Flashback-November 2001

A young dark haired woman walked into the lobby of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, walking up to the front desk. She waited patiently for the secretary to hang up the phone she had talking on when she had walked in.

"Can I help you Miss?" asked the secretary.

"Yes. I'm Silvia Johnson, I'm supposed to be meeting a Gil Grissom." said the young woman.

"He's out at a crime scene right now but you're more than welcome for wait for him 'til he get back if you'd like." said the secretary.

"Thank you." said Silvia. She turned around to go sit in one of the chairs in the lobby and wait when she ran into someone walking by. "Oh sorry." she quickly apologized.

"It's okay, that was my fault." said the person that she had run into.

It gave a chance to get a better look at the person. It was a young man, probably about her age with spiky brown hair with blonde highlights, wearing jeans, tennis shoes, a rock band's t-shirt and a long blue lab coat. When he looked at her, his pace slowed as he continued to walk, not taking his eyes off of her. He even smiled at her and she had to admit, he did seem like he might possess a certain charm. She saw someone approaching behind him, their attention on a file in their hand.

"Might wanna watch where you're going." she told him.

"What?" he asked, turning around in time to prevent a one on one collision.

Silvia couldn't help but laugh at him. She watched as he grinned sheepishly at her than turned and walked away. She didn't, however, notice the figure standing behind her as she watched him walking away until the person behind her spoke.

"You must be Miss Silvia Johnson."

Startled, Silvia turned around to see an older man standing there smiling somewhat at her.

"I see that you already met our DNA tech, Greg Sanders." he said. He extended his hand to her. "Gil Grissom."

"Oh it's nice to meet you Mr. Grissom." said Silvia, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Well, why don't we go to my office and talk than I'll show you to where you shall be working." said Grissom before leading her down the hall.


As Grissom led Silvia down the hall, away from his office where they had just come from, they could hear loud music that Grissom already knew where it was coming from. As they reached the DNA lab, Grissom held open the door for Silvia before following her in. The man that she had run into earlier, Greg as Grissom had introduced him, was unaware of the two people who had just entered his lab, his attention on the papers in front of him as he moved his head with the music. Grissom walked over and pushed the pause button on the stereo, causing Greg to look up. When his eyes fell on Silvia, he stood up.

"Greg, I would like to introduce Silvia Johnson, our new DNA intern. She'll be working with you for awhile, unfortunately. Try not to scare her off as you've done a few of the others." said Grissom.

"Oh don't worry, I don't scare easily." said Silvia, smiling.

Greg looked at her curiously while Grissom just smiled at her than walked out, leaving the two of them alone together.

"For the record, I didn't scare anyone off. They just couldn't handle my devilish good looks and style. That and they couldn't keep up" said Greg.

"Dually noted Mr. Sanders." said Silvia.

"Please, call me Greg. Now, let's see if you can keep up." said Greg, handing her a pair of gloves.

Silvia took the gloves from Greg and, before putting them on, hit the play button on the stereo.

"I think we're gonna get along just fine." said Greg.

"We'll see about that." said Silvia, grinning mischievously.

As the days went by, Silvia got to know Greg more. She found out that he liked to surf, he liked to scuba dive, one of his favorite bands was Marilyn Manson and that he was into latex(she had discovered this when a case came in about a woman found in a sandbox and she had been wearing it before she died) but this didn't bother her. She felt comfortable being around him, she just wasn't sure why yet. She also found out that the two of them seemed to have quite a few things in common. Both of them were from California, Greg being from San Gabriel and Silvia being from Sacramento. They even had the same personality traits but Silvia knew when to be serious better than Greg. Some even said that she was the female version of Greg. Silvia also had the pleasure of meeting the night shift CSI's. Nick had tried flirting with her a little only to be dragged out by Catherine by the ear. She got to chat with Warrick some while he waited for results on a sample he had brought in. Sara was the only one to just say hello to her but other than that, she didn't really acknowledge her.

"Don't worry, Sara's always like that. She'll come around." said Greg, trying to assure her.

"Yeah, I'm sure." said Silvia, not sounding like she even believed it but she didn't want to talk about it anymore so she got back to work.

Just then, Catherine came in holding a brown bag in her hand. She walked over and set it down in front of Silvia and Greg.

"What do you got for us this time?" asked Silvia.

Catherine smiled wickedly and Silvia realized her and Greg were probably in trouble.

