People pushed and shoved their way through the crowd, trying to find their seats. A young teenage girl with shoulder length brown hair was trying to fight her way through the crowd without getting knocked to the ground and trampled. She knew that was dangerous. She could be stomped to death or, if she was lucky, just make it out with a few bumps and bruises. She felt as though she already had a few bruises already from all the pushes, shoves and bumps from the crowd. She finally found her seat and sat down, front row.
It was a regular warm, sunny day in Las Vegas. A lot of people had gathered for an annual dirt bike race. There were bets going around, peopling voting for their favorite rider. It was a dangerous sport but it still drew a good size crowd every year. The young girl, though she didn't much care for the sport, still managed to come to as many of the races as she could. It wasn't for the same reasons as most of the people in the crowd. She waved over at one of the riders as he mounted his bike. He waved back.
The rest of the riders mounted their bikes as well, revving up their engines and filling the arena with noise. The crowd cheered and yelled, excited and apprehensive for the race to begin. The crowd watched as the flagman took his position, held up the green flag and with a wave of the flag, the racer were off. The crowd was on their feet, cheering on their riders.
Red and blue sirens could be seen in the parking lot, the source being several police cars parked around the front of the arena. People stood around, some appearing shocked while others were angry or impatient. There were some people crying, others looking ready for a fight. There were several police officers trying to get statements from possible witnesses. Some were cooperating, some weren't.
Two young adults wearing black crime scene investigation vests walked through the crowd, kits in hand. Both the badges on the vests said Sanders but one was a tall male with short, light brown hair, the other a female with long, dark brown hair. The two of them walked under the crime scene tape, joining their homicide detective.
"Hey Sophia." said the female.
"Hey Leila, hey Greg." said Sophia.
"What do we got?" asked Greg as they followed Sophia toward where the victim laid with the assistant coroner David Philips knelt next to him, examining him.
"Jeffery Adams, age 32. Witnesses say he just lost control of his bike, next thing they know, he was lying motionless. Paramedics pronounced about 20 minutes ago. He was a motocross racer since he was a teenager, made it big when he was 23, won quite few races, had a fair share of sponsors and has made every major event." said Sophia.
"Yeah, that is until today." said Leila.
"His wife, Evelyn, 34, lives in Colorado and never shows up to his races. No kids. His manager is Alexander Richensen, who is currently missing. No one seems to know where he is." said Sophia.
"He didn't show up for the race?" asked Greg.
"Not according the people I've talked to, no one saw him. I'll swing by his house and check it out. If he's not there, I'll put out a broadcast." said Sophia.
"Alright, thanks." said Leila as Sophia walked away. She turned her attention to the body and David. "Hey Dave. Got an estimated C.O.D.?" she asked.
"Well, I'm not seeing any kind of puncture wounds or bullet holes, no apparent trauma to the body." said Dave.
"No trauma, are you sure?" asked Leila. She felt something wasn't right.
"None visible but it could take time to show. I'll know more once I get him to autopsy." said Dave.
Leia just nodded than moved her attention to the race track.
"Something wrong Leila?" asked Greg.
"I don't know, something just doesn't seem right. If the vic's laying in the middle of the track, you think at least one or two of the other racers would have hit him." said Leila.
"Maybe they just got lucky and moved in time to avoid him." suggested Greg.
"Not in Vegas honey." said Leila.
Greg just smiled and laughed.
Just then, Leila spotted a familiar face in the crowd standing behind the evidence tape, watching her. She walked over to a young teenage girl.
"Leda? What're you doing here?" asked Leila.
"I came to see the race." said Leda.
Leila shot her a skeptical look.
"You hate sports Leda. Now tell me the truth, what're you doing here?" she asked.
"Alright, my brother was one of the racers. He started racing last year." said Leda.
"Where is dear old Victor?" asked Leila.
"One of the officers arrested him. He attacked one of them when they tried to question him." said Leda.
"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" asked Leila rhetorically.
Leda just smiled at Leila's humorism.
Right then, Greg walked over and joined the two ladies.
"Oh, Greg, this is my younger cousin, Leda. Leda, this is Greg Sanders, my husband." said Leila.
