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Title: I'd Just Be Fool Enough To Fall
Chapter: Three: Get Rhythm
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Summary: Where Nick learns that everything he's ever wanted is right in front of him.

Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed. I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying writing it. So onto chapter three of my little story. Thanks to

carolinecrane and

saras_girl for the awesome beta and support! I am the proud owner of any remaining mistakes!

Chapter One Chapter Two

CHAPTER 3- Get Rhythm

“Warrick, you’re on a four-nineteen in Seven Hills; Catherine, I want you on the stabbing outside of the Palms.” Grissom begins handing out assignments at the start of shift. “Sara, Auto towed in your suspect’s car about a half hour ago for you to check out. Nick, I want you to give her a hand. I’m still working on the death of the finance assistant from the Mayor’s office.”

Getting up from the table, Sara turns to Nick. “I’m hoping to find something that ties the suspect to the scene. I’ve already searched his apartment. Meet you there in five?”

“I’m at your service.” Nick affects a small bow. He knows she’s disappointed at not getting to sign off on a quintuple murder. It’s certainly going to look good on his service record.

“Whatever,” scoffs Sara over her shoulder, as she heads down the hall.

Having spent a significant amount of time thinking about the conversation he is about to have—when he probably should have been trying to sleep—Nick makes his way to the DNA lab.

As he rounds the corner, he catches sight of Greg, who is dancing around the lab straightening files and running an anti-static rag over the counters. The music is loud enough that Nick can hear it through the closed doors and by the screeching, it’s all Greg. There is no one else in the hallway, so Nick takes a minute to just watch Greg’s fluid and carefree movement. It’s mesmerizing, but Nick knows he only has a few minutes before he has to meet Sara, or loses his nerve, so he pulls open the door and walks in.

It’s a moment before Greg notices that he’s not alone, but when he finally notices Nick, his smile holds no embarrassment and he continues his dancing/cleaning until the song finishes. “What’s up, Nicky?”

“I didn’t realize there’d be live entertainment in the lab tonight, Greggo,” muses Nick.

“What can I say, I am a man of many talents,” says Greg as he quirks his eyebrow.

Not that Nick doesn’t appreciate the flirting, if anything it helps steel his resolve, but he wants to keep his train of thought on track.

“Well, your talents certainly helped me with my case last night. I wanted to come down and say thanks in person.”

“I was glad to help.” Greg’s voice pitches higher in excitement as he continues. “You know how Sara got called out to that robbery? She had me run the pictures over to Doc Robbins. He let me make the visual confirmation. You know,” Greg leans a little closer to Nick, “that was my first time around dead bodies. Kinda freaky, but kinda cool.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling. You didn’t puke, did you?” Nick questions.

“No, they almost didn’t look real- like watching a horror film. Why? Did you puke the first time you saw a dead body?” Greg’s inquiry is equal parts questioning and derisive.

Nick wants to wipe the smirk off Greg’s face. Or kiss it off. Whatever. Instead he opts for the truth. “I did. But in my defense, my first dead body was found dismembered in a dumpster and covered in maggots. So not quite the same, don’t you think?”

“Touché. So the case is wrapped?”

“Yep. Finished the report before I left, thanks to your secret coffee stash. Just another thing I have to thank you for.” Nick takes a breath. It’s now or never, he tells himself. “I was thinking maybe we could…” Nick is cut off by the door opening and Grissom coming in. Perfect timing, Nick thinks, flustered at the interruption.

Grissom looks at the two men before saying, “You’re not just standing around socializing are you Greg? I need those results. They’re the only lead we have, and you haven’t paged yet.” He then turns his stern look to Nick. “And you, aren’t you supposed to be helping Sara?”

The last thing Nick wants to do is get Greg in trouble, so he is quick to defend his being in the lab.

“I’m on my way there in a minute. I just wanted to stop in and say thanks to Greg for his help with my case last night. He was a big help, and I wanted him to know that.” He pauses before adding, “You should know that too.”

Nick keeps his eyes on Grissom to reinforce his point, but he can practically sense Greg’s smile.

Before their supervisor can respond, the printer beeps, as if on cue, and Greg pulls the report out with a flourish. “And I didn’t page you yet, because you told me not to page you until I had the results for all three.” Greg reads down the page and hands it to Grissom.

