Title: Traces of the Past 4/?
Author: Chaos
Rating: PG
Summary: The CSIs and WaTs FBI agents work together on a case. Thanks to a 'blackmail' photo
an old friend sent me (taken 16 years ago during college) a little humor is injected into
this chapter. See if you can spot the real life situation.
Warning: Written in the final hour of 2003. The only night of the year I allow myself a drink.
Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur contributed greatly to this story!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! __________________________________________________________________________
They were finally on their way to the store where Sam and Danny were to conduct their interview after the inevitable argument over who was going to drive. Nick won to Danny's delight. He offered Sam the front seat so that he could sit in the back with Sara. The women rolled their eyes at each other and grinned.
"So, what do you think about coming to New York for you next vacation?"
Sara looked at Danny behind a curtain of hair. "Now, are you asking for personal reasons or are you still trying to recruit me?"
"Why couldn't it be both? You come out, we do some of the touristy things, take a tour of the labs and if it helps you make up your mind," he shrugged, "I wouldn't mind." He smiled.
Sam half turned in her seat and winked at her.
Sara smiled, "So, while you're planning my itinerary, any idea where I'll stay while I'm in the city?"
If it were daylight they all would've seen his blush. "You could stay at my place, of course. It would be more economical." He was looking down and didn't see the two ladies desperately trying to hold their laughter in.
None of them noticed the incredulous look Nick was wearing. Was Sara serious about leaving CSI? And, he knew how she felt about Grissom so what was all this flirting with Danny? Maybe she was tired of waiting for Griss to make up his mind.
He pulled itno the store's parking lot and the two FBI agents got out. Nick and Sara had a quick conversation over whether or not to accompany them. Deciding that it would cut down on second hand information they got out. They had no luck in finding the clerk. His shift was long over and he had the next two days off. He wasn't answering the phone. They did better in securing the video as the current clerk also happend to be the store manager. He handed the tape over without hassle and they were out of there in short order.
They were at the drop site within minutes. Nick pulled over several yards short of the visible tape. After getting their kits from the back of the SUV Nick and Danny grabbed several lanterns to help with illumination.
Agreeing to work in grid pattern Nick and Sara started at opposite corners of the marked off area. Sara, being closer to the road immediately began setting down markers and taking pictures of the myriad shoe prints. Some of them were going to belong to officers and medics. One set would doubtless be attached to the motorist who stopped to help Liesl. She was marking all of this down in a mental list as she worked.
"Someone was sick. There's two separate piles of vomit."
"Well, Liesl did say she was ill. That's why they put her out." Sam sighed, "No one thought to ask if she had actually thrown up."
Nick smiled. "No big deal. I'll take a couple of samples and we can ask her tomorrow."
"Bingo!"
"What ya got?" Nick asked.
Sara's voice rang out. "One torn nail with blood at the ragged end. Should be enough to match to the girl. And, if we're lucky we have something on the other end to link it to our kidnapper."
"If not...."
"Come on, Nick. I'm not giving up after one find. I'm going to try to find the others. How many do you think she lost?" She directed at Sam and Danny.
Danny was at a loss but Sam closed her eyes, trying to picture the girl's hands. "Three. All on the right hand."
Sara nodded and continued her search. "When we come to the meeting point can you take casts of the shoe prints? Some of them came from officer's boots but there are four or five that could be anyone."
"Yeah, let's get as much as we can here." He took a step back and bumped into his partner. Turning to catch her he asked, "You okay?" He couldn't interpret the look on her face other than it was surprise but there was something else there.
"Yeah, just found two more partial nails. Sorry, I was in your way." She turned to do a sweep over the area Nick had just cased. He waited a beat then did the same thing before heading to the truck to get the plaster for the shoe prints.
On the way back to the car Sara noticed Sam limping. She caught up to her.
"Hey! You okay?"
Sam looked tired but tried to answer in her normal voice. "Yeah, why?"
Sara nodded at her legs. "You're limping. Did you hurt yourself?"
"No. It's... Well, I was shot during an undercover assignment in May. It still acts up if I stand too long or walk too long or stay in one place or do ANYTHING else too long. It kept me off duty long enough, I just try not to even think about it anymore."
