Hey guys! Read the last chapter's author notes at the top and there you go for this one. I may be grounded (again) by tomorrow, I'm not sure yet; but we'll see. Read and review por favor! Thanks for checking this out, ya'll rock!

(Skye's POV)

"Isnt that… better?… You bastard!…slept with… Slut!" I heard faint yelling from my lab. It sounded familiar, and I looked up from my microscope.

I paused, lowering the volume on my music, to see if I could hear anything else. I couldn't for a minute or two, so I looked back down to my microscope.

But curiosity got the best of me and I got up, then went to the door. Looking both ways down the hall, I couldn't see anything out of the norm, except Catherine, sortof hurrying down the hall briskly.

"Cath? What's goin on?" I asked, but she didn't hear me and walked by. I watched her walk off, but Greg nearly ran into her, or she ran into him. Greg laughed, making a joke; but Catherine just walked off also.

He looked confused, looking after her. Then he turned to see me standing at the door of my lab. He walked over, with a grin. "Do you know what's up with Catherine? She didn't laugh at my joke."

"Maybe your joke sucked." I grinned.

Greg gently punched my arm. "My jokes don't suck."

"Keep thinking that, Sanders."

Greg smiled, then turned serious. "But what's up with her?"

"I don't know. I heard yelling from somewhere in the lab. Something about a bastard slut." I shrugged. "Looks like someone's in trouble."

Greg opened his mouth, but didn't start talking. A familiar female's voice interrupted him.

"What do you mean it was an accident? Did you fall into her, then out of her, then back into her?" It was louder, and I knew it was coming from somewhere down the hall. I knew the voice, the sarcasm. What she said made me want to laugh, but then again, I was too worried now.

Greg and I looked at each other, eyes communicating with words we didn't speak.

We both paused, wanting to hope that we were wrong.

She was quieter this time, and we both strained to hear.

"I cant believe I trusted you!"

At the same time, Wendy walked past, and spotted us. She walked past faster, avoiding our questioning eyes. Cath came up again, in the direction of the yelling. She also avoided our eyes.

Without a word, Greg started to hurry off in that direction, and I followed him. "Greg!"

He didn't answer, and I fell into line with Catherine. We got to the lab, and I peeked in to see Erica Sanders, her normally cheerful eyes bright with tears and a furious but also broken look on her face. Her wrists were captured by Nick Stokes, my cousin. He looked guilty and I didn't even see his face to know it.

"Erica, listen to me."

"No, let go of me, you asshole!"

I didn't want to put what I heard with what I was seeing together, but I looked at Greg, and I knew he had put two and two together as soon as he heard her yells from my lab. He looked absolutely furious and I made no move to stop him.

He rushed in ahead of me, and Cath turned to me quickly. "Skye, do not go in. We don't need anymore."

I started to protest, but she went in and I heard people behind me.

"Sanders is just in there, about ready to crack, you can see it on her face." I heard a gloating tone in particular.

I turn to see David Hodges talk to a few people that had stopped their work to stare at the unfolding drama.

"Hey!" I bark.

Hodges turned his attention to me.

"You better shut your mouth, Hodges. I'll do it for you if you want." I threatened.

He took on a smug "you cant do that to ME" face. "Yeah, right."

I marched to him, directly in his face. "You don't believe me?" I hissed, my eyes looking into his.

"Uh…"

"Shut up. Get back to your work. it's the only thing you can do, and you cant even do it well."

He looked insulted. "You cant tell me what to do, you havent been here that long. Newbie."

"When you're butting your face in somebody else's business, then I can tell you what to do. Now back off, Hodges. It's not your business."

"It's not yours either, Stokes," He said, icily.

"I said, back off! Leave them alone, and mind your own business. I'm going to send you to the Everglades smelling of meat sauce and leave you for the crocs. Remember, I've worked for the Miami-Dale PD for awhile, and I've also worked for the FBI." I said calmly, then roared. "Now back off!"

He looked a bit intimidated, seeing as I was standing next to a table of dangerous chemicals that could easily hurt him, and I was in his face. He backed away, knowing I wasn't above spilling chemicals onto him.

I grinned smugly for a moment, then turned to face the other spectators of both events. "Ya'll didn't see or hear any of it. It'll make things easier for all of us."

