"... joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed." Kahlil Gibran
Authors Note: I feel it necessary to put a warning on the beginning of this chapter – it contains references to sexual violence so proceed with caution if this is a sensitive topic for you. I hope it's not too graphic and I hope it doesn't cause offence or distress to anyone. If it does, I am truly sorry.
As always, I love to hear what you think of the chapters – be it good, bad or indifferent, all feedback is gratefully received. And thank you to those who keep sticking with this story and reviewing, even though my updates are sporadic at best.
Catherine stormed out of the building heading for her car with little care for anyone or anything around her. She had just had yet another pep talk from Grissom regarding the FBI's involvement in their case, warning her to cooperate or risk upsetting the apple cart with Ecklie. She might have known that sleaze was behind this, he seemed to assume the night shift were totally incompetent of solving anything on their own. It didn't help that Sara seemed so at ease working with the newcomers, the dark haired one especially. Sure she was good looking in an arrogant sort of way but Sara was practically drooling over her. An irrational jealousy had taken hold of her, forcing her to address her feelings for the younger CSI once and for all. Catherine had suspected for some time that her original animosity towards Sara had only half been caused by the female competition, the remainder was due to a scary attraction to the brunette which wouldn't go away, no matter how much she tried to ignore it. As the years rolled on and Catherine began to see more of the person behind the tough exterior, she found herself less threatened by Sara's presence and more in need of the friendship and support being tentatively offered. The more she accepted that friendship, the more complete she felt she became, as though a void within her was slowly filling up as she opened her heart to the possibility that someone truly cared about her. She had reasoned with herself in the locker room after Gil's initial announcement that they would cooperate with the Feds that her jealousy had been sparked by the easy manner in which Sara conversed with the agent who had introduced herself as Reyes. After a period of contemplation though, she acknowledged that it was the open way that Reyes had admired Sara, seeming to assess her thoroughly with a glance and like what she saw, that this is what had sparked not just a flicker but a raging inferno of jealousy within her. She spent another good while berating herself for assuming she held that level of importance in Sara's life that she had any right to feel jealous. Of course Sara would attract other admirers, she was a very beautiful woman with a physique to die for. Catherine unlocked her car, still heedless of her surroundings, lost in her own world, not feeling the eyes upon her until a hand covered her mouth and a bitter tang coated her tongue as she fought to breathe or scream. All too soon, the world receded and blackness like she'd never known before enveloped her.
"…told you…brunette…this blonde?" The disembodied voice broke through Sam's haze, sounding agitated as it came closer. Another voice sounded, somewhere to her left, or at least she thought it was her left, details were a little sketchy.
"…was easier…distracted…never saw a thing…didn't have to…disappear." Heavy footsteps approached followed by a sharp slap and a grunt.
"Idiot! Anyone could have seen you!" The fog was lifting as Sam lay perfectly still, scared to move in case her consciousness was discovered by her captors. "Get her in here. How much did you give her? She gonna be out for a while? This other one still looks gone, would have thought she'd be coming out of it again by now." The voice began to sound dubious. Sam felt the air around her shift as a body crouched over her, checking her pulse.
"Relax, she's probably just exhausted from all the fun we've been having, let her sleep. Once the latest girl wakes up, then we can have some real fun – the guys on the Net will be throwing cash at us to film these two. Look at what a stunning couple they make!" The fainter voice grew more and more excited as he spoke. Sam felt an arm fall next to her own on the dirty mattress beneath her, a limp lifeless arm which she had to presume belonged to the new girl they were discussing.
