A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer.

Chapter 3

Adam walked Greg into the lab, and into Mac's office. The younger man looked worried, and Adam tried to keep his cool as they entered the office. "Mac?" he said softly. His boss looked up from the file in his hand. "This is Greg Sanders."

Mac nodded, standing. "We've met before," Mac said, extending his hand. Greg took it, shaking it firmly. "Good to see you again, Greg. Please, have a seat." Greg sat down, and Adam leaned against the wall.

"What's going on?" Greg asked, cutting to the chase.

"Greg, you've come up in a case we're working on."

Greg knit his brow in confusion. "What do you mean, I've come up in a case? What'd I do?"

Mac shook his head. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it?"

Mac leaned back against his desk. "Greg, were you aware you had children?"

Greg's eyebrows shot up as Adam looked down at the ground.

"What? I have kids?"

Mac looked at Adam, who bit his lip.

Greg followed Mac's gaze over to Adam. "And you knew about it?" he asked his friend.

Adam shifted his position, glancing briefly to Greg. "Audrey called me after you left," he said reluctantly. "Asked where you were. I didn't know. I hadn't heard from you at that point. She told me she was pregnant."

"But even when you had, you didn't tell me?" Greg asked angrily.

"I forgot. I'm sorry."

"How the hell did you conveniently forget to mention Audrey was pregnant?"

Adam flinched. "I don't know, okay?" he said, scared. "She asked me not to tell you, that she wanted to tell you herself. Given how you two had left things, I figured when you were ready, you'd call her."

Adam was still flinching, something that didn't go unnoticed by Mac.

Greg sighed, calming down. "Sorry."

Adam shrugged, trying to play the whole thing off.

"I didn't mean to snap at you," Greg added.

"It's alright," Adam said.

Greg shook his head. "No, it's not. It's not your fault. I'm sorry." Adam relaxed, and Greg turned back to Mac. "Where are they?"

"Your daughter's downstairs with Detectives Flack and Bonasera," Mac answered. "Your son is in the hospital."

"Why, what happened?" Greg asked nervously.

Mac sighed, looking at Adam. "Audrey was murdered today." He looked back to Greg, who bit his lip.

"Suspects?"

"One. Audrey's boyfriend. Kids came home from school, found him stabbing Audrey. Your son tried to stop him while your daughter called the police. He was injured."

Greg frowned. "How do you know they're mine?"

"You were listed as the father on their birth certificates. We're gonna need a DNA sample to confirm, of course."

Greg nodded. "Yeah. LVPD has it on record. I can have them fax it, if you want. Grissom should be there by now."

"That would be fine."

"I'm gonna call him. I'll be back in a minute."

"Take your time."

Greg walked out of the office, and Mac turned to Adam.

"You guys okay?" he asked, looking over at Greg's back.

Adam sighed. "I don't know," he replied. "I guess."

"What was that all about?"

"What?"

"You flinched when he yelled at you."

"I-I always flinch when I get y-yelled at. I don't like being yelled at. It bothers me."

Mac nodded, not pushing it. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"It wasn't my place to, Mac. She wanted to tell him herself. What was I supposed to do? Call him up and say, 'hey, Greg, call your ex-girlfriend who broke your heart when she refused to go to Vegas with you because she has some important news for you'?"

Mac shrugged. "I don't know, Adam."

"I did what I thought was right, Mac," Adam said. "I thought they'd talk, work things out, but he never spoke to her again. I wasn't going to try and make him. And, I mean, I was her friend too. The kids know their father wasn't any of Audrey's boyfriends that they'd ever met."

"So, they knew?"

Adam sighed, looking at Greg. "They had more of an idea than he did."

Greg stood in the hallway, sighing to himself as he listened to the line ring. Finally, the phone picked up. "Grissom," Grissom answered, slightly out of breath.

"Run to the phone?" Greg asked, mildly amused.

"Yeah. What can I do for you, Greg?"

"I need you to fax my DNA profile to me."

"Where are you?" Greg could hear the confusion in Grissom's voice.

"New York Crime Lab."

"What happened?" Shock registered in Grissom's voice this time, and Greg swallowed.

"They need a comparison of my DNA profile."

"Why?"

Greg sighed. "I can't really explain right now, but I'm not in trouble, if that's what you're afraid of."

Grissom chuckled, making Greg smile. "Okay, fair enough. I'll fax it over. To whose attention should I bring it?"

"Detective Mac Taylor."

"Alright. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I think I'm okay."

"Okay. Let me know if you do."

"I will."

"Take care, Greg, and enjoy New York."

"Thanks. Later, Grissom." He hung up, taking a deep breath and sighing before walking back into Mac's office. "Grissom is faxing it over to the lab, directed to you," he said, walking in.

Mac nodded. "Great," he said. "That'll save us time on creating a profile. Excuse me for a moment." He walked out, and Greg turned to Adam.

"I'm really sorry, man," Greg said, sighing.

Adam shrugged, sitting down next to him. "It's alright," he replied, leaning back.

Greg shook his head. "No, it's not. I know what you went through in your life, with your father, everything, and I still was an ass."

"Greg, it's fine. I should get over it."

Greg shook his head again. "I'm your friend. I shouldn't scare the crap out of you."

