Hello! Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that instead of combining the Cath/Warrick storyline with the Nick/Sara/Greg/Angelle storyline, I'm going to separate them into two different stories. The bad new is, I'm still working on the Cath/Warrick side. The story will be titled "Blame" and should be up this weekend, but no guarantees. It is being worked on, though. It was becoming difficult to work them all together, and I figured it would just be easier that way. So, don't be confused if you see another Shadows Sequel out there...lol...

Also sorry it took me so long to get this out, I've been very sick and haven't been in the mood to do much of anything lately. Hopefully people are still reading, and hopefully you'll be kind enough to leave me thoughts on this chapter. Replies make chapters flow quicker.

Jenny

Betrayal:

Chapter Two:

Greg pulled his pillow over his head, a scowl on his face as he listened to Angelle singing loudly in the next room. He winced as she hit a high note, sticking his fingers in his ears to try and block out the sound. Angelle wasn't a bad singer, by any means, but she definitely thought she had a larger range than she had. She hit a high note again, and Greg smiled, thinking of the cat he owned when he was a kid. It made the same sound when his little sister pulled it's tail.

"Jolie blon, regardez donc qupo t'as fait"

Greg cringed, closing his eyes and praying the noise would stop. He knew the song she was singing, she had a dozen CD's with that song on them, although if he didn't know the words, there would have been no way to guess that was what she was trying to sing. So far, not a single note had been on pitch.

"Tu m'a quitte poir t'en aller

Pour T'en aller avec un autre, oui, que moi"

Greg slammed his fist against the bed, groaning. Finally having enough, he yelled, "Ang, shut up!"

"You called, Greg?" Angelle asked, appearing in the doorway a few seconds later. "What do you need?"

Greg moaned, rubbing his temples, "Keep it down out there, okay?"

"Sorry." Angelle replied with a sheepish grin. "I cleaned up the living room and bathroom, all that's left is the kitchen. I told you I'd get this place spic and span!" She glanced over at Greg's cell phone, which was sitting on the table, "No one's called."

Greg's eyes narrowed, "Thanks for stating the obvious."

"Stop boudeing." Angelle replied, crossing her arms, "Honestly, I've never seen someone your age pout as much as you do. I'll start on dinner once I finish cleaning the kitchen. Get some sleep, your attitude needs it, couyon."

"Okay, Mom." Greg huffed, turning onto his side. He quickly pulled the pillow over his head as Angelle picked up where she had left off, still unable to correctly match the tune or notes of the song she was supposed to be singing.

"Quel espoir et quel avenir, mais, moi, je vais avoir"

"Couyon." Greg muttered, "Pot, Kettle, Black. If I'm stupid, you sure as hell are too."

Greg and Angelle had been tense since arriving back at the apartment Angelle had rented for them. It was a roach-infested hole-in-the-wall, but Angelle swore with a little help, it would be great. Of course, it was in Angelle's very nature to make sure it was only one bedroom, and although she swore she had no idea, Greg was able to see right through that lie.

What did bother him, however, was the fact that none of his friends had bothered to call. He knew that their friendship had been rocky since he had moved away, but he had no idea it was this bad. Even if no one else had bothered, he had thought for sure that Sara would at least check on him. Yet, day after day, Angelle constantly reminded him that none of his friends called, and obviously he wasn't that important to them.

His phone began to ring, but before he was able to make it out of bed, the horrid singing stopped and Angelle rushed in, snatching the phone and pressing the "send" button. She waited in silence for a few moments, before turning it off with a sigh, "Another hang up call. I wish there was a way to track this guy down and turn him in for prank phone calls."

She shook her head, walking out of the room, leaving a sullen Greg behind. Every time the phone rang, he hoped it was Sara, and every time, he was disappointed. He sunk back onto his pillows, silently fuming. He couldn't believe that she had just taken his phone with her. She had been nothing but pushy and nosy since she arrived, and it was really making him start to wonder if his friends were calling, and she was just neglecting to tell him. Of course, he knew Angelle didn't have it in her to be so deceitful, but there were times he just couldn't help but wonder if she was with him to support her own agenda.

He knew Angelle as well as she knew him, and there was no question in his mind that she was sincerely sorry that his friends had not contacted him. She knew how much he loved and respected his old CSI team, she knew how much they meant to him. There was no way she'd intentionally jeopardize that relationship. Sure, she may make bad decisions sometimes, but even Angelle wouldn't stoop that low.

His cell rang again, but before he could consider getting out of bed, Angelle called out, "It's my sister!"

A few minutes later, she began to "sing" again, her voice echoing on the small apartment walls. Greg moaned and slowly sat up. He needed a shower, and, if he was lucky, the running water would tune out his tone-deaf roommate.

---

"Would you wait for me?" Sara gasped, clutching her side as she made her way towards Nick, "When did you start working out again?"

Nick laughed, stopping and turning to face the brunette, "This, coming from the same girl who's beat me at every athletic bet for the past 6 months? I say that this is only a drop in the bucket, Miss Sidle."

