Chapter 50
[Finally, the last chapter. I hope you've stayed interested and not strayed from this fic too much. Please let me know what you think, but no flames, I'm very sensitive. lol.]
Everything was happening in slow motion.
The gunshot echoed for what seemed like forever, but soon a dead silence fell over them and nothing but the darkness was left.
Grissom's breathing was beyond erratic, as was his heart. Both were in pretty bad shape as he wrapped his good around her waist and pulled her back against him.
Then everything hit normal play.
"Sara!"
"Agh!"
Grissom's head snapped up as he watched Jake stumble back.
"Fuck! You shot me." Jake said hoarsely, looking down at his hand that was now covered in his blood.
Grissom looked at his gun, then turned and looked at Gavin, who was standing by the couch with a gun held tightly in his right hand.
Sara watched Jake fall to his knees, watching him bleed from his abdomen. She was shaking and breathing heavily, suddenly feeling very cold and light headed. "Gil."
"I'm here." He whispered, turning her around and holding her against him. "Ssh." His arm tightened around her and rubbed her back soothingly.
Gavin stepped forward, still in shock from shooting his brother. "Is he dead?" He asked.
Grissom released Sara and checked Jake's pulse. "Sadly, no." He grumbled, quickly shuffling towards Kate and attempting to untie her. "Hey munchkin." He said softly, looking into her red and puffy bloodshot eyes. "You ok?"
Kate sniffled and nodded.
Sara moved around Jake with a wide birth, to reached Grissom and Kate. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Sweetie."
"I'm ok." Kate sniffled again.
Just as Gavin moved to check his brother, the door burst open and a hoard of police officers charged the room.
"Down on the ground!" "Now!" "Drop the gun!" "Hands behind your head!"
Hogan entered and looked around. "Cuff him and get the paramedics in here."
Nick and Catherine were the next people to enter. "Gil?" Catherine called, moving past two officers handcuffing Gavin.
"Here."
Sara looked up to see blue eyes staring at her. She reached up and touched his cheek. "I love you." She whispered, leaning in to kiss his lips softly before helping Kate up from the chair she had been tied to for hours.
Nick grabbed Grissom's good arm and helped him stand. "You didn't pop a stitch again, did you?" He asked worriedly, but smiled.
Grissom coughed and shook his head.
"Stitch?" Sara held Kate against her side as she looked at Grissom.
"Let's get you all checked out at the hospital." Hogan suggested, coming up to stop by Catherine. "I'll see you there. Mr. Andrews will have guards, so you don't have to worry about him."
"He's unconscious. Not going to wake up any time soon." The deputy assured Kate, who turned concerned eyes to him.
~*^*^*~
Sara was laying on a gurney while the doctor checked her over and patched her up. Surprisingly, she didn't have any broken bones, but her face was bruised and her lips were chapped with a large cut from where Jake had hit her numerous times. Her cheeks were a shade of blue and purple, plus her body was pretty much black and blue all over. Her scalp was sore from being yanked too many times and she had a thumping headache.
Kate was also laying on a gurney. She was sleeping, completely tired out and felt safe enough to sleep. A few bruises on her face and arms, but she seemed unharmed, apart from the whole mental torture of confusion and fear.
Grissom was sat in a chair while his arm was checked, just to make sure his stitches were holding and his bandages were still in place and clean. Other than the pain, he was fine.
~*^*^*~
Nick talked to Sara while she was resting and Catherine made sure Grissom was alright. It had been an hour since they were brought in and after the doctors had done there work, they were left to rest. The night was almost over and the sun would be up soon. The windows showed a faint glow in the distance, but the sun was still not seen.
Sara watched the few clouds she could see and the outline of large buildings close to the hospital. "I was sitting there, thinking, that if the sun came up, then, it would all be over." She said mostly to herself.
"Not long to wait." Grissom said softly from the curtain.
"But it seems like forever." She sighed, turning her head towards him.
