AN: Thanks for the continued support, here is the next chapter and more to the 'Carly' puzzle.
Warning: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior.
Chapter 8: The Truth
Once William was done with bath time and changed into his pajamas, Sara helped Grissom tuck him in bed, and after a kiss goodnight and love yous were exchanged, Sara left the room to let Grissom finish with story time, and after 45 minutes, when William had finally fallen asleep, Grissom closed the book, placed it on the nightstand before getting up from the chair he had been sitting on, walked to the head of the bed, bent down, kissed his head softly and whispered. "I love you, son. Sweet dreams."
He pulled back a second later, watched him sleeping with a Chicago Cubs dressed teddy bear in his arms, before he turned to head out of the room, and once the door was cracked shut, he headed for the master bedroom.
When he got there and opened the door, he took a step in before stopping his feet, seeing the room had a few candles lit while Sara was already lying in bed in just her bra and panties, and he swallowed as he whispered. "The works tonight, huh?"
She smiled. "Yeah, you got a problem with that?"
He stepped in the room and closed the door. "No problem whatsoever, it's what ever you want, you know that."
She then whispered suggestively as she looked him up and down. "Well, you know what I want now."
He smiled as he slipped his shoes and shocks off immediately, but then he started taking his time unbuttoning his shirt with a smirk, making her groan in frustration, drawing out his name. "Grissom."
He chuckled as he unbuttoned the last few buttons. "Yes dear, how can I help you?"
She took a breath before smirking in return, getting back at him. "Well, the longer you take over there, the longer it takes you to join me in this bed."
"Good point."
After that, he wasted little time taking his shirt off his back and slid his pants off, revealing him nothing but boxers before he headed for the bed, and when he was above her, they started kissing passionately for several minutes as their hands roamed each other's bodies, still feeling tingles at each other's touch, a feeling they knew would never get old, then he moved his lips down her body until he reached her stomach.
He pulled back a little, moved his body to the side so he could place his hand on her stomach with tears in his eyes before he leaned down and kissed her stomach softly, making her close her eyes at the tenderness she felt from his kiss before he whispered against it. "Hi, little one, I'm your daddy. I can't wait to meet you, and I can't wait for you to meet your older brother. He's going to protect you and love you so much, just like me and your mommy will. I'll see you soon."
After a few more tender kisses, he moved his lips back up to hers before they started to kiss passionately again, then in a surprising move, she wrapped her leg around his hip and rolled them him on his back so she was now straddling his waist as she looked down at him as they were catching their breaths.
With the mixture of still being shocked at her move and looking at her beauty, he was speechless for a moment or two, then he started to smile and whispered as he placed his hand on her stomach again. "I love you too."
She took his hand from her stomach a few seconds later, brought it up to her lips and kissed his palm before leaning down as she whispered. "And I love you."
She then pinned his arm above his head as she slipped her left hand through his, slowly, passionately, yet with the up-most tender and care, showing their love for one another through out the rest of the evening.
Next Morning
They woke up with smiles on their faces and love in their eyes, and after a family breakfast, she kissed her husband and son goodbye before heading off to the lab, and once she got there, she was greeted warmly by the receptionist as she handed her some messages for the cases that was on deck for today, then after briefly stopping in her office, she headed for the break room, where her team was.
Level 3 CSI's, 30 year old Spencer Richardson and 29 year old Andrea Spears, Level 2 CSI, 26 year old Malcolm Cooper, and the youngest at the age of 24, who in fact had just started out a few weeks ago, Level 1 CSI, Harry Malone.
She gave her team a warm greeting, which they greeted her back, then after she sat down, there was a little small talk before she cleared her throat and got them down to business, handing out the assignments.
When she got to the last member, who was unofficially her second hand man, she handed him the assignment. "And Richardson, you have a missing College student, her roommate showed up at their dorm early this morning and found her missing."
Spencer, who was tall, slim, had short brown hair and hazel eyes, smirked. "She was out with her boyfriend all night, case closed."
Harry, who had average height and build with brown eyes and short, blond hair, snickered a little, while the rest, including Sara wasn't amused by his comment, so she gave him a hard look as she continued. "The room was a mess and there is blood at the scene, so until you find her and find an explanation for the blood, you are to treat this case like you would the others."
Spencer nodded while whispering. "Yes, ma'am."
Her look turned even harder as she asked. "You have a problem Mr. Richardson, because I'm sure Mr. Malone and Mr. Cooper would gladly trade you cases?"
Harry and Malcolm, who were going dumpster diving today, nodded with smiles, and after Spencer shook his head with a wince, Sara continued. "No case is beneath us, no matter what level we are. We treat them with respect and do them to our best abilities, maybe if you had done that, you would have this supervisor spot instead of me, think of that Mr. Richardson."
