Consolations and Hangovers – Chapter 01
Authors' Note: This is our first co-written CSI fanfic!
Rine: Two brains is always better than one, so we hope that by combining ideas and storylines, we can bring to you a better reading experience.
Reviews are ALWAYS welcome, even more so constructive criticism. Every word of encouragement will spur us on to create more words for everyone to enjoy. Without our readers/reviewers, creating a story would be absolutely meaningless. This is for you all!
Jo: Anyway, this fic will be mainly Sandles, with hints of Nick/Wendy with Yo!Bling. Set somewhere during season 10. IN OUR WORLD,WARRICK IS STILL ALIVE AND KICKING!
Plus, this is rather GSR-unfriendly. You have been warned. :D
Cheers to a successful fic.
DISCLAIMER: Nope, we don't own CSI. That's a shame. But we do own this plot.
CSI Sara Sidle headed towards the Las Vegas Police Department break room. Reaching her destination, she sat down on the couch with a sigh. The break room was empty, and it aptly described how she felt right now - lonely and empty inside. Running a hand through her hair, Sara's mind trailed back to this morning, when she had that meeting with Grissom.
Grissom had returned to Las Vegas briefly, and it seemed he had something he needed to tell Sara. The pair were sitting in a cafe, paper cups in their hands, filled with freshly-brewed coffee. Grissom was fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable in his seat. Sara, trying to ignore the tension, held the paper cup to her nose, as the aroma from the coffee tingled her senses.
Glancing at Grissom, she was glad to be able to see him again. It had been so long since she last saw him, and he hadn't called much either. Maybe they could catch up on things; she could tell him what was going on in the lab, with Raymond on the team now, and he could tell her how it's like being a lecturer all the way in Paris...
"Sara," he started.
She looked at him. Grissom looked a little uneasy, as he turned to her.
"I... I don't think this is working out." He stated, and looked at her. "Gil, what are you talking about?" Grissom sighed, and Sara wasn't sure she is going to like what she's about to hear.
"Us. This... Our relationship. It isn't working out."
Sara froze, and just stared at him for a moment. Gil Grissom, what the hell are you talking about?
"I'm all the way in Paris, while you're all the way here in Vegas. We've just gotten married, and I'm not even around you," he continued, as Sara furrowed her brows. "I don't think we're up to this."
What is this? Who is this man sitting right in front of her? Wasn't it that long ago that they had decided to abandon the world for each other? A few months apart, and it is as if though he had morphed into an entirely different person...
"Nothing is impossible, Gil." Sara replied, her voice straining. "We can still keep in touch, can't we? Didn't this arrangement work before? We have tried this before, haven't we? We... we can talk on the phone more... I... I can go visit you in Paris..."
Grissom looked pained. "I know, Sara, but I feel that this... our marriage... I'm just not up to this." He paused. "There's something I have to tell you."
The air in the cafe seemed to stand still. Grissom is still talking, his mouth moving, but Sara could barely hear him amid the sound of the whole world crushing in on her...
"I am sorry I have been leading you on all these years. And as you said when this first started, "Let's just see what happens", and I have let it gone too far. I never intended for this to go so... out of control... for me to go out of control. I did sometimes think I truly love you, but this love... I finally realised, is only one between a student and a mentor..."
"This is my mistake, Sara. I... shouldn't have asked you to marry me in the first place. It's just that... after you were kidnapped... I felt that I had to be responsible for everything you went through. I felt I had to be responsible for you."
Her lungs seem to close up as she struggled to breathe.
"And as I have said before, and I think I still feel the same, "I don't know what to do about this", or rather, about us."
He swallowed before he continued. "And besides... I already have someone else."
As if on cue, Heather Kessler breezes in through the door, her face showing no signs of surprise as her eyes settled upon Sara. Grissom took a deep breath as he took Lady Heather's hand in his.
"Maybe we could settle for an annulment?"
She couldn't really remember what happened next, somehow she had gotten out of that cafe still alive, and wounded up back in the lab.
Usually she wasn't the teary kind, but somehow she couldn't stop tears from stinging her eyes, as she stared hard down at the ground. She felt as if though someone had ripped her heart right out of her chest, and had mutilated it beyond repair...
At that moment, fellow CSI Greg Sanders poked his head into the room. "Hey Sar," the former lab technician greeted the brunette, breaking her train of thoughts. His voice caused Sara to hurriedly blink away those tears, afraid of others seeing this vulnerable side of her that she rarely ever shows anyone.
She looked up at him as he flashed a smile in her direction. Although Sara would have preferred to have been left alone to sort out her thoughts, she was silently grateful that she had Greg's company, and she returned the gesture with a small smile of her own.
Greg asked, as he now made to stand in the doorway, "How was it? Did Grissom say when he'd be back again?" Sara stiffened. Pursing her lips, she wondered if Greg could read her mind.
"You don't look too good," Greg continued, while Sara didn't reply. "You okay?"
"Yeah... I guess..." It was followed by a slightly uncomfortable pause, as Sara struggled not to let tears overwhelm her.
"Something's not right," Greg answered. "You... you don't have to lie, you know."
"No," Sara said, as she finally gave in, tears started streaming down her cheeks. "I... I'm not okay."
Greg walked into the room now, somewhat shocked at seeing her reaction. He sat down beside Sara, putting an arm around her, and pulled her close to him in a warm embrace. He remained silent, and didn't question why she was acting like this all of a sudden. He knew she wouldn't like anyone to bug her about it.
He had just seen her before she went off for her break. She was still all smiles then, as she happily announced she would be meeting up with Grissom at the cafe nearby. He had expected to see Sara sashaying back to the lab, with a wide smile on her glowing face, her eyes lit up in eagerness as she shared with the others in the lab how Grissom was doing in Paris, but instead, she was here, sobbing in his arms, seemingly heartbroken, without any trace of joy written on her face. What was wrong now?
"He wanted an annulment..." Sara started. Greg looked at her, a little surprised that she would want to talk about it. "He said we weren't working out... He said we weren't up to this..."
Greg's eyes widened slightly. Grissom wanted an annulment? Did he hear her right? He was almost expecting to hear her talk about Ecklie giving out sweets to the kids around the neighbourhood already.
"He said it was his mistake to have married me," she continued, sniffling. "Our love... it was only of student and mentor...? And there was Heather Kessler..."
Greg could fit the pieces of information together and got the whole picture – Grissom broke up with her.
"I can't believe this... I did so much for him..."
"You don't have to continue on about it if you don't want to, Sara," Greg said, knowing that Sara felt suffocated inside. Sara nodded, tears continuing to flow.
Greg removed his arm from her shoulder. He held her face in his hands, wiping away her tears with his thumb, as he looked into her eyes.
"You're gonna be okay, Sara," he said. "You're gonna be okay."
Authors' Note: That's chapter one. How is it? Sorry if it seems short. Please leave a review!
Chapter two – coming up! There'll be more Sandles, and it'll be less angsty. Don't worry. (: