It was a nice day out and it was a day that felt like nothing could ever go wrong. Despite the fact it was a nice day, Greg and Aliyah were content to just sit inside his apartment and spend it together. They had decided that instead of going back to Aliyah's place like they usually did, they went to Greg's apartment instead, after some gentle persuasion from Aliyah. They were currently sitting on his couch watching a movie, Aliyah laying in Greg's arms with her head on his chest. She was barely paying attention to the movie, intent on listening to the beating of his heart. She loved to listen to Greg's heartbeat. She found it fascinating for some reason. It was sometimes the last thing she heard before going to sleep and was always the first thing she heard when she woke up the next morning. As she listened to the sounds of his chest, she played with the buttons of his shirt. She didn't undo them, just simply fiddling with them.

Ever since she had hung out with Catherine and Riley last week and Catherine had asked her those questions, which she had answered truthfully, something had been bothering her. She couldn't help but wonder if Greg even felt the same way about her or if they just shared different feelings for each other. She had been wanting to ask him about it but she just couldn't find to courage. She just couldn't bring herself to ask him something like that. She was afraid of the answer. She enjoyed her time with Greg more than anything and she felt things for him that she had never felt for anyone else. She didn't want to be hurt again, especially if it was by Greg. She didn't think that she could take it. She needed to know the truth and she hoped it wasn't anything she would regret.

"Greg, I need to ask you something." said Aliyah, deciding that it was now or never.

"What is it Ali?" asked Greg, sensing the distress in her voice.

"It's important and I need you to be honest with me." said Aliyah, hesitating for a moment. "What am I to you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Greg, confused as to why she was asking.

"Come on Greg." said Aliyah as she sat up so she could look him in the eyes, propping herself up on her elbow. "I need to know if this is serious, or if this is just a fling. I...I need to know if this is a mistake."

"What brought this on? What made you want to ask me this?" asked Greg.

"Nothing, forget it. I should go. Forget I even said anything." said Aliyah as she quickly got up and headed for the door.

"Ali, wait." said Greg, getting up and following her.

"Please don't follow me Greg. I need to be alone right now." said Aliyah without looking back at him as she walked out the door.

Greg stopped outside the door for a minute, at first wanting to listen and not follow her but then he knew he should try to stop her, to try and convince to stay. He saw her flag down a cab and had just opened the door as he was coming toward her.

"Ali, wait! Please don't go!" he called after her but he watched her climb in the cab and watched as it pulled away before he could reach it. He was too late. He could only watch as the lights from the cab faded into the distance, along with the woman he cared about more than anything.


"There was nothing I could do to stop her. She just got in the cab and took off." said Greg.

"Have you tried to call her? Stop by her place?" asked Catherine.

"Yeah but she won't take any of my calls and she keeps the door locked and shades drawn. I don't why she would suddenly pull away like that. I mean, was it something I did? Did I do something wrong? If it is, I'll do whatever it takes to get her back." said Greg.

"No, Greg, it's nothing you did. You did everything right and she was happy being with you." said Nick.

"Then what went wrong?" asked Greg.

"I think it started last week. I asked her some questions about her intentions for you. I asked her if she loved you, if she truly wanted to be with you, maybe get married. She wasn't sure about the marriage part just yet but she did say that she did want to be with you. She said that she loved you." said Catherine.

"Then why did she leave me like that?" asked Greg.

"My theory is, and I'm not good with the female psychie, but I'm guessing that she got scared. She was worried about how you really felt about her and I don't think she wanted to get hurt. Maybe she's been hurt too many times and is trying to keep it from happening again." said Ray.

Realization hit Greg like a ton of bricks and he finally understood. Now he knew why she had asked him what she was to him and then suddenly took off before he could answer.

"Go after her Greg, tell her how you feel." said Riley.

And Greg did just that. He didn't need to be told twice. He was out the door in a flash, getting in his car and heading off to find Aliyah. He reached into his pocket and dug out his cell and, instead of dialing Aliyah's number knowing she wouldn't answer, he called her boss Johnnie.

