Title: You Save Me
By: WarumonoKyo
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: R
Warnings: non-con
Summary: Nick notices a change in Greg and confronts him about it. What secret will he uncover when Greg finally breaks?

***

A story of opening yourself entirely to someone, loving someone unconditionally, and trust.


He was on auto-pilot, subconsciously processing sample after sample. For the last week he'd been confined to the lab while Mia was out on maternity leave.

"Greg..." the voice echoed in the back of his mind, but he ignored it, starting yet another DNA sample through the computer.

He closed his eyes, turning away from the doors and glass plated windows.

The hand that clamped down on his shoulder caused him to fly out of his own thoughts, falling out of the swivel chair in the process.

The deep throated, familiar, chuckle behind him got his attention quickly.

"Damnit, Nick! That wasn't funny! You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that!" he panted, his breath heavy.

"Chill out, Greggo. While you were off on cloud nine, I called you twice, paged you once, texted you three times, and stood in the doorway for five minutes trying to get your attention. So, in all fairness, that kind of kills the stealth rating," The Texan explained. "What's with you lately?"

Greg gave him a curious, yet apprehensive look. "What do you mean?"

"You've been acting weird. Jumpy, snappy, fidgeting, quiet... We've all noticed it, Greggo."

The younger man hung his head. "I'm fine, Nick. Don't interfere in things you don't understand."

"I can tell that there's something bothering you. You're my friend. I notice these things." Nick prodded.

Greg offered a half-hearted laugh, turning away. "Like hell you've noticed..." he muttered, ignoring Nick's reply to his statement. "Go away, Nicky."

"Get off of me!" Greg begged, writhing under the man sitting on his now bare chest. His shirt had been torn apart not seconds ago.

The hand across his cheek caused him to recoil and bite his lip hard enough to draw blood, the metallic taste assaulting his senses. "Shut up! Shut up right now or we'll kill you now!" Another slap followed.

He held back the tears that threatened to fall; he refused to give them that satisfaction.

A fist collided with his abdomen, leaving him to croak out a protest that went unheard by the three merciless men assaulting him.

Tears stung his eyes as the memory flashed before him, his back pressed against the cool metal of the lockers. "No...I've cried enough already," he scolded himself, but he still shed the tears. "Damnit..." he cried, throwing his right arm to the side and letting it slam into the lockers, the physical pain it caused temporarily shutting off his emotional anguish.

The resounding noise drew quite a bit of attention, several lab techs poking their heads into the room to see what was going on.

"Greggo...?" Nick's voice broke through the quiet murmurs of the others and the terrifying silence of the room. "What... Why'd you do that?" he looked between Greg's bruised and bloodied fist and his own locker. "Here, let me help you with that."

While Nick stood to retrieve the first aid kit from one of the other benches, Greg turned away, his eyes locked on his mangled hand.

"Give me your hand," Nick instructed, once again shocking Greg out of his thoughts, with that, he pulled the ex-lab rat turned CSI to his feet, sitting him down on the wooden bench. "So, is there any reason you felt the need to punch the hell out of my locker?" he questioned, pouring some Peroxide over the younger mans knuckles.

Greg remained silent, unable to look the man in the eye.

Nick let out a sigh, applying some ointment to the wound before dressing it. "Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll listen."

"Thanks," Greg mumbled, pushing himself to his feet and walking away from his friend.

***

Nick stood pacing the hallway in front of Greg's apartment, unsure of whether the younger man would want him there or not. Every ten or so times he passed the door, he stop, turn, and raise his hand to knock, only to drop it before he made contact and resume his pacing.

After five attempts he sighed, turning to leave, when a voice stopped him.

"Sir, what are you doing?" an older woman stood in her doorway watching him.

"Oh," Nick stammered, turning around. "I was going to check on my friend, but I don't think he'll want to be disturbed, ma'am." Greg had called out sick today, and Nick was concerned after yesterday's events in the locker room.

The elderly woman smiled softly. "I'm Mrs. Drake, you must be Nick."

He cast a curious glance at the woman. "Ugh, yeah, Nick Stokes."

"Greg tells me about all of his friends from work," she laughed at his expression. "He seems upset lately, has something happened?"

Nick bit his lip in thought. "That's what I was planning on talking to him about but he's not all that talkative as of late, which is not very characteristic of him..."