"Thirty-two used condoms. Inside and out. I wanna know what DNA belongs to who." said Catherine.

"You really hate us don't you?" asked Silvia, acting hurt.

"Of course not, I love you guys! But I still need these processed as soon as possible so I can get a suspect." said Catherine.

Greg turned to Silvia.

"You wanna race?" he asked her.

"Uh oh." said Catherine.

"Sure, why not. What are the stakes?" asked Silvia.

"If I win, you have to let me take you out to dinner after shift." said Greg.

"Greg, she's still new here. Couldn't have waited a few more days?" asked Catherine.

"It's alright Catherine, I'm not scared. But what do I get if I win?" asked Silvia without taking her eyes off Greg. She was actually finding this interesting.

"What do you want?" asked Greg.

Catherine leaned over and whispered something in Silvia's ear that he couldn't hear.

"Nah, that's too mean but I will save it for another time. I'd rather go easy on him, for now." said Silvia.

"What?" asked Greg, weary of what Catherine had said to her.

"Nothing, private girl stuff." said Catherine.

"How 'bout this. If I win, for the duration of the time that I am here, you have to share your Blue Hawaiian coffee with me." said Silvia.

"That's it?" asked Greg, worrying that there might be a catch.

"And I have to know where you keep it hidden." said Silvia.

"Knew there was a catch. Alright, fine, deal." said Greg. He had no intention of losing.

"You two are something else. I'm outta here, try not to kill each other." said Catherine, turning and leaving.

"Think we scared her?" asked Silvia.

"No, Catherine doesn't usually scare easily." said Greg.

Silvia just nodded as they divided the used condoms evenly between them than set to work. Unfortunately, for both of them, they finished and got their results at the same time. When Catherine walked in to get her results, she saw the slightly disappointed looks on their faces.

"What happened? Who won?" she asked.

"Neither of us. Well, both of us actually." said Greg.

"Technically, neither of us won and neither of us lost. We tied." said Silvia.

"So, it looks like you've got yourself some competition Greg. And you both get your prizes. Greg gets to take you out to dinner and you get what you wanted. Now, where are my results?" said Catherine.

Silvia and Greg looked at each other, trying to decide who would give Catherine her results first.

"You first." said Silvia.

"The semen came back to at least five different males, only got a hit in CODIS for three of them. Alexander Morgan from Henderson. Works at the Tangiers. The second male is Derek Richman, lives in Summerlin. He's got a couple priors for sexual assault. And lastly, Jeffery Anderson. He lives in Loftland. Clean record, no priors. Works at the Sphere." said Greg.

"And what about the female contributions?" asked Catherine.

"Several females present but only one hit in CODIS. Veronica Smithers. She has a record for prostitution." said Silvia.

"Okay, thanks guys." said Catherine, turning and leaving.

As their shift was coming to an end, Silvia suddenly felt herself getting nervous. She didn't know why. She looked up at Greg to see that he was standing with his back to her, finishing up his last sample for the night. He looked pretty calm, as usual. She turned back to her sample that she was finishing. Once she had finished, she cleaned up and disposed of her gloves. She looked back across the table to see Greg doing the same.

"So, what kind of trouble are you going to be getting me into?" she asked.

"None. We're just going somewhere to have dinner, no trouble involved." said Greg.

Silvia gave him a skeptical look. He had trouble written all over him.

"Alright, I thought after dinner we could hit a club or two." said Greg.

This actually did scare Silvia a little. She didn't like drinking around other people, especially people she didn't know very well. She tended to scare people when she was drinking. Greg must have noticed that she seemed a bit nervous after he said they were going to a club after dinner.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, it's just...I don't usually go to places like that unless it's with someone I know I can trust." said Silvia.

Greg walked around the table and walked over to stand behind her, placing his hands on the table on either side of her. Silvia could feel her heart start racing.

"You can trust me." he said.

"Promise?" asked Silvia. She wanted to know that she could truly trust him. She didn't want to take the chance and than be disappointed.

"I promise. I'm not gonna lie to you." said Greg, moving his hands off the table and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"And why is that?" asked Silvia, looking up at him, smiling to try and hide how nervous she still was.

Greg just smiled at her.

"That's my little secret." he said, giving her a wink before releasing her.

Silvia couldn't help but feel disappointed at the loss of his arms around her.


