Everything Happens For A Reason
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.
A/N: I'm back! Feels like it's been years since I wrote anything. Here's the start of yet another multi-chapter story. I'm not sure yet how long it'll be so we'll just see how it goes. I came up with this idea last Christmas but wanted to work on all my other ideas first before starting on this. I'm not really sure when this is set, I just know that it's not recent. Anyway, let me know what you think of this.
Chapter 1
A loud and rather irritating buzzing noise woke Sara from her deep sleep. She wriggled around a bit and stretched out her arms as a yawn took over her face. She brought one hand up to her eyes to give them a rub before trying to focus on the illuminating red numbers on her digital alarm clock. Though her eyes were bleary and half closed she could just about make out the time: 19:03. Crap!
Her eyes shot open as she pushed herself into a seating position. She checked the time once again now that she was more awake and her worst fears were confirmed; she was going to be late. What a perfect way to start the evening. She hated tardiness in general, people who flatly refused to put the effort into being on time for things, but she hated it mostly in herself. They say you should practice what you preach, so Sara always set her alarm clock an hour earlier than she needed to ensure she had the correct amount of time to get herself ready for the evening ahead, and yes, quite often she would arrive at the lab with plenty of time to spare, but that's how she liked it. For whatever reason she had overslept and now had a million and one things to do in the shortest amount of time possible. She clambered out of bed and headed straight for her kitchen to get the kettle boiling for her evening coffee fix, to keep her going till she made it to the lab. As she made her way to her bathroom her stomach gurgled indicating that it had clearly been a while since she last ate, but food would have to wait. Sara jumped into the shower for a quick freshen up, quickly found some clean clothes and gave her teeth a gentle scrub. She went on to pour herself a strong, black coffee and then gave her hair a light blow dry, just getting rid of the excess moisture before combing it into place. She gave herself the once over, making sure she looked presentable before facing the world, downed what was left of her coffee in one mouthful and reached for the door.
Sara ground to a sudden halt as she came face to face with her landlord on the other side of her door.
"I was just about to knock," Barry, her landlord, stated.
"I'm just on my way to work, so...," Sara insisted, trying to move last him.
"Uh... This is for you," he said nervously, handing over an envelope with her name on it.
"I'm not being evicted, am I?" Sara raised an eyebrow, only half joking.
"No," Barry shook his head. "Well... Only temporarily..."
She narrowed her eyes as she tore open the letter. She quickly scanned over it and she was full on glaring at her landlord of many years when she looked up at him again. "Fumigated? We're being fumigated?!"
"Trust me, I'm not very happy about it either," he insisted. "We've got a termite problem downstairs, and the expert reckons that if they're downstairs then there's a chance they could be in the whole building. It's safer for everyone to move out for a couple of weeks."
"Why the hell am I only hearing about this now?" Sara exclaimed.
"That's my fault. Everyone else got their letters a few weeks back but yours must have got lost. I only found it this morning," Barry tried to explain.
"And you want me out by tomorrow?" she raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
"Yes," he nodded. "I'm sorry, but my hands are tied. There's nothing I can do. I've got some guys coming tomorrow to start working and it's going to take awhile, and the sooner they get started the sooner it'll be finished. Obviously, you won't be paying rent this month and next months will be halved to apologise for any inconvenience caused. But you know, health and safety... it's gotta be done."
"Where am I going to stay?" Sara asked rhetorically, clearly frustrated.
"Vegas has some great hotels...," he offered, rather impishly.
"Yeah, and I've investigated a murder in nearly all of them," she shot back.
"I'm sorry, Sara, really I am," Barry gave her a sympathetic look.
She let out a long sigh, clenching her jaw as she spoke. "It's fine. I'll... I'll sort something out."
Sara plastered on a smile as she walked past him, slamming her door closed behind her.
She let out an irritated sigh as she climbed into her car, throwing the letter and envelope onto the passenger seat. This was just brilliant, just her luck. This was the last thing she needed right now. The only thing that could make her evening even worse was if her car were to break down...
