Again, I do not own CSI. I do not own any of the characters I write about, CBS does. But I thank them for allowing us to fantasize...
NOTE: This is a very long chapter; I apologize. I was trying to get everything wrapped up in this one. Thanks for staying with me on this. I am not as happy with this chapter as I wanted to be and it took forever; school, family, and work seems to prevail. Hopefully, you do not find it too cheesey. Epilogue to follow?
"Yeah." David snorted. "The last time you said that I had the shit beat out of me by your buddy." He replied coldly. "If you want to talk to me, contact my attorney."
He went to close the door, but Jim stuck his arm out, blocking the attempt. "I think you need to come with us."
David's glare met with the cold stare of Jim's and neither made a move for a moment. "What, are you going to arrest me, Detective Brass?" He sneered, trying to shove the door closed against Jim's outstretched arm. "Name a reason."
"Gee," Jim said levelly, his gaze never leaving David's face. "How about interference with a public servant in the line of duty." He said flatly. "What'a you guys think?"
In silent response to his inquiry, the two officers with him moved forward, grabbing David from his stance in the doorway. As they pulled him from the house to apply the handcuffs, Jim leaned in to him to whisper harshly. "Now, I am going to arrest you." He patted him on the shoulder in mock friendship, putting his sunglasses on his face before turning away, muttering "Probably a good time to call that attorney."
Natalie Davis sat at the visitor's table, rocking back and forth as she held her little doll close. She watched the trees outside the barred window sway ever so slightly in the gentle Nevada wind, wondering what the shadows looked like on the ground. She missed being outside, missed going for walks and especially missed her apartment. She wanted to go home.
The door to the visitor's lounge opened and Natalie's face broke out into a huge smile as she watched Sara walk through the door carrying a bright blue gift bag as she entered. Sara met her smile with one of her own as she made her way towards her. Natalie watched her, studying the shiny metal brace around her left leg; she wondered what it felt like and if Sara was mad at her for making her wear it.
"Hey, Natalie." Sara smiled as she stood before her at the table.
Natalie pulled her eyes away from the brace to look up at her. "Does it hurt?"
Sara furrowed her eyebrows. "Does what hurt?" She asked slowly.
Natalie pointed to the brace and Sara looked down at it with a smile. "No." She shook her head. "Not at all. It helps me walk without falling over." She saw the confused look on Natalie's face and went on. "My muscles haven't quite figured out how to work again, so this helps give them support until they are strong enough to work by themselves."
Natalie nodded slightly. "Do you sleep in it?"
Sara shook her head, touched by Natalie's child-like innocence. "Nope...I just wear it when I am walking, but I can take it off any time I want."
Natalie tilted her head slightly. "Can I see?"
Sara was taken aback slightly, but pulled a chair out from the table to sit down, quickly removing the brace to hand it to Natalie, who studied it as though it were a rock from Mars. After a few minutes, she gave it back to Sara. "It's like a model...lots of pieces."
Sara smiled at her as she put the brace back onto her leg. "Yeah, I guess it is." Once she was done, she lifted the bag and handed it to Natalie. "I thought that maybe your doll was getting tired of the same clothes, so I brought you these."
Natalie stared at the bag, her eyes studying the color. She slowly took it from Sara, looking up at her. "Why are you so nice to me?"
Sara looked at her, noticing the slight distrust in her haunted eyes. "Because I like you." She said simply. "Everyone needs someone to be nice to them."
"Even me?" She whispered, her voice full of wonder.
Sara smiled. "Of course….why not you?"
"I did bad things." Natalie replied, looking down. "I hurt people."
Sara watched her. "Someone made you do that." She told her. "Someone who said they were your friend, Natalie. You trusted them and they used you to hurt other people; that isn't your fault."
Natalie tilted her head to the side, staring blankly out in front of her. After a moment, she looked up at Sara. "Are you going to do that?" She asked softly.
