FIC Clubbing in Vegas
29/2/12 21:27![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shanachie_quillTitle: Clubbing in Vegas
Characters: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes, Ella Jackson, Morgan Brody
Fandom: CSI
Series: Love and Science
Written For: whogeek
Prompt: Greg likes to go dancing, Nick prefers to watch
Summary: A traditional night out for Ella and the boys turns into a confrontation with the new girl and breakfast the next day to explain things.
Rating: Light R for implied situations
Spoilers: Season 12 for introduced characters, my series
Warnings: Ella’s lack of filter, Really I don’t hate Morgan
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not makin’ any money here.
Author's Note: So. I really don’t hate Morgan (although you might feel differently after reading this), but…I’m not thrilled with some of the comments made lately about Greg and Morgan’s relationship—which might have come out in this. I had the idea for this and have been working on it, just finished it up tonight. Thanks to whogeek—who helps with her own stories all the time and weakmoments who helped me with a spastic sentence so I could finish this up. And of course illfindmyway most likely poked at this even though she’s not in the fandom. Last of all, kaitlia777 who gave me Greg’s ringtone! Phew I think that’s everyone!
Greg shifted on his chair again drawing the attention of his co-worker. "Are you all right, Greg?" Morgan asked in concern.
He looked surprised at being caught but hastened to assure her. "Yeah I'm fine. I must have overdone it at the club last night."
Nick glanced up at his words, although he didn't join the conversation as Morgan said, "Oh. I didn't realize you liked that scene. Maybe sometime we should go together."
Greg tried to figure out a way to extricate himself from that suggestion as Nick hid a smile. Sometimes his younger partner spoke without thinking and then had to do some fast back peddling. "Ah I don't know if that's such a good idea..." he started.
Morgan's phone going off interrupted whatever she would have said in reply and she popped up, announcing "I've got a 419," as she grabbed her things and flew out of the room.
Nick looked at Greg in concern. "Are you really okay? I know it's not the club making you uncomfortable."
Greg smiled at him reassuringly. "You didn't do anything I didn't want you to. And I greatly enjoyed it."
"You aren't hurt?" Nick questioned.
"A little sore," Greg admitted, "but nothing bad. I keep squirming because I want to remember it. But that's not what's causing my issues."
"What then?"
Greg blushed. "Um. It's not so much the soreness causing my issues as the sense memory is causing another issue."
Nick paused then blinked, his mouth falling open as he realized what Greg meant. "Ooooh," he said.
Greg grinned at him. "Yeah. Oh. And I really have absolutely no desire to go clubbing with Morgan."
The older CSI grinned at that comment. "Well that's something you have to get out of on your own."
Greg pouted at him. “What? You’re not gonna help me?”
Nick shook his head at the younger man. “Nope. You got yourself into this. You’ve gotta figure out how to get yourself out.”
“Gonna help me out with my other problem?” Greg questioned.
“Depends on when we get home,” Nick replied in a low voice as both their pagers went off. “That discussion will have to wait though. Looks like I’ve got my own 419.”
Greg looked up from where he was checking his own pager. “And Morgan needs assistance on hers.” As he passed by Nick, he brushed his fingers across the older man’s neck. “Rain check?”
“Sure.”
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Greg glanced down at his phone as it went off, intending to send it to voicemail if it wasn’t work. When he saw the caller ID, he grabbed it immediately, asking, “I thought you were working tonight?”
“I am, GG,” Ella replied, “but its Monday night and I’m bor-red. No one’s drinking yet. What’cha doin’?”
“I’m at a scene so I really can’t talk,” Greg replied. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Is Nickel with you?” she asked curiously. “Or are you by yourself?”
“No, I’m with Morgan. And he really hates that name.” Greg paused to point to a shoe print, letting Morgan set a marker down by it before he snapped a photo.
“If he hated it, he’d actually tell me to stop,” Ella responded. “Ah, new guy. Lucky you.”
“New girl,” Greg corrected.
“Oooooh. No wonder Nickel was in such a mood when he stopped by the other night. So blonde or brunette?”
Greg stopped, looking into the distance as if he could see Ella. “Wait. What? When? He didn’t say anything to me.” Morgan looked over at him as he sputtered and raised a questioning eyebrow, but he waved her off.
“I don’t know a couple of days ago. He stopped to drop off the camera I left in your car. Blonde or brunette?”
“Ah. Blonde,” Greg replied, drawing another confused look from Morgan.
Ella cackled on the other end of the line and for a minute there was no sound other than her laughter. Finally she seemed to have herself under control. “No wonder he was in a snit.”
“What does that even mean?” Greg wanted to know.
“If you can’t figure it out…” Ella replied. “So is she pretty?”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Greg answered dryly.
“Bullshit,” Ella called. “You’re dating someone, you aren’t dead. And Nickel clearly thinks you’ve noticed.”
“I’ll talk to you about it later. I’m at a scene,” Greg neatly avoided the question. “Did you need something in particular? Or are you just calling to aggravate my life?”
“I love to aggravate your life, but no I called for a reason.”
“What is it then?”
“My boss in his infinite wisdom has decided that the rookie bartender should work the Friday rush alone. So if I read the schedule you gave me right, y’all have Friday off? Wanna go clubbing?”
“Trying to avoid something?” Greg asked with a grin.
“If we are in a club, I can honest tell him when he asks me the next day that ‘no, Mitch, I did not hear my phone ring, did you call me? Shit, I could have used the hours.’”
“Ella, you can be a bitch when you want to be,” Greg told her.