When the previous day shift supervisor left the lab, Spencer was technically next in line, and he would have been the youngest to have that position, but in a surprising move, Brett offered Sara the job instead once she showed interest, making him feel at odds with her from the start.
He clinched his jaw before he took a breath and nodded as he stood up before leaving the room, and after a moments pause, she dismissed the rest of the team. She sighed a few seconds later, and as she was standing up, she noticed Carly was now standing in the doorway, almost looking a little zoned out.
Flashback
Earlier that Morning
As Carly was waking up from her dream-like state, she felt his lips on her cheek and his voice in her ear, and she closed her eyes tighter, trying to get the dream back, knowing this wasn't the first time she felt like this only to wake up and find him not next to her. But then she heard him chuckle slightly seeing her eyes being shut tighter before he whispered. "Sweetheart, wake up, come on, open your eyes."
She shook her head with a sniffle. "No, it's all a dream."
He took her hand and kissed it softly before placing in on his cheek while speaking again. "Trust me, it isn't."
After a moments pause she ran her thumb up and down his cheek before slowly opening her eyes, and when she saw his bright blue eyes looking at her, she slowly smiled with a tear going down her cheek. "You're not a dream, and last night really happened."
He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shirt covered stomach as he whispered. "Most definitely last night happened."
She took a breath as she whispered. "Thank god." Before they leaned toward one another and kissed.
When they pulled back, he started asking. "Am I still what you want?"
She moved her hand to cup his cheek before replying with concern. "Of course, what's going on?"
"I've made a decision, I'm resigning my spot at the lab effectively immediately."
Carly looked at him in shock as shook her head. "No Brett..."
He cuts her off. "I have to, I don't want there to be any questions about your career when it comes to me, and I'm sure as hell not going to be dating you in secret, if that's what you were thinking would happen."
She shook her head. "No it isn't, and not what I want either." She took a breath before continuing. "I just know how much you love your job."
He ran her thumb up and down her cheek as he said lovingly. "I do, but wanting the life with you that we were meant to have is what I want more. I can find something else."
"And you're ok with that, you're not going to resent me for it?"
He smiled as he moved so he was above her, then replied softly. "I'm more than ok with it, and I could never resent you, I love you, and as long as I have my boys, you, and..."
She cuts him off as she brings him down for a passionate kiss before she whispered. "I love you too, and I want that life as well."
They go back to kissing softly again before the passion was too much to stop.
End of Flashback
The other woman was brought back to the present when she heard Sara's voice. "Carly, are you ok?"
She mentally shook her head before looking at her. "Huh?"
Sara smiled as she spoke again. "I asked if you were ok?"
Carly started to smile with a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. I uh." She paused to clear her throat before asking. "I was wondering if I can work this shift."
Sara looked at her with curiosity for a few seconds before she nodded with a smile. "Sure, you are with me."
Carly smiled again. "Just like old times."
After another nod from Sara, the women walked out of the room.
By time lunch time rolled around, they were back in the lab getting their evidence processed, and as they were sitting in the break room, Sara was going to use this opportunity to ask her a question, but stopped short when she noticed Carly was looking out through the glass walls, so wondering what had caught her attention, she turned around and saw that Brett was speaking to a few CSI's before his attention turned to Carly, and they share a smile before he walked away, making Sara look at Carly again, and in that moment she realized something, recognizing those type of smiles and looks, so she gasped. "You didn't, did you?"
Carly mentally shakes her head before looking at Sara. "Didn't what?"
Not point in beating around the bush, Sara answered. "Sleep together?"
Carly took a breath and started to say. "Sara..."
But the younger woman by three years cuts her off. "Carly, I'm not trying to judge you, I would be the last person who would, but getting involved with your boss..."
Carly cuts her off with a raised eyebrow. "So, it's ok if you get involved with your boss, but not me?"
"Not what I'm trying to say." Then she sighed as she continued. "But you see the difference is my boss wasn't married when we got involved."
She was going to finish before Carly stated proudly. "Well, as of a few days ago, he isn't anymore, and before you ask, it wasn't a pick up line he made up, I saw the official documents myself." When she saw the shocked look on Sara's face, Carly continued after clearing her throat. "I'm well aware that you have questions about my history with Brett, and there are reasons why I couldn't say anything about it before, mostly because it had to do with the fact that it was too hard to." Then she started to get a smile on her face, the brightest one Sara had ever seen, as she finished. "But now that things are different, and are finally going in the direction it was meant to be a long time ago, I'll answer any questions you have, if I can that is."
Sara took a moment just looking at the other woman, and from remembering how she looked just yesterday, heck even when she was in Vegas, to right now, it was like night and day. She just had this glow around her, her eyes were brighter, even her smile had a different look to it, and in that moment she wondered if her team saw her like that when things started to go the right way between her and Grissom.
