Chapter Ten – Behind Schedule

Checking the time on his watch, Nick realised they were going to be so late at the rate his fiancé was moving this morning. He grabbed the freshly brewed coffee mug off the side counter, leaving the rest of his cereal to make sure that the younger man was even out of bed yet. He padded down the hallway to his bedroom, finding the bed still unmade, a wet towel flung over the end and last night's clothes in a pile beside it. He used to make his bed every day and leave his room in perfect order, but since Greg had moved in the upkeep had been a little harder to keep on top of.

This whole room made his OCD brain spiral into a panic attack at the moment. He knew that living with someone after so many years alone would be an adjustment, but he didn't realise it would literally turn his whole life upside down.

The wall next to the bed was still stacked high with boxes of Greg's stuff. His chest of drawers was overflowing with both of their clothes and it was starting to look a little cramped and crowded. Even the walls didn't look the same with the painted samples everywhere. His realtor suggested that giving the place more light would help him sell it quicker, but it didn't look right. The bedroom had always been a dark brown shade with thick black curtains to block out as much light as possible while he slept in there during the day.

"C'mon Greg, we're goin' to be late." He tapped his knuckles against the bathroom door, before making his way inside. Even the sink counter was loaded with Greg's hair products, his dozens of bottles of shower gel or shampoo that only had a little bit left inside them and the little smears of toothpaste he dropped everywhere.

"You didn't leave me any hot water."

"If you got up earlier you could have had all the hot water you wanted." He watched the younger man clearing the cobwebs from his eyes while he brushed his teeth, wishing he could let him stay home another night rather than sending him out in the field. "Here this will help wake you up." He presented him the coffee mug from his hands. "I told you to go to bed earlier last night."

Greg rolled his eyes, bending to rinse his mouth out before he grabbed the coffee mug from the man's hands. "You know you're beginning to sound a lot like my mother."

"Is that really a way to greet your fiancé?"

"As soon as he stops parroting my mother, I might greet him properly with a kiss." Greg ditched his toothbrush in the cup beside Nick's, giving the man a smile. He slid his arm around his partner's waist, pulling him in for a minty kiss. "Mm, I love you… but you can really be so annoying in the mornings."

"Is it really that annoyin' to be punctual?"

"Yes." He playfully jabbed the older man in the side. "I feel like I'm reliving my teenage years with my mother trying to coax me out of bed to go to school. Believe it or not, I managed to get myself dressed and ready for work long before you ever arrived on the scene, Tex. I don't need you monitoring every little thing I do. If you want to go to work early, go. I have a car, I can drive myself in. I don't need a babysitter."

"I wasn't babysittin' you." He protested, feeling his back hitting the counter as Greg pushed him aside to get to the mouthwash. "It's just… we hardly get to spend any time together as it is. Our car rides are one of the only times we get to be alone together. It feels like since you moved in, I've actually seen less of you because we don't even make time to be together anymore."

Greg threw back a mouthful of the minty fresh liquid, holding his finger up to Nick while he quickly swished it around his mouth. He bent to spit it out, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he straightened up. "You are adorable, Nicky, but I really don't need you to wait for me."

"Are you sayin' you don't want to spend time with me?"

"Not at the expense of your career." Greg cracked a smile, playfully tapping the end of the other man's nose. "You're so cute and you're going to be so late if you spend another second in your little fantasy world. We can do plenty of other things together. We literally just slept beside each other for four, nearly five hours." He consulted the time. "I don't want you to be late for work. So, go." He pushed him in the direction of the door.

"Did you just bop me on the nose, Sanders?"

"Yep," Greg breezed past him. "What are you going to do about it, big guy?" He backed away slowly, bursting into a grin as the hungry Texan lunged for him like a tiger pouncing its prey. He closed his eyes as the man sealed a ravenous kiss to his lips, squashing him between himself and the wall behind him. "You are going to be so late if you keep this up."

"Late," Nick gasped for breath against his lips. "But happy." He gently brushed his thumb across the younger man's cheek, adoring the look in his eyes. "Lucky for me, my fantasies came true the day I met you."

