Did he really want her to go? She hated the thought but somehow couldn't perish it from her mind. What would she do without her brother, without Sara and Nicky and Warrick, Catherine and Grissom…and Martin? She hated that she was so upset with leaving him, but when she was honest with herself, she really did care about Marty. She didn't want to go back to Chicago, but she couldn't stay here, couldn't face the pain. Her brother had been so proud that she'd wanted to stay in Vegas for the summer and now…she'd be on the next plane back to Illinois.

Greg Sanders paced back and forth in the Las Vegas crime lab break room, alternating his gaze between his cell phone and the keys on the table.

"I could just call and tell her I'm busy," he thought, "It's not like she really wants to come anyways."

Then he shook off the thought as easily as it had come. His mother was depending on him to help Alyssa. And he knew she needed it. Physically as well as personality-wise, his younger sister was just like him, and that scared Greg to death. He hadn't seen Alyssa since she was nine years old, but even then she resembled him so that it was like looking into a mirror of him at nine. His mother had called him several times in tears because, like most fifteen-year-old girls, Alyssa was going through a rebellious and anti-parental phase. She'd done nothing illegal or dangerous…yet, but his mother was worried all the same.

"Why don't you let her come to Vegas for a few weeks over the summer, Ma?" he volunteered the last time she called, "Nothing is more rebellious than running away to Vegas and I'll be here with her the entire time. Plus we're having a crime scene seminar for teens in June. They get to come to the lab, check things out. She'll have fun and I'll keep her out of trouble."

What had he been thinking? He hadn't seen Alyssa in six years, knew nothing about her, hardly spoke to her. When his mother called Alyssa would talk to him occasionally, but rarely. He'd seen pictures of her that his mother would send at Christmas or birthdays. He didn't know what food she liked, what music she listened to, what she liked to do for fun. And he seriously doubted she'd have any fun at a crime scene seminar with mini-Grissoms all over the place. Not to mention Grissom himself. What would he say?

Greg smiled. Everything he did lately, he did while thinking, "Would Grissom approve?" It was a habit, he guessed, that you got when you worked for someone like him. But this wasn't the time. He had to pick up Alyssa at the airport in an hour. It was too late to turn back now.

He rushed out the door, nearly knocking Sara and Nick down as they entered.

"Sorry guys," he muttered, "In a hurry."

Sara frowned as she watched Greg exit out the doors toward his car, "What's with him?"

Alyssa Sanders frowned as she looked out the window of the plane at Vegas. It wasn't like she wasn't accustomed to the big city; she lived in Chicago. But Las Vegas had a certain style that drew Alyssa in from the second she flew over it.

"Maybe its just jetlag," she thought rebelliously, determined not to have a good time on this trip.

Her mother had practically demanded her to spend a few weeks in Vegas with Greg.

"It'll be good for you and him, Alyssa. Greg could use a little responsibility, and you could…well, it'll just be good for you both."

Alyssa, however, could read between the lines. Their mother wanted Alyssa to be Greg. Smart, charming, with his dream job. Everything Greg wanted he got, it seemed to Alyssa, and it sort of bugged her that she had to work that much harder to keep up. She made good grades, and wasn't a terrible person…she just wasn't as good as Greg, and to their mother, that was bad enough. That was why Alyssa and her mother were constantly at each other's throats.

Secretly, though she'd never admit it to anyone, she was looking forward to the teen crime scene seminar she'd be attending. No one knew her passion for forensics ran as deep as her brother's, and if she could help it no one ever would. She loved to read forensics books, journals, anything she could get her hands on. Her brother's job was a fascination for Alyssa, and she one day wanted to be a forensic scientist, too. But she'd never tell.

"Maybe I will tell Greg," she thought, with a smug smile, "It would make Mom mad to know that I told him first."