Chapter 3
Later Tomorrow Night
Warrick and Catherine sat in the break room talking. "They're around here somewhere Cath."
"I can't believe they came in early. The plan to corner and make them stay at home blew up in our faces. They need to take time War." Catherine rubbed her face trying to push the tears away.
"I know, but if they want to work, we can't stop them." Warrick stood and hugged her from behind. "I'm going to see if DNA got my results yet. Catch you later." She looked up at him and kissed his cheek.
He walked out with a cup of coffee while Catherine read the interview report for their case. Suddenly Sara appeared from nowhere. "Hey." Catherine greeted.
Sara helped herself to a juice from the fridge and leaned on the counter facing her. "Hey Cath."
Catherine looked down at the file and after a few seconds sighed and closed it. "Nick rang last night."
Sara smiled at his name then it faded. "How is he?"
"Fine, said he'd be here in a few days." Catherine stood and tipped her remaining coffee down the drain.
"He doesn't need to fly, he can use the phone. It is cheaper Cath." Sara said looking at her hands wrapped around the juice cartoon.
"He want's to be here." Catherine looked at her and frowned. "How are you?" She asked.
Sara sighed and took in a shaky breath. "I'm fine." Sara put the juice down and headed for the door. "I got an experiment that needs checking. See you later." With that she was gone.
"Yeah, bye Sara." She whispered sorrowfully.
Sara stood over looking the large jar that was filled with fizzy soda water and looked down at her watch to check the time. Still a few hours to go before it fully de-fizz. She stared at the jar for twenty minutes straight. If she had moved a little she would have seen the figure standing in the corridor watching her.
He was walking back to his office when he saw her. She checked her watch and from then on didn't move, he watched closely as she breathed in and out slowly, barely blinking. She just stared at the jar quietly letting her thoughts swim free and trying to hold her self together for the rest of shift. Truth be told that they both kept as much discretion at work as possibly and when they got home they would eat, sleep of watch a home video, which always ended with them clinging to each other and falling asleep on the couch. He looked down at the floor and took a ragged breath, looking back at his wife one more time he let his feet carry him to his office, away from the rest of the world for even a short time was grateful.
Warrick knocked on the supervisor's door and got no reply. He knew Grissom was in there, he'd seen him go in only ten minutes ago. He knocked again and got a faint reply through the thick wood. He opened it and walked in.
"Hey Griss." Warrick looked at Grissom; he had his back to him. From the door it looked like he was reading. "I have the DNA results back for the Bellagio barmen. You wanna see em before I call Brass?"
Grissom shook his head and replied with a faint. "No."
Warrick nodded his head and regarded the man. He's been quiet, closed off, barely assisted interviews or interrogation. He's walking around with heavy shoulders and a slow stride like he's not willing to go any faster and not rush anything for anyone. Sara's been the same, but she has been burying herself in experiments that have been waiting to be done. As far as the lab personnel have noticed, they haven't been seen in the same room and when they do happen to be, it's for a matter of seconds.
We all figured it was because if they looked or talked to each other for too long they would see their little boy looking back at them. What we don't envy is when they go home to the solidarity of their four walls with no one around.
It has been two agonisingly slow weeks since the crash. 4.34pm their phone rang, echoing throughout the house. They had yet to wake up from their extra slumber from the night before and the morning's activities. Sara reached over Grissom for the phone and answered it sleepily. A terrifying scream from his wife woke him immediately. The next few days were the worse. Identifying the next door's neighbours and their own son's body was hard beyond words. No one believed it at first, but when the coroner put them straight, it broke the entire lab into pure painful silence.
They all knew the Grissom family, ever since Grissom first started dating Sara. They all notice how happy they made each other and when they were married the whole lab was invited. Grissom was overwhelmed and overjoyed when Sara told him she was pregnant. He told the world he was going to be a father and he swung Sara around in happiness. The most decent and perfect happy couple having a child sent the lab talking for months and when the little bundle arrived they held a party at the lab. From then on the baby boy was a permanent residence, although he wasn't keen on spiders he still enjoyed sitting with his father and learned about other bugs.
You would have thought that with such a loving family and friends that nothing could go wrong, but anyone would tell you. 7 years is not long enough on this earth, and 7 years old is too young to die.
Watching him silently as he rubbed his eyes covertly with his back still to him, he could see he was crying even though he couldn't hear him. Warrick backed out of the office and closed the door quietly. He turned and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes as he let the air conditioning blow the worry from his face and soul temporarily.
Now sitting in a layout room across from the closed door to his office and staring at Warrick as he tried to compose himself, she new what he found in that room. She was the same; she wiped a lonely tear from her cheek and turned back to her paperwork.
Exiting the Tahoe, they stood at the bottom of the drive. Grissom found Sara's hand and squeezed it. They both walked into the house together and went straight to bed, not wanting to see the toys still stern over the carpet in the living room, the cereal in the cupboards and the photo's that encase each wall.