Greg threw his head back in a giggle, playfully pushing the other man away from him. "You're so corny. You forget that Grissom knows we're dating now. We can't both stroll in late and expect people not to notice anymore."

"You know that's the second time you've turned me down this week." He pointed out to him. "You're not havin' second thoughts about marryin' me, are you?"

"Hey, for the record the first time I turned you down was because I had a dodgy stomach after that suspicious Thai food you made me eat." Greg protested, returning to their room to finish getting dressed. "Which by the way was at least two hours alone together. And this time, I just don't want you to get in trouble. Now go." He blocked him from following him into their room. "I love you. Be careful. Now go to work."

Nick sighed softly, admitting defeat. "You too." He leant forwards to steal a quick kiss from his lips. "I made you lunch. Don't forget to take it with you."

"You made me lunch?" Greg's heart soared as he stole another kiss from the delicious older man's lips. "Yep, you're definitely a keeper. We should check the schedule when we get in, see if we can get a few days off together." He slid his arms around Nick, holding him close. "I love you, Nicky. Now go. I don't want Grissom to be mad at you too."

"He's not mad at you." Nick assured him, gently swaying their bodies together. "It's just his overprotective thing to try and keep you safe. You know what Gris is like. He doesn't deal with human emotions well, so he figures that keepin' you on the bench is the best way to help you get past this."

"He's lost faith in me. He doesn't trust me to do my job."

"It won't be forever." Nick rested their heads together, grateful that someone else was looking out for the man he loved. He wasn't about to complain about it since it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "You just have to prove to him that you're okay and you can do this."

"Nice try, Tex. Quit stalling," Greg cracked another smile, gently pushing him away. "Go to work already. I'll be fine. I'll see you later."

"Yep," Nick sighed heavily. "Don't forget your lunch."

"Good Morning, Greg." Grissom removed his glasses, watching the younger man hurrying around the conference room table to find himself a seat. "Sorry to inconvenience you." He sarcastically remarked, sighing softly as he resumed his presentation on the kidnapping case the whole lab had been assigned to. As much as he hated cases like this, he liked the fact that everyone pulled together and worked as a team, doing whatever it took to get the job done.

Greg covered his hand over his mouth as he yawned with exhaustion, wishing he had at least got four hours of sleep before he was called back in again. It wasn't fair on his brain to push it this hard, but he wasn't about to let the team down his first day back out in the field.

He couldn't wait to get started.

"Earth to Greg." Catherine snapped her fingers in front of his face, handing him the evidence bag again. She rolled her eyes as the disoriented younger man's eyes darted around the room, recalling where they were and what they were supposed to be doing. "C'mon Greg, I need your head in the game for this one. Not in the clouds. A fifteen year old girl has been abducted."

"Right, I know. Sorry." Greg shook his head to shake away the cobwebs, labelling the evidence bag for her. "I just pulled a nineteen hour shift with less than an hour of sleep between." He reminded her, yawning widely once again. "I'll grab another coffee when we take this back. I should be alright for another five or six hours after that."

"I know me too, only I had the school run in between and Lindsey wasn't exactly in the best mood this morning. Trust me, we're all feeling it but Ecklie insisted on the backup. Honestly, he only has two decent CSIs left on his team now, so we're all this girl has. Mother's hair brush?" Catherine double checked he labelled it right, before she made her way over the other side of the room to find something the father used. She didn't see a whole lot of hair on his head during the press conference, but he had a biker sized beard that must have dropped a few hairs somewhere in the house. "Just stay focused and you'll be alright. We can't afford any screw ups on this one."

"Because she's the daughter of a Judge?" Greg quipped. "I suppose all the other abductions we've worked weren't good enough."