Mrs. Drake laughed. "You've got that right. The only way that I've discovered that will get him to stop talking is freshly baked apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Works every time." She smiled.

He chuckled softly, his confidence boosted enough to try the door one more time. "It was nice meeting you, Ma'am." He shook the woman's hand before turning back to the door and knocking on it.

He waited a moment and got no response, as a precaution, Nick tried the handle and was quite surprised when the door opened. He immediately knew something was wrong at that point. Anyone who lived the life of a CSI knew entirely too well what the world could do if you weren't careful, he was sure Greg locked his doors.

"Greg?" he called into the dark apartment, pushing the door the rest of the way open. "Greggo?"

He heard what sounded like sobbing from one of the doors down the long hallway to his left. "No! No! Get off of me!"

The words he could make out through the wall did nothing to ease his fears and he sprinted the last ten feet to the door, throwing it open, procedure be damned to hell. "Greg?"

The wind was knocked out of him as his body was thrown against a brick wall, the concrete scraping and scarring his already injured back. He swallowed a sob, trying to bring his arms up to cover his chest and head, but they weren't done yet.

He cried out in pain when something made contact with his stomach again. He dared open his eyes, only to see a boot connect with his chest this time.

"Why?" He coughed. "What did I do to you?" he could barely make out what he was saying, he didn't expect they could.

Another kick hit his chest and he coughed up a bit of blood in the recoil. "You're gay, what other reason do we need?" the man before him spat in his face.

"Greg!" Nick was holding him by the shoulders, shaking him lightly to try and get him out of whatever terrible nightmare he was trapped in. "Greg, come on, wake up!"

The younger man shot bolt upright, his eyes wide and his breathing labored. "Get away!" he wailed, squirming his way out of the grasp Nick had on his arms. "Get away from me!"

"Greg!" Nick yelled, locking his eyes with the spiky haired man. "Relax. You were having a nightmare."

Greg shook his head, backing away from Nick when he finally let go. "No... It wasn't just a nightmare..."

The Texan shot him a questioning gaze. "Wh – what? What are you talking about, Greggo?"

He shook his head, "Nothing."

"Would you please talk to me? I want to help you and I can't do that if you don't tell me what's gotten you so upset lately."

"I was raped!" Greg shouted back, before turning away and locking himself in the bathroom.

Nick stood frozen to his spot for several moments before he regained control over his body. "What?" he demanded. He couldn't believe this, someone had done that to him twenty-six years ago and now... the man he loved was experiencing the same thing.

"Greg, please come out here." He asked quietly.

A muffled sob followed. "Nicky, drop it."

He shook his head, despite the fact that the traumatized man couldn't see it. "Never. You want me to walk out of here knowing this happened to you and not do anything about it? Never. I can't do that, Greggo."

"Why do you care what happens to me?" Greg snapped, throwing the door open to come face to face with the Texan. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

"I want to help you," Nick replied, his hands on Greg's shoulders. "You're my friend and I want to help."

"A lot of people at the lab are my friends. I don't see them sprinting over here. Why are you?" he growled, pulling away from him and moving across the room.

Nick sighed, so far, only one person knew what happened to him when he was little, looks like he was about to make it two. "Because, I was raped, too. When I was nine. I know what you're going through. It's hard and it sucks and you can't get through it without help."

Greg stared at him for several seconds, contemplating whether to tell him or not, hanging his head and closing his eyes, he nodded; "Alright. I'll tell you."

***

It took Greg several hours to explain the entire scenario to Nick, between the frequent pauses to calm himself down enough to speak again and Nick's threats of bodily harm on the bastards that did this to his friend.

By the time he'd finally finished, the younger man was exhausted; having lost several days of sleep due to the constant nightmares and the fear that engulfed his mind.

"It's okay..." Nick tried to comfort the spiky-haired ex-lab rat. "It wasn't your fault. Everything will be alright, Greggo..." he whispered quietly, running a hand through the other's disheveled hair.

Greg shook his head against the Texan's chest, too tired to move from the spot. "It's my fault. If I wasn't... this way... it wouldn't have happened, Nicky."

Nick swallowed his own tears upon hearing the younger's words. "No, it wasn't your fault. They had no right to do that to you. No matter what. You didn't want it to happen, they broke the law, and they hurt you in ways I don't want to think about. They are the ones at fault. Not you."

