XXIX - WAFFLES
Greg knocked on Doc Robbins office door, smoothing his hair nervously when he heard a merry "Come in!"
Opening the door, he saw Alli curled up on Doc Robbins small sofa, knees tucked up under her butt, sketching on a stack of computer paper.
"Meeting finished?" she looked at Greg and grinned, dropping the pencil to the side and stretching her fingers as she stood, "That didn't take long."
Greg smiled, "Well, Grissom is always to the point. Where's Doc?"
"He's doing an autopsy - told me to wait for you in here."
"What are you doing?" Greg walked into the office a bit further, craning his neck and trying to see what she had been sketching.
"Uh uh - that's a no no. I had an idea for a painting, and I needed to rough it out a bit before I forgot about it. No peeking - it'll jinx me. You ready to go?"
"Sure - where to?" Greg held the office door open and watched Alli precede him into the hallway.
"Well, I kind of promised Nick I'd bring him back blueberry pancakes for telling me about your apartment, so HOP?" Alli grinned at Greg appealingly.
Greg grinned, "Waffles. I'm down with that."
* * * * *
"Warrick!" Brass followed the younger CSI down the hallway, trying to get his attention before he disappeared around the corner with Nick and Grissom. The younger man stopped and turned, smiling slightly as Brass rushed to catch up with him.
"Brass."
"I gotta cut down on the donuts," Brass muttered as he finally caught up to Warrick. "Listen, have you told Katie about the move yet?"
Warrick sighed, "I told her about it, but she doesn't know it's today. I thought I'd talk to her and Nancy when I got home. When are we supposed to be moving her?"
Brass shrugged, "Well, here's the thing. We might not need to after all."
"What?" Warrick's voice raised just the tiniest bit, his surprise evident on his face.
"DA says we have enough to indict Enoch, despite Gil wanting more evidence. Says the Manson case was based on less than this, and look where Manson is. So, he's hesitant to transfer Katie and Nancy to a safe house. Says he could do it if there's a threat to them, or if she's the only witness, but that's not the case anymore, and he wouldn't be able to get the cost approved. We have Michael now, who - frankly - can link Enoch direct to a murder, and a couple of the other guys are talking as well."
Warrick was stunned. "Well - that's great news. There's been too much turmoil in Nancy's life as it is, and she needs some stability."
"You seem to be pretty involved in a short period of time," Brass' voice held no censure, and he smiled when Warrick shifted uncomfortably, "I never suspected you of having 'White Knight Syndrome' - always figured that was Nicky's bag."
"What can I say? There's something about the two of them that gets to me."
"It has nothing to do with the fact the little girl is as cute as a button and has adored you from day one, and that her older sister is a hottie?"
Warrick barked out a laugh, "Brass! Hottie? When did you start picking up the vernacular, man?"
Brass just smiled, "Hey - I'm surrounded by a bunch of young Turks. It's either adapt or die, and I'm no dinosaur. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go talk to Henderson. Good luck with foundation man."
* * * * *
"If we're lucky, we'll have the same affect opening this as we did the last time," Grissom smiled at Nick as he said this, and Nick grinned back.
"Yeah, yeah - body decomposing in concrete leaves a big air pocket, like the victim has been vacuum packed. Let's get to it."
By the time Warrick walked in, 10 minutes later, the foundation was well on it's way to being opened, an even split up each side of the block, and Grissom and Nick were breaking the top half off in sections.
"Yo!" Nick grinned when Warrick stepped beside him, "Trying to get out of the hard work, eh?" He grunted as he hefted a piece of foundation of to the side, his eyes teasing when he looked to his friend.
"Nah - just Brass. Wanted to tell me that Katie and Nancy will no longer be going to a safe house at the state's expense."
"No way, man! Why not?"
"DA is indicting Enoch with what we got. Brass says some of the other men are starting to roll, and Henderson is pretty confident we have a solid case based on circumstantial evidence and their testimony. Says Katie is no longer the only witness."
