A/N: Thanks so much to my new beta, Jesus.Lives. I'm happy I found someone, but I guess it was actually the other way around, I was found. Anywayz, enjoy the chapter and everyone that reviews is awesome!!
Dis: Are these even really necessary?
"Yeah, I know Tyler. Hasn't been here for 2 weeks. Tried to call him but he didn't answer, so I just figured he quit without notice. Something happen to him?" John, the manager of El Azteca replies to Greg. He and Sara had found the restaurant where Tyler worked and were now questioning the manager and other workers.
"Actually, he's dead. He was cut up and stuffed into frozen dolphin carcasses. Do you know of anyone that would want to do that to him?" Greg says coolly.
"What? Cut up? No, I don't know that Tyler had any enemies. He was always real nice to everybody."
"Do you know Pua Hokuikekai?" Greg asks. "She told us she used to work here too."
"Yeah, but only for 3 weeks. She was really rude to the customers and nobody really liked her, so I had to fire her. Come to think of it, Tyler tried to get me to give her a second chance, but I told him I couldn't."
"You have Tyler's address, right? We want to go check out where he lives, see if there's any clues left behind."
"Yeah, yeah. Let me get that for you." John walks into the back of the restaurant.
"Hey, what did you find out?" Sara walks up to Greg after questioning the last of the employees. Greg gives Sara a summary of what he had been told, and she nods her head. "Yeah, everyone else said that Tyler was a great guy. They didn't know anything about his personal life though, said he never really socialized with them outside of work. They also said that Pua was pretty mean and they were glad when she left."
"Here's Tyler's address." John hands Greg a piece of paper. "I really hope you figure something out."
"Thanks." Greg replies, and then turns to Sara. "Shall we?"
"It looks like somebody broke in." Sara observes as the two of them approach Tyler's house. "That window pane in the door is missing."
The officer that is accompanying them opens the door and goes in. "I'll be back in a minute, just let me clear the house." He says to them before disappearing.
"So when's our second date?" Greg asks Sara while they wait.
"Well, since we never went on a first date, I don't see how we can have a second one Greg." Sara replies with a grin.
Greg frowns at Sara as the officer comes back outside. "All's clear. Have at it." He says, so the two walk into the house.
"But if you want to go to breakfast after shift, that's fine." Sara says. "I'll take the bedrooms, you can start in here." She indicates the living room, and then wanders down the hallway.
Greg looks after her for a minute, shaking his head before getting down to business. He processes the living room, but only picks up a few prints and not much else. It looks like the room had been cleaned recently. Greg moves on to the kitchen, noticing it also looks spotless. While examining the sink, he notices that it looks like paper of some sort had been stuffed down the garbage disposal, so he picks out a few remnants of it from the drain. Then he gets underneath the sink to take the whole disposal out.
"Hey, Greg?" Sara calls as she comes into the kitchen. She notices Greg struggling with the garbage disposal and laughs to herself. "Having fun in there?"
After a few more bumps, Greg comes up from underneath the sink with the disposal in hand. "Oh yeah, lots of fun; but I found what looks like photos stuck down inside the drain, so I have to take the whole thing into the lab and see what I can get out of it."
"I found a thong tucked into the sheets on the bed. That means that Tyler wasn't spending his nights alone, at least. Other than that, everything has been cleaned. I'm going to go see if there's anything left in any of the dumpsters in the alley out back. You done in here?"
"No." Greg replies. "But I don't have much left. This room and the living room have been cleaned too. Looks like whoever killed Tyler is trying to cover their tracks."
Sara goes outside and Greg finishes processing the kitchen, once again only finding a few prints. He walks out to the alley.
"I found some blood on one of the dumpsters, but otherwise it was empty." Sara says as Greg joins her. "So I guess we're done here."
"How about our date?" Greg asks, unable to help himself.
"Breakfast, Greg, not a date."
The two of them load their stuff into the Denali and drive to the lab to drop off the evidence.
"So, Greg, are you happy being a C.S.I.? Do you miss the lab at all?" Sara asks Greg as they wait for their food. The restaurant is pretty busy, but they're seated in a small corner booth that is semi-isolated.
"You know, I really don't miss it. When I was in the lab, I was so jealous of all the C.S.I.'s that got to go out and solve cases. I was just the 'lab rat' that nobody noticed unless they needed results."
"Is that why you were always so crazy? Did you just want attention?"
"You make me sound like a dog, Sara. I think that becoming a C.S.I. kind of helped me grow up. Can't be acting like a college student forever, right?"
"Yeah, you're right." Sara answers. "I kind of like the more serious Greg, but you still should be able to act crazy once in a while."
Greg smiles before answering, "You just need to see me more often outside of work."
The waiter brings them their food, so their conversation stops for a while. Sara's phone rings and she answers it with an apologetic look to Greg, who rolls his eyes.
"Sidle." A frown appears on Sara's voice when she realizes who is calling her. "Hi, Gris. I'm fine. Actually, I can't really talk right now. No, it's not a case. I'm on a date."
Greg looks up from his food, grinning at the blush that appears on Sara's cheeks.
"I'm sorry Gris, I really have to go. It's none of your business who I'm with." Sara hangs up her phone. "Sorry about that."
"No problem." Greg replies. "But, I thought you told me we weren't on a date."
Sara doesn't say anything, just takes a few more bites of her breakfast.
"What, were you just trying to get rid of Grissom? Tell him you're on a date so he'll leave you alone? That's nice of you." Greg frowns and puts some money down on the table. "I'm leaving."
"What? No, Greg." Sara grabs his hand, stopping him from standing up. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried. I guess."
"About what?"
"Well, as soon as we say we're dating, then it gets scary, you know? I don't want to get all attached to you and then something happen. I don't like being hurt."
"I'm already getting attached to you, Sara, and that's been before any official dates. I'm not going to just disappear, if that's what you're worried about."
The two smile at each other before getting up to leave. Sara remembers that Greg had driven the two of them.
"You weren't really going to leave me here, were you?" She asks in disbelief.
Greg laughs, "No, of course not. I just needed to get a reaction."
Sara punches him and laughs too.
