Disclaimers, ect are on the first chapter.
Thank you, thank you, thank you guys for the great reviews, it really does inspire me! And at least I know someone is reading my drivel!
Chapter 8- Survival
As she is pushed against her will into the apartment, Sara debates the best way to get out of this in one piece. She didn't think he had a weapon, since both hands were currently being used to restrain her and keep her from screaming, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure of that. The problem is she does, and against her usual habits, she hadn't placed it back in the holder at her side, she simply slid it into the waist of her jeans at her back before leaving the lab. Currently her assailant, who she knew to be Jason Reading, was pressed so close to her back he had to feel it. Dammit she thought to herself.
"Lock the door." The voice was almost eerily calm as he gave her the direction and turned her to face the door, and she did as instructed.
"I finally found you, Harvard Girl. I thought those other women where you, but no, there were there to confuse me. I killed the first one and I thought I was done, that I had satisfied the voices, but then I saw you again, and I killed you again. But then there you were on the TV this morning and I knew I had another chance Sara. This time I will make sure you stay dead."
While Jason is ranting in her ear, Sara is waiting for an opportunity to strike; and then one is presented. Jason had obviously noticed her service weapon, and in the instant he released her waist to grab it she brought up one arm and punched him in the face. Jason reeled back, but is still able to dislodge her gun, which dropped to the floor in front of them. They both lunged for it at once, Jason getting there first since he is already bent over from the blow she gave him. As they stand, Jason levels the gun at her, a first for Sara; she has never been on this end.
"Bitch!" He tells her, keeping his voice level. "You are going to regret that Sara, I am going to make sure you die a miserable death like my brother did. If you move an inch, I will take your head off." Sara is terrified by the insane look on his face, and believed him; she's never been so scared in her life, including her first confrontation with this man. They stand there staring at each other for a moment then Jason advances on her, the gun never straying from the point on her head where it is aimed. Just as he gets within arms reach of her, Sara's phone rings, it startles her, but Jason doesn't move a muscle, he is still focused on her. The machine picks up and she hears Nicks voice, and for one instant Jason is distracted by the voice on the machine. Taking her opportunity Sara grabs for the gun, and manages to get it out of Jason's hand; unfortunately she is unable to keep control of it and the weapon hits the floor and skids across until it reaches her front door coming to a stop, directly behind Jason. Deciding that she has little chance of getting through him to the gun, Sara spins to the phone in the kitchen and picks it up before Nick hangs up.
"Nick" She screams in the phone.
"Sara? What's going on?" Nick asks, the terror in her voice apparent. Nick hears nothing else except the phone being dropped, what sounds like grunting and a struggle then a single gunshot resonates loudly through the phone. Thinking quickly, Nick picks up his cell phone and makes the call to 911, then calls Grissom.
As Sara is trying to talk to Nick, she is tackled from behind, slamming her down to the ground and forcing her to drop the phone. Grunting, she struggles against the man, who now is sitting on top of her, pinning her to the kitchen floor. Sara continues to wiggle and fight for control of the gun that Jason is holding in one hand at his side, when it suddenly goes off. They both stop for an instant, and Sara gives him a vicious right hook to the nose, breaking it loudly. He promptly returns the favor, punching her in the side of the head. Fighting for all she is worth and against a wave of dizziness, Sara bites him on the arm hard enough to draw blood; she almost gags on the coppery taste. Sara looks at him and all his expression belays in intense hate and fury, directed at her. Before she can do anything, he grabs her head and smashes it hard against the linoleum floor, her last thought before succumbing to unconsciousness is this is it, she isn't going to live to see tomorrow.
Sara is surprised when she wakes up and is still lying prone on her floor. She is even more surprised to see Nick and EMS with the police not far behind entering her apartment through the open door. Slowly Sara tries to get up and is immediately chastised by Nick who tells her to relax as he directs the paramedic to her. Getting her into a sitting position the worker gets her vitals and looks at the nice wound on the back of her head.
"What happened?" She asks Nick. "Last thing I remember was Jason on me."
"I called 911 when I heard the gunshot and then got over here as fast as I could, met the paramedics in the parking lot. Your door was wide open; maybe the sirens scared him off. Are you shot?" He asks as he quickly looks over her.
