Sorry (again) for the long wait. Nearly at the end now, hope this one was worth the wait.
KC x
x x x x
It had all started so well...
X x x
Sara felt a warm hand slip into her own and tug her aside as she was about to step into the break room. Catherine pulled her into a quiet corner where no-one could overhear.
"You know you can change your mind anytime, if you think it's too soon." She assured her for the hundredth time. And for the hundredth time, Sara offered her a reassuring smile in return.
"I'm fine, I'm ready for this." She said as convincingly as she could. Cath matched her expression and released her hand.
"Okay." She nodded, watching Sara walk into the break room with her head held high. Alone, Cath cast her eyes skyward "You better not let me down here." She muttered to the ceiling, before following her friend.
X x x
If truth be told, Catherine was having doubts. She still believed everything that she had said about Sara needing to be with her family, but she had a bad feeling brewing in the pit of her stomach.
Something did not feel right about today.
X x x
By the time Grissom entered greetings had been made and hugs doled out to the brunette. If she was honest, Catherine was surprised at how well Sara was handling the onslaught of attention; maybe she was underestimating the girl and she really was ready to be back at work after all.
"Alright, Nick you're working the DB case with me and Catherine." Grissom said as he shuffled into the room. "Sara, you're with Warrick. B and E in Henderson." He had already spoken with both Catherine and Sara before the shift began and they had decided that the simple case would ease her back into work. They picked Warrick so that she would be safe, but at the same time she would not feel like she was being babysat.
It seemed like the perfect solution.
X x x
On first blush, it looked like a simple B&E. Smashed windows, jewellery and cash missing. However, on closer inspection it did seem strange that someone had broken into a wealthy middle-class family home and missed the abundance of electricals and expensive ornaments, not to mention a very valuable record collection.
The family, a successful online businessman and a high school receptionist, were distraught at the thought that someone had been in their home. Their two teenagers, however, seemed little more than put-out by the intrusion of the Las Vegas police force.
As the CSIs searched through the wreckage, Sara could not shift the thought that something was off about this whole case. She couldn't say what, but something was bugging her.
"Hey, you alright?" Warrick called out across the room to her. She put down the Elvis record she had been staring at and met his gaze.
"I don't get it. They break in, trash the place, make as much mess as is humanly possible, and then leave with a handful of jewellery and some petty cash." She shook her head, a puzzled frown etched into her features. "It doesn't make sense." Warrick paused, thinking it through.
"Maybe they were looking for something in particular." He theorised.
"Hmm." Sara agreed absently, not quite convinced.
X x x
Catherine checked her phone again. And, just like ten minutes ago, there were still no messages.
"Will you stop already?" Nick said softly. She glanced up and smiled apologetically.
"I'm just worried about her." She mumbled, unconsciously casting her eyes back down to the little screen which still confirmed that there were no new calls.
"I know." Nick said sympathetically. "But she's fine. And besides, she's with Warrick. What could go wrong?"
X x x
When Warrick eventually found her, curled into the couch buried in a folder, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had been searching the lab for his partner for the better part of an hour and despite his best efforts, panic had started to set in.
"There you are." He sighed, dropping next to her. She quirked an eyebrow in response but didn't look up. He noticed the look on her face; it was a look he had seen many times before: it meant she'd found something she didn't like. "What's up?"
"They have another kid."
"What?" Warrick asked, inching closer to read over her shoulder.
"Their eldest son, Ryan, was reported missing in 2005. He was 14." Warrick scanned the page quickly as she spoke. "The case was handled by Catherine and Grissom."
As if summoned by her words, the supervisor and his right-hand appeared. Cath smiled warmly at her, resisting the urge to run over and wrap her in a hug even though it was what she had wanted to do all night.
"Hey, do you guys remember a missing kid case a few years back?" Warrick asked. "Ryan Matthews." Both paused for a second.
"Yeah, all evidence suggested he ran away." Catherine answered at last.
"Well he might be back." Sara said. "The unknown fingerprints at out break-in came back to him."
"Really?" Grissom asked, intrigued. "Well, runaway's often turn to crime when they're on the streets."
"It's not that simple." Sara continued. "It was his parent's house that he broke into."
X x x
The layout room table had disappeared beneath a sheaf of old case notes and new information.
"We investigated the family, but at the time there was nothing to incriminate them in his disappearance. It looked like he just took off." Catherine explained as they rifled through the documents looking for something that might clear the murky waters a bit.
"Maybe not." Sara muttered, her dark eyes narrowing as she scanned one in particular. "Do you remember interviewing his teacher?"
"Yeah, I remember." Grissom said, leaning forward anticipatorily. "She said he was a quiet, well-behaved student."
"She also said he came into school with bruises." The supervisor's eyes narrowed and he grabbed the file out of Sara's hands, scanning it hurriedly. When his gaze caught that line he read and re-read it.
"I forgot all about that." He mumbled.
"Were there any other signs of abuse?" Warrick asked, resting his hands on the edge of the table.
"No, nothing. They seemed like a normal family." Grissom shook his head. He was too busy mentally chastising himself for missing it that he didn't notice that look that flashed across Sara's face.
"They always do." She mumbled softly.
X x x
"I wanted to make them feel scared." Contrary to what they were expecting, Ryan Matthews, or Samuel Smith as he had been calling himself for the past few years, was not a threatening character. Slight of build and small for his age, he shuffled uncomfortably in the interrogation chair. He had done surprisingly well for himself, creating a small business and earning his own money. Still, he looked the picture of childhood innocence; but there was an angry fire burning in his grey eyes. "I wanted them to feel like I felt every day of my life. Scared to be in their own home."
Brass tapped his pen on the table.
"So, you broke into your family's house to spook them, and decided to help yourself to a little petty cash while you were there?" The detective clarified. Ryan shook his head.
"No, I didn't take anything. I just made it look like a burglar had trashed the place." Brass raised an eyebrow.
"Your parents said some money and jewellery was missing." He explained. The kid shook his head again.
"I didn't take money from them when I ran away. Why would I take it now?"
X x x
Sara watched the scenario from behind the glass, even though she couldn't see anything through the tears pooling in her eyes. Wiping in vein at them, she took a deep, shaky breath and rested her head against the cold glass.
She stayed like that for a few more minutes, listening to the boy's harrowing account of his so-called 'perfect' family life. Eventually, when she could take no more, she pushed off the glass and fled the room.
She hadn't even noticed Catherine enter.
X x x
Her heart clenched when she found her, sat in her car with her head on the steering wheel. Shaking her head sadly, Cath tried the door handle. It was locked, but she saw Sara's hands tense on the wheel, indicating that she knew someone was there.
Catherine walked around the car and tapped on the passenger window lightly. Sara made no move to acknowledge her presence and Cath was about to repeat her motions when she spotted Sara's hand move and suddenly the locks clicked.
She opened the door and slipped inside quietly, not saying anything at first. She watched Sara's whole body rising and falling with shaky breaths. Uncertainly, she reached out and placed a tentative hand on the girl's trembling back.
She opened her mouth to speak, to offer some comfort, but ultimately she closed it again without uttering a word. It was better than voicing the thoughts in her head: that this had been a mistake. That it was too soon.
However, when Sara finally sat up her eyes were dry.
"Thank you." She whispered at last. Catherine did not know what she was being thanked for.
She decided it didn't really matter.