Sara reached out to take her hand. "No, Sweety." She said soothingly. "I would never do that to you. I know what it is like to be hurt…I don't want to hurt you."
As if triggered by an invisible switch, Natalie broke out into a huge grin as she looked at Sara. "Because you are my friend." She said as Sara nodded. Excitedly, she dug into the bag of clothes, squealing with delight at the white dress shoes and lacey dresses that Sara had brought her.
They visited for a while, Sara helping Natalie dress the doll as they talked about models and dolls and how sunny it was in Nevada. After fifteen minutes, Sara glanced up at the pair who peered at her through the observation window and cleared her throat. "Natalie," She began. "I brought some people with me today; people who would like to speak to you."
Natalie looked at her, her eyes squinting into a look of incredible apprehension. "Who?"
Sara motioned towards the door, where Greg and Sofia were anxiously awaiting an opportunity to speak with the woman. Natalie observed them quietly, hugging the doll as she looked back at Sara. "I already talked to her." She said indignantly. "I don't know him." She pouted.
"I know." Sara said. "But I do. He is my friend Natalie and he wants to help us catch the friend who did all of these bad things…he wants to help you keep your doll. Keep your friend from coming back here ever and hurting you."
"Or you…"
Sara nodded. "Yes…" She glanced at Greg and before once again taking Natalie's hand. "One of our friends was killed and we think that your friend may have done it, but we need your help to be sure that we are thinking of the right person." She studied Natalie's face, seeing the fright in her eyes. "Please…I promise that if you start to get upset I will make them leave…They will probably have to ask you questions, but if you get scared or anything I want you to tell me and I will make them stop. I promise." Sara knew that Natalie did not like questions and that asking her too many would set her off into a spiral of panic and anxiety causing her to shut down mentally. She was determined to not allow that to happen to her.
Natalie looked back at the door, observing Greg. He looked nice and he had pretty hair; he smiled at her as she looked at him, causing her to quickly look away and hang her head. She was scared, she didn't want to make her friend mad; didn't want him to take her doll and scream at her. Sara had told her that if she kicked and screamed, that he would run and he did. He had run really fast and he did not come back. Sara said she'd get her doll clothes, and she did…Sara didn't lie. Natalie shook her head as if confirming her own private conversation; it was a fact…Sara didn't lie. "Okay." She said quietly as she looked up at Sara. "But if they are mean I want them to leave."
Sara squeezed her hand before motioning to Greg and Sofia to enter the room. "If they are mean, I will make them walk home." She told Natalie, making her smile again.
David sat in his cell, angrily glaring at the floor. During the ride to the station, Jim had read him his Miranda Rights, making sure to take his time and draw out the memorized statement as long as he possibly could.
'You don't have to talk so slowly, I know the saying as well as you do' David had snapped
'Oh, no.' Brass said with a gleam in his eyes. 'I want to make sure that we do everything by the book, David...I don't want to leave anything out this time.' He gave him a mocking grin. 'Oh, damn...now I need to start all over again...'
He had gone into the Miranda speech yet again, starting from the very beginning and David wished he didn't have handcuffs on so that he could personally choke the life out of the man. As Brass recited the rights, the officer sitting next to David began to chuckle and David had thought of ways to remove his gun and blow the guy's brains out.
Sitting in the cell now, he waited for his attorney who had been taking his sweet time in arriving. Personally, David couldn't stand the man; he was an overpaid oaf who treated David like a criminal. But, he was one of the best defense attorneys in Nevada and so David had drained his savings account to pay for him; he just hoped it was worth it.
He had called Henry Atkins after he had been booked, telling him of his recent situation and requesting that he find a way to 'get me the hell out of this'.
'I think we may have a little more difficulty getting you off this time' Henry had said.
'Why the hell would we?' David had snapped, glaring at Brass who was leaning against the wall watching him the entire time. They couldn't tie him to Judy, his contacts guaranteed him anonymity and there was no physical evidence linking him to the scene. This was all just Gil Grissom's idea of revenge.
