Title: The Truth

Author: Carina Scott

Disclaimer: I don’t own them. I’m just borrowing them. I promise to return once I am finished.

Pairing: Warrick/ Gil (who else!)

Other Characters: Nick Stokes, Tina Brown, Stacy Warner (OFC)

Rating: FRAO

Spoilers: Seasons 5 & 6

Category: Slash

Summary: The truth behind Warrick’s marriage to Tina

Feedback: Any feedback is greatly appreciated

The Truth by Carina Scott

He had to explain. He really had no choice. If he didn’t do it now, his friendship could be ruined. He had meant to do it before it came to this. Every time he tried, it hadn’t come out right. His friend had dealt with so much, he wasn’t sure if he could deal with more. But he had no choice, it was now or never.

“Nick, Wait!” Warrick called as Nick hurried out of the locker room.

When Nick didn’t stop Warrick knew he was beyond pissed. He had to go after him. But first he had to do something else.

Turning around quickly, Warrick looked into blue eyes, shocked beyond belief. ‘My feelings exactly’, thought Warrick.

Sighing he said “Its okay, babe. I’ll go after him and explain everything. Are you gonna be okay?”

Trying to regain his composure, Gil looked up into Warrick’s emerald gaze, “I’ll be fine. I don’t know about Nick, though. It will take a lot of explaining to get him to calm down. The way he ran out of here… I don’t know.”

“Well, if you walked in on your best friend…correction, your married best friend, kissing his very male former boss, you might be a little surprised too,” stated an exasperated Warrick.

“To say the least,” replied Gil, still quite stunned.

Looking at his lover with concern, Warrick asked, “Gil, are you sure you’ll be okay? You look a little pale.”

“Let me just sit here for awhile. You go explain things to Nick. I’ll be fine,” replied Gil replied sitting down on the bench.

“Okay, babe. I’ll see you later tonight.” Warrick said softly.

Hearing the question in his voice, Gil said, “Sure Warrick. I’ll see you later at home.”

And with that, Warrick walked out of the door, leaving a still shell shocked Gil alone in the locker room.

He pulled the Tahoe up to Nick’s apartment. This was not going to be an easy conversation. He just hoped that Nick would open the door when he realized who was on the other side.

Slowly, he got out of the Tahoe, and walked up to Nick’s apartment. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He heard footsteps, and then the door opened. The face staring back at him was anything but happy to see him.

Nick stood back, not saying a word, and let Warrick inside.

The silence was unbearable as they walked into the living room. They sat down on Nick’s brown leather couch, one of them on each end.

Deciding to break the silence, Warrick finally said, “Nick, I can explain everything, if you just give me a chance.”

Nick didn’t even look at him. ‘Okay, this is gonna be harder than I imagined’ Warrick thought dejectedly.

“Look Nick, I understand that you are upset, but please look at me.”

Slowly Nick looked him in the eye. ‘Ouch’ thought Warrick. The anger was there, but it was underscored by pain.

“Nick, I know what you walked in on. But it’s not what you think.”

“Not what I think! I think I just walked in on my best friend making out with his ex-boss in the locker room. You tell me I am wrong!” Nick said with anger flashing in his brown eyes.

“Okay, so it is what you think. But there is more-”

“How could you Warrick! You haven’t even been married to Tina that long! How could you do this to her? And on top of it you bring Gil into it! What’s wrong with you!” Nick interrupted.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I haven’t done anything Tina doesn’t know about. I didn’t drag Gil into anything. I love him and he loves me. There is nothing wrong with me.”

Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, Warrick continued, “Nick if you will just calm down, I will explain everything. I am not going to argue with you. So if you can’t settle down, I will leave and we can talk about this later”

As he was about to walk out the door, Warrick heard a soft, “I’m listening,” from behind him.

Turning around, Warrick saw Nick studying him. He slowly walked back to the couch and sat down, a little closer this time. He looked at Nick and took a deep breath. He needed to steady his nerves before continuing.

“Nick, I know you probably have a thousand questions running through your head right now. I don’t know if I can answer them all, but I will answer the questions you asked me earlier.”

Upon receiving nothing but a silent stare from Nick, he rambled on.

“You are right. Tina and I haven’t been married long. I haven’t even known her very long, but she is my wife. I do love her. You may not believe it but it’s true. We have a bond that can’t be broken. But you are wrong about something else. I have done nothing behind her back. She knows about me and Gil. My relationship with Gil is what makes my marriage to Tina work. Actually, it is how we ended up getting married.”

Seeing the confusion on Nick’s face Warrick went on.

“I met Tina a few days before “the incident”. That’s what they called Nick’s little stint underground. It didn’t seem to capture the real horror it had been in Warrick’s opinion, but that is what they had agreed to refer to it as.

