Title: Second Chance: Captured
By: nancy
Pairing: Gil/Nick
Rating: NC-17
Series: Second Chance: Miracle, Second Chance: Breaking Away, Second Chance: Misonceptions, Second Chances: Fear
Summary: Thinking themselves safe, even if temporarily, Nick and Gil let down their guard with disastrous results.

After the disaster of small-town life, Nick didn’t question Gil’s direction to stop in a mid-sized city. On the Arizona side of the border between Nevada and Arizona, Blake’s View was big enough that no one would look too closely at them, but not so big that the people looking for them would think to have APBs out. At least, that was what they were hoping for.

Looking around the small university campus, a local community college that Gil was renting a lab from, Nick had to smile as pleasant memories of his own college days came back to him. Pretty girls gathered together throughout the quad and the guys trying to impress them weren’t being nearly as subtle as they thought.

College life, he thought fondly. It never changes.

Shaking himself out of the nostalgic fog, Nick headed for the science area which was, not surprisingly, the least inhabited building on the campus. It hadn’t taken much to persuade the dean to let Gil rent the place, thankfully. The faked credentials they’d created for Gil had more than done the trick.

Nick peeked into the lab and grinned on seeing Gil completely engrossed with whatever he was looking at under the microscope. He leaned on the door for a few minutes, just watching as his lover made notes without ever taking his eyes from the view. The way the afternoon sun hit his hair gave Gil some odd kind of halo that softened his face in a way that sent a shiver through Nick. His body stirred at the sight and he looked around to make sure no one else was in the hall before adjusting himself.

Opening the door, he crossed silently to the other man and leaned in, murmuring, “Ready to go, Professor?”

Gil jumped, hand going to his chest, and glared at Nick. “Would you please stop doing that!?”

“But it’s so much fun!” Nick exclaimed, grinning broadly.

Huffing in annoyance, Gil grumbled, “I’m going to have a heart attack one of these days.”

Nick smirked. “Don’t worry, lover, I know how to revive you.”

Gil protested wordlessly as Nick took his mouth in a long, deep kiss. Nick kept at it until the other was leaning on the lab counter for support and groaning with need. Pulling away, he smiled at the dazed expression and nuzzled just beneath his jaw, saying, “Time to go.”

Taking a moment to compose himself, Gil breathed deliberately in and out a few times before complaining, “You could just say that you’re horny and want to go home instead of doing…that…to me in public.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Nick teased, stepping over to the microscope to take a look. It was a blood sample, his to be specific, he could tell from the rigidity of the cells. “Find anything new?”

“No, nothing new,” Gil replied, beginning to put everything away.

Nick helped by packing up all the samples while Gil carefully collected his notes, even the pages with things scratched out. They didn’t leave anything behind, not even paper with notes that hadn’t panned out. It wasn’t long before large carrying cases were neatly packed and ready to go.

“Professor Gamble! I’m so glad that I caught you!”

Nick restrained himself from groaning at Professor Diamonte’s exclamation, but barely. She was in her late forties and pretty, in a conservative way. He was almost amused by the woman’s attempt to gain Gil’s interest, except for the fact that it took her ten minutes to ask a simple question. Why use one word, when ten will do?

Gil smiled politely at the woman and asked, “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Actually, I wanted to let you know that I’m having a get-together for the department heads on Saturday night and would love for you to come so we can all get to know each other better,” she announced, smiling flirtatiously.

Gil hesitated, then said, “I’m flattered by the offer, Professor Diamonte, but I’m afraid I already have plans this weekend.”

Yeah, dinner, dancing and then getting his brains fucked out by me, Nick thought in irritation, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the counter.

The action brought him to the woman’s attention for the first time and she faltered, as if reading that silent statement in his very expression. “Oh, of course. I didn’t realize that you had company in town. Well, another time perhaps.”

Gil continued to smile politely and replied, “Perhaps. Have a nice night, Professor.”

“You too,” she said, beating a hasty retreat.

Arching an eyebrow at him, Gil observed, “If you got any more possessive, it would only show because you tattooed ‘Nick’s Property’ on my forehead.”

“Think it would help?” Nick countered, only half-joking.

Gil smiled for real, then, and moved closer. Resting his hands on Nick’s arms, he said, “I can’t help it if women think tweed and corduroy are attractive.”

Eyes rolling, Nick wrapped his arms tight around Gil and informed him, “It’s the glasses and the beard, trust me. The clothes don’t do anything for you.”

