DISCLAIMER: I own nothing here. Please don't sue me.
A/N: Some mild spoilers from Lady Heather's Box of Season 3 fame. And I was asked where I get my chapter titles? That would be Willy (the bard) Shakespeare. He copied the Greeks, we copy him. Who's gonna copy us? The chain seems to be going downhill from there. Hehehe!
Chapter 17:
Sara awoke to the sound of a distant heavy metal band pounding away at what could be a melody. She blinked a few times, and turned towards the noise. Greg sat opposite her bed, bobbing his head with his eyes closed. Upon closer inspection, Sara noted the ear bud headphone cords running down either side of his head. She smiled. At least she wasn't duct taped to the bed yet. She decided to wait and see how long it would take Greg to realize she was awake. Studying Greg was not an unpleasant way to pass time. He was a good-looking guy, had an amusing T-shirt on proclaiming "Virginia is for Lovers," and seemed deeply involved in the harsh music flowing into his brain at well over 80 decibels.
"Doh!" Greg jumped when he noted he was being watched. "How long have you been awake?" He plucked the ear buds from his ears, and grinned.
"Long enough to know you are going to be deaf before you turn 30."
"Well then I better turn my music up, and enjoy it for the next two years." Greg leaned forward, and pulled something from his bag.
"Oh! I totally take bad anything bad I ever sad about you." Sara eyed the coffee thermos adoringly.
"As I recall, you said you would teach me more if I kept your thermoses of quality java coming." Greg passed Sara a mug of coffee.
"Watch and learn, Grasshopper." Sara held the steaming mug under her nose, and inhaled deeply. "You know I haven't had any coffee in four days?"
"Aside from that frightening fact, how are you feeling?" Greg sat the thermos on her bed stand.
"Better today. Any news for me?" She cut the crap, and went for what she really wanted to know.
"Nothing you don't already know." Greg stretched the truth. He wasn't about to be the one to tell her the news about Braun. "I heard you get to go home today." He handed her a new Forensics Journal from the lab break room.
"Yeah. Hope my kitten recognizes me." She smiled at the thought of not going home to an empty apartment.
"Yeah! So? Did you come up with a name yet? 'Cause I have some options for you." Greg beamed. "OK. How 'bout 'Warlock'? He's jet black right? Or 'Devil'? It's gotta be a cool name."
"Thanks, Greg, but I have an idea already." Then Sara realized she had another question for her favorite lab rat. "By the way, Greg. . .you never told me much about when you worked in Frisco at the same time I did. Seems like there's more of a story there." She wasn't usually much for small talk, but she was bored, and honestly intrigued.
Greg cleared his throat, and fidgeted with his jacket.
"Not much to tell. I saw you around. You were hard not to notice. You were the only one around there who put in more hours than the coroner." Greg chuckled.
"And you never said hi, or anything? I would've remembered you if you had." She remembered her time back in San Francisco. She could've used a friend back then.
"Guess I should have." He frowned. "I was a little intimidated, to be honest. And then one time when I saw you outside, I was gonna say hi, but then I noticed you were. . ." Greg stopped. He didn't want to embarrass Sara.
"What? Was I in a hurry or something?"
"Uh, no. I wasn't trying to spy on you, or anything. I just happened to be there. You were crying. You sat down on the curb out by the back lot, and you were crying. I didn't know what to say, and I didn't think you wanted anyone to see you, so I went back inside before you saw me." Greg hung his head, and shook it. When it came to girls he was not shy. When it came to girls he didn't know sitting in a parking lot crying? Well, that was not his strong suit.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Why are you sorry? I ran some of the tests on that case. It wasn't till later that I heard it was a friend of yours. I would've cried too." Greg smiled reassuringly at her.
"Thanks." She studied him for a moment. This was why she never tried to get into conversations with people on purpose. After a few sentences, the witty comebacks and snappy one-liners were used up. After that, there was just awkward silence. Luckily, today the silence was broken.
"Knock, knock!" Catherine stood at the doorway with an armload of books.
"Geez! Hope you're a speed reader." Greg laughed as he noticed the amount of reading material Sara was accumulating.
"See ya later, Greggo. Thanks again." Sara raised her mug to him as he left.
"So! Guess I'm your chauffer for today." Catherine sat a piece of luggage down on the chair, and surveyed the room. She was nervous. Sara needed to know what was going on with their case, and she decided she would be the one to tell her. Grissom reluctantly agreed.
"Ah! Thank goodness!" Sara sat carefully up in bed.
"I brought you some clothes." She handed Sara a bag. "Your cat is one spoiled little kitty. He only leaves your bed to chase my feet while I'm trying to water plants, and to eat. He's there every time I check in on him."
Sara smiled.
