Waking as the ran poured, Sara looked around, coyotes had come but no one or nothing was there now. Then it came, a sound of panting. Looking up again she saw the coyote, it neared and Sara shook her head.
"No, go away, please go away."
The coyote began to sniff her hand again and then licked it. She hoped that if it would kill her, it would be quick about it. She heard it howl and soon heard more splashes. She saw more coyotes approach and soon felt mud slide. They were digging her out, she couldn't believe she once though wolves were only killers, now they were helpping her. She tried to move from under the car once they were done but the car was slidding in.
"Help me." Sara moved her left arm to the coyote and took it by the coat, as if knowing, it began to walk. She finally got her right arm loose and tried to move, but the car began to slid in again. "Ahh."
The lead coyote turned and went to her, pulling her out by her vest. Five minutes of pulling helped Sara to get from under the car. She looked at the coyote eye to eye, it starred at her.
"Thank you Balto." She gave the coyote a name for an unknown reason, it was after a movie she saw once.
The coyote started to leave but Sara stayed, it then came back to her.
"You want me to follow you?"
Sara stood, her legs untouched by some chance of fate. She followed the coyote for a long amount of time. It had stopped raining by finally and Sara sat down. She watched as 'Balto' came over to her, she looked at his neck and found a tag, not noticing the thin collar before she read it.
Balto
Half Coyote, Half Alaskan Husky
"So your name is really Balto, that's a surprise, why are you hanging out with real coyotes if you're a pet?"
She closed her eyes as she leaned back against the rock, Balto placed his head on her lap.
NEXT MORNING, CAR SITE
Nick and Grissom stopped digging when they found she wasn't there. Grissom looked at Catherine while they towed the car.
"She's a survivor."
"Where is she Catherine?"
Catherine looked at the teams, "people fan out, start searching."
SARA'S SPOT
Sara woke to someone yelling her name, Balto's ears went up and she stood. Walking, he followed.
"Grissom!" Sara began yelling, Balto howled and soon people had guns pointed at her and her dog.
"Sara." That came from Nick when she bent down to get Balto.
"Nick, please make them stand down."
"Put the guns away boys."
Sara walked to Nick, Balto followed.
"How'd you get out?"
"Balto." She looked at Balto as they walked, he walked closely to her, eyeing Nick at the same time. "Him and his coyote friends dug me out."
"Sara." Sara looked up to see Grissom.
"Gil!" He hugged her as she got to him, "thank God, I felt like I'd never see you again. I love you."
"I love you too." He kissed her head and looked over at Balto. "The coyote?"
"Balto, he's half. He dug me out, come here boy." Balto came over and Sara looked at Grissom.
"Maybe, we do owe him a home. It's the coyote half I'm worried about so maybe. Let's get you looked at."
NINE MONTHS LATER
Ecklie and Cavallo with the help of Sara approaved the K-9 CSI department or CSIs as Sara called it, "Canine Search Investigators". With the right training, these K-9s could become CSIs. Searching for blood linked to a person by smelling the victim, searching for hairs the same way. Help find guns and other evidence. The first to graduate was Balto and CSI, Greg's K-9 compainion. They had six more in training, two graduted a month, so far they had nine.
CRIME SCENE
Sara looked around the primeter of the victim's house, they had another twelve acres to search.
"Gil," Sara said into her radio.
"Yes Sara?"
"Has David left yet?" she waited for a yes or no.
"No, why?"
"Let's pull out the CSIs. We have twelve acres to search."
"I'll inform him."
"Thanks Babe." She walked around to the front to find her husband talking to David. "I'll get Balto and Hailey."
She went to the newly made SUV, it had a K-9 unit installed into the back while the evidence stayed in another SUV. She rearly went to a scene without Balto, whether she used him or not, which was ninety-five precent of a time that she did use him. She'd take a break by watering the dogs, he was her favorite, well he was one of her favorites, Bruno came in second.
Opening the door, she found the dogs waiting.
"Hey guys, so are you ready for some fun?"
Balto had worried everyone, they all wondered when he'd turn. Being half coyote and being with them when he rescued Sara, the odds of gaining his wild nature back were possible but he hadn't so far. He played with the other dogs gently, wasn't aggressive and was always gentle with Baby Kayla, Grissom and Sara's one month daughter.
"So here's the case, victim lives on a piece of land that's twelve acres and was shot. So what I need you to do is find the blood trail or gun or both." She placed the dogs' vests on and also their collars and leashes. "Down."
