Subtext is everything

And, I finally finished it...

2008-07-20T06:09:40Z

Hi there...again...

Here's the one shot I've been working on forever, so...

Title: もう戻れない {for all you non-Japanese savvy people, it means "can't turn back again."}
Rating: PG
Warnings: None I don't think, it's pretty safe. Though it does skip alot and is kinda vague and lame.
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. I also don't own the song AFFECTION~もう戻れない~ either; it belongs to KAT-TUN, Johnny's Entertainment, and the guy who wrote it.
Summary: The summer of 96 was the first time that Nick met Greg...

Please go here....

Night all =D

Mastery part 27

2008-07-20T04:55:05Z

Story title: Mastery
Rating: NC-17
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Primarily Nick and Greg (of course) with other pairings along the way
Configurations : M/m, M/f, with more to be added later
Warnings: It's a slave fic, so standard warnings (non-con, abuse, etc.)
Note: Edited: This is a complete AU, I will be drawing from CSI character names and the personalites of the characters, so thus if you don't normally read fan fic, this could easily be read as an original, if you so wish. I have tried not to include canon references that would be confusing. I hope that doesn't turn off die hard CSI fans. I have created a different world for the characters to exist in. I just love these two characters so much, I can't help writing about them *sheepish* I hope for those of you who watch CSI, I do the characters justice.So be kind and feed the beast, comment please *big puppy dog eyes*
Word Count: Approx. 1,800
Summary: Nick's life changes drastically, Greg is in over his head and Grissom, well, is Grissom. My first attempt at a multi-chapter AU fic for the boys.
Feedback: Is always welcome *grins*
Banner: by beelikej
Disclaimers: This is fanfic, all standard disclaimers...CSI belongs to blah, blah, blah...I just want to play in the sandbox.
Previous parts: As of right now, it is tagged at my journal here.

Mastery part 27

nickngreg @ 2008-07-19T08:34:00

2008-07-19T13:34:49Z

Title: Forgotten
Chapter Title: Chapter 3
Characters: Nick, Greg
Genres: AU
Rating: R
Warnings:
Summary: Warrick feels he most fix the mistake Nick made. Nick, Greg and Luke hang out
and plan on seeing a movie.

Warrick walked over to the window and opened it. The cool breezed filled the
room. He took a long drink from his glass.

"I have to fix this." He said. "I am the only one that can stop
this; stop him from hurting Nick."

"He of all people should know better!" He almost shouted. Nick - the one that
had taught him so much about the ways of a vamp - what they should and
shouldn't do - should know better. How could he do something so
stupid? So careless!

He closed his eyes as the image of Nick
and his lover filled his mind. Nick drinking from him, making love to
him, kissing him. Looking at him that way.

"This ends now." Warrick said and picked up his jacket. He took his
cell phone out.

"Sara, hey, I won't be coming by tonight - I've got to take care of some
things. So anyway, I'll call you tomorrow. Look, just do me a favor: stay away
from Nick. He's not thinking right. I'll call you later. Love you."

Warrick hung up the phone and put in it in his pocket. "He's not thinking right,
and he has no idea what's he's done. I'm the only one who can fix this." He
walked out of the house and to his car.

-----

"We should get ice cream." Greg said as he pushed his son through the
empty mall, Nick right next to him.

"Dad, I can't believe you're still hungry." Luke said and looked back
at him. He rubbed the palms of his hands. They ached from pushing
himself around the mall. Small calluses where starting to form on
them.

"What is your sugar?" Greg asked.

"71." Luke said.

"Looks like we are getting ice cream." Greg said. He pushed Luke up to a table
and locked his breaks.

"Dad, really, I can do that on my own." He said.

"I know. Just let me be your dad for a while. What do you want?" He asked as
Nick sat across from them.

"The strawberry cheesecake one." Luke said.

"I'll be back."

Nick leaned back in his set and looked over at Luke. He was very pale and
thin. He had dark circles under his eyes. It was a wonder to him that the young
man got out of bed, and that he could even put a smile on his face.

"Do you go anywhere with out that thing in you ear" Nick asked

"Only if dad forces me to. I can hear everything. I just love music." He let out a long breath and closed his eyes. His thin body seemed to shake.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I've just got a pain in my back. It'll pass." He said, but didn't open his
eyes.

Nick looked over at the line Greg was in. It seemed that everyone at the mall
was in that line as well.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Nick asked.

Luke opened his eyes. "Could you stand me up for a minute?" He asked.

"Yes." Nick said and walked over to him. "Best way to do it?"

"Just put your arms under my arms and lift. Don't hurt yourself."

"'Don't worry, I won't." Nick said and easily lifted him up.

Luke let out a sigh of relief as the sharp pain disappeared the instant he
stood.

"Is that good or bad?" Nick asked. He wasn't sure if he'd made
things better or worse.

"Good." Luke said. "Sometimes I get really bad pains if I sit too
long. Could you sit me in a chair for a while?"

Nick carefully sat him down in one of the seats. He watched as Luke moved his
feet under him and checking to see if the oxgyen tube had enough slack.

"Thanks." Luke said with a smile.

"Any time." Nick said and sat back down. "Do you have any feeling at
all?"

"Yeah, it sucks though. My legs feel like they are asleep all the time. No
matter what way I move them. Can't fucken moved them on my own, pisses me off."

"That must drive you crazy."

"Yeah. But I wear these ted wose things and they help a lot, but they're not
very sexy." He said with a smile.

"No, I wouldn't think so." He turn his head to hide a yawn.

"Man, that line was crazy." Greg said and sat the two sundaes down.
He handed Luke a spoon and sat next to Nick. He took his hand in one
and went to work on his sundae with the other. He noticed his son was
sitting at the table and not in his chair.

"Are you..."

"Dad don't ask." Luke said.

"I wasn't. I was going to say-"

"Dad!" Luke snapped.

"Okay, sorry. Do you want a pain-"

"Father! You worry too much. I'd tell you if something was wrong."

"I know." he held Nick's hand tighter. The three of them
sat and chatted for a while. This time Nick didn't have to force
himself to talk - talking to them came easy for him.

Luke looked at his watch. "It's been a while dad, we should probably go check..
use the restroom." Luke said and looked down.

"Oh okay. Nick do you mind waiting here?" He asked.

"No, not at all. Take your time." He said. Greg lifted his son up and
placed him in his chair. He placed the tank on the back of his chair.

Nick watched as they went into the men's restroom. His phone rang
and he picked it up, and looked at the name on the screen.

"What?"

"Now that is no way to answer the phone." Warrick said. He had to make
Nick see the mistake he had made. Get him to fix it before he was
forced to take matters into his own hands.

"I'm sure I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

"Why aren't you at work?" Keep things light, he told himself.

"What, are you my keeper now? I took some time off." He said, and let his own
blood fill his mouth. He swallowed it down.

"You never take any time off. What is it about this guy? He's changing you and
it's not in a good way." Warrick asked. So much for keeping it light.

"Are you in your car?" He could hear some song blaring in the background.

"Yes, why?"

"Turn your radio off and put your window up." Nick ordered.

"Fine. So tell me, what is it about this guy?" He hoped Nick could not hear his
last statement.

"You have Sara now, so why can't I have someone in my life?" He said,
very slowly.

"I didn't break any rules." Warrick said.

"Vamps and humans shouldn't date, so yes you are breaking a rule."

"Yeah, but that rule isn't as big as the one you broke. And what about you and
him?"

"I didn't start anything until I turned him. We where just frineds. He's not
hurting anyone. I really think you
shouldn't worry about it." Nick said and clinched his teeth together.

"Look, I'm worried about you and him. You don't know what could
happen." Warrick said.

"Warrick, it's fine. I checked into it, I talked to the others and it's fine.
Turst me. So you
don't have to worry about me or him or anyone one else." He said and
hung up his phone. It rang again and he turned it off and placed it
in his pocket. He closed his eyes. He needed to feed and his late night started
to catch up with him.

"We were thinking of seeing a movie." Greg said as they returned from the
restroom.

"That sounds great. I just need to swing by my place and pick up some
money." He was not going to let himself go as long as he had yesterday. He
needed much more then he could take from Greg.

"You don't have to pay. It's my treat." Greg said.

Nick looked up at him. "No, I insist." and liked his teeth.

Luke hit his father in the side. Even the young man could tell what Nick was
hinting about.

"Oh... yeah, okay." he finely caught on.

"What time does it start?" Nick asked

"Well there are a bunch starting in a hour, so if we leave now we'll
have plenty of time." Greg said as the three of them headed out to his car. He
helped Luke in
and got in the drivers seat. He sat every his son needed next to him. Nick
leaned back in his set and closed his eyes.
400 year old vampires should get more than four hours of rest.

"Are you all right?"

"You're right Luke, he does worry too much." Nick said without
opening his eyes.

Luke smiled. "See dad, I told you."

