AN: Alright, I have decided to make it a Sara/Greg fic too. Please hold your applause. :) So anyway here we go. Oh, wait. This chapter is dedicated to Lelana and her desire for a topless Greg. So here you go.
Warrick knocked on the door. There was silence for a moment and then the door opened. Warrick was meet with the face of Nick's mother. Warrick smiled.
"Hello Mrs. Stokes," Warrick said. The older woman smiled.
"Mr. Brown, right." Warrick nodded. Mrs. Stokes ushered Warrick in and shut the door behind him.
"Nicky," Mrs. Stokes called. Suddenly Warrick felt like a kid again, visiting a friend. He felt just a fidgety and anxious. He didn't know why he had come. Well no, he did know why. Catherine had told him to visit Nick. He almost wish he wasn't here, but of course it was to late now.
Nick poked his head out from the living room. When he saw Warrick he grinned. It was the same smile as before. This greatly lifted Warrick's spirits.
"Hi Warrick," he said. He sounded slightly surprised that Warrick was there. Warrick couldn't blame him. He had only know that Nick had moved back with his parents because Cath told him. Warrick followed Nick into the living room. They both sat on the couch. The silence was tense. Nick didn't ask what Warrick was doing here, and Warrick didn't ask if Nick was all right. Both questions would be completely useless. After several moments, Warrick again wished he wasn't here. He knew he wasn't here to make Nick feel better. He knew he was there to put himself at ease. To convince himself of something.
"Did you catch the game last night," Nick asked. Warrick broke out in a wide grin and Nick followed suit. All the tension immediately lifted. That one question made the air feel so much lighter.
Warrick and Nick chatted for the next hour or so. They never came near what had happened to Nick, or the feelings of either, or what was going on in the lab. They talked about random things that meant nothing in the long run but made both feel so much better. When Warrick left he was grinning and very glad he had come.
"Sara, shift is over. Head on home," Grissom said to Sara. Sara was flipping through the files on the case she was working.
"I'll be done in a minute," Sara said, not even looking up. Grissom shook his head.
"No Sara. We both know that one minute means you'll be pulling yet another double, and if you're lucky a triple. You've maxed out on overtime this month Sara."
This made Sara look up. "It's only the 12th of the month, Grissom," she said slowly. Grissom nodded.
"Yeah."
Sara had been working as much as she could lately. Keeping herself occupied, staying away from her thoughts. All of her thought. When she was home she read mostly. Again trying to stay as far away from her thoughts as she could. She did visit Nick. She visited him everyday in the hospital. Since he got out, she still dropped by whenever she could. Talking to Nick also kept her bed memories at bay. Because most her bad memories weren't of Nick or anything to do with Nick. They were much older then that.
Sara was restless. She was trying to draw out as much time as she could in the locker room. Now she was just sitting on the bench, staring at her feet. She didn't really want to go home. Then she remembered that her car was in the shop. Greg walked into the locker room. He pulled off his shirt and stuffed it into his locker. Sara realized she was actually looking at a topless Greg and shifted her view back to her feet.
"Hey Sara," he said. He pulled out a different shirt and put this one on.
Sara looked up at him and made a quick decision.
"Hey Greg, can I ask you for a favor."
Greg pulled his car keys out of the locker and shut the door. He looked at Sara.
"What?"
"Can you drive me home? My car is in the shop."
Greg smiled. "Sure. Common."
The walked out to Greg's car and Sara got in the passenger side. When they were on the road, Sara started to give Greg directions.
"Sara. Don't worry. I know the way to your apartment building.
Greg pulled into the parking lot and cut the engin.
"Greg," Sara said. He looked at her. At this point so many things were going through Sara's head. There was no way that she could make any sense of it all. But on thought was jumping to the top of her head.
"You want to come in for a minute," she asked. Sara really didn't want to be alone right now. The whole thing with Nick shook her up. Badly. Why it was all becoming apparent now she didn't know. But she had just recently been having nasty dreams. And not about Nick. Nightmares about when she was a kid. She hadn't had those nightmares in years.
Greg looked into Sara's eyes. She looked vulnerable and unsure of herself. Greg had never seen her look like that. Sara had always been strong, stubborn and completely sure of herself. An unsteady Sara scared him.
"Sure," Greg said and got out of the car. They walked up to Sara's apartment and Sara unlocked the door.
"Hey Sara," Greg said when they had both entered the apartment.
Sara answered by turning and looking at him.
"What's up," he asked. Sara shook her head.
"Nothing, I'm fine."
Greg made a noise like the buzzers on game shows.
"Ooo I'm sorry. 'Fine' is not an acceptable answer. 'Fine' is a conversational cop out. Please try again," Greg said smiling. Sara didn't smile. She looked at her feet. Greg's smile quickly faded. He walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sara," he said and she looked at him again. She could feel his warm breath on her face and was shocked by how close they were.
"Tell me what's wrong," he said. His voice was soft.
Sara nodded. "Okay," she whispered.