A/N: Thanks as always for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
I don't own CSI.
The New Life
"Hello?"
"Mary?"
"Yeah … Sara, are you all right?"
"I'm more than all right!" Sara practically yelled into the phone. "I got the job!"
"Oh my God!"
"I know!"
"Sara! This is amazing! Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Sara laughed. "I start next week. Can you believe it? I only have a week to move …"
Both girls sobered considerably as the reality of the situation hit them. Sara suddenly found herself blinking back tears.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Um …" Mary said. "Well, look, Sara, this is what you want, and I'm really happy for you."
"Yeah, but … Mar, I don't want to leave you."
"You'll never get rid of me," Mary said firmly. "Never. We're in this for life, girl."
"BFFs, huh?"
"Damn straight."
Sara giggled. "I'm just really going to miss you."
"This is not the time for this," Mary said firmly. "You just got a new job, and you deserve to be happy. So, don't think about moving yet. Just think about your job and all the exciting dead bodies you'll get to analyze."
"Well, doesn't that just make it sound like fun?"
Mary laughed. "Sara, I'm really sorry about this, but I have to go. I have my last final in twenty minutes."
"Okay," Sara replied. "I'll be home tonight."
"Drive safely."
"I will."
"I'll see you when you get back."
"Right."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Sara closed her phone and drew a deep breath. She had forgotten that taking a job in San Francisco meant that she would no longer live with Mary. She didn't know how she'd handle life without her best friend.
Determined to put all thoughts of moving away from Mary out of her head, she opened her phone again. She took a slip of paper out of her purse. She studied it carefully despite the fact that she had read the number so many times that she had it memorized. She was afraid that if she dialed wrong the first time, she would lose her nerve and not try again.
Sara's hands shook as she dialed the numbers. In all the months that she and Grissom had been corresponding, she had only ever emailed him. She had never called him at home. But, this was news she needed to give him as "in person" as she could.
The phone rang twice. Sara was mentally preparing the message she would leave on his machine when he picked up. She swallowed her surprise and listened to his voice.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Grissom?" She was amazed that her voice didn't break. The way that her hands were shaking from hearing his voice made her sure that she would never be able to have a normal conversation with him.
"Yes?"
"Hi. This is Sara Sidle."
"Sara!" Grissom exclaimed. "Hello! How are you?"
"I'm fine," she replied, a grin stretching across her face at the enthusiasm in his voice. "How are you?"
"Fine," he replied. "What have you been up to?"
"Well … I actually called to tell you that I just got a new job."
"The job in San Francisco?" he asked, the excitement in his voice traveling across the phone lines.
"Yes," she grinned. "I start my life as a CSI next week."
"Congratulations!" he exclaimed. "That's great news! I'm so happy for you. I know you'll make a great CSI." He sighed. "I wish I could have you for my lab, but …"
Sara held her breath. She couldn't believe how close he was to asking her to join him in Las Vegas.
"Unfortunately, they won't approve any new CSIs right now," Grissom said. "Budget issues. You know how it goes."
"It's all about the bottom line," Sara said.
"Exactly. Still, that's great about San Francisco! You'll have a great time with Carl. He's a good friend of mine … and a really talented criminalist."
"He interviewed me," she said. "I really liked him."
"He's a great person," Grissom said, wondering when the last time he had used "great" so much had been. He cleared his throat, hoping that it would somehow inflate his vocabulary back to its normal size. "You said that you start next week?"
"Right after graduation."
Grissom glanced at his calendar. "I'll be in San Francisco for a lecture in a few months. Maybe you could come to it."
"I'd love to," Sara said without even asking the topic.
"It's just one night," Grissom said. "I'm one of a series of lecturers. But, I will be in San Francisco for the entire weekend."
"Can I be your tour guide?" Sara asked without thinking. "I grew up there … I know the city so well … I'd love to show you around …"
"I'd love it, too," Grissom smiled, effectively cutting her off. Her ability to babble was rather endearing. "I'm sure you'll be a very talented tour guide."
"As long as I can get the time off," she said.
Grissom smiled again. "Carl is a fair man. I'm sure it won't be a problem."
"Sara! You made it!"
Sara smiled at her new boss. "I can't wait to get started," she said quite honestly.
Moving had been one of the most traumatic experiences of her life. Both Mary and Tom had been on hand to help her; she and Mary had spent half the day crying over the fact that they wouldn't live together again. When the time had come for them to leave, the two girls had clung to each other, sobbing as though their hearts would break. Tom had finally led Mary away, and Sara had spent her first night in her new home crying herself to sleep.
All in all, Sara was thrilled to have something to focus on that didn't involve her best friend and the distance between them. This first day of work would provide her with a much-needed distraction.
