Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters; they are the property of the creators and producers of CSI. Please don't sue me! Anything about Sara's parents and past is fictional, and loosely based on her profile on the CSI website.
Note: I also wrote up a part in here that took place right after Crash & Burn.
The room was dark and somewhat cold, the blinds were closed. The neighbourhood was unusually quiet, but he didn't mind. It was only the cool temperature that crept up on him, that bothered him. His chest was chilly, the hair on the back of his neck awake as well.
The phone rang endlessly. He didn't want to move, choosing instead to pull his bed sheets up to his chest, 'damn, it's cold," he shivered. The ringing continued, he groaned as he moved to pick up his phone.
"Hello?" Nick answered, his mind still tried refocusing, his eyes half closed.
"Nick, we need you here, Greg found something," Warrick said over the phone. Nick's head snapped up.
"I'll be right there," Nick answered.
The lights of the strip were bright; it reflected nicely over the black Tahoe that he drove through the street. Nick observed the crowds walked happily up and down the street. Couples cuddling as they walked down the street. He smiled, and blushed a little at his revelation earlier in the evening. As he drove further away from the lights of The Mirage, he looked at the bulletin across the street.
*University Band Championships. Welcome Owls! Rice University Band - Current Champions. GO OWLS! *
'Owls, owls,' Nick blinked twice, and stepped on the gas.
"Grissom, Owls, she went to Rice with me," Nick explained, out of breath marching into the room. Sitting around were Catherine, Warrick and Greg.
"What?"
"When she called, I didn't know her name and she said, 'after all those years with the Owls. Meaning that she must have gone to Rice with me. Rice University Owls." he clarified.
"Does this mean that you know who it is?" Greg questioned.
"I have no clue how it is," Nick answered, holding his head between his hands.
"Do you realize how many girls I talked to in college? The girls in class, the one's at the parties, games. I don't even know were to start."
"Let's not start where too many options lie, we should focus on what we know and have," Grissom interrupted.
"Greg, tell us what you found," Catherine asked.
Greg took out the printout of results from a folder that sat on the edge of the table. He was uncomfortable; he attempted to suppress his emotions, but failed miserably.
"The blood on the shirt is Sara's," he finally managed to spit out. The color on everyone's face had drained.
"But... I did find a small amount of unidentified blood. I ran it through AFIS, but nothing came up," Greg continued, everyone's faces were still expressionless.
Ring. Ring. The ringing phone had broken the room's silence. Everyone all looked at the evidence bag before them. Sara's phone.
Nick jumped at the constant ringing, he looked at the phone, then at Grissom, who has definitely closer. Grissom motioned for Nick to pick up the phone, both Warrick and Catherine looked on, Greg too was feeling the tension in the room. The ringing continued.
"Hello?" Nick finally answered.
"Hi cowboy," the voice greeted.
"Hi, you know who I am, but who are you?"
"Nicky, how can you say that? We have a history together, the parties, the games. I'm sure you know by now that I went to Rice with you," she responded.
"That I know. But what does this have to do with Sara?" Nick questioned, flipping through the scrapbook of parties and games he attended in university.
"It has everything to do with Sara, I've seen you two. Those long glances, and subtle touches."
"You've been watching me," Nick closed his eyes. 'Sara'
The voice laughed.
"I'll give you whatever you want, just give Sara back," Nick pleaded.
"Why would I? I have your most cherished position," the woman's voice turned cold.
"And with her out of the way, I'm sure that we could finally be together," she continued. Nick gulped, his mind drew a blank, he didn't know what to say.
"Can I talk to her?" He asked. Grissom and the others were listening intently at what was transpiring. All ears glued to the phone. They too wondered how Sara was doing.
"Wouldn't you just love that? You'll have to find her, but this is of course, if and before I get rid of her. Oh Nicky, after she's gone, we'll finally be together. You know you love me; you just don't know it yet."
"Listen, how can you say you love me when you won't even tell me your name?" Nick finally answered.
"I don't like your tone of voice; I think this phone call is over. Sara says hello-" the line went dead.
"Whoa," Greg concluded. Everyone leaned back on their seats, all except for Nick, who still stood in the middle of the room. Everyone was utterly in shock, speechless and all afraid. Moments had passed before a man walked in with printout results. He handed the folder to Grissom, and Grissom scanned the file.
"What do you know about Mark Wallis?" He finally questioned, snapping his fingers in front of Nick.
"Mark? Um, he was at the game with Sara," he responded, studying Grissom's face.
