A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for the love on the last story, I think I will post a revenge story on Halloween ;) But for now, we have yet another hurt Greg prompt, and this comes courtesy of Marymel who suggested I write a story about what might have happened if Greg had been shot at the Mobster Museum in 'Maid Man'. I hope you enjoy!

Summary - Greg is injured during the attack in 'Maid Man', and Catherine and Russell think about what Greg means to them.

Parental Instincts

Russell smiled as he watched Greg stood with Catherine, telling her about the various mobster exhibitions. The younger man wore a smile of pure enthusiasm, and Russell could tell he was very passionate on the subject. Greg reminded Russell a little of himself when he was younger, with his quirks and unique personality people may not understand sometimes, so the new supervisor could see he was going to enjoy getting to know Greg, and had grown quite fond of the younger man already.

Catherine was looking at Greg with a proud smile. She'd always known Greg was extremely intelligent, but she found it hard to believe she was listening to the same man she had found years ago dancing in a headdress. She was very pleased with the progress Greg had made, and he'd become a wonderful CSI. Catherine felt like she'd watched him grow up, and she'd always felt a motherly instinct over him and cherished the bond they had.

"How do you know so much about this stuff, bud?" Russell asked Greg with an impressed smile.

"I did a lot of research and my Grandfather told me a lot of stories. It's fascinating, isn't it?" Greg said with a broad grin "but don't tell Nick I said that, he thinks I'm a total nerd…"

"There's nothing nerdy about having interests" Russell said, giving Greg a pat on the back.

"But even so, some girls find having nerdy qualities very cute" Catherine said with a wink and Greg blushed; he knew she was referring to Morgan.

"Yep, that's how I won my wife over" Russell said taking a sip of his champagne. "Our first date back in university I took her into the science labs to make some little bombs, she thought it was great!" Greg and Catherine laughed.

"You want some more champagne, Cath?" Greg asked as he was going to get himself a refill.

"Sure, thank you" Catherine said handing her glass over.

"He's a good kid" Russell said to Catherine after Greg had left.

"Yeah, he is" Catherine said with a proud smile. "Although, I wouldn't call him a kid, sometimes I tease him about always being my baby CSI and he gets a little sulkily" she grinned and Russell laughed.

Suddenly, a gunshot tore through the room, followed by the chaotic motion of glass shattering and people screaming. Russell grabbed Catherine and pulled her to the ground, using his body as a shield.

"Where's Greg!?" Catherine asked desperately, the fear that the younger man may be hurt was overwhelming her.

Russell quickly scanned the room looking for the sandy blonde hair, when he spotted Greg near the stage covering two young girls who were cowering into the CSI's chest. Russell's admiration for Greg soared even higher.

"He's protecting those two girls" Russell said to Catherine, pointing over so that she could see for herself and hopefully put her mind at ease.

Catherine saw, and her worry only eased a little. How could she not worry in this situation? Greg meant too much to her, like her own child, and she wanted him over here with her and Russell so she felt he was safe.

Two shots were fired towards the stage. One hit the ex-mayor and he fell down instantly dead. The other… the other hit Greg. Catherine and Russell watched in horror as Greg cried out in pain and fell away from the girls he was shielding, who screamed louder and shuffled away completely terrified. Greg just lay on his side panting heavily and then gritting his teeth in agony as the excruciating pain began to radiate from his left hip.

"Greg!" Catherine called to him, trying to jump up, but Russell kept her down "Russell please, we can't just leave him there, we have to help him!"

"I know, I know and we will" Russell said reassuringly, although he wouldn't take his eyes off Greg, just to make sure the younger man was still breathing and not willing to let any more harm come to him "But you can't just run out there and get hurt too, it won't help Greg. The cops will be here soon" he added when Catherine looked like she was about to protest.

Greg meanwhile had managed to roll onto his back. His skin had gone extremely pale and clammy and his body was beginning to tremble. He knew he was going into shock as he placed a shaky hand over the wound and swallowed the lump in his throat.

He wanted to know where Russell and Catherine were, he was worried and just prayed they were alright, but he also wanted Catherine to tell him he was going to be alright. Greg may have complained about her being too mothering of him in the past, but he would give anything for her to be at his side now. He also hoped Russell wasn't disappointed in him, being shot was not exactly among the first impressions that Greg wanted to give.

Eventually the cops and security managed to take control, and as shaken people began to empty the building, medics began to arrive to take care of the injured. Catherine and Russell rushed over to Greg.

"C-Cath" Greg said quietly, he was shaking even worse than before and the pain seemed to have increased as well.

"Ssh, you're going to be okay, Greggo" Catherine reassured the younger man as she brought his head into her lap and stroked his hair back. "We're fine" she added with a smile, as she knew that's what Greg was trying to ask her.

"You're doing great buddy, the medics will be with you soon" Russell told Greg, as he removed the younger man's hands and replaced them with his own so he could get better pressure of the wound.

