Title: Tormented Sleep
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 61, 5_prompts
Prompt: 2, Waking from tormented sleep
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 Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Greg sat bolt upright in bed, clamping a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. He didn't realize that he'd cried out until he felt Ryan's strong arms around him, pulling him close, his boyfriend's lips brushing across his forehead as Greg leaned into his embrace.

"What's wrong, Greg?" Ryan whispered, hugging Greg close against him. "A nightmare?" One hand moved to stroke through Greg's hair, that touch more comforting than anything else could have been. "It's okay, baby. I'm here, I've got you. You're okay."

Greg burrowed into Ryan's arms, gulping back tears as the memory of the nightmare came to the surface of his mind. They'd been back in front of that warehouse, waiting to see what would happen, and the wire had gone dead, giving them no clue as to what was going on.

He and Brass had rushed into the warehouse, along with the police and the rest of the CSI team -- and Ryan had been lying there on the ground, his body riddled with bullets, cold and lifeless. Greg had fallen to his knees with a scream of anguish, gathering his lover's body into his arms.

The pain he'd felt in the dream was still there in his heart. Losing Ryan would destroy him; his heart and soul would never be the same if this man was torn from his life. All he could think about the moment was the pain he'd felt, even though it had only been within a dream.

Ryan wasn't dead, he reminded himself, sliding his arms around his boyfriend's waist and leaning against Ryan, needing to reassure himself that the man he loved was here in his arms, holding him, alive and well and in no danger of being otherwise.

This was the first time that he'd found himself waking from tormented sleep since Santos had been taken back to Miami; he hoped it would be the last. He didn't want to be haunted by nightmares, especially now that the danger was past and Ryan was unharmed.

Still, he couldn't get it completely out of his mind that his boyfriend had narrowly escaped a dangerous situation. Things could have gone horribly wrong at any point, and he still didn't like the idea that Ryan had willingly thrown himself into the path of danger.

"I-I dreamed about you being in that warehouse with Santos," Greg whispered, barely able to get the words out. "And that when the wire went dead, we came in -- and you were .... you were ...." His eyes filled with tears, and he shook his head, unable to go on.

"But that didn't happen, baby," Ryan said softly, brushing the tears from Greg's cheeks with gentle fingertips. "I'm here, and I'm safe, and Santos is behind bars where he belongs. I'm all right, Greg. Nothing happened to me, and we sent him to jail. We're safe now."

Greg nodded, unable to make his voice work properly for a few moments. "I know," he finally managed to whisper. "But my dreams are different. I guess they're just starting to come out now because it's all over. I just wish they'd go away. I don't want to think about what could have happened."

"Neither do I," Ryan told him, his tone rueful. "All I could think about the whole time we were caught up in that mess was that Santos would find a way to get to you when I wasn't around. I was scared to let you out of my sight for even a second."

"You must have had fits when I had to go to the bathroom," Greg teased, lifting his head and smiling at his boyfriend. "I know how you felt, Ryan. I just can't figure out why I'm feeling this way now, when I know that he's in custody and we don't have to worry about him any more."

"Maybe subconsciously, you're still afraid that he could get out of jail and show up in our lives again," Ryan suggested, his voice soft. "Don't think that way, Greg. He's going to be put away for good -- and he's not going to get out. We're done with him."

"I hope you're right," Greg whispered, a shudder going through his body as the image of Ryan's body lying cold and lifeless on the ground came back to him. He was grateful that it was only a dream that had woken him from an already tormented sleep, and not the truth.

"I'm right." Ryan's voice was strong and firm; Greg could tell that his boyfriend believed with all of his heart that their problems with Santos were over. He wasn't so sure himself, but he hoped so. He didn't want Ryan to face that monster again.

It was bad enough that Ryan had dealt once with coming face-to-face with the man who had violated him; Greg didn't want him to have to do it again. It must have been a nerve-wracking experience for Ryan, even though he hadn't talked yet about how it had felt.

Greg was sure that conversation was coming at some point; after all, there was nothing that he and Ryan couldn't share, and neither of them was uncomfortable with talking to each other about their innermost emotions. Sooner or later, they would discuss the matter.

For the moment, all he wanted to do was lie here in Ryan's arms, safe in his boyfriend's embrace -- and know that Ryan was safe, too. They'd come through the fire virtually unscathed, even though they'd both had a few bad moments along the way.

Hopefully, there would be no more waking from tormented sleep, for either of them. There might be a few more nightmares, but each one would end as this one had -- with them lying wrapped in each other's arms, safe and secure in the love they shared.

"If I have to testify at his trial in Miami, will you come with me?" Ryan asked, his voice soft and a little uncertain. "I know it might be hard for us both to get the time away from work, but you were as involved in this as I was. So it'd be good for you to be there."

Greg knew that what Ryan really meant was that he would need the support of his boyfriend if he had to testify and if the full disclosure of what Santos had done to him during their first meeting came out. And he already knew what his answer was, even before he said the words.

"You know I'll be there, no matter what," he murmured, raising his head from Ryan's shoulder to look his boyfriend directly in the eye. "There's no way anybody could keep me away from you, not when you're going to need me. I'll get the time off work somehow."

He could see the look of relief on Ryan's face; had his lover really thought that he wouldn't be there? "Ry, you know nothing could keep me away if you have to testify," he said softly, raising a hand to stroke the other man's cheek. "I'll be right there beside you every second."

"I know you will," Ryan answered, his tone soft and husky. "I never doubted that. I'm just a little worried that the boss might not let you go. But he'll have to. Because there's no way I'm going without you. The lab will just have to get along without the two of us for a few days."

Greg nodded, tightening his arms around Ryan's waist and lying back down against the coolness of the pillows, snuggling close against the warmth of his boyfriend's body. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against Ryan's shoulder, letting himself relax in his lover's arms.

He hoped that the nightmares would be chased away by their closeness, by being here in Ryan's arms. He didn't want to endure another dream like the one that had just woken him; he didn't want to wake from that kind of tormented sleep again with those memories still crystal-clear in his mind.

Slowly, Greg relaxed into Ryan's embrace, drifting back into sleep. His last coherent thought before slumber claimed him again was that Ryan was here to chase the nightmares away, and that if any of them dared to attack him again, he would be safe in his lover's arms.

***