TITLE: Superstitious Feeling
Sara - Nick Friendship
Pre-GSR Canon
Rated TEEN for coarse language and implied themes
No spoilers
(I don't own any of the CSI characters or any material related to it, it belongs to CBS, unfortunately.... lol. I just own a couple of CSI books and the video games...)
"What have we got Jim?" Grissom asked as he reached the alley, Sara in tow carrying her field kit.
"An apparent suicide. jumper. Too bad though… he won the million dollar jackpot on the slots at the Bellagio a few hours ago. I guess money can't buy you everything…" Brass sadly turned his head towards the limp form laying face down beside an overstuffed dumpster.
"You got that right…" Sara sadly admitted
"Well, let's get started, they're forecasting some rain later tonight, might as well get started before it destroys our evidence…" and he headed straight to where the victim lay.
"Rain… just great…" Sara mumbled to herself as she followed Grissom, noticing that he was wearing is new black pants. Wake up Sidle! We're at a scene! She scolded herself.
"Grissom, there's not much here, this was the secondary crime scene, obviously."
"We better take a look at the roof of the Bellagio." He nodded towards the building to his left. "Brass did say that the victim was staying in room 706 after he won the jackpot. We better take a look at the roof before the room, while the weather is still permitting."
"Sounds fun…" Sara pouted. I always enjoy working at crime scenes that were over a hundred feet in the air… she thought to herself, feeling a sense of uneasiness settle in the pit of her stomach.
"I never thought the Bellagio was this high…" Sara cringed as she looked over the edge to take a peek and quickly took a step back, feeling dizzy.
"Sara, you okay?" Grissom ran to her. She looked woozy, so he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"I'm fine, just got this thing with heights…" she shook her head and leaned down to grab her kit. "I'm fine. I'll look for foot prints and signs of a struggle, you, um, take the ledge."
"Will do Sara. Let me know if you're not feeling well and we'll go back inside." He offered before walking to the ledge carrying his print powder and brush.
Why does he suddenly care so much? Sara wondered as she searched the ground for footprints or any kind of evidence.
Sara crouched down, shining her maglite onto a small piece of dark cloth, possibly ripped from a sweatshirt or t-shirt. She picked it up with her tweezers and put into an evidence bag. A sudden sound made her turn around quickly towards the main doors that led inside the building.
"Did you just hear something, like a door close?" She asked Grissom that was some 20 feet away still observing the ledge.
"No, why?" Grissom replied, turning to look at her confused.
"Never mind, I'm hearing things… must be the heights having an effect on me…" she shrugged off turning around and looking at the ground for more clues.
Then, the faint sound of running footsteps could be heard… getting closer and closer.
"What the…" Sara turned around suddenly. All she saw was a mixture of two dark figures wrestling, one being Grissom, the other a suspect in a ripped black sweatshirt and old pair of jeans. She reached up for her firearm in the holster on her hip, but couldn't get a clear shot because Grissom was in front of the suspect.
"Vegas CSI! Put your hands up where I can see them and GET ON THE GROUND NOW! Sara yelled at the suspect, but he seemed to ignore her completely, looking smug.
"What are you going to do about it, eh? Shoot your partner?" he evilly laughed by himself.
"Shoot him Sara! Just do it!" Grissom yelled back at Sara, but she only stood there, her firearm in hand, pointing directly at the suspect standing behind Grissom, who was holding Grissom in a near head-lock. Sara had never seen such a look of fear and pain in Grissom's blue eyes for as long as she had known him. The suspect stumbled on his feet, pulling Grissom up with him and walking over to the ledge, Grissom looking like he was going to pass out.
"I told YOU! GET ON THE GROUND NOW! I WILL NOT HESITATE TO SHOOT!!" Sara yelled at the suspect in black, her eyes holding an icy stare into his, but they had no effect.
"You think I care? You got me for murder, what do I have to lose if you shoot me now? Nothing. But if your precious partner's life is in your hands, that's where I get my power and render you useless!" He laughed. "Your hand is shaking too much to even shoot the broad side of a barn, you think I'm scared of you?" he laughed again tightening his grip on Grissom's neck.
Sara's eyes lost their icy tone as they looked at Grissom's facial features, and turned into pure anger.
"You son-of-a-bitch!" Sara she yelled at the suspect, pointing her gun towards the ground in front of her and starting to run the mere 20 some feet that separated them, but it was too late.
"You're too late bitch! He's going down just like that other jerk did!" He yelled back at her. And before Sara could reach within 10 feet of Grissom and the suspect, the tall and large suspect grabbed Grissom's near limp form by the vest and pushed him off the ledge of the roof, onto the streets below.
"Nooo!!!!" Sara yelled.
"Games over bitch. Now you have his death on your conscience." He smiled back at her before looking over the edge to mock-wave at Grissom.
"You freaking son-of-a-bitch!" Sara wasn't sure if she heard his laugh before or after her firearm discharged, but before she knew it, she realized the suspect was lying on the ground dead to the world and her firearm magazine completely empty. She felt the first droplets of rain falling on her shoulders and hair, a loud crack of thunder echoing loudly in the background, as she dared to look over the edge of the building.
"No, wait… WHAT??? OH MY GOD SARA! ARE YOU OKAY?!?!" Catherine yelled into her cell phone while she stood up in the crime lab break room, knocking her chair onto the ground. "I'M ON MY WAY!!! I'll grab who ever's at the lab and head over there!" She yelled into her phone, shutting it with more force than needed.
"Whoa, whoa, where's the fire Cath?" Nick asked her as she rushed past him and Greg walking towards the break room, nearly knocking them over.
"No time to talk. You two have a case?" She breathlessly asked them.
"Um, no…" Greg replied confused. "Just closed it."
"Come. Now. We're heading to the Bellagio, no questions asked." She was quickly heading for the exit with amazing speed.
"We better follow her, something's really wrong. I've never seen her this way." Nick said as he looked worriedly at his co-worker. "Lets go." And they both hurried after Catherine, ignoring the confused looks of the lab techs working at their stations.
Catherine was already in the Denali, parked in front of the entrance, engine running, and waiting for Nick and Greg to come out. Greg and Nick hopped into the Denali, and Catherine immediately put it into Overdrive, not even waiting for them to put on their seatbelts.
"What's going on Catherine??" Nick worriedly asked Catherine who was staring ahead at the road, maneuvering through the traffic like a mad woman, the wipers on the vehicle swishing loudly on the windshield as the rain continued to fall.
"What's up Cath?" Greg weakly asked from the back seat.
Taking a deep breath, she replied with amazing speed. "Sara called me, said she and Grissom were working at potential suicide jumper at the Bellagio. When they were collecting evidence, the perp came back, pushed Grissom over the edge of the roof of the Bellagio and Sara soon emptied her clip into the suspect."
"WHAT????" Nick and Greg said loudly at the same time.
"I… I… just can't come to believe it…" Catherine started to get watery eyes as she suddenly braked and swerved to avoid a car making a wrong turn.
"Cath, I think I should drive…" Nick suggested.
"NO! I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF DRIVING!" She yelled back at him, ignoring the two surprised looks from her co-workers.
