No beta this time, so all mistakes are mine. I'm loving the comments I'm getting on this, and the reason I'm not responding to anyone is because I don't want to accidentally give anything away. Some very good guessing, and for those of you who are still lost…it'll eventually make sense by the end of the story. At least I'm hoping. :D

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Chapter Ten: Hard to Believe

Greg found himself working quietly not too much later, slowly going through the mounds of paperwork he and Sara had never gotten to several nights before. A triple homicide after all garnered a lot of hours, a lot of attention, and mountains of evidence. Evidence which still had to be logged in.

He had now been on his own now for quite some time. While the last shift was in full swing the rooms around here had often stayed empty. Everyone was out processing, or interviewing, or chasing false leads. It was a good thing, at least for him. Greg needed the time to think, to clear his head. He wouldn't have the time to himself much longer.

He wasn't happy with the answers he had gotten. He was still convinced that it was a dream…it was the only possible explanation. Any other possible explanation was too far-fetched. Even if Robbin's had seemed most reliable, and though he had found slight relief in the fact that someone else knew what was going on, he still wouldn't except the fate.

One of these days he was going to close his eyes and then wake up to find himself safe in his own bed. He would get up, and go to work, find Grissom sitting at his desk. The man would scold him for coming in early; he already had too much overtime. Greg would have to resist pointing out the older man had more overtime than the entire nightshift had combined.

Sara would be there was well, hair a bit damp, a sure sign that she had once again slept at the lab, taking time to wash her hair in the bathroom sinks. He would toss a few barbs her way, fully in jest, grinning at the kind of responses she would come up with. Later on they would catch some dinner, or breakfast together. However their shifts landed that was.

Catherine would be making the coffee, she normally was the first one in the room. The nightshift had their own special stash, courtesy of Greg. No one wanted the watered down mud flavored brew the other shifts had.

Nick and Warrick would be making some sort of new bet, each trying to out best the other. If the stakes weren't too high Greg would even consider joining in. Not always however…gambling wasn't his thing.

Greg was starting to sorely miss the interaction. It was a clear difference now, it was dead almost, trying to talk to someone, to anyone as a matter of fact was a difficult chore. That was dealing with cases alone. Greg hadn't even ventured trying to discuss other issues. It was a depressing thought. He couldn't deal with this, couldn't handle even thinking that this was all there was to offer. There had to be more in life, this very well couldn't be the end…could it?

"Greg?"

He wasn't surprised to see Sara standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest as she watched him. He turned back to his work without saying so much as a single word, doing his best to stay focused on the task at hand. His last conversation had been depressing enough; he didn't need to add to it.

Sara however had wandered in, and after a moment, took a seat across from him at the table. For a long few minutes he worked in silence, Sara continuing to study him with her head propped up in one hand. Finally she ventured to break the silence.

"Where did you go?"

He didn't stop to answer, in fact he didn't answer at all. Barely acknowledging her he kept to his task, flipping through the pages once he had completed them. It wasn't until her hand came down to rest on his that he paused. Even then he still refused to look at her.

Her touch was so gentle, so soft, and when she spoke her voice was full of concern, a sharp opposition to what it had been the night before.

"Greg...you didn't come home, and none of the hotels had you listed."

"You checked up on me?" Greg asked incredulously, looking up at her sharply now. He wouldn't have even begun to think that it was possible for her to do so. She was never that sneaky, never that...devious.

"I was worried," she protested, pulling her hand away. "Normally you call, or come back home later on. You never just disappear. What was I supposed to do?"

Greg shook his head, disgusted still as he turned away. "I'm fine," he replied bitterly, holding back any other potential thoughts that were running through his mind.

"I want you to come home."

"Why?" He cut her off, "So you can harass me some more?"

"I'm sorry," Sara whispered, leaning over to take his hand again. He brushed her away at first, but gave up the petty fight as she tried again. Her fingers wrapped around his hand, and she tentatively brought it up to her lips, kissing the back of his palm tenderly. "I know I got out of line."

Closing his eyes Greg let out a sigh, resisting the urge to pull away. Her voice was sincere and though he quite enjoyed the attention she was giving him it just didn't feel right. He was supposed to be mad at her, and after the way she had treated him she didn't deserve the easy way out.

"Sara," Greg drew in a heavy breath, closing his eyes. "I don't think this is going to work."

"It can," she interjected quickly, "I can change Greg, I really can…I love you."

"Do you?" Greg wondered, lifting his eyes to match her gaze. "Or am I just an endless charade of one-night-stands?"

She was shaking her head, holding onto his hand tightly. "How can you even think that? We built our lives together...things may not be perfect, but that doesn't change how I feel about you." For a moment she paused, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall. "Please…come back home. Please?"

He was never given the chance to answer, Sara quickly turning away as Nick entered the room. Even in the dim lighting Greg could see the tears that ran down her face as she let go of his hand. Greg remained quiet, turning back to watch the Texan pour himself a cup of coffee.

