Sorry that it's been a while...coursework essays coursework...yep...hope this satisfies...and this site isn't letting me divide up different parts of the chapter...grr...but you'll be able to tell when the setting is changing =]
We have snow! At least, I do, and I'm incredibly happy! And yet, I have no idea what I'm getting for Christmas...no idea at all...
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or Karin *sees Anju* But I do own Anju, and I'll even let her play in the snow...
Grissom had set out in search of Sara, when he was acosted by Annabelle in the hallway.
"Have you seen Sara?" he asked her.
"No, but…the new guy? Craig Thompson? He's a vampire slayer."
"You're…kidding…"
"No, but-"
Grissom power-walked down the hall and saw Wendy sitting in the break room.
"Wendy, have you seen Sara?" he asked as he stood in the doorway.
"She's just in the layout room."
"Thanks."
He practically ran to the layout room, where he found Sara looking over some evidence.
She's okay…she's alive…
Sara looked up from the table. "Gil, what are you-"
She suddenly found herself being embraced by him.
"Gil, we're at work. Someone might-"
"I don't care, Sara. You could've been killed. He could've-"
"He's not a danger to us right now."
They both turned to look at Annabelle, who was stood at the door.
"What I was about to say to you before you ran off was that he is completely unaware of anything."
"What do you mean?" asked Grissom.
"Follow me."
They followed Annabelle to DNA where they found Craig trying to flirt with Catherine, and Warrick was stood nearby, trying to control his jealousy.
Sara smiled, trying to contain her laughter. A vampire slayer…flirting with a vampire…
Her attempts were in vain, since she still burst out laughing. In her attempt to control herself, she slipped and ended up in Grissom's arms.
At that moment, Ecklie walked past, so they quickly straightened themselves out.
"You see," Anna smiled, "He's not a liability in the least."
Yeah, thought Sara, Everything's fine…
Annabelle decided that, since she'd be staying with Sara for a while, she might as well get a job to give herself something to do.
But getting a decent, and legal, job in Las Vegas wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. She'd spent two whole days searching and she still hadn't been successful. But she was still being positive, to the point where she was driving Sara insane.
On the third day, when Sara got home from work, Annabelle was cooking something, which smelled quite delicious.
"What are you making?" Sara put her bag down on the counter.
"Your favourite," Annabelle said in a sing-song voice.
Sara grinned widely. "Soy bacon and mushroom pasta with cheese sauce?"
"Mmm-hmm."
Sara walked over and stood right next to her, peering hard at her. "You're rather perky today."
Annabelle said nothing, but carried on, humming a tune.
Sara's eyes widened. "You got a job!"
Annabelle turned and smiled at her. "No way!"
Sara raised an eyebrow. And just how is that a good thing?
"But I have a good feeling about tomorrow!"
Sara sighed deeply. That's what you've kept saying, every day…
"Well, Gil should be coming round about-"
The doorbell rang.
"-now. So why don't you go off to Chinatown and bring me back some Chinese food?"
Annabelle sighed. "Fine."
Sara pushed her towards the door, opened it, shoved her out and pulled Grissom in.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, kids!" yelled Annabelle as Sara shut the door.
"She's kind of embarrassing sometimes," Sara smiled, kissing him. "Do you want some pasta?"
"Yes, please," Grissom replied.
They sat down on the couch with bowls of pasta and began eating.
"This is delicious," Grissom commented, "Did you make it?"
"Grandma did. She always makes it better than I do."
It suddenly occurred to Grissom that Sara only had a one-bedroomed apartment. "Where is your grandmother sleeping?" he asked.
"She doesn't sleep."
He frowned, confused.
"She's not needed sleep for as long as I can remember, and I've never bothered to ask about it."
The door was slammed open, making both of them jump in shock.
"Where is it?" Heather barged into the apartment, looking incredibly angry.
Sophia rushed in after her and grabbed hold of her arm. "It's not here, Heather."
Sara sighed. "The slayer isn't a liability to us."
