienced.

Greg couldn't be blamed for falling for someone who had mistreated him. He wasn't the first person who Shane had fooled into thinking that he was a good guy, and he probably wouldn't be the last. Nick hated to think that there might be someone else out there being abused right now.

But at least Greg was out of it, he told himself, trying to push down the fury that kept rising within him at the mere thought of all that Shane had done to Greg. He was safe, and Shane was never going to lay a finger on him again. Nick would make sure of that.

It worried Nick that they hadn't been able to find Shane; it was as though he'd disappeared off the face of the planet, except when he surfaced again briefly from time to time to leave Greg those chilling "gifts." It hadn't happened lately, but Nick knew it wasn't over.

Shane was just biding his time until he could find Greg alone, until the two of them let down their guard and he had a chance to slip through it. Nick didn't doubt that for a moment; he knew that Shane was a dangerous predator who would try to finish what he'd started.

He wanted Greg dead, Nick told himself. He wanted to exact revenge for the fact that Greg didn't love him, and that he'd escaped Shane's clutches. If they hadn't found Greg in that abandoned house when they did, Nick was sure that his boyfriend would be gone.

He held Greg more tightly at that thought, raising a hand to gently stroke his hair. He didn't want to think of a world without Greg in it; he couldn't bear the thought of never having known this man, of never having been able to love him and be with him.

He would protect Greg from Shane, no matter what it took, no matter what he had to do. If he could have his way, he would seek out Shane himself, not resting until he found the bastard and confronted him. And then, it would end badly for Shane. He'd make sure of that.

Nick sighed again, feeling Greg shudder in his arms. His boyfriend had been sobbing softly on his shoulder ever since he'd awakened and taken Greg in his arms; this must have been a particularly bad nightmare for him to have been so affected by it.

Or maybe it wasn't a nightmare at all, Nick thought, his stomach clenching at the thought. Maybe he'd been dreaming of the time that Shane had held him captive in that dark, abandoned house, and had done things to him that Nick didn't even want to think of.

Maybe it wasn't nightmares that kept Greg from sleeping, but memories of what had actually happened to him. He wouldn't blame his boyfriend for that; what little he knew of it was so horrific that he didn't know how Greg managed to keep those memories locked away most of the time.

Those memories needed to be banished into the mists of time, but Nick understood that Greg wouldn't be able to do that until Shane was caught and put behind bars where he belonged. Until they could make sure that the bastard would never hurt him again, those memories would linger.

Nick felt impotent fury at the situation rise within him again; he hated to think of Greg suffering through those nightmares, and having to deal with those memories. He would do anything to erase them from his boyfriend's mind, or better yet, for them to have never happened.

Greg deserved so much better than what he'd gotten from Shane; he deserved to be loved and protected, to be cherished like the treasure he was. And Nick was determined that he would be the man to do just that, for the rest of their lives together.

But he couldn't do that if he held on to the anger that simmered inside of him; he had to keep a clear head to find Shane and bring him to justice. He couldn't go off half-cocked; if he did, then it would be that much easier for Shane to goad him into doing something he'd regret.

Nick took one deep breath, then another. He had to push that fury down, not let hit come to the surface. It wouldn't do Greg any good now; he couldn't let that anger out, not when his boyfriend needed comfort and love. Greg would only recoil from that anger.

He had to keep his fury to himself -- and hopefully, they would find Shane soon so he could let that fury out on the man who deserved it. He didn't know if that would get rid of the anger that was growing inside him every time he thought of Shane, but it would have to do.

He couldn't let this fury poison his relationship with Greg -- in a way, Shane would win in the end if he did that. He would have managed to come between them, and Nick knew that was what the bastard wanted. He wanted to control Greg's life, even when he wasn't a part of it.

That wasn't going to happen, Nick vowed to himself, the fury starting to course through his veins again. He wasn't going to let Shane get anywhere near Greg -- even if he had to sacrifice himself to ensure that Greg was safe. He would do anything he could to protect the man he loved.

Right now, he wanted to unleash the fury on Shane, to see the fear in that bastard's eyes when he realized that he had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. He wanted to confront the man who had caused Greg so much pain, and make him pay for it in kind.

Closing his eyes, he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Greg's head. For now, he had to push that fury away, and concentrate on comforting Greg. There would be a time and a place for it later -- and when that fury was unleashed, he knew that nothing would hold it back.

***