"Nice to meet you." said Greg, holding out his hand for Leda to shake.
"You too." said Leda, shaking Greg's hand. Then she turned back to her older cousin. "Married huh? I never pegged you for marriage material. 'Course that would explain why you both have the name 'Sanders' on your vest. But where's your ring?"
"I don't wear it to crime scenes." said Leila.
"Oh, afraid it'll get lost? Or maybe you're just afraid it might get a little bit of blood on it." said Leda, picking on her cousin right as Leila's cell phone rang.
"You're very funny. Excuse me." said Leila, upon seeing it was Sophia calling. She flipped it open and placed it to her ear. "Yeah, Sophia. You find the manager?"
"Well sort of. We did find him, but I think someone else got to him first. He's dead."said Sophia.
"I'll be right there." said Leila, hanging up. She turned to Greg. "Sophia found the manager, dead."
"Maybe you were right. Maybe something isn't right." said Greg.
"Geeh, you think?" said Leila, sarcastically. She ducked under the tape and started to head toward her and Greg's SUV.
"Hey, what about me? You just gonna leave me stranded here?" asked Greg.
Leila stopped and turned back to him.
"I'm sure one of the officers will be happy to give you a ride back to the lab." she said.
"And what about me? My brother was my ride." said Leda.
"Take a cab." said Leila.
"With what, my good looks? Besides, I have nowhere to stay." said Leda.
"Fine, come on. You can ride with me." said Leila, turning and heading back towards the SUV.
Leda followed Leila and hopped in the passenger seat while Leila put her kit in the back than hopped in the driver seat.
Leila walked into the residence of Alexander Richensen. She found Sophia standing in the back bedroom, next to the body of the manager. Doc Robbins was knelt next to the body. There was a fair sized blood pool around the victim.
"Hello again Sophia, hey Doc." she greeted.
"Hey Leila. Busy night." said Doc.
"Sure is. Everyone's out on a case. We even had to get swing and some from day's to help. Ecklie must be lovin' it." said Leila.
Doc just laughed at Leila's sense of humor. None of them liked Ecklie much, especially Leila after all the trouble he had been putting Leila and Greg through since they got married.
"Well, C.O.D. appears to be a single gunshot wound to the back. Bullet was a through and through. I'll know more after autopsy." he said.
"Thanks Doc." said Leila. She started taking pictures of the body and the room. She paused for a moment, lifting a small dark hair from the shirt and a single stray fiber. She put them each in evident envelopes, putting them in the front pocket of her vest than she went back to taking photos. She carefully collected the bullet from a hole in the wall.
After she was finished with that room, she headed to the next room, the living room. It appeared normal, no signs of a struggle. It didn't even appear as though someone was even in there recently. On a small table was a phone and an answering machine with three messages. Leila hit play.
"Mr. Richensen, this is Michelle from Nevada Commerce Bank. I'm just calling to late you know that you have over withdrawn from your account and we need to get this settled as soon as possible. If you could just give me a call back or stop by the bank, I'm sure we can work something out."
"Well that was an interesting message." said Sophia, who had come in behind Leila.
"Yeah sure was. You think maybe our Mr. Richensen was heading into debt?" asked Leila.
"Could be. I'll get a warrant for his bank records." said Sophia. She fell quiet as the next message played.
The next message started to play and both listened.
"Hello, Mr. Richensen? This is Victor Roderiguez, you just signed on as my manger. I was just calling to let you know that I'll be in tomorrow's race and that I plan on winning, no matter what it takes. I'll do anything to make sure I win and I mean anything."
"I know him. Victor Roderiguez is one of my cousins. I saw his sister Leda at the race track earlier. She told me that he started racing about a year ago." said Leila.
"Sounds like we've got ourselves a suspect and a motive." said Sophia.
"Mr. Richensen managing two motocross racers? If that's not enough motive, I don't know what is." said Leila.
"Alex, where the hell are you? I'm sitting on the track, the race is about to start and you're not here. What is more important than your client? Get your ass here or you're a dead man!"
"Wow, someone sure was angry." said Leila.