Sensing Nick’s tension at the mention of his ordeal, Warrick continued, knowing Nick would rather handle it himself. He knew he hated been worried over. “Anyway, after everything that happened, Tina and I started hanging out more. You know going to movies, restaurants, etc. To me it was like hanging out with a kid sister. She might have felt more, but she didn’t let on. But I digress. One day, while I was accompanying her on one of her numerous trips, we met an old friend of Tina’s.”

Thinking back to that fateful day in the mall

“You bitch!”

He had been eyeing the belts, but upon hearing that defamatory language, Warrick’s head shot up. Sensing that someone was in trouble, Warrick walked over to where he remembered leaving Tina. As he rounded the corner, he saw a tall, muscle bound guy, holding Tina’s arm tightly.

“Hey, let her go!” He yelled to the burly man.

“And who the hell are you”, replied meathead.

Detecting the fright in Tina’s eyes, he stated the first thing that came to his mind, “Warrick Brown, and if you don’t get your hand off of my fiancé, I will beat you to within and inch of your life!”

Looking at Tina with disgust, muscle head released Tina quickly. “I knew you were a whore. Always was one and always will be.” As Warrick stepped forward, the man turned towards him, with hands up in surrender “Hey man, she’s used goods. Take her if you want her.”

As Warrick heard Tina’s scream, he felt his fist connect with the other man’s jaw. He hadn’t even realized that he had punched the guy, until it was over.

“Warrick, let’s go,” stated Tina.

As a crowd began to gather around the man lying on the floor, Tina quickly ushered him out of the store and to the car.

They rode in silence all the way to her apartment. Once they reached it, they quickly went in. Tina went to the kitchen to make coffee, while he went into the bathroom to find some bandages for his knuckles.

He returned to the kitchen as Tina was sitting down at the kitchen table with her coffee mug. She handed him a mug as he sat down and eyed her from across the table.

“What was that all about?” he stated calmly as he took a long drink from his coffee.

“He was my boyfriend before I came to Vegas. That’s all.” She said, trying to avoid his eyes.

“Seemed like a lot more than that to me. He seemed to feel like he owned you.” He said, trying not to let any anger show in his voice.

“He did at one time.” Seeing the surprise in his eyes, Tina continued. “When I met Brian, I was young. I was in high school. He was 20 and I was 16. I thought he loved me, and I just knew I was in love. I wanted to see him and, of course, my parent’s disapproved. We snuck around seeing each other until I was 18. When I graduated high school I moved out and started living with him. He was a drug dealer, and I was naïve. To make a long story short, I got hooked on drugs. I began prostituting for him so I could get drugs.” Looking up at Warrick, she was surprised not to see any disapproval in his eyes.

Continuing, “I had been doing so for about a year when an old friend of mine from high school saw me walking the streets one night. She paid to have me for one night. I was so strung out I didn’t even recognize who she was. She took me back to her place and kept me there for a few days as I came down from my high. Once I was sober enough to realize where I was, she begged me to check into a rehab center. Not wanting to disappoint her, I agreed to give it a try. When I first checked in, I resisted all help they tried to give. On one of the weekly visits I was allowed to have, Stacy Warner, my friend, asked me why I was in rehab if I wasn’t going to try. I told her that I was doing it for her. She told me that if I was only doing it for her, it would never last. She said I had to do it for myself, if I wanted to beat it. I eventually realized that she was right. At my group and independent sessions with my counselor, I began to reveal more about me. It took me two months to finally feel confident enough to leave. When I did she was right there for me.”

Seeing the relief in his eyes, she continued, “Stacy was my first real love. Brian wasn’t really a person I loved. I was infatuated with him. You know the forbidden fruit. But Stacy was different. She was sincere, loving, and trustworthy. At that time she was exactly what I needed. She was there for me without judging, and I will always love her for that.”

Sensing her pain, Warrick hesitantly asked her, “What happened to Stacy? Where is she now?”

Looking at her, she replied, “I don’t know. Not to long after I checked out of rehab, Brian found me. He tried to get me to go back to that lifestyle. I refused and told him that I didn’t need him anymore. He told me that if he didn’t want me, I had no one else. I told him I had Stacy. He got so furious. He resented that I would choose anyone, especially a woman, over him. A few days later, Stacy found a bullet on her dashboard. We knew it was him. She told me not to worry about her. I couldn’t help it. She had done so much for me, how could I place her in danger? In the middle of the night, a few days after that, I left and moved to Vegas. I haven’t been back to Miami or seen her since. I think about her all the time but, I refuse to place her in any more danger.”

Staring intently into Warrick’s eyes, Tina said “Warrick, we have had a lot of fun over the last few months, but I can not put you in any danger. If I did, Gil would never forgive me. Now that Brian knows where I am, he will not let up. I will not put you in danger. This is my problem and I will handle it.”