Grissom slid a piece of foundation to the side, "So, they're going to stay with you?" His voice held a not of caution, and Warrick stared at him intently.
"Yep. If they want to. I know you don't think it's a good idea, Grissom, but I won't be the one to kick them out."
Grissom sighed, "It's not about me or my opinion on this Warrick, it's just - it seems quick. I just don't want you to be taken advantage of."
"Won't happen," Warrick tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, instead reaching to help Nick move another large section of concrete. "I care about them. Right now, they need a friend, and I'm more than happy to fill that role."
"Okay, then. Let's get back to work here. I don't know about you two, but I'd like to get home today."
* * * * *
"Have you decided what painting you're giving me yet?" Greg looked at Alli expectantly as he took another bite of his strawberry waffle. She seemed far away this morning, her eyes all soft and unfocused, as she and Greg ate breakfast.
"I thought I'd let you chose," she responded. "I'm looking forward to moving in today."
Greg grinned, "And I bet your cat is excited too. No more garage!"
Alli smiled softly at this, sipping her coffee as she studied Greg. "I really enjoyed talking to you last night - you cured my insomnia."
"Is that your nice way of saying I bored you to tears?"
"No, not at all," Alli flushed slightly at Greg's teasing, "You have a very soothing way about you - very calming."
Greg started laughing, "You need to speak with Grissom and tell him that - he thinks I'm a maniac."
"Why?" Alli was grinning, "You seem very thoughtful to me."
"He caught me dancing around the lab once to Marilyn Manson with a rubber glove on my head. He hates my music and is always telling me to turn it down. He thinks I'm flaky."
"I don't see that at all. He seems like a pretty nice guy to me."
"Oh, he's nice alright," Greg agreed. "He's been different since this - thing - with my heart. I'm just having a hard time getting used to it. I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall."
"You don't trust him?"
Greg shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable, "It's not that I don't trust him. It's just - I find it hard to believe that he cares as much as he implies he does. That any of them do, for that matter."
"Why? Why shouldn't they care about you, Greg?" Alli's expression was suddenly serious, and she leaned towards him intently.
Greg shrugged, "Why should they? I'm just some guy who works in the lab with them. Nick - Sara - Grissom - all of them - I just don't understand sometimes why they care so much when no one else in my life ever did."
"That can't be true, Greg," Alli sounded shocked, "What about your family?"
"No family. Foster child. Got out of the system when I was sixteen."
Alli blinked at this news, and stared at Greg intently, "How many families did you live with?"
Greg shrugged, "Lost count after 8 or so. I never stayed in one place too long, except the last family I was with. I stayed with them for three years."
"And you're telling me that in three years, they never cared about you? You don't have someone live with you for three years and not care about them."
"They were in it for the money. Not for me." Greg's tone was getting progressively more defensive, his eyes shuttering.
"How do you know that? Did they tell you that?"
"Didn't have to. I asked them to adopt me, and they said no," Greg tried to keep the sudden hurt from his voice, but knew he failed when Alli's face turned sympathetic.
"Did you ask them why they wouldn't adopt you?"
"Why would I want to go into the details? They said no, they couldn't. I said fine and I moved out. Went to court and became legally emancipated - declared an adult, and got out of the foster system." Greg knew he sounded bitter, but he couldn't help it. "Can we not talk about this please?"
Alli bit her lip, nibbling worriedly, "What if there were extenuating circumstances? What if there were reasons they couldn't adopt you that you were unaware of?"
Greg snapped, "Listen, Alli. It was a long time ago, and it's over. What do you care what their reasons were for saying no? Frankly, why would they want me? I wasn't their kid. And I wasn't really too interested in listening to their excuses. They said they loved me and they lied. Story of my life."
"Have you spoken to them at all since you left?"
