She wore a black & white polka dot wrap dress of sheer fabric over a black lining that lay snugly against each one of her curves, with a flowing skirt that stopped just above her knees. Two high-heeled strappy black sandals adorned her petite feet, and her mane of chestnut hair was secured behind her head in a pouch of black netting; the tendrils around her face trained into glossy finger waves. Her lips were ruby red, her crystal olive eyes lined with smoky Kohl.

Greg just stared at her.

"Wow" He said with a subdued sort of awe, raising his left hand to the back of his head for an absent minded scratch.

Nina still looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but her happy eyes got turned on just the same.

"Yeah? Y'think?..." Nina asked with quiet contentment, drawing closer to Greg in a conspiratorial whisper, "Actually, I looked like crap before but then Catherine did the hair and make-up for me. Totally saved my ass".

Greg grinned at her hallmark candor, helping Nina steady herself while she secured a loose strap on one of the sandals. She did a few hops, heels clacking on the ground, a small shell shaped maroon purse hanging awkwardly from her elbow on its short silver chain.

"Well you look great now" Greg told without any filter on his thoughts.

"Thanks, just cross your fingers I don't get the sweats and stain this dress, it cost me like...well, I don't even want to talk about how expensive this thing was" she said with a slight bulge of her eyes, regaining her balance and smoothing the dress down over her hips.

Greg thought she looked incredibly put together, and he found himself wishing certain people might wander in to see it.

"I think I'm ready now. I mean, ready as I'll ever be anyway" Nina announced, puffing her cheeks and blowing air through her lips.

"For...?" Greg asked.

He was pretty sure Sorrensen wouldn't get all decked out just to process trace evidence, though he wouldn't put it past her completely.

Nina looked down the hall toward reception, bit her lip, then looked back at Greg.

"Y'know, a date sort of thing" she responded, rather bashfully.

Greg furrowed his eyes immediately, twisting his head with a jerk to have another look into reception just in case something had magically changed in the two minutes that had passed.

No, Nick was still standing there in his filthy overalls, wiping grime from his increasingly sweaty forehead.

"He really doesn't look ready for a date, you sure you got that right?" Greg asked, his confusion increasing as he saw Nick go over to Hodges and Wendy to play mediator in their disagreement.

"He looks ready to me" Nina replied, the confusion in her voice near equal to Greg's.

Greg squinted again, trying to make sense of it. He wondered if Nick was hiding one of his slick date night outfits beneath his dirty jumpsuit or if Nina just liked him so much she didn't care what he wore.

"He looks like shit Sorrensen" he said, one brow raised.

Nina gently backhanded him.

"He does not. Look, I know he's not your favorite person in the world, that's why I didn't want to tell you about tonight. I'm a big girl though Greg, and I really think I'm ready to get back out there. I mean, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I am. I know you don't like him but can you just be cool? For me?" Nina rambled at him in cautious tones, fussing a little over her hair again.

Greg stood there feeling himself riding right past the confusion depot before pulling directly into consternation station. He tried wrapping his head around her words, knowing either he had gone terribly wrong somewhere or she had, but not having the foggiest idea which. He tried figuring it out, but he was too mentally drained to make heads or tails of anything.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm fine with you dating Nick, I like Nick. I just said I don't think he looks ready for a date. I mean, look at the guy" Greg replied, using his hands, game show host style, to indicate his nearby colleague; Nick sneezing and blowing his nose into his towel, much to the chagrin of Hodges.

Nina's mouth hung open for a second like she'd just been poked with a needle, but then she just grinned.

"Nicky? You thought I was talking about going out with Nicky?" Nina asked, a giggle escaping her before she slapped her hand over her mouth.

While Nina took a moment to scrunch her nose at the lipstick smear she'd gotten on her palm, Greg went fishing for every word exchanged in their earlier conversation in trace. He was certain she had mentioned Nick's name and he was determined to find the proof of such. When he realized the voice of fashion doll Cher yelling her man-hating rants was drowning out everything else, he decided to go on blind faith.

"You said you were going out with him. You said you were dating him" pushed Greg, hoping he was right.

Then it hit him.

"Wait, no you didn't" he added, more confused than ever.

"No. I didn't" Nina confirmed, her head darting rapidly from left to right as she searched for something to wipe her hand on.

Greg produced a Jaybird's napkin from the pocket of his jeans and held it out.

"Danke schoen" thanked Nina, receiving it with relief.

Greg peered over into the reception area, his eyes jumping over each potential suspect. Nick was out, he was pretty sure David Hodges was out. As his eyes slowly crawled toward the bulletin boards near the entrance hall, he realized there was only one suspect left.

And once again his blood pressure spiked, his eyes bulging out as he turned back to Nina with mouth agape.

"Neil Donovan? You're going out with that?" Greg demanded in a harsh whisper, raising his arm to point directly at him, not even trying to be inconspicuous about it.

Nina shoved his arm back down.