Grissom got into bed in just his boxers and Sara climbed into his arms with her T-shirt and panties on. He held her tightly as she hugged his arms to her, not wanting him to ever let go. Neither slept for an hour, they just closed their eyes and pictured all the times they went to the park, went swimming, went on holiday, went to school PTA meetings, went to parent teacher conferences, went to school for show and tell, watched his first step, heard his first word, the first time he rode a bike.
Sleep was never easy for them anymore. Nightmares from work; cases that were never solved were replaced with those of the past, of only a few weeks ago.
When sleep finally descended on them, it came in short bursts and this time it was Sara who woke up, only two hours later. Grissom's arms never let go, but were loose around her from deep sleep. She eased his arms away from her and rolled him gently onto his back. Bringing the cover up to her chest, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
She pulled her night-gown on and went to the kitchen. Putting the kettle on while she pulled two cups from the cupboard. She put a tea bag in each and poured the hot water in to the cups, filling them with milk and stirring them before disposing of the used bag. She picked up one of the cups and took a brave scan of the room. Seeing something sparkle from the room in the hallway, she walked towards it. The light from outside bounced off the mirror on the wall and hit the colourful plastic mobile and model planes that hung from the ceiling. Sara walked into the room and picked up a brown bear. Walking back out to the living she sat on the rocking chair looking out the back patio doors. Overlooking the garden, swing set, sand box, plastic pool and small tree house that was hiding in the corner. Pulling the teddy closer she drank her tea.
Grissom woke alone; he stretched out his hand to the other side of the bed and felt the mattress was still warm. He put a shirt on and buttoned up a few buttons in the middle. Walking quietly into the kitchen he saw the tea made and was still steaming from the heat. Looking up he saw her sitting, gazing out the back doors and clutching a teddy bear. Her cup was half drunk and sat on the floor at her feet. He took a swig of tea and put it down. Walking over to her he saw the baseball bat, glove and ball on the desk in the corner of the living room. Feeling the wetness of his eyes, he sniffed and wiped his face. Sara turned to him and stood.
Standing in front of him she new that she could see her little boy, the blue eyes, the dimple chin, the curly hair, the intellect and uncanny ability to make her laugh with the slightest facial expression.
Looking into her eyes he new what she was thinking, he always did. He raised his hand to her hair and pushed it over her shoulder, letting his fingers softly stroke the skin of her neck and glide his thumb over her lips.
Her eyes closed as she let out a slow breath. "Hold me." She whispered.
Later Tomorrow Night
Warrick and Catherine sat in the break room talking. "They're around here somewhere Cath."
"I can't believe they came in early. The plan to corner and make them stay at home blew up in our faces. They need to take time War." Catherine rubbed her face trying to push the tears away.
"I know, but if they want to work, we can't stop them." Warrick stood and hugged her from behind. "I'm going to see if DNA got my results yet. Catch you later." She looked up at him and kissed his cheek.
He walked out with a cup of coffee while Catherine read the interview report for their case. Suddenly Sara appeared from nowhere. "Hey." Catherine greeted.
Sara helped herself to a juice from the fridge and leaned on the counter facing her. "Hey Cath."
Catherine looked down at the file and after a few seconds sighed and closed it. "Nick rang last night."
Sara smiled at his name then it faded. "How is he?"
"Fine, said he'd be here in a few days." Catherine stood and tipped her remaining coffee down the drain.
"He doesn't need to fly, he can use the phone. It is cheaper Cath." Sara said looking at her hands wrapped around the juice cartoon.
"He want's to be here." Catherine looked at her and frowned. "How are you?" She asked.
Sara sighed and took in a shaky breath. "I'm fine." Sara put the juice down and headed for the door. "I got an experiment that needs checking. See you later." With that she was gone.
"Yeah, bye Sara." She whispered sorrowfully.
Sara stood over looking the large jar that was filled with fizzy soda water and looked down at her watch to check the time. Still a few hours to go before it fully de-fizz. She stared at the jar for twenty minutes straight. If she had moved a little she would have seen the figure standing in the corridor watching her.
He was walking back to his office when he saw her. She checked her watch and from then on didn't move, he watched closely as she breathed in and out slowly, barely blinking. She just stared at the jar quietly letting her thoughts swim free and trying to hold her self together for the rest of shift. Truth be told that they both kept as much discretion at work as possibly and when they got home they would eat, sleep of watch a home video, which always ended with them clinging to each other and falling asleep on the couch. He looked down at the floor and took a ragged breath, looking back at his wife one more time he let his feet carry him to his office, away from the rest of the world for even a short time was grateful.
Warrick knocked on the supervisor's door and got no reply. He knew Grissom was in there, he'd seen him go in only ten minutes ago. He knocked again and got a faint reply through the thick wood. He opened it and walked in.
"Hey Griss." Warrick looked at Grissom; he had his back to him. From the door it looked like he was reading. "I have the DNA results back for the Bellagio barmen. You wanna see em before I call Brass?"
