Part 4

Greg was wearing a rut in the break room floor when Catherine walked in. He was exhausted, his emotions having ran the full gamut tonight, but right now, he was stuck in turbo. Rather then being sympathetic, she took an annoyed stance, knowing it would get through better to him right now.

"So your sister's not missing, she just met a man, like Warrick said, and she gave you a courtesy call. That's a reason to take me away from processing a scene?"

Greg stopped his pacing long enough to thrust Archie's printout at her. "I had Archie run the surveillance tapes of the Orpheus as Renee was entering and exiting, and look who popped up like a greasy Texan Whack-A-Mole."

Catherine read over the paper, sighing. Nicky was a one in a million man, the kind who'd be struck by lightening twice without realizing it.

Greg continued his rant. "Here I am worried half sick out of my mind, like everyone else is, and she's playing 'where's the banana' with that SOB. What the hell is she thinking going off with a strange man like that? She wouldn't know a criminal from Adam if he bit her on the ass."

To give herself something to do, Catherine neatly folded the paper in half, then in half again, mentally noting Greg's violent outburst. "Yes we'll need to speak to her now that we know she's out of immediate danger, and I can do my best to keep it as quiet as possible within the team, but you need to simmer down." Catherine took a step closer, her voice dangerously low and calm. "She's not an errant little girl who needs protecting, Greg. She's a grown woman. Call her back; tell her we need her to come in for a positive ID on the body."

As Catherine left, Greg crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her back. Without looking back for an instant, she called over her shoulder, "I saw that Greg."

FLASHBACK TO EARLIER THAT EVENING

Nick lay on his side, in bed, facing Renee, who'd bunched the sheet up around her breasts. Normally, Nick liked to see long curling hair spilling over the soft naked shoulders of his sexual partners, but the short sassiness of the cut suited Renee's face some how. He had felt like a bit of an idiot when he'd asked her home after a couple of cocktails. And now, he was feeling like an even bigger idiot, realizing he had fewer deductive powers then he realized as she told him who her brother was.

"I can't believe I didn't put that together. Brother, law enforcement, Laplander, Sanders. You sure as hell don't sound like Greg."

Renee gave a careless shrug, scooted closer to him. "That's because as much as I love shrink-speak with colleagues, I know my cheerleading squad isn't exactly into the same stuff. Greg lacks that turnover mechanism, I think."

Nick smiled. As soon as she'd said it, he immediately made the connection, figured out that's why her face had looked so familiar. The second thought that had passed through Nick's brain was a quick mental image of Greg wrapping his bare hands around his throat. "So, if you're six years younger then Greg, how can you already be writing your doctoral thesis?"

"I skipped fifth grade, so I graduated when I was 16, and worked year round to do my undergrad degree as quick as possible, then got early acceptance into a dual masters/doctorate program."

"And how does cheerleading figure into all of this?"

"I went to university on a gymnastics scholarship-"

"Oh so that explains the flexibility," Nick interrupted, snuggling closer to kiss her.

"Then discovered my talents could be applied to cheer. When I couldn't cheer anymore as an undergrad, I was offered a position as a coach to help cover the bills." Renee paused then, sighed softly. "So how mad do you think Greg's going to be with me, sleeping with his buddy from the lab?"

Nick blew out a breath, relieved to hear he wasn't the only one with that anxiety. "Probably less then he will be with me. He'll see it as you being an innocent young thing I lured into my bed of sin with promises of candy." Off Renee's questioning look, he explained further. "I have five sisters, and my older brother was like a bodyguard to them."

"Well, in your defence, you didn't know I was his sister." Renee had a flashback to when she was sixteen years old, and a very memorable Thanksgiving moment. "And trust me, if he is, it won't be the first time."

Nick laughed at this. He brushed a hand over her cheek, then kissed her deeply. They'd known each other for a matter of hours, yet he felt like he could say anything, do anything with her. It was new and exciting, but at the same time, there was something else there, like a sweet homecoming. Inspired, he pulled her close, rolled on top of her and pressed a finger to her lips.

"No more Greg-speak," he said, then kissed her deeply, erotically.

They didn't leave the bed until over an hour later, when they both had a sudden craving for a loaded pizza. Renee redressed and wandered into the living room as Nick did the same, and placed the late-night order.

Once she'd left, Nick sighed contentedly. It had been a long time since he'd been with a woman, over a year at least, but there was something about Renee. A sudden thought occurred to him, that maybe he'd finally clued in to the difference between sex and making love with a woman. Maybe that's why things felt so different with Renee. He couldn't figure it out, but he had never fallen for a woman so hard, and so fast since…well, since Kristy. He'd been upfront about that with Renee, but rather then being disgusted by it; all she'd done was ask if they caught the guy responsible, telling him that he'd done the right thing. For the first time in his life, he felt like he didn't have to impress this woman; that he could just relax around her, and not go through a whole single-man routine.