"Yeah. Think maybe that was our first vic, Jeffery Adams?" asked Sophia.
"Could have been. But I don't think he could of killed Mr. Richensen. He was already dead." said Leila.
"Someone sure took him up on that threat." said Sophia.
"Yeah. Let's get Mr. Richensen phone records as well." said Leila. She took the tape out of the answering machine and bagged it. "I'll get this to Archie, see what he can do with it."
Leila walked down the corridors of the lab, a file in hand. Sophia had gotten her Alexander Richensen bank records and his phone records. She had dropped the fiber off in Trace, the hair in DNA and she gave Archie the tape from the answering machine, figuring he could have some fun with it. She was heading for the morgue to see if Doc Robbins had anything new on either victim when Greg ran up next to her, walking in stride with her.
"Hey, where you off to?" he asked.
"Autopsy." said Leila flatly.
"I was just heading there myself. What do you got there?" asked Greg, pointing at the file in her hands.
"Sophia got me Alexander Richensen's bank and phone records. It appears that Jefferey Adams wasn't the only one he was managing. He was also just recently manager for Victor Roderiguez, Leda's brother." said Leila.
"Your cousin?" asked Greg.
"Yep. And it also seems that Mr. Richensen was heading into debt. He over withdrew his account." said Leila, showing Greg the bank records.
"And you think Victor could be the killer?" asked Greg.
"I don't know, but as of right now he is a suspect. Sophia's talking to him now. How come I'm the only one in my family that can stay on the right side of the law?" asked Leila but it was rhetorical. She didn't want to hear an answer.
Greg just smiled as they walked into the morgue where Doc Robbins was just finishing closing up Alexander Richensen.
"Hey Doc, got anything new for us?" asked Leila.
"Yeah. Alexander Richensen died yesterday afternoon, somewhere around two or three." said Doc.
"He died before Jefferey Adams?" asked Greg.
"Yep. Bullet trajectory was back to front and downward, meaning your killer was most likely taller than your vic." said Doc.
"Mr. Richensen was 5'7, Jefferey Adams was 5'9, Victor Roderiguez is 5'6." said Leila.
"I'd say you're killer is at least six feet in height so it's possible Jefferey Adams could have done it." said Doc.
"And he's dead." said Greg.
"So who killed him?" asked Leila.
"Well, I can tell you this much. The reason Mr. Adams could have lost control of his bike was that he was drugged. Did a tox screen, found quazepam." said Doc.
"Isn't that a sedative used for insomnia?" asked Leila.
Doc Robbins nodded.
"Onset of the impairment of consciousness is usually relatively quick in benzodiazepine poisoning. Toxic effects tend to include depressed mental status, ataxia, vertigo, dizziness, fatigue, impaired motor co-ordination, confusion, disorientation and anterograde amnesia, among others." he said.
Leila and Greg both looked at each other.
"Someone wasn't taking any chances. They really wanted this guy dead." said Greg.
"And they succeeded." said Leila.
"Now we just have to figure out who." said Greg.
"So what did kill Mr. Adams?" asked Leila.
"Official cause is due to respiratory arrest." said Doc.
Leila and Greg walked into the DNA lab together, hoping and praying that Wendy had something on the hair that Leila had collected off of Alexander Richensen.
"Wendy, please tell me you've got something on that hair I found." said Leila.
"I do. There were no hits in CODIAS but I did find something interesting. Whoever left this hair behind has half the DNA markers in common with your vic." said Wendy, handing Leila the printout.
"Possible first degree relatives." said Greg, looking out the printout with Leila.
"Great, this just gets better and better." said Leila, shoving the paper into Greg's chest than walking out of the lab.
Greg handed the printout back to Wendy than followed after his wife. He caught up with her as she headed for Trace.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little frustrated and I'm really tired. I just wanna finish this case so we can go home." said Leila.
"Well we did just pull a triple." said Greg.
"Surprised we've even made it this far without collapsing from exhaustion. And Ecklie can kiss my ass if he thinks I'll take one more case." said Leila as they headed to the Trace lab.
Greg just smiled. He was the one main person that Leila would confide in, other than Grissom but he was usually busy and Leila didn't like bothering him all the time.
