Where You Are

Written By: Ms Maggs / Edited By: KJT

Chapter 10: Taking One for the Team

"Uh oh." When they reached the nurse's station, Sara turned to Greg and said, "We got lunch, but forgot drinks."

"Doh!" Greg set the Taco Bell bags on the counter and dipped into his pocket for cash.

"You go on ahead." Sara snatched the money from her coworker's hand. "I'll run down to the cafeteria and grab some sodas."

"I want change, Sidle!"

"Dream on." Sara waved the money and walked away.

"Greg!" Fifty one year old Nurse Mindy Thomas rushed over to speak with her favorite hospital visitor. "I'm so glad you're here. Jenni had a really rough morning and her grandfather is back in California until tomorrow."

"What happened?" he asked the sweet woman he had come to know and respect over the last three weeks. Out of the dozens of nurses that rotated through shifts, she was one of the few who went above and beyond to help Jenni. "How bad is the pain? Is it a complication from last week's hip surgery?"

"No, that would be easier to deal with," Mindy sighed. "One of the injured children from the bus crash was well enough to go outside for some fresh air today. His nurse was wheeling him by Jenni's room and when he saw her, he started screaming that her mother killed their friends. I felt so awful for her. The poor thing has seen her mother vilified on TV and in the papers. I'm not defending her mother in any way, if she had survived the accident, I'd want her to get the death penalty for driving drunk and causing the accident, but I can't stand to see Jenni as the target of the hatred when she's a victim too. A news reporter snuck up here yesterday and tried to get an interview with her, can you believe it?"

"Yeah." Greg's heart ached for the girl. "Those reporters are vicious, I'm not even sure they're human."

"You should know," Nurse Lawanda Jordan rolled her eyes, "your face was all over the TV again after the payout. Hey, are you like Bill Gates's nephew or somethin, because you're droppin' a ton on your little girlfriend only a few weeks after payin' the James family all that hush money."

"It wasn't hush money and it wasn't my money," Greg snapped at the nurse who had been giving him a hard time since the day they met. "And I've asked you repeatedly to stop calling Jenni my girlfriend." With that he grabbed the Taco Bell bags and marched off.

Mindy glared at her coworker. "Would you back off already? He's a sweet guy."

"That's your opinion. I think he's a creep for comin' on to a fourteen year old." Lawanda stood and grabbed her patient's chart. "But hey, if he can get away with murder, he's probably not real worried about gettin' busted for puttin' the moves on a minor."

"You're twisted."

"Am I?" Lawanda pointed to Jenni's room. "Girlfriend sleeps with loverboy's sweater under her pillow and his teddy bear in her arms. She's not five, she's a month shy of fifteen. You know she's pretendin' that damn geek bear is him. She's eatin' his chocolate, callin' him on his cell phone at all hours and gigglin' at his dumbass jokes. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a duck, and she's his girlfriend."

"He saved her life and she's developed a schoolgirl crush, but he thinks of her like a kid sister."

"It's not a crush, she's head over heels in love with him, and loverboy doesn't have a girlfriend, 'cause if he did, she would have come here with him to see what's what at least once and she wouldn't be puttin' up no cell phone calls from a lovestruck kid!" When Lawanda looked into Jenni's room, she turned her eyes to the heavens. "Oh Lord help us, they're cuddling in bed."

When Mindy saw Greg sitting on the edge of the bed stroking Jenni's hair as she sobbed in his arms, she retorted, "He's consoling her because she's bawling her eyes out!"

"And what's he gonna want in return when she's well enough to give it to him some day?"

"Stop making something innocent sound nasty!"

"What's going on?" Sara asked when she saw the nurses pointing at Jenni's room and arguing.

Lawanda walked off shaking her head. "We were watchin' today's episode of The Young and The Creepy, but if I watch any more of loverboy playin' touchy feely with his girlfriend, I'll lose my appetite for lunch."

"What?" Sara asked in disbelief.

"You heard me!"

"Uh oh." Walking down the hall with Grissom, Nick saw the Undersheriff stomping down the hall in their direction. "Someone's on the war path again."

"Grissom!" McKeen snarled from fifty feet away. "Where's Sanders?"

The mention of his buddy's name grabbed Nick's attention. "He was out workin' a case with Sara Sidle and they're off the clock havin' lunch. Can I help you with somethin'?"