"I…I don't think so." She says just as the paramedic notices that the outside of her right thigh is bleeding. "Ok, so maybe I was." Shaking her head, she looks at Nick again "I can't believe he would run, he was so determined."
"Ma'am, this looks like a flesh wound, the bullet just grazed you." One of the paramedics informs her.
"I don't know what to tell you Sara, there was no one here when I got here."
Sara slowly nods in understanding to both the EMS worker and Nick, which just serves to make her head ache worse. "Can I get up off the floor now?"
"Yes ma'am." They tell her, and Nicky helps her get up and move her to the couch. Just as Nicky sits her down and the paramedic starts cleaning the thigh wound, Grissom comes storming into the apartment.
"Uh oh." Is all Nick says and Sara immediately knows who has arrived.
"You called him I take it?" She asks and he nods.
"What the hell happened here?" He barks at the nearest officer. "Where's Sara?"
"Grissom I am right here. I'm ok."
Grissom quickly walks over to her couch and crouches in front of her; taking in the rather large bruise that is forming over her temple and above her right eye. One of the paramedics interrupts to tell her they need to take her to the hospital for observation.
"No thanks. I will be fine." She tells them.
"Ma'am it really would be better if you came with us."
"Just give me the form and don't worry about it, ok?"
The paramedics look at each other and one hands her the form, she signs it without hesitation and hands it back and they pack up to leave. Both Grissom and Nick think this is a bad idea, but choose not to say anything; Sara can be difficult when her mind is made up. Before actually walking out the door though, the paramedics stop and talk with Grissom briefly.
"She took two pretty nasty blows to the head. Someone needs to stay with her and wake her up every couple of hours. If she is disoriented or her pupils are different sizes, she needs to come in right away." Grissom nods his understanding.
Watching the paramedics leave, Grissom sees the one person he didn't want to, come in. Up to this point he has managed to keep is anger in control, but when Jim Brass walks through the door, he explodes.
"Brass!" He shouts loud enough for everyone in Vegas to hear. "Where the HELL was her tail?"
"She left the labs and no one followed her, I don't know what happened. I have it under control." Brass says as he walks over to Grissom, who is standing at the end of Sara's couch.
"Under control? One of my CSIs could have been KILLED because someone over there was taking a nap. Dammit Brass, it was your bright idea to put her on camera to get the guys attention." They are almost directly in front of Nick and Sara who are still seated on the couch, watching Brass get the ass chewing of his life. "I cannot believe how irresponsible that was, I really didn't think it was that difficult to put a man on one person."
Finally Sara decides to spare Brass further embarrassment and simply reaches up and places a hand on Grissom's arm. He immediately stops his tirade and looks down at the woman sitting near him.
"Grissom, its ok, nothing to serious happened. I am sure that Brass wont let it happen again." She smiles at him.
"No he won't." Grissom directs at Brass. "I am not going to let it, forget your man Brass, I will take care of it."
Simultaneous "What's?" echo through the room as Sara and Brass stare at Grissom confused.
"I said don't worry about the protection. Either myself, Nick or Warrick will be with her." The tone in Grissom's voice says that's it, end of discussion.
"Grissom…" Sara starts and stands up.
"End of discussion Sara, I made you a promise and I intend to keep it. Pack a bag."
"Excuse me?"
"You are staying with me tonight. Don't argue, the paramedic said someone needs to watch you tonight and you aren't staying here."
"I really wish people would stop treating me like a piece of crystal." She looks at Grissom and observes the I-don't-care expression on his face. "I give up, give me 10 minutes." She says and starts to walk into her bedroom but is halted by Nick who has been looking around her apartment.
"Where is your gun?" He asks while looking under furniture.
"Huh?" She responds.
"Your weapon, where is it? Did he have it last?" Nick asks and Sara cocks her head at him trying to remember who had it before she passed out.
"Oh crap. He did. God dammit, now he is armed with my gun. This just keeps getting better doesn't it?" She tells him, turns and walks into her bedroom to pack.
tbc……………..
