A/N- Well sorry it took me so long to finish this but I kind of didn't know how to wrap it up. Plus I've been working on another fanfic that sort of became my priority. Anyway, this is the end of this one. Not one of my best stories but hope you enjoyed it anyway.
Nick came in halfway through his shift to the Las Vegas Crime lab. He had already called Catherine and told her he was coming in. The first person he ran into was Sara. He found himself looking at her differently now that he knew she and Greg had slept together. He couldn't help but partially blame her for Greg's incident today.
"Hey, I thought you called out sick." She said to him as she walked towards him.
"I was feeling better so I decided to come in since I knew Greg was out too," he told her.
"Uh, how has he been doing anyway? He's been really quiet when I've seen him lately." She said trying to see why he maybe called out sick.
Part of Nick wanted to blame her for him being in the hospital but Greg didn't want them to know. "Well, he's had a lot on his mind lately. I know he's been stressing out a lot about it, with his kidney problems and all."
"I guess. I'm just worried about him," she said softly.
"Yeah, I know. So how's Grissom doing? You two still house hunting?" He asked her.
"We are and he's doing pretty good. It's good that we usually are home at the same time to see each other more," she told him.
"That's good. Well, I better get off to work now," Nick said, not wanting to talk to her right then. He was still more concerned with Greg's wellbeing and talking to Catherine about some time off for him.
"Okay, I'll see you around." She watched him walk off and felt like he was hiding something from her.
Nick waited about Catherine's office for her to come back from Central where she had to see Brass about her current case.
She came in and saw him waiting for her. "Hey Nick. Any update on Greg?" she asked as she came to sit behind her desk.
"He said they are going to release him later today but he has to have some counseling," he told her.
"That's to be expected with what happened."
"Yeah and well he thinks and I agreed with him, that he needs some time off. He's dealing with a lot right now," he told her.
"He told you what's going on, didn't he," she said to him.
He nodded. "Yes, and its sort of a personal issue but work tends to affect it too."
"Well, that's vague. Are you trying to say it has something to do with work here?"
"Let's just say it's complicated and does involve someone else from work," he told her.
"Oh, I see." She had a feeling she knew whom. "So you did talk to him and it was an accidental overdose."
"Yeah, he knows it was stupid but he was really depressed and wanted to forget for one day, he said. I've been there, I can understand."
"Yeah, I guess I can too. I think time off would be good for him too. I'll see what I can do. He might be able to get FMLA with his medical so he should be okay. He'll just need to fill out the paperwork."
"I'll let him know. I told him I'd drive him home from the hospital."
"Good, now let me fill you in on this case," she said to him to get back to work.
Little did both know that Sara had been listening outside the door. When she heard that Greg overdosed, she got disturbed. She hadn't realized he was so depressed about their breakup. She had to see him. She wrapped up what she had to do with the case she was working on.
She called Catherine to let her know she finished up her work and had to leave early to do something. She called Grissom on her way to the hospital.
"Hey I'm not going to be home right away. I have to go someplace," she told him.
"Where are you going this time of the morning?" He asked her.
Should she lie to him or be truthful as she promised him, she wondered. She sighed as she made her decision. "I'm going to visit Greg in the hospital. He's sick again."
"I'll meet you there," he said to her surprise.
"You don't have to do that. He doesn't even know I'm coming," she explained, not wanting him to be there.
"So, I'm sure he would be happy to have some company," he said. He wanted to be around to see what was said.
"Look, I'm with you. We are working things out. Do you not trust me to be alone with him?" she said a little huffy.
"What is it you're not telling me, Sara? I can tell your holding something back."
"He's under a lot of stress and I don't want him to be nervous," she said.
"Sara," he said with a tone that told her to just spill it.
"I overheard that he was in the hospital. They didn't want everyone to know. I'm worried because he supposedly had an accidental overdose," she told him finally.
Grissom blew out a breath. He hadn't realized the younger man was dealing so poorly with everything that had happened. "I'll meet you there. We need to talk," he said to her and then hung up.
She wondered what he meant. It worried her as she drove to the hospital.
Greg sat in his hospital bed awake. The nurse had just been in to check on him. He still felt lousy physically and emotionally. He couldn't admit to Nick that a small part of him did have a death wish but it was a very small part.
He was sure now that what he really needed was time away from Sara. Not seeing her at all for even a couple of minutes a day would be so much better.
