Chapter Eleven
Grissom had only just sat down at his desk when Sara came crashing through the door with Brass and Ecklie on her tail. She slammed the door behind her and quickly locked it.
"Sidle! Open this door now!" Ecklie shouted.
"No," Brass shouted at Ecklie. "She won't open it. Grissom! Open the door!"
Grissom looked from the door to Sara, whose eyes were blazing. "Don't do it," she whispered.
"I have to, Sara," he replied quietly. He stood up an unlocked the door, letting in his two very pissed off coworkers.
"Gil!" Ecklie hissed as Brass went towards Sara. "What the hell is she doing here!?"
Grissom heard Ecklie's question, but didn't answer it. He had moved his body in between Sara and Brass, yet again. Sara was leaning against the wall, with Grissom's back to her. Brass kept walking forward, ignoring the fact that Grissom was blocking his way.
Sara was pinned against the wall by Grissom's body before he reacted. "Jim!" he shouted, pushing his friend away from him. Brass stumbled a bit but caught his balance.
Grissom turned around quickly to examine Sara for any damage. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he whispered, "Sara, are you alright?"
She nodded slowly, rubbing her arms where most of Grissom's weight had been. "I'm okay," she told him. "You?"
Grissom nodded as well, and indicated to her arms. "Sorry about that."
"Not like it's never happened before," she whispered, smiling.
He gave her a small smile in return before turning back around to face Ecklie and Brass. His face turned cold. "Can someone please tell me why there was just an almost-fight in my office and why, Jim, for the second time in twelve hours you've gone for Sara!?"
Ecklie spoke up. "Because she is not supposed to be here. She is supposed to be on a scene with Willows and Brown! Instead, she is here, looking for you."
"Conrad, there is no problem whatsoever with her being in my office. Neither of you have any control over who is in my office or for how long anyone is in my office." He gave Brass a pointed look. Then he turned to Sara. "Sara," he said softly. "Are you supposed to be on a crime scene with Warrick and Catherine?" She nodded. "Okay. Then go back to the scene, and I'll deal with you later."
Sara knew that the dismissive tone in his voice was only for show; they were at work. But even knowing that, hearing it didn't make it hurt any less. "Grissom, I need -"
Grissom locked his eyes with hers, a plea noticeable. "Sara?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Without another word, she walked around his desk and out the office door.
OoOoOoO
She didn't get very far before being confronted by Warrick. "Sara?" he called out tentatively. "We're done at the scene, obviously. Catherine wants you in autopsy."
Good. Warrick didn't mention that I left a crime scene spontaneously, so neither will I, she thought gratefully. She thanked him and quickly made her way towards the locker room.
She was not happy to find Sofia there, sitting by herself. Just ignore her. I don't say anything, she doesn't say anything. Sara didn't need any mental reminding to ignore Sofia. It seemed like she was lost in her own little world. Sara went about her business, taking off her jacket and running a brush through her hair.
Just as she was about to leave, Sofia decided to speak up. "Have you ever been rejected by Grissom, Sara?"
She froze with her hand on the door handle. In her heart, she could feel all her old, raw emotions welling up. Her anger, sadness, and confusion. She was about to tear a strip off of Sofia for being so nosey, but she told herself to stay calm.
"Why?" she asked, without turning around.
"Because I just was, and I wanted to know if you could relate," she answered, leaning back against the lockers.
Sara could relate to Sofia in more ways than the cop could ever imagine. With Grissom, anyway. But she wasn't going to let Sofia know that.
She stood there, staring at the door, not knowing what to say. Of course she had been rejected by Grissom, and it had hurt her so much and so deeply that she couldn't feel anything emotionally for weeks. But she'd been in love with him when he had said no, so it hurt that much more.
She had always been in love with him, from the beginning. Even after he'd showed that he wasn't interested, she didn't let go. She couldn't get over him. And then Dr. Lurie had come along, and brought out a whole new side of Grissom she had never seen before. She had dated other guys to get over him, but it just wasn't the same. They weren't Grissom.
She could only think of one thing to say, and she was terrified of the answer Sofia would give her. "Do you love him?"
Sofia looked up to stare at her. "Excuse me?"
Sara took a deep breath before repeating, "Do you love him?"
Sofia looked down at her hands. "I don't know. I don't think so… but I do really like him. It's hard to tell with him sometimes. Some days you think you do, and then some days you think you don't. What about you? Do you love him?"
Sara sighed. She was going to be so late for Catherine in autopsy. "Sofia? I thought we already had this conversation. Earlier tonight? After the meeting?"
"We talked, yeah. But I never did ask if you loved him. So… do you?"
Sara's lying instincts kicked in once again. "Me? No. I've never loved Grissom, or been in love with him. Nor do I ever plan on being in love with him. Look, I have to go. Catherine's waiting for me in autopsy, and I've already pissed her off once today. I don't want to do it again by being later than I already am. So I'll see you later." She picked up her things and quickly left the room.
"Liar," Sofia said to the empty room.
