Foretold by SLynn

Summary: A woman walks into the crime lab only to tell Greg Sanders about her murder, a murder he's going to solve. Is she just playing games or is it something more?

Spoilers: Through 'Gum Drops'

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing and will return them all when I'm done, virtually untouched.

"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal."
Albert Camus

Chapter 21: Normal

"Is that it then?"

Grissom alone looked over and nodded; the others were too deep in conversation to bother.

Greg, not wanting to hear anymore, got up and quickly left.

Grissom had called and arranged the interview. He'd sounded like he was willing to put it off, but Greg wasn't. All in all, he'd rather get it over with.

Sara hadn't been happy about that, or about the fact that he'd said virtually nothing more to her about the encounter than he had on the ride home, but she'd relented. Reluctantly relented. He knew that she was going to continue to pepper him with questions; he'd just have to deal with them as they came.

Greg made it out to his car before checking his watch, surprised to find that his shift was about to start.

It had taken three hours, three whole hours, to go through it all. Everything. Brass, Ecklie, Harper and Grissom had wanted all of the details, not just about Henry Baker but about Ashley too and Greg hadn't held back.

It was almost cathartic.

Almost.

No one in there wanted to know how he felt about any of this, they just wanted the facts. It felt robotic. Talking about it was like telling a lie. It didn't feel real; it didn't feel like it had happened at all. And really, that was just fine.

He didn't want to talk about it; he wanted to forget it.

Even though Grissom had told him to take the night off, Greg decided he'd rather work. He figured he'd get there in time to catch some of the pre-shift meeting.

Just as he got into the lobby his phone rang.

"What now Anne?" he asked into it, shaking his head.

He normally wouldn't have taken her call, but was glad he did. It gave him an excuse not to stop and talk to anyone along the way; a reason not to meet their eyes.

Stopping in front of the break room, he quickly ended the conversation and hesitated a moment.

It was a moment too long; Bobby caught sight of him from across the hall and waved him over.

"What's up?" Greg asked as casually as he could.

"I got a lead on that triple homicide on Blue Diamond today," Bobby said, steering him back towards his desk.

"Really," Greg said, sounding both relieved and surprised at the news. "You got a name out of the database or…"

"Well," Bobby interrupted, "it's not that good."

"But it's something."

"It's definitely something," Bobby returned. "I've got a friend in San Bernardino who does ballistics. She compared our results against all of their unsolved crimes that matched the MO and came up with a match. Another robbery turned homicide."

"And?" Greg asked hopefully.

"And they got clean fingerprints at that scene, but no match yet."

"Are we running those locally?"

"Mandy is running them now."

"Not Jacqui?" Greg asked, sounding skeptical. Mandy was good at her job, but Jacqui was better.

"She's still on days," Bobby returned, shaking his head.

Greg shrugged and looked over towards the break room.

"Am I keeping you from something?" Bobby asked, concerned.

"Nah," Greg said with a shake of head. "I'm not even on tonight. I just thought…"

Bobby seemed on the verge of saying something, but Greg quickly interrupted him.

"So, you've got a girlfriend in the San Bernardino office?"

Bobby laughed and rolled his eyes.

"I said I have a friend."

"That's a girl."

"Greg," Bobby said in his most patient voice.

"What?" Greg asked.

"Are you looking for a girlfriend, is that it? I can introduce you to her if you want."

"I don't need a girlfriend, I've already…"

Greg stopped short, but it was too late. Bobby was already smirking at him.

"…I've already got too much going on…"

Bobby just shook his head and laughed.

"I'm not buying it, Sanders. Spill. Who is it? Do I know her? Does she work here? She must or else you'd have told everyone by now."

"No," Greg said shaking his head and looking down, the blush already creeping up his neck. "No. I really don't have…"

"It's not Mandy, she hates you."

"Thanks," Greg retorted. "She and Hodges can start a club."

"They already have. They meet on Wednesdays," Bobby shot back. "Wendy?"

"Bobby you're wasting your time. I don't…"

"I know, it's that cute little Chinese tech on days, isn't it? She told Jacqui she thought you were cute. What's her name? Annie?"

"I don't know…wait… she thinks I'm cute?"

Bobby laughed.