They hopped down and Sara closed the door. She walked with Balto and Hailey, formerly Lindsey's dog, but gave her to the K-9 unit due to the hassile of caring for her while doing her teenage thing.
"The body David." Sara let the dogs sniff the body before pulling them back. "We'll start from the house and work our way out. Nick?"
"Yeah Sar?" Coming over, "alright, come here Hailey." He took Hailey and they walked to the house.
The dogs found the trail and the lead Nick and Sara to a small shack near the fence line of the victim's twelve acre land.
"Gil?" Sara asked into her radio.
"Yes Honey?"
"We found it, well the dogs have. East near the edge of the acre stretch is a small shack, come on out before we proceed."
Sara became very cautious when it came to scene since the 'accident', not doing something without an 'okay' or someone being there.
"Be out there is five, becareful."
"I will, Sara out." She closed her phone and looked at Nick. "You can go if you want, I'm not."
Suddenly someone came out, Sara grabbed her gun as did Nick.
"Ready." Sara said to Hailey and Balto, it meant to stay alart. "Stay where you are, hands behind your head."
The guy came out and looked at the two. Upon seeing the dogs he ran, "Go, catch."
Balto went after the guy and took him by the leg, gently enough to pull him down, Sara and Nick went over to him.
"What the hell, you have a freakin' wolf there." Looking at Sara and Nick.
"He's actually half Coyote and half Alaskan Husky."
"Coyote? What do they have as K-9s now days?"
"He's gentle, get up." Nick pulled the guy up and Sara pulled out her phone. "Brass this is Sara, we have a suspect who fled the scene, what do you want me and Nick to do?"
"Hold onto him, give us two second." They both turned to see an SUV rolling up.
"Now that's more like it. Not crazy wolf dogs, plain people."
LATER THAT DAY
The team sat in the break room listening to each other, Sara was filling out the K-9 report, she had to report the dogs' events of the day. It was her program and they all knew it, although Ecklie said it was the department's. Sara loved being able to help the lab by running the K-9 CSI program, as much as being one of the CSIs.
"Hey you should've seen Balto today. The guy runs and Sara's like 'Go, catch', Balto runs and catches the guy, pulling him down. He freaks out when he hears that Balto is half coyote, saying we've gone crazy when it comes to K-9 programs."
Nick smiled as they all laughed.
"Hey Sara, who's graduating soon."
"Huh," she looked at the clipboard in hand. She flipped through papers, "Nevada and Cania. Last week they graduate and Monday they well be able to work as CSIs."
"That's how many?"
"Nine now."
"Oh, six more to go." Catherine smiled. The program could have only fifteen dogs, some worked swing, others days and most nights.
"Yeah, they've been divided to shifts. Night gets five, Swing gets five and Day gets five. Nevada and Cania are dayshift's."
"Who do we get?"
"Balto..."
"That's a given."
"CSI, Hailey, that's it so far. I'm going home, I'm tired and I want to see my baby girl."
She stood up as Grissom did, she looked at Balto and whistled, the dog followed.
GRISSOM HOUSEHOLD
Sara stood brushing her teeth when Grissom came into their bathroom, he kissed her neck.
"I love you."
"I love you too Gil, is she down?"
"Out like a light, dogs are asleep at the foot of our bed on the floor."
Sara smiled as she rinsed, "you know, I was thinking we need to spend sometime together, away from everything. Just me and you. Catherine said she's watch Kay for a day or so. We can place the dogs in the kennel at work and go to the beach. Me and you for a weekend alone, we never did have our honeymoon."
"You really want to leave Kay?"
"No, but I want to spend some time with you, no work, no dogs. Nothing but just me and you."
"I'll talk to Ecklie, see what I can do."
Sara smiled and leaned over, kissing him. Grissom smiled as he kissed her, leading her to the bedroom.
CALIFORNIA, TWO WEEKS LATER
Sara laid asleep when she was woke by a kiss, she opened her eyes to see her husband looking down at her.
"Hi."
"Hi, sound like you slept well."
"I did, so we have two days alone before heading back to reality."
Grissom smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Do you miss her Gil?"
"Kay, I miss her already, you?"
"Terribly."
"Well, in two days Mommy will see her baby again."
"But for now, we have two day together."
Sara smiled and turned to see the ocean from the sliding glass door, it would be a nice two days even if Mommy missed her babies, even if two were dogs. She knew if it wasn't for Balto, she'd have neither Kayla or Grissom. She once said...
Life Goes to the Dogs