Heather stared at us in disbelief. "How can you say that?"
"Wait, how did you know that there's a vampire slayer in town?"
"I can smell it a mile off," Heather sat down in the armchair, while Sophia perched on the arm of the couch.
Sara sighed. Maybe if I was a normal vampire, I'd be able to smell one from further away…
"So, Sara, I'm looking forward to hearing about why this slayer isn't a danger."
"Well, if you could've seen the way he was trying to romance me and Catherine…"
Sophia and Heather stared at her for a few moments before bursting into laughter.
A few minutes later, after they'd both calmed down, Heather said, "Wow, and I thought I was getting serious about this guy?"
Sara a bit more of her pasta. "Well, just in case anything does happen-"
"Hallo, mein Liebchen!" Annabelle burst through the door, startling everyone.
Sara's jaw dropped open. "How can you possibly be back here so quickly?"
"I ran."
Well, that explains it…
Sara was about to introduce Annabelle to Heather and Sophia, when she noticed that they were both staring at her grandmother.
"Who are you and why do you look so much like Sara?" asked Sophia.
"That's who's gonna protect me if anything goes wrong," Sara explained, "My grandmother."
"GRANDMOTHER?!" Sophia and Heather exclaimed simultaneously.
"Call me Anna," Annabelle sat down next to Sara, putting her bags on the floor. "I see that the two of you have been good and eaten all of your pasta!"
Sara looked at her, "Why do I have a feeling that there's something more?"
Annabelle reached into one of the bags and pulled out a box.
Sara smiled in delight. "You got me mushroom-shaped chocolate biscuits…wait, how did you get something Japanese in Chinatown?"
"There's a shop selling Japanese food…I thought you liked going to Chinatown?"
"Well, I haven't been for a while…"
Annabelle suddenly looked distant. "Sara, what's the surname of that slayer again?"
"Thompson."
Her eyes widened, then she smiled.
"Ah, yes, the Thompsons…the only line of slayers who have ever been a problem to me."
"You knew his ancestors?"
"All the other slayers were wimps and would run away just at the sight of vampires. But that family…they never gave up. Of course, they never managed to capture me, but having to stay on my guard all the time was still a pain."
Annabelle sighed. "But this Craig guy hasn't caught on to the fact that you and Catherine are vampires, which he should have done…so we have nothing to worry about…"
Sara hadn't even realised that she'd fallen asleep until the phone woke her up. Upon seeing the caller ID, however, she was instantly revitalised.
"Hello, Gilbert," she answered huskily.
She could hear him swallow hard at the other end. "I was wondering…since we're both off tonight…if you'd like to have dinner with me…"
He's asking me to dinner! Finally!
"I'd love to," Sara grinned, trying to contain her excitement.
"Say, seven?"
"Sure!"
"Okay, see you then."
As Sara rang off, she glanced at the clock, which told her it was five o'clock.
Oh crap.
She zoomed into the bathroom and quickly got showered. She then found herself stood in the middle of her bedroom, struggling to decide on what to wear.
When was the last time I was asked out to dinner?
Oh yeah. Hank. Don't want to remember that.
She eventually settled on a spaghetti-strap red dress which came to just above her knees, with a red handbag and red high-heels to match. She was just finishing putting on her make-up when the doorbell rang.
"Shall I get that, Sara?" Annabelle's voice floated into her room.
"I'll get it!" Sara threw her necessities into her handbag and raced to the door.
She opened the door with a huge smile on her face.
Grissom stared at her in awe. "Y-you look beautiful, Sara," he managed.
Her smile grew bigger. "And you look incredibly handsome," she said as she pecked him on the lips.
"You two look so sweet together!" Annabelle bounded up to them, "I can't believe that my little Sara is-"
Sara gave her a look. "You're not gonna stalk us, are you?"
"No…"
A few minutes later, Sara and Grissom were on the road. Grissom noticed that Sara had barely said a word since they'd left her apartment.
"Sara, are you okay?" he asked her.