********************
"I don't like her." Sara
"You don't like other women in his life." Warrick
"I 'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Sara
Thank you, thank you, thank you guys for the great reviews, it really does inspire me! And at least I know someone is reading my drivel!
Chapter 8- Survival
As she is pushed against her will into the apartment, Sara debates the best way to get out of this in one piece. She didn't think he had a weapon, since both hands were currently being used to restrain her and keep her from screaming, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure of that. The problem is she does, and against her usual habits, she hadn't placed it back in the holder at her side, she simply slid it into the waist of her jeans at her back before leaving the lab. Currently her assailant, who she knew to be Jason Reading, was pressed so close to her back he had to feel it. Dammit she thought to herself.
"Lock the door." The voice was almost eerily calm as he gave her the direction and turned her to face the door, and she did as instructed.
"I finally found you, Harvard Girl. I thought those other women where you, but no, there were there to confuse me. I killed the first one and I thought I was done, that I had satisfied the voices, but then I saw you again, and I killed you again. But then there you were on the TV this morning and I knew I had another chance Sara. This time I will make sure you stay dead."
While Jason is ranting in her ear, Sara is waiting for an opportunity to strike; and then one is presented. Jason had obviously noticed her service weapon, and in the instant he released her waist to grab it she brought up one arm and punched him in the face. Jason reeled back, but is still able to dislodge her gun, which dropped to the floor in front of them. They both lunged for it at once, Jason getting there first since he is already bent over from the blow she gave him. As they stand, Jason levels the gun at her, a first for Sara; she has never been on this end.
"Bitch!" He tells her, keeping his voice level. "You are going to regret that Sara, I am going to make sure you die a miserable death like my brother did. If you move an inch, I will take your head off." Sara is terrified by the insane look on his face, and believed him; she's never been so scared in her life, including her first confrontation with this man. They stand there staring at each other for a moment then Jason advances on her, the gun never straying from the point on her head where it is aimed. Just as he gets within arms reach of her, Sara's phone rings, it startles her, but Jason doesn't move a muscle, he is still focused on her. The machine picks up and she hears Nicks voice, and for one instant Jason is distracted by the voice on the machine. Taking her opportunity Sara grabs for the gun, and manages to get it out of Jason's hand; unfortunately she is unable to keep control of it and the weapon hits the floor and skids across until it reaches her front door coming to a stop, directly behind Jason. Deciding that she has little chance of getting through him to the gun, Sara spins to the phone in the kitchen and picks it up before Nick hangs up.
"Nick" She screams in the phone.
"Sara? What's going on?" Nick asks, the terror in her voice apparent. Nick hears nothing else except the phone being dropped, what sounds like grunting and a struggle then a single gunshot resonates loudly through the phone. Thinking quickly, Nick picks up his cell phone and makes the call to 911, then calls Grissom.
As Sara is trying to talk to Nick, she is tackled from behind, slamming her down to the ground and forcing her to drop the phone. Grunting, she struggles against the man, who now is sitting on top of her, pinning her to the kitchen floor. Sara continues to wiggle and fight for control of the gun that Jason is holding in one hand at his side, when it suddenly goes off. They both stop for an instant, and Sara gives him a vicious right hook to the nose, breaking it loudly. He promptly returns the favor, punching her in the side of the head. Fighting for all she is worth and against a wave of dizziness, Sara bites him on the arm hard enough to draw blood; she almost gags on the coppery taste. Sara looks at him and all his expression belays in intense hate and fury, directed at her. Before she can do anything, he grabs her head and smashes it hard against the linoleum floor, her last thought before succumbing to unconsciousness is this is it, she isn't going to live to see tomorrow.
Sara is surprised when she wakes up and is still lying prone on her floor. She is even more surprised to see Nick and EMS with the police not far behind entering her apartment through the open door. Slowly Sara tries to get up and is immediately chastised by Nick who tells her to relax as he directs the paramedic to her. Getting her into a sitting position the worker gets her vitals and looks at the nice wound on the back of her head.
"What happened?" She asks Nick. "Last thing I remember was Jason on me."
"I called 911 when I heard the gunshot and then got over here as fast as I could, met the paramedics in the parking lot. Your door was wide open; maybe the sirens scared him off. Are you shot?" He asks as he quickly looks over her.