“Hey!”

Grinning now, Nick swatted him on the ass and pulled away. He picked up the two cases and asked, “Ready?”

Lips pursed, clearly miffed, Gil stalked out ahead of him.

Nick’s grin only got bigger, since Gil leaving in a huff afforded him a very nice view of his lover’s ass, and followed him out.

* * * *

Gil groaned as Nick continued to suck on his cock with abandon. Thrusting to get deeper into the wet heat did no good, as the younger man had him pinned to the bed with a single arm across his hips. He’d been hard and on edge for what felt like hours, which it very well could be, since the clock had been accidentally been knocked off the bedside table in their enthusiasm. So far, it felt like Nick had tasted every square inch of his body, that possessive streak coming out with a vengeance after Professor Diamonte’s visit to the lab. “God, Nick, please!”

But pleading did no good, either. Nick was taking his own sweet time about things and had assured that Gil would too, by snapping a cockring into place early on. His body hummed with bottled up need, his legs splayed apart and draped over Nick’s shoulders and back. Nick had only just graduated from mouthing and playing with his balls for an eternity, to sucking and licking his cock for equally as long. It was almost as though he wanted to memorize the taste of every bit of Gil.

When Nick drew off with an obscene slurp, Gil’s heart was pounding in his chest and he felt like he’d run a marathon. He didn’t have the strength to do anything except lie there and suffer through the erotic shivers wracking his entire body.

God, he loved it when Nick got oral.

Chuckling wickedly, Nick asked, “So what should I do with you now?”

“Don’t. Even. Care,” Gil gasped.

Nick laughed outright at that and covered him, lying full-length on top of him and taking his mouth in a wet, messy kiss, reacquainting their mouths. He broke off the kiss and stared down, resting on his elbows. His gaze was as intense as his whispered, “You’re my life, Gil. I’ll love you forever. Into the next life and beyond that, too, I swear it.”

The words filled some part of Gil that he hadn’t even realized was empty. They’d exchanged words of love before, but something was different this time. He couldn’t say what, but there was a level of…completeness…in Nick’s eyes that Gil had never before seen. Clearing the tightness from his throat, he whispered back simply, “I love you.”

Nick entered him, then, without taking his eyes from Gil’s. The thick, long cock impaled him slowly, inch by inch, and didn’t stop until buried as inside Gil as it would go. Locking his legs around Nick’s waist, Gil struggled to maintain the gaze, but his eyes kept trying to roll back in his head.

Grunting softly as he moved, Nick pulled out a short distance only to slam back in, as hard as he could. Gil clutched at the sweaty back, seeking purchase for the madness threatening to overwhelm him as Nick possessed him in the most visceral way possible. He was so deep, deeper than he’d ever been, it seemed, and his eyes held Gil pinned as surely as the flesh inside him did. He moved them across the bed with the force of his thrusts and Gil had to moan, had to give voice to the pleasure that bolted through him with each hard movement. He had to move, had to shove back on the cock to show Nick how much he wanted it, how much he wanted even more than that.

A hand snaked between them and the binding around the base of his shaft was removed without a word, or loss of motion, or eye-contact. Gil jerked in response to a particularly hard thrust and the release of his cock, though he didn’t come. The need pounded through him, his pulse erratic and his breathing harsh in his ears, but he didn’t come.

“Almost, almost baby, fuck, so close, so…oh…Christ! Now, Gil, now baby now!”

Gil’s heart stopped in the little death as he orgasmed. His semen spurted copiously between them, and Gil shuddered violently as Nick filled his body with seed. There was a brief, brief respite where Gil was lost to the world, floating on the gray haze of satiation. And then he was brought back to reality by the furious coda of Nick’s second rutting into climax. To Gil’s vague surprise, it elicited a second response from his own body and his cock spit more come between their bodies, even crushed by Nick’s deadweight.

He could tell that Nick was down for the count and that he’d be lodged inside Gil’s body the rest of the night. Sighing in deep contentment, Gil didn’t even try to summon the strength to put his arms around Nick. His arms remained out-flung where they were and he succumbed to the darkness calling him down.

* * * *

Nick couldn’t help the smug smile as Gil moved carefully around the kitchen, making supper. He’d offered to make dinner, but Gil had glared at him with enough force to cause him to raise his hands in surrender and back off. He knew how much Gil hated to be coddled when he wasn’t at his best, even though he liked to take care of his lover especially at those times. So all day, Gil had been moving slowly around the apartment, refusing to give in to his body’s demand for rest.