"When did you get so smart?" Greg let out a choked laugh, his tears staining Nick's grey 'Texas A&M' t-shirt. "Will you stay until I fall asleep?"

"I'll stay as long as you want me to."

Content for the moment, Greg rested his head against Nick's shoulder, the Texan moving his arm out of the way and letting it rest across the back of the sofa they were seated on. The older man closed his eyes, as sleep claimed his love, letting his mind process all that he'd heard in the last few hours.

He was positive that Greg was asleep, but the silent sobs that rocked the body he was holding made him think otherwise. In an attempt to further comfort the man, he let his arm drop from the sofa to lie across Greg's back, holding him against him lightly. A few moments later the sobbing subsided, replaced by a soft snoring sound that told the Texan that he could return to his own thoughts.

His best friend had been raped by three men a week ago today. It was a hate crime, they'd done it because they'd found out one of Greg's secrets. Secrets he hadn't even known about until today. Greg had gone to the hospital afterwards, or, more accurately, been taken to one when a pedestrian happened upon his body in an alleyway three blocks from this very apartment. He had chosen not to press charges at the time, but Nick would eventually talk him into letting the evidence that was collected be processed. He wanted everything to be normal again, but it never would be.

What seemed like only minutes later, Greg's thrashing woke him from a sleep he didn't even know he'd fallen into, in response, he pulled the younger man closer to him, holding him tightly in his arms.

Two pairs of arms held his squirming form as still as possible as the third man prepared to finish what he'd started, removing the C.S.I.'s jeans and kicking them aside.

"Don't do this, I work with the police, you won't get away with it." He tried tossing his final bargaining chip into play, only to find it thrown right back at him.

"Not if you're dead you won't." The third man's right hand clamped around his throat, cutting off his oxygen. "We know where you live, where you work, how you get there and who your friends are. If you tell anyone we will tear your life apart."

Greg froze, his body going stiff with terror as the reality of what was happening really sunk in to the full extent. He was trapped.

"Let go...." He whimpered softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't..." he managed to pull out of Nick's arms, pushing off against the older mans chest and flying to the other side of the room.

Nick stood up in concern, apprehensively approaching the other. "Greggo... it's just me. I won't hurt you. I'd never hurt you. Look at me Greggo." He said softly, watching the fear fade and recognition pour into Greg's eyes before he threw himself at the Texan.

His breathing was ragged, a cold sweat covered his skin, he had a pounding headache and the room was spinning, Greg noted, as he fell into Nick's arms. "I'm sorry." He cried. "I can't let anything happen to you..."

"What are you talking about, Greggo? I'm fine. I'm scared to death for you."

"I told you what hjappened. They said they'd tear my life apart if I told. Currently, my life is you." He whispered, his eyes falling to the floor as he pulled away from the man.

Nick shook his head. "I'm not leaving you alone with those bastards still out there."

"You don't understand! They'll kill you. They know everything about me! It wasn't just a random attack they know where I am, where I'm going... they know that you are my friend."

"I won't leave you." He swore.

The ringing of the telephone on the coffee table caused Greg to jump a foot in the air at the sound, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

"Should you answer that?" the Texan questioned.

Greg swallowed, that same question running through his mind as well. Reluctantly, he picked up the receiver, holding it to his ear.

The three words he heard before the distinct 'click' of a hang-up sent him running into the bathroom to throw up what little food he had eaten lately.

Nick came in behind him. "What did they say?" He was almost afraid to ask, but he had to know.

Greg hung his head. "We're watching you."

***

"I'm calling Grissom." Nick stated, walking back towards the phone.

Greg ran after him, grabbing his arm before he could reach it. "No! You can't do that! If they find out..."

The older man turned to face him. "You can't let them control you like this, Greggo. Eventually they'll come after you again, they could kill you. I can't let that happen to you."

"Nick. Grissom can't help. He doesn't need to know about what they did to me. No one does. If I thought you'd tell I wouldn't have told you, either. I trust you enough to think that you wouldn't do that to me." He said, still holding Nick's arm.

The Texan motioned for him to sit down on the sofa again. "They're threatening you. They're controlling everything you do. It's about control, if you take it back, they can't hurt you anymore."

Greg looked away, "I can't tell. Not yet. I'm not ready for everyone, anyone to know. I just can't handle that yet."

