Title: Fear
Author: CSIphile/A-Stepf
Rating/Disclaimer: PG13 ad yeah, I don't own em.
Notes: This ones kinda short and all, but have no fear..ha. My plan is to probably start double posting chapters soon (no pressure Meg) cause I want this whole thing wrapped up by the premier, so two weeks. Its all written, I just have to do some final work and get it betaed and BAM! Its all your guys'.
Thanks: Big thanks to all who have reviewed, you guys seriously kept me going when I was getting incredibly frustrated with this thing. I also really appreciate those who told me I was keeping Sara in character, there were a few sections where I thought I had totally destroyed what the character is, but you guys reassured me. I didn't realize how hard this was going to be, figuring out how Sara would react in this type of psychological warfare. You're the best!! And to Meg, thanks dude, the blue is my favorite part of the beta, I love your comments. Of course to Devanie, who has listened to me whine I don't know how many times, thank you. You guys rock!! And Eolivet.see you on the boards.
Taking a hesitant step into her apartment and dropping her bag, Sara looks around. She isn't sure what to expect, but for the most part, the apartment is as she left it. Entering her living room, she immediately notices the pictures are wrong, and one is indeed missing, her favorite one of her and Grissom. Nick notices the direction of her stare and directs her attention to her dining room table.
"The picture is fine, the glass is just gone from the frame." She nods silently, moving into the bathroom. Here is the only place that an outsider can tell anything is wrong. There is no mirror in the cabinet door, and all the pieces that had fallen into the sink, in addition to the glass on the kitchen floor, has been cleaned up by Nick and Warrick. Finally moving into her bedroom, Sara pauses at the door frame. She can now sense that someone else has been in here. Slowly looking around, Sara opens one of her dresser drawers, then in swift succession opens them all, with a stricken expression.
"He was in here. He was in my dresser drawers, my clothes." Her voice is wavering, her stomach threatening to empty its contents.
"How do you know?" Grissom asks.
"I just know, it's not exactly right. Trust me, Grissom," she tells him and moves over to the closet, opening the doors, the sinking feeling in her stomach getting worse. Scanning the clothes and doing a mental inventory of what's in her suitcase, Sara instantly knows which shirt is missing. Her hands shaking, she runs her fingers along the row of clothes, double- checking. "My blue long sleeve shirt is missing," she says to Nick, who makes a note for the report.
"I cant believe he broke into my apartment. This is getting out of control, this doesn't even feel like home anymore. It's not home. Someone was looking through my personal things, touching them." She shudders at the thought.
"Come on, Sara. We'll go to my place," Grissom says and guides her out of the bedroom, his anger held tightly in check. None of them notice the red blinking light on the answering machine.
Pacing the living room in his house, Joey holds the blue fabric lightly, not wanting to wrinkle it. Bringing the material close to his face, he breathes in the smell of fabric softener and soap and her. Carefully laying the material down, Joey formulates a plan to make her see how much he loves her and to make her love him back.
Sara is silent during the entire ride to Grissom's townhouse. He passes several glances her way, but each time she is staring out the window, her body in a defensive posture. Opening his mouth to say something, Grissom decides to wait until they are home and closes his mouth. Sara can feel him staring at her, but she refuses to move or even relax. He doesn't understand, he can't, what it's like to have your life violated like this. Knowing some person with a fixation on you broke into your house and went through your private things.for Sara it's almost too much to handle. Control of her life is slowly slipping through her fingers as the things Joey does cause Sara to alter how she lives. Closing her eyes tightly, Sara wishes this would all go away.
The stopping of the Tahoe causes her to open her eyes, and she realizes they're at Grissom's. Sliding out of the vehicle, Sara grabs her bag and follows Grissom inside, wanting nothing more that to sleep for a few hours before going to work. Before she can make it into the bedroom, however, Grissom's voice stops her.
"Sara. I won't ask if you are ok, because its blatantly apparent you're not. What can I do?" he asks and approaches her.
"Nothing. You can't do anything Gris, seems that no one can." Before she knows it, Sara is pulled into his strong embrace and tears are freely flowing down her cheeks.
"We will figure something out, Sara. Everyone leaves something behind, we just have to find it." He pulls her away from his chest and wipes her damp face.