“That’s the last one. The blood sample is the victim’s, the hair is an unknown. But if you find me something to compare it to, I can match it. And your swab of the substance found in the victim’s mouth is a combination of titanium dioxide, solvent naphtha, mineral spirits, resins, dispersant, colorant and fragrance. Otherwise known as liquid paper.” Greg gives a smug smile to Grissom before adding, “Was there anything else you needed?”

Grissom watches Greg for a moment before he gives an exasperated sigh and then looks down at the information he has been given. “All right then, I’ll just leave you to it,” he says distractedly, looking at the paper Greg has handed him. “Don’t keep Sara waiting, Nick.” As he heads out the door, he looks back and adds with a nod, “Good work, Greg.”

They both stare at the door for a moment before Nick glances over to Greg, who looks positively stunned by Grissom’s praise. “Wow,” Greg mouths.

“A compliment from Grissom; be sure to mark this day on your calendar,” Nick comments.

Seeming to come back to himself, Greg looks appreciatively at Nick. “Thanks for what you said to Grissom.”

“I meant it; I probably would still be at it without your superhero skills and all.”

Knowing it’s only a matter of moments before Sara comes looking for him, Nick thinks to himself, it’s now or never.

“I’m going to have to head over to Auto, but I wanted to see if you’d have breakfast with me after shift, you know, as a thank you.”

Eyes lighting up, Greg answers, “That’d be great.” Putting his hands on his hips and sticking out his chest in a Superman pose, he adds, “My DNA superpowers can really work up an appetite. Where to? Frank’s?”

Fighting down the nervous flutter in his stomach, Nick forges ahead. “Actually, I’ve been in the mood to fix up a good old-fashioned Texas breakfast, but it doesn’t make sense to go to the trouble for just me, so I was thinking maybe you could, um… come over to my place, and… I’ll cook.”

Nick hopes he doesn’t sound as nervous as he feels. He knows that inviting Greg back to his home is a much bigger deal than just a casual meal at the diner, which is exactly why he’s asking. He just hopes the surprised look that registers on Greg’s face and the silence that follows means he’s pleased with the invitation and not trying to figure out a way to get out of it.

As the silence drags on, he’s starting to think it’s the latter.

“Or, you know, if you’d rather go to the diner that’s fi….” Nick’s rapid backpedaling stops when Greg’s hand covers his, which he has unknowingly made into a tight, nervous fist.

“Stop.” Greg is blushing, but his look is sincere and open. “I’d love to come over. I didn’t know you could cook. I can barely scramble an egg.” He gives a gentle squeeze to Nick’s hand before he lets go, and at the touch Nick loosens his fist and lets out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“With seven kids in the house and two working parents, we all learned our way around the kitchen pretty early.” Feeling more relaxed now that Greg has agreed to come over, he adds mischievously, “You’re not the only one with many talents.”

“I have no doubt,” Greg states with a sly grin. “I’ll meet you out by your truck after shift so I can follow you over, if that sounds alright to you?”

“Sounds like a plan, G.” Nick can’t help the smile he knows is plastered on his face. “I gotta run before Sara tears me a new one. I’ll catch you later.”

Greg returns the smile and gives him a nod. As Nick turns to head out the door, he hears Greg say softly, almost to himself, “It’s a date.”

You bet it is, Nick says to himself.

“What’s with the whistling, Nick?” grumbles Sara, frustration heavy in her voice.

They’ve been going over the car for almost two hours now and have yet to find anything probative. She’s been in a foul temper all evening, having still not gotten anywhere on the burglary that took her off the poker case last night.

“Why?” Nick says as he pulls his head out from the trunk he’s been going through. “Can’t a guy whistle while he works?” he continues, having to have this conversation with Sara’s ass, which is the only part he can see sticking out of the car, as her head is now down to the floor of the backseat.

“Only if you’re a dwarf; and I sure as hell am not Snow White,” she replies, her voice muffled. She pulls herself out of the backseat to add, “I think all those bird shows you watch are affecting your mind.”

“Maybe I’m just in a good mood,” Nick answers a little defensively. His ornithological interest is nowhere near as weird as Grissom’s bug fetish, but he stops his whistling nonetheless.

“Lucky me.”