Catherine flashed him a smile. "Don't worry, we're all thinking it. Ecklie's trying to get in this Judge's good graces, so he pulled all of us to work backup to his team solving the case. He knows we're the best, he just won't admit it to our faces. He'll probably take all the credit for himself once we solve this. A hundred bucks says this girl is round her boyfriend's house having the time of her life." She retrieved her flashlight from her vest, taking a quick peek at the contents of the man's naughty drawer. "Either that or she's hiding out at one of her girlfriends house, trying to get more attention from her mother."

"My money is on the father." Greg followed her round the double bed. "Ex convict, drug addict and he couldn't stop crying during the press conference."

"You realise that could mean he's just a loving father. Don't you believe in second chances?" Warrick interjected, rejoining them in the parents' bedroom. "If Elijah was missing for that long, I think I'd be in tears too." He handed Greg another evidence bag. "I got this from the daughter's bedroom. There should be plenty of hairs on there for Floyd to work with."

"He could be crying out his guilt." Greg suggested, labelling the next bag. "Maybe he got into an argument with her, killed her then waited a while before he reported her missing. He's been in prison for assault on a previous ex wife."

"Did you see the photo of the ex though?" Catherine pushed the drawer closed, clicking off her flash light before the battery died again. "Even the wedding photo looked like a mug shot from America's most wanted. Maybe she had something to do with her sudden disappearance. Her boys get scraps while this girl gets a villa, her own car, anything her heart desires."

"You changed your theory pretty quickly there, Cath." Warrick called her out. "What about the stone faced Judge? She didn't even shed a tear and she answered the presses questions like she was in a court room. She even admitted that she and her daughter weren't close."

"Mother's and daughter's are never really that close." Catherine spoke from experience. "Especially teenagers. It's like a rite of passage to puberty."

"My mother and I got along fine." Wendy piped in, giving the CSIs a smile. She had her long brunette hair tied back in a ponytail, finally wearing her brand new CSI field vest. She wasn't thrilled that her first case was just as a backup, but it was better than being stuck in the lab forever. "I've got toothbrushes." She held up the bags from her hands. "The Judge even had a few of her daughter's old baby teeth in a jar, so we've got blood. How are we doing on hair?"

"Greg's got them." Catherine pointed her towards the evidence bags in his arms. "We still need something on the father though."

"The baldy?" Warrick frowned at her.

"He had a beard, Warrick. When Eddie grew a thick beard like that, I was forever finding them stuck in the bed sheets or in the collar of his t-shirts. He was really proud of this boar hair comb he bought too, until he shaved the whole thing off then the comb went straight in the trash."

"What's the deal with this Judge anyway?" Wendy gave them all a curious look. "Why is everyone so terrified of her?"

"She's notoriously known for handing out maximum sentences on even the most minor offences. That and she's a woman in power. Any man would be terrified." Catherine flashed her male colleagues a grin. "I'll check the bathroom. He must have a razor somewhere."

"How'd she end up marrying this guy then?" Wendy lifted one of the photographs from the dresser.

"Ever hear the expression love is blind?" Warrick asked her, jotting down some notes in his pad. "Hey, look at Greggo."

"Ouch." Greg held his hand over his heart. "You realise you just wounded your best friend who isn't here to defend himself on that one."

"He'll get over it and know that I'm totally joking." He caught the scowl Wendy was giving him. "What time is Nick getting his ass in gear for this one? He's usually first in line to help out a kid."

"He's already working." He answered. "Nick has the pleasure of interviewing all of Harper's friends with Captain Brass. Ecklie wanted to split us up. Apparently he finally heard the rumour that we're dating and he doesn't want our relationship to screw this case up. I tried to point out to him that we've already been dating for over two years and it's never affected a case, but he pointed a finger at me and said 'give me an excuse, Sanders'." Greg mimicked the action.

"Oh, you're on the man's shit list now." Warrick chortled. "You're lucky he's not splitting you up across shifts. Candice from swing shift barely gets to see her husband at all now that Ecklie's put him on day shift."

"Candice got married?" Wendy whipped her head around. "When? Why wasn't I invited?"