The 10-minute drive to the Bellagio was eerily silent, as Greg kept sending worried glances at the driver, Nick doing the same. Catherine suddenly parked the Denali, making a screeching tire sound as she parked it beside a police cruiser and jumping out of it immediately.
"Let's go see what's really going on." Nick worriedly told his co-worker as they ran to follow Catherine.
"Oh my God! Sara!" Catherine ran to the rear of an ambulance where Sara sat, sheltered by the rain and wrapped in a large gray throw. She was staring at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Sara!" Catherine yelled, grabbing her female co-worker by the shoulders and lightly shaking them. Sara didn't answer, tears falling down her cheeks like the rain around them.
"Sara please!" Catherine insisted as Nick and Greg soon reached them near the ambulance. Sara only shook her head, more tears coming down as she weakly lifted her right arm to point at the alley, still staring at the ground in front of her.
"Oh my God…. Is that…" Catherine's eyes started to get watery the instant she looked at the alley where a body was covered with a tarp.
"No! Don't you dare say it!!" Sara suddenly yelled back at Catherine with angry eyes before starting to cry uncontrollably.
"Oh no…" Nick and Greg looked at each other and understood the picture completely.
"Oh Sara…" Nick quickly wrapped his strong arms around Sara's frail body, not saying a word.
Catherine turned to Greg who looked like a train had driven over him a few times.
"Come Greg, let's go find Brass…" Catherine grabbed Greg's arm to wake him up from his reverie and turned to Nick and Sara. "…Nick?" he turned to her with sad eyes, nodding as he understood that Sara needed him at the moment.
"Jim…" Catherine started to ask, but he didn't turn around, deciding to stare at an old coffee cup that lay overturned on the ground.
"Brass?" Greg asked again. Brass nearly jumped out of his own skin when he heard his name the second time.
"Catherine, Greg…" he acknowledged. "You don't want to be here…" he turned towards the body that lay covered with a tarp. "You don't want to remember Grissom this way… He was pushed 131 meters from the roof… trust me… just don't…I know… I …I know I don't…" and Brass broke out crying.
Catherine started crying again as she wrapped Brass into a silent hug. Greg stood there beside his co-workers feeling awkward, angry and riddled with sadness all at the same time. He stared into the dark alley where his boss met his untimely end, a crack of thunder the only sound to be heard.
The break room was quiet. All the lab personnel disbelievingly being able to fit inside of it. Ecklie came walking into the quiet room, standing in front of the main doors.
"Good evening everyone, I really appreciate you coming all down here for this. I don't know what you've heard, but there is no easy way of telling you this…" he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Tonight, while at a crime scene on the roof of the Bellagio, Supervisor Gil Grissom was pushed off the roof by a suspect, and passed away." A large series of gasps and "Oh my God's" were heard before he continued. "The suspect came back after pushing the first victim being investigated by CSI was pushed off the roof earlier this evening. The suspect was then shot by CSI Sara Sidle, who is now on Forced Stress Leave due to the incident and pending investigation. I would appreciate no further questioning on her part in respect to her whole ordeal. CSI Level 3 Catherine Willows will be taking over the Supervisor position for the Nighshift as of tonight. Due to the matter of this investigation, none of our shifts will be investigating this case in any way. Due to the conflict of interest in the matter, the Reno crime lab will be investigating Supervisor Gil Grissom's murder. Other than so, no further information needs to get out before the investigation is under control, especially from the media."
The room remained eerily silent.
"You are all dismissed, but be warned, due to this event, swing and day shift will have to help cover for the shortage on the night shift, so don't be too surprised to work Overtime." Before anyone could protest, Ecklie was out of the break room, heading for his office to start on a growing pile of paperwork that needed tending.
Sara sat down in her living room, absentmindedly staring at the weather report she had seen for the 7th time in the past few hours. She took the empty beer bottle from the coffee table in her hand and made her way to her kitchen, putting the empty one on the counter among other empty ones and grabbing a full cold one from the fridge, cracking it open with the opener on the counter.
"What's the point in living anymore… everything's gone to shit…" she mumbled to herself, making her way to her living room and letting herself fall onto the couch without spilling her beer. Getting drunk seemed like a good idea at the time to numb the pain she was feeling. Staring at the weather report for the 8th time in a row, she heard her cell phone ringing on the coffee table beside her. Nick. Again. She reluctantly picked up the phone in her free hand to answer it. This was going to be the 10th time that Nick called in the past 4 hours. He was certainly getting worried of her.
"Sidle." She answered, but it sounded more like 'Ssssiddel'
"Sara?! Are you okay?? I've been calling for the past few hours and you haven't been answering!!" Nick worriedly asked.
"Yes, I'm fine Nick. I'm totally fine. I just saw Grissom get pushed off a roof, die right in front of my eyes and I shot a man dead! Oh, I am just feeling freaking peachy right now! Not to mention I'm on freaking Stress Leave and I'm under investigation!" she bitterly answered back, not really meaning to take it out on Nick, but letting her frustrations go gave her a sense of relief. She sounded surprisingly coherent for a drunk.
"I'm sorry Sara… I…" Nick apologized. "I was worried about you since nobody heard from you…"
"I'm ssorry Nick… I didn't mean to… t- take it out on you." She answered with slur in her words.
"Have you been drinking Sara?" Nick was concerned.
"What difference does it make? It doesn't seem to be numbing the pain much anyways…" she sadly admitted.
"Sara, I'm coming over, no questions asked!" Nick told her with authority.
"No, I don't want anyone here, you should be sleeping right now to go to work tonight!"
"Ecklie gave Cath, Warrick, Greggo and I a few days off. I'm coming over right now. Bye." Nick didn't wait for any reply to hang up on her and jump into his vehicle to head over to Sara's apartment complex.
"Great, just freaking great…" Sara mumbled to herself taking a long swig of her beer, feeling the bitter liquid making its way down to her stomach.
Nick parked his Denali in front of Sara's apartment complex, making it there in near record time. He walked up to the main doors and rung her apartment number.
"Go away Nick, I don't need to be with anyone right now."
"Sara, you're a wreck, you need to vent out. I'll knock over the door to get to you if I have to Sara!" He warned.
"If I let you in to see if I'm okay, will you leave me alone?"
"Yes." Nick plainly answered, but his intentions were to stay and watch over her.
"Fine." She bluntly answered and the door buzzed, granting him access into the building.
Sara sat on her couch, too many things running through her mind for her to make any sense of it. And to add to it all, she had a good amount of alcohol in her system and a worried Nick on his way to her apartment door.
"Life just freaking great right now…" she mumbled to herself, finishing the rest of her beer and walking over to the kitchen to put it with the other empties among the kitchen counter. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock on her door.
"Sara, open up." Nick's worried voice could be heard on the other side of the locked door.
"See? I'm fine. I'm walking around my apartment. I'm not trying to kill myself or anything. You can leave now." She muttered through the door.
"Open up Sara." He persisted.
"No." she resisted.
"Do I have to call Brass to open up your door? No? Well open up then!"
"Ugh…" She reached up for the bolt-lock and unlocked it, slowly opening up the door to a worried-eyed Nick.
