Abilities and Advantages
Chapter One

Gil writhed on his couch in pain from the constant noise in his mind that he had yet to fully block out.  Ever since the case a few weeks ago at Lady Heather's Gil started to notice that he wasn't just lip reading to get by when his hearing would cut out on him. Somehow his extra sense of a crime scene, his abilities he kept either under lock and key or just out right denied had picked up the slack. 

At first since it only happened around Catherine, Nick, Warrick and Greg he just thought he had heard or inferred more than he lip-read. Then the case at Lady Heather's where he was able to hear more in his mind than what Lady Heather actually said.

Now that the operation to restore his hearing was completed and he was home on recovery leave, his mind couldn't return to its normal levels of operation. Without the stress of actually making up for his hearing Gil was hearing the minds of everyone around him from the couple screwing next door to the checkers at the corner market 10 blocks away. 

'Why me.' Gil whined to himself. 'I didn't want this shit and I don't need this shit.'  Gil cringed as the couple next door climaxed. He tried to focus on the breathing and centering exercises he learned as a teen, the only thing that helped him gain some level of control over his abilities. 

'Nick's coming this way and he's scared and mad. How do I know that?' Gil wondered as he seemingly focused on Nick and everything else slipped away. He had noticed that before his operation his sense of where Greg, Nick, Catherine and Warrick had increased he wondered why Sarah wasn't in that group but if it meant he didn't have to have any proof of her crush on him so much the better.

When Gil's newly restored hearing picked up Nick's car entering his driveway he got up. Nick only had to knock once before he was at the door opening it to see the disheveled state his friend was in. 

"Nicky, what wrong?" Gil said as he guided the younger man inside making him take a seat on the couch. 

Lost brown eyes looked at the older man, "Griss, Greg's missing. Ecklie thinks he just took off. PTSD from the bombing, his car was found outside of his usual coffee shop the shop keeper said that she saw Greg and had went to get his special blend coffee that he was going to pick up but when she got back he wasn't there.  His car was but Greg wasn't. 

Gil sat down next to Nick and put his arm around the Texan's shoulders, "Nick, when did this happen?"

"Today, Greg was going back to my place for breakfast bringing the coffee with him. He never showed up. By 11am I was getting worried so I headed to the coffee shop and after hearing from the shop keeper I called Ecklie." Nick leaned into the support offered by his boss.

  Gil felt the emotions swirling within the other man as he held him; fear for Greg was at the top, disgust at Ecklie was there as well. Gil couldn't make out much more though.  "Nick what do you want from me?" Nick's head shot up and looked worriedly into his boss' blue eyes. 

"Boss, Ecklie suspended me for two days because I was mouthing off at him. What I want is for you to look at the scene. Not as a CSI though, if you know what I mean." Nick's expression was scared and hopeful that Gil would do this for him. 

Gil closed his eyes so he couldn't see the expression on Nick's face. He had trusted Nick with his secret a little over a year ago after the young Texan's brush with Nigel Crane.  Until this moment you would've thought that he had never told Nick his secret.  "Nicky, I don't know if I can. Things have changed with my abilities. I don't have the control that I used to anymore. They seem stronger. Until you got close to my place I was hearing the press of every mind in a ten block radius."

"Gris," Nick said switching gears from concerned lover of Greg to concerned friend of Gil. "Are you doing okay now? I know you said before that your abilities were the cause of your yearly migraines. What caused it to change?" 

"Strangely enough with you here I'm doing okay.  I think they got stronger after my surgery." Gil looked deeply into Nick's eyes before deciding, "I'll do it Nick. Let's go to where Greg's car is and try to either find him or find enough proof that even Ecklie will have to admit it's not just Greg being flakey." 

"Gris," Nick softly said before leaning towards his boss and hugging him. "I was so afraid you'd tell me no. I just know that something isn't right and that we don't have too much time. Thank you. I know what this costs you, to use your abilities." Nick pulled back and just looked at Gil for a few moments.  He was almost certain that the younger man wanted to kiss him at that moment he almost started to lean towards the man. 

Gil broke the spell, "um maybe we should get going, Nicky." Gil slightly smiled as he saw Nick blink owlishly. 

"Oh yeah, we should. Want me to take your kit out of your car while you finish getting ready?" Nick offered as he stood up.

"Yes, please and the two black duffel bags if you don't mind."  Gil said as he went towards his room to change from recovering from an operation to somewhat more CSI Supervisor type clothes.

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