Hey guys!
This is my latest story, I hope you'll enjoy it! It follows "Groupie", so make sure you read that one before you start here!
Big Love,
pikapikatchu
"I think you have to face the truth, Greg. This has nothing to do with sex and it never had. Sex was never the problem." Dr. Reyes crossed her legs as she watched Greg fidget in his seat nervously. She knew it wasn't a subject he liked to talk about. In fact, he had managed to avoid this subject for weeks now, but the psychiatrist knew that this was why he didn't make much progress any more. "This wasn't about sex. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I mean... sure. That's what they say, that's what they teach. But... It didn't feel like that. And the fact that I have trouble with..." Greg tried really hard to verbalize his thoughts but his point didn't quite come across.
"You don't have troubles with sex, Greg. Your problem lies deeper, which is why you didn't bear your friend Nick's touch for a long time. It's why you locked your bedroom door when you slept over at his place and it's why you can't talk with him about this. You have trust issues and that's perfectly normal."
Greg laughed humourlessly. "Is it? You keep telling me how normal everything I say and feel is, yet every woman I've been with in the last three years told me it wasn't. Even Nick is tired of trying to convince me it's normal, because it's not."
"Given the circumstances... it is, you know that. You have to work on your trust issues if you want to engage in any physical or romantic relationship. You're still living with Nick, right?"
He nodded. "And I don't lock the door anymore. That's something, right?"
"Yes, it is. But it's not the end, it's only the start. You still have a long way to go."
"Yeah, but do I have to go that way? Why can't I just be happy the way it is? I'm fine without a relationship, isn't that enough?"
Greg was at work seven hours after his therapy session. Dr. Reyes' words were on loop in Greg's mind, he couldn't stop thinking about it. She told him that settling for the current state was avoiding the problems he had and that he'd always have huge setbacks if he didn't tackle the problems and try to eradicate them. Him and Russell had been working a crime scene for two hours when a detective walked up to them. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late," the detective said with a smile on her face. "I didn't know I had to work the graveyard shift today. I'm Camille Linus." They shook hands.
"No problem, thanks for filling in." Russell quickly briefed her on the case. "The victim's family is over there, we can go talk to them now."
"...Uh, Russell, I told you I could do that," Greg chimed in, looking a bit hurt. He knew Russell only meant well, but he didn't like being treated with kids gloves. Juno's viscous attack happened three weeks ago and the CSI was still recovering from it – both physically and emotionally.
The supervisor shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"Well, it is for me." He handed him a piece of evidence he just collected. "I'm ready."
Russell sighed as he watched his colleague walk off. He tried to protect Greg from himself, but he knew this wasn't always possible.
Finishing talking to the victim's family, Greg was obviously a little strained by it. Camille noticed. "Hey, are you alright? Are you new on this job?"
"What? No, I've been doing this for a few years now." He shook his head as he chuckled.
"Oh, sorry. I just figured... the way your colleague was talking to you suggested that you're not experienced in talking to the families."
"No, I've done this a lot. He's my boss but he likes to act like a father, you know?" He smiled.
Camille nodded as she swiped some strands of her auburn hair out of her face. "So... Is it rude to ask you about your injuries, half an hour after meeting you?"
He was a bit caught off guard by this honest question. "Well..."
"Sorry, then. I guess I am a little rude sometimes." Her smile got bigger. "Guess that's one of the reasons I wanted to be a detective, I'm nosy."
"I-It's okay. ...I was attacked three weeks ago," he explained.
"Oh, so sorry to hear that. On the job?"
He shook his head.
She noticed he didn't really want to elaborate and she didn't even know how to respond to it. She had assumed it was on the job and felt like an idiot now. "Well... sorry I intruded... and thank you for answering, anyway, I guess. I was hoping the answer would've been more in the line of 'hit by a bus while bravely saving a dog' or 'that dog jumped me and hit me in the face with his head because he was so happy I saved him', you know?" She noticed the frown on Greg's face. "Hey, don't judge me! I might've not saved a dog, but a dog once gave me a black eye hitting me in the face with his head."
Greg laughed. "That's not true!"
"Yeah it is. Still got a little scar left, see?" She pointed on her right eye, a tiny scar was visible. "My mom's dog is crazy, but I love him."
"Well, for what it's worth, I would prefer an explanation like that, too."
She gently patted his arm as she walked off. "You can use that answer next time a nosy jerk like me asks!"
Even though she wasn't exactly happy about it, Camille was forced to work the graveyard shift more often in the next few days. And even though she liked to complain about it, there was a reason she actually didn't mind as much. That reason was Greg.
The CSI started talking about a case with the detective as they were walking through the lab's halls. As usual, once they finished talking about work, they had a non-work related conversation. These talks usually lasted up to 15 minutes, just like today. After their talk, Greg walked into the break room with quite a confused and worried look on his face.
Nick sat down at the table. "Hey there." He noticed the look on his friend's face. "...Something wrong?"
"I'm not sure. ...I think so." He walked over the coffee machine to fix himself a cup. "Camille dropped a billion hints at me, she's waiting for me to ask her out."
Nick nodded, but couldn't stop smiling.
"...Stop smiling, this is an issue for me."
"I know, I know. Sorry. It's just... I just can't tell you how jealous I am. She's gorgeous, man. She's nice, funny and dedicated to her job."
"You don't need to tell me how great she is, I've noticed that, too. It's just that it's been great the way it is. Seeing her really brightened my day, you know? But now..." He shrugged.
"That doesn't have to change, does it?"
"But it will. She'll either lose interest and start to keep her distance or she'll ask me out eventually."
"And you're sure you don't want that?"
He sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "I don't know. ...No. No, I don't."
"Just because of Juno?"
"...'Just' because of her?"
"Sorry, didn't mean it like that. It's just... I understand you had some bad experiences. Many, many bad ones. But you can't let this influence your life like that. There's too many great things you could miss out on because of it. Maybe you just got a little too close with Juno too quickly. This time you can take it slow."
"...Nick, I know you're trying to help right now, but it's not helping me at all. It's not that simple. Let's just assume she can be trusted, doesn't mean she'd want to go out with someone like me."
"Maybe, but would it be fair to take that decision from her?"
Greg shrugged thoughtfully. "It's not easy dating me. I just want this to go on like it's been the last few weeks, you know? It's an innocent flirt and I'd prefer it to stay that way."
"So you'll turn her down when she asks you out?"
"Yeah."
"So you're giving up?"