Current mood:	cheerful
Entry tags:	wip:we two

Chapter 32
Title: "We Two"
Rating: Ranges between Pg-13 and NC-17
Pairing: Nick Stokes/Jim Brass
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Drama/Romance
Summary: Post ep to "A Bullet Runs through it Part 2". A rather unexpected source shows Jim Brass a fierce friendship in his hour of need that makes him question just how deep his emotions for the CSI run.

Chapter 32 - "So...It's over."



An: I’m going to take the advice of Rojaji and cut this into two parts. The chapters are getting stupidly high and I don’t like that. So This PART ONE is nearly finished, I’ll end it sometime soon after Kelly’s death. But I want to follow season six out (Especially if Brass is getting shot and possible dying, in which I will cry oodles and oodles). But with the end of College approaching I have an Expedition of Illustrations that need doing and they need to be the best. So a short brake will occur (and with me short means short) and then ‘We Two’ (possibly with another title) will continue. IT IS NOT THE END!

Anyways, now that’s out of the way, on with the story!

“We Two”

Chapter 32

Nick POV

Sighing as he walked out of the AV Lab Nick took a moment to lean against the doorframe. He couldn’t believe what Archie had just told him, it didn’t make sense and was totally out of the blue.

Nick had hidden out in Jim’s office as long as he possible could, words whispered and touches reassuring behind drawn blinds as Jim calmed him. He was glad his older lover was keeping a level head about things because right now all that kept running through his head was ‘Why?’ Why had Grissom not told him about the tape? Why had Grissom sworn Archie to secrecy?

Why had Sylvia Mullins helped kidnap and bury Nick?

He’d never met the woman, couldn’t recall any of the CSIs crossing with her before, so what had possessed her to do something so cruel and evil? Killing someone with a gun or knife was one thing, but to leave them to die slowly of asphyxiation or by taking their own life was malicious, vindictive. It showed a true hatred towards the victim. It showed the want for suffering and hopelessness.

But voice comparison showed that this woman, one that had never shown her face as a threat before to anyone in Law Enforcement, was indeed Walter Gordon’s accomplice.

He groaned as he lifted a hand to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. His thoughts were flying a mile a minute and it was giving him a migraine. He continued to massage his sinuses not really noticing the approaching footfalls coming his way.

“Nick?”

Nick jerked his head up and found himself face to face with David Hodges. The Trace tech was keeping an impassive face, a pinch of his usual snark apparent on his features but there was an underlining of worry in his eyes too, which Nick both appreciated and resented.

“You look like something the cat spat out, several times might I add,” Hodges said placing a hand on his hips and Nick rolled his eyes.

“With a line like that how do the ladies resist you?” Nick snapped peevishly as his headache throbbed a little harder and Hodges quirked an eyebrow.

“Usually I’d like to throw something scathing back at such a comment but I can’t help it, I’m impressed. Nick Stokes, meet Attitude Problem. I’m sure you’ll get along famously.”

Nick didn’t want to, he really didn’t but he couldn’t help it…

He smirked.

“Damn you man,” he muttered good-naturedly as he pushed away from the wall, “Sorry, having a bad day.”

“I can imagine, anyway as fun as this little chit chat has been I have actually graced you with my presence for a reason other than to par with you in this witty repertoire,” Hodges drawled and Nick chuckled again.

“And here I thought I was special.”

“Only for the wrong reasons, no I have a message from Grissom because as it turns out I have been reduced to nothing more than an errand boy. The letter is in the post apparently.”

“The message, Hodges.”

“Do you tire of my company already?”

“Which do you want? The answer that makes you cry or the one that makes you walk away with false hope?”

“Oh always go for the crying one, my day isn’t complete unless I’ve sent someone bawling to the bathroom because they can’t grasp the concept of a joke, and a damn good one at that.”

“You made someone cry?”

“It’s a beautiful thing when a man twice your size leaves your lab sobbing.”

“You sad, strange little man.”

“Thank you Buzz. Anyway, message from Grissom: Go to his office please, now.”

“And you didn’t tell me this straight away because?”

“Its hard to find a good snark sparring buddy these days.”