"Hello?" came the club owner's familiar voice.

"Yeah, Johnnie, it's Greg. I'm looking for Aliyah, is she there?" asked Greg.

"Oh hey Greg. No, she's not working tonight. I gave her the night off. She looked kind of depressed. I haven't seen her like this in a while. Did something happen?" asked Johnnie.

"Yeah, guess you could kind of say that. I'll explain later. Listen, do you know where she might be?" asked Greg.

"No, I've tried calling her house to check on her but there was no answer and her cell is turned off. If anyone could know where she is, it'd be you. I'm willing to bet money on it. And wherever she is, she had to have taken a cab there 'cause she doesn't drive." said Johnnie.

"Alright, thanks Johnnie." said Greg before hanging up. He knew that Aliyah only used one cab company. He quickly dialed the number and waited. There were advantages for being a CSI and he was glad that this was one of them when he heard someone answer the phone. "Yes, this is Greg Sanders with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I'm looking for someone of interest and I need your help. I know that she used your cab company and I need to know where she was dropped off at."

"What is her name Mr. Sanders?" asked the man on the other end.

"Aliyah Collins." said Greg, hoping and praying that he would find her in time for him to tell her how he truly felt about her.

There was a pause on the other end of the line and he could hear russeling of papers.

"Okay Mr. Sanders, I have the destination where one of my cabbies dropped off your girl." said the guy.

"Where?" asked Greg desperately.


Aliyah stood alone where the cab had dropped her off hours ago. She lay on a blanket on the ground, lying on her back staring up at the stars. It wasn't the same as when she had done it with Greg but it helped to ease her mind a little. She thought back to all the memories she had with him before the night that she had run out on him. She cherished those memories more than anything in the world. She regretted running out on him like that but she wasn't sure she would ever be able to face him again. He had called her every day since then and even stopped by her house but she ignored him, hid from him. She could only imagine how she had hurt him and she didn't want to have to see it in his eyes. She had been stupid and she had ruined the one thing that she wanted more than anything. It left her with the worse feeling in the world and she wished that she could go back and change it but she knew that you can't change the past.

At the sound of a car pulling up next to her, she quickly sat up to see that it was Greg. She immediately stood up as she watched him park his car and shut it off before stepping out. He never took his eyes off her.

"What are you doing here Greg?" asked Aliyah, trying to keep her expression passive and hope he couldn't see through her.

"I was looking for you. You ran off without an explanation and I need to know why." said Greg.

"There's a reason that I've been ignoring your phone calls and your trips to my house." said Aliyah.

"I know. You were scared." said Greg.

Aliyah was taken aback. She suddenly had a feeling that he knew.

"What?" she asked, trying to sound angry that he would say something like that.

"Catherine told me, about what you told her. Now I know the reason why when you asked what you meant to me. You told Cath that you wanted to be with me. And you even told her that you loved me." said Greg as he walked over to her and stood in front of her.

"Greg, I..." Aliyah started to speak but was silenced as Greg kissed her. She was surprised by it at first but then she allowed herself to melt into and even return it. She was disappointed when he pulled away a minute later.

"I love you too Ali." said Greg, shocking her into silence. "I want to be with you too, for as long as you want us to be together. And I hope that it'll be forever. I don't want us to ever be apart, I want us to always be together. The thought of you not being here with me, it hurts. I can't breath without you and I don't want to. I want you, and only you. I may not be able to give you everything you want but I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy."

This time, it was Aliyah's turn to silence Greg with a kiss. She held on strong, longer than he had, pulling away a few minutes later.

"I already have everything I want. You are everything I could ever want Greg. And I'm happy as long as I'm with you." she said, staring him in the eyes so he knew she was telling the truth.

Some time later found the two laying on the hood of Greg's car, staring up at the stars like they always did. Nothing else in the world mattered to them, just being with each other. Greg had even turned off his cell so they wouldn't be disturbed.

Aliyah looked over at Greg and stared at him for a minute while he stared up at the night sky. He must have sensed her watching him because a moment later, he looked over at her.