Silvia was heading back towards the lab after giving Catherine and Sara their results that they had been waiting on and they were more than happy to get them. She passed by a few other lab techs and other workers that were walking in the halls. She had just reached the DNA lab when she heard yelling coming from ballistics. She looked and saw Warrick arguing with Grissom. Greg stepped out and stood next to her, curious of the source of the raised voices.

"The job, Warrick, is to process evidence. Objectively and without prejudice." said Grissom.

"I'm so tired of hearing that. I've heard it a million times. I can't be like you. I'm not a robot, okay? I actually care about these people." said Warrick.

Silvia and Greg looked at each other, surprised at what Warrick had said to Grissom. He was their boss, no one should talk to him like that, not even Warrick. Everyone around the lab respected Grissom and listened to whatever he had to say. Not many dared to question him.

"You know what? You're not working on this case anymore. I'll have another assignment for you tomorrow." said Grissom, keeping his cool.

"Keep it." said Warrick, storming out of ballistics, pushing a mail cart out of the way as he passed.

Silvia moved closer to Greg as Warrick stormed passed them, holding on to him as though he were a shield that could protect from Warrick's wrath. Once he had passed them, both she and Greg walked back into the DNA lab and back to their work.

"What's up with Warrick today? I've never seen him like that?" asked Silvia.

"That Phelps girl from him and Grissom's case, he knows the father." said Greg.

"Oh. So he thinks just cause the first guy who turns up with the gun that killed her, he automatically assumes that that guy is the shooter. Ten bucks said the real shooter ditched the gun and he just happened to find it." said Silvia.

"What, you wanting to work the case with Grissom now?" asked Greg.

"No, thank you. I'm perfectly comfortable right where I am. Besides, I'm not the one wanting to get out in the field, you are." said Silvia.

"Yeah, well, I don't see that happening anytime soon." said Greg.

"Hey, you never know. It could happen." said Silvia. "And speaking of being in the field, guess who I heard went out into the field with Nick."

"Who?" asked Greg, his head snapping up from his work to look at her.

"Archie." said Silvia as she continued working, knowing she had Greg's full attention.

--

Silvia was finishing up one more sample, preparing to go on a break so she could get something to eat since she hadn't eaten yet that day. She usually grabbed something on the way in since she got up early every day but this time, she had slept in and barely made it to the lab in time. Greg had been teasing her about it all day but she just ignored him. She would get him for it later like she usually did whenever he would start picking on her.

Just as she was about to head to the break room, she heard Greg talking to someone. She looked and saw him standing the doorway with Nick and she had a good feeling she knew what it was about. She smiled and shook her head.

"Hey, what that Star Trek episode where the guy's got the forehead thingy, and the time portal...?" asked Nick, looking over his shoulder at Archie in the lab behind him.

"In Classic, TNG, DS9, Voyager or Enterprise?" asked Archie.

She watched Nick turn back to Greg.

"Point taken." said Greg before turning and walking back into the DNA lab.

"Just couldn't let it go, could you?" asked Silvia.

"I don't know what you're talking about." said Greg, trying to act innocent.

"Please, I heard your conversation with Nick. I know what you guys were talking about. You're jealous 'cause he took Archie into the field instead of you." said Silvia.

"So what if I am? That would be between me and Nick. And what were you doing listening to our conversation anyway?" asked Greg.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. It was too tempting." said Silvia.

Greg turned away, pretending to be mad at her for listening in on him and Nick, but he really wasn't.

Silvia could tell that Greg wasn't really mad at her, he was just pretending so she decided to play along. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Oh come on Greg, it's not like I eavesdrop on you all the time. This one just seemed a little too good to miss." she said.

"That's beside the point." said Greg, trying to pull away but she wouldn't let him.

"Don't be mad. Come on, let's take a break. Vending machine'll be on me." said Silvia.

Greg thought about it for a minute, mostly just trying to make her sweat.

"Alright." he said, looking up at her and smiling. He got up and both headed to the break room.

--

Silvia walked toward her car. It was the end of shift and she was ready to go home, take a nice hot bath and climb into her bed. It had been a long day and she was glad it was over. She climbed into her car, put the key in the ignition and went to start it but it didn't. She tried again and still it wouldn't start. She popped the hood and got out, slamming the door shut. She walked in front of her car and examined it. She didn't know much about cars and she was hoping it would be something simple that she could figure out.

"Need some help?"

Silvia turned to see Greg standing next to her. She hadn't heard him walk over but then again, she hadn't been paying attention.

