Out of the Depths Part 3

Warrick had neither the inclination nor the ability to jump out of bed the next time he awoke. For one thing, Nick was draped over him, his head resting on Warrick's chest and for another, Warrick couldn't recall the last time he'd felt so content. He ran his fingers through the short, silky hair and smiled when Nick let out a sigh of pleasure. Encouraged, he applied more pressure and continued his ministrations until Nick was practically purring. His motions gradually slowed as he dozed off and on, and he drifted until the sensation of curious fingers brought him around again.

Nick looked at him from where he was hovering over Warrick's stomach and smiled before pushing the blankets down. It was obvious what Nick had in mind as he shifted himself to face the opposite way in the bed and Warrick had to take a deep breath to steady himself. Nick seemed confident as he took the hardening cock in one hand and stroked it a few times, but after that hesitated, licking his lips tentatively.

"Hey, Nicky," Warrick was surprised to find himself so breathless already.

His hand tightened slightly as Nick flicked a questioningly glance towards Warrick's face.

"Y'know what? Anything you do--I'm probably gonna like."

Nick grinned and refocused his attention. He wet his lips once more before dipping his head and touching his tongue to the tip of Warrick's impressive erection. After a few more careful licks to the head, Nick began running his tongue up and down the entire length.

Warrick was glad to let Nick explore new territory, he just wasn't sure he'd live through it. He had to grit his teeth the first time Nick cautiously took him in his mouth. If that wasn't bad enough, the strangled sound he made caused Nick to look up at him, and Nick Stokes giving him that under-the-lashes look while sucking on his dick was enough to drive Warrick insane.

Obviously enjoying the effect he was having, Nick grew bolder, taking more and more of Warrick's length in his mouth and sucking on the tip every time he drew back.

And this is the first time he's done this? Warrick groaned and wrapped his fists in the sheets to keep from just grabbing Nick's head and pumping himself into that wonderful wet heat.

Any noise Warrick made only encouraged Nick further, and his sucking became more enthusiatic until a desperate thrust of Warrick's hips surprised him. He released Warrick's throbbing erection from his lips and wrapped his hand around it again.

"Oh fuck, Nicky..." Warrick thrust mindlessly into his grip.

Warrick would have found Nick's intense concentration on his task even more of a turn-on, but he was too far gone to notice anything but sensation. Nick varied the pressure and speed until Warrick let out a hoarse cry and came over his stomach and Nick's hand.

When he finally caught his breath, Warrick raised his head to see Nick watching him intently, a smile hovering on his lips. "And you've never done that with anyone else before?" he panted.

The smile escaped, "No. Read a lot about it, though."

"Helluva book," Warrick retorted, making Nick snicker. After another moment, he turned to his side, where Nick's legs were stretched out. Nick had rolled slightly onto his side and Warrick could see that he hadn't been the only one affected by the learning experience. Holding onto Nick's ankle with one hand, Warrick ran the other from a muscular thigh up to Nick's hip and turned him more completely on his back. He took a minute to be grateful that Nick was such a creature of comfort that he'd bought himself a California King mattress years before--having so much room on the bed was a definite plus.

"What are you doing?" Nick's voice fairly vibrated with anticipation.

"Take a wild guess," Warrick drawled, then bent his head and engulfed half of Nick's erection in one mouthful.

"Jesus!" Nick yelped.

Warrick leaned his weight on Nick's legs so that he couldn't start thrusting and then proceeded to suck his new lover dry, swallowing every drop.

Nick's back arched briefly and then he fell prone against the bed, his chest heaving. Warrick slowly released the now-soft member and gave it an affectionate kiss.

Propping himself up on his elbows, Nick mock-glared down the length of his body. "You damn show off."

Warrick grinned and straddled Nick with his arms and legs, then crawled up until they were almost face to face. He lowered his head and kissed Nick softly, letting the other man taste himself on his lover's lips. When they finally broke apart, Warrick smiled down into the dark, gleaming eyes, "Mornin', baby."

"Nothing really," Nick set his empty plate on the coffee table, then leaned back. "Why? What about you?"

Warrick idly flipped through the channels with one hand, the other arm was curled around Nick. "I probably should stop by my place and check things out."

"Yeah. When was the last time you were there?" Nick asked with a bit of a smile.

"The night after your prison visit."

"Oh." Nick's smile vanished.

Warrick turned Nick's head toward him for a quick kiss. "So you gonna tag along?"

"Sure."

"Maybe we could stop in at Amigo's for supper."

"Yeah, that'd be good. We could just pick up someth--or...yeah. Haven't been there for awhile."

Warrick smiled slightly. He knew Nick still had trouble in public places although it wasn't because of any actual trigger for an attack--he had most of those under control. It was the idea that if he did have one it would be in front of dozens of strangers that still made him very nervous. It would be much simpler to get take out and eat at Warrick's, and that had been Nick's first instinct since the burial, but Warrick could see him making a determined effort. He gave Nick another, longer kiss and Nick turned slightly so he could wrap an arm around Warrick's waist.

After a comfortable silence, Nick said cautiously, "I think I'm going to ask Phillip about going back to work again."

"Yeah?" Warrick wasn't entirely certain how he felt about that, but didn't want to discourage Nick in any way.

"Well, to start working towards it, anyway. Do you think Ecklie would consider part time in the lab or something? To start with?"

"Just in the lab?" Warrick tried not to sound too dubious.

Nick gave Warrick a little half-smile. "I know. All that glass still creeps me out sometimes, but if it turns out I'm not really ready and I--y'know...it's better if I'm in the lab than the field."

Warrick was half-listening to Nick, but the mention of Kane brought something else to mind, and the idea was very unsettling.

"This isn't like the last time, Warrick," Nick said when Warrick didn't respond. "It's almost three months now and I don't expect--"

"No. Hey, it sound like a pretty good plan. I was just wondering about something else."

"Yeah?"

"About your next visit with Kane..."

"On Tuesday," Nick clarified.

"You gonna mention this? Us?" Warrick regretted the question the moment it left his lips. He had never considered this would be short term, and was certain Nick felt the same way, but there was no telling how an outsider would view it.

Nick was silent as he considered Warrick question. "I...never...hunh."

"It's none of my business, I know. I just--"

"I hadn't thought about that yet. I don't have to bring it up if you don't want me to."

Warrick wondered briefly what would be the best way to inflict bodily harm on himself for being such an asshole. He knew Nick would worry about why he mentioned it, and for what? So he could avoid yet another subject with Kane? The thought of avoiding the subject suddenly brought something else to mind and Warrick felt a smile tugging at his lips. He knew it was petty, he knew it was childish, but it was also irresistable. "Y'know what? Forget I said anything. Talk about whatever you want."

Nick gave him an assessing look. "What's going on, Warrick? Now you want me to tell him?"

A chuckle escaped before Warrick caught himself.

"What the hell are you thinking?"

"Yeah, mention it to him. And then I won't during my next session. You know Kane would be waiting--probably dying--for me to bring it up, but if I didn't, then he couldn't." Warrick smirked. "It would drive him nuts."

"Warrick!" Nick let out a horrified laugh. "You can't set up--why would you want to mess with the guy like that?"

"Just a little bit," Warrick said, and another laugh rumbled through him.

"But how would that help you?" Nick asked. "What--do you have a real problem with Dr. Kane?"

Warrick sobered when he saw Nick's obvious concern. "Ah...no. Not really. I like working with him--when it's work. I'm not crazy about the sessions, though."

Nick chewed on his lower lip as he disgested this.

"I just thought it would be fun to turn the tables."

"You think Phillip has been messing with you?" Nick's voice rose in alarm.

"No," Warrick waved that off. "Hell, forget I mentioned it."

"I always had a problem with the idea of therapy, too," Nick said quietly. "But he...he's been a big help to me, Warrick."

"I know." Warrick sighed and drew Nick a little closer. "I know that, Nicky. And that's the only reason I didn't flat out refuse. I just don't like that I've been more or less forced into it."

"Oh. Y'know, it's not like he has any say in who I...uh...see."

Warrick snickered at Nick's stumble.

Nick flushed and glared a bit. "Unless it's causing me problems, there's really no reason for Phillip to concern himself with it."

"Yeah well, either way, it's still none of my business," Warrick shrugged.

"Warrick," Nick kissed his neck softly and settled more comfortably against him. "You can ask me anything you want, y'know."

Warrick didn't know if he was touched or terrified by Nick's words. As much as he wanted to, he simply couldn't bring himself to return the sentiment.

Misinterpreting the silence, Nick began to backpedal. "Look, it's not like I think we--I know it's only been--"

Laying a finger over Nick's lips to stop the nervous tumble of words, Warrick gave him a devilish smile. "I can ask anything I want, huh?"

"Yeah..." Nick looked a bit wary.

Leaning in close, he murmured in Nick's ear, "When's the last time you did it on this couch, Nicky?"

Nick rolled his eyes as he buckled his seat belt. "For the third time--yes, I'm okay. There was only a few minutes when we first got there, but--" He stopped when his phone rang.

Warrick pulled out of his parking spot near Amigo's and headed for his building, listening to Nick's conversation with half an ear.

"Yeah?" Nick was laughing a bit. "No....That's bull, buddy. You've got to be at work in a few hours....Yeah, okay. Talk to you later." He disconnected the call and looked at Warrick. "Greg."

"Checking up on you?"

"Yeah, I seem to get a lot of that," Nick returned dryly.

"No kidding?" Warrick grinned.

Nick watched the deepening dusk outside the window for a while, then turned back to Warrick. "How much time have you actually spent at your place since I--since the--well, since?"

We really need to find something to call that, Warrick thought idly as he also considered Nick's question. "Added up--about a month, I guess."

"And you still had to pay for two."

Warrick gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I needed someplace to keep my stuff," he smirked. "Besides, eventually I'm gonna have to stop staying at your place."

"Yeah," Nick agreed slowly.

"You were...we just started--dating, I guess. Moving in together would be...not a great idea."

"So we start seeing each other and you move out," Nick sounded amused. "That's a weird way of doing things."

"Yeah, well sometimes weird isn't such a bad thing." Warrick threw a smug look in Nick's direction. Then concentrated on pulling into his parking space in front of his building. "But you wouldn't know that, would you? Not if that sad excuse for a porn collection you've got is anything to go by."

Nick made a choking sound. "And I suppose while we're here I'll get to see the Warrick Brown Porn Collection?"

Warrick got out of his jeep. "If you're really lucky, you'll get to be the Warrick Brown Porn Collection."

