Ready for the next one?

Everyone at the lab and police station were celebrating the latest arrest of officer Turner's murderer. He turned out to be a contract killer, working for a drug dealer officer Turner and the officer from Boulder City were involved with, tampering with evidence and intimidating victims and suspects for him. His name was Frankie Patton and he was being treated at the hospital for several wounds on his face and body.

After answering a lot of questions at the police station, Greg was allowed to go home and get some rest. He had troubles falling asleep after this exhausting night, thoughts were running wild in his head, it was impossible to find any rest. "Nick?" He knocked on his friend's opened bedroom door. The older CSI had just come home half an hour ago. "Hey you. You said you wanted to get some sleep once you get home, why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep."

Nick invited him in. "Exciting night, huh?"

Greg nodded as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm glad this guy is off the street but..." He sighed deeply. "Spencer was so controlled, so... He didn't use any excessive force, he didn't hurt this guy, he just arrested him."

"Greg, I... I'm not sure I can follow."

"Look, I know this sounds weird but... Why was he so controlled? This guy killed his partner and almost killed him, too. All I ever did was..." He stopped himself, knowing he'd start crying if he went on.

"...You're wondering why he didn't use any excessive force while arresting this murderer while he assaulted you?"

The young CSI nodded reluctantly. "I know it's a horrible thought but..."

"You know..." Nick sat down next to him. "I think it's a valid question, but you'll probably never get a comforting answer. My best guess is that he was drunk, frustrated and grieving when he assaulted you and he's processed Turner's death by know, he's not controlled by emotions anymore."

He shrugged. "I guess so."

"Are you sure you'll be able to work with him? ...Trust him?"

"Most of the time working with him I didn't even think about it that much. But when I do, I... I really have to concentrate not to get a panic attack."

"Well, then seeing him controlled in a situation like tonight... Shouldn't that give you some comfort? It seems like he's over it and he can probably be trusted, no?"

Greg nodded as he shrugged his shoulder. "Probably."

"Look, it's been a few hours since the guy has been caught. Don't expect things to go back to normal that quickly. It'll happen, but you need to give yourself some time. It's okay if you're having trouble sleeping, it'll stop eventually."

Spencer had asked Greg a huge favor – one the CSI wasn't sure he wanted to do for him, but got talked into eventually. He found himself sitting in a therapy session with the officer and Dr. Foster a week after Turner's murderer had been caught. Spencer asked him to attend one of the sessions with him so they could work things out between the two. Greg claimed there was nothing to work out between them, but the officer knew better.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Greg," he said with a smile on his face.

Dr. Foster nodded. "Barry has a few things to tell you he feels safest to say here in therapy."

"S-Sure." Greg shrugged as he nodded. "But we're alright, Spencer. You know that, right?"

"We're not alright, Greg. I see the way you look at me. You keep wondering whether I'll do something to you someday or not. And it really pains me to see you scared of me."

"...Well, I'm sorry I hurt you but... I don't know any other way to deal with this right now."

"That's what we're here for!" he exclaimed joyful. "Dr. Foster will help us find ways to deal with it!"

Greg sighed. "Look, we don't need any new strategys to deal with this. All we need is time and patience."

"Can you think of anything Barry could do to speed up the process, Greg?" Dr. Foster asked with a soft smile on his face.

"Not really."

Dr. Foster could sense that Greg was quite reserved. "Barry apologized, right? He also told me you acknowledge that it was a very stressful time for him. He's never acted aggressive towards you before, right?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah."

"What do you need to store this away as a one time thing? Do you actually fear it could happen again?"

Greg was getting quite uncomfortable. He didn't want a therapy session from this man right now, he had his own therapist and was just here for Spencer. "I just said all I need is time. There's nothing else that can help me with this, okay?" He looked at the officer. "I know this was an unsually stressful time and I know that you normally wouldn't do anything to harm me but... We have stressful jobs. We might get into a smilar situation again and... How do I know you'd react different the next time?"

Spencer looked at him in shock. "You think I'd do this to you again?"

"Well, no... I mean... I don't know. I can't know for sure."

Spencer's eyes watered. "I could never hurt you, Greg."

Greg laughed humorlessly. "See, here's the problem. You did. You did hurt me. I know I said before that you didn't but... Emotionally, you did hurt me. And I wonder if it's only a matter of time before you hurt me physically."

Spencer didn't even try to hold back his tears. "If I could take back those horrible things I said, I would. I scared myself, I don't know where that anger came from. It scares me to know there's this anger inside me I couldn't control in that moment but... I'm working on it, alright? I'm here in therapy, I'll get to the root of my problem and it won't ever happen again. Not to you, not to anybody else, alright?"

Greg just sat there, nodding his head as he was staring down on the coffee table in front of him. "Wait..." he said after a short moment of silence. "No. Have you been telling him this?" he adressed Dr. Foster. "Spencer, you know where that anger came from. It didn't come from some irrational, confusing place deep inside you. You had every right to be angry. You were mourning and you were traumatized, you almost lost your own life. You blamed yourself for what happened, it's normal to be angry. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"...B-But if that's your... theory, then why do you fear I might do it again?"

"Because my fear isn't rational, Barry." The CSI sighed. "My mind knows this will never happen again. My mind knows you're not dangerous. You're one of the kindest, sweetest people I know. There's no way there's some deep, dark and dangerous anger inside you that's just waiting to come out. But... My emotions won't let me listen to my mind. All I've learned in the last few years is that men want to hurt me. And with your threats you made me wonder when you'll try your luck." He released a humorless chuckle as he shook his head. For a moment he forgot him and Spencer weren't alone. He looked at the doctor. "...Sorry."

Dr. Foster shook his head. "No, this was quite impressive. Quite an insight. I'm not surprised, Barry told me about your past."

Greg was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "C-Can we finish up here?"

"What's bothering you right now, Greg?" the psychiatrist asked quite interested.

"Nothing." He shook his head.

"It's okay, we don't need to talk about it." Dr. Foster cleared his throat.

Greg was asked to meet Russell at his office at the start of his shift the next day. He already sensed what this talk could be about, but was surprised to find Brass and Spencer walking in. "What's going on, Russell?" he whispered to him. There was some awkwardness between Greg and Spencer after their therapy session together. Greg opened up to him in a way he hadn't planned to do and hadn't seen him since.

"We just wanted to give you guys an update on the case. We've made a lot of progress in the last days," the supervisor explained as he sat down in his chair.

"Oh, that... that's good." Greg started fidgeting in his seat as Spencer sat down next to him.

Brass started explaining, "We were able to connect Frankie Patton to three other unsolved murders. All police officers from cities in Nevada. We're going to need to take a look into all their cases, it's likely they tampered with evidence as well."

Greg released a deep sigh. "Wow, a lot of work ahead of us, huh?"

The captain nodded. "There's just one thing. We can connect Patton to a few other murders that don't involve any police officers."

Spencer frowned. "So?"

"So that means," Russell chimed in, "Patton isn't the one who wanted Turner dead. He's just the one who did it. He's a contract killer. Whoever wanted Turner dead is still out there."

Greg's eyes watered, while Spencer was better at hiding his emotions. "...A Contract killer?"