Nick nodded. "I understand that, I do." He said, rubbing circles over the younger man's back which seemed to be calming him down. "But you're not safe here. If you won't tell or let me tell, come stay with me."

"What?"

"Move in with me for a little while, until you feel like you can tell someone else."

"Are you serious?"

"This is not a trick question, Greg."

He laughed softly a small smile spreading across his tear-stained face.

"Is that a yes?" Nick asked, locking his eyes with the younger mans.

"I don't want you to be in danger because of me," He sighed, trying to look away but unable to. "You'd be at risk with me around you. They'd know."

Nick took Greg's hand in his. "I want you to be safe. You can't tell me you feel safe here, knowing that they can find you. Please, come with me?" he begged.

"Alright, I'll stay with you." He nodded.

Nick let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. You want to go pack?"

Greg stood, retreating to his bedroom to grab some clothes and toiletries he'd need for his stay at Nick's house, he tossed a few books and his beloved iPod into the duffel bag, grabbing a pillow off of his unmade bed and returning to Nick who had remained n the sofa.

"That didn't take long," the Texan smiled. "You want to go now?"

Greg nodded. "The sooner the better."

Several minutes later they were in Nick's Denali, pulling onto the busy street. Greg laying in the backseat, his bag on the floor next to him. Nick's country music playing softly in the background, Big & Rich's hit song, 'Holy Water' causing more meories to surface.

"Pulse is weak..." he heard the voices around him swirling into words he couldn't bring himself to understand, questions he couldn't answer, and thoughts he couldn't process.

One paramedic was starting an IV the other was trying to get information out of him. "Sir, Is there anyone we can call to meet you at the hospital?"

"Mmm... Nick...." He mumbled incoherently, the EMT's hadn't even understood it.

His attackers had taken his wallet, which, of course, had his ID, and since he wasn't exactly completely conscious at the moment, the paramedics had nothing to go on other than a frantic 911 call from a pedestrian walking home and happening upon what was almost a body. When they'd first arrived at the scene, they'd started to call in a DOA but Greg's subtle mumbling proved them wrong, though he was nowhere near safe yet.

"Nicky.... Help me..." he mumbled, but the haze had already taken over his mind and his plea had gone unheard to everyone but himself.

"Greg..." Nick's voice pulled him from his trance, and, had it not been for the current need for secrecy, he would have sat bolt upright and tackled the man with a hug.

"What?" he whispered.

Nick's gaze fell on the rear view mirrors. "I think someone's following us."

"We have to loose them!"

"No kidding. The purpose of getting you away is kind of defeated if they follow you to my place." Nick replied, making a random turn down a road that would take them further away from his house. "Let's see if they are or not."

He made another turn and another, pulling into a parking lot before checking the mirror again, the black Nissan Ultima was no longer behind them.

"Well?" Greg questioned, meeting Nick's eyes in the mirror.

Nick shrugged. "If they were following us, we lost them."

Greg sighed in relief, "Good."

"Just... stay down," the older man told him, pulling out onto the street yet again, unaware of the car that pulled out of the shadows of a nearby building.

***

"Are you sure about this?" Nick questioned, sipping the cup of coffee he'd made while Greg was in the shower now handing the younger man a cup.

Greg nodded. "Work's the only escape I have. I need to do something. I'd go stir crazy just sitting around."

The Texan knew what that felt like, sitting home alone doing absolutely nothing. He'd done it several times in the last few years.

"Nicky?"

He looked up at the younger man. "Yeah?"

Greg cast his eyes downward, reaching into his bag. "Could... could you help me with the cuts on my back?" he asked, setting several bandages, a bottle of peroxide and a tube of antibiotic ointment on the coffee table.

"Of course," he agreed, moving behind him. "I have to lift up your shirt, okay?" he told him, knowing he was better off saying it than freaking his friend out by just doing so.

Greg nodded, pulling the shirt up to his neck. "It looks terrible. As if my scars weren't bad enough already..."

Nick ran a finger over the spider web of scarred flesh from the lab explosion several years ago, the new wounds were horrible. Six deep slashes marred his skin and what looked like rug burn covered most of his back, from the brick wall he was thrown against, he figured. He could see a few gashes on Greg's shoulders and upper arms as well.

"It's weird seeing you like this," he said, cleaning the wounds before dressing them. "I'm so used to you being wild and crazy, not scared and shy." He said, pulling the shirt down when he finished.