Thankfully her car didn't pack in on her but Sara's mood hadn't improved any by the time she reached the crime lab. She couldn't believe her landlord was doing this to her. She'd lived in that same apartment since she'd been in Vegas and never once had had a single problem. Barry had always been good to her, sorting things out for her when she wasn't around, and her neighbours had always been nice and friendly, an old lady across the hall quite often watered Sara's plants for her. They were just nice people, not much more to say about it. Over time she'd grown to love her little apartment, her humble abode, her tiny sanctuary from the world, despite the fact that she spent more time at the lab than at home. But it was home, her home. The first and only property she had ever lived in in Vegas. They'd been through a lot together, been through some odd decor and furnishings, had their ups and downs, and the occasional leaky pipe and no matter what happened at work or in her personal life that apartment was always there when she needed it. And it was the principle of the matter. If she would have known about what was going to happen in advance then she could have maybe taken some time off, maybe have gone back to California, visit her mum and maybe some old friends, or she could have just spent time mindlessly walking along the beach. But that was out of the question now.
"Good evening, Sara," Nick greeted cheerfully as she walked through the door, winking as he smiled.
"Is it?," she mumbled back, shooting him a pointed stare.
"Oh, well, not the response I was expecting. Not having a good day?" Nick guessed.
"Oh, thank God, your talents aren't completely wasted in this job after all," she retorted, striding across the room in the direction of the coffee maker for her second cup in an hour. She sighed, and tried to calm herself down as she spoke again. "Sorry, not my day today. How about you?"
"I'm alright," he shrugged his shoulders, casting her a concerned glance. "The coffee's good by the way, must mean Greg's here somewhere."
"That's something, I suppose," she muttered.
Sara took herself over to the sink and reached for her mug in the cupboard. She mindlessly proceeded to pour herself some coffee, her mind deep in thought. She very nearly scolded herself had she not snapped back into reality in time. Adding a dash of milk, she gave the dark liquid a gentle stir as she gazed blankly into space.
"Anything I can help with?" Nick wondered, furrowing his brow somewhat as he watched her from where he sat on the sofa.
"Huh?" Sara's neck snapped in his direction and she seemed visibly embarrassed to have not been listening to him.
"Anything I can do to help, with whatever is on your mind?" Nick asked again, smiling softly.
Sara's face broke into a warm smile. "It's nothing I can't handle."
Nick gave a nod of acknowledgment and smiled again slightly before taking a sip of his half-filled lukewarm coffee.
A few moments of easy silence followed, with Sara leaning against the counter, before Warrick bounded through the door.
"God, it feels as though I only just left this place," he stated, sighing as he made his way into the room.
"Hey, man," Nick greeted with a slight wave.
"I'm not late again, am I?" he asked, taking a look over at the clock.
"No, I think you've just about scraped it, like I did," Sara replied, taking out his mug from the cupboard before pouring him some coffee.
"What, you mean you were late?" Warrick mocked a shocked expression.
"Funny, real funny," she scowled, glaring at him.
"Aw, come on, that's all you've got to say? Your comebacks are normally better than that," Warrick insisted, giving her a half smug glance.
"Do I look like I'm in the mood for this right now?" Sara gestured, throwing her arms out wide in exclamation, giving him a pointed stare.
"I wouldn't push it if I were you, Rick," Nick spoke up, giving him a look.
Warrick took a moment to think over the situation, glancing between Sara as she busied herself with the minor task of coffee making and Nick, who clearly didn't think he should start harassing her. There was a time and a place to tease Sara, and now didn't seem like one of those times.
"Come on then, are you gonna tell us what's up?" Warrick asked, opting to play the part of her caring friend, which he thought he usually did rather well.
Sara sighed, walking over to join her male colleagues and handed over Warrick's coffee, glancing over to Nick before beginning to speak. "I've said I can handle it."
"You've got us curious now," he pressed.
