Title:
Description: Grissom and Sara are invited to attend a seminar in New York, but something happens that will change Sara forever. GS
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI… and I don't own the idea for this story entirely. It ----was…inspired by Cold Burn (A CSI novel) D but I'm not stealing ideas, I was just inspired by it… so please don't sue me!
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They were meeting one of Grissom's friends at the Philadelphia International Airport. From there, they would drive up through New Jersey to their hotel, a little ways from the Big Apple. So far, the plane ride had been smooth. She sat next to Grissom, who pleaded her to let him sit by the window. Thankful, she agreed; heights weren't her thing. So, for the past four and a half hours, she sat there, reading the latest forensics journal and a short mystery novel. It was quite relaxing, except for the movie that was playing. She was not wearing the headphones, but the person in front of her had their volume turned up so high that she could hear it quite clearly.
Finally, the movie ended and a half an hour after that, they were arriving at their destination. A voice came over the loudspeaker, "Hell everyone. Shortly, we will be landing at the Philadelphia International Airport. I hope everyone had enjoyed the flight. Right now I am asking that all passengers and staff remain seating, lock trays in their upright positions, return chairs to their upright positions, and buckle your seat belts for landing. Thank-you."
Sara did as the man asked and then turned to look past Grissom and out the window, sneaking a peek at the ground below, even though she had been afraid to look out before. It definitely didn't look like Las Vegas. She saw town houses and peoples pools and got a glimpse of the Delaware River which was gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. She was glad to get a sight of something besides that mountains and desert of Nevada.
Grissom also looked up from what he was doing to look out the window before they were on the ground again. As they got closer to the ground and were landing, he commented, "I wonder what traffic will be like in the most densely populated state…"
Sara nodded, "But if your friend lives in the area, I'm sure they know the quickest way around and all the short cuts. Traffic was a bit of a problem back in California, but if you know the back roads to everything it isn't half bad."
He said nothing else until they were getting off the plane at the airport.
"You excited to be on the east coast?" Sara asked.
"I suppose; although it's just another seminar in another place; nothing new there. What's the weather like?"
"Well, seeing as its January, I suspect it's in the teens, twenties, thirties, or forties, but it could be in the fifties." Sara shrugged.
"I guess I should have brought a heavier jacket, huh?"
"Yeah, and some gloves would be helpful too if it's really cold. You know, for someone so smart, you can be dense sometimes." She laughed.
"How come in Las Vegas you never laugh, but now that's we're in Philadelphia you're smiling and laughing?"
Inside she warmed up by his comment, but she didn't show it, "Hey, is that your friend over there?"
She motioned towards a man who was standing in a doorway, an older man, Grissom's age maybe, wearing glasses and a grey jacket.
"Yeah, it is." He picked up both his and Sara's suit case and Sara carried the carry-ons as they walked over to meet the man.
"Hello Gil, good to see you again." The man greeted.
"Hi, how are you?" Then Grissom pointed to Sara, "This is my colleague, Sara Sidle."
"Hello," he greeted Sara, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too…?"
"Oh sorry, my name is Sam Tyler. We should probably get going, it's about a two and a half- three hour drive to New York and at rush hour it maybe take us longer than that even to get out of the city. Do you two have all your bags and everything?"
"Yes," Grissom replied, "I guess we should be getting a move on then."
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The man was right, there was heavy traffic and it took then a near half hour to get out of Philly and across the Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey. Still, Sara thought Philadelphia was amazing. She watched the sun set behind the Philadelphia skyline. The sun glinted off of the buildings in center city and finally disappeared into the horizon. When the sun was finally set and the black of night was coming over the world, she looked up to see a sky full of stars, something she hadn't seen for years because the light of all the casinos made it impossible to see anything in the sky.
Soon, they were in the Pine Barrens. The road they were now on, Route 206, was empty and they saved a lot of time and Sara got a view of nature. Sara was especially fascinated. She had never seen so many Oak and Pine Trees and beautiful cascading lakes where the moon's reflection glimmered across the blue water. After a while, she drifted off to sleep, tired from the plane ride.
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"Sara?" Grissom said gently, "Wake up."
Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Grissom standing outside the opened car door.
"We're in New York City. We don't have to check in the hotel for a while if we don't want to, so Sam decided to stop and show us New York City for a little bit and take a break from driving."
Sara got up and blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness. She got out of the car and went with Grissom and his friend. They stood looking into the harbor and at the Statue of Liberty and Sara was amazed still. She didn't want to come on this trip, but she was glad to be in a different setting and to be seeing such amazing sites.
"Wow," she said, "I always wanted to see New York City, but with school and everything up in Boston I never got time to take time off and visit."
A few minutes later, after a stop at a bagel shop and a quick bathroom break they were back on the road again. Sara, now fully refreshed, gazed out at the dying lights as the city shrunk further and further back behind them. Finally, they arrived at the Fairview Hotel.