Greg nodded his thanks, turning to pull the older man into a hug. "I couldn't do this without you."

"I wouldn't want you to," Nick said. "Do you need any help with the other cuts?"

"I already did the ones on my stomach, but the ones on my shoulders I need you to do, if you don't mind." Greg added.

Nick nodded, quickly bandaging those four lacerations as well before standing. "We should get going."

Greg nodded, following Nick out to his car and taking refuge, once again, in the backseat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they pulled into the lab parking lot, Greg found himself wondering whether or not this had been a good idea.

"You sure you're up to this?" Nick asked, looking back at him.

"Yeah, I can go back in the field today, so I'll have something to keep my mind off of it."

Nick nodded, climbing out of the car, the younger man doing the same.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon, the two of them were seated in the break room with Sara, Warrick, and Catherine, awaiting case files from Grissom.

"Cath, where is he?" Warrick questioned, impatiently, tossing his empty coffee cup into the trash from across the room.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Your guess is as good as mine," she replied, leaning against the counter.

"You guys aren't supposed to be guessing," a voice in the doorway stated, as the figure walked into the room. Grissom sat down across from Warrick, as Catherine pulled up a chair as well.

"What have we got?" Sara asked, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, sitting on the other side of Greg, Nick to his right.

Grissom flipped through the slips of paper in his hand. "Rick, you and Cath have a DB in the mountains. Go check it out." He handed the paper off to two overjoyed C.S.I.'s before returning his attention to the others. "Nick, you and Sara take the B&E in Henderson."

Sara stood to leave, but Nick stayed seated, "Just let me finish my coffee," he lied, wanting to make sure whatever Greg ended up working on wouldn't make the younger man worse.

"I'll be working on paperwork since Ecklie has started breathing down my neck again, and Greg, you're solo on the rape-murder investigation at the Belagio." He handed Greg the slip of paper. "Go. All of you; shoo."

"Ugh, Gris..." Nick started, seeing the color drain completely from Greg's face. "Could Greg and I trade?"

"Why?"

"It's just that... I know Greg called out sick yesterday and I thought that he'd maybe want something a little less stressful." He said the first thing he could think of.

Grissom looked to Greg. "If that's the case he shouldn't have come in."

"No, I'm fine," he lied. He couldn't go home or back to Nick's, he needed the distraction, even if the distraction was going to do nothing to, in fact, distract him. "I can do it."

Nodding, Grissom walked to the doorway. "Good."

"You ready?" Sara asked, turning to Nick.

He reluctantly nodded, "One minute." He followed Greg to the locker room. "If you want to do this, call me if you need help." He told the younger man.

Greg nodded. "I will."

With that, Nick turned and walked away.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Field kit in one hand, car keys and sunglasses in the other, Greg walked out of the lab in bagging faded blue jeans, a tight, long sleeve, black shirt, his field vest and black Converses. He had his cell phone in his pocket and was trying to convince himself he could handle this.

As he approached the department issue, silver, Chevy Tahoe, he noticed a piece of yellow paper under the windshield wiper.

Hoping this wasn't what he thought it was, he picked it up, after slipping a latex glove on and carefully unfolded it.

"Stay away from him before we do to him what we did to you."

The words on the page terrified him almost as much as the actual rape had. He'd told Nick that he didn't want him to get hurt and now they were threatening him. He couldn't let that happen.

He looked up, scanning the parking lot to see if the man in question had left yet. His car was gone, but another was in its place. That face. He could never forget that face. One of his rapists was sitting not twenty feet away from him.

***

Greg jumped into his car, starting the engine and pulling out of the lot as quickly as possible. He started toward the crime scene he'd been assigned to, trying to think of what to do.

"Nicky..." Greg sighed, digging his cell phone from his pocket and hitting the first number on speed dial. It rang five times and went to voicemail. He hung up and tried again, praying that Nick would pick up. It was sent to voicemail again and he snapped the phone shut in irritation.

He glanced on the rear view, spotting the black Ultima that Nick had seen yesterday not far behind. Three cars separated him from his attackers.

"Damn it!" he growled, flipping the phone open again. An idea came to mind and he hit the second speed dial button. This time he got an answer. "Hey, Sara, can I talk to Nick?"