When they walked into the Trace lab, Hodges was nowhere in sight.
"Where the hell is he?" asked Leila.
"Probably kissing Ecklie's ass." said Greg.
The two of them walked back out to try and find him, which they knew would be a task in and of itself. If Hodges wasn't up Ecklie's ass, he was usually pestering Grissom and trying to impress him, usually only succeeding in annoying him.
"Why don't you go check with Bobby about the bullet from Richensen's house, I'll track down Hodges and see if he has those results." said Leila.
"Okay. Play nice." said Greg as he started his way toward ballistics.
"Don't I always." said Leila before turning and heading toward Grissom's office, hoping she would get lucky and find Hodges there. If she had to go on a hunting spree for him, she would kill him. She was too exhausted to have to hunt him down to get her results.
When she reached Grissom's office, she found herself in luck. Hodges and Grissom were both in there and from the look on her Godfather's face, Hodges was once again annoying him. She walked right in without even knocking.
"Hodges, do you have my results?" asked Leila.
"Results?" asked Hodges, acting as though he had no clue as to what she was talking about.
"For the fiber I left with you half an hour ago, from Alexander Richensen." said Leila, getting more and more agitated.
"Oh those results. I didn't exactly consider it to be a priority." said Hodges.
"It's a murder case Hodges. I need those results." said Leila.
Hodges didn't move.
"Some time tonight would be great Hodges. Like, now because I would really like to go home and get some sleep. I'm exhausted and don't really feel like arguing with you right now." said Leila.
Hodges still didn't move from his seat.
"Now Hodges." said Grissom in a voice that would have even sent chills down Leila spine if she weren't pissed off herself.
"I'll get right on it." said Hodges, getting up and heading out of the office, back to the trace lab.
"I swear, I don't know what that guy has against me." said Leila.
"It's not you he has something against, it's Greg. He and Greg have never liked each other much. Hodges was blamed to have caused the explosion in the DNA lab that Greg was injured in because he left the hot plate on. When Catherine put an unknown substance under the fume hood, the heat from the hot plate caused an explosion. Greg had been standing in front of the fume hood and was thrown through the glass wall. He received burns on his neck and back. Everyone jumped to conclusions thinking that Hodges did it on purpose. He feels threatened by Greg, I suppose because Greg is well-liked and popular with a lot of the other lab techs." said Grissom.
"And most of the people around here don't like him very much, if at all. But everyone likes Greg and respects him." said Leila.
"And then ever since you and Greg got married, he sees it as Greg getting special treatment." said Grissom.
"Well I hate to burst his bubble but me and Greg had to fight through hell to be able to stay together and be able to get married plus keep our jobs." said Leila.
"He likes you Leila, a lot. Has for awhile but he knew that you liked Greg so he let it go. He respects you, that's why he rarely insults Greg when you're around." said Grissom.
"I see." said Leila.
Grissom knew he didn't have to say anything else.
Right then, a knock from the doorway interrupted them and they turned to see Greg standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Bobby got a hit on your bullet. Belongs to a Walther P99 semi-auto pistol." he said.
"List of owners?" asked Leila.
Greg held up a folder containing the list of people who owned a Walther P99 semi-auto.
"You doubt me?" he said.
Leila just smiled than walked over to where her husband stood. She walked out into the hall with him and they talked as they walked down the corridor.
"So, I saw Hodges was back in his hole, not very happy to say the least. What'd you do to piss him off this time?" asked Greg.
"I wasn't in the mood to play his little games. He acted as though he had no idea what I was talking about when I asked him for the results and said that he didn't consider it to be a priority. He didn't move 'til Grissom said something." said Leila as they walked into the break room.
Greg grabbed the two of them a cup of coffee while Leila sat down with the file and started going over the list. He sat down next to her, setting the cup down in front of her. She took a drink without looking up from the list.
"You think he has a grudge against you or something?" asked Greg.
"Or something." said Leila, being her usual sarcastic self.
"Smartass." said Greg, grinning.
Leila just looked at him and gave him a small smile before turning back to the list in front of her. She went to take another drink of coffee but stopped before the cup touched her lips. She had just spotted a name on the list that was all too familiar to her.