"Shhhh! Quit that!" she reprimanded, grabbing the sleeve of his coat to pull him closer toward the bathroom door and further from Neil's potential view.

Greg looked Nina over once again, inhaling the delicate scent of cherry blossoms that was her perfume. She was nice, and she was sweet, and she had a cheerful soul. Nick Stokes would know how to appreciate that. Even if god forbid she had been going out with David Hodges he would have had more chance of appreciating things like that than Neil Donovan ever could. Neil probably thought girls like her came out of vending machines.

It was all wrong. Just like the mohawked punk rock wannabe she dated sophomore year, just like that pseudo-intellectual anthropology major that broke her heart junior year.

Just like Elliot 'Hot Shot' Mendes.

Greg felt sick.

"Neen, you can't go out with that guy. Look at the way he's standing, if he clenches any tighter he's gonna implode on himself" Greg heard himself say, his petulance ringing out like a train whistle.

Nina's crystal eyes narrowed, her nostrils flared ever so slightly, and her lips became tight.

"You're friggin' mean" she said, with all the ferocity of an irate chipmunk.

Greg didn't know exactly how to respond to that, so he just let her take the reins since she was just bound to anyway.

"I knew you'd do this. You wanted to know why I didn't say anything? This is why. I know he comes off snobby and kind of up himself but he's really not. I like him, Sanders and that's all that should matter. Did you hear me say anything about Maria? Nooooo. " Nina said, folding her arms with satisfaction.

Greg was frozen in place, his brown eyes almost boring a hole through her from beneath his dark brows.

"What's wrong with Maria?" Greg asked, his voice a very forced monotone.

Upon asking that question, Greg realized he had a good six or seven answers already available inside his own head though he felt no need to mention any of them.

"Nothing" Nina replied curtly, folding her arms in a decidedly haughty stance.

"No. Please. Do tell" Greg encouraged, and he experienced an overwhelming urge to mess up her hair like he did whenever she picked on him during the old midnight cram sessions at Stanford.

Nina looked like she knew it too.

"You really wanna do this now?" Nina challenged, her voice taking on a deep, throaty quality as she leaned in closer to him, her eyes all afire.

"I'm sorry, am I keeping you from something?" Greg inquired, peering over his shoulder to get a glimpse of Neil using the long silver chain attached to his belt to swing his wallet around like he was a cowboy with a lasso.

Before Nina could answer, there came a loud wolf whistle that took them both by surprise. It came from Nick Stokes as he strode up beside Greg, looking Nina over with a grin the size of his home state of Texas.

"Well hello fine lady! You're lookin' very lovely this evening Miss Nina" Nick said, giving her a wink before regarding Greg somewhat reproachfully.

"Thanks! Catherine did the hair and make-up. That woman is magic with any kind of brush in her hand, I swear to god" Nina gushed, quickly glancing at Neil before fishing a mirror out of her purse to check her lips.

Nick put his arm around Greg's shoulder.

"Doesn't she look nice Greg? Like...an old time movie star or somethin'?" Nick asked, and Greg felt him squeeze his shoulder firmly.

"Yep. She's a doll alright" Greg answered with a stiff grin.

"So where are you and ol' Neil off to then?" Nick inquired, holding on to Greg like a testy canine he didn't trust not to take off running.

"We're going dancing. Neil knows a bunch of the bouncers over at The Palace Grand and it's swing night. I've never been able to get in over there before, I can't wait. I haven't been dancing in forever" Nina told him, the gold sparkles in her eyes lighting up like fireflies once again.

"Now that sounds like a good time. Don'tcha think Greg?" Nick asked, like there was no tension floating around whatsoever.

"Awesome" Greg answered, trying not to make a face when he recognized a flit of triumph in Nina's happy eyes.

"Great, great..." Nick added, nodding in approval.

A few moments passed then, all of them standing silent whilst nodding like bobble heads in the back window of a car.

"Oh, hey Greg! I wanted to tell you, remember that fire hydrant situation we were talkin' about before? You know the guy who kept claimin' that fire hydrant was his property instead of the county's, and he got all crazy and stupid whenever anyone else went near it? 'Member?" Nick asked, his dark eyes fixed like tractor beams on Greg.

Greg didn't know what the hell he was talking about at first, but little pegs of memory went tumbling around inside his mind until they fell neatly into their little holes. Greg closed his eyes briefly, and he betrayed his understanding with one glance in Nick's direction.

"I remember" Greg replied, simply and directly.

"Yeah, well good news. A friend of his finally talked some sense into the fella, got him to leave the damn thing alone. He agreed to just let it be. I guess he's still afraid someone might mess with it, or break it, but I think he understands it's not helpin' anyone to just hover over it like he was. Y'know, because it's not his. So it all worked out, he's gonna back off and now he doesn't have to worry about anyone from the LVPD goin' out there to give him an ass whoopin' for actin' like a dumb ass" Nick concluded, grinning wildly and giving Greg's shoulder another squeeze that was so firm it damn near hurt.