"Yeah, my car won't start." she said.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift. We'll look at it tomorrow." said Greg.

Silvia closed the hood, grabbed her keys out of her car, locked it than followed Greg to his car. She climbed in the passenger seat and just enjoyed the ride as Greg drove.

"Hope you don't mind, we're making a pit stop." said Greg.

"What for?" asked Silvia.

"I'm buying you dinner." said Greg.

"Greg..." Silvia started to argue but she was cut off.

"Hey, you bought me lunch, now I'm gonna buy you dinner. It's the least I could do." said Greg.

Silvia didn't argue. She couldn't. Greg had made up his mind and she wasn't going to get him to change it.

"Well, if you're going to buy me dinner than why don't we just go to your place and order pizza. Or my place." she suggested.

"Alright. We'll just go to my place, it's closer." said Greg.

Silvia went ahead and called in the order as they drove that way they wouldn't have to wait so long for it. Once they got to Greg's apartment and went inside, they only had to wait a few minutes before their pizza arrived. Greg paid for it than they sat watching tv, talking and enjoying the pizza.

May 2003

Weeks passed and everyone couldn't help but notice that Silvia was starting to fit in at the lab. She and Greg got along great and she got the results to whoever needed them as fast as he did, sometimes faster if she was lucky. She was friends with everyone in the lab but she would never feel as close to anyone as she did Greg. She never missed a chance to have a friendly chat with some of the other lab techs, at least that was until she met David Hodges, brought in to work in the Trace lab. She found him to be rude and arrogant. She always made sure to try and keep her distance from him.

She had just gotten herself a fresh soda and was on her back to the DNA lab when she saw Greg walk out.

"Hey, where you think you're going?" she asked, catching his attention.

"Oh I just got a hit on that semen from Grissom's vic. You ever heard of Jason Kent?" asked Greg.

"The Circle Killer from 1987? Are you kidding, that's all my parents would talk about for awhile. Grissom's gonna flip." said Silvia.

"Oh yeah." said Greg as he hurried off the find Grissom.

Silvia just smiled after him than headed into the DNA lab, getting back to the back-log her and Greg had to deal with. She already knew it was going to turn into a very long shift, and an even longer day. She just had no idea how right she was.

A few minutes later, Greg returned.

"So, what did Grissom have to say?" asked Silvia.

"Ah you know Grissom. Never really has much to say but you were right, he about flipped when I told him the results." said Greg.

Silvia just smiled than reached over next to her and turned on the stereo. Immediately, linkin park started playing and she started singing along with the song that was playing.

"It starts with one thing; I don't know why, It doesn't even matter how hard you try, Keep that in mind; I designed this rhyme, To explain, in due time, all I know, Time is a valuable thing, Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings, Watch it count down to the end of the day, The clock ticks life away..." Then Greg cut her off, singing the next line, making her look up.

"It's so unreal..." She smiled at him but continued without missing a beat.

"Didn't look out below, Watched the time go right out the window, Tried to hold on, but didn't even know, I wasted it all just to watch you go, I kept everything inside, And even though I tried, it all fell apart, What it meant to me will eventually be, A memory of a time when.." She and Greg started singing the chorus together as they worked.

"I tried so hard and got so far, But, in the end, it doesn't even matter, I had to fall to lose it all, But, in the end, it doesn't even matter..." Greg took over singing the next verse and Silvia just sat and listened.

"One thing; I don't know why, It doesn't even matter how hard you try, Keep that in mind; I designed this rhyme, To remind myself how I tried so hard, In spite of the way you were mocking me, Acting like I was part of your property, Remembering all the times you fought with me, I'm surprised that it got so far, Things aren't the way they were before, You wouldn't even recognize me anymore, Not that you knew me back then, But it all comes back to me in the end, I kept everything inside, And even though I tried, it all fell apart, What it meant to me will eventually be, A memory of a time when..." Silvia joined back in as the chorus played again.

"I tried so hard and got so far, But, in the end, it doesn't even matter, I had to fall to lose it all, But, in the end, it doesn't even matter..." Than Silvia took over again.

"I've put my trust in you, Pushed as far as I can go, For all this there's only one thing you should know..." Silvia stopped and let Greg take the next part.

"I've put my trust in you, Pushed as far as I can go, For all this there's only one thing you should know..." Both sang the chorus together again.