Nick shot him a smoldering look and seemed about to say something, but abruptly stopped.

"There you are, Warrick."

Warrick spun to see his landlady approaching them. "Mrs. Hrynsuk."

"Could I speak to you?"

"Uh...sure," Warrick tossed the keys to Nick. "Be up in a minute."

"Okay." Nick gave Mrs. Hrynsuk a nod and a smile before starting up the stairs to the second balcony.

Mrs. Hrynsuk watched him go. "That your friend who got hurt?"

"Yeah. He's getting better."

"That's good to hear. I saw your car and decided to catch you while I could. Could you let me know when you're going to have anyone coming by to check on your place for you?"

His mind on Nick, Warrick barely registered the implication of his landlady's words. "You got it."

"Okay then," she smiled and returned to her first floor unit.

Warrick hurried up the stairs and was a bit surprised to find Nick waiting outside the door for him. "I gave you the keys for a reason, y'know," he teased, taking them.

Nick caught his wrist before he could grab the doorknob. "Don't touch anything."

He hadn't heard that authoritative tone from Nick for months, and Warrick could only blink in surprise. "What the hell, Nicky?"

"Female DB. Your place is a crime scene."

* * *

"Rick."

Brass' tone indicated it wasn't the first time he'd said Warrick's name, so Warrick reluctantly turned his attention away from the swing shift CSIs that were inside his apartment. "Sorry, Jim."

"Do you know the deceased?"

"I don't know. I didn't see the body."

"What do you mean you didn't see the body?"

"He didn't go in," Nick said. "I did."

Sofia climbed the stairs to join them on the small front balcony. Warrick nodded to her then turned back to Brass, "My landlady flagged me down, so I gave the keys to Nick."

"No, I didn't recognize her," Nick said in response to Brass' look.

"Nick," Sofia sounded a bit cautious. "I need to ask..."

Nick nodded his understanding, then easily rattled off-- "Okay...uh...I entered the apartment and turned on the light switch nearest the door. I didn't notice anything unusual until I rounded the corner by the kitchen and saw the DB. She looked dead at first glance, but just to be sure I checked for a pulse. I didn't find one, so I stuck to the same path out and used my sleeve on the doorknob."

Blinking once in surprise, Sofia nodded. "That takes care of that. Thanks."

"Let's go down to ground level," Brass suggested, nodding to David Phillips and several more people from the coroner's office. "It's going to get pretty crowded in a minute."

"Warrick," Sofia said. "Once the body is cleared, I'll need you to come in and check if anything is missing before we really start to process."

"You got it," Warrick agreed before following Brass and Nick down the stairs.

The three men gathered to one side of the stucco staircase. "When is the last time you were here?" Brass asked.

"Monday night."

"What's going on here?" Mrs. Hrynsuk emerged from her unit when more and more official vehicles continued to gather.

At the sight of her, her request finally registered with Warrick.

"I'm Captain Brass with the Las Vegas Police Department. We're investigating a possible--"

"Mrs. H," Warrick interrupted. "You asked me to let you know when I had anyone come and check the apartment for me."

Brass caught on at once. "Did you see someone entering the apartment?"

"You mean War--Mr. Brown's?" Mrs. Hrynsuk obviously decided she had be official as well. "I saw someone coming out."

"When was this?" Brass prompted.

"Oh...Wednesday night. Maybe eleven or so--" her wrinkled, capable-looking hands twisted nervously. "I had just got home from visiting my daughter and was going in when I heard someone up by Mr. Brown's door."

"Can you describe this person?"

Mrs. Hrynsuk reflected for a moment and then shook her head, "It was too shadowy up there. I called up and he said he was just checking the place for Warrick."

Warrick stiffened, "He said my name?"

Brass cleared his throat in warning, and Warrick gave him an even look.

"Warrick. Nick."

Both men turned to see Grissom standing next to his truck, well away from the scene. He beckoned for them to join him, but Warrick shook his head. Nick gave Warrick a not-so-gentle nudge in the ribs and after another brief hesitation, he moved toward their supervisor.

"Are you almost done here?" Grissom asked.

"Hell, no," Warrick scowled.

"They need him to ID the vic if possible," Nick supplied. "And then check for signs of burglary."

"Okay," Grissom nodded. "After that, check if Brass has any more questions for you. Then I want you to go h--back to Nick's."

"C'mon, Gris!" Warrick's frown darkened. "That's my place."

"Exactly."

The transporters from the coroner's office had maneuvered the stretcher down the steps and were heading for the van, Brass ambling along beside. They stopped when they reached Warrick and Brass pulled down the sheet covering the victim's face.

Apprehensively, Warrick leaned over to look at the young woman. She had almost certainly been beaten to death, but the damage to her face was not severe enough to obscure her features. Warrick didn't recognize her, even after wracking his memory and that was enough for an inward sigh of relief despite the seriousness of the situation. He shook his head to indicate she was unfamiliar and the coroner's people continued on their way.

"Got a tentative TOD," Brass checked his notepad. "You know I've gotta ask, Rick. Where were you Wednesday evening between eight and ten?"

"Crime scene," Warrick returned. "Where else?" Brass stared and Warrick's voice turned dry when he added, "On Sahara. You were there, too, Jim."

"That supposed to make everything better?" Warrick had been surly ever since Grissom and Nick had made him leave the scene.

"Maybe some," Nick sat on the couch. He watched Warrick circle the room several times before speaking again. "You said this new CSI--Marisol--is really good, and we know Sofia is."

"That's not the point!" Warrick growled, beginning another circuit.

"Just--try to calm down a little, Warrick. You've got the best possible alibi, at least you don't have to worry about anything like that."

"But it's my place! Do you have any idea what that's like?" Warrick realized the ridiculousness of his words the instant they left his mouth. "Oh, hell." He rubbed his face and glanced at Nick who was watching him with a sympathetic expression. "Decent of you not to call me out for being a complete moron."

"I know," Nick replied, his tone matter-of-fact.

With a reluctant laugh, Warrick sat down close to Nick. "It's not even the same thing, though, really. Yours was a lot more serious."

"Maybe, but I was also being medicated at the time," Nick gave him a crooked smile. "Beer?"

This time Warrick's laugh was a little more sincere. "Not if it means either of us getting up," he said, pulling Nick into his arms. He realized after several minutes that he was holding Nick much more tightly than usual, but couldn't bring himself to loosen his arms. Nick didn't seem to mind, though, as he settled in comfortably. Warrick could feel the soft breath against his neck as it slowly lulled most of his frustration and anger away--but not all of it. "He knew who I was."

"We don't know it's a 'he,'" Nick responded automatically.

"You didn't get a good look at her face," Warrick countered. "It would have to be an exceptionally strong female."

"Fair enough. There was no sign of forced entry at your front door, so--you've got patio doors at the back, yeah?"

"Sofia didn't let me get a good look at them, though." Irritation tinged Warrick's voice more heavily, "Made me stick to looking for missing property."

"If the front door by the stairs isn't viable...and the killer would have had to climb onto the patio," Nick lifted his head. "It would have been tough enough to haul a body up there, but without anyone noticing?"

"More than one person?" Warrick threw out. "But yeah, she was probably killed at the scene."

"Probably," Nick ran a comforting hand up and down Warrick's side.

"That still doesn't explain how he knew my name."

"It could be something as simple as his having seen your name on something while he was inside."

"But what was he doing there in the first place?"

"Right. You said nothing was taken."

"Not that I could see. So why was he in there? If it's someone who knew me--"

"We'll just keep going in circles with the little information we have. You'll drive yourself nuts, Rick."

Warrick's only reply was a disgruntled sound. Nick sighed and rested his head against Warrick's chest, content to let Warrick get some brooding out of his system.

After several minutes of silence, Warrick said, "I could probably talk to Sofia about--"

"No, you couldn't," Nick interrupted, exasperated. "Sofia might have to ask you some questions, but you can't go poking around this case, Warrick. If it looks like you're too involved, your alibi could go from rock solid to dust in no time."

Warrick growled under his breath.

"Rick, I know it's hard to do."

"There's got to be a reason."

"There is," Nick returned. "It's just not your job to find it this time. You already know all this stuff, Warrick."

With another angry sound, Warrick bolted off the sofa. The moment he was on his feet, though, he changed his mind and sat back down. "Goddamn it!"

Having been jostled to the side by the sudden movement, Nick kept to his own space.

"Hell, you're right," Warrick passed a hand over his face. "This is going to drive me nuts."

"Try to stop thinking about it," Nick said, although his tone indicated he knew what an impossible suggestion that was.

"Fine. Give me something else to think about," Warrick retorted, half-expecting another sound of exasperation. Instead there was a charged silence. "Nicky?" Warrick turned to look at him.

Nick tilted his head slightly to one side. "I'm...not sure how exactly you meant that."

Warrick smirked. He had meant in regard to speaking, but now that Nick had brought the idea up, so to speak..."I guess it's about how you want to see it."

The dark eyes immediately sparked in response to the teasing tone, and almost before Warrick knew what was happening, Nick had straddled his lap so they were nearly face to face. "Guess what I want to see," Nick said with a wicked grin.

Warrick returned the grin with a slow smile of his own. "Well, well, well, someone's feeling pretty feisty tonight." He slid his hands up Nick's thighs to cup the back of the nicely-filled jeans.

"Am I?" Nick asked in mock innocence.

Instead of replying, Warrick tightened his grip and pulled Nick tight against him. Nick smiled and lowered his head slightly to meet Warrick's lips in a searing kiss.

It was over just as suddenly as it started. Neither of them got the chance to completely discard their clothes. Shirts open, jeans pushed down, they jerked and gasped their way to completion.

Half-laying, half-sitting on the couch with Nick draped over him, Warrick tried to catch his breath. "Jesus, what the hell was that?" he chuckled.

"Fun?" Nick suggested hopefully.

Warrick laughed again and kissed him softly. "Of course fun, baby. But damn, I haven't come that fast since high school."

"Not all that comfortable afterward, either," Nick said, pushing himself off Warrick. "Damn jeans are cutting off the circulation in my legs."

Warrick helped him into a standing position, and realized at once what he was talking about. He'd only pushed his jeans to the tops of his thighs, and the waistband and seams had twisted uncomfortably. "And messy," Warrick added, looking from his stomach to Nick's. "But worth it." He stood up and fixed his jeans as well.

"Definitely worth it," Nick stepped closer for another kiss, unmindful of the sweat and semen covering both their torsos.

"We should get cleaned up," Warrick didn't release him even after the kiss had ended. "How much of a problem do you still have in the shower?"

