Hey guys! I hope you're having a great Saturday! Here's a new chapter to make sure this day has at least one highlight ;)


Two hours had passed since Russell and Nick broke the news to Greg and the young CSI acted like nothing happened.

"I think he's been crying," Nick said as he sat down opposite Russell in the evidence room. "I just saw him walk out of the locker room, his eyes looked red."

"He's pulling a double today, he could be tired," Russell suggested. "But either way, if he doesn't want to talk about it you'll have to accept that."

"I know, but I'm worried."

Greg knocked on the door as he walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, but since there's no case for me anymore and I'm done with my paperwork I was wondering if I could beat it early today?"

"...Sure. Of course." Russell looked a bit surprised. Not only was this a question he didn't hear Greg ask in ages, he was also looking unusually upbeat.

"Thanks, boss!" he said with a big smile on his face as he walked away.


Two days later, on Greg's day off, Nick decided to pay him a visit at home. After he knocked on the door several times, Greg finally opened. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood on my way to work and decided to drop by and see how you're doing."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Okay. Come in. I just fixed myself something to eat. You want some?"

Nick shook his head smiling. "I'm fine, thanks. So... How are you?"

"This is about the dead girl, right? The one who shot at Russell."

"...And you. Yeah."

"Do you know what happened to her?"

"We have our theories but... that's not what I wanted to talk about."

Greg took a bite from his sandwich. "I kind of got you worried by the way I handled the news of her death, huh?"

"Well... Yeah, you did."

"I'm sorry." He smiled. "I gotta admit, I was caught off guard. I didn't expect that. But... She's just another victim that also used to be a suspect."

"And that's it?"

Greg nodded.

"Do you feel some kind of relief or..."

"Relief?" Greg frowned.

Nick shrugged his shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Russell said he did, so..."

"...Russell said he felt relieved over someone else's death?"

"Mhm."

Greg raised an eyebrow. This didn't sound like Russell, but it did sound a lot like Greg's feeling right now. He confided in Russell about his vengeful feelings lately. "...No, I don't feel relieved. I don't feel anything about this in particular."

Nick was getting a bit frustrated. He looked Greg straight in the eyes and saw a lot of feelings, not indifference like he claimed.

Greg noticed his friend's frustration building up. "You know, it kind of helped me. It made me realize... The way I deal with these things have to change. I put you and Russell in this awful position where you had to lie to me because you were worried I wouldn't be able to handle the news. I don't want you to see me as a victim all the time, but it's not your fault you do. It's mine."

Nick nodded. He didn't know how to respond to that, so he decided to change the subject. "So... How are things with Bridget?"

"Are you writing a book or something?" Greg asked jokingly.

"Come on, man, I'm your friend, I want to know what's going on in your life at the moment."

Greg nodded as he took another bite from his sandwich. "She dumped me."

"I'm so sorry Greg. Don't regret you didn't tell her about Novak... You just weren't meant to be."

"Oh I did tell her. I took your advice, after all."

"...What?"

"Yeah. I figured I should try anything to keep her, you know?"

Nick looked shocked. "...Well, what happened?"

"Turns out that when you're a lawyer specializing on victims... The last thing you need is having to listen to a victim whine all day long when you're off-the-clock."

"...I'm sure that's not what she meant."

"I guess in that case she shouldn't have said it."

"...She said that?"

Greg laughed humorlessly. "She tried to make it sound nice but... That's exactly what she said."

"...I'm so sorry. I... I don't know what to say."

"It's alright. I guess it's better to keep people like her out of my life, anyway. And it's not like I don't understand her. She has a point."

"The hell she does! Come on, Greg. Some very traumatic things happened to you. It's part of who you are and if she can't acce..."

Greg interrupted him. "It's not part of who I am! Neil Novak doesn't define me."

Nick looked surprised at Greg. "That's not what I said. All I meant was that we're all carrying around our baggage and you're no exception. She has some, too, I'm sure. And... I wanted to tell you this for a long time now... The way you handled it all is something you can be proud of."

"Thanks, but that's not true. If I did handle it all well I would still be with Bridget."

"Do you even want that, now that you know how she feels about these things?"

Greg shrugged. "I just want to be happy."