Chapter 10: Breaking the Tension
I jumped awake when Sara slipped her hand out of mine. It was an immediate hole and my sleep was interrupted by it.
"Hey." She said.
"Hello." I sat up and put my hands in my lap, suddenly feeling guilty and embarrassed by my actions.
"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you; but you surprised me."
Surprised? Was that a good thing? Was she happy to see me? "I should go." I said quickly and began to rise.
"No!" She sat up and grabbed my wrist. "I...I like the company."
I looked at her arm that snaked out of the blanket and grabbed my wrist. I saw the marks on her arm and wanted to touch them but she dropped my wrist before I could.
"Sorry. You can leave if you want. I am sure you're busy."
"No." Was all I could say. I ignored my chair and sat down beside her on the cot. She flinched as my thigh brushed her knee.
"How do you feel?"
"Better now that you're here."
Did she just say that? I can't breathe. Maybe I am getting too close. I don't want her to get any ideas or do I?
"Hey Grissom?"
"Yes."
"Why are you here?"
It was a typical question and understandable question but I felt too exposed to say 'Because I needed to see you Sara'. I settled for the safe answer. "I was dropping off some things at the front."
"Oh." She laid down and drew her knee away from mine. I knew I messed up. I should have told her the truth but...I just don't know if I am ready to take that leap.
"I met Debra. She seems nice."
"Yeah she's great I suppose. Are we friends Grissom?"
"What?" I was afraid to hide my shock. What kind of question was that? "Yes of course Sara. I consider you a dear friend. Why?"
"No reason."
"Sara you don't ask a question like that for no reason." She ignored me and tucked her head into her shoulders. I wasn't going to get through to her while we were both conscious. It was so much easier to feel when I'm asleep. I changed the subject. "Ethan is off your case for hitting you."
"Good. I hate that creep."
"He deserves a lot more for what he did." I said angrily.
"Wow, Gris calm down. The flow of emotion could be dangerous." She smiled.
"Real funny Sara. But he hurt you, and countless others, he deserves to be thrown off the force and arrested."
"Well bad guys finish first." She paused. "Let's talk about something else."
"Fine. What do you eat in here?"
"Oh my God. It can't be classified as food. I doubt its even on the food pyramid!"
I chuckled. "That bad?"
"That bad."
Just when I was about to touch her face Debra opened the cell door.
"Sorry you two but Sara its time for your checkup. Dan will be here in a minute he went to get his medical bag from his car."
"Thanks Debra." Sara said. She saw the confusion on my face. "Dobbs got a doctor to check on my ribs and clean my wrists. Maybe he can give my some pain killers." She exclaimed sarcastically.
"Well then I have to go."
"All right. And Grissom thanks for being here while I slept. It helped with my dreams. I slept really well. I...well just thanks."
"You're welcome Sara."
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The Next Day
The case was at a stand still. Without the warrant, we had no way to get Elizabeth Clark's DNA or prints. Everyone began to feel the strain of the case. Tension was mounting among us. We all looked like the dead bodies we encountered everyday. Our eyes were distant and reflected something yet nothing. None of us were eating as well as we should be; our appetites almost gone. And sleep seemed to be nonexistent for everyone too. The only good night's rest for me came when I was with Sara. We couldn't tear ourselves away from the case. We were all turning into Sara herself.
"Hey Gil." Catherine sat down beside me, placing a cup of hot coffee in front of me. "Can I join you?"
"Sure." I went back to reading over the casefile again. It wasn't helping but if I did nothing I would go crazy.
"Joining you implies that there will be some form of interaction between us."
"That rule doesn't apply to Grissom." I raised my head and saw Warrick chuckling as he came through the lounge door.
"True." Catherine said. "So very true."
I broke the light banter with a serious question that was on all of our minds. "Any word on the warrant?"
"Sorry boss." Warrick took a seat next to Catherine. "Nothing."
"Yo Gris!" Nick came in with a paper in hand.
My heart skipped a beat. "Is that the warrant?"
"No, sorry. Its a fax from Vegas."
"What's does it say?"
"I don't know. It is addressed to you and I didn't want to read it."
He handed me the paper and I quickly looked it over. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I read.
"Well?" Catherine asked impatiently after a moments silence.
"We are all suspended." I was calm and unrevealing what was going through my head.
"What?!" They shouted together.
"Suspended? For what?" Warrick was standing now.
"We didn't get approval for accepting Sara's case and coming to San Francisco."
"They can't do that can they?" Nick asked.
"Yes they can Nick. Don't worry Ecklie wants me not you. I'll fix it."
Catherine shifted in her seat. "We are not letting Ecklie do this Gil." The first name implied the importance of her comment. "We are responsible for coming here against orders the same as you. You did not force us."
"If they get me for this they will drop the suspension from your records. This is the way it is Catherine. You know just as well as I do that this has to do with politics."