"No." Greg's answer was abrupt. "I'm not talking about this anymore, either. If you want to pursue this conversation, you'll end up talking to yourself."
"Okay, fine. Just let me get this straight - because you were a foster child, you think you never had anyone in your life who cared about you?" Alli's voice was soft and pointed. She winced slightly at Greg's jerky nod, before continuing, "And you find it hard to believe that people would care about you know, even your friends - even Grissom? Despite what they've told you - despite the fact they've taken care of you and supported you since your attack?" Her voice was incredulous, and Greg flushed.
"Listen, I know it's not right for me to think that way. I KNOW it. But I can't help it - call it conditioning, call it what you will, but when you've gone through your entire life and not had anyone care about you it's hard to believe anyone ever will."
"So you build these walls. You hide behind a persona you've created for yourself - whatever it is, and you try not to let yourself care about anyone else because you think they'll never care about you. That's not a good way to live, Greg. Even people who love you will let you down."
Greg had another mouthful of waffle, chewing angrily, "What are you? A shrink?"
Alli's eyes snapped angrily, "I'm a person who hates to see anyone suffering. Especially when I think they put themselves through a lot of unnecessary grief. The family you lived with for three years - you didn't ask them to adopt you, you challenged them - you basically told them to prove they loved you. You said yourself you left them when they said they couldn't do it, but you never found out why they couldn't. How do you know your leaving them didn't hurt them as much as it hurt you? And what are you going to do with your friends? Are you going to force them to prove they care, and when they do something that fails you are you going to walk away from them too?"
"I'm finished." Greg stood abruptly, "I don't need to listen to this." He reached into his back pocket angrily and pulled out some cash, dropping a $20 on the table. "Thanks for breakfast - it's been a treat."
Alli watched him leave, her face pained as she rapidly blinked back tears. She couldn't decide whether to chase after him and apologize for butting in where he obviously didn't want her to, or slap him for being so obtuse. Her heart ached for him, and she imagined what it must have been like for him, as a boy, shuffled from one place to another with no one to call his own. No wonder he was so skeptical of people. He hid it well, but Alli was used to reading people and she saw it. She had seen it from the first - Greg, for all his obvious intelligence and charm, hid a soul-deep insecurity. He thought he was unlovable. She sighed as she ordered blueberry pancakes to go for Nick, and paid the waitress when she brought her the doggy bag. Alli knew she could fall in love with him easily - if she were to be perfectly honest with herself, she was more than halfway there already. But how could someone who believed they had never been loved in their entire life recognize it when it was there in front of him?
Standing quickly, she exited the IHOP and stood momentarily at a loss in the parking lot. She didn't know where Greg had gone to, considering she had been his ride over, and she wondered idly if she started driving slowly if she would spot him. Sighing, she headed to her vehicle.
Greg was sitting on the back bumper, brown eyes anguished, face pale.
Wordlessly she approached him, stopping when she was right in front of him. Looking into his sad eyes, she felt her heart break all over again. "I'm sorry, Greg." her voice was soft, and she smiled when he leaned towards her. Without hesitation she leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him, hands running tenderly up his back as he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly, burying his face in her neck.
"I don't want to fight with you," he whispered hoarsely, "and I'm sorry for walking out on you like that."
"I shouldn't have pushed you the way I did," she responded, "and I'm sorry. It just - it hurts me that you're so hard on yourself. There are a lot of people around you who care about you, Greg - more than you realize, I think. You just don't want to believe it." Alli realized she was crying, but she didn't really care. "It hurts me that you think so little of yourself."
"It's not that - it's just.." Greg was at a loss for words, "I know they care about me. I'm just - if I start to depend on them too much, what happens when they pull away?"
"Do you honestly think they're going to do that? I've only been in Las Vegas less than a week, and I've seen how much your friends care about you. I even got a warning from Nick today."
Greg sniffed wetly in her neck, "Yeah? What type of warning?"
