Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of its' characters. If I did, well….

Chapter 1

Faeryn Page walked down the hall of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, tired and worn out. Strands of her golden hair had come out of her ponytail and were fallen around her face. Her light blue shirt that was meant to bring out her eyes was stained reddish down the front from an overzealous on-looker with a bad grip on his slushie. She let out a sigh as she looked down at the ruined material. She knew she looked as exhausted as she felt.

As she looked up, she couldn't help but smile because he had just turned the corner and was walking down the hall towards her. The only good thing about working this much overtime was that her shift overlapped with his. They'd been dating three months and she still felt butterflies every time she saw him.

Greg Sanders looked up from his report and saw Fae. He smiled back at her, then shook his head lightly at the state of her shirt. "Rough day?" he asked as he drew near.

She nodded. "Most definitely. How is your day?"

Before he could answer, his phone buzzed, signaling a text message had arrived. He glanced down at it. "Just beginning."

"Got a scene?"

He nodded as he started to walk away.

"You'll come by later?" she made it a question.

He turned around and replied, "It will be late."

Fae gave him a "duh" stare. "Come on, you work graveyard! Of course it's late! But tomorrow's my day off, so I don't care."

"I'll come by when I get off," Greg assured her with a half-cocked smile. Then his phone went off again. He pulled out his phone and looked at it. "Ok, I'm off to work."

"Later," she told him as he turned and continued on his way. Then she went to the locker room to get her stuff and go home. She wanted to take a shower and get a little sleep before Greg knocked on her door.

Before Greg knocked on her door, though, he had to walk through the door of a crime scene. It was a home invasion gone bad. Greg noticed the front door was forced open as he went through the entryway. Other than that, there were no obvious signs anything had happened in the front of the house.

The victim was a 17-year-old girl who had been home alone. From the state of her room, it looked like there had been a struggle. The girl lay on the floor, a shirt wrapped around her neck. However, the girl was still fully dressed. Her blonde hair was hiding some of her face. Greg took pictures of the room, including a pile of dirty clothes in one corner of the room.

"What's the verdict?" Nick Stokes, who was also at the scene, asked the assistant coroner David Phelps.

"It appears to be strangulation, but I'll have to wait for the autopsy to be sure. There is some bruising on her arms and it looks like she suffered a blow to the head from the bruise on her forehead," David replied, showing Greg and Nick what the hair was covering.

"What about T.O.D.?" Greg questioned.

David pushed his glasses up with one finger. "She's been dead about three hours."

Greg turned to a uniform that was standing in the doorway. "Who found the body?"

"The girl's mother, Holly Edwards. She and the father had just returned from their weekly Euchre tournament," the officer responded.

"Man," Nick shook his head. He'd thought after all these years that things like this wouldn't get to him, but they still did.

"Did the parents say if the girl normally stays home when they go to their card game?" Greg inquired.

"The Edwards said that usually Sydney, that's the girl, is at a church youth group, but tonight she wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home," the officer replied.

"I guess my mother was right," Nick said to no one in particular.

"Right about what?" Greg asked.

"Missing church really can be the death of you," Nick solemnly answered.

Greg was glad to be off work as he pulled in to Fae's driveway. He needed comfort right now, and that was something he always found in Fae's arms. It was why he enjoyed, so much, coming to her house when he got off of shift. He knew exactly what to expect.

Greg rang the doorbell and waited. He knew it would take her a couple minutes to get out of bed and answer the door, so he just stood there. He knew his patience would be rewarded when she opened the door, wearing her shorts and tank top that passed for pajamas to her. And he was right.

This morning, the shorts were a royal blue, her favorite color, and the tank top was a solid, non-see-through white. Her shoulder-length hair was a little messed up. She stretched and yawned as she opened the door, giving him a peek at a small span of skin between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her shorts.

"Top of the morning to you, Greg," she greeted him in her usually playful manner.

"And the rest of the day to you," he responded as he walked in the door. He closed it behind him and made sure it was securely locked. Then he followed her back to her bedroom, stripping his clothes as he went.

"How was your shift?" she turned only her head to ask.

"Dead teenager, heart-broken parents, so pretty bad," he told her. As they passed the bathroom he added, "You mind if I take a shower before we go to bed?"

She stopped and turned around to look at him. "You've never asked me that before. Normally you take a shower at the lab."

"I didn't want to waste any time getting here," he smiled.

She walked up to him and gave him a hug. She did a quick, playful sniff, crinkled her nose, and then answered, "Yes, please, take a shower."

Greg let out a slight chuckle. Fae always had a way of making him feel better. "Thank you."

"Extra towels and wash clothes are in the closet. I only have girlie soap and shampoo, though."

"I think I can survive smelling like you for a little while," he smiled and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll be quick," he promised as he ducked in to the bathroom.

Fae continued on to the bedroom and laid down to wait for Greg. She was still pretty tired. She hadn't actually gotten much sleep. Because of a recent case, her nightmares had come back to haunt her. Every time she fell asleep, she would be back in graduate school. Back, walking across campus to her car at 1am because she had lost track of time while in the library doing research, even though she knew better. And no matter what path she took across campus she always passed the alley.

Fae felt an arm sliding around her waist. Her whole body tensed. She was about to scream when she heard a familiar voice.

"It's just me," Greg assured her, giving her a light kiss on the back of her neck, as he spooned her.

Fae immediately relaxed. "Sorry, I must have fallen asleep."

He laughed. "I wasn't in there that long."

She smiled even though he couldn't see it. "It's not that," she told him. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

Greg gave her a little squeeze, "More nightmares?" Greg knew about Fae being attacked a few years ago. It was one of the reasons he didn't mind when they slept together all they actually did was sleep. And he knew how a recent case had been giving her nightmares. He'd comforted her on more than one occasion because of them.

"Yea," she said as she turned to face Greg. She placed her hand on his cheek. "But I feel much better now that you're here."

Greg took her hand in his and brought it to his lips for a gentle kiss. "I'll gladly be your security blanket any day."

She let out a little giggle. Then she gave him a quick kiss. "You are the best."

"I know," he jokingly replied.

She giggled again and snuggled closer in to him. He pressed his lips to her forehead. Then they both closed their eyes and fell asleep.