Author's Note: I know, it keeps going, but I swear it doesn't happen! This alternate universe will end soon--maybe

Part 5

Alex stared at him in astonishment. She couldn't believe she'd heard him correctly.

"Is that a yes?" Greg could see the shock in her eyes.

She nodded. "Yes! Definitely yes!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Greg smiled widely. He had been unsure of asking her to marry him. He didn't know if he was ready. From her reaction, he was glad he did. For him, it was a step closer to putting her infidelity out of his mind.

Their moment of happiness was interrupt by a knock on the door. They looked at each other. Alex just sat there, not moving.

"Are you going to get it?" Greg asked as the knocking persisted.

"Yeah," she reluctantly said, not wanting the moment to end. "I guess I should."

"I'll get the dishes," Greg offered and started to clear the table as Alex went to the door.

She looked out the peephole, but didn't see anyone. Thinking it might have been a package she was expecting, she opened the door. Then she gasped.

Just outside her door, in the hall, Nick was on one knee, holding the ring he had bought. She quickly moved in to the hall and shut the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"You never did answer me," Nick said, offering the ring to her. "Will you marry me?"

"Nick," she softly replied, motioning for him to stand. "Greg's inside."

"Oh," he was disappointed and quickly stood up.

"And the answer is no." She placed her hand on his arm in consolation.

His disappointment deepened and she could see it in his face. He looked down at her hand on his arm and saw the ring. He looked back up at her, anguish on his face.

She quickly removed her hand and tried to hide it, but she knew he had seen it. "Nick," she said, starting to explain.

He held up his hand to stop her. "It's…It's fine. I'll go," he started to choke up. He turned and starting to walk away.

She wanted to go after him. But knew nothing good would come of it. Nick would heal in his own time. Her focus had to be Greg.

As she came back into the apartment, Greg called out, "Who is it?"

Alex was torn. She knew if she told Greg about Nick's proposal it would only drive a deeper wedge between him and Nick. However, she also knew that if Greg was ever going to fully trust her again, she had to be completely honest with him.

She took a deep breath, readying herself for the coming argument. "It was Nick," she said, coming into the kitchen.

Greg stopped what he was doing and stared at her. "What was he doing here?"

She could see the anger growing across his face. "He," she dreaded what she had to say next. "He asked me to marry him yesterday and wanted an answer."

Greg put both his hands on the counter and hung his head. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He already knew what her answer had to be. She'd already said yes to him. He hit the counter with one of his hands. "Damn it! Does it not end?"

"I said no," she reassured him.

"Obviously," he sneered. Then quickly apologized. "I'm sorry."

She walked over to him and put her hand on his back. "It's ok. You're allowed to be mad. You owe me no apologies."

He turned his head and looked at her. "I just need time."

"Greg," she smiled, looking at her ring. "We have forever." She leaned in and kissed him. He relaxed a little.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about where to live and their engagement. Neither of their apartments was big enough for the both of them. So they knew they'd have to find somewhere else that was convenient for the both of them. They also couldn't decide how to break the news of their engagement to Grissom. Alex only hoped Nick wouldn't spoil their news. Greg knew it might mean some changes for him at the lab, but knew—or at least hoped—she was worth it. They fell asleep that night holding each other and talking about baby names.

The rest of Nick's evening wasn't as hopeful. He left Alex's apartment and started to drive to the nearest bar. All he wanted to do right now was drowned his heartbreak. However, as he pulled in to the parking lot, he remembered he had to work in a couple hours.

He sat in a dark corner of the parking lot, fighting back his emotions. He had denied his feelings for Alex for so long, but that night he had given in. He'd finally been able to express it to her. Afterwards, she'd turned from him. But when she found out she was pregnant; he thought it would only bring them back together. And now that it hadn't and she was engaged to Greg, he didn't know what he was going to do.

He arrived at the lab and, luckily, it was a busy night. He was quickly assigned to a case and put the evening's previous events out of his mind.

Some time in the middle of the night, Alex awoke to a sharp pain in her abdomen. She slid out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. She shut the door and flipped on the light. That's when she noticed the blood.

"Greg!" she called, walking back into the bedroom. "Greg!"

He stirred from sleep, not really opening his eyes. "What, Alex?"

"I…I need to go to the hospital," she started to whimper at the growing pain.

At the word 'hospital' Greg shot up in bed. "What's wrong?" She could hear the concern in his voice.

"The ba—" but before she could finish, the pain in her abdomen cause her to let out a cry of anguish. She grabbed her stomach and fell to her knees.

Greg jumped out of bed and pulled on his jeans. He searched around the floor for his t-shirt and finally found it. "Ok, we'll go," he voice was shaky. He wasn't sure what was happening. As he got near her, he saw the blood on her nightgown too.

He grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her. "Can you stand?" he asked her.

She shook her head, still whimpering in pain.

"Ok," Greg said, his worry growing. He picked her up and carried her to the car.

The ride to the hospital was filled with a scary silence. Greg would occasionally ask her a question, just to make sure she was still alert. Alex mostly stayed curled up in the backseat, moaning in pain.

When they got to the ER, he carried her inside. They quickly received attention from a nurse on duty. They put Alex on a gurney, and wheeled her behind a curtain but they wouldn't let Greg in.

He paced in the waiting area. He needed to know what was going on. He ran his fingers nervously through his hair. After all the blood, he could only hope both she and the baby were ok.

Alex awoke several hours later to the familiar beeping sound of a heart monitor. She once again found herself lying in a hospital bed. She felt it was all too soon for her to be back here.

She could feel someone holding her hand and looked to the side of her bed. It was Greg, one hand on hers, the other holding his drooping head.

"Greg," she said, squeezing his hand.

He lifted his head to look at her. "Alex!"

She could see the relief in his eyes. "Hey," she smiled weakly.

"Hey," he replied. "How're you?"

"Not good," she told him, still aching in her abdomen. "The baby?"

Greg just shook his head and they both started to cry.