Okay, so I have to apologize, this is a short chapter, and it's taken me so long to get up. Hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner. Many thanks to Jenny for betaing this for me, and giving me some ideas. This chappie is for you girl!
Chapter Eleven: Secrets Untold
"Here," Greg pressed a cup into her hands as he sat down next to her, "drink this."
Sara was absentmindedly rubbing her forehead with one hand as she brought the cup to her lips, making a face as the warm liquid ran down her throat. "Coffee? This early in the morning?" she wondered, bringing the cup back down in her lap.
"Well," Greg stated, raising his eyes up to see her, "most people drink their coffee in the morning."
"Yeah, at like six or seven. Not at three," Sara complained, rubbing her forehead once more.
"Just drink it," Greg told her, shaking his head as he leaned back against the couch. "It'll make you feel better," he insisted.
"I feel fine," Sara snapped lightly, letting out a sigh as she continued to rub her head. "I don't see why you couldn't let me sleep in longer," she yawned.
"Because," Greg said simply, watching her still. "We need to talk."
Sara shook her head, taking another sip of the coffee, making another face. "I already told you, there isn't anything to talk about."
Greg frowned, but he didn't say anything. Sara had discussed the subject lightly, or in other words, not at all. It was an accident, she had told him, but Greg had a hard time believing it.
"Then why are you so scared?" Greg asked softly.
This comment caused her to raise her head sharply, staring at him. "I am not scared," she insisted, glaring at him.
"So I suppose you hitting me this morning was just you stretching your muscles?"
Sara let out a sigh, looking at the ground. "I already told you that I was sorry, besides, you startled me. It was your own fault."
"All I did was say your name," Greg reminded her, rubbing the bruise on his cheek. "Next time I'll make sure I'm on the other side of the room."
Sara lifted her head, looking up at him with a small smile. "I really am sorry, it's not like I did it on purpose."
Greg let it go with a shrug, still watching her, as though he was studying her every move. In some sense it made her feel uneasy, and at the same time it made her feel surprisingly safe. She ran a finger over the rim of her mug, becoming lost in her own thoughts.
Greg had stayed with her through the night; he had cleaned up her apartment while she had slept. The only remnants of the fight left were her own wounds, which she hadn't even taken the time to check in a mirror. She knew how bad she looked, it couldn't be any better than she felt.
Still, there was a worse problem, and that was work. She was thankful that Greg had gotten her job back for her, but she was afraid to go back to work in her condition. It meant more questions, more demands to an answer. Greg was persistent, but she knew that he wouldn't push her.
Grissom would know that something was up, but he, like Greg, would wait for her to talk. Nick would be a little fiercer, while Warrick would show his concern, yet keep his distance at the same time. Catherine was a different matter all together. It was she that Sara was most afraid of at finding out. The women seemed to have a sixth sense at these sort of things.
"So," Greg's prodding brought her back to the present time. Sara lifted her head up, staring blatantly at him.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?"
Sara let out a sigh, taking this moment to take another drink of her coffee. Somehow she felt as though she was being punished, having to drink this stuff. "I fell," she commented softly.
"Sara," Greg said, sitting up, "trust me, even I'm not that much of a klutz."
"How would you know," Sara muttered, avoiding his gaze.
Greg's voice changed, becoming lower. "Sara, you are my friend. I've known you long enough to know when you're lying."
"It doesn't matter," Sara snapped at him, "It's my business, let me take care of it."
"Someone is hurting you," Greg stated, not shaken by Sara's sudden mood swing. "I want to know who."
"I don't want to talk about it," she huffed lightly in warning.
"Is it that boyfriend of yours? What's his name, Mark? I thought you were smarter than that."
"Don't even start," Sara told him quietly, "you have no right. You have no idea what I've been going through."
"I would if you just told me," Greg interrupted her. "I want to know, I want to be able to help you."
"You can't," she argued, raising her voice. "So just let it go."
"I'm not willing to do that," Greg said softly. "Is he the one hurting you?"
"You're jealous," Sara stated, causing Greg to frown up at her.
"Excuse me?"
"Get out of here," Sara told him quietly, shaking her head.
"Sara," Greg let out a sigh, standing up.
"Just go," she repeated, her voice straining. "Get out of here; I want you out of here."
"Don't do this," Greg pleaded lightly, surprised as Sara jumped off the couch, knocking her cup on the floor. The remaining liquid spilled out onto the rug below as the cup rolled under the couch.
Sara didn't even seem to notice as she walked quickly down the hall, disappearing into her room. The door slammed shut a moment later, echoing through the room. Greg shook his head, sighing as he moved to his knees to retrieve the fallen cup.
He sat there for a moment, holding it in his hands as he looked down the hall to where Sara had gone. Even from here, he could hear her soft sobs. It made him feel worse, knowing that Sara was hurting, and that he was unable to help. There was little he could do, but to wait for her to open up.
TBC
