Disclaimer: I do NOT own CSI.
Bad Day, Good Night.
"I'm sorry guys. Screw this, I'm going out for some air and decent coffee." I shout as I throw the manilla folder down onto the desk. "If you're staying here I'll bring some drinks back." I say as I walk out of the lab.
As I'm heading down the street towards a coffee shop, I can feel the sun burning down on the back of my neck. The heat feels good after being cooped up in the dry, air conditioned lab for twelve hours. I can feel the heat working on the knots in my shoulders and I'm tempted to just go home and have a scalding hot shower to ease my aches and pains. This case we're working on has everyone running round in circles. All the evidence leads us to a dead end or on a wild goose chase. Whoever wanted the business man and his wife dead knew what they were doing. "I wish I could buy a one way ticket to the moon. It must be so nice to have some peace and quiet." I mumble to myself. This is the day from hell. Things can only get better right? I'm in a world of my own, thinking about what fun I'm going to have with Gil later, when I feel a tap on my shoulder.
"Shouldn't you be back at the lab?" smirks Cath.
"You sound like Ecklie." I smile.
"Gee thanks." she laughs. "What you up to anyway?"
"I had to get out of there. Nothing adds up and it's driving me crazy. Ecklie's no help, pushing us to find some answers when there's nothing to find. I know the victims were friends of his and I know he needs to give their family some answers but we can't find anything relevant. He should pull his finger out of his...." I shout and Cath interrupts me.
"Sara, take a deep breath before you give yourself a heart attack." she smiles.
"Sorry. I need to let off some steam. Where have you been? Why aren't you at the lab?" I ask.
"Same reason you're not. I've been in ballistics for hours and nothing was adding up. Every single bullet we found is different. It's like one assailant was carrying twenty three guns." replies Cath. "So I had to get out of there and get some air."
"Well...I'm grabbing coffee for everyone. Fancy giving me a hand?"
"Sure. Come on." says Cath as we enter a coffee shop.
While we're standing at the back of the queue of around ten people, I feel my phone vibrate as it starts to ring. I pull out of my pocket and answer. "Sara Sidle"
"Grissom. Sara Sidle-Grissom." comes Gil's voice and I hear him chuckle.
"Hey. Sorry I'm not used to my new name yet." I laugh. "What can I do for you?"
"There's a lot you can do for me but...I don't think it's appropriate during works time." he replies.
"Oh well...if you tell me later on I'll see what I can do." I whisper seductively.
"Can't wait...Oh hold on second Sara." he says and I hear him move the phone away from his mouth. I hear him talking to Brass for a second before he comes back on the line.
"Sara where are you?" he asks, panic evident in his voice.
"I'm at my favourite coffee shop with Cath. Don't worry, I'll bring you and Brass a coffee back." I reply.
"Sara, get out of there NOW. We've just had a tip off that the shop you're in is about to be robbed. Whether it was a hoax or not, Get the hell out of there."
"What? And leave everyone else in? No way?" I shout as I grab hold of Cath's arm. "Cath we have a problem, we need to get everyone out of this place." I whisper.
Just as I'm trying to explain to Cath what's happening, the front doors burst open and three masked men walk in wielding guns and knives. "Gil, it's too late, I'll keep you on the line." I whisper as I slip the phone in my breast pocket.
"Everybody lie down on the ground and you won't get hurt. I'm only here for the owner." shouts one of the men. Everyone starts to scream and panic as we're all forced to lie face down. I instinctively reach for my gun but remember I left it at the lab. I hear Cath swear as she also reaches for her weapon and realises that she also left hers back at the lab. I slowly move away from Cath towards a young woman who looks like she's having a panic attack and holding a baby. "Hi. I'm Sara. Try not to panic. Just concentrate on your breathing." I whisper, as I hold my arms out to hold the baby. "The police are on their way. We should be okay if we stay calm."
" I'm...Lucy and this is...my baby daughter Paige." she cries as she hands the baby over. "Are we going to die?"