"Is it a crime to care about people?" He asked, and took Nick's hand.
He felt cold to the touch. He speed up to to get Nick home even faster. Once he
reached Nick's house he parked
the car in the drive way.

"You two wait here and I'll be right back." Nick said and walked inside. He
walked past the kitchen and into his room, where he opened the closet
and took out what he needed. He headed back into the kitchen and
filled a lager glass with blood. He drank it down and then poured himself
another glass.

"Do you need something more alive?" Greg asked. Nick looked up at him. He
nodded but looked around the house.

"Luke?" He asked.

"I told him I had to use the restroom. I told him not to go
anywhere." He said, and walked over to Nick.

"That wasn't very nice" Nick said, and took his arm. He ran his lips up it and
stopped at the wrist. He took in a deep breath and his eyes started to glow as
the fresh scent of live blood filled him.

"I know. That's what he told me." Greg said. He cried out a little as Nick's
fangs dug deep into his flesh. He held his breath.

Nick released his grip on his lover's arm. "Thank you." He said and
handed Greg a glass of blood. He poured himself another one.

"I think you feed more than I do." Greg said.

"I know, everyone's always told me that." Nick said and sat his glass down. He
licked his teeth again.

"All set?" Greg asked. Nick shock his head and again took Greg's arm. He bit down again
he left alive again as Gregs blood rushed throw him.

"Now" Greg asked as Nick let him arm go.

Nick nodded and together they walked out to the car.

"You guys didn't have sex, did you?" Luke asked.

"Trust me, we'd need longer than that and you'd hear us out here."
Greg said with a big grin.

Nick turned and looked at him with a look of shock on his face.

"Dad, god! I can't believe you said that." Luke said shocked he wouldn't face his
father.

"You asked."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to go that far."

"Sorry." Greg said and took his lover's hand.

"Oh, we could see that 30 Days of Night movie." Luke said. He needed
to change the subject.

Nick put his hand over his mouth and tried not to laugh.

"I've been wanting to see that for a long time" Luke went on. It suddenly hit
him what the movie was about "Or we don't have to see that..."

Nick squeezed Greg's hand tighter. "We'll see if it's there." he did his best
not to laugh. Last thing he wanted to do was embarris the young man even more.
He leaned his head back on the seat.

"No, I wasn't thinking." Luke said. He felt very stupid.

"No, it's fine. I like to see those movies from time to time and see
how they portray vampires." Nick said. He closed his eyes. Nope,
no more four hours of rest for him, he thought to himself. He covered another yawn.

"Are you going to fall asleep during the movie? You look tired." Luke asked
again he needed to chance the topic.

"Me? No, I'm fine." He said.

Greg parked the car and looked over at Nick.

"We could do this another time." He said.

"Dad, really I'm fine." Nick said and got out. He opened the trunk
and removed the wheelchair, and sat it next to the door.

"Nick..."

"I'm fine. Really, we'll do the movie and I'll call it a night, and
tomorrow maybe we'll look into moving your stuff over to our place."

"I'd like that." Greg said and pulled him close.

Luke looked up and sighed. He watched as the two men kissed. After a
few moments they still hadn't pulled apart so he knocked on the
window.

Greg pulled away and opened the door. Nick smiled and backed up so he
wouldn't be in the way.

"Hi, remember me? I'm your son." Luke said.

"Very funny." Greg said and lifted him up, and helped him in the
wheelchair. Nick got Lukes things and hung them on his chair. Together they
walked to the movie theater.
Nick paid for the tickets and they entered the huge building.

"So let me guess: you're hungry." Luke said, he stopped to he rubbed his
hands together.

"Yeah, I am. You can't tell me you don't want popcorn. I mean, who
goes to a movie and doesn't want popcorn?" He started to
push his son to the concession stand.

Nick leaned on the counter and waited for them to make up their minds.

"Do you have coffee?" He asked.

Greg and Luke both looked up at him.

"What? It sounds good." He said.

"Yes sir, what size?"

"Small is fine. And put their orders on my bill as well." He said
and ran his tongue over his teeth. He swallowed down the blood. Once
they got all their stuff they entered the theater and found a place to
sit. Greg helped Luke into a seat and moved his oxygen closer to him.
He sat next to Nick and took his hand.

"Are you - ouch! - okay. I'll stop!" Greg said as he pulled his hand away from
Nick's tighted grip.

Nick smiled and took a sip of the coffee. He leaned back in his seat
as the previews filled the screen. He pulled Greg closer to him and rested his
head on his shoulder.

---

"So this will do the trick?" Warrick asked and looked at the bottle.

"Yep, it will. Just get your friend to drink that and it will kill
all the human left in him."

"He's not my friend. I don't even care for this guy, but a friend of
mine does. I have to fix this before it gets out of hand. Before my
friend gets hurt." Warrick said and paid the man.

"I heard they were okay with him." The man said, sat down.

"That's because no one will go against my friend. They all fear him."

"You don't?" The man asked.

"No." Warrick said and looked over the bottle. It was filled with a
light blue liquid. "Will it hurt a true vampire?"

"No, it won't hurt a newer vamp like you at all, but it could kill the human vamp. Bepends on
how much vamp he's got in him. You are taking a big risk by doing this. Was the vamp
that made him strong." He said.

"Very strong" Warrick said.

"Thanks" Warrick said and walked to the door.

"Oh wait it can kill old schools vamps so you'll need to becare..." he stopped as Warrick
walked out of the build. He man sighed and went back to work.

Warrick got in his car and looked at the small vile of blue liquid.

"It could kill him" he thought. He didn't want to kill him just turn him all the way. Was it
a risk he was willing to take.

Fic: Life Changes 24/29

2008-07-19T13:09:14Z

TITLE: LIFE CHANGES
RATING: NC-17 this chapter
PAIRINGS: Nick/Greg
WARNINGS: Very adult content and language
SUMMARY: A casual remark can change a life
SPOILERS: None
BANNER: Created by Bflyw
DISCLAIMER: If you don’t recognize it, it’s mine. Otherwise, everything belongs to Bruckheimer, CBS and Zuicker.

Previous chapters can be found here

Nick had tried to ignore Greg’s questions but the man was like a pit bull going after a bone when he wanted to know something and he wanted to know everything.

When Nick tried to sit down in the chair and let out more than a hiss, in fact almost a groan of pain, Greg said, “OK that’s it. I’m calling Collin. He’ll tell me if you won’t.”

Nick said quickly, “Alright, I have an anal tear and it’s burning and itching like crazy.”

Greg was actually speechless. He just stared at Nick for a few seconds and then began to curse softly but most fluently. He was getting a little louder and Nick began to pick up some words, most of them involved killing Collin in truly inhumane ways.

Nick said, “Whoa baby, it was not Collin’s fault.”

“Was it his prick in your ass?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me how it wasn’t his fault.”

“OK, I’ll tell you the whole story but you just relax and lay back. You’re sitting up too far and you’re tiring yourself.” Nick carefully lowered Greg back down until the pain lines in his forehead smoothed out a little, managed to find a spot on the end of the bed where he could put his weight on one hip and thought for a second about how to start.

Greg shook his head at Nick and said, “Oh no you don’t. I can see you trying to figure out how to tell me without making it sound too bad. You just open your mouth and start talking and you better do it fast. I can dial a number by voice on my computer and I have everyone programmed in here, including Larry, Steven and Collin.”

Nick nodded. “OK, here it is. You remember when I got here last night, Collin excused himself for a second. He went out to call his partners and tell them what you wanted and asked them how they felt about it. Evidently they needed some time to think about it and they called him back while we were heading out for something to eat. They gave him their blessing. We had a steak and went back to the house and…OH SHIT!!”

Greg said, “What, What’s the matter. What are you ‘Oh Shitting for’?”

Nick groaned out loud, “I just realized how much it’s going to hurt when I get rid of that steak and baked potato.”

Greg glared at Nick and said, “So help me God if you don’t get on with it, I’m going to call the two Goliath’s in here and have them work you over.”

“OK, where was I….Oh yeah, dinner. We started back to the house and Col asked if I had the fixings for margarita’s. I didn’t so we stopped and picked up everything and he bought some really high end tequila. I made the drinks and I was so relaxed I guess I downed the first 2 a little too fast.”

Greg said, “Good God, Nick. If you fixed them like you usually do, two of them should have had you well on your way to being bombed.”

