Title: Favorite
Author: atthebeginningwithyou/_my_pointe_
Rating: K+
Summary: Sara isn't Grissom's favorite CSI.
Disclaimer: None of them belong to me… Takes place after "For Gedda"
Author's Notes: Part of the Summer Blockbuster Ficathon at geekfiction a long time ago. Cleaning files on my computer and I realized that I never posted this. Better late than never!
My Prompt: "The stuff that dreams are made of," "The Maltese Falcon," 1941.
A/N: I'll admit, not my best work. Life has been hectic to say the least. However, this story has been rattling around in my head since the season finale. I'm so glad I finally got it down on paper. Enjoy!
Sara knew she wasn't his favorite.
Sure, they have been "intimate" for over three years, but Sara knew she would never be Grissom's favorite CSI. She was too emotional. Her heart took over cases where a clear mind was needed most.
Warrick Brown didn't let cases get under his skin. He could keep his mind focused. Even when a convicted child molester would stare him down with a smug smile refusing to give the location of a missing girl, Warrick wouldn't break a sweat. He would use his cleverly crafted words and thorough evidence to trip up his sly opponent into a revealing confession.
Sara couldn't even watch the same interrogation without wanting to punch her fist through the glass of the one-way mirror.
Sara admired him.
When Sara first came to Vegas, she knew that there was something Grissom saw in Warrick. Something she knew she did not possess.
Sara was jealous.
He was the Golden Boy. He was the stuff that dreams are made of; the one CSI rookies looked up to and admired.
Warrick was the protege Sara wished she could be. He had that special something.
That something persuaded Grissom to keep Warrick around, even after the Holly Gribbs incident. Even after her recommendation to fire him, Grissom still had faith in Warrick.
When Sara screwed up, Grissom told her to get a diversion. He pushed her away.
Grissom never lost faith in Warrick. Even when he did lose sight on a case, he was always able to bounce back and pull through in the end.
Perhaps, that is why everyone else thought he was going through a phase; a rough patch stemming from his divorce from Tina. Sara knew it wasn't just a phase. It was more than that.
It was a breakdown.
A burnout. The never ending cycle where no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try: you can't save the world. The bad guys will destroy you, or you will end up destroying yourself.
Warrick got in too deep. He got too involved in a case. He put himself in compromising situations and places with people who could not be trusted. He took on too much and put himself in danger.
He became obsessed. That was his downfall.
She's still here. Sara got out in time. She said goodbye to that life months ago and never turned back.
Leaving was the only choice Sara had. If only she stuck around. Perhaps she would have noticed the change in behavior. Maybe she would have been able to stop Warrick before he got in too deep.
But then again, she would have lost herself first before she could save him.
She promised herself that she wouldn't cry. She needed to be there for Grissom. He was feeling so guilty, thinking there was something he could have done to prevent this tragedy. Although he didn't say it outright, the look in his eyes when he came to the airport to pick her up said it all.
And now Sara was back home. Here they were lounging on the overstuffed faded blue couch Grissom insisted on keeping from his old townhouse. His head on her lap, shifting uncomfortably in the restless sleep he always had when an important case was still unsolved. Her hands brushed over his head, feeling the sweat that matted his hair down on his scalp. Her hand drifted lower, tracing a lone tear track that appeared in his sleep.
Only when he stopped tossing did she allow the tears to fall. Silent steady streams trickled from her eyes as she continued to stroke his hair. Although they didn't always see eye to eye, Sara loved Warrick. The whole CSI team became the family she never had as a child.
Sara didn't mind that she would never be Grissom's favorite. She was finally home; they would get through this together.