Hey everyone!
Thankyou so much for reading another one of my stories. Hearts and reviews are much appreciated!
I hope you enjoy this look into what happened during For Warrick.
The smell of the city hit her like a ton of bricks.
After spending the last several months by the bay and by the salty ocean air.. Sara couldn't believe she had spent so long in this dry desert. It was suffocating. The air was thick with smog and sin. There was a metaphorical haze around the city, like this encasing bubble that surrounded it with a haunting atmosphere.
She had seen far too much death in this town. Far to much sorrow and human cruelty for one person to be exposed to. Whether it was someone leaving their baby in a car, or someone who abused their wife and kids and buried them in the backyard.. nothing. Nothing compared to this.
Warrick was dead.
Sara had never gotten as close with him as she had with Nick and Greg. They started off on the wrong foot, and even though they managed to work through it, Sara always felt a slight disconnect with him. Maybe it was because he had always sided with Catherine when the two of them had one of their cat fights. Maybe it was because she spent the better part of the last two years they worked together deceiving him, and everyone else, about her relationship with their supervisor. Maybe it was because they didn't have a lot in common outside of work.. she wasn't sure. But now, as she got out of her cab that brought her here from the airport and stared at the Criminalistics building at the LVPD headquarters, Sara wished more than anything that she had have tried harder to be a better friend to him. Regardless, they loved one another. She knew that much.
Warrick Brown, CSI Level 3, her co worker, her friend, a member of her family... was dead.
Shot.
Catherine didn't tell her much on the phone, but that he was shot, possibly by someone within the department, and Gil had been the one to find him.
When she got that call, Sara almost threw up. Her stomach lurched and her heart was in her throat instantly.
Gil.
She had already dragged his heart through the mud recently with her leaving... God, this was the last thing he needed.
She never understood why until they had become a couple, but Grissom had always had a soft spot for Warrick. He seemed to be his favourite. He overlooked a lot when it came to the CSI.
She couldn't be too upset about it though, because in a weird, messed up way.. if it wasn't for Warrick, she may never have come to Vegas. If he hadn't have left Holly at that crime scene all those years ago, she wouldn't have been shot and Gil wouldn't have needed her here.
Sara didn't really know what to expect from the team when she walked through those doors, but she knew what to expect from Gil.
She knew he would have a stoic, brave face on.
The same face he wore when she woke up at the hospital after she was rescued from the desert. It was a face she knew only meant he was desperately trying to hold in his emotions.
He would probably have his hands in his pockets a lot, to hide his nervous fidgeting.
He'd probably be exhausted. She knew he wouldn't dare sleep until whoever did this to Warrick was behind bars. She suspected he had already been up for 24 hours by this point, and would be up at least another 10-12 hours more before he would even consider a nap on his office couch.
She knew he would be pale.
He would be fighting every bone in his body to make sure he kept strong for the rest of the team, but he would be crumbling on the inside. He'd probably have a bit of a temper. It would only be a matter of time before he developed a migraine from the sheer tension his body was likely holding onto, just trying not to cry.
She had only seen him with tears in his eyes twice, the first when she told him she loved him the first time. He didn't actually cry, but his eyes glazed over for a moment as he cupped her cheek in his warm hand and returned the sentiment.
The second time was when he brought her home from the hospital after her kidnapping. He had let her into their quiet condo and closed the door gently behind them, locking the rest of the world out of their sanctuary. His palm still pressed in the same place it had been to close the door, his body had slumped and his head hung, defeated.
She cautiously stepped up behind him and embraced him with her free arm and felt him shudder. She knew. He had been holding on, being strong for the team.. for her. Once they had gotten home, once it had all ended, he just stood there, his back to her, and she knew he was trying to control his emotion.
He had slowly released the pressure on the door and turned to face her, and his eyes were filled with unshed tears. He simply said her name, and closed his eyes tightly as two tears escaped his eyes and ran down his cheeks.
They stood in the doorway in an embrace for what felt like days. She cried. He ran his fingers through her hair and whispered her name over and over, communicating in his unconventional way that he was so glad she was ok. After several moments, he led her down to their room and helped her undress, and they fell into bed into a tight, safe embrace.
She had imagined he had cried on his own, probably in the shower, after she had left. It was a thought that kept her up many nights in San Fransisco.. thinking about what she had done to him by leaving... and this time she wasn't there for him to hold.
This, though..
This situation was completely different from anything they had experienced together.
Warrick had died in his arms.