Sara narrowed her eyes at him slightly. She knew they weren't going to give up, that just wasn't their style, so she took a deep breath and found herself speaking what was on her mind. "I've just found out I'm going to have live in a hotel for a little while."
Warrick raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How come?"
Sara rolled her eyes just at the thought of it as she continued. "My apartment block is being fumigated so I'm been forced to stay in a hotel. Apparently my building has a termite infestation. I only found out about it today, because the letter to tell me what was going on somehow got lost, or so my landlord says. And the work starts tomorrow."
"Why a hotel?" Nick asked.
"Because I don't have anywhere else to go," she shrugged.
"That's not true. You can come and stay with me," Nick offered automatically. "Only if you want to, of course."
"Really?"
"Sure, I mean, it's gotta be better than a hotel or whatever, and it's definitely cheaper for one thing. Of course you can stay with me, I've got the room," he smiled as the plan formed in his head.
"Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" Sara asked, looking slightly unconvinced.
"Of course I don't mind, I wouldn't have offered for you to stay if I did. I'd enjoy the company," he smiled.
"Well, if you're sure..."
"Yes, I'm sure," Nick rolled his eyes at her persistence.
"Ok then, I guess I'm coming to stay with you for a while, only a couple of weeks, max.," she bit her lip. "I guess I probably should have said that first, right?"
"My spare bedroom will be there for as long as you need it," Nick insisted.
"Thank you," Sara smiled, genuinely flattered by his generosity. "I really appreciate it."
"Well, glad I could have been of some assistance," Warrick said sarcastically.
Sara chuckled lightly as she and Warrick took a seat at the table, Sara passing Nick a glance or two as she sat down. They waited for a little while, and Sara huffed that she needn't of hurried so much to get to work on time if nobody else was going to bother showing up. Both of the men just rolled their eyes at her as they finished their coffees.
A few minutes later, Grissom entered the room, unusually late. "I was in a meeting," he stated. It was then that they noticed Catherine and Greg standing behind him.
Warrick raised an eyebrow, "Did our invite get lost?" he wondered sarcastically.
"New evidence to an old case has surfaced," Grissom stated. "And the conviction could be overturned."
"And we've just been given the third degree by that useless, waste of time, bullshiter, who walks around here like he's a descendant of God himself," Catherine insisted, clearly feeling very peeved by the man everyone else knew as the under sheriff.
Warrick just nodded. "I see."
"It wasn't that bad...," Greg argued. "Yeah, the guy is by far the biggest asshole to ever walk the earth, but he had a point; maybe we missed something."
"Anyway, we'll be going over the old case files," Grissom spoke up. "Nothing's come in yet so you three are on paperwork for a while, but don't get too comfy. I'll keep you posted."
Grissom swiftly turned and left, followed by a rather unhappy Catherine and an over-eager Greg. Sara's eyes followed them as the moved through the hallways, watching as they entered the archive room, Catherine still visibly kicking up a fuss.
Sara was the first one to speak. "So I rushed to be here on time so I could do paperwork... And my day just keeps getting better and better."
"Quit moaning," Nick insisted playfully. "We've got work to do."
Sara rolled her eyes and took the executive decision to leave the room first. Nick and Warrick just gave each other a look, always finding it somewhat amusing when Sara was even more irritable than usual. But they hurried to join her, before she had something else to complain about.
Having collected her case files moments before, Sara sighed frustratedly as she entered one of the spare rooms supposedly used as an overflow room for when people needed more space to work and look over evidence, but usually reserved only for storage and dust collecting. Sara had discovered a while back that sitting in the break room wasn't always a great idea when doing important paperwork, learning the hard way that having people pop in and out of the room constantly was both irritating and highly distracting. So the whole team had agreed that utilising this empty room would make sense in the long run.