“I’ll get back to you on that one, thanks Hodges.”

Hodges gave a kind of salute as Nick slipped around him and headed towards Grissom’s office. His sudden good mood was now rapidly fading as he neared the room and already his mind had switched from playful to defensive. The more he thought about Grissom’s decision to hide everything from him the more agitated he became until when he had finally reached Grissom’s door his jaw was set and his face was creased in a slight frown.

The door was open and not even bothering to knock Nick moved swiftly inside. Grissom was sat at his desk reading a file or something and just looking at him made Nick want to yell at him.

‘Why didn’t you tell me? I trusted you with my life, why couldn’t you?’

“Hey Grissom,” he said tensely until he was stood in front of the large desk. He practically stood to attention. “You wanted to talk to me?”

Grissom lifted his blue eyes first then his head and reached up to removed his glasses. The fact he looked calm on his face but worried in his eyes oddly made Nick more pissed at him.

“Yeah, sit down Nick.”

Face still stony Nick complied and looked Grissom face on. The man that he once had been in love with, the man he loved as a friend, the man that he admired was right in front of him and all he wanted to do was scream at him, much like he had at Jim (of which he was going to have to apologise profoundly too for that).

Grissom continued, “I heard that, uh, Kelly Gordon may be a suspect in your murder case?”

Nick nodded tensely.

“Yeah,” he said simply, offering no explanation knowing that it would throw Gil off with Nick’s curt attitude. Grissom did look momentarily thrown but quickly caught himself again.

“Is that a problem?” he asked after a moment and Nick shook his head, breathed in sharply to temper any vicious comments running through his head and leant back in his chair displaying a mixture of easiness and defiance against his boss.

“No, no it’s not a problem.”

Grissom stared at him quietly. Nick could just imagine the thoughts running through his ex-lover’s head and he decided that twisting the knife a little was needed. Vindictive maybe, but he needed Grissom to know where Nick stood right now.

“Hey by the way I heard the tape, I did a voice comparison. Sylvia Mullins is the other voice on that tape, she’s Walter Gordon’s ex-business manager so…”

Nick glanced off for a moment before looking back sharply at his silent ex.

“I’m pretty sure she had something to do with my kidnapping.”

Grissom quirked an eyebrow at that, taking the information on board seemingly and he looked away from Nick’s piercing gaze as he spoke.

“But, now she’s dead,” he said and looked back at Nick when he finished.

Nick sighed and nodded, “Yeah.”

Then Grissom spoke again.

“So…it’s over.”

Nick jerked his head back up to look at Grissom in slight disbelief. He couldn’t believe he’d just heard that and looking at Grissom he could see the man had no clue what he’d just implied.

‘It’s over?’

‘It’s over?’

‘Waking up every other night, screaming silently as Jim calms him and brings him back from glass coffins, ants, pain and explosions, trying not to break down when something reminds him of that night.’

‘It’s fucking over?’

Nick voiced none of these thoughts, simply watched waiting for his ex-lover to realise what he’d said but when no stuttering apology, no ‘Oh Jesus Nicky, I didn’t mean that’ came forth he pursed his lips and nodded in defeat.

“Yeah,” he breathed out and ignored the way it burned at his insides to say such a thing.

Grissom watched him, maybe it was in a caring way or maybe it was in a studying kind of way but something gave behind those blue eyes and he nodded in return.

“Good,” he said softly and Nick wanted to hurt him. He settled instead for allowing a bitter smile to come to his lips.

“Good,” he agreed. He watched the man in front of him again, the part of him that had always loved Gil clinging hopelessly to the thought Gil might realise his mistake. When still nothing happened he let out a soft snort of disbelief.

Bracing his hands on the arm chairs, squeezing more tightly than he needed to Nick stood, his restrained anger and disbelief beginning to leak into his features and started to head out of the room knowing Grissom’s eyes were still on him.

A small part of Nick, the version of him that was still young, was still naïve and still took Gil Grissom’s words as great knowledge to be absorbed and admired, died inside of him then as he walked away from that office.

And he felt like mourning that boy.

(TBC)

AN: Grissom, meet your foot. Now open wide…