CSI: Strength of Soul: Prologue

A/N: This is purely AU in a fantasy world, though they are CSIs in Las Vegas. There will be angst aplenty. Horrible things will happen in the name of science and experiments, and no, I do not mean one of Grissom's experiments in the break room fridge. There is a large Kleenex WARNING, just for you, Stacy. At any rate, I know some of you have been expecting this story for a very long time. It's been almost a year since I had that dream where Greg was arrested and held in the Aquatic Correctional Facility, which gave me the idea for this, and I apologize for the long wait. I certainly didn't mean for this to take so long to get to.

This is dedicated to one of my best friends who has finally found the family he's always dreamed of having (even if he'll never read this). It is also my Christmas present to all of my wonderful fans cause I love you all so much! Please enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think.

Let me sail, let me sail, let the Orinoco flow,
Let me reach, let me beach on the shores of Tripoli.
Let me sail, let me sail, let me crash upon your shore,
Let me reach, let me beach far beyond the Yellow Sea.
...

From the North to the South, Ebudae into Khartoum,
From the deep sea of Clouds to the island of the moon,
Carry me on the waves to the land I've never been,
Carry me on the waves to the lands I've never seen.
-Orinoco Flow Enya

"I've got blood spatter over here on the left rear tire," Nick said, carefully bracing himself against the rear bumper of the blue car with his fingertips.

"Looks to me like arterial spray."

Nick nodded at Sophia's thoughts. "G, you got something for me?"

"Na. Nothing on the inside."

Greg poked his head out and Nick could have sworn he looked a little pale, but then, Greg was always a little pale. Greg was fine. He would have gone home already if he wasn't. Nick shook his head, pushed the thought out of his mind, and returned his concentration to the case they'd been working for the past seventy-two hours.

Grissom came around the side of the abandoned gas station. "We've got a body but no other evidence. Find me something."

"Well, that's going to be hard, Griss, with this scene. The other two had nothing either," Catherine spoke up.

A long silence followed as everyone continued looking for evidence.

"Nicky? Greg's voice sounded hoarse, breaking the stillness. "I don't feel so good."

Nick's head snapped up in time to see Greg's body shake before he began to fall. Nick moved just in time for him to collapse into his arms.

"Greg? Greg!"

"Can't breathe, Nicky..." Greg looked up at him imploringly.

"Damn it Greg! Someone get me a gallon of water from the back of our SUV!"

Catherine ran for the car.

"Water won't help if he can't breathe," someone informed him.

Nick lowered Greg to the ground and cradled his head in his lap.

"What's with all the empty gallons?"

"How many?"

"Only these two were left out of about twelve, I'd guess."

"Oh God... Greg... we need to get you home." Nick took the gallon Catherine offered. "Open up."

"You want a glass?" Sophia asked.

He helped Greg raise his head and held the water so he could gulp it down. In a matter of minutes he'd downed the whole thing while their coworkers stared.

"No."

"More Nicky, please..." Greg begged. He grabbed the last gallon. "Just pour it on..."

He didn't ask questions as he uncapped it and poured the water over Greg's face and body. Greg sighed in relief that was short lived as a gut wrenching whimper escaped his lips. Nick pulled Greg's latex gloves off and then his own, before picking up the younger man.

"Come on, I'll drive." Sophia headed toward her Dodge Charger. "Watch them until I get back," she commanded the other officers at the scene. "If ANYTHING happens... I want to know about it."

"No, Sophia. I've got this," Nick tried.

"Get in. I'm driving. I'll alert the hospital on the way."

He piled into the backseat but when she started up the engine he gripped her shoulder.

"I'll give you directions, but promise me you won't tell anyone! Please!"

"He needs a hospital, Nick."

"You've got to trust me on this. The hospital can't help him. They won't know what to do."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Please!"

"Alright, fine." She started her sirens wailing, and pulled out of the lot, following Nick's directions. "Nick, I'm letting you know I don't like this."

"I know."

Turning off the main road they rumbled along a narrow dirt road for a long while. Nick counted the seconds until they finally came to a stop at a secluded lake setting, surrounded by thick trees, keeping it well hidden from the road and any prying eyes. In front of them was a small, sandy beach.

Nick got out of the Charger with Greg in his arms, carrying him to the water's edge and setting him down on the wet sand..

"You know I'm really pissed off at you for this, right?" He made a point to look into Greg's eyes.

"I know," Greg gasped. "I'm sorry."

"You'd better be. I don't like being scared to death."

Nick made quick work of getting him out of his clothes and into the water.

