Greg pulled into the parking garage of the lab and parked the car, shutting it off than he looked over at Leila. She looked as though something was still bothering her and he wasn't sure if he should try to get her to tell him what it was or not. He started to get out of the car but Leila quickly grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"Wait. There's still something I need to tell you, about my kidnapping and what happened while I was in that basement." she said.
"Leila, you don't have to if you're not ready." said Greg.
"No, no I need to do this. I don't really want to but I need to before it completely eats away at me." said Leila. She took a deep breath, not really sure where to start. "When I woke up in his basement, at first I was alone. It was barely lit. Naturally, being a CSI, I studied my surroundings. There was a wooden staircase leading upstairs, a small window that was too high for me to reach and too small for me to climb through if I could even get to it, an old furnace in the far back corner of the room, the floor was cement and painted a dull shape of blue, and the walls were make of bricks. I was tied in a chair in the middle of the room and gagged. Then, the door opened and he came down the stairs. He made sure to stay in the shadows so I couldn't see him. He just stood over me for a minute, just staring at me. It was making me nervous but I refused to let him see it. " she said as the moment replayed in her head.
"I'm going to remove your gag, as long as you promise not to scream or try to call for help. Not that anyone could hear you down here but it would upset me and I don't want to have to hurt you if I don't have to. Now, promise you won't scream?"
Leila nodded.
Her captor walked behind her and removed the gag, but stayed standing behind her. He stayed silent and it was starting to creep her out.
"Who are you?" asked Leila.
"My name is not important but you may call me Jack."
"What do you want with me? Why did you bring me here?" asked Leila.
Jack said nothing, just remained standing behind her. All that could be heard was his breathing. It was a bit unnerving. Then he reached up with his left hand and slowly moved Leila's hair off her shoulder than Leila felt his hot breath on her neck. It made her skin crawl. Then she felt his lips touching her skin. She could feel herself starting to shake, scared of what her might be getting ready to do to her.
"Please, don't." she pleaded. She could take anything but that.
But he didn't stop. He placed both his hands on her shoulders than slowly slid them down her arms, sending chills through her but not in a good way. Then he stopped and leaned in close to Leila's ear.
"You'll find out soon enough." he whispered than he walked away and back upstairs, locking the door behind him.
Leila sagged as much as she was able and closed her eyes, relieved that he had gone. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing was slightly labored.
"I think that's when, for the first time in my life, I wasn't just scared, I was terrified. I had never felt that scared in my whole life." said Leila.
Greg swallowed, dreading the answer to the question he wanted but was afraid to ask.
"Did he..rape you?" he finally asked.
"No, no he didn't but implied that he wanted to repeatedly. Just the way he kept touching me and standing so close to me. I can still feel him on my skin, like it's burned in and won't go away." said Leila, rubbing her arms as though she was suddenly cold and trying to get warm. "I almost wished that he had instead of playing mind games with me, messing with my head and trying to break me. And honestly, I think he did 'cause before all this, I never would have done the things that I've done to you. I wanted to be in control, I wanted to have complete control. That's why I..." she stopped. She couldn't say it. She didn't want to, it would make it too real and she didn't want it to be. She wanted to pretend it was just a very bad dream.
"It's okay Leila, you don't have to say it. I understand." said Greg, taking hold of her hand.
"I could have done it to anyone, I could have just done it to some random person who just happened to be there, but I didn't. I did it to you and I think I know why. You were the easiest person for me to control. I knew, whether I asked or not, you would do anything for me. And I took advantage of it. I wanted to believe that I was still in control of something in my life. I'm just sorry it had to be you." said Leila.
"I'm not. Better me than someone who wouldn't know how to handle it or who doesn't know you and knew what you had been through and that you didn't mean it." said Greg.
Leila nodded in understanding.
"Thanks for listening. I know that's not an easy thing for you." she teased, smiling.
"Oh geeh, thanks. And you're welcome. I'm here for you, no matter what." said Greg, unable to keep from smiling. It was good to have Leila back to her old self.
"How'd I get so lucky to get someone like you?" asked Leila.
"I'm the one who should be asking that same question." said Greg.
Leila couldn't help but shake her head.
"We should probably head in, the others are probably starting to worry." she said.
Greg nodded and the two of them got out and started heading in. They had gotten a few feet when the car that they had just gotten out of exploded and knocking them to the ground. They took a moment to recover from the shock.
"You okay?" asked Greg.
"Yeah. What about you? Are you okay?" asked Leila after checking herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine." said Greg as he got to his feet than helped Leila up.
The rest of the team came running out, stopping when they saw the wreckage but were relieved to see that both Leila and Greg were safe.
