A/N: My exams are finally over (for this semester), yay! So I had finally time for an update. Thanks for the reviews and to Emmithar for the beta, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 10

Sara left Brass's office, meeting Greg's gaze outside in the hallway. She tried to give him a somewhat encouraging look, before she motioned him to go into the room she had just come out. It was his turn now.

"I'll wait here for you," she promised him and this definitely encouraged him, for he gave her a small smile, before he vanished into Brass's office. Sara sat down on the closest plastic chair she could find in the hallway. Nobody did really pay attention to her. She had been here many times before and nobody would think she was here for anything other than work, and Sara was glad about it.

Greg closed the door behind himself, meeting Brass's stern look. The other man told him to sit down and Greg did so.

"It's quite a mess we're in here, isn't it?" the older man started and Greg did not really feel like he was supposed to answer. When he was silent, Brass continued, "You know that you don't have to tell anything that could incriminate yourself."

Greg nodded, swallowing. "Are you arresting me?" It seemed like a fair question, considering the captain was informing him about his rights.

"I would have mentioned, if I was," Brass returned dryly. "According to Sara, you didn't do anything wrong."

Greg nodded again, hopefully.

"I'd appreciate, if you tell me what happened, but you don't have to. If you can confirm what Sara stated though, there's nothing you can do wrong," Brass explained him.

"I'll tell you what happened," Greg stated, and Brass leaned back expectantly. Greg recounted how he met Charlie, how they had celebrated his birthday, how Charlie had turned up in the morning, inviting Greg for a trip.

"When we arrived at the cabin, Charlie kept rambling how he had done something wrong and wondered how he was supposed to get out of it again. He kept glancing at the trunk of his car, so I went finally over and opened it," Greg explained, rubbing his eyes at the memory.

"And Sara was in there?" Brass asked quietly and Greg nodded.

He did not know how much Sara had told already, how many details she had given, but as Greg continued explaining what had happened, Brass's expression remained unchanged, so Greg figured that he already knew most of it from Sara. It was for Greg almost as painful to tell about what he had done, as it had been when he had done it. He still could not believe that Sara had forgiven him so easily, even though she knew now that everything he had done had been to save her.

He recounted everything up to the point when he and Charlie had left Sara in the cabin, and his and Charlie's subsequent discussion about what they would do.

"I was looking to see if the coast is clear to get Sara out, when I was knocked out," he continued. "I woke up at my place and found a letter from Charlie there, explaining that he had taken care of everything." He rubbed his eyes. "I thought he had killed her."

Brass nodded understanding. "And Sara called you…?"

"Yeah, she called me from the lab and told me to come over."

"That's it?" the older man questioned. Greg nodded. Brass moved a notepad in front of Greg, handing him a pen. "I want you to jot down any information you can give on Charlie."

Greg started writing, while Brass stood up, looking out of the window again. "I guess Sara's waiting outside?" he asked. Greg confirmed this. "You'll take her home then?" Brass wanted to know. Greg nodded again, while he finished up writing with noting Charlie's last address he knew. Then he stood up, looking at Brass insecurely.

"I already told Sara that I have to tell the lab of course."

"Yeah." Greg knew that Brass was only preparing them for the very likely case that the lab would take measures.

Greg found Sara waiting outside and the both of them made their way quickly out of the building. In Greg's head formed thoughts that they should have told the truth right away, but he was not going to tell Sara that. She probably knew that herself, he did not have a justification to tell her anything about it. Besides, her worries could have been reasonable after all.

And it was not completely over yet. Brass had not really told him anything. Greg did not know what the investigation would result in, now that new facts were on the table. What if Charlie had managed to get rid of any traces he had left behind? There was his set of DNA on Sara, but it was not like they could match it to him without a sample. What if there was not a single proof that there had been another man in the whole thing at all?

There was Sara's statement of course, but the fact she had lied before, did not exactly help. It was known now, how things lay: She would lie to help Greg. Greg knew better than that, had seen that Sara was not able to hold up a lie against her friends and co-workers, but they did not know that. Actually Greg did not look forward to the reaction of his colleagues at the lab at all.