"But what are we going to do?" Nick asked. "We can't drop the case and go home without Sara. This place is like the twilight zone. Hell the CSIs were certified off of cereal boxes, police officers abuse suspects and get away with it, evidence is overlooked at crime scenes,..." Nick stopped because we all busted into laughter.
"Its not funny. We are in deep man."
Warrick slapped him on the back. "The Twilight Zone?" He asked and again started to roll with laughter.
Catherine was in tears and I couldn't help but cry out in laughter myself. Nick was right, though. San Francisco was a horrible comparison to what we are normally used to. The Twilight Zone was surprisingly fitting.
Nick started to chuckle. "I mean come on." He raised his arms and mimicked Epps' excited demeanor. " 'Hey do you know where my field kit is?' 'Gee golly whiz Mr. Grissom that was so smart to think to get a sample of that blood!' 'Can you be my best friend in the whole wide world?'"
We all laughed at Nick's surprisingly good acting. He had Taylor Epps down.
"Okay that's enough." I said trying to calm down the group.
Warrick teased me in response. "Come on Gris, you know its so true."
I stood up. "Yes but we have work to do." My tone was serious but I am sure my eyes flashed with laughter. "We are guests, in case you have forgotten."
"Sorry." Nick mumbled.
Everyone went quiet. I knew our outburst had nothing to do with the oddness of the situation. We would normally never make fun at the expense of others. After all we didn't think we were better than the CSIs here, we just needed the break. It was the tension; the stress of the situation. The case had heavy bearing and now our careers are in jeopardy. Laughter was sometimes the best medicine.
Catherine was the first to speak. "What are you going to do about Ecklie?"
"I will think of something. Now I think we should all go see Sara." The group seemed to brighten up. "I don't want you to mention the progress of the case at all."
"She will ask." Warrick said.
"I know but she doesn't need to hear it. The stress is getting to us, I don't want it getting to her."
"Okay."
"Let's go."
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Debra, the nice guard, wasn't there but we got an officer that felt sorry for our current situation enough to let us all in to see Sara. Nick, Catherine, and Warrick were ahead of me but I saw Sara pacing back and forth when we walked up. Her hands flitted at her side with anxiety and anticipation. She looked better rested though. She stopped pacing at the sound of the door sliding open. A big smile spread across her face that was unmistakably full of joy. Nick was the first to approach her and envelop her in a big hug. I forgot that Catherine and I were the only ones that have seen her before now.
"Be careful Nicky." Catherine touched Nick's shoulder to get him to release Sara from his arms. "I am sure she minds being crushed to death."
Nick let go and Catherine stepped up to Sara giving her a soft hug. "How you holding up?"
"I am about to go crazy. They won't tell me anything."
"And neither will we." Warrick bent down and hugged Sara next. As he pulled away he kissed the top of her forehead. "You don't look too bad girl."
"Yeah right."
"Well yeah you do look bad." Nick joked.
"Thanks Nick. Love ya too."
Nick blew her a kiss. I stepped into the small cell to make my presence known. "We thought you could use some company."
"Thanks." She smiled at me in return. "So what's up?"
"We can't tell you anything, its policy." Nick tried to sound serious. "You know that."
"In that case then you aren't even allowed to see me." She joked back.
"If anyone asks, we were never here. Deal?"
"Deal."
I was happy to see that her smile was still under all that heartache. Seeing her joke with Nick and Warrick made me feel rejuvenated.
"So Sara, meet anyone in lock up?" Nick nudged her arm.
"No but a man did ask if you were available." She answered with a raised eyebrow.
We all shared a good laugh but were interrupted by the guard.
"You have to leave. Visiting time is over."
"But we just got here." Nick whined.
"Look I said you have to go. I could get in trouble as it is for letting you see her."
"We don't want trouble." I assured the guard. "Come on let's leave Sara to get some rest."
"Okay boys you heard the man, let's go. Bye Sara." Catherine waved back to Sara who forced a smile.
"Later babe." Warrick called.
"Yeah love ya sis." Nick laughed at his own choice of words. He knew Sara would get him later for that remark.
"Grissom?"
Sara's words pulled me back to her. "Yeah."
"They won't tell me anything. I can't do this much longer. I need to know about the case."
"Sara if I do that all evidence will be tainted and dismissed in court. Trust me you'll be fine."
"But I feel so useless."
Her words were a cry for help and I wish I could do something, but my hands were tied. If I helped her, I would hurt her. I didn't want to do that. "Look we are waiting for a warrant to come through. After we get some answers, I will come to check on you. But you know I can't..."
"I know."
"Are you going to be okay? What did the doctor give you?" I asked.
"Nothing put aspirin. I'll be fine."
"Are you still in pain though?"
"Forget about it."
"Sara I asked if you are in pain. Are you?"
"No."
I knew she was lying. I saw it in her eyes before she looked away.
"You better go." She said still staring at the floor.
I nodded and left her standing alone in her cell. Though the break was nice, I knew I wasn't going to sleep good tonight.
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tbc...