"I tried so hard and got so far, But, in the end, it doesn't even matter, I had to fall to lose it all, But, in the end, it doesn't even matter..."

The two of them stopped and turned their attention to the doorway when they heard applause, only to see an amused looking Grissom, and Catherine, Warrick and Nick were still applauding their little performance.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" asked Silvia.

"Not long. You know, you two could probably form your own band." said Catherine.

"Yeah, picture that." said Warrick.

"Alright, unless you have something to add to our growing pile, if you don't leave now, you're gonna end up finding little and unpleasant surprises in your lockers." said Silvia.

At that, Catherine, Nick and Warrick turned and left but Grissom stayed.

"Got something boss?" asked Greg.

"Yes, I do." said Grissom, handing Greg an evidence bag with fingernail clippers inside. "See what you can get from these." he said before turning and leaving.

"You think he could be more of a people person." said Silvia.

"I think he prefers bugs instead of people." said Greg.

"Yeah, just walk in his office, that'll tell you something about him. He's a bug guy. He really needs a girlfriend." said Silvia.

"I'm not so sure any girl would be crazy enough to wanna be his girlfriend." said Greg.

"Yeah, you're probably right." said Silvia.

Greg just smiled and laughed at her.

The night seemed to drag on. It felt almost like they might never get out of there. Silvia and Greg were having to find little ways of entertaining themselves while they worked but time seemed to just want to go by slow tonight.

Just then, Judy, the secretary, walked in.

"Silvia, sorry to bother you. There's some guy in the lobby for you. Says he's a close friend of yours." said Judy.

"Okay, thanks Judy." said Silvia. "Ten bucks says I can figure out who it is before I even walk out the door."

"Oh yeah? Who do you think it is?" asked Greg.

"Anthony Micheals, old friend from college. We were pretty close for a few years than he just disappeared. Last I heard he was a surgeon in Denver." said Silvia.

"Exactly how close were you two? Close as in brother-sister? Or close as in something else?" said Greg.

"Yeah, don't go there. We were and are nothing more than friends so don't worry you're pretty little head. Besides, I heard he was engaged." said Silvia before turning and heading out to the lobby and sure enough, she was right. She saw the all too familiar face of Anthony Micheal's waiting for her. "Hello Anthony."

"Hey Sil, how are you?" asked Anthony.

"Save the pleasantries Anthony. What're you doing in Vegas?" asked Silvia.

"Well, I heard you were working here and I just happened to be in the neighborhood so I thought I'd stop by and see if maybe you wanted to have dinner with me sometime. My treat. And you can even pick." said Anthony.

"Thanks Anthony but no thanks. First, I don't even have the time and second, last I heard you were engaged." said Silvia.

"That was just a rumor. I was seeing this girl, she wanted more and I didn't. Got rid of her as soon as I heard what she was telling people." said Anthony.

"I'm sure." said Silvia.

Before she could say anything else, she heard an explosion behind her. She turned around to see glass everywhere along with other things. She saw two people laying on the ground but she couldn't tell who they were. She started to walk to over to the one closest to her when she felt someone grab her and pull her back, taking her outside. She watched as more people came out behind her. Some were just shaken up, others had cuts from flying glass on their faces. She saw Archie and Jacqui come out and make her way over them.

"Sil, you alright?" asked Archie.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. What the hell happened?" asked Silvia.

"I'm not sure, some sort of explosion." said Archie.

"Sil, it came from the DNA lab." said Jacqui, placing a hand on Silvia's shoulder.

Silvia froze in shock. She was lucky she wasn't in there when it happened, but she knew that Greg most likely was.

"Where's Greg?" she asked.

No one answered her. She quickly looked around as more people came out. She was hoping that he would walk out with everyone else and let her know he was alright but he didn't. She could feel her fear growing, fearing that the worst had happened. She started to head back in but Archie stopped.

"Silvia, you can't go in there." he said, trying to hold her back as they heard the paramedics and fire department arrive.

"Let me go, I have go back in there. I have to find Greg, I have to help him." said Silvia, struggling against Archie's hold.

"You can't. The paramedics are here, they'll find him." said Archie. He felt Silvia stop struggling and sag in his arms. He felt her bury her face in his chest and feel her body shaken from silent sobs. All he could do was comfort her the best he could.

"Please let him be okay." said Silvia, trying to calm herself. She took a few deep breaths before standing up straight on her own. "I'm okay." she told Archie.