Last night had been something special, though he wasn’t sure why, yet. He just knew that he felt more content than anybody had a right to be, and way the hell happier than he’d ever expected. It was almost like they’d really been joined in heart and soul, as well as body, no matter how corny or stupid that sounded. He remembered the deep intensity to Gil’s eyes as he’d taken his lover, the sheen that hadn’t spilled into tears, but had been there nonetheless.

Gil bent over to get a pot out of the cabinet, instantly inspiring lusty thoughts. He warned Nick without turning around, “Don’t even think about it, or I’ll cut it off.”

So much for undying devotion, Nick thought with an impudent grin.

Gil turned, pot in hand, and waved it in his direction, plainly trying not to return the grin as he stated, “You’ll be lucky to get lucky by next month, at this rate.”

Coughing to clear the laughter away, Nick replied easily, “You’re a fast healer.”

“Not that fast,” Gil snorted, shuffling over to the stove.

Nick hopped off the stool and moved to spoon up behind Gil, wrapping his arms around his lover’s waist and murmured into his ear, “I bet I could have you right now, couldn’t I baby? Just bend you over the counter and have my wicked way with you and you’d beg me for more through the pain, wouldn’t you?”

Gil shuddered, his free hand gripping Nick’s arm as his heart sped up. “Nick!”

Nuzzling Gil’s ear, loving that he could feel the pulse speed throughout Gil’s body and hear the barely audible breathing of his name, Nick ground himself into Gil’s ass, sucking and biting on the exposed skin of Gil’s throat. “I bet I can make you come without laying another finger on you, baby, how’s that for a challenge? Save your poor, abused hole for another time and get you off here and now, just like this.”

“Oh God,” Gil groaned, pushing back against him.

Nick returned to sucking on his lover’s throat, marking him fiercely as he rubbed against Gil’s ass hard enough to cause the other man to whimper with need. His own body thrummed with energy, tight and ready to come, but he’d wait until…

“Nick!”

Bingo!

Nick spun Gil around and seized his mouth in a hard, desperate kiss while unzipping his own pants and pulling himself out. Carefully pushing Gil to his knees, he didn’t have to say a word. Gil latched onto his cock blindly, eyes closed and sucking for all his worth. Nick moaned at the sight, lacing his hands into the short, thick hair, and thrust in as deep as he could go. His cock pushed down Gil’s throat several times in a row and then the swallowing did him in, pulling the orgasm from him.

Fortunately, even lost in ecstasy as he was, Nick remained tuned to Gil’s body. He could feel the struggle to breathe around the flesh lodged in the older man’s throat, and the way the lungs and heart beat faster. Nick pulled out long enough to let Gil regain his breath, then pushed back in, forcing his cock again down the hot, wet lining of his lover’s throat for another, rapid orgasm.

Sated and spent, Nick withdrew a final time and joined Gil on the floor. Tugging the dazed man into his arms, Nick pulled Gil over his lap, settling him so that he was curled around Nick, his head resting on Nick’s shoulder. When he could speak again, he murmured, “You’re so good, baby, so good to me.”

Gil shivered and didn’t answer, falling asleep in his arms, right in the kitchen.

* * * *

They never made it to dinner that night, so Nick woke hungry to a complaining stomach at around midnight. He’d carried Gil to bed after the debauched scene in the kitchen, which tugged his lips into another smug grin, and had promptly stripped and climbed into bed with him, then and there. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, loathe to let go of the slumbering man in his arms. Gil was out like a light, and that was rare enough for Nick to take the time to appreciate it.

Pressing a lingering kiss to Gil’s temple, Nick slid out of the bed and hit the bathroom before padding silently to the kitchen. One really good thing about his newfound physical prowess was his ability to see in the dark. He definitely didn’t have to worry about waking up Gil because he needed to turn on a light to see in the middle of the night.

He heard someone out in the hall and stopped short on his way to the kitchen, concentrating on the sound. They were on the second story of a three story building, so there shouldn’t be anyone there at all, never mind the…twelve? Twelve people? Hearing the unmistakable lock and load of a gun, Nick knew immediately what was happening and turned back towards the bedroom, shouting, “Gil! Gil wake up!”

