As the shaking subsided, Nick lifted his head and turned his attention to
his coworker. "Sara, are you ok?"
A very scared looking Sara Sidle glanced up at him and then glanced around at their surroundings, her headlamp illuminating the space. "Nick." There was a detectable waver in her voice.
He glanced around in the dim light and noticed that much of the floor above them had collapsed into the crawlspace, leaving them in a small void against the foundation. "Sara, I'm sure that the guys outside will get us out of here really soon. Do you have your cell phone?"
Sara shook her head. "I left it in the Denali on my utility belt. You?"
"Damn. I left mine in there too, along with my gun, and the rest of the stuff on my utility belt. These coveralls aren't really compatible with all that stuff." He pivoted around so he could sit down against the foundation wall. There wasn't enough room to straighten his legs out all the way, so he just sat there with his arms around his knees.
Sara did the same, glancing over at him with a worried expression. "How are we going to get out of here?"
As if to emphasize the danger of the situation, the house began to creak again.
Sara gripped Nick's arm and hid her head against his shoulder. "Nick."
Nick reached his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her reassuringly. "We're going to be fine, Sara."
"You also said that a house collapsing was a freak accident." Sara huffed.
Nick chuckled in spite of the severity of the situation. "An earthquake is not my fault, Sara."
"I didn't say it was." Sara replied harshly.
Nick let out a deep sigh. It was obvious that his friend and coworker was scared. "Listen, Sara, I know this isn't exactly the funnest situation in the world, but we're going to have to make the best of it until someone gets us out of here."
"I'm sorry, I'm just scared." Sara breathed out quietly.
"I know." Nick answered her, giving her shoulder another squeeze.
The silence was overbearing as each of them was lost in their own thoughts.
"Let's talk." Sara's voice intruded loudly.
Nick glanced over at her. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Do you remember the 1989 Bay Area earthquake?" Sara began.
Nick chuckled softly. "Yeah, I remember it, it interrupted the World Series. But why do you want to talk about an earthquake at a time like this?"
Sara's fingers gripped Nick's arm. "My grandmother died in that earthquake."
"Sara, we're not going to die." Nick tried to assure her.
"You don't know that." Sara reasoned; her voice thick with fear.
"No I don't know that, but we already beat the odds by getting stuck in this void rather than under the debris." Nick reasoned back. "We're going to get out of here."
"Shortly before that earthquake I was in my senior year in high school and I'd just found out that I'd been accepted to Harvard. I went down to San Francisco to visit my grandmother at her apartment. She lived on the second floor of this four story apartment building right down near the Fisherman's Wharf district. She sent me out to go pick something up at the grocery store she'd forgotten so she could make something special for dinner to celebrate. I had just finished in the check out line when the earthquake hit. When I got back to the apartment, the fourth floor of her building was just about level with the sidewalk." Sara sounded almost like she was in a trance.
"Sara." Nick whispered and hugged her reassuringly. He was just as scared as she was, but he didn't want to let it show. One of them needed to keep a clear head, and it looked like it was going to have to be him.
"Have you ever been in a major earthquake, Nick?" Sara wondered aloud.
Nick couldn't help the smile that flickered across his face. "Including this one?"
Sara chuckled in spite of herself. "Sorry."
"No, besides this one, I have never been in a major earthquake. So I guess before now, I was an earthquake virgin." Nick hoped this would help lighten the mood a little.
Sara raised her eyebrow at him, looking more amused than she felt. "An earthquake virgin."
He nodded, trying to look serious and cheeky at the same time. "Yep, I lost my earthquake virginity to Sara Sidle."
She swatted at him and let out a soft laugh.
"Made you laugh." Nick teased with a grin which belied his uneasiness at the precarious situation they were in.
Sara smiled finding herself feeling a bit more relaxed in spite of the situation. "You do that a lot. Thanks."
"No problem. Anytime you need to laugh in the middle of a life and death situation, let me know." Nick smiled.
They heard the sound of muffled voices and started to yell, hoping that they could be heard through the rubble.
Outside, the crime scene investigation had turned into a rescue mission. Gil Grissom had arrived on the scene with Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown in tow, waiting for word about the two young CSIs trapped under the rubble in front of them that had once been a house.
