A/N- This story has been long in the writing process. I started this way back before season 10 even began and it's taken me this long to get it really going. So it starts off differently from Season 10 and Greg's happy to see Sara. This is not the case. He still harbors resentment about her leaving and there is strong reason behind it as you will see as the story goes.
I will try to post a chapter a week, if possible. Please review...thanks.
Sara Sidle stood in the layout room with Nick Stokes talking about his current case. She had only returned two days ago to help with their caseload since Riley had left and Ray was still fairly new.
She had seen everyone, expect for Greg, who had been off the last few days on a long overdue vacation. She had called and left messages for him saying she was back for a while but he never returned her calls.
She heard voices and recognized them both. She smiled as she saw Greg walk into the room with Catherine. He caught Sara's eyes briefly but did not smile. Instead he looked back at Catherine who had been giving him updates on cases.
Sara frowned and wondered what his problem was. Luckily she was going to get a chance to talk to him about it.
"Sara, you and Greg are going to be taking a little road trip out to Mt. Charleston. Two bodies were found in an abandoned car off highway156. The local police will meet you at the scene. Call them when you are near. I already gave Greg the directions," Catherine told her.
"Let's go," Greg said curtly to her as he turned to walk out of the room.
Sara gave both Nick and Catherine a 'what gives' look. Both of them just shrugged.
He was already waiting for her by the Tahoe when she stormed out into the LVPD parking garage. "What the hell is wrong with you Greg?" she asked him angrily.
He glared at her but went around and took her kit from her hand and put it in the back with his. "Nothing. Let's just get going. It's about an hour and a half drive."
She figured she had that time to find out what stick was up his butt about her presence. She got into the SUV and glared at him as he started the vehicle and started driving.
She waited to see if he would say anything, which he did not. "What's going on, Greg? Why are you treating me like I don't exist?"
He sighed and glanced over at her. She had let her hair grow a bit longer again since he saw her last year. She looked better if that was possible, he thought. He cursed himself for even thinking that. He was not ready to fall hard again for her.
"I know you do exist but we have a murder case to worry about. Catherine told me the two bodies were found shot multiple times in the car. The local police said they've never seen anything like it. I think she said it was a male and female couple. A truck driver who drives that county road daily discovered the car. I guess he noticed the car sitting there for a few days and finally called the locals to check it out."
She chewed her lip a moment; still mad he was avoiding her question but decided to focus on the case. "It's been like 100+ degrees this week. Are we going to have another case of human soup?" She knew he couldn't have forgotten the time he ended up tasting some by accident. She saw him make a sour face.
"Please, no but from what I heard we don't have to worry about that. We'll have some decomp though I am sure. David is supposed to be on his way ahead of us," he told her.
"Okay," she said quietly. She decided to leave it be a little bit longer before asking him why he was basically ignoring her.
They were outside the Las Vegas city limits now as the lights faded behind them. Luckily it was almost a full moon so their roadway was lit a bit with the moonlight.
She stared at him, observing his handsome stern profile. He really could still look so young at times. The music was low but she noticed he was not listening to his normal rock music. She recognized the music as a band he liked to listen to when he was upset or trying to relax. "So why have I upset you enough to pull out the Sigur Ros for our road trip?" She asked him. She saw him tighten his jaw and noticed him grip the wheel tighter.
He kept his eyes on the road but decided to finally talk to her. "Why do you keep coming back, Sara? I heard you're a married woman now, so why are you here and not with Grissom?"
She could swear she heard some hurt in his voice. "I guess I was not as burnt out as I thought I was. Grissom knows I was restless and when Ecklie called, he volunteered me. He had a seminar to teach at some college anyway. He said since he was going to be away, I might as well be too. I'm just here for a few weeks until Ecklie finds a new permanent CSI," she tried explaining to him.
"Hmm, so Sara Sidle floats in and out of my life again," he mumbled.
She heard him and got a little ticked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He gave her an angry glare. "It means you come and go with hardly a word to anyone; to me! I thought we were friends?"
"We are!" she exclaimed.
"Then why did you leave the first time without telling me?"
"I…it…I was very upset and did not want long goodbyes. Why didn't you tell me you were upset when I last saw you?" She shot back.
"Warrick had just died. It was a hard enough time as it was," he told her. "But then you left again with hardly a word. I write you and do not hear from you. You couldn't even tell me that you got married. I had to hear it from Nick. How do you think that makes me feel? That my so-called best friend couldn't even tell me she got married!" He said angrily.
"It was sort of sudden. He came and met me in Costa Rica and it became this whirlwind type of romance suddenly. We decided to get married after we traveled some. Then we settled down and life became simple, boring even," she told him.
"So during this boring time you could not tell me anything?" He asked, his anger not diminished at all.
"I'm sorry, Greg. I was confused and I did not know what I wanted anymore. I should have called you but I was afraid of how you would react!"