He actually heard the muffled whump come from outside. Glancing at the window, feeling like everything had gone into slow motion, Nick actually saw the glass splinter and then shatter. His vision focused on the dark just before it slammed into his chest hard enough to send him staggering. Looking down, he found the tranq sticking out of him and for a few precious seconds, didn’t move, stunned.

Shaking himself out of it, Nick yanked it out and ran towards the bedroom, shouting Gil’s name. Two other sharp barbs pierced his back as he ran, and, as he simultaneously heard the front door burst in and Gil call for him, Nick felt another dart hit his spine, dead center. He had enough time to think, ‘fucking great shot, whoever you are,’ before the drugs finally began to take him over. Nick staggered against the doorframe just as Gil popped out of the bedroom in time to catch him.

Gil slowed his fall to the floor, cradling him on the way down so that he wound up in Gil’s lap. There wasn’t any pain, but it was hard to breathe and the darkness dragged at him like Marley’s chains. He clutched at Gil’s legs, knowing that if he succumbed, they’d be parted and maybe never together again.

Huddled over him, Gil’s arms held his waist tight, his mouth at Nick’s ear as he said urgently, “Cooperate with them, Nicky, cooperate until we can find a way out! Promise me you won’t get yourself killed!”

Nick managed to nod, but that took almost the last of his strength. He was fading fast and knew it. Scrabbling weak fingers at Gil, he lunged the last few inches to seize the side of his lover’s throat with his teeth and bit down. Gil groaned and gasped in pain as blood filled Nick’s mouth, but didn’t try to get away. He knew, Gil knew, what Nick was trying to do and clung to him until unfamiliar hands started to pull him off. Not wanting to really hurt his lover by taking out a chunk of flesh, Nick released him, swallowing the coppery taste of his lover, the closest to his essence that he could get, under the circumstances.

His last sight of Gil was a medic of some kind holding a towel to the older man’s throat. Their eyes met, Gil’s blue gaze anguished from the separation, not the bite, and then…

Then there was nothing.

* * * *

Gil winced as the medic cleaned out Nick’s bite, the woman tight-lipped and silent as she worked, for which, he was grateful. It was bad enough to watch them truss Nick up like a criminal and then strap him to a gurney, he didn’t want to have to talk just then on top of everything else. His eyes remained glued to Nick until the gurney was wheeled out of the apartment. By then, he had a bandage on his neck and had calmed down enough to face the man who entered the room last.

And like a cliché, the man was dressed in black from head to toe, except for a gray shirt. He was in his mid-forties, on the handsome side of plain, with hazel eyes and brown hair. Nothing about him would stand out to anyone, and Gil was sure that he’d cultivated just that look. Giving the man a cool look, Gil greeted almost pleasantly, “Thank you so much for barging into our home in the middle of the night for no legitimate reason. I presume you’re from the Gestapo?”

The man’s lips twitched, but in no way formed a smile. He looked beyond Gil and something sharp pricked Gil’s arm. He glanced over at the medic, who was cleaning a syringe and avoiding his eyes. Strong arms caught him up as the room tilted, and then…

Then there was nothing.

* * * *

Gil woke in a small room that resembled an ordinary doctor’s office. He was on the exam table and dressed in a paper nighty, just as if he was going to have a normal physical. Snorting to himself, Gil rubbed his eyes clear as he sat up and looked around the room. Aside from the fact that he’d been kidnapped and drugged to get here, everything seemed perfectly normal.

The door opened and a woman came in, not the medic from before, and she had a stethoscope around her neck to indicate her physician’s status. She smiled at him pleasantly, kind gray eyes set in a pretty face, and said, “Dr. Jesse Williams, pleased to meet you, Mr. Grissom.”

Arching an eyebrow at her, Gil replied, “I’m afraid I can’t say the same, Dr. Williams.”

“Please, call me Jesse,” she urged, leaning against the counter where a sink was located. “We’ll be working together quite closely and I have to admit to being a fan of yours for a long time.”

“Brings new meaning to the word,” Gil said, dry.

She smiled again and agreed, “It does, I know. I was just going over your tests and scans and you’ll be happy to know that as long as I don’t find anything wrong with you during the regular physical, you’ll have a clean bill of health.”

Gil’s lips pursed as he questioned, “You mean you didn’t just do it while I was out cold and couldn’t resist? Not very efficient of you.”

The smile thinned somewhat, but didn’t disappear. Dr. Williams simply said, “I understand your hostility, Gil, I truly do, but you have to understand that what we’re doing here will benefit all of mankind.”

