Title: Just When I Needed You Most
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Gil Grissom
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Written in the Stars challenge
Prompt: A14, You'll know where you stand
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 Gil Grissom, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.
Series: 1) Welcome To Hell, 2) Live Through This, 3) Racing Against Time, 4) Rip Him To Shreds, 5) Killing Lies, 6) Never Give Up

***

Greg lay quietly in his hospital bed, his gaze straying to the clock on the wall. Gil had told him that he'd be here within a couple of hours, but he'd had a few things to pick up. Greg just wanted him to come back, so they could talk and get some things cleared up.

He could hardly believe that he'd opened his eyes after his ordeal in that hellish place and the first thing he'd focused on was Gil's face. It didn't seem possible that the man he'd loved so hopelessly for so long was there, exactly when Greg needed him the most.

How was it possible that Gil had known just when he was needed? Was there some kind of connection there between them, one that Greg had wanted so badly to exist that somehow, it actually did? Had Gil really come back because of him?

That was what he thought he had heard the older man murmur as he was being carried out of that horrible house, out to wait for the paramedics. He couldn't be sure of what he'd heard; he had been so dizzy and woozy that he could have simply imagined the words.

But he knew that he hadn't imagined the depth of caring that he'd heard in Gil's voice. He also hadn't imagined the careful way that Gil had held him, refusing to let anyone else touch him unless they were extremely gentle. And he hadn't imagined the look in Gil's eyes.

He had seen love there. He was sure of it. Unless he was badly mistaken, and his mind had been playing tricks on him, Gil loved him as much as he loved Gil. He might not have said it during all those years that they had worked together, but the emotion was written in his gaze.

The look in Gil's eyes had been so different from what Greg had been prepared to see. All that he'd heard over the past couple of years since Gil had left the team was that he was so in love with Sara, that their marriage was a success, that Gil was gone for good.

Each word had cut into his heart more sharply than a knife edge. He hadn't wanted to think that Gil was gone; he had wanted to hang on to his little fantasy of Gil loving him, thinking that he had only married Sara because he couldn't bring himself to be with the person he really wanted.

Greg had told himself for so long that those kinds of thoughts were silly, that Gil was where he wanted to be -- and that wasn't with him. But it was so hard to give up those dreams, even though he kenw he had to. Gil was lost to him. Maybe he always had been.

When he had opened his eyes and seen Gil looking down at him, at first, he'd thought he was dreaming -- or that he had died and was in heaven, with some angel looking down at him. An angel that had the face of the man he loved, the man he desired above all others.

But it hadn't been an angel. It was Gil, as human as he was, as alive as he was, holding him and whispering to him. It was no dream; this was reality, the world that he had always known. And in this world, this real world, Gil was here with him.

A knock on the door brought Greg out of his thoughts; he looked up to see Gil standing there, a smile on his face, hands in his pockets. Greg couldn't help but return that smile, wondering how Gil could always manage to turn up just when his presence was most needed.

"Hi," Gil said softly, coming into the room and closing the door behind him. "I know it's kind of soon, but I thought you and I might need to talk." He lowered himself into the chair next to Greg's bed, pulling it close to the young man and reaching out to take Greg's hand.

Greg nodded, unsure of what to say now that Gil was here in front of him. "I still can't believe that you came back for me," he murmured, his voice very soft. "After everything I've heard about how much you love Sara, it didn't feel real to see you there looking down at me."

"Try to forget all the things you've heard, Greg," Gil said softly, his gaze not leaving the younger man's face. "I thought you weren't the kind of person who listened to rumors. Yes, my marriage was good, at first. But it hasn't been what I've wanted for a long time. Maybe never."

"Never?" Greg's voice caught in his throat; was what he'd been thinking true, then? Had Gil only married Sara because he didn't think he could be with the person he really wanted? Was he here to tell Greg that, or to let him down gently and tell him that he loved someone else?

"I've always cared about Sara -- just like I've always cared about everybody on the team," Gil told him, his voice husky. "But I've never been in love with her. I thought I was -- but I've come to the realization that I was only kidding myself. I never really wanted her."

"Because you were in love with somebody else," Greg whispered, feeling that knife edge cut more deeply into his heart as he spoke. "So you're telling me that there's somebody else in your life. I kind of figured that. I knew that waking up in your arms was too good to be true."

"Greg." Gil's voice was still quiet, but it now held an edge of impatience. "Are you deliberately trying to be obtuse? It's you. It's always been you. That's why I felt that I had to leave the team. I couldn't have you, and you were always the one I wanted."

Greg blinked, once, twice, then a third time. It was too much for him to assimilate all at once. Gil wanted him? All of his dreams were coming true at the same time, and he couldn't quite put it all together in the state of mind he was in.

"You've always had a way of showing up just when I needed you most," he murmured, trying to focus his thoughts. "I guess this time you've outdone yourself." He couldn't keep himself from smiling as he spoke, the truth of Gil's words washing over him like a warm wave.

Gil wanted him. Gil wanted to be with him. Waking up in that awful place with Gil holding him, and knowing that he was safe because Gil was there, hadn't been a dream. Gil wasn't in love with someone else. Gil was in love with him.

"When you can get out of here, I'm taking you home with me," Gil told him, squeezing his hand gently. "And we're going to talk a lot more. I think we've got a lot to say to each other that we've both wanted to say for a long time. We need to make our feelings clear."

"I know how I feel," Greg answered, his gaze not leaving Gil's face. "I love you. I've always loved you. I just couldn't say so -- not when we worked together. And then you got involved with Sara, and you left and married her. I thought I'd never have a chance."

"You've always had more than a chance," Gil said with a smile, leaning forward to brush a soft kiss against Greg's cheek before he stood up. "I"m going to ask a nurse when I can take you home. Back in a few minutes." With that, he left the room as quickly as he'd come in.

Greg lay there, staring after him, feeling his heartbeats speed up to a rapid rate. He was going home with Gil. Their future together was already starting, before he'd realized that they had a future. And yet again, Gil was here just when he was needed the most.

***

Next story in series - First in Line.