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Um, Ok. Thanks for the reviews, people. Truly Grateful. Hi to anyone from YTDAW. J ^_^
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"Sara?"
"I was happy. I was living with him. I was happy…"
The wheels inside Grissom's head were spinning like crazy. What was she talking about? He vaguely remembered her mentioning something to him on the phone, that day he had called her for help. She sounded strange, different from the many other conversations they had shared. He remembered his concern at the time.
She had agreed to come up to Vegas almost instantly, saying that she needed some time away from San Francisco.
She never said why.
He never asked.
Now, he was beginning to wish he had.
"He was good to me. I loved him."
Grissom winced inwardly at hearing her say she loved someone other than him, and then scolded himself. She could love whom she pleased.
"What's next?" Grissom said, as softly as he could. He was dreading her answer. A thousand scenarios flooded his mind.
"I had a miscarriage."
That one he wasn't expecting. His jaw dropped, but he controlled himself quickly. He allowed her to steady herself, before speaking again. All this time they held eye contact, not daring to break apart.
"How far along were you?"
"16 weeks." She placed her hand on her stomach subconsciously. It was a gesture that wasn't lost on him.
"I don't know what to say." He took her hand in his.
She pulled it away.
"There isn't anything to say." There was such a strong emotion behind Sara's eyes, Grissom felt he was staring into her soul.
She drew in a deep, laboured breath before she continued. "He couldn't handle it."
There was more? How could it get any worse than that? He waited for her to continue.
"In his eyes, it was my fault."
"It wasn't your fault." Grissom was amazed that someone Sara loved could be that stupid.
"He blamed me." For the first time, she looked down, away from Grissom. The connection was broken.
Grissom felt himself fighting for breath, as if he had been punched in the stomach. He heard the voice inside his head willing for them to reconnect. He didn't know how long he could go without looking into those eyes once more.
"Sara. He was wrong." When she didn't respond, he reached out and pulled her face gently to face him again. Still her eyes were focused on the ground. "Look at me. He was wrong."
Now she looked at him, but the emotion in her eyes was different. He was about to speak again, but she cut him off.
"Once, when it got really bad, He threw me down the stairs. That was about a month before you called."
"Oh, Sara..." Grissom was totally shocked. This explained the way the cases affected her, the reactions she had to the abused.
"Didn't you ever wonder why I'm trained in weapon-less defence?"
Now he saw the woman sitting in front of him as if he had just opened his eyes. He realised that she was stronger than he had ever given her credit for.
"I did. But I never thought…"
"And when I see women who didn't get out, it reminds me of what I could have become." She sighed heavily. There were no tears. They had been cried a long time ago.
"Why... Why didn't you tell me before?" This was the one thing that was troubling him.
Sara frowned. "Because you'd have insisted I don't work those cases. But working those cases helped me. They… Those women made me realise that I'm Ok. I could be dead. And I'm thankful that I'm not."
Grissom nodded. "So am I." He put his hand softly onto her cheek, brushing her hair from her eyes in the same motion. She shut her eyes, indulging in his touch once again.
He spoke once more. "Hey. Maybe I will take the rest of the shift off. How about we get some breakfast?"
"Ok."
He stood up, and held out his hand to help her up. She climbed to her feet and waited for him to release her hand. He didn't.
"Ready?" He smiled at her.
She nodded.
They walked out of the CSI headquarters, hand in hand, and into the enveloping darkness that can only be found in the early morning. As for where they were headed, only time would tell.
Ok, I know that the ending was cheesy. I don't know what came over me…
Please, any feedback is appreciated.