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--Once the rain let up they parted and walked to the car. Grissom could still feel the warmth on his clothing where he held Sara. The heat between them was intense. She felt it too. The air when they parted was cold compared to her skin. She was drenched from head to toe and still shaking. Back at the lab, Sara went to the locker room to change and Grissom went to his office to change his shirt.
--Sara went to get a hot shower to warm up. She didn't understand why all of the sudden she was so cold. The hot water felt good on her skin and the steam was comforting. She dressed quickly and headed for the lab.
"Sara, the love of my life, I have something for you?" Greg held a paper to his chest. "Did you get a shower?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well your face is red, like you got a hot shower. Are my observations correct?"
"Yes. Do I look bad?"
--Greg leaned into her. "You could never look bad."
"Thanks Greg. So what do ya got?"
"Results from the blood Nick brought me. They are the partner's. Fishy isn't it? I mean how did his blood get there if he was behind in the car."
"Where do you get that he was left behind in the car?"
"Its all over the news and I overheard Grissom and Brass talking."
"Good work, you are a great detective Greg."
"Save your admiration for later. There is more. Catherine pulled hair off the vic and its unknown. Not the vic's, partner's, or the suspect's."
"By chance have you shared any of this with those that actually collected the evidence?"
"No you have the pleasure of being the first."
"Careful Greggo I don't feel like getting in trouble today. Find Grissom and Catherine to let them know, then we can talk theories."
"I had a feeling you would say that. So I am on my way to once again solve the case."
--Sara just shook her head. On some level she loved that guy. Sara continued to search for Nick and Warrick but instead they found her.
"Hey Sara we were looking for you. Where have you been?"
"Around, looking for you. What's with the bullet?"
"We were headed there right now, care to join us?"
"Love to."
"Hello guys, Sara. I have your bullet right here ready to fire. Who wants the honors?"
"I want a piece of that." Warrick put on the earmuffs and fired into the tank. The sound, though Sara had earmuffs of her own on, made her jump. It was like she could feel it more than hear it.
"Okay. Lets take a look. Well it doesn't come from any of the officer's weapons, but it matches the bullet taken out of the vic's chest. Looks like you need to find the suspect's gun for comparison."
--Nick took a look at the bullet under the microscope. "Well thanks. Come on Warrick lets find Gris to fill him in before he interviews the suspect. You coming Sara?"
--Sara was still leaning into the microscope. "No you go ahead." Turning her attention back to the bullet, she asked, "What's with those markings?"
"I noticed that too. Strange aren't they. They aren't engraved in the bullet but composed of it. I think we are looking at a high priced bullet to match a high price gun. Well I got to go; got a meeting. Bye Sara."
"See ya." Sara continued to view the bullet under several magnifications. Grissom walked past and saw her in there by herself. He stopped and watched her from the doorway. The moment they spent together was not easily forgotten. In fact that was all he could think about.
"Hey,"
--Sara turned and smiled a hello.
"Got something?" He asked.
"Nothing Nick and Warrick haven't already told you."
"I haven't talked to them yet."
"Well I am sure they would like the pleasure."
"Do you feel better?"
"Much warmer. I hung your coat in the locker room to dry."
"Are you coming I was going to interview the guy?"
"Sure."
--Catherine was in the morgue standing over a middle-aged man in amazing shape. She could see why he was the one that ran after the guy and not his partner, who was slightly overweight. The bullet wound that killed him was one directly in the chest.
"Well Catherine, not much of a mystery how he died. The bullet hit a main artery and he bled out in seconds."
"That's one lucky shot. Especially when you are running from him. He might have been waiting for him and ambushed him. Can you tell me the angle from which he was shot?"
"Directly in front. So sometime or another your man and victim were face to face."
"Anything else?"
"Minor bruising and cuts on his knuckles, possibly from a fist fight. That's it, that's all I have for now."
"Thanks Al. Keep me posted."
"No problem."
--Grissom grilled the suspect for fifteen minutes but got nothing. The kid was a punk, in and out of prison for the last three years. Grissom saw his kind before and knew he was lying or someone else was. Sara thought the same thing throughout the entire interrogation. They eventually gave up and decided they needed to find the gun.
"I want to go find that gun. That's our key." He told Sara.
--Catherine, Warrick, and Nick walked up to them. "We need to find the suspect's gun."
"Our thoughts exactly. Shall we."
--Back at the crime scene they fanned out to find the gun. Each had a flashlight and Grissom worked his new toy. Twice they combed over the scene and got nothing.