"You guys alright?" asked Eric.
"Yeah, yeah we're fine. Can't say the same for the car." said Leila.
"Alright, what's this guy playing at? I mean, who does he think he is?" demanded Catherine as she paced the break room where they had all gathered.
"Just exactly that Cath, he playing a game. He could've taken us out when he had the chance but he didn't. He's messing with us, playing head games. It's what people like him do, hoping they'll mess with your head enough to break you. But we have to keep our heads together, we can't let him win." said Leila.
"So what're we gonna do? We don't even know how to find this guy." said Natalia.
"We won't have to find him. He'll come to us." said Horatio.
"What do you mean?" asked Ronnie.
"If he wants to get to us bad enough, he'll eventually make another move. Most likely he'll escalate and come after us himself and when he does, we'll have to be ready." said Leila.
"How do know so much about this kind of stuff?" asked Ryan.
"My father used to do the same thing. He would try messing with my head, get me to go over the edge and when that wouldn't work, he would come after me and try a different approach. And if and when that wouldn't work, he would go after the people I care about most, knowing that I would risk myself to protect them. Jack and Donald aren't that much different, except Donald is inexperienced and isn't doing this for fun like Jack is, he's doing this for revenge and eventually he'll make a mistake." said Leila (Jack had been released since they had nothing probative to go on other than his word).
"Revenge?" asked Calleigh.
"Don't ask, long story." Leila told her, her tone signaling it was best to drop the subject so no one said anything else about it.
"So, anyone have a plan as to how we are going to catch these guys?" asked Tim.
"Patience." said Grissom.
"That's it? We're just gonna risk both Leila and Greg's safety?" asked Ronnie.
"Trust me, these two have been through more than you know. They know what they're doing." said Sara.
"And Leila is a bad ass, for a girl. She could really hurt someone. They'll both be fine." said Nick.
"I'll take you on anywhere, any time, any day." said Leila with a confident smile.
"You're gonna down this time." said Nick.
"Yeah, picture that." said Warrick.
"Geeh, thanks bro, nice to know you got my back." said Nick.
"Oh I got you're back, just not when you're stupid enough to go up against Leila, knowing that she can put a hurting on you." said Warrick.
"Yeah, you may have a point but you never know, I could get lucky." said Nick.
"Yeah right." said everyone except Nick and Ronnie, who had never seen her fight yet. Then they all couldn't help but laugh, well except Ronnie.
She didn't understand how everyone could be so calm when, only a few minutes ago, Greg and Leila were almost blown up and their lives could still be in danger yet here they were, joking and laughing like it never happened. Jack and Donald were still out there, planning who knows what and yet they were all so relaxed and calm about it. Everyone fell silent as she got up and stalked out of the break room and headed down the hall.
"What's wrong with her? Was it something we said or did?" asked Eric.
"I better go talk to her." said Leila, getting up and going after Ronnie, having a pretty good idea what it was about. She finally found her standing at her open locker in the locker room. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing at all." said Ronnie.
"Yes there is. You wouldn't have stormed off if that were true. Is it because of me and Greg?" asked Leila.
"How can you guys act so calm when you know that they are two guys out there who are after you? You're in there joking and laughing like nothing bad has happened even though you were almost blown up a few minutes ago." said Ronnie.
"Ronnie, we aren't acting like anything didn't happen. We know that any minute one or both us could end up on a slab of our own but we're not just gonna sit around and act all depressed and afraid. We're gonna live out our lives the way we always do. This is how we are, this is how we deal with these kind of things. We know what we're doing. We're gonna live and fight until our last breath. Besides, we've dealt with worse things than this. I can't count the number of close calls we've had and I thank God everyday that they were just that and that we are still here together. We're not gonna look over our shoulders every second to make sure no one is there. And even if we die, say today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or even in the next few years, we'll be happy because we lived our lives the way we wanted. We did what we wanted to do and we didn't let anyone scare us into doing otherwise. I've been afraid and running my whole life and it's time I stopped being afraid, it's time I stopped running and face my fears. It's the only way I'll get through each day. I've lost too much already, I don't wanna die regretting anything I've done. I hope you can understand what I've said." said Leila. "And I hope you never have to go through what Greg and I have been through."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Ronnie in her thoughts. As she was approaching the break room, she stopped and looked in at her friends and people she called family. She couldn't keep from smiling at how happy she was to have them in her life. She wouldn't trade any of them for anything in the world. If she didn't have them, she probably would have given up long ago. They have helped her keep moving and taught her to never give up, to fight for what she believed in and for that she was grateful. She knew she would never be able to repay them for everything they have given her and done for her over the years but it didn't matter, as long as they had each other than nothing else mattered. She watched them as they all talked, joked and laughed with each other, glad they were all getting along so well, especially Greg and Tim after everything that happened between the three of them. There were no harsh feelings, everything was in the past and behind them, but not forgotten. She hoped and prayed everyday that nothing would ever tear any of them apart. She couldn't live without any of them. They had become her whole life now and she wouldn't know how to go on without them.
