Leila followed Greg through the halls of the lab. She was pretty upset at the loss of her friend but what upset her more was how she was going to tell Cassie. How do you explain the death of their mother to a six year old? Sure, she was only seven when she lost her mother but she had witnessed her mother's murder at the hands of her father. She didn't understand death than but she was able to understand that her mother was not coming back. She didn't even know if she could break the news to Cassie but she didn't think she could let anyone else. She felt that it was her responsibility as Anita's friend. She was the one to hold her hand 'til she died, she was the one who made the promise before she died, she should be the one to tell Cassie.
As they approached the break room where they could hear Cassie laughing with Catherine and she stopped, feeling frozen in place. What if Cassie blamed her? What if Cassie ended up hating her? She didn't think she could handle that. Greg stopped with his hand on the door handle when he realized that Leila wasn't following him anymore and turned to see her staring into the break room at the six year old. She seemed to be rooted to the spot and her hands were shaking. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears that were being held back as best as they could be.
"Leila?"
She slowly and almost painfully turned her head and looked at him. He could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes.
"Oh Greg, I don't know if I can do this. How am I supposed to tell her? How am I supposed to tell a six year old that she's never gonna see her mother again and that I promised her dying mother that we would take care of her from now on?" asked Leila, her voice shaking slightly as she fought not to cry.
Greg wasn't sure what to say. It usually wasn't their job to inform someone of the death of a loved one but sometimes that was how it went. And it was never pleasant. Some times were harder than others, especially when it came to children. It's never easy explaining death to a child, they don't always understand.
"I don't really know what to tell you Leila. We see so many different things in this job and not many are easy. You just have to face them the best you can and hope for the best. And kids don't always comprehend what death means but they learn as they grow up. We may understand death better than anyone and it's not always easy having to tell someone they've lost a loved one. It's not a part of our job but sometimes we get stuck with delivering the bad news. But I know you can do this. You're a strong person, possibly the strongest person I know. After everything you've been through, each time you survived you came out stronger and more determined to face the next challenge." he said.
"But I'm not strong. If I was, none of this would be happening. I would be able to better protect my friends and family. I wasn't even strong enough to save her tonight. I couldn't save her and I can't anyone, I'm not strong enough. Anyone that gets too close to me only ends up getting hurt." said Leila.
"None of that is true Leila and you know it. We're still alive, I'm still alive because of you." said Greg, trying his best not to yell even though he felt frustrated about how she would keep putting herself down the way she did.
"But look how many times you got hurt because of me. Damn it, you could have died and it would have been my fault, because I wasn't strong enough or smart enough to be able to protect you and my father say that. Hell, even Leeroy saw it and I hadn't seen him in years. They knew the best way to hurt me and to do you that had to hurt you. They knew how much I would blame myself for the things they did to you and there was nothing I could do to stop it. They knew just the thought of living without was excruciating. Even just being away from you for just five minutes..it hurts. I can't even breath 'cause I can't help but wonder if maybe it would be last time I would see you. They used my biggest weakness against me and..." Leila ranted until she was cut off by Greg grabbing her and kissing her deeply, his lips pressed hard against hers. She felt one tear slid down her cheek and slowly started to calm down some so Greg could pull away without worrying about her continuing her ranting. She starred up at him as he watched her for a moment.
"Just shut up for five minutes Leila and listen to me." said Greg calmly, reaching up and wiping away the tear falling from her eye. "You did everything in your power to protect us, to protect me no matter what the cost. I never once saw fear in your eyes during those times. Each time your father came at us, you stood your ground and stared him in the eyes. Not once did you back down or give up. And we still have a long road ahead of us so don't give up on me now, not after everything we've been through and accomplished together. I need you Leila. Cassie needs you, she needs to be strong right now. And I believe she would much rather hear it from you than anyone else."
Leila stayed silence for a few minutes, turning her eyes back to the break room and the little girl inside. She had never considered herself to be anything close to mother material, despite the close relationship she had with Cassie. She wasn't even sure if she could even help raise a child but she had made a promise to Anita and she was going to keep it, no matter what. She could see the honesty and wisdom in Greg's words. She didn't mean to keep putting herself down but sometimes, it felt like the only thing she could do. It was usually how she felt and she knew that those feeling weren't right but she didn't know what to do to resist them. If it wasn't for Greg staying by her side all these times, she would have given in long ago. She sighed than turned back to Greg.
"You're right, I'm sorry." she said, feeling worse than ever.
