Thanks for your reviews and to Marlou for her beat services…thanks hun, you're a star
That night, Grissom came into the lab with a new awareness forming around his body. His senses were on high alert and for the first time in many years he actually had felt a fluttering inside his heart. His conversation with Sara had been like a healing process for both of them, enabling them to move that one step forward towards what he hoped would be a natural conclusion. Sure he was still a little apprehensive and Sara scared him half to death, but compared with the hopeless feelings he had endured without her, this was just a minor incident of cold feet.
"Hey Griss," Nick grinned as he looked up briefly from the game he was playing with Warrick.
"Nicky," Grissom nodded, looking briefly at the two younger men before scanning the room for the one he really wanted to see.
Taking that as their cue to turn off the game, Warrick reached over and snapped off the TV.
"She's not here yet," Catherine told him, offering him a small knowing smirk as she spoke. She had known Grissom for many years, and to see he had finally pulled his head out of the microscope filled her with a new sense of hope.
Ignoring Catherine's statement, he looked down at the assignments in his hands. "Okay, Catherine, Nick you have a DB over at the Lucky Seven casino."
Standing up slowly, Catherine took the paper from his hand and offered him another smile. "Great," she nodded, "come on Nick. See you later guys."
"Later," Warrick drawled, his graveled voice enticing another smile from Catherine's lips. Giving him one last wave of her hand, she walked out of the door with Nick in tow.
"You've got a smash and grab," Grissom told him handing him the remaining paper.
"Okay," Warrick nodded taking the assignment and scanning it quickly with his eyes.
Both men suddenly looked up when Sara came rushing into the break room, her face flushed and breathing hard. "I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't hear the alarm."
"Hey girl," Warrick grinned, ignoring Grissom as he stood to his feet and walked towards her to gather her in his arms. "You need some time off."
Pulling away from him slightly, Sara smiled up into Warrick's eyes. "Me? Time off? Are you nuts?"
"You work too hard," he told her seriously before pulling her into another quick hug. When he released her again, his worried eyes met hers once more. "How are you doing? Truthfully"
"I'm fine Warrick, don't ya worry about me."
"Well someone's gotta," he smiled.
"Oh Warrick stop," she beamed as she stepped away from him. "I'll try to get more sleep in the future, okay?"
"Hmmm now why do I not believe you?" Reaching out to her, he squeezed her shoulder in reassurance before stepping towards the door. "If you need anything…"
"I'll call," she nodded, beaming a smile in his direction. "Now go."
"Yes mom," he laughed and disappeared out of the room.
Silence hung in the air when Sara and Grissom once again found themselves alone. "Uh..Sorry I was late."
"Not a problem," he told her softly as he tried to hide the worry in his voice. The whole scene between Sara and Warrick seemed to repeat in slow motion over and over in his mind only resulting in bringing a heavy cloud of jealousy to rise up and engulf his heart.
Sara watched him silently, knowing that they both had to deal with their separate fears if they were going to work together again. "Okay," she breathed out the breath she had been holding, "have you got an assignment for me?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "you're with me."
Sara's eyes grew wide with surprise. It had been so long since she'd worked with him that she was beginning to wonder if he'd ever want her near him again. "Oh okay," she finally answered, edging towards the doorway, "I'll um, I'll go and get my stuff."
"Sara…" he started, halting her in her tracks to turn around and look at him questioningly. Taking a deep breath he tried to speak but no words would emerge.
"I know," she smiled softly knowing what he was trying to tell her, "me too."
Grissom's eyes followed her as she exited the room, part of him yearning to tell her just exactly what he needed to tell her, but the other part of him kept the veil of fear over his heart, guarding him from anything that would cause him pain. Looking down at the assignment slip in his hand, he let a tiny piece of fear slip from his heart. Tonight he would be working with her again. Tonight they would take that next step.
The crime scene was deadly quiet when they arrived. Shrouded in darkness, the lone body of a young woman laid sprawled out on the roadside. Brass was already attending the scene and looked up (from the body) when they both arrived walking side by side.