"His finger prints were all over the truck, and the camera," Grissom added.
"Well, that's nothing unusual. They were both there to watch the game. And the camera was his," Nick quickly brushed the comment aside.
"Anything else?" Grissom questioned.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Nick you're coming with me to San Francisco. Warrick, stay here. I want to know where that camera has been. Greg, good job," Grissom applauded the young lab tech.
"Catherine, I want you to toss the Tahoe, I want it to light up," Grissom ordered.
"Why don't I go book the tickets first," Catherine stated. Grissom nodded as she made her way towards his office to make a call.
"I'll drive to the airport," Nick declared, half-way through the door.
1.25 hours later
"Ladies an gentlemen, we would ask that you please return to your seats. And please return your trays and seats to their upright position. We are only minutes way from landing in San Francisco. Thank you," The pilot's voice resonated in the cabin.
Nick sat in the window seat, his eyes fatigued. Grissom was beside him, flipping through the pages of a magazine, not paying much attention to the magazine's content. He stared ahead, at the lights that lined the aisle. Both men were tired and hadn't had a good night's sleep since Sara's disappearance; a nap here and there was all that they could manage. This was just a horrible nightmare, and it was hard to accept that Sara was trapped.
'Owls, owls, owls. Who are you?" Nick wondered silently. His thoughts were rapid, as he struggled to maintain his poise. Last evening's revelations were safely tucked away in the back of his mind. 'You'll get a chance to tell her,' he thought positively.
'Why is this happening?" Grissom asked himself, as he madly flipped through a magazine. 'What am I going to say to her parents?'
*Sunrise Bed and Breakfast* - the sign read.
Both men entered the cozy home, being greeted by a couple in their late 50s.
"Hi, I'm Gil Grissom and this is Nick Stokes, we work with the LVPD."
"Grissom, the sounds familiar," the woman answered.
"We work with your daughter, Sara," Nick answered. Extending a hand to both the woman and the man behind her.
"Of course, Gil Grissom, you used to work here," the man responded, suddenly recalling.
"Yes, Mr. Sidle." Grissom smiled.
"Please, sit down, I'll go make some coffee," Mrs. Sidle encouraged.
Grissom sat down on the couch and continued with the small talk. Meanwhile, Nick had excused himself to go to the washroom, but on his way, he observed his surroundings. The hall was lined with pictures, trophies, awards, while family pictures appeared around the home.
"She was one smart cookie."
Nick jumped, as he turned to find Mrs. Sidle standing behind him.
"Yeah," Nick half-smiled, as he looked into Mrs. Sidle eyes. 'I miss Sara,' he concluded. Her eyes reflected that of Sara's, only lighter, Sara's were more intense, deep and full of wonder and complexity.
"How long have you known Sara?" The short woman answered, ushering him to the kitchen.
"About three years, Nick smiled. Looking curiously at the intense fusion of fuchsia and lavender tones that colored kitchen.
"How is she?" the woman quizzed.
Nick gulped. How can he tell her what has happened, or what is still unknown?
"Honey, we need some sugar," Mr. Sidle requested politely, as he entered the kitchen.
"I'll get it," she answered.
'Phew' Nick thought.
"Mr. Sidle, Mrs. Sidle. I'm afraid we aren't quite the bringers of good news," Grissom began.
The couple's happy expression had dulled, anticipating his next few words. Nick was standing by the fireplace, biting his nails - a habit that occasionally crept up on him.
"Is Sara alright?" Mrs. Sidle's voice was almost a whisper.
"There's no easy to tell you this, but…we're here to tell you that Sara has...disappeared," Grissom continued. You could hear the sobs work their way up and out into the room. Mrs. Sidle held on to her husband for support, and he did the same.
"What happened? Is she ok?" The father questioned, picturing his daughter's life in danger.
"We are currently gathering evidence, but we wanted to come here and ask you a few questions, just to help lead, and eliminate some possibilities," Grissom explained, looking deep into the eyes of Sara's parents. He sympathized with them, and it pained him to witness the pain in their hearts. Nick looked on, feeling the pangs of pain himself, images of Sara in pain played through his head; his knees weakened, but he held on to the fireplace mantle.
A few moments had passed, and Sara's mother was hysterical. Her father, trying hard not to break down and cry himself, trying to be the foundation and support of his wife.
"What can we do, we don't know anything about Sara's activity in the past years," Mr. Sidle explained.
