Chapter Four: Surprising Secrets

It was a new place for Susan, but quite familiar for Sara and Greg. The ever infamous café, down at the end of the street, was a perfect stopping point for the CSI gang. It had come to such a point that most of the waiters knew them by sight, also knowing what they enjoyed, having the meal ready half the time before it was even asked for.

Knowing this, Greg excused himself shortly after arriving, heading into a corner where he answered his ringing phone. Sara knew it was more in likely one of two people; Grissom or Ecklie. Neither was a favorable case, and she silently wished that he wouldn't get in trouble for ditching work so suddenly.

"How long have you two known each other?"

Sara turned back quickly, her attention taken from Greg. That was regrettable, since she had been trying to read his lips, his expression. If Greg was going to get back into trouble than she would do her best to get him back out of it.

"A few years now…" Sara muttered with a shrug, turning back around, frowning as she realized that Greg was no longer in her line of sight. "I mean I've known him longer, but we didn't really become close until a few years ago. More so since he's moved out into the field."

Susan nodded readily. "Yes, he's told me about that. He's told me about a lot of things he's done out here. It sounds quite exciting, finding the clues, catching the bad guys."

"It's not all fun and games," Sara assured her. "First of all you have the basics, long hours, never getting enough time to yourself. Loads of paperwork, trials and court, dealing with pain-in-the-ass officers. Then you have the cases themselves. Some are really hard to handle emotionally…"

"Greg's pretty strong," Susan intervened, "I'm sure he could handle anything."

"Don't be so quick to judge; I'm not just talking blood and gore…but when it involves children…it can get pretty personal."

"Maybe you're not just as strong as some people," Susan returned, putting her menu down. "I don't even know why Greg even likes this place…it's like an invitation for the homeless or something…"

The verbal slap was more shocking than hurtful, and Sara couldn't quite reason a comeback. Sure, she was more emotional than most, but how many times had she seen Greg hide his tears when an infant was found in the garbage? And how many more times had the pair comforted each other with looks, and touches…simple gestures that reminded them both that they were there for one another?

"And you think you would be able to handle it just fine?"

"I'm just saying," she replied with a shrug, "Death happens all the time, you have to get used to it. I worked with a funeral director for a few months. I've seen enough dead kids to last a lifetime, but I don't get teary-eyed over it, and neither would Greg."

"Then you obviously don't know Greg that well," Sara started, surprised as the woman cut her off.

"I'd like to think that I know him…after all, we did date for an entire year."

"You dated…the two of you dated?" Sara asked, trying to hide the shock behind her voice.

"Of course," Susan laughed, her folded arms resting on the table. "Surely Greg told you…"

"I guess he forgot to mention that…"

"He's cute when he does that," Susan smiled, "He was always so focused on schoolwork that he would forget our dinner dates from time to time. Then he would always find a way to make up for them."

Susan cleared her throat, singling to be quiet as Greg approached. It irritated Sara…what was she supposed to do, just forget everything she had just said? Pretend that this was just some secret to share? At first Sara had tried to be accepting, but now…she just wasn't so sure.

Grissom frowned, reading over the report. "So tell me again why you cleared Greg?"

"Interviewing Sara was more or less pointless," Catherine told him with a sigh, "The only thing I did get from her was a witness. Susan Tolman was at Greg's apartment that night. She confirmed that Sara arrived around two, and that she was already in that condition."

"Yes," Grissom nodded, "But you said that she left a few minutes later. Greg didn't check Sara into the hospital until fifteen after. That's ten minutes of unaccountable time that he could have done something."

"Are you trying to pin this on Greg?" Catherine wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm trying to eliminate him," Grissom countered. "You know this is what any judge would say. The fact is his DNA came up, we need a reason why."

"He did give a justifiable reason Griss," she nodded to him, opening the folder on her lap. "They did kiss…"

"Why would Greg kiss her when she was hurt?"

"Greg stated that Sara kissed him," she interjected, "and Greg, being a natural human male, returned the kiss. I mean, if a good-looking woman walked up to you and just kissed you, what would you do?" she paused for a moment, shaking her head, "On second thought, don't answer that."

