Do not own CSI or any of the characters.

Thanks for all the reviews and support for the last chapter, I know it's been a while since I updated.

Just Another Day

- 10:12 am

"I'm going to go get a coffee, do you want anything?" asked Nick towards Sara as he stood up from the seat beside the bed.

"No, I'm fine," replied Sara, shaking her head from side to side. "Thanks anyways, Nicky," she smiled her famous Sidle grin at him. He returned the smile and kissed her gently on her cheek, "I will be right back." And with that he left the room, leaving her and Greg along in the room, alone with the sleeping babe in his car seat.

It had been two hours since the group had arrived here; Warrick and Catherine had stayed for about an hour before leaving. Catherine had been called in to court last minute and Warrick who had been up all night, needed sleep. Both had promised that they would drop by later to see Sara. After that, Sara had made Grissom go home and take a shower and get some food. She knew that he was exhausted and needed to rest. He had refused at first to go but she had told him that she was in good hands, glancing over to Nick and Greg.

"Hey," whispered Sara towards Greg who was standing off in the corner of the room, glancing at his feet. He had not really spoken a word to Sara, since arriving.

Looking up, he met her eyes and smiled slightly as she patted the empty seat beside the bed. Shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, he walked towards the seat. He didn't know why he was so nervous all the sudden. It was just Sara. He didn't have to hide or be someone he wasn't around her. He could be himself. Except his heart still continued to beat rapidly in his chest; he knew that this would be the first time discussing what happened out loud.

"Hey," she whispered again as he took a seat.

"Hey," he greeted back, a sad smile appearing on his face.

Sara's brown eyes studied her friend's face for a second before reaching out with her good hand and taking his. "How are you feeling?" she whispered, her face etched with concern.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he replied back in a half attempt at a joke. "You're the one who was shot and held at gun-point," he pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything Greg and you know that. You were there, it was terrifying for all of us," replied Sara softly, gently rubbing his hand.

Greg just perched his lips at this, he didn't look convinced. He should be feeling like this. He should be the one comforting Sara. "It's just….it's I feel like I could have done more. I should have taken the bullet for you….I should have protected you like Warrick had done for Cath," he began to explain, his glaze dropping into his lap. "I wasn't there…I wasn't there for you."

"Greg, you don't have to say that. It wasn't your job to protect me. It was no one's. All of us where worried and scared…no one could had predictive what would had happened. We could have all easily been shot. We were lucky it was just me," argued back Sara, her voice not raising from it's feather light tone as she continued to stare at the young CSI. She didn't want Greg blaming himself for what had happened to her, it wasn't his fault. "It isn't just that is it?" she asked after a moment had passed. She knew Greg too well to know that he wasn't just feeling guilty. Something else was up.

"I…" he began looking at her before dropping his gaze onto his feet. Letting going of her hand, he then buried his face into his. "I can't go back there Sara. I can't step back into that….into the lab. Too much happened yesterday….I can't close my eyes without having the events of yesterday fogging my brain….it's the nightmare that won't go away," he sighed at this and looked up at Sara.

Sara did not reply at this. She knew what he was feeling. And there was nothing that she could say that would make it better. The lab was supposed to be their safe haven, but now it was its own crime scene. She had heard from Warrick and Nick that half the lab from the reception area to the break room was broken off with yellow tab, it was being processed by CSI from out of the state, called in by Ecklie. Sara knew she was putting on a bright face but deep down inside she felt like Greg. Scared. Traumatized. And she knew that when she returned back to work in another month, she would have to face her fears face on. Like Greg had to now.

"I guess I could talk to the therapist," spoke Greg, with a shrug. They were having a therapist come around to everyone who was at the lab that day and talking to them, it was protocol. "Right, that would help, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," replied back Sara, still thinking about how she was feeling about everything. She hadn't really let herself think about the events that had happened yesterday much in detail. She had been too afraid too. She knew what would happen…she would self destruct like she always did. Shaking her head from side to side, she glanced down at her sleeping son before returning her attention back onto her friend and smiling. "I think that is exactly what you should do. And I'm always here for you too…you know that right."

Greg returned the smile, "Of course, I know you are always there for me. Sar!" and with that he stood up and pulled Sara into a gentle hug.

xxxxxx

As Nick stood in the cafeteria line, waiting to pay for his coffee and muffin, he couldn't help but think back to just yesterday when he had been doing the exact same thing before it happened. Just before Sara had arrived with Jesse, he had stepped out to get a coffee and blueberry muffin from the local coffee joint just down the street from the lab. He could recall the quietness of the joint as he had stepped in and smiled at the young girl behind the counter, who had blushed at him as he approached. There had been country music playing softly from the speakers. He remember how he was reminded of his parent's house back in Texas. The girl was just a young thing, just out of high school, he had thought to himself as he winked at her as he ordered. It only cost him a $3.00 but he had told her to keep the change as he paid with a five dollar bill. He wasn't sure why he was thinking about this normal every day event instead of what had really happened yesterday. However that always seemed to be the case with him.

Instead of remembering what happened, he usually thought of what he was doing just before or after. It was like the time his grandfather had a heart attack when he was eight. After it had happened, his grandfather collapsing on the lawn chair out in the backyard of his parent's estate; all he could think about as he sat in the waiting room with his parents was how he had gotten stung by a bee just above his elbow. He didn't think about the sound his grandfather had made before he blacked out. How his mother had screamed with fear that he was dead, or the sound of the ambulance pulling up to the house, the rise and fall of his grandfather's chest as they shocked him back to life. All he could think about was the bee.

He didn't want to have to think about what had happened to Sara or what could have happened. He had seen how it had affect Greg, he didn't want to be like that. He knew that Greg had gotten drunk last night; trying to numb his pain he was feeling. But Nick had been there before and he knew it wouldn't do any good. Someone in the group had to be in the strong one. The sane.

After paying for his coffee and muffin, Nick began to make his way back to Sara's room. He hadn't really needed coffee but he thought that he would give Greg and her some alone time. He knew that Sara and Greg were close and Greg needed his friend. Nick had tired talking to the young CSI before hand in the car but he just shrugged him off. Nick knew that Greg was embarrassed about how he was acting and feeling. And the only one he would truly talk to about his feelings was Sara. This wasn't a surprise to him. Sara was a good listener and didn't pass judgment on what you would tell her. He knew there had been times for himself, when the only person he could confess something to was Sara. She was always there to lean on. And right now, Greg needed her.

All of them had had trouble stepping back into the lab, like Greg was world had been had not been able to sleep yesterday before going back to the lab to finish on that missing person's case. All he could hear was the sound of the gun fire and the screaming of his coworkers voices mixed in with the cries of Jesse; it had seemed. Going into work had been that much harder, but luckily the break room and most of the first floor had been blocked off. So he didn't have to face the events head on. He could sit in one of the break rooms upstairs, a totally different environment, which had been unharmed and bury himself into work. He was happy that he had the distraction of work instead of something else to pull him into the dark hole that Greg was leading too.

A smile appeared on the Texan's face as he approached the door of Sara's room and laughter filled his ears. It was nice to hear Greg laughing like that. And Sara for that matter too. It reminded him that yesterday was just another day, just like today was another day in life. Things would turn out fine; the worst was over.

Okay , so there will be more to come soon. I hoped you enjoyed it! And if you were disappointed that there was no GSR in this chapter, don't worry; there will be in the next.

Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie