Nightmares

Chapter Five

Greg walked into the DNA lab, wondering if he shouldn’t have skipped the second cup of coffee.

“What do you have?” He asked, hoping he sounded better than he felt.

“The dandruff doesn’t match your suspect,” Mia said as she handed him the paper. “It is male, though.”

“Thanks,” he said as he left the lab.

He spotted Catherine in the break room and went inside. He dropped the paper on the table and watched as it slid into her coffee cup. She looked up at him, an eyebrow raised.

“Not a match to Jefferson,” he said, not caring if he sounded depressed or not.

“It’s only one bump in the road,” she told him, taking a sip of her coffee. “What about the fingerprints?”

Greg sighed and sat across from her. He ran a hand through his hair as he gathered his thoughts. It wasn’t the case which had him feeling this way, it was Sara.

“Fingerprints from the wine bottle and glasses belong to the victim and Jefferson. I did find another set of prints that came back unknown.”

“Go back and see if you can make them known.”

“Right,” Greg said as he stood.

“Don’t worry, Greg, we’ll get him.”

Greg smiled slightly and left the room. He wasn’t worried about the case. He was worried about where he stood with Sara.


~*~

Sara walked down the hall to the break room. She and Grissom had closed their case and she wanted a break.

How can anyone drown their own five year old daughter? She thought as she strode into the break room.

She opened the fridge and brought out her sacked lunch. She closed the door and sat at the table. She sighed as she pulled out a salad and sandwich from the sack.

Sara popped the top off her salad and was about to dig in when Nick sat across from her. She glanced at him, an eyebrow raised.

“What’s going on between you and Greg?”

Sara stared at him, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I passed Greg in the hall and he looked like crap,” Nick said, his eyes narrowed.

She lowered her eyes and knew she had to tell someone. The nightmares were worse than before and they frightened her.

“I’m having nightmares,” she said softly. “We aren’t getting any sleep because of them.”

“He told me. Have you told Greg what they’re about?”

Sara shook her head as tears stung her eyes. She wiped them away and glanced at the doorway.

“Why not, Sara? He could help you.”

She shook her head again and looked at him.

“They’re about Greg,” she answered, her voice breaking. “They all end the same. He’s dead by that maniac’s hand.”
A sob escaped her and she looked away. She placed her head in her hands as she fought back the need to cry.

“He’s fine, Sara,” Nick said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “He’s not going anywhere. You can tell him.”

“I don’t want to scare him. I don’t want to bring back those memories.”

“You’re going to have to tell him sometime, Sara.”

“Not now,” she said as she stared at her feet. “Maybe they’ll go away soon and we can go back to normal.”

Nick sighed and stood, “He doesn’t look well, Sara. I think it’s starting to take a toll on Greg.”

Sara nodded and watched as Nick left the room. She sighed and pierced her salad with her fork. She didn’t know if she could tell Greg about her nightmares. She wasn’t ready and she didn’t know if she’d ever be.


~*~

Sara came out of the rest room and nearly collided with Greg. She stared at him in surprise as she stepped out of his way.

She saw what Nick had meant when he said Greg looked terrible. The dark circles under his eyes obviously were from lack of sleep. The expression in his eyes, though caused her heart to sink.

“What’s wrong?” She asked as she placed a hand on his arm.

Greg stepped away from her, shocking her into silence. He had never rejected her touch before. Concern turned to worry as she asked again.

“What do I mean to you?” Greg asked suddenly, catching her off guard.

“What do you mean by that?” Sara asked, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. He should know what he meant to her.

“Do you trust me?”

She blinked not understanding where he was going with this.

“Greg…”

“Answer me, please,” he said, his voice pleading, causing her stomach to clinch. She had never seen him like this and it scared her.

“I trust you, Greg,” she answered softly.

“Then why won’t you tell me about your nightmares? Why won’t you let me help you?”

“I told you, Greg. I can’t.”

Greg shook his head, his dark eyes boring into her.

“Can’t, nothing. You won’t.”

“I’m sorry,” Sara said, reaching out to touch him, to comfort him.

“Do you even love me?”

Shock crashed through her and for several minutes she stared at him. She blinked as she tried to gather her thoughts. She then froze when she saw the despair in his eyes.

“I guess not,” Greg whispered as he turned and walked away from her.

“Greg, wait,” she said, but he was half-way down the hall.

“I do love you,” she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.