"See? I'm alive and well. Now, leave me the heck alone." She answered bitterly.
"No, that's not good enough. When's the last time you ate something Sara?"
"I don't know Nick! Probably yesterday? I don't even care anymore. I'm not hungry anyways." She answered plainly without any emotion.
"I'm coming in to make you something to eat." Sara opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off. "No arguing. I'm making you something to eat." He lifted his finger in way of warning her.
"Fine. Whatever makes you happy." She bitterly answered, letting him inside her apartment.
Nick stepped inside Sara's apartment with wide eyes. What he saw was nothing like he would have expected of Sara. Her apartment was a mess, clothes thrown everywhere over the furniture and floor, books and papers littering the whole living room. The worst part, was seeing Sara make her way to the couch, sit down with a freshly opened beer and stare aimlessly at the television playing the weather channel. She looked like a wreck, hair mussed into a complete mess, wearing old plaid pajama pants and an old tank top that had seen its better days. This was definitely not a scene that looked like Sara's apartment and the person sitting on the couch didn't even look like the person who was supposed to be renting the place.
Nick walked over into her living room and sat beside her on he couch.
"How long have you been sitting here in front of the tv watching the weather channel?" he asked her softly.
"I have no idea. All I know is that I've seen the forecast for this week probably 8 or 9 times, but I kinda lost count after 4." She replied, still staring at the weather forecaster pointing at the map for the hundredth time.
"Sara, look at me." Nick softly asked, but she ignored him, staring at the tv and taking a long gulp of beer.
"Sara…" He asked again.
"WHAT?" she angrily asked, looking at him with eyes that held so much emotion, it almost scared him.
"This?" Pointing at the beer in her hand. "Is not healthy, nor will it solve any problems Sara."
"Kinda late for your intervention there Nicky, look at the kitchen counter." She pointed towards her kitchen that must have had a minimum of 8 empty beer bottles lined up one beside the other.
"It's never too late Sara…" This earned him a frustrated look from Sara. "Listen to me… I know you're going through something tougher than any of us have, but we are just as affected. We knew him for a very long time, even before you came to Vegas…"
"Ha! You think you've known him for a long time?" She mocked, "I've known him for close to a decade!" This earned Sara a confused look from Nick.
"Oh don't look at me like that! He taught a seminar back when I was in Frisco before I even graduated and went into Forensics!" she took another gulp of beer, looking at a much more surprised look that dominated Nick's face.
"Happy now that you got that little piece of information? Not to mention that I saw him die right in front of my eyes! How dare you try to sympathize with me thinking that you can make everything better!" she took another swig of beer, returning her gaze to the television that was still showing the weather forecast.
Nick looked at her with hurt eyes. He knew Sara could be difficult, but this was beyond ridiculous.
Sara looked back at Nick who had stayed silent for the past minute. He looked like he was hurt beyond anything, which only made Sara feel worst at her earlier outbursts.
"I'm… I'm sorry Nicky. You didn't deserve that… I'm just mad… mad at that damn son of a bitch who threw… who threw… who threw Grissom over that ledge!" She nearly yelled, her voice echoing off her living room walls.
"It's okay Sara… I know you didn't mean it…" he sadly admitted. "What… did the suspect tell you anything?"
"What difference does that make now? Both him and Grissom are dead!" She nearly yelled again.
"It makes a difference to me." He calmly answered, as he put is hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Her rigid body started to relax, as did her facial features. She turned to him with sad eyes.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" she sounded more like a scared little girl than the headstrong Sara Sidle he knew at the lab, Nick thought to himself.
"I promise." He reassured her.
"Well… where do I um, start…" she stumbled on her words.
"The beginning." Nick urged her.
"Well… when the, SOB had Grissom in a head lock, Grissom kept urging me to take a shot at the suspect, but I couldn't… I didn't have a clear shot…" Sara's eyes started to get watery, but she still continued. "That SOB kept taunting me Nicky! Kept telling me that I was too scared to shoot him… that I didn't have the guts to shoot him…" a lone tear started to go down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away. "Then… then… when Grissom was nearly passing out, he grabbed Grissom's vest and threw him over the ledge…" Tears were now coming down her cheeks. Nick quickly grabbed the tissue box that was on the coffee table and handed it to her.
"Thanks Nicky…" She grabbed a tissue and wiped away her tears. "That's when things start to get fuzzy… all I remember was holding my empty gun at the SOB that lay on the ground in front of me…" She sniffed. "And to think that Grissom was comforting me when I went dizzy from looking over that edge of the building… I feel so stupid! That stupid SOB threw Grissom over the ledge and I couldn't even save him, even when I was holding a stupid gun! The worst thing? The SOB turned to me, laughing after what he had done! Told me that I would have Grissom's death on my conscience for the rest of my life!" Sara started crying uncontrollably.
"Come here…" Nick gently grabbed her shoulder and made Sara lean against him in a soft embrace.
"Don't listen to what that creep told you Sara… You did all that you could. Shooting that creep when he had Grissom in a headlock would have been really bad if it were a through and through… Grissom's vest isn't bulletproof. Grissom would never had been mad at you for the decision you took Sara." Nick comforted and started rubbing Sara's back to calm her. "I would have probably done the same thing if it were me in your shoes. Although no one should have been in those shoes at all…" Nick slowly looked at Sara when she didn't answer or make a sound. She was fast asleep on his shoulder, snoring quietly.
Sara woke up to the bright light in her living room that was filtering through her thin blinds, feeling rested to her surprise, but not without feeling a hint of a headache that suggested a hangover. She slowly sat up looking at her living room. It was a complete mess. A sudden sound in her kitchen scared her beyond reason, only to see Nick carrying a plate with a toasted bagel and a steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee.
"Nick what are you doing here??" She said out of surprise.
"Giving you something to eat. You told me yesterday you thought that you hadn't eaten in a day. And, take this." He handed her an Ibuprofen with her coffee. "You are definitely not a cheap drunk that's for sure…" He pointed to her counter full of empties.
"You… don't have to take care of me Nicky, I am totally capable of doing so…" Had he spent the night? He did say yesterday… "Nicky, did you sleep over here?"
"You really don't remember yesterday do you?" He was confused… she seemed so coherent yesterday, even if she did have quite the amount of alcohol in her system.
"Oh my God… did … I do anything stupid??" she asked out of sheer panic.
"Oh, no no, don't worry! Nothing like that!" He reassured her. "Although you did try to chew me out when I was trying to get into your apartment to help you though. You apologized afterwards, so no hard feelings. Now, eat, you must be hungry." He showed her the bagel on the coffee table.
"Um thanks…" she took the coffee along with the painkiller and proceeded to grab the plate with the bagel and take a bite out of it.
"I'm glad you're feeling better… you really got me worried yesterday…" he frowned a bit.
"I'm sorry Nicky…" She apologized again.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you were okay." He sat down on the couch beside her like he had done the night before. "You're like my little sister Sara, it's my job to worry about you…" he leaned in and gave her a warm hug.
"Thanks Nicky, for everything." She mumbled into his shoulder.