They all turned back to their work.

I walked out of the lab, and glared at any other people nearby watching in the hallway.

I didn't want this spreading through the PD faster than a wildfire, for Erica's sake. I wondered what Nick had done, and I shook my head.

I saw Catherine leave. With Nick, who was being escorted with a police officer. Catherine walked past me, and I looked to Nick. He didn't look at me, his head bowed, guilty.

Worry and fear surged through me. I walked with him. "Nick! What happened?"

"Skye, I didn't mean for it to be this way, it was an accident. I didn't want her to-" he stopped talking.

"What did you do?" I exclaimed, tugging at his shirt.

Nick looked at me, and I saw remorse in his eyes. "Skye, tell her I'm so sorry and I didn't mean to do it."

"Do what?"

He didn't answer, and they went into an elevator. I paused, I suddenly didn't want to follow.

"Nick, you suck. I'm not going to tell her!" I scowl at him, catching sight of all the people looking at him. Looking at me.

His face falls even further, if it were possible.

I sort of didn't care. My cousin was there, being escorted out of the lab by Catherine and an officer; and yet, I wasn't worried about him. I was more worried about Erica. The look on her face concerned me, and it automatically made me angry. Plus the fact that Nick wouldn't tell me what he did pissed me off also. I was his family, what could he have possible done that he couldn't tell me?

Nick looked at me, eyes pleading. I turned on my heel, and walked away. Hurrying to Erica's lab, I saw Greg coming out of it. "Greg!" I said, and stopped when I reached him.

He looked angry, worried, and the look on his face also worried me. I looked inside the lab to see Erica looking back at me.

I looked away, back to Greg. "What happened?" I demanded, more than asked.

"Nick cheated on her with a stripper!" Greg looked absolutely furious, but kept his voice at a whisper, so just I could hear, without everyone else getting a recap of what happened. "Erica just found out, I'm not sure how, I was just trying to calm her down, I didn't really find out everything just yet. But I will."

It came to me as a surprise and anger rose. "He did what?" I spat, and without waiting for Greg's answer, I walked into her lab. "Erica, I'm sorry." I told her, pulling her into a hug. "My cousin can be a stupid jerk sometimes." I let go of her.

"Thanks. It's cool, I'm glad I found out."Erica started. She continued, and I could only fume quietly on the inside, the only thing stopping me from bursting into a fury, a mental image of me strangling Nick the next time I saw him. We both spoke for just a little bit longer, and I left her lab.

Greg was waiting for me outside the lab. We walked away together without a word.

I could feel the stares, and one look on me. I looked to see Hodges, staring. A glare and the mouthing of "Everglades" was all it took for him to turn back to his work.

Greg didn't notice, he was too angry. "I can't believe him," he hissed underneath his breath. "No, wait. I can. I figured he'd do something bad. I just didn't know how bad."

"I know," I mumbled.

"Did you see her? She was so… sad. I can't stand him!" Greg's voice rose, louder and more furious.

"Greg! Shh," I whisper to him.

He shut his mouth, holding his tongue as we reached the safety of my lab. As soon as we entered, I shut the door and Greg exploded. "That asshole!" He roared.

I walked back to my desk, where the microscope and a pile of abandoned work waited for me. I sat down, but swiveled the chair away. I couldn't do any work. Not yet.

"What he did was unbelievable! He cheated on her with a stripper!"

I watched Greg silently, trying to control my own anger, which wasn't on the surface, but bubbling furiously on the inside.

"Did you see her, Skye? Did you see Erica's face?" Greg paced back and forth, body tense and hands balled up. His looked at me briefly, his normally calm and playful puppy dog eyes now dark with anger.

I couldn't forget her face: miserable, furious. Heartbroken.

It was a look that no one could look at and not feel a pang of sadness. Except for maybe Hodges. Possibly. I couldn't believe that such a sad look was caused by Nick.

When Greg told me, I had anger, then an epiphany. It was that it didn't really surprise me that Nick had done what he did. He was the heart throb in Fort Worth, when we were teenagers. He was also the heartbreaker. Nick had gone through plenty of girls and I had seen first-hand the pain and heartache he caused. Seeing all those girls broken by Nicky made me promise that I would never let a friend go through that.