'Natalie Davis gave your name up as an accomplice' Henry said flatly. 'Not only that, but she provided the department with every piece of documentation, map, and plan that you two had drawn up. I have copies of everything...it doesn't look good, David'
David had froze, feeling the overwhelming rage that mixed with his already growing panic. How the hell did Natalie get them the documents? There was no way that she would have done what it took to get them the information; no way in hell. 'How did that happen?' He asked Anthony.
'She handed them over to CSI Sidle' Henry replied simply 'Apparently, they were hidden within some doll she had and she gave everything to them; I may not be able to talk you out of this one'
David had lost it, yanking the phone from the wall in a rage and subsequently being tackled to the ground by the guards.
The doll; the fucking doll.
He didn't know how Sara had done it, didn't know what smooth ploy she had used on Natalie to con her into dismantling the doll to remove the carefully inserted contents. All he knew was that he wished he had finished Sara off when he'd had the chance, he should have made sure he had done the job right the first time instead of being determined to play the game with Gil.
As he sat there now, waiting for his attorney, he could not believe that at one time he had actually thought he loved her; it was laughable really. All the years he spent studying her face, dreaming of her at night, imagining a life with her...how pathetic. He should have just stomped her head into the mud as she lay under that car; if only Natalie wouldn't have stopped him from doing just that none of this would be happening.
And Grissom. He couldn't believe that he had actually looked up to him, that he had actually wanted to be like him, had wanted to win Grissom's approval. He had spent so much time doing everything he could think of to just get a little praise out of the man and for what? To end up rotting in some jail cell because he had been pushed over the edge by the very man he had spent so many years admiring?
"Come on, David" He told himself "Snap out of it, man...you're too smart for this."
As he heard the familiar footsteps of his attorney approach his cell, David couldn't help but smile. He had a degree in criminology and he knew almost every way that criminals had to get out of almost any situation and he was, after all, a criminal.
By the time that Anthony Jones reached his cell, David Hodges was laughing.
Judy's memorial service took place a week after David's arrest. Although the department was still searching for evidence linking David and his accomplices to her death, they knew that Judy's family needed to lay her to rest.
The service took place in her hometown and Ecklie had made arrangements to allow the entire staff to attend the service; Sara felt it was probably the most human thing he had ever done. The day was beautiful and sunny and Judy's family had welcomed her friends and co-workers with open arms and tears.
Each of them took their turns in speaking of Judy and Greg had had a particularly difficult time in speaking of his many memories of her; they had been close and he missed her tremendously.
For their part, the CSI team could not help but feel responsible for the family's loss. It was, after all, due to a vendetta against them that lead to Judy's death; she had been an innocent victim to a deadly game that didn't involve her. The family, and in particular Judy's parents, had not held any of them responsible, but the weight of the knowledge was heavy on the service.
As Sara sat holding Gil's hand during the proceedings, she wondered if any of this would have happened if they had not become romantically involved. She didn't know the answer to that and she may never know the answer, but she knew sitting there next to him as he grasped her hand, that she was not going to let go.
One thing about cascading events is that once they start it is hard to stop them. For Gil, the pummeling cascade of events in his life had continued to hammer down on him in unrelenting blows; he just hoped that his meeting with the lab director would slow the punches somewhat.
He had sat out in the hallway with Sara next to him, holding her hand as though she could pull him out of the very mud he was drowning in. When they called him into the room, he had squeezed Sara's hand one final time before following Jim Brass behind the closed door. Somehow he felt as though he were walking into his own death sentence.
Sheriff Mobley had reviewed his case, discussing his recent behaviors and his disciplinary issues. Gil was privately relieved that Ecklie was not present and even more pleasantly relieved to hear that Ecklie had been personally 'uninvited' to attend by the Lab Director himself.