"Don't mention it." He slowly backed away from their hug. "Now, you gonna be okay?"
Sara nodded. "I should be."
"Just promise me one thing, don't…" he pointed at the empties on the kitchen counter.
Sara's face became a twisted expression. "I promise Nicky. Now go home and get some sleep Nicky, you look tired."
"Will do." He got up and turned towards her door leading out of her apartment. "And Sara…"
"Yeah?"
"If you need to talk about anything, I'm here for ya, just like I was yesterday, ok?" He gave her a small reassuring smile. "We're all in this together Sara."
"Thanks Nicky, I really appreciate you stopping by." She gave him a small smile. "Now go. I'm in need of a shower ASAP. I'm almost scared to see myself in the mirror..."She cringed at the thought.
"Okay. Talk to you later. And again, don't hesitate to give me a call." And with that, he was out the door before Sara could thank him again. She was definitely lying off the beer for a little while… and going to take a shower and cleanup this very messy apartment that barely looked like her own.
Sara had showered, vacuumed, washed the dishes and cleaned up her kitchen and living room. Now, she was bored beyond reason. She slowly made her way to her work desk in the corner and grabbed a 5x7 picture frame that was hidden behind a stack of books and sat down in the desk chair, staring at the picture. Sara looked at the old picture with great sadness. Grissom and her had taken that picture beside the San Francisco Bridge after going for a cup of coffee during his seminar stay. Before tears could start appearing in her eyes, she heard the faint ringing of her cell phone. She walked over to see who it could possibly be, since she had already given her statement to Ecklie. She looked at the call display. Greg. Might as well answer since he'd most probably come barging in like Nick had, she thought to herself.
"Hi Greg." She answered
"Hey Sara, I haven't heard from you well, in days, how are you doing?" Tell him the truth or lie to him? Sara wasn't sure which was the lesser of the two evils.
"Not too bad, but could be doing much better though." She half lied.
"Oh, do you want me to come over to keep you company? I can bring over some of my good coffee. You're the only one that found my secret stash at the lab you know…" His mild comedy made her smile a bit.
"Any good CSI would be able to find your stash Greggo…" she lightly accused.
"Well I guess Grissom trained some pretty horrible CSI's then eh?" Greg mentally slapped himself on the forehead at his slip/faux pas. There was a silence on the other end of the line. So much for making Sara feel better Greg thought, mentally scolding himself for being such a horrible friend.
"Um, it's, um okay Greg… I know you didn't mean to say that…" But Greg could still hear the pain in her voice. Even if it was only days, it was still a burden to believe the boss they looked up to and respected was now in the morgue among their other investigations.
"I'm so sorry Sara, it's just really hard for me too…" His voice seemed just as weak as hers. "I, um, kinda, do have a suggestion though, if you're, um having trouble to deal…" Greg awkwardly offered.
"Please don't say a strip club Greg, or I'll have to come and kick your sorry butt…" she tried to lighten up the conversation.
"I, um, am serious though, and no, it's not a strip club, although I might take your suggestion…" he shook his head and continued. "Remember my Nana Olaf I always talk about?"
Sara wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going. "Yeah, your grand-mother. What does this have to do with anything Greg?"
"I'm not sure if Grissom had told you, but me and him had worked a case a while back together of a dead psychic…"
"Yes, and…?" Sara winced again at the mention of Grissom's name.
"That's when I mentioned to him that my Nana Olaf was psychic herself. People always used to come and see her when they were, um, troubled with the loss of someone who recently died…"
"You want me to go see a psychic Greg?" Sara had a hard time believing this.
"It's really up to you, but Nana Olaf sure helped a lot of people, trust me." He sadly admitted.
"Greg, it's not that I don't believe you, it's more that I don't believe in that stuff… I'm a scientist Greg…"
"And so was Grissom, and even he admitted to me that he went and saw a psychic once…" Greg knew that he was pushing his luck.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better Greg…"
"No, I'm serious Sara, even ask David, he was there! I would never lie to you Sara." He protested.
"I'm sorry Greg, it just doesn't seem like him, I mean doesn't seem like it was like him…" Sara corrected herself
"Think of it what you will, but don't forget my suggestion Sara. I gotta go, my macaroni and cheese is burning on my stove. Talk to you later." And he hung up in a split second.
A psychic… Sara thought to herself, Grissom had actually admitted to going and seeing his future told to him…?
Sara pushed away the thought for later. She would have plenty of time off on her paid 'stress' leave to think about it.
1 week later…
Sara stood in front of a dimly lit shop, the "Open" sign clearly lit up with bright neon lights. She took a deep breath and opened the door, letting herself inside, immediately smelling the fresh burning of incense.
"Hello my dear." the woman told her "Come. Sit down." She pointed to a small round table with a hand-stitched cloth covering it, two antique chairs facing each other, one on each opposing side. Sara sat down without a word, listening to the older woman dressed in a colorful shirt covered with an old poncho and a long colorful skirt covering her short legs.
"I can't help but feel that you are very skeptic…" Sara lifted her eyebrows. "…and I see that you are of a scientific nature my dear…"
Sara was surprised that the woman sitting across of her could read her so well so quickly, but maybe it was just a lucky assumption.
"You still do not believe me, do you my dear? The paranormal is in the realm of science fiction for you?" the lady asked her. Sara thought for a minute and shook her head.
"I mean not offense ma'am…" but the lady cut her off.
"None taken. I understand your point of view, since you come from a scientific background working in law enforcement… Such gruesome work you do my dear, but that's not why you are here, is it?" the woman had a weak smile on her face, a sort of smirk that meant she knew a lot more. Sara's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"No… but how…?"
The woman smiled and put a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "That doesn't really matter my dear, as long as I am able to help you." She answered cryptically. Sara lifted her eyebrows.
"I can only guide you and tell you things, but it is up to you to decide what to make of them my dear."
"What can you tell me?" Sara questioned.
"That you lost someone that you kept close at heart, but that you wouldn't let this lonely love be seen by others that think know you very well."
Sara nodded urging the lady to continue.
"His death has greatly affected your tight-knit family, work family that is." Sara couldn't believe how this lady knew all this information. She must have been a PI or something at some point, or had ties to various departments in Law Enforcement.
The psychic leaned across the table and reached for Sara's hands, Sara awkwardly complying. The psychic closed her eyes, inhaling deeply.
"He still lives within you, I can feel it…" The psychic opened up her eyes again and let go of Sara's hands. "Your love for him… it kept part of him within your heart."
That last part almost brought Sara to tears.
"It's okay my dear… don't cry…" she looked very sympathetic. "All hope is not gone."
"How is that??" Sara angrily said. "He died! I don't care about any mumbo-jumbo, but he's not coming back!" tears started to go down her cheeks.
"He is not completely gone my dear…"
Sara wiped away her falling tears. "Yeah I get it… he lives in my heart forever, blah blah blah…" more tears started to fall down her cheeks. This woman was one BIG help getting over someone's death… Sara thought to herself. Why did she listen to Greg?
"No, not only in your heart my dear… He has not yet crossed over to the other side, something is keeping him aback."
"What are you talking about??" Sara angrily said, tears still running down her cheeks.