He heard his door open and looked up only to see the one person he didn't want to see. He cringed inside before suddenly wondering why she was there. Nick promised him he wouldn't tell her he was in the hospital.
He noticed she looked extremely worried. "What are you doing here, Sara? I'm not in the mood for visitors," he said bitterly.
"I was worried about you. I overheard what happened. I'm so sorry, Greg," she said to him as she walked up closer to his bed.
He shook his head. "No, don't …just stay there. What did you overhear exactly?"
She lowered her head. "That you had an accidental overdose."
He silently cursed. "So you just happened to overhear this?"
"I couldn't help myself. Nick was in Catherine's office and the door was cracked open. I heard your name and stopped to listen. What happened to you?"
He sighed. "I'm just stressed out and was not thinking clearly."
"You're stressed because of me and what happened," she said solemnly.
"Not everything is about you, Sara," he replied angrily.
"He's right you know," a new voice came into the room. Both Sara and Greg looked to see Grissom standing by the door. Greg felt a little nauseous all of the sudden.
"I…I didn't know you were coming too," he said sheepishly.
"I got Sara to tell me what happened." He walked closer to them. He looked at Sara. "I've been unfair to Greg. I think I'm partially responsible for his behavior. I've made him live with something that you are responsible for, too," Grissom said calmly.
Greg looked at Sara, whose eyes had suddenly widened in fear.
"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously. He couldn't know they slept together, could he? She thought.
"Sara, I know you and Greg had sex while we were apart. And Greg knows I know. I asked him not to tell you and I believe that guilt had been eating away at him. Am I right, Greg?" Grissom had turned from Sara's shocked face to the younger man's somber one.
Greg was not sure how to respond. He just wanted to disappear again and never have to face another soul.
"You knew and you didn't let me know but you let him live with that guilt alone?" Sara was suddenly fuming mad. She now knew why Greg had been avoiding her so much.
Grissom turned to her. "I thought if you didn't know I knew we could work things out faster between us."
"No, you wanted to punish Greg for our affair when it was mostly my fault. I knew how he felt for me and I took advantage of that when you said you no longer wanted me. I instigated it. I came onto him. He warned me to stop but I wouldn't listen. I wanted him that night because you no longer wanted me. I basically used him and in the end hurt him more than I ever wanted. Then you go and make him feel worse and now look where he is," she yelled.
Greg wanted to crawl out of the room and never be found again. Instead he turned to look out the window, hoping someone would fly in and save him. Sara had basically just admitted to using him. Way to make him feel better.
Grissom looked at Greg and saw him looking away. He seemed to be paler too. "Greg, I'm sorry…" he was cut off by the younger man.
"Can you two just please leave me alone now? I've heard enough," he said quietly.
Sara suddenly realized what she had said and felt horrible. "Greg, I didn't mean…"
"Just go!" He yelled as he turned to glare at her.
"Come on, he wants us to leave and I don't blame him. We have our own issues to work out," Grissom said to Sara as he took her arm and led her towards the door.
She was about to protest but she saw Greg turn away again and felt miserable for her actions. She did everything she said she wouldn't. She hurt him terribly and she knew it now.
"Okay, okay. We'll go. I'm so sorry for ever hurting you both," she said as tears formed in her eyes.
"Come on, let's go home," Gil said to her. They would talk when they got home. They would work on their mistakes and make things right between them again. He just hoped the younger CSI would be able to get over this. He hoped Nick and the others would help him. He hadn't realized how much Greg cared for her until this incident.
Nick walked in a few hours later and saw Greg looking very somber. "Hey, what's wrong? You're going home now."
The Californian looked at him. "Yeah, I know. Just not sure what I want to do anymore."
Nick sat down. "What do you mean?"
"Sara and Grissom were here earlier," he replied glumly.
"Crap. How did they find out you were here?" Nick asked, surprised.
"Apparently Sara overheard you talking to Catherine about me. She admitted she was snooping."
"So she knew everything? I'm so sorry she overheard us, G. I thought the door was closed," he apologized.
"I don't blame you. I blame her. I blame her for everything. You know Grissom told her he knew about us. Then she gets all mad at him and basically admits to Grissom she used me to feel better about their breakup. Can you believe that?" A little anger was seeping through his sadness.
"Wow, that really sucks. I know her and Grissom always seemed to have a crazy relationship but she was wrong to do that to you," Nick said sympathetically.
