Hey people! Laski(short for michelaski if you don't notice easily...no offense...) here with chapter 11 in tow. I know that I said last week that I'll usually update Mondays but I found myself some free time on my hands and I finished up this today so...didn't think much about it. I do however, have my doubts about this chapter but then again...when don't I?

Before proceeding to the chapter, I'd like to thank Shelbers(I know that the whole adri/linds thing is wierd but Adri's never had siblings and she's always wanted one so...I guess it fit...and yer right about that though, they aren't waiting for Greg due to a case...), CatherineLouise(I'm glad you loved the chapter! And indeed, it was a form of love although Greg still isn't sure of what he feels...did I just give that away?) and csi-sam-sanders(thanx! Hope you like this one too!) for reviewing...and now...without further ado...Questions!

Standard disclaimer as always people...

Chapter 11
Questions
Greg

"Where's Adri?" asked Grissom as I walked over to them.

"Home," I said simply. "She's overworked herself for the past four days...she never even set foot inside the house..."

"What are you getting at?" Nick asked.

"Hold on," Warrick began. "You're telling me that she's spent four days in a row working in DNA?"

"Yep...I had to carry her out..." I answered.

"That explains it...but she's all right?" Catherine asked.

"Yes," I answered. "She just needs rest..." I said as I went by them and headed to DNA to work in Adri's place. I heard the door open and turned around to see Grissom standing there.

"You're going to work in her place?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered while picking up where Adri had left off.

"Call me tomorrow to tell me how she wakes up...I might give her the night off though," Grissom said while leaving. I expected less from him but anyway...Adri's been pushing herself far more than anyone else around here. After working on most of the DNA evidence, I took a break, bringing with me one of Adri's mangas that were around DNA, very well hidden I might add. I looked at the cover, the one I picked was tittled Naruto. I began to read it and found myself laughing at certain times. After I was done, I wondered if Adri had volume two around so I could keep reading...this one caught my attention a little.

"Don't tell me..." Sara began as she came in for her break. "You read those things too?"

"News spreads fast around here..." I said as I placed the manga on the table.

"Actually," Warrick said as he came in. "Only us CSI's know...well...Archie does too but that's because Adriana and Archie have become good friends..." I admit, that last bit made me feel jealous...but why should I be? Adri's just my friend...right? I shook it off, deciding to deal with it later.

"I found this...it's cool..." I said as I picked it up and went over to Warrick so he could see. "Anyway, my break's over...see ya guys..." I said as I picked up my coffee mug from the table and moved over to DNA. I placed the first volume of Naruto where I found it and got back to work, thinking of whether or not I should ask Adri where the second one was. Soon, shift was over and I was able to go back to Adri's place. I took her car instead of mine and once I reached the house, I was relieved to find the door locked, just like I had left it. I went in, locked the door behind me, a habbit I got from Dri and went upstairs to check on her. I slowly opened the door and I looked around in confusion, her clothes were thrown in one corner of her room...guess she changed into her pj's after I left. I noticed that she was tossing and turning, her comforter nearly gone.

"No..." she whimpered in her sleep. Oh no...nightmares...just like she had mentioned. I dropped my stuff at the door and approached the bed carefully, as to not get hurt myself in the process. "Don't touch me..." she whispered. To hell with caution, I said to myself as I climbed onto the bed and pulled her to me, the back of her hand hitting my face.

"Calm down Adri..." I whispered as I rubbed her back. "It's just your head...it's not real..." I kept whispering in hopes that she could hear me. After what seemed to me like hours, she calmed down and her breathing had evened out. I then felt her move in my arms and I found out that she had woken up.

"What happened?" she asked weakly as she rubbed one of her eyes. She blinked a few times, everything regaining focus for her. "Your nose is bleeding..."

"Must've been when you hit me..." I said as I noticed a box of tissues at one nightstand. I reached out for one but Adri beat me to it. She began to clean the small traces of blood and gave me a new one.

"'Kay...lie down and tilt your head back a little," she said as she helped me out. "I'm so sorry...it was an accident..."

"I know...you were having a bad dream..."

"Yeah..." she said, slightly embarrassed. "But aren't you supposed to be at the lab?" she asked.

"No...shift's over..." I said as I closed my eyes for a while. "I just came to check on you..."

"That's sweet..." she said softly...how I wanted to see the smile that was probably decorating her features right now...okay...poetic...that's just wierd.

"I always am with girls like you..." I said sweetly, recieving a smack on the head in return.

"Nice try," Adri replied with a laugh. "Be more creative next time...there might be better responses instead..."

"I'll keep that in mind then..." I said while trying to smile.

"Lemme see your nose..." she said as she moved closer to me. I removed the tissue and opened my eyes slightly. "It's good...you can sit up now..." I slowly sat up and looked around, the lights had been turned on. "Thanks for your help..."

