A/N-Sorry once again for the long delay. With the holidays coming up and training for a new position, my life has been busy. Just know that I never leave a story uncompleted, even if it takes over a year to finish it, I will finish this. :) Hope you enjoy this chapter.
He dialed the phone and looked at the blonde watching him from his sofa as he made the call. He knew she was right and he owed it to his mom to call her but he was not looking forward to the conversation. He knew she would be upset with him in more ways than one.
The line was answered and first thing he heard was "Greg, is that you?" He figured his name came up on her caller ID. "Yes Mom, it's me. I'm okay," he said quickly, knowing she would immediately wonder.
"Okay? How could you let me hear on the news that my son was arrested for murder and then beaten up while in jail? You were in jail and you couldn't call me and let me know?" She sounded highly upset and he knew she had every right to be.
"I'm sorry Mom. I've just been overwhelmed with everything going on. I was hoping it would all pass quickly and then I could tell you after the fact," he tried explaining to her. He saw Morgan giving him a scolding look, hearing his reason for not filing his mom in. Then he got the response on the other end of the phone.
"Didn't you think after so long I would hear about it? It's been over a week since this happened, I heard," she told him, her voice wavering some.
He had to stop looking at Morgan because her looks made him feel even guiltier than he was already feeling. He lowered his head and ran his hand through his hair. "Mom, I don't know what else to tell you. I'm sorry. I've been under a lot of stress."
"So that lovely girl Morgan told me. So much stress you are drinking? I would have thought you learned your lesson after what your father did," she scolded him.
Greg had had enough. "Look I'm trying to deal with the fact that I might spend the rest of my life in prison or heck, they could give me the death penalty for something I can't remember doing, so forgive me if I got drunk a few nights just to try to forget what my future might behold," he yelled over the phone.
Morgan felt bad for his mom but hearing what he said, she realized that he had been dwelling on this for some time. His fear about possibly going to prison for the rest of his life was what really provoked him to drink and lash out. She sort of felt like she was intruding on his conversation now but he was the one who asked her to stick around.
"Honey, you're my only child. I'm always going to worry about you. I just want to hear from you what happened, not from some news reporter. Is that too much to ask?" His mother said to him her emotions tangible through the phone.
Greg sighed, feeling drained yet again. "I'll tell you what happened." He then proceeded to go on telling his mom all of what happened in the last week and a half. By the time he finished the conversation, he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. It had been too emotionally draining on him to go through all this again and try to convince his mom that everything would be okay. She had wanted to come out to Las Vegas but he said he had plenty of friends around him to keep him straight. He had eyed Morgan on the sofa when he told her that. She smiled at him.
"Honestly Mom, I won't get stupidly drunk again. And the whole team is working night and day trying to figure out who is setting me up. They will get this person and I will be cleared. I love you and promise to keep in touch," he told her. He didn't believe all that he told her because he was becoming less convinced they would ever find who was setting him up.
When he hung up the phone he looked at Morgan who wasn't looking in his direction. There was a part of him that resented her right now for making him feel so weak around her. He was tired and didn't feel like talking anymore. He got up and walked to the bedroom. He didn't say a word to her on the way out. He lay down on top of the bed and closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about everything going on in his life. He really wanted to drink and he knew that was not going to happen with her around. Plus he made promises that he wouldn't. He just wanted everything to disappear like it never happened. He knew that wasn't possible though. He curled up on his side instead and held back the tears that wanted to come again.
Morgan knew that Greg was not happy with her right now. She wasn't sure what happened since they kissed. Heck she was not even sure why exactly she kissed him. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. The last 24 plus hours with him had been eye opening. There was a lot more to him than she ever imagined. It made her want to be there for him, to comfort him. But was it pity she felt or more that she was not sure of yet. She shook her head; she did know what it was. She had always liked him but was not sure it could ever be more because he seemed sort of one sided. But now she knew more about him than probably anyone else at work since he said no one knew about his family life. He trusted her with his secret. She wanted to show him he could continue to trust her because she really did care about him.
She decided to get up and see how he was. He had looked so forlorn when he got off the phone that she had to turn away. She didn't like see this side of him now she realized. She missed happy, go lucky Greg. But she knew now that he was so scared that he was going to end up in prison, convicted of this murder that she knew he was not capable of.
