Title: That's the Way It Is
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3, csi50
Prompt: 40, Use
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.

***

"I can't believe Brass wanted me to send you out there as bait instead of me," Ryan grumbled to Greg as the two of them got out of Greg's car and headed towards his apartment. "He's got to be crazy. This is my problem to handle, not yours."

"He's right in some ways, Ry," Greg objected, shaking his head. "That guy knows that the best way to get to you would be to come after me. That's how criminals always work. They strike at what their victims love, so they can keep the upper hand."

"What did he think I was going to do, just agree to that like a good little solider?" Ryan fumed as he pulled out his keys and opened the door, stalking inside. "He's lucky I didn't deck him right there in his office, in front of Russell and everybody else."

"If you had, then you'd have lost your job," Greg pointed out, closing the door and locking it before going to the couch and sinking down onto the soft cushions. "And you got him to listen to your plan, and agree on it. So you can't be mad at him."

"Yes, I can!" Ryan knew that he was acting like a child, but he still felt infuriated by the idea of Brass suggesting that Greg should be the bait instead of him. "He's got to be nuts if he thought I'd agree to that. I'm the one who should be in the line of fire, not you."

"Ry, if you'd done something stupid like that, then everybody would have known about us without either one of us having to say a thing," Greg told him, his voice soothing. "It's a good thing you didn't. We've got enough problems without our personal relationship coming out in the open."

Ryan sighed, sitting down next to Greg and kicking his shoes off before he stretched out and closed his eyes. It had been a long day, one that had left him feeling drained and wrung out. But he'd gotten what he wanted; he had the backup necessary to put his plan into action.

"You're right, I know," he admitted, turning his head and opening his eyes to smile wanly at his boyfriend. "I just hate the idea of anybody using you for anything like that. If anything happened to you, I'd be lost, Greg. I'm just as scared of losing you as you are of losing me."

"We're not going to lose each other," Greg said softly, obviously trying to keep his voice firm and steady. Ryan could hear the trembling note under the words; he reached out to pull Greg into his arms, closing his eyes and resting his cheek against his boyfriend's hair.

"This plan is going to work, Greg," he said, keeping his voice as firm as he could. "We're going to catch this guy by appearing to give him what he wants, and he's not going to have the chance to hurt anybody again. And that's the way it is."

"I want this to work," Greg said, stifling a sigh. "I just don't like the idea of you being the bait. But I know that's the only thing that'll work -- unless we did what Brass suggested. And I know you'd never go for that, so this is what we're left with."

"I know this isn't exactly what you want, Greg," Ryan said, wishing that there was some way they could deal with their problem without either of them having to feel apprehensive about the outcome. "But this is all we can do. He's not going to come out into the open otherwise."

"I'll be right there," Greg told him, a catch in his voice. "I'll be right there with the cops, and the rest of the team. None of us are going to let anything happen to you, Ryan. I promise. I'd throw myself in front of him and face anything if it meant keeping you safe."

"You can't do that, babe," Ryan murmured, hugging Greg close against him. "I appreciate you wanting to, but the only way this is going to work is if he thinks I'm meeting him alone. You can't get too close. He can't know that there are people backing me up."

"Won't he be smart enough to realize that you wouldn't meet with him alone?" Greg asked, frowning as he spoke. "He's got to know that you're not just going to agree to be alone with him, not after what he did to you the last time you two faced off with each other."

"He will, but he'll think that I'm there alone," Ryan told him, hoping that he was right. He knew that Greg would be in the forefront of his backup team, and he didn't want his boyfriend to be in any danger if the plan somehow went awry.

"I'm not going to pretend that I like this idea, Ry," Greg said, shaking his head. "But if you're right, and it's the only thing that'll draw him out to the point where the cops can get him, then I'll go along with it. But it doesn't mean I'm happy about any of this."

"I know you're not, babe," Ryan said with a sigh. "But you know it is the only way to bring him out into the open. He has to be presented with a chance to have what he wants. And he wants me. I'm just glad he'd not after you."

"He is," Greg said soberly, his gaze meeting Ryan's. "He's after me because he knows that hurting me is the best way to get to you. In the long run, though, you're the one he wants to hurt. And I'm terrified that he's going to try to kill you once he has you."

"He's not going to have me," Ryan objected, a frown furrowing his brow. "The team will be right there, just in case anything goes wrong. But it won't, Greg. I'll be safe. He's not going to do what he did to me the last time. He's not going to have the time for it, for one thing."

"I hope you're right," Greg told him, his voice hollow. "I couldn't stand that, Ry. If he did anything like that to you again, I'd kill him with my bare hands. That isn't something you want to hear, I know, but that's the way it is. If he hurts you in any way, he's dead."

"It's not going to come to that," Ryan said, feeling less assured than he sounded. He had been avoiding that thought, not wanting to let it crystallize in his mind. He didn't want to remember what had happened to him the last time this man had him in his clutches.

Just the thought of it made a shudder go through his body; his arms tightened around Greg's waist, an involuntary reaction to the memories that he couldn't push away. Ryan buried his face against Greg's neck, breathing in the scent of his lover's skin, feeling his nearness.

Nothing was going to happen to him. They were going to catch this guy, and even though there would be some risk involved, it would be minimal. At least it would be him taking the risks, and not Greg. His boyfriend wouldn't be in any kind of danger.

That was what he had to focus on, the fact that this would keep Greg out of harm's way. If his nemesis was concentrating on him, then his attention would be deflected away from Greg, and that was the most important thing, at least for him.

"So what do we do now?" Greg asked, his voice trembling slightly on the words. "Just have you go out by yourself and seem like you're spending more time alone, and see what he does? That's not going to work, Ry. It's too dangerous for you. I'm not going to let you do that."

Ryan shook his head, frowning as he thought. "It shouldn't be too hard to get the word out there that I'm looking for a confrontation with him. And since he'll have a hard time getting to me, he'll have to call me. He'll get my cell number. Then he'll set up a time and place to meet."

"And he'll tell you to come alone," Greg finished, his voice flat and expressionless. "That's the part I don't like. What's to keep him from making sure he chooses a place where the backup can't find you? I'm not going to let you walk into a trap, Ryan."

"I won't, babe," Ryan assured him, hoping that he was telling the truth. "The team is going to know every little thing that's going on. I swear, I'm not going to try to do this alone. I know what he's like, and I know better than to let him get the upper hand again."

Greg nodded, his expression sober. "You'd better not try to do this alone," he said, making an obvious effort to keep his voice from trembling. "I'm not going to lose you, Ryan. Not now, and not to him. That's just how it is. You're not going to take any unnecessary risks."

Ryan nodded, hoping that he would be able to keep that promise and not disappoint his lover. The last thing he wanted to do was to take any risks; he wanted to keep himself safe so that he could go home to Greg, and they could continue their lives together.

He could only hope that his plan would go as he wanted it to, and that nothing unforeseen would take place. But Ryan couldn't help feeling in his heart that he was wishing for too much, and that some kind of spanner would be thrown into the works before all was said and done.

***