"Well, I'm glad you feel that way," Carl said. "Let's get you acquainted with the lab."
The tour of the lab took the entire day. Sara met so many people; she was sure it would take months for her to actually learn each one's name and job title. But, she was up for the challenge. She was determined to love this new job.
"Are you ready for your first case?"
Sara's face lit up. Finally, after what felt like years of learning how to do her job, she was going to get to do it. "Definitely!"
"Good," Carl smiled. "You're coming with Anne and me to investigate the suspicious death of a woman at home."
"All right. Do we know anything else about what happened?"
"Nope. At this point, it could be a homicide, a suicide or even accidental."
"Really?"
"Well," he said slowly, "if they're calling it a suspicious death, I'd say it probably not accidental."
"That makes sense."
"Come on. Let's go." He smiled and tossed her jacket to her. "I'm driving."
"Hey, Sara," Anne greeted her as they walked out of the break room. "Are you ready for action?"
"You bet," Sara smiled.
"Now, this one is involved," Anne cautioned. "We have a dead body, so we're going to have to process at the scene as well as in the morgue."
"I'm ready," Sara said.
"Good," Anne said, glancing at Carl.
Anne had been Carl's second in command for nearly a decade, and normally agreed with the way he ran his shift. The only thing she disagreed with was his penchant for sending the new CSIs straight into cases involving dead bodies. She was of the opinion that their first cases should be robberies or something equally tame, allowing them time to ease into the job. Carl felt that they needed to know what they were up against from the very beginning.
He grinned at Anne, who rolled her eyes. He knew what she was thinking, and he also knew that he was right. If Sara couldn't take this, he was willing to send her right back to grad school. He didn't need anyone on his team who wasn't prepared to deal with the less than pretty side of the job.
Sara was rather proud of herself. She had handled the scene beautifully. The blood hadn't bothered her at all. She had never been squeamish, even as a child. She supposed that her childhood would be enough to knock the squeamishness out of anyone.
The smell of the body had been a bit awful, but after initially gagging, she had been all right. Anne had immediately whisked her away from the body, which helped. They had spent their time working the perimeter of the house, leaving Carl alone in the living room with the victim. Carl finally came outside to find the two women documenting the position of the patio furniture.
"Hey, girls. How's it going out here?"
"Fine," Anne replied. "Sara's doing a great job."
"I knew she would," Carl smiled. "Listen, I'm the lead on this case, so I have to ride back with the body," he said. "I'd like you to come with me, Sara."
Anne looked at him in surprise. "I thought she could stay with me so we could work on her collection technique."
"I'd rather she see the morgue side of things," Carl said evenly.
Anne blinked. He really was throwing this girl off the side of the pier to see if she would sink or swim. "All right," she agreed a bit reluctantly. "Sara, I'll find you when I get back to the lab. I want you to help me process this evidence."
"All right," Sara said. She looked from one to the other, knowing that something was happening between them, but not having a clue as to what it might be.
"Let's go," Carl said.
"The smell will be a bit strong," Carl said as he and Sara put on lab coats before entering the morgue. "Here," he said, handing her a mask. "Put this on."
"Thanks," Sara said, holding it over her mouth and nose. She looked at him quizzically. "Where's yours?"
"I don't need one."
She raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged. "You get used to it. In a little while, you won't need one, either."
She nodded, not knowing what to say to that.
Carl pushed open the door. "After you."
They walked in together, and were greeted by the medical examiner's smile.
"Hi, Doc," Carl said.
"Hi, Carl. Bring a friend in today?"
"This is Sara Sidle, our newest team member. Sara, this is Dr. Evan Wright, the day shift medical examiner. He's the one you'll deal with the most frequently."
"Hello," she said with a smile.
"Hi," Dr. Wright replied. He smiled. "I see that Carl has given you a mask. Before I even start, I want you to know that the restroom is out that door, second door on the right."
Sara raised an eyebrow.
The doctor smiled patiently. "I've had more than one CSI lose his or her lunch in this room. I'd just rather let you know in advance."
Sara swallowed. "All right. Thanks, I guess."
"Here we go, then. Lauren Grey." Dr. Wright pulled back the sheet covering the young woman's body.
Sara's eyes softened as she looked at the woman's bruised face. This woman had been through more than most people could even imagine.
Her eyes widened as she realized how strong the smell was. Even as the scene, she was sure they body had not smelled quite like this. Maybe that was because she had spent so little time with her. She concentrated on not gagging.
Dr. Wright began listing off Lauren's many injuries, which was a welcome distraction from the smell. To Sara, it was a bit like listening to her mother's life story. She had had the suspicion at the house that this woman had been abused. Now, listening to the doctor, she was sure of it.
The body truly smelled horrible. When was the last time Sara had been able to take a deep breath?
