A/N: I know that because of the new HIPAA law you're not required to inform your employers of what medications you're taking, but for the sake of this story, lets just kinda ignore that.


"Are you telling me that one of your CSI's has been on a myriad of medications for over two years now, and you're just now finding out about it?"

"As far as I knew, Conrad, those medications were discontinued once he stopped seeing the departmental shrink after the explosion. I got the report from Dr. Perkins first hand and he said he took Greg off of all medications."

"Do you know what this means Gil, do you know how much trouble we could be in if this gets out? All of the cases that Sanders has worked on, before and after he became a CSI could be called into question. Where is he at now, I want him in my office right away."

"We're still trying to find him, he left before Nick could stop him."

For once Gil Grissom could understand the amount of anger behind Conrad Ecklie's words and actions, he himself angry for the news he just recently received on his youngest CSI. He never thought that sending Catherine and Nick to talk to Greg would end up with these results, and he himself wishes that Greg were standing in front of him right now, wanting to know why exactly Greg lied to him about taking any medications and effectively putting both of their jobs on the line.

He remembers specifically asking Greg during their interview before his CSI promotion whether or not he was taking any prescription medications, remembers stressing to the younger man how important it is to inform him if he is. Although not many people care to give out that kind of information, as a CSI, dealing with cases that cause stress and other problems that come with the job, the department is very adamant about knowing these things, wanting not only to protect it's staff, but the department as well.

"I want you to track down the doctors that prescribed these pills, and I want Sanders in my office by the end of the day. Your job is riding on the line here Gil, get it done."

Ecklie leaves no room for argument, holding the door to his office open as soon as the last words leave his mouth. Nick is standing just outside the door when Grissom steps out, and he knows by the look on his superiors face that he's pissed off.

"Find him, now. And I want Warrick to track down the doctors that prescribed him those meds, get any information he can from them. I need to know how long Greg can go without them."

Nick doesn't even think about protesting the demand, intent on not angering his supervisor anymore as he takes off down the halls of CSI in search of Warrick, knowing that this could be one of their toughest cases yet. Not only does it involve one of their colleagues, one of their good friends, it also involves digging into said person's personal life, bringing things forth that Greg has so adamantly tried to keep a secret.

Warrick is sitting in the break room finishing up his paperwork when Nick finally finds him, the older CSI looking up at the entrance of the Texan. The look on Nick's face is a mixture of guilt and uneasiness, and Warrick closes the folder in front of him, pushing it aside when Nick closes the door to the break room behind him.

"We've got a new case."

The statement causes Warrick to raise an eyebrow, and Nick suddenly doesn't feel so good about telling Grissom about the pills, knowing that he really had no place no matter how worried he was about the younger CSI at the time.

He hands over the folder that he's been holding since before Grissom entered Ecklie's office, and watches as Warrick's expression goes from curious and confused, to what looks like a mixture of anger and sympathy as he flips through the pages that list the medication information, and other background information on Greg.

"You broke into Greg's apartment and went through his stuff? What were you thinking man, he's had enough on his mind and now he's turned into our next case?"

The thought that the look of anger in Warrick's eyes was directed towards Greg quickly proves otherwise, and the guilt that Nick holds becomes even worse, his gaze averting for a split second before returning to the file that Warrick has now closed.

"He wasn't acting like himself, I was worried about him; I didn't think this would happen… Grissom wants you to find out who prescribed these medications, and I he wants me to have Greg back here by the end of the day."

"No", it's a simple word followed by the sliding of the file back across the table as Warrick stands up, brushing past his friend and over to the door.

"You find out what you can about the medications, I'll find Greg. You're the last person he probably wants to see right now. I'd strongly suggest you start thinking of ways to apologize to him for all of this, we both know what's going to happen once Ecklie gets a hold of him."

Warrick leaves without another word, Nick remaining standing in the break room with the file sitting in front of him. He now wishes he would have never agreed to check on Greg in the first place as he picks up the file and leaves the break room, a part of him hoping that Greg doesn't come back, knowing that he'll be to blame for the younger CSI getting fired.