"Because she had a quick Vegas styled wedding like this one." Catherine pointed to Warrick. "No one was invited, just the Elvis impersonator." She sighed softly. "I'm not finding anything on the husband. Maybe we ask to pull out a few hairs? He'd probably make us get a warrant."

"He's a convict, right?" Wendy remembered. "His DNA should already be on record. All we really needed was the daughter's, unless you think he's actually involved."

"Tell me something," A voice startled them all from the opposite doorway. "Why does it take four CSIs to gather hair and toothbrushes?" Ecklie frowned as he looked between them all. "Stop gossiping and get back to work. In case it slipped your mind, a fifteen year old girl has been missing for just over thirty six hours. This is why my guys are working the teen's car and you were tasked with gathering hair and toothbrushes to exclude the family."

"Alright Conrad, we get it, you're in charge." Catherine grumbled, pushing herself to her feet. "We're here because your team now only consists of two members. Why did you neglect to tell the press conference that this isn't the first time Miss Harper Myers has gone missing?"

"Judge Myers didn't want them to know. Now if you're done," He motioned for them all to leave. "Ms Simms, I want you working primary on this case back at the lab. I don't want any screw ups on this one. Keep Floyd out of it."

"But it's my first day out in the field." Wendy complained.

"We've got enough CSIs working on one thing as it is. I need someone I can trust back in the lab." He cast his beady little eyes in Greg's direction.

Greg rolled his eyes, following his colleagues out of the house. He stomped his feet down the stairs, annoyed that he was being benched again. "Why does it suddenly feel like I'm back in High school?"

"That guys on a serious ego trip." Warrick popped the trunk to his Denali, helping the younger man to load in their evidence. "Cath, you need a ride back to the lab?"

"No, I'll wait for Grissom." She motioned back to the house. "We're going door to door with Sofia; apparently there was some commotion in the neighbourhood the other night. Last time anyone saw Harper."

"Good luck." Warrick waved to her, opening the passenger side door for Wendy to climb in. He noticed her checking her phone as she climbed inside, reading a message from a David.H. "Another text from Hodges? You can't leave him in the lurch forever. Just tell him he's not your type already. Anyone can see that you're way out of his league."

"I'm not leaving him in the lurch." She stuffed her phone back into her pocket, pulling the door closed.

"Smooth, Warrick." Greg closed up the back of the truck. "Yep, definitely High school." He shuddered at the thought of ever having to go back there. He dropped into the back seat of the Denali, checking his own phone for any messages as they took off for the lab.

"If you're not leaving him in the lurch then why don't you put the poor guy out of his misery and just give him an answer?" Warrick continued the conversation. "It's not like the guy really has a chance with you anyway."

"Ouch." Wendy hissed. "That's not very nice. He was just texting me to ask if I was okay. He's just worried about me. I think it's kinda sweet."

"Hodges, sweet?" Greg grimaced at the thought.

"He can be very sweet." Wendy protested, turning in her seat to look at her colleague. "After all the shit everyone has given you over Nick, I thought you of all people would understand, Greg."

"I'm sorry." He stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "I didn't mean it like that. Hodges and I don't exactly get along at the best of times, but for what it's worth, I think he's a pretty decent guy and you could do so much worse than him. You could probably do better too, but I'm not one to judge."

"Thank you. I think that was a compliment." Wendy gave him a slight smile, turning to face the front of the truck again. "That's a lot of traffic. What's the hold up?"

Warrick reached for the car radio, clicking it on to see if there was a traffic update. He sighed as he overheard the reporter talking about a four car pileup accident on the very road they needed to take back to the lab. "Feel like walking, Greg?" He grinned at the younger man in his rear-view mirror.

"No, thank you." He shuddered at the thought of being on his own on these streets.

"Shall I call in a police escort?" Wendy tried to beam her excitement too brightly.

"No, we'll wait it out." Warrick started flipping through the stations, trying to find some music he liked. "Shouldn't take them too much longer to clear it. Besides, it's not like we're transporting anything that takes priority. Ecklie will probably cite us for wasting resources."

