Ties by SLynn

Summary: Kidnapping, competition and change. Lots of change. Takes place approximately three months after the end of 'Appreciation'. Sixth in the ill-named 'Happy Enough' series. Greg/Sara and Nick/OFC

Spoilers: Up to 'Nesting Dolls'

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing and will return them all when I'm done, virtually untouched.

Chapter 12: Frustration

"Sara," Greg called out to her just as she made her way outside. "Wait. Please, wait."

"I don't want to talk about it," she said over her shoulder, walking out towards nowhere.

"Come on," he said, catching hold of her arm and turning her towards him.

"What?" she asked. "Am I supposed to be happy about this?"

"No, but…"

"But what?" she interrupted loudly. "What? This is crazy. This whole plan is crazy. We have no idea what these people really want. It's just a guess, all of it."

"All we do is guess."

"Educated guesses," she argued. "Based on evidence, real evidence."

"We don't have any evidence, Sara."

"Which makes it not just crazy but stupid, too. And dangerous. Greg, they can't protect you. They can't."

"I'm only doing what…"

"You don't have to do this."

"What would you do? Ask yourself that. In my position, what would you do?"

Sara stopped, knowing what he was getting at. The trap he was setting. Greg, with a sometimes too perfect memory, was trying to compare this with her agreeing to be a decoy in the Strip Strangler case years back.

"That was a completely different situation."

"How?"

"Well, for starters, no one ever guessed I was an actual target. He was never after me specifically. And the guy didn't shoot people from the street, he abducted them. An abduction can be stopped. You can't stop a gun."

"I'll be wearing a vest."

"And if you get shot in the head?" Sara asked.

Greg looked down, hands on hips and shook his head.

"I'll be fine," he said with confidence.

"You'll be dead."

"Sara…"

"No," she cut in sharply. "No, don't try to reason with me, or make me understand, or anything. Because I don't. I don't know why you're doing this. I don't know why you think you have to do this. And, you know, in the very least, you could have asked me what I thought. What I felt. Damn it, Greg, I'm your wife. Did you even consider…"

Sara stopped, unable to finish as she turned away from him and ran her hands roughly across her eyes. Trying hard not fight it down, to not cry. But it wasn't easy.

"I'm…Sara…"

Greg couldn't find any words for it. For how bad he felt.

"I didn't think," he said, hesitantly placing his hands on her shoulders; relieved she didn't just shrug him off. "I'm sorry. I am."

"But you're not changing your mind," she said, still looking away.

"I…"

"Guys," Tess called from the front steps.

Only Greg turned to look; Sara just hung her head and took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Sorry," Tess said, hating to interrupt them, "but, um, Sara… we need to get to a double homicide in North Vegas. Whenever you're ready, I'll be inside."

Greg watched Tess go before turning back to her; relieved she was at least facing him again.

"I've got to go," Sara said abruptly, unmoving.

Greg nodded sheepishly.

"Can we…"

"There's nothing to talk about," Sara finished, pushing past him and hurrying inside.

Greg waited a few minutes, trying to cool off, before reluctantly following suit.

He had no wish to run into her again just yet. Knew that she needed time and space, but this was hardly done.

And yes, he'd screwed up.

Big.

He could only hope now that Sara could forgive him and try to understand why.

Taking his time, Greg went to the locker room without any real reason. He wasn't ready to go home but was in no shape to work. And, if everything went as Brass expected it to, Greg was going to have to be back at the lab by noon to prepare for his and Charlie's fake scene.

It was almost too much to take in.

Greg had just sat down when the door banged open and Nick came in, if anything, looking almost as angry as Sara had.

"What in the hell, man?"

"Not you too," Greg just muttered into his hands as he slowly shook his head.

"Do you know how stupid this whole thing is? How serious?"

"Trust me," Greg said, getting back to his feet. "I've been told."

"Then why are you doing it? You could get killed."

"Yeah, well," Greg returned lamely, "I could get killed crossing the street just as easy."

"But this is like jumping in front of a bus," Nick shot back, still angry.

"Nick," Greg said as calmly as he could, "stay out of it. What I do is my concern, not yours."

"I know you're still pissed at me," Nick continued, in no way willing to back down this time. "That's fine. I can handle that. But I can't just stand by and let you do this without saying something. You're still my friend. It's like your self-destructing…"

"Self-destructing?" Greg asked back, no longer calm. "What's that supposed to mean? Is Charlie self-destructing because he agreed to this or is it just me?"

"It's different for Charlie."

"How is it different for him?" Greg asked, angry now as he stepped over to Nick.

"Because he's a cop, Greg," Nick answered. "He's supposed to do this. Its part of his job."

"And it's not part of mine?"

"Not like this," Nick returned, unflinching despite the fact that Greg was practically nose to nose with him.