"Doesn't matter, Grissom. First offense, he'll just get probation. And he was RORed for assault; doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence. They won't do anything until I end up in a hospital or dead," she says with a twinge of bitterness, and before he can respond continues, "Look, I am going to lie down for a couple hours before work. You coming?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." As he watches her retreating form, he suddenly feels the need to tell her something. "Sara.I love you, don't forget that." All he gets in return is a wan smile.
After sleeping for three hours, Sara wakes to an arm slung around her waist and warm breath rustling her hair. Regarding the man next to her, Sara chastises herself for her behavior earlier that evening. He didn't deserve that. Turning carefully on the bed, she faces him and with one finger, lightly traces the lines of his face, memorizing everything. He is the one thing in her life she can depend on, the one thing that is keeping her sane. Sara considers herself a strong person, but for a few moments over the past few weeks she has felt herself weakening, wanting nothing more than to pull the covers over her eyes and pretend none of this is happening. Grissom is always there during those moments. While the rest of her life is crumbling around her, he is there, helping pick up the pieces.
Glancing at the orange glow of the clock, Sara is surprised at the time. They need to get going in order to make it on time. Regretfully, she calls his name softly until he opens his eyes and looks at her.
"Time already?" he asks into the pillow.
"Yeah, we probably should be on time coming back from vacation."
"Yeah probably." Grissom sighs loudly and sits up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "You think you can handle working with Nick tonight? I'm sure there will be a pile of paperwork awaiting my arrival tonight, and I would just rather get it all done now."
"Yes, I can work with Nick tonight. You know you **are** the boss, you don't have to ask me. An order will do," she says with a laugh and hugs him from behind.
"I warned you about that Sara, watch it. Or else." His tone is light.
"Or else what?" she asks and drops kisses on his exposed neck.
"If we had time I could show you. But we don't so.Sara, stop that," he says and pulls her away from his neck. Getting up, he looks back at her and smiles.
"Show me later?" she says in a low voice.
"I will, but now you need to get ready to go."
"Ok. Hey Gris." He turns from the door and she continues, "I'm sorry about the way I acted last night. I.my life is slowly being robbed from me, but you didn't deserve that. I love you too."
"Sara, I won't let anything happen to you."
"I know," she says, all the while thinking, 'How can he stop it?'
Entering the lab that night, Sara is met with concerned faces from the team. Sitting on the couch quietly, the silence is almost overbearing when she finally speaks.
"You guys don't have to walk on eggshells around me. It's ok, really. It's weird and creepy, but I am determined more than ever not to let this guy ruin my life." Her words are strong, but the emotion behind them isn't.
"Sara, if you need anything, just let us know. We're here for you." This comes from Catherine and the others quickly nod.
"Thanks guys," is all she responds with when an annoyed-looking Grissom enters the room, assignment sheets in hand.
"All right. My fears of a pile of paperwork have come true, I'm going to be spending the rest of the night doing that since we are light, so Nick, work with Sara on this 419. Warrick, you take the robbery, and Catherine, I want you on Sara's case until we can prove who broke in." Catherine nods in agreement; she had already talked to Grissom and requested Sara's case. "On that note, I realize Sara may have you believe that everything is fine, but we really need to keep an eye out for this guy. He could be anywhere and who knows what he's thinking. He's dangerous and we need to keep that in mind. Nick, you watch each others' backs, got that?" The last sentence is said with a firmness that Nick didn't expect, but isn't surprised to hear, considering Grissom and Sara's relationship.
"No problem, Grissom. I don't want anything to happen to her either."
"Uh guys? I **am** in the room; can you at least pretend I can hear you?" Sara asks tersely and gives each of the men a glare.
"Sara, we are just looking out for you," Nick tells her, hoping to diffuse the anger he can feel coming from her.
Sara looks at his face and sighs, "Sorry. The best thing we can do now though is try and get him for B and E, and maybe he'll be locked up for a while. You ready, Nick? Maybe a nice DB will get my mind off things," she says with a smile and the others chuckle.
"Nice, Sara. I'm sure Mr.." Nick looks at the assignment sheet, " . Grable is thrilled to provide you with some distraction with his corpse." That elicits a laugh from everyone and Grissom smiles at his team. They truly are family now.
tbc..........Yeah, I know, nice quiet, boring ending. I'm saving em all for later. Bwhahahahaha.