"That's...that's good" Greg agreed, smiling on the outside but snarling on the inside.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like that. Alright, well y'all have a good night now and missy you get out there and cut that rug" Nick said with great satisfaction, giving Nina another wink as he made his way past them into the men's room.

Nina beamed as she waved at him. She seemed to be reading something inside her head for a second, then her expression changed in an instant.

"So wait,... some dude was attacking people for using a fire hydrant?" Nina inquired, her upper lip curled with a face of abject confusion.

Greg's face drained a little then, his mouth hung open just slightly as he rolled his head around atop his neck like he was struggling to stay awake.

"No, not attacking. Nobody was attacking anybody. He just...he was just worried about his fire hydrant. Okay it wasn't actually his fire hydrant but he felt protective of it. He just didn't want it to get hurt by some careless asshole with cheap shoes" Greg told her, wishing Nick would come back into the fold since he was the only one who would know what the hell he was actually talking about.

"Riiiiight. Sounds like a fruitcake" Nina remarked with a roll of her eyes, her manner becoming more hurried and rushed as she once again fussed over herself.

Greg couldn't help but take it personally.

"He's not a fruitcake" he grumbled, but it was too quiet for Nina to hear.

"Look, I've gotta go Sanders. Are we cool?" Nina asked, not seeming very interested in the answer as she barely looked at him.

"Whatever" Greg replied, thinking he really was a fool for ever having left his bed that morning.

Nina let out a sigh, shaking her head from side to side.

"Fine, be that way. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going now, you lepton" She announced haughtily, preening herself for the final time as if she had already forgotten he was standing there.

Greg watched her turn with a toss of her head and fetch a silver tennis bracelet from her purse before hastily fastening it around her wrist. Greg felt a surge of indignant energy go shooting up his spine as he replayed her words in his head.

She had called him a lepton; the smallest and weakest of all subatomic particles, her nerd insult of choice and one she had not thrown his way since their days at Stanford.

To Greg, it was just the same as throwing down a gauntlet.

The indignant energy which felt like it had been building for days flooded all through his body with unstoppable force as Nina began to walk off; hence he didn't even try to stop himself when he saw his very own palm sweeping upward for a swift slap to her ass.

Nina stopped dead in her tracks, and Greg sneered with satisfaction. She grabbed her rear end protectively and whirled around to face him, eyeing him with icy wrath. He was thrilled to see that she was utterly shocked.

"Have a lovely evening" he said cordially.

She only stood there looking astonished for about five seconds total, but Greg relished every single one of those five.

"You will pay for that" She replied with certainty.

"I look forward to it" Greg said, giving her a decorous little nod of his head for effect.

Nina mouthed a few silent swear words at him, and though her face was stern Greg easily detected teases of a smile playing at the corners of her ruby lips, that familiar conspiratorial glitter dancing in her eyes.

She shouldn't have been walking off to join Neil Donovan, but Greg knew he just had to leave her be.

Greg watched, his chin in his chest, as she approached her date to give him a very formal looking hug. She exchanged a few words with him before they linked arms and strolled off toward the entrance doors. He watched as she laughed at something Neil said, he watched as their figures became smaller and smaller, he watched as she kept on going further away.

And then, she did it.

She looked back.

He felt his heart tumble a little, he inhaled sharply with a little bit of a tremble in his diaphragm. Still, the indignant energy had not fully run its course just yet so almost on instinct he shot her an obnoxious grin so wide it was almost grotesque, every single one of his teeth exposed from ear to ear.

She narrowed her eyes and briefly stuck out her tongue at him behind Neil's back.

Then she was gone.

Greg laughed quietly to himself for a few moments, imagining what the look on Nina's face must have been at the exact moment he'd popped her on the behind. He knew she would most definitely stay true to her words and make him pay for it, but he figured he could worry about that later.

As Greg let his weight fall against the wall beside him, he suddenly felt himself becoming somewhat crestfallen. The feeling was strangely exaggerated as he watched Wendy Simms and David Hodges stroll past him pushing the evidence cart together like they were suddenly best pals.

His thoughts turned to the empty apartment waiting for him, and his hand flew up to the interior breast pocket of his jacket to check his mix CD was right where he left it. It comforted him to feel it there, and as he slipped his fingers inside the pocket he realized there was something else tucked in with it. He pulled it out and remembered just what that something was. He unfolded the note, glancing once again over the handwritten words.

He wanted so much for it to make sense.

His eyes fell on the alcove which housed the timecard machine, wondering if it really was just time for him to clock the hell out and drive the streets again so he could think. Just him, his mix CD, his car, and if he was lucky hopefully there might also be some peace. He was once again overcome with the urge to start driving toward California without stopping when he felt a presence come up behind him.

"There you are, I was about to give up on you. You said you'd be here in twenty gouges but I think it's been more like thirty"

Greg breathed a massive sigh of relief as she came around to face him.

Twinkling eyes and a mind-meld smile.

Sara Sidle.