Laughing Warrick said, “Yeah, like I’m gonna let that happen. Look, Tina, I am a cop…okay CSI. But the point is, it is my job to protect you from people like Brian. Not only that, but you are my friend. I don’t abandon my friends. So put that out of your head. We will figure it out together.”

Realizing he was not to be argued with she simply smiled and said “Thanks, Warrick.

Nick was silent for a while trying to take it all in.

“Okay so you helped Tina by marrying her. How does that keep her safe?”

“Brian is a two-bit hustler, so I knew that he wouldn’t dare go after a cop’s wife. So I agreed to marry Tina. That’s why it was so sudden. We got married a week after the mall incident”

“I see why that makes sense; however, you don’t think there was another way to help her?”

“Sure there were, but this arrangement had mutual benefits.”

“Mutual benefits?” asked Nick.

“Yeah, as you know, interdepartmental relationships are frowned upon. I have been in love with Gil Grissom, for a long time now. When we decided to try at a relationship, we had to do a lot to keep it under wraps. Over the months, it was getting harder and harder to hide. We feared we would be found out. My having a wife made it easier. So now, we can be together without feeling like we will be discovered. Normally, I wouldn’t take the secretive approach. But knowing how much Gil values his privacy, I am willing to go along with it. But we don’t have to worry anymore. No one will dare question us as long as I am a married man.” Warrick stated proudly.

Realizing that he was alone in his celebration, Warrick looked up at Nick. He was taken aback at the amount of anger he saw in his eyes. “What did I do now, Nicky?”

Infuriated, Nicky jumped out of his seat, “What did you do? What did you do! I can’t believe you, man!” Sitting down on the chair opposite the couch he continued, a little more calmly, “Warrick, not only did you not tell me about Tina, you also kept me in the dark about Gil. I thought we were best friends. Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me the truth?”

Noting the sadness in his voice, Warrick forgot to be angry at Nick’s outburst. “Nicky, man, we are best friends. You are the best friend I could ever have. The only reason I didn’t tell you about Tina is because I didn’t feel it was my story to tell. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure how you would react to the news about me and Gil.”

“I understand that you didn’t feel you should tell me about Tina. You are right it wouldn’t have been your place. However, I am glad you finally told me. It answers some of the questions I have been asking myself for months now. But as for Gil, do you really think I am that blind Warrick! We have been friends for a long time now. I have known you were in love with Gil for a long time, probably before you even realized it.”

Seeing the surprise on Warrick’s face, Nick smirked, as he continued, “I noticed how you looked at Gil whenever he was around. You thought no one noticed, but I saw. I thought it was kind of funny to be honest. I mean, here we have Warrick Brown, “Mr. Ladies Man”, falling all over himself for Gil Grissom, of all people!”

“Yeah, I did fall hard for Griss. Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Warrick asked.

“I figured you would tell me when you got ready. I also never thought Gil would go for it though.” Warrick raised his eyebrow as Nick continued, “I knew Gil was attracted to you, I just figured he would never allow himself to take that chance. How did you do it anyway? Not only are you guys together, but you are married to someone else and Gil seems okay with it. You must be very convincing.” Nick laughed, knowingly.

“Well, you are right. Gil resisted my every move in the beginning, but my being stubborn has its advantages. I wouldn’t give up, so finally he gave in and we have been together ever since. As for him going along with the whole marriage thing, that was a different thing all together.” Warrick replied.

Sensing a story coming, Nick relaxed back in to chair, ready to listen.

“You agreed to what!” Gil yelled.

“I didn’t agree to anything… yet. I merely suggested Tina and I get married. She said she would only do it if you were okay with it.” Warrick stated calmly.

“And exactly why would I go along with this asinine idea! Who in their right mind would be okay with the person they love getting married to someone else!” Gil replied angrily.

“Gil, this is not about us. I love you and you know that won’t change.”

“Well you have a funny way of showing it.”

“Look, Griss, she needs us. And to be honest we need her.”

“For what, may I ask?”

“She needs the protection, as do we. Maybe not from the same thing, but we need protection none the less. No one will question us if I am married. They may wonder, but no one will be brave enough to ask that question. Tina knows I love you. She respects that. Besides, her heart belongs to someone else.” Warrick explained as he pulled Gil into his arms.

“This someone doesn’t mind her getting married? He must not care that much.” Gil replied, relaxing in Warrick’s embrace.

“Tina hasn’t seen her since she moved to Vegas. Her name was Stacy and she hasn’t seen her since Brian threatened her life.”

“Yeah I remember you telling me the story after you came home with the bandaged knuckles a few nights ago.”

“Well, Tina never saw Stacy again. She still loves her,I see it in her eyes when she talks about her. I wish there was something I could do about it.”

“Maybe I can help.” Seeing the confusion in Warrick’s eyes, he continued, “It’s the least I can do. After all she is helping protect our happiness, I can at the very least try to help her find hers,” Gil explained.

