a/n--Thanks so much for those of you who have been constantly leaving me reviews. I really appreciate them. Glad you are enjoying the story.
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Greg's first week back at work was drawing to a close. Everything was going well. He got back into the swing of doing DNA easily. He was glad he went back to work when he did.
It was near the end of their shift when Catherine and Greg were both paged to go to Grissom's office. Catherine was already seated when Greg came in. He noticed a concerned look on Grissom's face. He looked at Catherine sitting there and wondered if they had been busted on their relationship.
Greg took the seat next to Catherine, butterflies in his stomach as he waited to hear what Grissom had to say.
"I wanted to let the two of you know immediately the news I just received. Tyler Renning, along with two other inmates, escaped during a prison transfer. The van got into an accident and the guards were hurt. It is possible the prisoners were too but they managed to escape."
Catherine looked to Greg immediately, who was just staring straight ahead. She noticed his jaw twitching.
Greg felt shell-shocked. He knew he did not want to reveal his sudden fear in front of Grissom. He wished he was just alone with Catherine, who he could reveal it to.
"How long ago did this happen," Catherine asked as she turned her attention back to Grissom.
"About an hour and a half ago. Now we have no reason to believe that he will come after the two of you, but if you feel the need for protection we can probably provide it."
Greg immediately responded to that. "No, I don't need protection. He would be foolish to come after us."
Grissom studied Greg, not sure whether to believe his attitude or not.
Catherine chimed in. "I think Greg is right. He would be foolish to come after us."
Grissom nodded at Catherine. "Fine, but still keep your eyes open, nonetheless. Once he is captured again, you two will be the first to hear."
Catherine followed Greg into the locker room. He had not said anything to her since they left Grissom's office. She reached for his arm and stopped him a moment from what he was doing. "Greg, talk to me. I know you now. If Tyler being free is bothering me, it sure the hell is bothering you."
He sighed and looked at her. She could see the worry in his eyes now. "Yeah it sure is bothering me, but I don't want anyone to know but you." He rubbed his hand over his face. "Damn, how the hell did he get loose and why do I have such a bad feeling about it?" Greg sat down on the bench.
Catherine sat next to him, placing her arm around his waist.
"Greg, you're not alone. I am worried too. Tyler is a loose cannon and what he did to you, you have every right to worry about him being out there."
He did not say anything; he just stared down at the floor. Catherine did not want him to be alone after work. "Say, Lindsay is spending a few days at her other grandparents house. Why don't you come over to my place after work? I could use the company."
He looked at her with suspicion. "You are just worried about me, that's why you want me to come over so you can keep an eye on me."
She huffed a bit. "Greg, you know you would have probably come over anyway. Don't make this a reason you won't."
He put his hands up in defense. "I never said I wouldn't come over, now did I?"
She glared at him. "You can be very frustrating at time, Greg Sanders."
Greg could not help but grin widely. "I try my best."
Still frustrated, she stood up and started to leave the locker room. She spun around on her heel and gave him a quick look. "See you later." She smirked and then left.
He felt better just after the brief talk with Catherine, even though she was slightly ticked off at him.
On his drive home, he thought about Ty possibly being somewhere nearby and it sent shivers down his spine. He had not really thought about him at all since he had been back at work. Now he was front and center in his mind again. He only hoped Ty was smart enough to get far, far away from Las Vegas.
Catherine also had her own worries about Tyler being on the loose. She remembered how pissed off he was the last time she saw him. He was so angry about Jessica's death. But then she flashed back to the image that seemed to most haunt her dreams, Tyler stabbing Greg in the back and Greg suffering in pain while Tyler licked his blood off the knife. Catherine shook her head as she sat on her sofa, trying to forget that.
She was startled by a knock at her door. She got up and saw Greg outside her door. She opened it up for him. "What happened to your key?"
"I forgot it at home, on my counter," he replied sheepishly. He walked inside, looking around. "Is Lily gone too?"
"Yes, she is visiting with an old friend in Reno. It's just you and me," she smiled warmly at him.
They sat together on the sofa. Greg noticed for the first time in awhile an anxious look about her. "You've been thinking more about Ty now too, haven't you?"
She gave him a slight frown. "So you can read me pretty well too, now I see."
"I guess so. You really think we have anything to worry about?"