He stepped further into the small cubicle and sat on the bed, gently taking her hand. "Not long, just wait and it'll be here in no time."
Sara smiled weakly and looked down at their hands. "I thought you were dead." She whispered thickly.
Grissom breathed deeply and closed his eyes. "I thought I was too."
"What happened in there?" She asked, knowing he knew what she was asking.
Thinking back to the derelict gas station, he stared past her shoulder. "Like what happened last time, but worse." His voice was distant and haunted as he spoke. "I can remember his eyes as he laughed and pulled the gun out and pointed it at me."
Sara felt her eyes fill with tears as she listened to him. She could only imagine that Jake would act on Grissom's nightmare and re-enact it.
"The last thing I remember, before being found in the ally, was us, you, me and Kate. All I could think, was, I broke my promise again and you both got hurt."
"No." Sara sat up and shuffled closer, taking his face in her hands. "You couldn't stop him. That's not your fault."
Grissom shook his head and looked down, avoiding her eyes as his stung with tears. "I tried." He breathed out forcefully. "But, he still forced his way back into our lives and pushed us apart."
"For a little while. Not forever." She smiled, but it faded as he looked at her. "Not forever." She stressed.
He nodded and sighed. "I'm still unsure how this has affected Kate."
Sara leaned forward to rest her forehead against his. "She's still your daughter and she believed that the whole time, even when Jake was angry at her."
"He hurt her." He hiccuped suddenly. "He hurt you. He keeps ruining my life, Sara. I wish he died 15 years ago. I wish you never met him. I wish I wasn't so stupid to let you go."
"Sssh, Gil." She held him against her and gently rocked them. Feeling his tears and hiccuped sobs, she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his head. "You say that and 15 years and more, of friendship and love, would never have existed."
"It might have kept you safe." He breathed. It felt so good to be close to her again. She felt so warm and alive, that he didn't want her to ever let him go and for a long time, she didn't.
~*^*^*~
Grissom pushed through the door and looked around at the now clean living room. "The guys cleaned up."
Kate looked up at him briefly, before scanning the room. "Darwin!" She screeched and ran across the room to scoop the lazy cat from sleeping on the couch. "You miss me?" She asked, hugging him tightly.
Sara smiled and shrugged off her coat. She headed into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge to see the groceries that Grissom had brought home the other day when Jake had forced his way into their home.
He could feel the distance between both and felt sick to his stomach. Had he lost them to Jake's brainwashing? Watching them from the door, he let out a silent, sad sigh before walking to the patio door and sliding it open. He stepped out onto the grass and stared at the tall tree at the bottom of the garden.
What if nothing was the same? What if Kate decided that Jake was right and he had pulled her family apart? He didn't know if he could live with the fact that Jake had won, although he was going to speed the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole.
Pulling his aid from his ear, he turned it off. The battery was low anyway. Looking from the tree to the desert, he couldn't stop the feeling of loss seeping into his soul. It didn't feel right. Nothing felt like it did anymore.
Feeling familiar warmth, he turned to see Kate staring at him from a few feet away. "Hey." He smiled slightly.
Kate looked away from him. "Is Uncle Gavin going to prison?" She asked suddenly.
Grissom's heart fell. 'Uncle Gavin' It was a shock to hear her say that, even though he had a feeling that Jake's presence had pulled his family from beneath him.
"For a while, not forever." He answered, dropping his eyes from her turned away head to his sling. Wincing in pain, he tried to relieve some of the tension in his neck by rolling it slightly. It wasn't working. When he looked up, she was gone. Sighing heavily, his shoulders slumped.
Moving to sit on the bench, he turned away from the house and stared at the mountains. It was too good to be true. His nightmares were still present and were coming more real by the minute. He'd lost his daughter after a 15 year battle. Jake had finally won.
A tap on his shoulder startled him and his shoulder jerked, causing him to groan in pain.
"God, Gil. Are you ok? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Sara covered his hand, realising he couldn't hear her. When he looked up at her with teary eyes, she pulled him up with her. 'Come on.' She signed.