When her husband popped up in her head, she remembered there was a certain question she wanted to ask, but now there was others as well, so she cleared her throat and asked, starting from the beginning. "When and where did you two meet?"
There was no pause when she replied. "It almost seemed like a lifetime ago. You know I started college at Stanford, right?" After Sara's nod, Carly continued. "Well, I was on my way to be become a doctor just like my father, the only child of my parents who would follow in either of their footsteps, and things were looking like it would be going that way, until my junior year. My roommate was into the forensic side of law enforcement and there was this seminar in one of the classrooms one night, and since I was done with my studies I thought I would check it out with her, not knowing that night would change my life forever, in every way."
When there was a pause, Sara couldn't help but comment shyly as she was thinking about how she had met Grissom. "Sounds like a story I know all to well."
Carly smiled slightly. "Now I won't and can't deny that there was an instant connection between Brett and I, it was just something I couldn't control, it was out of my hands."
With a sympathy look, Sara replied with a nod. "I know how that is, I get that."
She nodded before she continued. "However, me changing my careers and transferring to UCLA wasn't all about him. You see, I had spent my whole live trying to please my parents, including my choice in career, and after the seminar that night I started to question if I really did want to be a doctor, or was I just doing it for my parents, so after a long list of pros and cons and agonizing it for weeks, I finally made the decision that would change my whole life around. I got into UCLA the next fall, and Brett accepted to be my mentor. I figured if I was going to learn the job, I might as well learn from the best, right?"
Sara nodded with a smile. "That's how I see it too."
Carly smiled again with a small nod, then she smirked. "And now I bet you think I had this hot, steamy affair with him, right?"
Sara couldn't help if that's where her mind went, so she shyly smiled. "Maybe."
Carly chuckled before shaking her head after taking a breath. "Then you would be wrong. He was in love with his wife and I respected that." After Sara nodded in understanding, Carly went back to her story. "So, for the next four years, we were strictly mentor/mentee, teacher/student, and when I finally graduated and was hired to be a CSI, he also became my boss."
When she stopped speaking, she looked down at her half eaten sandwich, and Sara cleared her throat before asking. "Things started to change after four years?"
Carly nodded before she looked at her. "Yes, and I can't tell you what happened between him and his wife, that's his story, but I will say they had a very rough patch." Carly then started to have tears in her eyes. "And believe me Sara, he tried everything he could for her, but she kept turning her back to him, so he turned to me. But I promise all we did was talk and hung out a little more after shift, nothing happened." Sara could see the truth in the other woman's eyes. "As the months went on, and as much as we tried to deny it, the bond between us had become stronger than ever before, so Brett did the only thing he knew he had to, he filled for divorce, or at least that was his plan."
"What happened?"
She took a shuddering breath before she finished. "That night, the last night I was in Los Angeles, he came to my apartment, told me what he was planning, which was the first I heard of it, but it hit a snag. His wife dropped a bombshell and told him she was two months pregnant, and that if he left her, she would keep their child away from him, and..."
Fully engrossed in the story, Sara softly asked. "And what?"
"She had hired a private eye and had him followed, so she had pictures of us, and while we weren't doing anything, we were standing very close in some, so if she got the right person to convince something more was going on, it could have ruined his reputation, while destroying our careers, and he didn't want that to happen to me. He was in an impossible situation, so we did the only thing we could do, said goodbye and I left town and went up to Seattle for a bit. There was no way I could have stayed after that, being that close to getting everything I ever wanted just for it to be yanked away at the last second."
Sara nodded in understanding before she asked another questions after clearing her throat, the investigator in her couldn't resist the temptation. "Did anything else happen that last night?"
Knowing what Sara was asking, their eyes remained connected, and Carly was about to speak when Sara's phone started to ring in her pocket, startling both woman, so Sara cleared her throat before taking her phone out and answered it. "Grissom."
Luke Carter, who was the DNA expert, was heard the next second. "Uh, boss-lady, I think you should come see this."
"Mr. Carter, what is it?"
"It's best if you come see this yourself, and alone if you can."
"Ok, I'll be right there."
"Alright."
After they hung up, Carly asked in concern. "Is everything ok?"
Still confused on what that call was about, Sara shook her head as she stood up. "Well, I'm not exactly sure."
Carly started to get up as she asked. "You want me to come with you?"
Sara shook her head with a smile. "Nah, it's ok, enjoy the rest of your lunch." Carly just nodded and she got comfortable in her seat as Sara turned to leave the room, but before she did, she turned around and looked at Carly, who had taken a bite of her food. "Carly." When the other woman looked up, she continued with a smile. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me, and whatever happens next, I have your back, no matter what."
Carly nodded with a smile, and spoke after a swallow. "Thank you, that means a lot."
Sara nodded in return before walking out of the room.
AN: Find out what happens next. Thanks for reading and please review.