Author: CSIphile/A-Stepf
Rating/Disclaimer: PG13 ad yeah, I don't own em.
Notes: This ones kinda short and all, but have no fear..ha. My plan is to probably start double posting chapters soon (no pressure Meg) cause I want this whole thing wrapped up by the premier, so two weeks. Its all written, I just have to do some final work and get it betaed and BAM! Its all your guys'.
Thanks: Big thanks to all who have reviewed, you guys seriously kept me going when I was getting incredibly frustrated with this thing. I also really appreciate those who told me I was keeping Sara in character, there were a few sections where I thought I had totally destroyed what the character is, but you guys reassured me. I didn't realize how hard this was going to be, figuring out how Sara would react in this type of psychological warfare. You're the best!! And to Meg, thanks dude, the blue is my favorite part of the beta, I love your comments. Of course to Devanie, who has listened to me whine I don't know how many times, thank you. You guys rock!! And Eolivet.see you on the boards.
Taking a hesitant step into her apartment and dropping her bag, Sara looks around. She isn't sure what to expect, but for the most part, the apartment is as she left it. Entering her living room, she immediately notices the pictures are wrong, and one is indeed missing, her favorite one of her and Grissom. Nick notices the direction of her stare and directs her attention to her dining room table.
"The picture is fine, the glass is just gone from the frame." She nods silently, moving into the bathroom. Here is the only place that an outsider can tell anything is wrong. There is no mirror in the cabinet door, and all the pieces that had fallen into the sink, in addition to the glass on the kitchen floor, has been cleaned up by Nick and Warrick. Finally moving into her bedroom, Sara pauses at the door frame. She can now sense that someone else has been in here. Slowly looking around, Sara opens one of her dresser drawers, then in swift succession opens them all, with a stricken expression.
"He was in here. He was in my dresser drawers, my clothes." Her voice is wavering, her stomach threatening to empty its contents.
"How do you know?" Grissom asks.
"I just know, it's not exactly right. Trust me, Grissom," she tells him and moves over to the closet, opening the doors, the sinking feeling in her stomach getting worse. Scanning the clothes and doing a mental inventory of what's in her suitcase, Sara instantly knows which shirt is missing. Her hands shaking, she runs her fingers along the row of clothes, double- checking. "My blue long sleeve shirt is missing," she says to Nick, who makes a note for the report.
"I cant believe he broke into my apartment. This is getting out of control, this doesn't even feel like home anymore. It's not home. Someone was looking through my personal things, touching them." She shudders at the thought.
"Come on, Sara. We'll go to my place," Grissom says and guides her out of the bedroom, his anger held tightly in check. None of them notice the red blinking light on the answering machine.
Pacing the living room in his house, Joey holds the blue fabric lightly, not wanting to wrinkle it. Bringing the material close to his face, he breathes in the smell of fabric softener and soap and her. Carefully laying the material down, Joey formulates a plan to make her see how much he loves her and to make her love him back.
Sara is silent during the entire ride to Grissom's townhouse. He passes several glances her way, but each time she is staring out the window, her body in a defensive posture. Opening his mouth to say something, Grissom decides to wait until they are home and closes his mouth. Sara can feel him staring at her, but she refuses to move or even relax. He doesn't understand, he can't, what it's like to have your life violated like this. Knowing some person with a fixation on you broke into your house and went through your private things.for Sara it's almost too much to handle. Control of her life is slowly slipping through her fingers as the things Joey does cause Sara to alter how she lives. Closing her eyes tightly, Sara wishes this would all go away.
The stopping of the Tahoe causes her to open her eyes, and she realizes they're at Grissom's. Sliding out of the vehicle, Sara grabs her bag and follows Grissom inside, wanting nothing more that to sleep for a few hours before going to work. Before she can make it into the bedroom, however, Grissom's voice stops her.
"Sara. I won't ask if you are ok, because its blatantly apparent you're not. What can I do?" he asks and approaches her.
"Nothing. You can't do anything Gris, seems that no one can." Before she knows it, Sara is pulled into his strong embrace and tears are freely flowing down her cheeks.
"We will figure something out, Sara. Everyone leaves something behind, we just have to find it." He pulls her away from his chest and wipes her damp face.
