Title: The Unburdening

Author: subobscura

See first chapter for complete headers.

A/N: Okay folks. This is where the ball really gets rolling plot-wise. Thanks for all your great reviews. Be looking for part two sometime tomorrow. We'll be getting some second-hand Nick angst, some major Greggo angst, some Greg and Sara fluff, and a partial break in the case. I would put up both parts tonight, but damn I'm tired. I haven't slept in four days, but I still wrote this up for you guys. Aren't I nice? You should reward such dedication with yummy fluffy reviews.

I'm starting to fashion an idea in my head- Part 1 of 2

Grissom walked into the break room that night, only to find Greg and Sara sharing a half eaten bag of Doritos.

"Mmm," Greg was saying. "Nothing like neon radioactive orange cheese to hit the spot." He paused to take a swig of his coke. "So anyway, worst blind date had to be the time I dated that blond chick who, when asked about her hobbies, said watching Lifetime television for women."

"Ha, she didn't." Sara licked her fingers. "Man, even if that is your hobby, you don't say that." She reached for another chip and yelped when Greg smacked her hand.

"Gross, Sara. That's like, double dipping or something. I don't want your cooties."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "You have absolutely no room for complaint."

He coughed and colored slightly. "Yeah, well, um, anyway, I was horrified to find out that when I asked her about her favorite bands, she listed soundtracks. Disney soundtracks. Needless to say, there wasn't a second date." He sighed. "Sometimes it's hard to be so awesome."

"Greg, your hobbies are watching the Cartoon network, dyeing your hair, and downloading bootlegged copies of I Love the 80's."

"Yeah, so? Those are all awesome. Plus I do kickboxing, meditate on surfing, and go bouldering."

"Really? I haven't seen you do any of those things."

He watched with dismay when she reached over and gulped down some of his coke. "That's because my girlfriend has been keeping me busy lately. Damn honey-do list."

It was Sara's turn to cough this time before letting out an unfeminine belch. "Ooops, sorry," she said. She shrugged when Greg made a face at her. "I only drink this crap when I'm with you. Does anything actually get done on that honey-do list?"

"Sometimes," Greg said in a grudging tone. He brightened and smiled at her. "She's really bossy."

"Maybe it's because you need to be kept in line."

"Whatever. Hey Grissom, what's on the table tonight?"

Grissom, who had been watching this exchange with a mixture of horror, rising hope, amusement, and annoyance was finally left feeling confused. He had been certain they were dating, but now their words belied that conclusion. He studied their body language in hopes of discerning the truth. There was nothing improper about the way they were sitting. But there. Did Greg's hand just swipe her knee? Was Sara's foot positioned between his? Was Greg leaning into her just a little too much for just friends? He realized they were staring at him expectantly. He was flustered, but he covered his discomfort with a wave of his hand and said, "If you two are done flirting now, Greg, would you update me on your current case?" They had the decency to turn a little red.

Greg cleared his throat. "Right, um, sure. Well, as you know we have two vics, males, one blond, one brunette, both aged approximately 8 to 9 years according to Doc Robbins, from tooth eruption and maturation of the epiphyses. Very little trace evidence, a few carpet fibers of a brand used in most American makes. We're thinking they were killed elsewhere, and driven to the sites. For what purpose is anyone's guess. The fibers between sites match, as does the killer's signature leading us to believe that these homicides are linked. Both are dressed in new, unused spiderman underpants available at any Wal-Mart, Target, or K-Mart between here and Timbuktu. They were positioned on their right sides in an alleyway with low light, knees pulled up, palms together like in prayer. Cause of death has been ruled strangulation by ligature, which we know was piano wire. The ligatures were left at the scene. I already personally checked them for epithelials, but I got nada." He took a deep breath.

"ID's?"

Sara interjected, "Ran their prints through IAFIS and their DNA through CODIS, but not surprisingly, there were no hits. I'm going through county files, but some of them date back a few years. There's nothing that even says they were even from the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area. I also put out a national bulletin and have been checking missing person's, but I haven't gotten any bites. It's slow going, but I haven't given up yet." She shrugged. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially if there's no one out there who cares that they're gone."

"Well, tonight, you're not going to have to slog through files. We've got a body up a chimney in Laughlin. Firefighters just called it in. Take Nick with you."

Sara stood and took the slip, reaching also for the bag of Doritos. Greg snatched it away. "I don't think so missy. I bought these with my hard earned money. Go eat your tofutti-rice dreamsicles or something."

She stuck out her tongue before sauntering to the doorway. She turned back and said, "You're going to pay Sanders, big time." She walked out the door to get her kit and find Nick.

He called after her, "I'm counting on it!" He turned back to Grissom. "So what do you have for your favorite new CSI tonight?"

"You're my only new CSI, Greg. I want you on those ID's. Over the past twenty years or so, a grass roots program called Ident-a-kid has been issuing an identity card to children at participating schools. On that card? A fingerprint. I want you to contact the company and see if you can get a match. It's a long shot, I know, but it's the largest database of children's prints that we have. Otherwise, you're on call in case something else comes in."

"This isn't a priority case? This seems like a serial to me if there ever was one," Greg remarked, surprise evident in his tone.

"Oh believe me, this has serial written all over it. But right now, you have absolutely zero. I'm not saying stop, in fact I want you to work on this as much as you can, but aside from identifying the vics, there's little else that can be done now. Remember Greg, serial cases are marathons, not sprints. These cases can take years to solve. Right now, neither the press nor the feds have caught wind. Work as hard as you can while the pressure is low."

Greg nodded. "I get it." He turned to the files that were already spread out on the table. "Oh, hey Griss. There's something else."

Grissom turned from heading back to his office. "What," he asked, peering over his glasses.

"These kids. Well, they show evidence of long-term sexual abuse. Scarring indicates multiple instances of forced sodomy, perhaps over a period of months or years. No indication of whether it's directly related to the homicide, though. And no semen"

"Both have it? It's related then." Grissom appeared thoughtful. He pulled in a breath. "It may be how he chooses them. Or it may be the killer has been abusing them. Too early to make any judgement calls." He noticed Greg had a faraway look in his eye. He looked pale under the harsh fluorescent lights, with deep rings under his eyes. "Greg?"

"Huh?"

"You doing okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Just haven't been sleeping all that well."

Grissom tightened his gaze a little and pursed his lips. "Your first child sexual abuse case is always rough. Couple that with your first serial…don't take it too close to heart, Greg. You'll burn out before you've even started."

Greg gave a tight nod before spreading his hands over the photos. He looked up, and the tension was gone from his face. He grinned. "It's cool. My girlfriend just likes it rough."

Grissom rolled his eyes before walking out of the room towards his office.

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? I know, I know, no sex. But, alas, this isn't going to be one of those Greg and Sara have explicit sex in every chapter kind of stories. Give me a smut challenge and I'll be happy to comply though…Oh, chapter title is from Dashboard Confessional's So Impossible EP, song called "For You to Notice." If you haven't heard of these guys, you've been living under a rock. I know, a little conventional, but what can I say, I was feeling nostalgic. Plus it fit. Go listen to it. Oh Ident-a-kid exists as does Miss-I-Watch-Lifetime in my spare time.