As Nick and Sara ascended the steps to Sara's second floor apartment, a bit
of trepidation of what they might find inside hit them both. Sara felt as
if she was holding her breath as she unlocked the door and pushed it open,
meeting a little resistance as a small table that normally sat next to the
door had fallen over. Nick picked up the table and righted it as the pair
entered the apartment. A bookcase housing the many forensic journals that
Sara subscribed to had toppled over and spewed their contents all over the
floor. Her glass coffee table had shattered when the bookcase hit it. Her
television was sitting at a precarious angle, anchored only by the power
cord; Nick quickly pushed it back onto its stand.
Sara just stood there in the middle of her apartment taking it all in. The structure of the apartment had not sustained any real damage; the building was fairly new and built to the most recent seismic codes. Many of her things, however, were out of place from the shaking, and this more than anything caused her heart rate to elevate. "Nick, can we get out of here?"
Nick detected fear in her voice. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's gonna be ok, Sara. Let's just get your things and go get some sleep. We can come back later and clean this up."
She leaned into him, taking comfort from his strength, smiling at the lingering scent of lemons on his skin. She knew that it was going to be a while until she was comfortable being indoors at all, and that she was going to have to face it in the same way she did after the 1989 Bay Area earthquake that had killed her grandmother; moment by moment. But right now, all she wanted to do was have Nick hold her.
She stepped out of his embrace and looked into his eyes. "I know it's just going to take a while."
There was a glimmer of a smile on her face that reassured Nick. While Sara disappeared into her bedroom to get some clothes, Nick set about picking up the bookcase and collecting the broken glass from the coffee table. He had nearly cleaned it all up when Sara returned from her bedroom. He glanced up at her and smiled. "Ready to go?"
She nodded.
Nick dumped the broken glass into the dumpster outside her building on their way to the Denali. As they drove to his house, Nick wondered to himself what shape it would be in when they got there. He had taken the advice of the real estate agent when he'd bought the house to bolt his water heater and bookcases to the wall for just such an event. He hoped that as a result that there would not be nearly as much to clean up once they got there. The last thing he or Sara really needed was to have to clean his house before trying to get some sleep.
They pulled into Nick's driveway and made their way up the walkway to the front door. Nick flicked on the lights and from first glance, only a few things had fallen or scattered about as a result of the earthquake. Even his large TV had remained in place, due mostly to the fact that he'd anchored it to the wall as well. He breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of damage as Sara walked past him and sank down on the couch.
She looked up at him. "This has been the strangest day of my entire life."
Nick sat down next to her. "I know what you mean."
A truck drove down the street, making a rumbling noise. Both Nick and Sara jumped a little. They looked at each other and laughed nervously. No matter how hard they tried to relax, they were both on edge.
"I guess our nerves are a little frazzled, huh?" Nick tried to lighten the moment.
A smile flickered across Sara's face. "Yeah, I'd forgotten about that. Every little thing makes you think that there's another earthquake happening." She let out a deep sigh as she looked at Nick. "I know we both need to get some sleep, but I'm not sure I can."
Nick reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Why don't we just order some pizza and watch TV or something then. I'm not sure I can sleep right now either and besides, neither one of us has had anything to eat in a while."
Sara leaned over and kissed him softly, feeling him smile against her lips. As she pulled away, she smiled. "Pizza sounds good. I think I'm just going to put my pajamas on though."
Nick raised his eyebrows curiously. There was a flirtatious tone in his voice. "Pajamas, huh?"
Sara smirked at she stood up and glanced back at him. "Flannel pajamas. You can see sexy some other time."
Nick tried to stifle a grin.
An hour later, they were both clad in pajamas sitting on the couch eating pizza and watching 'A Few Good Men'. With every truck that drove by and each time the air conditioning turned on, they both jumped a little. When they'd finished eating their pizza, they just clung to each other, wanting to make sure that the moment was real, that they were in fact safe; safe with the only other person who truly understood the fear that lingered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Grissom was finally told by the structural engineer called out to the scene that it was too dangerous to enter the rubble to try and extricate evidence. The house would be leveled and Nick and Sara's collection kits would be most likely be lost along with the evidence they held, at the very least, the evidence had been compromised and would most likely not hold up in a court of law anyway. Hopefully, by some miracle at least the photos Nick and Sara had taken of the body would be found.
Grissom decided to abandon the scene after receiving assurances that if the workers found any portion of the evidence collection kits that they would turn them over to the crime lab. He headed back to the lab to see what the coroner's preliminary findings were and to attend the autopsy.
The victim appeared to be a young woman in her mid to late twenties and had been stabbed twenty-seven times. According to what Nick and Sara had relayed to him, the body appeared to have been dumped under the house, and the primary crime scene might have been inside the kitchen of the house itself. Time of death was difficult to establish, but coroner Al Robbins placed it at about a week prior to when the body had been discovered.