"It's okay Leila, I just don't like seeing you put yourself down the way you do. It hurts me to see you get like this." said Greg.
"I don't see how you can put up with me sometimes. You never yell at me, even when you should. You always act so calm, no matter how frustrated you get. How do you do it? How do you deal with me like this? And don't tell me it's just 'cause you love me. It's more than that." said Leila.
"You're right. I do it because you have been hurt enough by everyone, even me and I don't wanna see you hurt anymore." said Greg.
Leila looked into his eyes, realization dawning on her and she finally understood how he had been able to put up with her after everything she put him through since she returned to Vegas from Miami after marrying than divorcing Tim.
"You're trying to make it up to me. You're trying to make up to me the way you reacted and what you did." she said. She knew she didn't have to explain to him what she meant, she could see that in his eyes.
Greg held her gaze, not daring to look away even as the look of guilt returned to his eyes and he knew she could see it.
"Greg, come on, you don't have to do this. We talked about this already. I thought we had an understanding." said Leila but she wasn't angry, just a bit hurt that he still felt guilty.
"We did, I mean we do but I still feel like I need to make it up to you for the way I acted." said Greg.
"Oh honey." said Leila, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer. "Baby, you had every right to do what you did. I deserved it. I'm the one who should be making it up to you, not that other way around."
"I still had no right to act the way I did, I understand that now. I should have understood it then." said Greg.
"You were hurting, you acted the way anyone would have. I don't blame you and I certainly don't hold it against you. I love you, and I wanna marry you again." said Leila.
Greg pulled away just enough to look her in the eyes.
"You were serious about that?" he asked.
"Of course I was. It was an honor to be your wife and it would be an honor to be your wife again." said Leila.
"Then it would be an honor to take you as my wife and be your husband again." said Greg, smiling brighter than he had in weeks.
Just then, Cassie walked out into the hallway to see both Leila and Greg standing together in front of the break room. She noticed that Leila's eyes were red but she didn't know why.
"Uncle Greg, what's wrong with Auntie Leila's eyes?" she asked curiously.
"Nothing, Auntie Leila has just had a rough night." said Greg. He knew he couldn't lie to the kid, he had become too fond of her.
"Cassie, listen, why don't we go back into the break room. There's something I need to tell you." said Leila, guiding the six year old back in the room and over onto the couch where she knelt down in front of her.
"Did you find mommy? Is she coming to get me?" asked Cassie.
"Yes, yes I did find your mom but she won't be coming to get you. You're going to be staying with me and Greg from now on." said Leila, heaving a sigh before continuing, knowing that the little girl in front of her didn't understand. "You see, a bad man hurt you're mom, he hurt her really bad. She won't be coming back anymore."
"Auntie Leila, is mommy in Heaven?" asked Cassie.
Leila hesitated, feeling a lump form in her throat. She tried to swallow it away but didn't succeed. It just lingered there, making her throat feel constricted.
"Yes, sweetheart, she is." she said, feeling a few tears fall again. What happened next surprised her a little.
Cassie threw her arms around Leila neck and hugged her tightly, as though she was trying to comfort her instead of Leila comforting her. Leila put her arms around the small child and held her close, taken back by how calm the kid was.
"It's okay Auntie Leila, mommy'll watch over us now. She's an angel now, she'll protect us." said Cassie.
Leila's heart melted at how grown up the six year old was being. This was something you didn't get to see everyday. She didn't even what to say in response so she just settled on staying in her kneeling position on the floor in front of the couch.
Catherine and Greg could only watch the scene from where they stood in the doorway, smiling at how close Cassie was to Leila and that she was reacting well to the news of her mother's death at the hands of some strange man who she had no idea of who he was but the adults did and they all knew how dangerous he was.
Shift was over and Leila and Greg had taken Catherine up on her offer that she and her mother would watch Cassie while Leila recover from the death of her friend. While Leila was grateful, she also couldn't help but feel a little guilty that she was dumping the kid on Catherine when her kid was grown. She also knew that she couldn't handle the kid right now, no matter how fond she was of her. She just wanted some peace and quiet and a good night's sleep. She laid in her and Greg's bed, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling. She could hear the water running in the bathroom that told her that Greg was in the shower. He had invited her to join him but she wanted a few minutes alone to think and he respected that. He knew that it wasn't anything against him, she just needed a few minutes to process the whole nights events and figure out how they were going to be able to handle taking care of Cassie when they worked the graveyard shift and barely had any time to spare.
