Chapter One

Greg POV

"Greg!" A disapproving voice was calling me, "Greg, wake up!"

"Come on, Greggo! Where are my results, man?" Another voice said, gentler with a strong Texan twang, "I've been waiting for a while!"

I opened my eyes groggily and I could faintly see two blurred figures leaning over me. 'Damn, I fell asleep on the job again!' I'd been doing that ever since I got out of the hospital a few days ago after my lab exploded. I sat up and rubbed my eyes until I could see Grissom and Nick clearly, Grissom's expression slightly annoyed and Nick's expression kind. I could see concern on both their faces.

"I'm sorry! I was on break and I thought I would lie down on the couch for a second and I guess I fell asleep because the pain medication makes me drowsy… But I have your results, Nick! I got right on them! The blood on the knife wasn't in CODIS or anything else, but I did find out that it's female, not male. So there must be either another female victim or your murderer's female," I rambled, jumping up.

"Whoa there G!" Nick said, holding his hands up, "It's no problem!"

I nodded and smiled gratefully at him, and then turned to Grissom, "It won't happen again."

Grissom just nodded distractedly in my direction and left the break room, mind already on something else. Now it was just Nick and I.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

Nick looked down at his watch, "Four fifteen. You were only asleep for about twenty minutes."

"I guess I'd better get back to the lab, then."

"Yeah," Nick said, walking past me.

He paused a moment and turned towards me, "You'll be okay, Greg."

I broke eye contact and looked at the floor until I was sure he was gone, my eyes flooded with embarrassment. I kept looking down as I walked back to my lab, realizing at the last second that I was going to my old, blown up lab. I turned quickly around and pretended not to notice that Hodges was watching me from his lab. I only looked up after I was safely in my new lab.

"Gotcha!" I murmured to myself, staring at the face that had just appeared in CODIS.

I glanced up and saw Grissom walking by with Catherine through the glass walls that made up my lab.

"Grissom!" I shouted, running out to meet him.

"Yes, Greg?" He asked.

"I ran the semen you found on the bed sheets. They weren't the victims. There were two donors: one unknown male and one female that I ran through CODIS. I got a hit. Her name is Rosalien Jafrano and she lives right off the Strip. She has a record: an armed theft and two charges of assaulting the police."

I handed him the printout that was dangling from my fingers.

"Good, Greg, good," he said, already walking away.

"Wait!" I said and he stopped, "I also have those red fibers you found under the microscope, of you'd care to take a look."

He nodded and walked into my lab. I followed and sat down in my chair, watching him.

"It's a polyethylene based carpet. Highly stain resistant," Grissom moved so that he was standing over my shoulder, "added to that, it's a very unusual color, and there are only 8 people in the Vegas area that have it."

I pointed at the names on the computer screen.

"This one has been missing ever since Claire was murdered, so I'm betting that he's-"

"Greg," Grissom interrupted, "your hands are shaking."

I glanced down at them, "Oh, they've been doing that ever since…" I trailed off, looking down at the desk sheepishly, "I can't get them to stop."

"It will stop," Grissom said, I didn't look up.

"Greg," he said, laying a hand on my shoulder until I looked up, "it will stop."

"I…" I said, "Thanks."

Grissom squeezed my shoulder and then left without another word. I sighed; this was not my day, or my week for that matter. 'I need a break,' I thought to my self, standing and stretching my arms above my head, flinching when the movement pulled the still healing scars on my back. I walked out of my lab, heading towards the break room and stopped when I saw how many people were in there. 'I think I'd better just go outside,' I turned and headed down the long hall lined with labs, Archie tiredly waved at me from his and Bobby smiled widely as I passed. I just kept walking until I was in the cool outside air behind the CSI building. This place was hidden from the loud streets and people of Sin City, and it had become my refuge when I needed somewhere to think. I leaned against a thick column and stared up at the stars for a moment.

"Hey, Saunders," a voice startled me and I jumped about a foot in the air, "Oops, didn't mean to scare you."

I turned to face Hodges, "You didn't scare me, I was just surprised. I didn't know anyone else came out here."

"It's not like this is your own private backyard, Saunders, it's the back of the lab. Everybody comes here," Hodges said in his usual sarcastic manner.

We were always getting into a battle of wits, sarcastic remarks would flow between us until one of us gave up, but I wasn't in the mood today, "Go away, Hodges."

I turned my back on him and continued watching the stars.

"Okay, look, Saund-Greg. I know getting blown up in your own lab isn't really a picnic and probably got you thinking about what would have happened if you had died but this is ridiculous. You're fine; you made it out with a few scrapes and scratches but your alive. So why don't you start playing your obnoxious music that blows out everyone's eardrums and start cracking your lame jokes like you used to. It was just an accident, Greg, get over it. Its over and done now."

I whirled around to face him, "It was just an accident? Its over and done now? Are you kidding me?" I held my hands in front of his face, "Does it look like it's over? Like everything is somehow magically fixed? Look at my hands! They shake all the time! They shake so much that it takes twice as long as it should for me to get the results for the CSIs! I fell asleep on the couch in the break room again because of the pain medication that I have to take! So I don't need you, Mr. I've-got-a-sarcastic-comeback-for-everything, telling me what to do!" I shouted at him.

Hodges was silent; he was still looking at my shaking hands. He slowly looked up into my eyes.

"Greg," he whispered, holding my hands in his until they stopped quivering, "I just want my sweet little lab boy back."

"Wha-What?" I asked stupidly.

"Just cheer up, Saunders, or I may become the CSI's favorite," he said stepping back and releasing my hands, the moment broken.

"In your dreams, Hodges," I said, smiling sincerely, Hodges was always filled with surprises.

"You know your break is over, right?"

"Oh, shit," I rushed passed him and into the building, my feet clanging noisily up the stairs.

I heard Hodges shout from the bottom of the stairs, "Kidding!"

'That asshole!' I thought as I flipped him off from the top of the stairs. I could hear him laughing and laughing until the door slammed shut behind me.

That wasn't too terrible was it? Rate and Review! No flames please!