"Let's go back for a third time. Wider search area, he could have thrown it farther than we thought."
--Sure enough thirty minutes later Warrick shouted that he found the gun. Finally! Grissom was getting annoyed and by stiff the movements of the group so were they.
"Nice man. I can't wait to go. I'm starved." Nick said.
"I thought my back was going to snap when I stood up." Catherine looked over to Sara, whose teeth were chattering. "Sara you look froze."
"I am." She said through clenched teeth.
"The rain must have got to your bones, Sidle." Nick teased. "That's what you get for playing in the rain."
"Oh shut up." Sara smiled. "Hey Gris give me the keys I am going to the car."
"Lets all go. We got what we came for." Grissom called to them.
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"Sara you have to eat." Nick slid over his french fries. "The fat will keep you warm."
"Ha ha ha Nick." Sara was curled under a blanket. "I'm not hungry."
"You have to be."
"By your standards. You eat every hour."
"I do not! Come on eat."
"No my stomach hurts."
--Catherine glanced over. "Coming down with something Sara?"
"No just lots of pain."
"I have something for that you know."
--It took Sara awhile to figure out what she was hinting at. "No its not that."
--Grissom walked in with a bowl of Ramen noodles steaming in his hands.
"Smells good Gris." Nick said getting up to give Grissom a place to sit.
"No Nick you can't have any and I'll just sit on the couch."
"Sara's sick." Catherine said to Grissom.
--Sara could have killed her. Now Grissom would nag her all night.
"What's wrong?" He asked turning to Sara.
"Nothing."
"She said she has pain in her stomach." Nick explained through a mouthful of hamburger.
"What is this? Its nothing Gris."
"Well what have you eaten?"
"I had a Code Red Mountain Dew earlier."
"Sara you know you're not to drink anything with carbonization."
--Sara started to get angry. "Grissom I wanted a pop so I had a pop. What's the big deal?"
"I have known for sometime now that you have an ulcer Sara, and you shouldn't be drinking pop!"
--Everyone's eyes dropped to the floor or stared at some distant point out of the room. This little thing erupted into a full blown fight. "Grissom I'm not a child! I can make my own decisions. I wanted a pop so I had a pop!" She yelled again.
"Then you have to eat something." Grissom offered his soup.
"No."
"Eat Sara."
"No."
"Now you deserve to be treated like a child. Eat or go home."
"What? Grissom you can't be serious. You would send me home because I won't eat lunch?"
"I haven't seen you eat anything all week. I want to see you eat or I will send you home." Grissom didn't budge on his decision.
"Fine!" She threw the blanket on the floor and took Nick's fries. The instant potato flavor was disgusting. Sara thought for a moment she would throw up. The pain in her stomach only got worse. She could eat only a few before she pushed away the plate.
"There are you happy?"
"No."
"I can't eat anymore Grissom, you'll just have to deal with it."
--The silence was deafening. They just stared at one another. Catherine tried to lighten the mood.
"So Gil, how is your pet spider doing?" As if she cared less.
"Come on Sara," Warrick took her under the arm and lead her out of the room. Grissom just watched her go.
"Hello earth to Grissom. I asked you a question."
"They are fine Catherine. In fact I think I should feed them." Grissom got up and left.
"Damn what the hell was that about? Since when has Sara had an ulcer?"
--Catherine shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know Nick. That's my answer to both questions."
--Outside Sara was wrapped up in Warrick's coat. They sat on one of the benches just staring into the night. "You know he is only trying to take care of you."
"I don't need another parent Warrick."
"What do you need?"
--Sara stared at him then shifted her gaze back to the darkness.
"Sara he cares about you. He just has a weird way of showing it that's all."
"Like I said I don't need another parent. He treats me like glass ever since..." Her voice trailed off.
"You know he hated to see you in such pain. Hell he wouldn't eat himself. I think Catherine had to cook him dinner so he would eat. He was that worried. You shouldn't be so hard on him." Warrick touched her cheek. "Or yourself."
--A smile pulled at her lips.
"Hey there it is. I thought that frown was permanent. Lets go inside before you catch pneumonia. How does your stomach feel?"
"Still hurts, but of course Grissom is right. All I need is food. I hate it when he is right."
"Well I won't tell, if you won't. I get you some food without his knowledge. deal?" Warrick put a loving arm around Sara.
"Deal." And he walked her inside.
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Tbc...