Chapter 12

Alex sat in the interrogation room, her memory finally coming back to her. She had gone home, upset over her fight with Greg. She had gotten home and slammed the door. It seemed no sooner had the door latched then there was a knock.

She wasn't thinking and opened the door without first checking who it was. The woman on the other side smiled. It took Alex a moment to recognize her; her hair color was different and she wasn't wearing glasses.

"Jana," Alex was surprised. She hadn't seen Jana in about three weeks. "What are you doing here?"

Jana blushed, feigning embarrassment. "I'm sorry to stop by so late. I was visiting a friend," she paused, pointing off into the complex. "And as I was walking towards the car, I noticed you coming back. You seemed upset and so after debating for a few minutes, I decided to see how you were doing."

"Oh," Alex sighed, pretending to push a stray hair out of her eye, but was really wiping away her tears. "I'm…I'm alright."

Jana placed her hand on Alex's arm. "That bad, huh?" she was trying to be sympathetic.

Alex fought hard not to break down. Between Greg, Nick, the arrest, alcohol and just everything, she was an emotional wreck. Her bottom lip started to quiver. "It's been a rough week."

"I was about to go get a drink, want to come?" Jana replied, smiling a little.

Alex thought about the time and the fact the she was out on bail. But ultimately decided, she didn't care. She wanted someone to listen and Jana seemed more than willing. "Yeah," Alex nodded.

Jana drove them to a nearby bar and they started to drink. At one point, Alex remembered feeling very strange and stumbled out towards the car with Jana following close behind. As they got to the car, Alex fell to her knees and puked. And that's when she saw Jana's shoes. They were the exact same pair Alex had—the same pair that had left the footprints.

Alex looked up at Jana after staring at the shoes for a few minutes. Jana gave her a wicked smile. Jana then leaned down and Alex felt a slight pinch in her arm. A few moments later her head went fuzzy and she woke up in the hotel to Nick's call.

"Dammit," Alex swore, her eyes still closed.

"What?" Sam asked, curious. He had hoped Alex's silence indicated she had remembered something.

"Jana," Alex replied, opening her eyes.

"Jana?"

"Yes, Jana," Alex stated.

"Who's Jana?" Sam clarified his question.

Alex sighed. "Jana was the in-home aide who helped me out after I got out of the hospital. And she's the one who came to my door last night."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Alex nodded. "I think I should talk to Sophia now."

Sam walked out into the hall and got Sophia. After she came in, Alex told Sophia her remembrance of the night before. Sophia was a little skeptical, but it made sense. There were discrepancies with the evidence. And the hotel clerk seemed sure that the person she saw wasn't Alex.

"You know you're still going to have to spend the night in jail," Sophia informed Alex.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I figured as much."

"Do you have any pictures of," Sophia looked down at her notes, "Jana Sparkman?"

Alex tapped her fingers on the table. "Um, I think so. There are three rolls of film that I just had developed sitting on my bookshelf. I haven't had time to look through them yet, but I'm sure there's a picture or two of her in there."

"I'll send someone to pick them up," Sophia replied and then looked at her watch. It was about midnight, but she didn't think what she had to do could wait. "And I guess I have a visit to make."

She stood up and motioned for Alex to do the same. She and Sam stood.

"Do you really have to cuff me?" Alex asked.

Sophia paused for a moment, thinking about the request. "I guess not," she replied.

Sophia opened the door and ushered Alex into the hall. While Alex was saying good-bye to Sam, Nick came around the corner and saw the group. He walked over to them.

"Hey again Nick," Alex greeted him. It had only been about two hours since she'd last seen him.

"How're you doing?" Nick asked, glad to see Alex was more alert.

"Eh, I'm alright," she replied, her voice a little shaky at the thought of returning to jail. Then she remembered Sam. "Oh, this is Sam Rose, an old friend and my lawyer. Sam this is Nick."

Sam extended his hand to Nick. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Nick replied, shaking his hand. He turned to say something to Alex, but didn't get the chance.

"Now that we're all friends, come on, Alex," Sophia said, grasping her arm.