"What have we got?" Grissom asked as he placed his field kit on the floor beside him.
"Looks like car tire tracks," Sara said softly as she walked up slowly towards the body to take a closer look. Placing her kit of the floor, she crouched down for a closer look at the deceased woman. She seemed to disappear into her own world of understanding, her recent heartache reaching out inside her to drag her heart even further down inside her chest. Opening her case, she snapped on some gloves, acting on autopilot.
Brass and Grissom watched on, exchanging worried glances at Sara's apparent lack of emotion. "She okay?" Brass asked quietly, dropping his voice low enough for only Grissom to hear.
Ignoring his comment, Grissom reached down to pick up his kit and walked over to join her. For a moment he just watched as she gathered pieces of evidence, nothing escaping beneath her scrutinizing eyes. She was one of the best CSI's that he had ever known, and to watch her work brought an astounding amount of pride to his heart. If anything, Sara was a perfectionist when it came to her work. She was tireless in her obsession to find those responsible, and although in some cases that was a valuable asset, in others it only hindered. Snapping on his gloves, he walked over to crouch down beside her. "What you got?"
"What does this look like to you?" she asked quickly, holding up a small object in her tweezers. Leaning in closer towards him, she offered up her find in order for him to gain a closer look.
"Hmm," he mumbled, reaching out to take her hand in his so he could twist her wrist slightly to see the object more closely. Her warmth seeped into his hand, filling him with a new sense of peace when he met her eyes. "Looks like part of an earring."
"Uhum," she nodded, "I found this beside her head. Could be part of a charm bracelet or something. I'll have Greg swab it for DNA." Moving her hand from his, she reached into her kit and pulled out a small bindle and placed the tiny object inside it.
Grissom watched her for a few seconds before pulling himself out of his reverie. Standing up, he shone his torch around the enclosing area. Walking towards the tire tracks, his eyes caught sight of something glistening on the road. "Sara?"
Looking up, she gazed over at him before standing up to join him. Pulling out her torch, she shone it in the same direction as he had his pointed. "Hit and run?"
"It's starting to look that way," he nodded. Sighing heavily, he looked back over towards the woman's body, trying in some way to find the answers that resurfaced inside his mind.
"I found something else," she murmured, her voice aching with deep-set sorrow. "Her face is all grazed."
"That could be from where she fell," he suggested, walking over towards the body with her.
"I don't think so," she sighed, "Look here." Pointing a finger down towards the woman's left cheek, she shone her torch and highlighted the deep bruising that had started to appear. "This woman was thrown from a car."
"Sara you're speculating," he warned softly, "We don't know all the facts."
"Look at the way she's laying Grissom," she argued, the Sara Sidle stubbornness resurfacing with defiance. "Her leg's obviously broken and her shoulder looks as if it's been dislocated."
"Look, I'm on your side," he sighed, offering her a small smile. "Let's just finish processing the area and wait until the coroner arrives."
"Sorry," she smiled softly, "You're right. I'm just a little wired, ignore me."
"Warrick's right you know," he offered worriedly, his eyes scanning her pale face in the darkness.
"He's right about a lot of things," she grinned, "which thing in particular?"
"You need to have some time away."
Turning to him quickly she flashed him with angry eyes, "I'm fine."
"Sara…"
"I'm okay as long as I'm working," she told him quietly, some of the anger slipping from her voice. "It's when I stop that I begin remembering, and when I'm remembering the nightmares start. So I work to keep them away." Walking away from him, she berated herself for giving out too much information. He didn't care that she had nightmares. He didn't care that she relived that night over and over inside her mind every time she closed her eyes. Stepping back over towards the body, she forced the images out of her mind and focused on processing the scene.
