Greg and Sara walked through the airport in relative, though companionable silence. As they passed the airport bar, Sara spoke.

"Want to get a drink? I'm driving after all. It'll be just like old times"

He looked at her, solemn and serious.

"That's not funny Sara".

They continued to walk without another word. It wasn't until they were in the car and on their way that she spoke again.

"I'm glad you came back".

He smiled at her. "Of course I came back. You needed me"

"So it wouldn't have mattered if I'd simply wanted you to come back? Would that not have been enough of a motivating factor for you?" Her eyes never left the road.

"Of course it mattered Sara. But considering the state of affairs when I left, no, it probably wasn't enough of a motivating factor. And how was I supposed to know if you wanted me to come back or not? Until two days ago, I hadn't heard a single word from you. You couldn't have wanted me to come back too badly or you would have called me sooner"

She was silent for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet and even.

"You're right. I didn't call. Don't put all the blame on me though; that's not fair. You didn't call either. And maybe I was secretly glad that you didn't. Because if you had called, I don't think I could have brought myself to talk to you. I've spent the last year in a self-induced fugue. And in my increasingly rare moments of lucidity and sobriety, I told myself that no matter what, you could never find out. It's funny – I never once felt bad about hiding the problem from anyone else here. I think it's because they were already so disappointed in me. I figured it was okay to lie and hide the problem because I was already a big failure in their eyes anyways. But you… you never once saw me that way. Even after everything that happened, you still respected me. You risked everything for me; how could I betray that kind of friendship? So I couldn't tell you. I couldn't lose the one person who was still in my corner".

Greg was stunned. All this time he thought he was the only one who was feeling hurt and betrayed. And all this time, Sara had been feeling very alone with these very same emotions. Their coping mechanisms manifested itself in the form of an addiction, though the source differed. For her, it was an addiction to alcohol to help anesthetize her thoughts and feelings. For him, the addiction had been self-righteousness and anger so that he could numb the part of his brain that threatened to tell him that he was not the victim he made himself out to be. Both of them turned to something else because they had been too afraid of finding out what they might learn about themselves if they took the time to look.

"Sara?"

"Yes Greg?"

"I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner"

"I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner"

"Why did you call me Sara? I mean, from what you told me before, you had no intention of reaching out to anyone. So why me and why now?"

She thought for a moment.

"Well, like I said before, I always knew you were the one I could trust. If I was going to call anybody, it was going to be you. I actually had no intention of telling you my secret when I called you. I was sitting at home, feeling mighty sorry for myself, when I found myself dialing information and looking you up. It was never a conscious effort. I'm sorry if that sounds bad, but I didn't ever plan to call. But when you picked up, I felt the most wonderful sense of peace and comfort. I still didn't want to tell you, but I knew that no matter what, I wanted you to come back. I don't know, maybe it was a sub-conscious thing. I really don't believe that my phone call to you was something that I rationally thought out beforehand."

"I can't believe that the highly rational Sara Sidle didn't have any idea of what she was doing." His teasing was cautious and gentle. "So if you didn't plan to tell me…if I hadn't asked you, you wouldn't have told me?"

"No, I probably wouldn't have" she answered honestly. "And even when you asked me, I wasn't going to tell you. I would have fed you the lies that I have been sustaining everyone else with. But I couldn't lie to you. I made up my mind, in that tiny fraction of time, that I owed you the truth"

"I'm glad you told me," he said, glancing at her.

She smiled. I'm glad too. I didn't think I would be, but it's sort of nice knowing that I am not alone in this anymore".

They were silent once again. They didn't speak until the lab was in sight. Once again, she was the one to break the silence.

This time she broke it with a bombshell.

"I didn't tell Grissom you were coming back"

"What!"

She visibly cringed at his outburst.

"Don't be mad?" It was a question, not a statement.

"Sara, how can I not be mad! I never anticipated that I would come back, which, might I add, was a challenge in itself, only to be unwittingly sacrificed to the god of wrath!"

She barely concealed a snort. "Don't you think you're over-reacting just a bit?"

"No. No I don't. If anything, I am under-reacting. He is going to freak out when he finds out that you called me. He's going to kill you. Then, he's going to kill me"

"Oh he is not" she replied though she looked less then certain. "Maybe he'll be happy to see you"

"Yeah, and maybe Paris Hilton is really worth all the attention she gets. You've have got to be kidding me! This is the worst thing that could happen!"

She sighed. She parked the car and turned to look at him.

"Okay, so I should have said something. But you know Grissom – he would have started asking me questions that I am not ready to answer yet"

"And when are you planning on telling him the real reason behind your invitation?"

She looked at him tentatively "After he sees you?"

He scowled at her. She saw right through it and knew that she had won this battle.

"Oh, don't look so proud of yourself Sara Sidle. I am only letting you have this small victory because you are going to be in for one heck of a fight when it comes your turn to talk to Grissom"

She chose to ignore this, knowing full well that he was right.

"Ready to go in?"

"No" he said. Did she really need to ask?

"Let's go then," she said as if his answer had been in the affirmative.

He rolled his eyes and dutifully followed her into the lab. This was going to be interesting.

Greg pretended not to notice the stares and whispers as he and Sara walked through the lab. Great. It wasn't bad enough that he felt like he was marching off to his doom. Now, on top of everything, he felt like some sort of circus oddity that everyone ogled with morbid curiosity. The feeling only heightened as they walked into the break room. Four heads swiveled around to face them. Four different reactions greeted him.

"Oh my God! Greg" Catherine practically shrieked as she leapt from her chair to envelope him in crushing hug, which Greg found himself gratefully reciprocating. He relished in the warm brevity of the moment. Well, if nothing else, Catherine would be happy he was back.

"Greg, man, it's good to see you" Warrick seized his hand and held it for just a second shorter then what would have been deemed friendly. He didn't seem upset, but he seemed thrown off his game. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. Greg understood that. He wasn't so sure how he was supposed to react either.

"Greg" Nick's monosyllabic greeting stung, but it was nothing compared to his gaze. The once warm eyes were distant and there was an emotional void there. He was politely aloof as he struggled to contain the million feelings that churned inside of him. Greg supposed that Nick's reaction shouldn't have surprised him; after all, Nick had been his closest friend and Greg had never told him that he was leaving. Greg realized that he was thinking about his friend's feelings for the first time since he'd left. He had taken everything into account except how much it would hurt them when he left without a single word. He might have mused on this further had it not been for Grissom's reaction.

Upon seeing Greg, Grissom stood up. His eyes met Greg's for only a second.

Then he calmly stalked out of the room. His voice echoed from the hallway.

"Greg. My office. NOW"