"Dr. Grissom," Andrew Jones commented "It is difficult for us to sit here and judge you for your actions given the recent events of the crime lab." He removed his glasses to lean his elbows on the table to look at Gil. "The death of Judy Tremont was a horrible blow to all of us and the events surrounding her death make it even more difficult to conceive...These events also make it increasingly difficult to hold you fully responsible for your actions over the last few months." He shifted slightly, still holding Gil's attention. "It is obvious that you were acting as a direct result of the incredible duress that you were under and the lab would like to apologize for our lack of support during that time." He shuffled some papers, reviewing a few notes before continuing. "You do need to understand, Dr. Grissom, that we are in no way excusing your actions and are not fully relieving you of any responsibility you have regarding those actions."
Gil nodded. "Yes, Sir...I understand." He felt somewhat numb, not really sure what was going on and what was about to happen. Did this mean he got his job back?
Sheriff Mobley waited until the lab director was done speaking before taking over. "Gil, this panel's unanimous decision is to reinstate your position within the laboratory."
Gil blinked, taken aback slightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Andrew Jones held his hand up. "We do have a few stipulations." He said, noting the confused look on Gil's face. "Condition One: You cannot work with CSI Sidle as a direct report. You have been in violation of laboratory policy since the time you commenced your relationship and we cannot allow this to continue." He saw the look in Gil's eyes and went on to explain. "Beginning on the 12th of this month, Catherine Willows and her team will be moved to the day side shift and CSI Sidle will be joining them as a charge of CSI Willows. You will move your team to the swing shift schedule effective the 15th and you will keep all of your current team with the edition of CSI Brown, who will change places with Sidle."
Gil had his fingers together on the table and cocked his head slightly as he pondered this scenario. "Have you ran any of this by the others?"
Sheriff Mobley shook his head. "Not yet." He replied. "We wanted to settle with you before finalizing the schedules. But, I am sure that Catherine will be more than pleased with her schedule change, as she has wanted the day side supervisor position for many years."
Gil nodded. "So...that's it?" He asked with disbelief.
Andrew smiled. "Well, no." He said. "Remember, there are stipulations. Condition two is that you will continue with the anger management and counseling sessions for a time of six months. We need to insure that your actions will not repeat themselves and want to make sure that you are given every opportunity to explore your behaviors."
Gil nodded slowly; he was less than thrilled at the prospect of continuing with counseling for six months. However, if that is what it took to get his job back and keep it, then he would more than gladly attend sessions. "Well, that sounds more than reasonable." He told them after a pause. "What about Conrad Ecklie? I am sure he will be less than pleased with this arrangement."
Sheriff Mobley sighed gravelly. "Conrad Ecklie is in no way involved in this decision." He informed Gil. "He tends to let his personal opinions of individuals cloud his ability to make reasonable, fair decisions. He is aware of the transactions, but is not a part of the process in any way."
Again, Gil nodded. "Well," He began slowly. "I feel that I owe you all an apology. I feel that I have done the laboratory a disservice and for that I am sorry." He took a deep breath becoming uncomfortable. "I am not very good at this sort of thing….but, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to prove myself to this department."
Undersheriff McKeen smiled at him with a nod and speaking for the first time since greeting Gil he said, "Your history here is proof enough, Gil. None of us in this room are overly concerned about your future performance; yet, we have to establish some form of disciplinary action and this seemed to be the least imposing."
"One more thing," Andrew said seriously. "Watch your back, keep your nose clean because you will have a lot of people watching you...closely."
Again, Gil nodded as the others stood up. He stood to join them, shaking the hands of the men across the table before he and Jim following Undersheriff McKeen from the room. As they opened the door to the hallway, Gil found Sara anxiously waiting for him surrounded by Warrick, Nick, Greg and Catherine.
"Well," McKeen said as he surveyed the room. "It looks like you have quite a support group." He nodded to Catherine and the others as he extended his hand to Sara. "CSI Sidle, it is nice to have you back in action." He leaned in and kissed her cheek in greeting. "Keep this guy out of trouble for me, will you?" He whispered in her ear before nodding at the others again. "And Gil," He called as he walked back into the room they had vacated. "You should take all these guys out to lunch and fill them in on the changes that are going to be happening around here." He winked at Catherine before closing the door behind him.