"Like I am acting now? Afraid I would be angry? And why shouldn't I be mad?" He yelled.
She flinched a bit, shocked by his unusual show of anger. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you would be so mad. You knew Grissom and I were dating and very serious about each other." She tried explaining.
He stared out at the road, trying to control his anger and the frustration he felt. His frustration was mostly due to the fact that he thought he was over his feelings for her but having her here again made them all come flooding back.
"Still, friends usually tell friends big news like getting married," he told her in a low voice.
"We were traveling at first, I really did not have a chance. Then when we got home…well, things happened and I just was not thinking to tell anyone," she explained with a sigh. She was glad to see the red and blue lights ahead, knowing they were almost to their scene. She was sorry she brought up the whole thing.
Greg was also glad to get off the topic and get back to work. "That's our scene up ahead. Time to get to work," he said as he pulled up near the stakes that held up the crime scene tape. He recognized David Phillips leaning on the police car, talking to the local officer.
Once they were parked, they grabbed their kits individually and walked over to where the two men stood.
"Hey David, what do we have here?" Greg asked as they looked at the Ford Taurus, which had two bodies in the front seat. He could see they had been shot several times each but no bullet holes in the car from first glance.
"Hey guys. Each victim has multiple gun shot wounds," he told them. They walked over to the car with their flashlights on. They looked into the car.
"Looks like they were shot outside the car since there is no blood splatter in the car," Greg commented upon observation.
Sara walked over to the other side of the car to get a different view. She wrinkled her nose as she leaned in the vehicle. "She's been shot in the leg, in the arm and it looks like several other places. They had to have been moved from where they were shot and placed in this car. Do we have any ID's on them or who the car belongs to?" She asked the local cop, whose badge said Jenkins.
He looked down at a notepad he held. "No ID's on the vics but the car is registered to a Jake Nolan. We discovered he was reported missing along with his girlfriend, Amy Rands two days ago. These two seem to fit their description."
Greg shined his light down on the ground around the car looking for blood drops. "Hey, I think I found a couple drops here." He bent down and examined them closer. He pulled a swab out of his kit and tested the red stain to make sure it was blood. "It's blood alright. Maybe we will have a trail to follow."
Sara snapped a few photos of the bodies inside the car before David and his assistant removed the bodies and headed back to the morgue.
After the bodies were removed, Greg and Sara both investigated the inside of the car. "There is not that much blood in this car, considering. They must have already been dead when they were placed back in the car," Sara mused.
"Why place their bodies back in the car? It is obvious they were not killed here," Greg said as he studied the drivers' side of the car.
"That's a good question. Maybe they wanted us to find them and that's why they did this," Sara said to him. She noticed he had been avoiding eye contact with her since they arrived there. It was annoying her but she pushed those feelings aside for now.
"Well this car is filthy inside and plus it's still too dark out here to process it. I'll call to get it towed back to the lab where we can process it under better conditions. Then I'm going to see how far these blood drops go out into the woods," he said as he flipped open his cell phone.
While looking in the front seat floor area Sara noticed a lot of dirt and sand on the carpet that looked fairly fresh. The soil around the car was grassy and not good for leaving footprints. She made a mental note to check the victim's shoes when they got back.
Greg was already following a faint blood trail into the woods. Eventually he lost the trail. He thought maybe if they got some dogs to sniff out the trail they could find out where the people were initially shot.
He went back to meet Sara at the main scene. He noticed she was alone. "Where did Officer Jenkins go?"
"He got a call. He said there are only 3 guys on duty at his station. So it is just you and me for now until Auto Transport gets here to tow the car," she frowned.
"So did you find anything?" She asked.
"The trail winds a little ways into the forest. Probably some scent dogs could get a trail. If we can find where these two were originally shot, maybe we can figure who did it," he said.
"Well, this car might give us some answers too. Let's collect what we can for now before the tow comes," she told him.
The van drove by again, unnoticed by the Crime Scene investigators. "Do you think they'll figure out it was us?" A hoarse voice asked the driver.
"Only if you were sloppy, Jones, which you probably were," the driver said.
"Well then we better make sure they don't get back to their office to find anything," Jones grinned maliciously.
"You feel like a little hunting again?" His partner laughed with a gleeful look in his dark eyes.
"I'm always up for hunting some nice prey," Jones said as he rubbed his hands together.
"We got enough ammo, right?" His partner asked him.
"I reloaded before we left just in case we got in the mood."
"This might be a higher level of prey than we had before," the driver warned.
"Makes it more challenging and satisfying in the end, though," Jones said as he pulled his cap down tighter on his head.
"True. Let's find a place to keep watch out of sight so we can plan and pounce when the time is ready." The driver looked in the rear view mirror to see the bright spotlight on the crime scene in the distance. "Yeah this will be more fun."