"Not as much," Nick smiled as he realized what Warrick was suggesting. "It's getting a little better."

"Let's see if we can make it a lot better."

* * *

The trilling of a cell phone woke both men late in the afternoon.

"Your phone," Warrick muttered.

"Is not," Nick mumbled in return.

Sort of.

"Put both phones on my side of the bed," Nick complained, flailing one arm toward the night stand. He snagged both cells, checked them, then dropped Warrick's on his chest. "Told you."

Warrick grunted and took the phone. "Warrick Brown."

"Sorry, to bother you," came Sofia's smokey voice. "But we've got an ID on the vic. Does the name Candice Mosti mean anything to you?"

The name wasn't familiar, but it wasn't unfamiliar, either. "Almost. I can't place it off the top of my head, though."

"What about Royal Flush Models?"

"Yeah," Warrick pushed himself up on one arm--they definitely had something now. "A guy by the name of Donny Drummond ran it. He was found guilty of murdering--shit. The vic was another one of his models."

"Yes. I take it you hadn't heard about Drummond's verdict being overturned."

"What?"

Nick was sitting up beside him, quiet but watchful.

"It happened while you were on leave," Sofia explained. "Not because of evidence, but some technicality. The DA will probably be contacting you about testifying again."

Warrick nodded slowly, "That's what this is about, then."

"Nothing solid yet, but we're pretty sure there will be. The killer was sloppy and stupid."

"That sounds like Drummond," Warrick dead-panned.

"It seems to be an attempt to discredit you," Sofia didn't laugh, but her voice was laced with amusement. "And a very pathetic one at that."

Warrick breathed a sigh of relief and grinned at Nick to let him know it was good news. Nick returned the smile and dropped a quick kiss on Warrick's shoulder before getting out of bed.

"Warrick?"

"Sorry?" Warrick forced himself to focus on Sofia rather than Nick's naked form strolling to the bathroom. It wasn't easy.

"I was saying that this is going to be extra sensitive. You'll need to stay well away from it."

"Absolutely." It was actually quite easy to make the promise now that he knew what was going on.

"That also means staying away from the scene until the investigation is completed."

"I know. No problem."

"If you need anything from your place," Sofia continued. "You'll need to get an officer to accompany you."

"Will do," Warrick relaxed back against the pillows, feeling like a great weight had been lifted off him.

"We should be done in about a week or so."

"Sounds good to me. I'll talk to you when I get in tonight."

"All right. See you then."

Warrick hung up and let out another relieved sigh. He still hated the situation, but anything was better than the unknown. He got up and went into the bathroom, which looked much neater than they had left it the night before--or just that morning, actually. Their discarded clothes and the towels they'd used to dry off were all gone. Warrick couldn't help smiling as he stepped into the shower; Nick wasn't exactly a neat freak, but his mother and sisters had definitely taught him a thing or two about picking up after himself.

Twenty minutes later, Warrick padded into the kitchen and couldn't help smiling at the sight of Nick sitting on the counter clad only in jeans. He was munching on plain nacho chips and watching something in the microwave.

"So?" He asked when he saw Warrick.

"Remember a guy named Donny Drummond? Ran a modeling agency--mostly convention girls."

"He killed one of them, right?"

"Right. He's getting another trial based on some technicality. And he's trying to discredit me before the new trial."

Nick stared in disbelief, one hand poised to open the microwave. "He tried to frame you?"

"That's what it looks like right now. Sofia says he's done a really sad job of it though." Warrick watched Nick take a large plate out of the microwave and smiled ruefully. Nick seemed to think that adding salsa and cheese to leftovers qualified as a new meal. This time, though, it was the doggie bag from Amigo's that he'd chopped up, and the whole thing smelled pretty damn good. He poured himself a cup of coffee and Nick used a chip to try out the concoction. "Anyway, she thinks they should be done with my place in about a week."

"Ummm," Nick finished his nacho, then leaned forward to give Warrick a kiss. "Are you going to move back in when it's ready?"

Warrick had been reaching for a nacho, but froze at Nick's question.

"Oh. Are you even going to move back in? Or find a new place?"

That distracted Warrick for a moment, but he quickly abandoned the notion. "Nah. I'll probably stay where I am. You anxious for me to get out of here all of a sudden?"

"Not exactly," Nick fed Warrick a heavily laded chip. "But I think we need to figure out some new arrangements before I'm back at work."

Warrick considered this as he chewed and eventually nodded.

Nick grinned at him. "'Bout time we slept in your bed."

Putting his hands on Nick's thighs, Warrick stepped closer. "What is it with you lately?" he laughed.

"I'm happy," Nick said simply.

Those two words managed to simultaneously warm Warrick's heart and scare him to death.

Warrick stared blankly at Phillip Kane, unable to believe he was so blatantly bringing up something he would have learned from Nick. "What did you say?"

"It's fairly common knowledge in the department that a body was found at your place."

"Oh, that," Warrick shrugged. During the past week of the investigation, the shock and worry of having a murdered model in his apartment had faded, replaced by other concerns. "Yeah, the scene was released just before the weekend, so I was able to move back in on Sunday." Technically.

"What did you think I was referring to?"

Warrick shot him a baleful look. It crossed his mind briefly to go with his original plan of refusing to bring up his new relationship, but he was in no longer in the mood for playful fencing. "It's tempting to say nothing," he admitted. "But I know you're just going to keep poking until I bring up what's happened between me and Nick."

"And what's happened between you and Nick?"

"We got together. About ten days ago."

"And...what? You're worried I might disapprove?"

Warrick's lip curled, "I don't give a good goddamn whether you approve or not."

"Then why are you being so hostile?" Kane asked, ever calm.

"Because I know what it could look like to someone who doesn't know what's going on. But that's not what it is."

"What do you think it looks like?"

It was all Warrick could do to remain in his seat. "Y'know what? We're done," he said with a look of disgust. "You can write down that I'm hostile or uncooperative or whatever you want in that file of yours, but I'm not going to let you force me to talk myself in circles while you sit there like some smug, all-knowing bastard and try fishing with idiotic, leading questions."

"Feel better?"

Warrick didn't answer, and instead let his sneer speak for him, telling Kane exactly what he thought of another such question.

"You want me to level with you," Kane looked at Warrick over the tops of his glasses. "Are you sure?"

"That would be a nice change."

"Fine. I believe that you've appointed yourself Nick's guardian angel and not entirely for reasons of his well-being. I believe you fear seeing Nick's dependance on you decreasing and this relationship is your way of maintaining it. I believe that although you want what is best for Nick, you want to be the one to provide it in the hope that it will ease the guilt you still feel at that coin toss." Kane gave Warrick a steady look, "Satisfied?"

"Honestly?" Warrick said with a smug smile of his own. "Yeah. Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong. Just like I thought."

"Really?" Kane looked politely incredulous.

"Really."

"Warrick, we aren't going to get anywhere if you lie to me and yourself."

Warrick's smile disappeared. "I'm not lying."

"Then perhaps you could explain to me why this sudden change from friendship to romantic love is not a misguided attempt to remain a big part of Nick's life," Kane said, ignoring the fact that Warrick's glare was heating up again. "Perhaps you would like to explain why I shouldn't be concerned that your feelings are not part of the obligation you feel. Tell me why, Warrick."

"Because I've been in love with him for the last three years!" Warrick snapped.

A heavy silence fell over the office. At any other time Warrick would have been happy to see he had managed to throw Kane completely off balance, but he was too stunned at his own words to notice.

"Well," Kane finally said. "That does change things."

"Fuck," Warrick closed his eyes.

* * *

Warrick debated going back to his apartment or returning to Nick's after his session with Kane finally ended. Although Kane became quite understanding after Warrick's angry confession and actually allowed Warrick to sit in silence rather than verbally poking at him, it had still been excruciating. Warrick had no problem with the fact that he loved Nick--he'd had to deal with and accept it long before this, but he'd certainly never intended to blurt it out to anyone.

Especially considering he still hadn't worked up the nerve to tell Nick yet.

Right now, the last thing he wanted to do was throw Nick off balance in any way, because in the ten days since the discovery of Candace Mosti's body, Nick had settled happily into the idea of returning to work. Not all, but a large portion of Nick's confidence seemed to have been restored, and with that came the self-assurance that he could deal with any more attacks that came his way. The attacks had been lessening steadily before this, but what Nick seemed most happy with was his ability to sometimes recognize and stop them before they got out of control. There were still new triggers to deal with all the time, because Nick was spending more and more time in unfamiliar and unpredictable surroundings, but he was getting better at dealing with them on his own all the time.

Spending more time out among people was still something Nick had to do intentionally, when before it had always come naturally. In "public," Nick was cautious and quiet, and Warrick wondered if they'd ever see the cheerful, friendly Nick again. When it was just the two of them, Nick was teasing and affectionate, but Warrick knew there were other reasons for that besides Nick's recovery.

Whatever the reason, Warrick had no intention of setting Nick back the slightest bit if he could help it. That meant that until he'd sorted through everything Kane had said both before and after his admission, it would probably be better if he kept to himself. Nick didn't need to deal with him when he was moody and distant, and Warrick knew he had the tendency to be both when something was preying on his mind.

Warrick saw that his subconscious had made the decision long before, because he had taken the route to his apartment instead of Nick's townhouse. He dialed Nick's number as he climbed the stairs and let himself in.

"Nick Stokes."

That got a smile out of Warrick despite his dark mood. No doubt next week at this time, Nick would be answering the phone just "Stokes," as he always used to on the job. "Hey."

"Hey," the smile was obvious in Nick's voice. "You on your way back?"

"Actually, I'm back at my place. What are you up to?"

"I've got that meeting with Gris and Ecklie in another hour, remember?"

Warrick gritted his teeth--he'd forgotten that. "Are you okay to go alone?"

Nick laughed, "Of course. If you had to come with me, that would nullify the whole point of the meeting."

"Okay. Well, I've got stuff to take care of here. I probably won't see you before shift."

"No problem, man." It was the little phrases when Nick sounded most like his old self. "I'll see you after work."

"I...I'll be coming back here after work, Nicky." Warrick knew that statement would have gone over better without the quiver.

"All...right. Uh..." Nick was silent for a moment. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I've just gotta...take care of some things."

"Anything I can help with, Rick?"

Warrick closed his eyes--he really should have seen that one coming. Of course Nick was going to offer his help. "Nah, Nicky. It'll be fine."

"Warrick..." Nick sounded worried now.

