Woo-hoo! I am out of high school! So sorry this chapter took so long, but I was trying to make it perfect. That, and I had graduation, an international mission trip, and a full-time job all summer that sucked the fun out of my life. That's why I haven't written anything or more than glanced at a few fics this summer. Special thanks to my best friend Jess for the "funny-looking" joke that I use in this chapter; she tends to use it on me a lot, so it's about time I used it in a storyline.

Take My Hand

Chapter 6—Second Chances

Greg had never cried like this before. As soon as he dropped Casey off, he started bawling. His favorite shirt—completely ruined! His chances of going on a date again with the prettiest girl he had ever met were something that not even a Vegas novice gambler would bet on. He knew he had blown it--although, he had to admit, it had not been his fault.

Well, he supposed he deserved his shirt being ruined. It had been pretty poor planning on his part going to an Italian restaurant in a white shirt. He had been asking for an accident there. What hurt even more than the slight burns from the hot tomato sauce was the cold, hard fact: he had lost her. She was out of his reach, and would probably never date an idiot like him again.

Casey knew that Greg was fuming that she had almost laughed at him. She wondered if they would ever talk to one another again. It had been awkward on both sides, she realized, but she had enjoyed the dinner. It had been nice getting to know Greg, finding out what was really behind the cute face. Perhaps some other time, she hoped, they could get together and do something else. Maybe go see a movie or go to a concert or something not as awkward.

"How was your evening?" Sara asked, interrupting her thoughts of other possible dates with Greg.

"Fine…it was good."

"Why are you back so early? Gil and I thought you wouldn't be back until much later."

"Um, my date had to go home and change his shirt." Casey giggled. "The klutz of a waiter killed it with marinara sauce."

Sara managed a smile at that. "And your date's name would be?"

"Sorry. I can't trust you any more. I know you leak stuff."

"Not even a hint?"

"You're a CSI, so if you really want to know, you'll probably have to do some investigating. Trust me, I'm sure you'll figure it out." Casey left Sara and went upstairs, grinning all the more.

For the next week, Greg was unable to catch her eye at work. All he ever saw was a smirk on her face; all he heard was a short laugh. Then, on Friday after his shift, he found a note in his locker that changed his world.

I believe in second chances. If you do too, then take me on another date and we'll see if we were really meant to be. P.S.—I love the fact that you make me laugh like no one else ever could.

He piled all his stuff into his locker, smiling for the first time in a week. The note lay unnoticed on the bench next to him; so unnoticed, in fact, that he never saw the two guys who picked it up and began to read it. He finally spotted them, but the damage had been done. It was too late.

His ears began to burn as he spun to face Nick and Warrick. "You know, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to read someone else's mail."

This just made Nick and Warrick laugh. "Ooooh, someone's got the hots for Greg!" Nick punched Greg on the shoulder after he finally stopped laughing. "She likes you, she likes you, SHE LIKES YOU!"

"Does not," Greg mumbled. "She just said she's willing to give me a second chance, that's all. That, and she thinks that I'm funny."

"Yeah…funny-looking!" Warrick's comment sent them into spasms of laughter again.

"Shut up! At least I had a date, as opposed to the two of you who sat home watching the latest Hallmark channel movie together."

That shut them both up almost instantaneously. "Now, swear to me that you won't tell a soul about this or else I'll tell Grissom what I caught you two looking up in his office."

Nick and Warrick made themselves scarce.

Casey woke up to her phone ringing on Saturday afternoon; the number looked vaguely familiar. She answered anyway. "Hello?"

"Casey? It's Greg."

"Yeah..."

"Thanks for the note…do you want to go on another date tonight?"

"Tonight? Well, I don't have anything planned." She checked her watch. It was already 4:35. "In fact, you woke me up."

"I'm sorry." He was sincere. "I'll pick you up at five."

"Are we going back to Olive Garden?"

"No. This time, it really is a surprise." She could hear the barely-concealed glee in his voice. "But you can dress up nice if you want to."

"This better not be a horror movie, Greg, or I swear, I'm going to kill you."

He laughed. "Hollow threat when it's coming from one CSI to another."

That got her laughing as well. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

She jumped out of bed and frantically started getting ready. After all, she had only about 20 minutes left.

Greg noticed that Casey was looking a little frazzled as she climbed into his car. "Where are we going?" she asked right off the bat.

"You'll see." It was starting to sound like their first date all over again; however, they were able to chat this time. When Greg pulled up in front of an apartment complex, he was pleased to note the look of utter bewilderment on her face. "I hope you don't mind, but dinner will be here tonight."