Sara bit her bottom lip and looked away.
"That's odd." Nick contributed to the conversation. Everyone looked at him expecting him to elaborate.
He shrugged. "Sara was hurt when the lab exploded in May."
Danny was immediately solicitous. "You were in an explosion. What happened? Are you okay?"
Sara stared at him. "Don't I look okay? I'm walking around, doing my job, aren't I?"
"Yeah, but you could be like Sam and hide it, you know?"
Sam slapped him and Sara laughed. "No, I'm fine. Besides, I just got my palm cut and a few scratches
from flying glass. It was Greg who really got hurt."
"You know we ought to get together and do some comparisons. It sounds like we have a lot in common." Sam suggested. Looking at the other woman Sara had a sudden revelation.
"Yeah, I think that might be a really good idea. Why don't we go get something to eat after shift?" She suggested.
"Sounds good," Danny and Nick both answered.
The girls looked at each other. That wasn't exactly what they had in mind.
When they got back to the lab it was to find that the rest of the gang had already returned.
Sara was amazed. "You guys got what you need?"
"Yes, ma'am." Martin replied. "The second place on the list just happened to have a clerk who was on duty when the two guys checked in and he saw them slip the girls in through the back door. Didn't bother to confront them or report anything suspicious, though."
"So, you have a description of the men?"
"Actually, we have more than that," Grissom answered, "Vivian and I went to this place and after finding out about the check in we asked if we could see the room."
"Of course, we got the whole 'you won't find anything cause our rooms are cleaned on a daily basis' spiel but... All I can say is they need to hire Merry Maids." Vivian put in. The younger group smirked at each other.
"So, what did you find?" Danny asked.
"DNA on the bedspreads. Of course, we don't know if it'll be our guys but..." Grissom shrugged one shoulder, "we also have fingerprints on several surfaces and a used cup in the bathroom with a trace of vodka in it. We can thank Greg for finding that one."
The younger man looked embarrassingly pleased. Sara smiled at him. "Well, we found three nail pieces, one of which has possible markers for Liesl Hoffmeier and a slew of shoe prints. Nick made casts, so we need to start eliminating known people from the scene."
Hodges knocked on the door. "Hey, boss. The DNA from the cup matches a couple of the samples on the bedspread. Also, more than one sample matches Liesl Hoffmeier."
"And, do we have a name for the DNA match?"
Hodges looked chagrinned. "Oh, yeah. Malcolm Trimm. "
"What!?" Sara gasped. "Danny?" She looked over at the young agent.
He put an arm on her shoulder. "It can't be the same one. No way he's out."
"He damned well better not be, the judge gave him life plus 20 years! And, the twenty years were mandatory no parole! Dammit, how could he be free?" Sara was in a rage.
Grissom rose to go to her only to find that Jack got there first. He took her hand as he and Danny got her to sit at the table. Grissom hovered over her waiting to find out what was going on.
Catherine rolled her eyes. Leaning over to Vivian she hissed, "God, she can be such a drama queen! Any thing to get the guys' attention."
Viv looked at her in consternation. "Funny that's what I heard about you." She stood to walk toward the table. "Of course you know that all you need to get a man's attention is to dress appropriately. Or, inappropriately I should say."
Catherine fumed but for once she realized it might not be the appropriate time to show it.
As everyone gathered at the table Jack comforted Sara into telling him about Malcolm Trimm. She was taking a deep breath when Grissom suggested, "Why don't you start from the very beginning? I take it this is the case that Agent Taylor was involved with?"
