A/N: Hello my dears! Thank you so much for the reviews, they're always really encouraging :) This story is for elenp3 who suggested Greg is hurt when talking to a suspect. So, angst, of course! I hope you enjoy :)

Summary – Greg is held hostage by a suspect in one of the interrogation rooms, but only one of them will make it out alive…

Understanding

Robert Jones was a 35 year old man who in the last hour had been arrested by LVPD because he'd murdered Luke Harris. Robert strongly believed he did what he had to do, but no dumb ass cop would ever see it that way – they got paid to punish people whether that person was justified or not. Luke Harris had been stalking his wife, and Jones took the bastards life because he would do anything to keep his family safe. He didn't deserve to be here, he'd just been protecting his wife and child.

Greg Sanders stepped into the interrogation room and sat opposite the arrested man. In the CSIs opinion, Robert looked very indifferent about the whole situation. The man looked neither scared nor angry, just very stoic and unresponsive as he sat back with folded arms. Greg sat down and placed a folder on the table.

"We know you killed Luke Harris" the CSI spoke.

"I'm not denying that" Robert replied lowly.

"Why didn't you call the cops when you found out he was stalking your wife?" Greg asked.

"Because I wouldn't risk her life like that. If he found out we'd called the cops, he'd have killed her and maybe my daughter" Robert said, now sounding a little more heated. Why couldn't they understand?

"Well if you'd had told us sooner we could have helped you" Greg told him regrettably – he hated seeing good people go to jail because they'd made on bad decision. "But now we can't, because you took revenge into you own hands"

"It was self-defence" Robert said through gritted teeth – now his anger was clearly elevated.

"No it wasn't" Greg replied calmly "We found no evidence to suggest Harris was going to harm you during the time you murdered him…"

"Don't you dare make out like he was innocent!" Robert yelled as he slammed his palms on the table in a rage. The cop near the door took a few steps closer.

Greg remained calm, however, and continued to talk with no fear or aggression showing "I'm not saying that, Mr Jones, I'm saying…"

"He stalked my wife!" Robert interrupted him. "Why can't you understand that?!"

Then, the man shoved the table forward so hard that it crashed into Greg, winding the CSI and sending him falling to the floor. The officer tried to step in, but Robert landed a fist in the officer's jaw, startling him, and then taking his gun.

"Get out!" Robert yelled at the officer "Get out or I'll shoot the CSI!"

Officer Ackers just looked between the psychotic man who was waving his gun around, and the wounded CSI on the ground.

"Ackers…just go" Greg breathed as he sat up on the floor and held an arm across his stomach – no doubt there would be a bruise later.

"I'll get help" Ackers assured the CSI before heading to the door.

"If anyone comes in this room without my say so I swear to God I'll kill him" Robert growled in warning. Ackers nodded once and quickly left the room.

Robert turned back to Greg, who was looking at him with curious eyes, strange really, since Robert had been expecting fear. He stormed over to the CSI – keeping the gun pointed at him the whole time. Without warning, Robert grabbed Greg by the top of his hair and practically dragged the CSI across the floor. Greg let out a brief cry of pain, but he was left dazed when Robert shoved him up against the wall and slammed the CSIs head against it.

"Stay there" the killer demanded and then took a step back, still pointing the gun at Greg, but the CSI could see his hand was shaking.

"Why are you doing this?" Greg asked groggily as he rubbed the back of his head – great, he was bleeding.

"You only get free when I get free" Robert stated simply "I didn't do anything wrong !" he yelled. "What would you have done, huh? What would you have done if it was your family!?"

"It always is my family!" Greg yelled back in response and then gritted his teeth – all this stress was making his injured head pound. "Because the people I work with, they are my family, and shitty things happen too them all the time because of bad people. In fact, my best friend was stalked too! But I've never killed any of those people, no matter how much I wanted to…"

"Well then that makes you weak" Robert said with loathing "You weren't strong enough to make the move"

"You think killing someone makes you strong?" Greg asked incredulously "Because if so, it was your 'strength' which made sure you wouldn't see your wife and kid for at least another twenty years. Like I said, if you'd have reported Harris and what he was doing, we could have caught him and you'd be free right now"

"No! You guys wouldn't have come through for me, you never do!" Robert argued as he grabbed Greg's collar and angrily flung him across the room.

He started kicking the CSI harshly in the chest, and the sound of Greg's ribs cracking was followed by another cry of pain from the CSI. By this time, cops were banging on the door, demanding Robert open it, but the man was having none of it.

"Open that door and I will shoot him in the head!" Robert called back.

"Robert, please" Greg said as a tear of pain escaped his eye. He told himself he'd be strong, but he was hurt and having severe flashbacks to the beating.

Robert stopped kicking Greg- whether it was because Greg had asked him to, or because he was bored, the CSI wasn't sure – but the man took his gun and placed it on Greg's temple. Now, the CSI was scared.

"Have you ever killed anyone, Mr CSI guy?" Robert asked as he knelt beside Greg.

"Yes…" Greg replied in a whisper.

