A/N: Again, I'm so sorry for the huge wait. I've just been so busy in school with tests and stuff I've been completely blocked of ideas. I really do promise to try and post sooner from now on.

A/N2: As usual I could really use some nice reviews from you all. After all, it's the reviews that keep me going.

A/N3: I wrote this chapter while I was sick at home today. So if something doesn't seem quite right, blame it on how sleepy I feel. But I've checked and re-checked it, so I hope it reads ok.

Enjoy!

Robbie couldn't get his argument with Gil out of his head. Even though he'd only lived with them for a while, Robbie didn't want to loose the family he'd gained, and, truth be told, he didn't know his father well enough to know how he'd react to the situation.

After having gotten the baby news off her chest, Stephanie didn't distance herself from Robbie like she had before and even their friends noticed the difference. By the time he got back to the lab, Robbie felt confident that what he had told his dad about having a baby not being a bad thing would really turn out to be true.

"Hey Rhett…" said Mandy as she saw her favourite rooky walk through the door

"Evening, Mandy" he replied smiling as he walked into the trace lab where Greg was in a heated argument with Hodges

"They are my files, don't move them!" said Greg waving three files in his hand

"They were on my work space, besides, your stuff belongs in DNA, not trace…"

"This is a special case, Grissom asked me to run it through trace since I was already here and he needs the results ASAP. All I'm asking is that you don't move my things, Hodges, it's not a difficult request"

Looking annoyed, Hodges simply walked out of the lab as Greg spotted Robbie.

"How's it going?" he asked

"Meh…" sighed Robbie "we still on for coffee tonight? I need to vent"

"Yea, 'course…but is everything ok?"

"Yea, I just had an argument with my dad and I need to get some stuff off my chest"

"Ah, and argument with the boss man, sure, I'll listen to you…"

"Thanks, man" changing the topic, Robbie continued "what's up with Hodges tonight?"

"Eh, he's been acting weird for a while. Between you and me, he always acted strangely, but I dunno, recently, he's suffering from severe mood swings"

Through the glass, the two watched as Hodges poured himself some coffee in the break room looking grumpy. Then, sensing someone else in the room, he turned and spotted Wendy. Out of nowhere a huge smile erupted on his face and the two scientists in the trace lab spoke a simultaneous "ah…"

"…and there's the reason for those mood swings…" said Greg looking at how Wendy seemed to be shouting at Hodges and he still had the goofy smile on his face.

"Yea…what are the chances Wendy will ever go out with him?" asked Robbie

"Slim to none?" suggested Greg as Wendy left the break room and Hodges looked after her

"Poor guy…" said Robbie as he turned to the microscope to his right and began work.

At the end of shift, Robbie found himself alone in the locker room waiting for Greg. Outside, he could hear the various members of night shift arriving. First Catherine and Warrick, then Nick and finally, he heard his father's voice as he greeted his team. Not wanting to have to confront him again in front of the team, Robbie paged Greg to meet him in the car park and headed out.

Five minutes later, the spiky haired CSI joined him.

"Hey, Robbie!" called Greg approaching his friend.

"Hey"

"So where're we going? I have to be back in 20. Your dad is only giving me the break so I could eat something then I have a 419 to help out with"

"Um…ok, Tony's?"

"Sure, they have pretty decent burgers. Come on"

'Tony's' was a small restaurant not too far from the lab which was mainly frequented by PD staff and CSI's.

"What can I getcha?" asked the waiter as the two scientists sat down.

"Uh, cheeseburger with everything" said Greg before looking at Robbie

"Make that two" said the younger man taking.

"So, what did you wanna talk about?" asked Greg ready to lend his friend a ear.

"Uh…well…last night after I left work, Stephanie picked me up and we went out for dinner"

"Yea I know. I called you remember? You said you were 'busy'" said Greg making air quotes at the last word

"Yea…I was busy. But not in the way you're insinuating"

Registering his friend's serious tone, Greg asked "what happened? Did you two break up?"

Sighing, Robbie continued "No. Uh… She told me… she told me she was pregnant…"

Silence

"Wow…uh…" was all Greg could say as the Burgers appeared in front of them.

"Yea that was pretty much my reaction"

"And you're sure it's yours?" asked the Greg

Looking a bit upset at the insinuation, Robbie replied "yea I'm sure! Steph is a stand up girl!"

