Author's Notes: Wow guys, I'm so sorry for abandoning this story for so long! It's been a very hectic fall/winter, filled with grad school, illness, career changes, and all sorts of other stressors…but I'm back!! Hopefully there's a few of you still reading. And I cross my heart, updates will be more frequent…even if it means writing out chapters during boring lectures this upcoming semester. :D.

Please, please let me know if you're still reading this, and if you want me to continue. Updates of my other stories should be coming along within the next few days…

And if the Saints make it through this round of the NFL playoffs in tomorrow night's game, I solemnly swear I'll update every WIP –at least- once next week, possibly more. Lol, so send happy thoughts to the team, we've never made it through a playoff round in the history of the team, we're way overdue. :D

Reviews make happy writers. Happy writers make quick updaters.

Jenny

Chapter Seven:

"There's nothing I can do."

Though his voice seemed apologetic, Sara couldn't help but feel that if it had been anyone else in Greg's shoes, Grissom would have been a little more useful. He had always been tough on the ex-lab tech, a lot tougher than he had ever been on any of the others. At first it had seemed he wanted to challenge the younger man, but in light of the current situation, Sara was beginning to think maybe Grissom had been planning on letting Greg fall behind from the beginning.

Of course, her point of view was a little biased, but knowing that didn't make Grissom's statement any less painful.

Running her hand through her long brown hair, Sara exhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a moment while trying to get her emotions in check. This wasn't the time to fall apart, right now; Greg needed her to be calm, cool, and sane. If only it was that easy….calm or hysterical, Grissom was right. There was nothing they could do.

She glanced down at her hands, noticing the angry red marks where her fingernails had dug into her skin on the drive from the lab. These hands were her lifeline, the thing that enabled her to do her job, her passion. On the left ring finger was a simple wedding band, something that couldn't be easily damaged at a crime scene. On the third knuckle of her right hand, a faded scar from the day they had moved into this very apartment. In the process of maneuvering the oversized dresser through the tiny door, she had ripped a good deal of skin off of her hand. With a slight smile, she remembered how Greg had made a big deal about putting a band aid on it, telling her it was her first battle scar of married life.

If only things had been able to remain so simple.

"I'm going to go talk to Lieutenant Anderson." Sara mumbled, barely able to meet Grissom's eye as she pushed past him. It wasn't his fault that things were going downhill so rapidly, but it felt good to be able to snub someone.

She met up with Lt. Anderson, who was talking to two patrol officers, both of which kept glancing in the general direction of their squad car every few seconds. As she approached, both officers mumbled an excuse to walk away, leaving Sara face to face with the man who was bringing her husband into custody.

Both were silent for a moment, before Anderson spoke, "When I got the call, I knew he was one of us…I mean, we all heard what happened with that psycho."

Sara nodded, waiting for the man to continue. By the deep look of guilt spread across his face, it was clear he needed to get something off of his chest. As the older man struggled for the right words to use, Sara felt her anger begin to melt, despite the promise she had made herself not to go soft and give in without a fight. The moment that car pulled away, a report would be filed, and Greg would definitely lose his job, regardless of how this chaos played out.

"I talked to the girl, but she's just a kid…barely 18. She was very shaken, and before I could try and reason with her, she was on the phone with her Dad, who was conference calling their lawyer before she even had the whole story out. She's determined to press charges, and he's admitted to assaulting her…I don't have a choice."

Sara let her eyes close as she took another deep breath. With the threat of legal intervention, there really was nothing they could do. It was the LVPD's job to apprehend people who committed crimes. And right now, all of the evidence indicated that Greg had committed a crime.

"The sheriff is on our backs constantly to keep the department out of the news, it's going to be bad enough that one our own guys was arrested for assaulting a young woman, it would be ten times worse if the media got wind that we tried to placate the victim and cover it up."

"I understand." Sara replied, her voice thick with fatigue and tears. He was right, as much as she hated it. "Can I see him?"

Anderson hesitated for a moment before his shoulders slacked and he motioned for her to follow him to where the other officers were waiting. Opening the car door, he motioned for the other two officers to follow him a few feet away to give the couple their privacy. Sara flashed him a grateful smile as she silently thanked the higher beings that police courtesy extended to the crime lab in this instance.

"I really screwed up."

Sara's heart broke at his dejected tone, and she squatted to be eye level with the empty shell that was once her husband, "You've been through a lot."

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm really losing it, Sara. I just don't know what I'm doing anymore."

His voice cracked slightly, and Sara pulled him into a hug, tears streaming down her face as he started to shake with silent sobs, "I don't know how to help you…I can't think of anything. I've called our lawyer, he'll meet us at the station…I don't know what else we can do."

"Sara, I didn't mean to hurt her. You have to believe me." Greg mumbled into her shoulder, his voice filled with desperation and sorrow, "I don't know what came over me."

"Shh," she soothed, rubbing his back gently, "I know you'd never hurt anyone intentionally. You just need to talk to someone, a professional or something; this isn't going to get better on its own."

"I didn't mean to hurt her." Greg repeated, his body trembling, "I didn't mean to hurt her."