"After leaving to go to Harvard, she never really stayed in touch. A post card, some greeting cards, but that was it," he continued.
"Actually, we were wondering if you could tell us about her childhood friends," Nick broke in.
"Sara didn't have much friends growing up, she always liked studying. Never really going outside to play with the other kids. She enjoyed playing in her room," Mrs. Sidle managed to say, between the sobs and hiccups.
"Does the name Mark Wallis ring a bell?" Grissom wondered.
"Mark? Yeah, he was a friend of Sara's... I guess. But, I think she was better friends with Mark's brother, David. Sara went to the prom with David," Mr. Sidle continued.
"I remember when Sara came home one day from school. She was in a huff. She said that Mark Wallis had kissed her on the playground," Sara's mother, commented, with a half-smile.
Nick smiled, his thoughts drifted towards Sara, he just imagined how cute Sara was when she was upset.
- Flashback -
"Hey buddy, give me another one," Sara slurred. The bartender refused to give her another drink, and she tried her best to give him a good, long stare. Only to realize that she wasn't even giving the bartender cut-eye, but was just looking at a stranger sitting beside her.
"Beer," drawled the man who approached the heavily intoxicated Sara.
"How many drinks has she had?" He questioned the bartender.
"She mixed it up a little. A couple of beers, and she snuck in a couple shots of vodka too," the bartender motioned, as he looked at Sara.
Her head rested on the edge of the bar, almost asleep. He smiled, 'she's out of it." He brushed the strands of hair that littered her red face. 'She's the most beautiful drunk I have ever seen,' he managed to comment to himself.
"Sara? It's Nick, I'm here to take you home," Nick whispered in her ear.
"Nick?" Sara scoffed.
"Nick doesn't know where I am," she answered waving her finger in the air.
"Come on Sara it's time to go," Nick said. He gently grabbed her arm, but she didn't move.
"Sara, don't make this difficult," Nick ordered, trying frantically to maneuver his way to move Sara, finally deciding on carrying her to his car.
"Thanks for calling me Raul," Nick waved to the bartender.
"No, problem.
"Bye Raul," Sara managed to wave, her words still slurred.
Once in the car, Sara was just too drunk and tired to argue with Nick.
Nick was curious as to why she was even in that part of town; he had almost drifted to sleep when he received a call from the bartender - a friend of his. The man had asked to take Sara home, having seen her drink with Nick, Warrick and Catherine on several occasions.
It wasn't his place to question Sara's reasoning, but he drove her, he's ears were open, if she wanted to talk. The drive wasn't too difficult, the roads were practically clear, and Sara hadn't moved since they left the bar. As pull up onto Sara's driveway, he looked at her. Tears were streaming down her rosy red cheeks.
"Sara." Sara didn't move, Nick unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face her.
"What happened?"
She turned, "Hank and I broke up." As she commenced on sobbing.
'I'll kill him,' Nick's inner voice screamed. 'Say something,' it continued.
"I'm here," Nick answered enthusiastically. 'What the hell was that?" His mind questioned.
Whatever it was, it made Sara smile. As she fumbled with the seatbelt.
"Thanks for the ride," she uttered, opening the door, but she slipped.
"Sara," Nick called out, concerned. He jumped out of his and out of the driver's side to help Sara off the ground.
He inspected her eyes, 'they were beautiful' he thought to himself. She laughed as he lifted her on her feet; together they slowly walked to her front porch. Sara scrabbled to find her keys, but Nick used the spare key in the mailbox.
Once inside, he maneuvered his hand to fix the bed sheets.
"You know what I like about you Nick Stokes?" Sara garbled.
"You're dependable," she smiled, as her head tipped over and landed on Nick's shoulder. All Nick could do was smile as he gently placed her on her bed.
The next day as a challenge, Sara stormed into the lab, with a hangover no less. She sped past Nick, not acknowledging his presence. She was upset, her face red and eyes sharp, he wasn't quite sure what had happened, but he let it slip. It was only a couple nights later did he realize his mistake.
After several drinks, Sara opened up to him, yet again.
She laughed," I still can't believe that you're here," she finally said.
"Of course I'd still be here, don't think for a second that I'd let you drink alone," Nick smiled.
"I can't believe you're still here; I've been such a runt for the last couple of days," she continued.
"I'm still kicking myself. I'm so embarrassed," she blushed, although somewhat unnoticeable under the pink color of her cheeks.
"Don't be embarrassed. You have nothing to be embarrassed about," Nick commented, taking another sip of beer.