"Okay," Greg said shaking his head vehemently, "it's not important because I'm not seeing anyone from work. Or anywhere. At all. Alright?"

"If you say so," Bobby answered skeptically.

"I do," Greg said firmly, but couldn't help smiling a bit. "And so do you, if anyone asks."

Greg turned and saw that the break room door was still shut.

"Thanks for the info on the case," Greg said heading towards the door. "I'm going to try to catch the last half of that meeting. Let me know if anything else comes up please."

"Will do," Bobby said, waving to him once before getting back to work himself.

Greg made it across the room but stopped just short of opening the door upon hearing his name said from the other side of it.

"You can't take Greg out of the field, Catherine," he heard Warrick saying.

"I'm not talking permanently," she countered. "Just for a few weeks until…"

"Until what?" Nick asked, cutting her off short. "He adjusts? Catherine, he's not going to adjust in the lab. We all know that these situations come with the job. Greg's going to either have to deal with it or…"

There was a heavy pause in which Greg could easily picture Nick shrugging, knowing very well what was left unsaid. He would either have to deal with it or quit.

He heard Catherine sigh before she asked, "What do you think?"

"I think," he heard Sara clearly, "that we shouldn't even be talking about this."

Her words seemed to strike them all. Greg couldn't help but smile a bit.

"And," she continued, "if any of you have a problem going out on calls with Greg, then I will."

"I've already said I don't," Warrick chipped in.

"Me either," Nick added.

"You know I don't," Catherine said, sensing the comment had been primarily aimed at her, "I just… I'd feel better if he'd carry a gun…"

Greg, determined to give them no further chance to talk behind his back, made as much noise as he could in grabbing and turning the doorknob, forcing his way inside.

"Hey," he said, as the four of them looked over with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. "Sorry I'm late."

Greg sat down in the nearest chair and tried to look normal.

"We were just wrapping up," Catherine said, getting to her feet. "Gil is… well, you know. Um. Okay. Everyone got their assignments?"

Nick and Warrick stood as well, nodding as they went. Sara said nothing and hadn't moved.

"Where do you want me tonight?" Greg asked, cutting off Catherine before she reached the door.

"Why don't you go with Sara," she said after a pause, leaving immediately afterwards.

Greg turned and looked at Sara, who was still sitting and giving him a shrewd look.

"You heard."

He only shrugged in return, before joining her on the couch.

"Catherine was just trying…"

Greg stopped her by shaking his head and turning partially away. He just wasn't interested in hearing it.

"You really should carry a gun though," Sara said after a heavy pause.

"We've talked about this before," he barely whispered.

"When?"

"When I first started going into the field," Greg answered, turning back to her.

Sara paused, thinking it over, before finally remembering it.

"I don't want that kind of responsibility," he said quietly.

"I understand that," she said, "I really do. But, you need to think about yourself."

"Sara I can…"

"Okay then, think about me," she cut in quickly.

"I…"

"I was scared to death today," Sara continued without pause. "You had no way to protect yourself. None. And I knew that the whole drive out. It was all I could think about, Greg."

"Sara…"

"Just consider it."

"I will," he promised.

"Good," she said crisply, not willing to let her emotions out any more than she already had. "Let's get going. We've got a murder-suicide across town to get to."

Greg caught her at the doorway, taking hold of her shoulder and turning her gently back to face him.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," he said, smiling a real smile for the first time all night.

"Well," she said, a smile tugging at her own lips, "I'd say 'that will teach you to ease drop' but I doubt it will."

"You know me," he returned, moving his hand down her shoulder to her elbow. "I can't help it if I'm curious."

"Yeah," Sara said, smiling broader now, "just remember what happened to the cat."

She turned to go, letting his hand slide down the remainder of her arm and squeezing it once with her own before she did. Greg stood there for a brief moment, feeling for the first time that things really could get back to normal. That they actually would get back to normal.

Moving out of the door now himself, not wanting to keep Sara waiting, he turned and started down the hall just catching Bobby out of the corner of his eye; stopping dead when he did.

Bobby, who'd been watching the entire exchange, was positively grinning as he gave him an exaggerated thumbs up.

Greg kept walking, head down, feeling mortified.

Forget curiosity, Sara was going to kill him.