"Is this…your apartment?" The pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place as he led her up the stairs. He even held the door open for her like a true gentleman.

"Yep. I love it; it's comfy."

The living room was occupied by a big-screen TV; an oversized, squashy-looking couch; and a coffee table littered with newspapers. It was darkened by the blackout drapes in front of the sliding glass door which led out to the balcony. She looked over to the little kitchen next. The small table was set for two.

"Let's just hope you can cook like a pro," she commented as he seated her at the table.

"Spaghetti and meatballs a la Greg puts Emeril to shame, sweetheart." He grinned, but mentally smacked himself for calling her that—until he saw that she was grinning as well.

"Well, it isn't a five-star restaurant, but I suppose it'll do," she sighed fakely.

The dinner was ready sooner than she expected, and he served her a heaping portion of spaghetti. She topped it off with just the right amount of sauce and meatballs. "Enjoy," Greg said as he sat down and began serving himself.

It was a delicious dinner. In Casey's opinion, it was every bit as good as his boasting. She let him know it, too.

"Yeah, Prego from the can works miracles…just kidding!" Greg added at the look on her face. "It's my family's secret recipe. I thought you'd appreciate a real meal. I mean, living with Grissom and all, I was hoping that an actual home-cooked dinner might mean something."

"Thanks. It does. Sara and Gil don't cook much; they usually just order out." She dug in with more gusto. "And I can only eat Chinese and pizza so much before it starts to get really gross."

He laughed and the dinner continued as if they were two old friends catching up on everything. After dinner, they watched some TV. Casey was unwilling to admit it to herself, but she wanted to spend as much time as possible with Greg. It felt so natural to be with him. They ended up having a debate about Animal Planet and Discovery Channel and educational programming, which ended when Casey admitted that shows about animals had to be more fun than educational.

The drive back to Grissom and Sara's place was too short for Greg. He had such a good time when he was with her, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Even as they pulled up in front of the house, he had trouble letting her get out of the car. Everything had gone right for once.

He wanted to kiss her so badly; every nerve in his whole body begged him to kiss her. But he resisted. He could tell that Casey was definitely not ready for that step quite yet. Hopefully, someday she would be, but he knew that now was not the time and respected it.

Still, that fact would not drive the pang of longing out of the pit of his stomach.

Casey knew that Gil and Sara were either asleep or out at work, so she entered the house quietly. The only light on in the house was the blue of the TV screen in the living room. When she came in, she found Sara sitting on the couch, holding the phone to her ear and looking more worried than Casey had ever seen her before.

"…Oh, wait, she just walked in. Thank God. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. I'll make sure I talk to her about it. Bye." Sara hung up and rounded on Casey. "Where were you?"

"If I wanted an interrogation, I would have stayed in Cali with my parents," Casey answered icily. "I was on a date, and it's only…" She glanced at her watch. "Ten-thirty. Come on, Sara, it's not like I'm out all night partying on the Strip. I just went to dinner with a friend and stayed at his house to watch some TV with him. He got me back here pretty quickly, too."

"I'm not mad. It's just…Gil went out on call and I was worried when you didn't come down for dinner. I must've called your cell phone a dozen times."

"Oops." Casey blushed. "I turned it off as soon as he picked me up. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It was a last-minute thing."

"So…" Sara changed the subject. "What is this guy's name? Seriously, I want to know all about him."

"Geez, could you be any more like a mom? He's a nice guy, a real gentleman."

"You could tell me now."

"Only if you swear not to tell a soul."

Sara grinned. "You don't need to tell. I have a good guess."

"Who, then?"

"Gregory Sanders."

Casey's mouth dropped open. "You're good," she finally managed to answer.

"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. I know what you're going through right now—more so because Gil was my supervisor, not just a coworker. Is it going to get serious between the two of you?"

"I don't know." Casey shivered at the thought of the options before her. Decision-making had never been one of her favorite things to do. "I…part of me hopes it is. Part of me still isn't ready for anything like this yet."

"Why?"

"I—I don't feel ready to talk about it yet."

Sara welcomed her over onto the couch. "I know what you mean. Well, I'm sorry for the crap earlier, I was just really worried."

Casey patted Sara on the shoulder. "You don't need to worry too much about me. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

Sara blanched. "That's why I worry."

A/N: Longest…chapter…ever. Well, at least that I've written so far. It was nine pages typed. I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback, please, as well as comments on what you think may be coming in the future. I foresee a first kiss…