"Ow" Greg complained as he squeezed his eyes shut. He refused to humiliate himself furthermore by crying in front of two of the people he respected most in the world. "Cath, 'm tired" he mumbled.

"I know honey, but you have to promise me you'll stay awake, okay?" Catherine was almost pleading with him, and Greg gave a weak nod of agreement.

"He's lost a lot of blood" Russell said worriedly as he looked into Catherine's panicked eyes.

He may have only known the female CSI a short time, but Russell could tell Catherine was a strong and independent woman, panic was not a very familiar emotion to her. He looked back at Greg, and saw how the young man was struggling to stay awake. Russell sighed sadly, he felt like he'd let Greg down, he should be able to protect every member of his team, whether they were on duty or not.

Catherine was getting really annoyed that none of the paramedics had come to tend to Greg yet, and as she looked down at his paling face, she couldn't help but notice how young he still looked and how vulnerable he was…just like after the lab explosion…which Catherine still believed had been her fault. She did love Greg like a son, and she was not prepared to lose him.

Finally, the medics arrived to take care of Greg, but by this point the younger CSI was beginning to lose consciousness, although he was fighting with all his mite because he didn't want to break his promise to Catherine. However, as the medics brought the oxygen mask over his face, Greg allowed his eyes to slip closed, content that he was in safe hands now.

"Go with him" Russell said putting a comforting hand on Catherine's back as the medics got ready to take Greg away.

"Are you sure? You don't need help here?" Catherine asked, although really it was just out of politeness because she did desperately want to go with Greg.

"No, Greg needs you" Russell replied "I'll wait for the other's to arrive and then I'll meet you at the hospital. Just make sure Greg knows that I'm thinking of him"

"Okay, thank you" Catherine said before hurrying off after Greg and the medics.

Russell sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the chaos surrounding him. How had the night turned out so badly? How had they become so close to losing one of their own? These were the questions Russell needed to answer, as he owed it to Greg and the other's to find justice.

Catherine had sat holding Greg's hand the whole time in the ambulance, and then when they reached the hospital and Greg was taken away, she was left pacing the halls impatiently, not willing to rest until she knew that the younger man was okay.

After a while, a doctor came to say Greg was in recovery after being in surgery. The removal of the bullet from his hip had been successful, and there was no lasting damage other than he may have a slight limp for a while. Catherine felt the wave of relief literally wash over her at these words and she thanked the doctor gratefully.

The doctor then took her to Greg's room where the young man was sleeping off the morphine. Catherine sat by Greg's bedside, taking his hand and waiting for him to wake up. Russell arrived around an hour later and gave Catherine a smile as he sat on the edge of Greg's bed.

"He's a real fighter from what I hear" Russell spoke with a small smile.

"Yeah he is" Catherine said rubbing a thumb across the back of Greg's hand "I know that he's going to be okay but…he didn't deserve this Russell. This is the second time he's been punished because he put his own life before someone else's"

"He has a good hero complex then" Russell replied "I've only known Greg a few weeks, but I know there isn't a bad bone in his body"

"No, they don't come much kinder than Greggo" Catherine said with a smile, but it was somewhat sad. "I can't believe I ever hurt him"

"The explosion?" Russell said. He remembered reading something about it in Catherine and Greg's files.

The strawberry blond nodded "For about three weeks after I never stopped apologising to Greg, and he kept saying it was okay, he didn't blame me. He could have died because I made one stupid mistake…and he wasn't even mad" Catherine had tears in her eyes now "After that I promised I'd look out for him better to make it up to him, that I wouldn't let him get hurt anymore, guess I failed on that"

"Hey, this wasn't your fault either" Russell said as he went to sit on the arm of Catherine's chair and stroked her back soothingly "You can't protect him from the world, Catherine."

"I know but I can try, he's like my son" Catherine replied.

"Yeah I'm starting to get that feeling too" Russell said with a smile.

"Mom?" a croaky voice came from the bed and Catherine and Russell looked to see Greg was coming around.

"No sweetie, it's Catherine" she replied, giving his hand a little squeeze.

"Close enough" Greg said with a weary smile as he turned to look at the older CSIs.

"How you feeling, buddy?" Russell asked.

"Not bad considering" Greg replied. "What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for the shooters?"

"No we wanted to be here" Russell said "for Catherine's baby CSI"

Greg rolled his eyes and looked at Catherine as the older CSI's laughed "You told him about that?" he whined.

"Yes, and it's true" Catherine said "I'll always care about you, Greg"

"We will" Russell said.

Greg smiled at them both "Thanks" he said quietly.

He leant back into his pillows with a tired sigh, but he felt better about resting now that he knew Catherine and Russell were watching out for him, and they always would.

So, I don't think I've focused on Catherine as one of the main characters in one of these stories so far, so I hope I captured her thoughts and feelings pretty well :) I also liked writing about Russell's views on Greg again, and think they have a great relationship.

Next couple of stories will be for Halloween!

Please Review :) xx