"He told me not to hurt you. He said you were like his brother, and you've been through enough lately. He's trying to protect you."
"Protect me from you? That's a laugh," Greg tried to tease, "What does he think you're going to do to me?"
Alli shrugged, "Maybe he's afraid I'm going to break your heart."
Greg snorted, "Already broken."
Alli leaned into Greg more, stepping between his knees until her own brushed against the bumper, hands in his hair forcing him to look at her. His eyes were wistful when they met hers, and she sighed again, softly.
"It's not broken, it's just a little rusty. You're not used to having people love you, and you're afraid to love them back. I'm more worried about me, to be honest."
She looked at Greg intently, doing nothing to hide the emotion swimming in her eyes as she delved into his own, "I'm falling in love with you, Greg. It's too quick, it's too soon, I don't know you - but there you have it. So, I'll make you a deal. I'll try not to hurt you if you try not to break my heart."
* * * * *
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Nick was almost chortling when he saw the plastic stuck in the concrete in the hollow around the body in the foundation, quickly grabbing a camera and snapping a couple of shots. Grissom stepped forward, a slight grin sharpening his features as he studied it.
"Looks like someone tried to hide something with the body," he noted.
Nick was cautiously working around the edge of the plastic, slowly and carefully peeling it away from the foundation, finally loosening it enough that he could lift it out. Roughly 10 inches long, it was easy to tell from the shape of the tightly wrapped plastic that Nick was holding a blade of some sort.
"Looks like Enoch tried to hide the murder weapon," Warrick's voice held a grim not of satisfaction, "and he wrapped it in plastic before burying it with the body."
Nick smiled, "Shall I get this to the lab right away? We'll fume it to lock any prints and see what we can lift."
Grissom nodded in agreement, "Enoch might have screwed up."
________
Author's Note: yeah! Thanks for being so patient - things are insane right now with work and all, but I'm plugging away. I'll make a huge effort to get chapter 30 up within the next two days or so. As always, please R&R - tell me if this is working for you all or not.
Greg knocked on Doc Robbins office door, smoothing his hair nervously when he heard a merry "Come in!"
Opening the door, he saw Alli curled up on Doc Robbins small sofa, knees tucked up under her butt, sketching on a stack of computer paper.
"Meeting finished?" she looked at Greg and grinned, dropping the pencil to the side and stretching her fingers as she stood, "That didn't take long."
Greg smiled, "Well, Grissom is always to the point. Where's Doc?"
"He's doing an autopsy - told me to wait for you in here."
"What are you doing?" Greg walked into the office a bit further, craning his neck and trying to see what she had been sketching.
"Uh uh - that's a no no. I had an idea for a painting, and I needed to rough it out a bit before I forgot about it. No peeking - it'll jinx me. You ready to go?"
"Sure - where to?" Greg held the office door open and watched Alli precede him into the hallway.
"Well, I kind of promised Nick I'd bring him back blueberry pancakes for telling me about your apartment, so HOP?" Alli grinned at Greg appealingly.
Greg grinned, "Waffles. I'm down with that."
* * * * *
"Warrick!" Brass followed the younger CSI down the hallway, trying to get his attention before he disappeared around the corner with Nick and Grissom. The younger man stopped and turned, smiling slightly as Brass rushed to catch up with him.
"Brass."
"I gotta cut down on the donuts," Brass muttered as he finally caught up to Warrick. "Listen, have you told Katie about the move yet?"
Warrick sighed, "I told her about it, but she doesn't know it's today. I thought I'd talk to her and Nancy when I got home. When are we supposed to be moving her?"
Brass shrugged, "Well, here's the thing. We might not need to after all."
"What?" Warrick's voice raised just the tiniest bit, his surprise evident on his face.