All Warrick could think was that Nick didn't need anything else to worry about. "It's not anything bad. It's definitely not second thoughts. I just need to sort some stuff out. But I'm not going anywhere, Nicky. Okay?"

"Okay," Nick sounded a little relieved. "I'll...see you tomorrow then?"

"Probably around one or so, unless I have a double."

"Oh. Okay, good." The fact that Warrick gave him a time seemed to ease Nick's mind even further. "I'll see you then, Rick."

"See you, babe," Warrick returned, and hung up. He glanced around his spotless apartment, professionally cleaned courtesy of the department, and dropped onto his favorite chair. Grabbing the remote, he decided that some mindless afternoon television would be just what his overloaded brain needed.

He settled into a smooth stride, enjoying the peace and quiet of the park not far from his new townhouse. Earlier, the place would have been crowded with joggers, and later it would be overrun with kids, but right now Nick practically had the whole park to himself. He quickened his pace as he turned onto an unpaved road that made up his last mile.

When he heard a vehicle approaching from behind, Nick edged over a bit to let it pass. He saw a flash of red as the truck roared past, then had to slow to a near-walk to avoid all the dust it kicked up. Trying to keep from choking, Nick didn't register the white SUV driving up.

Daylight turned to sudden darkness when a man jumped from the SUV and covered Nick's face with a rag. Nick struggled against his captor, but the man dragged him into the back of the SUV and slammed the door shut behind them.

"NICK!!!"

Warrick awoke tangled in sweat-soaked sheets.

Gasping in huge lungfuls of air, he struggled into a sitting position and tried to force the nightmare images from his mind. He checked his clock and saw it was almost ten-thirty--he hadn't been asleep for more than an hour.

A dream. He's fine. He's at his place, probably asleep. He's fine.

"Fuck." Warrick threw back the covers and got up. Five minutes later, he was weaving his way through the midmorning traffic on his way to Nick's. He hit Nick's number on the speed dial and waited impatiently.

"'Lo."

Warrick breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the drowsy voice even though he knew--he knew--it had been a dream. "Hey, Nicky," he tried to sound casual but knew he was failing miserably. "I'm on my way over, is that okay?"

"Of course it is," Nick was understandably bewildered. "Are you okay, Rick?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in a few minutes." He broke the connection before Nick could ask any more questions.

Nick was waiting by the door when Warrick arrived. He stared in silence for nearly a minute, then--"Jesus, Warrick, what is it?"

Warrick didn't answer, couldn't answer, a voice in the back of his mind said. Instead, he pulled Nick against him and held on. Dressed only in pajama bottoms, Nick's skin was still warm from sleep, and Warrick pressed close, breathing in the clean, intoxicating scent of him.

Nick wrapped one arm around Warrick's back and threaded the fingers of his other hand through Warrick's hair. "Rick, you look...tell me what's going on, Warrick."

"Nothing," Warrick muttered into Nick's neck. "Nothing's wrong."

"Warrick," Nick tried to pull back, but Warrick only held on tighter. "Rick, you're sweating. You're half-dressed, you look like--I know something happened. Was it work? Is this about your session, because since then you--"

Warrick stopped those questioning lips the best way he knew how. Nick made a half-hearted sound of protest before parting his lips and deepening the kiss. Feeling Nick turn pliant and willing under his hands and lips only pushed Warrick further toward the feelings that frightened him the most. Possessiveness, dark hunger and near-obsession--things about himself that he'd always tried his damnedest to keep under control. These were the emotions that scared him the most, even though he reveled in the sensations they could bring out. But it was one thing to allow them to control him when the result was addiction, it was another entirely when the result could cause pain to the healing, tender man in his arms.

"Rick...Rick, it'll be okay," Nick panted, when they finally broke off the kiss. "Just tell me what's going on."

"I need you," Warrick said hoarsely, and bit down lightly on Nick's neck. "Oh god, Nicky, I need you so bad."

"I'm right here, Rick," Nick murmured, running his hands up and down Warrick's back. "It's okay. I'm right here."

"All of it, Nicky," Warrick's slipped one hand under the loose drawstring waistband and traced the very top of Nick's cleft. "All of you."

"Yeah?" Nick drew back slightly to he could look into Warrick's eyes. "It's okay, Rick. You were the one holding off. You know I've wanted to almost from the start." Despite the calm words, a slight tremor wavered through his voice, and the dark eyes were bright with trepidation.

Seeing Nick so nervous but so willing only churned Warrick's emotions into more chaos, and he wanted desperately to tell Nick that now would be a good time to run for the hills. It was so tempting to just let go of his emotions, to throw Nick to the floor and have him right there, and Warrick had to literally pull back to keep himself from doing just that.

Nick stopped him from pulling back completely, though, and drew him toward the bedroom. "I...I've got everything we need, Rick. I got it a few days after we first...I tried a few times before with just the--I mean, you saw what I had at my old place...it's not like I don't know anything about it..."

The nervous rambling gave Warrick time to get himself back under control, so that by the time they'd reached the bed, he felt it was safe to pull Nick down onto it with him. "Be sure, Nicky."

"Of course I'm sure," Nick returned, trailing his fingers down Warrick's face. "Nervous as hell, but I'm still sure."

"Okay," Warrick traced Nick's lips with a finger before capturing them in another kiss. "Everything we need in the night stand?"

Nick nodded, watching as Warrick pulled off his shirt and track pants. After a moment's hesitation, he followed suit, kicking off his pajama bottoms. "What should I..?" he swallowed hard. "I mean, how should I..? Do I need to--" Warrick hushed him with another kiss.

Pushing Nick onto his back, Warrick began kissing his way down to Nick's chest. One hand slid further along to grasp Nick's half-hard cock and encourage it to fullness. Nick let out a sigh and cupped Warrick's head, already knowing the sweet torture he was in for.

Going from one nipple to another, Warrick alternately nibbled, sucked and licked while he steadily stroked Nick's erection.

"Rick...god, Rick...please..."

Warrick gave him a smoldering look before dropping more kisses down Nick's abdomen, slowly but constantly moving lower. Nick let out a sound that was half-dismay, half-pleasure as Warrick started the same process on his erection as he had on his nipples.

When Nick began thrusting erratically and gasping his name, Warrick backed off and circled the base of Nick's cock with his fingers, squeezing slightly. Nick's moan choked off in a sound of pure frustration. "Warrick."

"Turn over, baby," Warrick murmured, opening the night stand drawer.

Nick stilled, but then complied, reaching down to adjust himself as he did.

Warrick warmed the lube in his hand and let his gaze roam over the smooth skin of Nick's back and down to that tempting ass. He reminded himself again that he had everything he wanted stretched out before him and if he didn't maintain control, he could ruin things for the most important person in his life.

Moving one finger in between the firm buttocks, Warrick teased the tight opening until Nick was squirming under his touch and then pushed past the ring of muscle. Nick shifted slightly, then took a deep breath and relaxed again. It was when he added a second finger that Warrick found Nick's prostate, making Nick gasp and arch his hips up, trying to press back against him. "Yeah, baby, just like that," Warrick encouraged as Nick kept pushing back on his fingers. He stretched the tight passage enough to add a third finger, and Nick began moving in earnest.

When Warrick withdrew his fingers, Nick let out a whimper of protest and collapsed back onto the bed. Warrick rolled on the condom as quickly as he could with shaking fingers and stretched himself out over the waiting body. Nick went completely still as Warrick's weight pressed him into the mattress. "Easy, baby," Warrick purred as he positioned himself. "It'll be fine."

Warrick eased himself into Nick's body as slowly as he could, but when he was halfway there, his control slipped, and with several quick thrusts, he had buried himself to the hilt.

"Wait, wait," Nick pleaded, writhing beneath him.

The movement only made Warrick want to go harder and faster. "Goddammit, Nicky, don't move!" he commanded through gritted teeth. Panting, Nick did his best to remain still, and with a tremendous effort Warrick managed to get himself back under control again. Laying quietly on top of him, Warrick did his best to give Nick time to adjust. "Tell me when you're ready, baby," he whispered. "And if you want to call it off it better be now."

Breathing deeply, Nick shook his head. "Don't stop. Yeah, it's okay now. It's good now."

Warrick believed him--he could feel that Nick's muscles had become less rigid. "Okay, babe," he pulled part of the way out and slid in at a slightly different angle. "I'm gonna make you crazy, baby...just wait..." He kept up this slow process until Nick let out a choked gasp of pleasure and his entire body jerked in response. "Oh yeah..." Warrick braced himself on his arms to maintain the angle and began sliding easily in and out of the tight, moist heat. "Oh, fuck yeah..."

Nick's movements were so erratic as he ground his hips into the mattress that Warrick had a difficult time keeping a steady rhythm. He felt Nick's body tighten for several long minutes before going limp beneath him, and finally gave in to his emotions. "You're mine, Nicky," he growled fiercely, "All mine...mine." Warrick bit back a shout as he poured himself into Nick's welcoming warmth.

Nick was still lying quietly beneath him when Warrick finally became aware of his surroundings again. "Nicky?"

"Mmmm..?" Nick sounded blissfully content.

Warrick eased out as carefully as he could, but Nick still let out a hiss of discomfort. Quickly, he got rid of the condom and turned back to the man beside him. "Are you okay, baby?" he asked, almost afraid to hear what Nick thought of the crazy intensity he'd allowed to envelope him.

Nick turned slightly on his side, his eyes barely open, "M'good."

"You sure?"

His worried tone made Nick open his eyes wider. "I'm sure, Rick." He paused to consider, "Kinda sore, I guess. But nothing really bad." He shifted closer and nestled his head on Warrick's shoulder, "What's the matter? Are you okay?"

Warrick couldn't think of an adequate response because more questions were racketing around his head. What the hell is wrong with you, Nicky? Couldn't you tell what was going on here? Why didn't it scare the hell out of you the way it should have? Don't you have any sense of self-preservation?

"Warrick?"

"I didn't like staying at my place without you," Warrick told him. Just enough truth to pull off the bluff.

Nick was silent for several minutes, then Warrick felt the press of lips on his skin. "Okay, Rick," he murmured sleepily.

It took a long time, but eventually Nick's peaceful, even breathing managed to lull Warrick to sleep as well.

"I can't." Nick glanced at his watch, then at the clock in the kitchen. "I don't think I want anything in my stomach." He bent slightly to look at the time on his stereo.

"You're going to wear yourself out before shift even starts."

Nick finally joined Warrick on the sofa. "I'm ready to go back, though. I am." He straightened his shirt collar, even though he planned to get changed before work. "Kane and I have been working at--he thinks I'm ready. Gris thinks I'm good to go back." He looked at Warrick, "I'm ready, right?"

