A/N: Only one chapter left after this one! Thank you all so much for your support of this story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review! :)


Chapter 10

The drive back to Vegas hadn't seemed nearly as long as the drive down to Phoenix, and for that, Adam was grateful. He knew that the worst of the trip was over: he had survived going home for the first time since he'd left.

And as the kids settled into bed for the night, and Nancy went home, he found himself sitting on Greg's porch with a bottle of beer, staring out at Greg's neighborhood, just thinking.

From the outside, his childhood home had seemed perfect, like every other house on Greg's block. Toys in a contained area in the yard, but their presence signifying that a child (or children) lived there. Perfectly manicured lawns. Perfectly painted houses. Nothing out of place. Everything neat and orderly.

But inside… that was always a different matter.

The outside of the house couldn't tell you if someone abused alcohol. It couldn't tell you if someone lived in fear of constant pain. The outside couldn't tell you anything about the people it held within.

Only the inside could do that.

Adam had lived through the worst of his life. Nothing could ever hurt him half as much as his father ever had. And though the physical scars had long since faded, the mental scars remained, the painful reminder of a chapter he'd put behind him.

Well, was trying to put behind him.

Things weren't going quite as well as they could on that front, but at the very least, he had Greg to fall back on. The same friend he'd always had, since that first day at Stanford. And though Greg hadn't known half as much about Adam's past then as he did now, he had always been there, no matter what happened.

Neither he nor Greg had it easy, though, after they first met. They struggled through college, finding jobs (or grad school, in Adam's case) after college. And then, the move. The long distance friendship. The inopportune phone calls because they had a hard time mastering the time difference.

Well, Adam had it mastered. Greg still frequently screwed it up.

The worst part was the opposite shifts. Adam worked days, Greg worked nights. So, when something happened to Adam, Greg was sleeping. When something happened to Greg, Adam was sleeping. Keeping in touch was very difficult.

But somehow, they managed. And through the years, they remained good friends, always available for one another, and never let the distance get between them. Plus, they each lived in one of the biggest tourist cities in the country, which meant that there was a guaranteed place to stay for some very interesting nights.

Greg interrupted Adam's musings by sitting down on the porch with his own beer. "You doin' alright?" Greg asked.

"I think so," Adam replied. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"How the outside never really shows what's inside."

Greg half-shrugged before nodding. "True."

"Also that I've put up with your ass for the better part of 20 years. I deserve a reward."

Greg chuckled softly. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Adam smiled.

"When do you head home?" Greg asked.

"Tomorrow night," Adam replied.

"Just, do me a favor? Take a few days off before going back to work."

"I'd love to, but we're awfully busy up there."

"Well, there are other lab techs."

"None as good as me."

"While that's true, you do deserve a break. And you and I both know just how much coming out here stirred up in you. So, do yourself a favor, and don't rush back into it so soon. Please?"

"I'll try."

"I said please."

"I said, I'll try."

"I will call Mac if I have to."

"I know you will."

Greg smiled, nodding proudly.

"I think you need to take a break too, after Warrick's death," Adam told him.

Greg shrugged. "I'm working through it," he said. "There's not much else I can do. We're short on our shift."

"Don't make me call Grissom or Catherine."

Greg laughed softly. "Fair enough."

The two of them fell silent, staring out at Greg's neighborhood. Neither one felt the need to say anything more at this point. Because tomorrow would come, and Adam would head back to New York, and everything would go back to the way it was.

Well, almost the way it was.


Adam hugged and kissed the kids (and Nancy) goodbye, heading to the airport with Greg. Once they got there, Greg helped Adam bring his bag into the terminal and get checked in. "I guess this is it," Adam said.

"We're going cliché right now?" Greg replied with a taunting smirk.

Adam chuckled softly. "Yeah, we are. Is that a problem for you?"

"Yeah. Because I can't think of a cliché comeback."

Adam laughed.

"Get over here," Greg said, pulling Adam into a hug. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah, you too," Adam replied.

Greg nodded, letting go of Adam.

"I'll text you when I land," Adam told him.

"Sounds good," Greg replied.

"And hey, since I came out here this time, next time, it's your turn."

Greg chuckled. "Deal."

Adam nodded, turning and walking toward the gate. Greg watched him for a minute before turning and leaving the airport to head for work.