"Gotta go," Alex said and started to follow Sophia.

Before they got two steps down the hall, Alex turned and broke free from Sophia's grasp. She threw her arms around Nick and hugged him tightly. It was her thank you for believing in her, for looking deeper into the evidence.

Nick was a little taken aback, but gladly welcomed the hug. He held her tightly for a moment. And in the moment, Greg came upon the scene.

Greg stopped mid-step. His jaw stiffened and his face flushed with anger. He couldn't believe they were doing that and right in the middle of the hall.

Alex was the first to see Greg. She quickly let go of Nick and stared, caught like a deer in headlights. Nick turned his head to see what Alex was looking at. When he saw Greg and the look on Alex's face, he knew Greg knew everything.

Greg shot daggers at the both of them. He wanted nothing more than to go up to Nick and punch him. But he knew it wouldn't accomplish anything productive. He started back to walking and moved down the corridor. He brushed right past the quartet without a word, but made sure his shoulder connected with Nick's rather hard. He then rounded the corner, moving out of sight. All Alex could do was watch him; she didn't know what to say.

Alex's bottom lip started to quiver. "Let's go," she said in barely above a whisper.

Nick didn't know what to say either. He took the hit from Greg, knowing he probably deserved more for kissing Alex. He didn't say anything as she left. He stood there, next to Sam, both men watching a woman who's heart had been broken all over again.

After making sure Alex was in her cell, Sophia drove to the address Alex had given as Jana's apartment. She was hoping Jana was still there and still up.

As Sophia went to see about Jana, Sara went to Alex's house to get the pictures. After bringing them back to the lab, she began to look through them. She didn't know what Jana looked like, so she pulled out every picture that contained a person she didn't recognize.

The pictures were a wide array of people and scenery. Sara looked briefly at the pictures of the ocean and some old houses. She looked a little longer at the pictures of Greg, some of which had Alex in them as well. They were both smiling or kissing in their joint pictures. It was hard to believe they now could barely stand talking to each other.

Other pictures she studied contained Nick. The smile on his face betrayed the feelings he was trying to hide. Sara would have been amazed to know that Alex wasn't aware of Nick's feelings until just a few days ago. To Sara, the look in his eyes in the pictures said it all.

The pictures she looked at longest were those that contained Grissom. The smile on his face in some of the pictures was one she'd never seen. And she was jealous that someone else could bring it out. There was one picture in particular that caught her eye. It was simply a close up of Grissom with that smile on his face, but it touched Sara to her soul. She thought about keeping it, but the CSI in her knew she couldn't tamper, even ever so slightly, with evidence.

She placed the ten or so pictures with people she didn't recognize in a separate envelope. She set them aside to ask Alex about in the morning. For now, she had other evidence to process from the hotel.

Nick decided to track down Greg. He knew it wasn't going to be an easy confrontation, especially after the shoulder check. He knew, however, that he had to do it. Greg was his friend and he had kissed his friend's girlfriend.

He found Greg sitting in the back of the lab, looking over some samples. Greg heard Nick's footsteps and looked up, not knowing whom it was.

"What do you want?" Greg seethed.

"To apologize," Nick replied, calmly.

"I think it's a little late for that," Greg said, the ice almost palpable.

"Greg, I am sorry. I wasn't think when I…" Nick's voice trailed off. It seemed odd to say it out loud, to Greg.

"When you kissed my gir—Alex?" Greg finished Nick's thought. Then standing to look at Nick eye to eye, Greg added his own thought, "Oh you were thinking alright, just not with your brain."

"I deserved that," Nick conceded. He hadn't been thinking with his brain, he'd been thinking with his heart. "I overstepped my bounds. I broke the cardinal rule of friendship."

"Damn right you did," Greg answered. "And as of right now, there is no more friendship. The only relationship we now have is coworkers." Greg started to leave, once again brushing past Nick.

"Greg," Nick called after him. "Greggo. I don't want out friendship to end like this."

Greg turned around. "Too bad. It's because of you that it is ending like this...at all." He turned back around and walked out, leaving Nick alone with his guilt.