Brass stood a respectful distance back as he watched Grissom work. The CSI paused now and then to take photos.
The body had been found some distance from the more populated area. Judging by her youthful face, Jim guessed her to be in her early teens, fifteen, if he had to make a specific guess. Whatever had happened to her, she hadn't gone without a fight as he noted the defensive wounds on her hands.
"So," Jim broke the silence as Grissom bent down by the body. "You and Sara."
Grissom pursed his lips and tilted his head to one side, reaching out to collect a maggot with his tweezers.
"Third instar," he stated, deliberately avoiding answering Brass' inquiry. Grissom continued to collect more larvae. "She's been dead around four days."
Brass sighed inwardly, taking the hint. He should have known better than to expect a straight answer to his inquiry. Grissom had been quiet on the drive out to Lake Mead, oblivious to any small talk Jim had tried to initiate.
Shortly after Sara had made her presence known, they'd both retreated upstairs returning dressed fifteen minutes later. Grissom had grabbed the keys off the breakfast bar, glancing at Sara in one of their silent commutations that only they ever seemed to understand, before heading out the door.
"Just so you know," Jim said, keeping his voice low, as Grissom worked on collecting evidence. "It stays with me."
He wasn't sure if he really saw Grissom pause and tilt his head in acknowledgement, or if he only imagined it, as he continued working the scene.
At the start of her shift at the lab, Sara stared into the depths of her locker, not really seeing it. Her thoughts were a thousand miles away.
Still distracted, she didn't realise that Catherine had entered the locker room until she was standing next to her.
"Sara…are you okay?" It was clear from her tone that it wasn't the first time she had asked. She sounded worried.
Still feeling dazed Sara turned, still not quite registering what Catherine had said.
"Im fine," she replied automatically.
"Are you sure?" Catherine continued to push, her concern growing. "I heard Grissom sent you home last night... some kind of stomach bug…. To be honest you still don't look well."
Sara pulled herself together physically and mentally, not relishing the thought of a thousand questions to her well-being or the threat of being sent home again. At least until she'd had chance to talk to Grissom.
"I'm fine, really," Sara assured the older woman, and silently congratulated herself on sounding at least half-convincing. "I stopped by the drugstore on my way in for some antacids."
Catherine looked doubtful for a second, and then nodded.
"If you say so," she said. "Grissom called, he's on his way back from Lake Mead with Brass. I'm handing out assignments until he gets back."
When Catherine had gone, Sara sank onto the bench with a shaky sigh. Though she knew Catherine didn't fully believe her protests, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that the inquisition was over…for now.
Grissom returned to the lab after another hour with the bugs and the body, first dropping off the evidence and samples he'd collected from the scene to their respective lab techs. He was about to enter his office when Sara appeared at his elbow.
A small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as he turned to face her. His eyes shone at the sight of her.
"Have you got a minute?" she asked quietly.
Her face and her tone were serious and Grissom felt his stomach drop and the smile and the glint in his eyes dimmed somewhat.
"I'm due in the morgue in about five minutes…" he began.
"It's important…"
"What's on your mind?" he asked, closing the door behind him, to give them some privacy. "If you're worried about Brass…"
"This isn't about Brass," Sara cut him off, her voice not quite steady. "It'd be a lot easier if it were…"
Grissom crossed over to her, his face showing his concern. He grasped her hands in his. They were freezing.
"Tell me," he encouraged, his eyes not leaving hers.
Sara shook her head, fighting back the tears she felt building behind her eyes, and burning her throat. A tear escaped her right eye. She swallowed the lump that was making it hard to breath, hard to talk.
"With the doubles we've worked recently I've only just realised…I'm late…" she trailed off, at the same time catching the look of confusion on his face. "I'm pregnant," she clarified.
It took a moment for the confusion to lift. The moment it did it was followed by shock, and then quickly followed by that look he'd often adopted when he wanted to pretend he didn't have a clue what she was talking about. As he let go of her hands, she saw the barriers that they had both worked so hard to bring down go back up.
Children had never been a topic of conversation between them and the statement hung heavy in the air between them. Grissom tried to think of something to say, as his Adam's apple bobbed. He swallowed, and uttered a barely audible "Oh!"
His pager beeped, startling them both in the heavy silence that followed his singular word. Feeling conflicted over the interruption he glanced at the message. It was from Doc Robbins.
"I'm needed in the morgue," he repeated, already turning towards the door. "We'll…. we'll talk later…."
Sara couldn't believe what she was witnessing. She'd just told him she was pregnant and he was walking away as though she'd just said it was raining. She felt confused and scared. She needed to know she had his support.
Her nerves were already at a breaking point along with all the conflicting emotions she was feeling, and Grissom wasn't helping. She couldn't quite stop the retort that fell from her lips to he's retreating back.
"This isn't going to go away, Gil."
Somehow the rest of the shift passed by in a blur for both of them. It was a miracle in itself that the Jane Doe found at Lake Mead was ever identified at all. Bree Thomas had been a runaway, reported missing a day before she was assaulted and murdered. Her family had been informed and the hunt for her murderer was in full swing.
Grissom had been distracted enough by Sara's revelation, that people had noticed. After Hodges had jumped on the "are you okay?" bandwagon, Grissom had retreated to his office, feigning a migraine. It was one thing he knew that would guarantee that he would be left alone.
He had a open file in front of him he didn't remember opening and a mountain of paperwork, that he barely acknowledged.
Sara was having his baby. The thought made his heart jump and his stomach twinge nervously. The thought of fatherhood had crossed his mind once or twice over the years, but it had never been at the top of his to-do list. The few relationships he'd allowed himself to have over the years, had been with women whom he also knew wouldn't want kids, avoiding the situation altogether.
But this was Sara.
This was completely different altogether. From the moment he'd first met her, she'd thrown him off balance. Her inquisitive mind had been a refreshing change to the usual humdrum questions, he'd often been asked during his seminars. He'd called her his star pupil and when she'd flashed that gap-toothed grin, though he hadn't realised it then, that had been the moment she'd stolen his heart.
Until Sara, no one else had looked beyond his imperfections, without judgement. In her, he'd found a kindred spirit that he could no longer deny. In loving her, he'd regained his balance.
And as scared as he was at the prospect of becoming a father, the idea was slowly starting to grow on him.
He found it hard to express, but he did love her. That simple fact opened up an arena of possibilities that both exhilarated and scared him to death. She'd put the magic back in his life. And to deny that, would be to deny love itself.
He'd been an ass to her he knew. He should have handled it better instead of allowing his old habits of burying his head in the sand to potentially ruin the best thing in his life.
That thought propelled him to his feet, out of his office and into the SUV without a second thought or backward glance.