“It’s Mr. Grissom to you, and I’m sure Mengele thought the very same thing,” Gil countered pleasantly.

At that, the smile did disappear, but only for a few moments. Taking a breath, clearly steeling herself for dealing with a difficult patient, Dr. Williams said, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mr. Grissom.”

“Mmm. Yes, I’m sure you’re sure,” Gil replied coolly, not losing his pleasantly fake smile.

The physical went by quickly, the only discomfort during the prostate exam. Gil had to grit his teeth to make sure that he didn’t make any noise as she efficiently and professionally applied antibiotic cream inside him. Thankfully, it was over quickly and he was allowed to dress in a plain gray sweat suit directly thereafter.

Once he was dressed, two armed guards escorted him down a plain hallway into what had to be an interrogation room, despite there not being a 1-way mirror present. There was only a table with two chairs inside, no monitoring or recording equipment that he could see, but Gil was sure there would be things he couldn’t see tucked away. And he knew that it wasn’t paranoia speaking.

It was a few minutes after he sat down that the door opened and Dr. Williams entered the room. She set down a bottle of water and smiled at him, taking the opposite seat and dropping her notebook and pens lightly on the table. “It’s interesting that you chose that seat, Mr. Grissom.”

Gil shrugged. “There’s nothing interesting about it, because it doesn’t matter where I sit. I’m in your control and sitting facing the door isn’t going to do more than give me maybe a few seconds head-start of what’s going to happen.”

“Ruthlessly logical.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“I’m sure you have.”

Gil tried not to grin at her faint discomfort but didn’t completely succeed. “But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”

She arched an eyebrow at him and replied, “This isn’t about me.”

“Oh but it is,” Gil countered. “If I don’t trust you, how on earth are you going to get any answers from me? Because I only tell personal things to people I trust.”

“And yet I doubt there’s any way to get you to trust me.”

“Sure there is.”

“Such as?”

“Let Nick and I go.”

“Which you know isn’t possible.”

“Then I suppose there’s no way that I’ll be telling you anything of importance.”

She paused to take a drink from her own bottle of water, then asked, “Aren’t you thirsty?”

“Not particularly,” Gil answered without looking at either bottle.

“Aside from some bruising and minor tears in your rectum, you are the picture of health for a man your age,” Dr. Williams stated.

If she’s trying to intimidate or embarrass me, she’s got a lot to learn, Gil thought, amused at the abrupt and unsuccessful change of subject. He merely nodded and replied, “I expect that’s true.”

She smiled, affecting concern, and asked, “Is your partner always that violent with you?”

Gil shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “No, not always.”

“Does it arouse you when he is?”

“Yes, it does.”

Roughly twenty minutes of invasive questioning about his and Nick’s sexual practices later, Gil had gone from mildly amused, to outright cheerful. The subject was clearly more embarrassing and difficult for Williams than for him, and he kept wondering when she was going to realize that.

Taking another drink from her water, which was now almost gone, Williams asked, “Are you hungry?”

Gil thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “I am, actually. I suppose a hamburger and French fries are out of the question?”

She nodded in return and said, “I’m putting you on a liquid diet until your body heals to put as little stress on your system as possible.”

“I could really go for some pizza,” Gil announced.

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Grissom.”

“Hotdog with extra mustard?”

“No.”

* * * *

Nick woke in a plain, small room, on an equally small bed that qualified as professional torture for someone of his size. Groaning as he rolled into a sitting position, Nick rolled the kinks out of his neck, then stood and stretched every which way. He was dressed in a gray sweat suit, but barefoot, and paced the small room carefully, looking for a way out that didn’t include the metal door in the center of one wall.

The door with no visible handles or knobs.

He found none, as expected, and settled back on the bed. His thoughts were occupied with thoughts of Gil but, strangely, he wasn’t worried. It was as though he knew, somehow, that Gil was all right and not being hurt. That knowledge kept him even and steady, and his heart stayed at its now-normal-above- average-human-standard of calm. He snorted at the thought, typically how Gil had described his physiology, and sighed in boredom.

“So, what? You planning to bore me to death?” he asked the empty room. “I know you got some kind of recruitment spiel to give, so why not give it to me? Better yet, how about a bathroom? Because I know you don’t want me pissing in the corner, which I am likely to do. Gil tells me that it’s only one of the many bad habits I was taught, growing up in Texas.”