Sara and Danny nodded. "Well, December 1998, I was sent to a Motel 6 in downtown San Francisco. It was a 12 year old murder victim. She had been raped, tortured and bound. She fought her bindings, tightening the noose around her neck and ultimately strangling her self. " Sara swallowed. "When the information was entered into NCIC we got a hit. She was missing from Newark. That's when Danny came in. They had been working the missing person's case." She assessed her situation. Danny was holding her right hand, Jack had her left and was rubbing it comfortingly. She looked up at Sam wanting to make sure the other woman wasn't upset about that. The blond smiled at her in sympathy and nodded her head to go on. "He was an idiot. Trimm left all kinds of DNA evidence in the room, on the body. He didn't even bother to use a condom." She laughed shakily. "But, his public defender tried every possible means of getting the evidence thrown out. He even insinuated that I had planted the evidence. The fact that I had never heard of Trimm before and would have had no way to get his DNA didn't faze him. The bastard had the nerve to get on the stand and try to say he and I were lovers and I only named him because he broke up with me. That only lasted as long as it took the DA to cross examine him. In the end, he was found guilty. The judge gave him life for the murder plus twenty years for the kidnapping and torture. He mandated that the twenty years be non negotiable, no parole, no time served, good behavior, nothing. If he was paroled on the life term the twenty immediately kicked in. There is no way in hell he should be on the streets right now." Danny asked her something the rest of the team couldn't hear. "The perjury charge is still pending."
He nodded, lips pursed . "Do you think he chose Las Vegas because you're here?"
"What? No! No, there's no reason for him to even know I'm here. Come on, the guy didn't give me a second thought after his request for a mistrial was denied."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. You're kind of hard to forget."
Sara squinted at him thoughtfully. "By the same token, the girls were taken in an area that's still your territory. Are you suggesting that he orchestrated this so that it would mirror five years ago? How would he know you were still at that office? Or, that I had left San Francisco for Vegas? I think you're reaching, Danny."
Jack broke in. "Your probably right, it's most likely a coincidence but just in case, would you rather not work on this?"
Jack Malone sat back in his chair, his lips in the pout that usually indicated something unexpected was confronting him. Sara's vilotrol look reminded him of another female he was familiar with. A quick glance at Sam confirmed it. God, they were two of a kind.
"Unless I have done something to endanger this investigation, Agent Malone, I don't see why I should be removed from it. Do you have a complaint about the way I do my job?"
"No, Sara. I can see that you're an amazing CSI that's why I asked to have you work with us. I was just looking out for you."
Sara's glare didn't lessen but she eventually nodded.
Grissom watched the byplay. Part of him was happy that for once he was not on the receiving end of that glare. The rest of it was still not happy with the close proximity of the other two men. And, he definitely didn't like Malone's overstepping his bounds by holding Sara's hand or trying to get her to remove herself from the case. If she needed to be taken off Grissom would know and he would remove her, no questions asked. Looking at Sara and realizing that she had already forgiven the other man his overprotectiveness he reevaluated. Sara never forgave him that easily. He'd still be paying for it days later. Maybe, maybe Malone was on to something.
"Why don't we all call it a day? We can start fresh this evening?" He asked. Receiving nods from all around he watched while everyone got up to push chairs back in to place. His eyes narrowed as he saw Malone stop Sara just outside the door. He couldn't hear what they were talking about and he wasn't happy.
"Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"Look, I'm really sorry. I just didn't want you to get in too deep if it was going to cause a problem or endanger you. Do you understand?" He smiled hopefully.
"Yeah, Jack. It's okay. And, thanks, for giving me an option instead of demanding my compliance."
He patted her on the upper arm and watched her walk toward the locker room.
Nick, Danny and Sam were waiting for her inside.
"Where do you want to eat?" Nick's question was heard as she dug in her locker.
"Actually, right now, I'd rather have a drink." She replied.
The four of them looked at each other. "Okay. Why don't we stop and get a couple of six packs, go back to my place and order some pizza." Nick suggested. They followed him out to his truck and headed off to a local liquor store.
Sara added a bottle of Kahlua and a gallon of milk to the two six packs and fifth of vodka already on the counter.
"White Russians?" Sam asked. At Sara's nod they slapped palms causing the guys to do the eye rolling this time.
By noon, they were looking at the remaining pizza crusts and an empty gallon of milk.
"Oh, well. Black Russians, anybody?" Sara's voice slurred.
"I don't think so, Sar. You've had enough." Nick snatched the vodka bottle out of her hand, causing her to spill some of it on the floor. She tried to glare at him as he left the room.
"He really cares about you. Isn't it nice to have friends like that?" Sam wasn't speaking too clearly either.
"I wouldn't know. This is the first time he's shown any concern since before the explosion. He's probably just doing it because you guys are around." Sara pulled a pillow off the couch and cuddled it under her head.