"DA says we have enough to indict Enoch, despite Gil wanting more evidence. Says the Manson case was based on less than this, and look where Manson is. So, he's hesitant to transfer Katie and Nancy to a safe house. Says he could do it if there's a threat to them, or if she's the only witness, but that's not the case anymore, and he wouldn't be able to get the cost approved. We have Michael now, who - frankly - can link Enoch direct to a murder, and a couple of the other guys are talking as well."
Warrick was stunned. "Well - that's great news. There's been too much turmoil in Nancy's life as it is, and she needs some stability."
"You seem to be pretty involved in a short period of time," Brass' voice held no censure, and he smiled when Warrick shifted uncomfortably, "I never suspected you of having 'White Knight Syndrome' - always figured that was Nicky's bag."
"What can I say? There's something about the two of them that gets to me."
"It has nothing to do with the fact the little girl is as cute as a button and has adored you from day one, and that her older sister is a hottie?"
Warrick barked out a laugh, "Brass! Hottie? When did you start picking up the vernacular, man?"
Brass just smiled, "Hey - I'm surrounded by a bunch of young Turks. It's either adapt or die, and I'm no dinosaur. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go talk to Henderson. Good luck with foundation man."
* * * * *
"If we're lucky, we'll have the same affect opening this as we did the last time," Grissom smiled at Nick as he said this, and Nick grinned back.
"Yeah, yeah - body decomposing in concrete leaves a big air pocket, like the victim has been vacuum packed. Let's get to it."
By the time Warrick walked in, 10 minutes later, the foundation was well on it's way to being opened, an even split up each side of the block, and Grissom and Nick were breaking the top half off in sections.
"Yo!" Nick grinned when Warrick stepped beside him, "Trying to get out of the hard work, eh?" He grunted as he hefted a piece of foundation of to the side, his eyes teasing when he looked to his friend.
"Nah - just Brass. Wanted to tell me that Katie and Nancy will no longer be going to a safe house at the state's expense."
"No way, man! Why not?"
"DA is indicting Enoch with what we got. Brass says some of the other men are starting to roll, and Henderson is pretty confident we have a solid case based on circumstantial evidence and their testimony. Says Katie is no longer the only witness."
Grissom slid a piece of foundation to the side, "So, they're going to stay with you?" His voice held a not of caution, and Warrick stared at him intently.
"Yep. If they want to. I know you don't think it's a good idea, Grissom, but I won't be the one to kick them out."
Grissom sighed, "It's not about me or my opinion on this Warrick, it's just - it seems quick. I just don't want you to be taken advantage of."
"Won't happen," Warrick tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, instead reaching to help Nick move another large section of concrete. "I care about them. Right now, they need a friend, and I'm more than happy to fill that role."
"Okay, then. Let's get back to work here. I don't know about you two, but I'd like to get home today."
* * * * *
"Have you decided what painting you're giving me yet?" Greg looked at Alli expectantly as he took another bite of his strawberry waffle. She seemed far away this morning, her eyes all soft and unfocused, as she and Greg ate breakfast.
"I thought I'd let you chose," she responded. "I'm looking forward to moving in today."
Greg grinned, "And I bet your cat is excited too. No more garage!"
Alli smiled softly at this, sipping her coffee as she studied Greg. "I really enjoyed talking to you last night - you cured my insomnia."
"Is that your nice way of saying I bored you to tears?"
"No, not at all," Alli flushed slightly at Greg's teasing, "You have a very soothing way about you - very calming."
Greg started laughing, "You need to speak with Grissom and tell him that - he thinks I'm a maniac."
"Why?" Alli was grinning, "You seem very thoughtful to me."
"He caught me dancing around the lab once to Marilyn Manson with a rubber glove on my head. He hates my music and is always telling me to turn it down. He thinks I'm flaky."
"I don't see that at all. He seems like a pretty nice guy to me."
"Oh, he's nice alright," Greg agreed. "He's been different since this - thing - with my heart. I'm just having a hard time getting used to it. I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall."
"You don't trust him?"