"He is restless, he needs guidance. Needs your help my dear."
"My help? What, is he going to appear before me as this ghost in chains asking me where the light is?" she said back angrily.
"No need to get angry my dear… I do have a question for you though… Do you believe in destiny my dear? That certain things that happen are meant to happen and that your future is already written in stone?"
"Of course I don't! I like to believe that I'm in control of my own life." Sara settled back into her seat, letting some of her anger slip away.
"Good." The psychic smiled as Sara frowned in confusion.
"I cannot tell you more my dear, the rest if up to you at this point in time. Time can both be a blessing and a curse, as you know very well in your line of work…" she looked deeply into Sara's eyes and continued. "You are in control of your own time and place my dear. Past, present and future." She ended cryptically.
"What do you mean with that?" Sara was confused
"You hold the power my dear, much more than you think you have within yourself." The psychic slowly got up to her feet.
"Now run along my dear, you have many things that need to be attended… Time awaits you… He awaits you…" and with that she started walking towards the front of her shop. Sara, still riddled by the psychic's last words got up and followed her.
"How much do I, um owe you…? And sorry for my, um, anger earlier…" Sara apologized.
"Your anger and disbelief was justified my dear, just don't take it out on yourself like you've done in the past. The liquids of man are no remedy for feelings of pain and suffering my dear."
Sara couldn't believe her ears. Did the woman just refer to her past drinking problem?
"Again, um, how much do I owe you?"
"Nothing my dear, nothing at all. Feel free to come back anytime if you have any questions, as I'm sure you will in the near future…" and she smiled mysteriously.
"Um, thank you…" Sara couldn't believe the psychic wouldn't charge her anything after all the trouble she gave her.
"Now go along my dear. Your future awaits you." And she scooted Sara out of her shop, closing the door behind her, changing the open sign to closed.
Sara walked out into the cool air of the Vegas evening, her thoughts all fuzzy and so clear at the same time. How could the psychic know everything that she told her? Surely she had someone on the inside of the lab that she knew… Sara walked home with mixed thoughts, wiping away the dry tears that still clung to her cheeks. Sara gave a small thought to the beer in her fridge that would eventually drown away her sadness until later, but thinking of the psychic's warning as well as Nick's, maybe she shouldn't… Nicky would have to come to her rescue again… and she definitely didn't need another forgotten evening of drunkenness.
Sara opened up her apartment door, struck by a feeling of tiredness all of a sudden. She took her purse and keys, threw them on her island counter and took off her jacket and shoes, making her way to her living room and turning on her television, thankfully not to the weather channel, but rather the Discovery Channel. She slumped down on the couch, quickly falling asleep as the television showed some space special about galaxies far far away…
Sara was in the world of half-asleep-ness when she felt a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her, and someone calling her name… that voice… no… it couldn't be….
"Go away Grissom… Get out of my damned head! You're not here anymore!" she said loudly to herself, feeling tears falling down her face.
"But I'm not in your head Sara, I'm right here in front of you…" The voice told her in a soft voice.
"Go away…" she mumbled as she clutched her couch cushion on top of her head to make the voice go away.
"I thought you cared about me…" The voice sadly admitted.
"I did! I did! But you're not real anymore!" She yelled out of frustration. "I'm going freaking nuts here in my apartment! Get out of my damned head Grissom!" She yelled as she threw the cushion across the room, hitting her television.
"Don't take it out on the television Sara, what wrong did it ever do to you?" The voice said beside her. "Look at me Sara. I'm not entirely gone… Or did you ever want me to be?" The voice sadly asked.
Sara slapped herself trying to wake her up. She knew Grissom would be plaguing her dreams and nightmares, but hearing his voice when awake? This was going too far…
"Sara, Honey, don't do that to yourself… You are awake Sara, stop kidding yourself."
Sara looked over to her side on the couch, there, was Grissom sitting, exactly where she had heard the voice.
"Ahh!!!!!!" Sara screamed, jumping away from the couch staring at a figure that looked like Grissom, although his shirt was blood-covered. "YOU'RE NOT REAL!" she yelled. "You're just a figment of my imagination!!" She ran away across the room as she stared at him. He couldn't be real! She saw him fall down into the alley to his untimely death.
"I'm not in your imagination Sara. Don't think that you are going crazy either Sara. Think of what Greg told you… what that psychic told you…" he reminded her.
"What about them? They didn't tell me you'd rise from the dead to come and talk to me!"
"I'm not exactly risen from the dead, my body's still in the morgue with Doc Robbins back at the lab." He stated as a matter of a factly.
"You're kidding me… So if you're not part of my deranged mind, your not some sort of Hollywood zombie, what the hell are you?" she asked accusingly.
"Not sure, but I guess I could be qualified, as they say in the movie genre, merely a ghost, entity, spirit, whatever you want to call it."
"We're scientists! This is not possible! There must be some sort of logical explanation! Who am I kidding! I'm talking to a dead co-worker in my living room!" she threw up her arms in the air. "Great! Now I've gone completely insane!" She turned on her heels and walked into her kitchen. Maybe just one beer wouldn't be all that bad considering the situation…
"I don't think so… You've had enough of that stuff for a lifetime Sara. There are more problems at the bottom of the bottle than there are solutions." Grissom was standing in front of her fridge, arms crossed, but this time, he was wearing clean clothes.
"Why should I care? I'm hallucinating already! Let's just add to the madness!" she reached for the fridge handle, but a strong grip on her wrist stopped her.
"Ahh!" Sara tried to pull back, but his grip was stronger than she thought. "What the hell are you?!?" She looked at him with worried eyes. "Let me go! Why do you care anyways? You're dead! Why are you here in the first damn place?!?"
He let go of her wrist.
"Because I need your help. It seems as though you're the only one who can see me…" He sadly admitted.
"Well poor you… How the hell do you think I feel about all this? I'm still on forced stress leave pending a psych evaluation! That should go over very well! 'Yes Doctor, I'm feeling much better, but my dead co-worker follows me around in my apartment.' That definitely proves that I'm ready to go back to work!" she accused.
"Fine! You don't want to see me? Fine then! I'll just be stuck here in this damned limbo for the rest of my days since the only person who can see me refuses to acknowledge it! And to ever think that I cared about you while I was all in one piece!" The last past came out as more of a slip than an outburst of anger.
"You cared for me? Like hell! So much for a dinner invitation and refusing my advances all those years! Yeah, you really do care, but not before the job takes priority!" She accused back.
"How dare you…"
"How dare you! How dare you coming in my apartment after you're dead and accuse me! Geez! You're just as stubborn in my hallucinations as you were in real life!" she was getting angry.
"Maybe I'm stubborn as I once was because it is me dammit!"
"Prove it then, if you're not some hallucination."
"Fine! You want proof? Call Ecklie or Robbins and ask for my personal effects. One of them should stand out to you. THEN, if that becomes inconclusive, tell yourself that you're crazy." And without waiting more than a second, he vanished.
"I'm going out of my freaking mind!" She walked towards the fridge and grabbed a full bottle of water and sat down on the couch, trying to digest exactly what happened.
"Coroner's Office, how may I help you?" Doc Robbins answered the phone.
