Part 3

Catherine was in charge of the lab that night. It was Grissom's day off. He had dinner planned with Alex to celebrate their first Father's Day together.

Catherine walked into the break room, just as Nick and Warrick had finished their conversation. Nick quickly tried to wipe away the tears, not wanting Catherine to see. But he couldn't hide the redness of his eyes.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked, looking towards Warrick.

Warrick held up his hands as if saying 'Don't ask me.' He nodded his head in Nick's direction.

Catherine turned to look at Nick. She raised one eyebrow in lieu of repeating her question.

Nick internally debated telling Catherine. He knew she and Alex were friends and she would, eventually, find out. It would also be hard to disguise Greg's contempt for him and she would be handing out the assignments tonight.

After a deep sigh, he told his story once more. He did, however, leave out the events in the locker room. Catherine had about the same reaction as Warrick. She couldn't believe Nick would do something like that, especially to a friend. She could also see Nick's remorse and anguish.

"How's Greg taking it?" Catherine asked after he had finished.

"Not good," Nick replied. "He won't even talk to me."

Catherine shook her head in sorrow. "Maybe he'll talk to me," she said.

"Doubt it," Nick responded.

But Catherine decided to try anyway. While it was still slow at the lab, she sought Greg out. She found him in the lab, huddled in a corner by himself. He was seemingly engrossed with a microscope and slide.

"Hey," Catherine said softly, approaching Greg.

"Hey" he responded, not even turning to look at her.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

"Kinda busy, Catherine," his voice wavered, again without turning around. "Can we talk later?"

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I think we need to talk now."

At her touch, he turned to look. The evidence of his pain covered his face. He could tell by her expression that she knew—everything. And the tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Want to go to my office?" Catherine could see the coming flood.

Greg nodded and without a word, followed Catherine to her office.

Somewhere else in Vegas that night, Alex and Gil were having dinner. Since it was a special occasion, they had decided on one of the finer dining establishments.

Alex, wearing a calf-length black dress, sat across the table from a suit-clad Gil. She couldn't help but notice how handsome he was in his suit. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was with her hair upswept in a purposely-unkempt bun.

She, along with putting on her make-up, put on a smile. This was a happy occasion. It was her first Father's Day, too. She didn't want to ruin the evening, although she knew at some point, she would have to tell him her news. If she didn't tonight, he'd find out from someone else tomorrow.

As dinner was nearing the end, she handed him a small book sized present. She had, luckily, been able to sneak it in undetected, so he was very surprised when she brought it out.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the gift from her.

"Well, it is Father's Day," she replied.

He opened it up, wondering what she could have possibly gotten for him. After removing the paper, he saw it was a leather-bound book with no lettering on the cover. At first, he thought maybe it was a blank journal.

"Open it," she urged him.

As he opened the cover, he saw there was writing on the first page. He read the words: For my father, from my mother, Love Alex. He flipped to the next page and then the next.

"Is this?" he asked.

Alex nodded. "Mom's poetry. I had that printed especially for you." She smiled.

Gil was touched, but he already had all of Olivia he could ever want sitting right in front of him. "Thank you," he smiled back.

Not long after, they had decided to leave. As they walked to the parking lot, Alex knew she had to tell him, but didn't know how. It had been such a wonderful evening.

She had been quiet on the drive back to her apartment and Gil had noticed. As they pulled into the parking lot, he finally decided to ask.

"You got quiet. Do you have something on your mind?"

She let out a quivering sigh and tried to not cry before she even started. She nodded.

"What is it?" he prodded. "You know you can tell me anything."

"Oh Gil," she cried, "You're going to be so disappointed in me!" She put her face in her hands and started to sob.

Gil put his hand on Alex's back. "It's alright, Alex."

"No, it's not," she responded in between sobs. "I'm pregnant!"

Gil took a second to process. It was just his first Father's Day and he was going to be a grandfather already. "Why would I be disappointed?" was all he could think to say. "I like Greg."

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself. "It…it might not be Greg's."

Gil furrowed his brow. This was disappointing to hear. "Who?"

"Nick," she said, and then quickly added, "I'm so sorry Gil!"

Now this was a real dilemma. Gil had long ago resolved any differences he may have had with his daughter dating one of his CSIs, but now that she was pregnant and the father could be one of two…he was speechless.

"Do they know?" he didn't know what else to say.

She nodded. "I'm so sorry!" she repeated. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"How far along are you?" he asked, wondering if she was far enough into the pregnancy to have a paternity test done.

"Approximately nine weeks," she responded. And then, figuring why he asked she added, "I've got an appointment next week for a Chorionic villus sampling."

"And then?"

"I don't know," she truthfully answered.

He removed his hand from its place on her back and grabbed her left hand. "Alex," the way he said her voice, make her look up. He looked directly into her eyes. "You are my daughter and while, no, I'm not proud of the current situation, I love you. And I'll help you in any way I can."

Her eyes started to well up with tears again. He had said all she needed to hear.

Back at the lab, it was Greg's eyes that were welling up with tears.

"Are you alright, Greg?" Catherine asked, back in her office with the door closed.

"Alright? Do I look alright?" Greg responded angrily. He was pacing back and forth.

"Whoa, boy," Catherine responded. "I'm here to listen, remember? Why don't you have a seat?"

"Sorry," he said, accepting her offer of a chair and a listening ear. "It's just hard to believe this has happened."

"You're not the only one who feels that way."

"I…I just love her so much. And to think she betrayed me. And then, we're having a child that might not even be ours!" He slammed his hand down on the arm of the chair.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know," he shook his head in despair. "I was a jerk to her earlier. I left things badly."

"I think she understood your anger," Catherine offered.

"And Nick!" he wasn't even listening to Catherine. "How could he? He supposed to be my friend!"

Catherine shook her head. That was one question, no one—not even Nick—had the answer to.

"What do you want to happen from here?" Catherine asked, trying to take the focus off his anger.

Again, Greg shook his head. "I haven't really thought about it." He paused for a moment to think. Then he continued, "I don't want to lose Alex, but I don't know how to forgive her. And I want the baby to be mine."

"Well, we don't have any control over the baby's paternity, but there is a lot you can do about not losing Alex," Catherine responded. "And the forgiveness, that's the hardest part."

For the first time since his conversation with Alex, Greg felt his anger wane. There was a lot he could do to keep Alex, he just had to try. And he knew Catherine was right, forgiveness was the hardest part, but it was also the most important. He resolved then and there he would do all he could to keep and love her and, what he hoped was, his child.