Privacy by SLynn

Disclaimer: It's all mine, because yeah, this is what I'd do with my free time if I actually owned these characters.

Chapter 29: Unbelievable

"But we ruled her out."

Warrick was the first one to speak. He'd gone over the list of applicants for the CSI position Greg had taken and compared it with everyone who had applied within the LVPD. Grissom and Catherine turned to him but Sara and Amy did not. She was staring off into space; Amy was too concerned for her to look elsewhere.

"She didn't apply for that job. Ortega just got promoted to detective three months ago. Believe me, after everything that's happened with her around, hers was the first name I looked for."

"Doesn't matter," Grissom finished, "her DNA was found. I'll get a hold of Brass…"

But calling Brass wasn't an issue any more. Brass was at the door, tapping loudly and waving for Grissom to join him in the hall. Grissom stepped out to join him and Brass shut the door effectively drowning out their conversation.

"What did Griss have for you earlier?" Warrick asked Catherine while they waited.

"Oh," she said, coming out of the daze she'd fallen into, "the audio taps. He had Archie check the lab and it came up empty, but after reviewing one of the tapes he thought he knew where it was recorded. The SUVs. He and I were on one talking about Marsha Jones, the db that wasn't, and Gil knew we'd talked about it only on the ride back to the lab."

"Is Archie checking…"

"As we speak. Except for the one you guys took and the other with Nick and Greg. So far nothing."

Sara, still not responding or participating in the conversation, had her eye caught as someone was quickly moving past them. Sophia Curtis.

"Why's she here?" she asked out loud.

They all turned and watched as she rushed to the locker room and was back again soon after, case in hand.

Grissom and Brass, finished with their talk, opened the door back up. He didn't even know where to begin.

"Sara, you need to go with Brass. I'll be right behind."

Sara looked at him, evidently confused, but didn't argue. Brass walked down the hall just ahead of her, not affording her an opportunity to ask questions.

"Catherine…"

"What's going on here Gil," she interrupted.

For a moment he faltered. Briefly, ever so briefly, his gaze fell to Amy, before turning back to Catherine. Warrick and Catherine caught it easy enough, but Amy hadn't. She wasn't a trained investigator after all.

"There's been an accident."

Grissom had no better way of saying it. Right now he had no idea how accidental it was, these types of things hardly ever were, but what else could he say.

"What type of accident? Where?" Catherine dared to ask.

"A shooting at Nick and Greg's scene."

Amy caught on. They were looking at her now, concerned, and she knew why.

"Is he okay?" she asked her voice as weak as she felt. Like if she didn't have the desk to lean on she might not be standing at all. "Is he…"

"Nick is at UMC now. They'll be taking him into surgery soon. Warrick, can you escort Amy there?"

Warrick nodded, taking her by the arm instinctively knowing she needed the support. As soon as they'd gone Catherine began barraging him with questions.

"Slow down," he instructed. "There's more I need to tell you and then I have to get to the interrogation room."

"Why? What more is there? And what about Greg? Gil, what the hell happened?"

"We don't know. Brass has two conflicting statements. That is why I need you to go to the scene."

"Is that why Sophia is here?"

"No, she's processing our suspect."

"So they've got someone in custody," Catherine said, sounding relieved. Grissom continued to look anything but.

"It's Greg."

"What?"

"Greg's the suspect."

"That can't…"

"I know that," Grissom said, actually sounding angry before pulling himself back together, "Diane Ortega is also at UMC. Brass says she's fairly beaten up. She's claiming that Greg attacked her at the scene and then shot Nick for interfering."

"That's insane."

"It gets better," Grissom continued, "Jensen arrived on scene and found Greg wrestling her for the gun."

Catherine was angry. Almost too angry for words.

"Catherine," he began, trying to draw her back in, "I need you at that scene. I need you to find evidence of what really happened."

She nodded, ready to go. Grissom returned the nod before heading down the hallway towards the interrogation room. Brass and Sara were behind the glass waiting. One look at her convinced him that the story had already been related.

Sophia opened the door moments later.

"I've finished," she said looking only at Brass, "I'll be at UMC processing Ortega."

Brass nodded and she was gone. Jensen was bringing in Greg now, handcuffed even.

"Is that necessary?" Sara asked through gritted teeth. "You said he hasn't been arrested."

"We couldn't exactly let him wander free either," Brass offered but she made no further reply.

As she spoke Jensen was evidently talking with Greg, removing the cuffs before leaving. Brass sighed and exited, Grissom close behind. Sara knew she couldn't go in. It was all so unreal. Greg wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone hit a woman. She knew Ortega was responsible for this. She had to be.

Warrick couldn't remember a quieter ride. Amy hadn't spoken the entire trip. She seemed to be in shock and he briefly wondered if she was going to need medical attention.

They got there and the nurse at the front desk directed them to the second floor.

It took several minutes before anyone could answer their questions. Warrick did all the talking. At first they'd gotten no where because neither of them were immediate family, but once he explained that he was with the crime lab they began to give out information more freely. A doctor met with them soon after.