Catherine shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably not. We are probably just being paranoid after all we've had to deal with."
"You're probably right. Ty couldn't be that stupid." Greg looked off into the distance, still not feeling reassured by his own words.
Catherine studied Greg's profile and wondered about how he always referred to Tyler. "Greg, can I ask you something?"
He turned his head towards her again. "Sure, what?"
"Why do you always refer to Tyler as Ty?"
His expression turned a bit solemn. "I don't know. I guess it is because he had told me back in that room before you came, to call him Ty. He said he wanted me to use his name when I begged for my life."
She felt an incredible hatred toward Tyler at that moment, almost wishing that she would find him and do the honor of ending his life. "You never told me that before."
He looked down, seeming venerable. "Well I try not to think about it much."
She was regretful she brought it up to him. She placed her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I asked."
He turned to her, lifting her chin to look into her clear blue eyes. "Don't be sorry. I can't have you worrying about everything you say to me." He kissed her softly. "Why don't we just forget all about Mr. Renning and just concentrate on us for now."
She smiled at him. "Sounds like a perfect idea to me."
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They lay next to each other in bed. Catherine gazed at Greg, who was still sleeping. They had to get up and get ready for work soon. She hated having to wake him up. He looked so peaceful. She ran her hand through his wavy, slightly spiked hair. "Greg, wake up."
He slowly opened his big brown eyes. She loved looking into them. They revealed so many emotions. "We have to get ready for work soon," she told him. He made a low groan.
"Do we have to?" He snuggled closer to her, putting his arms around her.
She gave him a stern look. "Yes we have to. I know, I'd love to stay here in bed with you too, but we have an important job to do."
He sighed. "Yes, I know you're right." She smiled at him then proceeded to sit up in bed, grabbing her robe to throw on.
She watched Greg sit up and noticed him grimace. "Are you in pain?"
He looked at her, a slight frown on his face. "A little bit. Some days are better than others, looks like today will be one of the not so good days."
"I wasn't too rough with you, was I?" She tried suppressing a laugh.
Greg broke into a big grin. "You wish!" He laughed then stood up and grimaced again when he tried to straighten himself out. He walked over and picked up his jeans and reached in his pocket for his painkillers.
"When is your next therapy session," she asked him.
"Tomorrow or after shift today, however you want to put it."
"I see, so you won't be going home right away. After work then."
He shook his head. "Nope, I will be home later on. Why did you want to do something?"
Catherine shrugged. "No, not really, just wondering."
He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Okay."
They both took a shower then drove off in their separate vehicles for work.
Greg arrived home from his physical therapy session beat. He showered then eagerly crawled into bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.
He was having a nice dream about Catherine that was turning into a nightmare as Ty came into it. Ty was torturing Catherine. Greg was trying to get to her, but he could not move. He was paralyzed.
He heard her saying his name, but her voice was calm. He felt like someone was shaking him. He jumped up in his bed, his heart beating rapidly. He saw a figure standing by his bedside. "Damn, don't ever do that again. You scared the living crap out of me."
"Sorry, I thought you heard me come in originally. Then I came in here and you were thrashing around in bed. I tried calling your name but you were not responding." Catherine sat down on the side of his bed, looking apologetic. "Your nightmares are back because Tyler is out there again."
Greg looked at her sadly. "Yeah. I hate that I let him get to me like that."
She took his hands in hers. "It's only been a few weeks since everything and now with him out there running around free, it is understandable that you would be having some again."
"God, I hope they catch him soon. I was really starting to feel back to my old self again and now this happened to mess me up again."
Catherine smiled a bit. "You're not messed up, Greg. You are just dealing with what's going on like any normal person would."
"Perhaps," he shrugged. "So what are you doing here now anyway? I thought you were busy this afternoon."
"Well turns out Lindsay will be staying longer with her Grandparents and I am fine with that for now, since Tyler is on the loose. I just feel better having her not around right now. And my mother is going to San Diego for a short vacation, so I figured I would stop by and see how you were doing after your physical therapy session."
He smiled at her. "Still worried about me, I see."
"Of course I am. I care about you a lot. I was hoping you were feeling better now."
A mischievous grin started forming on his face. "I might be better if we start messing around some."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, really? Maybe I can do something about that." She smirked.
He threw back his sheets to let her crawl in next to him.