After Thoughts

By: Emmithar

Rating: K (G)

Summary: Greg feels as if he's being left behind out in the field, but doesn't know if anything can be done about it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; I don't own Vegas, although I wouldn't mind owning them; Greg Sanders and all of Vegas, what could be better:P

A/N: Inspired by all the rain we've been getting, although it has very little relevance to the story, the rain still gets the award for inspiration. One chapter shot.

It was one of the darker nights of the year, a perfect night for murder. Greg let out a sigh, coming up behind Sara. The young teenage girl in front of them was sprawled out on the ground, several different stab wounds to her chest area. He shook his head gently, turning towards Sara. "Where do you want me?"

"Pictures," Sara said almost immediately, "Take several, every angle. Don't leave anything out."

Greg nodded, it was a given. He watched as Sara moved forward, kneeling next to the body before he started moving as well. Snapping several pictures he glanced back up at her. "You see that there?" he asked.

Sara glanced his way, nodding, "Yeah, I'll get it."

Greg raised an eyebrow, watching as she reached around with a pair of tweezers, pulling free the fiber. "You sure you don't need any help?"

Sara shook her head, "I'm good," she told him quietly, "Sophia's going to be here soon, she'll be able to take the perimeter."

Greg nodded sullenly, raising the camera back to his face as he snapped a few more pictures. He glanced up as the sounds of cannons could be heard in the background. Smiling softly he turned back to Sara who hadn't even seemed to hear them. "Good show," he said quietly.

She glanced back up at him, "Huh?"

"Treasure Island, their pirate show. It's pretty good," Greg remarked, moving to take a few more pictures.

Sara shrugged, "Haven't seen it."

Greg lowered the camera, frowning. "You lived here all this time and you haven't seen the pirate show?"

"I haven't had the time," Sara commented dryly. "Concentrate on your work," she reminded him.

Greg nodded, not saying another word as he went back to taking pictures. Sophia arrived not ten minutes later, moving to work on the perimeter as soon as she helped Sara finish up the body. Greg followed behind roughly a step or two, helping to bag evidence, and fill in other odd jobs.

By the time they were finishing up the skies had opened up, the rain light but drenching. Sara loaded the last of the evidence bags into the truck, closing the passenger side door. "Get them back to the lab," she told Sophia, shielding her eyes from the rain, "We'll be right behind you."

Sophia nodded, climbing into her truck as Sara made her way back to the car. "Come on Greg, let's get going." She came to a stop when he didn't respond. "Greg?"

The young trainee had walked down a ways, leaning against the small chain link fence. Sara called his name again, walking towards him. "Come on Greg; let's get back to the lab."

He didn't look at her, only kept staring forward; Sara followed his gaze across the open lot. From here you could just see part of the pirate show; Greg seemed to be watching it intently, but with a closer look she could tell he was lost in thought. Leaning against the fence next to him she said nothing, only watching the show from a distance.

"You ever…" Greg started, letting out a sigh as he shifted on his feet. "You ever wonder if you made a wrong decision, or the right one for that matter?"

Sara glanced at him oddly, "What makes you ask that?"

Greg shrugged looking towards the ground as he dug his toe in the loose gravel. "I just feel, sometimes, that I'm in the wrong place. Like I'm just a shadow."

Sara nodded slowly, "I'm…not following you," she said after a moment.

"When I was back in the lab, I was on top of everything. I knew all the answers, or almost all the answers, I knew what I was doing. I didn't have to confirm with anyone on what to do, I just did. Out here, it's like if I take a step forward without asking anyone, I'm risking everything."

She gave him a small smile, "Bit of a difference huh?"

Greg squeezed his eyes shut, using his hand to wipe the rain water from his face. "No one trusts me out here, I feel so useless sometimes."

"That's not true," she told him quickly, "Greg you took a big step; you went from being on the top to being on the bottom. It's going to get some time to get used to."

"I know," he nodded, "I know that. It's just, I don't know if I like it out here as much as I thought I would. There's still so much I have to learn."

