He had not shaved, his normally well groomed hair was crazy and periodically hidden under a baseball cap. His eyes had large circles under them and he was in a generally pissy mood. Everyone had been steering well clear of him and for answers to their questions or other such work related matters, they'd been going to Catherine. Even though Gil had been coming into work every day, it was like he wasn't all there, in more ways than one. If one were to peek through the blinds of his office, they'd regularly see him staring at the photo of he and Sara, frequently bursting into tears. Finally, after day seven of his moping and uncharacteristically increased anti-social behaviour, the team had a chat and elected the person that would be sent to speak with him. This was not a task that anyone looked forward to, but realizing that it was all for the good of the "Team, the messenger swallowed hard, squared their shoulders and knocked on his office door.
"Come in if you want." was the reply
Opening the door and slowly stepping inside, they were hit by the sudden stench of something that smelled dead. Looking over at Grissom, the messenger sat across from his desk and sighed deeply.
"What do you want, Jim?"
Shifting in his seat and reorganizing his thoughts, Jim counted to ten, then spoke.
"Well, some of us are really worried about you, Gil. You look like you haven't bathed in a week, you've lost weight and,
frankly, man, you're looking a little scary." Jim stated
"I'm fine, Jim. Really. There's nothing wrong with me"
"Is that so? Then how do you suppose to explain these?" he asked, taking Gil's hand and looking at his fingernails
"They're filthy, man. When was the last time you took a shower?"
"What day is it"
"Oh, God, that's nasty on so many different levels."
Standing up and walking around the desk, Jim looked at Grissom and sighed. Pulling Gil's chair back, Jim pulled him up and grabbed his jacket. Walking him to the door, he spilled.
"Gil, you go home and we'll hold things together here. The important thing is for you to get some rest. You remember last year, that case we had with the Sara twin? You remember what you were like? Well, you looked better then. I say that as a friend. Go home."
Realizing that he would have been fighting a losing battle, Grissom conceded and went home. Jim watched as he climbed into his truck and drove off. Back inside, everyone was waiting in the break room for an update.
"I sent him home. Catherine, you'll have to play boss for a while." Jim stated
"That's nothing new to me." she replied
Driving the streets of Las Vegas, Gil quickly found himself in front of Sara's apartment. He sat in his truck and turned the radio off so he could be alone with his thoughts, such as they were. He had already gone through "denial" and was now firmly planted in "anger". How could she leave me? he asked himself. She's always thinking of herself, that selfish little bitch. Doesn't she realize what she's doing to the team? These were all thoughts that passed through his mind as he sat parked out front of Sara's apartment.
It was around 04:00 when Grissom woke up, and looking around, he knew exactly where he was. Looking up at Sara's window, he was shocked; the light was on. She's been gone for a week and her light is still on? he asked himself. Maybe there was a new tenant, he thought. No, that's not it; he could see the shadow of her banker's lamp on the small table by the balcony window. Slowly and cautiously, he climbed out of his truck and climbed the steps to her door. Standing out on the landing, he could hear movement within and as he took a deep steadying breath, he drew his weapon. This was the first time in a long time that he'd pulled out his gun, but if there was someone inside robbing the place and he was in a position to do something about it,
he was sure that Sara would appreciate it.
Trying the knob, he could tell that the door was not locked. He stepped back and breathed deep before making his entry. Turning the knob fully, he nudged the door open with the index finger of his left hand as he trained his weapon on the sound that was coming from the back room. Closing the door behind himself, Gil sidestepped his way through the place until he came to stand just outside the bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and as he stepped inside, he called out.
"Las Vegas Police. I'm armed, so come out with your hands on your head."
From the bathroom, he could hear water running. Why would a burglar run the water, he asked himself. But not wanting to take any chances, he kicked the door in and pointed the muzzle of his gun at the Italian glass shower doors. Again, he called out.