Following her through the house, he held his shoulder as still as he could.
~*^*^*~
He slept restlessly for an hour. His thoughts were too scattered and his emotions were too high. When he woke, his eyes were filled with tears. Trying to turn, he grimaced and turned the other way. He saw Sara watching him closely from her side of the bed. Stopping where he was, he just stared back at her in complete silence.
They watched each other for what seemed like ages and after Grissom sighed and turned onto his back again, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. He replaced his aid and let his hand fall back to the bed. His eyes closed against her gently massage and breathed more lightly.
"What are you thinking?" She asked.
Grissom looked up at the ceiling. "How much I've lost."
Sara's hand stilled. "What have you lost?" She asked, confused.
"My family." He sighed. "My daughter."
"She's right here, Gil." Sara protested, but understood his fears.
Moving to sit up, he felt her hand slip from his hair. "I've lost her. It's just like I said it would. She'll never look at me the same way again. Jake's poisoned her mind."
Watching him sit up, Sara's heart burst with sadness. "She's just adjusting. Give it some time."
"And you?" He asked, turning to look at her.
Staring into his still watery eyes, she shuffled closer to lean against his back as she loosely wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but did not press on his bad arm. "I'm not going anywhere. I know what Jake did and it will take some time to move on, but you have nothing to worry about. We both love you just the same."
Grissom nodded sadly and dropped his head. "I was so scared he was going to- " He stopped on a choked whisper. "He didn't, did he?" He turned around and asked, waiting impatiently for her answer.
Sara read his eyes and shook her head. "No." She moved to pull him against her, kissing him lightly and cradling him against her chest.
THE END or is it?
[I figured a movie ending sound kinda cool. Something that could be continued or perhaps the story would stop there and go no further, but who knows. It's been great and this has been my longest and most emotional fanfic that I've ever written, I think. Please tell me what you think and just for Irishdachsie, there will be an epilogue. Just to tie off the loose ends.]
[Finally, the last chapter. I hope you've stayed interested and not strayed from this fic too much. Please let me know what you think, but no flames, I'm very sensitive. lol.]
Everything was happening in slow motion.
The gunshot echoed for what seemed like forever, but soon a dead silence fell over them and nothing but the darkness was left.
Grissom's breathing was beyond erratic, as was his heart. Both were in pretty bad shape as he wrapped his good around her waist and pulled her back against him.
Then everything hit normal play.
"Sara!"
"Agh!"
Grissom's head snapped up as he watched Jake stumble back.
"Fuck! You shot me." Jake said hoarsely, looking down at his hand that was now covered in his blood.
Grissom looked at his gun, then turned and looked at Gavin, who was standing by the couch with a gun held tightly in his right hand.
Sara watched Jake fall to his knees, watching him bleed from his abdomen. She was shaking and breathing heavily, suddenly feeling very cold and light headed. "Gil."
"I'm here." He whispered, turning her around and holding her against him. "Ssh." His arm tightened around her and rubbed her back soothingly.
Gavin stepped forward, still in shock from shooting his brother. "Is he dead?" He asked.
Grissom released Sara and checked Jake's pulse. "Sadly, no." He grumbled, quickly shuffling towards Kate and attempting to untie her. "Hey munchkin." He said softly, looking into her red and puffy bloodshot eyes. "You ok?"
Kate sniffled and nodded.
Sara moved around Jake with a wide birth, to reached Grissom and Kate. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Sweetie."
"I'm ok." Kate sniffled again.
Just as Gavin moved to check his brother, the door burst open and a hoard of police officers charged the room.
"Down on the ground!" "Now!" "Drop the gun!" "Hands behind your head!"
Hogan entered and looked around. "Cuff him and get the paramedics in here."
Nick and Catherine were the next people to enter. "Gil?" Catherine called, moving past two officers handcuffing Gavin.
"Here."