“I did and I was. The next thing I knew Col was sitting next to me on the couch, he had his arm around me and was licking my ear. I was so blotto, I returned the favor and then he had his hand on my fly and was rubbing me and that’s when I realized what I was doing and tried to stop. He kept saying he was only doing what you wanted him to do and it was for my own good. He asked me how long it had been since I’d cum and I couldn’t answer him. I knew it was before you were hurt but I couldn’t remember just when it was. He started kissing me and between the drinks and the fact that he was familiar, his lips were familiar and the fact that it has been close to a year since I’ve had any, I guess I started kissing him back. I had him and you all mixed up in my mind and he kept saying you wanted me to let go and I had to do it to make you happy. I was so close to popping my cork but I felt like I was betraying my vows to you and I was trying to fight him off. “

“I got up and started to leave but he grabbed me and kept kissing me and I was going back and forth between kissing him back and trying to stop and then my shirt was gone and so was his and he’d gotten my pants open and we started fighting. He got me into the kitchen and face down across the kitchen table. He had those padded, leather handcuffs we bought when we were in Atlanta last time and he fastened one of my hands to one leg of the table and my other hand to the other leg. I was face down and I felt him pull my pants off and then he started kissing my back and biting my shoulders and all the way down to my ass and Greg, I’m so sorry but it felt so good I just wanted him to keep doing it but then I’d see your face and your ring on my hand and I’d try to stop.”

“When I felt the lube drip down my crack followed by his fingers, I really started fighting. I was jerking on the cuffs and trying to kick back at him. I felt him pull my ass cheeks apart and then I felt the head of his prick right against my hole and I just went crazy. I kept pulling and fighting the cuffs. I knew they had a safety release on them and I should have been able to get them off but I couldn’t remember how to do it and then I felt him start to push in me and then……..”

Greg waited and waited and said, “AND THEN WHAT?”

Nick said, “And then the god damned table leg broke just as he was pushing into me, the table went down with me spread eagled on top of it and Col literally fell in my butt hole. I think I felt his balls go in. Somehow, he never missed a stroke, grabbed my hips and kept me and the table from falling the rest of the way down and we both had one hell of an ending. I think I spurted cum that I’d produced 6 months before.”

Nick was so caught up in his story it took him a minute to realize that Greg was red-faced and was making some really strange noises. The noises turned into giggles and then hysterical laughter. Greg was roaring out loud and trying hard to say something between fits of laughter.

The door opened and Nancy came running in thinking that Greg was having some sort of relapse. When she saw that he was having hysterics but from laughter she stopped short and said, “What’s going on here?”

It was sort of a silly thing to say because Greg was in no condition to answer and Nick was just sitting there trying to look innocent; not that he was succeeding.

It took some time for order to be restored. Greg eventually started coughing and they had to get his breathing mask and then it was time to feed him and check his tubes and machines and give him his medications. Altogether it was a couple of hours before Nick and Greg were alone again.

Greg said, “Are you going to be alright?”

Nick smiled and took Greg’s hand and began to play with his fingers. “Yeah baby, I’m going to be just fine. Col made me soak in the Jacuzi and then he packed me with antiseptic ointment. I got to return the favor before the night was over so he’s walking a little funny right now too. I think I know why you did it but I don’t ever want you to do it again. OK?”

Greg said, “Are you going to treat me like a piece of glass or like your partner?”

Nick said, “I swear I will never, ever again forget the passion and heat we’ve always had between us. Its part of the life we’ve made together and I will do every thing I possibly can to get you healthy again and get us back to the way we were.”

“Nicky, we both need to face the fact that I’m probably never going to get back to the way I was. I don’t know if I will ever be able to sit up again without a hip joint and I may have this damn bag for the rest of my life and OH MY GOD!”

“What, What is it Greg? Are you in pain? Do you need Lamb Chop? What’s Wrong?”

Greg looked at Nick with absolute horror on his face and said, “Nick, my ass hasn’t had anything going in or out of it for months. Do you think its grown shut?”

Well needless to say, the OH MY GOD brought Nancy back in on a dead run. She skidded to a stop at the foot of the bed and said, “Now what’s wrong. You’re not laughing so it’s….Why is Nick laughing now?”

Nick was trying hard not to rock back and forth on his sort butt hole but the idea of Greg’s ass growing shut just hit his funny bone and he could not contain nor control himself. He finally had to get off the bed and just leaned against the wall laughing until the tears rolled.

Greg was not amused.

He was trying to ask Nancy if disuse of his rectum would make it grow together like pierced ears did when you didn’t wear your earrings for a long time. Nick was almost howling by now so Nancy wasn’t really getting everything Greg was saying. And it didn’t help when Sharise came in to take over from Nancy followed closely by Lamb Chop.

Greg lit up when he saw Lamb Chop and told him to come over to his bed; he needed to ask him something. Nick managed to choke down his howls of laughter because he really wanted to hear what Lamb Chop had to say.

Greg was very serious when he posed his question to Dr. Lambach. Unfortunately, Lamb Chop was so embarrassed by the question, all he could do was stammer and turn redder than his curls. Sharise saved the day. She told Greg if he was really worried about his ass growing together, she would go get him a butt plug. At that, Nick gave up and slid slowly down the wall, Nancy said her shift was over and she had to get home and Lamb Chop, well Lamb Chop didn’t say a word. He just fled.

**************************************************************

Greg had been home for 7 weeks now and Nick’s world had changed again. Now his life consisted of caring for Greg, rehab, caring for Greg, handling the hordes of people who wanted to spend time with him, caring for Greg, washing loads of sheets and towels and caring for Greg.

He was happy. He felt ashamed of himself for being so happy. He was pretty sure he could spend the rest of his life doing exactly what he was doing right then. He had one more week and then he would be going back to work. Catherine and Annie Brass had worked out a schedule so that Greg would have company on a regular basis. They had spent almost two weeks on the routine mainly because so many people had volunteered to take a shift it was hard to work them all in. Greg’s rehab was the only dark cloud in his blue skies. It was slow going and it was so painful. He’d had to leave the house a couple of times when Greg could not hold in the screams of pain. His muscles were non-existent. His limbs were almost frozen and just the simple stretching to get them limber again was like putting him on the rack. His physical therapist came to their home every morning to put Greg through his exercises. He was more than willing to teach all of them how to do the routines because he said if Greg could stand it, doing them twice a day would get him in shape much sooner. Oddly enough, with the exception of Grissom and Hodges, none of the guys were able to stand the strain of putting Greg through the torture. But the women, almost every single one of their female friends including both mothers had no problems at all. They might be stretching his legs with tears rolling down their cheeks but they didn’t miss a single second of his training.

All the attention and torture was working. Greg was able to move his arms and legs; he could flex his feet up and down and almost cried with joy the day he was able to lift his hand up far enough to scratch his nose. Sitting up was really hard for him. Trying to balance with no hip joint on one side was not easy. They had to pad him with pillows to keep him even and balanced and he got tired so fast. It was frustrating to spend 30 or 40 minutes getting him situated in his chair and then after 10 or 15 minutes he was gray with pain and fatigue and had to be put back to bed.

One big triumph came when the penile catheter was removed. Greg went through hell for almost 4 full days but he insisted it was all worth it. Nick couldn’t figure out how peeing blood and gritting his teeth with pain every time he pissed was worth it but that’s what Greg said. Later, when he and Nick were alone, he told Nick that maybe now he could get a hard on again and he could hardly wait. Nick told Greg he was re-writing the books on wound control and pain management and he was including whole chapters on sex as therapy.

A few days before Nick was scheduled to return to work, they had a visitor. LeAnn Campbell dropped by. Jacob Campbell’s wife had become one of their closest friends and they considered her and her little girl Leah part of their family. She had been pursuing a career as a registered nurse before Jacob was killed and had resumed her studies when she realized she needed to provide a normal environment for Leah. She would never worry about money again. Jacob had excellent insurance through the state of Nevada plus she got social security for Leah. But she needed to do something with her time and her life. Sitting at home grieving was not good for her or her daughter so she went back to nursing determined to keep things going the way she knew Jacob would have wanted.

She had come to another important, life changing decision. She needed to talk with Greg and Nick now that she was sure of what she wanted; no not wanted, what she needed to do.

Immune to the Stuff pt. 22

2008-07-18T18:46:05Z

Immune to the Stuff pt. 22
FRG
Warnings: We're getting to the sticky part.
Summary: See warning.
wds: 3278

I have created a doc with inconsistencies and weirdnesses in plot (barring certain very short mentions, usually jokes, about things that would have happened after the story is set), spelling (of Chinese) and other such fixed. Okay, I'm still fighting with apostraphes on the Chinese, but it's much better; the tightening and smoothing are what counts. So when the story's done, and it *can't* go on much longer, the tighter version will go up at my LJ. (announcer voice) Same essential story, just edited for your greater reading pleasure. (/announcer) This is what happens when you work without a beta. I'll put up a reminder note when the story's done so anyone who wants can get the better version.

***

"Oh, God," Nick sighed as he collapsed backward onto the bed. "Shit."

"My, bad words from Nick." Greg smiled at him and started pulling his boots off for him again. It was pretty easy because Nick's legs were hanging over the bed's edge, and his laces weren't tied.

"I'm at a loss," Nick admitted. "I feel…better, but weird."

"Pants now," Greg said, undoing Nick's jeans.

