DISCLAIMER – Not mine. Belong to Anthony Zuiker, et al, CBS and Alliance Atlantis.

A/N – Hope the last chapter was okay, didn't get many reviews :-( Well, either way I hope you enjoy chapter 4

Chapter 4

Greg was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Despite her annoyance, she smiled, "You been waiting down here the whole time?"

He nodded, but didn't return the smile. "You're not going to work are you?" he asked as she headed toward her car.

"Sure, why not?"

"Because you're still hung-over. And seeing as you don't have a life OUTSIDE work, WORK has to be the reason you got hammered." He tried the joke, but it fell quicker than a lead balloon.

Too tired and hung over to argue, and not appreciating the humour she simply kept walking.

He jogged a little to get in front of her. "Would you stop!"

She stood still while Greg continued. "Listen, I know I've been in the field less than a year, I'm no where near the CSI you are. When I was still in the lab, I could understand your indifference of me and truth be told, I didn't really care. But I'm your colleague now, not your equal, but I am your co-worker and most times your partner. You're a liability when you're hung over, and I want my teacher at her best. All that aside though, I'm your friend, and a fellow CSI. Please trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you so much?"

Greg had always thought that brown eyes especially Sara's could never convey ice cold, the way blue eyes could. He was wrong. Sara glared at him and he was positive he could hear the air around him crackling as it froze.

"Greg," she said with barely controlled fury, "don't let the fact that we've had a few breakfasts together, or that you're a CSI now cloud the fact that I have told you NUMEROUS times to leave me the FUCK alone. Now get out of my way." She pushed past him and he let her go.

Once she had slammed the door of the Denali closed, she sat back in the seat, shocked at what had just happened. She looked through the tinted glass. Greg hadn't moved from where she'd pushed past him. Punching her fists against the steering wheel, she opened the door and walked back to Greg.

Hesitating slightly she stood in front of him. Taking a deep breath and swallowing a considerable amount of pride, Sara said, "I'm sorry."

He looked up at her. The hurt she'd caused still written on his face and reflected in his eyes. "You know, ever since you started working at the lab, I've had a crush on you."

He uttered a small depreciating laugh. "Like you didn't already know that. Any way, you knew how thrilled I was when you conceded to have breakfast with me, the woman I'd been admiring for years…, well that happiness will be with me for the rest of my life, even if this never goes further than it is now."

Sara's heart was getting heavier by the second as Greg continued pouring out his to her. "When I came over today, it was to ask you out on a very special excursion. When you didn't answer your door, I got worried. Then when you finally DID answer the door, I became terrified. I know it's naïve to think that the people you work with everyday are the same outside work as they are inside. I…I…, damn."

Placing her hand on his arm, Sara said, "I get it Greg."

"No, you don't. Before, I had a crush on you, but since you started teaching me, my admiration for you grew. I mean you were, are still as sexy as hell. But you're smart too. You're compassionate, you're focused more than anyone I've ever known, even more than Grissom sometimes. The way I saw you today, it scared me because I'd never seen you as susceptible."

"Well, Greg, surprise I'm human. At times a very weak and vulnerable human. I'm sorry that I don't stand up to your hero worship ideal…" she stopped herself. There was a glimmer of what she'd done to Grissom, in what she was accusing Greg of. She hated herself for it, but she also knew it wasn't something that could be turned off, even when you realised the person was fallible.

She sighed, a deep, lonely and tired sigh. "I'm sorry Greg. I know you mean well."

Suddenly much too tired to go to work, she headed back up to her apartment. Half way up the stairs she turned, "Well, you coming or not?"

A surprised smile lit up his face, as he ran up the stairs.

Back in her apartment, she dropped her work gear and went into the kitchen. "So, you wanna coffee or something?"

Greg pushed his way between her and the coffee-machine. "That's okay, I'll do it. You don't have much to work with here for a good cup, and I don't wanna be drinking swill." He smiled apologetically. "Sorry didn't mean to be so blunt, but you know how much a good cup of coffee means to me."

Shrugging Sara backed off. "Fine, least I won't have to do it."

Fixing the filter and carefully measuring in the coffee, he set up the machine to percolate the best coffee, the brand would produce.

He then joined Sara in her living room. She was slouched on the sofa, eyes closed. Greg thought she'd fallen asleep again, when she spoke, "What's the one thing so far, that gets you angry? I mean REALLY angry?"

Her eyes were still closed, but he thought he heard tears in her voice. "Uh, nothing yet I guess. I mean it's all pretty sick, but I haven't found any one thing that I find sicker or more upsetting than anything else."

Eyes still closed, she said, "You ever notice how Grissom gets with cases involving children, or Warrick when it comes to minority cases, for Nick it's child abuse and Catherine, well, I don't know. Seems everything gets her pissed if she's in the right mood. Whatever. Anyway for me it's family abuse. Wife, kids, husband. Doesn't matter, they all get to me. That last case with the runaway foster kid, was what tipped me over the edge. I'm sorry I was insensitive, but I wasn't really seeing straight okay?"

Nodding as he stood to get the coffee, he wandered, not for the first time what Sara's background was, and wether he was going to be able to be a CSI for very long.