"Okay, so they kissed," he held his hands open. "How do we end up with his DNA?"

"Sara had an open wound on her lip at the time; our eye-witness remembers it distinctively. More in likely the wound picked up any saliva that had been transferred during the kiss. The hospital cleaned the wound, and sent everything along with the rape kit in to be processed."

"Why would they do that?"

"Probably because the last time we had a rape victim the hospital did not do a full documentation," Catherine explained. "We lost the case, and needless to say Warrick wasn't happy. Neither was the family, they sued the hospital for insufficient procedures. They were trying to cover their asses."

Grissom nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"Mia processed everything Greg gave her, just like he asked her to do. She wouldn't know what was relevant to the case at that time. Everything is until proven otherwise, after all."

"Very convincing," Grissom nodded, "But even so some judges may not buy it."

"So then I'll have to find new evidence," Catherine offered up. "Warrick's processing Sara's clothes from that night; I'm going to go through her personal effects, maybe find something that will tell us where she was beforehand. We'll search her car as well, but she's been using it since, so I don't know if we'll get too much out of it."

"Sara's smart enough to leave everything as it is," Grissom reminded Catherine. "I gather I can assume you're keeping this case then."

"I enjoy finishing my work," The blonde replied, gathering her things. "Unless of course you want to pull me off this one as well?"

"You're still upset over that?" he wondered. "I needed you for this case…"

"Then I should get to work."

He frowned, watching the blonde leave. Grissom knew that pulling her off an active investigation would irritate her, but he didn't think it would last this long. Greg running the case was out of the question, and he felt that Catherine was the best person for it. From woman to woman she may be able to communicate easier with Sara. And it was no surprise she had asked Warrick for help. Nick was busy with his own work, and Grissom did not feel comfortable approaching the subject with Sara. Somehow Catherine knew that, and he was grateful.

Sara was beginning to wish that they had drove here separately now. It had been Greg's idea to drive one vehicle; they would stop at the diner, then head back to his place so Susan could pick up her phone. Then they would head back to the crime lab. Somehow though, they had become…stuck, at Greg's place.

Susan had been talking non-stop, and though it had irritated her at the start, Sara grew accustomed to it. Besides it was a plus…it gave her time to think over all that was said. She was sweet and charming from a far-away glance. Not exactly pretty, over-ridden with cosmetics and accessories. She wasn't ugly…just overdone.

What bothered her the most was the haunting comment that had been made earlier… I've seen enough dead kids to last a lifetime, but I don't get teary-eyed over it, and neither would Greg.

It sent a chill up her spine. How could anyone see a dead kid, a dead person at all, and not feel even slightest bit of emotion? The worse cases were children obviously, ones that were brutally murdered, or neglected even, in such a way their death was almost as horrid. Then there were the teenagers, the adults…the grandparents. No one deserved to die in such ways.

Sara reasoned that perhaps it was different for Susan. Working in a funeral home certainly wasn't the same thing as a morgue, or a hospital. She didn't see their lives, didn't know how they died. She didn't see all of the blood, the mess, the horror…if you didn't see it, then how could you know?

At the same time the growing thought nagged her. Greg had told her personally that Susan wasn't anything special…but dating for an entire year? That was considered serious…at least for her. The most she had ever dated was what? A few months?

Why would Greg lie to her about such a thing? Was it because he was embarrassed? Or maybe afraid that she would find out, and turn away. Sara would never do such a thing, but sometimes people blew things out of proportion, especially with someone they cared about. Greg was her friend after all, and Sara knew of the crush he 'secretly' had on her.

Sara pushed the strands of hair in front of her face away, tucking them neatly behind her ear. Susan was still rambling, something about the time her parents had taken her to a carnival, and she had become separated somehow.

"I thought that I'd never find my way out of that fun house. I was only six, so it was really intimidating, but you would absolutely laugh at what happened next…"

Sara bit her lip, chewing on it absentmindedly. At first the woman had been quiet, shy even, but the longer she spent with her, the more she began to talk. Sara wondered vaguely if Susan even knew if she was listening or not. She voted for not, as she locked eyes with Greg, who was rubbing his forehead in a mock pain. Sara stifled a laugh, but it wasn't even heard by Susan who continued on with her long-winded story.