Greg shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable, "It's not that I don't trust him. It's just - I find it hard to believe that he cares as much as he implies he does. That any of them do, for that matter."
"Why? Why shouldn't they care about you, Greg?" Alli's expression was suddenly serious, and she leaned towards him intently.
Greg shrugged, "Why should they? I'm just some guy who works in the lab with them. Nick - Sara - Grissom - all of them - I just don't understand sometimes why they care so much when no one else in my life ever did."
"That can't be true, Greg," Alli sounded shocked, "What about your family?"
"No family. Foster child. Got out of the system when I was sixteen."
Alli blinked at this news, and stared at Greg intently, "How many families did you live with?"
Greg shrugged, "Lost count after 8 or so. I never stayed in one place too long, except the last family I was with. I stayed with them for three years."
"And you're telling me that in three years, they never cared about you? You don't have someone live with you for three years and not care about them."
"They were in it for the money. Not for me." Greg's tone was getting progressively more defensive, his eyes shuttering.
"How do you know that? Did they tell you that?"
"Didn't have to. I asked them to adopt me, and they said no," Greg tried to keep the sudden hurt from his voice, but knew he failed when Alli's face turned sympathetic.
"Did you ask them why they wouldn't adopt you?"
"Why would I want to go into the details? They said no, they couldn't. I said fine and I moved out. Went to court and became legally emancipated - declared an adult, and got out of the foster system." Greg knew he sounded bitter, but he couldn't help it. "Can we not talk about this please?"
Alli bit her lip, nibbling worriedly, "What if there were extenuating circumstances? What if there were reasons they couldn't adopt you that you were unaware of?"
Greg snapped, "Listen, Alli. It was a long time ago, and it's over. What do you care what their reasons were for saying no? Frankly, why would they want me? I wasn't their kid. And I wasn't really too interested in listening to their excuses. They said they loved me and they lied. Story of my life."
"Have you spoken to them at all since you left?"
"No." Greg's answer was abrupt. "I'm not talking about this anymore, either. If you want to pursue this conversation, you'll end up talking to yourself."
"Okay, fine. Just let me get this straight - because you were a foster child, you think you never had anyone in your life who cared about you?" Alli's voice was soft and pointed. She winced slightly at Greg's jerky nod, before continuing, "And you find it hard to believe that people would care about you know, even your friends - even Grissom? Despite what they've told you - despite the fact they've taken care of you and supported you since your attack?" Her voice was incredulous, and Greg flushed.
"Listen, I know it's not right for me to think that way. I KNOW it. But I can't help it - call it conditioning, call it what you will, but when you've gone through your entire life and not had anyone care about you it's hard to believe anyone ever will."
"So you build these walls. You hide behind a persona you've created for yourself - whatever it is, and you try not to let yourself care about anyone else because you think they'll never care about you. That's not a good way to live, Greg. Even people who love you will let you down."
Greg had another mouthful of waffle, chewing angrily, "What are you? A shrink?"
Alli's eyes snapped angrily, "I'm a person who hates to see anyone suffering. Especially when I think they put themselves through a lot of unnecessary grief. The family you lived with for three years - you didn't ask them to adopt you, you challenged them - you basically told them to prove they loved you. You said yourself you left them when they said they couldn't do it, but you never found out why they couldn't. How do you know your leaving them didn't hurt them as much as it hurt you? And what are you going to do with your friends? Are you going to force them to prove they care, and when they do something that fails you are you going to walk away from them too?"
"I'm finished." Greg stood abruptly, "I don't need to listen to this." He reached into his back pocket angrily and pulled out some cash, dropping a $20 on the table. "Thanks for breakfast - it's been a treat."
