And So it Goes...
By: Manigault
Spoilers: There is one although I've changed the circumstances due to a conflict in what I've written so far and the spoilers. So the identity of a future vic is a spoiler although the circumstances are different.
Thank you for the comments----they keep me honest and motivate me to keep writing. Thanks to everyone reading this story!
If you liked the Grissom/Sara scene in this chapter then you can thank "Metamorphosis Two" by Philip Glass a song I must have listened to over a dozen times while writing this chapter. If you didn't like it, then you can blame me because that song is perfect. Heh.
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"You must be kidding," Hodges complained as Warrick, Nick and Greg brought in bag after bag of evidence.
"This is priority, Hodges," said Nick, placing the last bag on the counter as he tried to relay the urgency of the situation.
Picking up a bag containing a bottle of shampoo, Hodges smirked. "I see that. Shampoo. Very urgent."
Realization lit Hodges eyes as he looked again from the shampoo to Nick. "This has something to do with the hoopla surrounding that miniature in Grissom's office, doesn't it? Word is there is a figure on the bed that resembles Sara and that the room belongs to Grissom."
Greg was tired of this delay in the running of the evidence, "I'll start running the tests." Besides, he would rather do the tests himself and in the process feel like he was helping Sara and Grissom in some small way.
"This is my lab!" Hodges protest was lost on Greg who was busy pulling on latex gloves and rearranging the items.
"Then I suggest you start helping Greg process the evidence, Hodges." Nick tossed the suggestion over his shoulder as he and Warrick left the room to locate Brass and Catherine who had gone in search of Archie.
Grumbling beneath his breath, Hodges shot Greg a dirty look before picking up a bag full of glass and strawberry preserves. "Messy. What am I supposed to test this stuff for?"
"You're the genius, Hodges, at least that's what you tell us." Greg didn't bother to look at Hodges to know he was receiving the lab techs peeved look and at that second didn't care. It was going to be a long night if they were going to solve this mystery before the killer went after Sara.
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Grissom shifted his weight, pulling Sara closer as he did so while simultaneously glancing at the alarm clock on the night stand. Three hours. That's how much sleep they had gotten since folding in on each other on the bed. Moving his gaze from the clock to Sara's face he was relieved that she still had her eyes closed and appeared to be in a deep sleep. It gave him time to try to fit a few pieces of the puzzle together before she woke up and decided to pull away from him.
"I'm not sleeping," mumbled Sara, not opening her eyes but shifting her weight more on top of him than away, as he'd feared.
"Did I wake you?" Grissom kept his voice barely above a whisper as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"How long did we sleep?" Sara opened her eyes part way and stared at his scruffy face, rubbing her finger along his jaw. She loved the feel of his jaw line and then the dip in his cleft chin as she ran her finger over the rough surface. The facial stubble reminded her of when they had first gotten together and she realized she missed this part of Grissom almost as much as she loved the feel of his smooth skin beneath her lips. Given a choice she would take the clean shaven Grissom simply because the beard burn was sometimes difficult to hide around their collegues, but with that thought a chuckle almost escaped her lips. Almost. She realized that she no longer had to hide beard burns and the thought was intoxicating.
Almost undone by her tender administrations, Grissom choked out 'A few hours' before giving into his base desires and reaching his hand behind her head and pulling her lips to his in a passionate kiss that was eagerly reciprocated. Weeks of pent up frustration on both of their parts spilled out of one another and meshed into one in a perfect blend of physical release.
Sara knew that eventually they would have to talk everything out, but for now nothing mattered except the feel of Grissom's skin on hers and the touch of his hands as they moved along her body with such familiar ease, eliciting pleasures she hadn't realized had been pushed dormant since he'd left weeks ago.
Finally spent, physically, Sara lay half on top of Grissom's chest and stared down into his eyes as a smile played along her lips. "I've missed this."
Sara's hair spilled over her face and he reached up to push the errant strands back from her face. "I've missed you, Sara, and everything about you from your smile to that worried look you get when you're concentrating so hard you tend to over talk."
"Oh, I over talk do I?" Biting back the smile she nodded, "Only around you, Grissom, you know that."
Turning serious, Grissom placed his hands on each side of her face and said with complete sincerity. "I'm sorry that I didn't discuss leaving with you and I'm sorry that I left you in the first place. The whole time I was gone I missed you and realized that I can't breathe if I don't have you in my life. I don't want to be without you, Sara."
She listened to the urgency in his voice, the lack of hesitation, and couldn't help but lean forward and place a soft kiss on his lips. He was opening himself to her and it was only fair that she return his honesty with some truth of her own.
"You scared me when you left," Sara mumbled, her eyes dropping from his to follow the path her finger was now making along his chest. "I felt like you were tired of us and needed to get away from not just Vegas, the lab, all the shit you've been through, but away from me. Nick kept talking about how you were probably not coming back and even though I knew that you would come back, I began doubting that you would come back to me."
"I sent you those plants, the notes, the necklace?" Grissom tried to keep the exasperation from his voice and stressed the next sentence. "The plane ticket."
He felt her finger still on his chest and was afraid that he'd made a stupid mistake by allowing his irritation to enter his voice when she said out of the blue. "I've always relied on myself, Griss. Nobody has stayed with me for any length of time and I suppose that I've come to expect that I will always end up by myself in the end. When I was in the system we used to tell each other that you can only depend on yourself and if you failed yourself then what did you have left? If I put all of my emotions in one person, other than myself, then I had no control of the situation when that person decided to walk away."
Sara felt her own frustration building up again as she tried to put words to the emotions that had been plaguing her for weeks. She didn't want pity and she didn't want the sympathy that she now saw shining in Grissom's eyes. Trying to pull away, she felt his arms move to her shoulders and hold her securely in place.