"So, I'm not supposed to investigate a lead? The only lead we have right now, and I'm just supposed to step away from it and give up because it might be dangerous? Is that it? Because if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them. Really."

"But this is nothing like following a lead, Greg, it's practically suicide."

Nick knew the moment the words left his mouth he'd unintentionally crossed the line. That by saying it he'd practically called Greg suicidal, which wasn't a subject you could talk to him about. Ever. Not since Greg had nearly attempted it two years back.

What Greg's eyes didn't say in reaction, his fist did as it slammed into Nick's jaw.

The next few moments were complete confusion.

Nick, caught completely off guard, had staggered back into the lockers but not for long. Soon he was back, steady on his feet, pushing Greg away from him as hard as he could. Greg was yelling furiously at him, not giving an inch.

The whole room seemed filled with noise, but it was no longer just Greg and Nick.

Charlie was the first one in the room.

Even though he was physically bigger than both men, he still found it difficult to intercede, largely owing to the fact that he only had use of one arm. His effort might have been completely wasted if Warrick had come immediately after and helped out.

Charlie just managed to push Greg far enough away as Warrick grabbed Nick by the shoulders and practically forced him to take a seat on the bench.

"What's going on here?" Charlie asked loudly, still standing between the two of them.

Nick, rubbing his jaw, just shrugged and waved his free hand in Greg's general direction.

For a split second both Charlie and Warrick thought there was going to be trouble again. Greg had never looked angrier, but it passed; quickly passed. And instead of charging Nick, as he'd looked very close to doing, he just threw his hands up and turned to go.

Warrick and Charlie exchanged a look to decide it. Charlie nodded silently and left to go after Greg.

"Watch his right," Nick said as Charlie passed through the door.

Greg wasn't hard to find; he was just sitting in his car with the engine off in the parking garage.

"So, where are we going?" Charlie asked as he slid into the passenger's seat.

Greg chuckled despite himself, but he didn't move. He continued to sit there, staring straight ahead, clutching the wheel so hard his knuckles had gone white.

"Nick okay?" he finally asked after a few minutes of complete silence.

"Please," Charlie said with great exaggeration. "No offense, Greg, but if he'd wanted to, Nick probably could have kicked your ass back there."

"I'd deserve it."

"See, now you're talking like a man who hasn't slept for a week and just volunteered to get shot at."

Greg did laugh this time.

"You're one to talk."

Charlie nodded with an easy smile.

"Well, I can't let you do this thing alone."

"Tell me that's not the only reason you agreed to this," Greg said, finally turning to him with an expression of complete dread.

"No," Charlie answered earnestly. "It's not. I want this thing solved too. These guys caught. I don't like these games their playing. It's… well, you know. It's…"

"Off," Greg agreed.

"Plus, I figured if they really wanted to off me, I'm in the book," Charlie said with a hint of a smirk.

"You think Brass is wrong," Greg said with some surprise.

"No, he's on to something," Charlie countered. "They definitely had it in for you and they definitely went out of their way to avoid McNair."

"What about you?" Greg asked.

"I was wearing a vest," Charlie returned. "Plain as day, right on top of my shirt. Those things don't exactly blend in."

Greg nodded slowly having not really considered that before.

"Truthfully," Charlie continued, "I don't think we'll run into them again. The only consistent thing about this mess is its inconsistency."

Greg couldn't help but agree with that.

"So," he said hesitantly, "what does Matt think?"

"That I'm crazy," Charlie said with a sad kind of laugh, "but he's used to it. Sara?"

"She's mad," Greg admitted. "Really mad. I kind of forgot to include her in the decision."

"Kind of?"

"Kind of on purpose," Greg sighed. "I knew she wasn't going to be happy with it but I thought she'd understand. It's like lately, with work and with my life, I'm trying so hard to please everyone…"

"That no one's happy," Charlie finished. "I've been there. It'll tear you apart. Trust me."

"It's just frustrating."

"Greg, if you're not happy…"

"I am," he said a bit too quickly. "I mean, I will be. It's… I want this promotion. I really want this. And it's like, everything I want…something always happens."

Charlie gave him a hard, scrutinizing look, wishing he could make sense of it.

"Forget it," Greg said, looking over and catching Charlie's gaze. "I probably just need some real sleep. Or a vacation. Probably a long vacation."

Charlie smiled and let it pass, but wouldn't forget.

"You ready to go back in and make nice?" he asked.

"With Nick? I don't know."

"Like ripping off a band-aid. You need to get it over with. Clear the air so to speak."

"Tomorrow," Greg said with a firm nod.

"Greg," Charlie returned sounding slightly exasperated.

"Tomorrow," he repeated just as firmly. "When I'm more myself. I promise. It'll be the first thing I do."