WHO KNEW
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, nor do I make any money on this. I also do not own the song in this fic, which is Pink's Who Knew.
Spoilers: SPOILERS FOR FINALE!!! DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!! Also, very minor spoilers for 6x24 Way to Go.
Summary: What if Sara wasn't the one to die at the hands of the Mini Crime Scene Killer? CHARACTER DEATH!!!
Rating: T, just to be safe.
A/N: This isn't beta-ed, so any mistakes are mine. WARNING: THERE IS A CHARACTER DEATH!!!
Catherine walked past CSI and stopped at Grissom's office door. She sighed as she realized that his office would be given to her because she was nightshift's new supervisor. She heard sniffling from inside. She knocked and opened the door. She saw a brunette woman sitting in their supervisor's old chair, her head buried in her arms which were on top of the mahogany desk. Catherine walked up to her and gently put her arm around her co-worker's shoulders. Sara looked at Catherine through red, puffy eyes.
"I miss him," she whispered.
"I know, hon...we all do," she said.
"I can't stop it from playing over again in my head!" she moaned painfully. "It's all my fault he's gone!"
"Not it's not!" she Catherine firmly. "It wasn't your fault Natalie captured you. You didn't want to be held hostage...you didn't pull that trigger!"
The team rushed up to the house where the miniature serial killer was holding Sara hostage. Brass knocked on the door and Natalie burst through the door with Sara. Sara was bound and her mouth was duct-taped shut. Natalie also had a gun held to Sara's temple. Everyone pulled out their guns and aimed at Natalie.
"Drop your weapon!" Brass shouted.
"I don't think you're in the right position to tell me what to do," said Natalie maliciously. "I could blow this bitch's brains out right now! I will if you guys don't drop your weapons!"
"Please, Natalie, I beg you...let her go!" pleaded Grissom, fearing for his lover's life.
"I told you it would be personal, Grissom!" she shouted. "You killed my father! He was the best parent I ever had...I loved him! So now I'm going to kill the love of YOUR life!"
Grissom felt his face grow warm as everyone stared at him. He kept his gaze fixed on Sara's fearful brown eyes.
"Natalie, you're father committed suicide!" Grissom said. "I had nothing to do with his death."
"He died to protect me!" she screamed. "He died because you arrested him...he was innocent!"
"He somewhat confessed," said Grissom. "Sara didn't do anything wrong! Please, let her go!"
"Convince me!" snarled Natalie coldly.
Grissom struggled to think of something. Suddenly, something popped into his head as his eyes focused of Sara's stomach, where a small bump was forming.
"Would you ever kill a child?" asked Grissom.
"What the hell kind of question is that?" she snarled.
"A valid one...please answer it," said Grissom. "Would you ever kill a child, or do harm to a child?"
"No, they're innocent," said Natalie.
"Then please let Sara and her unborn child go," said Grissom.
"What?" asked Natalie, thunderstruck.
"That's right...Sara is pregnant," said Grissom. "Her and her unborn child are both innocent...they didn't do anything wrong."
Natalie thought this over and slowly released her death grip hold on Sara. She took out a knife and cut the ropes binding Sara and took the tape off her mouth. Natalie roughly shoved Sara towards Grissom and sighed in defeat. Grissom hugged Sara and kissed her head. They heard Natalie whistle and turned to look at her. They saw the glint of the gun barrel in the sun. Grissom shoved Sara over, and just in time, too. Natalie pulled the trigger. Sara's scream was louder than the deafening sound of the gun. She watched Grissom fall to the ground in slow motion. Blood was gushing from a wound in his chest...close to where his heart was.
Sara rushed over to him and applied pressure to the wound. Sara heard another gunshot and turned around. Natalie was falling to the ground, a bullet hole in her head. Sara turned when she felt Grissom's hand cover her bloody one. Tears glistened in her eyes as she heard him murmur, "Sara, I love you. I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner. This never should've happened...I should've watched over you closer. Promise me that you'll raise our child right. Make sure he or she doesn't date till their thirty. Make sure they knew who I was."
"No, Gil, damn it, NO!" she screamed. "I'm not going to let you die! Just hang in there, please! I'm not ready to say goodbye!"
"Neither am I...but I think our time has come," he whispered.