“I can. And I am damn proud of it,” Ella confirmed. “So. Club?”
“I can probably manage that,” Greg responded. “Pick you up at the usual time?”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll let you get back to processing and I’ll go back to slinging drinks for my three whole customers. Later, gator!” There was a beep as she hung up.
Greg chuckled as he shoved his phone back in his pocket, turning to see Morgan staring at him. “What?”
“Girlfriend?” she asked.
Greg grinned, thinking of Ella's varying reactions over the years to being called his girlfriend. "No. Not my girlfriend. Probably my best friend in all of Vegas and my ex-roomie but definitely not my girlfriend."
"Not your type, Sanders?"
"More like I'm not hers." Greg pointed to the tire track on the ground. "Does that look fresh?"
"Yeah." Morgan crouched down to snap a picture and allowed him to change the subject. For now. She wasn't finished with this by a long shot.
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Despite what Morgan had implied to Greg, she hadn’t been much of a party girl in LA; tending to spend more time in the lab and on the job than anything else. With the move to Vegas, she wanted to get out more and do more and she liked her quirky fellow CSI. Still she couldn’t seem to get a read on him; he alternated with Nick between flirting with her and hitting on her, but he never seemed quite serious about it. She wasn’t positive if they were doing it to try and loosen her up a little or if they were competing with each other to see which of them could score with the new girl first. So when she’d suggested going to the club and he’d backed off almost immediately, she wasn’t sure what was going on. Especially when he’d made plans in front of her just a couple of hours later. With that in mind, she’d decided she would try and hit the club scene to see if she could find him.
The first couple of clubs she tried were either something she wasn’t at all interested in or something she didn’t think Greg would even consider from what she knew of him. She was beginning to despair of ever finding him or running out of the money she had stuck into her pocket at the beginning of the night when she decided to try just one more place. She hadn't been drinking because she didn't want to waste money on the overpriced alcohol. Finally she found a club that even if Greg wasn't there; she felt comfortable enough to hang out in for a little while. She wound her way through the crowd toward the stairs and made her way up, finally making her way to a vantage point where she could see most of the dance floor. As she staked out her spot, the song that had been playing smoothly changed to one she'd heard a few times lately. In fact she'd heard Greg singing it just the other day and had been surprised because it didn't seem like something the other CSI would enjoy.
Leaning against the rail, she let her eyes skim the crowd as her toes bounced to the beat of "Moves Like Jagger". She almost missed the familiar dirty blonde head out on the dance floor.
Greg had both arms wrapped fully around a slighter woman and if they weren't extremely inebriated, they knew each other very well because there was not millimeter of space between them. Greg's hands rested on her ass as they moved perfectly in sync with each other and the rhythm of the song; their style a mix of modern and classical that was clearly all their own. After watching them for a couple of moments, Morgan knew there was no way this was their first time dancing together because they seemed to anticipate each other in a way that only long time partners could.
As she watched, the woman's one hand moved up into Greg's hair, tugging on it and causing him to laugh before moving it downwards so she could press her mouth against his neck or ear. From this angle, Morgan couldn't tell if she was speaking to him or kissing him but after a minute, he nodded. Pulling away from the woman, he took her hand and led her off the floor.
It was easy enough to figure out where they might be headed and Morgan would be a pretty poor CSI if she had no curiosity, so she abandoned her spot on the balcony to track them.
Sure enough, Greg was loitering just outside the restrooms when she reached them and she tapped him on the shoulder, not even bothering to fake surprise when he turned around. "So is that 'not my girlfriend'?" she asked when he was facing her.
"Mor-Mor-Morgan!" he stuttered. "Um, what're you? What're you doing here?"
She shrugged, sticking her hands in her back pockets to see what affect her breasts would have on him now that they were off the clock. When he didn't even glance at them, she frowned. "I thought I'd check out some of the Vegas club scene," she answered.
"And you just happened to pick this one?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nooo," she answered slowly. "I've been in a couple others but I liked the looks of this one so I stayed."
"So you weren't..." Whatever Greg was about to ask was cut off as the girl he'd been dancing with retuned, slipping a familiar arm around his waist. His arm went around her shoulders without a second thought, tucking her up against him. She was quite a bit shorter than the CSI but with similar sandy blonde hair, except hers reached her waist and she had added an electric blue streak that wound through one side of it. She wore a t-shirt in the same shade with a smiley face on the front and a pair of form fitting jeans caressed her legs. They were tucked into a pair of boots that almost resembled combat boots, although they had a pair of chains across them. "What did he want?" Greg asked her.
"You mean other than to be more of a gigantic douchebag than he was already being?" she replied. "Oh Ella baby, I'm so so sorry I gave your best shift to George the loser but he's dying. I really need you to come into work."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him fuck off. That this is the first Friday I've had off in forever and I was enjoying it. Oh and GG and I thank you for the cheap thrill when you vibrated the hell out of us." She seemed to notice Morgan for the first time. "Who's the club floozy?"
"Morgan, Ella. Ella this is Morgan."
"Oooh," Ella said. She looked up at Greg. "Sooo. Not a floozy?"
"No, Ella. Not a floozy." Greg rolled his eyes. "Morgan works at the lab with me."
"Oooh. You're that Morgan!" Ella looked her up and down. "I don't think Nickel should have a problem with her. She's really skinny. And not at all your type."
"Okay, seriously, Ella. We need to get you a filter!"
"Nickel?" Morgan questioned.
The two exchanged a speaking glance before Ella shrugged once, obviously apologizing for her words. "A friend," Greg explained. "Not really important."