As if reading her mind, Grissom spoke with admiration as he said gently, "I don't feel sorry for you, Sara, I admire you more than any woman that I've ever known. You are strong and courageous. You beat the odds when the deck was stacked against you from the start. You are the most giving and beautiful human being that I've had in my life with the possible exception of my own mom and grandmom, and I feel so lucky to have you want to be part of my life. I love you, Sara Sidle, and I vow that I'll never leave you again, not willingly."
"That almost sounds like a life time commitment, Doctor Grissom." Sara tried to keep her voice light, but her voice got tangled up with stupid emotions.
"It is."
Those two words shivered through the barriers she had built up and she not only wanted to believe him, but to her consternation she did believe him. Leaning forward she whispered in his ear. "I return that vow, Gil Grissom, and promise that you are stuck with me."
With a smile, Grissom flipped her over on her back and began showing her the pleasures those words gave him.
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"Where is Gil, Catherine?"
Catherine stared at Brass with surprise. Seconds ago they were speaking with Archie about the tapes and how he'd been unable to find the identity of the person who'd delivered the package and then Jim had gotten a phone call. Now he was wanting to know where Grissom was and from the serious tone in his voice he needed to know right then.
"Some place safe, I hope. Why the urgency, Jim?"
With a heavy sigh, Brass lifted the cell phone and nodded at it. "That was Sophia. There was a homicide in a condo outside Vegas and another miniature model was discovered with the body."
"What? Are you sure?"
"Positive. The vic's name is Barbara Tallman. A psychotherapist. The miniature was found at the scene and is a replica of the room along with a figure that matches the victim."
"We should check this out before calling Gil." Catherine spotted Warrick and Nick walking towards them and waved them over to inform them of the latest developments.
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Grissom sat on the edge of the bed and glanced towards the bathroom where he could hear the shower runnning. Satisfied that Sara would be occupied for the next ten minutes he reached over to the nightstand and picked up the photograph that screamed volumes in terms of what Sara had endured at such a young age. She had broken down several times over the course of their relationship and told him bits and pieces of her childhood, but seeing the stark evidence on the face of the child she was-that was almost too much to bear.
The photograph needed to be analyzed. They needed to find out where it had come from, who had sent it, why he was targeting Sara. The problem with taking this photograph to the lab would be that in doing so they would be exposing Sara's past and that was something she had avoided for the seven years she had lived in Vegas. She was stubborn and proud. The Sara that he had come to love was not someone who would want the compassionate stares of her co-workers.
Ringing from his cell phone interrupted his musings as he spent the next minute searching for the source in the pile of clothes that lay on the floor beside the bed. Finding it at last he stared at the name of the incoming call and grimaced. Sophia. Why would she be calling him? Frowning he tossed the phone back on the pile of clothes and looked up at a soft gasp from the doorway. Sara's eyes were fastened on the photograph that he still held in his hands.
"I know it sounds stupid, but I almost hoped that photo was a bad dream and it didn't exist."
Nodding at the sentiment, Grissom glanced back at the picture before returning it to the night stand and standing up to move slowly towards a towel clad Sara. He wanted nothing more than to remove the towel from around her body and make that frown vanish from her face, but they had to face the reality of the predicament they now found themselves.
"Unfortunately it does, and now we need to decide why it exists." Grissom watched the play of emotions that flashed over Sara's face as she processed these words and then quickly shook her head.
"I don't want anyone in the lab seeing that picture. I know that Greg saw it and I'll speak to him, but that's it. Nobody sees that picture, Grissom."
"Honey, it's imperative that we have the photograph analyzed. It was left on the desk for the express purpose of someone wanting us to know that he is aware of your past and possibly played a role, so we need to submit it as evidence. I'll do my best to ensure that as few people as necessary know about it."
"A role? What kind of role do you think this person could have played?" Sara felt numbness creep over her at the word role and wondered what possible connection anyone could have with that nightmarish event. Her dad was dead. Stabbed so many times she was covered in his blood as she tried to plug the wounds. Laura Sidle spent years in a mental institution before being released a few years ago to retire in a group home in San Francisco. She had never been the same and couldn't recall that event that had led her to the state she was currently living.
"That's what we need to find out." Grissom heard his cell ringing again and wished that he'd turned it off before he'd tossed it on the floor.
Trying to shake the imges that were assaulting her mind, Sara moved around Grissom and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
Silence on the other line greeted her as she repeated the salutation.
"Sara?"
Hearing Sophia's voice, Sara rolled her eyes and responded in the affirmative. "What's going on, Sophia?"
"I was trying to reach Grissom."
"You've reached him. Hold on." Sara made a face at Grissom before handing him the phone and moving away to gather their scattered clothes.
"This is Grissom." Wondering what Sophia could be calling him about, he half listened as she began talking about a crime scene, his attention riveted on the movements of the brunette in front of him. One word caught his attention and he had to ask her to repeat what she'd said.
"Another miniature crime scene, Grissom. Didn't you hear me the first time?"
"There was a replica of the scene and the victim left in the condo?" Grissom caught Sara's eyes as she straightened up and dropped Grissom's shirt on the bed. Listening for several more minutes, Grissom thanked her for calling and hit the end button.
"We need to go to the crime scene." Sara was pulling her bra and panties on as she spoke, failing to see the closed expression on Grissom's face until she was pulling on a long sleeved t-shirt. "I'm going with you, Grissom."
"I'm not going to the scene. I'm going back to the lab where the miniature should be by this time, and if it's not, then we'll start working on the photograph." Grissom moved towards the bathroom with the intention of taking a shower.
Sara walked over to the bathroom doorway and silently watched him step inside the shower, her thoughts spinning with the new information. Another victim. Another miniature crime scene found. She wondered where she tied in with this latest news.
TBC
