Chapter Twenty-Three – Happy Families.

Harriet sat biting her nails. She hadn't heard anything yet and it had been nearly an hour. She stood up and started pacing up and down the break room. Please let him be o.k, please let him be o.k, she repeated over and over in her head.

'Hattie, you need to come with me,' Nick said, bursting through the door and making her jump.

'What is it?' she asked, stopping dead.

'Just come with me,' he said, grabbing her by the elbow and leading her out of the break room.'

She didn't protest or question him again as he led her down a couple of corridors belonging to the crime lab. She began to feel uneasy as she noticed they were heading to the coroners office at the back of the lab. The uneasiness turned to fear as Nick led her towards the double doors that were at the end of the corridor just by the coroner's office. She had worked in forensics long enough to know that most of the people who came in through those doors were no longer living. It was the drop off point for corpses. The fear turned into panic as Nick opened the doors and she saw the back of the coroner's office van parked outside them.

Her heart was beating faster than she had ever known it as she saw Greg get out of the passenger side of the van. His face looked tired and drawn. He looked over at her as he walked towards the back doors but his expression didn't change. She put a shaky hand to her head as she felt tears fall and tried to scream 'no' but it came out as a half-hearted croaky whisper. Greg didn't come over to her. Instead he opened the back doors of the van and lifted something out. It was a small body.

The hysterics she could feel coming on got swallowed back down as Greg walked over to her with what she had thought was a body but now realised was a living, breathing Jake. He reached his little arms out to her and she took him from Greg.

'Mummy!' Jake squealed, shaking in her arms.

'Oh thank goodness,' Harriet said, squeezing him tightly. 'Are you all right?'

'I peed my pants I'm sorry,' was the innocent reply.

Harriet half laughed and half cried, stroking his hair and looking at him, taking in his face as if she hadn't seen him for years.

'That's fine sweetheart, I don't mind at all. I love you,' she said. 'I love you so much.'

Jake hugged her again. 'I love you too mummy,' he said.

Harriet thumped Nick on the arm as best she could whilst holding a small child. He winced and complained.

'What was that for?' he whined.

'For making me think he was dead!' she snapped.

'I just got told to bring you down here, I didn't know what was going on!' he protested.

'It was Grissom's idea,' Greg interjected. 'We think Jonathan Jenkins has been working at the diner and might be watching the lab now. Griss didn't want to risk him knowing we had found Jake.' He explained.

'Actually, it was Greg who found him,' Grissom said as he approached them. 'If it wasn't for him, we probably wouldn't be here right now.'

Harriet looked at Greg, her heart still pounding with all the excitement at being reunited with her son. She gave him a shaky smile and set Jake down on the floor. He clung onto her leg as she threw her arms around Greg and hugged him tightly.

'Thank you so much,' she said. 'I…I don't know what to say. Thank you doesn't seem a big enough word. You don't know what you've done for me.'

'I think I do,' Greg said, pulling away. 'Now get back to your son.' He ruffled Jakes hair and turned to Grissom to discuss what their next move was.

Harriet stared at him. How could he be so cool? He had just saved her sons life and didn't seem to be batting an eyelid yet he still looked like he had the entire weight of the world on his shoulders and hadn't slept for a year. She didn't know how she could ever repay him. She owed him so much.

'Mummy I don't want to look,' Jake whined, leaning his head against her wearily.

He was sitting on her knee wearing a t-shirt Greg had leant him, which he looked completely lost in because it was about fifty sizes too big for him.

Greg was trying to get Jake to look at a picture of Jonathan Jenkins that he had taken in the interrogation room. They had arrested him at the diner as he was handing in his notice and collecting his final wages. The nerve of the guy. He had killed Harriet's mother and taken her son and still expected to be paid for a job that he had only taken to get close to her.

'Jake, I know it's scary but he can't hurt you because you're with us. I just need you to look and tell me if this is the man that took you.' Greg tried to encourage him.

'I don't want to, I don't want to,' Jake was on the verge of crying again.

'I don't think you should force him, Greg,' Harriet said.

He looked up into her eyes, trying to remain calm. He didn't want to hurt Jake but it was important that Jake identified Jenkins. Although they had some evidence to convict him, an eyewitness testimony would help strengthen the case especially as Jenkins lawyer was busy coming up with eccentric explanations for his client being at both apartments. Greg didn't want to lose the case. They had been working on him for hours. If Harriet said that Jake didn't have to look at the picture then the boy would never agree to it. Greg broke eye contact with her, not wanting to appear hostile and turned to Jake again.

'Hey Jake, you ever been to the circus?' he asked, softly.

Jake lifted his head and stared at him wide eyed. He shook his head.

'No? You've never been to a circus?' Greg asked again in mock disbelief for the child's benefit.

'No,' Jake smiled and shook his head again.

'Well, I heard there's a circus show on in town, we could go see it when we finish up here,' Greg said.

'Yeah yeah yeah!' Jake squealed, excitedly.