Ella opened her mouth to say something else, but dug her phone out of her pocket instead, flipping it open and reading the text message. Nudging Greg, she held the phone out to him before taking it back and tapping in a reply. “We should head back out,” she said. “It was nice meeting you, Morgan.” Grabbing Greg’s hand, she towed him back towards the main floor.
Morgan stood where they left her, staring at the spot where Greg had been standing with his friend, until she was jostled. She blinked; the buffeting she continued to get pulling her out of her shock from the conversation, and sending her back towards the balcony. The spot she’d staked out before had been taken, but she found one not much farther down and it didn’t take her long to locate Greg in the crowd on the floor. His arms were around Ella again as they did some sort of modified tango this time to the beat of the music. She had to suppress a snort at the sight as they moved not only around the other dancers but in the constraints of the floor. She had no idea where either of them had learned to dance like that, but they clearly knew what they were doing.
As the song segued into something else, Morgan saw the last person she expected slide up behind Ella. His hands slotted into place on her hips as he matched his rhythm to theirs. One of Greg’s hands moved off Ella’s ass and curled around Nick’s neck, drawing him towards them. Morgan was amazed at how easily they seemed to work around each other, hands never seeming to touch out of bounds, even as they stayed pressed up against each other and moving to the song. It was clear they’d done this before; just from the way they moved together.
Towards the end of the song, Nick spun Ella away from Greg as the two of them laughed. He pulled her back in towards him and dipped her, leaning down and kissing her. When he pulled her upright again, he pushed her towards Greg and the other man caught her as the song ended. All three of them were clearly laughing, although Morgan couldn’t hear the sound over the music of the club. Just as a new song started, Greg threw an arm around Ella’s shoulders and began to steer her off the dance floor; Nick following them.
Realizing that they were headed for the exit, Morgan almost fell down the stairs in her hurry to make it out the door before they disappeared. When she reached the parking lot, it appeared that no one was in sight and she turned her head from side to side; trying to find them, almost smacking herself in the face with her blonde hair. When she didn’t see them, she slowed down, taking stock of the surrounding area and starting to grid it in her mind.
“They’re already gone,” a voice said behind her.
Turning completely around, Morgan discovered Ella leaning against the wall of the club; one leg propped up against the wall, a bottle of soda held loosely in her hand. “Both of them?” she asked, approaching the shorter woman.
“You need to keep your CSI nose out of things that are none of your business,” Ella continued. “For reasons that escape me, the boys like you, but if you keep this up, they aren’t going to continue to be nice.”
“They’re the ones flirting with me,” Morgan protested.
Ella snorted. “That’s like…default setting for them. You can’t be seriously telling me you took them at face value?”
"Last time I checked a guy flirting with you meant he was interested in spending time with you otherwise. Didn't know it meant something different in Vegas."
Ella snorted. "I'm a bartender. If I took all the guys who flirted with me up on their offers, I'd never sleep." She started to say something else but was interrupted by the upbeat tones of 'My Best Friend's Hot'. “Hang on. Hey, GG…Yeah, she’s right in front of me so I head…Tomorrow? I can…Her? I’ll ask.” She looked at Morgan. “Greg wants to know what you’re doing for brunch for tomorrow around ten-thirty, eleven?”
“Um, yeah. I guess so? I mean nothing,” Morgan answered.
“She’ll be there,” Ella told the other end of the phone. “Try not to oversleep this time. Oh, and GG? Have fu-un.” She hung up with a laugh.
Morgan looked at her when she hung up. “So. The guys left together?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business. Look we meet at Drake’s. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She pushed off the wall, intending to walk away.
She only got a few steps before the blonde’s voice stopped her, “Ella, right?”
Ella’s shoulders slumped and she turned back around. She’d promised Greg she’d be nice. “Yes. It’s Ella.”
“I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. Can we grab a coffee or something?”
Ella shook her head in response. “I promised GG I’d be nice. I didn’t promise I’d be your bestie.” Dropping her bottle into the trash, she strode off across the lot.
“Well, that went…well,” Morgan commented as she tried to follow the weaving, quickly disappearing woman with her eyes.
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Ella looked up with a grin as Greg and Nick strolled into the diner. Setting aside her iPad, she reached out with both hands for Greg's hair. "Let me do something about your hair, please?" she asked. "So it looks messy on purpose rather than like you just rolled out of bed freshly fucked."
Greg ducked out of her reach, sliding into the booth across from her. "My hair's fine," he replied.
"It looks like you used an egg beater on it or Nickel was pulling on it all night," Ella bantered back.
"Aw you're just jealous that I’m the one of us that is getting fucked on a regular basis," Greg said with a grin.
Nick groaned. "Would you two please stop discussing my sex life?"
"Aw Nickel, what's wrong? Little too kinky for you?" Ella asked.
The older CSI indicated the diner. "Little too public for me."
"Sooo. Exhibitionism is out then?" she asked.
Nick just gaped at her until he realized from her grin that she was teasing. "Why are you friends with her again?" he asked Greg.
“Um, because she’s crazy. And fun. And she’s Ella,” Greg answered as he gave in and leaned over far enough for her to reach his head. “Ow! Don’t pull!”
Ella snorted. “Somehow I don’t think that’s what you were saying last night.”
“Am I interrupting something?” a new voice asked.
“Just Ella abusing Greg,” Nick replied as Greg wrenched his head out of Ella’s grasp and looked up to wave at Morgan. “Good morning, Morgan.”
“You know you can report that?” Morgan commented as she surveyed the table.