"No please, not the hard core rap." Greg complained from the back seat. He sunk lower in his seat, hoping to get some shut eye while they waited, but it was impossible with the beats of the music banging through his skull.

"Any luck?" Captain Brass caught up to Nick outside the school counsellor's office.

"Yeah, accordin' to three of Harper's girl friends, she's datin' a guy named Troy. I just spoke to the school shrink and she mentioned that Harper reported some trouble in paradise two weeks back. She didn't say he got violent with her, but the shrink saw a bruise around her wrist like he had grabbed her."

"You got a last name on this Troy?"

"Yeah, Fletcher." Nick consulted his note book in his hand. "He's seventeen and he's on the school football team. The coach was my next stop."

"Leave that to one of my guys." Captain motioned for him to follow him. "One of my deputies found broken glass and what looks like blood in the parking lot. I just got word from Metcalfe working the site of Harper's car. She's missing a window in the back and there's broken glass all over the back seat."

"Are you sure Ecklie would want me workin' somethin' so sensitive?" He reminded him of the speech the man had given him. "He said I could look but not touch anythin' I found."

"He's not here. I don't see any other CSIs out here and I'm pretty sure the forecast said rain, so we better hurry up and preserve this evidence." The Captain led him outside, pointing him over to where one of his deputies was standing. "I just got word that there's a huge accident holding everyone up, so Ecklie's guys won't even be able to get here to secure the evidence. I'll go find this coach and see if this kid, Troy Fletcher came into school today."

"Alright, see yah." Nick nodded to the man, gulping softly as he saw a deputy he used to go to the gym with guarding the very scene he needed to process. He hadn't really spoken to the man since everything came out about him and Greg, but he had been on the receiving end of a few death glares since then.

Swallowing his nerves, Nick cautiously made his way over to the man, receiving the very same look. He half expected him to walk away or try to pick a fight with him, but he just remained silent, staring at him from a distance only adding to the tension between them.

"Let's get this over with." Nick gave himself some encouragement, snapping on some gloves to get to work.

"I still can't picture the two of you sneaking off for a quick kiss in the supply closet." Wendy smiled round at their back seat passenger. She finally managed to convince Warrick to shut off the music, so they could carry on a conversation without their ears bleeding. "Especially that tiny one near Grissom's office. It barely fits one person. I always bang my elbow on that wall just opening the door again."

"You'd be amazed." Greg returned her smile, remembering more than a few quick stolen kisses in that closet.

"Can we not?" Warrick struggled not to cringe. "I really don't want to hear this. My ears are bleeding now." He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, hoping this traffic would move soon.

"C'mon Warrick," Wendy frowned at the man. "I thought you were okay with…"

"It's not that." He stopped Wendy from opening up old wounds. "It's the thought of my friend and Greg sneaking around the lab acting like teenagers right under my nose. Thinking back on it now, a lot of it makes sense, especially that frigging turkey sandwich." He rolled his eyes at himself for not seeing it sooner. "It still hurts thinking about it because I thought Nick was my friend, my brother. It turns out he's been lying to me this whole time. It feels like a betrayal."

"Hey you weren't exactly open about your marriage." Greg piped in. "You never even mentioned the fact that you had a baby to anyone either." He felt his stomach growling with hunger after the mention of the turkey sandwich, wishing they could stop to grab a bite to eat. "Hey do you mind if we make a pit stop?"

"You want to eat when there's a missing girl out there?" Wendy frowned at him. "Is this what it's always like out in the field?"

"No, this is what it's like when your hands are tied working backup to Ecklie." Sighing, Warrick complained, "This is just typical Ecklie for you, always thinking he's better. If Grissom had the lead on this one, we'd be halfway to solving it already. Instead all we've got is an abandoned car on the side of the road, while we're off collecting hair and toothbrushes. It's a total waste of our time and he knows it too. He's even got Grissom doing door to doors, nowhere near the neighbourhood where her car was found. The man's an idiot."

"He's just trying to impress the Judge." Wendy defended the man.