"I know." Sara whispered, holding him tightly as her own chest began to grow tight with fear. What was going to happen now? How could she even begin to try and fix this? If she bailed him out of jail and took him home, what would keep him from losing touch with reality again? What would happen if Alyssa came back to find him? What if he found out she was out of prison? How much more could his sanity take before he completely broke? As his body shuddered once more, Sara couldn't help but wonder if it was too late to save him from himself.

--

"Coming up at 6, a Las Vegas Police Department employee has been arrested after-"

Sara's head snapped up towards the direction of the television, and she bitterly spat, "Turn that garbage off."

"Is he still in questioning?" Nick asked, flipping the television off and taking a seat across from the jittery Mrs. Sanders, "What exactly happened?"

Sara absentmindedly stirred her coffee as she shook her head, lost in the garbled phrases and events of the day. With a tired sigh, she looked up at Nick and shrugged, "I don't exactly know. Grissom got a call that there was a simple assault at our apartment complex, and Greg was involved. It wasn't until we arrived that we found out Greg was the assailant. Apparently the…victim…thought our apartment was her cousin's, and she knocked on the door…Greg went ballistic, had her pinned up against the wall, threatening to rip her head off, when a neighbor called 911."

"So I take it Greg hasn't been doing so well." Nick replied flatly, shaking his head bitterly, "That's not Greg, he doesn't have a violent bone in his body. I wish I could get my hands on that Miller woman and show her a thing or two about-"

"Don't make open threats in front of law enforcement." Brass's voice cut in, "Sara, if you want to post his bail, you can come with me."

Sara sighed, her hand falling limply to the table, "Take him home and watch over him myself, knowing that psychotic bitch is out there roaming freely, or leave him in here, scared and alone?"

"Tough call, kiddo." Brass replied sympathetically, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she trudged towards the doorway, "6 to one, half a dozen to the other."

"Call me if you need." Nick's voice echoed through the corridor as Sara and Brass slowly made their way down the tile hall, their footsteps echoing with every step.

They were silent for a few moments before Brass summoned the nerve to broach the subject everyone had been carefully avoiding since this whole ordeal started.

"He needs help…psychological help. This is too much for him, anyone really, to handle on their own. I'm no shrink, but there's obviously some post traumatic stress disorder or something going on. He won't get better without seeing someone. I mean, this isn't the same kid who used to give us grief in the lab, if I hadn't known him for years, I'd barely recognize him like this."

"I know." Sara replied softly, "I think he knows too."

Brass patted her back reassuringly as they reached the doorway, "Just hang in there, okay? We're all here for you guys if you need anything, you know how to reach us."

"Thanks." Sara murmured, flashing him a sad smile before mentally gearing herself to face her husband…her husband, the victim. Her husband, the ex-lab-tech, ex-CSI. Her husband, the criminal.

"I was watching TV, flipping through channels. I was just starting to relax…."

Sara looked up, shocked by Greg's voice. The ride home had been completely silent, as had the first three hours back in their home. Greg had thrown himself on the sofa, where he had spent the majority of his time since coming home from the hospital after the attack. After spending the better part of an hour trying to find a way to broach the subject of the day's events, Sara had eventually given up and busied herself with paperwork she had brought home from the lab.

He briefly met her gaze before letting his eyes trail to the television, which was turned off, "They had a news brief, a preview of the next newscast or something…they showed her. Is it true? She was released?"

Sara nodded, her body bristling with anger towards the captor, the reason behind this whole fiasco, as he spoke.

"I went numb, I didn't know what to think, what to do. I wasn't really scared, I was just…cold. Not ten seconds later, there was someone knocking on the door. I didn't even see the kid's face, I just saw someone with her hair style, standing on my doorstep, just moments after finding out she was released. Before I knew what was going on, I had that kid up against the wall…if someone hadn't intervened, I would….well…."

Sara nodded, silently finishing Greg's thought. Things could have definitely been a lot worse.

"You must think I'm some sort of monster." Greg whispered, "I attacked you, now there's this stranger…I'm scared, Sara. I'm really scared."

Sara moved from the desk to the couch, grabbing Greg's arm when he tried to move away. "We're going to get through this. Everyone knows you aren't the type to go ballistic for no reason. You've been through a lot, Greg. I'm not saying it's okay to intimidate strangers, I'm not saying it was the right thing to do…but I do believe it's a natural reaction. We're going to get you help. Grissom gave me the name of someone you can talk to, just to work out these issues…"

"I…" Greg started, his mouth going dry at the mere thought of admitting he needed help, "I think you're right. I'm in way over my head here, Sara. I feel like I'm drowning, I don't know what to do. I don't feel like I'm myself anymore, I can barely remember who I used to be, before all of this started. I'm…I'm in a really bad place. I'm…I'm scared of myself."

Sara felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her, and she struggled to take a deep breath while processing the words her husband was speaking. Shaking her head slightly, she spoke through her tears and pulled Greg tightly against her, "You don't have to be scared…I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We're a team."

Her skin tingled with electricity as a tear fell from his cheek to her shoulder, and for a moment, the two of them clung tightly to each other, afraid to let go, afraid to breathe and ruin this brief moment where they finally felt connected to something other than nightmares of the kidnapping, the torture.

And as glass shattered behind them, the bond evaporated, sending both spiraling back into the reality of the situation.

TBC