"Oh, I do. I'm mad that I burdened you with my problems," Sara managed to say, after taking a long shot of vodka.
"Burden? Since when have you been a burden?" Nick teased.
"Pile it on me," He smiled.
- Present -
"Nick?" It was Grissom, it had started raining. Nick cleared his throat.
"Yeah," he squeaked.
"Your phone's ringing," Grissom said, indicating at the phone on Nick's belt.
"Stokes," he answered. Sara's parents were still recovering from the sad news. He looked over at them, listening closely to the voice on the line. It was Catherine.
They found something.
The pictures taken by the camera were all of Sara. The camera was used to watch her; there were pictures of her house, from behind the bushes. Long lenses were used to take these, only a pro. Nick's breathing intensified. 'That bastard,' he sighed.
"Mrs. Sidle, can you tell us about Mark?" Nick finally questioned, ending his brief conversation with Catherine. Grissom glared at Nick, but realized the determination in the young CSIs eyes. He stared, but began to understand. His attention then turned to the distraught parents before them.
"Does Mark know where Sara is?" Mr. Sidle acknowledged.
"We just want to know some details about Sara's past," Grissom interrupted.
"I guess you can say that Mark's a good kid. He went to high school; he works for a radio station. Um, I can't quite remember what he did though," Mr. Sidle responded
"How was his relationship with Sara?" Nick asked.
"Well, in high school, they didn't really hang out. Sara was always with David."
"Wait, David? As in Mark's brother?" Grissom probed.
"Yeah, David was a good kid, a lot of promise. Too bad for the accident," Mr. Sidle's head shook. 'Accident?' Nick asked himself.
But before he could speak, Mrs. Sidle offered an answer.
"David and Mark were avid surfers; before going off to college, they went to surf in Hawaii's North Shore."
"David caught a violent wave, hit his head and drowned. His body was found later that day by the locals," Mr. Sidle explained.
The minutes that followed were eventful, as it turned out; the accident was never fully investigated. After hearing of the news, Sara decided to pull away, that's when she decided to leave San Francisco and head east. Away from home, Sara turned into the workaholic and emotionally withdrawn person everybody knew. She disassociated herself from the world, her parents and her friends. Upon returning to the west coast, she reunited with Mark.
"It was strange, come to think of it; Sara never really paid any attention to Mark. But Mark, he was always around, always there," Sara's father concluded.
Nick and Grissom sat uncomfortably in their chairs. Sara's mother had calmed down, it looked like the storytelling has somewhat calmed her stew of emotions.
Grissom could feel the anger that raged in Nick. His own emotions running high, but he masked it perfectly, expressing little, or rather, no emotion.
Nick's heart pounded, anger burned in his eyes.
"Thank you for your time. You have been a great help," Grissom said, breaking the silence that had snuck up on the group.
"Please find Sara," Mr. Sidle asked. His emotions masked as well, but Grissom knew. The fear and panic that overcame the older man before him, the emotions that only a father could bare for his baby daughter.
"We will," Grissom sympathized, as both he and Nick began walking towards the door. Grissom exited first, he waved from the bottom of the front steps, Nick followed.
"When you find her, hold on to her," Sara's mother smiled, gently seizing Nick's arm.
Surprised, Nick, looked down, overflowing with emotion.
"I will," he nodded as he slowly made his way to the rental.
Inside, he looked at Grissom; both men knew what was next. Grissom took out his phone and dialed Warrick's number.
"Get me everything on Mark Wallis," he ordered.
*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
A/N - I love the reviews, all the creative criticism. I know that a lot of people are looking for the Sara POV, but I think that for the sake of having a more interesting/dramatic/emotionally driven scene to tie in all the plots, I've chosen to keep her POV minimal. So if you really want to know what Sara's thinking, just bare with me and I'll post more chapters soon.
Plus, I know that the brief convo between Nick and Sara's mom in the end is little cliché, but what can you do, I'm over dramatic, and besides, this is a story, why not have fun with it? If you were entertained or were not amused... or if you're just getting tired of reading this... please click on the blue button below and review. :D
To nena: um i totally agree that i need to be more descriptive with the scenes... but my head captures words rather than picture descriptions. i'm sorry that i couldn't describe any of the surroundings in this chapter, but i'll try to incorporate that into the next chapters (yes, i did say chapters) lol.
this was getting too long, so i couldn't really add it in. i hope that you don't stop reading, or stop reviewing... cuz i am officially addicted to reviews!
