Sara stood just behind him, glancing over his shoulder as he flipped through the pages slowly. He came to a pause on one, glancing from the one on the right to the photo on the left, his eyebrows furrowing as he leaned in closer.

"No match," Sara told him gently. She hadn't meant to, but it had slipped out before she had been able to stop herself. After all, Greg wasn't really going to learn if she kept on telling him.

Greg didn't seem to care, as he straightened up, turning the pages before. "I don't see why we can't just run them through the system," he complained lightly, coming to a stop on another page.

"Wheel base is too wide," Sara corrected him once more, pointing to the first photo. "See here, look at the tread patterns. You need to learn to be able to do this without the computer. Besides, they're working on them today."

"I've never done this before," Greg told her, looking over his shoulder.

"It's like matching finger prints, it just takes practice."

Greg shook his head, his attention turning back to the book that was in front of him. They had been doing this now for over an hour, and he hadn't even come close to finding a match. Sara sounded as though she was becoming irritated with him as well. Every time he stopped on something that looked similar, she would correct him before he could really even look.

He heard her sigh, shifting behind him again. That was what did it. Letting out his own sigh, he closed the book, taking care to mark his page. She met his steady gaze with a questioning look of her own.

"Let's take break," Greg suggested. "We both need it."

She gave him a small half smile. "I was wondering when you were getting to that. Let me get my stuff from the locker room, and we'll meet at my place."

Greg nodded, watching her leave before taking off himself. He knew that this was hard on her, but he wasn't about to tell her to forget. There was nagging feeling inside him that he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear, but he couldn't very well walk out on Sara either. She would tell him, after all, she had promised.

Sometimes he wondered if he sounded too childish. Was it fair to make her tell her secrets by holding something such as this against her? Greg let out a smile, moving towards the parking lot. If it worked, then it was fair by all means, childish or not.

The room was empty; it was what she was hoping for. With a heavy sigh Sara let her head drop into her hands. What was she getting herself in to? Why had she promised to tell him everything? At first it had seemed like a good idea, but now, as she truly began to think about it, she felt sick to her stomach.

Briskly she lifted her head, moving her arms around her, concealing herself in a tight embrace. Why was she so afraid? She had no reason to be, but the fear only kept growing.

She didn't have to go home; after all, it would be just as easy to drive south towards the border. She laughed softly at the idea, trying to imagine what life would be like in Mexico. She would have to learn to speak Spanish; it wouldn't be that hard, would it? After all, she already knew some Spanish. Nunca alimente un chili de la paloma, roughly translated, never feed a pigeon chili.

Sara shook her head, smiling; Greg had taught her that a few months ago. The sudden thought of Greg caused her stomach to twist into knots. She could imagine him, sitting and waiting for her to show up. What would happen when she didn't? He'd call her on her phone, then Grissom, when he got no answer. The entire team would be looking for her. She would have to change her name, wear a disguise. All the time, Greg would blame himself…

She shook her head quickly, halting the statement. No, she couldn't; couldn't do that to Greg. She couldn't hurt him like that, not after everything he had done for her. It wouldn't be right.

"You okay Sara?"

She looked up quickly, meeting Warrick's concerned gaze. "Yeah," she stammered, standing up quickly. She hadn't even gotten into her locker, so caught up in her thoughts she had forgotten what she came to do.

Quickly she twirled the combination, opening the door swiftly. She was surprised when it caught, causing her try it again. Warrick was still watching her, a frown on his face. "You might want to take the lock off," he suggested.

Sara could feel herself blush, as she reached shakily for the lock, pulling it free from its slot. "Sorry, I'm sort of distracted," she muttered, pulling free her purse.

Warrick only nodded, watching as she pressed past him quickly. He paused for a moment, wondering if he maybe should follow, but he shook the thought off, moving to open his own locker.

She could still see the mess in her mind, as they entered her place. Even though it had already been cleaned, she could still see the glass on the floor, could still see the blood that had covered the counters, slowly dripping down the sides until they rested in small pools underneath the overhang.

Sara grimaced inwardly as Greg squeezed past her, the memories flooding her mind. If only she could banish them, make them disappear. The door closed behind her with a thud, causing her to jump. Greg met her gaze, watching her closely with a worried look.

Sara turned away, sighing. She hadn't even seen him go by again. The next thing she knew was that she was seated on one end of the couch, holding a glass of water in her tightly clenched hands, and Greg sitting in front of her, watching her worriedly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Greg prodded again. He must have asked it once, yet she hadn't heard him. Nor did she feel him move her clear over here. Quickly, she nodded vigorously, taking a drink of water as if to prove her point.

"Fine," she managed to sputter, her breath stolen after downing the entire glass. She barely felt him pull the cup away, barely felt his fingers dance against her skin as he placed his hands on her face.

She closed her eyes, a tingling feeling racing across her shoulders, down her spine. He leaned in closer to her, his warm breath across her face. She was beyond nervous, yet at the same time, she was ecstatic. Sadly enough, she had dreamed of this happening, ever since she had kissed him the first time a few months back. She had wished for it to last longer.