"Meanwhile her daughter is out there somewhere and every hour that ticks by there's less of a chance of finding her alive. Ecklie needs to get that through his thick skull and let us do what we're trained to do instead of all this frigging red tape." Warrick sat forwards as the traffic finally started to clear. He could see an ambulance taking off in the distance, along with a section of police tape keeping people away from whatever happened. "Now cases like this are going to suffer because the backup shift is already working backup to a kidnapping that could have been solved if Ecklie just gave us the freedom to do our jobs."

"Drunk driver would be my guess." Greg guessed by the officer giving the young woman a breathalyser on the side of the road. "Wait, wait…" He wound down his window as they got closer to get a better look. He couldn't believe it. He had been looking at pictures of this teen all morning. Her hair was a little darker and she had a smear of blood down the side of her face, but it was definitely her. "Case closed. We found Harper."

"What? Seriously," Wendy had to check for herself. "There's no way."

Warrick frowned as he looked for himself, realising he was right. "Alright, Greg jump out."

"What? Why me?"

"You saw her first. I'm driving and I can't leave Wendy at a scene by herself. So you're up, Greggo." Warrick pulled over to let him out. "I'll radio ahead. Stay with her."

Gulping down the lump in his throat, Greg reluctantly climbed out of the car, flashing his badge as he approached the crime scene tape. He cringed at the sight of the other car involved in the accident, hoping the driver in the back of the ambulance was alright.

"Hey, Greg Sanders. Crime lab." He approached the officer taking notes.

"Hey Sanders, I'm Diaz. That's Bishop." The deputy pointed to his partner clearing the traffic. "Watch your step." He led him through the broken bits of car towards his squad car. "Our young driver back there jumped a red light and clipped the other driver. He was unconscious when we arrived on scene, but he started to come around as they were bringing him out of the car. He was a little banged up, but the medics thought he was going to be alright. There's another ambulance on the way for her. She said she blacked out behind the wheel. No alcohol in her. Her name is Anna…"

"Harper Myers." Greg corrected him.

"Her?" The man looked a little confused. "Isn't she the missing girl that Day Shift are looking for?"

"Yep, looks like we found her first." He smugly smiled, before he approached the teen sat in the back of the open police car. "Hi Harper, I'm Greg. Whoa, whoa… it's okay," He blocked her escape, raising his hands either side of him. "I come in peace, I swear."

The teen sighed heavily, dropping back into the car. "Did my father send you?"

"No," His CSI brain kicked in. He knew the father was involved somehow. It was just the vibe of the man, especially during the press conference. "Your mother reported you missing. Can you tell me what happened here?" He motioned over his shoulder towards the accident.

"I don't want to see my Dad."

Nodding softly, Greg bent down to her level, seeing the fear in her eyes. He recognised that look all too well. It was a look of vulnerability he had seen in his fiancé's eyes more than a handful of times. He didn't want to assume too much, but his CSI brain was already building a picture of what happened to her in his head.

"Alright, we don't have to see your Dad. I just want to know what happened to you."

"Why do you care?" She shot him an angry look. "No one ever cares, they just want me to shut up and disappear."

"Hey, I'm still talking to you, aren't I?" He flashed a small smile. "Did you think that running away was your only option? Have you tried talking to your Mom?"

"She doesn't care." Harper dropped her head into her hands. "I feel sick."

"The ambulance will be here soon."

"Not that kind of sick." The teen pulled her legs up onto the seat, hugging her knees close to her chest. "She never sees. She doesn't care what he does because she needs him. She doesn't have anyone else. Without him she would be even more miserable than she is now. He left us once before and she tried to kill herself. She can't function without him."

"Your father?" Greg gave her a curious look.

Harper gulped down the bile threatening to rise in her throat, feeling a tear rolling down her cheek. "I couldn't stand to be in that house anymore. I didn't want her to call me a liar. She always takes his word over mine."

"Why would she call you a liar? What did he do, Harper?"

"I want to go."

