I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to finish. I've been super busy with school, and I haven't had any time. This chapter was harder for me to write than the other ones. I guess it's because of all the dialogue. If there's spacing errors, I don't know why. Every time I save it, something else goes wrong...Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I don't own CSI.

To my ever patient and faithful reviewers: I hope you like this one.

Tristan's breath caught painfully, and her heart thumped wildly. The expected relief had disappeared and had been replaced by the empty feeling of loss. She needed to get out of there before she lost it completely. "Excuse me," she said in a tight voice, awkwardly pushing past Nick and Greg, who followed her hasty exit.

"Wait for me," Greg called. Tristan ignored him and continued walking quickly. Why wouldn't he leave her alone? Especially now, when she felt herself slowly falling apart. She ducked into the locker room where everyone kept their things. The lights were off, and she curled up in the corner. Pulling her knees to her chest, she laid her throbbing head on her folded arms and closed her eyes.

Greg had seen her go into the locker room, and he stood outside the door wondering if he should go in. He made up his mind and opened the door. She was in the corner sitting on the floor. Tristan heard him enter and didn't say anything. He came and sat beside her. He didn't say anything, and she was grateful. She didn't speak, afraid that her voice would betray her. They sat there in silence for several minutes. "Why are you here?" Tristan asked, her voice sounded tired.

"You're my friend," Greg said simply, "I don't leave friends alone when they're hurting. And it seems to me that you're hurting pretty bad." He turned to look at her face in the dim light. She kept her eyes focused on the ground.

"He's my uncle," she told him, her voice completely devoid of any emotion. Greg was surprised by her words, but he wisely stayed silent.

"I miss him. I don't know why; I've always hated him, but now that he's gone, I miss him," she admitted.

"He was your uncle. I think it's natural." Greg answered. "I would have missed my uncle, had I known him."

"Your uncle didn't kill your best friend." Tristan blurted out. She immediately shut her mouth.

"You're going to end up telling me sooner or later. You'd feel better if you did because you wanted to, instead of me finding out some other way." Greg told her. Tristan turned away from him.

"He was my guardian after my parents died. I was taken away because he wasn't exactly parent material. I bounced around from home to home before I came to yours." She moved away from him just enough to put some distance between them. "He came for me the day I disappeared and took me to a cabin in the woods. I think it was a national park. Anyways, one of his stupid buddies was there too, and he had a son named Stephen. Stephen was sixteen, and we became best friends. We decided to run away and get away from his dad and my uncle, but the night we left, there were problems. My uncle caught us trying to get away. We had to run away into the woods. I can still see it as clear as anything. It was night, but the moon was shining brightly. I tripped and fell. Stephen stopped and came back to help me. He saw my uncle coming behind me, so he pushed me into behind some bushes. My uncle saw Stephen and shot him, then he ran off because he shot the wrong one. I was crying, and I ran over to him, but I couldn't stop the bleeding." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He died, instead of me, but I should be dead, not him."

"But you're not. You're still alive. I think that Stephen wouldn't want you to feel that way." Greg said. "I think that he would want you to be happy."

"I dream about it every night. Every night I wake up and nothing's changed. I'm still here, and I'm alone."

"You don't have to be alone. I'll be your friend. Everyone that works here, Grissom, Sara, Catherine, Nick, Warrick. They're the best friends anyone could ever ask for. Don't be afraid of showing people of how you feel." Greg said. She didn't answer. "Tristan?" He cautiously reached over and touched her arm. She jerked away from his touch. Her head was on her knees. She slowly raised her head and looked at him. A single tear made its way down her cheek. He reached over andgently wiped it away. "We'll always be here for you. No matter what. You are not alone anymore." She stared at him. He could see that she was struggling with his words. Tristan wanted to believe him. She really did, but something was holding her back.

"I can't let you do that," her voice dropping until he could barely hear her. "I don't want anything to happen to you or the others. I stay away from everyone because I'm afraid of what might happen if I do. I think I should quit and leave here."

"Try all you want, but I'm not going anywhere. You disappeared into thin air all those years ago, but I'm not going to let you get away that easy now." Greg said, his eyes searching her face. "Please. Trust me." Tristan looked scared for a moment, and then she nodded slowly.

"I'll try."

"Grissom needs to know, because it might help with the case.Think you can do it?" Greg asked quietly.

"Will you go with me?"

"Yes."

"Then I can do anything," she whispered. Tristan moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder. Tears soaked his sleeve as she wept quietly. They sat in silence; there was nothing more that needed to be said.

And that's the end of of another chapter. At this rate, I won't be done with this until I'm 110 years old. I'm trying harder, I really am. I hope you like the chapter. I'lltry to befasterwith the next one.