Greg shrugged as he switched places, sliding into the seat beside Ella and motioning for Morgan to sit beside Nick. “Nah. I probably abuse her just as much.” He slapped Ella’s hand as she reached for his hair again. “Stop it.”
“I just need…” Ella grabbed his hair long enough to finish whatever she’d planned and then let him go. “There. Much better.”
“So glad I meet your approval,” Greg snarked at her.
Ella opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the waitress. The woman was obviously familiar with the three friends because she simply asked, “The usual?” not writing anything down when they nodded. “What’ll it be for you, sweet cheeks?” she asked Morgan.
“Two eggs scrambled, wheat toast, hash browns, and bacon,” Morgan rattled off quickly.
“Be just a few, chickies,” she told them.
“You guys come here a lot?” Morgan asked.
“Often enough,” Nick answered. He shifted in his seat, exchanging looks with Greg. “We felt we needed to talk to you.”
“Especially after what Ella had to say to us after she talked to you,” Greg added, then winced away as Ella smacked him. “Ow! What was that for?”
“Don’t blame me for you being an idiot,” Ella told him. “Man up and talk to your co-worker.”
Nick spread his hands, looking between the people sitting at the table, his brown eyes resting on Greg for a minute before he turned his attention to Morgan again. “I think we may have given you the wrong impression,” he started. “Neither one of us was looking to lead you on, Morgan. Sometimes we don’t even notice we’re flirting, it’s kinda a normal thing with us, makes things a little easier in some cases.”
Morgan’s eyes cut towards the other CSI who was being unusually quiet. “You don’t have anything to say?” she asked him.
“No,” Greg responded. “I think Nick covered it. Other than, I am sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, too. I didn’t mean to either.”
Morgan was still staring at both guys, alternating between glaring at Greg (who was fidgeting in his seat next to Ella) and staring at Nick (who stared evenly back) until the waitress set their plates down in front of them. When the woman walked away, Morgan said, “I’m…not ready to forgive you two completely yet. I really feel like you both led me on. But we do have to work together.” When it looked like Ella was going to protest or object to what she was saying, Morgan continued, “But I don’t think either of you did it maliciously. So. I’ll work on my own issues. Could you two try not to flirt so overtly with me?”
The boys looked at each other, clearly not knowing how to react to that question. “Well, it’s not like we’re doing it…” Greg started. “I mean we don’t mean to. It’s kinda…” He jumped as Nick kicked him. “What?”
“Yeah, Morgan,” Nick replied. “We can try to tone down the flirting. Right, Greggo?”
“Yeah. Yeah. We can do that,” Greg agreed.
“Oh, this should be good,” Ella muttered.
“Ella!” both boys snapped.
“I’m just sayin’,” she replied. “You breathe sometimes and you flirt.” She squeaked as Greg’s fingers dug into her side, tickling her mercilessly.
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They were all picking at the remnants of their breakfasts when Ella’s phone went off. Greg's hand darted out, grabbing for the phone at the same moment Ella did. He was just a half second faster and snatched it out of her grasp, tapping in the code to unlock it. "I should be disturbed that you know my code," Ella commented as she sat back with a sigh.
"Not nearly as disturbed as I am that..." Greg looked down. "Archie is calling you and that his ringtone is 'I Want Candy'. Why is Archie calling you and why is that his ringtone?"
Ella rolled her eyes as she snatched the phone out of his lax grip. "I really don't know how that's any of your business," she told him.
"Because I know him and I don't think you should..."
"Think carefully, Gregory, because you are not my brother or my father and quite honestly I would tell them to take a long walk off a short cliff."
Greg settled back with a pout as Ella returned the call. When she hung up, after a conversation that didn't really give them a clue why the AV tech was calling, Nick asked, "So have you and Archie been talking long?"
"Really, Nickel?" Ella demanded.
"Did you honestly expect me not to ask?" he replied.
She sighed and muttered something that sounded speciously like, "Interfering busybodies." Shoving aside Greg, who was trying to grab her phone again, she told them, "Archie helped me out with some video issues I had.” When the boys continued to stare at her, she sighed. “Are you seriously going to start this with me? I don’t think you want me to air everything I know in front of her.”
“Hey!” Morgan protested.
“You don’t know him like I do!” Greg argued.
“Well. No,” Ella said slowly. “’Cause you know him from work. And I know him from outside of work. And in a more relaxed setting. As ya know…just friends mostly.”
Greg’s hands flailed for a moment, almost knocking his glass over. “But. But. He and Nicky have discussed porn together!”
“Greg.” Ella stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. “You and I have watched porn together.”
Nick stared at the two of them for a minute, then softly hit his head on the table. It wasn’t that he couldn’t believe she’d said that, but well he couldn’t believe she’d said it in front of Morgan.
“I…didn’t actually need to know that,” Morgan said.
Nick snorted at her reaction. “You kinda get used…well, actually you don’t get used to those comments, but you learn to mostly ignore them.” He picked up a crouton and bounced it off Greg’s head. “Stop creeping out the new girl.”
“How long am I going to be the new girl?” Morgan asked as Nick flagged down the waitress to get the check.
Ella laughed as Greg poked her again, snagging her iPad from where she’d set it during the meal and flipping through it to show him something. “From experience? Just long enough to get your cherry popped,” she replied.
Morgan looked from one to the other. “Do I want to know what she means by that?” When neither of them answered, she asked, “Guys? Guys?”