Thanks to all who have reviewed and have given me a ton of suggestions, thank you for even reading. - oceanwave
Note: I also wrote up a part in here that took place right after Crash & Burn.
The room was dark and somewhat cold, the blinds were closed. The neighbourhood was unusually quiet, but he didn't mind. It was only the cool temperature that crept up on him, that bothered him. His chest was chilly, the hair on the back of his neck awake as well.
The phone rang endlessly. He didn't want to move, choosing instead to pull his bed sheets up to his chest, 'damn, it's cold," he shivered. The ringing continued, he groaned as he moved to pick up his phone.
"Hello?" Nick answered, his mind still tried refocusing, his eyes half closed.
"Nick, we need you here, Greg found something," Warrick said over the phone. Nick's head snapped up.
"I'll be right there," Nick answered.
The lights of the strip were bright; it reflected nicely over the black Tahoe that he drove through the street. Nick observed the crowds walked happily up and down the street. Couples cuddling as they walked down the street. He smiled, and blushed a little at his revelation earlier in the evening. As he drove further away from the lights of The Mirage, he looked at the bulletin across the street.
*University Band Championships. Welcome Owls! Rice University Band - Current Champions. GO OWLS! *
'Owls, owls,' Nick blinked twice, and stepped on the gas.
"Grissom, Owls, she went to Rice with me," Nick explained, out of breath marching into the room. Sitting around were Catherine, Warrick and Greg.
"What?"
"When she called, I didn't know her name and she said, 'after all those years with the Owls. Meaning that she must have gone to Rice with me. Rice University Owls." he clarified.
"Does this mean that you know who it is?" Greg questioned.
"I have no clue how it is," Nick answered, holding his head between his hands.
"Do you realize how many girls I talked to in college? The girls in class, the one's at the parties, games. I don't even know were to start."
"Let's not start where too many options lie, we should focus on what we know and have," Grissom interrupted.
"Greg, tell us what you found," Catherine asked.
Greg took out the printout of results from a folder that sat on the edge of the table. He was uncomfortable; he attempted to suppress his emotions, but failed miserably.
"The blood on the shirt is Sara's," he finally managed to spit out. The color on everyone's face had drained.
"But... I did find a small amount of unidentified blood. I ran it through AFIS, but nothing came up," Greg continued, everyone's faces were still expressionless.
Ring. Ring. The ringing phone had broken the room's silence. Everyone all looked at the evidence bag before them. Sara's phone.
Nick jumped at the constant ringing, he looked at the phone, then at Grissom, who has definitely closer. Grissom motioned for Nick to pick up the phone, both Warrick and Catherine looked on, Greg too was feeling the tension in the room. The ringing continued.
"Hello?" Nick finally answered.
"Hi cowboy," the voice greeted.
"Hi, you know who I am, but who are you?"
"Nicky, how can you say that? We have a history together, the parties, the games. I'm sure you know by now that I went to Rice with you," she responded.
"That I know. But what does this have to do with Sara?" Nick questioned, flipping through the scrapbook of parties and games he attended in university.
"It has everything to do with Sara, I've seen you two. Those long glances, and subtle touches."
"You've been watching me," Nick closed his eyes. 'Sara'
The voice laughed.
"I'll give you whatever you want, just give Sara back," Nick pleaded.
"Why would I? I have your most cherished position," the woman's voice turned cold.
"And with her out of the way, I'm sure that we could finally be together," she continued. Nick gulped, his mind drew a blank, he didn't know what to say.
"Can I talk to her?" He asked. Grissom and the others were listening intently at what was transpiring. All ears glued to the phone. They too wondered how Sara was doing.
"Wouldn't you just love that? You'll have to find her, but this is of course, if and before I get rid of her. Oh Nicky, after she's gone, we'll finally be together. You know you love me; you just don't know it yet."
"Listen, how can you say you love me when you won't even tell me your name?" Nick finally answered.
"I don't like your tone of voice; I think this phone call is over. Sara says hello-" the line went dead.
"Whoa," Greg concluded. Everyone leaned back on their seats, all except for Nick, who still stood in the middle of the room. Everyone was utterly in shock, speechless and all afraid. Moments had passed before a man walked in with printout results. He handed the folder to Grissom, and Grissom scanned the file.
"What do you know about Mark Wallis?" He finally questioned, snapping his fingers in front of Nick.
"Mark? Um, he was at the game with Sara," he responded, studying Grissom's face.
"His finger prints were all over the truck, and the camera," Grissom added.