"Ok, sorry. It's just, you know, it has to be asked"

Taking a couple of fries from his plate, Robbie continued "We talked it out and she's having the baby. And I'm gonna be there for her 100"

"Well, in that case, congratulations man. I'd buy you a drink but you're only 18 so a pat on the back will have to do" said Greg reaching over and patting his friend's shoulder.

Since Greg had to be back at the lab shortly, the rest of dinner was filled with a short hand version of the argument with Grissom and soon Robbie was on his way home and Greg was back at the lab.

"Greg!" called Grissom as he saw the youngest CSI approach

"Yea boss?" he asked spinning on his heals

"Let's go, come on!"

"Ok…" noting the tension lines on Grissom's face, Greg chose to obey and talk later.

In the car, Grissom started to find it weird that Greg hadn't even asked to play his music and so, being the intelligent man he was, put two and two together and figured the young man knew.

"Ok…Greg, I know you know. Stop acting like that, it's annoying" said Grissom, his eyes still on the road ahead of him.

"Uh…ok, boss"

Silence

It wasn't until five minutes later that Greg, who'd been fighting a battle with himself spoke

"Look, Grissom, I know you probably don't want to hear this and you probably don't want to hear it from me either but someone has to say it…"

"Greg, I've already heard it from Sara, when I'm ready to calm down I will. Until then, leave me alone…" he said still not moving his eyes from the road.

Again Greg had a waging battle in his head 'do I press on and risk being kicked out of the car and having to walk what would be three hours by car or do I shut up and not help my friend?' normally, Greg would have taken the second option, after all it would be a lot of walking to get to the crime scene. But this time, he didn't.

"Look, Grissom. You can say all you want, you can be disappointed in Robbie all you want. But look, I've gotten to know him since he moved in with you and he's a stand up guy. One of the few guys I think are genuinely as nice as they seem. He has a promising future and I'm sure he won't give up on it no matter what. But you've gotta give him a break. He made a mistake. But he's owning up to it and taking responsibility. You should understand"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" asked Grissom suddenly turning to face his CSI

Surprisingly not shaken by his boss' death glare, Greg explained "only that you made the same mistake Robbie did 18 years ago"

When Grissom didn't reply and merely stared forwards as a vein in his neck became more and more obvious, Greg continued with new found confidence "look, I'm sure, knowing you as I do, that if you had known about Robbie when you got his mom pregnant, you would have stuck with him and been there for him. And I'm sure you still would have done everything you could for your career. You're just that kind of guy. So why shouldn't Robbie, who more and more seems to be a perfect chip of the ol' block, make it too? Huh? Why do you not trust your son?"

When Grissom didn't speak, Greg turned to him and, noticing the anger plastered on his face, chose to stop talking. With his iPod plugged in and the desert scenery to observe, the young CSI managed to occupy himself for the remaining hours of the trip and, once at the crime scene, managed to avoid Grissom, reporting instead to Catherine who'd arrived a while earlier.

Hours later, when the team began to head back to CSI, Greg found himself in a confined space with his boss again. Now feeling a bit unnerved by the icy silence, Greg realised he should probably try and smooth things over with him. After all, if there was someone who knew how to hide a body, it was Gil Grissom.

"Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't…"

"No. You probably shouldn't have said those things, it's really none of your business" when Grissom saw the look on Greg's face, he continued with a sigh "but you were right. I did the same thing Robbie did. Worse, actually, I didn't love his mom and he loves Stephanie. I shouldn't have lost it like that. I know he'll do great and I know he won't give up, it's just…" he sighed again "…it's just he's a kid, I can't help but think if it took me this long to be a good father and husband, how is he going to do it at 18? Especially considering he grew up without a father figure?"

Relieved that Grissom wasn't going to strange him, Greg replied "by being everything he wished he'd had and by copying what you've been to Charlie, Colin and him"

Suddenly feeling a lot of respect for Greg, Grissom smiled. When they got back to CSI, Grissom stopped the car and, once outside, turned back to Greg.

"Greg…"

"Yea?"

"Thank you. Thank you for the talk. I, I needed it…"

"Any time boss" said Greg smiling widely and feeling more confident than ever.

Noticing this, Grissom smiled to himself and went inside to find his wife so they could go home where he hoped to talk to Robbie before he left for school.

TBC

Well that was a new side for Greg, huh?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope to post chapter 16 soon. Please leave a review and tell me what you think, it really is what keeps me going.

Thanks for reading,

CJS-DEPPendent