If you’re interested in what was playing at the club when Greg, Nick, and Ella were dancing, the songs are here:
Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5
Smooth by Santana
Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani
And these are the two ringtones on Ella’s phone:
My Best Friend’s Hot by The Dollyrots
I Want Candy by Bow Wow
Characters: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes, Ella Jackson, Morgan Brody
Fandom: CSI
Series: Love and Science
Written For: whogeek
Prompt: Greg likes to go dancing, Nick prefers to watch
Summary: A traditional night out for Ella and the boys turns into a confrontation with the new girl and breakfast the next day to explain things.
Rating: Light R for implied situations
Spoilers: Season 12 for introduced characters, my series
Warnings: Ella’s lack of filter, Really I don’t hate Morgan
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not makin’ any money here.
Author's Note: So. I really don’t hate Morgan (although you might feel differently after reading this), but…I’m not thrilled with some of the comments made lately about Greg and Morgan’s relationship—which might have come out in this. I had the idea for this and have been working on it, just finished it up tonight. Thanks to whogeek—who helps with her own stories all the time and weakmoments who helped me with a spastic sentence so I could finish this up. And of course illfindmyway most likely poked at this even though she’s not in the fandom. Last of all, kaitlia777 who gave me Greg’s ringtone! Phew I think that’s everyone!
Greg shifted on his chair again drawing the attention of his co-worker. "Are you all right, Greg?" Morgan asked in concern.
He looked surprised at being caught but hastened to assure her. "Yeah I'm fine. I must have overdone it at the club last night."
Nick glanced up at his words, although he didn't join the conversation as Morgan said, "Oh. I didn't realize you liked that scene. Maybe sometime we should go together."
Greg tried to figure out a way to extricate himself from that suggestion as Nick hid a smile. Sometimes his younger partner spoke without thinking and then had to do some fast back peddling. "Ah I don't know if that's such a good idea..." he started.
Morgan's phone going off interrupted whatever she would have said in reply and she popped up, announcing "I've got a 419," as she grabbed her things and flew out of the room.
Nick looked at Greg in concern. "Are you really okay? I know it's not the club making you uncomfortable."
Greg smiled at him reassuringly. "You didn't do anything I didn't want you to. And I greatly enjoyed it."
"You aren't hurt?" Nick questioned.
"A little sore," Greg admitted, "but nothing bad. I keep squirming because I want to remember it. But that's not what's causing my issues."
"What then?"
Greg blushed. "Um. It's not so much the soreness causing my issues as the sense memory is causing another issue."
Nick paused then blinked, his mouth falling open as he realized what Greg meant. "Ooooh," he said.
Greg grinned at him. "Yeah. Oh. And I really have absolutely no desire to go clubbing with Morgan."
The older CSI grinned at that comment. "Well that's something you have to get out of on your own."
Greg pouted at him. “What? You’re not gonna help me?”
Nick shook his head at the younger man. “Nope. You got yourself into this. You’ve gotta figure out how to get yourself out.”
“Gonna help me out with my other problem?” Greg questioned.
“Depends on when we get home,” Nick replied in a low voice as both their pagers went off. “That discussion will have to wait though. Looks like I’ve got my own 419.”
Greg looked up from where he was checking his own pager. “And Morgan needs assistance on hers.” As he passed by Nick, he brushed his fingers across the older man’s neck. “Rain check?”
“Sure.”
Greg glanced down at his phone as it went off, intending to send it to voicemail if it wasn’t work. When he saw the caller ID, he grabbed it immediately, asking, “I thought you were working tonight?”
“I am, GG,” Ella replied, “but its Monday night and I’m bor-red. No one’s drinking yet. What’cha doin’?”
“I’m at a scene so I really can’t talk,” Greg replied. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Is Nickel with you?” she asked curiously. “Or are you by yourself?”
“No, I’m with Morgan. And he really hates that name.” Greg paused to point to a shoe print, letting Morgan set a marker down by it before he snapped a photo.
“If he hated it, he’d actually tell me to stop,” Ella responded. “Ah, new guy. Lucky you.”
“New girl,” Greg corrected.
“Oooooh. No wonder Nickel was in such a mood when he stopped by the other night. So blonde or brunette?”
Greg stopped, looking into the distance as if he could see Ella. “Wait. What? When? He didn’t say anything to me.” Morgan looked over at him as he sputtered and raised a questioning eyebrow, but he waved her off.
“I don’t know a couple of days ago. He stopped to drop off the camera I left in your car. Blonde or brunette?”
“Ah. Blonde,” Greg replied, drawing another confused look from Morgan.
Ella cackled on the other end of the line and for a minute there was no sound other than her laughter. Finally she seemed to have herself under control. “No wonder he was in a snit.”
“What does that even mean?” Greg wanted to know.
“If you can’t figure it out…” Ella replied. “So is she pretty?”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Greg answered dryly.
“Bullshit,” Ella called. “You’re dating someone, you aren’t dead. And Nickel clearly thinks you’ve noticed.”
“I’ll talk to you about it later. I’m at a scene,” Greg neatly avoided the question. “Did you need something in particular? Or are you just calling to aggravate my life?”
“I love to aggravate your life, but no I called for a reason.”
“What is it then?”
“My boss in his infinite wisdom has decided that the rookie bartender should work the Friday rush alone. So if I read the schedule you gave me right, y’all have Friday off? Wanna go clubbing?”
“Trying to avoid something?” Greg asked with a grin.
“If we are in a club, I can honest tell him when he asks me the next day that ‘no, Mitch, I did not hear my phone ring, did you call me? Shit, I could have used the hours.’”
“Ella, you can be a bitch when you want to be,” Greg told her.
“I can. And I am damn proud of it,” Ella confirmed. “So. Club?”