"I'm Dr. Greene," she said briefly offering a smile, "You had questions about Mr. Stokes?"

"How is he? Is he still in surgery?" Warrick asked. Amy wasn't able too.

"We have him stabilized and he's just gone in. The procedure will be a few hours at least."

After some more in depth questions on Warrick's part, they got the basics of what had happened. Nick had been shot high in chest but closer to his arm then his heart. It could be seen as nothing else then attempted murder. He had a broken collar bone but the real damage was to the subclavian artery. He'd lost a lot of blood, but it could have been worse. The bullet had lodged itself in such a way as to nearly block the fissure it had created. Removing it however would be tricky.

The sat down and waited for half an hour before seeing anyone else. Sophia joined them looking agitated.

"How is he?" she asked Warrick who shrugged in response.

Sophia cast a look at Amy who was watching the door and biting her nails.

"Here for the evidence?" Warrick asked, figuring now why she'd been called in.

"What's left of it," she said tightly.

Warrick looked at her, surprised even.

"I came to process Ortega."

"Ortega's here too?" Warrick asked. He hadn't known she'd been on the scene and that's when it really dawned on him. He'd been so worried about Nick that he'd forgotten that others might be involved. Others that had gone completely unmentioned.

"Is Greg here?" he asked. His voice was caught between hope and worry. If he was here at least he wasn't at the morgue.

That had registered with Amy. She hadn't thought about him either. She'd been so consumed with worry, she just hadn't thought. Now she looked at Sophia the same way Warrick was.

"No," she said flatly, "he's at the lab. He's fine, he's not injured. Well, he's got a couple of scrapes but nothing serious."

"So what happened?" Warrick asked.

"I don't know," she said with a sigh. "Not what Ortega says happened, that's for certain. It's just not…"

She trailed off, affected by it without wanting to be. Sophia liked Greg. She'd grown use to him during his time on day shift. He was bright and caring and she couldn't believe him capable of the things Ortega had just told her he'd done.

"I've never liked her," Sophia continued on after the pause. "Even when she was on patrol. She's ambitious, ruthless even. Plus the way she treated Foster, do you know him?"

"Day shift ballistics right?"

Sophia nodded.

"Well, not any more. He quit after their divorce about six months ago."

Warrick looked at her in surprise.

"She was married?"

"Yes, not that I'd call that a marriage. She was always in there berating him. I don't know how he stood it for so long."

"So she use to go by Diane Foster," Warrick said to himself. That's why he hadn't seen her on any applicant lists. He'd been looking for the wrong name.

Warrick excused himself to use the phone leaving Sophia to Amy's company.

"Did they say how long it would be?" Sophia asked Amy growing impatient. They needed that bullet.

Sophia hadn't heard much about Stokes dating the new night shift tech. She'd never listened to the rumors that floated through the lab. If she had, she might now realize that Amy was a bit more then an observer. If she had, her tone might have been different.

"Hours."

Warrick was back now, having asked Archie to recheck the list to confirm what he felt he already knew.

"Did you get anything off of Ortega?" he asked now.

"No," she said, her mouth going as tight as he'd Sara's earlier that night. "Just photos and her version of events."

"No skin, no fibers?"

"She showered."

"What?" Warrick asked not believing it.

"Said she didn't know she wasn't supposed to."

Warrick sat down between them now, silent. Sophia knew she should be getting back but couldn't bring herself to leave just yet. Amy had gone back to staring at the door, biting at her nails again.

None of it felt real.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Brass asked.

His voice wasn't its usual pitch. He didn't use the tone he typically reserved for that room. For Brass it was nearly caring, concerned even.

Greg ran his hands over his face vigorously.

"Is Nick okay?" he asked instead of answered. "Jensen didn't know and neither did Sophia. Could someone please just tell me that?"

"He's at UMC in surgery," Grissom supplied and saw Greg visibly relax some.

Greg still looked shaken, nervous even, but hearing Nick was alive seemed to put part of his mind at ease.

"Whose back there?" he asked, indicating the mirror.

"Sara," Grissom answered.

Greg nodded and looked away from it, back to Brass.

"Sanders," Brass pressed again, "the scene?"

Greg put his hands flat on the table. He looked down at them once, squeezed them to steady himself and then looked back up to Brass.

"It happened after Jensen left," was how he began.

A/N: Yeah I am evil leaving it here. I kept Greg pretty silent throughout this chapter because the next one is going to be entirely his POV of what happened. Sorry, you'll have to wait.

And to quickly answer a few questions from BeyondMyStar – 1) they were talking about the SUVs being bugged, 2) my bad – I'll likely edit up the last chapter to make it clear that Nick is the lead on that case. I meant it as obvious, but it wasn't. Greg can still accompany and process much as he had before taking his final, he just can't lead himself. And 3) (for you and everyone who has asked) I'm not saying yet… but it will be dominate in my next story.