Sam cocked her head. "Come on. With the exception of Catherine Willows it looks like of all the team is close."
Sara snorted. "Yeah, all of them ARE close including Catherine. I'm the outsider. Cat, Nick and Warrick have hated me since Grissom called me in."
"Tell me about it." Sam requested so Sara gave her the rundown off how she came to Las Vegas.
Danny finally spoke up. "That's why you should come to work with us. We all know you and we already love ya." His half asleep voice flowed over Sara lending salve to some of the wounds she had exposed.
Nick had been standing in the kitchen listening to the others. He didn't realize that Sara felt the way she did. He hadn't intentionally ignored her. Nor, had his recent comments during their cases been meant as criticism although looking back on it he could now see how she could've interpreted that way. He hung his head. The way it was going he may be losing one of his closest friends , especially if she kept comparing the way she was treated by them to the way she was treated by her own team mates. Damn Grissom and Catherine both. He knew they were the biggest part of the problem. He walked back into the living room.
"Sar, you and Sam can sleep in the guest room. There's a queen sized bed in there. Danny? You can have my room."
"Where are you going to sleep?" The other man inquired.
"Right here. I play video games when I get home and end up sleeping on the couch more often than not."
Danny thought about it then agreed.
"Sara, come on sweetheart. Let's get you up and into bed." He lifted her to her feet.
"I'm not your sweetheart."
"Sure you are. You just don't remember."
Sara snorted and turned to say something to Sam. Seeing her trying to struggle to her feet sent Sara off into a gale of giggles. Sam studied Sara for a minute then joined in.
"Danny? Can you help Sam?" Nick didn't know how far it would get him cause the other man was pretty far gone himself. Helping Sara down the hall reminded Nick of Dorothy and the scarecrow in 'The Wizard of Oz'. Her legs kept giving out under her and he'd have to pick her up.
Finally, the two women were sitting on the bed and Nick went to dig out a couple of T-shirts for them to wear for sleep.
Ten minutes later all was quiet.
At 5:30 four cell phones began to ring. They all lay on a chair buried beneath coats and Danny's suit jacket.
Even Nick, laying six feet away couldn't hear them. His home phone rang once and was then quiet. No one could know that Danny had rolled over and knocked it off the hook in his still sleeping search for the receiver.
Gil Grissom and Jack Malone sat in the break room repeatedly dialing the members of their teams. Vivian walked in and got a cup of coffee.
"Any luck?"
"No." Jack replied shortly.
"Warrick, go to Sara's, see if they're there. I'm going to head to Nick's. Call me if you find them." Warrick nodded at his back as Grissom and Jack got up to leave the room.
Ten minutes later Nick was awakened by heavy pounding at his front door. He finally reached the door and threw it open to find the two men on his stoop looking none too happy.
"Griss, what's up? Am I late for work?" He mumbled.
"No, but I've been calling you and Sara and couldn't get either of you. Do you have any idea where she is?"
Grissom snapped out.
"Uh, yeah. She's in bed."
"What about Sam?" The other man asked.
"Yeah, she and Danny are here, too. We kind of had too much to drink with our pizza so I made them stay here."
He stepped back and let the other men in then led them down the hall. He stopped at a door and opened it while turning on the light. Looking up he suddenly stepped back into the hall and closed the door.
"Umm, maybe you should let me wake them up, huh?"
"What's wrong, Nick. Let me see."
' You'd think Grissom would, maybe, figure that Sara was naked or something and would give her her privacy but...NO,' thought Nick.
The two older men entered the room to find well, definitely not what either of them ever expected.
Lying in the center of the queen bed was Danny Taylor, his right arm spread out beneath Sam's neck. His left arm wrapped around Sara who was laying tightly against his side. The covers were at the bottom of the bed leaving them exposed to their bosses' eyes. Sam and Sara were both in Tshirts and as Danny moved his arm to cuddle Sara closer Grissom realized that the only thing Sara had on was the deep blue shirt. As the younger man's hand moved down to cup Sara's bottom Grissom exploded.
________________________________________________________________
Okay, I'm mean but this is a long one and I'm tired. (moan, whimper, whine) My New Year's resolution is to write an hour a day so it won't be long before it's updated. I promise.