Nick let himself be lifted and rolled, obviously still pondering the weirdness. "There are…places that feel cooler…or warmer, and places where I just…*feel*, I notice feeling. Like, you can't *feel* your appendix, right? Unless it's in a jar, and then you wouldn't really wanna. But this is like that. Except not my appendix."

"Okay, you've convinced me; you're groggy," Greg smiled, hanging the jeans on the hook on the bathroom door. "You can probably feel that because you're pretty sensitive to your own chi, according to Xiwangmu. Usually only the one with the t'ing chin--listening hands, the healer-- feels those things. You do feel better than you did?"

"Yes," Nick said slowly; when Greg turned around, Nick was sliding his hands slowly around on his own torso and arms, pausing in spots, staring at the ceiling, looking sort of mystified. He couldn't reach his legs because he wasn't dumb enough to try to sit up even if he'd thought of it, but one hand or the other would slide awfully low now and then, feeling muscles in hips and lower belly before sliding back up over his six-pack stomach to his chest. If Greg had been any less upset about what he knew from both Roger and Xiwangmu, he would have had no choice but to get painfully hard.

Instead, he came back, took Nick's arm, and helped him slide up the bed onto the pillow. "You should rest."

"Yeah. I figured that." He caught Greg's shoulder and pulled him down for a kiss, which Greg gave him, surprising them both with how emphatic he was about it.

"Mmmmm. You're restin' with me, right?" Nick smiled.

Greg smiled too, but turned away to start unbuttoning his chambray. "Sure. I'll be right back."

"C'mon, nobody's gonna come bursting in here and notice your clothes on the floor and decide that that's better proof you sleep in here than the fact that you're in here asleep."

"Your idea. We made it a rule. Smart, we said."

"Yeah, yeah…I guess. Just hurry up."

Greg paused on the way out to light the candle on his side of the bed, then turned and trotted quickly to his room, thinking.

He should leave it up to Roger, he knew, about the ant revelation. He should leave the timing and everything up to Roger, but he needed to tell Nick what Xiwangmu had said, and who knew what that might bring up? Xiwangmu had only left it to Greg because she knew for a fact it was something Nick would rather hear in private, from Greg, than in a more public place from a trusted but mostly professional acquaintance. What she'd told him wasn't the kind of information it would be fair to hide from him, and it wasn't the sort Nick would appreciate having hidden; he'd recently made that extremely clear--he'd consider it "failure to consult". Or in this case, be informed. Xiwangmu had said that he should tell Nick. She wouldn't do that without a reason. Grissom had done nearly the same thing--something that should come from a friend, not a boss? Not a si-fu? Or had Xiwangmu only known that Nick would be upset and would appreciate the privacy with Greg to hear something like this?

Sometimes he felt like his brain would just pop, and that he'd welcome it if it did. But that was how all family members of the victims of terrible crimes felt. He was a family member by choice, too--he had no right to complain.

His phone rang, and he sighed and removed it from his pants, which were hanging in the closet by now; he'd forgotten to unclip the phone. "Sanders," he answered distractedly, still trying to hop out of a sock.

"It's Roger, Greg."

"Roger. I bet you just talked to Xiwangmu."

"I did. She's a fascinating lady."

"Yeah, but that's not why you're calling."

"No." Roger sighed. "Ordinarily, I would have to question the propriety of the sort of requests she made--considering her lack of traditional western medical credentials--and at her lack of specificity; but it seemed to me it wasn't lack of wanting to tell me, or lack of knowledge--it was that she believed I wouldn't understand her. So, in this case…"

"She has that problem with me, too. Listen, if you meet her, you'll know what I mean--it's best just to listen to what she says."

"Her main point was that Nick was ill, and would get worse so long as we all didn't…do what needed to be done for him. You're part of that, too."

"I expected to be. What did she say?"

"I convinced her that before any of us take anything that seems more than merely precautionary to Nick, he should see at least a practicing internist, though I have a specialist in mind, that seems, under the circumstances, to be the better choice. I'll give him the reference. And if he can, I'd like him to see one privately, not through work."

"Because of the records involved?"

"That's definitely relevant, but also because I know who I'd like him to see. I realize that along with paying me, out-of-pocket payment to one of the top specialists in town in her area of practice may be--"

"Nick's not hurting." Greg paused, then said, dropping the sock in the overflowing hamper, "Let me guess--it's someone you know…who would have reason to pay attention to both you, who's never given him a physical examination except via eyeball, and someone like Xiwangmu, period."

"Yes."

"And you need me to get him to go see this person."

"I can certainly ask him to do it myself, if you'd rather. He probably would. If you asked him to do it, he certainly would. It's up to you. I know she'll agree to work him in."

"Who is she? A medium?"

"She's a neurologist. Xiwangmu is sending my office a list of points she wants to make concerning his condition. She says she's satisfied with her own findings, but she knows that won't be enough for Lenore--Lenore Serafin, that's the neurologist's name, so my backup and reference will probably be necessary."

Greg winced. "Her parents were cruel."

"She's head of neurology at Anthony Brin. She doesn't get many 'whom the angels named Lenore' jokes any more. Though she says the word 'nevermore' comes up in her company too often for coincidence."

Greg sighed. "Look, Nick's waiting for me right now. Leave the information in my voicemail, and I'll tell him. I'm telling him about what Xiwangmu said, anyway, so this is just icing. Does anyone around here have any idea how much I am sticking my neck out all the time, and how unbelievably cooperative Nick's being considering the things we're asking from him?"

"Yes," Roger said quietly. "I do. And I believe Xiwangmu probably does."

"So does Griss," Greg said softly. "And Warrick. It just doesn't seem like anyone's seeing the size of the picture here. Nick is--he's--"

"--virtually indestructible and programmed to behave like an ass when it comes to taking care of himself, like the vast majority of men in this part of the world are, not to mention his being personally uninterested in anything outside the mainstream, usually. He may not be at all intolerant or xenophobic of what he's not used to--that kind of fear isn't common in bisexual people of either gender--but he seldom strays from his fairly narrow, predictable comfort zone in his personal life. I know he's done a lot, and been asked to do a lot, of straying from it since he was tortured, and you're afraid you'll come to a place where he'll stop cooperating, because you can't believe he hasn't already done so. That's not an unreasonable fear. But everyone else is reckoning with his obvious adoration of you in mind. You aren't."

Greg had been looking for a clean dead T shirt, but stopped, stock still, at the word "torture" and realized he'd never heard anyone use it with respect to Nick's…uh, whatever the euphemism was today, but it was the word. *The* word, for what had happened to him. And the word "adoration" the way Roger had just used it, coming immediately after…the combination was like the one-two in the midriff he'd taken the very last time he ever requested that Warrick to teach him to box.

He swallowed, and managed "Somebody has to keep their head clear about the way he's acting, as long as he needs me."

"It's slightly bad form to tell you this, but I don't want to take the chance on what might happen if I don't. I don't know if you've noticed, but I do not suck at what I do, Greg. And in my professional opinion, Nick knew his own mind, he knew all the risks from all the corners, and he understood the seriousness of all of it, when he basically asked you to marry him. He's disappointed that you said no, but he hasn't given up hope. After all, you've shown him no sign that it made you uncomfortable in itself--you were just worried about whether he really knew what he was asking, and knew what sacrifices in his life either might or definitely would come with it. So, as far as he's concerned, maybe you just need more time."

"Roger, that's just--"

"It wouldn't be impossible, though it'd be difficult, for you to get a second opinion on all of this; I can help you arrange it, if you can get Nick to cooperate with it. But whether he still needs your help or not, he loves you. Keep in mind that this doesn't parallel Warrick's situation, or any other whirlwind-courtship scenario. He's known you as a colleague for more than five years. You've seen each other in a thousand different situations, and you've seen how each of you has changed. He's known you as a closer friend for at least two, maybe three years. And he's known you intimately, sex or not--and that 'not' part definitely means something for a couple of guys--hell, for anybody--for half a year or more, seven-eight months. That's hardly going off half-cocked, Greg."

Greg was silent.

"Greg?"

"Yeah. Um…I, uh, I gotta go. He's waiting. I'm gonna go to voicemail on this number. You can get my work number or the house here if you need to. Leave me that info."

"I will. And Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Before you go upstairs, stop panicking." Roger hung up.

Greg sighed, muttered "Asshole," and set his phone for voicemail.

Then he wandered slowly toward the stairs, thinking random thoughts, knowing Nick wouldn't be angry, but agonized that Nick might be frightened, and terrified that Nick would remember things he shouldn't yet. He felt selfish for the last part--maybe, if what Greg had to say to him, was enough to bring back suppressed memories, it was time for them to come back. But could Greg deal with him in that state? What do you do?

