A/N: Woo. A bunch of cliches, but hey, every story needs some. I'm disappointed that I haven't had reviewers... do you guys not like this one?

Well, even if you don't I'm going to write it, because it sounds great to me. So mleh.

The files had continued and so had the daily questions of those secretaries, who became more baffled by Gil every day. That girl had been in too, and it seemed that getting to school on time was nearly an impossibility for her. She didn't need him to walk her down the hall anymore, but she always stopped and looked in at him, and he would feel her iron-like gaze on his back for several long minutes before she would speak quietly. Usually, it was no more than "good morning, Gil", to which he would reply with his own greeting. The difference was that he still did not know her name.

That is, he didn't know it until the day they brought her down to the office from her English class. She was hysterical, refusing to speak to the secretaries as they probed her for information. At least, that's what he found out later. He got there second period, and she had been there since half way through first.

He hadn't looked at her, not wanting her to be embarrassed by his noticing that she was seated in the nurse's office looking like she'd emptied the entire contents of her stomach and then some. But, as he headed for his filing room, he was very suddenly pushed up against a wall, a pair of thin arms coiled around his waist. The motion seemed to bring about more tears, and she pressed her face into his chest, crying loudly. The eighteen year old just stood there, eyes wide and fixed on the nurse, who made an encouraging motion with her hands.

Swallowing hard, he rested a hand against her back, his other arm wrapping about her waist, which he found to be shockingly thin.

And then, as though these women knew precisely what he was incapable of, they had him take her into the nurse's office, and they shut the door. He was supposed to figure out what was wrong with her… and how, he had absolutely no idea. All he could think about was the way her fingers had latched into his shirt and the way her hair smelled so good and how disturbingly thin-framed she was.

So, completely at a loss, Gil just held her in silence, listening to her sobs gradually slow, and finally stop. That was when she sat back, dark hair hanging in her face as she swiped at her tears. Leaning past her, Grissom grabbed a tissue from the box, and he held it out to her. A little noise that he assumed was a 'thanks' passed her lips as she took it, pressing it over her face.

Blue eyes hovered on her expectantly, and after a few seconds, she was able to meet his gaze. "The bell rang already… shouldn't you go?" She was now twisting that tissue between her elegant fingers, and in his attempt to reassure her, he shook his head. "I don't want to keep you from your class… I'm sure the nurse will let you go now that I'm… I'm alright." Her bottom lip shook and he had the distinct feeling that she was not okay, and that another wave of tears was going to-

And she was in his lap. Her arms snaked around his neck and she nuzzled her head to his shoulder, sniffling quietly. In the split second before a wave of tears overtook her, he heard her draw in a deep breath through her nose. He just sat there for a while, lips parted as he stared around, trying to find something that would tell him what to do in this situation. The binders and pill bottles and desk did nothing, so he went with what his instinct had told him to do- he wrapped his arms around her again, cradling her and letting her cry her eyes out into his shirt.

The younger student sucked in a deep breath after what felt like a small eternity, and Gil sighed, releasing her as she dabbed at her cheeks with the tissue.

"I'm sorry, Gil." She muttered, a bitter laugh passing her lips as she stared at the tissue. "I just… I don't know any of these women and…" She looked up at him slowly, seeing the utterly confused look in his eyes that he was trying so hard to hide. Another laugh, and she moved from his lap, rising and smoothing out her skirt a bit. "I'm sorry…" And she had disappeared through the door, leaving him to jump up in shock, but the nurse caught her.

"Woah now, Heather." Ah. Her name's Heather. "You can't just go-"

"I'm much better now, ma'am. Gil helped me out, and I'm alright to go back to class." She was a damned good actress, if you asked him, and for a second he thought that he had really helped her. But the truth was that he had done nothing but sit there.

"Well… if you're sure." The old woman released her arm, and Heather gave a little grin, completely avoided looking at Gil, and scurried out of the office. A pass was pushed at him and he hurried to class, more confused about women than he could ever remember being.

--

After school was always a very interesting time. People hurried to their buses and cars, except for a few people who would stand around and smoke, thinking that they looked so cool with the little white sticks hanging between their lips. Gil had gotten used to the horrible smell, and it actually became part of his every day experiences, something he expected and something that never confused him.

Like Heather had.

He'd walked out of the school after the bell, looking for her red hair and black clothes, seeing her pushing through the group toward a car that… well, he knew that it was shitty, but it had had a paint job and the windows looked knew, and the tires were near perfect. He knew that it was just a mask to make the buyer think that it was decent, and he heard the squeak of the door when Heather opened it that gave it away-

And in his analysis, he had forgotten the reason he was watching, and had to watch her ride off with a man he was fairly sure was her father. They had the same hair color, and the man was fairly thin- not as thin as Heather, but by no means built.

Sighing at himself, Gil pushed his hands into his pockets, turning and heading for the student parking lot. Locating his own little car, he got inside and turned the ignition, working his way between other cars and students who refused to move, finally reaching the road. Turning out of the parking lot, he headed home, deciding that this day was one he wasn't going to sleep after. That was going to go great with his anatomy test tomorrow.

A/N:Uh, can someone let me know if this story is even any good? If you guys don't like it then I won't worry about updating as often. xD Spring Break did start today, so I have oodles of free time that I could use on something else if you aren't interested by this story.