Sorry it took me so long to upload, I'll try to get the next one up quicker :)
Enjoy!
They walked into the layout room.
"That doesn't sound too good. Were drugs in his system?" Greg asked rather anxious.
"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." Russell put the results on the table.
Greg looked a bit confused. "What do you mean?"
"You care about him too much."
"...Did you talk to Catherine?"
"And Brass, and they both told me they don't think you're able to detach yourself from this case."
"Why would they think that?" He glanced at the tox results sitting on the desk, dying to take a look at it.
"Brass said you hesitated to ask some unpleasant questions in the interrogation room earlier."
Greg rolled his eyes. "Just because I don't ask questions as aggressively as Brass does doesn't mean I'm not being objective."
"Listen, Greg, I think I know you well enough to know you'd never do anything to harm a case on purpose. It's not even the case I worry about. You're doing a great job, whether or not you're rooting for a suspect."
"Then what is this all about?" Greg asked confused, even a bit annoyed.
"I worry about you. About what kind of impact this case will have on you if Spencer turns out to be guilty," Russell replied with a serious look on his face. "Will you really be able to handle it when you find that evidence needed to confirm Spencer's involvement? You already look like you feel guilty that Spencer is a suspect. How will you feel when you're the one to convict him of murder?"
Greg sighed. "I do feel guilty. But only because I kept my mouth shut when I saw him with that woman in the first place. Maybe if I would've told Brass she would still be alive..."
"So you think he did it?"
Greg didn't answer that question. He didn't have to, anyway, the look on his face did it for him.
Russell gave Greg the tox results. "It's your decision." He walked out.
Greg was sitting in the break room, thinking about what Russell just said. He knew Russell was right, he wasn't 100% objective. He wanted a certain outcome in this case and would be very disappointed if he got another. He wasn't doing himself a favor by staying on the case.
"Hey, how're you doing?" Nick walked in and sat down next to Greg.
He sighed. "I hate this."
"Are you gonna give up the case?"
Greg looked surprised at Nick. "How do you know about that?"
"Russell asked Sara and me what we think about it."
"Great." Greg rolled his eyes. "What did you say?"
"Well..." Nick got up to fix himself a coffee. "I told him that you're a responsible CSI and won't do anything to harm the case."
Greg nodded. "You're right. That's why I can't work this case anymore."
The next day, Greg tried real hard not to get any updates on the case. He didn't want to hear anything about it, or else he'd only worry. He tried to distract himself with work. Him and Nick were assigned to a new case. A dead body was found in the desert.
"Right this way," an officer said, giving Greg a weird look. As they were walking up the scene he sensed several cops staring at him. He looked at them rather uncomfortable, he wasn't sure what was going on.
"What's up with that?" Greg whispered to Nick.
"What?"
"They're all looking at me."
Nick looked around. "Don't be paranoid, why should they?"
"I don't know... Maybe because of Spencer? They probably think it's my fault."
"I think YOU think it's your fault. Nobody's looking at you. Relax."
Together with David, they processed the body.
"You see these blood drops?" Greg asked Nick as he was taking pics. "I'll see where the trail ends..." he walked away to follow the blood drops. Walking several minutes and concentrating on the blood drops, he didn't notice he was being followed. The trail ended with tire marks leading towards the road, fifteen minutes away from where the body was found. When Greg turned around to go back to tell Nick about his findings, he bumped into one of the two cops that followed him. He startled. "Jesus!" he exclaimed. "You scared me alright!" He smiled relieved. "The blood drops end here, they probably drove out here to dump the body." When the officers didn't react at all, but instead looked at him in a creepy way, Greg gave him a dazed look and decided to just walk back.
"Sanders," one of them said when he went pass him.
Greg turned around to them. "...Yeah?"
"Mind if we give you some advice?" the officer said with his back turned at him. The other one was looking at Greg.
Greg looked confused. "...Sure."
"It's never smart to bite the hand that feeds you."
"...What?" Greg asked a bit unsettled.
The officer who had his back turned to Greg turned around and walked up to him real close. It made Greg feel threatened. "We put our lives in danger to have your backs sometimes. I just thought it was a good idea to remind you of this..."
Greg just stood there stunned as the cops made their way back to the scene. At first he felt intimidated, but then anger was crawling up. "Officer Langley!" He walked over to him. "Are you trying to threaten me?"
The officer laughed humorlessly. "I'd never do that. You'd rat me out to Brass instantly, right? That's your thing. Just be careful out there, we can't always be there to dodge a bullet for you..." They walked away, leaving Greg just standing there with a baffled look on his face.