DISCLAIMER: I don't own them. None of this is mine. This font? Not mine.
Please don't sue me, k?
A/N: Spoilers? Yup! Mostly from Season 4's "Butterflied." A/N: I know I said it would be Monday when I updated. . .I lied! The final chapter(#12) with be Monday.
CH.10:
Brass ushered Sara quickly through the halls of the labs. Luckily, it wasn't at all uncommon to see Sara Sidle there at all hours. She took deep breaths as Grissom's closed door came into view. Brass knocked once before opening the door. Grissom's blinds were drawn, and only his small desk lamp illuminated the room. Brass flipped on the light switch at the door before taking a seat beside Sara in front of the desk.
Silence hovered over the trio for an unbearable few moments before Brass finally spoke.
"You want me to leave you two alone to talk?"
"That's not necessary." Grissom looked up, gazing at Sara for the first time since she and Brass had entered the room. She looked worn down. He took a deep breath, and blew it out loudly.
"Sara, Jim tells me you filed for a restraining order. Have you found a place to stay yet?" He got right down to business. No need letting the tension build any longer.
"Not yet." She looked up at Grissom's face. He was unreadable.
Grissom wasn't sure what the best course of action would be. If she stayed with a member of their team, Lurie could easily find her, and it would put them both at risk. If they put her up in some hotel, there would have to be a guard. There was no easy solution. He contemplated asking her to go home to California for a short time, but Lurie could easily track her there. Lurie was a sick-minded bastard, but he seemed to prefer a close approach to his killings. He was methodical. Grissom couldn't keep the dreaded images of the Marlin case from flashing through his mind. For a split second, very unethical plans began to form in his head. Plans that would mean the permanent disappearance of one Vincent Lurie. Grissom shook his head. He wasn't the bad guy.
"Sara doesn't leave our site." He spoke to Jim firmly. He wouldn't risk loosing her to this madman.
Sara furrowed her brow. What? So she had to live under constant surveillance?
"Grissom, I don't need to be babysat. I can just stay at a hotel on the strip. Those casinos have some of the best security in the world. I don't think he'd. . ." She was about to say she didn't think Vincent would try anything, but he wasn't the man she thought he was. He was a monster; the worst kind. He walked in man's skin, lived in man's world, but the handsome exterior was not who he was. Sara had never misread anyone so completely before, and it shook her to the core.
"And yet we investigate homicides there regularly." He glanced from Brass to Sara. "This guy is going to come after you. He's had his eye on you since the day he first spotted you. Sara, you are his redemption, and he won't just give that up." Grissom stood.
"Easy, Gil. So this Lurie's not going to quit till he gets what he wants, right? Well," he held up the key that Sara had given him before, "Let's go give it to him."
"We can't do that!" Sara shot up out of her chair, outraged. "We can't just go over there, and beat the hell out of the guy."
"Sara?" Grissom narrowed his eyes at her. Did she still have feelings for this creep?
"No. I'd be the first in line to take a swing, but this won't work." She assured Grissom, seeing the look on his face.
"Yeah, well, while that's all very tempting, it's not what I had in mind." Brass smirked.
"Ok. What's your plan?" Grissom sat back down, ready to listen.
"Sara, you told me he said you could come over any time right?"
"Yeah, but I really don't feel too comfortable going back there alone. You can't seriously mean for me to go back in there?"
Grissom was vehemently against this scenario as well.
"Not alone, no. I figure the doc has to go out sometimes. Otherwise he can't do any quality stalking. I'm gonna post one of my boys near his place. When he leaves, we come up a back road, enter his house, and have a little looksee. He gave you a key, and permission. No need for any pesky warrants." Brass knew he would be bending several laws almost to their breaking point, but he had two of the nation's top CSI's lives at stake.
"What are we hoping to find?" Grissom seemed to like this idea. "He's probably long since destroyed any viable evidence from the Marlin case."
"Maybe, but maybe there's some evidence of his stalking Sara, and with the three of us armed and on alert, I figure we should be pretty safe."
"What if he comes home while we're there?" Sara still wasn't sold on this idea. She wanted nothing to do with Lurie. She wasn't too fond of the idea of returning there with Grissom in tow as well. "If he attacks us in his own home he can claim self defense." Sara was felling beat. She still ached from her recent episode in the women's restroom, and her head was throbbing from nervous tension.
"The word of three respectable LVPD personelle versus some wackjob's? I'm not feelin' too threatened." Brass had already decided that if it came down to them or Lurie, he wouldn't have a problem pulling the trigger.
Grissom and Sara, however, were tackling different scenarios in their heads. Each one looking up at the other occasionally. Brass watched the exchange somewhat amused. He could just see the hamsters running the wheels in their heads.
"You two done with your mind meld yet?" Brass chuckled despite himself.