Adam chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first time. I mean, I have been in the car with you."

Greg laughed. "I'm not as bad a driver as you."

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm not the one that hit the telephone pole."

"It was raining!"

"Dude, you were speeding."

Adam laughed. "Yeah, I know."

The two fell into a comfortable silence, sitting on the couch in Mac's office.

"So, are we cool?" Greg asked after a moment.

"Yeah, we're cool," Adam replied.

"I just have one question, though. How come Audrey never told me? Called me? Why didn't you tell her my number or my address or anything?"

"I wasn't sure what to do. What you wanted. You were upset, heartbroken. What did you want me to do? You told me you never wanted to see her again, never wanted to talk to her again. I was supposed to give her your cell?"

"You knew she was pregnant," Greg countered.

"I'm sorry," Adam said. "I just… I didn't know who to protect."

Greg nodded slightly. "How old are they?"

"10."

"So, for 10 years, they've been on this earth and they have no idea who their father really is."

Adam shrugged slightly. "Actually, they do. Audrey was honest with them. She couldn't get in touch with you, and I lied and told her I wasn't either."

"I bet she knew you were lying," Greg said matter-of-factly.

Adam laughed. "Oh, yeah," he replied.

Greg laughed slightly before stopping. "She was smart. I can't believe she's gone. Killed by her boyfriend."

Adam nodded sadly. "Amazing what people do to each other, huh?"

Greg nodded before chuckling slightly. "Man, you have no idea. Did I ever tell you about the guy who killed the homeowner because the guy got caught robbing the old man's house?"

Adam nodded.

"That's ridiculous. And we see stuff like that every day in Vegas."

"Yeah, I bet. Hey, if DNA does match up and you do get custody, what are you gonna do with the kids?"

Greg shrugged. "I don't know. Get a bigger place, better car. Get them into a good school."

"You work nights, though."

"I can find a babysitter. It's not a problem. Catherine's got a daughter who's always looking for something to do. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Adam nodded. "And you're okay with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be? They're my kids."

Adam shrugged. "Just making sure you know what you're doing."

Greg nodded. "Thanks for always being my conscience, man."

Adam snorted slightly "Someone has to."

Greg laughed bitterly. "Sometimes, I do fine with that on my own," he said.

Adam nodded. "Yeah, I know," he replied.

Mac walked back in, carrying the DNA results. "Greg," he said. "If you wouldn't mind coming with me, I have someone you should meet."

"I guess that means DNA panned out, huh?" Greg said, standing.

Adam stood up with him.

"Yeah," Mac said. "They're your children."

Greg nodded as they walked downstairs.

"Child Services wants to talk to you, see what your home life is like…"

"And whether or not I can support them, as well as where I've been," Greg finished. "Yeah, I know the drill. I've seen it done before."

Mac looked at Adam, who shrugged.

"You're from Las Vegas, right?" Mac said.

"Yeah," Greg replied. "I'm a CSI 1, almost 2."

"Grissom's gonna promote you soon?" Adam asked.

Greg chuckled. "He should," he replied.

Adam laughed, and Mac smiled.

"You need to come out to Vegas some time, man. We could chill."

Adam shrugged. "Maybe."

Mac looked at him.

"I'll stay out of trouble, boss," Adam said. "I promise."

Greg smiled. "Yeah, you don't need to worry about this one," he said. "He's the good one out of the two of us."

Mac laughed. "Somehow, I don't doubt that," Mac said.

"I always was the troublemaker in college," Greg explained. "Adam used to try and keep me out of trouble. If I was already in trouble, he'd stop me from making it worse."

"What else are friends for?" Adam said, shrugging.

They walked over to where Flack and Stella were sitting with a young girl. Her blonde hair was pulled into a sloppy ponytail, and her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. The three of them looked at the group approaching.

"Uncle Adam," she said.

Adam frowned softly. "Alexa," he replied.

She stood up, hugging him around the chest.

Mac turned to Flack and Stella as the two embraced. "Flack, Stella, this is Greg Sanders," Mac introduced. "He's their father. DNA confirmed it."

Stella nodded. "Nice to meet you," she said. "Although, I feel like we've met before."

"We have," Greg said. "I was here a couple years ago."

Flack shook Greg's hand quietly.

"Greg?" Adam said.

Greg turned.

"Greg, this is Alexa. Alexa, this is your father."

Greg smiled weakly, not sure what else to do as the girl walked toward him.

"Hi," he said quietly. She smiled weakly, sniffling and hugging him. Greg, taken aback, wrapped his arms around her tentatively.

"Mom always talked about you," she said, starting to cry into his chest. "She told us you had no idea we were here, and that's why you were never around. Said that she never told you about us."

Greg shook his head, though she couldn't see. "No, she didn't."

"She didn't know where you lived. She knew you didn't live in New York anymore and that you went to Las Vegas, but she didn't know where. You weren't listed in the phone book."

"For my protection. I'm a CSI out there."

She nodded, hugging him tighter.

"It's gonna be okay," Greg soothed, rubbing her on the back softly.

"Are we going to live with you?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said softly.

She sniffled, nodding. "Okay."

He said nothing as he held her close, realizing how much his life was about to change.