Right then, she heard the water turn off and it told her Greg was stepping out of the shower. Instead of waiting for him to come into the bedroom, she got up and headed toward the bathroom. She walked in just as he finished putting on his boxers. He looked up at her when he heard the door open.
"Hey." he said.
"Hey. What're we gonna do about Cassie? I know I promised Anita that we'd take of her but we can barely get five minutes to ourselves, let alone make time for a kid. I mean don't get me wrong, I love the kid but how are we supposed to take care of her? This is just...this is too much to take in in one night." said Leila.
"I know. I'm sure Catherine mom wouldn't mind watching her, at least until we figure something out." said Greg, pulling on his t-shirt. "Now come on, let's get some sleep. We'll worry about it tomorrow once we've had time to rest."
Leila just nodded and allowed Greg to lead her into the bedroom and into their bed. He pulled the covers up over them and snuggled close to her with his arms wrapped around her.
"I love you." he whispered in her ear.
"I love you too." said Leila.
"I'll never let you go Leila, I'll never let you go. I'll hold you forever." said Greg, quoting himself from the night at the club after they had gotten married.
"I know baby, I know. And I'm never gonna let you go. I'll on to you forever." said Leila, smiling at the memory and remembering the song he had played for her.
Silence passed over them and within minutes, they were both asleep. It was a few hours before Leila was jolted awake by a loud banging. She sat up, alert at the noise. She wasn't really surprised to see Greg still fast asleep, unbothered by the noise. She roughly shook him to wake him.
"Greg, wake up." she said. She heard him groan and stir, signaling that he was semi awake at least. "Greg." she said, shaking him more to get him fully awake.
"What? I'm up, I'm up. I'm awake." said Greg, not sounding at all happy.
"Greg, listen. You hear that?" asked Leila, wanting to make sure she wasn't imagining it. She felt Greg sit up beside when the banging sounded again, only it sounded closer and his whole body became alert, ready for action. "What the hell is that?"
"I don't know. Stay here." said Greg, his weight shift on the bed until it was gone.
"Where are you going?" asked Leila, clearly scared.
"I'm gonna go check it out." said Greg, starting to head for the bedroom door but he felt a hand grab hold of his wrist.
"No, please don't leave me here alone." pleaded Leila, not wanting to be left alone in the dark.
Before Greg could utter a word, the banging suddenly stopped and an eerie silence passed over the apartment. Neither of them dared to move and barely dared to breath. Greg tried to turn on the light but it wouldn't turn on.
"That's weird, power shouldn't be out." said Greg.
"Maybe we should get out of here, I don't like this. I'm scared Greg." said Leila. She felt Greg's familiar hands take her by the arms and pull her to him, wrapping him arms protectively around her and holding her close. She put her arms around his waist and held on tight, too afraid to let go.
"It's gonna be okay, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." said Greg, rubbing her back soothingly.
The sound of her phone ringing startled them both but they quickly composed themselves and Leila, keeping a hold on Greg's hand, walked over and grabbed it from the bedside table. She looked at the caller id and it showed that it was an unknown caller. She answer it, putting it on speaker phone and a familiar voice spoke, sending chills down their spines.
"Hello again Leila my dear. I'm coming for you." Leila turned to Greg with terrified eyes, her grip on his hand tightening as Jack continued. "We're gonna have lots of fun, me, you and Gregory."
At that, Leila snapped the phone shut and tossed it onto the bed. She heard Greg moving around, shuffling through drawers than she heard the sound of a zipper being done up and knew he was getting dressed. She knew she should do the same but she couldn't move. Her body wouldn't obey her, it was as though she was frozen. Then she felt Greg grab her hand and start guiding her out of the room. She quickly grabbed her phone but didn't argue as she allowed him to lead her from the apartment. She could hear the keys jingle in his hand. Once outside, even though it was night, the street lights illuminated the darkness and Leila could see that could that Greg had grabbed her some clothes and her shoes and was carrying them for her. As they got in the car, he handed them to her so she could change before he started the car and pulled away from their apartment.
Leila pulled on the jeans than slipped her nightgown off and pulling on her shirt. She was putting on her shoes when she looked in her side mirror and noticed that they were being followed. She could barely see the driver but she still was able to recognize him. She turned around in the seat to make sure she wasn't seeing things but she wasn't. It was him.
"Greg, he's following us." she said.
"Hang on." said Greg, pushing down on the gas and increasing speed but Jack just stayed right behind them. It was a good thing there weren't many cars out at this time.
Leila put on her seat belt, doing the same for Greg than quickly grabbed her phone and called Grissom. She knew he was probably asleep right now but she didn't care. Then she heard a groggy voice answer.