Sara looked up to see blue eyes staring at her. She reached up and touched his cheek. "I love you." She whispered, leaning in to kiss his lips softly before helping Kate up from the chair she had been tied to for hours.
Nick grabbed Grissom's good arm and helped him stand. "You didn't pop a stitch again, did you?" He asked worriedly, but smiled.
Grissom coughed and shook his head.
"Stitch?" Sara held Kate against her side as she looked at Grissom.
"Let's get you all checked out at the hospital." Hogan suggested, coming up to stop by Catherine. "I'll see you there. Mr. Andrews will have guards, so you don't have to worry about him."
"He's unconscious. Not going to wake up any time soon." The deputy assured Kate, who turned concerned eyes to him.
~*^*^*~
Sara was laying on a gurney while the doctor checked her over and patched her up. Surprisingly, she didn't have any broken bones, but her face was bruised and her lips were chapped with a large cut from where Jake had hit her numerous times. Her cheeks were a shade of blue and purple, plus her body was pretty much black and blue all over. Her scalp was sore from being yanked too many times and she had a thumping headache.
Kate was also laying on a gurney. She was sleeping, completely tired out and felt safe enough to sleep. A few bruises on her face and arms, but she seemed unharmed, apart from the whole mental torture of confusion and fear.
Grissom was sat in a chair while his arm was checked, just to make sure his stitches were holding and his bandages were still in place and clean. Other than the pain, he was fine.
~*^*^*~
Nick talked to Sara while she was resting and Catherine made sure Grissom was alright. It had been an hour since they were brought in and after the doctors had done there work, they were left to rest. The night was almost over and the sun would be up soon. The windows showed a faint glow in the distance, but the sun was still not seen.
Sara watched the few clouds she could see and the outline of large buildings close to the hospital. "I was sitting there, thinking, that if the sun came up, then, it would all be over." She said mostly to herself.
"Not long to wait." Grissom said softly from the curtain.
"But it seems like forever." She sighed, turning her head towards him.
He stepped further into the small cubicle and sat on the bed, gently taking her hand. "Not long, just wait and it'll be here in no time."
Sara smiled weakly and looked down at their hands. "I thought you were dead." She whispered thickly.
Grissom breathed deeply and closed his eyes. "I thought I was too."
"What happened in there?" She asked, knowing he knew what she was asking.
Thinking back to the derelict gas station, he stared past her shoulder. "Like what happened last time, but worse." His voice was distant and haunted as he spoke. "I can remember his eyes as he laughed and pulled the gun out and pointed it at me."
Sara felt her eyes fill with tears as she listened to him. She could only imagine that Jake would act on Grissom's nightmare and re-enact it.
"The last thing I remember, before being found in the ally, was us, you, me and Kate. All I could think, was, I broke my promise again and you both got hurt."
"No." Sara sat up and shuffled closer, taking his face in her hands. "You couldn't stop him. That's not your fault."
Grissom shook his head and looked down, avoiding her eyes as his stung with tears. "I tried." He breathed out forcefully. "But, he still forced his way back into our lives and pushed us apart."
"For a little while. Not forever." She smiled, but it faded as he looked at her. "Not forever." She stressed.
He nodded and sighed. "I'm still unsure how this has affected Kate."
Sara leaned forward to rest her forehead against his. "She's still your daughter and she believed that the whole time, even when Jake was angry at her."
"He hurt her." He hiccuped suddenly. "He hurt you. He keeps ruining my life, Sara. I wish he died 15 years ago. I wish you never met him. I wish I wasn't so stupid to let you go."
"Sssh, Gil." She held him against her and gently rocked them. Feeling his tears and hiccuped sobs, she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his head. "You say that and 15 years and more, of friendship and love, would never have existed."
"It might have kept you safe." He breathed. It felt so good to be close to her again. She felt so warm and alive, that he didn't want her to ever let him go and for a long time, she didn't.
~*^*^*~
Grissom pushed through the door and looked around at the now clean living room. "The guys cleaned up."