No one answered for a good ten minutes, but finally the door opened on a nondescript man with hazel eyes and brown hair. Nick was vaguely surprised that there really were ‘men in black’ running around, despite Gil’s certainty of their existence. “Now that you’re awake, Mr. Stokes, let me give you a tour of the facilities. Unless you really do need to use the restroom?”

Nick shrugged and answered easily, “Nah. Just wanted to get some loving attention.”

The man eyed him a long moment, then motioned him towards the door. Nick stood and walked out of the room, heartily wishing never to see it again, but fairly certain he wasn’t going to be that lucky.

They walked through a labyrinth of hallways, all plain with no apparent identification that Nick could distinguish. It was a good ten minutes later that he was ushered into a mid-sized conference room with state of the art a/v equipment and a large, mahogany table. It was the first sign that this place wasn’t run by aesthetically challenged, color-blind people that Nick had seen, but he refrained from mentioning it.

Just in case they took the table away.

Taking one of the seats, Nick lounged in the leather chair and waited, fingers drumming easily on the smooth, wooden surface.

His guide remained standing and faced him with, “You’re the culmination of a lifelong genetics project, Mr. Stokes. Your family was carefully chosen. Your parents were one of only ten couples to embark on this journey.”

Nick’s lips twitched as he interrupted, “You’re not going to tell me that I’ve got a twin out there that looks like Danny DeVito, are you?”

The man blinked at him a few times, completely missing the reference, and shook his head. “No. And none of your siblings were involved in this, either. It’s solely you, Mr. Stokes.”

“And don’t I feel privileged?” Nick muttered.

“You should,” the man snapped, showing real emotion for the first time. “This is the ultimate duty that a patriot can perform, protecting the nation as no one else can from threats that no one can eliminate. Your entire life was geared towards this end. Your schooling, your extra-curricular activities, your friends, all of it was guiding you to this moment in time.”

“And yet somehow, I didn’t get here on my own. So what happened?”

Lips thinning, the man replied, “We haven’t determined that, yet, but we will.”

Nick grinned and said, “Don’t bother. I can tell you right now what happened.”

The man paused. “What was it?”

“I said I could, I didn’t say that I would. Pay attention, Mr. Man in Black,” Nick taunted.

Nicky, Gil’s voice in his head scolded. Don’t get them angry too soon. Cooperate, remember?

Grimacing at the silent, but very accurate imitation his subconscious had just given him of Gil, Nick apologized, “Sorry. My mouth gets away from me sometimes.”

“We know,” the man replied flatly.

“So what’s the deal? You want me to be an assassin or something, right?”

“An undercover operative.”

Nick shrugged. “Semantics. And the answer is no.”

“You haven’t heard what we have to say yet.”

Not needing Gil to tell him to look out for the snake in the suit, Nick hesitated before giving in. “All right. Lay it on me.”

Seemingly satisfied, though whether by the hesitation or capitulation, Nick didn’t know, the man started talking.

* * * *

“He’s impervious! It doesn’t matter what I throw at him, the man just skims through it like he’s on a water slide!” Jesse exclaimed. “I’ve put him through every known psychology test I’ve got, I’ve questioned his morality. I’ve insulted him. I’ve insulted his lover, sorry, partner. I’ve questioned his judgment and his dedication to his work. Nothing. Works. On. Him!”

Becker smirked at the young woman and replied, “He is a genius, Dr. Williams. He knows exactly what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, so of course he has his defenses in place.”

“What about Nick?”

Glancing over at their boss, Becker shrugged and reported, “He’s not budging and all the psyche tests support that. They indicate that killing for him has to be a matter of life and death. He’s not assassin material, as much as we might want him to be.”

There was a long pause as the older man considered their words, then he said, “It’s been almost three weeks. Let the lovers have a reunion. We’ll see what happens between them and decide where to go from there.”

“Sir, I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Becker protested. “Everything we’ve worked towards in regards to isolating them will be washed away with even a glimpse of each other.”

“We have time, Agent Becker, plenty of time. I want to see what happens when they’re reunited. And make it somewhere…comfortable.”

Becker sighed and straightened his tie, nodding his acceptance of the orders, and answered, “Yes, Sir. I’ll arrange it.”

After he was gone, Becker looked over at his coworker and found her equally as aggravated. It wasn’t like they hadn’t just spent the last six months searching for these two men. It wasn’t like they didn’t have far too much invested. Oh no. As far as the old man was concerned, it was solely his project and he would do whatever he wanted, even if it seemed incomprehensible.

