A/N: Thank you for the reviews! This chapter's a little different, in that Greg and Adam are actually in the same room! See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :) (P.S. there may be a reward for it later!)

Chapter 9: Close for Comfort

Adam passed Grissom and Sara on his way in, and both of them had stopped to offer him some words of advice/encouragement. Not that he'd really need it. He knew how to handle his friend after all these years.

…Maybe.

The room was silent and dark, and Greg had his body turned toward the window that faced the outside. From his posture, Adam instantly understood what Grissom and Sara had been talking about. Nevertheless, he ventured in slightly. "Hey," he greeted his friend softly.

Nothing. Not even a turn.

Adam walked over, sitting in the chair behind Greg, returning the silence. Knowing Greg the way he did, one of two things was going to happen. Or, maybe both.

After what felt like forever, Greg whispered, "you shouldn't have come."

There's one, Adam thought. Out loud, he said, "why?"

"I don't deserve it."

Adam stiffened slightly. "What makes you say that?"

"I ran a kid over."

"To save another man. And yourself, for that matter."

"I don't deserve to…"

"Please don't say that," Adam interrupted.

"But it's true."

"No, it's not. That decision… you or someone else, kill or be killed… it's an awful feeling. Fight or flight. It sucks."

Silence. Followed by a painful sigh as Greg rolled onto his back. "How do I tell Mom?" he asked quietly. "She doesn't even know I'm in the field."

Adam snorted softly. "She knows more than you think she does," he told Greg.

Greg furrowed his brow, turning fully to Adam. "Did you tell her?"

Adam shook his head. "Not me. Sherlock."

Greg shook his head.

"And, you just be honest with her. You made the best choice you could given the circumstances."

"I don't think I did."

Adam shifted his position. "Talk it out. What you did, what you think you should've done."

Greg sighed. "I was on my way to the robbery scene, stopped at an alley and heard shouting. I looked down and saw the group beating this guy."

"And then what did you do?"

"I called for backup. But their ETA was a few minutes. I wasn't sure he had that long."

"So, you reacted. What did you do?"

Greg rolled his good eye. "You know the answer to that already," he retorted.

Adam held his hands up in concession. "Hey, I'm trying to help you here."

Greg closed his eyes, sighed, and nodded. "Sorry.

Adam shook his head again. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. Nothing is."

Adam took a deep breath. "What happened next?"

Greg exhaled slowly. "I drove down the alley," he said softly. "I put the sirens on a bit, honked the horn. The group… well, most of the group… they ran off. One kid stayed behind. He… he picked up a rock. I swear, Adam, I thought he was going to hit the guy. But he didn't. He… he turned toward me. And… and I... I hit the gas. And he went down…"

Adam nodded sadly, just watching Greg.

"I didn't want to hurt him," Greg continued. "I just didn't want him to hurt the other guy, or me."

"I know," Adam reassured.

Greg shook his head, fighting back tears. "I screwed up, Adam. And, now, he's dead. I… I killed him." Greg choked out the last part as Adam frowned.

"It was an accident," Adam said, moving forward to console Greg from the chair. "A tragedy, for sure, but even if he was a supposed saint, Greg, he was still in that alley of his own volition. He didn't have to go out there with them. He knew what he was doing, and he should've known it was wrong, if he was so smart."

"I still shouldn't have hit him."

"What choice did you have? You leave, he and the rest of his friends kill the victim. You don't carry a gun, you can't cuff someone or really take them down. So what choice did you have?"

"Get out," Greg said.

"And end up in the same position," Adam said. "There was no winning here, Greg, and you know it. You did what you had to do. All the kid had to do was leave with his friends. Or, better yet, not get involved in the first place. That's on him."

"I didn't have to kill him."

"You didn't mean to."

Greg scoffed. "And that's supposed to make me feel better? I'm supposed to live with that? He's dead but hey, at least I didn't mean it."

Adam sighed quietly. "It's not going to make you feel better," he said gently. "And, it's not so much about feeling better as it is about living with yourself. You had to make a choice, and either way, someone was going to lose. There is no perfect answer here. How many times have you given me this speech?"

"That's different," Greg replied. "We're not talking about girls or philosophy. We're talking about life and death here, Adam."

"And that thing with that kid junior year?"

Greg shook his head. "That's different," he repeated.

"Why? Because it's me, or because he lived?"

"That's not fair," Greg said.

"He's paralyzed, Greg," Adam reminded him.

"It's not like you made him do it."

"But I didn't stop him either, did I?"

Greg sighed.

"I had more control there than you did here," Adam continued. "I could've cut him off at that party, and I didn't. I could've given him a ride to his dorm, but I didn't. I could've talked to him about his problems instead of ignoring them. And yeah, it is different, because I didn't make him jump off the roof, but I was there, and I didn't stop him either.

"You… you couldn't have stopped the kid from being in that situation. And if you don't stop him and his gang, someone else dies. And the kid may still end up getting killed by the police. There are far too many variables here, Greg. And I'm not saying that you have to get over it, because I know that's impossible right now. But you need to know that it's not your fault. And that you will get through this."

"But it is my fault," Greg said. "I hit him."

Adam shrugged. "You did what you had to do," he said.

"You can say that all you want, but it's not going to make me feel any better."

"Nothing will right now."

Greg sighed heavily.

"You'll make peace with it someday," Adam said.

Greg nodded sadly.

"In the meantime, I'm here. Available at all hours by phone. Then again, you're well aware of that fact…"

A glimmer of a smile. "What'd you say to Mac?" Greg asked.

"I didn't have to say too much," Adam answered. "The emergency phone call from the hospital did that one."

Greg nodded again.

"He told me to take my time," Adam added.

"Really?" Greg replied.

Adam shrugged. "He always seems to just know. It's creepy."

Greg nodded, closing his eyes.

"Don't let me keep you awake," Adam said.

"I won't," Greg replied.

"Good."

"Hey, Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being here."

"No problem. I know you'd do the same for me."

The only response Adam got was a snore from Greg.

A/N: Episode is Fannysmackin' (CSI).