Chapter One
It was decided, Sara Sidle was going back to Vegas, she wished she could call it home but was still undecided as to whether it was. After nine months of catching up with old friends and more importantly family she was ready. She contemplated whether to phone Grissom to tell him she was on her way home but soon decided against it, she thought it would be a nice surprise for him.
Saying goodbye to her mother was harder than she thought it would be, after so many years apart she had finally built up the mother/daughter relationship they once had before "the night" as Sara called it. She lay in her hotel room remembering the first night she was reunited with her.
It was raining and she had been driving around all day to different locations and phoning different people, when finally someone came up with an address. It was approaching 9pm and she wondered whether now would be a good time to go, she remembered thinking, is it too late tonight?, would she be pleased to see her? , or would she just ask her to leave?.
She turned off the ignition and slowly walked up to the house, took two or three deep breaths and rang the door bell.
The first thing Sara heard was a dog barking, then she saw a figure through the glass in the door, as soon as the door opened she knew, although a lot older, thinner and generally "rougher" looking she knew it, it was her mother staring back at her. She lay there remembering the look on her mothers face, she looked shocked, guilty and a little scared, after a good few minutes of silent exchange between the two, Laura Sidle pulled Sara into a hug and mumbled the words, through tears,
"I never thought I would see you again"
Laura grabbed her hand and guided her into the small house; Sara noted paintings on the wall, recognising them as her mothers work, she remembered she used to love helping her mother with her paintings, they approached the living room, which was small and cosy, there was a small fireplace and the wall a comforting shade of cream, Sara sat down on the couch her mother made her coffee and they sat talking for what seemed like hours,
"So… how did you find me?"
Laura couldn't believe her Sara was sitting opposite her.
"I'm a crime scene investigator, I work, well did work in Vegas, when you know how, it's easy to track someone down, although I have to say I'm a little disappointed you never got in touch with me"
Sara looked up for a reaction from her mother.
"I know sweetie, I'm so sorry I could never find the right moment. I tried I really did, the last I heard you were at Harvard, I was so proud the day I found out and wished I could've taken some credit for you being successful"
Sara sighed she knew how hard it was for her to come here, so it must've been 10 times harder for her mother.
They spoke for hours, they talked about Laura's time in prison, their family when it was good, Sara's time in Vegas, her relationship with the team, her relationship with Grissom, how she fought for him and how happy she was the day he revealed his true feelings, she couldn't help but smile whilst she was telling the person sitting next to her about him, Laura made Sara promise one day she would let her meet him, finally Laura asked the question Sara didn't really want to answer,
"So you said you left Vegas and Grissom, why?"
Laura nearly cried when Sara told her all about Natalie and how she couldn't handle abuse cases or any type of case anymore, talking about these subjects unfortunately led her to remember her alcoholism and the DUI, Laura was ashamed because she knew the root of these problems stemmed from her and what she did all them years before and knew she had damaged both of her children mentally.
They sat in a comfortable silence watching TV, when Laura suddenly said,
"Do you still think of Joe?"
"Everyday, how could I not, I just wish I could've done something to stop him"
"Hey, don't ever blame that on yourself, you could not have prevented it"
Sara gave her mother a weak smile and a nod hoping she would go off the subject,
"I know it was my fault he never would have done it if I hadn't stabbed his father right in front of his eyes."
That's when Sara saw it, how much her mother blamed herself for her older brother's suicide, Joe had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a very young age and wasn't taking his meds when "the night" came along, it sent him spiralling into a major depression resulting in his death at age 17, a week into foster care, from that day on Sara had been alone she had never forgiven her brother for what he did, but she could understand it and unfortunately she sometimes had the same thought.
It approached midnight and Sara decided it was about time to leave , they could catch up tomorrow,
"Why don't you stay the night, I have a spare room"
Sara wanted to stay, but she didn't know if she could trust her,
"I'm sorry; it's too soon, ill get a room at the hotel up the street."
Laura nodded understanding Sara's reason she hugged her daughter and hoped this wouldn't be the last time she saw her.
The vibration of Sara's phone brought her out of her trance, she looked at the caller ID, it was Grissom, she looked at the time, midnight, and worryingly answered. Why would he be phoning at this hour?
"Hey, what's up"
"Sara I need you to come home, it's Warrick"