A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I do appreciate them. See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review!

Chapter 12: "Why Do We Do What We Do?"

Greg sighed heavily as he sat outside the LVPD crime lab. Call me when you get a chance, he texted, and waited for the call.

It was a short wait, as his phone rang almost immediately, and Adam's name popped up on Greg's caller ID. "Hey," Greg answered.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked.

"Just… a bad night."

"Anyone hurt or dead?"

"A kid."

Adam inhaled sharply before saying, "I'm sorry."

Greg sighed heavily. "We were at a scene, and there were these two kids that were discussing the case in the alley… I figured they were witnesses, and when I went to talk to them, they ran."

"Of course."

"One of them tripped into this bin, and it fell over, and there was… there was this kid inside…" Greg closed his eyes. "Adam, the kid had been starved to death."

"Oh, God," Adam breathed. "Greg, I'm…"

"Next thing I knew, people were shooting at us, and…"

"Wait, what? People were shooting at you? You're okay, right?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah. I didn't get hit. The victim's brother did."

"Which victim?"

"The first one," Greg said. "Not the kid in the bin."

"So, your single turned into a triple," Adam surmised.

Greg snorted quietly. "That's what Grissom said."

"I take that as a compliment, that I said the same thing."

Greg smiled lightly.

"So, which part is worse for you to deal with? Getting shot at, or seeing a dead kid?" Adam asked.

Greg sighed as he pondered the thought. "I'm not sure," he told Adam honestly. "They both suck."

"That's part of being in the field, though, isn't it? Dead kids and getting shot at? I mean, it's not like it hasn't happened to you or your team before tonight…"

"I know. It's just… I don't know. Why do we do what we do?"

"Because we enjoy it. Because it helps people."

"Who does it help? I mean, we're sitting here talking about three dead bodies, one of which was an innocent child, and he was… he was starved to death…" Greg paused as he attempted to choke back his emotions.

"It helps the victims," Adam said.

"They're dead, Adam," Greg shot back. "How can we possibly help them?"

"We help them get justice. We catch their killer. Or, well, you do. I mostly deal with cheating spouses…"

"Adam."

"Listen, Greg, the point is, you and I both know that you do this for a reason. You liked running tests, but you wanted more. Unfortunately, more means actually seeing the horrible things people do to each other. And while I'm not exactly thrilled to hear that you had a case involving a dead child, this is part of the job. The job that you really wanted to do. It's not easy, and it's never going to get easier, but you need to remind yourself that you're doing this for the victims. You're giving them back their voice."

Greg furrowed his brow. "You're not making much sense," he told Adam.

"You do know what time it is out here, right?" Adam replied.

Greg looked at his watch, realizing that it was 11pm in Vegas. Which meant… "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I should be used to this by now. You've been screwing this up for 6 years."

"Oh, and you're one to talk? You're always waking me up, too."

"Only in emergencies. Otherwise, I usually try to catch you around dinner or breakfast."

"True." Greg sighed softly. "Sorry I snapped at you," he said quietly.

"After all these years, you're still apologizing for things?" Adam replied. "I thought we were well past that stage."

"Nah. We keep within that stage. Keeps us honest."

"Fair enough."

Greg nodded to himself.

"I'm sorry this case was so rough," Adam said. "Did you catch the person who killed the kid?"

"Yeah," Greg answered. "It was his mom's cousin. She kept him and his two brothers locked up in this basement/shed thing in the backyard. The other kids were okay: hungry and dehydrated, but okay."

"God," Adam breathed again. "I'm sorry, man. I can imagine how tough that was."

Greg nodded again.

"But, you caught her," Adam continued. "That's something to take away from this."

"Yeah," Greg said softly.

"You can go crazy trying to understand this, but people are insane, and sometimes you'll never understand why they do what they do. But you do what you do to punish them for doing what they did. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah." Greg sighed. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"I'll let you go so you can go back to sleep. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Take care, Greg."

"You too, Adam."

A/N: Episode is No Humans Involved (CSI).