"Leila? You okay?" asked Greg.
Without a word, Leila set her cup back down, got up and hurried out of the break room, heading to the DNA lab with Greg following behind her.
"Wendy, I need you to do me a favor." said Leila.
"Sure, name it." said Wendy, a little confused.
Leila grabbed a swab and, before either of the other two could even react, swabbed the inside of her cheek before holding it out to Wendy.
"Compare this to the hair I found." she said.
Wendy looked baffled by Leila's request but took the swab and started running the test.
Leila paced the room, her arms folded on her chest, as she waited. Greg just sat in silence, watching his wife. He knew that something had spooked her when she left the break room in a hurry, he just didn't know what. He hadn't looked at the list before he followed her. He was about to ask her when Wendy spoke up.
"Well, I'm guessing that you already know that it doesn't match your DNA. But it, and the vic's DNA, have several markers in common with yours." said Wendy.
Both Greg and Wendy looked at Leila, confused. She looked like she had expected those results, she just needed confirmation.
"Leila, what's going on?" asked Wendy.
"I wish I knew." said Leila. She walked out of the lab and headed back toward Grissom's office.
Greg followed closely behind her.
"I think you do know." he said.
Leila said nothing. She kept walking, walking straight into Grissom's office.
"You have to take me off the case Gil." she said before he had a chance to say anything.
"Why?" asked Grissom.
"Conflict of interest. My cousin Leda was at our crime scene. She told me her brother, Victor had started racing a year ago and was in the race with our vic. He was arrested for assaulting an officer that tried to question him. I just had Wendy compare my DNA with the hair I found on Alexander Richensen. Several markers in common. And Victor owns a Walther P99 semi-auto." said Leila.
"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean that I have to take you off the case Leila." said Grissom.
"Oh come on Gil, the last time I handled a case involving a member of my family, it all almost went to hell. I can't touch this case anymore Gil, I don't wanna take any chances with this." said Leila.
"What exactly are we discussing here? This case, or your father's?" asked Grissom.
Leila couldn't believe what she had just heard. She was doing everyone a favoring by telling Grissom to take her off of the case because of her cousin but he wasn't willing to do it because he thought that she was thinking that this case would turn out the same way as her father's had. Without a word, she turned and left his office.
Greg turned to follow her but Grissom's voice beckoned him back.
"Greg, let her go. She needs to be alone right now." he said.
"Yeah, I still remember what happened the last time you told me that. She nearly killed herself because of her father. I'm not taking that chance again." said Greg and he went after his wife. He found her sitting alone in the locker room, staring at the floor. He leaned against the door frame. "Hey. You okay?" he asked.
Leila looked up at the sound of her husband's voice and turned her gaze to meet his.
"I don't know. The last time I worked a case where a member of my family was the suspect, I ended up shooting him and killing him. Now I feel like it's happening all over again." she said, tearing her gaze away from him and looking back at the floor.
Greg walked over and knelt down in front of Leila, taking her hands in his. She slowly looked back at him.
"But this time it's different. He's not after you." said Greg.
"Not yet he isn't." said Leila flatly.
It hurt Greg to see her like this, to see that something like this could cause her such pain and force her to remember all the pain and horror that her father had put both him and her through. She had fled Miami after he had tracked her down and come to Vegas to try to seek refuge with her godfather. That's when they had met and eventually fell in love after a few gentle pushes on Greg's part when Leila acted as though she was afraid to be around him but she eventually let him see how she truly felt. It was a couple months later when her father tracked her down again but she didn't find out until she had gone to a crime scene with him and Grissom, only to discover that the victim was her sister, Michelle. Leila tried hard to hide the fact that she was actually scared that her father had found her again in order to protect her friends. Her father showed up at the lab and attacked her and Grissom. Warrick had evacuated everyone else from the lab and gotten them to safety. Leila was shot in the arm when her father shot at her when she and Grissom tried to run. Brass and other uniformed officers showed up and her father was arrested. Grissom was the one who questioned him while Leila and the rest of the team watched. Her father attacked Grissom and stabbed him. Grissom was taken to the hospital and everyone took a turn watching over him. That's when the FBI showed up, looking for her father but Leila refused to cooperate. She held a grudge against the FBI since they had placed her mother in protective custody but failed to protect her mom, along with her and her sister.