“I can probably manage that,” Greg responded. “Pick you up at the usual time?”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll let you get back to processing and I’ll go back to slinging drinks for my three whole customers. Later, gator!” There was a beep as she hung up.
Greg chuckled as he shoved his phone back in his pocket, turning to see Morgan staring at him. “What?”
“Girlfriend?” she asked.
Greg grinned, thinking of Ella's varying reactions over the years to being called his girlfriend. "No. Not my girlfriend. Probably my best friend in all of Vegas and my ex-roomie but definitely not my girlfriend."
"Not your type, Sanders?"
"More like I'm not hers." Greg pointed to the tire track on the ground. "Does that look fresh?"
"Yeah." Morgan crouched down to snap a picture and allowed him to change the subject. For now. She wasn't finished with this by a long shot.
Despite what Morgan had implied to Greg, she hadn’t been much of a party girl in LA; tending to spend more time in the lab and on the job than anything else. With the move to Vegas, she wanted to get out more and do more and she liked her quirky fellow CSI. Still she couldn’t seem to get a read on him; he alternated with Nick between flirting with her and hitting on her, but he never seemed quite serious about it. She wasn’t positive if they were doing it to try and loosen her up a little or if they were competing with each other to see which of them could score with the new girl first. So when she’d suggested going to the club and he’d backed off almost immediately, she wasn’t sure what was going on. Especially when he’d made plans in front of her just a couple of hours later. With that in mind, she’d decided she would try and hit the club scene to see if she could find him.
The first couple of clubs she tried were either something she wasn’t at all interested in or something she didn’t think Greg would even consider from what she knew of him. She was beginning to despair of ever finding him or running out of the money she had stuck into her pocket at the beginning of the night when she decided to try just one more place. She hadn't been drinking because she didn't want to waste money on the overpriced alcohol. Finally she found a club that even if Greg wasn't there; she felt comfortable enough to hang out in for a little while. She wound her way through the crowd toward the stairs and made her way up, finally making her way to a vantage point where she could see most of the dance floor. As she staked out her spot, the song that had been playing smoothly changed to one she'd heard a few times lately. In fact she'd heard Greg singing it just the other day and had been surprised because it didn't seem like something the other CSI would enjoy.
Leaning against the rail, she let her eyes skim the crowd as her toes bounced to the beat of "Moves Like Jagger". She almost missed the familiar dirty blonde head out on the dance floor.
Greg had both arms wrapped fully around a slighter woman and if they weren't extremely inebriated, they knew each other very well because there was not millimeter of space between them. Greg's hands rested on her ass as they moved perfectly in sync with each other and the rhythm of the song; their style a mix of modern and classical that was clearly all their own. After watching them for a couple of moments, Morgan knew there was no way this was their first time dancing together because they seemed to anticipate each other in a way that only long time partners could.
As she watched, the woman's one hand moved up into Greg's hair, tugging on it and causing him to laugh before moving it downwards so she could press her mouth against his neck or ear. From this angle, Morgan couldn't tell if she was speaking to him or kissing him but after a minute, he nodded. Pulling away from the woman, he took her hand and led her off the floor.
It was easy enough to figure out where they might be headed and Morgan would be a pretty poor CSI if she had no curiosity, so she abandoned her spot on the balcony to track them.
Sure enough, Greg was loitering just outside the restrooms when she reached them and she tapped him on the shoulder, not even bothering to fake surprise when he turned around. "So is that 'not my girlfriend'?" she asked when he was facing her.
"Mor-Mor-Morgan!" he stuttered. "Um, what're you? What're you doing here?"
She shrugged, sticking her hands in her back pockets to see what affect her breasts would have on him now that they were off the clock. When he didn't even glance at them, she frowned. "I thought I'd check out some of the Vegas club scene," she answered.
"And you just happened to pick this one?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nooo," she answered slowly. "I've been in a couple others but I liked the looks of this one so I stayed."
"So you weren't..." Whatever Greg was about to ask was cut off as the girl he'd been dancing with retuned, slipping a familiar arm around his waist. His arm went around her shoulders without a second thought, tucking her up against him. She was quite a bit shorter than the CSI but with similar sandy blonde hair, except hers reached her waist and she had added an electric blue streak that wound through one side of it. She wore a t-shirt in the same shade with a smiley face on the front and a pair of form fitting jeans caressed her legs. They were tucked into a pair of boots that almost resembled combat boots, although they had a pair of chains across them. "What did he want?" Greg asked her.
"You mean other than to be more of a gigantic douchebag than he was already being?" she replied. "Oh Ella baby, I'm so so sorry I gave your best shift to George the loser but he's dying. I really need you to come into work."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him fuck off. That this is the first Friday I've had off in forever and I was enjoying it. Oh and GG and I thank you for the cheap thrill when you vibrated the hell out of us." She seemed to notice Morgan for the first time. "Who's the club floozy?"
"Morgan, Ella. Ella this is Morgan."
"Oooh," Ella said. She looked up at Greg. "Sooo. Not a floozy?"
"No, Ella. Not a floozy." Greg rolled his eyes. "Morgan works at the lab with me."
"Oooh. You're that Morgan!" Ella looked her up and down. "I don't think Nickel should have a problem with her. She's really skinny. And not at all your type."
"Okay, seriously, Ella. We need to get you a filter!"
"Nickel?" Morgan questioned.
The two exchanged a speaking glance before Ella shrugged once, obviously apologizing for her words. "A friend," Greg explained. "Not really important."