"Whatever it is, slow down." Sara panted, bending over with her hands resting on her knees, "You're killing me, Stokes. We've had to run, what? 3 miles?"

Nick glanced down at his pedometer, a grin on his face, "3/4 of a mile. You're out of shape."

"Your pedometer must be wrong." Sara panted, "Water?"

Nick handed her the plastic bottle, watching as she took a giant swig, "Woah there, you don't want to drink too much and make yourself sick."

"Don't tell me what to do." Sara gasped, "Show off, you're barely sweating."

Nick rolled his eyes, stretching his arms and legs, "If I was showing off, I would have left you trailing behind. We'll take a break and pick it up in a few minutes."

She remained silent, and unable to resist, he added in a teasing tone, "Honestly, Sara, how did you pass your yearly physical?"

"Shut up!" Sara exclaimed with a laugh, hitting his arm, "You're a horrible, horrible person Nicholas Stokes."

"And you're just little Miss Sunshine." Nick replied, his hand on her back, slightly concerned as she still struggled to slow her breathing down, "You okay?"

Sara nodded, wheezing slightly as she straightened back to a standing position, "Haven't done this in awhile."

"Obviously." Nick joked, earning him another slap on his arm. "Ready?"

Sara nodded, stifling a yawn as she tried to keep up with Nick's pace. She hadn't been sleeping well since Greg was taken to the hospital, and the stress of the situation had began to take it's toll on her, depriving her of already limited sleep. She desperately tried to push the heavy fog of exhaustion away, determined not to be beat by Nick.

Fighting another yawn, she convinced her body to speed a little faster, surpassing Nick by a few steps and causing him to protest. "You weren't able to beat me before, what makes you think you can now?" Sara laughed, holding her arm out so he couldn't pass her up, "Who was it that you said was out of shape?"

Nick laughed, dodging her hand and sprinting to a few steps in front of Sara, "Is everything a competition with you?"

"Pot, kettle..." Sara laughed, "You know you like it."

Nick slowed down a little, panting as he began to grow winded, "Right, I like being beat by a girl."

"Finally, he admits it." Sara teased, taking another swig of the cool water and holding the bottle to her forehead, "We're both out of shape."

She stumbled a bit, causing Nick to reached out and steady her, "Woah there, are you okay?"

"Lost my balance, that's all." Sara replied sheepishly, "Thanks."

Giving her a worried glance, Nick shook his head and looked down at his watch, "We'll go to the end of this block and then we'll have to head home, or else we'll be late for work."

"God Forbid we're late to work." Sara said with a smile, "They'd probably call out the search dogs for us."

"Race you to the end of the block." Nick said, waiting for her to process the thought before taking off down the sidewalk.

Sara broke into a run, barely able to catch up with the Texan, "What was that about everything being a competition?"

"You're just a sore loser!" Nick replied, trying his hardest to stay a step ahead of Sara, "I'm going to beat you this time."

"In your dreams." Sara panted, using the remainder of her energy burst to get a few steps in front of him right before the curb. She grabbed ahold of the lamppost, leaning against it as she smiled, "Beat you."

"I let you win."

"Right."

--

Greg slid on his sandals, quietly opening the bedroom door and peeking into the rest of the apartment. As he expected, Angelle was laying on the couch, half asleep as she fast- forwarded through her soap operas. If he played his cards right, he could probably get out of the apartment without her even realizing he was gone. It wasn't that she was forcing him to stay, but the lecture that would accompany his exit wouldn't be worth the trouble of actually going outside. Right now, he just needed silence and fresh air.

The front door creaked as it opened, but Angelle didn't seem to notice. Greg couldn't see her face, but he wouldn't doubt if she had actually fallen asleep. He winced as his chest constricted with a cough that needed to escape, but he forced himself not to do so until he was out of the apartment. With a soft click, the door shut behind him and he allowed himself to cough, pressing his hand against his chest as he did so. He was feeling a lot better than he had while in the hospital, but it was clear that he was still on the path to recovery.

He slowly descended the stairs, wheezing slightly by the time he reached the bottom, and stepped into the warm sunshine. He took a deep breath, coughing slightly, and shut his eyes, enjoying the warmth that beat down on his body. Walking to the front of the building, he inhaled deeply again, staring up into the cloudless sky.

He sharply turned his head as he heard her voice in the distance. He had to be imagining things, there was no way that Sara Sidle could be coming through his neighborhood right now. As he heard her voice again, there was no denying it. Happiness warmed his heart for a split second, until he remembered how she had neglected to contact him since his attack. After all of the grief she gave him for running away from his problems, she had done the exact same thing to him. Anger replacing warmth, he pushed himself away from the wall and headed down to the street to confront her.

"Sara Sidle."

TBC, if wished.

Song used: "Jolie Blon", can't remember who it's by.

Translations: Boude: To pout. Couyon: Pig, Stubborn, Stupid. Couldn't translate the French in the song, even if I tried...did horribly in French...only know what's spoken day to day down here.