Grissom gave him a stern glare.
"If we do this," Sara began, "we do it fast, and we get out of there."
Brass nodded.
"We'll each take a room. I'll have my guy stay on the street to keep an eye out for his car." Brass pulled his phone from his pocket and stood to leave.
"Ok. Make the call, Jim. We'll wait to hear from you. Meanwhile, Sara and I need to speak with the others."
Sara dreaded that. She leaned back in her chair, and wrapped her arms around herself. It was still hours before shift. The others were probably still in bed. She wondered what Nick would say. She watched as Grissom paged, and called the rest of the team. Grissom closed his phone, replacing it in his jacket. He looked up at Sara. There eyes met, and he could see she was battling with her circumstances.
"Have you had anything to eat?" He looked at her with concern. The urge to go to her was great, but inappropriate, he reasoned. He kept himself in check.
"Not really hungry." The thought of food at that moment repulsed her, but it was nice of him to offer.
"Coffee?" Grissom asked hopefully.
"Sure." Sara rose, and made her way to the break room.
Grissom followed close behind. Her posture was guarded. Her shoulders slumped slightly forward. Grissom couldn't take his eyes off of her. He had to keep assuring himself that she was safe, and right nearby. As Grissom started to prepare a fresh pot, his phone rang.
"Grissom."
"What's the emergency, Gil?" Catherine yawned into her phone.
"We need to gather the whole team here. There's been a development in the Debbie Marlin case." Grissom looked at Sara as he spoke. She flinched upon hearing his words. The mere thought that she was the development sickened her.
"New evidence?" Catherine was suddenly very much awake.
"New developments. Vincent Mathers. He IS Vincent Lurie."
"I'll be right in." Catherine hung up, and shook her head. What the hell was going on?
"Catherine's on her way." Grissom took a seat next to Sara instead of his usual spot on the opposite side of the table.
"What are we going to tell them?" Sara never liked being the center of attention unless it was while delivering evidence that sealed a case.
"The truth. No one is going to think less of you, Sara. You weren't the only one he fooled." Grissom's tone was quiet and sincere, and it made Sara feel even worse. She still felt as if she had betrayed him. She had betrayed herself.
"He didn't just fool me, Grissom." Sara's voice caught in her throat as she spoke. He had to know what she had done, and with whom she had done it.
"What you did, you did under false pretense." Grissom tried to reassure her even as her words stung his heart like citric acid on an open wound. Lurie had filled the emptiness for Sara that Grissom should have been occupying. He grabbed her hand, and held it gently. She looked down at his hand covering hers. She bit down on her lower lip. The tears were so close to falling. As they sat waiting, Grissom's phone rang once again.
"Grissom."
"Gil, we gotta move now! He just left his place. I'm out here with the engine running. Make it fast!"
Grissom hung up his phone, and gave Sara's hand a squeeze.
"That was Brass. We've got to do this now. You ready?" He didn't let go of her hand at first as the stood.
"Let's go."
A/N: Spoilers? Yup! Mostly from Season 4's "Butterflied." A/N: I know I said it would be Monday when I updated. . .I lied! The final chapter(#12) with be Monday.
CH.10:
Brass ushered Sara quickly through the halls of the labs. Luckily, it wasn't at all uncommon to see Sara Sidle there at all hours. She took deep breaths as Grissom's closed door came into view. Brass knocked once before opening the door. Grissom's blinds were drawn, and only his small desk lamp illuminated the room. Brass flipped on the light switch at the door before taking a seat beside Sara in front of the desk.
Silence hovered over the trio for an unbearable few moments before Brass finally spoke.
"You want me to leave you two alone to talk?"
"That's not necessary." Grissom looked up, gazing at Sara for the first time since she and Brass had entered the room. She looked worn down. He took a deep breath, and blew it out loudly.
"Sara, Jim tells me you filed for a restraining order. Have you found a place to stay yet?" He got right down to business. No need letting the tension build any longer.
"Not yet." She looked up at Grissom's face. He was unreadable.
Grissom wasn't sure what the best course of action would be. If she stayed with a member of their team, Lurie could easily find her, and it would put them both at risk. If they put her up in some hotel, there would have to be a guard. There was no easy solution. He contemplated asking her to go home to California for a short time, but Lurie could easily track her there. Lurie was a sick-minded bastard, but he seemed to prefer a close approach to his killings. He was methodical. Grissom couldn't keep the dreaded images of the Marlin case from flashing through his mind. For a split second, very unethical plans began to form in his head. Plans that would mean the permanent disappearance of one Vincent Lurie. Grissom shook his head. He wasn't the bad guy.
"Sara doesn't leave our site." He spoke to Jim firmly. He wouldn't risk loosing her to this madman.
Sara furrowed her brow. What? So she had to live under constant surveillance?