"Stay out of this, Stokes." The undersheriff stepped in front of Grissom. "The Sheriff's office just received a call from a nurse at University Medical Center. She called to tell me that my favorite CSI, Greg Sanders, is actively pursuing a romantic relationship with that fourteen year old girl he found at the scene of the bus accident."

"What?!" Nick blurted. "That's crazy. Greg's not…"

"I said stay out of this, Stokes!"

Nick clamped his lips, crossed his arms, and muttered, "You better say somethin' Griss."

"I agree with Nick," Grissom finally replied. "That's crazy, Greg thinks of the girl like a little sister, just like Sara does. They both visit her daily."

Not backing down, McKeen shared, "Sanders has given that impressionable teenager a dozen different gifts, he allows her to call his personal cell phone, and she has his photo on her nightstand!"

Finding it impossible to keep quiet, Nick said, "It's not a photo, it's the damn article from the newspaper talkin' about him findin' her. Hell, I cut out the article about my friends savin' my ass, so to use your logic, Grissom's my girlfriend."

In no mood for insubordination, the undersheriff barked, "Stokes! One more word out of you in defense of Sanders and you'll have three days of unpaid vacation, a.k.a suspension!"

Fed up from his friend being McKeen's abuse target for months, Nick very calmly ensured some time off, "I've watched Greg's reaction to pedophile cases, and there's no doubt in my mind that he believes inappropriate sexual conduct is repulsive."

"Three days suspension, Stokes!"

"Okay, doke." Nick slapped his ID in Grissom's hand and started down the hall. "But it's the County's loss."

"Get back here, Nick!" Gil was furious with himself for letting things get out of hand. "Unsuspend him, McKeen, because I can't afford to have any of my guys off the roster. Your relationship with the voting public isn't going to improve if dead bodies are stinking up the city because I don't have any guys left to send into the field."

"There he is!" McKeen pointed down the hall. "Sanders! Right now!"

"What did I do now?" Greg droned to Sara while wondering why Grissom and Nick looked ready to kill.

"As of this second you are forbidden to see, touch, or communicate with Jenni Riley. I have people calling me reporting you as a potential pedophile, that's serious shit, Sanders. Am I clear? No more teddy bears or candy or late night phone calls. If you violate this order, you will lose your job." Without giving the CSI a chance to respond, the undersheriff started walking away.

"What?!" Greg finally protested.

"You heard me!" McKeen kept walking. "You're still suspended for defending your friend, Stokes! And anyone else who comes to his defense will join you!"

"You suspended Nick for defending me?" Taking off in the pompous man's direction, Greg reached his limit. "No, I will not stay away from Jenni!"

"Excuse me, Sanders?" The undersheriff whirled around and loomed over the mouthy CSI. "Did you just tell me no?"

"It's bad enough that I didn't receive any support from you after I almost lost my life, but I have to draw the line." Greg gulped and stood his ground. "You ordered me against speaking in public about the settlement and I followed orders, because of that, people are saying I'm just another rich white guy who got away with murdering a black guy. That's why thatnurse hates me. You made her hate me! Now you're ordering me to stay away from Jenni because of what she said…come on, where does it end? If I suddenly stay away from Jenni because that nurse accused me of inappropriate conduct then once again, I'm going to look guilty when I'm not. I'm sick of being painted like a monster when all just trying to do the right thing! You have to at least let me explain it to…"

"No contact!" Gritting his teeth, McKeen said, "But I'm in a generous mood, so I'm only going to suspend you for three days, just like your pal Stokes. Use that three days to think about your future, and don't use it to visit Jenni Riley." He ripped the LVPD ID badge off Greg's shirt. "Go!"

"Wait for me, Greg." Sara stopped in front of the red-faced undersheriff. "I've visited Jenni every day, bought her gifts, and held her when she cried. I wonder why Lawanda Jordan is discriminating, and so are you."

"Yes, because you're a girl, Sidle," McKeen huffed, "not a thirty two year old single guy who no one has seen with a woman in years. However, since you're Greg's friend, I can't trust that you won't bring Jenni things on his behalf, so…the same orders apply to you. No contact with the Riley girl."

"That's…" Sara shook her head. "…so not gonna happen. I'll call her grandfather and if he tells me not to see her, fine, but I'm not going to abandon a child who has already lost her mother, her friends, and life as she knew it, because it will make life easier for you."

"You tell him, Sidle!" Nick cheered as he joined his friends. "We're a team, and united we stand."