Snapping back to reality, Leila continued walking and headed back into the break room and reclaimed her seat next to Greg. Ronnie followed her in a few minutes later, smiling with the rest of them as they continued to joke and laugh. The Vegas crew were swapping stories with the Miami crew.
"I've got a good one for you. It's about Leila." said Nick.
"Don't you dare Nick, you might not live to see tomorrow." said Leila.
"Sorry, I have to. It's too good to pass up." said Nick, continuing despite Leila's threat. "Anyway, last year at the Christmas party, being the person that she is and believing she is Miss Matchmaker, she decided she wanted to try and set Wendy and Hodges up. Now, this involves lots of sugar, spiked punch and Mistletoe. Miss Leila figured that if she got Wendy and Hodges under the mistletoe, they would kiss and finally actually admit their feelings, plus the fact that she was trashed."
"I was not that drunk." said Leila.
"Yes you were." said Grissom, Greg, Nick, Warrick, Catherine, Sara and Ronnie.
"Is there an echo in here? And you can all kiss my ass, except you." said Leila, look at Greg as she said the last part. "You kiss it enough as it is."
"Well I can't help it, you have such a nice one." said Greg.
"Okay, anyway, on with the story." said Nick. "After a few more drinks and alot of pushing and shoving on her part, she finally got them under it but it didn't go as she planned. They kind of stood there for a minute than Hodges did what he normally does, he said something to piss Wendy off and she stormed off. Neither of them talked to Leila for days afterwards."
"Well my plan did work, eventually. Although, Wendy was the one that made the first move since Hodges is too big a chicken and does better keeping her angry at him than sharing his feelings with her. Men, why must you all be so difficult." said Leila.
"I think I resent that." said Greg.
"I'll make an exception for you baby. I was the one too afraid to admit my feelings, 'til you practically cornered me and gave me no choice. And I give Bobby points 'cause he had the guts to ask me out to dinner once." said Leila.
"Whoa, whoa, wait wait. Bobby? Bobby Dawson asked you to dinner?" asked Sara.
"Yeah, it was around the time I first came here. Think I'd only been here a day or two." said Leila.
"Was this before or after you and Greg started having a relationship?" asked Catherine.
"Actually it wasn't too long after we got back from our little trip to Cali following one of our suspects. Greg and I had just walked in to see if he had the ballistics results on the bullet we gave him when he just came out of the blue and asked so I said yes." said Leila.
"Bet Greggo was pretty jealous." said Warrick.
"Well, I told him that I believe that if any guy has the guts to ask a girl out than that girl should say yes. He seemed to understand. Besides, I wasn't even sure where we were even heading. We'd just started having a relationship, I didn't know if it would last or not. I'm glad I know now and glad we did." said Leila.
"So, if any guy were to ask you for dinner, or even breakfast or lunch, you would go out with them even though you're already with someone?" asked Nick.
"Nice try, don't even think about it." said Greg, a warning clear in his tone.
Nick put his hands up in defense.
"I was only kidding around." he said.
"Yeah, sure you were man." said Warrick.
"Well, I'd hate to break up the fun but I think we should get back to work before we get in trouble." said Grissom, standing.
"And we should probably be heading back." said Horatio as he and his team stood as well.
"So soon?" asked Leila.
"Yeah, we have cases to solve ourselves. Besides, you're safe now and if you ever need us, you know how to reach us." said Horatio.
"Don't be strangers now." said Catherine as they all started saying their goodbyes with hugs or handshakes.
"Wouldn't dream of it." said Calleigh.
"Yeah, we aren't that easy to get rid of and keep away." said Eric.
"It was good to see you guys again, even if I only saw you just a few days ago." said Leila as she hugged each of them as they walked out, Horatio last of course.
"It's always a pleasure seeing you. Don't be afraid to come see us every now and then, just try leaving the trouble at home next time." said Horatio.
"I will. Thanks for coming. You guys be careful." said Leila.
"You too." said Horatio as he and his team headed out.
Leila watched them leave until she could no longer see them.
"You ever regret leaving Miami?" asked Catherine.
"Nah, not a chance. Vegas is home for me now, Miami's just a home away from home." said Leila.
"Good to hear." said Greg.
Leila looked at him. She knew he was serious despite the fact that he was smiling.