Title: World Turned Over

Disclaimer: Same

Chapter Title: As You Get Colder

(This chapter is mostly about Greg and after the suspension. Not much on the case but that will be next chapter.)

Greg's suspension spread like wild fire through out the crime lab and it made supervisor Gil Grissom furious. He hated how horrible some of the members at the Las Vegas Crime Lab spoke about the members on the Graveyard shift. It all began when that girl from the day shift, oh what is her name? Annabelle? No. That wasn't her. Rachel? No. That was a recent suspect. Who ever started it, Grissom wanted to know. He remembered talking to Greg about his suspension in the locker room but unless the girl had extendable ears she couldn't hear them. Maybe it was when Greg stormed down the hall, almost running over the secretary and the Crime Investigator overhead him cussing about Grissom.

"Grissom?" Catherine asked as she knocked lightly on the doorframe of his office, her eyes looked bitter, "Why Greg? He's just a rookie. Plus, Nicky feels horrible. He's been in this God-awful mood since Greg's suspension."

Grissom kept his gaze down on the open case folders that lay on his desk. Gil hadn't gotten anytime to go through the immense stack of papers. He had been too worked up over Greg that he had forgotten about his own homicide case. Well, his and Nick's but Nick didn't feel like talking. Nick felt like sitting alone blaming himself. Saying that if he was with Greg than Greg wouldn't have gotten hurt and that maybe he could figure out the real reason why Greg's fingerprints were on the murder weapon. It gave Gil a headache.

"Catherine, because Greg doesn't have enough experience I just can't let him roam the halls around here. He could get in the way and the safest thing for him right now is suspension." It didn't sound too convincing but Catherine knew there was no other way to win her supervisor over.

"Alright," she said defeated as she turned on her heel and began to leave but something caught her; Gil's voice.

"Hold on Catherine," he said as he rose from his seat, stuffed the papers into the manila folder and walked over to her.

She turned around expecting him to say "Why don't I check on Greg. Just see if he's okay. I'll bring him back in if that's what the team feels." But instead he said;

"What's more appealing? Cheers or Instruments?"

Catherine surveyed him, thinking this was maybe a joke but noticing that stern look on his face made Catherine realize that he was serious. That he wasn't kidding. That he didn't seem like he cared. She sighed at her stupidity and rolled her eyes before turning on her heel, leaving her supervisor without an answer.

Greg sat on his couch, remote in hand as he flipped through the TV channels. It had already been an hour and he was becoming extremely bored with the lack of things to do around his apartment. The thought of Grissom actually suspending him over a fingerprint on a gun that Greg knew he didn't ever pick up sent a surge of anger throughout the young man's body.

"Oh don't do it honey!" The distressed woman on the soap opera begged as the tall, masculine man with tears running down his face pointed a gun at the troubled woman's ex-lover. The show wanted to make Greg gag. Who watched this stuff anyway? People like me who are on suspension. He reminded himself as he clicked the off button and sat back on the soft cushion.

Then, someone knocked on the door. Greg raised a brow as he glanced over his shoulder at his front door. Why would someone be here? He asked himself as he stood up and walked over towards his door. "Coming," Greg said as he unlocked his door and pulled it open.

Nick.

"Nick?" Greg asked as he stared at his co-worker. But Nick didn't look like Nick. He was chagrined. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry." Nick said bluntly.

Greg gave Nick a confused look. "For?"

Nick stepped inside the lab tech's living room without any invitation and rubbed his temples. Greg knew that something was bothering Nick so much that he needed to take time off of work and personally come to Greg's apartment so he didn't mind that Nick just walked in.

"Nick?" Greg asked again as he closed the door slowly and faced his troubled co-worker.

"I'm sorry Greg."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"If I was with you the whole time while you were investigating," the CSI now began to pace back and forth across Greg's room, his hands never stopped moving. It was a habit when he was nervous, upset or something along that line. "If I was around and keeping my eye on you then you'd never would have gotten suspended."

Suspension. There was that word again. For some odd reason it sounded worst when someone else said it. "Listen Nick," Greg said as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching the Texan still pace. "It wasn't your fault. You don't have to always babysit me. I just decided to investigate more after I heard a couple of noises. But I'll tell you again. I didn't touch that gun. Someone must have placed it in my hands when I was out."

"Don't go blaming yourself man." Nick told him as he shook his head at Greg and finally stopped pacing. Greg was sure Nick had burned a hole in the carpet from walking so heavily back and forth.

"It was my fault and if you keep saying it's yours then I'm never going to speak to you again."

Nick stared at Greg for a moment. "Liar. You'd still say something."

"Oh alright, I would have but still. The point is it's not your fault. Just find out who framed me. That's all I'm asking."

The gaze Nick had on Greg didn't move. How was Greg able to take this so calmly after he had just enraged the day before? Nick asked himself as Greg walked over towards his kitchen, the sound of the coffee pot echoed through out the apartment as neither one of them spoke.

Then, Nick broke the silence. "You've got a lot of CD's," Nick said randomly as he walked over towards Greg's stereo. "There's got to be at least a thousand dollars worth here. How do you pay for it all?"

A smirk played across Greg's lip as he grabbed two coffee cups. "Coffee?"

"Blue Hawaiian?"

"What else would sit in my cupboard?" He took the coffee container and began to pour his rich coffee into the two cups and answered Nick's first question, "I got paid more than you."

"What?" Nick asked as he moved his gaze away from the huge CD Stack and watched as Greg walked over to him, two coffee mugs in his hand.

"Us Lab Tech's get paid more than you CSI's." He informed him as he handed him the mug. "But now since I'm becoming a CSI that means that my paycheck gets this huge cut."

"Why do Lab Tech's get paid more?" Nick asked as he took the steaming mug into his cold hands.

Greg shrugged at that question and sat down on his couch, bringing the coffee cup to his lip.

"I mean, us CSI's spend all day risking our lives at crime scenes, break our backs collecting solid evidence, and all Lab Tech's do is sit on their ass and play with computers."

"Don't insult the half of me."

Nick looked over at Greg, amused. "Half?"

"I'm still half Lab Tech but not money wise."

The Texan shook his head as he took a sip of Greg's coffee and smiled as he swallowed. For some unknown reason, Greg's coffee was heaven to everyone, one of the main purposes why so many people were nice to him in the break room.

Greg lifted his coffee cup once more and stopped, the cup inches away from his lips. "Oh, and we do just sit on our ass and play games." He said with a smirk as he took a long sip, Nick laughing and shaking his head.

(Review!! )

BlondeNeko