The next morning, Greg rose early, still in a bad mood, the letter was still there on the floor where he tossed it, he chose to ignore it. Instead, Greg sighed and went through to his kitchen and made a cup of coffee, emotions he thought he had buried swirling around angrily in his head. Was it a sign? A sign that no matter how many counselling sessions he had, how many comforting words spoken by his friends that this horrible trauma would forever be buried in his mind? Six months on and he had thought he was making progress, he had even managed to return to work without wanting to throw up the minute he saw his lab. He sipped his coffee absent-mindedly, remembering that first day back at work.

Flashback

After a couple of months of endless days filled with rehabilitation and counselling, desperately trying to erase all memory of those horrific days, Greg had convinced himself and Grissom that he was ready, he was ready to get back to work. Greg dressed as casually as he could, in his usual kooky lab attire, like nothing had changed but catching sight of those scars that would never heal in the mirror defied that belief. He ran his finger down the small jagged scar along his cheekbone, there was no covering that up but at least those bigger scars were well covered below his shirt. He took one final look in the mirror, feeling more self conscious than he had ever felt before. He took a deep breath and went to join Nick Stokes who was giving him a ride.

Nick smiled as he climbed in. "How you feeling Greggo?"

"Great" Greg smiled back, his voice belying more enthusiasm than he felt.

"Yeah? You ready for this?"

"Definitely, bring it on" Greg replied.

"Alright" Nick said easing the car into gear. They chatted amiably on the short journey but as they got closer to the lab, it was clear Greg's bravado was waning considerably. His cheeks flushed and his palms sweated, rubbing them continously on his trousers. As Nick eased into the parking lot, he sensed his discomfort, touching him lightly on the arm.

"Hey are you sure you're alright? You don't have to do this you know, you can take as much time as you need" Nick said kindly.

Greg shook his head emphatically "No, no, I'm fine, lets do this" He smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile at Nick as they climbed out the car.

Almost immediately his mind was assaulted by flashbacks of the last time he had been in this car park, of memories of being threatened with a gun, memories of being forced into the back of a car with no one to help him.

Nick gripped his arm to steady his friend, sensing his discomfort. "It's okay Greg you're safe here"

"I know" Greg said " It's just well"

Nick nodded his head in understanding, he couldn't even begin to imagine how horrifying an ordeal Greg had been through, he wouldn't have blamed him for packing it all in, becoming an office worker, leaving Las Vegas for good. Instead here he was, confronting his demons at the very scene of his abduction. Nick could only marvel at his bravery.

Greg shook off his fears and pushed through the double doors and into the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas crime laboratory. It was as usual a hive of activity, lab technicians hurried about their business, testing fragments, firing weapons. Many of them nodded at him in greeting as he went past, small smiles offered as they took a moment to acknowledge the returning lab tech almost from the brink of death.

They passed by Conrad Ecklie who stopped to shake Greg's hand offering a simple "It's great to see you back Greg" by way of greeting. Everywhere he went, people stopped and stared, it was very unnerving. Greg was completely taken aback when Hodges hugged him somewhat awkwardly as they passed into his lab. "I'm glad you're back Sanders" he said simply, before straightening up and regaining his usual composure. In an evidence room, CSI's Warrick Brown and Catherine Willows were animatedly discussing theories when Catherine caught sight of Greg. They immediately went outside where a delighted Catherine enveloped Greg in a hug. Whereas Hodges' had been clumsy and awkward, there was no denying the warmth and relief in her hug. No words were necessary. When she released him, Warrick gave him a more manly embrace, slapping him good naturedly on the back, their joy at the returning friend was plain to see.

Greg though felt embarrassed like he was some kind of a returning hero, he felt like a fraud as it seemed every member of staff wanted to hug him or shake his hand. He passed the breakroom and his breath caught in his throat as he glimpsed Sara Sidle, sitting eating a sandwich. Their eyes met and they stood just considering each other for a second. Finally she couldn't stand the silence and ran to embrace him, it was tender and almost loving as she gently held him close, just glad that he was OK. They pulled back as Grissom and the rest of the team came in. "You look good" she whispered, still holding his hand.

"Greg" Grissom acknowledged, smiling at the young man "Welcome back"

"Thanks Griss"

"How are you feeling?"

"Good" Greg nodded, not willing to divulge that all he could think whilst walking through the lab was that the last time he walked those corridors, they were littered with bodies. He had just about managed to keep it together, to stop the bile that had threatened to spill out his throat, when Grissom walked him to his lab. At first he kept it together amiably, telling Nick that the dire music situation would soon be rectified once he got his CDs back on. It looked like the old Greg was back but then his eyes fall on the chair, the chair he had been tied to, the chair where he once feared his life was over. he broke out into a cold sweat, his eyes teared up, and he started to shake, he heard someone, possibly Nick ask if he was OK before he threw up violently and passed out on the cold floor.

Greg smiled ruefully at the memory, it had got better after that first time, with time and more gentle cajoling from his counsellor, he had gradually began to disassociate those terrible memories from the present day, he had being able to go into work with a smile on his face and not keep seeing dead bodies and men with guns at every corner. It had been a long process but he was finally getting there, until last night that was. He sighed again, frustrated taking one last gulp of his coffee. He would overcome his fear if it was the last thing he did, he was 29 years old, his life was not over, far from it. He strolled outside to collect his mail musing what he could do, clearly he would just have to take things very slowly again, it would be worth it in the end, she was an understanding soul, he just hoped she didn't think he was too much of an idiot.

He thumbed through the post, still thinking of how he could make it up to her. Last night was just a blip, things just went too fast, it would be different next time, he promised himself. On his way back to the kitchen, he frowned, spotting the Robins summoning still discarded on the floor. He picked it up, and made a quick decision, he read it once more than wadded it into a ball, tossing it into the direction of the waste paper basket. Score he thought when it hit the bottom with a satisfying thud. That was all in the past now, his tormentor was dead, the only link to him would soon be dead and today was going to be a good day, he could feel it. Unfortunately though for Greg, the day was as far from good as it could possibly be.