Catherine looked at Gil, who stood loosely holding Sara's hand. "Changes?"
He raised an eyebrow at her, replying with a grin. "There are to be a few." He told her, glancing at them all. "For one, my team and I will be taking over the swing shift position."
Silence. Warrick looked at Catherine, who looked at Nick. "Soooo..." She began slowly. "You're coming back to work then?"
He nodded. "Yes, I am Catherine." He felt Sara squeeze his hand in response and the small gesture of happiness made him smile.
"But..." Greg began. "Where is Catherine going?"
"Ah," Gil said raising his eyebrow at Catherine. "And that is the best part." He nodded towards the exit, "Shall we?" He headed towards the door, Jim and Sara close behind him as the others stood silently a moment.
Sara looked behind her. "Come on guys," She goaded. "Free food? Free gossip?"
Greg suddenly sprinted towards them. "I'm driving."
"I don't think so." Warrick replied as he caught up with Greg. "You drive like a girl."
"Hey!" Catherine called as she yanked the keys out of Nick's hand. "I'm a girl."
Nick put his arms out in a questioning gesture. "How come I never drive?"
"Because we've all ridden with you." Warrick commented as they all stepped onto the elevator.
Gil smiled at them as he pushed the garage button on the elevator, feeling the weight of the world dissolving from his shoulders as the doors closed, leaving the past behind him.
The sound of the alarm clock awoke her and she reached a weary arm out to silence the annoyance. She felt Gil shuffle next to her, his strong arms wrapping around her as he pulled her close. "Ten more minutes." He breathed into her hair. "Just stay here with me for ten more minutes."
Sara snuggled closer to him, running a hand over the smooth skin of his arm. It had been two months since the switch over at the lab and they had adjusted well to their new schedules. It took some adaptation, especially since they realized that their time together had been dramatically reduced but they had managed to fall into the routine as if it were all they had ever known. Catherine was very mindful of giving Sara days off when Gil had time off, yet with the busy crime lab activity, they managed only one day per month together on average. Other than that, they would see each other at the lab during shift change or when their shifts overlapped and met up regularly for lunch or dinner when their schedules allowed. They continued to keep their personal life completely separate from work and treated each other as co-workers rather than lovers while on the job and as lovers and not co-workers while at home.
Sara lifted Gil's hand to her mouth and kissed it gently. "I have to go." She told him softly as she untangled herself from his embrace.
"Meet me for lunch?" He asked her as she wrapped her robe around herself, bending to pat Bruno on top of his sleepy head.
She smiled down at him. "I can try."
"I'll be at the courthouse at 1:30." He yawned as he burrowed down against her pillow. "Inquest...you'll be there around then, wont you?"
She thought for a moment; today was her day to sit through the jury trial and discuss some evidence. She hated doing that, but she lost the bet to Nick; she always lost to him. She secretly thought he had the game rigged or he was paying Catherine to let him slide. Either way, she had to testify. She nodded down at Gil, leaning a knee on the bed to bend down and kiss him softly behind the ear. "I'll see you there." She murmured with another soft kiss before heading to the shower, leaving Gil to fall back to sleep with Bruno lying across his feet.
Judges. David hated them. They were always so smug and sat up there on their bench, showing the world that they were better than everyone else was. Every judge in Vegas had a vendetta against him and David knew that. Oh, of course his attorney said it wasn't true but David knew it was. When he had managed to get the half a million dollar bail money from his grandmother, the judge had ordered him to house arrest, going so far as to monitor David's phone calls. Wasn't that against the law? Not that David had anyone to call, anyway. He spent his time researching and getting books and information delivered to his home by the few contacts he still had left.
