Title: She Wonders
Author: flamebrain
Feedback: Yes, please.
Spoilers: "Early Rollout"
Disclaimer: CSI and its characters belong to Zuiker, CBS, etc. Sara's quote is from Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and all rights belong to him. Bonus points to those who catch the other. I'm making no money.
Summary: Another post-ep for "Early Rollout." Sara's drinking. She's depressed.
Notes: To Linda. To Heather for the beta. And thanks to all those who sent me feedback on "One More Round." AH, Anansay, Jendeh, xp. Anyone I missed. Appreciate it muchly.
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She sits quietly on her stool, sipping her gin and tonic. It's number four, and she recognizes the need to slow down so she'll be ready for work.
Glancing around the room, she wonders when it came to this. Her own designated stool, left open for her arrival, in this dark bar at nine in the morning.
A piano is in one corner, not used at this time, but its player lingers long after his shift to mingle with the regulars.
As he moves down the bar to speak to her she wonders when she became a regular.
She has justified her morning sojourns by telling herself it's better than drinking alone. She knows it's a lie.
She remembers her first meeting with Warrick in a casino and her disdain for him. She remembers investigating him not once, but twice, and her anger when Grissom reinstated him despite her findings.
She wonders if he will do the same for her. Probably not. He has shown time and again that he does not trust her.
She signals for another and smiles at the bartender, Mike, as he places it in front of her. And she wonders why.
She doesn't think she has given Grissom cause to distrust her. She has not gambled, been involved with either a criminal or a suspect in an ongoing investigation, or blown up a lab. She has done nothing wrong.
Until now, of course. But he doesn't yet know about this. His lack of confidence has been apparent from the beginning, and she wonders why she stayed.
Oh, right. She loves him. She wonders why she bothers.
She takes another drink and glances at the clock. Quitting time. She needs to sober up for the sake of appearances. She wonders how long it will be before she slips and screws up a case.
She pays her tab and nods farewell to the others. At least here she is not so lonely...for they are all lonely together. As Billy once said, "They're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone." The man had it right, she is coming to realize. How pathetic is that?
She knows she will get little sleep before work. She wonders why no one but Brass has noticed.
Wasn't Vegas supposed to be a great place to work? It was for a time, but that time has long since passed. Though she was never a part of the family – more like the unwanted poor, orphan cousin – she feels its disintegration to her core. She wonders when it happened.
She looks out her window – her bar is conveniently close to her apartment – at the bright lights of the Strip. And she wonders.
Author: flamebrain
Feedback: Yes, please.
Spoilers: "Early Rollout"
Disclaimer: CSI and its characters belong to Zuiker, CBS, etc. Sara's quote is from Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and all rights belong to him. Bonus points to those who catch the other. I'm making no money.
Summary: Another post-ep for "Early Rollout." Sara's drinking. She's depressed.
Notes: To Linda. To Heather for the beta. And thanks to all those who sent me feedback on "One More Round." AH, Anansay, Jendeh, xp. Anyone I missed. Appreciate it muchly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She sits quietly on her stool, sipping her gin and tonic. It's number four, and she recognizes the need to slow down so she'll be ready for work.
Glancing around the room, she wonders when it came to this. Her own designated stool, left open for her arrival, in this dark bar at nine in the morning.
A piano is in one corner, not used at this time, but its player lingers long after his shift to mingle with the regulars.
As he moves down the bar to speak to her she wonders when she became a regular.
She has justified her morning sojourns by telling herself it's better than drinking alone. She knows it's a lie.
She remembers her first meeting with Warrick in a casino and her disdain for him. She remembers investigating him not once, but twice, and her anger when Grissom reinstated him despite her findings.
She wonders if he will do the same for her. Probably not. He has shown time and again that he does not trust her.
She signals for another and smiles at the bartender, Mike, as he places it in front of her. And she wonders why.
She doesn't think she has given Grissom cause to distrust her. She has not gambled, been involved with either a criminal or a suspect in an ongoing investigation, or blown up a lab. She has done nothing wrong.
Until now, of course. But he doesn't yet know about this. His lack of confidence has been apparent from the beginning, and she wonders why she stayed.
Oh, right. She loves him. She wonders why she bothers.
She takes another drink and glances at the clock. Quitting time. She needs to sober up for the sake of appearances. She wonders how long it will be before she slips and screws up a case.
She pays her tab and nods farewell to the others. At least here she is not so lonely...for they are all lonely together. As Billy once said, "They're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone." The man had it right, she is coming to realize. How pathetic is that?
She knows she will get little sleep before work. She wonders why no one but Brass has noticed.
Wasn't Vegas supposed to be a great place to work? It was for a time, but that time has long since passed. Though she was never a part of the family – more like the unwanted poor, orphan cousin – she feels its disintegration to her core. She wonders when it happened.
She looks out her window – her bar is conveniently close to her apartment – at the bright lights of the Strip. And she wonders.