"Yeah, Nicky," Warrick rubbed the back of Nick's neck reassuringly. He knew that Nick probably was ready to go back to work. Warrick still wasn't sure he was ready for it, but that was his problem, not Nick's. His determination not to undermine Nick's continuing recovery with anything so ridiculous as his own insecurities had only increased over the past week. "You'll be fine."

"Thanks, Rick," Nick smiled and rested his hand on Warrick's thigh. "I just--"

"What?"

"What if--I mean, I still don't know whether I'll be better going out into the field or staying in the lab." Nick let his head fall forward slightly. "If something...if something happens on the job..." A slight hitch in his voice made the blood drain from his face, "Oh no...no..."

"Hey." Warrick moved his hand and ran it through Nick's hair. "Hey, Nicky. Don't worry about it so much. If you have a problem with one, you'll just switch to the other."

Nick nodded shakily. "This h-hasn't happened...f-for...why am I--I...dammit..." He stopped talking and began taking long, slow breaths.

"Okay, baby," Warrick encouraged softly. "You've got nothing to worry about. You're just a little wound up right now, but you'll probably fall right back into it when you get there." He considered telling Nick that even if something went terribly wrong, no one would think anything of him taking more time, but decided not to bring up anything negative. He was so relieved that Nick hadn't been scared off by his behavior during the past week and didn't want to press his luck. Nick had certainly noticed he'd been acting oddly, but thus far didn't seem bothered by it. "There you go," he smiled as the jag began to pass before it really started. "You've got that breathing thing down."

"Maybe we could go in earlier than we'd planned," Nick suggested. "Maybe eight or so? I'm just getting more and more nervous sitting here."

"Nicky," Warrick shook his head. "We're going in an hour early as it is. What're you gonna do for two? It's not like you have paperwork to catch up on. Let's just stick to what we originally planned, okay?"

Nick checked his watch again. "That's another three hours." He started to get off the couch, but Warrick caught him around the waist and pulled him back down. "Rick!" Nick couldn't help laughing, even though he protested.

"You need to relax, baby," Warrick held Nick practically on his lap and nuzzled his ear. "Bad enough you barely got any sleep."

"Not entirely my fault," Nick pointed out with a teasing smile.

"Hey, I was just making the most of the situation," Warrick grinned.

"Yeah, you're good at that," Nick agreed, turning slightly so they could share several soft kisses.

"Better, babe?" Warrick murmured against Nick's cheek. "Just rest easy for a while."

Feeling Nick settle comfortably against him, Warrick wished he could take his own advice. Until he was able to, though, he would be satisfied with appearing to have everything under control.

All the CSIs from graveyard and swing, as well as a few from days and all the scheduled techs were currently gathered in the hallway by the DNA lab.

And they had Nick Stokes surrounded.

Most of them hadn't seen Nick since he'd left the hospital, and they were all eager to hear how he was doing. Everyone wanted to tell Nick he was looking better and they were glad to have him back and things hadn't been the same without him and they were so relieved he was returning to work and they had so much to catch up on and had they ever missed him.

Nick seemed stunned by the attention. Still, he managed to hug or shake hands whenever it was required. He didn't get the chance to answer much, because everyone kept talking over the other.

Warrick stood just on the outside of the group, but made sure he was in Nick's line of sight. He didn't want to seem blatantly overprotective, because that wouldn't do Nick any good, but he wanted Nick to be able to signal if he needed out.

So far Nick was handling it well, but that might have been because Catherine was right beside him with an arm around his waist while she teased him in her usual sassy style. She had returned after her shift ended, bringing good luck wishes from Lindsey as well for Nick's first night back.

Nick managed a smile for her, but when he glanced over at Warrick, his eyes held the beginnings of uncertainty. All the attention was beginning to overwhelm Nick until a bored voice drawled, "If you people break into song, I swear I'm filing a worker's comp claim."

That earned David Hodges glares from his fellow techs and a grin from Nick. The amused relief didn't last long, though, and Warrick was trying to come up with an excuse to extract Nick from the group when Conrad Ecklie descended on them like a vulture in a three-piece suit. "Excuse me, I believe this is still a functioning lab. At least it's supposed to be."

As the techs began to slowly disperse, and Warrick found himself feeling grateful to Ecklie.

Again.

He was probably going to need medication for that.

CSIs from all shifts still had Nick surrounded, but Grissom took care of that. "Conrad and I still have some things to catch you up on, Nicky. Let's go to his office so we can get that taken care of."

Nick glanced at Warrick once more, his relief evident, then followed Grissom and Ecklie down the hall. Catherine said good night and headed back home, while the swing CSIs all wandered back to what they'd been doing and Warrick joined Sara and Greg in the break room to wait for assignments.

"Is he going to go in the field or stay in the lab?" Greg asked as they all sat at the table. "Last time I talked to him, he still wasn't sure."

"I think it depends on where Gris puts him," Warrick replied. "But I'm pretty sure he'd rather be in the field."

"But not on his own," Sara chewed on the end of her stir-stick.

"No, but he already knows he won't be working solo for a while," Warrick said. "Gris had mentioned that to him a while ago."

"And he's okay with that?"

Warrick tilted his head slightly. "More or less. He understands why, anyway."

"So you and he will be teaming up on most of the cases?" Greg looked curious.

"That depends on how Gris hands out assignments," Warrick said casually, not letting on that he had been doing a lot of wondering about that himself.

"Well, let's find out," Sara jerked her chin toward the door so both men turned to watch Grissom and Nick approaching.

Grissom slowed to let Nick enter first, and he glanced around with an awkward smile before taking a seat between Warrick and Sara. Sara gave him a happy smile and his arm a quick squeeze before everyone turned their attention to Grissom.

Their supervisor was silent for several minutes as he surveyed them, then with a small, satisfied nod, he began handing out assignments. "Sara, suspicious circs for you out in Winchester."

"I'm on it," Sara took the slip, but remained seated.

"Warrick, you and Greg have two 419s in Vegas Heights. Looks like a murder-suicide." Grissom pretended not to notice as all his CSIs exchanged glances. "Nick, you're with me. We've got a death imminent out in Tanglewood," he handed Nick the paper.

Warrick was acutely aware of Greg and Sara watching to see how he was taking being partnered with Greg instead of Nick, but Warrick didn't have to worry about how much his expression revealed for once. He wasn't certain it would be good for he and Nick to work a scene together, because he knew he would be more concerned with how Nick was handling things than with any evidence at the scene. And if he wasn't going to be working with Nick, the only person Warrick felt comfortable doing so at this point was Grissom. As an added bonus, Brass was usually the detective who worked Grissom's cases, which would also be better for Nick.

As everyone stood up to head out, Nick caught Warrick's eye and gave him a nervous, but hopeful smile. Warrick managed to maneuver close to his side as the group moved down the hall and gave him a reassuring nudge before saying, "Good luck, bro," in his usual tone.

Nick's smile widened ever-so-slightly. "You too," he returned before they headed off in different directions.

"Word is it's a murder-suicide," Warrick said to the detective as he grabbed his kit.

"That's what it looked like to the first officer," Vartann agreed. "But something looks a little off to me. Everyone stuck to one path in and out of the kitchen, but we also had to make sure the rest of the house was clear. The only things that were touched were the doorknobs upstairs. Coroner's still on the way."

"Good enough," Warrick nodded, then glanced at Greg. "Let's go."

No more than ten minutes at the crime scene was enough to reveal this was not a murder-suicide, but a double murder. Which meant they still had a suspect at large. Which meant, Warrick thought with a sigh, that barring a miracle, they were probably looking at overtime.

* * *

Tracking a suspect took Warrick, Greg and Vartann out to Lake Mead only to discover that he was not their killer and there were actually several more people they had to investigate. Pink light was just beginning to streak the sky when Warrick finally met up with Nick again.

Nick was in the layout room with clothing and a blanket spread over the light table while he examined them for trace. He was so intent on his task and looked so content that Warrick could almost believe the past several months had never happened.

Almost.

"Hey," Warrick strolled in and looked over all the items. "How's it going?"

Nick dropped several fibers in a bindle before looking up. "Pretty good," he said with a smile. Although still not quite up to the standard of his former dazzlers, the smiles were getting brighter and came more easily with each passing day. "To tell you the truth, I didn't expect it to be this easy. I know it won't always be so simple, but it's been good so far. How's your case? Jacqui says you've got more suspects than you know what to do with."

"Ain't that the truth," Warrick sat down at the table and looked over Nick's notes. "Seven suspects and so far we've only ruled two of them out. We haven't even found the other five yet."

"Overtime," Nick nodded.

"Unless this guy Vartann's gone to haul in bursts into spontaneous confession, it'll be a couple of hours, minimum. You?" Warrick grinned and Nick started laughing.

"Yeah, like Gris'll let me clock any overtime on my first night back. He said I could leave early if I wanted to."

"But you don't want to," Warrick's grin eased into a smile as Nick bent his head over the blanket to begin scanning it.

"No, I don't want to," Nick flicked a glance up at Warrick.

"I'll swing by at eight to give you a ride home, then."

Nick shook his head. "There's a lot of people I can catch a ride with, Rick. What if you're chasing a lead?"

"Then I'll give you a call and we'll see where we're at." It was all Warrick could do to keep the goofy smile of his face. He knew it was in response to the smile that had been hovering around Nick's lips and eyes the entire time they'd been talking. "Catch you later, baby," he murmured and enjoyed the slight blush that rose to Nick's cheeks.

Warrick was infinitely relieved that Nick's first day, at least, was smooth sailing. In fact, his mood was good enough that when the home of Suspect #4 became Crime Scene #2, he wasn't too pissed off. Instead while he and Greg waited for Vartann and the uniforms to clear the large home, he got out of the Tahoe and walked around to the back to call Nick.

"Stokes."

Grinning, Warrick greeted, "Hey, Stokes."

Nick laughed. "Hi. You're out in Henderson, yeah?"

"How did you know?"

"I was with Jim when Vartann called it in."

"So you're just getting ready to go home, right?"

"Yeah, Gris told me to call it a night. I'm at my locker right now, actually."

"How you feeling?"

"Good," Nick assured him. "But a lot more tired than I expected. David's done in another ten minutes, though, and he's going to give me a lift home."

Warrick felt part of his good mood evaporate. "David. Hodges?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Warrick did his best to sound casual. "Look, I don't know if this is going to turn into a double, but it'll be a few more hours at least, so I'll see you later."

