Quiet fell over the crowd, silent enough that a pin could drop and be heard echoing down the hallway. Somewhere in the back of the group, someone giggled nervously.

At that moment, Grissom chose to speak. With the silence, it was loud enough for all to hear. "Are you telling me you had a one-night stand with the victim?" They could hear the tone of mistrust ringing in his voice.

Greg must have nodded, for no reply reached the ears of the bystanders.

"And that you didn't tell-"

"What is going on here?" a voice thundered. Conrad Ecklie stormed through, the crowd parting to let him pass. Unconsciously, Robyn moved to cower behind Sara, who gave the little girl's hand a comforting squeeze. Ecklie may not have been a prize weight-champ, but he did have a daunting presence.

"Uh…" Catherine stammered uncharacteristically.

Glowering fiercely at her, the department supervisor tried to peer through the slanted blinds. "What is Gil and Sanders doing in there?" he demanded, jiggling the door handle to find that it was locked.

"Personal, sir," one of the rookie lab techs called out, instantly shrinking back into the crowd as Ecklie swept his glare over the growing group of onlookers.

"Get back to work," he barked, sending everyone sprawling to attention. Those who had gathered around disappeared in a flash, resuming their jobs. Noticing that Catherine had yet to move, he focused his attention on her. "That includes you, Willows."

Robyn let out a tiny whimper and tried to hide herself from view completely.

At that moment the break room door opened, and a red-faced Greg appeared, Grissom following behind him. The men stopped short at the sight of Ecklie.

Looking between the two of them, Ecklie tensed and pointed towards his office. "Now."

----------------------------------------

If it weren't for such a serious situation, finding Greg Sanders in the break room surrounded by piles of parenting magazines and children books would have been a priceless moment for the lab bulletin board. As it were, nobody found it very funny at that moment.

"Where'd you get all these?" Nick asked in disbelief, mindlessly leafing through some of the magazines at the top of the pile.

Greg glared, setting the book he was reading in his lap. "Every single mother and wanna-be mother in the lab," he deadpanned, face stoic. "Where's Robyn?"

Gesturing to the restrooms, his friend replied, "Sara took her. I can't very well go in there, can I?" he drawled, trying to put some humor back into his younger colleague.

It didn't work, as Greg just frowned deeper. Shaking his head, the messy-haired CSI plopped down his book and grabbed another one to read. The words blurred together as they said the same thing over and over again-children were expensive. Children were time-consuming. Children were an emotional strain. Somehow, it was hard to believe that the angel he created could be those cookie-grabbing monsters that each and every book was describing children to be.

Nick was apologetic. "I heard what Ecklie did," the Texan said. "That sucks, man."

Not even looking up from what he was reading, Greg snorted. "Yeah. Getting kicked off a case AND being yelled at for an hour straight about something I don't even remember doing."

An awkward silence filled the room. Clearing his throat, Nick stared at a random pile, not sure how to reply. He was saved by his best friend's wonderful timing.

"Hey, Nick," Sara greeted as she was being towed along by an over-enthusiastic Robyn. "Robyn here wants to see you, Greg."

Automatically, Greg swept the little girl into a big bear hug, laughing when she nearly choked him to death with her loving arms.

"So…uh…have you figured out what you're going to do now that she'll stay at your place?" Sara asked, absent-mindedly straightening out a few of the piles.

Greg shook his head, throwing another magazine at a stack and almost knocking them all over. Here he was, holding his daughter-he couldn't quite get over the fact he was saying those two words-and his life had gone topsy-turvy in all of a few seconds.

Even with all the books and advice, he didn't know where to start. Oh, how he wished he had paid more attention to health class when he was in high school. He didn't plan to become a single father, that wasn't in any of dreams. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to take care of her?

Blonde curls popped up in the doorway. Judy, the receptionist, peeked in, looking quite nervous. "Uh…there's somebody to see you, Mr. Sanders," she anxiously announced. She stepped to the side to allow a professionally-dressed African American woman saunter into the room.

Sara and Nick traded matching looks of surprise. "Excuse me, but who are you?" Nick questioned cautiously.

Greg just stared.

The stranger smiled, almost mockingly. "I'm Anya Torqa, from Social Services. I'm here to take Robyn Altendorf away."