Ella opened her mouth to say something else, but dug her phone out of her pocket instead, flipping it open and reading the text message. Nudging Greg, she held the phone out to him before taking it back and tapping in a reply. “We should head back out,” she said. “It was nice meeting you, Morgan.” Grabbing Greg’s hand, she towed him back towards the main floor.
Morgan stood where they left her, staring at the spot where Greg had been standing with his friend, until she was jostled. She blinked; the buffeting she continued to get pulling her out of her shock from the conversation, and sending her back towards the balcony. The spot she’d staked out before had been taken, but she found one not much farther down and it didn’t take her long to locate Greg in the crowd on the floor. His arms were around Ella again as they did some sort of modified tango this time to the beat of the music. She had to suppress a snort at the sight as they moved not only around the other dancers but in the constraints of the floor. She had no idea where either of them had learned to dance like that, but they clearly knew what they were doing.
As the song segued into something else, Morgan saw the last person she expected slide up behind Ella. His hands slotted into place on her hips as he matched his rhythm to theirs. One of Greg’s hands moved off Ella’s ass and curled around Nick’s neck, drawing him towards them. Morgan was amazed at how easily they seemed to work around each other, hands never seeming to touch out of bounds, even as they stayed pressed up against each other and moving to the song. It was clear they’d done this before; just from the way they moved together.
Towards the end of the song, Nick spun Ella away from Greg as the two of them laughed. He pulled her back in towards him and dipped her, leaning down and kissing her. When he pulled her upright again, he pushed her towards Greg and the other man caught her as the song ended. All three of them were clearly laughing, although Morgan couldn’t hear the sound over the music of the club. Just as a new song started, Greg threw an arm around Ella’s shoulders and began to steer her off the dance floor; Nick following them.
Realizing that they were headed for the exit, Morgan almost fell down the stairs in her hurry to make it out the door before they disappeared. When she reached the parking lot, it appeared that no one was in sight and she turned her head from side to side; trying to find them, almost smacking herself in the face with her blonde hair. When she didn’t see them, she slowed down, taking stock of the surrounding area and starting to grid it in her mind.
“They’re already gone,” a voice said behind her.
Turning completely around, Morgan discovered Ella leaning against the wall of the club; one leg propped up against the wall, a bottle of soda held loosely in her hand. “Both of them?” she asked, approaching the shorter woman.
“You need to keep your CSI nose out of things that are none of your business,” Ella continued. “For reasons that escape me, the boys like you, but if you keep this up, they aren’t going to continue to be nice.”
“They’re the ones flirting with me,” Morgan protested.
Ella snorted. “That’s like…default setting for them. You can’t be seriously telling me you took them at face value?”
"Last time I checked a guy flirting with you meant he was interested in spending time with you otherwise. Didn't know it meant something different in Vegas."
Ella snorted. "I'm a bartender. If I took all the guys who flirted with me up on their offers, I'd never sleep." She started to say something else but was interrupted by the upbeat tones of 'My Best Friend's Hot'. “Hang on. Hey, GG…Yeah, she’s right in front of me so I head…Tomorrow? I can…Her? I’ll ask.” She looked at Morgan. “Greg wants to know what you’re doing for brunch for tomorrow around ten-thirty, eleven?”
“Um, yeah. I guess so? I mean nothing,” Morgan answered.
“She’ll be there,” Ella told the other end of the phone. “Try not to oversleep this time. Oh, and GG? Have fu-un.” She hung up with a laugh.
Morgan looked at her when she hung up. “So. The guys left together?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business. Look we meet at Drake’s. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She pushed off the wall, intending to walk away.
She only got a few steps before the blonde’s voice stopped her, “Ella, right?”
Ella’s shoulders slumped and she turned back around. She’d promised Greg she’d be nice. “Yes. It’s Ella.”
“I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. Can we grab a coffee or something?”
Ella shook her head in response. “I promised GG I’d be nice. I didn’t promise I’d be your bestie.” Dropping her bottle into the trash, she strode off across the lot.
“Well, that went…well,” Morgan commented as she tried to follow the weaving, quickly disappearing woman with her eyes.
Ella looked up with a grin as Greg and Nick strolled into the diner. Setting aside her iPad, she reached out with both hands for Greg's hair. "Let me do something about your hair, please?" she asked. "So it looks messy on purpose rather than like you just rolled out of bed freshly fucked."
Greg ducked out of her reach, sliding into the booth across from her. "My hair's fine," he replied.
"It looks like you used an egg beater on it or Nickel was pulling on it all night," Ella bantered back.
"Aw you're just jealous that I’m the one of us that is getting fucked on a regular basis," Greg said with a grin.
Nick groaned. "Would you two please stop discussing my sex life?"
"Aw Nickel, what's wrong? Little too kinky for you?" Ella asked.
The older CSI indicated the diner. "Little too public for me."
"Sooo. Exhibitionism is out then?" she asked.
Nick just gaped at her until he realized from her grin that she was teasing. "Why are you friends with her again?" he asked Greg.
“Um, because she’s crazy. And fun. And she’s Ella,” Greg answered as he gave in and leaned over far enough for her to reach his head. “Ow! Don’t pull!”
Ella snorted. “Somehow I don’t think that’s what you were saying last night.”
“Am I interrupting something?” a new voice asked.
“Just Ella abusing Greg,” Nick replied as Greg wrenched his head out of Ella’s grasp and looked up to wave at Morgan. “Good morning, Morgan.”
“You know you can report that?” Morgan commented as she surveyed the table.
Greg shrugged as he switched places, sliding into the seat beside Ella and motioning for Morgan to sit beside Nick. “Nah. I probably abuse her just as much.” He slapped Ella’s hand as she reached for his hair again. “Stop it.”
