Chapter Two: Questions
Sara pushed her hair back from her face, the wet strands clinging to her clammy skin. Nick closed the door behind them, watching as Sara slumped against the wall. They had searched for nearly an hour, and had come up with nothing. The worry that Sara had earlier had now passed to Nick. He could feel the anxiety building up between them.
Still he made no move to say anything, unsure if breaking the silence was the best idea. Sara let out a long breath, folding her arms across her chest. Her face was flushed, her clothes drenched. Nick knew that he didn't look any better.
"Let's head out to his place," Nick finally suggested, watching her expression as he continued. "Maybe he did head home."
Sara shook her head slowly, "He wouldn't walk that far, not at this time of day. He's smarter than that Nicky."
"Try his cell again, maybe he got distracted, followed a lead or something. He could be in the lab somewhere even; we just have to look again."
"I'm tempted to check the hospitals," she muttered, shaking her head as Nick protested.
She opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped short as the doors to the lab suddenly swung open, Greg pushing past them slowly. Anger and frustration swept through her firstly, before giving away to worry and concern as she saw him staggering, one hand wrapped around his chest.
Nick saw it too, unable to move as Greg came to a stop, watching the two of them. His face was bloody, bruises lining his left eye, and his lower lip swollen. It was Sara who moved first, reaching to grab his forearm but Greg pulled away.
"Greg," Sara breathed lightly, watching his crestfallen expression. "What happened?"
Greg swallowed, shaking his head lightly. Nick took a step back, pulling his hands free of his pockets. "I'm going to get some help; you're bleeding all over the place man."
"I'm okay," Greg whispered lightly, reaching up to wipe the warm blood from his forehead.
Sara reached out to him again, and this time Greg allowed himself to lean against her, following her towards the break room that was just at the end of the hall. He was thankful no one else was in there; he wouldn't be able to stand the stares, or answer the questions. Although he knew that Sara would try to get it out of him herself.
"What happened?" Sara asked, not missing a beat as he lowered himself on the couch. She knelt down in front of him, holding onto his hands gently. Greg made no move to pull away, only sat there quietly, his mind racing with the past events.
How could he explain all of this? He didn't want to, necessarily, but he knew he would have to eventually. The sooner he filed a report, the better off things would be. Still, he couldn't bring himself to talk.
The entire walk back to the lab had been long, and painful. Still, he had little choice in the matter; the others had taken off with his wallet, and his phone. It hadn't mattered how many times he had told them that there was no more money, they hadn't believed him.
He had fought against them, but the odds were out of his favor. There were three of them, and only one of him. Even though they were armed, Greg hadn't given in so easily. He had cursed himself plenty of times for not trying to get away earlier. Why had he waited so long to do something?
"Greg?"
Greg opened his eyes to meet the worried gaze of Sara's; she was watching him intently, studying his features. Slowly he tightened his grip on hers, pulling her closer, if only a little. "Promise me you'll be careful," Greg whispered, not willing to try to talk any louder. His throat hurt enough already, he didn't want to do more than was necessary.
Sara's eyes narrowed, somewhat shocked at his request. "Greg, what are you talking about?"
"Just promise," he pleaded, his grasp still tight on her hands. "Please."
Sara nodded after a moment, confusion still spread across her face. "You have to tell me what happened, who did this to you?"
Greg shook his head, letting go of her hands as he leaned back against the couch. "I can't…"
"You can't," Sara wondered, angered at his response, "or wont?"
Greg opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as the door opened. Nick pushed his way through, followed by a paramedic. Nick nodded to the two of them, and Sara moved to her feet, meeting the Texan in the doorway as the younger man moved over to where Greg sat, already asking him questions.
"You find out what happened?" Nick asked her quietly, surprised when she shook her head.
"He won't talk," Sara sighed, brushing back her wet hair once more.
Nick nodded, "We'll check him over thoroughly, bag his clothes. Find out what we can. If he won't talk then the evidence will have to do the talking for him."
"I don't understand though," Sara muttered lightly. "This isn't like Greg, he's never been this quiet before."
"He's been through a lot Sar," Nick prompted lightly. "Let him figure things out first before you start judging him."
There was a stretch of silence as she watched them, the medic accessing his injuries, as Nick collected his camera from the table. He raised a hand, pointing towards the door. "We'll need some privacy," he informed her.
Sara gave him a funny look before realization dawned on her. Nodding she turned around, closing the door behind her. A moment later the blinds to the windows were drawn, concealing the room.
A sickly feeling grew in the pit of her stomach, as she watched the shadows move behind the blinds. Never had they worked a case involving one of their own, but she felt even more determined to find out the reasoning behind this, figure out what had happened.
Biting her lip she started off towards the locker room, more than ready to get out of her wet clothes. She came to a stop as she rounded the corner, nearly walking into Grissom. The older man rubbed his forehead, looking first at her, then in the direction of the break room.
"I heard you found him," Grissom told her quietly, avoiding her gaze.
"He found us actually," Sara replied coldly. "I told you something was wrong."
"If it helps at all, I'm sorry," Grissom stated, looking at her this time.
Sara let out a sigh, pushing past him. "Is that what you would be telling me if he had been killed?" Sara wondered, not pausing to his comment. It was then she came to a stop, turning to face him. A look of bewilderment still covered his face, but she did nothing to take back what she had just said. "I'm running this case."
It wasn't a request; Grissom hadn't supported her before, so she didn't need his support now. She bit her lip as she entered the locker room, taking a seat on the bench. Greg had asked if she wanted to come along, and she had turned him down. If she had been with him, maybe none of this would have happened. The icy pit in her stomach grew even more as the thoughts plagued her mind, Greg's words haunting her thoughts. Was this all her fault?
TBC