--

"Greg Sanders? He was here last night. I thought it was a little odd, considering he stopped coming here after his promotion out of the lab. He used to come here quite often, just hang out and enjoy the atmosphere, but last night he was hitting the bottle pretty hard. That's not normal for him, and when I asked him about it he said something about a case he just finished working on, something about fires and scars."

"How long have you know Greg?"

Warrick leans against the bar, glancing around the place while the owner thinks about the question. This is one of the nicer places in town, one of the more classier clubs, and Warrick isn't too surprised to find out that Greg used to hang around here. It seems like the type of place where you can just let loose without worrying about constantly getting hit on and having to deal with too many drunk patrons.

"I've probably known him since he moved out here to Vegas. He's a good kid, has a good heart, it was hard seeing him like that last night. It looked like he was ready to give up, he just sat at the end of the bar ordering one drink after the other. Finally I cut him off and tried to call a cab for him, but the second I turned my back he was gone. I ran outside the second I noticed him missing, but he was no where in sight."

The owner looks unhappy with himself for not trying harder, but at least he tried. Any other owner or bartender would have just cut him off and thrown him out, but this guy seems to actually care about the missing CSI, something Warrick is grateful for.

"Do you know where he might have gone? Has he ever mentioned other places he might hang out?"

"There's a coffee shop down the street he used to go to after he left here, usually with a group of friends. You might want to check there, otherwise, this is really the only other place I know of him hanging out at other than his apartment."

Warrick thanks the owner for the information and leaves his card behind before heading towards the door, stopping with his hand on the door handle as he thinks of one other question, the owner looking at him as he turns back around.

"Just one more thing. Did Greg ever mention an explosion to you?"

"Explosion? Not that I remember. There was a point where he didn't come around for a few weeks, and when he came back he seemed… different. A little quieter, a little more reserved. That's about the same time he started talking about moving out of the lab. I figured something happened at work, but I didn't pressure him about it. I saw the news about an explosion at the crime lab, but I didn't pay too much attention to it."

"Alright, thanks for the help. Call me if you hear from him or think of anything else."

Warrick leaves the club feeling like he's really gotten no where, his search for the past several hours leading him to one dead end right after the other. Although he's learned several things about Greg that he never knew before, it doesn't seem to be helping in his search any. It seems that after Greg became a CSI he cut off all ties with his former life as a lab tech, including his old hang outs and friends.

The walk to the café isn't too long, and Warrick is greeted by a young girl standing behind the counter as he walks in, the small business occupied by only a few customers keeping to themselves.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Warrick Brown with the Las Vegas crime lab, I was hoping you could help me find someone, he might have been in here last night."

Warrick pulls the picture of Greg out of his pocket and hands it over to the girl, letting out a sigh of resignation when she shakes her head, informing him that she's never seen him before, and she was the only one working the previous night. He informs her to call him if Greg happens to stop by, and leaves the small café, walking back to his Denali to head back to the lab.

Grissom calls him into the conference room as soon as he walks through the front doors, and he knows his supervisor isn't going to be happy with his lack of progress.

When he enters the conference room, Nick and Catherine are sitting down, Grissom standing next to the door, waiting to close it as soon as the last CSI on the case enters.

"I need an update, how far are we so far?"

"My only lead so far is that he went to a club off the strip last night, one that he used to hang out at quite often before he got out of the lab. Everyone else I talked to says they haven't seen him in months."

"Did you check with the hospital"

"The hospital and Mr. Matthews. The last anyone saw him around there was when you found him there."

"Alright, I want Catherine with you, time is winding down. Nick, what have you gotten so far."

"I found the doctor who prescribed him the Vicodin. He said he prescribed it after the explosion, but he hasn't seen Greg since his follow-ups once he was released, which has been almost two years. The other medications were prescribed by a Dr. Michael Towner, a psychiatrist who has his own private practice. He wasn't very forthcoming with information due to the fact that I didn't have a warrant to obtain Greg's medical files, but he did suggest that we find Greg right away and give him his medications back, or the consequences could be dire."

The last few words come out in almost a whisper, and the room falls silent, Warrick watching Nick avert his eyes away from everyone. The statement causes everyone in the room to realize that the search for Greg is not really about finding him to punish him for his secrets anymore, it's to protect him from doing anything harmful as a result of their mistakes, their inability to see that one of their colleagues hasn't been okay for the longest of time.