Author: Evidence
Chapter: 6
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: A depressing end last time, I know and this chapter is not much better but hold on because everything will be fine, I promise. Thanks again for the reviews, they keep me going.
He stood outside waiting for Dylan to be dismissed. He was numb. He had just moved temporary into Jim's and had asked Sara for a divorce. She had found someone else and had moved on, now it was time for him to do that as well.
All these thoughts ran through Grissom's mind. Here it was Dylan's first day of kindergarten and he would be going home to a changed house. Grissom did feel bad about that; he hadn't thought everything out before he gave the Sara the statement of divorce.
He watched as a Tahoe like his own pulled up into a parking space a few feet away. Catherine got out first, she was the driver. Sara exited the passenger seat and nearly lost her balance. She came clearer into focus as they walked closer to where Grissom was parked. Sara's eyes were heavy looking and her face looked drained of color.
Grissom breathed deeply and put his hand on the handle of the door. He swung out in one fluid motion and met with them before they walked into the school.
"Catherine, Sara," he addressed both of them as if they were friendly acquaintances.
"You bastard, you fucking bastard!" Catherine's face was scrunched in fury.
"Not now, not here," Sara's voice pleaded. She rested one hand on Catherine's shoulder.
Grissom let his eyes fall to the asphalt in front of him.
"I always thought you were a good man but I can see I was dead wrong." Catherine turned from him and putting her hand on Sara's back lead her inside.
Grissom sighed and waited a minute, then proceeded to follow.
Dylan came running out to greet them. "Mommy, Daddy!" He stopped short as he looked at Sara's face. "Mommy, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, sweetie." She bent down to his level and stroked his hair. "Did you have a good first day?"
"Yeah," he said but some of the excitement was gone from his voice. His eyes scanned the scene in front of him looking at his mother, Aunt Catherine, and his dad. He knew something was wrong.
"Dylan, can I talk to you alone?" Grissom half smiled at the boy.
"No!" Sara pointed at him. "If you are going to do this I'm going to be there."
"I just was…"
"Don't tell me what you're going to do. You met us at the house, not here." Her breath was coming in gulps.
"Okay, I'll drive Dylan there."
"No, you're not taking him."
"Sara, I have every right to."
"You just gave up a lot of your rights." Tears started coming but she pushed them away with a swipe of her hand.
"Come on, bud, let's go home." She picked up the boy and carried him out, this time he didn't protest.
Catherine glared at Grissom and followed.
Slowly Grissom made it to his SUV and began the drive to his former home.
Grissom wasn't sure he should knock or just go in- Sara, Catherine and Dylan had already arrived. He didn't have to wonder for long.
Catherine pulled open the door saying, "Get in here."
"Daddy." Dylan said with a slight smile but not in his usual manner.
"Sweetie, would you show Aunt Catherine you're new dinosaur? Daddy and I need to talk." Sara put her hand on his shoulder.
"Okay…in here," he pointed and took off with Catherine in hot pursuit.
"Um, I would like to bring Dylan for an ice cream cone now to celebrate his first day of school," Grissom started.
"You're not taking him anywhere."
"Sara, he's my son you can't keep him from me."
"Then get a lawyer and sue me." Her voice shook with anger.
"I'm sorry I told you this today." He pushed his curls back with his hand.
Sara plopped herself at the kitchen table. "You're sorry. Sorry for ruining Dylan's first day or sorry for fucking up our lives?"
Grissom stayed silent.
"If you don't love me anymore," tears trickled down, "that's fine but for God's sake Grissom think of what this will do to Dylan. He already does not have a normal life and now you destroying it further."
"Would you rather I stay here with all this tension in the air?"
Sara got up and grabbed a tissue. "I don't know what I want you to do."
"This is for the best, Sara. We have had so many problems…it just wasn't going to work."
"Gee, I never thought you were a quitter." She wiped her tears away and sat back down.
He took the seat across from her. "I would like to explain to Dylan what is happening."
"Good, maybe you can explain it to me, too."
Grissom sighed. "Can I please ask Dylan to come in here?"
"Sure, go ahead, you can break the kid's heart." She paused to look at him, the man she loved who was acting like a stranger. "Dylan!" she yelled the name and soon heard a thunderous banging of little feet hitting the floor.
Dylan stopped dead when he saw his parents at the kitchen table.
"Dylan, I have something to tell you," Grissom started.
Instinctively Catherine, who had just entered the scene, put her arm around Dylan as some sort of protection over what he was about to hear.
"Things are going to change around here," Grissom wetted his lips, "I'm going to live somewhere else. You'll be able to see me."
"Mommy…" Dylan's eyes were wide.
"It's okay, sweetie, Mommy is not going anywhere." Sara put on a smile as an actor playing a scene.