"Okay, Rick," Nick replied and Warrick noted that he did sound tired, but cheerful, too. "See you."

Warrick ended the call and climbed back into the driver's seat. He felt Greg glance over at him, but evidently something in his expression kept the younger CSI from commenting. Warrick kept his eyes on the house while he tried to calm his emotions which had suddenly unsettled themselves again. Because that's what he was--unsettled.

Not jealous.

Certainly not jealous of Hodges. There was no reason to be worried about Hodges taking Nick home, because he knew Nick Stokes. He knew that even though they'd only been together for a very short time, Nick was taking their relationship seriously. Nick was not someone who would two-time a lover. So no matter how amusing Nick found Hodges, no matter how much nicer Hodges was to Nick than to everyone else, Nick was not going to fall into bed with him.

On the other hand, Nick was still frighteningly vulnerable and it was conceivable that if Hodges wanted to, he could take advantage of that vulnerability.

Like you did, buddy?

That was a path Warrick definitely didn't want to travel down, because he still wasn't sure what he would find there. Kane's initial assessment still floated through Warrick's consciousness. Had he used this opportunity to finally get something he'd always wanted? Something he might not have had under different circumstances?

Even if that was the case, they were both happy. Did it matter how or why?

"Clear."

Warrick blinked, "What?"

Greg nodded to the front door where the uniforms were exiting the house. "The house is clear. You ready to go?" There was a note of concern in his voice, but his expression was bland.

"Yeah," Warrick said, grateful again for the distraction. "Let's see what turns up at this one."

Getting out his key, he saw that the alarm had been turned on, a sure sign that Nick was asleep. Nick had given him the code on his second day out of Avalon Springs, so Warrick used it now to let himself in, then reset it. He went straight to the bedroom after kicking off his shoes and for the longest time, just stood staring at the man sleeping so--thank God--peacefully.

Nick was on his stomach, one arm curled around Warrick's pillow. Warrick watched the shadows play along the muscled back before undressing as quietly as possible. He was glad he'd taken a shower before leaving work--it saved him doing it here and possibly waking Nick. Nude, he slipped under the covers, gently moving Nick's arm from his pillow.

"Rick..?" Nick stirred slightly.

"Of course," Warrick smiled, lying back and sliding one arm under Nick.

"Time izzit?"

"Almost noon. Go back to sleep, baby."

Nick snuggled against him and did just that.

Warrick knew he should probably be concerned with the fact that he could no longer fall asleep without the soothing sound of Nick's breathing next to him, but at the moment he was too content to care.

"What?" Sara looked confused. "Who is?"

"The techs," Greg clarified. "Some of the CSIs from days and swing."

"On what?" Sara's expression turned dangerous. "Not on Nick."

"Not exactly. Mostly on Warrick."

"Warrick?" That threw her off.

"On when he's going to blow up at Grissom for never partnering him with Nick."

Sara let out a snort of disdain, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Who's betting on that?"

Greg took his eyes off the road to judge just how pissed off Sara was with this revelation. "People. No one from graveyard, and the people from days are scared to death about Catherine finding out."

"They should be."

"I just mentioned it because we could put our money on...like next year or something and clean up."

That got a reluctant smile out of Sara. "It would serve them right."

Greg smiled and let out an inward sigh of relief. There was a good chance that Sara would have blown up if she unexpectedly came across someone betting, and the other shifts were already looking a little askance at graveyard. Since Nick's return to work, he never went out on a call without Grissom. It quickly became known that if Nick Stokes was on a case, Grissom would be, too. Greg and Sara might also be along for the ride, but Grissom was definitely on the case. And just as definitely, Warrick Brown would not be anywhere near it.

As far as Greg could see, Warrick and Grissom were in complete agreement about this arrangement, although neither of them ever commented on it. Nick was silent on the subject as well, concentrating on doing his job. If it ain't broke... Greg finally decided, because the days were slipping past without any noticeable setbacks on Nick's part.

Warrick on the other hand... Greg glanced over at Sara and wondered if he should broach that subject with her. He decided against it. While Sara could spot evidence at a crime scene that no one else did and could often do the same with suspects in interrogation, she often missed the mark when it came to her co-workers. Months before he might have gone to Nick with his concerns, but if his suspicions were right, then that wasn't an option. Bringing it up with Warrick could actually be dangerous. Even though there was no residual animosity left after their sniping during the search for Nick, the fact was that when it came to Nick, Warrick was not always reasonable.

As they reached their destination, Greg decided to refocus his insatiable curiosity on the scene.

For now.

Nick's first week back had been deceptively easy, so much so that Gil--and Nick himself--began to relax. Then Gil began noticing little problems that Nick had to deal with on a daily basis. Many things that Gil thought would cause problems hadn't, but the reverse was also true--and most of the time he couldn't figure out why Nick's breath suddenly hitched or he began reciting something under his breath. Either way, nothing had interfered with Nick's work until last night, and that was what Gil had reluctantly decided to discuss with Nick.

He still wasn't certain that bringing it up again was the best idea, because Nick went right back to work and did his job, but the memory of that sudden, blank look in the dark eyes and the shudders that wracked Nick's body for a time meant that it couldn't be ignored. Gil realized Nick was watching him curiously and knew he couldn't put it off any longer. "Nick, I wanted to discuss your shift with you."

Nick blinked, "Which shift?"

"Graveyard. I'm wondering if you wouldn't do better on days. It never occurred to me before, but perhaps working in darkness most of the time and--" Gil stopped when he saw Nick had turned a sickly color. "Nick?"

"This is about what happened last night," Nick voice was low.

Gil noted that Nick's voice sounded odd, but didn't know what to make of it. "Partly," he admitted. "But--"

"Gris, don't do this, please..."

"Nicky..." Gil realized belatedly that he'd made a horrible mistake. Nick's trembling was worse now than it had been the night before. All he could think was that Nick would hate anyone seeing this, so he quickly got up and closed the door, then came back to sit on the edge of his desk, cursing himself the entire time.

"I'm sorry about last n-night," Nick whispered. "I'll try harder not to--to...I can do my job, Gris...I swear I c-can..."

"Nicky, don't," Gil wondered briefly if Warrick was anywhere in the building, but reminded himself firmly that he'd been there when Nick had gotten through an attack before, and should be able to handle it this time. "I'm sorry I mentioned it, Nick, and it's not a reflection of your work. I just thought you might feel more comfortable during daylight hours."

Biting his lip, Nick only shook his head.

"Okay. But, Nick, I have to know what happened. Was it the spotlight? The headlights?"

Nick took several slow deep breaths. "It's n-not the spotlights or the d-dark. I expect those things and if I expect th-them I can deal...it was--Jesus, Gris, it's stupid because it was such a little thing..."

"It's not stupid if it got to you like this, Nicky." Gil was relieved to see Nick regaining control, although his breathing was shallow and his eyes suspiciously bright.

"Okay..." Another deep breath that Nick released slowly. "Y'know the uniform on the scene? Reese?"

"Yeah."

"He's not used to working with us, he doesn't really know us by name. So when he came up he said, 'Hi, CSI guys.' Remember?"

Gil tilted his head to the side. "Vaguely."

"That's it," Nick said, reddening slightly.

"That's it?"

"The cassette player Gordon left with me in the--that's how it started. 'Hi, CSI guy.' I--I can still hear it sometimes." A violent shudder ran through Nick's entire body. "Reese was being friendly, but the way he said it just--"

"There's no way to predict that."

"When I can predict them, I handle them better," Nick said earnestly. "And--"

Gil held up a hand to stop him. "Forget I mentioned it, Nicky. Although I'm sure Catherine would be thrilled to have you on her team again. If you're content to stay on graveyard, then that suits me perfectly."

Nick's relief was obvious and his eyes grew damp again. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry I ever brought it up, Nicky," Gil said sincerely, reminded again just how bad he could be with people.

That was something he used to leave to Nick when they worked together, but that was one part of the job that Nick no longer excelled at. Whether Nick couldn't or didn't want to connect with the people they spoke to, Gil didn't know, but the implications of it still frightened him.

That's why when he slid a body back into the cooler and turned around, he was shocked to find Nick staring at the wall of square doors, his expression a mixture of horror and fascination.

"Nick?" Robbins moved closer and was alarmed to find Nick trembling. "Nick?" a little more forcefully.

"I never...those are bigger than the one I was in," Nick could have been commenting on the weather.

Robbins glanced over his shoulder, then back at Nick, and realized with a sick feeling that by pure fluke all of the other autopsies Nick had attended had been in the secondary bay. "Nick, sit down," he nudged the younger man to a chair.

Nick dropped into the chair as instructed, and closed his eyes tightly. He began murmuring something under his breath.

Unable to make out what he was saying, Robbins reached for the phone, "Do you want me to get Gil, Nick?"

Still muttering, Nick shook his head frantically.

Instinct told Robbins to just wait it out and let Nick decide the next move.

After several minutes, Nick raised his head. His breathing was still a bit labored as he shot Robbins an apologetic look. "Sorry. Sorry, Doc."

"Don't worry, Nick," Robbins shook his head. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine," Nick said, keeping his eyes averted from the cooler wall. "I just--sorry."

"You haven't attended an autopsy in the main bay since coming back."

"Yeah," Nick's voice was still slightly hollow. "I don't...uh, I think I'm going to have to skip today's...I mean..."

"That's fine," Robbins spoke to Nick as he would one of his own. "I'll just send up my report when I've finished. But maybe you should just sit there for a few more minutes."

Nick nodded, closing his eyes again. "Didn't know you could have a flashback to something that didn't happen."

"Neither did I," Robbins raised his eyebrows.

Nick glanced at him, then looked away. "I'd rather not go into it, Doc."

"All right," Robbins agreed readily. "Can I ask what you were saying, though, or does that have something to do with it?"

"Oh, that. Sure," Nick smiled slightly. "Sometimes, if breathing exercises don't work, I have to do something else to...distract myself from whatever triggers the attack. I pick a subject, then do the alphabet."

Robbins expression remained quizzical.

"Countries," Nick said as an example. "Albania, Belgium, Canada...or cities, or animals."

"What a brilliant idea--I'd never heard of that before. What were you doing?"

Nick laughed at the ME's obvious fascination. "Birds."

"You paged me?" Nick sounded bewildered.

Sofia wasn't surprised, even when they had both been on Grissom's team, they had rarely worked together. "Come in and sit down. Grissom is in court and told me to contact you about this case when I reached my decision."