“That’s why I love you, always thinking of others. Who do you know in Miami that can help us?”

“You remember Horatio Caine. I’ll give him a call in the morning. But first I think we have some making up to do after our little spat.” Gil smirked.

Laughing Warrick, replied “What am I going to do with you?”

Kissing him, Gil said “Love me.”

“Always,” said Warrick as he led Gil down the hall into their bedroom.

“So did he ever find her?” asked Nick as he leaned forward

“Yeah he found her, with Horatio’s help,” replied Warrick. He tracked her down and I explained everything that happened. She agreed to come to Vegas and meet with me. Of course, I didn’t tell her that Tina would be there, I was afraid she wouldn’t show up. So I arranged for Tina to meet me at Taqueria Canonita at the Venetian, for dinner and drinks. I pretended to be running late, and the rest as they say, is history.”

“So what happened?” asked Nick, intrigued.

“Well, later Tina filled me in, after reaming me a new one for setting her up. She said it was very awkward at first, as you can imagine. But eventually they relaxed enough to talk. Of course, this is after Tina convinced Stacy not to leave. She explained everything to her. Told her about our marriage arrangement, which, to be honest, she didn’t understand. But eventually she saw that it was better this way. They exchanged phone numbers and continue to talk long distance. I think they are working on a relationship. The love is there. Maybe one day soon she will move to Miami to be with Stacy. But, until then, Tina is happy to be here and we are grateful to her.”

“What happens if she does move to Miami?”

“Well, we will handle it when it happens. I would never deprive Tina of her happiness. If she decides to leave, we will support her every step of the way.”

“Wow that explains a lot. I was wondering how Gil would be so understanding. I mean it is obvious how much he loves you, so I can’t imagine him sharing.”

Well believe me, he doesn’t share. Tina and I are only married by law. My heart belongs to Gil and vice versa. I am just finally happy to be able to tell someone else, namely you, about my relationship with Gil.”

“I am finally happy that you told me. I have felt so lost since “the Incident” and I thought I was losing my best friend when you got married,” stated Nick, sadly.

“Nicky, I am so sorry. I just couldn’t be around you and not tell you. I figured you had enough on your plate without me adding to the meal. I apologize for not telling you, I hope you can forgive me.” Warrick pleaded.

“Yeah I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me for walking in on you and Gil in the locker room today.” Suddenly Nick’s head shot up and he screeched, “GIL! Oh my God! He must be freakin’ right now. Warrick you have to go tell him everything is okay before he has a conniption! Go, now!”

“Calm down, Nicky. Gil will be fine. He would have been pissed if I didn’t come explain everything to you.” Warrick replied, laughing at Nick’s outburst.

“I’m fine. Go home to Gil, Warrick. Tell him its okay and your secret is safe with me,” smiled Nick.

“Thanks man. I’ll tell him you are okay,” Warrick replied with a smile as he closed the door to Nick’s apartment behind him.

“So how did it go?” Gil asked nervously.

“Surprisingly well, I told him about everything with Tina, about us, and Stacy. He finally understands, and he said he is fine with it.” Warrick replied as he headed towards their bedroom.

Following him, Gil asked “Are you sure? I mean it’s not everyday you find your best friend making out with his boyfriend, and former supervisor, in the locker-room.”

Sitting on the bed and removing his shoes, Warrick answered, “I’m sure he is fine. Yes, he was a bit surprised to find us necking in the locker-room, but he wasn’t shocked to find out about our relationship.”

Unbuttoning Warrick’s shirt, Gil said, “Oh really? He wasn’t surprised.”

“No he wasn’t. He said he had known about our attraction to each other for a while.” Warrick said as he pulled Gil in for a kiss.

Breaking apart and panting slightly, Gil continued to undress Warrick. “Awhile, huh? I always new Nicky was smart. It would have been nice if he clued us in. We could have saved a lot of wasted energy trying to fight it. Good thing we finally caught on. If we hadn’t, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” Gil said as he gently pushed Warrick back and straddled him.

“And I wouldn’t be able to do this!” Warrick replied huskily.

Gil gasped as he felt Warrick begin to gently stroke his cock.

“Or hear that,” Warrick said as a moan escaped Gil’s lips.

“Lie down,” Gil ordered as he moved off of Warrick’s lap. After he was lying down, he pulled Warrick’s pants and boxers off in one movement.

“That’s why I love about you. Multiple talents,” Warrick said as Gil stepped back and began to undress himself.

Looking into Warrick’s eyes as he pulled off his pants, he replied, “You have no idea how talented.”

As he pulled gil down on top of him he said in a whisper, “Why don’t you show me?” before he kissed him passionately.

“I plan to,” Gil replied, breaking the kiss, “all night long.”

The end

This is my second Warrick/Gil fic (third overall). Let me know what you think. Feedback is greatly appreciated.