Title: Doing The Right Thing
Author: Jaxson K.
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: R
Summary: Nick needs to make a decision.....

***

Nick sat in his truck trying to decide what to do. It was either disappoint Greg again, or keep Cheryl off his back. He finally decided to just go home, turn his phone off, and try to get some sleep. When he got home, there were several messages from Cheryl on his machine, but he didn't bother to listen to them. He erased them all and went to take a shower. Once he finished his shower, he fell into bed and was asleep almost instantly. A few hours later, Nick woke up to a knock on his front door. He staggered to the living room to see who was there. He looked through the spy hole to find Cheryl standing there. Nick opened the door and told her to come in.....

"So what happened to you this morning, Nick, I waited for you....."

"Cheryl, I was too tired to do anything but come home and get some sleep..."

"I thought you ditched me for that Greg person you work with..."

"Greg happens to be one of my best friends. Besides, I don't say anything when you go and do things with Amy, so why are you dumping on Greg?"

"Nick, let's not argue....I thought maybe we could get together and have a little fun....."

"Not today, Cheryl....I'm just too tired. Maybe we can get together on one of my days off..."

"Here we go with the excuses! Nick, do you realize that we've only had sex twice in the six weeks we've been dating? What the fuck is up with that?"

Nick knew she had him there. He didn't want to say anything, but the sex wasn't all that great. Hell, the only reason he asked for Cheryl's number was to get Warrick off his back. His friend had been giving him good-natured hell about not having a girlfriend in a while, and had gone so far as to jokingly ask when Nick and Greg were going to get together. Nick decided to save face and ask her out. Nick knew he couldn't confess the truth about his feelings for Greg and didn't dare act on those feelings or try or acknowledge them for fear of being found out. Being raised in a Southern Baptist household in Texas will do that to a person.....

"To answer your question, Cheryl, things have just been crazy at work, and most of the time I'm so tired I can't think straight."

"Well, one thing's for sure, you need to shape up in the sex department, or I just might find somebody who can do the job!"

"Whatever, Cheryl, I'm going back to bed. You can see yourself out....."

Nick waited until Cheryl was gone and he locked the door. He made sure his alarm was set and lay back down to try and sleep.....

Nick was up before the alarm went off. When the alarm sounded, he reached over and turned it off. He'd had another one of those dreams about Greg again. He knew it was good because he had the raging hard-on to prove it. He took a shower and fixed a bite to eat. He got ready for work and left the house. He made it to the lab in time for assignments and as he was leaving to go to his scene, he saw Greg go into the break room. He felt bad because he didn't have time to talk to his friend. He was hoping he would get a chance to do so before the end of shift.

By the time Nick finished with his case, Greg was long gone from the lab. Nick was off for the next two days and wanted to try and talk to Greg. Hell, he would be surprised if Greg even gave him the time of day after all the times Nick had made excuses and ditched Greg in the past few weeks. Nick knew he was going to have to fix that situation very soon because he really missed his friend.

When Nick arrived home, he saw a familiar car parked at the curb. Cheryl walked up the driveway and greeted him when he got out of his truck.....

"Hey, lover boy!"

"Cheryl....."

"Got time for me this morning?"

Nick desperately wanted to say no, but said yes instead. The two went inside .....

After Cheryl left, Nick took a shower and a nap. When he woke up, he fixed himself a snack and decided to call Greg, hoping they could hang out and Nick could try to undo some of the damage he had done to their friendship. When Greg answered, Nick could tell something was wrong. Greg didn't sound like his usual cheerful self. Instead, he sounded cold and aloof. Nick asked if they could get together later that day and hang out. Greg said he had some things to do, but if he was free later, he would give Nick a call.

Nick hung up the phone puzzled. It finally dawned on him that Greg really was upset with him because he had been neglecting him. He was ashamed because Greg had been a really good friend to him and here he was treating Greg like shit all because of Cheryl. He wasn't sure about the situation with Greg, but he knew how to correct the Cheryl problem. He decided it was time he did what he felt was right in his heart instead of doing what was expected of him. He called Cheryl and asked her to meet him at the coffee shop near her house. Needless to say, she was thrilled at the idea of getting to see Nick twice in one day.

Nick got to the coffee shop early and placed his order. Cheryl came in soon after and sat down at the table with Nick......

"Cheryl, I'm glad you could meet me on such short notice....."

"Anything for you, Nick....."

"Cheryl, there's no easy way to do this but......"

"Hold on there, cowboy! I know you aren't trying to dump me!"

"Now that you mention it, that's EXACTLY what I'm doing!"

"You sonofabitch! Who is she?"

"What?"

"Who's the little bitch you're dumping me for?"

"Nobody.....there's nobody......"

"Bullshit! I don't believe you....."

"Believe what you want, Cheryl. I think it's best that we end this. I'm not happy, all you do is bitch and complain. So, the best thing to do is just walk away."

Nick got up and left the coffee shop. He went home and started doing some serious thinking about Greg and the way he had fucked things up between he and the lab tech. He knew now that ‘doing the right thing' was a mistake. At the time, Nick thought that by dating Cheryl, he could keep his true feelings toward Greg at bay. He knew now he couldn't have been more wrong. The feelings for Greg kept getting stronger, and he knew it was time to deal with them. He just hoped he hadn't damaged his relationship with the man to the point that Nick couldn't tell Greg how he felt.