"And you will," Sara intervened, "Just give it time."

"Will I?" Greg wondered, glancing up at her. "I won't be able to learn if everyone keeps shunning me."

"No one is shunning you Greg," Sara told him, confusion washing over her. She watched him for a moment. "Why would you think something like that?"

Greg shook his head, straightening up as he let go of the fence. "Never mind," he told her quietly. "Let's get going."

"Greg?" Sara called after him, moving to catch up with him when he didn't stop. "You're angry with me," she told him calmly, watching to see what his reaction was.

His head was down as he shook it. "No," he responded voice still quiet.

Sara moved in front of him, blocking his path. Greg came to a stop, avoiding her gaze as he turned back to watch the show. It was nearly over now, the boat was sinking.

"Greg, talk to me, please," Sara pleaded with him. "Why are you mad at me?"

Greg turned to her, his face drawn, "If you can't see why, then you wouldn't understand, so there isn't a point of talking about it. The lab's going to miss us, we should get going."

Sara followed him back to the car, shaking her head. "We are not going anywhere until you talk about this Greg."

"Let's just go," Greg told her calmly, reaching for the door handle.

"I'm not driving," she stated firmly, crossing her arms as she leaned against the vehicle.

"Then I'll drive," Greg turned to her, holding out his hand, "Give me the keys."

"You do not have the authority to tell me what to do," Sara reminded him.

She watched as Greg shook his head. "I'll walk then," he told her, already moving towards the sidewalk. Sara stepped towards him, grabbing his arm in a gentle yet firm hold. "Greg, talk to me. I can't help you unless I know what's wrong."

He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as he leaned against the car. She nodded at him, letting him know that she was listening.

"You realize that the last five cases all I've done at the scene is document photos? And the most I've done at the lab is sort through papers, hell, I did more when I was working under Grissom," he ran a hand through his hair, shifting uncomfortably.

"Then Griss had you take over my lead, and not that I'm complaining, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be able to come out at all, but I'm not going anywhere either."

Sara swallowed, still watching him. "Are you saying I'm being unfair?" she questioned.

Greg didn't say anything at first, only staring straight ahead. "I don't know what I'm saying," he answered quietly.

Sara nodded, "I'll talk to Grissom then."

Greg let out a short laugh, "See, I knew I shouldn't have said anything, I knew this is where it would have ended."

Sara turned back to him, watching him. "What do you mean by that?"

Greg shook his head slowly, "Grissom is going to pull me back in the lab if I can't do this. After you talk to him tonight he'll make his decision. I won't be able to go back in the field until he feels that I'm ready."

"Then you have to show him you're ready," Sara urged him.

"How?" Greg wondered, glancing at her. "How can I convince him and myself that I'm ready unless someone gives me the chance to actually try? I mean, you won't even let me run the perimeter. Do you have that little of faith in me?"

Sara glanced down quickly before glancing back up, "Greg, I didn't realize…"

Greg shook his head, cutting her off. "I don't need an apology Sara," he told her. "I need a chance. That's all I'm asking. If you don't think I can do this, then I'll go back in the lab. But I don't want to pretend something's happening that's not. I don't want to be lied to anymore."

"No one's been lying to you Greg," Sara told him, "It's just, I'm not used to this either. It's new for me, and I didn't realize what I was doing, I'm sorry. I can give you another chance…" she paused for a moment, "I can give you another chance if you're willing to give me another one as well."

Greg nodded slowly after a minute. "That sounds far enough," he answered. "We should get going."

Sara nodded, "Yeah…the last thing I need is a conference with Ecklie and Grissom trying to explain to them why I let you play in the rain long enough to warrant you a hospital visit."

Greg laughed softly, "That might be fun," he teased, his mood a little lighter but still quite apparent he was upset.

Sara could only nod as she made her way to the driver's side, pausing as she reached for the door handle. "You want to make a quick stop?" she wondered.

Greg gave her an odd look as she grinned, "I think it's about time I actually saw that pirate show."

The End