A/N: I apologize for the long delay. Life's been crazy. See the first chapter for the disclaimer. As always, I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :)

Chapter 5

Greg walked into the break room, scrubbing his hand over his eyes tiredly. Catherine walked up behind him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders gently. "You okay?" she asked quietly.

"Fine," he replied, yawning. "Just up with Adam for awhile last night."

"Right. How's he doing?"

Greg exhaled slowly, thinking. "He's… conflicted," he replied.

She nodded, standing. "And you're here."

"Mom's at home with him and the kids. They'll be fine." He paused. "Hopefully."

Catherine smirked lightly. "Yeah, you hope they don't tear the house apart."

He smiled back. "Yeah, hopefully. But they probably won't. Mom won't let them. Adam, though… I don't know. I think he thinks he needs to talk to Caden. And maybe he does. I don't know."

"Would that go over well?"

He shrugged. "Nothing ever goes over well with Caden, so it really doesn't matter."

"Did you ever look at any of those school brochures I gave you?"

"I glanced at them. I don't exactly have the money for that. And, I'm not entirely sure separating him and Alexa is the best idea."

She bit the inside of her lip. "Depends. Sometimes splitting twins can be a good thing."

"I don't know. I'll think about it."

She nodded, patting him on the shoulder.

"How're you doing?" he asked, looking up to her.

She gave him a sad smile, and he simply nodded, knowing full-well what that meant. He stood up, giving her a quick hug, something they both needed.

"Tell Adam he should come and join us for breakfast in the morning," she said, making her way over to the coffee pot.

"I will," he replied, smiling slightly.

She nodded again, taking a sip from her mug as Nick made his way in. He glanced at Greg on the couch, then knit his brow into confusion. "I thought you were takin' some time off," he asked.

"Starting tomorrow," Greg replied. "I'm giving Adam some time with the kids today."

Nick nodded, saying nothing.

Grissom made his way in before silently handing out the night's assignments and making his way out.

Wanna meet up with the team for breakfast tomorrow morning? Greg texted as Nick drove them out to the scene.

"Adam?" he asked.

"Yeah," Greg replied. "Catherine told me to invite him to breakfast."

"How's he doin'?"

Greg's phone chimed. "Well, he's still awake," he commented as he opened the message.

Where? was the response.

Usually we go to Frank's diner. I'll swing by and pick you up if you wanna come.

"That's not really an answer," Nick said.

"That's not really a question for me to answer," Greg replied.

"Okay. How do you think he's doin'?"

Greg shrugged. "He's here. That's a start. It'll be a different story when we head to Phoenix in the next few days."

Nick nodded solemnly.

"I don't know. I just wanna help him."

"Yeah, I know you do," Nick said. "What's the deal with him and his father?"

Greg glanced at Nick, but said nothing.

Nick nodded his understanding.

He glanced at his ringing phone, debating whether or not to answer it. Deciding it would be better if he did, he said, "Adam Ross."

"Adam," Flack said.

Adam furrowed his brow slightly. "Hey, Flack. What… what's going on?"

"Just wanted to see how you're doin'."

Adam frowned. "I'm okay."

"You sure?"

Adam could hear the confusion in Flack's voice, but didn't want to explain things over the phone. "Yeah. We, uh, we can talk about this when I get back?"

"Sure. Give me a call when you get in. We'll get a beer together."

Adam nodded. "Sounds good."

"Alright, man. Take care. Call if you wanna talk, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay," Adam said. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm gonna let you go, though. I'll talk to you later, man."

"Yeah, later," Adam replied, hanging up. He stared at his phone with confusion before deciding to shake his head and lay back down. If he was lucky, he could catch a nap before Greg swung by for breakfast.

Morning came all too quickly, most of the night spent staring at the ceiling. The kids were fed and ushered off to school by Adam, who took the silent time to take a shower. By the time Greg got there, he had been staring at the TV, pretending to be watching it. Greg seemed to know right away what kind of a night Adam had, but, to his credit, he didn't ask.

"Ready to go?" he asked instead.

Adam nodded, getting up from the couch and turning off the TV. The two walked out the door, locking it behind them. They climbed in the car, heading toward Frank's.

"So, am I crashing?" Adam asked hesitantly.

Greg shook his head. "Catherine asked me to invite you," he replied.

Adam nodded slowly, looking out the window. The duo rode in silence for a few moments before Greg finally spoke again.

"After I nap, what do you want to do tonight?" he asked.

"What time do the kids get home?" Adam replied.

"Lexi's got drama and Caden's got detention, so probably not until 5."

"We could take them out for dinner and a movie or something."

Greg shrugged. "Whatever works for you, works for me."

Adam nodded, still looking out the window as they pulled up at the diner. They got out of the car, and met up with the team in the parking lot. Catherine quickly embraced Adam, while Nick and Grissom shook his hand after she let go. The group entered the diner to enjoy breakfast after another long shift.