She sat herself down and rubbed her face with her hands, as the two men joined her. Her day hadn't started out so bad. She'd gone home exhausted after an average evening at work, made herself some toast and flicked through the TV listings before heading off to her bed for some well needed rest. And it turned out she's needed it an awful lot, as her oversleeping proved. And in all honestly she'd been starting to feel the effects of her lazy day in bed, and she supposed she might have been somewhat cheerful had her landlord not turned up at her door. But doing paperwork was just the tip of the iceberg for Sara, and she didn't need more time to stew on what had gone on. She wasn't usually one for complaining much when it came to doing the necessary paperwork that was required for the conviction of a killer but she had hoped to be able to sink her teeth into a nice juicy murder with twists and turns to challenge her and keep her mind of her temporary homelessness.
"Does this not bug anyone else, or is it just me?" Sara spoke up a short time later.
Warrick couldn't help but chuckle under his breath.
"It has to be done," Nick replied, shaking his head at her child-like behaviour as he read over a report.
"I know that, but it doesn't mean I have to enjoy doing it," Sara continued.
"Well, a murder hasn't been reported, and short of actually killing someone ourselves there's not a lot any of us can do about it," Nick insisted. "So quit yapping, and get writing."
"What you gonna do if I don't?" Sara wondered, teasingly.
Nick just gave her a look. "Don't try me."
Sara rolled her eyes at him, pursing her lips as she picked up her pen again and flicking through a file.
Warrick let out a slight chuckle, bemused by the interactions of his co-workers. "Maybe you two shouldn't live together, even for a couple of weeks, it could end badly," he commented.
"Nah, she'll play by the rules," Nick smiled flirtatiously.
"And what rules are they, Nick?" she looked up at him.
"You'll find out," he winked.
Sara scoffed.
"Well, as much as I love playing the third wheel, I'm gonna go and get some more coffee," Warrick stated teasingly, casting Nick a knowing look as he pushed himself up.
Sara glared at him as a cheeky grin took over his face.
"Anyone else want one?
"I'm good, man," Nick replied, keeping his head down to avoid eye contact.
"Me too," Sara nodded.
Both men turned to look at her.
"I'm not thirsty, is that a crime?" she raised her eyebrows.
"I'll be right back," Warrick stated, not wanting to argue, and swiftly left.
Nick and Sara sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"So what's your favourite movie?" Nick wondered, speaking mostly into himself as he continued to write.
"Thought you told me to shut up and get writing?" Sara commented, teasingly.
"Well, I thought women were supposed to be able to multitask?" Nick shot back.
Sara pursed her lips at him.
"So what's your favourite movie?" Nick asked again. "You'd better not be into any of those indie films that go on forever. And I can promise you now that we won't be watching a single horror movie."
Sara glanced up and watched Nick raise his eyebrows in question. She stopped what she was doing and thought for a second. "I don't suppose I have a favourite film to be honest. What about you? Wait, let me guess... Anything that stars John Wayne?"
"You can't beat a classic western," Nick insisted.
"I wouldn't know," Sara shrugged. "Never really seen one."
"Well we'll soon see to that," Nick smiled.
She could only smile at him. If their behaviour was anything to go on then she knew they would be fine. And the thought occurred to her that she might actually enjoy herself, might actually enjoy spending some time outside her shoebox of a home.
"Would it be okay if I come round after shift with my stuff?" Sara continued. "I'll need a little time to gather up my things but I'll be round once I've sorted everything out, is that okay?"
"Of course it is," Nick nodded.
"Thank you," she smiled. "Thank you for doing this, letting me stay with you."
"I'm really not doing a lot," Nick replied modestly.
"You're letting me live with you, Nick, letting me invade your personal space," Sara maintained. "That's more than a lot in my book."
"It's my pleasure," Nick smiled sweetly.
Sara let out a slight chuckle. "Whoever said chivalry was dead never met you, did they?"
"No, ma'am," he smiled, blushing slightly.
They briefly exchanged looks, Sara unable to control the warm smile that spread across her face. Their eyes met, and they spent more than a few moments just staring at one another.
"Nick?" Grissom popped his head round the door.
"Right here, boss," he snapped his neck towards the voice.