“I just need…” Ella grabbed his hair long enough to finish whatever she’d planned and then let him go. “There. Much better.”
“So glad I meet your approval,” Greg snarked at her.
Ella opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the waitress. The woman was obviously familiar with the three friends because she simply asked, “The usual?” not writing anything down when they nodded. “What’ll it be for you, sweet cheeks?” she asked Morgan.
“Two eggs scrambled, wheat toast, hash browns, and bacon,” Morgan rattled off quickly.
“Be just a few, chickies,” she told them.
“You guys come here a lot?” Morgan asked.
“Often enough,” Nick answered. He shifted in his seat, exchanging looks with Greg. “We felt we needed to talk to you.”
“Especially after what Ella had to say to us after she talked to you,” Greg added, then winced away as Ella smacked him. “Ow! What was that for?”
“Don’t blame me for you being an idiot,” Ella told him. “Man up and talk to your co-worker.”
Nick spread his hands, looking between the people sitting at the table, his brown eyes resting on Greg for a minute before he turned his attention to Morgan again. “I think we may have given you the wrong impression,” he started. “Neither one of us was looking to lead you on, Morgan. Sometimes we don’t even notice we’re flirting, it’s kinda a normal thing with us, makes things a little easier in some cases.”
Morgan’s eyes cut towards the other CSI who was being unusually quiet. “You don’t have anything to say?” she asked him.
“No,” Greg responded. “I think Nick covered it. Other than, I am sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, too. I didn’t mean to either.”
Morgan was still staring at both guys, alternating between glaring at Greg (who was fidgeting in his seat next to Ella) and staring at Nick (who stared evenly back) until the waitress set their plates down in front of them. When the woman walked away, Morgan said, “I’m…not ready to forgive you two completely yet. I really feel like you both led me on. But we do have to work together.” When it looked like Ella was going to protest or object to what she was saying, Morgan continued, “But I don’t think either of you did it maliciously. So. I’ll work on my own issues. Could you two try not to flirt so overtly with me?”
The boys looked at each other, clearly not knowing how to react to that question. “Well, it’s not like we’re doing it…” Greg started. “I mean we don’t mean to. It’s kinda…” He jumped as Nick kicked him. “What?”
“Yeah, Morgan,” Nick replied. “We can try to tone down the flirting. Right, Greggo?”
“Yeah. Yeah. We can do that,” Greg agreed.
“Oh, this should be good,” Ella muttered.
“Ella!” both boys snapped.
“I’m just sayin’,” she replied. “You breathe sometimes and you flirt.” She squeaked as Greg’s fingers dug into her side, tickling her mercilessly.
They were all picking at the remnants of their breakfasts when Ella’s phone went off. Greg's hand darted out, grabbing for the phone at the same moment Ella did. He was just a half second faster and snatched it out of her grasp, tapping in the code to unlock it. "I should be disturbed that you know my code," Ella commented as she sat back with a sigh.
"Not nearly as disturbed as I am that..." Greg looked down. "Archie is calling you and that his ringtone is 'I Want Candy'. Why is Archie calling you and why is that his ringtone?"
Ella rolled her eyes as she snatched the phone out of his lax grip. "I really don't know how that's any of your business," she told him.
"Because I know him and I don't think you should..."
"Think carefully, Gregory, because you are not my brother or my father and quite honestly I would tell them to take a long walk off a short cliff."
Greg settled back with a pout as Ella returned the call. When she hung up, after a conversation that didn't really give them a clue why the AV tech was calling, Nick asked, "So have you and Archie been talking long?"
"Really, Nickel?" Ella demanded.
"Did you honestly expect me not to ask?" he replied.
She sighed and muttered something that sounded speciously like, "Interfering busybodies." Shoving aside Greg, who was trying to grab her phone again, she told them, "Archie helped me out with some video issues I had.” When the boys continued to stare at her, she sighed. “Are you seriously going to start this with me? I don’t think you want me to air everything I know in front of her.”
“Hey!” Morgan protested.
“You don’t know him like I do!” Greg argued.
“Well. No,” Ella said slowly. “’Cause you know him from work. And I know him from outside of work. And in a more relaxed setting. As ya know…just friends mostly.”
Greg’s hands flailed for a moment, almost knocking his glass over. “But. But. He and Nicky have discussed porn together!”
“Greg.” Ella stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. “You and I have watched porn together.”
Nick stared at the two of them for a minute, then softly hit his head on the table. It wasn’t that he couldn’t believe she’d said that, but well he couldn’t believe she’d said it in front of Morgan.
“I…didn’t actually need to know that,” Morgan said.
Nick snorted at her reaction. “You kinda get used…well, actually you don’t get used to those comments, but you learn to mostly ignore them.” He picked up a crouton and bounced it off Greg’s head. “Stop creeping out the new girl.”
“How long am I going to be the new girl?” Morgan asked as Nick flagged down the waitress to get the check.
Ella laughed as Greg poked her again, snagging her iPad from where she’d set it during the meal and flipping through it to show him something. “From experience? Just long enough to get your cherry popped,” she replied.
Morgan looked from one to the other. “Do I want to know what she means by that?” When neither of them answered, she asked, “Guys? Guys?”
If you’re interested in what was playing at the club when Greg, Nick, and Ella were dancing, the songs are here:
Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5
Smooth by Santana
Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani
And these are the two ringtones on Ella’s phone:
My Best Friend’s Hot by The Dollyrots
I Want Candy by Bow Wow
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