"Las Vegas Police. Come out with your hands up"
"I don't think you really want me to do that." came the reply
"As I said, hands up and step out." he asserted "Ok, if you insist"
"I do. Slowly and no sudden moves"
"Oh, puh-leez. Tell me, where would I hide a weapon?"
And with that, Sara stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, then stood on the bathmat in front of Gil.
His eyes wide and his jaw dropped, he stood and stared at Sara. A look of contempt on her face, she gave a slight laugh and pushed past him. As she walked by him, Gil turned to watch her fish some clothing from her wardrobe and slip into a pair of sleeping shorts and tank top.
Padding into the living room through to the kitchen, Sara put on a fresh pot of coffee and turned to see Grissom shuffling his way through the room. Stopping by the front door, he reached for the knob and was a bit shocked when she called to him.
"Hang on a minute, Gil."
Hearing this, he turned to see her coming up behind him. He stood still while he awaited the inevitable tongue lashing that he was sure was to come. After all, he had entered her apartment, kicked in her bathroom door and drawn a gun on her. She would surely be pissed. But to look at her, she didn't seem pissed. She actually looked like she was having fun. You know, stepping out of the shower naked and seeing the look on his face and all. That look alone was worth replacing her bathroom door.
She took his hand and led him to the couch where she sat down and turned to face him. Organizing her thoughts, Sara swallowed hard then spoke her mind.
"Grissom, why are you here?" she asked, simply
"I thought you were being robbed." he stated
"Yeah, I get that, but what made you come over tonight? Why aren't you at work"
"Oh, Jim sent me home. He said I looked like hell and that I smell funky"
"Well, you kind of do. Look like hell, that is"
"I've been a bit out of sorts since you left. I missed you. That's why I came by; to think." he explained
"And do you think a lot, parked out front of my home or is this a new development?" she asked
"No comment?" he said, almost as if he were asking permission not to answer
That was alright, Sara had her answer just by looking in his eyes. Getting up and going back into the bedroom, she went through her wardrobe and when she had emerged she had a small stack of clothing in her arms. Sitting back down next to Gil, she placed them in his lap and grinned.
"Have you eaten"
"No"
"Ok, take a shower and then we'll sit down and pow wow things out, ok?"
Not disputing her, he stood and made his way into the bathroom for a much needed shower. While freshening up, Grissom took the opportunity to reacquaint himself with the familiar smells of Sara Sidle. Her shampoo, her soap, her body scrub and her shaving foam. After showering, he looked under her sink and found a razor that he'd left there a few weeks prior. By the time he was done he felt like a brand new man, and smelled like one too. Looking at himself in the mirror, he gave a lopsided grin and winked at himself.
In the kitchen, Sara was making stir-fry with veggies, mushrooms and some beef strips just for Grissom. When he stepped out into the living room, he could smell the wonderful smell of her cooking. Sara was an excellent cook, far better than he was, so it was both an honour and a pleasure to be present at meal time. Leaning on the breakfast bar, Gil asked if he could help in any fashion. To this, Sara pointed to the rice pot and asked him to fluff it up. Taking a wooden spoon, he mixed up the rice and replaced the lid on the pot.
"Anything else?" he asked
"Yeah, pick something to drink." she directed
Perusing the wine rack by the fridge, he selected a nice red wine. Taking a waiter's tool, he opened it and let it breathe while he set the table. By the time he had finished, the meal was ready to eat. Sitting down, Sara reached her hand across the table and made contact with Grissom. His initial reaction was to withdraw, but seeing that she had initiated the contact, he left his hand where it was and just gave her a slight squeeze. Things were definitely going a lot better than he had anticipated, or so he thought. Looking him straight in the eyes, she began.
