A/N: Hello my lovelies! Thank you so much for the reviews on the last story, I'm also pleased to learn a lot of my readers are Star Trek fans like me XD Anyway, this story comes from two prompts. starfire25 asked for a Russell/ Greg bonding piece, and9Laura8asked for a post 'It was a very good year' story quite a while back. So here it is :) Enjoy!

Summary – After Russell catches Greg throwing a copy of his book in the trash, he decides to confront Greg as to why.

The Writer

D.B. Russell was walking towards his office when he spotted one of his team members Greg Sanders, stood alone in the break room. Greg looked in deep thought as he stood holding the book he had written 'Sin City Secrets'. The younger CSI looked…sad, and Russell couldn't say he blamed him. It must be hard to find out a girl you once dated…or maybe even more… was killed over such a pointless thing. Eventually, Greg let out a deep sigh, and D.B watched in amazement as the younger man carelessly dropped the book into the trash can and left the room.

Russell frowned before entering the break room himself and picking the book up out the trash can. He studied it and flicked through the first few pages. The supervisor was surprised. He knew Greg was incredibly intelligent, that was obvious, but Russell would have never tagged him as a history buff when they first met. The supervisor was surprised by the amount of detail Greg had gone into with his words, he could sense the pride behind them and Greg was obviously very passionate about his work, Russell had seen that first hand numerous times when out in the field. So why had Greg thrown the book away?

Russell would consult him about this later; Greg was obviously still upset and needed some space right now. So, the supervisor decided to leave for the night and let things settle down for a while. He had his nose still deep in Greg's book as he walked.

The next shift and Russell realised just how quiet Greg was being. The younger CSI didn't say anything unless directly spoken to about the case, and not even paring Greg with Morgan seemed to make him happy! This was normally Russell's go to solution when Greg was feeling a bit low, but that didn't work and this probably meant even more of a cause for concern. Greg just spent most of the night with a blank expression and a sad look in his eyes, as he wandered around the crime scene with little enthusiasm. So, after the shift had ended, Russell decided to take action.

"Hey, Greg" D.B said as he entered the locker room to find the younger man stacking his stuff away.

"Hey, Boss. Don't you normally just shout when you want me?" Greg asked with a bit of a lopsided smile, but Russell could tell it was fake.

"Well, yes but this is a personal matter. I was wondering if you'd like to get a drink with me?" the supervisor asked.

Greg stopped "A drink…with you…alone?" he said sounding surprised.

"Well yeah, we do you have to make it sound so creepy?" Russell joked.

"Oh no…I'm so sorry! That's not what I…." Greg looked mortified with himself "It's just that, you know, you're my boss and…"

"Greg, Greg….I know what you meant" Russell interrupted and laughed whilst Greg turned a shade of pink. "It's just…you haven't been yourself the past couple of days and I thought it might help to talk about it" D.B told the younger man outright.

Greg paused as he considered this. "Sure, a drink sounds good" he finally said with a small smile, and this time Russell could tell it was real.

The CSI's ended up at their new diner, which they had adopted after what happened at Frank's. They took a booth in the far corner and simply ordered coffee. They stayed in silence until the drinks were brought and Russell leaned back and watched as Greg stared sadly into his cup as if the granules, like tea leaves, would tell him what to do.

"You know I erm… I read this great book last night" Russell said as he picked up his cup and took a sip.

Greg looked up at him in an attempt to be interested "Really?" he said.

"Oh yeah, it was very intesterting, factual as well as entertaining. I just couldn't put it down. My wife eventually had to take it off me so I'd go to sleep. I finished it this morning." Russell said.

Greg didn't at all see were this was going. "Sounds good, what book was it?"

"Actually I brought it with me" Russell said ducking under a table and bringing out a bag he'd been carrying. "I wondered if you'd heard of it" with that he took the book out of the bag and handed it over to Greg.

The younger man's eyed widened as he looked down at the book he had written. "Is this some kind of joke?" Greg asked with a nervous laugh.

"No, not at all. It's very good. The writer is obviously very passionate about the subject matter and there's a lot of confidence in what he says. He must have put a lot of hard work into his research and he's very witty too. He obviously put his heart and soul into this… and so I wonder why I caught him throwing it in the trash last night?"

"Well, maybe it's because he just can't bring himself to care anymore" Greg replied as he looked into Russell's eyes. There was an even deeper sadness in the younger man's eyes which D.B had never hoped to see. "Maybe he was so obsessed with this history because he was too busy trying to deny his own. Maybe he was happy at the time…but now he sees all the misery this book has caused…and it wasn't worth that misery." Greg said this all with very little emotion, before he handed the book back over to Russell.

"Well, I think that's very sad." DB said sincerely. "Greg, what happened to Alison was…awful. But you cannot blame yourself."

"Why not?" Greg said a little loudly "If I had never written this stupid thing then she would still be alive!"

"How could you have possibly known what was going to happen, huh?" Russell asked. "What that psycho did to her, was not your fault, he was a sick and twisted man Greg, you know that"

"I know!" Greg all but yelled before resting his elbows on the table and burying his head in his hands. "I know, I know, I know" he mumbled. Russell gave the younger man a sympathetic smile, before moving round and placing a comforting hand on his back.

"You should be proud of this, Greg" D.B said indicating to the book. "It takes a lot of skill and courage to be a successful writer."

Greg scoffed "Please, about 5 people have probably read it" he replied plainly. "But I don't really care. And you know what, I was proud, I was proud of this. I worked hard, you know. I didn't do if for the extra couple of dollars, I wrote it because I love history. Just as long as one person, read it and liked it… that was success enough for me. But this book, has brought me more pain than a feeling of success."

"Well… I read it" Russell pointed out "And I really liked it. You know, I haven't been in Vegas that long and I learnt so much. I would never have thought some of the stuff you wrote about had actually happened here. It opened my eyes to what an amazing place this is. And because I knew more…your book made Vegas feel a little more like home." Russell told Greg genuinely.

"Russell, you don't have to say that just because we're friends…"

"Greg, I'm serious. You know me, if I don't like something, I'll say it. I'm not one to keep my opinions to myself" D.B. said with a chuckle.

Greg smiled, a genuine smile. "Thanks Russell, that means a lot. It's just going to take some time to get over this."

"I know, and I'll support you throughout" Russell said with a smile. He patted Greg on the back and moved back round the booth. "Say, I don't suppose I can get you to sign this for me?" he said tapping the book.

"What?" Greg said in disbelief.

"Well when you become a famous write I want to tell everyone I was the first person to get your autograph" Russell said handing over a pen "I know it'll be worth something someday."

Greg started laughing "Okay, sure" he said with a grin has he wrote in the book. "To, DB Russell, Thank you for all the support you gave me, and helping me to start believing in myself again. Greg, Sanders." He said aloud as he scrawled the words.

"You're very welcome" Russell said with a smile and took back the book. "So, when can I expect the sequel?"

Hehe, I had a lot of fun writing this one. I just love the friendship between Greg and Russell! So, I hope you liked it too.

Reviews and Prompts would be awesome :)

Until next time, live long and prosper! ;) xx