Title: After the Gunfire
Summary: The phone call that changed her life; Grissom's call to Sara after Holly Gribbs was shot.
Spoilers: The Pilot, and Cool Change
Dislclaimer: I don't own them! Never have, and probably never will.
Author's Note: So I've been thinking about Holly Gribbs a lot for some reason, and this is what popped out. I wrote it, then realized I needed to watch the pilot and Cool Change to make it perfect. So now everyone knows what I've been doing for the last two hours! XD I squealed like an idiot (I haven't seen them in so long!), all alone as the rest of my family slept. It was awesome. :D Please tell me what you think; I love all the reviews I've been getting lately. You are all awesome!
Again, not edited by Lauren. She's hard at work editing the hell out of an epic one that is hopefully soon to come, so keep your eyes peeled! I don't think it's necessary to bother her with these little ones. :) I have faith in my own spelling and grammar skills!
Her phone was ringing.
Maybe if I ignore it, it'll stop.
It worked for about thirty seconds, until it rang again, seemingly more insistent this time.
She sat up in bed, scooping the offensive object off her nightstand and brought it to her ear. "Sidle," she grunted into the phone.
"Sara," the voice on the other end breathed.
Her heart almost stopped. "Grissom?"
"Yeah, it's me," he whispered.
She sat stunned, one hand on the phone and the other running through her hair. She glanced at the clock. It told her it was after three am. "Uhm, hey. What can I do for you?" A yawn overtook her then, and as hard as she tried to hide it, he heard it.
"Shit, I woke you up, didn't I?"
She laughed lightly. "No, of course - "
"Sara."
It had been so long. It felt like years since he'd said her name, and now she'd heard it roll off his lips twice in the last five minutes. Tears sprang to her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I forget sometimes that the rest of the world doesn't work the night shift."
She smiled into the phone, and desperately wished he could see it again. She wished she could see him again. "It's okay," she soothed. "What can I do for you?"
"Something's happened, here in Vegas."
It was then that she heard the strain in his voice. "Gil, what's wrong? Is it your mother?"
"No." She could practically hear him shaking his head. "She's still in California, you know that."
She did know that. But still. He didn't have any other family, and for him to call her in the middle of the night meant something seriously bad had happened. She just automatically assumed the worst.
"Thank you for thinking of her, though. She's fine," he assured her. "It's uh... the lab. One of my rookie CSIs... she was shot, at a crime scene."
Her chest tightened at the pain in his words and at the implications this type of situation would put him in. "Grissom, I'm so sorry. Are you... are you okay?"
"No," he groaned into the phone, and she could picture him dragging a hand across his face, and the tension building in his neck. Even she could tell he had a migraine coming. "I'm not okay Sara."
She disentangled herself from the sheets and slipped into an old LVPD sweatshirt as she headed towards her tiny kitchen. "What can I do?"
"Shit, I don't think there's anything you can do. I just..."
"Needed a friend," she whispered, a smile crossing her features, despite what it had taken for him to call her again. "It's okay to lean on me Griss. I'm always here for you."
He was silent on the other end, but she could hear him breathing and knew he hadn't hung up on her. "Where are you?"
"I'm at home," he said quietly. "Just for a quick shower and food, but I haven't done either. I came home and... called you."
"Griss, you should eat. When's the last time you did?"
"I can't remember."
Her heart broke. There was no one taking care of him, and he was going to run himself into the ground, especially now with this added weight on his shoulders. "Make some tea," she said softly. "Do you still have the chocolate white tea from your birthday?"
She heard rustling; the sound of foil against foil and then, "Yes."
She smiled. "Put some on. I will too."
"Okay."
She flipped the switch on her kettle, and heard the same sound echo on his end. She walked him through the motions, and sat down at her table the same time he did, six hundred miles away, steaming cup in hand. They drank in silence, and Sara clutched the phone to her ear as tightly as she could, trying to get close to Grissom despite the geographical distance.
Minutes passed before she heard him set his mug down, and let out a huge breath. "I wish you were here," he whispered.
Her heart lurched at his words. "I wish I was too."
God, she ached to take him in her arms and soothe his pain away. This was not the Gil Grissom she knew. The man she knew was strong and could handle anything. This scared her, but fueled her need to be there for him even more.
"Would it be too forward of me to ask..."
"Yes?" she prompted, clutching her coffee cup to the point of breaking.
"Would you come, if I asked you to?"
"Yes."
"You didn't even hesitate."
She nodded at his statement, forgetting that he couldn't see her. "If you need me Griss, I can be there."
She could practically see the gears turning in his mind as he considered her offer. A long few minutes passed as she waited for him to reply. Just when she thought he wouldn't, he spoke.
"I need you, Sara."
She choked back a sob. She had been waiting for so long to hear those words pass from his lips that she didn't even care that they came hinged on the back of one of his coworkers being shot.
"I'm coming, Gil."
-end-