"And united you'll fall." McKeen held out his palm. "ID, Sidle." When she placed it in his hand, he said, "And the second you step foot in that hospital, you're fired."

Grissom stepped into the middle of the fray. "Can we all please take a breath and be reasonable?"

"Contrary to popular belief, you're not irreplaceable, Grissom." The undersheriff took great pride in knocking the nerdy genius down a peg. "Maybe Ecklie shakes in his shoes when you throw your weight around, but it doesn't work on me. Nothing you're going to say will change my mind, believe me."

"Very well then," Grissom replied while unclipping his badge. "I'll save my breath, hand over my badge and be on my way." After clipping his ID to McKeen's jacket, he put his arm around Greg's shoulder since he couldn't put it on Sara, "Come along, Charlie Bucket."

McKeen stared at the badge and realized his preventative strike had failed. "You can't leave too. If you're all gone, who will be left to handle calls?"

"I don't know. It's not even our shift," Grissom merrily informed the man he was loathing a little more with each passing minute. "Since we're all maxed out on OT, we've actually been working for free for the past three hours. Good luck finding four other people to do that." He resumed walking. "Drinks on me."

"But I don't want a drink, Mr. Wonka," Sara joked in her best Veruca Salt voice, "I want a golden goose, and I want it now."

Gil winked at his secret lover. "Is that code for something, Sidle?"

With four ID badges and no CSIs, McKeen stormed by the group as they laughed. "Dammit!"

"What was that, McKeen?" Nick shouted at the jerk's back.

"You heard me!"

Twenty four hours into his suspension, Gil was enjoying the quiet Saturday afternoon by sitting on the couch reading when his cell phone rang. "Grissom."

"It's McKeen."

Gil rolled his eyes. "Yes?"

"I've spoken to Jenni's grandfather and personally interviewed ten other nurses at University Medical Center. All of them agree that Jenni has a crush on Sanders, but they also agree that he has been nothing more than a big brother to her. The grandfather actually broke down in tears saying that Greg and Sara have been instrumental to his granddaughter's recovery."

"How nice to hear." His irritation re-sparked, Gil snipped, "Too bad you already fired Greg and Sara for showing up at the hospital yesterday evening. Have you ever heard of the concept 'innocent until proven guilty'? It really keeps you from making an ass out of yourself…or so I've been told."

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the lecture. I want you to tell them they can have their jobs back."

"I never told them they were fired."

"But I ordered you to fire them last night."

Gil nodded as he flipped though his forensics magazine. "Yes, but I'm currently on suspension, remember? I'm forbidden to perform any work responsibilities, so I couldn't fire them without violating the terms of my suspension."

"You think you're so smart."

"Yes, I do," the scientist smugly replied.

"Okay, okay, you win. You're all unsuspended, so get your asses back to the lab. Ecklie's having puppies working OT."

"I'll pass the word along, but as far coming back in…sorry. You said you were a man of your word, so we believed you when you said we'd have three days off. Nick, Greg and Sara have all made plans and won't be able to return until Monday and I can't either. Thanks for calling and have a nice weekend." Gil snapped his phone shut and laughed.

"You're very sexy when you're smug." Sara snickered and slid next to her man on the couch. "Teaching him a lesson, huh?"

"Someone has to." Gil tossed his magazine. "It's only noon. We have almost a whole weekend ahead of us."

"Uh huh." She dove for his neck, and tickled him with a kiss.

"Let's leave town."

"Seriously?"

"Yes." Pulling her close, Gil confessed, "At risk of sounding like a silly romantic, I want a real date. I want to hold your hand in public, and we can't do that in town."

"Aww, a real date, that's not silly, it's sweet." The sentiment put a smile on Sara's face. "I'd like that. Where do you want to go? We can't go too far, because I promised Jenni I'd be there to wish her well before her next surgery tomorrow afternoon, and since she doesn't want Greg there, I need to keep my promise."

"Don't worry, we don't have to go too far, just somewhere remote."

"We'll celebrate you saving my ass with the undersheriff."

Slipping his hand under her cheeks, Gil wiggled his brows, "It's a beautiful ass, how could I not?"

"I know that look." Her eyes locked on his, Sara let her hands wildly roam about her man's receptive body. "Are you up for a little pre-date mischief?"

"Slide your hand due south and you'll know the answer is yes."

While following the directions, she claimed Gil's lips with her mouth, and wasted no time escalating into a lusty kiss.

"Mmm…" Gil sucked in some much needed oxygen. "If this is my reward for helping you keep your job, then I really hope McKeen makes a habit of firing you."