"Hi Doc, how have you been?" Sara quietly asked.
"Oh, hello Sara. The usual, but the question I should be asking is how have you been doing?" he sincerely asked.
"I'm fine, better than I was a little while back. I just wish I could go back to work. Sitting on the couch watching television isn't exactly what I find most entertaining." She admitted.
"I'll take an old sitcom rerun over any overtime in the morgue." He chuckled, Sara realizing just how much she missed talking to Robbins and hearing him laugh.
"Well that's you Doc, I'm not an avid television fan. A girl can only take so much Discovery channel before getting bored of it…" she gave a light laugh.
"It sounds like you are in much better spirits."
"Or maybe it's the lack of overtime and cases to work on. Who knows…"
"You know, you can call me at home Sara, you don't need to call the morgue to talk to me you know…"
"Oh I know… but…" he tone of voice because much more serious again. "I have a very odd favor to ask from you…"
"Just how odd Sara?"
"I, um, need to know what's in Grissom's personal effects… could you do that for me? No need to tell Ecklie…"
"Sara…" Robbins didn't know what to say, Sara had to let go of all of this.
"Doc, I don't want a lecture or a speech. Can you or not? And would you do it for me? Please?" She couldn't remember the last time she actually begged for information.
"I can't physically show them to you since we're not handling the investigation, but what I can do is email to you the personal effects pictures. That's the best I can do without breaking too many rules Sara."
"That's fine Doc. And Thank you, it means a lot to me…" She thanked him.
"No problem. Now, any more odd favors to do for you?"
"No that would be it. Thanks. And I'll make sure to call you on personal time next time rather than bother you at work… sorry…"
"Don't worry about it, the dead can wait, they're not going anywhere." His dark humor coming out once again.
"Okay, Thanks. Bye Doc."
"Bye Sara, and take care. Try to keep busy."
"Will do."
Both parties hung up as Doc went to finish his task and favor before shift ended.
Sara sat on her couch, switching her gaze from her laptop email inbox to the boring documentary that was airing on television.
"Oh come on Doc… send that email…"
Just then a 'you've got mail' message appeared on screen. She dragged the mouse cursor over the email attachments, waiting a few seconds to grab the courage to open them up.
"Oh wake up Sara!" she scolded herself. "Just open the damn thing!"
It took a few seconds for the images to load up on screen.
"Oh my God… No… it can't be…no no no no…" Her eyes didn't believe what she was seeing.
"Now do you believe me?" Came a voice by her side.
"Ah! Stop scaring me like that!" she yelped in surprise at Grissom who was sitting beside her on the couch, looking at the laptop screen.
"If you don't see a stray piece of puzzle stand out, I haven't trained you well enough when I was alive..." He chuckled.
"The… the… necklace… I gave that to you for Christmas the same year you gave me that Entomology book…"
"I did train you well then after all..." He smiled at her.
Sara continued to stare at the image on her laptop screen. The necklace was now stained with blood, but under it, could be seen a white gold chain with a small pendant that had a tiny spider encased in amber.
"So… so… I'm not crazy?" Sara couldn't believe it. How could this be scientifically possible?
"Like I told you the other time, you are not hallucinating Sara." He argued again.
"But… but…" she pointed at him and the laptop screen.
"No ifs, ands or buts. I'm not quite sure how we're having this conversation right now, but I can assure you that whatever the case may be, it is real."
"I… I just have a hard time wrapping my head around that thought…" she looked perplexed. "…but, if you're not a hallucination, nor your physical self, how come you were still able to grab my wrist when I reached for the fridge and shake me awake?"
"Good question, but I don't have an answer for you on that one, since I barely comprehend it myself." He replied with as much confusion.
"I might regret this, but should we contact that psychic again to see where this is going?"
"We?" Grissom lifted his eyebrows. "I believe I can't do much besides talk to you and people watch at the mall all day…"
"Sorry... So what now?" she asked him equally confused.
"We ask ourselves questions."
"Like what?" Sara wasn't sure where he was going with this…
"Well, first of all, why is it that you are the only one that is able to see me while no one else can?" He asked her, almost sounding like he were interrogating a suspect.
"You tell me…Maybe because I saw your death before my eyes? That I somehow avenged your death by killing the SOB that killed you? Who knows…"
"Well that's a start, but it doesn't get us much further than we were before…" he admitted. "But there must have been something that psychic told you that might be of help to us…" he suggested.
Sara thought about it for a minute, remembering something that the old woman had told her… He still lives within you, I can feel it…Your love for him… it kept part of him within your heart. No… that couldn't be the reason… could it?
"What are you thinking so hard of Sara?" Grissom asked from beside her.
"Something the psychic told me. Never mind…" Sara shrugged it off. Grissom gave her a confused look.
"Don't look at me that way Griss! Why do you think I'm the only one who can see you?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…" he sadly admitted.
"Try me. What harm could it do?" she encouraged.
"Actually lots of harm Sara… that's why the subject never surfaced. By my intention anyways…" he cryptically answered.
"Enough with the cryptic talk Grissom. You wanted someone to listen, well, I'm listening, so talk!"
"I… don't know how to breech the subject…" he painfully admitted.
"Oh for God's sake just say it! Or do I have to go ahead and grab a beer from my fridge again?" She challenged.
"No! Don't do that! I've almost lost you then on your DUI, then with the lab explosion! Don't endanger yourself with intention of doing so with alcohol!"
"Well start talking then." She pushed.
"Well… It has come to my attention that you were on the other side of the one-way mirror a while back when Lurie was interrogated…"
"Yes…" she said through gritted teeth. "I heard every last word that came out of your mouth…"
He took a deep breath and continued. "Well, that particular event, along with other troubling cases got me thinking and re-evaluating my own life…" When she didn't say a word he continued. "It's almost funny, thinking back to my last day, before plunging to my death, I had the intention of asking you out to breakfast after shift, but let's just say that things went down quite differently than I had hoped for. I guess the moral of the story here is, that you don't know what you have until you lose it, and in my case, it was my own life." He slumped back down in the couch and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
"Oh, I hadn't known." Was he really going to ask her out to breakfast that particular day? "Where were you going to take me?"
Grissom opened up his eyes in surprise. "You would have wanted to go?"
Sara rolled her eyes.
"I, well, was going to take you to that new Italian bistro that just opened up down the Strip. They're supposed to have some of the best vegetarian cuisine in town. So much for that thought... went straight downhill…" He admitted in frustration.
"I hope you didn't plan that horrible pun…" She questioned.
"No, not really… but it is suiting the subject matter, isn't it?" he slightly smiled.
"Even in Death you still are the same way you were before…" Sara laughed.
"I still am me, just in it's own twisted matter and ways…" he paused and looked at her. "You never did tell me what that psychic said, did you?"
"I, um…" Sara stalled.
"Spill Sidle…"
"What? You want the word for word?" she challenged.
"If that's what you want to say…"
"When she kept telling me that you weren't all gone. She emphasized the fact that somehow, part of you stayed with me…"
"Continue…"
"Then she reached across the table to reach my hands and she told me… Quote: 'He still lives within you, I can feel it… Your love for him… it kept part of him within your heart.' Endquote." Sara looked away from Grissom's gaze and settled it onto the television set.