On the drive to Greg's apartment, Nick remembered that Greg had said he had things to do. Nick dismissed the thought thinking that Greg said that because he was upset with Nick. When Nick arrived, he saw Greg's car parked in its' usual spot. Greg answered as soon as Nick rang the doorbell.....

"Well, well....if it isn't the almighty Nicholas Stokes...let me guess, Cheryl had other plans?"

"I don't know, Greg....."

"What do you mean? She's your woman, isn't she?"

"Not anymore...we broke up today....."

"Imagine that!"

"Look, Greg, I get it that you're pissed at me for ditching you and not spending much time with you lately, but there's no need to be shitty about it."

"Okay, I get it! It's fine for you to treat me the way you do, but I'm just supposed to keep quiet and smile and not feel. Is that it?"

"Wait, Greg....."

"No, Nick, I'm tired of waiting. You just don't get it....."

"What am I missing here? What is it that I don't get?"

"Nothing, Nick...just forget it. I'd like for you to leave now....."

"Greg, I came over to try and apologize for treating you badly these last few weeks and to see if maybe I could make it up to you....."

"Nick, the only thing you can do for me right now is go....."

Greg walked to the door and opened it. Nick barely made it through the door before Greg slammed it hard enough to crack a pane in the window above the door.....

Nick arrived home more confused than he was before he went to Greg's. He knew Greg would be angry with him, but this was about something more. It simply had to be. Trouble was, he had no clue where to start looking to find the answers. He went to bed that night with a heavy heart, saddened because he just knew he'd lost his chance to tell Greg his true feelings. He hoped that he could find a way to do so because it took him a long time to admit those feelings to himself, and he was terrified about telling Greg.

The next morning found Greg still in a foul mood. He'd been so pissed at Nick last night until he'd almost given himself away. He had almost confessed his innermost feelings to Nick, but caught himself in time. How the hell could Nick be so damn blind? Greg thought he was making progress and was just about to tell Nick how he felt when that damn Cheryl girl came along. He and Nick used to hang out a lot, and Greg felt he was making progress in his quest to win Nick's affection. Then, out of the blue, Nick didn't have time for him anymore, and all he heard at work was ‘Cheryl said this...' or ‘Cheryl does that...' until he was ready to scream. Nick did come over twice the whole time Cheryl was in the picture, and even then his mind was pre-occupied with her. Greg finally got to the point that he stopped asking Nick over, and the one final time he did, Nick didn't show up at all. That was the proverbial ‘straw that broke the camel's back'. Greg cried himself to sleep that night, and had been doing so every night since. Greg often thought about just dealing with Nick at work and staying away from him any other time. But, to be honest, that was easier said than done. He loved Nick so much until it hurt. He wanted to be with Nick so badly, but he was afraid it was useless to want that now.

When Nick woke up, he started thinking about the events from the night before. Even though he knew Greg was pissed, Nick still felt an overwhelming need to try and talk to Greg again. Nick called Grissom and asked if Greg was working that day. Grissom told Nick that Greg had taken some of his vacation time and wasn't due back until the end of the week. Nick showered and headed over to Greg's. He knew he had to at least try to get Greg to listen to him.

When Nick walked up the steps to Greg's apartment, he began to get nervous. He didn't want a re-play of last night, but he did want to talk to Greg. After taking a second to catch his breath, he knocked on the door. When Greg opened the door and saw Nick, he started to shut the door again.....

"Greg, wait!"

"What do you want, Nick?"

"I came to talk to you....."

"About what? I thought we said all we had to say last night....."

"Greg, I really think you'll want to hear what I've got to say. Please give me a chance to explain....."

Greg couldn't ignore the pleading in Nick's voice. He wanted Nick to go away, but knew he couldn't deny the man a chance to speak his piece.....

"Come in, Nick....."

Nick walked in and sat down on the couch. Greg sat down in his recliner across from Nick and waited for the older man to speak......

"Greg, first of all, I want you to know how sorry I am for the way I've treated you these past few weeks. As you know, I was occupied with Cheryl, but I realize now that I was making a mistake. I say that because I only asked her out to get Warrick off my back. He was teasing me about not having a girlfriend, and I didn't want to tell him the truth about why I didn't have one....."

"Why didn't you have a girlfriend, Nick?"

Nick knew it was now or never. He figured he owed Greg the truth.....

"Well, Greg, the truth is this: I've had feeling for you for a long time, but I tried my best to deny them. Liking men is sort of looked down upon where I come from, and I never acted on those impulses. I always tried to do ‘the right thing'. But the truth is, I want to be with you. If you don't want me, I'll understand......Hell, maybe I should just go....."

"Nick, wait! Please don't go......you don't know how long I've wanted to tell you I'm in love with you. I've followed you around all this time because I couldn't stand the thought of being away from you, I've done just about everything I knew to do to make you notice me. When I heard about Cheryl, I thought I'd lost my chance forever. I was angry because it seemed like I was making progress in getting you to notice me and then she came along....."

"Greggo, I always noticed you, but didn't know what to do."

Greg walked over to Nick and kissed him gently. When Greg pulled away, he looked into Nick's eyes and asked, "You know what to do now?"

END

***