"…blood never forgets but who protects the memories from when we bleed each other from the vein…"

--Third Eye Blind

No one hears anything from Greg for the next three days. Sara, Nick and Warrick stop by his apartment, but no one is home when they make their visits. Greg's doctor notifies the CSI's that he can return to work a week after his accident, but Greg doesn't check in with any of them.

Saturday morning, Grissom and Catherine are drinking coffee in the break room waiting for their shift to end. Nick and Sara join them, finished with their case for the weekend.

"Anything from Greg, Gris?" Sara asks, as Grissom flips closed his cell phone.

"Nothing. His voicemail box is full," Grissom replies. His phone rings before he can clip it back to his belt.

"Who is this?" A voice asks as Grissom answers the phone.

"Grissom. Who's this?"

"You work with Greg? This is Lila. I couldn't get to the phone in time so I star-69'd you. Have you seen him?"

"Lila, when's the last time you saw Greg?" Grissom counters, concerned.

"We had a fight after he left the hospital. He was gone when I got back, a few days ago. I haven't seen him. I tried filing a missing person's report…" Lila begins.

"You're that worried?" Grissom asks.

Lila sighs, obviously upset. "He was drinking and I've never seen him drink…that's why we fought, he wouldn't talk to me and I… I don't think he should be drinking when he's this upset."

"Okay, Lila. I'm sure he's fine…" Grissom lies, glancing at Catherine.

"The police haven't found him yet but they say they're looking." She sighs. "Will you let me know if you hear from him?"

"Of course, Lila."

Grissom hangs up the phone. "Has anyone tried paging him?"

"Would he have his pager with him?" Sara asks, using her cell phone to page the tech's number.

"It's worth a try. Lila's filed a missing person's report. He hasn't been home in a few days. She's worried," Grissom explains.

"She probably has good reason to be worried. Warrick said the kid was one step away from a breakdown the other day," Nick sighs.

"He was still very cool, though. He didn't let anything show. Even when he was telling us about his sister, he was totally disconnected. It was like he was you, Grissom," Sara remarks. Her phone rings in her hand.

"Sara," She answers.

"Sara, it's Greg. Did you page me?"

Sara can barely hear Greg over the loud rock music in the background. "Yeah. Where the hell are you, Greg?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Greg replies, yelling over the noise.

"Try me."

"I'm in Seattle helping out an old friend of mine…I'll be back for Monday's shift, though, it's just a short…thing…" Greg says, breaking up.

"Greg? Have you talked to Lila?"

"Not recently. I wanted to give her some space…"

"She filed a missing person's report, Greg. What are you doing up there?" Sara asks, concerned.

"I'm getting this out of my system. Don't worry, Sara. I'll call Lila and calm her down and I'll see you guys on Monday, okay?"

"Greg. Where are you so I can call you when it's quieter?" Sara asks.

There is a long silence on Greg's end of the phone. "Here's the number to the Sheraton hotel in Seattle. Ask for the presidential suite. I'm staying with some friends there." Greg gives her a number and tells her to call during the midday.

"Where is he?" Catherine asks.

"Seattle. I have to call him back later, wherever he was calling from was loud as hell. He sounded okay," Sara shrugs.

"'Allo?"

"Lila."

"Greg, my god, where are you, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Lila. I'm sorry I bounced like that, it was inconsiderate of me to leave without talking to you, but…I was in a weird place. I needed to be alone so I could pull myself together and I didn't really worry about what you were thinking…"

"Greg. Slow down," Lila says, smiling at his familiar rambling. "You sound better."

"I think I'm okay, baby. Are you going to be there when I get home?" Greg asks, hesitating.

"When? When are you coming back to me?"

"I…I kind of have to stay here tonight but I'll leave as soon as I can. Deal?"

"I don't know. What are you doing in Seattle, Greg?" She asks, quietly.

Greg hesitates. "You're going to be mad. I know you're going to be mad."

"What, Greg? Just tell me."

"I had to handle my family's arrangements. There was no one else to take care of it. I ran into a few old friends and they…they helped me…kind of…pick up the pieces."

"You…you planned the funerals and arrangements…all by yourself?"

"Lila. I had to do it. It's my responsibility," Greg replies, quietly.

"But…Greg, I'm here for you, why won't you let me be here for you? Do I mean that little to you?" Lila questions, upset.

"Lila, you're taking this all wrong. My family…it was messy. There's a lot of stuff that I don't talk about, not because I don't trust you but because…I don't like to talk about it. I didn't want to have to deal with rehashing all that shit when I was trying to put my family in the ground. It was hard by myself, but at least I didn't have to talk about it…" Greg says.

"Greg, we're together, aren't we? You're more than my lover, I live with you, I love you…but you don't trust me at all. I could have helped you, I wouldn't have asked questions, and I would have done whatever you needed me to do…"Lila starts.

"I know, Lila. I'm just not used to having…I'm not used to having anyone to lean on. I don't know…damn, Lila. I love you and I hope…"

"I don't know if I should stay, Greg. I love you so much it hurts…but these last few days, I…listen, baby. You've always been there for me, you took care of me when I was sick, you listened to me when I was all messed up in the head…but you haven't let me into your life…"

"Please, Lila, don't do this to me right now. I need you…"

"No, you don't. What is it they say, no man is an island? You're…you don't need me, Greg. You won't let me help you, you won't let me into your life at all…"

"Lila, you live with me! I need you! My family has never been an issue for us, they aren't a part of my life…as soon as I get back everything will be back to normal!"

"Not for me. Not after this. You get shot, you could have died! You started drinking again, Greg…"

"I stopped! It was for one day, Lila…"

"Greg. Stop."

"I can't believe you're going to break up with me over the phone. Over something like this. God, Lila, I love you…"

"Just stop, Greg. Just let it go." Lila starts to hang up.

"Can we talk about this?"

"You haven't called me in three days, Greg. No email, no phone call, nothing to let me know whether you're alive or dead. I have to let you go. I need to be with someone that cares about how I feel. I need someone that's a whole person," Lila says.

"Whoa. That's…that's harsh…okay, Lila. That's it then."

Lila regrets her words. "Greg…"

"No. It's cool. I get it. Bye, Lila." He hangs up