He had thrown a fit and demanded that they file for a Change of Venue, moving his entire case to another county. Henry had grumbled, telling David he was being impossible and David had threatened to fire the man. Reluctantly, Henry had conceded, secretly jacking his hourly rate up substantially to make up for having to deal with the man. He knew that every defense attorney was supposed to believe that his or her client was innocent, but he had a difficult time believing that David Hodges was innocent of anything other than stupidity.
They sat in the waiting room of the courthouse, waiting for their case to be called. David had paced relentlessly, pounding the floor of the tiny room with his feet as he fumed. He would angrily glare at the guard in the room, showing his absolute indignation for the individual. David had insisted on being there for the short hearing even though he did not need to be and Henry could not figure out why. He wasn't needed or wanted and his time here was just a waste; it would make no difference to the outcome of the proceeding. For the first half hour, he had paced, glaring down the hallway occasionally as if waiting for someone to show up. He sat now next to Henry, his head hanging as he looked at the floor. 'Pouting,' Henry thought. 'The man is pouting.'
A voice in the hallway suddenly made David sit upright, his face swiftly becoming intense. Henry looked up and saw Sara Sidle chatting with one of the security guards; she had just exited the courtroom that they would be entering when the current case vacated. She had not yet seen David and Henry suddenly felt a rush of panic; this was totally unorthodox. The fact that David was in court the same day as Sara Sidle was something that Henry had not expected; he had checked the calendar diligently and had not seen her name as a witness or participant in any case. He knew that Nick Stokes was set to testify in a murder trial, but had not seen Sara Sidle's name anywhere on the roster. He silently pleaded with Sara not to turn around.
He quickly put a hand on David's shoulder. "Just take it easy and don't say anything." He whispered harshly.
David smirked, his eyes still glued to the woman in the hallway. "Don't worry, Henry." He seethed. "I wouldn't waste by breath."
Sara was laughing, the security guard patting her shoulder as they shared a secret joke. Without turning towards the waiting room, she waved a short goodbye to the guard before heading down the hallway and out of site.
Henry sighed; that was close...way too close. Next to him, David began to chuckle as he looked back down at the floor and Henry had wanted to ask him what was so funny when the jury from the courtroom was led out, interrupting his thoughts.
As they entered the courtroom for the venue hearing, David was smiling. Today was turning out better than he had hoped.
Gil exited the inquest, relieved that it had only taken an hour. He walked down the hallway, searching the faces for a glimpse of Sara. He had awoken early that morning after she had left and had headed downtown to do some shopping. It was nearly Christmas and he had been hunting for over a month for a specific item; as he searched for Sara, he had to fight the urge to tell her what he had found.
Finally, he spotted her and she caught his eye, breaking out into a huge smile as she came to great him. "Hey." She smiled as he leaned in to kiss her softly.
"Hey, yourself." He replied. "How was your trial?"
"Ugh," She replied as they turned to head out the door, his arm wrapped loosely around her waist. "Nick owes me big time for this; I don't see how attorneys and judges can handle this place."
He smiled. "I hear that's why they get paid the big bucks." He replied. "The money makes the headache easier to swallow."
"I have…" Sara began, looking at her watch. "About an hour before I have to meet Cath at a scene and I am starving."
"Well," he said as he pushed the exit door open. "We'll eat at Linguini's then."
They had just reached the bottom of the stairs when Gil caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. By the time that he could respond, the cascading flow of events had already begun and he was powerless to stop them.
Five minutes earlier
David rushed down the hallway with his attorney and a uniformed officer close in tow. His Change of Venue had been denied for adequate cause (apparently being hated by the judges didn't count as adequate cause) and they had set a date for the trial. All of this was inconsequential as far as David was concerned; he had much bigger fish to fry at the moment.
He stopped at the men's room, pushing the door open as the officer followed him in. David stopped abruptly, turning so quickly that the officer nearly collided with him. "Do you plan on holding it for me, also?" He snapped at the man, who only scowled back down at him.
