Fic: Life Changes 1/29

[jayceepat.livejournal.com]

TITLE: LIFE CHANGES
RATING: PG-13/NC-17 eventually
PAIRINGS: Nick/Greg eventually
WARNINGS: Adult content and language
SUMMARY: A casual remark can change a life
SPOILERS: None
DISCLAIMER: If you don’t recognize it, it’s mine. Otherwise, everything belongs to Bruckheimer, CBS and Zuicker.
A/N: This is not a new story. When I first wrote it I couldn't find a home for it. No site seemed to want it. It is Nick and Greg but it's also Nick's journey to get to Greg. Greg is mentioned throughout the story but does not come into it completely until Chapter 13. If you wait till then, you will miss a lot. I still think this is good and I'm posting it now because I want to give it another chance and to show off the spectacular banner Bflw created.



Someone once said that the world will end, not with a bang, but a whimper. If that means that something huge can occur with almost no warning at all, then that is exactly what happened to Nick Stokes. His world changed at the breakfast table one morning when he wasn't even thinking about life-changing subjects.

Nick had the 'holy grail'; two nights off in a row so Wednesday night he invited Warrick, Greg, most of the lab rats and some of the detectives over to watch basketball on his big screen TV. Nick was not really domestic, so to speak, but he did make a mean guacamole dip and anyone could make killer nachos. That, with beer and soda's for the folks who had to go in to work, made for a great informal party. As it turned out, Warrick was off also (that almost never happened anymore) and Greg was on-call so after everyone else left, 'Rick and Greg helped Nick clean up and Nick and Warrick decided to finish the beer. Greg stuck to soda just in case he got called in.

The conversation meandered over many different topics as it does when you have people who have known each other for years and have endured hardships together. Eventually, it came down to relationships or 'hookups' as Greg called them. It was funny that they got to this subject because Warrick's marriage was not going so good and neither Nick nor Greg had seen any action (other than a very rare pick-up) in a long time.

Out of nowhere, Greg said "You know, you two are really limiting yourselves by refusing to even consider looking at guys".

Well, after Nick got 'Rick a paper towel to wipe the beer off his face that he had snorted all over him AND got some more for himself so he could wipe the table where 'Ricks drink had spilled, he sat down and said "HUH".

Greg repeated what he had just said and followed up with "Neither of you are happy right now and you can't seem to find anyone you really could be happy with and yet, you are not even considering roughly half of the world’s population. I'm not suggesting that you should suddenly start wearing rainbow shirts to work or walk down the halls singing 'I'm a Queer and I love rears', just think about it".

'Rick glared at his often annoying friend and said "You do remember, I'm a married man, right?"

Greg looked at him thoughtfully and replied, "'Rick, I've been sitting here for almost 2 hours listening to you talk about the problems you're having with Tina and how you don't know if you even have something to work on saving. Now I'm not complaining; that's what friends are for. All I'm saying is, if this marriage doesn't work and in the future, you just happen to find a perfect package, are you going to turn it down because of its plumbing? That's just dumb!"

The conversation continued for another hour or so with Greg defending his position that a lifetime commitment is the most important decision anyone will ever make and that all options should be considered and Nick, who by now was almost speechless between the beer and the subject matter, and 'Rick arguing that the word commitment implied male/female which needless to say made Greg laugh out loud. Finally, the beer was gone, the dishwasher loaded and everyone left and Nick fell into bed hoping that the odd ending to what was a great evening wouldn't keep him awake. Of course, he fell asleep before he could finish the thought in his head.

When he woke up, after nine hours of solid sleep, he couldn't figure out if his back teeth were floating in beer, urine or some strange mixture of both. He headed for the john and the shower in that order. The weird conversation from last night wasn't even a memory on the edge of his brain until...he saw the headline on the family section of the paper. 'MORE GAY COUPLES ADOPTING THAN EVER BEFORE'. Suddenly, last night's (or early this morning's) conversation came back in almost painful detail. Nick sat there for almost an hour going over every single word. Finally, he shook himself and remembered that he had a long list of things he wanted to accomplish on his second day off AND he was thinking about maybe going clubbin' tonight. Either the beer or the conversation had awakened a little itch. He thought about the redhead with the great butt he had hooked up with the last time he'd gone out and the itch grew stronger, then he thought about her shrill, whiny voice and how it had grated on his nerves until...oh yeah, that's why he'd just suddenly leaned over and kissed her. It was either that or strangle her and he didn't like to think violent thoughts. Oh well, there were bound to be more out there and maybe they wouldn't sound like fingernails scratching on a blackboard.

Nick got up and started on his 'to do' list. He had so many things he wanted to get done he would be busy all day. Unfortunately, Nick's body was so well trained in the art of grocery shopping, oil changing, tire rotation and car washing that his brain was free to roam and it kept roaming back to 'THE TALK'. By now, it had assumed bold caps in Nick's mind every time he thought about 'IT'. He found later on that day that he had completed his chores and didn't remember doing any of them but there was a sparkling clean truck in his driveway and a trip to his kitchen showed a well stocked fridge and all sorts of things on his pantry shelves. It was only 7.00 pm, way to early to go to any club, he wasn't tired enough to take a nap so he decided that while he had done a decent job on his living room for the party yesterday, the rest of the house could use a good scrubbing and then he would be ready for a shower, some party threads and hopefully, a little 'hookup'?

Comments

[ic789.livejournal.com]

YAY! That's such a great banner and I'm glad to see this story again. I'll probably re-read it because it's so outstanding. Cheers!

[jayceepat.livejournal.com]

Well bless you my dear, you are a glutton for punishment. I really enjoyed your comments the first time around. I really want this story here because to me it's always been just Nick and Greg with everything else landmarks along the way. This is the home of Nick/Greg and I like to think of this, my favorite story, here where it belongs.

[morgan-cian.livejournal.com]

Oh this is interesting, looking forward to more, darlin'...MC

[jayceepat.livejournal.com]

Well, there will be a lot more. This turned into my version of 'Gone With the Wind'. There are 29 chapters and I will post 3 a week.

[(Anonymous)]

I read your story before and it's really awesome! I was thinking about it for days after I had finished reading it. I probably won't read it again though because although it made me extremely happy it also made me extremely sad.

[jayceepat.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your lovely comment. I don't mind if you can't read it again just admire Bflyw's beautiful banner and know how much I appreciate your thoughfulness in reviewing.

[anmani.livejournal.com]

I haven't read this before, I've not been much of a reader in the last year.

But this is a good start. You describe a mind-eating thought so well. It is weird when you have gone through the whole day and done lots, but your mind is stuck with this one notion.

/A

[jayceepat.livejournal.com]

This is the thought that changes everything for Nick and sends him on his life-long journey. Hope you stay with me until the end.

[devo79.livejournal.com]

Can I have more? Please!

[jayceepat.livejournal.com]

Of course you can have more. Just have your plate ready every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Since this is not a new story and is completely written, I will post 3 chapters a week until it's done. Just remember that Greg will not completely join the party until Chapter 13 so don't get discouraged.

[bflyw.livejournal.com]

Oh...haven't seen this before!




KIDDING!
I think I'll read it again while you post it again....:-)
Oh, love your banner! LOL!
Funny to think about that the last time I read this I didn't know you.... but I did get to know you through commenting though!

[(Anonymous)]

I really like this story. This is a story that can be read and re-read over and over, which I have. And the banner is perfect for it.

[donnab810.livejournal.com]

Good start, hmm, I do so like long stories, I much prefer that sort to one shots... Ahh Nicky... Nicky... LOL U go Greg, stick up for what you believe in...