"Hold on, let's get you checked out first." He stopped her from getting up. "I'm not going to call your father. I just want to make sure that you're okay. Why did you run away?"

The teen sat in silence for the longest moment, before she whispered, "I… I had an abortion. I didn't want to go back home after."

"Is that why you have the fake ID?"

"Yeah… my friend, Troy… he got the fake ID for me so they didn't have to ask for my parents' permission. I was going to run away after but I passed out behind the wheel after the operation. I don't want to see them." She shook her head. "I just want to go."

"Let's get you to the hospital first." Greg saw the second ambulance pulling up. "I'll make sure your father can't get to you. I promise." He gave her a reassuring smile. "I think you should try talking to your mother. If she hears your side of things…"

"You don't know what she's like." Harper shook her head. "The papers are right when they call her cold hearted."

"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders together slightly. "I saw her clutching a cardigan that belonged to you back at the house. She was holding it close, waiting for you to come back. She told my boss that she's always thought of herself as a mother first. She didn't want us to treat this case any differently just because she's a Judge. She just wanted you back."

Harper pursed her lips together, wishing her mother was here. "Do you think she'll really listen?"

"I'm sure she will if you give her the chance."

Feeling his stomach growling with hunger, Greg's mind flashed back to the sandwich his fiancé had lovingly prepared for him. The delicious sandwich that was still boxed up and sitting in the mini fridge in the crime lab's break room waiting to fulfil its destiny. "Hey, boss." He sprang to his feet at the sight of his supervisor. "Harper's in with the doctor now." He motioned towards the room in front of him. He hated hospitals, but he promised Harper that he would stick around.

"Good work, Greg." Grissom checked to make sure they had the right girl. "Did you get a statement from her?"

"More or less." He shrugged his shoulders together. "Uh, she confirmed that Troy from school helped her to plan the whole thing. He dumped the car for her. He got her the fake ID so she could get an abortion too. She doesn't want him to get into trouble for any of that though. He was just trying to help her. Have you spoken to the parents yet?"

"Yes, Ecklie is downstairs with them now. The press are with them." Grissom pointed out the television hanging over the nurses' station, featuring the return of the Judge's daughter.

"Did you tell him…?"

"Not yet, Conrad wasn't exactly in the listening mood." Grissom shook his head. "I've told Brass. All his deputies are informed. I've got Wendy and Warrick down at the abortion clinic. Troy is at the station telling Nick everything." He anxiously bit his bottom lip, worrying how this one was going to play out. "Can you stay with her until Catherine gets here?"

"Yeah," Greg stayed put by the door, feeling chills running down his spine as the parents pushed their way through the double doors to the floor. "What are we going to do about them?"

Grissom took a step forwards, pursing his lips together as Ecklie joined the parents in their pursuit to see their daughter. "Conrad, stop." He put his hand up to stop him.

"Out of the way, Gil. Judge Myers wants to see her daughter."

"I can't let you do that." Grissom stood his ground.

"Judge Myers," Greg stepped forwards. "Your daughter would like to speak to you alone. She has something she wants to tell you."

Mr Myers stepped forwards, practically launching himself at Greg. "What right do you have to keep me from seeing my daughter?"

"Step aside, Gil." Ecklie commanded. "This is ridiculous."

"With all due respect Judge Myers," Grissom ignored his obnoxious colleague. "We are doing what is in the best interest of your daughter. Judge Myers," He motioned for her to step forwards. She looked towards her husband with a suspicious look for a moment, before she stepped forwards and followed Greg's lead. "Deputy, if this man makes one move towards that room, I want you to put him in cuffs."

"Yes, sir." Deputy Diaz folded his arms across his chest, sizing up the man stood in front of him.

"You can't be serious." Mr Myers protested.

"Feeling nervous, Mr Myers?" Grissom spoke softly.

There was nothing he hated more than people who took advantage of children. He would gladly throw the book at this man for himself, but he had to wait for his team to finish gathering all the evidence they needed to back up Harper's claims.

Thank you for reading!

~ Holly