"I…I don't think so." She says just as the paramedic notices that the outside of her right thigh is bleeding. "Ok, so maybe I was." Shaking her head, she looks at Nick again "I can't believe he would run, he was so determined."
"Ma'am, this looks like a flesh wound, the bullet just grazed you." One of the paramedics informs her.
"I don't know what to tell you Sara, there was no one here when I got here."
Sara slowly nods in understanding to both the EMS worker and Nick, which just serves to make her head ache worse. "Can I get up off the floor now?"
"Yes ma'am." They tell her, and Nicky helps her get up and move her to the couch. Just as Nicky sits her down and the paramedic starts cleaning the thigh wound, Grissom comes storming into the apartment.
"Uh oh." Is all Nick says and Sara immediately knows who has arrived.
"You called him I take it?" She asks and he nods.
"What the hell happened here?" He barks at the nearest officer. "Where's Sara?"
"Grissom I am right here. I'm ok."
Grissom quickly walks over to her couch and crouches in front of her; taking in the rather large bruise that is forming over her temple and above her right eye. One of the paramedics interrupts to tell her they need to take her to the hospital for observation.
"No thanks. I will be fine." She tells them.
"Ma'am it really would be better if you came with us."
"Just give me the form and don't worry about it, ok?"
The paramedics look at each other and one hands her the form, she signs it without hesitation and hands it back and they pack up to leave. Both Grissom and Nick think this is a bad idea, but choose not to say anything; Sara can be difficult when her mind is made up. Before actually walking out the door though, the paramedics stop and talk with Grissom briefly.
"She took two pretty nasty blows to the head. Someone needs to stay with her and wake her up every couple of hours. If she is disoriented or her pupils are different sizes, she needs to come in right away." Grissom nods his understanding.
Watching the paramedics leave, Grissom sees the one person he didn't want to, come in. Up to this point he has managed to keep is anger in control, but when Jim Brass walks through the door, he explodes.
"Brass!" He shouts loud enough for everyone in Vegas to hear. "Where the HELL was her tail?"
"She left the labs and no one followed her, I don't know what happened. I have it under control." Brass says as he walks over to Grissom, who is standing at the end of Sara's couch.
"Under control? One of my CSIs could have been KILLED because someone over there was taking a nap. Dammit Brass, it was your bright idea to put her on camera to get the guys attention." They are almost directly in front of Nick and Sara who are still seated on the couch, watching Brass get the ass chewing of his life. "I cannot believe how irresponsible that was, I really didn't think it was that difficult to put a man on one person."
Finally Sara decides to spare Brass further embarrassment and simply reaches up and places a hand on Grissom's arm. He immediately stops his tirade and looks down at the woman sitting near him.
"Grissom, its ok, nothing to serious happened. I am sure that Brass wont let it happen again." She smiles at him.
"No he won't." Grissom directs at Brass. "I am not going to let it, forget your man Brass, I will take care of it."
Simultaneous "What's?" echo through the room as Sara and Brass stare at Grissom confused.
"I said don't worry about the protection. Either myself, Nick or Warrick will be with her." The tone in Grissom's voice says that's it, end of discussion.
"Grissom…" Sara starts and stands up.
"End of discussion Sara, I made you a promise and I intend to keep it. Pack a bag."
"Excuse me?"
"You are staying with me tonight. Don't argue, the paramedic said someone needs to watch you tonight and you aren't staying here."
"I really wish people would stop treating me like a piece of crystal." She looks at Grissom and observes the I-don't-care expression on his face. "I give up, give me 10 minutes." She says and starts to walk into her bedroom but is halted by Nick who has been looking around her apartment.
"Where is your gun?" He asks while looking under furniture.
"Huh?" She responds.
"Your weapon, where is it? Did he have it last?" Nick asks and Sara cocks her head at him trying to remember who had it before she passed out.
"Oh crap. He did. God dammit, now he is armed with my gun. This just keeps getting better doesn't it?" She tells him, turns and walks into her bedroom to pack.
tbc……………..
********************
"I don't like her." Sara
"You don't like other women in his life." Warrick
"I 'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Sara