In a World They Forgot

I'll Never Say It Back

"Miki, Grissom needs to see you." Catherine came into the break room, a sympathetic smile on her face.

I climbed off of Greg's lap and out of Nick's warm hug, immediately feeling vulnerable and afraid once I was on my own.

It was nearly the end of the shift and Grissom had been talking to Ecklie the whole time. It had been a quiet night which meant I had nothing to keep my mind off of the fact that the guy who had shot me had actually intended to kill me. That caused three panic attacks, a lot of shaking, a few silent tears and a new fear of being alone.

I found it slightly ironic.

I'd spent twenty five years determined to make it on my own, live an independent life.

Two bullets later and now I could barely stand up without someone helping me.

I'd spent the majority of the night either curled up on Greg's lap or buried in his shoulder. Nick was constantly coming over and hugging me, him and Warrick making jokes to try and make me laugh; trying to 'restore' the old Miki as they put it.

Surprisingly my legs found the strength to make it down the long corridors to Grissom's office; the cluttered desk and darkened room seemed to calm me, but only slightly.

"How are you doing Miki?" He asked quietly, his calm eyes showing his worry for my state.

"Honestly?"

"If you tell me you're fine, I'll know you're lying by just taking one look at you." He said.

"I'm the opposite. I'm terrified Griss. If someone wants me dead they're not going to stop until I have my name etched out in a gravestone and I haven't done anything to make anyone angry! If it's connected to my dad, I can't help you, because I never knew him! Surely whoever plotted to get me shot knew that!" I shouted, finally voicing the thoughts that had been tangled up in my mind.

"That's why we've had to find a link between the case Catherine and Greg started, to your fathers and back to yours. There are a few minor links related to drug rings that we have found that we need to build up to make a stronger connection plausible for an arrest of any kind. For the time being I have suggested to Ecklie that we speak to your mother and Mikito for anything they know that may help us out with this case and then get the three of you to a safe house somewhere outside of the city--"

"No. You can put my mom and Mikito into a safe house by all means I'd prefer that, but I'm staying put here in Vegas. I'm terrified, yes, but I'm not going to run." I cut him off.

"And what if something else happens to you? You've already been shot twice and the suspects may try to finish the job off."

"I'm not running from this Grissom, no matter how many bullets are put into me. I may not have known my father but I do want to know what he did that pissed someone off so much that they're still trying to seek revenge twenty-five years later on someone who doesn't even look like him." I told him, my hands clutching the arms of the chair as I tried to control my shaking limbs and nerves.

It was true, the only thing I really inherited from my father was my dark hair, and everything else was from my mother's side. My skin was fair, my eyes were typical, I was an average figure...I blended in with America just as well as the next American.

"Miki, whoever wanted you dead went to some extent to make sure they got to you. They tracked you back to the city on your return and to the crime scenes on that night when you were shot...this is the work of someone very skilled, who knows what they are doing and who will easily track you again." Grissom told me.

"Then why didn't they do it sooner? Look Griss, you can take me out of the lab but I am still very much a big part of this case. You need me around." I said calmly, successfully stopping the shakes and blocking the fear of death out of my mind.

"I am looking out for you here Miki. The longer you stay in the city the more dangerous this will become for you, and the chances of you being shot or injured again will be higher than they were before. I don't want to see you in a hospital bed again anytime soon and I'm sure the rest of the team don't either."

"I know Griss, but I'm not leaving this place. This is where I was born and this is where I will die. Sooner than later if necessary. My dad never got the justice he deserved twenty-six years ago. I'm sticking around to make sure we both get it now." I explained.

"I hope you know what you're doing Miki." Grissom said as he pulled out an official form that I had to sign to decline the offer of police protection and a safe house. I nodded and pushed the form back across the desk, my name scrawled along the bottom.

"Then my only request is that you stay out of this case and that you stay with a partner at all times; even when you're not in the lab." Grissom said, adding his own name next to mine.

"So I have to buddy up with someone for a few weeks?" I asked, pulling at my sweater sleeves

"Yes. Even if you feel as if you don't need it, please, do it to put my mind at ease."

I sighed and nodded.

"Okay."

"I'll try and arrange for you to stay with Greg." Grissom told me, taking his glasses off.

"Fine, but, why Greg?"

"I think I can trust him to look after you and you two get on well. Is there a problem with staying with him?"

"No. I was just simply curious as to why you chose Greg over the others." I shrugged.

"I want you to go back to the break room. For tonight, your work is over. After the shift you can return to your apartment to collect some things and then you are not allowed to return there without consulting me until this case is over." Grissom explained.

"I understand." I nodded slowly, knowing that as annoying as this was going to be for me, he was only doing this to guarantee my safety over the period of the case.