Title: All Anyone Can Do
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Steve McGarrett
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/Hawaii Five-0
Rating: PG-13
Table: Un-themed 6, mission_insane
Prompt: 7, Promise
Author's Note: Continuation of The Next Time.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Steve McGarrett, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Greg huddled on the couch in the living room, sipping at a cup of hot tea that Steve had made for him. He was still shivering, though other than being thoroughly scared, he seemed none the worse for wear. Steve was proud of him; he hadn't broken down in front of anyone.

He had been worried that Greg was going to need to stay in the hospital until he was completely checked out, but the doctor who had examined him had given him a clean bill of health. His assessment had been that Greg was just shaken up, and that he needed a few days to recover.

Greg was a crime scene investigator; he faced a certain amount of danger every day on the job. But he was called in to collect evidence after a crime was committed; he wasn't used to being the victim of a crime. It would take him a while to get past this, Steve was sure.

And he intended to be there for his boyfriend every step of the way. If Greg had nightmares, then Steve would hold him and keep those bad dreams away. If he had flashbacks, then Steve intended to do everything he could to help Greg put what had happened out of his mind.

He knew what it was like to be caught in a horrible situation, to wonder if he was going to get out of it alive, or if his life was going to end. He didn't think that Greg had ever had to deal with that, and he intended to help his boyfriend cope with what had happened in every possible way.

At the moment, Greg seemed to be okay, but Steve was fairly sure that the reality of all that had taken place hadn't quite sunk in for him yet. The time that he'd been waiting for Steve to rescue him must have seemed interminable; but after that, everything had happened quickly.

Greg looked up as Steve came back into the living room, giving him a wan smile. He seemed to huddle more into the blanket that he was wrapped in; Steve knew that he wasn't cold, but he couldn't help thinking that Greg was starting to have a delayed reaction.

Sitting down, he slid his arms around his boyfriend's waist to pull him close. Greg sighed softly, closing his eyes and leaning his head against Steve's shoulder, his voice very soft and hesitant when he spoke. "I'm sorry to go all to pieces. You don't have to take of me ,Steve."

"I want to," Steve answered, his own voice equally soft. "If it wasn't for me and the stupid vendetta Wo Fat has against me, this wouldn't have happened to you. And besides, I like taking care of you. I like being close to you. So I'm going to keep you as close to me as I can."

"I don't mind that," Greg said with a soft smile. "All I could think about when I was tied up in that warehouse was that I might never see you again. That I might never get to touch you, or kiss you, and that you'd never hold me or make love to me again. I was scared to death."

"I wish you hadn't had to go through that," Steve said, his voice breaking slightly on the last words. "If I could have done anything to keep that from happening to you, I would have, Greg. I was so scared we wouldn't find you -- or that we'd find you too late."

"So was I," Greg whispered, his voice trembling. "I'm just glad that didn't happen. I think he never intended to kill me -- it was just a warning to you that he can use the people you love against you. But it didn't feel that way when I was lying there and thinking that I was going to die."

"I would never have let that happen," Steve whispered, horrified by the idea that Greg had been that terrified for his life. "Do you hear me, Greg? I'd never have let you die." He closed his eyes, resting his cheek against Greg's hair, holding his boyfriend even closer.

"Don't make promises that you might not be able to keep, Steve." Greg's voice was still very soft, those words barely audible. "I don't doubt that you'd have done anything you could to rescue me. But you can't promise to always keep me safe. You're not all-powerful."

Steve knew that Greg was right; he had no business making that kind of a rash promise. He couldn't always be sure that Greg would be safe; he had a lot of enemies, and now that his relationship with Greg was out in the open, all of them could zero in on his boyfriend.

As much as he wanted to be the hero and protect his boyfriend from anything that could happen, it wasn't a promise that he was absolutely sure he could keep. He hated to admit that he couldn't watch over Greg every moment, but he had to acknowledge the fact that he wasn't superhuman.

"It doesn't matter that you can't protect me all the time," Greg murmured softly, raising his head from Steve's shoulder to give him another soft smile. "Nothing's going to make me stop loving you, Steve. I don't expect you to be perfect. Or to take care of me every second of every day."

Of course he didn't, Steve told himself, feeling a wave of relief rush over him. Greg wasn't the kind of person who expected his lover to pamper him. Steve had dated a few women in the past who were like that, but the relationship he was in now was nothing like that.

He didn't have to feel as though he was a bodyguard. He didn't have to make promises he couldn't keep. The only promise he had to make to Greg was that he would always love him -- and that promise, Steve knew, wouldn't be hard to keep at all. It would be incredibly easy to do.

He would always love Greg. This man would always own his heart; he knew that there wouldn't be one day of his life that went by when he wouldn't want Greg in his arms and by his side. He'd found his soul mate -- and no matter what happened, he wasn't going to lose that love.

"I wish I could, but I know that's not possible," he finally murmured, sighing as he did so. He hated admitting that there were things he couldn't control, especially when those things concerned the safety of the man he loved. But he had to admit that even he had weaknesses.

"It's enough to know that you want to keep me safe," Greg told him, resting his head on Steve's shoulder again. "That means a lot to me, Steve. Nobody else has ever protected me before like you do. But I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself. At least most of the time."

"That isn't going to stop me from doing everything I can to make sure you're safe," Steve told him, raising a hand to stroke his fingers through Greg's hair. "And that's a promise I can make, Greg. Because it's one I can keep. I may not always be able to protect you, but I can try."

"I know you'll do your best," Greg said softly, lifting his head to meet Steve's gaze. "And you know I'll do my best to always have your back, Steve." The words were very soft, but Steve could hear the strength and the conviction in Greg's voice.

He knew that Greg would live up to those words, in every way that he possibly could. Greg would try to keep him safe, just as much as he would try to protect Greg. That was one of the things that lovers did for each other. They had each other's backs, no matter what the situation might be.

"I know you will, babe." Steve's voice was soft and loving, infusing the mundane words with an emotion that he hadn't realized he could feel. He would give his life for this man; that sentiment was almost palpable in the tone of his voice, if not in the words that he was saying.

He pulled Greg more closely against him, bowing his head to capture his boyfriend's lips with his own. At the moment, he didn't want to think about the promises he could make; all he wanted to do was revel in the fact that Greg was here, in his arms, and that he was safe.

Maybe he wouldn't make any more promises he wasn't sure that he could keep, Steve told himself -- and then again, maybe he would. Even if he couldn't be sure he could keep those promises, he would try to the best of his ability. And that was really all anyone could do.

***