Alli watched him leave, her face pained as she rapidly blinked back tears. She couldn't decide whether to chase after him and apologize for butting in where he obviously didn't want her to, or slap him for being so obtuse. Her heart ached for him, and she imagined what it must have been like for him, as a boy, shuffled from one place to another with no one to call his own. No wonder he was so skeptical of people. He hid it well, but Alli was used to reading people and she saw it. She had seen it from the first - Greg, for all his obvious intelligence and charm, hid a soul-deep insecurity. He thought he was unlovable. She sighed as she ordered blueberry pancakes to go for Nick, and paid the waitress when she brought her the doggy bag. Alli knew she could fall in love with him easily - if she were to be perfectly honest with herself, she was more than halfway there already. But how could someone who believed they had never been loved in their entire life recognize it when it was there in front of him?
Standing quickly, she exited the IHOP and stood momentarily at a loss in the parking lot. She didn't know where Greg had gone to, considering she had been his ride over, and she wondered idly if she started driving slowly if she would spot him. Sighing, she headed to her vehicle.
Greg was sitting on the back bumper, brown eyes anguished, face pale.
Wordlessly she approached him, stopping when she was right in front of him. Looking into his sad eyes, she felt her heart break all over again. "I'm sorry, Greg." her voice was soft, and she smiled when he leaned towards her. Without hesitation she leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him, hands running tenderly up his back as he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly, burying his face in her neck.
"I don't want to fight with you," he whispered hoarsely, "and I'm sorry for walking out on you like that."
"I shouldn't have pushed you the way I did," she responded, "and I'm sorry. It just - it hurts me that you're so hard on yourself. There are a lot of people around you who care about you, Greg - more than you realize, I think. You just don't want to believe it." Alli realized she was crying, but she didn't really care. "It hurts me that you think so little of yourself."
"It's not that - it's just.." Greg was at a loss for words, "I know they care about me. I'm just - if I start to depend on them too much, what happens when they pull away?"
"Do you honestly think they're going to do that? I've only been in Las Vegas less than a week, and I've seen how much your friends care about you. I even got a warning from Nick today."
Greg sniffed wetly in her neck, "Yeah? What type of warning?"
"He told me not to hurt you. He said you were like his brother, and you've been through enough lately. He's trying to protect you."
"Protect me from you? That's a laugh," Greg tried to tease, "What does he think you're going to do to me?"
Alli shrugged, "Maybe he's afraid I'm going to break your heart."
Greg snorted, "Already broken."
Alli leaned into Greg more, stepping between his knees until her own brushed against the bumper, hands in his hair forcing him to look at her. His eyes were wistful when they met hers, and she sighed again, softly.
"It's not broken, it's just a little rusty. You're not used to having people love you, and you're afraid to love them back. I'm more worried about me, to be honest."
She looked at Greg intently, doing nothing to hide the emotion swimming in her eyes as she delved into his own, "I'm falling in love with you, Greg. It's too quick, it's too soon, I don't know you - but there you have it. So, I'll make you a deal. I'll try not to hurt you if you try not to break my heart."
* * * * *
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Nick was almost chortling when he saw the plastic stuck in the concrete in the hollow around the body in the foundation, quickly grabbing a camera and snapping a couple of shots. Grissom stepped forward, a slight grin sharpening his features as he studied it.
"Looks like someone tried to hide something with the body," he noted.
Nick was cautiously working around the edge of the plastic, slowly and carefully peeling it away from the foundation, finally loosening it enough that he could lift it out. Roughly 10 inches long, it was easy to tell from the shape of the tightly wrapped plastic that Nick was holding a blade of some sort.
"Looks like Enoch tried to hide the murder weapon," Warrick's voice held a grim not of satisfaction, "and he wrapped it in plastic before burying it with the body."
Nick smiled, "Shall I get this to the lab right away? We'll fume it to lock any prints and see what we can lift."
Grissom nodded in agreement, "Enoch might have screwed up."
________
Author's Note: yeah! Thanks for being so patient - things are insane right now with work and all, but I'm plugging away. I'll make a huge effort to get chapter 30 up within the next two days or so. As always, please R&R - tell me if this is working for you all or not.