Home of Greg Sanders Slash Fiction
by Buffyangel68
----------------
Nick went to sleep in the recliner that night, even though Greg was still firmly entrenched in his bedroom at nine-thirty when Nick finally conked out. When he woke the following morning, however, he smiled as he glanced sideways. Once again, Greg had found his way out to the living room sometime in the middle of the night, stretching out on the couch and soothing his turmoil in the comfort of Nick's presence.
Nick lowered the footstool carefully, trying to be quiet. By the time he'd fixed a plate with toast and eggs for himself, his housemate was stirring and grumbling. Nick brought him a cup of tea a few minutes later, carrying his own breakfast in and placing it on the coffee table. Greg sat up, frowned and rubbed his eyes.
"Mornin', bud."
Greg lowered his chin, cleared his throat huskily and looked back up at Nick.
"Morning."
Nick grinned.
"Hey! And without any tea! Cool!"
"Better."
"Yeah, it's great! Way to go, Greg."
"Yay, me." Greg replied, reaching for his cup and sipping it slowly. "Can I have some of that?"
"Toast an' egg? You sure you're ready?"
"I've been waiting until I could... talk in the morning without help. Also... I'm starved."
"After four days of tea, juice an' soup, I'll bet you are. Here, you take this plate. I'll make more."
"This is yours..."
"Not now it ain't. Go on, eat."
Greg smiled faintly and accepted the offer, pushing the events of the previous day to the back of his mind and trying to concentrate on the first solid food he'd seen in quite a while. The smell of the eggs enticed him, despite feeling that his stomach had shriveled up and blown away like a tumbleweed. When Nick returned, Greg's plate was only half empty, but the younger man was sitting back with one hand on his abdomen and a pleasantly stuffed expression on his face.
"Good man. You're smart to take it slow an' not overdo it. Give your body plenty of time to adjust." Nick praised as he dug into his meal. When he glanced over a few minutes later, Greg seemed sad and contemplative and Nick prodded gently.
"Penny for your thoughts."
"Hope they're worth more than that."
"Bill Gates couldn't afford 'em, trust me. Is it yesterday?"
"No. I miss Sara. I'm really worried."
"We all are. Nothin' more we can do, though. Not 'till she decides to get found, anyway. The PD's tried everything they can come up with. It's on her now."
"We can't give up."
"Hey, nobody's given up on Sara, Greggo. They just got to the limit of their resources, that's all. 'Bout the only thing they haven't done is resort to a Ouija board..." he suggested, chuckling.
Greg's eyes lit up. "What'd I say?" Nick questioned.
"I can't tell you yet. Can you... get me the phone?"
"Sure. Hang on. I'll bring it back while I get these dishes scraped and into the sink."
"Thanks."
When Nick returned with the portable, Greg dug into his day-runner, plucked out the paper Blair had given him with the hotel phone number and their room number on it and dialed.
When the phone rang, Jim paused in the middle of picking out clothes for the day to grab it, then balanced it between his ear and shoulder while he sat in a chair to put socks on.
"Hello?"
"Jim? It's Greg."
"Hey, you sound good. Voice is getting stronger."
"Time, patience and warm tea... with honey. Look, is Blair around?"
"He's out for a walk. Yesterday still has him kinda... messed up. His mom calling didn't help."
Greg paused for a long moment, breathing shallowly and closing his eyes.
"She called? You mean you're... in touch with her?"
"God, I'm sorry, kid. I shouldn't have just blurted that out..."
"No. It's okay. I'm just... I'm still trying to wrap my... mind around all this. What did she say?"
"Not much. I didn't give her a chance." Jim responded darkly. "Neither one of us really wanted to talk to her right then. Blair was too upset and I was too mad."
"I understand, I guess. I'm not sure how... to feel yet. Look, would you guys like something... to take your minds off this?"
"Blair would probably jump at the chance. What've you got in mind?"
"How does a tour of our... crime lab sound?"
"Sort of a visiting dignitaries thing? Love it. There's probably a lot we can learn and take back to Cascade with us."
"Great. I'll call and set it up. It won't be 'till... late tonight, so get some extra sleep."
"That's right. You work graveyard."
"I used to."
"They can't take your job away for something that wasn't your fault."
"It's not that."
"Right... the agoraphobia. Nick and I talked a little about the two of you doing therapy together. I told him it was a good thing. It really helped me after Blair... after what happened to him."
"God... I almost forgot you found... Blair in the fountain. You saved his life... like Nick did for me."
"Yeah? Stokes didn't say anything, but then I get the feeling he's the type who wouldn't. He doesn't want medals or newspaper headlines. Still having you around is all he cares about."
Greg blushed and grinned, remembering Nick's initial reaction to the CrimeStoppers article, but he sidestepped the subject.
"Tomorrow, after you get up, can... both of you come over again? Only if Blair wants to..."
"He'll be ready to talk by then, trust me."
"I hope so. To understand why she did... what she did, I need to know... more about her. I don't even know her name..."
"Do you want to?"
Greg hesitated, debating with himself, but eventually he answered.
"Please..."
"It's Naomi."
"Naomi. That's pretty... is she pretty? Have you ever seen her or... only talked to her?"
"Yeah... she's pretty. She's beautiful, in fact. On the surface anyway."
"Jim..."
"I'm sorry, kid, but I had a four page list of reasons to want her out of Blair's life *and* mine, long before you ever got dragged into it. If I spout a little bile occasionally... I just have to hope you understand."
"I'll try. Tomorrow?"
"We'll be there. Thanks again for arranging the tour."
"You'll enjoy it. Um... I have to go, okay? My voice..."
"I can hear it's getting tired. Go ahead. We'll see you soon."
"Bye."
Greg handed the phone back to Nick and the other man moved off to hang it up. When he got back, Greg was hugging a pillow to his chest and staring into space. Nick dabbed away the tears from the younger man's face and touched his arm gently.
"You okay?"
"Her name's Naomi..."
"Your mom? Wow... it must feel so good to have even that much. You feel like talkin'?"
"Not really. Could you put on my CD?"
"Yeah, of course."
"And then call Brass for me? Tell him I need a favor..."
-----------------------
TBC...