"Well, that's nothing unusual. They were both there to watch the game. And the camera was his," Nick quickly brushed the comment aside.
"Anything else?" Grissom questioned.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Nick you're coming with me to San Francisco. Warrick, stay here. I want to know where that camera has been. Greg, good job," Grissom applauded the young lab tech.
"Catherine, I want you to toss the Tahoe, I want it to light up," Grissom ordered.
"Why don't I go book the tickets first," Catherine stated. Grissom nodded as she made her way towards his office to make a call.
"I'll drive to the airport," Nick declared, half-way through the door.
1.25 hours later
"Ladies an gentlemen, we would ask that you please return to your seats. And please return your trays and seats to their upright position. We are only minutes way from landing in San Francisco. Thank you," The pilot's voice resonated in the cabin.
Nick sat in the window seat, his eyes fatigued. Grissom was beside him, flipping through the pages of a magazine, not paying much attention to the magazine's content. He stared ahead, at the lights that lined the aisle. Both men were tired and hadn't had a good night's sleep since Sara's disappearance; a nap here and there was all that they could manage. This was just a horrible nightmare, and it was hard to accept that Sara was trapped.
'Owls, owls, owls. Who are you?" Nick wondered silently. His thoughts were rapid, as he struggled to maintain his poise. Last evening's revelations were safely tucked away in the back of his mind. 'You'll get a chance to tell her,' he thought positively.
'Why is this happening?" Grissom asked himself, as he madly flipped through a magazine. 'What am I going to say to her parents?'
*Sunrise Bed and Breakfast* - the sign read.
Both men entered the cozy home, being greeted by a couple in their late 50s.
"Hi, I'm Gil Grissom and this is Nick Stokes, we work with the LVPD."
"Grissom, the sounds familiar," the woman answered.
"We work with your daughter, Sara," Nick answered. Extending a hand to both the woman and the man behind her.
"Of course, Gil Grissom, you used to work here," the man responded, suddenly recalling.
"Yes, Mr. Sidle." Grissom smiled.
"Please, sit down, I'll go make some coffee," Mrs. Sidle encouraged.
Grissom sat down on the couch and continued with the small talk. Meanwhile, Nick had excused himself to go to the washroom, but on his way, he observed his surroundings. The hall was lined with pictures, trophies, awards, while family pictures appeared around the home.
"She was one smart cookie."
Nick jumped, as he turned to find Mrs. Sidle standing behind him.
"Yeah," Nick half-smiled, as he looked into Mrs. Sidle eyes. 'I miss Sara,' he concluded. Her eyes reflected that of Sara's, only lighter, Sara's were more intense, deep and full of wonder and complexity.
"How long have you known Sara?" The short woman answered, ushering him to the kitchen.
"About three years, Nick smiled. Looking curiously at the intense fusion of fuchsia and lavender tones that colored kitchen.
"How is she?" the woman quizzed.
Nick gulped. How can he tell her what has happened, or what is still unknown?
"Honey, we need some sugar," Mr. Sidle requested politely, as he entered the kitchen.
"I'll get it," she answered.
'Phew' Nick thought.
"Mr. Sidle, Mrs. Sidle. I'm afraid we aren't quite the bringers of good news," Grissom began.
The couple's happy expression had dulled, anticipating his next few words. Nick was standing by the fireplace, biting his nails - a habit that occasionally crept up on him.
"Is Sara alright?" Mrs. Sidle's voice was almost a whisper.
"There's no easy to tell you this, but…we're here to tell you that Sara has...disappeared," Grissom continued. You could hear the sobs work their way up and out into the room. Mrs. Sidle held on to her husband for support, and he did the same.
"What happened? Is she ok?" The father questioned, picturing his daughter's life in danger.
"We are currently gathering evidence, but we wanted to come here and ask you a few questions, just to help lead, and eliminate some possibilities," Grissom explained, looking deep into the eyes of Sara's parents. He sympathized with them, and it pained him to witness the pain in their hearts. Nick looked on, feeling the pangs of pain himself, images of Sara in pain played through his head; his knees weakened, but he held on to the fireplace mantle.
A few moments had passed, and Sara's mother was hysterical. Her father, trying hard not to break down and cry himself, trying to be the foundation and support of his wife.
"What can we do, we don't know anything about Sara's activity in the past years," Mr. Sidle explained.
"After leaving to go to Harvard, she never really stayed in touch. A post card, some greeting cards, but that was it," he continued.