"I'm sorry I ran out on you the other night. You're right, I was scared. I didn't know how you felt about me and I guess after what I told Catherine, I started wondering about how you felt and I guess I thought about it too much that I started to wonder if maybe I was just a temporary thing for you, just some girl you had sex with and when you were tired of me, you'd take off." she said.

"Ali, you're way more than that to me. And this is anything but temporary, at least I hope it is." said Greg.

"I know that now. I'm really glad that I met you and I should have never doubted you." said Aliyah.

"Damn right." said Greg with a smile, cracking a joke.

Aliyah couldn't help but smile back. She had never felt happier than she did right now just being here with Greg like this. She couldn't thing of anything better.

"You know, I don't know about you but I'm having the strangest sense of deja vu." she said.

"Yeah, me too. Only now, since we both turned our phones off, no one can interrupt us." said Greg.

"Really? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Aliyah, grinning.

"Oh I think I am." said Greg as he leaned over and kissed her, pulling her against him.

Aliyah kissed back, putting her arms around him and pulling him almost impossibly closer. She couldn't think of anything more right at the moment and she didn't want to. She heard him moan deep in his throat when she ground her hips against his and she knew where they went from here. There was no turning back now and she didn't have any desire to. Then a thought sprung to mind and she pushed him away for a minute, sitting up and she watched him do the same.

"Greg, wait. I have something really important to ask. And no, it's nothing like the other night. I want you to be honest and you're not going to hurt my feelings if you say no. I know that the other night was the first time that I've ever been to your apartment, since we spend most of our time at my house. I know that we've known each other for quite a while now but we've only been together a few months. This is a question that's been in the back of my mind for some time now and I know that it's probably moving a little fast but I want to know. Would you move in with me?" she asked.

"Are you serious?" asked Greg, slightly surprised.

"I've never been more serious. You're always at my house so I guess it only makes sense for you to move in with me. It would mean a lot to me but I'll understand if you don't want to." said Aliyah.

"I want to." said Greg.

"Really?" asked Aliyah.

"Yeah. There's nothing I'd like more. I love being with you and whenever I'm away from you, I can't help but wonder if I'll get to see you again. Being with you is the greatest thing I've ever felt and I don't want to lose that. Besides, if we're gonna be together, I think us moving in together is the next logical step." said Greg.

Aliyah couldn't help herself as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh Greg, you have no idea how happy this makes me feel." she said.

"If it's as happy as it makes me than I think I do." said Greg as he hugged her back. "I love you so much."

"I know but I love you more." said Aliyah, deciding she would mess with him before they pulled apart.

"Oh no, no I love you more." said Greg.

"I don't think so. I love you more." said Aliyah, poking him in the chest.

"See, that's where you're wrong. I love you more." said Greg, giving her side a gentle squeeze and making her giggle.

"Okay, okay, you win. You love me more." said Aliyah, not having any desire to be tickled at the moment.

"Mmm, I love it when I win. So, what do I get for winning?" asked Greg.

"Well, why don't we go back to your apartment and I'll show you what you win." said Aliyah, seductively running her hand slowly up his leg than stopping at his crotch than getting off the hood and walking toward the passenger seat.

"Oh that was cruel. You shouldn't tease a man like that." said Greg as he got down and headed over to the driver seat.

Aliyah just smiled at him before getting in the car and he followed her in, starting the car and driving away, heading toward his apartment.


Author's note: I couldn't resist giving this two a playful nature, I think it's cute and it suits them both. I remember in a previous season, I believe it was season two, where Nick walks in to find Greg on the phone with a girlfriend while sitting in the DNA lab and he keeps saying "no I love you more" and I kind of used that for inspiration here. I thought it went well with the moment and shows a different side to the two. We all know that Greg has his own playful side and it's good to see him find a girl with as much of a playful nature as he has. Relationships can't be completely serious, they have to have a little playfulness thrown in. Greg deserves someone who he has some things in common with but also someone who is slightly different and who knows how to handle him(I know I would!*wink wink*).

Anyway, there'll be another chapter along soon. Please feel free to leave a review.