Grissom fingerprinted the body and had Warrick run them through AFIS. He was surprised when they got a hit so quickly. The victim was identified as Candace Matthews, a twenty-six year old prostitute that had been reported missing by her mother five days before. Interestingly enough, her mother, Patricia Newton, was the owner of the house that Candace Matthews' body was found under.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The movie had finished and Nick and Sara decided to try and get some sleep. They moved into Nick's bedroom and crawled under the comforter, holding onto each other as they tried to let sleep overtake them, but it seemed to elude them.
Sara just stood there in the middle of her apartment taking it all in. The structure of the apartment had not sustained any real damage; the building was fairly new and built to the most recent seismic codes. Many of her things, however, were out of place from the shaking, and this more than anything caused her heart rate to elevate. "Nick, can we get out of here?"
Nick detected fear in her voice. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's gonna be ok, Sara. Let's just get your things and go get some sleep. We can come back later and clean this up."
She leaned into him, taking comfort from his strength, smiling at the lingering scent of lemons on his skin. She knew that it was going to be a while until she was comfortable being indoors at all, and that she was going to have to face it in the same way she did after the 1989 Bay Area earthquake that had killed her grandmother; moment by moment. But right now, all she wanted to do was have Nick hold her.
She stepped out of his embrace and looked into his eyes. "I know it's just going to take a while."
There was a glimmer of a smile on her face that reassured Nick. While Sara disappeared into her bedroom to get some clothes, Nick set about picking up the bookcase and collecting the broken glass from the coffee table. He had nearly cleaned it all up when Sara returned from her bedroom. He glanced up at her and smiled. "Ready to go?"
She nodded.
Nick dumped the broken glass into the dumpster outside her building on their way to the Denali. As they drove to his house, Nick wondered to himself what shape it would be in when they got there. He had taken the advice of the real estate agent when he'd bought the house to bolt his water heater and bookcases to the wall for just such an event. He hoped that as a result that there would not be nearly as much to clean up once they got there. The last thing he or Sara really needed was to have to clean his house before trying to get some sleep.
They pulled into Nick's driveway and made their way up the walkway to the front door. Nick flicked on the lights and from first glance, only a few things had fallen or scattered about as a result of the earthquake. Even his large TV had remained in place, due mostly to the fact that he'd anchored it to the wall as well. He breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of damage as Sara walked past him and sank down on the couch.
She looked up at him. "This has been the strangest day of my entire life."
Nick sat down next to her. "I know what you mean."
A truck drove down the street, making a rumbling noise. Both Nick and Sara jumped a little. They looked at each other and laughed nervously. No matter how hard they tried to relax, they were both on edge.
"I guess our nerves are a little frazzled, huh?" Nick tried to lighten the moment.
A smile flickered across Sara's face. "Yeah, I'd forgotten about that. Every little thing makes you think that there's another earthquake happening." She let out a deep sigh as she looked at Nick. "I know we both need to get some sleep, but I'm not sure I can."
Nick reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Why don't we just order some pizza and watch TV or something then. I'm not sure I can sleep right now either and besides, neither one of us has had anything to eat in a while."
Sara leaned over and kissed him softly, feeling him smile against her lips. As she pulled away, she smiled. "Pizza sounds good. I think I'm just going to put my pajamas on though."
Nick raised his eyebrows curiously. There was a flirtatious tone in his voice. "Pajamas, huh?"
Sara smirked at she stood up and glanced back at him. "Flannel pajamas. You can see sexy some other time."
Nick tried to stifle a grin.
An hour later, they were both clad in pajamas sitting on the couch eating pizza and watching 'A Few Good Men'. With every truck that drove by and each time the air conditioning turned on, they both jumped a little. When they'd finished eating their pizza, they just clung to each other, wanting to make sure that the moment was real, that they were in fact safe; safe with the only other person who truly understood the fear that lingered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Grissom was finally told by the structural engineer called out to the scene that it was too dangerous to enter the rubble to try and extricate evidence. The house would be leveled and Nick and Sara's collection kits would be most likely be lost along with the evidence they held, at the very least, the evidence had been compromised and would most likely not hold up in a court of law anyway. Hopefully, by some miracle at least the photos Nick and Sara had taken of the body would be found.
Grissom decided to abandon the scene after receiving assurances that if the workers found any portion of the evidence collection kits that they would turn them over to the crime lab. He headed back to the lab to see what the coroner's preliminary findings were and to attend the autopsy.
The victim appeared to be a young woman in her mid to late twenties and had been stabbed twenty-seven times. According to what Nick and Sara had relayed to him, the body appeared to have been dumped under the house, and the primary crime scene might have been inside the kitchen of the house itself. Time of death was difficult to establish, but coroner Al Robbins placed it at about a week prior to when the body had been discovered.
Grissom fingerprinted the body and had Warrick run them through AFIS. He was surprised when they got a hit so quickly. The victim was identified as Candace Matthews, a twenty-six year old prostitute that had been reported missing by her mother five days before. Interestingly enough, her mother, Patricia Newton, was the owner of the house that Candace Matthews' body was found under.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The movie had finished and Nick and Sara decided to try and get some sleep. They moved into Nick's bedroom and crawled under the comforter, holding onto each other as they tried to let sleep overtake them, but it seemed to elude them.