Passing by several empty stalls, David entered the last one and closed the door behind him. As he began to relieve himself, he searched the hanging roll holder for the item his contact had left. It had cost him nearly twenty-five grand for this delivery and he was thankful for his granny's large bank account; he had nearly used it all up. What would she know? She was old and due to kick over any time soon.
Carefully and quietly, he removed the gun from the holder, putting it inside the interior pocket of his jacket. He had worn an extra large jacket today and made sure that the gun was not detectible from the outside. No one in the court system ever thought that someone would want to bring a gun out of the courthouse. His contact had simply entered the courthouse, going straight to the bathroom that was less than 10 feet from the metal detector and left the gun unnoticed. Brilliant.
They exited the restroom and turned towards the exit, David being ever vigilant for any sign of Gil Grissom. He had known from his contact that Gil would be participating in an inquest that day and had planned this moment repeatedly; now all he needed was his opportunity. As they stood on the front stairs waiting for the officer to pull the car around, David felt the knots of anxiety tightening in his gut. He was running out of time and the clock was ticking way too fast.
As if on cue, the courthouse doors opened and there they were: Gil and Sara, joined at the hip. David's plan suddenly changed as he pushed Henry out of the way, reaching out for Sara just as the couple reached the bottom stair. She had been looking at Gil and did not see David coming. As he grabbed her arm, she was taken by surprise, letting out a short cry of shock as she fell against him, his nails scraping against her bare arm.
Backing away from the stairs, he yanked Sara along with him, his arm gripping her roughly around the shoulders as he removed the gun from his pocket. He saw his attorney rush toward him and he pressed the gun against Sara's temple, causing her to gasp slightly as Henry froze in place. He saw the panic on Gil's face and smirked at him. "Ahhh," He called out. "And that picture would be worth so many words...Gil Grissom scared. "
David thought that the situation couldn't have been more primo if he'd have planned it for months; he came here for Gil, but now he could make the man beg before he killed him. Perfect
"David," Henry yelled. "What are you doing?"
David kept his eyes locked on Gil; he could feel Sara trembling under his touch and the feeling excited him. "Ask the man who ruined my life." He said levelly. "Ask him what sacrifice he would make...how important his own life is right now."
"David..." Gil said as he stepped slowly off of the last stair. "Please...just let go of Sara..."
"STOP!" David suddenly screamed as he yanked Sara further away. "You're not going to ruin this! You will not win this game! This is MY game, you are not going to ruin it!"
Behind Gil, he heard footsteps as two officers rushed from the courthouse, stopping as they saw the sight in front of them. "We have a hostage situation." Gil heard one of them say into their radio. "We need back up at the Superior court immediately."
The officers came down next to him and one of them drew his gun, leveling it towards David. "Drop your weapon." He ordered.
David shoved the barrel of the pistol harshly against Sara's temple and she let out a cry of pain. "I'll shoot her!" He yelled in response. "I swear to God I'll blow her brains all over this sidewalk if you don't put that thing down!"
Gil turned suddenly towards the officer, nearly reaching out to knock the weapon away. "Put it down!" He ordered. "For God's sake...put it down!" The officer reluctantly complied, bellowing into his radio for back up to put a rush on things. Gil looked into Sara's eyes, seeing the tears that were forming and knew that he had to do whatever it took to help her.
"David," Henry instructed. "You need to stop this! You still have a chance of getting a good deal of things...don't blow it by doing something irrational..."
"Irrational?" David responded. "For the first time I am thinking rationally."
"No, you're not." Gil said calmly, trying desperately to keep the fear from showing in his voice. In his mind, his reoccurring nightmare played vividly and he was watching it unfold in front of his eyes; only this time it was not just a dream. "Just let Sara go..."
Sara was shaking. She searched Gil's face, pleading him silently to help her. She could see that he was terrified and that made the panic in her throat tighten even more. "Hodges," She breathed. "Please don't do this..."
"SHUT UP!" David yelled at her, giving her a rough shake.
"David, please..." Gil begged, his arms up in a look of surrender. "Just let Sara go...she has nothing to do with this, just let her go."
