Author's Note: This conversation SO continued. Just like I did here. Oh, yeah. But maybe not...all the way.
Nick said the budget for the promotion was cut. He also said you recommended him.
I did.
You said you didn't have a problem with me.
I don't. I thought that Nick was the best candidate for the position.
Why?
Because he didn't care whether he got the job or not.
That's a stupid reason.
"You're a liar," she continued after a moment, as Grissom swabbed the blood he found on the upholstery. Grissom looked up with a start.
"Excuse me?"
"You didn't recommend him because he didn't care. That's the antithesis of your way of thinking. You care intensely about the job, the science—"
"And you care too much," he interjected easily, still trying not to get caught up in her pain. "Nick is a good balance for me."
"Well, if Nick is so great, then why are you fucking me?" Sara demanded, scrambling out of the limo, her face flushed. Grissom followed her as quickly as he could manage.
"Sara," he said sharply, catching her wrist. "This is irrelevant. The position has been cut."
"And if it hadn't, you would have screwed me over."
"I don't owe you anything. Our relationship has nothing to do with the job."
"Owe me?" Sara scoffed. "No, Gilbert. You don't owe me. You're just so goddamned afraid that someone will find out the truth that you make crappy judgments to hide it."
"Recommending Nick was not poor judgment. I don't regret doing it. I would do it again." Grissom fixed her with a stare. "What exactly is it you want from me, Sara?"
I couldn't do it.
"I'm tired of being a secret."
"You want to lose your job? Or do you want me to lose mine?"
"There are other jobs, Grissom. There's only one me."
Grissom sighed heavily. "So that's it? The job or you?"
Sara crossed her arms over her chest. "That's it. You have to choose. Because if I choose—if I walk away again, find someone else again—who knows? Maybe I'll wind up dead, bent over in a shower stall."
Grissom flinched as if he had been slapped. "It all goes back to that, doesn't it?"
I couldn't do it.
"Yeah. It does."
"You walked out on me," he reminded her. "You found someone else."
A shadow passed across Sara's face that Grissom hadn't seen before, something haunted and tinged with terror. "I told you before. That was a mistake. He was a mistake."
"But leaving me, that was a healthy decision."
"Am I your girlfriend?" Sara asked hotly. "Am I your life partner? Could I ever be your wife? Or am I the bit on the side that's cheaper than a Vegas hooker? Because these days, I can't tell, Grissom. I don't see a future in this."
"Because I won't give up my career for you? Or because I won't promote you when you don't deserve it?"
"Oh, fuck you!" Sara hissed, wrenching her wrist away at last. "I don't know why I ever came back to you, to your bed. You have never made me feel loved. You have never treated me the way I deserve."
"And Hank definitely gave you what you deserved, didn't he, Sara?"
Sara staggered back, a look of horror and nausea crossing her face, confusing Grissom. "How dare you."
"Sara—"
"Stay away from me!" she screamed, walking backward until she hit the door. "Don't ever touch me again!"
She turned and practically ran from the room, leaving Grissom to stare at the limo in silent despair.