She got up and slowly made her way to the bedroom. She saw him curled up on his side as she looked in the door. His back was towards the door. "Greg," saying his name tentatively.
"You can leave now. I won't become an alcoholic like my dad, okay?" he said softly but she could hear the distress in his voice.
She was about to do something that even was going to surprise her. She walked over to the bed and lay down next to him on it, placing her arms around him. She heard him audibly stifle a sob. She felt him tense up. "Morgan, please I can't…I can't do this now."
"Do what? You don't have to do anything. Just let me hold you. I want to Greg. I want to be here for you," she told him.
He squeezed his eyes shut, he wouldn't cry again. When she rested her head against his shoulder he sighed. "You're impossible," he told her as he relaxed his body finally.
She felt him give in and smiled. "I know."
She woke up first a few hours later. They had shifted during sleep and he was on his back now and she was halfway draped on top of him, her head on his chest. He had his one arm around her she realized now. She lifted her head a little and looked at him. He looked at peace in his sleep but she could see the dark circles under his eyes from the overall lack of rest he had been having. She thought about what he told her, what almost happened to him in jail and she placed her head back down on his chest and held him closer. She understood how being beaten for him would be the better option. He'd been through beatings before and could deal with it better, being violated by scum like the ones in jail would have been far more damaging. They had to find who framed him so he wouldn't have to do any more time in lock up.
He stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes. He saw that she was still there, draped over him. He realized he had his arm around her too. It felt right to him and yet he knew it was wrong. He suddenly jerked up in to a sitting position, grimacing as he did. She moved back quickly, surprised by his movement. He avoided looking at her as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his back to her. "Shouldn't you be home, getting ready for work or something?" He said as he stood up and ran his hand through his messy hair.
When he turned around she was staring at him with hurt in her eyes. He felt awkward and partly ashamed for his reaction. He looked at her as she seemed to try to straighten herself out in embarrassment. He was being a jerk and he didn't mean to be. He was just confused. He watched as she stood up and straightened her shirt out. She was running her hands through her hair, trying to smooth it down from bedhead.
"Don't worry, you're always beautiful," he suddenly blurted out, even surprising himself.
She looked at him and saw him blush, even as she felt herself blushing. He lowered his head in embarrassment at his sudden confession. She smiled and thought he looked too adorable standing there embarrassed with his own messy hair and wrinkled shirt. He ran his hand nervously through his hair again.
"Uh, look, if you want you can use my shower," he said to her lifting his eyes to hers again. She finally shook her head. "No, you are right. I need to go home and shower and change there for work in a couple hours. I just need to know that you are going to be okay."
"I'll be okay. I won't drink and I won't do anything foolish, if that is what you are thinking," he told her with a little bit of attitude.
She smirked. "I'm going to hold you to it. I guess I will see myself out since I saw myself in," she said as she turned to leave the room. He followed her out into the main room though. He watched her grab her purse and go to the door. He walked to the door and stopped her a moment. She turned around and looked into his beautiful eyes, seeing some of that pain in them. He reached out and took her hand in his.
"I want to thank you for staying with me and straightening me out. I guess I did need it. And…uh, thanks for being with me. I didn't have any nightmares for a change," he acknowledged to her with a shrug.
She smiled softly at him. "I'm glad I could help. I really do care about you and I really hate seeing you so torn up over this. We are going to find this creep and clear your name, do you hear me?"
He nodded, even though he wasn't entirely convinced. "I know you all are doing everything you can and I appreciate it. Hopefully someday I can repay all of you."
She smiled sadly at him. "Just don't drink. And talk to your mom more often." She saw him roll his eyes. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then let herself out his door. He closed it behind her and locked up. He put his hand to his cheek and thought back to the kiss earlier. He realized he wanted more and wished he had said he did. He wished he had not jumped out of bed like he had but then he realized it would not be fair to start anything with her until he knew his own fate.
He walked back into his living room and saw it was a mess. He figured he might as well clean his place up; it was one way to keep him busy and his mind off his case.
"Hey, did you see Greg? I meant to call him but I've been so busy working. Is he doing okay?" Nick asked Morgan as she entered the locker room to get her CSI vest.
She looked up at him, he seemed genuinely concerned. "I think he will be okay. But I do know he is suffering a lot more than he is letting on and the drinking was definitely proof of that. I have a feeling he won't get that drunk again. I think he learned his lesson."
