Title: Forever With Her
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sara is leaving for good, and not the way you may think. WARNING: character death. Supernatural, just because there aren't that many of them.
Disclaimer: They're not my characters. Plain and simple.
Donning light blue scrubs, Grissom walked through the metal doors to the morgue. He slipped on a pair of latex gloves and looked around. No one was there, except for the lifeless corpse lying on a cold sheet of steel squarely in the middle of the room.
Suddenly, from a side door, someone appeared. However, Grissom expected it to be Doc Robbins, clad in similar attire with a prosthetic leg, glasses on the tip of his nose, eyes cloudy yet piercing. It wasn't.
Instead, he came face-to-face with Dr. Jenna Williams, a young, dark-skinned coroner he swore he hadn't seen in years.
"Haven't seen you in a while," Grissom muttered, approaching the table.
"Ecklie's been up my ass for longer than I've wanted," Jenna replied dryly.
Grissom chuckled. "My 419 from the Strip?" he asked, motioned to the covered body.
Jenna covered her mouth awkwardly. "Gil, um...you're not going to like this."
"I've been in this business for years. I can deal with anything."
The coroner sighed and grabbed a fistful of the white sheet covering the body. "I'll tell you now; you won't be able to deal with this."
She threw the sheet over.
Grissom took one look at the body lying there, and his stomach churned wildly.
It was Sara.
One of Grissom's hands flew to his stomach and the other braced himself against the autopsy table. For the first time in his life, he was close to passing out.
"Gil..." Jenna whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He pulled away and mumbled with a raspy voice, "I...I-I-I...I need some air."
They didn't exchange another word. Grissom didn't even want to stare at Sara, for once. He quickly walked out of the morgue.
Out in the hallway, Grissom removed his glasses hastily and rubbed his eyes. This had to be a dream. She couldn't be dead. Not now. Not when he hadn't even told her. She was supposed to be visiting her parents in Tamales Bay; she wasn't supposed to be in Vegas.
Grissom felt the tears beginning to flow, and he let them flow. He buried his face in his hand. His lungs became short of breath. This was too much for someone of his stature.
If this was some sort of cosmic joke...If Sara wasn't really dead...
No. This was real. She was really in there.
Then was it a joke that suddenly the hallway became frigidly cold?
He noticed it when a small breeze ran over his face, cooling his hot tears. He looked up. There were no doors leading outside. He was wearing scrubs. It was brutal out in the sun. How did it get so chilly?
The lights flickered. The wind's strength grew steadily. The cold intensified.
Then everything went dark.
Grissom looked around feverishly.
"Dr. Williams?" he called hesitantly.
No one answered.
Grissom wasn't one to panic, but in this case, he had to admit he was frightened. He had no idea what was happening.
He took a deep breath, and something in his mind told him to close his eyes. He obeyed.
With one last great gust of air, everything was still. Then...Grissom felt a presence. He thought it was one of his CSIs checking up on him, and although he wished to open his eyes, he kept them shut tight.
After that followed the most wonderful feeling. He felt her hand on his shoulder. He felt her hand on his cheek.
He felt the woman he loved standing right in front of him, that unmistakable feel of Sara Sidle.
Then he heard her voice, a distant echo. "Open your eyes," she commanded softly.
He did, and nearly died of shock. His beautiful brunette was a translucent projection of blue and while in front of him, but the loveliest one he had ever seen. She stood in a swirl of clouds, dressed in her normal work clothes.
He reached out, tears returning, and tried to touch her, but his hand went right through her.
But he could feel her touching him. For such a cold-looking appearance, she was delightfully warm, like she had been...when she was alive. Her eyes hadn't lost their wonderful spark. Her smile gleamed just as bright as ever.
"Sara..." he whispered, staring into her eyes.
"Shh," she said, stepping closer. "I need to do something."
He saw her close in on his lips, but he squeezed his eyes shut again and was lost in her kiss. He could feel her passion just as much in her death as in her life. The knuckles of her right hand traveled over the flesh of his cheek gently. He fought the desire to grab her waist, knowing it would be of no use. He simply stood against the wall, hands relaxed at the concrete, doing absolutely nothing. The kiss went on for what seemed like an eternity.
"Sara..."
"I'm not done."
They fully parted lips, and Sara leaned her cheek against his, nuzzling it. Dropping another on his lips, she said, "I've always loved you. I always will. Forever."
His eyes opened partially and he looked at her. "Why can't I touch you?" he asked.
"I'm a ghost, for God's sake," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I wish you could...Maybe you could..."
"How did this ---!"
"No, don't talk." After seeing the confused look in his eye, she added sadly, "I only get to do this once." She shrugged and managed a smile. "Last minute favor."
Realization hit Grissom like a punch in the gut: the only woman he had ever really loved was moving on, and not the normal way.
"Will you promise me something?" she asked quietly.
"Anything."
"Promise me...you'll remember. Everything. Everything that ever happened between us."
He couldn't fight the urge anymore. He reached to where he saw her cheek. His fingers only felt her coldness, but at least he could feel something.
"I promise, Sara." He sighed, and his hand dropped to his side again. "God, I wish I could just feel you."
"I might be able to try...but you're going to need to help."
He got the point.
She leaned in again and kissed him tenderly in the lips. Still, he couldn't do a single thing except pour his love into her mouth. She pulled away for just a minute, their lips a smidgeon apart, and whispered, "Put your arms around me."
He did so. To his surprise, he put his arms around a body he could feel. Opening one eye just a sliver, he saw that her normal coloring had returned. She wasn't a blue-white specter for the moment. He forcefully pulled her into him, clutching her waist tightly and exploring the contours of her skin delicately. Her hands returned to his shoulders and she grasped him tightly, not wanting to let go.
Suddenly, Sara looked down to her feet. Grissom followed her gaze. She was turning translucent again, and like dust in the wind, her body was slowly disintegrating from bottom to top.
"I have to go," she muttered.
He held her tighter. "No, please," Grissom pleaded, "Don't go. I don't want you to leave."
She planted soft kisses on the stubble on his face. "I don't have a choice."
Her thighs disappeared.
"I love you so much..." he cried.
"I love you too."
Her waist disappeared.
"Sara...I need you..."
"You'll always have me," she said, giving him one last kiss. "I'll be watching over you..."
With that, the rest of her body blew away, leaving behind only a swirling could and the twinkle that had been in her eyes.
The lights came back to life. The corridor warmed up. The wind was nowhere to be found.
Grissom slumped onto the floor.
He had just talked to a ghost.
He had just kissed a ghost.
He had just told a ghost that he loved her.
And from that point on until the end of his days, he wouldn't tell a soul.
Sara would only be gone a while. When the time came, he would pass away...
...and join her in the heavens.
Forever.
END