"If you think that now…" Sara slipped off the couch and onto her knees, "just wait."

As she fumbled with his belt, Gil shed his reading glasses with Clark Kent finesse and relaxed into the mushy cushions of their new couch. "You really are grateful, aren't you?"

"So grateful, that you don't even have to reciprocate."

While they had sex quite often, this was a treat indeed. "Sara, you really don't have to…"

"I don't mind taking one for the team every now and then," were the last words she uttered.

"Sara, you're…" Really there were no words to describe her or the glorious feeling swamping him.

Enjoying the verbal praise and primal sounds spilling from her lover's mouth, she intensified her efforts. It won't be long now. Seconds later, when it was over, she declared it a personal best. "Did that make you happy?" she asked, knowing it was the most rhetorical question she had ever posed.

Gil frantically nodded, as if he was worried she'd deny him the pleasure forever if he wasn't enthusiastic enough with his reply. "Amazingly happy."

Returning her man's pants to their original position, she sweetly asked, "Is there anything you need me to do for this outing we're going on? Planning? Shopping? Packing?"

"No," the fifty year old answered in between gasps for air. "After that…you don't have to do anything for the rest of the weekend…quite possibly for the rest of your life. No, don't worry...I'll take care of all the details."

"That was Griss." Nick returned his cell phone to its clip and took a seat on the couch next to his depressed housemate who had been mindlessly watching the Discovery Channel for hours. "We're unsuspended, but Griss told him we weren't coming back until Monday." He broke into a smile. "He's teachin' the asshole a lesson, I love it."

"Great, now I can go back and find a way to screw up my life a little more." Watching a tiger rip a gazelle to shreds on his oversized TV, Greg sighed, "I'll probably rescue a cat from a tree, but a branch will snap and impale a blind, crippled nun who was a day away from finding the cure for cancer."

"G…"

"Her cancer cure notes will be in her pocket, but when I go to save her, I'll accidentally kick up some rocks and cause a spark. The spark will set the nun's dress on fire and she'll burn up, taking the notes with her."

Nick shook his head.

"Her blazing body will roll down a hill into a pet store and all the cute little animals, which were earmarked to be donated to orphans, will be barbequed. To make something good out of all of that, I'll give the roasted pets to the homeless, but they'll get food poisoning and…"

"Stop! Seriously, enough already, you gotta stop beatin' yourself up." Nick turned to face his buddy. "Look, I know yesterday with Jenni was hard, but you had to set her straight. She had a major league crush on you, and it was only going to get worse, not better. Trust me, I know how rough it is to let a girl down, but it was the right thing to do."

"Dude, she's not just a girl. She's a girl who just lost her mother and whose friends hate her. She's in traction and needs more surgery or she may never walk again, and when she gets out of the hospital, she's going to California to live with her seventy year old grandpa in some rundown trailer park. Her life sucks on every level and I had to look her in the eyes and break her heart. It doesn't help that it was the right thing to do, I feel like shit. It's like I'm cursed to keep repeating the same cycle…I try to do the right thing, it backfires, and end up feeling horrible and guilty. I didn't want to kill Demetrius James, I just wanted to save an innocent guy from dying, but nobody remembers that part. I didn't want Jenni to fall in love with me, I just wanted to cheer her up, but now I'm a heartbreaker." His own heart ached every time he thought of the devastated teen sobbing and throwing the Science Nerd teddy bear in the trash. "Ugh, how stupid am I that I didn't know she wasn't thinking of me like a brother?"

"It has nothing to do with you bein' stupid," Nick assured. "There was this girl in high school, Melanie, she was my Chem partner. I worked side by side with her all year and had no idea she was in love with until she asked me to take her to the prom. I thought we were like brother and sister and she burst into tears when I told her that. It's impossible to know how someone really feels if they keep it hidden. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I've been guilty of doing that myself." Staring at the ceiling, Greg focused on a speck and struggled not to cry. "Anyway, something good has come from this. I think I've finally learned my lesson. Doing nothing is a lot easier than trying to help. I could have driven away. I could have stayed away from the hospital."

"Yeah, you could have." Nick turned sideways, resting on his elbow and quietly replied, "But then Stanley Tanner would be dead and Jenni might be too. When I was in that coffin with a loaded gun, the only thing that kept me from killing myself to end the torture, was the knowledge that there were people waitin' to see me make it out alive, people like my mom, who would have been heartbroken. Jenni might have given up, but she wanted to see you. Hey…for what it's worth, I believe you did the right thing both times, and I hope you don't turn into one of those people who just looks the other way, because there are already way too many of them in this city."

