Disclaimer: not mine.

Spoilers: Season seven

After the team finished processing, Greg was exhausted. He was all ready well unto his third shift, and hadn't gotten a proper day's sleep in weeks.

After loading all the evidence that they had collected from the scene, Greg decided that there was no way that he was driving back to the lab. He could barely keep his eyes open, and was still a bit shaken from the explosion. He tossed Natalia his keys.

"Feel like driving home?"

Natalia smiled. "Sure, it'll give us a chance to catch up on things."

Nick walked over and joined them. "Hey guys, mind if join you? Warrick drives like a lunatic, and I've had enough excitement for one night."

"No problem." Greg had just about given up hope catching Natalia alone for a moment. He collapsed into the passenger's seat and closed his eyes, hoping for a few minutes of relaxation before they got back to the lab and back to work.

"So how's life?" Greg asked, mostly to keep awake.

Natalia said, "Well, let's see. My ex, I'm sure you remember him, and not a good way, got a job as crime scene clean up. Then somebody kills him, and I'm a suspect. After that, a friend of mine get shot, and another friend was fired and rehired again."

Greg opened his eyes. "Almost sorry that I asked. My turn to be melodramatic. Let's see, I saved a guy's life and get my ass asked kicked and lawsuit for my trouble, because I wouldn't let a mob of mostly kids beat a guy to death because they're bored. Then my boss thanks off for a month, and in the meantime we all got to work with a guy even weirder then he is, and he's killed in the line of duty, but that's another story. And to top it all off, the under sheriff hates me for reasons I don't even want to understand, and a suspect bit me while I was trying to get a DNA sample because she I thought that I was a lizard from outer space."

After a few seconds of shocked silence, all three of the car's occupants started to laugh. Then Nick cut in. "Something tells me you guys know each other and did more then just hang out for a week."

Natalia asked Greg, "You didn't tell him, did you?"

Greg rolled his eyes. "Despite popular belief, I can keep a secret if asked to."

"At this point it really doesn't matter anyway." Natalia said, "When Greg and I met, I was in a bad situation. Your friend helped me get out it. That's really all that you need to know."

"Okay." Nick infinitely curious, but this was really none of his business anyway.

Then, the subject changed to the case that they were working on.

When they finally reached the lab, Greg figured that he could use a quick snack before working and ducked into the break room. He grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and sat the table, deciding on his next move.

Caine walked and looked over at the younger CSI. "Now that looks interesting. I hope that's not dinner."

Sanders smiled at him. "This is the never-fail cure for rattled nerves. Want some?"

"No thanks." Cain shook his head and poured himself some coffee. "I didn't know that ice cream could cure anything."

"You should try sometime, especially if you've been running on nothing but caffeine and adrenaline for the past week."

Horatio looked over at him. "Hodges got back the results on the soil comparison. We have a match."

"Great. That should get us a warrant for Jack Ridley's DNA and prints. I'll have Brass bring him in. We should get started on processing the evidence from the office building." Greg finished his ice cream and started making phone calls.

A/N still a short chapter, but I haven't got as much time as I would like. Thank you for the reviews. Should be two or three more chapters, and I think the next one will show where this is going. Please leave a review. Thanks, Lefty.