His beautiful, strong, safe arms. The arms that had always made her feel at home and secure. They weren't strong and safe enough to save their friend.. and she expected this to weigh on his heart for a long time. She expected this to break him.
Sara got the first flight out of the bay. There wasn't even a second thought. Of course she wanted to be there to help the team and attend the service... but she came for Gil. There was no way she was going to let him do this alone.
As she walked up the the door, a few familiar faces passed her and nodded their greetings. She checked in with Judy who looked as if she had been crying for hours already. She told her Doctor Grissom was in trace with David, removing his clothes as evidence.
With a nod Sara thanked Judy, and turned the corner to enter his cold, familiar office.
It looked the exact same as the last time she saw it.
Smelled the same.
It smelled like books. Like Grissom. It smelled like her life.
She placed her bag down on one of the chairs by his desk and looked around nostalgically, remembering all the moments.
The first time he asked her out for dinner was in this office.
He had cut her off mid sentence. She was trying to explain toxicology results to him and he interrupted her and asked her, no, told her, to have dinner with him that night at his condo. It had taken her by surprise but of course, she said yes.
She remembered sitting in the exact chair her bag was in, the day after they made love the first time, sitting and staring at each other. Trying to process it all. Exchanging knowing smiles as Nick rambled on about some piece of evidence in the chair beside her.
She remembered pacing back and forth in his office waiting for him one morning after shift because she just couldn't wait until they got home to tell him she wasn't pregnant. It was a relief, because neither of them wanted or were prepared for a child.. but her cycle was late, and they never used condoms because she was on the pill.
That memory brought a lopsided grin to her face, when she pictured his pale and terrified face as he entered his office with anticipation in his eyes. She simply shook her head and smiled, and the sigh of relief from him was almost comical.
Now, here she sat, leaning against his desk, waiting for him.. and there was absolutely nothing to be relieved about. No sultry looks to share. No grand gestures or questions. No passionate romance to conceal.
Instead she was just waiting to see his saddened face and broken demeanour.
When he turned the corner and walked in, it was as she imagined it would be.
He stopped in his tracks, his hands at his side, not knowing how to react. His eyes immediately softened, as if the sight of her took years off of his face. Maybe there was a sense of relief, no matter how small, after all.
He seemed as if he were frozen in his tracks, so Sara made the first move, and took the first step towards him with tears already clouding her vision.
As they embraced, she inhaled him deeply. He smelled like home and love. He had lost weight, he was thinner in her arms under that LVPD jacket, but he was still a place of comfort. His eyes were glazed and hollowed, dark circles and fine lines rimmed his eyes, his hands rough and shaky. Cold. They pressed against her back so firmly, she felt she would shatter in his grasp, but it wasn't unwelcome.
"I got the first flight out." She mustered, as he drew her in even closer.
They remained like that for a few moments before he finally released her and stepped back from her with tear filled eyes. He refused to let them fall, but Grissom now knew it was impossible to hide his emotions from his lover.
"Are you ok?" Sara asked quietly, as her right hand reached up to cup his cheek affectionately.
He simply nodded, "I'm ok."
Raising a questioning eyebrow, she quirked her lips into a sad smile. "I'm so sorry."
He again, nodded, but this time it was accompanied with a sigh. "You look good." He offered as he glanced over her face again.
She had put on a little bit of weight, but to the untrained eye it would have been impossible to tell. He could, though. He could see it in her cheeks. They were rounder. Her face had more of a glow to it, and her hair was shorter. Shorter than he had ever seen it. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. The proper sleep and salt sea air suited her far more than the desert ever did, and he hated that fact. He wanted, no, needed her here.
"Not so bad yourself... considering." Sara reached out for his hand. She wanted so badly to kiss him, as their last had been so sad, and she knew he was a physical man.
It was something no one would ever guess of him, but Grissom was a man who liked to touch. He found comfort through touch and used to take every opportunity possible to kiss her when they were at home together. It was something she had learned very early on in their relationship.
"You look tired." She nodded, as she squeezed his hand and gently lead him to the two chairs in front of his desk. She never let his hand go as she repositioned her bag and they both sat down.
Grissom let out a deep sigh, a sound she was intimately familiar with, but never in this type of situation. It briefly brought back memories of their life together, their love life, but then he spoke calmly.
"He didn't want to go, Sara."
Thanks so much for reading, and as always, please leave a review! They keep me going and motivate me to write!
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of my story, "One Week in Vegas". Next up we will see a bit of what happened in the Grissom home before and after the funeral.