After clearing the emotion from his voice with a harsh cough, Greg softly said, "Thanks, that helps."

"Great, I'm glad I could help, because you said some supportive things to me that day when your mom startled me." Nick nudged his buddy, hoping he'd stop staring into space. "See, you were right, this is good, as long as our personal dramas don't happen at the same time, we'll be able to help each other out."

Finally confident that tears wouldn't fall, Greg turned his head. With Nick staring at him only two feet away, he said, "Yeah, that would be good."

"I have to admit, it's kinda nice to have someone to confide in again."

The steadiness of Nick's gaze making him comfortable, Greg confessed, "Other than my mom, I haven't had anyone to really talk to in years."

"Me either."

"After Sara got suspended, I went to her and flat out told her I was a good listener. I wanted to be there for her, but I was also hoping it would be a two way thing, but she never took me up on it, so..."

"I know how you feel, my sister Gwen and I used to share everything, but," Nick shrugged, "she's got a husband to lean on and kids to worry about now, so she doesn't need me, and whenever I called with somethin' she'd be too busy to chat, so I don't bother anymore." Seeing the emotion in his buddy's eyes, he unfurled a smile. "Hey, you know what you need to do, you need to take your mind off everythin' for a little while and have some fun. You've been sittin' on his couch since you came home from the hospital yesterday. Hell, you even slept here."

"Thanks for tossing a blanket on me by the way."

"No problem." Nick jokingly sniffed the air. "You haven't showered since before shift on Friday, have you?"

Forgetting his problems for a moment, Greg laughed, "No."

"Okay, I got one laugh out of you, that's a start." Nick lunged for his cell phone. "I'm gonna show you a great time tonight, Greggo." He searched his phone directory. "We're going out on a date."

Greg sat straight up. "Uh…a date?"

"That's right." Nick winked.

"Um…" Flustered by the sudden and shocking proposition, Greg stammered, "I…I really didn't expect…sorry, I'm a little overwhelmed right now, because…okay, honestly, I really don't have much experience…how much do you…"

"I don't care if you're overwhelmed or not used to spontaneous dates, don't you dare say no." Nick pointed at him. "I've been watchin' you mope around here for twenty four hours and it's bringin' me down." After sending the call, he flashed a radiant smile. "I'm gonna get you your groove back tonight if it's the last thing I do, and I won't take no for an answer. You need to get laid, buddy!"

His mind blown and his heart racing, Greg anxiously replied, "Okay, whoa…this may not be a big deal to you, but to me it's…"

"Nina! It's Nick Stokes. We met this morning, at…yes, ma'am, the cowboy." He held up his index finger, signaling Greg to hold his thoughts. "You know how you wanted to go out, but you couldn't because you already had plans to take your depressed friend out to dinner on her birthday? Well I have a depressed friend too, and I had this crazy idea that maybe we could double date and cheer both of them up, whaddya say?"

"No!" Greg firmly stated, as the truth came crashing down around him. "I…" He scrambled to cover his sudden change in enthusiasm, "I don't want to go out with a depressed stranger!"

Nick covered the phone. "I was askin' her, not you. I already told you that I wasn't takin' no for an answer." He resumed talking to the babe he had met at Starbucks when he was out buying Greg his favorite coffee concoction as a surprise. "Awesome! I'll make some plans and call you back to let you know what we'll be doin'. My friend Greg can't wait to meet Krista…huh? Oh, yeah, Trista, right."

Rolling his eyes, Greg sank into the couch cushions and resumed hating life.

"Yeah, I like red." Nick sat back, kicked up his feet on the coffee table, and spoke in his sexiest voice. "Okay now I really can't wait to see you, baby. Hell, yeah, I'm a real cowboy'. Texas born and raised. Do ya want me to bring my lasso and show you a few tricks?"

Greg grabbed a couch pillow and squeezed it, wishing it was his own neck. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"No, CSIs don't use handcuffs." Nick glanced over at his buddy and whispered, "They always ask that, don't they?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Okay, sweetheart…I'll call you back soon. Bye." Standing up the matchmaker cheered, "We're in, and you're gonna thank me. I saw her friend, she's hot."

"You said she's depressed."