"Leila? Are you alright? Do you realize what time it is?" said Grissom.
"Yes, yes I do but I had to call you. Gil, it's him. He's following us." said Leila. She could hear Sara in the background and Grissom said something to her.
"Alright, just stay calm okay? Sara's calling Brass right now and I'm gonna stay on the phone with you as long as possible. Don't give up on us." said Grissom, doing his best to keep her calm.
"Okay." said Leila, trying her best not to panic. She could hear Sara in the background talking to Brass.
"Where-" Grissom started to ask but was cut off when the phone went out.
"Damn it, my phone just died!" said Leila, trying to stay calm.
Just then, Jack pulled up beside them and just stared in at them, sneering.
"Greg.." said Leila, grabbing hold of his arm.
Greg looked over and saw Jack just staring. It made him uneasy. He pushed the gas petal down as far as it would go but Jack just matched their speed.
Then, suddenly, he rammed the side of their car. Greg managed to keep control. He hit them a few more times and each time, Greg managed to keep control. Jack rammed them one more time and that's when Greg finally lost control of the car and it hit a pole. If it hadn't been for the seat belts, they might have gone through the windshield. They gasped and coughed for a minute, trying to catch their breath.
"You alright Leila?" asked Greg.
"Yeah. Yeah, I think so. You okay?" asked Leila, undoing her seatbelt.
"Yeah." said Greg, trying to undo his seatbelt but it was jammed. "My seat belt's stuck."
Leila turned to help him out of the seat belt and was too busy to notice the figure approaching the car until the passenger window was shattered and she felt herself being pulled through it before she had time to react.
"No, Leila!" yelled Greg, trying to grab her and pull her back but the seatbelt prevented him from doing so. "Leila!
"Greg!" yelled Leila as she was being dragged by Jack toward his car but not without a struggling. She wasn't going to give up without a fight.
"Let her go!" she heard Greg yell but Jack ignored him. She noticed that he had a gun in his hand. She decided now was a good time to act before things got worse. She hit him in the ribs with her elbow hard and he let go of her. She took the opportunity to run and ran back to their car to the drivers side and opening the door, trying to help Greg again because she refused to leave him but it was no use.
"Leila, you gotta get out of here." said Greg.
"What about you? I can't just leave you." said Leila.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just go, please." said Greg.
Leila hesitated, not really wanting to leave Greg but not really able to help him with the seatbelt holding him in the car. She made the hardest decision of her life. She kissed him hard, lingering for a minute before pulling away and looking him in the eyes.
"I'll be back, I promise. I won't leave you. I love you." she told him.
"I love you more." said Greg, flashing her a small grin.
Leila returned it than, after glimpsing at Jack to see him recovering from the blow, she turned and ran. She ran until she could run no more, turning down an alley and hiding behind a dumpster. She didn't know how far she had gone away from Greg and she didn't even know if he was still alive. She now felt guilty for leaving him but she didn't really have a choice. The jammed seatbelt was holding him in the car and she didn't have time to think of a way to get him out.
Just then, she heard footstep and carefully peeking around the dumpster, she saw that it was Jack. Instead of the gun, he now had a knife. He must have dropped the gun when she had dealt that blow to his ribs. He walked into the alley like a predator stalking his prey, which is what Leila felt like right now.
"Leila. I know your here. Stop hiding and face me." said Jack.
Leila quickly shrank back against the wall behind her so was once again completely hidden by the dumpster. Her breathing had quickened and she tried not to imagine what Jack was capable of doing to her if he caught her although, with her job, she already knew. She looked towards the end of the alley and saw it was a dead end, no way for her to escape. She silently cursed herself for now checking before she hid here.
Right then, Jack came around the dumpster and stood in front of her. She immediately scrambled away as far as she could but there wasn't much room for her to go anywhere. She was trapped in an alley with this psycho.
"Get away from her!"
Both Leila and Jack turned their attention to the entrance of the alleyway to see Greg standing there, holding Jack's dropped gun and aiming it at him. Jack just laughed.
"You won't do it. You don't have it in you boy." he said.
"Try me." said Greg, pulling back the hammer.
Jack just simply laughed again and said nothing, turning his attention back to Leila. He lifted the knife above his head but before he could bring it down, there was a loud bang and he fell to the ground.
Leila looked over at Greg, still aiming the gun where Jack had been before he lowered it and let it fall from his hand. She got up and walked over to him, pausing for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and pulling herself close before he felt his arms around her. No words were needed.