"Doesn't matter, Grissom. First offense, he'll just get probation. And he was RORed for assault; doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence. They won't do anything until I end up in a hospital or dead," she says with a twinge of bitterness, and before he can respond continues, "Look, I am going to lie down for a couple hours before work. You coming?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." As he watches her retreating form, he suddenly feels the need to tell her something. "Sara.I love you, don't forget that." All he gets in return is a wan smile.
After sleeping for three hours, Sara wakes to an arm slung around her waist and warm breath rustling her hair. Regarding the man next to her, Sara chastises herself for her behavior earlier that evening. He didn't deserve that. Turning carefully on the bed, she faces him and with one finger, lightly traces the lines of his face, memorizing everything. He is the one thing in her life she can depend on, the one thing that is keeping her sane. Sara considers herself a strong person, but for a few moments over the past few weeks she has felt herself weakening, wanting nothing more than to pull the covers over her eyes and pretend none of this is happening. Grissom is always there during those moments. While the rest of her life is crumbling around her, he is there, helping pick up the pieces.
Glancing at the orange glow of the clock, Sara is surprised at the time. They need to get going in order to make it on time. Regretfully, she calls his name softly until he opens his eyes and looks at her.
"Time already?" he asks into the pillow.
"Yeah, we probably should be on time coming back from vacation."
"Yeah probably." Grissom sighs loudly and sits up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "You think you can handle working with Nick tonight? I'm sure there will be a pile of paperwork awaiting my arrival tonight, and I would just rather get it all done now."
"Yes, I can work with Nick tonight. You know you **are** the boss, you don't have to ask me. An order will do," she says with a laugh and hugs him from behind.
"I warned you about that Sara, watch it. Or else." His tone is light.
"Or else what?" she asks and drops kisses on his exposed neck.
"If we had time I could show you. But we don't so.Sara, stop that," he says and pulls her away from his neck. Getting up, he looks back at her and smiles.
"Show me later?" she says in a low voice.
"I will, but now you need to get ready to go."
"Ok. Hey Gris." He turns from the door and she continues, "I'm sorry about the way I acted last night. I.my life is slowly being robbed from me, but you didn't deserve that. I love you too."
"Sara, I won't let anything happen to you."
"I know," she says, all the while thinking, 'How can he stop it?'
Entering the lab that night, Sara is met with concerned faces from the team. Sitting on the couch quietly, the silence is almost overbearing when she finally speaks.
"You guys don't have to walk on eggshells around me. It's ok, really. It's weird and creepy, but I am determined more than ever not to let this guy ruin my life." Her words are strong, but the emotion behind them isn't.
"Sara, if you need anything, just let us know. We're here for you." This comes from Catherine and the others quickly nod.
"Thanks guys," is all she responds with when an annoyed-looking Grissom enters the room, assignment sheets in hand.
"All right. My fears of a pile of paperwork have come true, I'm going to be spending the rest of the night doing that since we are light, so Nick, work with Sara on this 419. Warrick, you take the robbery, and Catherine, I want you on Sara's case until we can prove who broke in." Catherine nods in agreement; she had already talked to Grissom and requested Sara's case. "On that note, I realize Sara may have you believe that everything is fine, but we really need to keep an eye out for this guy. He could be anywhere and who knows what he's thinking. He's dangerous and we need to keep that in mind. Nick, you watch each others' backs, got that?" The last sentence is said with a firmness that Nick didn't expect, but isn't surprised to hear, considering Grissom and Sara's relationship.
"No problem, Grissom. I don't want anything to happen to her either."
"Uh guys? I **am** in the room; can you at least pretend I can hear you?" Sara asks tersely and gives each of the men a glare.
"Sara, we are just looking out for you," Nick tells her, hoping to diffuse the anger he can feel coming from her.
Sara looks at his face and sighs, "Sorry. The best thing we can do now though is try and get him for B and E, and maybe he'll be locked up for a while. You ready, Nick? Maybe a nice DB will get my mind off things," she says with a smile and the others chuckle.
"Nice, Sara. I'm sure Mr.." Nick looks at the assignment sheet, " . Grable is thrilled to provide you with some distraction with his corpse." That elicits a laugh from everyone and Grissom smiles at his team. They truly are family now.
tbc..........Yeah, I know, nice quiet, boring ending. I'm saving em all for later. Bwhahahahaha.