Author: Chaos
Rating: PG
Summary: The CSIs and WaTs FBI agents work together on a case. Thanks to a 'blackmail' photo
an old friend sent me (taken 16 years ago during college) a little humor is injected into
this chapter. See if you can spot the real life situation.
Warning: Written in the final hour of 2003. The only night of the year I allow myself a drink.
Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur contributed greatly to this story!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! __________________________________________________________________________
They were finally on their way to the store where Sam and Danny were to conduct their interview after the inevitable argument over who was going to drive. Nick won to Danny's delight. He offered Sam the front seat so that he could sit in the back with Sara. The women rolled their eyes at each other and grinned.
"So, what do you think about coming to New York for you next vacation?"
Sara looked at Danny behind a curtain of hair. "Now, are you asking for personal reasons or are you still trying to recruit me?"
"Why couldn't it be both? You come out, we do some of the touristy things, take a tour of the labs and if it helps you make up your mind," he shrugged, "I wouldn't mind." He smiled.
Sam half turned in her seat and winked at her.
Sara smiled, "So, while you're planning my itinerary, any idea where I'll stay while I'm in the city?"
If it were daylight they all would've seen his blush. "You could stay at my place, of course. It would be more economical." He was looking down and didn't see the two ladies desperately trying to hold their laughter in.
None of them noticed the incredulous look Nick was wearing. Was Sara serious about leaving CSI? And, he knew how she felt about Grissom so what was all this flirting with Danny? Maybe she was tired of waiting for Griss to make up his mind.
He pulled itno the store's parking lot and the two FBI agents got out. Nick and Sara had a quick conversation over whether or not to accompany them. Deciding that it would cut down on second hand information they got out. They had no luck in finding the clerk. His shift was long over and he had the next two days off. He wasn't answering the phone. They did better in securing the video as the current clerk also happend to be the store manager. He handed the tape over without hassle and they were out of there in short order.
They were at the drop site within minutes. Nick pulled over several yards short of the visible tape. After getting their kits from the back of the SUV Nick and Danny grabbed several lanterns to help with illumination.
Agreeing to work in grid pattern Nick and Sara started at opposite corners of the marked off area. Sara, being closer to the road immediately began setting down markers and taking pictures of the myriad shoe prints. Some of them were going to belong to officers and medics. One set would doubtless be attached to the motorist who stopped to help Liesl. She was marking all of this down in a mental list as she worked.
"Someone was sick. There's two separate piles of vomit."
"Well, Liesl did say she was ill. That's why they put her out." Sam sighed, "No one thought to ask if she had actually thrown up."
Nick smiled. "No big deal. I'll take a couple of samples and we can ask her tomorrow."
"Bingo!"
"What ya got?" Nick asked.
Sara's voice rang out. "One torn nail with blood at the ragged end. Should be enough to match to the girl. And, if we're lucky we have something on the other end to link it to our kidnapper."
"If not...."
"Come on, Nick. I'm not giving up after one find. I'm going to try to find the others. How many do you think she lost?" She directed at Sam and Danny.
Danny was at a loss but Sam closed her eyes, trying to picture the girl's hands. "Three. All on the right hand."
Sara nodded and continued her search. "When we come to the meeting point can you take casts of the shoe prints? Some of them came from officer's boots but there are four or five that could be anyone."
"Yeah, let's get as much as we can here." He took a step back and bumped into his partner. Turning to catch her he asked, "You okay?" He couldn't interpret the look on her face other than it was surprise but there was something else there.
"Yeah, just found two more partial nails. Sorry, I was in your way." She turned to do a sweep over the area Nick had just cased. He waited a beat then did the same thing before heading to the truck to get the plaster for the shoe prints.
On the way back to the car Sara noticed Sam limping. She caught up to her.
"Hey! You okay?"
Sam looked tired but tried to answer in her normal voice. "Yeah, why?"
Sara nodded at her legs. "You're limping. Did you hurt yourself?"
"No. It's... Well, I was shot during an undercover assignment in May. It still acts up if I stand too long or walk too long or stay in one place or do ANYTHING else too long. It kept me off duty long enough, I just try not to even think about it anymore."