I didn't necessarily tell Erica, I didn't warn her about what he caused, because it looked like they really liked each other, equally. And she was already dating him before I met her, before we even became friends; so my promise didn't count.

But it I still felt somewhat guilty for not actually telling/warning her about what a Casanova Nick was. But Greg must've told her about him. He's her big brother, he told her, I bet.

It didn't help that I felt a little wary of Nick dating Erica. I didn't want her to get hurt by him. It was too late for that, she got hurt and this time it just sucked more than any other time because she was my friend. My best friend already.

"Yeah, I saw her face. It… Nick's such a… I don't even know what to say!" I struggled to find words, but I couldn't. "I'm pretty pissed, I can't even really think straight. Erica doesn't deserve that, no one deserves that. Nick doesn't deserve her."

"He deserves a kick to the family jewels, that what he deserves." Greg snarled.

"Erica's too good for him."

"I know. I told her that. I told her about Nick. She didn't listen to me. I should've told her more, and she should've listened to me." Suddenly Greg looked weary.

"I kinda feel like I should've told her more about Nicky could be. But I didn't cause they both looked so happy. She looked happy."

Greg nodded, sighing. He didn't seem as angry now, just more concerned for his baby sister. "She was happy," he said, and perched on the edge of my desk. His brown eyes found mine. "She really liked him. Even loved. Erica trusted him."

"Nick always ruins everything," I muttered.

"Slept with a hooker," Greg mumbled underneath his breath, shaking his head.

"Stripper," I corrected, impassively, not even thinking about it.

Greg looked like he was going to snap at me, but saw that I didn't even think about it, I just corrected him on auto-pilot. And like it mattered anyways.

"I don't understand."

"You see, hookers are-"

"Not that!" Greg looked like he wanted to smile, but his mouth seemed stuck in a pernament scowl. The best attempt he could make at a smile was a sneer. "I don't understand how she can keep working. If that happened to me, I'd be at home, alone, under the covers with a tub of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey."

"That's cause Erica's tough," I said. Then I smiled a little, not being able to resist. "And you're a wimp."

Greg smiled finally, briefly. "Whatever. But I can't imagine how difficult it is." He became serious once again. "Can't imagine how hard it must be to have someone you love," Greg looked into my eyes and I couldn't help but feel a blush starting to heat my cheeks. "betray you like that."

Looking away, I felt my face start to cool and I thought about it, nodding my head. It'd be horrible. If Greg ever- I froze mid-thought. Not Greg. Ryan. Ryan Wolfe, my boyfriend. If Ryan ever did that to me… I don't even want to imagine how bad it'd be. Poor Erica. I felt anger rise in me again as I imagined all the girls Nick had broken up with, and then pictured bright cheerful Erica just like them. It shouldn't be that way.

"I need to talk to Nick," I said, an edge to my voice. I stood and walked to the door, Greg behind me. I opened the door and Grissom and Catherine appeared suddenly.

"Skye."

"Hi," I said briskly. "S'cuse me," I tried to move around Catherine.

They didn't move. "I need you to get back to work. You too, Greg," Grissom said, calmly.

"But-" we both said in unison.

"No buts!" interrupted Cath. "We've taken Nick away, and Erica is doing her job still.. I'm thinking about taking her off the case."

"Am I going to handle the evidence?" "Am I going to be on the case?" We both asked.

Cath shook her head. "No. Neither of you can, it's obviously too personal," She said firmly, but her face softened. "You can talk to Nick later. He's ok and-"

"Ok?" Greg spat.

"I don't care if he's ok. I just need to talk to him," I said, somewhat coolly.

Catherine looked a little surprised. "He's your cousin!"

"Erica's my best friend. Nick and I weren't really all too close anyways. That just about evens it out, right?" I said. "I need to talk to him now, please Catherine."

"Later. It's a busy day, we need you two working. We can deal with this later." Grissom said.

"Fine." We both gave in. It was the voice that we both knew that there was no point in fighting, he wasn't going to give in.

I headed to my desk, and Greg went to the door. He looked back at me.

"Later."

"Later," I replied and watched Greg leave.

Grissom and Catherine looked pleased that we didn't put up much of a fight.

But Greg and I knew that a bigger fight would be coming soon.