A few months later and everyone figured everything was back to normal. Leila and Greg were leaving a restaurant where they had just had a date at when a car not too far from them exploded. They come to discover that the two men that had been in the car when it blew up were FBI agents that had been following and watching both Leila and Greg for some time. After the FBI showed up again, she find out that her father had escaped a couple months ago and was once again on the loose. Grissom also discovers that Leila and Greg are still seeing each other after he had forbidden them not to. The FBI calls in a profiler, which turns out to be an ex-boyfriend of Leila's from high school that her father had set her up with. Him and Greg end up butting heads a few times over Leila, eventually causing a fight between Leila and Greg. They didn't speak the rest of the day and when Leila comes in the next day to discover that Greg had been kidnapped. She becomes more determined to find Greg and get him back safely than finding her father. The FBI doesn't see it her way. They want to catch her father at all costs but Leila isn't willing to risk Greg's life. She hides in the bathroom and that's when she gets a phone call from her ex and he tells her to meet him. She agrees and he takes her to where Greg is being held, becoming a captive herself but she now knows Greg's okay and she can protect him. They apologize to each other for the fight. Grissom and the others eventually find them and Leila's ex and father are taken into custody. The team goes out to a club and Greg ends up proposing to Leila.
Weeks later, Greg and Leila are now living together now, making sure they keep their relationship outside of work. While investigating a crime scene, Grissom discovers that it is related to an old case from a few years ago. He sends Leila home, knowing that she can no longer handle any of the evidence or even work the case. After she stops to get something to eat, a man harasses her. Once he walks away, she pulls out and leaves, heading home. But she doesn't make it far when a pickup truck slams into her. She loses consciousness and after awakening, she finds herself in a cheap motel room. She figures out that she's in Miami. When she's able, she calls Horatio, who calls her fellow teammates in Vegas and Catherine and Sara head to Miami to help find her. Her captors, for whatever reason, take her to a party where Horatio finds her. Her captors are arrested and Grissom, Nick, Warrick and Greg show up at the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. They find out that her father escaped again and is in New York. Grissom, Horatio, Leila, Greg and Eric head to New York to find him, meeting up with Mac Taylor, supervisor for the New York crime lab. Her father ends up kidnapping Horatio. She tracks him down and goes to meet him alone, not telling anyone where she's going. She fights her father and ends up shooting him. Grissom and Greg head back to Vegas but Leila goes back to Miami with Horatio and Eric, deciding to stay in Miami for a couple weeks, figuring it would be good for her.
While she was in Miami, the FBI agent from her mother's case showed up and tells her that Tim Speedle is still alive, that his death was staged so that he could watch over her. She finds him and the two of them go back to her apartment so they could talk privately. Overwhelmed with emotions, Leila ends up having an affair with Tim. She calls Horatio and he comes over. She asks for his advice and he tells her to tell Greg. She does. And Greg isn't very happy. A few days later, he shows up at her apartment and hands her divorce papers than leaving without another word. Against her own wishes, Leila signs the papers. She cried for days but eventually comes to terms with what she had done. Tim ends up proposing to her and they get married a few weeks later, even inviting Grissom, Catherine, Sara, Nick, Warrick, Hodges, David, Doc Robbins, and even Greg, who showed up against his will and it showed. Leila and him had a fight in the parking lot but make up after awhile and were friends. Leila moved to Miami but stayed in contact with her friends in Vegas when she could.