"Thank you, Nicky," Greg breathed before turning his face into the water and letting it cover him.

Nick watched as his legs twisted together and morphed into one long thick muscle which quickly replaced his human skin with green scales and a filmy tail. Gills formed on either side of his torso, moving quickly to help him heal. Within moments, Greg was gone, swimming toward the bottom of the lake where Nick knew his family waited for him.

He needed to be with Greg, to hold him while he healed, both to comfort himself as well as Greg. He also needed to ream Greg out a little more for scaring him to death. Trying to calm his nerves, he picked up Greg's clothes, which had had the moisture pulled from them by his water thirsty body. He methodically began to fold them, taking care to make them look perfect, as if they were still brand new, sitting on the store shelves. Moving the cover off a nearby hollowed out square rock, he set the clothes inside and slid the cover back into place.

A hand on his shoulder startled him and he spun around to face Sophia.

"Holy shit, Sophia! I coulda killed you if I was armed!"

"But you weren't. And I could have easily disarmed you before you fired."

No matter what she said, Nick still felt weak in the knees after everything that had happened.

"Sit down, sit down. You look like you're about to keel over." Sophia laid a firm hand on his shoulder and pushed him toward the sand at his feet.

He went willingly and she sat beside him, getting wet sand on her dress pants, but not seeming to care.

"Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Nick froze.

"Care to explain what Greg's doing here at a lake when he should be at a hospital? Why he's still under water when he should be needing air about now?" She ducked her head so she could look up into his face.

Nick shook his head, his need to protect Greg and his family overwhelming, even if Greg's family still didn't trust him. He would earn their trust any way he could.

"I'm sorry, Sophia. I can't. I love him and to tell you that... it could jeopardize his life. You know I would never do that."

"It's too late for that, Nick. I'm not entirely sure what I saw, but I know it was something strange. Now, unless you want me to start investigating this, possibly asking the right questions to the wrong people, I suggest you start talking."

A lump formed in his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "I love him. I can't betray his trust in me, the trust he put in me when he told me the truth."

"Nick?"

He lifted his head, unaware he'd been staring at the sand.

"I promise I'm not going to tell anyone. But wouldn't it be better to have someone else on your side?"

Nick looked out over the expanse of water and imagined Greg safely swimming in an ocean where no one could harm him, where his family didn't have to be afraid and skeptical of humans. Tears pricked at his eyes like spike strips tearing into fresh tires. Her point made sense, but at the same time, trust issues abounded on all sides.

"Hey, remember, I defended your team against my own supervisor once. As long as nothing illegal is going on here, I'll back you one hundred percent and I won't say a word. I promise."

He remembered that dark time when the graveyard shift had been split up. True, he liked working for Catherine, but it hadn't been the same and he'd missed seeing Greg something fierce. Sophia had always been true to her word before. Always. And she was a good cop who knew how to play the political game. Having her on their side, if anything were to happen, would be for the best. But, he couldn't just spill the beans without Greg's permission. This was too big, too personal, for both of them.

"Nick?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Look, take some time to think it over. Talk to Greg when he's feeling better."

Her words reminded Nick of another dark time in his life, a time when he'd been scared for a different reason, "I thought he was cheating on me." Nick didn't even realize he'd spoken until Sophia asked him why. Why did he think Greg, his beloved, sweet boyfriend had been cheating on him?

He looked up at her, but couldn't even make out the shape of her body, his eyes were so blurry from his tears, though they had yet to run.

The answer fell out of his mouth, unbidden. Knowing this, scared him too, but he couldn't stop the word flow, no matter how much he wanted to. "He kept leaving. Even after he moved in with me. He'd be gone for too many unexplained hours. He wouldn't give me a straight answer. I thought I'd done something wrong, you know, to make him not want me anymore."

Sophia watched him, listening with careful attention. Her eyes refused to betray her emotions. He looked away, stared at the sand again.

"I followed him early one morning after work." His stomach twisted in harsh knots, the same as it had that morning, before dawn, wondering what he would do when he saw the man Greg was cheating on him with...

He wasn't sure he wanted proof that Greg had another life with someone else as he drove. He half debated turning around and ignoring all the classic signs Greg was throwing at him, day in and day out.

He was surprised when Greg's car pulled up to a lake. Realizing he had something so romantic planned with someone else, brought a harsh ache into Nick's chest. He hadn't been prepared for that. It was a little easier to accept when it was only about sex, especially when Greg could have been forced into it. His stomach churned at that thought, threatening to bring up the last thing he'd eaten. He would protect Greg no matter what, even if it was the last thing he did.