Sara bit her bottom lip and looked away.
"That's odd." Nick contributed to the conversation. Everyone looked at him expecting him to elaborate.
He shrugged. "Sara was hurt when the lab exploded in May."
Danny was immediately solicitous. "You were in an explosion. What happened? Are you okay?"
Sara stared at him. "Don't I look okay? I'm walking around, doing my job, aren't I?"
"Yeah, but you could be like Sam and hide it, you know?"
Sam slapped him and Sara laughed. "No, I'm fine. Besides, I just got my palm cut and a few scratches
from flying glass. It was Greg who really got hurt."
"You know we ought to get together and do some comparisons. It sounds like we have a lot in common." Sam suggested. Looking at the other woman Sara had a sudden revelation.
"Yeah, I think that might be a really good idea. Why don't we go get something to eat after shift?" She suggested.
"Sounds good," Danny and Nick both answered.
The girls looked at each other. That wasn't exactly what they had in mind.
When they got back to the lab it was to find that the rest of the gang had already returned.
Sara was amazed. "You guys got what you need?"
"Yes, ma'am." Martin replied. "The second place on the list just happened to have a clerk who was on duty when the two guys checked in and he saw them slip the girls in through the back door. Didn't bother to confront them or report anything suspicious, though."
"So, you have a description of the men?"
"Actually, we have more than that," Grissom answered, "Vivian and I went to this place and after finding out about the check in we asked if we could see the room."
"Of course, we got the whole 'you won't find anything cause our rooms are cleaned on a daily basis' spiel but... All I can say is they need to hire Merry Maids." Vivian put in. The younger group smirked at each other.
"So, what did you find?" Danny asked.
"DNA on the bedspreads. Of course, we don't know if it'll be our guys but..." Grissom shrugged one shoulder, "we also have fingerprints on several surfaces and a used cup in the bathroom with a trace of vodka in it. We can thank Greg for finding that one."
The younger man looked embarrassingly pleased. Sara smiled at him. "Well, we found three nail pieces, one of which has possible markers for Liesl Hoffmeier and a slew of shoe prints. Nick made casts, so we need to start eliminating known people from the scene."
Hodges knocked on the door. "Hey, boss. The DNA from the cup matches a couple of the samples on the bedspread. Also, more than one sample matches Liesl Hoffmeier."
"And, do we have a name for the DNA match?"
Hodges looked chagrinned. "Oh, yeah. Malcolm Trimm. "
"What!?" Sara gasped. "Danny?" She looked over at the young agent.
He put an arm on her shoulder. "It can't be the same one. No way he's out."
"He damned well better not be, the judge gave him life plus 20 years! And, the twenty years were mandatory no parole! Dammit, how could he be free?" Sara was in a rage.
Grissom rose to go to her only to find that Jack got there first. He took her hand as he and Danny got her to sit at the table. Grissom hovered over her waiting to find out what was going on.
Catherine rolled her eyes. Leaning over to Vivian she hissed, "God, she can be such a drama queen! Any thing to get the guys' attention."
Viv looked at her in consternation. "Funny that's what I heard about you." She stood to walk toward the table. "Of course you know that all you need to get a man's attention is to dress appropriately. Or, inappropriately I should say."
Catherine fumed but for once she realized it might not be the appropriate time to show it.
As everyone gathered at the table Jack comforted Sara into telling him about Malcolm Trimm. She was taking a deep breath when Grissom suggested, "Why don't you start from the very beginning? I take it this is the case that Agent Taylor was involved with?"