"Daddy loves you it's just…" Grissom could not find the right words. What had his father said to him all those years ago? What words had he used when he left? "I need to leave." It was haunting to hear your father's words come out of your mouth. Grissom rubbed at his lips as if to see if he were actually speaking or if his father was there.
Dylan didn't speak he just stared ahead at his parents.
"Dylan, why don't we get an ice cream cone together?" Grissom tried to add a smile.
Dylan shook his head no.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Grissom didn't receive a response. He slowly rose from the chair and left the house behind him.
Jim was waiting for him at his place. "What the fuck is the matter with you?"
Grissom breathed in deeply. "You said I could stay here."
"Yes, I'm trying to be a friend but I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I think this is the right decision. You have screwed up your life. Don't you see that! Even if by some miracle you two get back together you now have all this water under the bridge. It's not going to be the same."
Grissom removed his glass and placed them in his plaid shirt pocket. "Jim, I know this sounds sudden but it has been building for years. Sara has been in denial over Dylan's condition since the beginning. Do you know how hard it is to live with someone who thinks everything is just fine and dandy when your stomach is always in knots and you know the truth of the situation?"
Brass took a seat in a worn easy chair. "Maybe you two need consoling then."
"That is not going to help. Sara doesn't see things like I do, Jim."
"That's not a good enough reason to give up on your marriage."
"What if Sara is having an affair again?"
Brass put his hand out in a stop motion. "Wait, wait a minute. Sara didn't have an affair with Colin Matthews. She made some mistakes there but there is a big difference from garnering a little attention and having a wild affair. Now what makes you think she is cheating on you?"
Grissom took a seat in an adjacent chair. "A man called today looking for Sara. I recognized the voice but couldn't place my finger on who it was. He said that he would catch up with Sara later."
Brass chuckled. "That's an affair? Where is the evidence my friend? Show me some proof."
"I figured out who it was."
"Who the man was? One of the lab techs, right?" Brass scratched at his chin.
"No," Grissom touched his wedding finger, "it was Eric St. John."
"Who?"
"Eric St. John, Sara's old boyfriend."
Brass rubbed his eyes. "Have you ever met this guy, cause I surely don't know him."
Grissom shook his head. "I met him a few years ago. Sara dated him after college."
"And you still recognized his voice? Gil, that is absurd."
"It was a distinct voice and yes, Jim, I never forget anything."
"Okay, so say this is Sara's ex calling her. What's wrong with that?"
"He knew about Dylan. We didn't have Dylan when we saw him. Sara has been in touch with him." He looked up at Brass. "She never told me, Jim. Why? There is only one answer, something is going on between them."
"You know I think you have low self esteem. You can't fathom why a great woman like Sara would love you so you make up these reasons for you to be apart."
"No, I'm not…"
"Easy solution to all of this, I'll call Sara."
"Jim…"
Brass picked up his phone and quickly dialed the number. "Sara, it's Jim. I'm sorry to bother you but…I have a question." Silence for a moment. "Okay, are you having an affair?"
"Jim!" Grissom jumped from his seat and watched the smart alec grin that was on Brass's face fade.
"Oh, um…yeah, bye." Brass put the phone back into the receiver.
"What did she say?"
Brass avoided his eyes. "She said, "Yeah, I am, why?", I'm sorry Gil."
Grissom closed his eyes and felt the pounding begin in his head.
"Sara, what was that about?" Catherine sipped her apple juice.
"Oh, that was Brass calling for Grissom. He wanted to know if I was having an affair." Sara said.
"Wait a minute, didn't I hear you say "yeah"?"
Sara nodded her head. "If it makes Grissom feel better. Like he is justified in this divorce, let him believe that. He doesn't believe me about Colin anyways."
Catherine put her hand on Sara's. "Think about what you just told him though. That's cruel."
"He's being cruel to me, he deserves to suffer a little."
"Sara…"
"Do you know that boys who come from divorced homes have a tendency for problems with drugs, alcohol, and violence?"
Catherine sighed. "I don't think that's true."
"Oh, yes it is. Grissom has hurt Dylan and I'm never forgiving him for that."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
Grissom sat outside in his Tahoe. He stared at the house he had just left. He felt the urge to go back inside and ask for forgiveness. Something stopped him though. He turned the engine on and slowly started up determined not to look in the rearview mirror.
From within the home a young boy was crying his head buried in his mother's arms. A mother kneeling down, holding her child and wondering what would come next closed her eyes to shut out the pain. Grissom was gone, he had packed up his things and left. There was nothing she could do, nothing but hold her son.
To be continued… (I know, I know a tissue chapter but the next one has some good moments. There will be a happy ending.)