Greg smiled. 'Cool, you never know there might be lions. Are you scared of lions?'

Jake shook his head 'Nuh-uh!' he said.

'A little guy like you and you're not scared of lions?' Greg asked, again as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

'No way,' Jake said, smiling again.

'You know what I think? I think you must be a really brave little kid,' Greg said with a smile.

'Yep I am,' Jake said, now grinning broadly.

'So if I show you the picture do you think you can help me?' Greg asked, cautious that his technique might not work.

Jake looked uncertain and looked up at his mother. She smiled and stroked his hair.

'I don't know,' Jake said.

'If you're not scared of lions, nothing can hurt you,' Greg said.

Harriet looked at him sternly. 'That's enough Greg.'

Jake ignored her and nodded at him. 'O.k.'

Greg took the picture out of the file and held it out towards the little boy. He felt his blood pressure increase as he saw the look of fear on Jakes face. He really wanted to catch this guy. Jake simply nodded and looked at Greg.

'I need you to say it out loud please Jake,' Greg said.

'That's the man that hit Emily and took me,' Jake said and buried his face into Harriet's shoulder.

'Thank you Jake, ' Greg said.

Harriet laid Jake down on the break room sofa, encouraging him to close his eyes and try to sleep. After reassuring him several times that she wasn't going to leave the room, he finally closed them. Grissom was talking to Greg, congratulating him on getting the ID from Jake. She got up and grabbed Greg by the elbow, steering him out of earshot from her son. She was fuming with him.

'Greg, I said that was enough!' she snapped quietly.

'Harriet, I needed him to tell me,' Greg shot back.

'Don't you have enough physical evidence? I asked you to leave him alone and you ignored me!' she said, angrily.

'Whatever, you might not be determined to make sure that guy goes behind bars but I certainly am,' Greg spat cruelly.

'Don't start that on me, I know you think I'm selfish but I'm not that selfish. Of course I want him to go down for this.' Harriet said.

'Then what's the problem?'

'I asked you to stop hounding him and you carried on, I'm his mother I decide what he can and can't do.'

'Yeah now that it suits you,' Greg said.

Harriet was stunned into silence. She had seen a new side to Greg this evening and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. He looked away from her and avoided her eye contact. Yeah you do that, she thought, I don't want to look at you right now anyway.

'Hattie, Greg don't start this again,' Grissom said, finally interrupting the tension.

Harriet scowled at Grissom; she couldn't believe he was sticking up for Greg. Her son had been affected by this whole ordeal and she didn't want him going through anymore, unnecessary trauma. She was about to respond to Grissom when Nick opened the break room door and came in followed by Rick who ran up to her and enveloped her in a hug. She was mildly surprised by this show of affection, which was something they hadn't shared since they split, but it felt nice all the same.

'Hattie, is he o.k, where is he?' Rick asked, hurriedly.

'He's doing fine, he's over there,' Harriet indicated to the sofa.

'What about you are you all right?' he asked, pulling back a little.

Harriet felt her stomach turn over. No one had asked her how she was since they had found Jake, not that she expected them to but she realised she'd needed to be asked.

'Oh you know, it's been a roller coaster,' she said, feeling her bottom lip start to shake.

She couldn't do this now. For years she had tried to show Rick that she was emotionless. Crying in front of him was something she had never done and felt like she was failing in some way by doing so.

'It's o.k, we've got him back now,' Rick said putting a hand on the side of her face, making her think back to the good times they had shared before she had gotten pregnant.

'Daddy?' Jake said, sitting up on the sofa.

'Hey, little man, how're you doing?' Rick replied, cheerily.

Jake jumped up from the sofa and ran to his father who picked him up and held him. Harriet could see how much Rick loved his son and how much Jake loved him in return. He was an excellent father, something she should have given him credit for long ago. She smiled and put her hand on Jakes back. Rick smiled back at her and put an arm around her shoulders.

Greg wanted to scream out loud. How could she shout at him for trying to get Jake to identify the picture when he had done everything he could to help find him? Not that he wanted credit for that or some special recognition but a little slack wouldn't go amiss. Ever since he had seen Jake looking at him through those cupboard doors he had felt like he was in a daze. His mind was buzzing with images of the Richardson case, the thought of losing Jake and the feelings he had for Harriet. He so desperately wanted to tell her that she had changed his life but he could never seem to find the right time. First off, Jake had turned up. Then when he was seriously thinking about asking her out, tonight had happened. And now when he was bursting to shout it out to her, she was scolding him for doing his job and trying to do right by Jake. And now, to top things off here was Rick, the ex. How convenient.

Greg resolved himself to the conclusion that there was no way anything would ever happen between Harriet and him as he closed the door on the image that was father, mother and son all cuddled together like the perfect little family.

A/N - another spanner in the works. I do like throwing them in there. I don't think I have anything to explain about this chapter. Obviously, protocal regarding Jake having to ID the picture is totally made up. I don't know if they would do that when they have some evidence already but anyway.