"You two still here?" Nick wondered briefly, glancing at the clock that hung on the wall. Greg followed his gaze, noting that their shift had started nearly ten minutes ago. "Discussing a case are we?"

"It's personal," Greg commented dryly, eyeing the other man.

Nick took a long sip of the steaming liquid, looking from one to the other. To Greg the man was still nothing more than a colleague, and it always took him extra effort to remember that the Texan had more authority than his demanding Sara.

"Personal discussions happen on personal time; right now you need to focus on work."

Greg scowled, but across from his Sara was already nodding. Greg had wanted to take the opportunity to point out that he had been working for some time, but chose to remain quiet about the entire matter. Nick watched quietly as Sara left the room in a hurry, one hand pressed to her face to shield the tears that were surely falling. With a sigh Greg shook his head, stacking the files on top of one another.

"I'd like to see you in my office," Nick's voice was cold, chilling almost.

"I have a case to work," Greg reminded him, coming to a stop by the door. Sara would more in likely be waiting already. "We're already late."

"It won't take long," the man smiled at him briefly, brushing past him as he left the room. With a silent gulp he gazed down the hallway that Sara had taken, surprisingly disappointed in seeing it empty, before following Nick down the other way.

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"You can close the door."

Greg's fingers still lingered on the knob, for a moment wondering if that would be the wisest thing to do or not. Nick's back was to him, the other man hardly paying any attention to what was actually going on. Instead he was occupied with going through the filing cabinet behind his desk. With a regretful sigh he did as he was asked, sliding uneasily into one of the chairs that were provided.

It was Ecklie's old office…or at least he supposed. There was no real way of knowing if Ecklie had ever been the head of the lab or if Nick had taken over before the other man could. After all, Ecklie hadn't always been in the lead. He rested his head on his hand, his elbow propped up on one of the arm rests. Several long, tedious moments passed in silence, Greg finally clearing his throat in pure irritation.

Nick glanced over his shoulder, shaking his head as he turned back to the cabinets. A few seconds later he turned around, sliding the drawer closed. "I just wanted to make sure everything between you and Sara was okay," he started sincerely.

"What happened to personal lives, personal time?" Greg questioned coldly.

"You forget that Sara is your superior," Nick reminded him sternly. "As am I. You may want to start thinking about showing some respect."

"This has nothing to do with respect," Greg started, ready to argue his case. Nick hadn't let him get that far however.

"It has everything to do with respect." Nick moved from his seat, walking over to where he stood. Greg couldn't help but flinch uncomfortably as Nick knelt down next to him, meeting his gaze. "You know I care about her. We could have been happy together, but she didn't want me. She wanted you. She trusts you, and if you do anything, anything to hurt her, I will make sure you regret it."

He was taken aback by the comment, blinking several times before responding. "Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not," the other man replied, moving back to his feet. "Because that would be illegal. But keep in the mind the only reason you have a job here is because of an error I let slide. All I would have to do is pull your files," he let his fingers drift over the folder he left sitting on his desk before opening it.

"Failure to properly label evidence, nearly lost the case in court," Nick read, pushing the file towards him. "I failed on my part by allowing you to proceed. However I felt you were capable of getting the job done correctly."

"And have I let you down since then?" Greg wondered, eyes grazing over the records. He frowned as Nick closed the folder, tucking it back under his arm.

"Unfortunately for me, no. All I would have to do however is present this to the sheriff. He would have you pulled out of the field faster than you would think. Of course you would be given a second chance, but since I oversee every proficiency there would be no way you would pass."

"That's blackmail," Greg told him quietly. "Which may I remind you is illegal."

"No," Nick shook his head calmly. "It's nepotism. That's only frowned upon. And since you would be the only one speaking out against it, it would be seen as behavioral problems, nothing more. We don't want that kind of people in our lab."

"I can report you," Greg warned him, feeling uneasy as the Texan only smiled.

"You do that. But considering your record as of late. Therapy sessions, leaving work unexcused, coming in late, entering a closed crime scene, ignoring instructions given to you by your superiors. You have quite a record already. You're lucky all of this stays behind closed doors as it is. At the rate you're going, I won't even need to interfere."

"This isn't fair," Greg responded meekly, feeling the knots forming in his stomach as he began to see he had no real way out.

"Life isn't fair Greg," Nick told him coldly, turning away. "You're late for work, you have ten minutes. If I find that you haven't reported to Sara by then I can assure you it will be recorded. I'll be checking up with Sara as well later in the week. If I hear any negative reports I'll make sure the sheriff gets your record. You're excused."

Greg only nodded, teeth clenched tightly as he moved to his feet. He could feel the Texan's eyes boring into him from behind as he opened the door, stepping out into the hallway, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. He could no longer deny it. This was no dream.

It was a nightmare.

TBC