They work in silence for a little while before Sara has Nick come look at the small glass-like shards she’s found under the passenger seat. Upon closer inspection, they appear to be bone china fragments, which may match one of the collectible plates reported missing in what Sara has christened ‘the most boring case she has ever worked on’.

“I’m going to run this down to Hodges to have them compare it to the broken plate we found. The homeowner said the stolen plates were part of a series from the same manufacturer- maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Sara bags the shards as Nick lies back on the creeper so he can check under the car. They may be able to get soil and grass samples that match the area of the yard where the burglar parked. It’s dirty work, but at least Sara had smiled when Nick offered to do it.

As Sara stands up to head off to Trace, she adds, “You know, the homeowner also said that she has a plate collection depicting North American birds. Maybe she can get you the information.”

Nick catches the devious glint in her eye, but she walks out before Nick can answer, and Nick is thankful that Sara doesn’t know about the State Bird Series Mockingbird plate his elderly aunt sent him for Christmas two years ago hanging in his dining room.

While she’s gone, Nick allows his mind to drift to the anticipation of his breakfast with Greg. It’s been longer than Nick cares to admit since he’s been this excited about a date.

Nick loves his work, and enjoys the non-conventional hours; it’s when the best cases come in. But the side effect is rarely getting to spend time going out, and it’s nearly impossible to meet someone with whom he might consider a romance.

Sure, he’s gone out, has had dates with both men and women; a few have even ended with pretty decent sex. But there hasn’t been any kind of real connection, no desire to know more about the person, or to share more of himself with them. And that’s what’s different this time—he wants to know more about Greg and he wants Greg to know him.

Nick has always thought that his job was what kept him from meeting someone and doesn’t miss the irony that it is because of his job that he even has this chance with Greg. He doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, but this is the first time in a long while that he has given any consideration to his sexuality affecting his work.

He’s not ashamed of his attraction to men, but he is a realist, which is why he strives to keep his personal life separate from his work life. Dating a co-worker would blur the lines. Nick dating a male co-worker would definitely raise some eyebrows. But it is better here than it was in Dallas, where he felt forced to live in a tightly locked closet.

In Vegas, he’s never felt the need to lie about who he is, he just doesn’t volunteer information. Warrick knows that he’s bisexual—he just came right out and asked Nick one night. Granted, they were both drunk, and he did seem a little shocked when Nick confirmed his suspicions, but Warrick’s friendship has never wavered. Nick thinks Catherine probably knows too after running into her while he was on a date with a guy he’d met at the gym. She never said anything, but she is a CSI and has very strong intuition. But not everyone on the force might be so accommodating, and that is what makes Nick pause to consider.

All told, Nick knows that if he ever wants a chance at a real relationship he’s going to have to recognize that there will always be people who do not understand or accept him and come to terms with that.

There is a part of Nick that tries to be everything for everybody, and he spent a good many of his younger years denying parts of himself in order to fit in and be a team player. It’s not that he still doesn’t want those things, he just now understands the cost of living like that and how much he is willing to pay.

He’s still deep in thought under the car when he hears Sara return and calls out to her for a little help extracting him. She gives his legs a tug and he rolls out quickly.

Sara holds her hand out to help Nick up off the creeper. “I don’t know what’s going on around here tonight, but your good mood must be contagious.”

“You weren’t whistling were you?” Nick says, mock astonished.

“Me? No. I just ran into Greg on my way back actually dancing in the hallway, singing something about how getting rhythm does a million dollars worth of good for you.”

She looks incredulous as she adds, “And then, do you know what he did?” She doesn’t wait before she answers herself, “He grabs my hand, swings me around, and dips me. He dipped me—in the hallway!” She huffs indignantly. “I asked him what his deal was, and he says to me, maybe I’m just in a good mood’. I swear, it was déjà vu!”

Warmth spreads through Nick as Sara tells of her encounter, hopeful that Greg is as excited about their breakfast date as he is.

“I didn’t realize that Greg was a Cash fan, but you make it sound like he’s committed a crime,” Nick laughs. “What bothers you more, the singing or dancing you around?”

“Funny, but it was definitely the dancing. Although I am shocked that Greg would even know a song like that. Johnny Cash is certainly a far cry from Marilyn Manson. I wonder where he learned that.”

He doesn’t have an answer, but as they dive back into their work, Nick hopes he’ll get the chance to find out.

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