"Actually, we were wondering if you could tell us about her childhood friends," Nick broke in.
"Sara didn't have much friends growing up, she always liked studying. Never really going outside to play with the other kids. She enjoyed playing in her room," Mrs. Sidle managed to say, between the sobs and hiccups.
"Does the name Mark Wallis ring a bell?" Grissom wondered.
"Mark? Yeah, he was a friend of Sara's... I guess. But, I think she was better friends with Mark's brother, David. Sara went to the prom with David," Mr. Sidle continued.
"I remember when Sara came home one day from school. She was in a huff. She said that Mark Wallis had kissed her on the playground," Sara's mother, commented, with a half-smile.
Nick smiled, his thoughts drifted towards Sara, he just imagined how cute Sara was when she was upset.
- Flashback -
"Hey buddy, give me another one," Sara slurred. The bartender refused to give her another drink, and she tried her best to give him a good, long stare. Only to realize that she wasn't even giving the bartender cut-eye, but was just looking at a stranger sitting beside her.
"Beer," drawled the man who approached the heavily intoxicated Sara.
"How many drinks has she had?" He questioned the bartender.
"She mixed it up a little. A couple of beers, and she snuck in a couple shots of vodka too," the bartender motioned, as he looked at Sara.
Her head rested on the edge of the bar, almost asleep. He smiled, 'she's out of it." He brushed the strands of hair that littered her red face. 'She's the most beautiful drunk I have ever seen,' he managed to comment to himself.
"Sara? It's Nick, I'm here to take you home," Nick whispered in her ear.
"Nick?" Sara scoffed.
"Nick doesn't know where I am," she answered waving her finger in the air.
"Come on Sara it's time to go," Nick said. He gently grabbed her arm, but she didn't move.
"Sara, don't make this difficult," Nick ordered, trying frantically to maneuver his way to move Sara, finally deciding on carrying her to his car.
"Thanks for calling me Raul," Nick waved to the bartender.
"No, problem.
"Bye Raul," Sara managed to wave, her words still slurred.
Once in the car, Sara was just too drunk and tired to argue with Nick.
Nick was curious as to why she was even in that part of town; he had almost drifted to sleep when he received a call from the bartender - a friend of his. The man had asked to take Sara home, having seen her drink with Nick, Warrick and Catherine on several occasions.
It wasn't his place to question Sara's reasoning, but he drove her, he's ears were open, if she wanted to talk. The drive wasn't too difficult, the roads were practically clear, and Sara hadn't moved since they left the bar. As pull up onto Sara's driveway, he looked at her. Tears were streaming down her rosy red cheeks.
"Sara." Sara didn't move, Nick unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face her.
"What happened?"
She turned, "Hank and I broke up." As she commenced on sobbing.
'I'll kill him,' Nick's inner voice screamed. 'Say something,' it continued.
"I'm here," Nick answered enthusiastically. 'What the hell was that?" His mind questioned.
Whatever it was, it made Sara smile. As she fumbled with the seatbelt.
"Thanks for the ride," she uttered, opening the door, but she slipped.
"Sara," Nick called out, concerned. He jumped out of his and out of the driver's side to help Sara off the ground.
He inspected her eyes, 'they were beautiful' he thought to himself. She laughed as he lifted her on her feet; together they slowly walked to her front porch. Sara scrabbled to find her keys, but Nick used the spare key in the mailbox.
Once inside, he maneuvered his hand to fix the bed sheets.
"You know what I like about you Nick Stokes?" Sara garbled.
"You're dependable," she smiled, as her head tipped over and landed on Nick's shoulder. All Nick could do was smile as he gently placed her on her bed.
The next day as a challenge, Sara stormed into the lab, with a hangover no less. She sped past Nick, not acknowledging his presence. She was upset, her face red and eyes sharp, he wasn't quite sure what had happened, but he let it slip. It was only a couple nights later did he realize his mistake.
After several drinks, Sara opened up to him, yet again.
She laughed," I still can't believe that you're here," she finally said.
"Of course I'd still be here, don't think for a second that I'd let you drink alone," Nick smiled.
"I can't believe you're still here; I've been such a runt for the last couple of days," she continued.
"I'm still kicking myself. I'm so embarrassed," she blushed, although somewhat unnoticeable under the pink color of her cheeks.
"Don't be embarrassed. You have nothing to be embarrassed about," Nick commented, taking another sip of beer.
"Oh, I do. I'm mad that I burdened you with my problems," Sara managed to say, after taking a long shot of vodka.