"Suspicious death reported in a home in North Las Vegas, needs investigating," Grissom stated, holding out the piece of paper for him to take. "You can choose who you take with you."
"You got it," he smiled, taking the paper from him.
"How's it going with your paperwork?" Grissom wondered, looking over his glasses slightly.
"You know... It's going...," Nick shrugged, looking over at Sara who nodded in agreement.
"Keep me in the loop," he said before disappearing again.
Nick turned and looked at Sara, cocking an eyebrow. "Fancy a road trip? What Warrick doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"
"I'm driving," Sara pursed her lips, taking the piece of paper out of his hands.
In the end, they didn't stay at the scene very long. It was a pretty open and shut case, as it turned out. The wife had killed her husband for his life insurance policy, but because they had the world's most nosy neighbour the police arrived on the scene before she had chance to get rid of the evidence. They found the gun in the storage cupboard and the woman tested positive for gunshot residue. It all made for a swift return to the lab.
The car slowly ground to a halt. Again. This was getting ridiculous. Sara sat leaning against the passenger side window, staring out across the Vegas skyline, admiring the sunrise. She'd let Nick drive back, and now she was glad she did, if for no other reason than she just didn't have the patience to be going at a snails pace, probably leading to her getting out and punching someone in the face. Nick was much better at that sort of stuff, always so much better than her with people. He, unlike her, had the patience for it. And she was grateful that he was always patient with her, like he had been at the start of the shift when she was busy being cryptic about what was going on inside her head. It wasn't that she was trying to be difficult about it, but Sara had her pride. She didn't want to make a big issue out of it, make more of a fuss than she felt necessary, even though she was angry at how the events had transpired. But she knew that getting angry wouldn't solve her problems so she had to just suck it up and deal with it. That was easier said than done, however. But she knew her friends, and knew they wouldn't give up till she confessed all her worldly sins, and as it turned out it was quite beneficial in the end. She now had somewhere to stay, which was one last thing for her to worry about.
Nick found himself gazing back and forth between the road and Sara as he pulled the handbrake on the car. He leaned his elbow against the car window ledge, resting his head on his hand, as he watched Sara stare out the window, looking thoughtful.
"Everything okay?" he wondered.
Sara merely nodded, half shrugging at the same time.
"I hope you're gonna want to talk more when we're living under the same roof, else we will definitely have a problem," Nick stated, teasingly, raising a curious eyebrow in her direction.
"Somehow I think you'll be able to talk enough for both of us," she retorted.
Nick smirked his reply.
Sara turned her attention to the window again as they seemed to slowly be making headway with the traffic.
"We'll get on alright, won't we?" Sara spoke up, her voice soft.
"Of course we will. We're getting on fine now, aren't we? It's no different," Nick gave her a look, raising an eyebrow at her. "If you don't want to stay with me just say so, I won't be offended."
"No, I do," she instantly replied. "That's not it at all. I just... I know me, and know that I'm probably difficult to live with. I don't want you to feel awkward in your own home."
"You worry too much."
"Still, I don't want to impose. When I mentioned it earlier I wasn't looking for an invite I was just letting off some steam," Sara tried to explain herself. "If you'd rather I not stay with you, just say."
Nick sighed. "Sara, you're staying with me, and that's the end of it."
"If you're sure...," she started, almost blushing.
"Seriously, Sara, it's no trouble. It'll be good. We'll have a laugh, get drunk, maybe I'll be able to convince you to play strip poker..."
"I don't think so, Stokes," she interrupted, trying to look stern and serious as a smile threatened to surface.
"A guy can dream, can't he?" Nick grinned. "We'll be just fine, and you'll be home before you know it."
"Promise me you'll let me know if I'm becoming unbearable," she insisted.
"I'm sure you won't but sure, I promise, if that'll satisfy you," Nick rolled his eyes.
"Thank you," she smiled. "And I promise to be the best houseguest you've ever had."
"I'll hold you to that," Nick insisted playfully, turning and meeting her gaze.
Thank you for reading. More to come soon. Please review.