An Acquaintance of Two Chapter 10
HKHKHK
That went well, Heather thought, as she buckled Alison into her seat and headed home. Alison chattered in the back seat as little girls do, without a care, as she watched a favorite dancing princess on the small screen in the car.
Heather had heard about Sara's departure from Grissom, how an abduction had torn their world apart, thrown Sara into a state of depression and burn out that spiraled out of control for weeks until she abruptly left her job, her life with Grissom, seeking closure to a past. When Heather has last seen Grissom, he was in his own gloomy, falling-apart despairing depression.
That night, as Sara's video played on the computer screen, she had watched Grissom—watched a man who was seeing the woman he loved say goodbye. She had listened as he tried to explain how Sara had misunderstood his words; changing his explanation as he realized how his words must have sounded. His head bent, his fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closed. A sob came from deep within his chest.
Today, she had seen a new person—an animated, excited woman, and a beautiful one; Grissom was a very fortunate man, she thought. Heather had also recognized an undefined emotion in Sara in the beginning. She had seemed inaccessible, confused or bewildered as she sat down—Heather tried to remember the conversation which had brought about a change; she tried to identify when the change in posture, the quick transformation in attitude had happened.
Glancing back at Alison, who was singing a favorite song from the movie, Heather's mind snapped back, trying to recall what was said. Her words to describe the child who played—Sara had instantly adjusted in the subtle unspoken language of her bearing, her position relaxed. No, more than relaxed—she was relieved. Heather frowned; relief about what, she questioned.
Alison's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Mommy, can we go to In and Out? I'm hungry!"
Heather smiled. She never thought she would become a regular customer of In and Out Burgers, but Alison loved the place. She slowed and made a turn. Ordering, eating, watching Alison dip her burger in a mix of mustard and catsup, listening to the child as she jumped from one subject to another, and Heather forgot Sara's initial manner, remembering the meeting as truly genuine and kind with an unexpected empathy.
SSGSSGSSG
Sara's work ethic had not changed with her absence from Las Vegas. Her return to the lab had been greeted with enthusiasm by everyone—with one exception, and Ecklie was filling a vacancy with a warm body who knew how to work. Sara insisted her return was temporary. Nick hugged her every day when she arrived.
"I'm so happy you're back, Sara. It's been like a tomb here since you left."
She knew he really had missed her, but he also missed two people who had been a great part of his life for more than a decade. They easily fell back into their former working relationship, uncomplicated by events from the past, comfortable with each other.
With Greg, it was as if she had been gone for a day, returning to find him working on the same case. His pleas to work with her succeeded as Catherine assigned him to be the 'unofficial' mentor to introduce Sara to cases and new techniques and new people. He enjoyed introducing Sara as "my mentor has returned" to Ray Langston. Within hours, the two were laughing again, pulling Nick and Ray into their circle and even giving Catherine a reason to smile.
Sara and Catherine had reached an understanding with each other years ago—never to be the best of friends, but certainly able to be colleagues. And professional trust; Sara knew Catherine had no boundaries when searching for the truth. Catherine recognized Sara's ability to search for and understand the truth of evidence. Unlike Ecklie, Catherine was pleased to have an investigator with experience in the field, and accepted Sara's temporary return as a respected, knowledgeable member of the team.
Within a few days, Catherine had handed case files to Sara to review and complete paperwork, to organize evidence, to deal with the never-ending requests for information. In two weeks, Sara was in the field, working with Nick, then Greg, gathering evidence as she had done for years, quickly learning how to use new equipment, and a few people learned why one of Greg's favorite sentences was "Sara did it like this."
Grissom left her after three weeks. "I don't have to go," he said as she folded his clothes into a small travel bag.
She grinned. "Yes, you do. You promised—and your presentation is perfect."
He hugged her as he said, "You will be okay?"
"I will—I'm enjoying being back. Really. I told Catherine I'd be in early to go over photographs from last week, but only because you are out of town."
"I'll be back on Thursday."
She placed small bottles in a plastic bag. "Take these out for security, Gil. Hank and I will be fine—just missing you."
In early afternoon, Sara dropped him off at the airport as he promised to call her as soon as he landed in Dallas.
She and Catherine spent an hour looking at large photographs of a body, the crime scene, hoping to find something that would tie a suspect to the death of an old woman.
"If its here, we are not seeing it," Sara said as she examined a shoe print and compared it with a dozen shoes taken from two closets. "This is a huge foot we've got here."
"Sara," Catherine said, "I do appreciate your willingness to return—it really means a lot to all of us."
Sara looked up from the table. "Thank you. I needed to do this—thank you for letting me." She flashed a smile before returning to the photographs.
Catherine said, "Sara, I need to apologize—to say I'm sorry."
Confusion showed in Sara's eyes as she looked up. "For what?"
Catherine's hand nervously played with a pen. "Sara—I know I've been—I know I've said some things—I—I didn't know—about a lot of things…"
"It's okay, Catherine."
They continuing working even as Ecklie walked in, clearing his throat to get their attention.
"Hey, Catherine, Sidle—Grissom—what do I call you?"
"Sara will work," Sara said, dropping her head after she saw Catherine's sly smile.
"We have a situation," he said as he dropped to sit on one of the lab stools, flipping a brown folder from his hand to the table. "Day shift is on a suspicious death at a school—kid is dead. By the time they arrived, the sheriff had already gotten a call—a request for a specific CSI." He put a finger on the file and pushed it toward Sara. "The sheriff said to send you."
"Me?" Sara opened the file finding one piece of paper with an address and brief description of a non-responsive child found at a school. "Why me?"
Ecklie shook his head. "Someone knows you or you would not have been requested. Catherine, send someone with her." He looked at Sara. "You going to be okay with this?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
Catherine waited until he left the room. "Who do you want?"
"Greg." She knew Nick had worked until noon; she had not worked with Ray. "But who would request me?"
"Keep me posted. Call me if you need me—I'll be there in minutes." She looked at the address. "Oh, Sara, this is an old school—private—exclusive—whatever happened is going to make news."
Sara looked grim. "I won't be on the news." She gave a tight smile. "I'll make sure Ecklie gets to talk to reporters." She phoned Greg who promised to meet her at the school as quickly as possible.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading and for reviewing! Storm passed, kept power, happy Jim Cantore was NOT in our back yard!!