However, he was unprepared for the sight of Greg stripping out of his clothes, stowing them in some kind of hollowed out rock, and diving into the water from the beach. Alone.

He was so sure another man waited for him in the dark waters, or would be joining him shortly, that he scanned the waters and surrounding area, looking for the man who'd taken his boyfriend away from him.

After a few minutes, when he forced himself to accept the fact that the area was deserted, he began to worry that Greg had been without air for too long. Before his worries had time to take control of him, Greg's head broke the surface of the serene lake in the moon glow, whipping around to let droplets of water fly away.

Greg seemed so much more alive in the water, than he'd been earlier. He could feel the energy bouncing off him in waves, even from his distance. As he dove back under, a long green tail flicked out lazily behind him, almost slapping the water as it followed him underwater.

Nick could do nothing but stare, wondering if some strange fish had a mind for attacking humans. Attacking Greg. Worry claimed him again, the longer Greg stayed under. He bit his lip and debated calling the police for a rescue squad, but the truth was, he didn't even know where he was. He'd followed Greg for nearly an hour to get here, and he hadn't seen a road sign or a placard with the lake's name on it. He couldn't call for help. Right now, he was the only help Greg would get.

He began to take his own clothes off when a wet head came up. His shirt was half unbuttoned.

"Nick?" His boyfriend's eyes were wide.

Nick couldn't speak. He opened his mouth, but no words would come out.

"Nicky? What are you doing here?" Greg's voice trembled with each uttered word.

His hand went to his mouth as tears filled his eyes. Forgotten was his worry over Greg's well being. Greg was just fine. His hands were trembling and then he could see Greg's blurry form struggling to crawl over the sand toward him. Struggling? Why would Greg have to...? Before he knew what was happening, the hard, sandy, wet beach was rising up to meet him and his ass landed hard.

"I'm sorry if I offend you." Greg was quiet, nearer now.

Offend?

"I love you so much. You have no idea what you've done for me. I didn't want to scare you off, to loose you because..."

"Wait... what?" Nick was confused and heartbroken, and he still couldn't see clearly through his tears. "Scare me off? Loose me?" Nick buried his head in his arms. "I don't know if I want to know his name or not. Actually, no, I'd rather not. I'd better go."

But Nick couldn't move. A hand cupped his face and brought it up to Greg's. Two thumbs wiped his tears away.

"I would never, ever cheat on you. I didn't mean that at all. Open your eyes, babe."

Nick saw something flick in the sand, from the corner of his eye. Greg let his face go and he would have thought it was to give him a better view if it hadn't been for the quickness of his hands, as if he were trying to get away from him, to protect himself from a possible attack.

He looked, following Greg's gaze down the length of his own body. Nick finally saw, but he couldn't believe it. Greg was human. But gills graced his body on either side of his torso. He had two legs. Nick had seen them before. Everyone had. So then, what was this giant fish tail affixed to his boyfriend's lower torso? The green scales flapped in the sand and he suddenly knew why he'd had to struggle earlier.

"I need a lot of water," Greg explained. "The longer I stay in my human form, the longer I need to spend out here swimming, re-hydrating my body. You can hate me all you want. I was afraid to tell you because I didn't know how you'd react."

A long silence filled the air between them. Overhead, a large black bird, blending in with the clinging darkness, swooped low and caught a screaming mouse in it's beak. Gentle waves brushed the shore as if soothing it awake after a nightmare.

"Nick? Say something. Please? I'm sorry I lied. But I have a family to protect and they're not appreciative of my relationship with you."

"Family?" Nick's head was spinning.

"No husband. No kids, Nicky. I meant my grandparents, aunts, uncles. I feel like I was meant for you. I couldn't sleep with someone else even if I tried."

"What are you saying?"

"Obviously, I'm not entirely human. Neither is anyone in my family. And humans have hurt us before. They're cautious and I didn't want to scare you off. I still love you. I always will. But if you find me a freak now that you know... I understand. Just say the word and I'll go. You'll never have to see me again."

Nick stared, beginning to feel faint. "Explain this non-human stuff. You have legs..." his voice came out as an embarrassing squeak.

"It's the cause of a weird genetic code in my DNA. I can transform at will." Greg closed his eyes and Nick watched as his gills were replaced by perfectly smooth skin and his fish tail turned back into his familiar legs. "Only when I'm seriously dehydrated am I stuck in a form."

Deep chocolate eyes searched his face as a slightly webbed hand hesitated in the air before caressing his cheek. His legs had transformed back into his merman's tail and the gills were moving fast, anxious to get back into the water.