"I really appreciate it, Cat. You didn't have to do all that." Sara grabbed up the clothes, and made her way carefully to the restroom to change.
"Yeah I did. Besides, I brought Lindsey up once, and she hasn't stopped pestering me for a kitten. I promised her visiting rights to yours." Catherine grinned, but was aware that she would have to tell Sara about Braun sooner or later.
"Sara?" She called through the door. A moment later, Sara reappeared wearing baggy jeans, and a loose Harvard t-shirt. It wouldn't do to wear tight clothes with an injured midsection.
"Yeah?" Sara sat back down, tired by the exertion of moving around on pain meds.
"There's news on the case, and I wanted you to hear it form me." She sat on the edge of the bed.
Sara took a deep breath, and let it out her nose; much like an angry bull about to charge.
"He's getting off, isn't he?" Sara shook her head, and clinched her jaw in anger.
"Not if we can help it, right? But he's worked up a good case for himself. Unfortunately, the general public loves him, and most juries will too. He can be a real charmer." Catherine winced at the fury in Sara's gaze. She knew it wasn't aimed at her, but it still burned. "I'm really sorry, Sara." She was starting to understand how Sara must have felt after Eddie's case was closed.
"I'm not angry at you. I'm just getting sick of seeing the bad guy win." She didn't have the energy for much more of this. "Could you just take me home?"
"Sure. I'll get your stuff." Catherine gathered Sara's books and magazines, and packed them up for her. They stopped at the desk to check Sara out, and get her prescriptions. The duo made their way out to Catherine's car in silence. Once safely buckled in, Catherine finally broke the quiet.
"About that furball? What's his name?"
Sara smiled weakly. It was a pleasant thought amongst many dire ones.
"I'm leaning towards 'Spidey,' but 'Bugger' is also an option considering how much of a whirlwind you seem to think he is."
"You can't name that sweet cat Bugger!" She laughed. "I like Spidey. I've never heard of a cat named Spidey. Gee. . .what could have inspired that name?" Catherine grinned a lopsided grin, feeling better now that the subject was lightened.
"Yeah. I like the sound of it." Sara nodded her head, affirming her choice.
"Grissom will love it." Then Catherine burst out laughing even harder.
"What?!?" Sara looked over at her surprised.
"You are going to have a fuzzy cat named Spidey, and he has a tarantula named Fluffy!"
Sara laughed so hard she snorted. A brief respite before dealing with the rest of the world.
TBC
A/N: Some mild spoilers from Lady Heather's Box of Season 3 fame. And I was asked where I get my chapter titles? That would be Willy (the bard) Shakespeare. He copied the Greeks, we copy him. Who's gonna copy us? The chain seems to be going downhill from there. Hehehe!
Chapter 17:
Sara awoke to the sound of a distant heavy metal band pounding away at what could be a melody. She blinked a few times, and turned towards the noise. Greg sat opposite her bed, bobbing his head with his eyes closed. Upon closer inspection, Sara noted the ear bud headphone cords running down either side of his head. She smiled. At least she wasn't duct taped to the bed yet. She decided to wait and see how long it would take Greg to realize she was awake. Studying Greg was not an unpleasant way to pass time. He was a good-looking guy, had an amusing T-shirt on proclaiming "Virginia is for Lovers," and seemed deeply involved in the harsh music flowing into his brain at well over 80 decibels.
"Doh!" Greg jumped when he noted he was being watched. "How long have you been awake?" He plucked the ear buds from his ears, and grinned.
"Long enough to know you are going to be deaf before you turn 30."
"Well then I better turn my music up, and enjoy it for the next two years." Greg leaned forward, and pulled something from his bag.
"Oh! I totally take bad anything bad I ever sad about you." Sara eyed the coffee thermos adoringly.
"As I recall, you said you would teach me more if I kept your thermoses of quality java coming." Greg passed Sara a mug of coffee.
"Watch and learn, Grasshopper." Sara held the steaming mug under her nose, and inhaled deeply. "You know I haven't had any coffee in four days?"
"Aside from that frightening fact, how are you feeling?" Greg sat the thermos on her bed stand.
"Better today. Any news for me?" She cut the crap, and went for what she really wanted to know.
"Nothing you don't already know." Greg stretched the truth. He wasn't about to be the one to tell her the news about Braun. "I heard you get to go home today." He handed her a new Forensics Journal from the lab break room.
"Yeah. Hope my kitten recognizes me." She smiled at the thought of not going home to an empty apartment.
"Yeah! So? Did you come up with a name yet? 'Cause I have some options for you." Greg beamed. "OK. How 'bout 'Warlock'? He's jet black right? Or 'Devil'? It's gotta be a cool name."