Sara hugged her to him and kissed his hair. Tears fell into the gray curls. She felt his hand come to a rest on her abdomen.
"Be good for Mommy...I love you," he muttered.
He looked at Sara and said, "I'll always be here."
He placed his pale hand over her heart. She covered his hand with hers and he kissed it gently. She brought her lips down to his and kissed him passionately, as if that would breathe new life into him.
Sara watched the life go out of his eyes and she cried out in anguish. She curled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. A warm arm wrapped around her shaking shoulders. She looked up and was met with Catherine's watery eyes. The older woman hugged her friend in a mothering way.
"He's g-gone!" Sara gasped, drawing a shuddering breath. "He told me he'd never leave me!"
"I don't think he ever thought this would happen," said Catherine gently.
The blonde saw Grissom's bloody handprint on Sara's shirt. The handprint was over the place where her heart was. Catherine's heart ached for the younger woman and said, "Gil was right...he'll always be there."
Catherine sighed as she, too, remembered that awful day.
"Come on, Sara...the guys and I are heading over to that Karaoke Barn off of Tropicana," said Catherine. "They also serve food there. You should come too...it'll take your mind off of it."
Sara reluctantly agreed. Catherine met the guys in the parking lot. They all drove to the Barn and walked in. A young teen was attempting to sing Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man. They walked over to a table and sat down. A waitress walked up and took their drink order. Everyone ordered a soft drink since they were all driving home.
After a few hours, the crowd really thinned out. Sara announced that she was going up to sing something.
"You'll have to wait and see," she replied quietly when they asked her what song she was performing.
She walked on stage and selected the song. Sara quietly said, "This is Who Knew by Pink...here you go."
You took my hand
You showed me how
You promised me you'd be around
Yeah huh, that's right
I took your words and I believed
In everything you said to me
Yeah huh, that's right
If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone,
I'd stand up and punch them out
Coz they're all wrong
I know better,
Coz you said forever, and ever
Who knew?
Remember when we were such fools
And so convinced and just too cool
Oh, no, no, no
I wish I could touch you again,
I wish I could still call you friend
Yeah huh, that's right
When someone said count your blessin's now
'Fore they're long gone,
I guess I just didn't know how
I was all wrong
They knew better,
Still you said forever, and ever,
Who knew?
I'll keep you locked in my head
Until we meet again
Until we, until we meet again
And I won't forget you my friend
What happened?
If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone,
I'd stand up and punch them out
Coz they're all wrong, and,
That last kiss, I'll cherish
Until we meet again
And time makes it harder,
I wish I could remember
And I keep your memories
You visit me in my sleep
My darlin', who knew?
My darlin', who knew?
My darlin', I miss you, my darlin', who knew?
Who knew?
Sara finished with tears in her eyes. She quietly acknowledged the crowd's applause and walked off the stage. She sat down next to Catherine and quietly nursed her Pepsi. The team sympathetically looked at her, but said nothing. They all saw the tears in her eyes, fighting not to fall down her deathly-white cheeks. One slithered down, and they just couldn't stop. Catherine embraced her friend as she cried her eyes out.
"Cath, I miss him!" she cried, not caring that everyone was staring at her. "Why did God have to take him away? What did I do to deserve this?"
"Nothing, you didn't do anything, hon," said Catherine, her maternal instincts kicking in.
"And how the hell am I gonna take care of a kid by myself?" she asked. "The only reason I decided that this baby would be worthwhile is because Gil would be there to help me...it would symbolize our love! Then Natalie stole that away from us...away from me! Life is so cruel!"
"I know, Sara...I really do," said Catherine sympathetically. "But you won't go through having the baby alone...we're all here for you. We're family, and that's what families do."
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They all left an hour later. Sara drove home and walked into the cold, dark house. She walked into the bedroom and flopped into bed. She rested her head on the pillow and pulled the other fluffy pillow to her chest. The tears fell as she inhaled his scent. She closed her eyes, only to be met with images of Grissom's lifeless eyes and body.
"Why did you leave me?" she whispered to him. "I miss you...I want you here with me!"
As she closed her eyes, she would've bet the world that she heard his voice whisper, "I'll be waiting for you. I love you, darling."
A/N: God I hope the finale doesn't go like this! I just had to get this out of my head...to make some room for the GSR fluff! As always, review to let me know what you thought of this fic.