When the pizza arrived, they sat in the living room watching Sports Desk, but Nick's attention was focused more on Renee as she chewed through her fourth slice. When she glanced over at him, she said, "What?" around a mouthful of green pepper and onion.

"I've just never seen a cheerleader eat with such gusto. Mostly they sip water and complain over their salads."

Renee swallowed the mouthful of cheese and sauce. "Ex cheerleader, I'm a coach now, and trust me, after nearly eight years of being deprived of all junk food; I've learned to pack it away."

"Why don't I take you out for Chinese then, tomorrow night? We can swing by your hotel room in the morning; you can pick up some fresh clothes and stuff."

"I was going to have dinner with Greg, but I suppose I can always make it lunch before my flight leaves on Sunday." Renee polished off her slice, and then looked around. "Where's my jacket?"

Nick pointed behind her head, a sheepishly proud look on his face. Renee returned and laughed at the sight of it, slung over a lamp where it had landed in the throes of passion that had begun once the front door was closed behind them.

"Now how did that get there," she murmured as she pulled out her cell phone from the breast pocket and dialled her brother's number. AS she sat down beside Nick, he automatically took her hand as a show of support.

On the other end of the line, Greg sounded like a panic-stricken papa. "Gizmo? Honey, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm totally fine, Greg. No need to get all big brother-y on me. I was just calling to tell you I can't make dinner tomorrow night. I…" Renee trailed off as she looked at Nick, a grin on her face. "I've met someone, a very nice guy."

"That's great Renee," her brother replied, making Renee's breath whoosh out, "but your timing couldn't be worse."

Renee held her free hand to her mouth. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot, you're at work. Did you catch a case?"

There was a small pause on the other end of the line. "No, it's just… Renee, one of the girls on your squad was murdered."

Renee's vision greyed as she squeezed Nick's hand tightly. She barely acknowledged Greg was still speaking to her.

"Your room mate, Miranda Simpson, she was found in your room with her throat cut, and no one had seen you for awhile, so probably a good idea to keep this dude on the kibosh until we…"

When her brother trailed off a second time, the panic immediately came into Renee's voice. "Greg? Are you still there?"

"I'm going to kick your ass young lady."

Renee's jaw dropped in shock, a hot blooming vine of…something filled her gut. She winced as the line went dead in her ear.

From the look on her face, Nick could tell something was up. As she lowered her phone from her ear, he stated the obvious.

"He knows, doesn't he?"

Then Nick got a second surprise of the night when Renee looked him in the eye, tears threatening to spill over.

"It's a little more complicated then that."

Grissom had seen countless bodies on Doc Robbins table, but there was something about this one he couldn't let go. Maybe it was because Greg's sister was attached to it. Instead of dwelling on the possibility of coaching his youngest CSI through something as horrible as losing a sister, Grissom forced himself to pay attention to the good doctor's findings report.

"Cause of death is a no brainer." Robbins sipped on his home-brewed cappuccino. "Exsanguinations due to the severing of the jugular and carotid arteries. But here's where it gets weird."

He shifted his weight, set down the coffee mug to point at Miranda's throat. "See the scratching around the wound? Looks like a fine tooth comb." Robbins picked up Miranda's left hand. "Some skin under the fingernails, but not enough to suggest a struggle, along with some wood chips. There was an oil substance on her shoulders and her back; I took swabs for you."

"Rape kit?" Grissom asked, holding out a hand for the swabs.

"Here's where it gets a little greyer. I did a standard kit and found no signs of penetration but plenty of sexual activity."

"Thanks Doc." Grissom tapped the file and swabs against his palms thoughtfully as he left the morgue. He was still engrossed in trying to put together wood chips and skin under the fingernails when he nearly ran smack into Catherine.

"I think we should send Greg home until this Simpson case is closed."

Grissom sighed inwardly. "I already gave Nick the night off, I need the hands. Besides it's his sister who's potentially missing."

"Not anymore. Got a courtesy call from his sister. Turns out she went to the Orpheus and ended up shacking up with a guy for the night, so I've let everyone else know the focus is now on the homicide."

Grissom stopped in his tracks. "Then why send him home?"

Catherine sighed at length. It was even worse then admitting she'd been involved with a suspect nearly a year ago. "Because the guy Renee shacked up with is the same guy you gave the night off to." As realization bloomed over Grissom's face, Catherine finished in a rush. "Renee has to come in and ID the body, so chances are, Nick will be with her."

Grissom sighed aloud this time. On the one hand, he was jealous that Nick could just randomly meet women; on the other, he wondered what the gods had against the possibility of Nick having a decent, non work-related private life. "Put Greg in a lab somewhere, have him run chemical tests on these," he suggested, handing Catherine the swabs. "I'll deal with the love birds when they get here."