"I gotta admit, it is a damn hot sight. I just hope you're right and no one saw you take her. Talk about right under their noses!! You like playing with fire don't you?" Both men laughed, a door closing behind their retreating voices. Sam lay still until she was sure they were truly gone. As she opened one eye cautiously, pain like she'd never known exploded in her head, driving through her pupil and into the very core of her brain. Nausea washed over her making her gag and wretch. Her thoughts were still fuzzy. She had no idea where she was or how long she had been there but she did remember how she had come to be in America. Her heart twisted and clenched at the thought of what Jo must be going through, having experienced the pain of loss herself when Jo was abducted. At least in London though, she had been surrounded by family and friends to help her cope. A solitary tear escaped from her eye as she thought of Jo struggling alone to deal with Sam's disappearance. The blonde honeymooner did not let herself dwell on thoughts of never seeing her wife again, knowing that she would give up any fight she had in her should she come to that conclusion. While there was breath in her body, she knew she would go on fighting to find a way to be reunited with her true love. Steeling herself against another blast of nausea-inducing pain, Sam turned her head towards her new companion, opening her eyes just enough to let them adjust to the light in the room where they were being held captive. She recognised the face, so still and serene beside her, but could not place where from in her addled brain. Footsteps in the corridor snapped her head back to its original position, her eyes firmly closed for fear of discovery.
"I'm sure everything will be fine Abi. The detective I spoke to said they were doing everything they could to find Sam. She's a fighter, she'll be ok." Gary tried to soothe his fractious partner, knowing that her stress levels were potentially dangerous for the life being nurtured inside of her.
"For once, I agree with Gary." Phil muttered from his seat on the other side of the aisle. Gary had phoned him as soon as he had filled Abi in on Jo's phone call. The women's colleague had insisted on joining him and Abi on their Trans-Atlantic flight, hoping he could be of some practical use. The rest of the team had seemed relieved to hear how insistent he was on going, including Jack, all too worried about the pair who seemed beset by bad luck.
"She's my mum. These two have already been through so much, why can't they just have some happiness? Why do bad things always happen to them? It's not fair, it's just not fair." Abi's tears began anew, Gary gathering her in his arms and trying his best to comfort her. It was bad enough that her mother was missing, but Abi was also struggling to deal with leaving Joey behind, despite him being in the capable hands of her aunt. Phil sat back in his seat, his own concern gnawing away at him, a deep-seated anger bubbling within him at the thought of someone harming Sam.
Gil Grissom watched Sara approach his office door, a wistful look on his face as he wondered what might have been between them had he had the courage to accept her advances when she had made them. He shook his head slightly, knowing that boat had long since sailed and that her affections lay elsewhere now, although they were still not very far away. It did not surprise Grissom that Sara had transferred her desire to another CSI, work was her life and so the only place she got to meet anyone. It followed that naturally, she should look for companionship, and love, amongst those she spent the majority of her waking time with. The fact that it was Catherine who had ignited Sara's passion was more of a shock, neither woman having displayed Sapphic tendencies before, rather being red-blooded man lovers the pair of them. He wondered if either knew of the other's great affection for each other, judging by the palpable tension surrounding them constantly, he doubted it.
"Hey Gris, you seen Cath?" Sara stuck her head around the door, oblivious to her superior's mental meanderings.
"Not for an hour or so, last I saw, she was headed out to her car to get some air. Something you need a hand with?" The senior CSI raised one eyebrow as he regarded his young protégée.
"Just wanted to make sure she was ok after earlier and everything, with the Feds. She seemed a bit off her game." Sara wore a concerned frown, an expression Gil found adorable on her.
"When you find her, I'm sure she'll be very grateful for your concern Sara. You two really do seem to have sorted out your differences now, does this mean I'm safe letting you loose together without needing to check in on you?" There was an amused sparkle in the older man's eyes as he addressed his employee.
"We haven't needed you checking in on us for a coupl'a months now Gris, but since when does that stop you?" Sara playfully chided. "Once you get past that tough exterior, there's a really nice woman underneath." Sara admitted, feeling a rush of colour touch her cheeks. "I'm going to go check outside, see if she's still seething in her car." Sara exclaimed in a rush, suddenly needing air as Grissom's knowing stare bore right through her. For the second time that day, she felt as though anyone could read her like a book, and that scared her. More than anything, Sara prided herself on being able to guard her feelings, her true self, from those she didn't care to see the real her. The thought that those defences could be dissolved so easily shook her. Her mind was still preoccupied as she stepped outside the lab into the deserted car park. Snapping back to the task at hand, Sara looked around for Catherine's car, the older woman having take time out during the shift to collect her own car having grabbed the lift with Sara when the call came in regarding the missing tourist. She spotted the unassuming vehicle tucked away in the back corner. With long strides, Sara made short work of the distance across the parking lot, her strides shortening and slowing as she spotted a bunch of keys on the ground close to the driver's door. Sara circled the car at a distance, assessing it as she would a scene and not wanting to disturb anything. Hairs on the back of her neck were prickling, an uneasy sensation that something was amiss settling in the pit of her stomach and growing with each passing moment as she found no trace of Catherine but slight signs of a struggle. She felt loathe to leave the scene unattended, even though it was only a short distance back inside. Instead she reached for her cellphone and hit speed-dial 1, patching her straight through to Grissom.