Greg shrugged. "Yeah, well I'm totally done with her. I don't think I can handle seeing her face again. I told them both to leave."
"Yeah, well your doc faxed your paperwork over for the medical leave, so you can take time away from her and the job for awhile."
Greg sighed in relief. "Good."
"So do you have any plans?" Nick asked him.
"I've been thinking about heading out to California and visit my family and friends out there for a bit while trying to get better. My doctor warned me I might need dialysis if I keep going this way."
"Well do whatever you need to take care of yourself. So are you ready to be sprung from this place?" he asked finally.
"Yep, as soon as my doctor clears me," he said, starting to feel a little bit better now that he was thinking about getting away.
Greg acted fast on his getaway plans. He had called his parents and informed them he was taking a temporary leave of absence due to his health.
They welcomed him home where he spent three weeks before returning to Las Vegas. He had kept in touch with Nick by email while he was away. Nick informed him that Grissom and Sara ended up moving out of town anyway.
Greg wondered if it was a decision they made together or some sort of ultimatum. In any case, he was relieved he wouldn't have to see Sara anymore.
Nick had picked him up from the airport and taken him home. Nick told him he could see the old Greggo coming back as they chatted in the car.
Greg had been home a few hours and was working on his laptop when he got a video chat prompt. It was from Sara. He knew she had moved to Chicago with Grissom. They both got new jobs there. He figured he could deal with her now that she was far away and were only communicating via a computer.
He accepted the video chat and saw her face pop up on the screen. She looked nervous even over the miles.
"Hey Sara," he said, deciding to speak first.
She smiled at that. She noticed he looked better than he had in weeks, plus he looked tan. "Hi Greg. I know you pretty much hate me and never want to talk to me again but I just wanted to clear the air between us some."
"I don't hate you, Sara. I'm angry and hurt over what happened but I'm a big boy and I know we both made mistakes. I let my emotions get the better of me. We live, we learn. I got over you before, I will again. This time it will just be a little harder but my time away helped," he told her.
She felt warmness in her heart hearing him say that. "Do you think we'll ever be friends again?" She asked him.
He pondered the thought a moment. "Give me a bit more time, a bit more space and then I think I can go back to being friends."
She pouted a little. "I understand."
"So uh, Chicago, huh?" He asked casually.
"Yeah, Northwestern offered Grissom a job and well, the Crime Lab here can always use people, they told me. Plus he has family here, believe it or not, some cousins. So I think it's going to work out for us this time around," she said to him.
"Well I hope for everyone's sake it does."
"So uh, you have my email address so whenever you want to talk again, you know how to reach me," she said sheepishly.
"Yes, I know how to reach you. I need more time though, like I said. I hope things go well between you and Grissom though. I think all along I knew that it would never last between us. You always had a fascination with him. I just amused you most of the time," he said to her.
She shook her head. "No, you more than amused me, you were my best friend and I hate that I ruined that. I just hope someday again we can be friends."
"I'm sure we will be again someday. Tell Grissom I wish you both the best in Chicago. I need to be going though. I have things to do," he said to her. He still felt some hurt inside seeing her and talking to her. He could only deal with her for so long right now.
"Okay, sure I will. Take care Greg. I do love you, as a friend, I hope you know that," she said sincerely to him.
"I do. Bye Sara." He said and then closed the chat window. He hung his head hearing her confess her love for him. He should have known it would always be as a friend. He would always regret his confession to her when he thought he was going to die that he loved her. That triggered the whole set of events. Now he knew better to not confess his feelings to a woman who was married. He vowed to steer clear of any co-workers or any women who are in the process of getting a divorce because they don't always complete that process.
His phone rang. It was Nick. He picked it up. "What's up Nick?"
"Hey I was wondering if you wanted to hang out this evening at Club Mirage?"
He thought for a moment. He knew what Nick meant for him by going out. "Okay sure, why not? Just don't set me up with any of your girlfriends. I'm not ready yet."
He heard Nick laugh on the other end. "Okay, sure. We'll just go out and have some fun. I'll come by in a couple hours to get you."
"No, how about I come by to get you. I'll be the designated driver since I have to stay away from alcohol still. So you can drink up while I sip my water," he chuckled.
"You're on! See you later."
Greg hung up and had a smile on his face. Sara was moving on and so it was time for him to move on.
The End