"And thank you for reminding me that it was all in my head..." Adri said, smiling. "You should go rest up...I'm still sleepy..."

"You sure you don't need anything else?" I asked as I got off her bed.

"Yeah...I'm sure," Adri said as she walked me over to her bedroom door. "You've done enough for now...thanks," she said while giving me a peck on the cheek and closing the door to her room. I just stood there for a moment, surprised...yet happy...are there really chances between us? I turned around and walked to my room in a daze. I showered and went to bed thinking about Adri's kiss. When I woke up the next morning, I could hear a knock at the door. The door opened a little as Adri snuck her head in. "Hey...you're up..."

"Yeah," I said as I sat up. "How'd you sleep?"

"Better..." Adri said with a red color on her cheeks.

"Good...because I did too," I said as I got off the bed. She stayed at the door, not moving away from me as I walked closer to her. I opened the door fully and we just stared at each other. It reminded me of the moment at the pool about a few weeks back, looking at each other in some sort of trance, unsure of what would happen. Our eyes had a bond that hadn't broken. Adri smiled weakly and I returned it without hesitation. The connection then broke in Adri's part due to Colin, who was on his hind legs, wanting her to pick him up. (A/N: Yet another close call...I seem to be good at this...haha, anyway, I wonder what will happen next time they encounter this type of silence?) "You should do that while you can still hold him..." I reminded her as she picked him up.

"I know..." Adri said with another smile. "Come on...lunch is served..." she said as she turned around and made her way downstairs. I followed her and I noticed that her pj's didn't match for the umpteenth time I've stayed here.

"Do you do that to get my attention?" I asked as we reached the kitchen. She bent down and placed Colin on the floor while he trotted off to his food dishes. She turned to me as she straightened up and tucked a stray strand of her long brown hair behind her ear, which I had just noticed had two piercings.

"Do what?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me funny anyway?"

"Your pj's...they never match..." I commented as I noticed that the other ear had the same amount of piercings.

"I like them that way...it's the only way I express my uniqueness..."

"You should do that at work more often..." I commented, trying to think of a way to ask about when she got the second hole in her ear.

"Nah..." she replied as she sat down. "They already suspect me as wierd...don't want to make them find out how wierd I am..."

"You shouldn't care about what people say..."

"Hm...that's odd..."

"What?"

"You've just told me that I shouldn't care for what people say about me so that means, everytime you call me adorable or whatever, I shouldn't believe you...right?" she asked with a smirk. Uh oh...need to backtrack and fast.

"No," I said quickly. "I just mean that..." I continued, trying to think of what to say but nothing came to mind. "Oh crap..." I muttered in the end, giving up. Adri laughed and I just hid my face in shame. We ate the rest of the meal in sinlence, with the exception of a sitffled giggle coming from Adri, she couldn't believe she shut me up. "No use trying to take it back?" I asked after a while.

"Maybe..." Adri said with a smirk.

"What do I have to do?" I asked, rather curious.

"Hm..." Adri began as she got up to clean her dishes. "I don't know...but why do you keep looking at me funny?"

"When did you get the second hole in your ear?" I blurted out as my answer. She laughed, holding her sides.

"You noticed that just now?" she asked while breathing. I managed a weak nod as she finally calmed down a little. "I've had them for years...I just downplay them so nobody notices them...I would just hate it if people thought lesser of me for it...I love having it though...it looks good but it doesn't look profesional, or so I was told..." she explained. "That's why I hide them during my shifts at the lab..."

"What about me?" I asked. "Don't I deserve to see more of the real Dri?" she just eyed me, thinking about what to say.

Adri

I have no idea how I'm going to answer that...I mean, he knows me way better than anyone at the lab although Archie's getting close but not as much as Greg has. I looked into his chocolate brown eyes, wondering what had gone through his head just then. He's gotten hard to read lately and it's not helping me...I just don't know what to do...what to say...what I'm feeling...I shouldn't like him in that way...it'd just be the same pain and anguish...but what if it isn't? No, I can't think about it...I just have to give it a rest...we still have a "date" pending as well...but Dri...STOP THINKING AND ANSWER THE QUESTION!(A/N: Inner "battle" you could say...)

"You're right..." I said after an awkward silence. "You do deserve to see more of the real me...so here!" I cried slightly while moving my hair over to one side. "Take a look! Admire the ugliness I behold!" Talk about laying it down thick...you just exposed the insecurity...very smooth Adriana...you just told him how you think you look...