"I have to go, Nick. I need water before I pass out. Take time to think about it. Feel free to stay here as long as you need. But if you need to escape, I won't blame you."

Soft lips brushed against his own before Greg was gone, diving back under the surface of the calm lake.

Nick didn't move. Couldn't move. Over and over again Greg's hand, webbed up to the mid-joints, held his face and their lips brushed together, creating the most beautiful painting.

"You're still here," a gentle voice reached his ears and his eyes lifted to meet Greg's as he sat down in front of Nick crossing his legs Indian style.

"Of course... I... I haven't... no time to.... to think..."

"Nicky, the sun is setting. You've been here all day."

"I have?" He looked around to find that Greg was right. The sun's rays were lengthening in the sky and the air was cooling.

"At least you didn't run away," Greg said with a hesitant smile playing on his features.

Nick cleared his throat before finding his boyfriend again. "I... I was prepared for another man. Not... not this..."

"You're still in shock. It's ok, you know. I can understand."

"I love you," Nick blurted. He covered his mouth with remarkable speed, his eyes growing wide at the grin on Greg's face. Then his hands fell into his lap, and his eyes followed their fall. "I don't think I can change that," he said quietly.

"I know I can't."

"I don't think I want to..."

A slap of water spraying onto the beach brought Nick's attention back to the situation at hand and he stopped talking. Several yards from the shore he could see a man Greg had explained was his uncle Jonas. The man's hair was white, slicked back on his head and dripping water. His arms were crossed as he stared at Nick with a glare in his eyes. Moments later he was gone, back down to the depths of the lake where Greg was getting his rest.

"They still don't trust me. It's been a few years since I started dating Greg. I just possibly saved his life, and they still hate me."

Nick let his head fall into his hands.

"Why would they hate you?" Sophia asked, her tone quiet and gentle.

"They won't say. Greg doesn't know very much, but he says humans have hurt them before. And those old enough to have been alive when they did, are very much afraid and wary of humans. They don't like it that Greg's dating me. They think I'm going to hurt him somehow. Maybe that I'm going to tell the wrong people about them."

"I won't tell a soul. You've got my word on that, Nick. I promise."

"So, you're not... you're not freaked out?" Too afraid to see the real emotions on her face he kept his eyes locked on the water where Greg's uncle had been.

"Truthfully? I think I am." Now Nick looked at her, surprised that her voice was still so calm, though she wasn't backing away from him, and she didn't look freaked out. "But now things are starting to make sense. He's always talked about the water, surfing and diving. He's crazy about it. And when I try to picture what you told me, I think I can. I think I can see him as a merman, and it suits him. Sure I'm freaked out. I've never met a merman before. Never seen one. Never believed that it was possible for them to exist. I hated Disney movies when I was little."

"Me too." Nick laughed a little, feeling relieved.

"You had a good reaction when he told you. You were skeptical but you didn't run away, you didn't let judgements cloud your thoughts. And you're still with him. That, alone, means a lot to me. I think I can get through this in a similar way." Sophia chuckled. "Minus all the kissing and declarations of love, of course."

Nick smiled. "Of course."

"Come on, you have a scene to process and there's not much you can do here. He's in good hands. I'm sure his family knows how to take care of him just fine."

"But this is the worst things have ever gotten with him. He's always good about letting me know when he needs to come home. I just don't know why he didn't this time." Nick shook his head.

"Nick, he's working hard at the lab. He's still the youngest in the group, still trying to find a place to fit in. He still catches flack for being under experienced and this is a huge case. The harder he works on this case, the closer he gets to possibly breaking it. You know, as well as I do, what that would mean for him and his career."

"Yeah," Nick's shoulders sagged, as if under a huge weight. "You're right."

"Just make sure to tell him when you see him again not to put his career before his own health ever again. If he does, I'll come after him with a pitch fork and it won't be a happy ending."

Nick raised his head. "Why would you...?"

"You're about to start tormenting yourself because you can't be with him right now. I don't want to have to see you go through this again. He's a good friend and coworker to me too. If he's down, it affects all of us, whether you see it or not."

She was right. Of course she was. Catherine was probably pacing the crime scene right then, waiting for a phone call to tell her that Greg would be just fine. Grissom would still be processing the scene, but Nick knew he'd be worried too. He always worried about his team's well-being when someone's life was in jeopardy.

"We've got to come up with a plausible cover story, Nick. Let's get this sand brushed off you and get back on the road. The sooner we're back there, the sooner we can calm everyone's fears."