I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or its characters.

This is chapter 21; it may or may not be the final chapter in this story. I have begun to run out of steam in this story. I've already killed off Charlotte so I have very little left of a storyline. My mid-term exam is over so I'll have more time to focus on my story writing. My muse is telling me I have to close out this story and start a new one after either this chapter or the next.

After her horrifying ordeal at the Tangiers and knowing that she had witnessed a woman's suicide, Sara was in a tizzy. She was constantly upset and she couldn't control the issue. Anything she could nit-pick at she would.

The crew was all sitting in the break room discussing their assignments. Catherine and Warrick were going to a B & E / domestic with a possible homicide involved. Nick was headed to the Tangiers to interview some of the people there regarding the suicide of Charlotte Johnson, including interviewing all the people involved in the case. (excluding Sara of course)

Since Lindsay and her grandmother were involved as victims they were interviewed too. Jim Brass was asked to interview them and ask them what their take on the matter was, what did they see and hear.

Sara entered the break room seething angrily, her hair a mess and her eyes blazing.

"Glad you could join us Sara, how are you feeling today?" Grissom asked her tentatively. He knew she had been through a hell of an ordeal and he knew that he had to tread slowly with her.

Sara gave him one of her best withering glares. "How the hell do you think I feel Gil, I witnessed a suicide, I saw her fall I couldn't stop it and goddammnit you left the f-kin toilet seat up again!" She said all in one breath.

Greg, who had walked in at that precise moment and hadn't heard most of the conversation except "left toilet seat up again" grinned. 'Didja fall in Sar?" he said thinking the whole thing was a joke for whatever reason.

The entire team turned and glared stonily at Greg who backed out of the room and headed down the hall without a word.

Everyone else in the room then got ready to tend to their cases. Grissom and Sara, would be joining Nick at the Tangiers shortly.

"Sara you have to calm down, please. I'm sorry about the toilet, seat I was insensitive about that…but what do you expect I'm a man"

"Greg was right, I did fall in. I was half asleep and went to sit and splash" she said and began to laugh.

"Sara…stop" Grissom said as he realized that her laughter wasn't out of joy or glee. It was deeper than that.

"Grissom I – I can't do this anymore." She said to him, her eyes set in stone.

"What are you talking about Sara? Why?"

"I take things too much to heart, I have to take a leave of absence. I am going to have a mental breakdown if I don't"

Sara's request for a leave of absence was accepted, but she had to finish her part in the investigation in the Charlotte Jonson suicide.

Al Johnson, Oscar and Rudy Vahn were all rearrested and put separately in jail cells for future trials.

Jim Brass sat with both Lindsey Willows and her grandmother for their interview.

"Ok, so you guys were held hostage…what happened how did you get to Gil's house?"

Lindsey's grandmother spoke first, before Lindsey could. "My granddaughter and I were enjoying a nice calm evening playing cards until Grissom came to the house where he proceed to say we were in danger blah blah. He caused all this danger and our trauma!"

"Thank you. Lindsey can I have your version please" Jim asked the teenager.

Lindsey nodded and proceeded to tell him what had happened. Grissom coming to the house, them all getting out of the house the gun shots, the wrecking of the garage and the escape to Grissom's house where Grissom told them to hide out in the bathroom while he dealt with the perps. Lindsey was getting much more hyper as she was telling this part of the story.

"I was on the phone with 911 where that skanky operator didn't believe me and said to me 'Just you wait lil lady, is there an adult in the house that can back up your story' That's when grandma here yanked the phone from my hand and screamed into it, causing the 'bad guys' to react." Lindsey glared at her grandmother at this point.

"Then Lindsey, what did you do, which you aught to be charged for" Lindsey's grandmother asked.

"I saved you ass, that is what I did. I had a gun on me, Grissom had told me that if there was a problem to take the gun he had stashed in the bathroom, in the tank. Mom had taken me to the firing range since I was ten years old – just for self defense reasons. Not to learn how to shoot to kill!, Anyway the dudes were coming for us and I pulled a gun on them, after all they were endangering our lives!..."

"She shot the g-damn gun Mr. Brass, my granddaughter shot somebody!"

Lindsey and Jim didn't quite understand what this woman's problem was. Lindsey had been trained on how to use the fire arm in self defense. She didn't kill anybody she just maimed them a little.

Jim finished his talk with the two women and Lindsey's grandmother left, leaving Lindsey alone stunned. Lindsey's grandmother had made some comment that she was no longer going to 'baby sit' her daughter's child because she was out of control.

"Are you going to be ok Lindsey?" Brass asked her.

The teenager shrugged. "I'll just go home. I'm a big girl I don't need a babysitter if my grandmother can't realize that I saved her ass, then I don't care any more.

Jim asked one of the officers to drive Lindsey home. Brass gave the teenager explicit instructions to stay inside and not open the door to strangers. She was not to answer the phone either. Jim gave her a cell phone that she was to use if she were in danger – and also for communication purposes. Jim would also tell Catherine what he had done.