Grissom watched her silently. She had given him a brief glimpse into her soul, enticing his curiosity. Sara Sidle had always been a closed book. She very rarely let anyone see the side of her that flowed with love and compassion. He knew she had a softer side; he'd witnessed it on more than one occasion. He just hoped he hadn't helped her close the book and shelve it forever because of his actions. Glancing over towards her briefly, he pushed the worry away. They had a job to do.
Back at the lab, Sara stood by Grissom's side in the morgue while Doc Robbins pointed out various scarring that covered the young woman's body. "She's been dead for around 14 hours," he told them. "These lacerations are the direct result of a blow to her head. See this mark?"
Leaning in closer, Sara gasped quietly. "What is that? It looks like a cigarette burn."
"Yes it is," he nodded, "And here, there are more spread out over her torso."
"So what are we looking at here Al?" Grissom asked worriedly, his own suspicions bringing a wave of nausea to rise up in his throat.
"She was tortured to death," Sara whispered, her eyes filling with tears that she quickly blinked away. Looking up at the two concerned men who gazed upon her, she shrugged her shoulders. "I've seen this before."
"When?" Grissom asked worriedly, wishing she were close enough for him to reach out a hand to touch her shoulder.
"In San Francisco there was a string of murders, very similar to this one." Walking around the other side of the table, she stood next to Al Robbins and bent down to examine the woman's shoulder. "The victim had a circle of burns on her back which at the time we figured was a symbol of ownership, you know, marking his kill."
"I was just coming to that," Robbins told her, stunned with her knowledge. Turning the body over, he heard a soft gasp escape from the woman beside him.
"Oh God," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears as she lifted her eyes towards Grissom. "It's the same mark as the other victims."
"So we have a serial," Grissom stated, his stomach churning with the thought of another evil presence haunting Las Vegas.
"The man who murdered those other girls was sentenced to death 3 years ago. If we were wrong and he didn't kill those other girls…." Sara stepped away from the table, her mind reeling from this new turn of events. "I need some air." Without looking back she pushed open the morgue doors, seeking her escape.
Both men stared after her in stunned silence, neither daring to speak for fear of breaking the atmosphere in the room.
"Gil," Al Robbins said at last, a heavy sigh on his lips, "she needs you."
Grissom met his eyes and nodded silently. Stepping backwards, he turned to walk out of the door and went in search of Sara, his heart aching with sudden loss. She may need him right now, but in truth, he needed her too.
Sara felt sick. The visions that haunted her mind came rushing back with the cool Vegas breeze. Gasping in a lungful of air, she closed her eyes against the rising sting of tears that threatened to overflow from her eyes. This couldn't be happening again. It couldn't be. Moving over towards her Yukon, she leant heavily against it as she gazed out over at the city lights. Her vision blurred with tears as the memories hit her full force, almost bringing her to her knees. Why couldn't all the pain be over?
Grissom stepped out of the doors and walked into the crisp night air. Scanning the darkness he spotted her slumped against her car and started to walk slowly over towards her. "Sara?"
She whirled around sharply, shock quickly dissolving into tears as she tried desperately to wipe them from her eyes. "I'm okay," she whimpered, "just give me a few minutes."
"No," he whispered, stepping closer, "you're not okay." Reaching out a hand, he touched her shoulder softly. He could feel the strain in her shoulders as she tried to regain some control over her emotions. "Sara.."
"Please Griss, just leave me alone for a few minutes," she begged, her voice cracking under the whirlwind of emotions.
Ignoring her pleas, he stepped up closer to wrap his arms around her from behind. "I've left you alone for far too long," he whispered, his fear dispersing as quickly as the wind that whirled around them. "Not any more Sara."
His words broke down her barriers and she crumbled against him. One tear followed another until she was consumed in her grief, her body shaking under the immense strain. Turning in his arms, she clung to him as she buried her face into his shirt and sobbed out all of her fears while he held her against him.
"It's okay now," he soothed softly. Pulling her closer, his lips brushed against her hair, lulling her sobs into submission as he held her through the war that nearly consumed her. "I'm here," he whispered, "I'm here."
TBC……