Sorry it took a while to upload, but here is the new chapter! Enjoy!
When he got back from the hospital, Greg decided to meet up with Nick to talk about their dispute. Nick opened his door with a faint smile on his face. "Greg... Hey."
"Hey Nick. Can we talk?"
"S-Sure, of course. Come in."
Greg did. "Ackles attacked Matthew Lowell."
Nick frowned. "What?"
"Yeah, I guess Ackles is more traumatized than I realized. Which means I need to be there for him, help him overcome this. ...And that means I can't be preoccupied with our issue all the time."
Nick nodded hastily. "Let me just explain what happened."
Greg sighed as he sat down on the couch. "You know what? There's no need for you to explain. You slept with Simone and I think it's terrible, but you've been through a lot so I'll let it slide."
"But Greg... I didn't sleep with Simone."
"...You don't have to lie anymore, alright? It's... fine."
"First of all, the look on your face doesn't look like it's fine. And second of all, I'm not lying. We didn't have sex."
"Then why did her bra..."
Nick stopped him. "Just listen, okay? Simone tried contacting me for weeks now. ...Months, to be honest. I tried to ignore it, but after the explosion... I ran into her in a supermarket and... Didn't turn her away like I should've. She wanted to apologize for everything she did and said she was going to therapy now. I don't know why, but I invited her in and... When I came out of the kitchen with two bottles of water, she was naked. I kicked her out, guess she forgot her bra."
"...Really? That's it? That's all that happened?"
Nick nodded. "You were right, though. I couldn't bear being around you all the time because I was ashamed. I knew you'd feel betrayed after that, so I figured getting some distance would help."
Greg nodded thoughtful. "I'm not sure what to think of it yet, but I don't feel betrayed, Nick." He smiled at him. It was the first genuine smile Nick had seen from his friend in the last few days.
"Just know that I'd never do anything to hurt you. It's just been a difficult time for me and I thought I might regret not giving her the opportunity to apologize. I was willing to give her a second chance and she blew it."
Even though he felt different about giving that woman a second chance, Greg could understand why Nick was willing to. He tried to be as understanding as possible, but was glad that Nick decided he couldn't trust his ex-girlfriend. "So it's over?"
"Yeah, nothing changed. She's still not in my life and she never will be."
Greg felt relief after reconciling with Nick and he was now able to concentrate on Ackles more. "Hey Ackles." He walked into the break room, where his colleague was reading a newspaper.
"Hey," he replied without looking up.
"Are you feeling better?" Greg walked over to the coffee machine.
"I'm fine."
"Ackles, you attacked a suspect. We need to talk about this."
"I roughed him up a little, I admit that. I'm not proud of that. But I didn't mean to hurt him."
After fixing himself a coffee, the CSI sat down next to him. "But you did. You did hurt him."
"...Yeah, I agree. I'm a horrible person." Ackles put the newspaper in front of his face.
"That's not what I said. And I don't think you are. I just think you're scared and feeling vulnerable, which is normal. I do."
Ackles was getting angry. He meant to yell at Greg, but when he looked at him he couldn't do it. "...Greg... I appreciate what you're trying to do, but... don't. I don't deserve it. I made a mistake and I have to live with it."
"And this is where you're wrong." Greg handed him a card. "Call him. He helped many of us before and I'm sure he'll be able to help you, too."
"...What is this? Dr. Garayua, psychiatrist?"
"The lab will pay for it and..."
Ackles interrupted him as he jumped off his seat, slamming his hand on the table. "I don't need a goddamned shrink!"
Greg stared at him. "...Calm down, Ackles. I just thought this could help you deal with the attack."
"How is he supposed to help me? Huh?! Can he take the guilt off of my shoulders?!"
The CSI frowned. "What guilt? Because of Lowell?"
"...Because of you, you idiot!"
"...W-What?" This was getting more and more confusing for Greg.
"I don't care about this monster! He attacked you! He can rot in hell, for all I care. But you... You didn't deserve that. You were the only one that night who did everything right, and yet you're the only one who got hurt." Ackles' eyes watered.
He shook his head. "You did nothing wrong, it wasn't your fault..."
"Yes it was! I told him to spare me and kill you instead!"
The shock in Greg's face slowly turned into a sad frown. "...What do you mean?"
Ackles' face froze over the realisation of his big mistake. He never planned to tell Greg this and didn't know what to do now. "I-I... I'm sorry." Unable to think of a better plan, he stormed out of the room. But because he had raised his voice on Greg a few moments ago, half of the lab's employees were gathered around the break room's door, forcing Ackles to pass them all as he left.
Hodges stuck his head into the room cautiously. "...Are you alright?"
Greg couldn't answer right now, the shock was too deep at the moment. He slightly nodded with a face impression that let everyone know he wasn't alright.