"Thanks, Greg, but I have an idea already." Then Sara realized she had another question for her favorite lab rat. "By the way, Greg. . .you never told me much about when you worked in Frisco at the same time I did. Seems like there's more of a story there." She wasn't usually much for small talk, but she was bored, and honestly intrigued.
Greg cleared his throat, and fidgeted with his jacket.
"Not much to tell. I saw you around. You were hard not to notice. You were the only one around there who put in more hours than the coroner." Greg chuckled.
"And you never said hi, or anything? I would've remembered you if you had." She remembered her time back in San Francisco. She could've used a friend back then.
"Guess I should have." He frowned. "I was a little intimidated, to be honest. And then one time when I saw you outside, I was gonna say hi, but then I noticed you were. . ." Greg stopped. He didn't want to embarrass Sara.
"What? Was I in a hurry or something?"
"Uh, no. I wasn't trying to spy on you, or anything. I just happened to be there. You were crying. You sat down on the curb out by the back lot, and you were crying. I didn't know what to say, and I didn't think you wanted anyone to see you, so I went back inside before you saw me." Greg hung his head, and shook it. When it came to girls he was not shy. When it came to girls he didn't know sitting in a parking lot crying? Well, that was not his strong suit.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Why are you sorry? I ran some of the tests on that case. It wasn't till later that I heard it was a friend of yours. I would've cried too." Greg smiled reassuringly at her.
"Thanks." She studied him for a moment. This was why she never tried to get into conversations with people on purpose. After a few sentences, the witty comebacks and snappy one-liners were used up. After that, there was just awkward silence. Luckily, today the silence was broken.
"Knock, knock!" Catherine stood at the doorway with an armload of books.
"Geez! Hope you're a speed reader." Greg laughed as he noticed the amount of reading material Sara was accumulating.
"See ya later, Greggo. Thanks again." Sara raised her mug to him as he left.
"So! Guess I'm your chauffer for today." Catherine sat a piece of luggage down on the chair, and surveyed the room. She was nervous. Sara needed to know what was going on with their case, and she decided she would be the one to tell her. Grissom reluctantly agreed.
"Ah! Thank goodness!" Sara sat carefully up in bed.
"I brought you some clothes." She handed Sara a bag. "Your cat is one spoiled little kitty. He only leaves your bed to chase my feet while I'm trying to water plants, and to eat. He's there every time I check in on him."
Sara smiled.
"I really appreciate it, Cat. You didn't have to do all that." Sara grabbed up the clothes, and made her way carefully to the restroom to change.
"Yeah I did. Besides, I brought Lindsey up once, and she hasn't stopped pestering me for a kitten. I promised her visiting rights to yours." Catherine grinned, but was aware that she would have to tell Sara about Braun sooner or later.
"Sara?" She called through the door. A moment later, Sara reappeared wearing baggy jeans, and a loose Harvard t-shirt. It wouldn't do to wear tight clothes with an injured midsection.
"Yeah?" Sara sat back down, tired by the exertion of moving around on pain meds.
"There's news on the case, and I wanted you to hear it form me." She sat on the edge of the bed.
Sara took a deep breath, and let it out her nose; much like an angry bull about to charge.
"He's getting off, isn't he?" Sara shook her head, and clinched her jaw in anger.
"Not if we can help it, right? But he's worked up a good case for himself. Unfortunately, the general public loves him, and most juries will too. He can be a real charmer." Catherine winced at the fury in Sara's gaze. She knew it wasn't aimed at her, but it still burned. "I'm really sorry, Sara." She was starting to understand how Sara must have felt after Eddie's case was closed.
"I'm not angry at you. I'm just getting sick of seeing the bad guy win." She didn't have the energy for much more of this. "Could you just take me home?"
"Sure. I'll get your stuff." Catherine gathered Sara's books and magazines, and packed them up for her. They stopped at the desk to check Sara out, and get her prescriptions. The duo made their way out to Catherine's car in silence. Once safely buckled in, Catherine finally broke the quiet.
"About that furball? What's his name?"
Sara smiled weakly. It was a pleasant thought amongst many dire ones.
"I'm leaning towards 'Spidey,' but 'Bugger' is also an option considering how much of a whirlwind you seem to think he is."
"You can't name that sweet cat Bugger!" She laughed. "I like Spidey. I've never heard of a cat named Spidey. Gee. . .what could have inspired that name?" Catherine grinned a lopsided grin, feeling better now that the subject was lightened.
"Yeah. I like the sound of it." Sara nodded her head, affirming her choice.
"Grissom will love it." Then Catherine burst out laughing even harder.
"What?!?" Sara looked over at her surprised.
"You are going to have a fuzzy cat named Spidey, and he has a tarantula named Fluffy!"
Sara laughed so hard she snorted. A brief respite before dealing with the rest of the world.
TBC