"Don't you have to be at the MGM in fifteen minutes?" Greg broke in suddenly.

That caught her attention, the young woman glancing at the clock hurriedly. "I almost forgot, the girls are probably already there, waiting for me…"

"I can drive you," Greg offered up, moving to stand.

"Don't be silly," Susan laughed, swinging her purse onto her shoulder. "I'll just take a cab. They can get me their quicker than you can."

Greg nodded, not about to argue as he walked her to the door. Sara remained on the couch, fighting away the headache that was threatening to come on. She wasn't sure if it was from the lack of sleep, or the constant babbling they had endured for the past hour, but she willing to bet it was a combination of both.

"Does she ever shut up?" Sara wondered as Greg came back in.

"Sometimes," he let out a sigh, "When she's in a bad mood."

"How did you ever stand her?"

"Easy," Greg laughed, "We hardly saw one another. We had classes at different times, so we only saw each other in the evenings. Then she wasn't talkative, either bummed out by classes, or too tired from partying to really say much."

Sara nodded, growing quiet. It wasn't her place to ask but the curiosity was growing. "Why didn't you tell me you two were serious?"

"We never were…" Greg raised an eyebrow, watching her. "Why would you ask something like that?"

"She told me you two dated," Sara offered up.

"We did," Greg nodded to her. "But it wasn't serious…"

"You dated for a year…that's serious."

She was surprised as Greg laughed. "We knew each other for about year…but we weren't dating that long. It was about seven months, give or take a few weeks."

"That's still serious," Sara told him.

"Sara," Greg shook his head, trying to find a way to convince her. "Do you know how many times we had sex in the seven months that we were seeing each other?"

"I would think that's personal…"

"Once."

Sara blinked. "Once? You knew her for a year…"

"Seven months," he interjected.

"Seven months…and you had sex once? Why?"

Greg laughed, grinning. "What happened to it being personal?"

Sara blushed, turning away. "I'm sorry…"

"It was a week before we broke up. Our relationship wasn't going anywhere, and Susan believed that it was because we weren't trying. So we gave it a shot, and nothing happened still. We were together during that time, but like I told you. We hardly saw one another. She wanted parties, and friends she could hang around all the time. I wanted to excel in my work. College was hard for me."

He drew in a breath, pausing for a moment. "I never really fit in, I didn't go to the parties, to the dances, I only skipped two classes in my entire life and both times I was under doctor's orders not to leave my dorm. Besides that my parents would have killed me if I ended up in the doctor's office again."

"What happened?"

"Pneumonia," Greg said with a shrug. "Started as a bad cold and I tried to shake, only to wake up one morning to realize I couldn't breathe. I spent a few days resting during a break, but once classes started up again I went. Pushed myself to hard and I came down with round two. My parents threatened to pull me out for a month. So I had to miss a few classes."

"It was really important to you, wasn't?" Sara questioned, beginning to think over her own life.

Greg nodded, "I guess that's where Susan and I didn't see eye to eye. Don't get me wrong. She was very pretty back then…not so much now, she's kind of trashed herself. She was shy, but once she got to know you she stuck fast. She made a lot of friends over the course of year, before she dropped out. I don't know where she went after that."

"You care about her," Sara commented, taking in his quiet tone.

"I guess I do, in an odd way," Greg added with a smile.

"I'm glad…" she returned his smile, being able to breathe much better now that everything had been cleared up. It was funny though, how she had been worried so much over such a small thing.

"We should get going," Sara spoke up again. "You need to get back to work, and I could do with a few hours of sleep."

"I'm off until tomorrow," Greg told her. "Catherine called me to tie up a few loose ends at the restaurant. She also let me know that both you and I are expected back in tomorrow night. No earlier."

Sara nodded, having forgotten her earlier worries over the phone call. "I still need to get my car," she pointed out.

"Why don't you stay here?"

"Are you trying to get me to stay the night?"

Greg only smiled, to which Sara scowled. Of course, that had been a stupid question on her part.

"Can you handle the case?"