A very scared looking Sara Sidle glanced up at him and then glanced around at their surroundings, her headlamp illuminating the space. "Nick." There was a detectable waver in her voice.
He glanced around in the dim light and noticed that much of the floor above them had collapsed into the crawlspace, leaving them in a small void against the foundation. "Sara, I'm sure that the guys outside will get us out of here really soon. Do you have your cell phone?"
Sara shook her head. "I left it in the Denali on my utility belt. You?"
"Damn. I left mine in there too, along with my gun, and the rest of the stuff on my utility belt. These coveralls aren't really compatible with all that stuff." He pivoted around so he could sit down against the foundation wall. There wasn't enough room to straighten his legs out all the way, so he just sat there with his arms around his knees.
Sara did the same, glancing over at him with a worried expression. "How are we going to get out of here?"
As if to emphasize the danger of the situation, the house began to creak again.
Sara gripped Nick's arm and hid her head against his shoulder. "Nick."
Nick reached his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her reassuringly. "We're going to be fine, Sara."
"You also said that a house collapsing was a freak accident." Sara huffed.
Nick chuckled in spite of the severity of the situation. "An earthquake is not my fault, Sara."
"I didn't say it was." Sara replied harshly.
Nick let out a deep sigh. It was obvious that his friend and coworker was scared. "Listen, Sara, I know this isn't exactly the funnest situation in the world, but we're going to have to make the best of it until someone gets us out of here."
"I'm sorry, I'm just scared." Sara breathed out quietly.
"I know." Nick answered her, giving her shoulder another squeeze.
The silence was overbearing as each of them was lost in their own thoughts.
"Let's talk." Sara's voice intruded loudly.
Nick glanced over at her. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Do you remember the 1989 Bay Area earthquake?" Sara began.
Nick chuckled softly. "Yeah, I remember it, it interrupted the World Series. But why do you want to talk about an earthquake at a time like this?"
Sara's fingers gripped Nick's arm. "My grandmother died in that earthquake."
"Sara, we're not going to die." Nick tried to assure her.
"You don't know that." Sara reasoned; her voice thick with fear.
"No I don't know that, but we already beat the odds by getting stuck in this void rather than under the debris." Nick reasoned back. "We're going to get out of here."
"Shortly before that earthquake I was in my senior year in high school and I'd just found out that I'd been accepted to Harvard. I went down to San Francisco to visit my grandmother at her apartment. She lived on the second floor of this four story apartment building right down near the Fisherman's Wharf district. She sent me out to go pick something up at the grocery store she'd forgotten so she could make something special for dinner to celebrate. I had just finished in the check out line when the earthquake hit. When I got back to the apartment, the fourth floor of her building was just about level with the sidewalk." Sara sounded almost like she was in a trance.
"Sara." Nick whispered and hugged her reassuringly. He was just as scared as she was, but he didn't want to let it show. One of them needed to keep a clear head, and it looked like it was going to have to be him.
"Have you ever been in a major earthquake, Nick?" Sara wondered aloud.
Nick couldn't help the smile that flickered across his face. "Including this one?"
Sara chuckled in spite of herself. "Sorry."
"No, besides this one, I have never been in a major earthquake. So I guess before now, I was an earthquake virgin." Nick hoped this would help lighten the mood a little.
Sara raised her eyebrow at him, looking more amused than she felt. "An earthquake virgin."
He nodded, trying to look serious and cheeky at the same time. "Yep, I lost my earthquake virginity to Sara Sidle."
She swatted at him and let out a soft laugh.
"Made you laugh." Nick teased with a grin which belied his uneasiness at the precarious situation they were in.
Sara smiled finding herself feeling a bit more relaxed in spite of the situation. "You do that a lot. Thanks."
"No problem. Anytime you need to laugh in the middle of a life and death situation, let me know." Nick smiled.
They heard the sound of muffled voices and started to yell, hoping that they could be heard through the rubble.
Outside, the crime scene investigation had turned into a rescue mission. Gil Grissom had arrived on the scene with Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown in tow, waiting for word about the two young CSIs trapped under the rubble in front of them that had once been a house.