Chapter Seventeen: A Clean Start

"It doesn't matter Greg," Sara told through a quiet breath. "Whatever he wants to hear, you tell him. He's going to compare our stories…you remember what I told you?"

The young man let out a sigh, lowering his head as he pulled off his jacket. He was in front of his open locker, reaching inside to hang up the garment. "You called me, at three in the morning, drag me out of bed and clear across town into work, so that I could lie to our supervisor?"

She made a face, huffing, "Do I need to remind you that you start shift in just a few hours?"

"Not when I'm on administrative leave Sara," Greg reminded her brusquely, closing the locker now that he was down to only a t-shirt.

"You won't be after you talk to Grissom."

"Sara," Greg turned to her, facing her for the real first time since he had left her place. "You've been feeding me nothing but lies this entire time, and now you want me to do the same."

"I know," she nodded, denying it anymore was useless. "And I promise, once we're through with shift, I'll give you a full explanation, the truth this time. But until then, I got you into this mess, and I'm going to get you out of it."

"And what will happen to you?" Greg questioned, taking a seat on the bench. Sara sat next to him, giving a small shrug.

"I'm not sure…it can't be any worse than what I've already been through."

"You could lose your job," Greg reminded her, "If I tell him…"

Sara nodded briskly, "I know, but I rather it be me than you."

"Fine," Greg said quietly, "I'll talk to him, but I'm going to tell him only what I know," he added sternly. "I'm not going to lie, for your sake or mine."

She nodded, not saying anything as he left the room. After all, what could she expect? At least he was speaking to her, a step she was uncertain if she would ever achieve. Catherine wouldn't talk to her, at least not what she and Greg had talked about the night before.

Running a hand through her hair she let out a rough sigh, pushing herself to her feet. With nothing else to do, she may as well busy herself with work…at least until Greg finished talking with Grissom.

It took several long minutes for Greg to track the man down. He wasn't in his office, and as far as he knew Grissom hadn't been called to a scene. A quick scan by the garage and break room also indicated he was in neither spot. Greg was about to do another walk of the perimeter, hoping that maybe he had returned back to his office, slipping by him unnoticed. That was when he spotted the scientist in the layout room, folders spread clear across the table.

For half a moment, Greg tried to reason, to reconsider what he was doing. After all, by technical standards, he wasn't even supposed to be down at the lab, being on administrative leave. But the reason he was here was to clear himself from a possible list of suspects. The sooner the better, so waiting wasn't the best of ideas; still, it sounded pretty good to him.

Finally mustering up the courage he lifted his hand, rapping three short times on the open door, only his head hanging in the room. Greg wasn't sure if his supervisor could be anymore surprised, but Grissom didn't say anything, only glanced oddly before turning back around to his work.

Without an invitation or rebuke, Greg wasn't sure which was the best idea, going in or staying out. Maybe it would be better, to head back home, and wait until Brass called him in for the interview. Greg could just as easily tell them then and their, but then the question would remain on why he waited so long. Then again, this wasn't the best place to talk about the incident either.

He ventured in slowly, ready to head out at moments notice if that seemed necessary, but to his relief Grissom didn't reject his appearance, but nor did he welcome it. Greg cleared his throat cautiously, coming to a stop just behind him. "Sara uh…talked to me; she said it would probably be the best idea if I told you what happened."

"That would seem so," Grissom stated with a nod. His glasses were pulled down to the tip of his nose, as he moved the papers carefully. "Can you multi-task?"

Greg frowned at the question, but gave a quick shrug shortly after. "I guess so…why?"

"These are suspects from the last ten years, possible guys in connection with the Boulvine Murder. Computer system's on the fritz and it won't be up for several days at the earliest."

Greg nodded, moving closer the table as he reached out for the first file. "So what are we looking for?"

"Nothing at the moment," Grissom stated shortly, "Just start putting them in alphabetical order, keeping the years together. It'll make it easier when Sofia and I start going through them."

He was already moving, thankful for the distraction, but it didn't last long; Grissom was already inquiring him on what he wanted to talk about. Greg cleared his throat again, as he glanced through the names on the files in front of him.

"That night I went to Sara's, she had a few drinks…" he grew silent at the look Grissom gave him, but quickly regained his words. "More than a few drinks; I know she didn't go straight home after work that night, which was why I was worried. She was upset about everything…"

"This is going somewhere?" Grissom cut in, studying the young man.

"Sorry," Greg apologized briefly. "She wouldn't let me in at first, she told me that she didn't want to talk, and I kind of pressed her."

"You threatened to break in?"

"I wouldn't really do that," Greg told him, "Sara knew that as well; in fact she told me that she didn't mind, as long as I paid for a new door."

"How do you explain her bruises? The cuts as well? You can't say you didn't notice; the bruising patterns are too far along for them to just have happened. And the neighbors calling in to report a fight…yelling, screaming, things falling over, being thrown."

"I can't explain that," Greg told him, "All I know that was when Sara finally let me in, the place was a mess, and so was she. I cleaned her up, stayed with her until she fell asleep. I straightened her place up, and then I went to my own place."

"You tampered with a possible crime scene?" Grissom asked, incredulous.

"It was hardly a crime scene," Greg argued, stacking another folder on top of a small stack. "Besides, Sara had most of it cleaned up by the time I arrived. I just finished."

Grissom nodded, but remained quiet. His story seemed authentic, very possible, yet something still seemed as though it was missing. However, his own gut told him that Greg was telling the truth, he knew the both of them well enough to judge them differently. Convincing him wasn't the problem; it was Ecklie, and everyone else he had to worry about.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Grissom wondered.

"Because, Sara didn't want me to say anything…"

"About…?"

"About her drinking…Grissom, she was over the limit when she drove home. She didn't have anything when I was over…she was afraid that if Ecklie heard she was driving over the limit again he'd fire her…especially with her being on such thin ice already. So she made me promise I'd keep quiet about it…"

"That's very noble of you Greg, but it only hurts everyone worse in the end. Sara has a problem, and she knows it," Grissom told him gently, "She's working on setting things right, and I can tell you now that she's probably driven drunk more than we know. For the most part she's reasonable, but like the rest of us, she makes mistakes. It's not fair for you, or anyone else to cover those mistakes for her. No matter what the cost."

"As a friend," Greg argued quietly, not lifting his gaze to meet his.

"It's even asking a lot for a friend…" Grissom reminded him. He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I'll let Ecklie know, and we'll go from their."

"Grissom," Greg took in a breath. "If you tell Ecklie, he will fire her. And after everything you put me through to get her back on…it all seems kind of a waste."

"Who said anything about telling him about that?" Grissom wondered lightly, "All I was going to tell him was that the case was dropped."

Greg smiled, "Thanks," he nodded, stacking the last folder on his end. "I suppose I should get to work now…"

"We could certainly use the help," Grissom commented as the young man left. Maybe he had been too easy, but he knew one thing for certain. Ecklie would be pleased. Even though Ecklie enjoyed domineering his employees, he knew when to draw the line.

Trouble among the workers often meant trouble with the lab, and hassle from those who were even higher than Ecklie. If something went wrong, all of it would come back and drop on his shoulders. Grissom knew it would put him at ease once he reported it, but made no move to hurry. After all, he could let him worry a little longer.

TBC