You trank the dude, that's what you do, his inner biologist told him. You have the medicine available. If he truly loses it, put him to sleep and call Roger. For this, Greg did not believe he was simply suffering from self-doubt. A situation like that required professionals to handle it, *if* things went the most upsetting, violent way they could go for the person whose memories were resurfacing, and he was definitely not qualified.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to give Nick the eszopiclone right away; he needed all the sleep he could get before tomorrow. That it might make what Greg had to say easier to deal with could be considered a selfish motive on Greg's part, but it was also true, Nick needed the rest. Jesus, when were either of them going to get a day off? It had to be soon; they raked in too much overtime and Ecklie'd look bad in the bean-counting department at the capitol, and Ecklie didn't like that. He'd see their asses out of the lab personally before it got too bad, provided they didn't have another disaster like the eastbound/westbound interstate crash before that could happen.

When he got to the bedroom, Nick was lying in roughly the same position as he'd been before. Greg turned the light off, the candle and the nightlight softly glowing, and got under the covers, reaching back to Nick's welcoming hands with his own. "Let me help you get under."

"Thanks. I was wondering how I was going to manage it."

They tugged covers and Nick rolled and scooted until he made it; when he did, he went limp all over on his back, sighing, still holding Greg's hand firmly.

"Uh, Xiwangmu wanted me to tell you something about your treatment."

Nick blinked and looked at him, eyes heavy. "Mm? Why didn't she tell me?"

"She said you'd rather hear it in private. From someone close."

Nick, startlingly, chuckled. "Am I that freakin' obvious when it comes to hearing personal shit I might not like? How can people tell so easy that I'm not gonna want to hear something except from you with nobody around?"

"Most men are like that, Nick."

"Most men. You're not."

"I'm from the North Cal. That's practically the Pacific Northwest, which is about the most laid-back place you'll find on this continent outside of Canada. Men's dignity isn't assaulted by the notion that they might just be human like the rest of us where I'm from."

"I didn't know you thought that about me," Nick said quietly.

"I don't; I think you've been amazing. But you're different, too. And you do have, as--uh--as they say, a rather limited comfort zone for some things. It's your social programming, Nick. Chi gung dissolving can actually help with that, that's one of the things its designed for, but it takes time. A lot of time."

"Yeah, Greg. I'm old enough to know that most of the things in this world worth having do take time." He squeezed Greg's hand gently. "So what did Xiwangmu want you to relay for her?"

"She's very worried about you."

Now Nick's eyes blinked completely open. "She is? I've done this to myself before--I don't even know how many times. Way worse, too. Especially when I was first getting into it, and considering I was still growing skeletally back then, I could *really* have hurt myself. But I didn't."

"It's not the overstrain she helped you with today that she's worried about. She helped you with some other things--she mentioned that, right?"

"Yeah, though she doesn't exactly chatter about it while she's working. Or after. Or before."

"Um…hang on, while I'm thinking about it--" he turned and got hold of the Lunesta bottle and the water glass he'd started keeping by his side of the bed. "Take this before I forget, would you?"

"Uh, sure. Not the other one yet, though. I only have about half an hour before I'm going to sleep or I'm having memory loss, with that one."

"Yeah." Greg handed him the pill. He knew it wasn't a tranquilizer, it was a completely different family of sleep aid, but combined with the triazolam, it would heighten the effect of both if it should turn out to be necessary, fast.

"Okay, that was bald. It can't be good," Nick said, handing the glass back.

Greg sighed and shrugged. Nick *was* an investigator. "It's not really good, no. You're not going to die or anything, though, as far as anyone knows."

"That's some help. You wanna get to the point?"

"I'm trying, but you know how hard it is to get straight answers out of Xiwangmu. She's not mysterious on purpose; it's just that there's no way to explain what she means to anyone who hasn't experienced it." Haltingly, he tried to begin at the beginning, the way Grissom had taught him to give reports when he'd had no time to organize anything coherently, or analyze any of it to offer the opinions or conclusions on the information that he was currently qualified to make. Despite the fact that this couldn't be easy for Nick, he held Greg's hand in both of his--more physical contact was temporarily out of the question, for obvious reasons--and tried to look encouraging.

"So…Xiwangmu thinks I need some serious…um. What she does."

"There'd be a little TCM--traditional Chinese medicine--involved, but mostly it would be chi flow regulation and chi gung tui na. But it wouldn't be…it'll be hard. It'll dissolve things that you may not be able to dent on your own for years, release backups and whirlpools and stagnations, and…"

"Judging by the way I feel now, I think I understand. And why does this worry everybody so much if it won't do me any harm?"

"It won't hurt in your physical body, Nick, at least not much." Greg didn't know what to do now. "There are things you don't remember. You…probably would, if you…if she--you'd have to remember them someday in any case, because they'd just keep lying in there like a mole, causing problems, worse the longer it went on, until you did. But remembering traumatic things before you're ready can be dangerous. Roger would say overwhelming, too much for your conscious mind to bear, maybe making it impossible ever to deal as effectively as you could have if you'd waited--that's why the memories were suppressed to begin with. Xiwangmu would say, your spirit tan t'ien would be hurt, feel…pain." He took a shaky breath. "And so would mine. Chi…can flow together, between two people. That can be used as a weapon in martial arts, it can be used in healing, and it can happen between people whose energy bodies, of the relevant frequencies, have a high affinity for each other."

"People who love each other." Nick's voice was very quiet.

"Yes, but not all of them. You…seem to have a very high natural ability to feel and direct your own chi, so much so that you went too far, too fast, and started losing control. But *I* was the one who snapped because of it."

"On the couch."

Greg nodded. "Xiwangmu called Roger. She's sending him some things she wants checked. Roger has a neurologist friend he wants you to see. I'm not sure what the point is, but I think Xiwangmu wants to make sure that by the standards of western medicine, at least, you're strong enough neurologically for what she wants to do to help you. She seems to think…" he exhaled shakily. "…that it's a time-sensitive thing."

Nick blinked a couple of times, then looked away, moving carefully to roll onto his back, keeping hold of Greg's hand with one of his own.

They were both quiet for a long time.

"Nicky?" Greg breathed.

Nick didn't move otherwise as his eyes shut tight, and a tear squeezed out of the one Greg could see. "Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine, baby," Nick whispered. "Would you…get me that other sleeping pill? The whole dose might be…might be a good idea tonight."

***

Fic: Live Changes 23/29

2008-07-18T15:37:51Z

TITLE: LIFE CHANGES
RATING: NC-17
PAIRINGS: Nick/Greg
WARNINGS: Very adult content and language. Graphic sexual discussions
SUMMARY: A casual remark can change a life
SPOILERS: None
BANNER: Created by Bflyw
DISCLAIMER: If you don’t recognize it, it’s mine. Otherwise, everything belongs to Bruckheimer, CBS and Zuicker.

Previous chapters can be found here

It had been two or was it three weeks since the sadistic, homo-phobic, lying sack of shit Jannings had been ousted AND young Dr. Lambach had taken over Greg’s case. It was the second most tumultuous period Nick had been through surpassed only by those first few minutes in the ER waiting room right after he got to the hospital for the first time. Greg’s room seemed to be the center of a tropical storm with red curls that Nick could not stop thinking of as ‘Cupid’.

Whereas Jannings had only come in to see Greg once a day and then spent as little time as possible, Lambach was there almost more than Nick. He was constantly checking on Greg, taking his temperature, making sure his sheets were clean and completely wrinkle free. He and Hodges spent hours working over Greg with first the pads and lately with Hodges newest idea for improving Greg’s comfort.

But first, let’s talk about the pads. After the maggots had been lovingly placed by Lambach under the close supervision of Grissom, Lambach had finally turned away from Greg’s bubble and come over to the small group consisting of Hodges, Nancy and Nick. He asked Hodges about the pads.

Hodges told him he had devised tubes of washable, faux, brushed suede. He had experimented with several fabrics and that seemed to be the most comfortable against sensitive skin. He had filled the tubes with a gel normally used in gel packs used to keep food warm or cool in picnic baskets. He said the original gel was too thin to provide real support but after he had added a few ingredients, he had gotten the filler to the consistency where it could keep up to 200 lbs elevated 3 inches above a solid surface.

Nick noticed that Lambach had almost jumped in the air when Hodges said ‘warm or cool’. He grabbed Hodges and tried to get the pads also but they were too big and heavy for him to hang on to both. He went to the door and asked Goliath 2 to please come in and grab the pads and follow him and Hodges. He told Goliath 1 to continue to guard the door and not let anyone in except him or Hodges unless Nick gave them permission. With that, he set off down the hall so fast; Hodges had to trot to keep up with him.

They came back an hour later. Goliath 2 was looking a little stressed. He was carrying 2 big, almost frozen pads. He was not a happy giant. Then they had to get the pads sterilized while hoping the pads would not thaw completely before they got them sterile. Then they had to get them in the bubble. That wasn’t easy. They finally used the same technique they used to get Greg in the bubble when they brought him back from surgery. Then, they had to get the pads under Greg. Now that was fun and I don’t mean fun ha-ha. I’m talking pure sarcasm here.