"Oh. Sure," Nick gave her a smile as he sat down.

"Does anything in there look familiar to you?" she asked as she handed him a folder.

Nick paged through the jacket, his expression darkening as he went. "It looks similar to some home invasions we worked nearly two years ago. It escalated to include assault and murder." His lips thinned, "We never did get enough for an indictment." His eyes flicked to the date, then he looked up at Sofia, "This is just last month."

Sofia nodded.

"What's his name...Johnson? No, Jansson. He went away on a completely different charge--possession, I think." Nick met her eyes again. "He's out and they've teamed up again."

She gave him a tight smile. "That's the way it's looking. I'm sure you've heard that people from different shifts have been teaming up to work crossover cases."

"And you want us to work with," he glanced down at the file. "Lee Travis."

Nick barely skipped a beat when he said the name, but Sofia could tell he wasn't thrilled with the idea of working with Travis. She didn't really blame him. "Actually, Lee seems to have some leftover animosity toward graveyard from when he was on days. He's refused to work the case with you."

"Oh." Nick hesitated, "You...want our files?"

"No. I pulled him off the case and I'm handing it over to you and Grissom."

"Oh."

"I wish it could be otherwise, but Travis isn't willing to cooperate. He loses the case." Sofia didn't tell Nick everything Travis had to say about that. After having been Conrad Ecklie's top yes-man on day shift for years, Travis had always assumed he'd be moving up at Ecklie's side. Being moved from days to swing shift had infuriated him, as had the new tolerance between Ecklie and Grissom's team. Adding to that Travis' feeling that Nick had been getting special treatment since his return and his refusal wasn't much of a surprise.

Nick had finished going through the file again, "Okay. Um...how often do you want to be updated?"

"Not necessary," Sofia smiled. "Since the case is now graveyard's. But if you would keep me in the loop, I'd appreciate it."

"Will do," Nick said as he stood up. "I'll let Grissom know." He gave her a small salute with the folder and left her office.

Sofia wondered briefly if she should have warned him to watch his back around Travis, but decided it wasn't necessary. Travis was right about one thing--Nick had received special treatment since his return. Sofia would even agree with Travis' complaint that Stokes always received special treatment, but she hadn't bothered pointing out that it was only because he was such a favorite with nearly every tech in the lab--especially compared to Travis.

Hopefully, his friends in the lab would be watching Nick's back for him.

"--not our fault the case got pulled out from under you." That was Nick, sounding more upset than David had heard him in the nearly three weeks since his return. "You're the one who refused to work with--"

"Hey, you think I want to work with someone in Sam Braun's pocket?" And that would be Lee Travis, the cold son of a bitch that even David thought was too much of a slimy, brown-nosing weasel. And David knew that if he thought someone was too smarmy, they were off the chart.

Nick had gone silent for several seconds, then with utter disbelief. "What did you say?"

"How you paying back that ransom, Nicky?" Travis' voice took on a distinctly oily quality. "Didn't know Braun was into pretty boys."

Oh, hell. David gritted his teeth. There had been rumors upon rumors floating around about where the ransom money had come from. No one in the lab had believed the "anonymous donor" story, and Sam Braun was on the top of the list. David had no idea how Braun got there, but he doubted it was because of any tie to Nick Stokes.

"Are you out of your damn mind?" Nick's voice was angry but also held a note of uncertainty.

"You must really be something for old Sam to shell out a million bucks."

David waited for Nick to say something suitably rude back to Travis, then remembered that Nick Stokes didn't have much of a mean streak on his best day and these were far from his best days. So instead he arranged his expression into one of irritation and strolled into the room. "Did you turn your pager off or something?" he asked Nick.

Nick blinked at him, his face pale, his eyes wide and haunted. "Wh-what?"

"I've been paging you with the results of those samples you sent me."

Nick's blank look wasn't all that surprising, considering he'd done no such thing.

Much to David's delight, Travis rounded on him, "What about those fibers and paint chips I sent you three hours ago?"

"I'm sorry?" David asked, in a bored tone.

"I sent Young to you with nearly a dozen samples."

David shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Goddamn rookie," Travis snarled, storming out of the lab to hunt down the unfortunate Erin Young.

"I didn't send you any samples," Nick said, still looking lost.

"I know," David shrugged. "I've been working on fibers and paint chips for the past couple of hours."

Nick's laugh was a bit watery.

Feeling completely out of his element, David nonetheless moved closer to Nick, unable to help his concern. "You all right?"

"Do you--David, do you know what he was talking about?"

"Office gossip," David said dismissively.

"About...I heard there was a ransom, but--" Nick swallowed hard. "What's this about Sam Braun?"

"Nothing," David said, but alarm bells were starting to ring. "The ransom was donated anonymously, but people talk."

Nick was shaking his head, "There...there must be a report about this somewhere. I've got to know what happened. God, I should have--where's the feed?"

The alarm turned into a full-blown klaxon. "Ahhh...no. I don't think that's a good idea."

Moving away from the table and into a corner, Nick kept shaking his head. "I was wondering why some people hadn't stopped staring by now."

"You know--" David began, and was dismayed to find that he couldn't think of anything. Even worse, Nick had begun to shake slightly.

"How did Sam Braun get into this?" Nick whispered, his eyes wide and scared. "Please don't tell me he's got something one the lab because of this."

"Uh..." Looking behind him in the hopes that someone would arrive to assist, David tried to think of something helpful to say. "You know I don't bother with gossip."

That worked--more or less. It got another shaky laugh out of Nick, anyway.

"Look," David put a cautious hand on Nick's shoulder. "You're better off talking to Grissom about this."

Nick's eyes were full as he nodded his agreement. "Jesus, I can't go back out there like this."

David peered through the doorway again. "Hallway's empty right now. Make a break for it." When Nick still looked doubtful, David took him by the arm and urged him forward. "Let's go. Get to Grissom's office and you can page him from there." David kept one hand on Nick's back and nudged him quickly down the hallway. "Someone really should be playing the Mission Impossible theme."

Fortunately, Grissom was in his office, looking very surprised when David gave Nick a shove inside. Closing the door behind them, David started back up the hallway and ran straight into a very angry looking Warrick Brown.

Oh, hell.

* * *

Warrick saw Hodges guiding Nick to Grissom's office through the glass maze of the lab, but before he got close enough to speak, Nick was inside and Grissom's door was closed. One thing he did know was that was not the way two colleagues walked down a hallway. He successfully blocked Hodges' path back to the trace lab, demanding, "What the hell is going on?"

"I left Nick in Grissom's office," Hodges said with a very put-upon sigh. "He's...upset."

"What did you do?"

"I knocked him down and stole his lunch money." Hodges rolled his eyes when Warrick's angry expression didn't change. "I didn't do anything to him."

"In there," Warrick pointed to an empty lab. "I want to talk to you."

If the prospect of being alone in a room with an angry Warrick Brown bothered Hodges in the least, he didn't show it. He looked as bored as ever.

That pissed Warrick off. "What's with you hanging around after Nick so much, huh?"

Although shorter than Warrick, Hodges had this trick of tilting his head back so he could look down his nose at people and he employed that trick now. "Has Nick been complaining?"

Warrick's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Hodges was immune. "No, he hasn't, and you know why? Because I don't treat the guy like spun glass. I treat him just the same as I did before this disaster."

"Yeah, well. You never did treat him the same way you did everyone else, did you? What's your game anyway?"

"Actually, I did treat him like everyone else. At first, anyway," Hodges looked faintly amused. "Even though he tried to give it back like everyone else did, he never could. He's just a nice guy by nature, and even I have a hard time being rude to someone consistently friendly."

Warrick was still glowering, "That's it? That's all there is to it?"

The grey eyes glinted, "That's it. Why? What did you think was going on?" When Warrick suddenly turned mute, Hodges looked smug. "Even if I was into guys--which I'm not," he noted Warrick's look. "Yeah, I know--I get that a lot. Anyway, if I was interested in Nick, you think I'd admit to you when you've got a gun on your hip?" He shrugged, "I don't know why you think I'm a problem for Nick, but contrary to popular belief, I don't kick puppies and I don't pull the wings off butterflies."

"So what happened?"

Hodges shook his head and turned to go. "Ask Nick. No way am I getting in the middle of this."

* * *

Nick sat in the passenger seat, unmoving, staring blankly out the window. He hadn't said a word since they'd left Grissom's office, but his opinion about being sent home for the rest of the shift was perfectly clear. Warrick could see his point, to a certain extent. Grissom said that Nick had been shaking when Hodges unceremoniously shoved him into his office, and looked on the verge of a panic attack, but when Warrick saw him, Nick was dry-eyed and steady. His tight expression said he was definitely upset about something, though.

Warrick supposed it was to be expected. Nick hadn't exactly breezed through the past three weeks, but he'd handled every trigger so far--some more easily than others--without having to leave in the middle of a shift. He would talk about it when he and Warrick were settled comfortably on either's sofa, and that was usually enough to guarantee that even if he didn't quite put any given trigger behind him, at least he would be able to deal with it more easily.

During the past three weeks, Warrick had been able to find something of a balance for his own emotions as well. Although sometimes the only way he was able to contain those darker emotions was to distance himself from Nick, and although when that happened Nick would give him a silent, searching look, overall Warrick was satisfied that he had everything under control.

Until tonight, anyway.

He was still determined to find out what Hodges had said or done, but now wasn't time. "Hey, it's not like he sent you home in the middle of your shift," Warrick said as he turned onto Charleston Boulevard. "We're just going home a couple of hours early. If you think it's that big a deal, just go in a couple hours early tonight."

Nick slanted him a look that said Warrick wasn't fooling anyone, and got out of the jeep almost before Warrick had finished parking in the driveway. By the time Warrick turn the jeep off and walked into the townhouse, Nick had a beer out and had downed a good portion of it while he paced the length of his great room.

"You going to tell me what's going on?" Warrick asked as he dropped his keys on the counter.

Nick took another swig of beer, but didn't answer.

"C'mon, Nicky," Warrick said. "What did Hodges do? Was it something he said?"

"Hodges didn't do anything--not to me anyway," Nick wouldn't look at Warrick.

"Not to you? Tell me what's going on, here."

Nick stopped and faced Warrick suddenly, "Sure. And maybe you could do the same-God knows Grissom wouldn't."

Warrick realized with a vague sense of shock that Nick wasn't upset, he was pissed. Warrick hadn't actually seen Nick angry since he'd been taken out of the ground, and he wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or not. "What do you want to know, Nick?"

"The ransom," Nick bit out. "Where did it come from?"