"Yeah, she's depressed and hot, but she won't be once she's out with you. Uh…she won't be depressed anymore is what I mean, she'll still be hot."

"Really, I appreciate the thought, but I'm too depressed to date a depressed girl, so please call her back and tell her no offense, but no thank you." Greg jumped to his feet. "I'm showering and then getting back to work on my paper."

"Come on, G!" Nick blocked his friend's retreat. "You can't spend all your free time holed up workin' on some damn DNA paper. You need to get a life, man, you can't just sit around here like a mopey loser and..."

"I need to get a life?!" On edge from the events of the last twenty-four hours, Greg didn't hold back, "Getting my paper published is an important part of my life. It's something that will be permanent. It will help my career and increase my notoriety within the national and international Forensics community. Getting published has value. One night stands on the other hand, have no value to me, they don't lead to anything meaningful or permanent, they're bullshit and I currently have more than enough bullshit in my life thank you very much. If you want to waste your life jumping from bed to bed with women you have nothing in common with and can't stand to have around except when you're between their thighs, then have at it, cowboy! You won't hear me calling you a loser for wasting your time, but don't call me one either!" Pushing past his housemate, Greg started out of the room. "I'm a loser, ha! You won't even remember your date's name tomorrow, but if my paper gets published, geeks all over this country will remember my name forever!"

"You say that like it's cool!" Nick yelled as he followed his pissed off pal. "My God, you're turning into Grissom!"

"I'd rather be Grissom than Daniel Cleaver! You're Daniel Cleaver!"

"Daniel Cleaver?" Nick followed Greg into his bedroom. "Who the hell is Daniel Cleaver?!"

"He's the thirty-something asshole who screwed around on Bridget Jones, because he was a womanizing idiot."

"Who's Bridget Jones? Is she in Ballistics?"

"Bridget Jones the movie! Hugh Grant's character."

"OH! The chick flick, yeah, I took some girl to that."

"Some girl." Greg sneered at the womanizer. "How shocking that you can't remember her name."

"Paula!" Or was it Carla? Recalling some of the film, Nick huffed, "Hey! That Cleaver guy was a jerk! You were calling me a jerk."

"Yeah, well, you said forensics papers aren't cool!"

"They're not!"

"You're just jealous, because you've never even had an idea for one."

"Ooh, I feel like such a failure, Stanford." Hearing himself, Nick burst out laughing, "Jesus H, this is the dumbest fight I've had in decades."

"Yeah, me too." Much to his surprise, Greg's mouth exploded into a smile. "Sorry."

"Me too." Nick reached for his cell. "I'll call and tell Trina we'll get together some other time."

Following a massive eye roll, Greg corrected, "It's Nina and Trista, there's no Trina."

"I know!" Nick belly laughed. "I just wanted to see your reaction when I got it wrong."

"Surrrrre." Greg tossed his shirt into the wicker hamper in the corner of his room. "Okay, you had your laugh, now get out of my bedroom. I need to shower and work on my paper."

"Oh, come on, G!" Nick grabbed his cohort by the shoulder and gave him a shake. "Snap out of this funk! Seriously, don't make me call off the date. Get out of the house and have some fun with me. I really need to get laid, but I feel too bad for you to leave you home alone now. I also feel bad for my couch havin' to put up with your mopey ass for another twenty-four hours." He smirked, "Come on…take one for the team!"

"The Team?" Greg pushed his buddy's hand from his bare shoulder.

"Frog and Toad, man." Nick backed away laughing. "I remember those stories. Toad was always mopin' around the house feelin' sorry for himself, and then Frog would show up, drag him out of bed, and force him on an adventure. They flew kites and went sleigh riding and swimming."

"Yeah, I remember that, but I don't remember the one where Frog tried to get Toad laid by a depressed stranger."

"It was a bootleg chapter." Nick pointed to the bathroom and merrily boomed, "Hop in the shower, Toad, we're goin' on an adventure!"

"Okay, okay." Valuing the friendship more than anything, Greg trudged into the bathroom whining, "I'll do it for you, Frog."

"That's the spirit." Nick hustled out of the room. "I'll take care of all the details!"

ANs:

It took 10 chapters to get a little confirmation on Greg, so don't expect (or worry, depending on your perspective) that the story will suddenly be told in light speed. I'm taking my time :-)

If Greg's reaction in this chapter is too much for some readers to continue, I thank you very much for reading to this point and totally understand and respect your decision. If you're unsure and have any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks so much!

Maggs