"You think that?" Greg asked, entirely surprised. I looked down at my feet, I couldn't bear to look into his eyes anymore..."Yeah..." I said weakly. "I have...that's why I usually brush it off when you talk to me about my appearance...occasionally thinking I've looked otherwise..." I could hear him walking over to me...God, I just played the 'pity me' card...now he'll never like me. Wait, what am I thinking? It's Greg! He stopped just a few inches from me, taking my hands, which neared fists at the moment, in his. He lifted them up and I released the fists and held his hands as he'd want. I slowly looked up, just in time to see him lace his fingers between mine.

"Don't do this to yourself..." he whispered, taking another step close to me. "Adri, you're not ugly...you've never been such a thing...you're diminishing yourself to what one person has said and he's just out there to hurt you..." he pressed his body onto mine slightly, pinning me against the counter so I wouldn't leave. "What I mean is, he wants to see you torn and doubting yourself like you're doing right now and this isn't you," he said, keeping his voice in a whisper. I was scared...I don't know where this could lead. "I want you to take that out your mind and I want you to remember that it's one guy who feels that way...you're forgetting the rest of them, including me. I know it could be asking a lot from you but, you shouldn't revolve your world around the negative things people or what he says about you...there are people who can and will and do like you for who you are..." The emotion in his eyes was too hard to bear...I just had to look away. In the small silence that followed my turning away, he separated one of his hands from mine and gently moved my face so I could look at him again.

"Greg I..." I began in a similar whisper, trying to find words. He saved me the trouble by placing his index finger gently over my lips, silencing me...

"Adri, just listen right now..." he said as his free arm snaked its way around my waist. "I want you to do that for me...well not just me...for yourself..."

"But..."

"Listen...then object..." Greg said as he let go of my other hand and had it moment's later secured at my waist. "I just want you to stop thinking of youself as undeserving, ugly and not worthy of somethings..." he stopped, thinking about what he was saying. "I sound like a preachy father...right?" he asked me.

"No..." I answered, letting my arms settle around his neck for a while. "You don't..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Your words come from the heart...they aren't preachy or lectury..." I said as he raised one of his hands and gently moved my head so it rested comfortably on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat and relaxed at the steady breathing. "But I'm fine...it's just that I've always kept this insecurity hidden, never bothering to speak of it...but don't think that I've never thought of myself as good looking...I've thought it...it's just that nobody mentions it...I like it when people admire my appearance Greg, just like every other girl...it's just that I never hear it...and that creates the various 'what if's?'...and mom is probably going haywire up in the heavens for that..."

"She shouldn't worry...I'll make sure that they get erased by better thoughts..."

"Hahaha...nice one..." I said in my normal tone. "But I'll be fine..."

"Really?"

"Yeah...I've had this problem before...I just need to be reminded that I'm not alone anymore..."

"And how can I help with that?"

"You can help by staying here with me right now, just like this...just loose the extra pressure on my hips and we're good."

"Right," he said as he stepped away a little. "Sorry..."

"Thanks..." I whispered as I closed my eyes again, breathing deeply. "I'll be fine Greg...you've done a lot for me...can't thank you enough..." he took in a deep breath to speak but I beat him to it. "And if the word "date" is a part of your next sentence...don't bother saying it at all..."

"Deal..." he said with a small laugh and resting his head on top of mine. I relaxed and detachtted myself from my surroundings, dozing off slightly...

Greg

Adri's insecurities were just like the ones every other girl had, but it worried me that she seemed to wrapped up in it sometimes. But then again...they mostly concentrated on what one guy has said. But Adri's a quick healer and she knows what she's doing...so I should trust her and be there if the need arises. In my arms, she was as safe as she could be and I only wish she could be there always...we'd been in the same embrace for a while when I heard Adri's breathing evened out. She'd fallen asleep again...but I don't mind...she needs the rest. I picked her up in the same fashion as last night and put her to bed, making a mental note to call Grissom as soon as I was done with my shower.

"Grissom," said man said when he answered the phone.

"It's Greg," I began. "Adri woke up, ate some lunch and fell asleep again...she's in bed right now," I said as I checked on her for the third time in the past two minutes.

"Good," Grissom said, slightly pleased. "You have the night off yourself..."

"I do?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes," he said firmly. "I want you to make sure she gets some proper rest and you deserve it as well...but tomorrow I want to see you two early..."

"For a talk?" I asked, confused.

"No, for work," Grissom said as he hung up. Sometimes I couldn't understand him...but then again, he's my boss and he's into bugs...what more is there to say? I decided to stop checking on Adri for a while since it wouldn't do good for my head which was right now a mess of thoughts. After about an hour of trying to sort my thoughts and emotions out, I decided to give it a rest and went to bed. It's getting so complicated...she pulls away a lot, yet at the same time, she leans in...

Thoughtful ending no? Anyway, I'd really appreciate some reviews and until next chapter!

Up next: Funny and Cute Occurences