Yet it never came, she was left sitting there, his hands resting on her face, so gently against her bruises, she had never felt this safe before, knowing he was there. It was a welcoming feeling, and she wanted it to continue, but for some reason, it had stopped there.

"Sara, open your eyes," Greg's voice was soft, yet demanding, prompting her to follow his command.

Greg seemed to be mere inches away from her, staring at her intently. His gaze was weighed down with worry, as he watched her, frowning. Slowly he pulled away, letting go of her. Sara let out a heavy breath, the one she had been saving for the kiss that had never come.

"I think you should stay here," Greg told her quietly. "You don't feel warm, but you're not very focused. I think you might have a slight concussion."

"I'm fine," she stammered quickly. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"I'd feel better if you stayed here," Greg prompted her, taking a seat next to her.

"You know what happened, don't you?" Sara asked instead, changing the discussion.

Greg paused for a moment before nodding. "I have my own ideas, but I'd like to hear it from you."

Leaning back, Sara lifted her gaze just enough to catch Greg's eyes. "It was him," she whispered. She didn't need to explain anymore, the soft comment was enough for him to understand, still she continued, knowing that she owed that much at least to him.

"At first, everything was fine. He was nice, and he seemed to be interested in what I did, he gave me my space, and time to do my job. He understood that it was hard…I thought everything was going fine."

"What happened," Greg asked quietly. He had leaned back against the other armrest, on arm hanging down towards the floor, the other across his chest. His knees were bent, his feet coming to rest right in front of her.

"I don't know really," Sara admitted softly. It was like he changed, he became a different person. He always wanted to know where I was; he came to my place every night, called me while I was trying to work. He started going through my stuff, trying to tell me how to live…he was starting to scare me."

Greg nodded, but didn't say anything, allowing Sara to take a moment to readjust herself. "So I told him that I didn't want to see him anymore."

"I gather he didn't like that," Greg stated, indicating towards her bruises.

Sara nodded briskly, reaching up to wipe away a tear. She felt Greg shift, and she turned to meet him as he rested a hand on her shoulder, bringing the other up to catch another fallen tear. "Did you file a report?" he asked softly.

Sara let out a sigh, turning away from him. This was what she was afraid of. She knew in her heart that Greg would have asked. There was no way around it, and she wasn't about to lie to Greg. It would be too easy for him to catch her in it, after all, the entire team had a good standing with the police. All Greg had to do would be to call one of them up, and ask for the information. When they had none, Greg would know that she had lied. She wasn't willing to break his trust over something as easy as that.

The pause was enough for Greg however, as she heard him let out a sigh. "Sara, you should have filed a report."

"It's too late now," she told him bluntly.

"No it's not, you still can. I'll go with you…"

"No," Sara cut him off, shaking her head. "No, just forget it."

"He hurt you Sara," Greg told her sternly. "This is the very thing you fight against, the one thing that really makes you mad. Now you're just going to let him get away?"

Sara turned on him quickly, so much in fact that Greg had pulled away. "It's not that easy," she argued, her voice rising. "Don't you understand? I just can't do it."

She had expected him to say something, so it was a surprise when he remained silent. Sara glanced over at him, and it was clear he was avoiding her gaze, maybe even sulking a little.

"I'm sorry Greg," she told him quietly. "I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay, your choice after all. I have no right getting on you about it."

Sara let out a sigh, dropping her gaze. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just not as easy as you think it is. I wish it was, but there just so much you don't understand."

"Then make me," Greg pleaded with her lightly. "Spell it out for me, so that I can't miss it."

Sara smiled sadly, looking back towards him. "I wish I had that ability, I really do." Her voice trailed off, her next comment nearly slipping past him. "I didn't even really like him."

"Then why did you go out with him?" Greg wondered.

Sara met his gaze, frowning. "What?"

"Why did you go out with him if you didn't like him?" Greg repeated the question.

Sara shook her head turning away. The knot in her stomach had returned, and even as much as she wanted to pretend that she didn't hear his question, she knew that she could not.

"I don't know…" she sighed softly, closing her eyes. "I guess I was afraid."

"You were afraid of him, so you went out with him?" Greg questioned slowly, frowning in confusion.

Sara had to laugh, but she muffled it quickly after the look Greg had given her. The silence was eerie, and it seemed to be suffocating her. How was she supposed to explain all of this?

"Sara?" Greg's voice brought her back to reality, the worry he held for her once again evident.

"I wasn't afraid of him," Sara muttered quietly. "I was afraid…"

"Of what?" Greg prompted, moving closer to her once again. When she didn't continue he prompted again. "Come on, you can tell me."

Sara swallowed, turning away. She was starting to shake now, the thoughts consuming her mind.

Her voice was soft as she continued, almost ghost like, her answer seemingly echoing throughout her small apartment. "I was afraid…of you."

TBC…