A year passed before the two of them even saw each other again. Leila felt that things between her and Tim weren't working out and that she couldn't stop thinking about Greg. The one person that noticed was Alexx and she suggested that Leila go back to Greg. She talked to Tim and he agreed. They divorced and Leila came back to Vegas. She waited for Greg in the parking lot until he got off work. When he saw her, he thought he was dreaming. The two of them went back to his apartment and made amends. She headed back to the lab with Greg the next day and transferred back. While the two of them were working a case, Leila was kidnapped. The others were trying hard to find her but were surprised when she turned up back at the lab a day later. They watched her carefully as her moods and behavior changed. It got so bad that Leila ended up raping Greg once and attacking him in Grissom's office. This made her change quickly. She felt terrible for hurting him and it made her feel worse that he wouldn't be mad at her but at the same time, she was relieved. As Greg was about to take her home, Ecklie showed up with two officers and arrested Greg. Leila's kidnapper had turned himself in and was framing Greg. Archie and Leila end up finding a second person in the video that her kidnapper had sent and it turned out to be Donald James, cousin of Demetrius James, the boy that was involved in gang going around beating up tourists and who Greg hit with his Denali. Leila showed the photos to Brass and he released Greg.
They thought that they were out of hot water but then both Greg and Grissom were kidnapped. After tracking them down, Leila went to rescue them by herself. She found them in the basement where she had been held by her kidnapper. Donald came back and, after a lot of talking from Leila, he handed over the key to the chains that bound Greg and Grissom and Leila freed them. But Donald wasn't going to let them go so easily. He ended up shooting Leila in the abdomen. His intend hadn't been to kill Greg to get revenge for his cousin. It was to kill Leila and hurt Greg the same way that he had hurt him when his cousin died. Brass, Sofia and other officers arrived in time to apprehend Donald and save Leila, which Greg was grateful for. He stayed by her side every moment while she was in the hospital. Her being shot had hit him hard and she knew it. He still hadn't fully recovered from it. He refused to touch anywhere near the scar in her abdomen where she had been shot. And she knew it.
Now, Greg was going to do whatever it took to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again.
"Leila, listen to me. No one is going to come after you anymore, I won't allow it. No one will ever hurt you again as long as I have anything to say about it." said Greg.
"No offense honey, but I don't think there's really much you can do. If someone wants to come after me, they're gonna come after me." said Leila.
"Hey, no one is gonna hurt you, not as long as I'm around. I won't allow it." said Greg.
Leila opened her mouth to argue but Greg stopped her by pressing his lips firmly against hers. She moaned in surprise than closed her eyes and kissed back. Time seemed to slow, everyone and everything just disappeared as though it was never there. Leila could feel herself relaxing. Greg had always had this effect on her and she was sure that he knew it, that's why he did it all the time. He could make Leila feel like she was floating on air. It was a few minutes before the two of them pulled apart, breathless.
"Come on, let's go take a shower 'cause we both know we smell since we haven't had barely five minutes to ourselves than I'm going to take you out." said Greg.
"Really? After our shower, are you sure we'll have time to go out?" asked Leila, smirking.
"We'll make time." said Greg, smiling. He grabbed the extra clothes that he and Leila both kept in their lockers than he took Leila by the hand and led her to the shower. He set the clothes down than went to set one of the showers to the right temperature for both of them. He turned back to see Leila standing with her back to him, starting to unbutton her shirt. He walked over and stood behind her, reaching his hands around to move her hands away. "Allow me." he said.
Leila moved her hands away from the buttons on her shirt and letting Greg take over, allowing his fingers to work their magic. She just closed her eyes, resting her hands on his arms and just enjoying the small sensations that Greg's fingers were sending through her body as they gently touched her skin, sending tingling sensation's down her spine. Then she felt his lips touching her neck as he slipped her shirt off and tossed it aside. She leaned her head to the side, exposing her neck better for him.
Leila and Greg stood underneath the hot shower, holding each other and letting the water flow over their exposed and naked bodies but nothing else mattered to them except that moment and being so close to one another, being able to feel the touch of each other's skin and place soft, gentle kisses whenever they felt needed. They didn't even care if Ecklie walked in and saw them. As long as they were safe, together and happy, that was all that mattered to them.
Leila placed soft, light kisses along Greg's chest as he placed light kisses her shoulder, his hands roaming along her back while she kept hers on the back of his shoulders. If only time could just stop and she and Greg could stay like this forever, it would be the only thing that Leila would want and would make her the happiest woman on earth. And she knew that it would make Greg the happiest man on earth just to have time freeze and spent eternity with her.
