Chapter Eight – Sara's POV

It's half way through the night shift, and I haven't seen Catherine for even a minute. I'm not really surprised, it's a busy night, there are five cases and everyone's gone solo other than me, I'm working with Greg. We've got a Suspicious Circs on the Strip. I can't stop thinking about the look Catherine gave me before she left. I'm more unfocused than usual, and to my surprise, Greg notices.

When we get back to the lab, the first thing he does is go to the locker room, dragging me along with him

"Greg, what are we doing here? We've got loads of evidence to process and-"

"Sara, Sara, Sara...do you want some GOOD coffee or not?"

I can't help but smile then. He's got out his private stash of premium coffee just for me. Although he can be irritating at times, he really does have a good heart underneath it all.

We take the skin scrapings into the DNA lab to be processed, then go and sit in the breakroom and sip our coffee.

Greg stares at me for a long time and I pretend not to notice. In the end he gives up on waiting for me to talk and cuts straight to it.

"Sara, what's wrong?"

I smile brightly at him.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine."

"I may not have been a CSI for as long as you have Sara, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that something's wrong with you."

"Greg, really, don't worry. I'm perfectly fine."

He rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair.

"Is it a guy?"

I look at him in surprise. He may not be spot on, but he's closer to it than I expected. At least he doesn't think it's about Grissom. He's trying so hard to be nice, so I guess I owe him some kind of explanation.

"Yeah Greg, in a way it is."

He studies me for a moment.

"Did he reject you?"

"No, I rejected them."

"And you feel guilty?"

"At the time, I felt I was doing the right thing, but after the way they reacted, I'm not so sure. I thought they were using me Greg, so I decided to make it easy for them. But, the way they reacted makes me think I could have been wrong. I just don't understand how they could even consider having feelings for me..."

I trail off, feeling a little stupid. Greg's so young, how is he supposed to understand. But, yet again, he surprises me.

"Sara, you sound very uncertain. I don't think it's about them at all. I think you reacted the way you did because you're scared."

I stare openly at him. How does he understand? He's...he's Greg.

He grins.

"I've done it too Sara, pretty much everyone has. So tell me, why are you scared? Do you find commitment hard?"

I'm shocked. How does Greg, of all people, understand situations like this? Oops, he's still waiting for an answer. I decide to be honest.

"It's not commitment that scares me Greg, it's being hurt. I've had my heart broken before, and I don't want to go through that again."

He poses theatrically, his hand on this heart.

"Oh Sara, I know how that feels. You've broken my heart many a time with your rejections of my advan-"

I cut him off with a death glare, and he becomes serious again.

"I understand how you feel, but there's a lot to consider here. You're thirty four years old, do you really want to spend the rest of your life alone?"

I gawp at him. When the hell did he become so knowledgeable? He continues gazing at me, waiting for my answer.

"I-I..."

I have no idea how to answer that question. That's something I never considered before. I always thought about the past, never the future. Yeah, I was put through a lot of pain, but would a future alone be more painful? I contemplate it, and Greg waits patiently, until I'm ready to talk again.

"I guess I never looked at it that way before. I always just thought about getting hurt again."

"But did you consider how it might not be painful? Did you stop to think about how it could make you happy? Or were you too busy living in the past to consider it?"

I think about it. I mean, it's Catherine. She may not have talked to me about where we stood, but then again, I never gave her the chance. I was, in fact I am, too afraid of getting my heart broken, so I never gave her a chance. A slow smile spreads across my face. Greg's words were so simple, yet they make so much sense. How could I have been so stupid? I stand up. There's a call I need to make.

"Thanks Greggo, you've been amazing. I just need to make a call. I'll be back in a minute to process everything from the scene."

"Do I get a kiss for being so amazing?"

I chuckle.

"Nope."

"Well, will you at least tell me who the lucky guy is?"

"If I did, I'd have to kill you."

He pouts, but doesn't push it.

I leave the breakroom and walk to the end of the corridor. If I'm going to call her, I need privacy.