Sara and Danny nodded. "Well, December 1998, I was sent to a Motel 6 in downtown San Francisco. It was a 12 year old murder victim. She had been raped, tortured and bound. She fought her bindings, tightening the noose around her neck and ultimately strangling her self. " Sara swallowed. "When the information was entered into NCIC we got a hit. She was missing from Newark. That's when Danny came in. They had been working the missing person's case." She assessed her situation. Danny was holding her right hand, Jack had her left and was rubbing it comfortingly. She looked up at Sam wanting to make sure the other woman wasn't upset about that. The blond smiled at her in sympathy and nodded her head to go on. "He was an idiot. Trimm left all kinds of DNA evidence in the room, on the body. He didn't even bother to use a condom." She laughed shakily. "But, his public defender tried every possible means of getting the evidence thrown out. He even insinuated that I had planted the evidence. The fact that I had never heard of Trimm before and would have had no way to get his DNA didn't faze him. The bastard had the nerve to get on the stand and try to say he and I were lovers and I only named him because he broke up with me. That only lasted as long as it took the DA to cross examine him. In the end, he was found guilty. The judge gave him life for the murder plus twenty years for the kidnapping and torture. He mandated that the twenty years be non negotiable, no parole, no time served, good behavior, nothing. If he was paroled on the life term the twenty immediately kicked in. There is no way in hell he should be on the streets right now." Danny asked her something the rest of the team couldn't hear. "The perjury charge is still pending."
He nodded, lips pursed . "Do you think he chose Las Vegas because you're here?"
"What? No! No, there's no reason for him to even know I'm here. Come on, the guy didn't give me a second thought after his request for a mistrial was denied."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. You're kind of hard to forget."
Sara squinted at him thoughtfully. "By the same token, the girls were taken in an area that's still your territory. Are you suggesting that he orchestrated this so that it would mirror five years ago? How would he know you were still at that office? Or, that I had left San Francisco for Vegas? I think you're reaching, Danny."
Jack broke in. "Your probably right, it's most likely a coincidence but just in case, would you rather not work on this?"
Jack Malone sat back in his chair, his lips in the pout that usually indicated something unexpected was confronting him. Sara's vilotrol look reminded him of another female he was familiar with. A quick glance at Sam confirmed it. God, they were two of a kind.
"Unless I have done something to endanger this investigation, Agent Malone, I don't see why I should be removed from it. Do you have a complaint about the way I do my job?"
"No, Sara. I can see that you're an amazing CSI that's why I asked to have you work with us. I was just looking out for you."
Sara's glare didn't lessen but she eventually nodded.
Grissom watched the byplay. Part of him was happy that for once he was not on the receiving end of that glare. The rest of it was still not happy with the close proximity of the other two men. And, he definitely didn't like Malone's overstepping his bounds by holding Sara's hand or trying to get her to remove herself from the case. If she needed to be taken off Grissom would know and he would remove her, no questions asked. Looking at Sara and realizing that she had already forgiven the other man his overprotectiveness he reevaluated. Sara never forgave him that easily. He'd still be paying for it days later. Maybe, maybe Malone was on to something.
"Why don't we all call it a day? We can start fresh this evening?" He asked. Receiving nods from all around he watched while everyone got up to push chairs back in to place. His eyes narrowed as he saw Malone stop Sara just outside the door. He couldn't hear what they were talking about and he wasn't happy.
"Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"Look, I'm really sorry. I just didn't want you to get in too deep if it was going to cause a problem or endanger you. Do you understand?" He smiled hopefully.
"Yeah, Jack. It's okay. And, thanks, for giving me an option instead of demanding my compliance."
He patted her on the upper arm and watched her walk toward the locker room.
Nick, Danny and Sam were waiting for her inside.
"Where do you want to eat?" Nick's question was heard as she dug in her locker.
"Actually, right now, I'd rather have a drink." She replied.
The four of them looked at each other. "Okay. Why don't we stop and get a couple of six packs, go back to my place and order some pizza." Nick suggested. They followed him out to his truck and headed off to a local liquor store.
Sara added a bottle of Kahlua and a gallon of milk to the two six packs and fifth of vodka already on the counter.
"White Russians?" Sam asked. At Sara's nod they slapped palms causing the guys to do the eye rolling this time.
By noon, they were looking at the remaining pizza crusts and an empty gallon of milk.
"Oh, well. Black Russians, anybody?" Sara's voice slurred.
"I don't think so, Sar. You've had enough." Nick snatched the vodka bottle out of her hand, causing her to spill some of it on the floor. She tried to glare at him as he left the room.
"He really cares about you. Isn't it nice to have friends like that?" Sam wasn't speaking too clearly either.
"I wouldn't know. This is the first time he's shown any concern since before the explosion. He's probably just doing it because you guys are around." Sara pulled a pillow off the couch and cuddled it under her head.