Sara rolled her eyes, turning to the Texan. "Yes Nick," she stated firmly. "You can stop asking me."

"I'm just making sure," he added, flooding his voice with emotion as he tried to appear hurt.

"I know," Sara smiled, laughing as he grinned. "But you're also getting on my nerves."

Nick nodded in satisfaction, spreading the photos out on the table. This was tricky part…he hadn't told Sara that it was an assault case. But she didn't seem to really care, which was unique, considering the situation.

"How old is the victim?"

"Nineteen," Nick cut in, "Almost twenty. Birthday was next month. She was found in the garage of her step dad's house; he does have an alibi for TOD. I found trace amounts of a white flaky substance on her arms and legs, Hodges confirmed them as candle wax."

"Were there any candles in the house?"

"No," Nick shook his head, "Not that we found. The COD was blunt force trauma, one swift blow to the back of the head, another to the side of the next, postmortem. Someone else was there, but we didn't find any indications…so we can't prove that."

"Wonderful," Sara remarked dryly, picking up one of the photos in her hands. "What do you want me to do?"

"Mia should have some results ready for us, I dropped them off yesterday. I'm going to check the victim's car out, see if I can find anything interesting. Meet me back in the garage then you can help dig in."

"You're the boss," Sara mocked a salute as he left, staying behind as she gathered the rest of the photos. She knew the others were waiting for her to crack, for her to break down and admit she couldn't handle it.

Sara was waiting for it herself. But for some reason she had the strangest feeling of calm. How could she compare herself to this? She had lived…this girl, however, had not survived the brutal attack.

Death happens all the time, you have to get used to it…

Sara shook here head. Death was one thing…murder? You could never get used to murder. What would this girl be doing if she were still alive today? Hanging out with friends, spending time with her family. She was still a kid, fighting to find a way into the world of adults. In general…life was never fair.

"How are you holding up?"

Sara cursed quietly, looking over her shoulder. "The next person who asks me that is losing a limb," she warned.

Greg smiled, coming up next to her. "Well then, I'm glad I'm this person, and not the next person."

She smiled, turning back to her work. "On break?"

"Something like that," Greg shrugged. "Susan called; she's on her way here. Says that we need to talk about something."

"The both of you, or just her?"

"The day we have a normal conversation is the day I retire willingly."

Sara laughed, picking up the last of the photos in a pile. "I have to pick up some results from Mia, do you want to come along?"

"I better," Greg nodded towards her, "I don't want her to lose a limb."

"Ha ha," Sara scoffed at him, "you are priceless."

"Can never be too careful with you," Greg shot back in return, following her out of the room. The page came over the intercom shortly after, causing Greg to go off on his own way. He had a case to get back to, and the sooner he listened to whatever story Susan had, the sooner he could get back to work.

Sara paused, watching him go. She knew that Nick was waiting for her, knew that he was waiting for those results. But at the same time she wanted to go along with Greg. It was the first time she had seen him that night, and more in likely would be his only break. She wondered dimly if he would even mind her tagging along.

Shrugging it off she decided to go; if the conversation appeared private that she could always turn around and leave. If not, then maybe they could catch a quick cup of coffee afterwards; Nick was a fairly patient man after all…

Sara had actually caught up with Greg just as he was nearing the reception area, the newest CSI hanging back intentionally so that she could catch up. Sara didn't need a second invitation. Susan gave them both a warm smile, acknowledging them with a nod.

"What did you want to talk about?" Greg wondered, attempting to get to the point quickly. "You sounded a little worried over the phone."

She shrugged it off, her smile fading some. "There's someone I want you to meet…before I head out of town."

"Okay…" Greg nodded, coming to a stop as a small, cubby face poked out from behind her legs, before quickly hiding once again. Greg raised an eyebrow, meeting Susan's gaze once more.

She was blushing, even as fished the toddle out from behind her. "This is Chase…he just turned four."

"I didn't know you had a son," Greg remarked, a bit awed now.

Susan cleared her throat, one hand still holding onto the small fingers as the boy hid his face in her legs. "Well, that's the thing…he's just not my son…he's ours."

TBC