"Cause of death?" Carl asked.
"Strangulation," Dr. Wright replied. "The bruises on her neck indicate that it was someone's bare hands."
Sara closed her eyes both against the smell and the horrible death that the doctor had just described.
"Sara?" Carl asked. Her eyes popped open to meet his gaze. "Any thoughts?"
"She was abused," she said, swallowing thickly.
"I agree," Dr. Wright said. "The x-rays show multiple healed fractures, particularly in the facial bones."
Sara swallowed again. "We need to talk to her husband." She clenched her fists and blinked against the smell of death in the room.
"We'll get him in here," Carl said. "All right, Doc, I think that's all we need for now. We'll be back if we have more questions."
"Thanks. It was nice meeting you, Sara."
She managed a tight smile and a nod, knowing that opening her mouth would be a mistake. She walked out with Carl. He stopped to remove his lab coat, but she kept walking, going straight through the second door on the right.
She became one of the CSIs who lost her lunch.
"So, how was your first autopsy?" Anne asked as she showed Sara how to search for fingerprint matches.
Sara paused. "Interesting," she said at last.
Anne smiled. "I was sick at my first autopsy, too."
Sara's head snapped up.
"Carl didn't tell me," she said. "I can tell by the way you said that."
"Oh," Sara said, her face burning red.
"Look, most of us have trouble with autopsies at the beginning. It'll get easier." She smiled. "Carl told me that you handled yourself really well in there. He has this thing about letting you see the very worst of this job from day one. I'm surprised he didn't make you start on a decomp."
"Why is that?"
Anne smiled. "I hope you don't have to find out for at least a year."
"Right," Sara said slowly.
"You're doing great so far," Anne said. "Just … keep it up, and I know you'll do fine."
"I will," Sara said, a fire burning in her eyes.
She wanted to succeed at this job. She always had. But, it was no longer for herself or even for Grissom. During that autopsy, when she had realized how much horror Lauren Grey had lived through, her focus had shifted. She wanted to find those responsible for causing pain, and to bring them to justice. She wanted punishment for the abusers and closure for the victims and their families. She wanted justice for Lauren, because, in some strange way, it would bring about justice for her mother and every woman who had ever been in her place.
"We have the husband here," Carl said.
Sara and Anne looked up from the pictures they had spread across the table in the lay out room.
"That was fast," Anne said.
"Well, it turns out that Lauren Grey's uncle is a retired cop. The force was more than willing to help us out on this one."
Anne narrowed her eyes. "Did the family suspect that she was abused?"
"If we can't get anything from the husband, we'll start bringing in the family."
"She was abused," Sara said forcefully.
Anne looked at her curiously. "All the evidence says so thus far, but, Sara, the one thing we can never do in this job is to get ahead of the evidence."
"What do you mean?"
"From the time we arrive at a scene until the time we appear in court to testify, we'll go through at least five different theories as to how a person died. Some will be incredibly unlikely, but each one will be supported by the evidence that we have at the time. As we move forward, we will collect more and more evidence – as it changes, our theories will change, too." She paused. "In this case, it does look as though Lauren Grey was a battered wife whose husband finally went too far. But, we have to be careful. We could find someone else's bloody fingerprints at the scene. We could find something in these pictures that indicates suicide. We could find something that shows that she died accidentally."
"I think I get your point," Sara said. "I won't get too attached to the husband as a suspect."
"I think he's a pretty safe bet," Carl said. "But, we'll see what happens during the interrogation."
"Can I come for that?" Sara asked.
Anne shook her head. "You and I will watch from outside. We'll let Carl do the talking."
Sara was a bit disappointed, but tried not to let it show. "All right."
"You'll do plenty of interrogations," Anne said.
"They're very delicate," Carl said. "This is the one thing I don't like to let you practice on too early."
"All right," Sara said again.
"Well, let's go down, then." Carl smiled. "I believe that our date is waiting."
It took a lot of work on Carl's end, but he managed to elicit a confession from Lauren Grey's husband. Watching him being led away in handcuffs was one of the most emotional moments of Sara's life.
Anne looked at her, surprised to see the tears that had gathered in her eyes. "Sara? Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Sara said, wiping at her eyes. She turned to Anne with a small smile. "We helped her find justice. Now, he'll be punished for everything he did to her."
Anne smiled. "Everything we do is scientific," she said. "From the way we collect evidence to the way we process it to the way we interpret it, we have to leave the human aspect at the door. We're scientists, and we rely on data and hard facts to make decisions.
"But, then, we have to bring the human element back into it. We can't just look at one side of anything." She smiled, and nodded toward the suspect. "In the end, this is what it's all about: finding justice and closure."
Sara nodded. "I think I can do this," she said.
Anne smiled. "I know you can."