Fortunately, the bubble was equipped with 10 sets of robot hands; four on each side, one at the head and one at the foot. Lambach got Goliath 1 and 2, Nick, Gil, Hodges and himself on the sides. He put Nancy at Greg’s head and called Sharise in to handle Greg’s feet. Between all of them they were able to lift Greg without disturbing the little chow-hounds but no one could move the pads. Finally he called down to security and asked for the 2 biggest, strongest guards they had to come up to Greg’s room at once.

When they got there, he put Goliath 1 and 2 in the first set of hands on each side up by Greg’s shoulders. The rest of them were able to lift Greg straight up, keeping his body completely straight. The two Goliath’s were strong enough to maneuver the top pad under Greg’s shoulders and then it was a matter of everyone moving just a little until the pad was completely under Greg’s upper body.

Everyone took a short rest and then repeated the process, this time with the Goliath’s in the last set of hands on each side working the second pad under Greg’s lower body until they had him laying completely on the semi frozen pads with his bed sore completely raised from the surface of the bed.

They were all shaking with exhaustion when they got through but everyone agreed it was worth every ache and twinge when they saw the pain lines ease on Greg’s face and the cherry on top was when Lambach checked all the monitors and tubes again and said, “His fever has fallen 1 tenth of a degree. The chilled pads are working and I’m sure part of his pain has been from the bed sore so now that it’s not being stressed, he’s bound to feel a little better.”
***************************
Nick’s whole world had done a 180 degree turn. He went from knowing he was going to lose Greg to watching his love come back to life. At first, it was so slow that 1 tenth of a degree drop in temperature was a cause for rejoicing. Lately, everything was speeding up. One day Nick had noticed several of the maggots lying on the sheet beside Greg. He called Lambach who was there almost before Nick hung up the phone.

The young doctor was a whirling dervish when he got excited. He reminded Nick so much of Greg as he was during his first hectic years in the lab. Sometimes he had to turn away and get his emotions under control. This time, Lambach started issuing orders so fast Nick could hardly understand everything he was saying. Suddenly he rushed out of the room, leaving Nick to jump to one side before Nancy, who was on duty today, came through the door almost on a dead run. She wasted no time on her sterilization routine and was gloved and working inside the bubble in record time.

Lambach came back in the room preceded by a stench that almost gagged Nick. He took a good look at the plate in the doctor’s hand and saw it had several chunks of rotting meat. Well that explained the stink but what the hell was going on. He went over and watched Lambach go through the same process Nancy had just completed and then he put the plate with the meat on his work table and Nick watched amazed as he removed the maggots that had fallen down onto the sheets and carefully placed them on the meat in the dish. When he got all of them he examined Greg’s wound carefully, removed a few more and rearranged the rest. Even Nick could see the small spots of healthy pink tissue showing in the depth of the ugly hole in his lover’s side.

Lambach looked over at Nick with a huge grin on his face and said, “Mr. Stokes, it’s working or actually THEY are working. Can you see the change?”

Nick answered him with a grin of his own. He put his hand on the kid’s shoulder and said, “You bet your ass I can see the change and if you don’t start calling me Nick and him Greg, I’m going to feed you to your pets. While we’re on the subject, what the heck is your name?”

Dr. Lambach turned redder than his curls, ducked his head and said so softly Nick could hardly hear him, “Rutherford.”

Nick’s mouth fell open. He said, “Please tell me you’re kidding. Surely no one would do that to a helpless child.”

‘Rutherford’ explained that it was a family name and by giving it to him, his folks got an inheritance big enough to pay for his education. He usually signed his name R. Charles Lambach.

Nick nodded slowly and said, “OK, from now on, I’m Nick, he’s Greg or Greggo and you’re Charlie.” To himself, Nick thought, and please God don’t let me slip and call him Cupid because I swear he’s beginning to look more like a little cherub every day.

Nick’s plan went to hell in a hand basket when Greg finally came to enough to notice his surroundings and the new face outside his bubble. He croaked at Nick, asking him who the new guy was. Nick replied he was his new doctor; Dr. Lambach.

Greg looked at him in amazement, then looked at the young kid grinning down at him and said, “Now I know I’m dead. I’ve got Lamb Chop for a doctor.”

Lambach was ‘Lamb Chop’ from that moment on.
***********************************
Two months later, Greg’s wound was clean, he was out of the bubble, his bed sore was healed and Hodges new invention combined with a special rotating bed used for spinal column injuries was giving him more mobility that he’d had since he was first shot. Hodges had come up with a variation of his pad which had a solid frame. It was tailored to Greg’s body and had openings for his catheter, colostomy bag, wound, IV port and feeding port. They laid the thing on top of Greg using just enough pressure to keep it positioned correctly, then they rotated the bed and when they were through, Greg was lying on his stomach and he was so comfortable he still fell asleep almost as soon as they got him flipped.

No one could come up with a name for the pad until Bobby and Steve’s daughter, who came with them every chance she got, asked them what they were doing to her Greg. They were trying to explain the concept of changing Greg’s position for his health and his comfort. Teen-agers are so direct; they just don’t suffer bull shit easily. She looked at her dads seriously and said, “You mean you need to flip him like a flapjack, right.”

Bobby laughed and said, ‘Yeah that’s right, sugar.”

She looked thoughtful a minute and then her face cleared and she said, “Oh then, that’s Greg’s Griddle.” Greg’s Griddle it was from that moment on.
**********************************
Nick still thought sometimes he was dreaming; especially when he could walk in and touch Greg or kiss him. He spent long minutes when they were alone, sitting on the side of Greg’s bed, leaning over him with their cheeks together. He just smelled his skin and kissed his sweet mouth. Greg was so weak he couldn’t lift his arms to embrace Nick but Nick could pick his hand up in his and hold it against his cheek and Greg would smile the most amazing smile when Nick did that. So when Greg asked him to call Collin and see if he could come see him for a day or two, Nick didn’t say a word; he just left the room, got on his cell and called Atlanta. Collin was on the next plane.
***********************************
Nick was putting in hours at the lab again. He knew he would have to take more time off when Greg was released from the hospital and every time he thought about that, he smiled. The idea of Greg being released and back in their home was the latest in a long line of miracles that Nick gave thanks for on a regular basis.

He went to the airport, picked up Collin and took him back to his house so he could drop his bags off before they went to the hospital. Collin had a large box he was taking with him; Nick tried to wheedle out of him what the box contained but Collin said it was for Greg and he got to see it first.

Greg’s face lit up when Collin and Nick entered the room. He said, “Hey good looking, you made good time.”

Collin walked over to the bed. He was trying hard to keep the overwhelming emotion he felt under control and not let the tears start. But the sight of a smiling Greg was more than he thought he would ever see again. He sat down in the chair next to the bed. Nick had already told him about the debilitating weakness Greg was dealing with so he just reached down and picked Greg’s hand up just like Nick did. He held his hand against his cheek and then pressed a kiss in the palm.

Greg looked at him with a shadow of his old self and said, “God is that the best you can do?”

Collin said, “Well yeah until we get rid of your ball and chain over there. I’m afraid he’ll get violent if I do any more.”

Greg looked at Nick and said seriously, “Don’t you need to get back to work?”

Nick said, “Are you trying to get rid of me G?”

Greg said, “Hell yes. Here I’ve finally got some strange stuff and you’re standing there inhibiting him.”

Nick laughed at him and told him he’d been hitting the morphine drip too much and he was going back to work for a few hours just as soon as he saw what Collin had brought him. They opened the box and Greg was so touched he cried. That was another thing Nick had warned Collin about. After all he’d been through; Greg did not have the best control over his emotions. He cried very easily and everyone had learned the best way to handle it was just to wait until the storm passed and then a hug or affectionate pat would reassure Greg that he was OK and they understood.

Collin had brought Greg a computer. It was voice operated with a very sophisticated voice recognition program that could learn as you worked with the CPU. Collin knew Greg was too weak to operate a keyboard but he thought it would be a great way for Greg to amuse himself when he was sick of TV. It was designed for hospital use and fastened to the sidebars of Greg’s bed. It could be adjusted, also with voice commands so if Greg wanted to sit up, he could tell the thing to rise, tilt, lower, turn left or right. He could position it exactly the way he wanted it for maximum viewing. Everyone laughed when Greg tried to operate the thing the first time and was so excited he couldn’t say recognizable words.

When Nick left, Greg barely took a second to respond to his kiss and then he was back to his toy. Nick did not mind in the slightest. He was thrilled to see Greg so excited about something again. It eased a nagging worry that had been lurking in the back of his mind for a long time. He couldn’t help but wonder if Greg’s brilliant intellect had suffered any damage from the physical trauma he’d undergone over these long, long months. From the conversation he and Collin were having, Nick wasn’t going to worry about Greg’s mental health anymore.
***************************************
Nick had been gone a little over an hour and the computer was working perfectly and Greg and Collin were sitting quietly just enjoying each other. Greg looked at Collin with his old seductive style and asked him if he was ready to give him a more personal greeting now that Nick was gone. Collin laughed at him and told him he was pleased to see he was still a flirty slut.