Kate looked up at him briefly, before scanning the room. "Darwin!" She screeched and ran across the room to scoop the lazy cat from sleeping on the couch. "You miss me?" She asked, hugging him tightly.
Sara smiled and shrugged off her coat. She headed into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge to see the groceries that Grissom had brought home the other day when Jake had forced his way into their home.
He could feel the distance between both and felt sick to his stomach. Had he lost them to Jake's brainwashing? Watching them from the door, he let out a silent, sad sigh before walking to the patio door and sliding it open. He stepped out onto the grass and stared at the tall tree at the bottom of the garden.
What if nothing was the same? What if Kate decided that Jake was right and he had pulled her family apart? He didn't know if he could live with the fact that Jake had won, although he was going to speed the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole.
Pulling his aid from his ear, he turned it off. The battery was low anyway. Looking from the tree to the desert, he couldn't stop the feeling of loss seeping into his soul. It didn't feel right. Nothing felt like it did anymore.
Feeling familiar warmth, he turned to see Kate staring at him from a few feet away. "Hey." He smiled slightly.
Kate looked away from him. "Is Uncle Gavin going to prison?" She asked suddenly.
Grissom's heart fell. 'Uncle Gavin' It was a shock to hear her say that, even though he had a feeling that Jake's presence had pulled his family from beneath him.
"For a while, not forever." He answered, dropping his eyes from her turned away head to his sling. Wincing in pain, he tried to relieve some of the tension in his neck by rolling it slightly. It wasn't working. When he looked up, she was gone. Sighing heavily, his shoulders slumped.
Moving to sit on the bench, he turned away from the house and stared at the mountains. It was too good to be true. His nightmares were still present and were coming more real by the minute. He'd lost his daughter after a 15 year battle. Jake had finally won.
A tap on his shoulder startled him and his shoulder jerked, causing him to groan in pain.
"God, Gil. Are you ok? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Sara covered his hand, realising he couldn't hear her. When he looked up at her with teary eyes, she pulled him up with her. 'Come on.' She signed.
Following her through the house, he held his shoulder as still as he could.
~*^*^*~
He slept restlessly for an hour. His thoughts were too scattered and his emotions were too high. When he woke, his eyes were filled with tears. Trying to turn, he grimaced and turned the other way. He saw Sara watching him closely from her side of the bed. Stopping where he was, he just stared back at her in complete silence.
They watched each other for what seemed like ages and after Grissom sighed and turned onto his back again, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. He replaced his aid and let his hand fall back to the bed. His eyes closed against her gently massage and breathed more lightly.
"What are you thinking?" She asked.
Grissom looked up at the ceiling. "How much I've lost."
Sara's hand stilled. "What have you lost?" She asked, confused.
"My family." He sighed. "My daughter."
"She's right here, Gil." Sara protested, but understood his fears.
Moving to sit up, he felt her hand slip from his hair. "I've lost her. It's just like I said it would. She'll never look at me the same way again. Jake's poisoned her mind."
Watching him sit up, Sara's heart burst with sadness. "She's just adjusting. Give it some time."
"And you?" He asked, turning to look at her.
Staring into his still watery eyes, she shuffled closer to lean against his back as she loosely wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but did not press on his bad arm. "I'm not going anywhere. I know what Jake did and it will take some time to move on, but you have nothing to worry about. We both love you just the same."
Grissom nodded sadly and dropped his head. "I was so scared he was going to- " He stopped on a choked whisper. "He didn't, did he?" He turned around and asked, waiting impatiently for her answer.
Sara read his eyes and shook her head. "No." She moved to pull him against her, kissing him lightly and cradling him against her chest.
THE END or is it?
[I figured a movie ending sound kinda cool. Something that could be continued or perhaps the story would stop there and go no further, but who knows. It's been great and this has been my longest and most emotional fanfic that I've ever written, I think. Please tell me what you think and just for Irishdachsie, there will be an epilogue. Just to tie off the loose ends.]