Sam cocked her head. "Come on. With the exception of Catherine Willows it looks like of all the team is close."
Sara snorted. "Yeah, all of them ARE close including Catherine. I'm the outsider. Cat, Nick and Warrick have hated me since Grissom called me in."
"Tell me about it." Sam requested so Sara gave her the rundown off how she came to Las Vegas.
Danny finally spoke up. "That's why you should come to work with us. We all know you and we already love ya." His half asleep voice flowed over Sara lending salve to some of the wounds she had exposed.
Nick had been standing in the kitchen listening to the others. He didn't realize that Sara felt the way she did. He hadn't intentionally ignored her. Nor, had his recent comments during their cases been meant as criticism although looking back on it he could now see how she could've interpreted that way. He hung his head. The way it was going he may be losing one of his closest friends , especially if she kept comparing the way she was treated by them to the way she was treated by her own team mates. Damn Grissom and Catherine both. He knew they were the biggest part of the problem. He walked back into the living room.
"Sar, you and Sam can sleep in the guest room. There's a queen sized bed in there. Danny? You can have my room."
"Where are you going to sleep?" The other man inquired.
"Right here. I play video games when I get home and end up sleeping on the couch more often than not."
Danny thought about it then agreed.
"Sara, come on sweetheart. Let's get you up and into bed." He lifted her to her feet.
"I'm not your sweetheart."
"Sure you are. You just don't remember."
Sara snorted and turned to say something to Sam. Seeing her trying to struggle to her feet sent Sara off into a gale of giggles. Sam studied Sara for a minute then joined in.
"Danny? Can you help Sam?" Nick didn't know how far it would get him cause the other man was pretty far gone himself. Helping Sara down the hall reminded Nick of Dorothy and the scarecrow in 'The Wizard of Oz'. Her legs kept giving out under her and he'd have to pick her up.
Finally, the two women were sitting on the bed and Nick went to dig out a couple of T-shirts for them to wear for sleep.
Ten minutes later all was quiet.
At 5:30 four cell phones began to ring. They all lay on a chair buried beneath coats and Danny's suit jacket.
Even Nick, laying six feet away couldn't hear them. His home phone rang once and was then quiet. No one could know that Danny had rolled over and knocked it off the hook in his still sleeping search for the receiver.
Gil Grissom and Jack Malone sat in the break room repeatedly dialing the members of their teams. Vivian walked in and got a cup of coffee.
"Any luck?"
"No." Jack replied shortly.
"Warrick, go to Sara's, see if they're there. I'm going to head to Nick's. Call me if you find them." Warrick nodded at his back as Grissom and Jack got up to leave the room.
Ten minutes later Nick was awakened by heavy pounding at his front door. He finally reached the door and threw it open to find the two men on his stoop looking none too happy.
"Griss, what's up? Am I late for work?" He mumbled.
"No, but I've been calling you and Sara and couldn't get either of you. Do you have any idea where she is?"
Grissom snapped out.
"Uh, yeah. She's in bed."
"What about Sam?" The other man asked.
"Yeah, she and Danny are here, too. We kind of had too much to drink with our pizza so I made them stay here."
He stepped back and let the other men in then led them down the hall. He stopped at a door and opened it while turning on the light. Looking up he suddenly stepped back into the hall and closed the door.
"Umm, maybe you should let me wake them up, huh?"
"What's wrong, Nick. Let me see."
' You'd think Grissom would, maybe, figure that Sara was naked or something and would give her her privacy but...NO,' thought Nick.
The two older men entered the room to find well, definitely not what either of them ever expected.
Lying in the center of the queen bed was Danny Taylor, his right arm spread out beneath Sam's neck. His left arm wrapped around Sara who was laying tightly against his side. The covers were at the bottom of the bed leaving them exposed to their bosses' eyes. Sam and Sara were both in Tshirts and as Danny moved his arm to cuddle Sara closer Grissom realized that the only thing Sara had on was the deep blue shirt. As the younger man's hand moved down to cup Sara's bottom Grissom exploded.
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Okay, I'm mean but this is a long one and I'm tired. (moan, whimper, whine) My New Year's resolution is to write an hour a day so it won't be long before it's updated. I promise.