"You're not wondering why my grandmother obsesses over me?"
"Well, actually, I-"
"She practically raised me."
He glanced over at her. She'd only ever told him about the abuse that she and her mother suffered at the hands of her father.
"My parents argued nearly all the time," she went on, "and I always used to go to Grandma for refuge. I spent more time with her than with my own parents."
He reached over and took her hand.
"I feel like I can be honest with you," she smiled, "because I know you won't look at me differently for it."
"Sara."
She looked over at him.
"I want you to be able to be open with me about anything," he said.
Sara smiled happily. Could I be any more in love with him?
They soon arrived at the Bellagio.
"Which restaurant are we going to, Gil?" Sara asked as they got out of the car.
"I don't mind," he replied.
Sara's face lit up. "Can we go to the one that sells Japanese food?"
He nodded. "Any particular reason?"
"Not really, I just feel like Japanese food…"
Sara dragged Grissom through the doors of the oriental-styled restaurant.
"I love this place!" she exclaimed.
"How many times have you been here before?" he asked her.
"Maybe once or twice."
At that point, several waiters and waitresses walked past, greeting Sara in turn. Grissom raised an eyebrow at her.
She sighed. "Okay, maybe three or four times."
Once they'd been seated and given some water, they started looking at the menu.
"They have some new dishes!" Sara grinned, "They even have a sushi platter!"
"There's meat and fish in it," Grissom pointed out. "You're a vegetarian."
"So…I eat fish, and I wouldn't want to deprive you of meat just because of me."
Before Grissom could reply, Sara called one of the waitresses over to their table. She then proceeded to make the order entirely in Japanese, with Grissom staring at her all the while.
After the waitress had gone, she turned back to see him staring at her. "What?" she frowned, "I also lived in Japan for a while!"
Also…
"Sara, it was you who lived in Germany, wasn't it?" asked Grissom.
Sara smiled. "Yeah, for just over twenty years."
His eyes widened. "So that's why Annabelle covered for you…"
"Well, I couldn't really have Greg and Nick asking me how I could have lived my life and lived in Germany for over two decades, could I?"
Their food soon arrived, and Sara immediately started tucking in.
"I never realised that you ate fish," Grissom admitted.
Sara smiled. "I used to get a lot of grief from other vegetarians who thought that I wasn't a 'true' vegetarian because I ate fish. But now, nobody bothers me about it." She noticed that he wasn't eating. "I did order this for both of us, you know."
Grissom picked up the chopsticks that were by his plate and held them in his hand. "I don't know which is which…"
Sara stared hard at the platter. "Those are maki," she pointed to the smaller rolls, "there's red pepper, avocado, smoked salmon and chive, tuna, asparagus, and cucumber."
Grissom picked up one containing red pepper and popped it in his mouth. He chewed slowly whilst Sara stared at him, expectantly, with wide eyes.
"It's delicious," he said once finished.
Sara grinned. "Now I've successfully exposed you to sushi."
She picked up a salmon nigiri and took a bite. "Have you noticed anything different about the people waiting on?"
Grissom shook his head. "Not particularly. Why?"
He looked over to a pair of open French windows at the other side of the restaurant, which the full moon was shining through. Just as one of the waitresses walked past, he noticed that she took special care so as to not come into contact with the moonlight.
But why did she…
He turned to look at Sara, who was smiling at him, knowingly.
No…that's impossible…
"You mean…they're…"
She nodded.
He frowned. "Then…why aren't you fighting?"
Sara began to laugh. "Despite what Twilight has brought people to believe, there is no war between werewolves and vampires" she said once she'd calmed down. "In fact, we get along quite well."
Sara picked up a vegetable futomaki and popped it into her mouth whole. As she sniffed the air, she could smell the usual, delicious scent of soy sauce, wasabi…and something else.
Something incredibly familiar.
"What's wrong, Sara?" asked Grissom.