"SHE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS!!" David suddenly screamed, yanking Sara back roughly, causing her to let out a short cry of pain. "You involved her, you brought her into this!" He pressed the gun harshly against Sara's temple and she began to cry, hanging onto his one arm tightly. "WHY COULDN'T YOU LEAVE HER ALONE? I LOVED HER! DON'T YOU KNOW I LOVED HER!"
Gil froze; he could feel his heart pounding violently against the walls of his chest. "David, please..." He took another step towards him.
"DON'T YOU MOVE!!" He screamed, taking the gun away from Sara's temple to momentarily point it at Gil. "You had everything!! EVERYTHING!! I had nothing! I just tried to be like you, to make you proud of me!! And then you took her too and I hated you. I HATE YOU!!" He put the gun back on her temple, pushing it roughly against her delicate skin.
"Please, David..." Sara cried. "Please don't do this...please..." She was staring at Gil, her eyes full of fright, begging him to help her.
"I need him to bleed, like I bled." David seethed loudly into Sara's ear. "Only I didn't bleed blood...noooo...I bled my soul...I bled my heart, because he had everything I ever wanted and then he took you, too...and I want him to feel how I felt when I lost you."
Sirens sounded around them as police cruisers skidded to a stop in front of the courthouse. Gil caught a glimpse of Jim rushing from one of the vehicles and closed his eyes only momentarily, praying that it was not too late.
Officers exited their cars, weapons drawn as the hostage negotiator came slowly towards the scene with Jim at his side.
"Hey, Hodges..." The man said as he stood a distance away. "Why don't you let her go and we can talk about this?"
"No." He said firmly, his gaze locked on Gil's face. "Don't you get it? This is about her, this has always been about her..." He grinned evilly at Gil. "Now I want you to feel it..." He seethed. "And I don't ever want you forget...what it feels like to lose everything..."
Gil saw David tighten his grip on the trigger and without thinking he was moving, rushing towards the man rapidly. As if in slow motion, David suddenly pointed the gun at Gil as his finger clasped down on the trigger, pulling it tight. Sara screamed as gunfire rang out around her, watching in horror as Gil's body snapped back and he fell towards the ground. At virtually the same instant, a bullet hit David in the chest, sending him reeling as he released his grip on Sara. She rushed forward, falling violently to her knees as she crawled to Gil's body at the foot of the stairs.
David stood only a moment, blood on his lips as his eyes rolled up towards the sky before he fell to his knees, hitting the ground face first as the life left his body.
Sara reached out for Gil, picking his head up as she sobbed. "Griss?" She sobbed, seeing the blood that drenched his body. "Baby, please..."
His eyes were open and he looked up at her, lifting a hand to her cheek. "I thought he was going to kill you, Honey." He said weakly. "Are you alright?"
Sara nodded as she sobbed, kissing the palm of his hand. Next to her, Jim kneeled down and looked down at Gil. "Hey, Buddy." He said. "You sure know how to piss someone off, y'know?"
"It's just a graze." Gil told him. "My shoulder...he just nicked me."
Jim checked his friend over; it looked like a lot more than a graze. He removed his jacket and placed it over the wound, pressing down to stop the bleeding. Sara looked over at him, her brown eyes asking him so many questions; he nodded at her as he looked back down at Gil.
Gil tried focusing on Sara, but she was becoming blurry and he knew that he would be losing consciousness. "Sara..." He whispered, his shaking hand once again reaching for her cheek. "You're okay..."
"Yes." She cried. "I'm okay, Griss..."
"He didn't hurt you?"
"Nooo..." She breathed as she saw his eyes begin to cloud over.
"Sara..." He breathed softly. "I love you..."
Sara held his hand against her lips, feeling the coldness of his skin against them. "I love you, too, baby... Please hang on..." She watched as his eyes fluttered and then closed, his hand becoming limp in hers and she held it tightly as she wept.
Epilogue??