Grissom shook his head and replied with a faint. "No."
Warrick nodded his head and regarded the man. He's been quiet, closed off, barely assisted interviews or interrogation. He's walking around with heavy shoulders and a slow stride like he's not willing to go any faster and not rush anything for anyone. Sara's been the same, but she has been burying herself in experiments that have been waiting to be done. As far as the lab personnel have noticed, they haven't been seen in the same room and when they do happen to be, it's for a matter of seconds.
We all figured it was because if they looked or talked to each other for too long they would see their little boy looking back at them. What we don't envy is when they go home to the solidarity of their four walls with no one around.
It has been two agonisingly slow weeks since the crash. 4.34pm their phone rang, echoing throughout the house. They had yet to wake up from their extra slumber from the night before and the morning's activities. Sara reached over Grissom for the phone and answered it sleepily. A terrifying scream from his wife woke him immediately. The next few days were the worse. Identifying the next door's neighbours and their own son's body was hard beyond words. No one believed it at first, but when the coroner put them straight, it broke the entire lab into pure painful silence.
They all knew the Grissom family, ever since Grissom first started dating Sara. They all notice how happy they made each other and when they were married the whole lab was invited. Grissom was overwhelmed and overjoyed when Sara told him she was pregnant. He told the world he was going to be a father and he swung Sara around in happiness. The most decent and perfect happy couple having a child sent the lab talking for months and when the little bundle arrived they held a party at the lab. From then on the baby boy was a permanent residence, although he wasn't keen on spiders he still enjoyed sitting with his father and learned about other bugs.
You would have thought that with such a loving family and friends that nothing could go wrong, but anyone would tell you. 7 years is not long enough on this earth, and 7 years old is too young to die.
Watching him silently as he rubbed his eyes covertly with his back still to him, he could see he was crying even though he couldn't hear him. Warrick backed out of the office and closed the door quietly. He turned and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes as he let the air conditioning blow the worry from his face and soul temporarily.
Now sitting in a layout room across from the closed door to his office and staring at Warrick as he tried to compose himself, she new what he found in that room. She was the same; she wiped a lonely tear from her cheek and turned back to her paperwork.
Exiting the Tahoe, they stood at the bottom of the drive. Grissom found Sara's hand and squeezed it. They both walked into the house together and went straight to bed, not wanting to see the toys still stern over the carpet in the living room, the cereal in the cupboards and the photo's that encase each wall.
Grissom got into bed in just his boxers and Sara climbed into his arms with her T-shirt and panties on. He held her tightly as she hugged his arms to her, not wanting him to ever let go. Neither slept for an hour, they just closed their eyes and pictured all the times they went to the park, went swimming, went on holiday, went to school PTA meetings, went to parent teacher conferences, went to school for show and tell, watched his first step, heard his first word, the first time he rode a bike.
Sleep was never easy for them anymore. Nightmares from work; cases that were never solved were replaced with those of the past, of only a few weeks ago.
When sleep finally descended on them, it came in short bursts and this time it was Sara who woke up, only two hours later. Grissom's arms never let go, but were loose around her from deep sleep. She eased his arms away from her and rolled him gently onto his back. Bringing the cover up to her chest, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
She pulled her night-gown on and went to the kitchen. Putting the kettle on while she pulled two cups from the cupboard. She put a tea bag in each and poured the hot water in to the cups, filling them with milk and stirring them before disposing of the used bag. She picked up one of the cups and took a brave scan of the room. Seeing something sparkle from the room in the hallway, she walked towards it. The light from outside bounced off the mirror on the wall and hit the colourful plastic mobile and model planes that hung from the ceiling. Sara walked into the room and picked up a brown bear. Walking back out to the living she sat on the rocking chair looking out the back patio doors. Overlooking the garden, swing set, sand box, plastic pool and small tree house that was hiding in the corner. Pulling the teddy closer she drank her tea.
Grissom woke alone; he stretched out his hand to the other side of the bed and felt the mattress was still warm. He put a shirt on and buttoned up a few buttons in the middle. Walking quietly into the kitchen he saw the tea made and was still steaming from the heat. Looking up he saw her sitting, gazing out the back doors and clutching a teddy bear. Her cup was half drunk and sat on the floor at her feet. He took a swig of tea and put it down. Walking over to her he saw the baseball bat, glove and ball on the desk in the corner of the living room. Feeling the wetness of his eyes, he sniffed and wiped his face. Sara turned to him and stood.
Standing in front of him she new that she could see her little boy, the blue eyes, the dimple chin, the curly hair, the intellect and uncanny ability to make her laugh with the slightest facial expression.
Looking into her eyes he new what she was thinking, he always did. He raised his hand to her hair and pushed it over her shoulder, letting his fingers softly stroke the skin of her neck and glide his thumb over her lips.
Her eyes closed as she let out a slow breath. "Hold me." She whispered.