Archie just nodded even though he knew better. They turned in time to see the paramedics bringing out a stretcher with someone on it. When they were able to get a good look, they saw that the person on the stretcher was Greg.

"Oh my God, Greg." said Silvia, one hand flying to her mouth to keep herself from screaming. She watched as they took him to the waiting ambulance and loaded him in. She saw Grissom standing nearby too. She made a split second decision, quickly waiting toward the ambulance. "I'm going with him." she told the paramedics and Grissom. She watched Grissom just before she climbed in and heard the doors close behind her. She felt tears well up in her eyes when she saw the burns on his back and his neck. She choked them back quickly, wanting to stay strong for Greg. He needed her right now.

"Sil..." she heard Greg moan out.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here." she said, taking his hand in hers. She felt him give it a small squeeze.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No, no I'm fine." said Silvia, not really surprised by his question.

"That's good. I'm glad you're okay." said Greg.

Even though she knew that he was a selfless person, this did kind of surprise her. He was the one that was hurt but all he was thinking about right now was her and that she wasn't hurt. She felt the tears fall from her eyes but didn't try to stop them. She didn't know what to say.

Silvia felt like she had been sitting in that waiting room for hours. It was starting to make her mad. She had been forced to wait while they hauled Greg away and now all she could do was sit and wait. She was getting tired of waiting and it was driving her insane. She wanted to know what was going on.

Right then, she spotted a doctor walking over to her.

"Miss Johnson, I'm sorry about the wait. Mr. Sanders is going to be just fine. He was lucky." said the doctor.

"Can I see him?" asked Silvia.

"For a few minutes, yes." said the doctor. He showed her to Greg's room than left the two of them alone.

Silvia walked into Greg's room, pulling a chair up to his bedside and sitting down. His eyes were closed so she figured he was sleeping. She stayed quiet and just watched him, not wanting to disturb him if he was sleeping. She gently took his hand in hers again and that's when he opened his eyes.

"Hey, I didn't mean to wake you." she said.

"You didn't. I was waiting for you. I knew you'd be worried about me." said Greg.

"Yeah, doctor said you were lucky. Told I could come see you for a few minutes." said Silvia before falling silent.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Greg.

Silvia hesitated. She wasn't sure how to explain or if she could. She looked down, away from Greg only to have him lift her and make her look back at him.

"Come on, you can tell me." said Greg.

"When I first heard the explosion, I thought nothing of it. Then I saw Archie and Jacqui and they said that it had come from the DNA lab. I tried to go back in to find you but Archie wouldn't let me. I started to fear the worst. Then I saw the paramedics bring you out on the stretcher. I don't think I've ever been so scared." said Silvia, quickly wiping away fresh tears.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm still here. Everything's gonna be okay." said Greg, placing a hand on the side of her face.

Silvia just nodded.

Then they were interrupted by a knock on the door and they turned to see Catherine and Warrick standing in the doorway.

"Hey, sorry to disturb you guys. Silvia, is it alright if we talked to Greg alone for a minute?" asked Catherine.

"Yeah. I should probably be getting back to the lab anyway." said Silvia, standing. "I'll come back later, after shift." she told Greg before heading out.


At least a week or two had passed but Silvia stopped trying to keep track, not really being able to concentrate much anymore since the lab explosion. She had to handle everything while Greg was gone, recovering from his injuries, not that she minded. At least they didn't have to get someone who might not know what they were doing or get any work done. They knew that Silvia could handle it. She knew Greg most likely felt bad, having Silvia take on all the work without him there but she told him she could handle it, it was no big deal. Besides, she could use against him later, that it just meant he owed her a favor. She had originally been joking when she said it but Greg took her seriously. She always went over to his apartment to see him after her shift, checking on him and keeping him company, which they both enjoyed and she knew that Greg appreciated. Tonight was going to be no different than any other. Only this time she had rented a few new movies for them to watch, mostly comedies so they could have a good laugh or two. She had even got one that was a horror movie and supposed to be very scary from what she had heard from a few people.

She was just about to get started on one of her last samples for the night when she heard the door open and Grissom walked in.

"Hey." she greeted.

"Hey. How's it going?" asked Grissom.

"Let's just say that it's been a long night. Finally got caught up on the back-log." said Silvia.

"That's good. Why don't you go ahead and call it a night. You've been working hard." said Grissom.

Silvia looked up at him. She could tell it was more of an order and was not to be argued.