"She… said so?" Grissom couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes… that's probably why for some reason I'm the only one who can see you at the moment…"
"Are you ashamed of it…? Denying it?" he asked her, sounding more like a broken-hearted teenager.
"I was until you told me that you were going to ask me out to breakfast before you took your plunge…" Her eyes started to get misty.
"Oh Sara…" Grissom took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, keeping her close to him.
"Life just sucks, you know that?" She sniffed. "Now that we finally figure things out for the better and your body's in one of Doc Robbins' drawers at the lab… life's just unfair." Sara thought back to the psychic's destiny speech. "Do you believe in destiny Griss?" letting her head rest on his shoulder.
"I'm not entirely sure… but if this twisted future was a planned for us, whoever's in charge of it surely has a twisted sense of humor… or is crazy altogether."
"I do agree with you there… But what shocked me was that the psychic gave me this big speech about destiny, and was happy that I didn't believe in it. It was a rather strange thing…"
"Hmm…"
"Exactly what I was thinking. What did she mean by that? And she kept telling me that things weren't too late, and kept repeating past, present and future time references… Believe it or not, but I think she was more cryptic that you are!" she gave a little laugh.
"Me? Cryptic? Nah… You must have me confused with someone else Sara." And he gave her a big smile.
"Oh stop it!" she playfully slapped his shoulder as she turned around to face him. "Why are you looking at me that way?"
Grissom simply observed her features, taking them in, engraving them into his mind. Was that desire in his eyes?
"Grissom? What's on your mind?"
"You know, all those years knowing you, and I never had the power until now to ask you permission to do something. Until now... when I'm dead and all…"
"My permission? For what?" she was confused.
"For this…" And before she knew it, his lips were now on hers, his left arm holding her shoulder as the other one began toying in her hair. Sara was still dumbstruck. Was dead-ghost Grissom really kissing her in her living room??
Grissom slowly backed away, looking at Sara's face to see her reaction.
"I'm sorry, I never did ask permission did I?" he apologized.
"You never did need permission to do that!" And this time it was his turn to be surprised as she was the one to initiate the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him back the same way he had. She slowly backed away to gauge his reaction. He had a pleasant surprised look on his face.
"What? Did I need to ask permission?" she joked.
"Um... no that's fine…" he mumbled, still in awe at what just happened.
Sara leaned in close, wrapping him into a hug. "I love you…" she whispered into his ear.
"I've always loved you Sara…" he admitted, tightening the embrace.
Their embrace started to feel strange all of a sudden.
"What… what's happening??" Sara exclaimed. "You're becoming transparent!?!"
Grissom looked down at himself in awe and confusion. "What's happening to me??"
"No… not now! Why now! Dammit!" Sara angrily yelled out loud.
Grissom was soon becoming fully transparent. "I feel strange… so distant…"
"No… no… don't do this to me again! I can't lose you again!"
"I'm sorry Sara… I just…" but he never got to finish his sentence. He was gone.
"No…" Sara's eyes were now full of tears as the gates let go and tears started to flow down her face. "Why dammit, why?!" She started crying uncontrollably, covering her eyes
"Why oh why??" she tried to get up from the couch, but she soon fell down on the ground, everything going black around her, like she was falling through some sort of black-hole.
Sara felt woozy, but proceeded to slowly get up. Since when did my laminate flooring feel so rough and hard as rock? She thought. She slowly got up, letting her eyes adjust to darkness surrounding her. Where was she?
"Oh my God…" she gasped.
Where was she? On a rooftop.
"Ouch, what in the world… where the hell am I?" Grissom asked himself. It felt like he had gotten run over by a train or some kind of heavy machinery. He let his eyes adjust to the dim light surrounding him, seeing what seemed to be a CSI field kit a mere foot in front of his face.
"What the…" He slowly got up and sat down in front of the field kit. "Why in hell am I on a roof again?" he muttered to himself.
"Grissom!!" Who was calling his name?
"GRISSOM!" Was that Sara calling his name? He turned around and saw her running towards him.
"SARA!" He called out her name. "What the hell is going on here??"
"Look at your watch!" She pointed towards his wrist. He turned and looked at it in surprise.
"We… we… went back in time???"
"And you and I both know what's bound to happen next!"
"The suspect." Grissom looked at her intently. "He's not going to throw me over the ledge this time! I'm going to be the one throwing him over this time!" his eyes were full of anger.
"No! Don't do that! You don't need to be charged with murder and be put on death-row now that you're alive again!"
"You do have a point…" he admitted. "I highly doubt we'll get a third chance at things…" Just then the sound of a door abruptly closing grabbed their attention.
"Sara, take out your weapon out and give it to me, I don't have mine. Text message Brass' phone to send up backup. I'll cover us in the meantime until he comes out of the shadows to attack us…" He whispered into Sara's ear.
"Will do…" she quickly got her weapon out and handed it to Grissom and took out her cell phone, typing [Suspect on location: Roof. Possibly Armed and dangerous. Hurry]
Shutting her phone, she shoved it into her back pocket, turning to Grissom who was eyeing the roof with attentive eyes.
"It's a done deal." She whispered back to Grissom who was standing beside her.
"Good. Now let's wait for back-up to arrive…"
Suddenly out of nowhere, the suspect appeared, charging at them with what appeared to be an old piece of scrap metal.
"Grissom! Watch out!" Sara yelled as she pointed into the direction the suspect was coming.
"Sir! Vegas Crime Lab! Put the weapon down and GET ON THE GROUND NOW!" Grissom yelled at the suspect, but the suspect kept going.
"That's not going to work Grissom! He's not going to stop! Shoot him!" Sara yelled.
Grissom aimed the gun at the suspect, pulling the trigger, it fired, but nothing happened. "What the hell???" Grissom yelled. Being distracted, Grissom didn't notice the suspect swinging the piece of metal and knocking the firearm out of Grissom's grasp and charging for Grissom.
"Oh you son of a bitch, you're not gonna win this time!" Sara lunged forward, tackling Grissom to the ground while the suspect missed Grissom completely, hitting the low roof ledge and tumbling over with his piece of metal still grasped in his hand.
Sara had her eyes closed in sheer fear.
"Sara…Sara! You okay?" Grissom felt a sharp pain in his back. "You tackled me…"
"That I did and saved your life too!"
Grissom started smiling. "You saved my life! Now I really owe you that breakfast!" He quickly reached for her face and kissed her while she still lay on top of him from having tackled him to the ground. They slowly backed away from each other, looking into each others eyes.
"Thank you." He reached up his hand and pulled a loose strand of hair out of face.
"You're welcome." She looked deeply into his eyes and she was sure that if she looked into her own at that exact moment, she would have seen the same thing.
"Could you help me out here… would you?" He asked, trying to get up.
"Sure..." She slowly got to her feet and held out her arm to help him up, a smile on her face.
"Thanks." He brushed off the roof dust off his pants and vest. "May I ask why your gun didn't shoot?" He pointed at the gun that lay on the ground beside them.
