Disclaimer: is in chapter 1.
RATING MMMMMMM! Mostly for the previous chapters. That said - there will probably be further reason for it later.
This is not beta'd as you can probably tell.
Thanks for the reviews you all are awesome.
This was a long time coming... sorry.
GSR... Spoilers WTG... and beyond...
Interlude: 9
Grissom stared into the break room, his breath catching in his throat. She was there… He'd half expected her to call in and take a sick day, but there she sat - sandwiched between Nick and Warrick, her fingers absently tracing circles on the thin fabric of her jeans. She was smiling at something the Texan had said to her but he could tell she was only marginally listening as the smile never truly reached her eyes.
He'd spent a restless and sleepless afternoon, panic having set completely in when he'd climbed out of bed to find his mother in the kitchen brewing coffee instead of the woman he was married to. He'd hoped she would see the humor in the situation and decide to come home – but the look on Ava Grissom's face had only served to reinforce how incredibly stupid he felt.
"I know, I know…" had rolled off his tongue, and he'd waved her off after fixing himself cup of the steaming brew.
His mom was beside herself over the situation she'd created and had gone to town on her son the minute she realized what she'd done. His mother, who had always claimed the sun rose and set on her son's head had even gone so far as to call him a dumbass - a term he'd never heard her use in his entire life. She'd never been one to use derogatory terms or foul language, and when he expressed his shock, his mom had easily explained to him that he was a fifty year old adult and he should damn well suck it up, because in her words…She called 'em as she saw 'em...
Much to his chagrin, she'd been right, dumbass being the least offensive of the words he would have chosen to use against himself.
The old woman had also made it clear, before he left for work early that evening, that he best not return the following morning, without her new daughter in-law or he would be sleeping outside on the landing.
The sucker of it was – he knew she wasn't bluffing, even if the ownership papers said the townhouse his.
Yup! His mom was pissed, too!
He'd fucked up royally - both he and his mother agreed on this particular point. And fixing it – he surmised - might not be all that easy.
His first instinct, when he'd arrived at home and discovered the situation, was to go out looking for Sara - but he was stuck. Calling around to their co-workers was not an option, as that would raise certain suspicions that the both of them had hoped to avoid for a little longer. And while revealing of their relationship was something they were planning on doing at some point in the immediate future, both preferred to plan the announcement instead of having it be the result of a mishap.
Sara was already angry, no doubt about it. The minute glare she cast his way as he wobbled into the crowded room told him as much. She would have been lethally pissed off if his inquiries brought their secrecy to a premature end. So instead, that afternoon, after putting up with a diatribe from his mother that almost bordered on abusive, he'd tried to sleep and then did what he usually did when insomnia took over; he went into work early and lost himself in paperwork.
The din of the room dropped as he entered and studied the sheets Catherine had shoved into his hand; his heart sinking after he'd scanned them for content.
Grissom had hoped to be able to pair Sara up with himself so that they could sort everything out – well that was probably wishful thinking he corrected himself; his fingers massaged his exhausted eyes – but at least she would be in a position where she would be forced to hear him out.
There were some perks to being the shift supervisor, but in this case all the pull in the world wouldn't have helped. As his eyes roamed over the call sheets in his hand once more her realized - he was shit out of luck.
First case up was a dead body at a gala held by Sam Braun, not unusual or unexpected, based on the man's reputation. But this meant that Catherine had to be put to work on the second case - one which happened to have a note in bold red marker scrawled across the top of it. Sheriff requests that Dr. Gil Grissom personally oversee this case.
It was a death at the MGM Grand, and involved one of their biggest money making Cirque shows… Shows tourist profit. Someone had put the pressure on.
Greg was at PD picking up some evidence on an earlier rape case, so he glanced at the paper in his hand once again. "Cath you and I have 419 at the MGM, Sofia is on the scene and Nick when you finish up with your trick roll from yesterday, I want you and Greg to join us. This is going to be a big one, I suspect."
"You got it." Nick patted the slim brunette's knee and rose to his feet. "Just need to pick up some stuff from trace on that, then I'll snatch Greg and see you there." With that, he was gone.
Angry brown eyes locked on blue, and Grissom sighed holding up the Braun sheet. "Sara, and Warrick, possible suicide at the Olympia… Dave will meet you there."
With a flourished, "Thank you!" Warrick was the first out of his seat, and had snatched the paper from Grissom's hand before Sara had even cleared her chair. Normally, it was a bit of a tussle because first the one to the paper usually got to drive, but this time Sara didn't even put up a fight… preferring to take the long way around the table, and out of the room simply to avoid having to deal with her husband at all.
Grissom recognized this ploy for what it was and stopped her as she passed. "Sara, can I talk to you for a minute?"
His voice was warm and non committal, but it took a concerted effort for it to remain that way when he caught the flush of anger staining her cheeks.
Still pissed as hell and sporting a back ache from spending the afternoon on Nick's couch Sara scowled at him, but stopped when she felt his hand on her forearm.
A tension drew itself across her shoulders and she turned as Catherine ambled out of the room. "Take your own car…" The blonde called back over the shoulder as she made her way towards the elevators.
"I'll meet you at the truck…" Sara told Warrick as he grabbed his vest off the back of his chair and shoved the call sheet in his pocket.
"I gotta stock up, anyway, you need anything?" He indicated the case she had sitting at her feet.
"Just some buccal swabs…" came her tight reply.
"You got it." He tossed his vest over his shoulder and grabbing his own case, sauntered down the hall.
She stood for a moment staring at him, trying her best not to help him out in any way. Most times all she had to do was look into his gentle blue eyes and forgiveness came pretty easily.
"I'm sorry."
Sara rolled her own eyes and made to leave, but he held her fast.
"Listen, I know I should have told her, but after we talked…time just got away from me. And then… well I didn't know she was coming…"
Sara opened her mouth to object.
"No, wait..." Thick fingers moved slowly across the cool landscape of her skin creating an odd sort of friction. "That's not what I meant. I - I mean, we knew she was coming this week, but I just didn't know it was today. I meant to tell her… But there was that big case last week, and we spent the weekend away…" He drew his free hand down his face, and pursed his lips. "I ran out of time. I'm sorry."
The hurt hiding behind her anger came to the forefront and she angled herself so that anyone passing by couldn't see her face. "We've been married for over three months." Her voice was so low that even Grissom was finding it hard to hear. "I was forgiving when we last talked about this, but I don't think it's going to come that easily to me this time." Aggravated at the tears gathering in her eyes, she tugged her arm from his grip, and swiped at them. "The only explanation I have for something like this, Gris, is that maybe you didn't want her to know about us."
"No…Never, Sara I swear."
He shook his head and reached up to rub away the one tear that had escaped her angry swipe, but she stepped back out of his reach and grabbed her kit. "Sure."
"Honestly, I've told her and she's thrilled, she wants to meet you and well... kill me..."
Sara almost smiled at this, but fought it and moved towards the door. "Gris, this maid is tired of wading through your emotional shit; you may need to hire a new one."
TBC
