Chapter 6

Nick sat in the break room as far away from Greg as possible. Nick had been trying to smooth things over with Greg, but in the two weeks that had passed since Alex left, he couldn't focus on much of anything. He was too hurt.

Grissom walked into the break room noting Greg sitting on one end of the room and Nick sitting on the other. He knew what he was about to tell them would not go over well. Things between them before had been tense, but since Alex had left, they'd only gotten worse. Nick's attitude had changed; he'd become sullen and withdrawn. He'd tried to keep Nick and Greg from going out alone, but tonight he couldn't. This was work; they were adults and going to have to live with it.

"Nick, Greg, there's a double in Henderson. It's yours," Grissom told them.

Greg exhaled a loud breath, expressing his dissatisfaction with what Grissom had said.

Nick started to protest, "Grissom."

Grissom held up his hand to stop Nick. "Everyone else is out. You two, go, now." And then he left.

Nick turned to Greg with an apologetic look. "Do you want to drive or should I?"

As Nick drove, Greg looked increasingly uncomfortable sitting in the passenger seat. They had, by sheer luck, not been out on any calls together over the past few weeks until tonight. And tonight, Greg's reaction was starting to get on his nerves.

Finally, Nick spoke up, "Look, I know right now I'm not your favorite person, but we do have to work together. So can you just put your feelings aside for now?"

Greg rolled his eyes, still looking out the window. "Whatever."

Nick had had it. "How many times do I have to apologize for kissing her? I said I'm sorry and I am."

Greg turned to look at Nick. "You're a jerk is what you are. You made a move on her while she was still my girlfriend!"

Nick let out a sigh. "I deserve that, but she's not your girlfriend anymore. And that you can't blame on anyone but yourself. But you won't let her go. Why don't you just let her be happy?"

Greg gave Nick an evil look. "You mean, why don't I just let her be with you?

Nick exhaled a deep breath and the spoke quietly. "No, I don't. She doesn't want to see me. Two weeks before she…" he stopped, choking back tears. His mind flashed back to the night he found her. He tried to regain his composure and continued, "Before she…" he still couldn't say the words.

Greg was stunned by Nick's emotion. And he was ashamed of himself. Before this moment, Greg had never thought about how Alex's suicide attempt and Nick finding her had affected Nick. He'd only thought of himself.

Nick picked up his statement again, "She told me she didn't want to see me anymore. She felt like she was hindering our friendship. She told me that we were friends long before she came around and—"

Greg interrupted and finished his sentence, "And we'd still be friends long after she was gone."

Nick nodded, a little amazed.

"She told me the same thing when she was in the hospital," Greg informed him.

"Greg, I love Alex. And if that means for her to be happy, I never get to see her again, then I can live with that. I may not like it, but it's her happiness that I want."

Greg nodded slowly. For the first time, he saw the depth of Nick's feelings for Alex—and kind of admired them. He didn't realize how selfless Nick's feelings were and how selfish his own had been. He started to think maybe he could forgive Nick.

The rest of the ride was silent. Both were thinking about what the other had said. When they got to the scene, each took a body. Nick took the one upstairs and Greg took the one downstairs.

After about an hour, Greg heard the door open and then close. He thought it was just the deputy going out for a smoke, but he was wrong. He heard footsteps coming towards him.

Greg stood to stretch when he first saw the man. Before he could even get out a word, the man plunged a knife into Greg's chest. Greg let out a yell.

Upstairs, Nick heard Greg's cry and then a scuffle. He bolted down the stairs and found Greg sprawled on the floor with a man sitting on his chest. The man had a knife raised above his head about to plunge it into Greg again.

Nick didn't even think; he acted on instinct. He ran towards the pair and knocked the man off of Greg, slamming him hard into the ground. The man swung at Nick, slicing his arm a little. Nick quickly knocked the knife out of the man's hand and cuffed him behind his back.

Nick scrambled over to Greg, whose breathing had become shallow. "Greg, can you hear me?"

Greg was unresponsive. Nick pulled out his phone and dialed.

"I need a bus ASAP, there is a CSI down," Nick gave them the address and then hung up.

He tried to put pressure on Greg's wound or wounds, he wasn't sure. He dark shirt was soaked with blood and Nick couldn't tell where he had been stabbed.

"It's ok, Greg," Nick was trying to reassure himself more than Greg. "Help is on the way."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Alex had spent the last two weeks at a friend's house in Phoenix. She had needed some time without all the distractions that Las Vegas held for her. She had kept her word, calling Gil and Georgia everyday. She didn't want them to worry.

She had done a lot of thinking while she was in Phoenix, a good deal of it dealing with Nick and Greg. She was trying to figure out how she felt, but it was still a mystery to her.

She felt she had worn out her welcome in Phoenix and was on her way to Reno. Since she had to pass through Vegas, she thought maybe Gil could meet her for a meal as she drove through.

"Grissom," he answered the phone. He'd been too busy to check the caller ID.

"Hey Gil, it's Alex," she replied.

"Alex, hey," he responded, sounding detached.

She could hear lots of noises in the background, some of which she recognized. "Are you in the hospital?"

"Yes," he confirmed and then started to say something but hesitated.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" she was starting to get worried.

"I'm ok," Gil responded. "It's Greg, he's been stabbed."

Alex's jaw dropped. "What? Is he ok?"

"We don't know yet," Gil told her.

Alex looked at the road sign. "I'll be there in about two hours."

"But I thought you were in Phoenix?" Gil questioned.

"I'm on my way to Reno," she replied. "That's actually why I called. I was going to see if you wanted to get something to eat, but I guess that can wait."

"Where are you now?" Gil asked.

"Just past Kingman," she told him.

"I look forward to seeing you," he said.

"Me too. I just wish it could be under better circumstances," she stated and then quickly added, "Don't tell anyone I'm coming." And she hung up.

Alex started to worry about Greg. She hoped he would be ok. She didn't know if she was ready to see him again, but knew she had to be there for him. She only hoped her being there wouldn't cause more problems for him and Nick—and herself.