A/N: I'm soooo sorry it has been so long since I updated. School is finally over and I don't start work for another week and a half so I should be updating a lot now. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter so I hope it turned out okay. Please read and review!!
"The trouble with love is...It can tear you up inside...Make your heart believe a lie...It's stronger than your pride"
--"The Trouble With Love is" by Kelly Clarkson
Smiling he pressed the number one speed dial on his phone and listened to it ring.
"Hi, you've reached Barbara. I can't take your call right now so leave a message."
BEEP.
"Hey honey, it's me. Just wondering if you want to go out to dinner tonight? If I don't hear from you I'll see you at home. Love you. Bye."
He closed his phone and gathered his things. There was nothing like a day off early when you had someone special waiting for you.
He drove home quickly, absentmindedly drumming his fingers against the steering wheel and humming to himself. He was finally feeling a sense of meaning in his life and was amazed at the ease in which he had switched to working part time. He expected to miss the long hours in the lab and he didn't.
Pulling into his driveway he was surprised to see Barbara's car missing. Usually she was home from work by now. Thinking perhaps that she had dropped by the grocery store he went inside and showered.
After getting dressed again he walked out into the kitchen, confused as to why it was still empty. Even with a stop for groceries, Barbara would usually be home by now.
He grabbed his phone and dialed again. It went straight to voicemail.
"Dammit!" He cursed under his breath.
He busied himself with a lone dinner and crosswords while waiting for her return. As each moment he became increasingly nervous. All of a sudden his phone rang. He picked it up, assuming it to be Barbara.
"Hey honey where are you?" He demanded.
"Gil?" Came a confused male voice from the other end.
Grissom turned red and was glad the caller couldn't see him.
"Sorry, Jim. I thought you were my fiancé."
"Well my call is about your fiancé." His voice was serious, which made Grissom nervous.
"What? Is she at the lab looking for me? I left her a message, maybe her phone died…Are you sleeping with her?" He asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Brass barely laughed.
"Grissom, she's been kidnapped."
Taking several deep breaths Grissom got up from his desk and headed towards the waiting area. Entering the room, he noticed Barbara first. She had her head in her hands and was tapping her foot nervously. The boy sat next to her. He looked old for his age and wore sagging jeans, a white t-shirt, and a chain around his neck. His hair was a light brown and he had spiked it up with gel. He looked up at Grissom, eyeing him with dislike. Grissom stared back trying to discern any similarities. In truth he didn't think the boy looked anything like him, but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't related.
"Barbara…" He called tentatively. Her head shot up at the sound of his voice and for the first time in sixteen years Grissom held her gaze.
He was shocked to see the manner in which her physical appearance had changed. Her face, once full and alive was now ghostly pale, the skin stretched tight across her cheekbones and her cold, gray eyes trapped in hollowed out sockets. Her nose was oddly shaped, not how he remembered, which made him think it had been broken. Her hair, which had once been waist-length and banana blonde, was now a withered knot of murky brown hanging off the top of her head. He could just see her gray roots sprouting up from her scalp since the last time she died them.
"You don't look so good." He commented as she stood up to great him.
"Oh shut up Gil… you have no idea what I've been through!"
He raised his eyebrows but didn't argue with her. She continued to eye him skeptically as she motioned for her son to stand up.
"Grissom, this is Nathan."
Grissom nodded and held out his hand to the young man in front of him.
"Hello, Nathan." He said politely.
Nathan grunted a small 'hey' clearly uncomfortable under his mother's watchful eye. He didn't shake Grissom's hand.
"Why don't we go into the break room?" Grissom suggested, keenly aware that Judy was only pretending to be busy with paperwork. Barbara nodded and Grissom led them down the hallway.
--
Sara worked tirelessly, processing the bodies scattered about the casino. There were six of them; four women and two men, all shot to death. Normally a scene like this would have her clenching her teeth to hold back the tears but her mind was shut off, unable to associate the tragedy in front of her with emotion.
"Sara!" A voice called from somewhere behind her. She turned around slowly, feeling a wave of dizziness threaten her stability.
"Yea…?" She answered as Nick approached her.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She replied shortly, bending down to get a closer look at the body she had been examining.
"You seem upset. You and Griss--"
"Shut up Nick." She snapped, turning her back on him.
"Sara, I'm just trying to look out for you." He said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She twisted around to meet his broken gaze and immediately felt guilty for her rude behavior.
"I'm sorry Nick. I just have a lot going on, but it is nothing for you to worry about." She reassured him with a weak smile.
He looked as if he didn't quite believe her but he let it go.
"You need some help?" He asked tentatively.
She nodded and began rolling up her sleeves. She was in the process of placing her hand inside the dead woman's pocket when Nick grabbed her by the arm.
"Sara!" He cried as she struggled painfully against his grip. She was about to yell at him when she realized what he was reacting to. He had grabbed a hold of her mangled arm. She had just removed the bandages earlier that day and had temporarily forgotten the wounds were there. Before she could gather up any excuses Nick had turned her arm over and was examining her cuts.
"Sara…" He said again, but this time his voice was choked and barely audible.
She bit her tongue to hold back the tears. She didn't need to cry again. She needed to get away. She pulled her arm from his grip and pushed down her sleeves. He made no attempt to stop her.
"Don't say anything to anyone. I have help and I'm okay." She said bitterly, grabbing her things. "I'll be at the lab processing evidence if you need me."
She barely gave him a second glance as she walked quickly towards the door.
Nick stared after her as a single tear cascaded down his cheek.
--
Greg looked up from his work to find Grissom standing in the doorway.
"Hey King Bugman… to what do I owe the pleasure?" He said grinning.
His smile faded when he saw the serious look on Grissom's face.
"I need these two DNA samples compared immediately." He said grimly, handing Greg two swabs.
"Alrighty will do ASAP." Greg replied, trying to lighten the mood with another cheery smile.
Grissom barely seemed to notice.
"Thanks Greg." He muttered as he turned towards the door.
He paused just below the doorframe.
"Oh and Greg…?"
"Yes…?"
"The suspects are already identified. No need to run the DNA in CODIS."
Greg nodded and set to work. He was suddenly very curious as to whom the DNA samples belonged to. It was perfectly normal for Grissom to tell him he didn't need to do any extra legwork, however this time it felt more like a request than a favor. Maybe he would run the samples through CODIS anyways. Grissom would never know and what he didn't know couldn't hurt him.
--
Once Sara had left the casino, she stopped trying to hold back her tears. Waving furiously she managed to snag a cab.
"Where to?" The driver asked her from the front seat as she hopped in.
"Oh, umm…" She wiped her eyes. "Las Vegas Crime Lab."
He nodded and asked no further questions as he pulled out of the lot.
During the entire 10-minute ride all she thought about was Grissom. Each time she envisioned the broken look she had left him with a fresh wave of grief flashed through her. By the time her cab reached the lab Sara's eyes were red and puffy and all trace of anger was gone. All she wanted was to hold him and she was ready to make a full apology for the pain she had caused him. After paying her fare she rushed through the front doors, barely waving 'hello' to Judy.
She was so focused on getting to his office that she nearly fell over when she threw a side-glance into the break room. Steadying herself against the wall she peered inside the window. Grissom was there; seated across from two people Sara didn't recognize. One was a teenage boy with spiky hair and the other a thin, ghostly woman who was probably in her fifties. She was about to enter the room when she saw Grissom reach across the table and grasp the woman's hand. He looked up at that moment and caught sight of Sara in the window. Upon seeing her he withdrew his hand and jumped up. Sara turned away immediately and ran down the hall towards the bathroom. He had failed her.
TBC…