A moment later the phone was handed of to the CSI 3 and Greg launched into an explanation. "They're following me." He said simply. "They know I'm staying with you and they're tailing me again. I saw one of them in the parking lot outside CSI." Greg decided against telling him about the note, he didn't want to scare him.

"Greg, meet us at out crime scene. Get here as fast as you can." He said, quickly telling him the address and directions there. "Stay on the phone with me, okay?"

Greg agreed, making a sharp right turn in hopes of deterring his pursuers. He sped towards Nick's crime scene, trying to attract the attention of a police officer running radar. He could explain what was going on, ask for an escort, anything.

"Almost there." Greg said, taking another sharp turn onto a back road as a shortcut.

Upon doing this, Greg realized that it was the worst thing he possibly could have done He heard the car behind him, undoubtedly his attackers, floor the engine, and he saw them advancing on him in the mirrors.

"Nick, help!" he said into the phone before the car lurched forward and then backwards as they rear-ended him and backed off again. The car started to come along side of him forcing him off to the side of the road; it then slammed into the side of the car, sending him careening off the roadway into the ditch on the side of the road. The sudden change causing his Tahoe to roll down the small hill landing upside down at the bottom.

"Greg! Greg, answer me!" Nick screamed into the phone. "Something's wrong..."

---------------

Nick was frantic; driving over the route Greg would have taken to get there. He was almost all the way back to the scene and he'd seen no trace of the younger man or the car.

As he passed a small side road, he noticed a set of skid marks going down the street. "Oh, God, no..." he shook his head, praying he was wrong and some kid had just been testing out a new car. He turned down the street, the shattered red glass from a tail light immediately disproving his theory.

He followed the road a bit further, searching the sides and down the embankments. Then he saw it.

Greg's Tahoe was completely upside down, almost pancaked in the process. "Greg!" Nick screamed, jumping from his car and running down the hill. "Greg, please be okay..." He looked to see if Greg was still in the car, both relieved and worried when he saw no evidence of him in the driver's seat. "If they took him away from me..." he said aloud, running around to the other side of the truck calling for him.

"Damn..." Nick said, freezing in place. Greg laid before him a small gash on his forehead leaking crimson blood in a trail down to his neck. His left arm and wrist were bent at awkward angles, as was one of his legs.

Moving beside the younger man, he pulled out his cell phone, dialing 911 and reporting their location. Once an ambulance was dispatched, he several bones looked broken and he dared not move him because of that fact.

"Please wake up, baby..." he whispered running a hand through the other mans hair, unable to do anything else to help without risking further injury.

Greg groaned, his mind clouded by white as he fought to wake up. His mind wandered to the alley near his apartment.

He was walking back to his apartment, he'd dropped his car off at the repair shop to get the brakes checked and since it was only about six blocks from home, he decided to walk.

"Excuse me, do you know how to get to the MGM from here?" a voice behind him questioned.

He turned around, facing a tall, well built man in black clothing. It was at that moment he knew something was wrong, several other people were on the street and had a hand not clamped over his mouth he would have yelled for help, but he didn't have time. Another set of hands grabbed him arms, dragging him down the alley they were standing by.

'Some CSI I am...' He scolded himself as they threw him against a wall, a man on either side of him to keep him from escaping.

The one closest to him grabbed his wallet, tossing it to the man who seemed to be in charge. "So, Greg Sanders, nice to meet you."

Greg tried to sit up, wanting nothing more than to fall into Nick's arms, curl up in a bed and sleep for the next week, but he found most of himself immobilized. His left leg was strapped in place as was his right arm and his neck. "What's going on?" he mumbled groggily.

His eyes searched the room for someone he recognized but none were in his limited field of vision.

"Sir, you were in a car crash, were almost at the hospital." A woman to his right informed him.

He shut his eyes, clearing the cobwebs from his mind. "Where's Nicky?" he mumbled, trying to look around the rest of the ambulance.

He felt a hand wrap around his own. "I'm right here, Greggo."

***

The door of the Grissom's office flew open. Yup, It was a safe guess to assume that Ecklie was not in the best of moods as he stormed into the maze of entomology textbooks and specimens.

"What can I help you with, Conrad?" Gil asked calmly, looking over a container of fire ants for a case.

Grissom's attitude did not help Ecklie's at all. "Sanders totaled a department car."

"What?"