Uh-oh. "Uh...an anonymous donor gave--"

The dark eyes widened, then narrowed. "Rick, don't start lying to me now. If the donor was anonymous, there wouldn't be names floating around the lab."

"What names?" Warrick asked, because he'd heard more than one. "What's going around the lab?"

"That it came from Sam Braun. Than I'm somehow in his pocket," Nick twitched slightly. "That's the watered down version, anyway."

Fuck. "Who the hell told you that?"

Nick expression grew tighter when he didn't get an immediate denial. "Is it true? Where did the money come from?"

Warrick sighed. Catherine's relationship with Sam Braun wasn't exactly common knowledge, but both Warrick and Nick had heard about it not long after Catherine found out. "I'll tell you about the ransom, but first tell me what Hodges said."

After another sip of beer, Nick shrugged, "He told me not to pay attention to office gossip."

"Then who brought up Braun in the first place?"

Some of Nick's anger seemed to leave him, and he shot Warrick a wary look. "Lee Travis was pissed off about his case being pulled out from under him. He made a few comments about Braun, the ransom and how I'm paying it back." He shook his head when Warrick's lips curled into a snarl. "Forget Travis. I want to know what's going on."

Warrick was tempted to go straight back to the lab, for two reasons. The first was to get his hands on Travis' neck, and the second was to avoid Nick's demands for the truth. But really, in a contest between Lee Travis and Nick Stokes, there was no contest. He took a deep breath, "When the city refused to put up the ransom, Catherine went to Braun for the money."

Nick's color drained from his face, making his eyes seem larger and darker. He set his beer down with a shaky hand. "I never thought Cath...oh Jesus. I thought the lab--I thought maybe from the evidence vault. Oh my god...Cath. She's been trying to keep her distance from...good God."

"Nicky, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" Nick's voice rose. "Jesus, Warrick! Cath is...my god, Braun...what if...oh God, I've got to talk to her..."

Nick started for the door, but Warrick was right behind him and caught him around the waist. "Don't, Nicky. Only the old graveyard shift and Brass know about this, and we all swore not to say another word about it. It's an anonymous donor, Nick. Get that through your head. There's been other names besides Braun's before this, so if you just drop it, it'll pass."

"But Catherine...I can't let her--"

"She did what any one of us would have done, Nick," Warrick tightened his grip.

"Oh God," Nick leaned back against Warrick, his strength gone along with his anger. "But what if...what if..."

"Cath can handle it, Nicky. She insisted it was over and done the minute she brought Gris the money. C'mon, you think she doesn't know what she's doing?"

"But...I can't just..."

"Babe, you won't be doing her any favors by bringing it up."

"Damn it..." Nick whispered, sounding defeated.

"She'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Nick was silent for several minutes while Warrick just held him, then--"What else don't I know?"

Even though Nick didn't sound angry or upset, the question still set Warrick on edge. "What do you mean?"

"There's a report about all this, right? There's got to be."

"Yeah..." Warrick said reluctantly.

"I want to see it," Nick gently loosened Warrick's arm and stepped away to face him. "I probably should have read it before this, then I wouldn't have all these surprises."

"Braun's name isn't in the report," Warrick pointed out.

"No," Nick said firmly. "But there's probably other stuff I don't know about that will keep popping up. I want the whole report and...yeah. I want to see the feed."

"Like hell."

Nick's jaw jutted slightly.

"Maybe the report," Warrick conceded. "But Christ, Nicky, there's no reason for you to see that feed." Warrick didn't add that the thought of seeing it again made his own stomach clench painfully. "The feed is you. There's nothing there you don't already know. It can't be good for you to see it again."

"Oh, come on, Rick!" Nick insisted, "If it was you, wouldn't you want to see it?"

If it was you...Game, set and match, with just four little words. Warrick held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, Nicky, if that's what you want."

Nick blinked, obviously surprised that Warrick had given in so easily. "Right. I mean, really, wouldn't you want to know?"

To his dismay, Warrick suddenly found himself unable to look Nick in the eye. "What I want doesn't matter Nick. This is all you."

"Warrick..." Nick's voice softened. "Rick, don't be like that. I mean, I do want to know what you think, and--"

"Nicky, I'm not trying to pull anything here," Warrick assured him with a sorry attempt at a smile. "I mean it. I've got no right to be saying anything about this."

"But you're acting like...oh no," Nick sighed. "Oh God, Rick, please don't tell me you still feel guilty about that coin toss."

"I don't feel guilty about the coin toss," Warrick said easily.

"Well, there's still something," Nick persisted. "You look--"

"Hey, this isn't about me." For Christ's sake, just drop it, Nicky.

"Warrick, I'm just asking what you--"

"I can't say what I'd do if it had been me!" Warrick glared at him. "If it had been me we wouldn't be having this goddamn conversation at all, okay?! None of this would be happening!"

"Oh." Nick drew back slightly, and Warrick couldn't tell if he was more hurt or offended. "Really."

"I never would have made it out of there, Nicky."

"What? Oh, come on, Rick," Nick's smile was one of disbelief.

"You think I like knowing that?"

"You don't know that."

"Yeah, I do. And it's not fun, okay?" And before Warrick could stop them, the words were tumbling out. "Nicky, do you have any idea how scary it's been trying to help you after finding out you're actually--"

"Actually what?" Nick looked slightly alarmed.

"So much stronger than I gave you credit for. I'm sorry, Nicky, but when it happened I never thought you were tough enough to pull yourself through. And that's a lousy thing to think about someone you love, but I always--and Jesus, you were so amazing in there. And I've been trying to help you through this without smothering you, but it's fuckin' hard because..." Warrick trailed of when he realized Nick was staring at him in bemusement.

"You just insulted me, told me you loved me, and complimented me all in the same breath," Nick smiled when Warrick gaped at him. "That's smooth, Rick. No wonder I'm crazy about you."

Warrick clenched his hands into fists to keep from grabbing Nick and shaking him. "Didn't you hear a word I said?"

"Sure I did," Nick stepped closer, his eyes searching Warrick's face. "Especially the part about loving me."

"Nick..." Warrick gave in to temptation. Worry, jealously, fear, lust and love all crashed together in a frightening maelstrom that left him reeling. He wanted to--had to--overwhelm Nick the way Nick continued to overwhelm him without even knowing it. He wrapped one hand around Nick's neck and pulled the shorter man against him, crushing the parted lips beneath his own.

After a small, startled sound, Nick eagerly slid his hands to Warrick's waist and under his shirt. Warrick broke away long enough to pull Nick's shirt off and obliged when Nick indicated he wanted to do the same, then he concentrated on touching, kissing and biting as much of Nick's skin as he could.

Nick gasped and moaned, clutching any part of the frenzied man he could hold onto. "Rick...oh my god, Rick..."

Some part of Warrick's brain managed to register that what they needed was in the bedroom. He bore Nick back in that direction so rapidly that Nick nearly lost his balance several times and wrapped his arms tightly around Warrick's neck to remain upright. He tumbled Nick back onto the bed, falling on top of him and taking a hardened nipple between his teeth. Nick tangled his fingers in Warrick's hair, making small whimpering noises of pleasure.

Warrick fumbled with Nick's belt and fly, then tugged Nick's chinos down to his knees, and wrapped his fingers around Nick's erection. He bit down on the nipple, making Nick yelp at the same time as he tried to buck his hips. "I want to fuck you so bad, Nicky," he growled, skimming his teeth over Nick's abs.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Nick panted.

Warrick stripped of his pants in record time and put the condom on with shaking fingers. Nick had kicked his pants the rest of the way off, and Warrick only took the time to loosen Nick with a single finger, before positioning himself at the tight opening.

Drawing his legs up, Nick let out a gasp at the burning sensation as Warrick thrust into him. It subsided almost as soon as it started, and Nick wrapped his legs around Warrick's waist.

"Fuck..." Warrick almost pulled out completely before thrusting in again. "Fuck, Nicky, you're so tight..."

"Come on, Rick," Nick tightened his legs, drawing Warrick even closer. "Warrick..."

Warrick rode him hard, but kept one hand on Nick's cock, stroking him to completion. Nick was beyond speech as he alternately clutched at Warrick or the sheets beneath him, but the sounds he made encouraged Warrick go even faster. Warrick felt the tremors in Nick's body before he felt the warmth on his hand and stomach. Driving in as far as he could, Warrick stayed there, his hips jerking as he emptied himself into the shaking body beneath him.

It took several minutes for Warrick to realize what had happened, and when he did, he eased out of Nick and removed the condom with hands that shook just as badly as when he'd put it on.

Nick let his legs fall and threw one arm over his pillow with a deep sigh.

"Nick?"

"Mmmm?"

"Are you okay?" Warrick asked, not certain he wanted an answer.

Nick was quiet for several minutes, which made Warrick's heart clench with fear. "Why do you always ask me that?"

Unable to think of an answer, Warrick lay down, not touching Nick.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked.

Warrick closed his eyes.

"Rick?" Cautiously, Nick moved closer.

"I got a little carried away."

"I noticed."

Warrick opened his eyes. He thought he could hear the grin in Nick's voice and had to check. Sure enough, Nick was smiling at him, although there were still traces of concern in his eyes. His emotions still too tangled to sort this out, Warrick pulled Nick close, letting out a sigh of relief when Nick snuggled in happily. Nick was stroking his side gently, and Warrick was almost asleep when it occurred to him that they hadn't actually settled anything. "What are you going to do, Nicky?"

"About what?" Nick asked, still running a soothing hand over Warrick's ribs.

"About the feed. The report. Travis."

"And the ransom," Nick finished thoughtfully. "Well--"

"Not the ransom. There's nothing to be done about the ransom, Nick."

Nick sighed, obviously upset with the idea of letting it go, but he didn't mention it again. "There's nothing to be done about Travis, either. Why would I bother? About the report and the feed...I still don't know."

"Maybe just--I can't believe I'm saying this--talk to Kane before doing anything."

Nick struggled to sit up. "Shit! I have a session today. What time is it?" He glanced at the clock and slumped back down against Warrick. "Lots of time yet. Yeah, I'll talk to him about it. No way in hell Gris would let me get my hands on the report without an okay from Phillip, anyway."

Warrick was trying to find the right words to ask Nick the dozens of questions he wanted answered, but after several minutes, he heard Nick's drowsy voice again.

"Could you set the alarm, Rick? We should get some sleep."

Still too confused--and admit it, freaked--to do anything else, Warrick complied.

On to Parts 4 (chapters 19-22)