"Burden? Since when have you been a burden?" Nick teased.
"Pile it on me," He smiled.
- Present -
"Nick?" It was Grissom, it had started raining. Nick cleared his throat.
"Yeah," he squeaked.
"Your phone's ringing," Grissom said, indicating at the phone on Nick's belt.
"Stokes," he answered. Sara's parents were still recovering from the sad news. He looked over at them, listening closely to the voice on the line. It was Catherine.
They found something.
The pictures taken by the camera were all of Sara. The camera was used to watch her; there were pictures of her house, from behind the bushes. Long lenses were used to take these, only a pro. Nick's breathing intensified. 'That bastard,' he sighed.
"Mrs. Sidle, can you tell us about Mark?" Nick finally questioned, ending his brief conversation with Catherine. Grissom glared at Nick, but realized the determination in the young CSIs eyes. He stared, but began to understand. His attention then turned to the distraught parents before them.
"Does Mark know where Sara is?" Mr. Sidle acknowledged.
"We just want to know some details about Sara's past," Grissom interrupted.
"I guess you can say that Mark's a good kid. He went to high school; he works for a radio station. Um, I can't quite remember what he did though," Mr. Sidle responded
"How was his relationship with Sara?" Nick asked.
"Well, in high school, they didn't really hang out. Sara was always with David."
"Wait, David? As in Mark's brother?" Grissom probed.
"Yeah, David was a good kid, a lot of promise. Too bad for the accident," Mr. Sidle's head shook. 'Accident?' Nick asked himself.
But before he could speak, Mrs. Sidle offered an answer.
"David and Mark were avid surfers; before going off to college, they went to surf in Hawaii's North Shore."
"David caught a violent wave, hit his head and drowned. His body was found later that day by the locals," Mr. Sidle explained.
The minutes that followed were eventful, as it turned out; the accident was never fully investigated. After hearing of the news, Sara decided to pull away, that's when she decided to leave San Francisco and head east. Away from home, Sara turned into the workaholic and emotionally withdrawn person everybody knew. She disassociated herself from the world, her parents and her friends. Upon returning to the west coast, she reunited with Mark.
"It was strange, come to think of it; Sara never really paid any attention to Mark. But Mark, he was always around, always there," Sara's father concluded.
Nick and Grissom sat uncomfortably in their chairs. Sara's mother had calmed down, it looked like the storytelling has somewhat calmed her stew of emotions.
Grissom could feel the anger that raged in Nick. His own emotions running high, but he masked it perfectly, expressing little, or rather, no emotion.
Nick's heart pounded, anger burned in his eyes.
"Thank you for your time. You have been a great help," Grissom said, breaking the silence that had snuck up on the group.
"Please find Sara," Mr. Sidle asked. His emotions masked as well, but Grissom knew. The fear and panic that overcame the older man before him, the emotions that only a father could bare for his baby daughter.
"We will," Grissom sympathized, as both he and Nick began walking towards the door. Grissom exited first, he waved from the bottom of the front steps, Nick followed.
"When you find her, hold on to her," Sara's mother smiled, gently seizing Nick's arm.
Surprised, Nick, looked down, overflowing with emotion.
"I will," he nodded as he slowly made his way to the rental.
Inside, he looked at Grissom; both men knew what was next. Grissom took out his phone and dialed Warrick's number.
"Get me everything on Mark Wallis," he ordered.
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A/N - I love the reviews, all the creative criticism. I know that a lot of people are looking for the Sara POV, but I think that for the sake of having a more interesting/dramatic/emotionally driven scene to tie in all the plots, I've chosen to keep her POV minimal. So if you really want to know what Sara's thinking, just bare with me and I'll post more chapters soon.
Plus, I know that the brief convo between Nick and Sara's mom in the end is little cliché, but what can you do, I'm over dramatic, and besides, this is a story, why not have fun with it? If you were entertained or were not amused... or if you're just getting tired of reading this... please click on the blue button below and review. :D
To nena: um i totally agree that i need to be more descriptive with the scenes... but my head captures words rather than picture descriptions. i'm sorry that i couldn't describe any of the surroundings in this chapter, but i'll try to incorporate that into the next chapters (yes, i did say chapters) lol.
this was getting too long, so i couldn't really add it in. i hope that you don't stop reading, or stop reviewing... cuz i am officially addicted to reviews!
Thanks to all who have reviewed and have given me a ton of suggestions, thank you for even reading. - oceanwave