"And I bet that was because you were trying to protect yourself, and maybe someone else, was it not?" Robert continued to question – it made Greg even more nervous how the man seemed so calm all of a sudden.

"Y-yeah" Greg said again, his voice shaking slightly this time.

"Then why do you get to sail free and I don't?" Robert said, pushing the barrel of the gun even further into Greg's temple.

"Because I reacted to the situation at the time whilst it was happening, and I saved an innocent man" Greg relayed – this was the excuse he'd drilled into himself, the only one that could make believe he wasn't a killer. "You on the other hand hunted Luke Harris down at his home with the intention to kill…that was never my intention."

"You think I wanted to kill him!?" Robert asked; he was crying again, but Greg suspected he was sad rather than angry this time "You think I wanted it to be this way? I was a family guy. I took my little girl to school, I worked nine til five and I came home to a loving wife. Then I find out this scumbag is harassing the woman I love, she's so scared she can't even talk to me and cries herself to sleep. My little girl asks me, what's wrong with mommy? But I don't know what to say. It had to stop, I had to make it stop!"

"I'm sorry, Robert" Greg said sincerely "I'm so, so sorry"

Robert seemed to sober up to something. He didn't want to be this guy, he didn't want to be this maniac who went around beating up CSIs and waving guns around. That bastard, Luke, had forced him to become someone he wasn't, and Robert didn't want to be that person anymore. Now he wouldn't see his wife every day, or watch his daughter grow up. He was going away for life, and he couldn't...couldn't live without his family anymore.

"I have to make it stop" Robert said distantly as he began to raise the gun.

Greg realised what the man was about to do, and his eyes widened in fear "No!" the CSI shouted.

But it was too late. The gun shot sounded.

Greg sat on the examination table an hour later holding the bag of ice to his head. The doctor had given him some pain killers and bandaged up his wounded chest. Greg's ribs would heal in a matter of weeks, Robert, however, never would get better…

Greg had watched with great terror as Robert lifted the gun to his own head, and then pulled the trigger. The CSI felt sick as he watched the man's blood splatter everywhere, and then his body drop dead to the floor, pale skin and soulless eyes staring back at Greg.

Cops immediately stormed into the room when the gun went off. Nick was there too, and he immediately dropped beside Greg, turning the young man away from the body and forcing Greg to look at him instead. Nick had never felt so useless as he watched Robert kick the crap out of the man he loved like a little brother, to have that gun held to his head, but he couldn't have been more proud of Greg for how he handled the situation.

Nick had then taken Greg to the hospital to get patched up, leaving the cops to take care of Robert. The older CSI was deeply disturbed as to why Greg was yet to say a word , but being in the same room as a man who committed suicide right in front of your eyes must be psychologically damaging – especially as Nick could see some of Robert's blood had splattered onto Greg too.

Nick had been forced to wait outside whilst Greg was being seen too, but then when the doctor left to get Greg's medication – Nick slipped into the room. He looked sadly at the pale young man – Greg's hands were shaking and his eyes looked so lost.

Nick sighed and sat down next to him "I'm sorry that this happened to you, G" the older CSI said sincerely.

"It's not your fault" Greg replied quietly.

Nick smiled sadly and placed a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder, rubbing it slightly. "I'm so proud of you, for how you kept it together in there" the Texan said.

Greg gave him a weak smile "Thanks"

"G, I have to ask…" Nick started cautiously "When you said…when you said about wanting to kill the people who hurt us…" he just couldn't imagine the normally bouncy man to have such thoughts.

"I meant it" Greg said firmly "You guys are my family, and I love you all". Nick gave him a small yet slightly sad smile – he supposed he could understand that.

"I was scared for you" Nick confessed "I wanted to storm in there, took three officers to hold me back" he said with a sheepish smile and Greg gave a weak laugh "I hated seeing you get hurt like that again, Greg, I wish I could have…"

"Nick, don't" Greg said with pleading eyes "It happened, okay? Don't feel guilty, there's nothing you could have done"

"Okay" Nick said "but you know there's nothing you could have done too, right?" Greg didn't say anything. Nick sighed again "G…"

"I'm fine, Nick" Greg insisted with an obviously fake smile "Honestly, I am"

"And I'm glad" Nick replied "But that's not what I asked" Yet again, Greg didn't respond.

Nick could just see the tears building up in the younger man's eyes – the fear, the anger, the pain, it was all getting too much.

"C'mere, Greggo" Nick said quietly as he pulled the young man into his side, and Greg started to sob into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Greg, but you can't save everyone" Nick told him – they'd all learnt that the hard way at some point during their careers "You can't save everyone…"

I really liked writing this one. I thought it would be interesting to have some bits from the killer's point of view, and also show how he emotionally hurt Greg as well as physically. Plus, Nick and Greg bromance is always good ;)

Couple of notes about prompts:
A couple of people have asked me to do stories with Yeager in, but since I live in the UK I haven't seen the episodes yet, so I'm putting them off until I do, but don't worry they will be done!
Secondly, I have a lot of Morganders prompts – which is great- but I'm looking for more which aren't Morganders related just to mix things up, so please, send 'em in:)

And do please Review! Xx