Greg dropped Sara off at her place and she got out of the car with a short bye and a smile at least. Greg watched her walking towards her apartment away from the car. She turned back to him for a second, smiling again and Greg wished they could forget what had happened.

Forget and start something that might develop between them after he had told Sara how he felt and she had not rejected him at all, but had just said that it was a bad time. Yes, it was a bad time. If they could just forget, they could have a good time, maybe a great time together. But knowing they could not just move on from what had happened, knowing that there would be an aftermath coming from the lab, Greg realized that there would probably never happen anything between them as matters lay. He watched Sara go sadly.

Greg was relieved when he was back at his place. It was not his normal sleeping time, since he was usually working right now, but now that a big part of the tension was falling off of him for now, he was getting tired and went to bed, not caring if he was messing up his sleeping pattern. He doubted he would be working so soon again anyway.

He did not really know how long he had slept but it was bright day when he woke up. More or less dragging himself into the kitchen, he set up coffee, knowing it was more than necessary. While the water was still pouring, he heard the unmistakable sound of the door bell. After watching the black liquid in the coffee machine accumulate for another moment, his brain still too fogged from sleeping to even really care who was at the door, he slowly walked to the entrance, brushing with his hand once over his unkempt hair to smoothen it somewhat.

Swinging the door open, he found Sara outside. She had obviously been pacing, for she was just turning around.

Greg smiled. "Hey." Sara returned the expression as well as the greeting and Greg moved back to let her come in, but she was not showing any inclination to actually enter Greg's apartment.

"Catherine called me," Sara said. Greg lifted his eyebrows, imagining that this call had not been all amicable. "She told me to come in. And to bring you too." Sara rolled her eyes. "She did as if we'd hang out together all the time."

Greg frowned again, wondering if he should be hurt about her last statement.

"Okay," he told her then. Looking down at himself, he added. "Just have to get a bit more presentable, then I'll come," he grimaced.

"Sure." Sara shrugged, leaning lightly against the wall behind her, still standing outside of Greg's apartment. Greg moved back into the place, leaving the door for Sara open. He hurried up in the bathroom, unwilling to let her wait long. He was just slipping into his shoes, when he remembered the coffee that had been brewing in the kitchen.

Rummaging in his cupboard until he found paper cups, he filled two of them with the still hot drink. He walked carefully to the front door, trying to avoid spilling any coffee. Sara was still waiting outside and he handed her a cup, receiving a small smile in return.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Greg walked briefly back into his flat, drinking a large gulp from his cup and grabbing his keys, before he joined Sara outside and they made their way down to her car.

"I didn't think they'd actually call us in together," Greg remarked, when he was shutting the door on the passenger's site. Sara nodded, starting the engine. She did not reply to his comment any further though, but looked at him earnestly, before pulling into traffic.

It was only when they were walking into the lab that Greg really started to worry about what was going to happen. He had tried and succeeded to keep his thought from it so far, and since Sara had not been communicative, they had not talked about it again either. But now that he was making his way along the hallway, Sara walking close behind him, he started to wonder how the lab would deal with what had happened, with Sara's untruthful first statement and with Greg's entanglement into everything.

He was glad that it was already well into dayshift, so that the chance of meeting one of his graveyard co-workers was reduced. Greg did not feel like having to face their anger now which would surely come later. He could only imagine how they would react. Certainly disappointed, but considering what had happened to Sara because of him, it was possible that they responded with disgust as well.

His thoughts immediately went from these rather distant worries, when he suddenly made out Ecklie in front of them. The other man turned to the two CSIs who were coming up to him. He did not look amused.

"Ah, here we go," he announced on seeing Greg and Sara. Greg stopped and Sara came to a halt next to him. Ecklie looked at them sternly. "With who of you will I deal with first? One is worse than the other." He looked around into the direction of his office, while Greg could feel Sara laying her arm on his back, invisible for Ecklie.

In this moment Greg could see Grissom hurrying up to them from the other side. Ecklie saw him, and looking at the graveyard supervisor, he suggested, "Let's start with Sidle." Apparently acknowledging neither Greg nor Sara's presence, Grissom nodded earnestly. Then he looked at the pair after all and Greg could feel the reproach in his silence.

TBC