"Sara?" Grissom's voice sounded in her ear, a note of confusion in his tone.
"Catherine's gone, I think she's been taken too." It was all the brunette needed to say, her supervisor hanging up without another word, already grabbing his crime scene kit and on his way outside.
Sam was shivering and jittery when the door to the room re-opened and her captors returned.
"Morning babe, feeling the pinch this morning are we? Let me see what I can do to take the edge off for you." Sam willed herself to fight, to resist the attempts to shoot her veins full of the powerful drug even as she desperately craved it. Her attempts were feeble and futile, the two men working together to hold her steady as a hypodermic needle was pushed into her arm. She felt warmth return to her body, a slow fire that spread outwards from the injection site, her muscles relaxing as the toxin coursed through her bloodstream. "Just a little this morning, I want you to stay with us today and help us welcome your new friend." The words started to recede from Sam's consciousness until a sharp pinch on her naked thigh jerked her back awake.
"He said stay awake bitch." Another voice sounded behind her, presumably belonging to the man who held her steady. "You got a starring role to play in a nice little film today. We're going to get you cleaned up, need you looking at your best." Sam felt herself being hauled to her feet, her legs unwilling to cooperate with the sudden demands placed on them. With her nude body suspended between them, the two men half carried, half dragged their captive to a small bathroom, sitting her in the bath tub before turning on the shower attachment. Cold water sprayed over Sam's body, expelling her breath from her lungs at the shock she tried to scuttle away from the freezing jet.
"Hold still, it'll come warmer in a minute." The first voice spoke to her again. He sounded kinder than the other guy. She laughed inwardly at the thought that either of these men could be classed as kind given the torture she had been subjected to so far. Despite the intense chill of the water, Sam's hands began to scrub at her skin wherever she had been touched and violated, a frenzied action which drew a cruel laugh from one of her captors. She tried to turn her head towards the sound, to show him the level of her disgust but her face was forced back towards the front of the shower allowing her not even a glimmer of a glance.
"What's the problem with her looking at you? You know the drugs make it impossible to recognise us." One of the men, the more brutal one, said to his companion.
"Doesn't mean to say I want her looking at me with a face like that though, does it? Puts me right off my stride that does," the other guy answered.
"You're such a poof!" The retort was light-hearted, an obvious genuine affection between the two men evident.
"Fuck you!" Came the less than warm-hearted reply.
"You wish." The banter continued, the two men seeming to have forgotten about Sam who was left to her scrubbing in the tub. Suddenly, the water was shut off and strong hands gripped the undersides of Sam's upper arms, hauling her back to her feet. She was roughly towel-dried and a brush dragged through her knotted hair making her wince and cry out more than once. "Beautiful, just perfect for your film debut now." Sam felt a hand slap her bottom in a very over-familiar gesture. She attempted to spin round and face the demon who had touched her only to be guided back towards the squalid mattress by the other man. Through the drug induced haze she was carrying, she could make out the outline of another body arranged on the bed, hands and feet bound so that she was spread-eagled and exposed. Sam sensed one of the men leave her side, movement caught the corner of her eye as he crossed to a video camera trained on the scene before them. She heard a whisper in her ear and struggled to concentrate on making out the words, feeling that they must be important but not understanding them. The room seemed to swim before her eyes before her vision re-focused and her world was righted. The scene before her had disintegrated as though she had awoken from a particularly bad nightmare and she found herself back in the hotel room with her beautiful wife, the buxom woman beckoning her to come back to bed. Sam willingly complied, the fires that burned within her for her gorgeous bedfellow as strong as they ever were, her heart overjoyed to be reunited with Jo.