"Thanks." she said, grateful for the earlier repreave.

"Tell Greg that we all miss him and can't wait til he gets back." said Grissom.

"I'll do that." said Silvia as she watched Grissom turn and head out. She cleaned up than headed out herself, heading to Greg's. She used the key he had given her and walked in. He was no where in sight but she could see the fresh popcorn sitting on the table, ready for the movies. She smiled, setting the movies the movies down next to it along with her keys. "Greg?!" she called through the apartment.

"In here!" yelled Greg from the bathroom.

Silvia saw the door was open and walked in to see that he was trying to change the bandage on his neck but not having much luck. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Here, let me help you with that." she said, moving forward and taking the bandage from him.

"You don't have to. You've done enough already." protested Greg.

"Nonsense. I'm more than happy to help. Now, sit." said Silvia, making Greg sit down on the toilet than knelt down in front of him so she could put the bandage on. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time as she carefully put it on his neck. When she was done, she looked him and saw a look in his eyes that she couldn't place. "What?" she asked.

Greg said nothing, placing a hand on one side of her neck than slowly leaning forward and taking her lips with his own.


Silvia could feel the excitement emanating from the man walking beside her as they headed into the lab. As they walked through the lobby, they received several greeting.

"Hey Silvia. Hey Greg, good to have you back." said Judy.

"Thanks Judy." said Greg as they walked by.

Silvia just smiled. Then as they approached the old DNA lab, she could sense him tense up. She looked at him to see him staring at what used to be his lab. She gently placed a hand of his arm, trying not to startle him. It was a minute before he turned to look at her.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." said Greg but his eyes said otherwise.

"Come on, they set up a temporary lab in here." said Silvia, not wanting to push the subject. She led him into the new DNA lab, feeling him relax a little. She could only guess how this was effecting him. All she could do was be there for him when he needed her.

--

Silvia searched the lab for Greg. He had taken off to break before her and she hadn't seen him since. She was starting to get a little worried about him. She knew how upset he had been since the explosion and how it had affected him. She had been there for him as much as she could since. She stayed by his side when she could. She didn't force him to talk about it, she just wanted to be there for him if and when he did.

Finally, she found him sitting by himself in the locker room, staring at the floor. She slowly walked in so as not to startle him, walking over to him and sitting down next to him. She gently reached over and took his hand in hers. He didn't move or even respond.

"Greg? You alright?" she asked, hoping that he would say something, anything.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." said Greg.

Silvia took his face in her hand and forced him to look at her.

"Greg, I know you better than that. I know you're not fine. You know you trust me. You can talk to me, tell me anything." said Silvia.

"I know. And I do trust you. I wanna tell you everything, but I don't really know what to say." said Greg.

"Just start talking, let it come out any way you want. I'm all ears." said Silvia.

Greg heaved a sigh, knowing she wasn't going to let it go. He knew she wanted him to talk to her but he also knew she wasn't forcing him to. He trusted her with his life and she was only trying to help him, the same he would do for her.

"Grissom saw my hands shaking." he told her.

Silvia wasn't sure what to say. She was the only person that knew about it. Greg had told her and she had seem it for herself. She told him that he should talk to Grissom about it but he wanted to keep it quiet and she had respected that. She didn't want to force anything on him.

"He's gonna fire me." said Greg.

"No he's not. We both know Grissom better than that." said Silvia.

"He may not have a choice if everyone else finds out. No one is gonna want a DNA tech who's hands shake. They'll just replace me with you." said Greg.

"Alright, just stop it. You're the best damn DNA tech here and I dare anyone to say otherwise. Grissom is not gonna fire you and he's not gonna let anyone else fire you either. We both know the man can keep secrets better than anyone. And the shaking will go away, you just have to give it time. And I don't wanna ever hear you doubt yourself. They are not gonna replace you, especially with me. If I do stay, I wanna earn it. And if I earn it, it'll be because of you, because I had a great teacher." said Silvia, hoping it would help cheer him up.

Greg looked at her, slightly taken aback. She didn't usually compliment him like that, enjoying giving him a hard time more but he knew it was all in fun. Still, he had never heard her compliment him like that before. And he didn't think he had taught her that much since she was just as good as he was when she got there but she was saying different. It made him kind of feel proud. He couldn't help but smile at her.

"Thanks Sil, it really means a lot to me." he said.

"It's nothing, you deserve it." said Silvia, smiling back at him.