Leaning on the small conference table, Becker questioned, “What do you think the old man’s got in mind?”

Jesse snorted. “I don’t even try to fathom his motives or agendas anymore. It’s not worth the migraine. And when the hell are you going to stop pretending to be Will Smith?”

Becker grinned and corrected, “Tommy Lee Jones. He’s my role model, honey.”

“You scare me.”

“Thanks.”

* * * *

Gil paced the room that he’d been brought to, unsure why he was so jittery, aside from the fact that he’d been left in what amounted to a very nice hotel room. He knew that it was in the same facility since they hadn’t drugged him, only walked him the length and breadth of the monotonous place. And yet, there was color and softness and comfort in this room, the first he’d seen of anything like it in the unnamable time that he’d been held captive.

The bed was large with pillows and comforters. There was a small fridge filled with soda and snacks against one of the walls. A television resided in a wooden entertainment center and there was actually a laptop on the desk. There was no way for him to get to the internet, but playing Solitaire was now an option.

Suddenly, feeling some kind of change either in the air or himself, Gil froze in place. The door slid open a split second later and he knew without turning around that Nick was there.

“Come here, baby.”

Gil turned at the soft order and rushed across the short distance to throw his arms around Nick. Those wonderfully strong arms wrapped around him and Gil buried his face against the side of his lover’s throat. He couldn’t have moved even if he’d wanted to. And if anyone had tried to separate them just then, they’d have found out that Gil Grissom knew how to commit mayhem with his bare hands, but that he generally chose not to.

“Oh Gil, baby, it’s so good to hold you,” Nick breathed into his ear, nuzzling at the ugly bite scar still highly visible on the side of his neck.

Gil shivered and didn’t answer, unable to. He just held on and wondered if he’d ever be able to let go. As if understanding, Nick didn’t try to walk anywhere, not even to the bed. They just stood in the center of the room, holding each other and reconnecting through touch.

Finally, Nick bit his ear sharply and ordered, “Bed. Now.”

Gil nodded reluctantly and pulled back enough to let them walk to the bed. After Nick sat on it, Gil climbed up and straddled him, again winding his arms about Nick’s shoulders, kissing him hard and fast. Nick’s hand gripped his ass tight as he returned the kiss, squeezing and rubbing him through the material of his pants, then sliding beneath them to hold flesh.

Shuddering at the contact, Gil ground frantically against his lover’s body, feeling the hardness under Nick’s sweats and wanting it inside him. He pulled back long enough to gasp, “In me!”

Nick’s free hand gripped his hair and yanked his head back, exposing his throat and the bite wound. Tracing it with his tongue, Nick barely whispered into his ear, “Who’s in charge here, baby?”

“Oh God,” Gil moaned as a finger wormed into him from behind.

“Answer me.”

“You, Nick, you!”

Nick lightly bit the scarred area, placing his mouth in the exact same spot, and abruptly flipped them over, pinning Gil to the bed with his body. Looking seriously into Gil’s eyes, he murmured, “You know they’re watching, right?”

Panting, Gil forced himself to really considered if being with Nick was worth the invasion to their privacy. If he wanted to expose their lovemaking to cameras and audio recorders and shrinks and doctors and scientists.

“It’s your decision, baby,” Nick offered softly, his eyes glittering.

“I can’t…I can’t…”

Nick seemed to know what he was trying to say and smiled tenderly. “It’s all right. You don’t have to decide, Gil. C’mere. Settle down a bit.”

Gil rolled into Nick’s arms and hiked a leg over his lover’s thigh, pressing his face to the warm, musky juncture of arm and body. He breathed in Nick’s scent there, where it was second strongest, and very, very slowly started to relax. The soothing hand that rubbed between his shoulder blades, and the soft kisses to his forehead and temple helped a lot, too.

“Missed you, baby,” Nick murmured. “Missed you so much.”

Gil’s fingers tightened on Nick’s shirt and he answered, “Missed you too, Nicky.”

“Don’t know how much time we have, but I’m glad we got even this much.”

Nodding, Gil captured Nick’s free hand in his and brought it up to his lips. He was positive that they didn’t have long, now that they had decided not to make love, and wanted to keep as much contact for as long as possible.

What would happen next, was anyone’s guess.

Next part of the story - Second Chance: Breaking