"Let's see…" She picked up her firearm, looking into the chamber. "You have got to be kidding me! The bullet misfired and blocked the chamber…"
"Good thing I had you here, otherwise it would have been Humpty Dumpty fell over the wall again for me…"
"Don't you ever use that kids fable around me again!" She said laughing, but soon stopped when she heard a noise.
"LVPD!" Brass called from the roof access staircase.
"Brass! I think we're clear. The suspect just went over the railing when he charged at us with a piece of metal."
"What are you talking about?" Brass yelled as he ran over to them.
"The suspect is now in the alley, Brass, that's what she meant." Grissom pointed to the scuff marks on the edge of the roof.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Brass put away his weapon and looked over the edge.
"I guess I'll see you down there at our 2nd crime scene for the evening. Brass pointed to the other men bearing weapons who had followed him. "Let's go boys, the suspect went over the edge. Call the lab and get the coroner here, it's going to be messy…"
Brass and the men disappeared back into the building.
"Well, while the suspect is playing Humpty Dumpty and Brass and the boys are playing all the King's men, how about we go out for that breakfast you were planning on taking me to?" Sara smiled.
"We have another crime scene to process… and statements to give…" Grissom admitted and Sara frowned. "But… I could make it up to you by cooking up something for you at my place after shift?" he smiled.
"Hmm… let me think about that… I think you got yourself a deal Mr." She smiled and grabbed his hand, bringing him closer to her. "How about 7?" she asked before kissing him. His slight head nod was enough for Sara to start thinking about after shift and very much look forward to it. Rain started falling as they kissed, a crack of thunder in the background to be heard, but this time it wasn't as menacing as it once was.
"Well hello my dear… back so soon?" The old woman spoke smiling.
"Um… yes…" Sara admitted, still standing in the entrance of the small store.
"Come my dear, sit down." Sara followed the woman to the small round table and they both sat down.
"Wait, you shouldn't even know me… we haven't really met yet…" Sara admitted surprised.
"Is that so my dear?" and she smiled mischievously back at Sara.
"You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?" Sara questioned back with a smile.
"My dear, I never reveal what I truly think. I rather let others think and figure things out for themselves by their own means."
"But…" Sara protested. "How is it that you knew who I was when I arrived here?"
"Like I previously told you, it is not how I know things that matters, but rather if you decide to believe in what I tell you and solve the puzzle." She smiled again back at Sara.
"Hmm…" Sara stayed pensive, trying to think over the whole situation.
"I am glad you decided to take initiative in things and take what I told you at heart my dear." Sara lifted her eyebrows but the woman continued. "In the end, he has cheated death and you have re-written your destiny my dear."
"Wait… I thought you told me that there was no such thing as destiny?" Sara questioned back confused.
"I had never said so my dear… I simply asked you if you believed in destiny, and you said no. There is such a thing as destiny my dear, I just told you what you had to hear to change things around my dear…" she cryptically answered back.
"The gun…" Sara remembered. The gun had misfired when Grissom had attempted to shoot the suspect.
"That, my dear, was destiny refusing to re-write itself." The woman explained.
"You mean…" Sara started, but the woman cut her off.
"Yes, your resistance gave you the power to change his destiny my dear. The moment you first came into my shop, I could sense it… that you had the potential to make great change."
"Wow…" Sara was at loss of words, utterly speechless.
"I was not saying nonsense when I told you that the power of time was in your hands my dear, that hope was not completely lost." Sara only started back in surprise and the woman continued. "You should be proud of your accomplishment my dear. Your tenacity in making the one you hold dearly at heart see the true meaning of his life, and yours was astonishing. The one you hold dearly deserved that second chance, and you were the one who gave it to him my dear…" The woman concluded, eyeing Sara across the table, who started to have misty eyes. "Don't cry my dear…" The woman comforted.
Sara sniffed back a few tears. "All of this happened because of me?"
"Yes, you should be proud to have done such a thing, very few have…"
"Thank you…" Sara looked up to the woman sitting across from her. "Thank you for everything."
"There is no need my dear. I only guided you in a certain direction, all of this was your own doing, your own emotions and values guiding you." The woman gave her a warming smile.
"I don't know what to say…" Sara admitted.
The woman let out a small laugh. "I sense a change in you my dear… your skepticism of the unknown seems to be dissipating…"
"What don't you know?" Sara smiled back at the woman across from her.
"More than you might think my dear. The unknown isn't called so for its simplicity." She laughed again, her colorful poncho dancing along her frail shoulders.
"Tell me about it…" Sara admitted as she stood up from her chair. "I should get going…"
"Of course you do my dear… The moonlight will make rise the most restless of spirits from their graves as darkness falls tonight... " The woman gave a small wink, Sara lifting an eyebrow in question. "You will understand later tonight the meaning of my words my dear…" She smiled. "Now run along…."
Sara got to her feet and headed to the front door of the small shop, turning at the last minute. "Thank you…"
"You're welcome my dear… now go, your talents are needed to settle the madness of this city that doesn't sleep…" The psychic smiled back at Sara, as she watched her leave and walk outside along the cool streets of Vegas. "She will do great things that one…" she mumbled to herself.
Sara walked up to the coffee machine in the break room and poured herself a cup of steaming coffee in her favorite mug, then made her way to the table where Nick, Warrick, Catherine and Greg were sitting.
"Hey, where's Grissom?" Sara causally asked the others as she sat down across from Nick, they shrugged in return.
"I wish we just had our assignments already…" Catherine complained.
As if on cue, Grissom walked in carrying the assignment slips.
"Good evening everyone, sorry for being late, Ecklie had me stuck in a last minute meeting…" Everyone cringed at the mention of Ecklie's name. "Now, Warrick and Nick, you two have an apparent shooting at UNLV football stadium. Victim was wearing the Rebels' mascot costume." He handed Nick the assignment slip as they left the room.
"Catherine and Greg, 419 at Desert Pines Golf Club. Someone found the DB while looking for their missing golf ball in high grass." He handed Catherine the slip. Catherine and Greg left the break room, leaving Sara and Grissom alone in the break room.
"Sara, you and I are working a 419 in…" but Sara cut him off.
"Let me guess, a cemetery?" She finished.
"How…" Grissom looked at her in confusion.
"Let's just say someone gave me a few clues… supernatural clues…" She winked back at him.
"You went and saw her again didn't you?" she smiled at his question.
"Needed closure… And she's a very nice lady you know…" Sara walked closer to Grissom, feeling his gaze on her. He closed the rest of the distance between them.
"Not as nice as the lady who's standing right in front of me right now… you do know she saved my life, right?" He joked putting the assignment slip onto the table.
"Should I be jealous now?" Sara challenged as she put her hands on his shoulders, feeling the warmth seep through the material, a smile dominating her face.
"No… because that woman is you Sara…" he rested his hands on her waist, completely oblivious to the fact that they were standing in the break room.
"Well aren't I lucky then…" She leaned in and closed the distance between them.
"No, I'm the one who was lucky to have you…" He closed the distance and rested his lips onto hers.
Who said happy endings didn't happen? :-D
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Sorry for any typos or spelling mistakes!