"Nothing's changed, Griss. I've still resigned and I'm still angry as hell with you. I took some time away to spend with friends and came back here to clear out my apartment. I've been offered a job in Frisco and I mean to take it. Its more money, more vacation time and less stressful." she explained
"You don't have to leave. We can work things out." he pleaded
"We're beyond working things out. I've put the past behind me and I suggest you do the same before you burn out or worse."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The small moving truck had just been locked up and Sara's car was on the tow-trailer. It was bright out and as Grissom watched Sara pull away, his heart sank within his chest and a lone tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek. Donning his sunglasses, he climbed back in his truck and drove to the lab.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
It had been about a day and a half since Sara had left and Grissom still wasn't quite himself. His desk was still a mess, but at least he didn't smell like a decomp anymore. That's when he got the call. He sat at his desk, staring at Sara's yet to be tendered resignation when the phone rang. He picked up the handset slowly and spoke softly. The voice on the other end of the line was Sara's new boss in Frisco calling to ask if she'd left yet. Grissom informed the man that she had left about two days prior, to which the gentleman responded that she never made it. At hearing this Grissom became very worried and panicky. Sara had gone missing and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it, as there was a lot of territory between Vegas and Frisco.
Days and weeks passed and no word from Sara or her new boss. It wasn't until Nick requested some time off that Grissom became suspicious. Nick said he was going to see a "friend" in Frisco. Believing that Nick knew more than he was letting on, Grissom approved Nick's vacation time and took the itinerary that Nick had handed him. He figured he'd better give Grissom some idea as to where he'd be staying in the event of an emergency or something along those lines. As soon as Nick left Grissom's office, Gil picked up the handset of his desk phone and called his travel agent, making flight arrangements to follow Nick out to Frisco.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Two days later and as Grissom drove up I-5 until he hit Mount Shasta and the lodge that Nick was staying at. Grissom had made arrangements to stay at a bed and breakfast not far from the lodge and as the sun rose, he sat in his car sipping coffee when he suddenly noticed two very familiar figures leave the lodge and head into the woods. For reasons that could not be explained Grissom's blood began to boil. Nick had known where Sara was but didn't even bother to tell him. As he watched them disappear into the woods Grissom couldn't help but notice that Sara was limping, her arms were scratched up and she had a bandage on her head.
When they were both out of sight, Grissom jumped out of his car and entered the lodge. Passing the unmanned registration desk,
he climbed the stairs and pulled a slip of paper from his pocket that he'd written Nick's room number down on. He passed several rooms before he came to Nick's and when he did he gently turned the knob and the door opened. Looking around, Grissom spotted a manila folder on a table on the far end of the room. Carefully, he opened it and was horrified at it's contents. There were hospital discharge papers, doctor's notes and prescriptions for several pain killers and sedatives. Reading through the notes, one word stuck out more than any other; Amnesia due to head trauma.
His coffee having kicked in, Grissom opened a door which he assumed lead to a bathroom, however he was mistaken; Nick and Sara had adjoining rooms. This didn't help his mental state one iota. He did a cursory sweep of the room when his eyes settled on a waste paper basket by the bed. It looked like someone had removed some bandages as there were cotton balls that smelled of blood and hydrogen peroxide while others smelled of rubbing alcohol. There were also some bloodied up suture strips and more paperwork on the bed and Sara's wallet. He opened it and pulled out a card that read "In case of emergency, please contact Nick Stokes at KL5-1492". There was also a photo of the two of them that appeared to be a candid shot in the break room back at the lab. Why would she carry a photo of Nick with her? He asked himself.
Looking down at his watch, Grissom figured that they wouldn't be gone long and made a hasty retreat to his car and back to the bed and breakfast he was staying at. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Grissom's head began to spin with the possible scenarios that might have lead to Sara's apparent current medical condition. But the one thing that bugged him more than anything else was the wondering about why Nick was there. At this thought Grissom fumed. He should have been the person to contact and not Nick.
Over and over in his head he kept telling himself that he HAD to find out what happened and maybe this would help him try to smooth things out with Sara. That is if she even remembered him at all. He remembered watching the two of them walking into the woods and a slight look of confusion on Sara's face and the fact that she was walking a comfortable distance beside Nick,
almost like she wasn't quite sure who he was. Maybe he was there to try and help her remember.
One could only hope.