"Sshh, no we're going to be fine, as long as we stay calm." I tell her softly as I try to move her against the wall. I look over at Cath and see that she's trying to calm an old man down. We suddenly look up when we hear some shots fired from the back room. The customers fly into a panic and people start to stand up and try to get away but one of the gunmen starts to fire his gun, shooting seven people in panic. Causing even more chaos as he storms through shop kicking people out of the way and pushing tables over to make a path for the other two men and the owner, who is now their hostage. He stops in front of me for a second and points the gun at my head and then carries on walking and smiling as I let out a sigh of relief. The screams are deafening, the old man next to Cath starts to hyperventilate as they get closer and point the gun at him. Cath instinctively stands up in front of him to protect him as the first two men and the hostage pass by. I slowly hand the baby back to Lucy and crawl towards Cath as last of the men walks past. He's almost out the door when he laughs, turns around and lets off one more shot. I hear Cath scream and I see her turn white. I look down at her stomach and and see blood, a lot of blood seeping through her vest top. "Cath." I scream as I quickly stand and run over to her, catching her before she hits the ground.
"Sara...it hurts." she cries.
"I know it hurts Cath, just hold on okay." I whisper.
"I'll be fine. Go help someone else."
"I'm not leaving you Cath." I say as I apply pressure to her wound. She moans out in agony and starts to cry. "Sorry, I need to try and stop the bleeding."
"Sara, please go and help someone else, I'll be fine for a few minutes." she says.
I gently move Cath to the side and I stand up. "Hey guys. Please listen to me." I shout to get everybody's attention. "My name's Sara and I work for the crime lab. I assure you that help is on the way. I'd be really grateful if you can stay here and help the injured until the paramedics and police arrive. The police will need to talk to everyone." I say. Everyone seems to understand and they start to rally around and help each other. I hear my name being called and I look around but I don't know who shouted of me. I look at Lucy and smile as she moves towards another woman with a young child. I hear my name being called again and I realise that it's Gil, he's still on the phone. I quickly pull my phone out and start talking.
"Gil I'm fine but Cath's hurt. We need help in here. Where are the police and the medics? We have eight people with gunshot wounds and a few with possible broken bones and cuts and bruises. Please send help Gil. Please. People are going to fall apart soon." I cry.
"It's okay honey, we're on our way. There's been an accident, that's why the police or medics haven't arrived yet. We're almost there Sara." he says, and then my battery goes dead.
"Shit." I shout as I rush back over to Cath.
"She keeps drifting in and out of consciousness." says the old man who Cath was protecting earlier. "She saved my life. Who is she?" he asks as he takes her hand.
"Her name's Catherine or Cath." I whisper and move around to the old man. "Are you okay? What's your name?"
"I'm Bryan. I'm okay but I could do with a bottle of brandy." he smiles slightly.
"Yeah join the club." I reply as I hear the front doors swing open.
"Sara." I hear Gil call as he runs in, quickly followed by Nick, Warrick, Greg, Brass and several other officers and some paramedics. I run over to him and throw my arms around. "It's okay honey, you're safe now." he soothes as he rubs his hands down back.
"We couldn't stop them. We don't have our weapons. It all happened so fast. Cath's hurt, I couldn't stop the bleeding. We need to get these people to hospital." I cry as I collapse to the ground and start crying and shaking violently. I can feel myself being lifted and I open my eyes. Gil and Nick are carrying me outside while Warrick and Greg are helping Cath. As I'm placed on a bench outside Gil puts his arms around me and tries to soothe me as I cling to his shirt and sob. I can't seem to take in what's just happened, I can't make any sense of why I'm unhurt and Cath is bleeding.
After a few minutes he speaks up. "Sara? I want to take you home. Come on honey." he whispers as he slowly starts to move. His movements seem to knock me out of the trance I'm in. I bolt up and run back into the building.
"Cath?" I shout and rush over to where she was lying earlier, but she's not there. "Where's Cath?" I ask Nick as he passes by me.