Greg said, “Well what kind of greeting does a flirty slut get from you?”

Collin moved his chair much closer to the bed, leaned over and breathed against Greg’s lips, “the best kind.” He kissed Greg gently at first and then when he felt the tip of Greg’s tongue against his bottom lip, he opened his mouth and sucked that tongue inside. They kissed intimately for a long time. When they finally broke for air, Collin lifted Greg’s hand to his lips and said, “You just don’t know how afraid I’ve been that I would never get to do that.”

Greg smiled and told Collin, “You just don’t know how afraid I’VE been that you would never want to do that.”

Collin said, “You know this is really fucked up, don’t you. I know you and Nick love each other so much. You two really are soul mates and God knows I love my partners more than I can say.”

Greg said, “Yeah but you still love Nick and I know damn well, you will always have a piece of his heart no matter how much he loves me. I also know there were sparks between us when you all came here for our commitment ceremony. That’s why I asked Nicky to call you. I need you to do me a favor.”

Collin nodded and said, “Anything you want, Wild Child. Just ask.”

Greg thought for a second then looked Collin right in the eyes and said, “I want you to take Nick home tonight and fuck his brains out. I want him to be walking funny for the next few days and being real careful when he sits down.”

The next half hour was a little chaotic. In fact, at one point, Collin walked out of the room. When he came back, he was no longer yelling or insisting that he call Greg’s doctor because he was sure Greg was having some sort of breakdown. He just sat down, leaned back and said, “Why?”

Greg said, “Because. My bad times are coming. I’ve got months of physical rehab to go through and I can’t even pick my own hand up. I’ve got to have some thing to work for. Something to hold onto when the pain is more than I can bear and I’m afraid I’m going to be a mutilated freak for the rest of my life.”

Collin said, “But you’ve got Nick, You’ve got every thing to live and get well for.”

Greg was shaking his head before Collin finished his sentence. “No I don’t. Collin, when Nick and I first got together we were so wild, we put the bed through the wall a couple of times a month. We spent so much time at Lowe’s they got to the point where they just pulled out a piece of sheet rock every time they saw us come in. We’ve been together for 10 years now and we’re not quite as bad as we were, but we still get really physical to the point where we have bruises, bites and suck marks on us; or at least we did until this happened. Now, when Nick touches me, he’s so gentle it’s like he’s kissing a child. There’s love, there is always love but the hot passion we used to have is not there any more. If I have to live my life without that passion ever again, I don’t want to live. I don’t want to be Nick’s charity case, his cross to bear. I want to be his lover. Right now, it’s been almost eleven months since Nick got his rocks off unless he’s been jacking off in the shower and I doubt that. He’s holding himself on such a tight leash I’m afraid if he doesn’t let go, he may never be able to look at me as anything other than a helpless cripple to take care of.”

“Please Collin, I want him to let go, give up control and get as rough as he wants to, no…as rough as he NEEDS to. He can do that with you. You’re strong enough to take anything he dishes out and give it back in spades. I used to be like that. You’ve got to get rough with him to make him let go. When he gives up control completely, he will let go of all the grief and pain and worry he’s been carrying for the last eleven months. Maybe then he can look at me like he used to and believe that we can get some of that back. I need him to believe that to help me believe it in the months to come.”

Collin moved his chair right up against the side of the bed. He leaned forward and gathered Greg up into his arms. He kissed him again and it wasn’t a gentle kiss. He kissed Greg nipping and biting on his lips, running his tongue over the roof of his mouth and sucking hard on his tongue. He fucked Greg’s mouth with his until they both were breathless and then he said the same thing he’d said at the start of their talk. “Anything you want, Wild Child.”

He was still holding Greg in his arms when Nick came back. Nick looked at the two men thinking to himself how good they looked together and trying not to think about the fact that he had fucked both of them and would give 10 years of his life to know he was going to be able to fuck them both again, then he smiled and said, “Hey, do I have anything to worry about here?”
*****************************************

Nick was pretty late the next morning. Greg had been bathed, fed, all his tubes were checked, his machines cleaned and he was playing with his computer when Nick finally walked in. Well, maybe walked wasn’t quite the right word; limped would be more like it. Greg watched his love make his way slowly over to his side. He looked up at him with a huge Greg special smile and said, “What is it you always say cowboy? Oh yeah; rode hard and put away wet.”

Nick glared at his smug looking better…no make that ‘worse’ half. It would have been a lot more effective if he hadn’t let out a hiss of pain when he tried to sit on the side of the bed.

“What’s the problem baby” asked Greg with a syrupy smile. “You got a ‘boo-boo’ you need me to kiss and make well?”

“Hell no! Kissing was what got me in this shape to begin with. Your kissing not mine. What the hell did you do to Collin? He was like a wild man last night and all he would say while I was trying to fight him off was ‘I’m doing this for Greg. It’s what he wants’. I was raped in my own kitchen by my so-called friend who was doing you a favor. So give. What was that all about?”

Greg was trying hard not to laugh out loud at Nick’s indignant tone which didn’t quite go with his ‘I’ve been well and truly fucked’ expression. He was so relaxed when he wasn’t trying to figure out how to sit on his sore ass, he was almost purring. Greg got his chuckles under control and said, “Aren’t you even going to kiss me hello first?”

Nick looked at him and started to say no but Greg looked so pleased with himself and so happy he could not deny him anything; which was pretty much the way life had gone for the last 10 years anyway. Nick was still trying to find a comfortable position so he just rose up, leaned over and started to kiss Greg. He didn’t even realize he had his tongue halfway down Greg’s throat until Greg’s happy hums and moans caught his attention. When he realized what he was doing, he almost stopped. Then he knew he had missed kissing his love like this. As though they were the only two people in the whole world and that kiss was the most important thing he had to think about. He kissed Greg until he was lightheaded and finally pulled away to get some air in his lungs.

“How come you can kiss that long and not be out of breath” he asked as he took another deep gulp of air.

Greg grinned and said, “Nose canula. I’ve learned to breathe through my nose and I get a steady flow of oxygen. And that kiss, Mr. Stokes was why I asked Col to take you home last night and fuck your brains out. Because I couldn’t do it and boy did you need someone to do it. By the way, just how big is Collin anyway? I thought you said you and he were about the same size.”

Nick was still trying to analyze Greg’s last spout of words and couldn’t quite switch gears fast enough to keep up with the change in subject. Besides which, his ass was killing him, he had bite marks all over his body, his dick was sore and he was almost sure he’d pulled a muscle in his shoulder.

“Why are you so interested in how big Collin is? Are you planning on switching partners in the middle of the dance?”

“Not likely Stokes. You’re stuck with me until we’re both old, grey and have to hire someone to hold our dicks to keep them from dragging on the ground. I told him I wanted you walking funny but you act like you’re in real pain. What happened?”

Nick looked at Greg with a most puzzled expression on his face. “Let me get this straight. You seduce our friend into fucking me into a comatose state while you are confined to a hospital bed and can barely lift your hands. Now, you want details of said fucking?”

“You bet your sweet, sore ass, I want details and don’t leave out a thing.”

Nick said, “Now I know how Alice felt when she fell down the rabbit hole.”

nickngreg @ 2008-07-18T08:35:00

2008-07-18T14:42:29Z

Title: Domestic Chores
Chapter: 4/12
Author: jettblack0110
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nick hates doing laundry.
Warnings: A little bit of language and a little bit of boy love

It was just a sock, he did not know why he was so angry about a sock. But there he was stomping and huffing around the house, angry that he had found a stray sock in the laundry. Nick had risen earlier than normal to throw his and Greg’s clothes in the washing machine—both were running low on clean trousers and shirts, having not done laundry for nearly three weeks. Their schedules had been hectic lately, it must have been the summer heat or something, but people seemed to be killing each other more often. In fact, both he and Greg were sleeping off a triple homicide they had worked, which resulted in double shifts for the both of them. Instead of coming home and screwing like they usually did, both fell into bed and slept for nearly twelve hours. Well, Greg was still asleep. But Nick never was much of a sluggish person, unlike his sinusoidal lover who could be the epitome of energy or the embodiment of sloth. Nick had woken due to the oppressive heat that had built up in their room during the late afternoon.