"You heard me!" The head of the lab had smoke coming out of his ears. "This is going to hit the ceiling. You'd better find out what's going on. Or I will."

Grissom stared after the man as he stormed out of the office, the slam of the door not even making him flinch.

-----------------------

Meanwhile, Nick was pacing in front of the ER doors; they had kicked him out after several attempts at calming the Texan down. He was fuming, he wanted an update on Greg and he wanted it now.

On his seventy second trip past the double doors he came face to face with his supervisor, the interruption throwing him off balance and ultimately to the floor.

"That was graceful, Nicky...."

Nick, however, did not think this was the least bit humorous, he stood up, glaring at the silver doors and took a seat across from them, Grissom sitting beside him.

"Why are you here?"

As if it were the stupidest question in the world, Nick said one word. "Greg."

"I know, he was in a car accident, but why are you here. Shouldn't you be helping Sara finish your case?"

Nick's jaw dropped. "You want me to go process a crime scene while Greg's in there?" he asked.

Grissom shook his head. "No, I don't, you wouldn't be able to in this state anyway. But, this wasn't just a car accident was it?"

"What are you taking about?" Sure, he knew that it was more than a car accident, it was attempted murder, but that would lead to explaining Greg's rape. He didn't want to do that just yet.

Grissom dug something out of his pocket, handing it to Nick. "I had Greg's car towed to the lab, Sara and two guys from day shift found this."

Nick looked at the yellow paper. "Stay away from him before we do to him what we did to you," he read the note aloud.

"Mean anything to you?"

"That's why..." Nick said, his realization hitting hard.

Grissom took the paper back. "Could you please stop speaking in code and tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Greg's gonna hate me for telling you this..." Nick sighed, a hand over his eyes. Grissom did need to know this and know he would.

---------------------

The double doors opened just over an hour later. "Is there a Nick here?"

"Nick Stokes," The Texan was almost instantaneously at the door. "Is Greg okay?"

The nurse asked him to follow her. "Your friend is doing better. He's not out of the woods yet, but he wasn't cooperating and keeps asking for you. He's a got a broken radius and a fractured wrist. He most likely covered his face with his arm when the car flipped, we see this a lot. He also has a broken tibia and a small fracture in his collarbone from whiplash." She listed off what they'd found thus far. "He also has a mild concussion and he had several stitches to the wound on his head."

Before Nick could say anything else, another nurse came up. "Sir, we'd like to know if you know anything about the cuts on his chest and back."

Nick swallowed. "He... was raped last week. They did it to him. There's no police report, he didn't press charges, but he had an exam, I'm not sure where. Can I see him now?"

The first nurse nodded, leading him down the hall to one of the private rooms. "Here you are."

He thanked the woman, entering the room. "Greg?" he looked around the room. Pale green walls were a nice contrast to the usual white, a window was beside the bed, and a TV was in one corner, on top of a large dresser. There were also several chairs situated in the room. Grabbing one, he slid it over to the side of the bed, trying to get as close to him as possible.

The younger man appeared to be sleeping, facing the window. Nick reached out, grabbing his hand and began running his thumb over the soft skin of his uninjured arm. At his touch, the man rolled over, with some difficulty, to see him. His left arm was encased in a large cast, wrapped with neon green covering, matching the one on his leg.

"Hey... how are ya holding up?" Nick asked, wiping tears away with his free hand.

Greg smiled. "I'm glad you're here."

"There's no where else I'd be right now." He replied. "I thought I'd lost you. When you weren't in the Tahoe, when I saw you... I was terrified. I thought they'd taken you from me," He cried, leaning over to lightly hug the man he loved.

"Nicky... they threatened you. They said they'd go after you, too, if I didn't stay away from you." Greg admitted, tears springing to his eyes as he held onto him.

Nick nodded. "I know, Grissom towed your car, they found the note, he showed me. I had to tell him what was going on," Nick said, preparing to be pushed away for telling the secret. "He's pissed because I didn't tell him sooner, but I had to, Greggo."

"I understand. I'm not mad at you." Greg said, still holding onto the man for dear life.

Nick looked him in the eye. "Can you tell me what happened on the road?"

He nodded, quickly explaining what had happened before and after his call to Nick.

"We'll find them, baby..." Nick whispered, still holding Greg's hand. "They'll never hurt you again."