"She's okay Sara. She's gone to hospital. Warrick's gone with her. She's going to be fine." he says as he kisses my head.
"Ummm okay. Have you seen a young woman with a baby girl? Her name's Lucy?" I ask.
"I think she might be outside talking to the police." he says. "I think you should give Brass your statement and head home Sara."
"Yeah...I might do that, I feel a feel a bit...I don't know what I feel. Numb I think." I say as Nick takes my arm and leads me towards Gil and Brass. "Promise me you'll let me know any news about Cath." I whisper.
"I promise." he replies as he kisses my head and hands me over to him and walks back inside. Gil puts his arm me and softly kisses my cheek. He doesn't move his arm the whole time I'm talking to Brass.
After about forty minutes we walk up the street towards his car and he drives us home. I've stopped shaking and I just want to curl up in bed next to my husband and feel safe again. I move towards the kitchen and pull a bottle of water from the fridge and take a long drink. When I turn around I notice Gil staring at me, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him.
"Oh God Sara, I was so scared. I could hear everything. The screams and the cries. I didn't know if you were hurt or not. I thought I was going to lose you Sara." he says as he buries his face against my neck. I lift his face up to mine and look into his eyes. "I love you so much Sara. I don't know how I'd live if I lost you." he says and allows some tears to fall.
"I love you too." I say as my voice shakes. I kiss him passionately. The thought that I could've died without one last kiss is making my heart hurt.
"Lets go to bed Sara. I need to feel you. I need to feel your heartbeat so that I know this is real. That you're alive. I need to hold you and taste you...and kiss you." he whispers. "I know I should be comforting you but all I can think about is..." he says but I cut him off.
"Sshh...lets not think about it. Cath's going to be fine, no major damage. I'm fine. I'll be better once I'm lying in your arms. Come on." I whisper as I take his hand and lead him to the bedroom.
As soon as we make it through the door we start kissing and touching. Desperate to find comfort in each other we strip off our own clothes quickly and fall onto the bed. Pressing himself down on me, desperate to feel me, Gil starts to kiss me and moves his hands to feel every inch of bare skin he can reach. My hands caress his face and move down to his chest and his stomach. He groans as I take him in my hand. I let my hands do the work, touching and caressing him as he's kissing my neck. With every kiss, he whispers "I love you." I can feel him hard against me as I bring both hands up to his chest and his hands move down my hips to my thighs. "I need you inside me." I moan. "I need to feel you inside me." He slowly enters me, we both sigh with pleasure as he starts to move. I grind my hips against his and arch my back in attempt to take him deeper inside me. I wrap my legs around him and pull him further into me as I reach up and kiss him. We swallow each others moans, my fingers dig into his shoulders as he pushes into me harder and deeper. I kiss him one last time before I feel my body shudder and release. He lets himself go at the same time and moans out my name. He collapses on the bed next to me and pulls me into his arms as he kisses me and pulls the sheet up over us. We fall asleep within minutes.
I'm right back in the coffee shop. I can hear the screams going round and round in my head. I can hear the deafening shots. I know I'm dreaming but I can't wake up. I watch as Cath is shot in the stomach and I see the blood seep through her top. "Cath" I scream. I still can't wake myself up. I writhe around in the bed trying to get away from the danger. My heart's pounding and I'm in a cold sweat. "No." I scream as I feel arms wrapped tightly around me and I sit bolt upright and wake up gasping for breath.
"Sshh, Sara it's okay, I'm here. I've got you." whispers Gil.
"I'm okay." I say as I lie back down and push my body closer to him. "I knew I was dreaming, I just couldn't wake myself up."
"I'm sorry honey, It'll get better." he whispers.
"I know. I've been through worse, I'm sure I'll survive." I smile. "My husbands arms around me will help scare the nightmares away." I say and he wraps his arms even tighter around me.
"I love you Gil Grissom." I whisper as I reach up and take his mouth with mine.
"I love you too, Sara Sidle-Grissom." he whispers as he kisses me back with such passion and desire, I can't help but moan out his name.
The End