"Oh?" Nick asked with his eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Let's just say that he was reminded of something in the past which gave him cause to stop," she said with a serious tone.
Nick felt like she knew something about him that he didn't and he was kind of jealous of her. He had known Greg longer than she could ever and yet he seemed to let her in more than him. But then he remembered what he did to Greg when he tried to open himself to him. He hit him and then threw him out. The problem was that Greg made Nick angry not because he had kissed him but that he made these feelings he had buried deep down and kept hidden come out. Now with Greg suffering the way he was he wanted to change and be there for him in a more personal way but Greg had already told him to keep his distance because he couldn't deal with that additional emotional worry. He couldn't blame him really. Nick knew that he was messed up and had always been too afraid to admit he liked guys too. He was brought up so straight and arrow and the mere mention of someone being gay in his household would have meant they were going to hell. He could never subject himself to go through that and he knew he was being untrue to himself but he had trained himself to be this man who lied about who he really wanted and everyday he regretted it. He admired Greg for being unafraid to try to kiss him and for being open about who he liked. He wished he could be that way someday but doubted it would ever come. He would always be lying to himself.
"Well I'm glad you were there for him then. He's going to need it. We still have no new leads on his case," he filled her in.
She sighed. "So in other words we still have nothing that proves he didn't kill Joey Whitburn, it's all circumstantial."
He nodded. "Yes, unfortunately."
"Hey you two, I've got a new scene for you to go out to," Russell said as he came into the locker room, looking for his two CSI's to give the assignment to. Morgan was hoping to have time to go over Greg's case again but she knew it would have to wait.
Greg had finished up cleaning and plopped down on his sofa to relax. He put on his stereo and leaned back and closed his eyes. He was resting his eyes for a while when he heard a song that he remembered hearing that night at the club. His mind replayed that evening in the club, leading up to the time he and Joey went into the bathroom. He remembered stepping out of the bathroom stall and seeing Joey on the floor. He sat upright suddenly, his eyes opening wide as he suddenly remembered being grabbed from behind by someone and feeling a prick in his neck. He reached around his neck to where it had been felt. He didn't remember anything after that but it was more than he remembered before. He didn't even remember being grabbed from behind. Someone else had been there!
He decided to get up and try something else. He walked towards his master bedroom and opened the door that he had kept closed so he would not look in but now he opened the door and stepped into the bedroom. He walked over to the bed and looked at it, trying to not picture Joey's body lying in the pool of blood but trying to see if he could recall anything from that fateful night. He tried so hard to remember anything but nothing was coming to him. He walked closer to the bed and tentatively sat down on it.
He closed his eyes again and let his mind go. Nothing was coming to him at first but then suddenly he remembered a time when he opened his eyes and he felt groggy. He remembered seeing a man over him but his vision was not clear. His opened his eyes when the words came to him that were spoken by this person. "No I can't have you waking up yet. I haven't finished yet." He remembered feeling a prick again in his arm. He looked down at his arm now and didn't notice anything at first but then he saw a very light yellowish bruise in the crick of his elbow.
He jumped up and went into the living room to grab his phone. He called the first number on his speed dial. "Greg? I'm out at a scene. What's going on?" Greg had to let someone know right away.
"I remembered something. I remembered being grabbed from behind while in the restroom at the club but then feeling a prick in my neck and I don't recall anything else. So I figured if I remembered that suddenly maybe I could try seeing if I remembered anything else. I went into my bedroom and tried and after about fifteen minutes something else came to me. I remember waking up all groggy. I believe I was lying in bed already. I could see a man but I can't remember his face but it was not Joey. I remember him saying something," Greg rambled off quickly to Nick.
"Really? That's great. What did he say?" Nick asked, his voice showing his excitement. Greg proceeded to tell him the rest of what he remembered.
"Do you think you might remember him if you saw him?" Nick asked him.
Greg pondered that a moment and the memory. "I think I might, but I am not sure. It's a foggy memory but maybe if I actually saw him it would become clear."
"This is great Greg. I'll let Russell and Brass know. I'll let you know if they want you to come in for questions, okay?"
"Yeah sure. I'll keep trying to see if I can recall anything else," Greg said to him excitedly. After he got off the phone with Nick he sat back on his sofa and for the first time felt like he was not the one who killed Joey that someone else really did frame him. Now he just wished he knew who that was and why.