The heat intensified the stuffiness of their small apartment, and Nick had inhaled the smell of dirty laundry. When he gagged, he knew it was time to do laundry, a chore he had always abhorred. He rolled out of bed, selecting a clean t-shirt to throw on with his boxers, and set about gathering the discarded clothing that littered their bedroom floor. After throwing the dirty clothes in the general vicinity of the washer and dryer, he gave their bedroom a once-over, making sure he had not missed a single article of clothing. He checked under the bed and in the closet, under the dresser and in their bathroom. Finally satisfied, he placed a chaste kiss on Greg’s brow before closing the bedroom door. Starting with the whites, he sorted through the rest of the laundry before throwing it into the washer. As the whites were stewing, Nick made a bowl of cereal and turned the television on. Due to their busy week, he had missed several documentaries he had been meaning to watch. So he selected the first one and watched contentedly, ears sensitive to the resounding bing of the finished load of laundry.

He threw the whites into the dryer, pausing to laugh at a pair of white boxers patterned with little red crabs—Greg’s crabby boxers. Nick loved Greg’s boxer choices, most all of his others were also patterned with silly images. Opening Greg’s pants was always an adventure, a game, to see which boxers he had selected for the day. Nick tossed the boxers in the dryer with the rest of the whites, started a new load in the wash, and then went and pressed his ear to the bedroom door. Everything was completely silent. He allowed himself an indulgent chuckle as he contemplated Greg’s ability to sleep for so long. Still smiling to himself, Nick resumed his documentary. But he did not really watch. Instead, he affectionately thought about his current situation with Greg. In his past relationships, Nick had never really been domestic with his partners. They had lived together, but they always took care of their own necessities. Nick never had to do his partners’ laundry or dishes or take care of them when they were sick. But then Nick found Greg, and he wanted to do those domestic nothings. Greg had been sick recently, and Nick thrived in his position of caretaker. He loved comforting his sniffling lover. Nick even liked to do dishes for Greg as Greg dried. Enjoyed the silent understanding and companionship and affection that coursed through the kitchen. And although he loathed doing laundry in any case, he did not mind having to do Greg’s extra loads. Just the smell of Nick’s laundry detergent on his lover’s skin was enough to bring out the possessive animal in him.

Nick’s musings were interrupted by the buzz of the dryer. He shuffled over and opened the door, folding the clothes and placing them on top of the dryer. As he neared the bottom, something caught his eye. A lone sock. It had a black band around the toe, a distinguishing mark that matched none of the other socks in the pile. Nick’s eyebrows drew together as he contemplated the rebellious garment. How could there be a stray sock? He had checked everywhere to make sure he had left nothing behind. But there it was. A low growl rumbled in Nick’s throat as he picked up the sock and physically held it next to all the others. It was for sure a stray. He was not sure why he was so annoyed with the common laundry issue, but he chocked it up to the fact that he was probably still tired from working and the fact that Greg was still asleep while he was doing household chores. He stalked into the bedroom, huffing and growling as he rifled through both sock drawers to make sure it was not a clean one he had mistakenly washed again. No such luck. He was then on his hands and knees, just like he would be on a case, searching for that elusive piece of evidence with his flashlight. But cranky and without a flashlight, Nick stood back up. Looking at the bed, his eyes met two sleepy-looking brown ones.

“Morning, sleepy head,” Nick growled.

“’S’matter, Nicky?” Greg slurred.

“Doing laundry.”

Greg hummed as he rolled to his side, staring at Nick. He patted the bed invitingly, and of course, Nick could not resist. They got situated, Greg’s back flush against Nick’s chest, Nick’s arm draped over Greg’s waist. Nick was a little excited, pressed up against his lover. Greg always slept nude, and his current condition was no change. Nick pressed a little firmer into his lover’s body, littering the pale neck with feather-light kisses.

Needless to say, things got a little heated, even more than the smothering heat of the Vegas afternoon. Light kisses turned hard, along with other things. As Nick nipped his way down Greg’s body, Greg bent his knees, planting his feet flat on the mattress and incidentally right next to Nick’s hands. Nick wrapped his hands around Greg’s ankles as he kissed lower on the abdomen in front of him. But then he stopped dead as his hand travelled over an unfamiliar texture. Rough cotton. He ceased his ministrations and looked at the foot in his hand. It was covered by a white sock with a black band around the toe.

“Why’d you stop?” Greg gasped, his chest heaving in his excitement.

“You have a sock on.”

“So fucking take it off, Nick.”

“I had a stray sock in the wash.”

“You are so not delaying sex because of a sock!” Greg ripped his foot violently out of Nick’s grasp and tore the offending garment off, throwing it at Nick. The sock hit him lightly on the chest before landing on Greg’s stomach. Nick snapped out of his domestic hen mode as he watched the sock move up and down with Greg’s hitching breaths.

“You’re right. Fucking now, laundry later.” He crawled back on top of Greg, kissing him hard. He had not removed the sock.

nickngreg @ 2008-07-17T09:06:00

2008-07-17T15:11:21Z

Title: Domestic Chores
Chapter: 3/12
Author: jettblack0110
Rating: PG
Summary: It's flu season...
Warnings: buckets of snot

Greg wandered through the store aimlessly and silently, clutching a shopping basket to his chest. He hated the grocery story; there really was nothing more to it. He hated looking for the items he needed, hated standing in line, and hated unloading the groceries at home. But Nick was sick and did not want to get anyone else sick. Greg grudgingly agreed to go to the store only after Super Stokes had run out of tissues and was threatening to use Greg’s t-shirts instead. So here he was, in the one place he hated most, looking at brands of tissues for his bedridden lover. Tissues came with lotion on them? Greg suppressed a little snort, thinking of an instance where his tissues were covered in lotion. Nick had been on his mind all day that day. Pulling himself back to reality, Greg resumed his perusal of the seemingly thousands of boxes of tissues. There were kinds that killed bacteria, kinds with aloe vera, kinds with triple layers, and kinds with comfort weaves. The boxes ranged from Disney patterns to solid colors, with everything in between.

Who had all the time to think of so many varieties of tissues? Greg’s mouth was hanging open with indecision as his eyes darted back and forth from one box to another. Finally, he picked a box. A blue box with normal, double layer, no lotion, no aloe, no antiviral tissues. Good-old plain tissues. Nick’s style of tissues. With a triumphant smile, Greg continued on to the next lane to grab some cold medicine—the extra strength kind. Greg was getting a little antsy with Nick laid up for a few days. He wanted some energy in his lover tonight. Upon arriving in the medicine aisle, Greg was surprised to see that there was an even larger selection of cold medicines than there was tissues. He issued a frustrated groan, merely wanting to get out of the store and take care of Nick. Scrunching his eyes shut, he thrust a hand out and grabbed the first bottle he could, throwing it in his basket along with the treasured tissues.

Greg crashed into the bedroom, making as much noise as possible. He wanted to make sure Nick knew how annoyed he was. After he had gotten the medicine, Greg had to stand in an impossibly long line just to be scoffed at by some snotty teenage girl running the cash register. He violently threw the tissues at his lover’s prostrate form, which promptly twitched and groaned.

“This is how much I love you, Nick,” Greg said, “I went to the grocery store for you.”

Nick raised a skeptical eyebrow before tearing open the tissue box. “As I’ve said before, G, you never cease to amaze me.” He ended his thought with a loud honk in the first tissue of the box.

“Not even a thank you?” Greg said, “Sexy.” Nick honked again in the tissue.

“Hey, I wouldn’t be sick if it weren’t for you, so shut it.” The man did have a point. Greg had been sick the week before. And if there’s anything worse than Greg being antsy when Nick is sick, it is Greg being antsy when Greg is sick. He would not call it rape, because of course Nicky always wanted it, but perhaps he could say Nick was not thrilled with the idea of screwing his mucous faucet of a boyfriend. Needless to say, Greg won and now Nick was sick.

“Be that as it may, you still liked it.” Nick threw his used tissue at Greg. Greg dodged out of the way of the tissue before tossing the medicine bottle at Nick in return. He then launched himself on the bed, bouncing as high as he could.

“G, stop…” Nick whined, “My head hurts.” Greg stopped bouncing and lay next his lover. He was wearing his goofy smile as he planted a big, sloppy kiss on Nick’s forehead.

“Better?”

“No.”

“You’re really crabby when you’re sick.”

“Like I said before, I wouldn’t be sick if it weren’t for you.”

“But, Nicky, I went to the store and everything. I think that’s a good enough apology.”

“I could think of some better things.”

“That’s what the medicine is for.”

“If we keep this up, this cold is just going to be passed between us forever.”

“I love you, Nick Stokes.” He placed a kiss on Nick’s reddened nose.

“What was that for?”

“What?”

“You know what.”

“What, a man can’t love his man? You’re adorable when you’re sick. Crabby, but adorable.”

“I’m not adorable.”

“You are. Your nose is red, you curl up under the blankets, and, my favorite, you wear your glasses. I love when you wear your glasses, you know that, Nicky.” Nick only grunted in return. He rolled over, his back facing Greg. Greg sighed and shuffled across the bed until his chest was flush against Nick’s back. He threw his arm over Nick and hugged him close, placing a kiss right under his ear. “I love you even when you are sick and crabby and when you make me go to the grocery store.”

“I love you too, G.”