Title: No Words, Chapter 2

Time: Missing Scenes from "Playing With Fire" and "Inside the Box"

A few weeks later things were progressing as normal. Sara was walking down the hallway looking for Grissom. She stopped briefly in front of the lab, only to witness it explode with Greg inside. Greg had suffered some minor burns, Sara a cut on her hand. Grissom actually insisted that she get her injury checked out, even called her "Honey". That left her feeling confused. She was more concerned about Greg's condition, not just physically, but emotionally.

Sara stopped by his hospital room after she had her hand stitched up. Warrick and Catherine had just left, and Greg was dozing. Sara sat beside him on the bed and ran her fingers through his blond spiky hair. He opened his eyes slowly and smiled.

"Hey, Sara," he whispered.

"Hey. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep," Sara whispered.

"No, it's okay," Greg said. He noticed her bandages. "What happened to your hand?"

"It got cut in the explosion," Sara said.

"You were there?" Greg asked. "You're lucky you weren't hurt worse."

"I'm fine, Sweetie. How are you feeling?" Sara inquired.

"Tired mostly, they keep giving me stuff that knocks me out. It helps with the pain," Greg answered.

"Then close your eyes and rest," Sara whispered, stroking his face and his hair. "I'll stay with you for a while.

"Promise you won't leave me?" Greg asked sleepily.

"I promise," Sara whispered, kissing his cheek. Greg closed his eyes and let Sara's touch soothe him to sleep. She remained sitting next to him, stroking his hair, not wanting to leave his side.

Greg recovered quickly and was back to work in a couple weeks. Emotionally the incident had taken its toll. It was hard for him to learn that Catherine was at fault for the explosion, leaving volatile chemicals too close to a heat source. "At least she told me in person," he reminded himself. Harder still was coming back to work to a makeshift lab set up next door to the lab that was destroyed. Every bang and bump from the construction made Greg jump. His hands shook, and Grissom had noticed. Towards the end of her shift, Sara stopped by to see how Greg was doing.

"Hey, Greg," Sara said.

"Hey. You heading out soon?" Greg asked.

"Yeah. How was your first day back?" Sara inquired.

"A bit nerve-racking. It's hard to work with all that noise over there," Greg said, pointing in the direction of the old lab. Sara glanced where he had pointed, then looked back to see just how much the ordeal had affected him. She placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing it in a circular motion.

"Are you okay?" Sara asked.

"I've been better. This whole experience has got me pretty shook up," Greg said, showing her how his hands shook..

Sara looked at him sympathetically, then reached out her arms to him. He lay his head on her shoulder, allowing himself to be surrounded by her warmth and the scent of strawberries. He closed his eyes and began to sob. Sara reached up and ran her fingers through his soft blond hair, whispering that everything would be okay.

"Sara, I feel like such a wuss. I shouldn't let this get to me," Greg sobbed.

"Shhh, just let me hold you. You're not a wuss. I'd be worried if this didn't get to you," Sara whispered. "Just cry. My shoulder will catch your tears. I'm here for you."

Sara held him until his sobs subsided. She lifted his head so his eyes met hers and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Feel better now?" she asked. Greg nodded and managed a slight grin. "Good, how about we get some dinner okay?" Greg agreed and they left the lab together in search of mexican food.