Sara closed her eyes and listened to the noises in the restaurant. There were waiters and waitresses discussing menu choices with customers, doors opening and closing, people having conversations…
"Of course, Warrick."
That name, coupled with the voice of someone she'd worked with for years, made her smile.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
Sara's grin broadened. "Warrick and Catherine are here."
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "They are?"
She nodded. "I can pick out Catherine's voice anywhere, and I could smell her favourite brand of perfume. It's not available in this country, so it's rare to find someone who wears it."
"Wait, how can you…"
"I told you that vampires have more acute senses, didn't I?"
So that's how she was able to hear Catherine's voice amidst everyone else's…
They carried on eating, with Grissom asking the occasional question about Japanese culture. Sara was just about to answer him, when a pair of hands came down on her shoulders.
"Dating our supervisor, are we, Miss Sidle?"
Sara scowled, and turned in her seat to face Catherine. "You're just as bad, Catherine!"
Catherine looked at Grissom. "I guess we're even, Gil."
"Yeah, this'll make four of us who are in violation of lab policy."
Catherine jumped about three feet in the air. "Warrick?!" she spun round to face him. "When did you get over here?!"
"You're not planning on telling Ecklie about any of this, are you, Gil?" Sara smiled at him.
"About what?"
Sara frowned at him, but then she realised what he meant. "Right, because…we're not actually here right now..."
"But I am."
This time, all four of them jumped and turned to look at the person who had just spoken.
"Jim? What are you doing here?" asked Grissom.
"Man found dead in his hotel room," Brass explained. "A meal here was the last thing he purchased."
He then smiled. "I'm not planning on telling Ecklie about this, by the way, but as a punishment, I don't think Nick and Greg will be able to handle this one on their own."
They all sighed. So much for a first date, thought Sara.
"I'm home, Sis!" Craig Thompson yelled as he shut the front door behind him.
He walked into the kitchen where he found her making cheese-on-toast.
Kirstie Thompson didn't resemble her younger brother in the slightest. She was slightly shorter than him, her bone structure was noticeably different, and her medium-length black hair and piercing green eyes further distanced them in looks.
But, of course, there was the contrast in personalities. Whilst Craig was an easy-going person, who was almost never not smiling, he couldn't actually remember the last time his sister smiled. She was always so serious, and constantly reprimanded him for not taking his duties as a vampire slayer seriously.
"Look, Kirstie, it's not that I don't like you staying here, but…are you sure that there's a vampire here? In Las Vegas?"
She turned to look at him. "I'm certain of it. My instincts are never wrong."
"If so…do you think it could be…"
Her eyes narrowed. "There's always the possibility."
She took a bite out of a slice of cheese-on-toast and chewed thoughtfully. "Regardless of who this vampire is, their first priority will be to try and blend into society."
"A job?"
"Exactly. Although…I highly doubt that any vampire would be crazy enough to work where you do. The amount of blood would be far too much for them to cope."
Craig sulked. "It would have been cool to find a vampire there, too!"
"You're so stupid!" Kirstie yelled. "Who would get a job in a crime lab to track down vampires?!"
He sighed. "You don't have to get mad at me. Besides, wouldn't working in a crime lab be one of the best ways for a vampire to mislead people?"
She took another bite. "That's quite true."
Craig picked up his bag. "Anyway, I'm going to bed." He swiped a slice of cheese-on-toast and walked out of the room.
Kirstie scowled. Where is she? she thought to herself.
She glanced around the kitchen, and her eyes fell on an old picture of a young woman, not too dissimilar in looks to herself, smiling whilst clinging onto the arm of a handsome young man.
They look so happy together…
She looked up to the ceiling and clenched her teeth together. I won't forgive you for what you did to her.
That's right…I will make you pay for coming between them, Annabelle Sidle…even if it's the very last thing I do…
Hallo mein Liebchen=Hello, my little love
Mwahahahaha...What will happen next? You'll have to wait and see, won't you? In the meantime...please review! It will make me smile even more than snow! That is, the white stuff that falls from the sky...not the other type of snow...