Greg raised an eyebrow at the use of a pet-name. "What did you call me?" he asked.

"Ugh... nothing..." Nick said, looking away in fear of scaring the man away with words he didn't need to hear right now.

"Tell me," Greg protested. "I'm curious now..."

"Nuh-uh, I'll tell you when the three of them are in jail and I have personally thrown away the key." Nick swore. "Only then will I tell you."

Greg nodded. "Alright."

***

"Sir, is there anyone we can call to come get you?" one of the burses asked, checking his stats on the several monitors he was hooked up to. "After we finish the exam, you'll be free to go."

Greg shook his head, he had no desire of letting anyone find out about this and none of his family was around here, they were in New York. "No, I'll just... get a cab or something."

"If you're sure..." the nurse sighed, jotting several things down on his chart before turning to leave the room.

In truth, the last thing he wanted was to be alone right now.

He stirred from his dream, smiling when he saw Nick asleep in the chair beside him. In two days the man had left for no more than an hour, running home to change and grab some clothes for Greg when he was released.

"Nicky..." Greg tried to get the Texan's attention. He looked from his plaster coated arm to the older man, a malicious grin spreading across his face.

'Thunk.'

Greg laughed watching as Nick shot bolt upright in the chair, trying to figure out what had, literally, hit him.

"That was evil."

"Think we could take out Ecklie with it?"

Nick chuckled, watching as one of Greg's doctors came in. The woman, one Katie Lawrence, picked up the chart at the foot of the bed, flipping through its contents before looking to Greg. "Are you ready to get out of here, Mr. Sanders?" she asked.

"Really?" Greg replied, reaching for Nick's hand.

Ms. Lawrence nodded, "As soon as you're ready." She said, noting this on the file before turning to leave. "Oh, and there's a Mr.Grissom here to see you."

A moment later Grissom came in, taking a seat in one of the chairs beside Nick. "I heard you're being released."

"Yup, finally. I hate hospitals." Greg nodded.

"Who doesn't?"

Grissom signaled for them to pay attention. "I assume that you're going back to Nick's house, right, Greg?" When the younger man nodded, he continued. "We'll need to set up 24 hour surveillance and we need access to your apartment and the evidence from the rape exam for processing, is that okay?"

Greg bit his lip, his attention focused everywhere but on his supervisor, but he nodded. "Yeah..."

"Alright, we'll get a police detail assigned to you before you head home. It should be a few hours," Grissom explained, quickly saying goodbye to go set things up.

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...." The sound of Greg's phone vibrating echoed in Nick's Denali as he drove the two of them toward his condo, the police detail following them in an unmarked squad car.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..."

"Are you gonna get that? It could be Grissom." Nick asked.

Greg nodded, grabbing the phone from its place in his bag and flipping it open. "It's just a text message."

He clicked the select button, not thinking anything of it and waited for the screen to load. "Nicky, pull over." He said.

"What?" the Texan questioned, but did as he was asked, the car behind them doing the same. Greg handed him the cell phone, letting him read it for himself.

"The police can't help you. No one can."

"Damn those bastards!" Nick growled, stepping out of the car to explain the situation to the detail so they could report it to Grissom.

After telling the two detectives what was going on, Nick climbed back in the car, grabbing his own cell phone off the center console and dialing a familiar number. "Hey, Gris, I just sent your detail back to the lab with Greg's cell phone, they texted him about ten minutes ago."

"What are you talking about, your detail got held up in traffic on the strip, there's a five car pile-up blocking the road. I just heard from them a few minutes ago, they couldn't be with you." Grissom stared at the phone in his hand.

Nick's mouth hung open. "But, they had badges; they said that you sent them to escort us to my place," realization suddenly dawned on him. "Shit. I gave them Greg's cell phone."

"What's going on?" Greg questioned, having only heard Nick's half of this strange conversation. "What about my cell phone?"

Nick swallowed, lowering the phone from his ear. "I just handed your rapists your cell phone."

Greg stared at him. "What?" he mumbled, his voice almost inaudible as he slumped over in the passenger's seat as unconsciousness claimed his senses yet again.

"Shit..." Nick repeated, trying to wake the injured man as he told Grissom what happened.
Grissom sighed, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair, grabbing his keys off his desk and heading toward the lab doors. "Let him sleep, he'll need it. I'll meet you at your condo."

***

Next part of You Save Me.