"Grissom, I don't need to be babysat. I can just stay at a hotel on the strip. Those casinos have some of the best security in the world. I don't think he'd. . ." She was about to say she didn't think Vincent would try anything, but he wasn't the man she thought he was. He was a monster; the worst kind. He walked in man's skin, lived in man's world, but the handsome exterior was not who he was. Sara had never misread anyone so completely before, and it shook her to the core.
"And yet we investigate homicides there regularly." He glanced from Brass to Sara. "This guy is going to come after you. He's had his eye on you since the day he first spotted you. Sara, you are his redemption, and he won't just give that up." Grissom stood.
"Easy, Gil. So this Lurie's not going to quit till he gets what he wants, right? Well," he held up the key that Sara had given him before, "Let's go give it to him."
"We can't do that!" Sara shot up out of her chair, outraged. "We can't just go over there, and beat the hell out of the guy."
"Sara?" Grissom narrowed his eyes at her. Did she still have feelings for this creep?
"No. I'd be the first in line to take a swing, but this won't work." She assured Grissom, seeing the look on his face.
"Yeah, well, while that's all very tempting, it's not what I had in mind." Brass smirked.
"Ok. What's your plan?" Grissom sat back down, ready to listen.
"Sara, you told me he said you could come over any time right?"
"Yeah, but I really don't feel too comfortable going back there alone. You can't seriously mean for me to go back in there?"
Grissom was vehemently against this scenario as well.
"Not alone, no. I figure the doc has to go out sometimes. Otherwise he can't do any quality stalking. I'm gonna post one of my boys near his place. When he leaves, we come up a back road, enter his house, and have a little looksee. He gave you a key, and permission. No need for any pesky warrants." Brass knew he would be bending several laws almost to their breaking point, but he had two of the nation's top CSI's lives at stake.
"What are we hoping to find?" Grissom seemed to like this idea. "He's probably long since destroyed any viable evidence from the Marlin case."
"Maybe, but maybe there's some evidence of his stalking Sara, and with the three of us armed and on alert, I figure we should be pretty safe."
"What if he comes home while we're there?" Sara still wasn't sold on this idea. She wanted nothing to do with Lurie. She wasn't too fond of the idea of returning there with Grissom in tow as well. "If he attacks us in his own home he can claim self defense." Sara was felling beat. She still ached from her recent episode in the women's restroom, and her head was throbbing from nervous tension.
"The word of three respectable LVPD personelle versus some wackjob's? I'm not feelin' too threatened." Brass had already decided that if it came down to them or Lurie, he wouldn't have a problem pulling the trigger.
Grissom and Sara, however, were tackling different scenarios in their heads. Each one looking up at the other occasionally. Brass watched the exchange somewhat amused. He could just see the hamsters running the wheels in their heads.
"You two done with your mind meld yet?" Brass chuckled despite himself.
Grissom gave him a stern glare.
"If we do this," Sara began, "we do it fast, and we get out of there."
Brass nodded.
"We'll each take a room. I'll have my guy stay on the street to keep an eye out for his car." Brass pulled his phone from his pocket and stood to leave.
"Ok. Make the call, Jim. We'll wait to hear from you. Meanwhile, Sara and I need to speak with the others."
Sara dreaded that. She leaned back in her chair, and wrapped her arms around herself. It was still hours before shift. The others were probably still in bed. She wondered what Nick would say. She watched as Grissom paged, and called the rest of the team. Grissom closed his phone, replacing it in his jacket. He looked up at Sara. There eyes met, and he could see she was battling with her circumstances.
"Have you had anything to eat?" He looked at her with concern. The urge to go to her was great, but inappropriate, he reasoned. He kept himself in check.
"Not really hungry." The thought of food at that moment repulsed her, but it was nice of him to offer.
"Coffee?" Grissom asked hopefully.
"Sure." Sara rose, and made her way to the break room.
Grissom followed close behind. Her posture was guarded. Her shoulders slumped slightly forward. Grissom couldn't take his eyes off of her. He had to keep assuring himself that she was safe, and right nearby. As Grissom started to prepare a fresh pot, his phone rang.
"Grissom."
"What's the emergency, Gil?" Catherine yawned into her phone.
"We need to gather the whole team here. There's been a development in the Debbie Marlin case." Grissom looked at Sara as he spoke. She flinched upon hearing his words. The mere thought that she was the development sickened her.
"New evidence?" Catherine was suddenly very much awake.
"New developments. Vincent Mathers. He IS Vincent Lurie."
"I'll be right in." Catherine hung up, and shook her head. What the hell was going on?
"Catherine's on her way." Grissom took a seat next to Sara instead of his usual spot on the opposite side of the table.
"What are we going to tell them?" Sara never liked being the center of attention unless it was while delivering evidence that sealed a case.
"The truth. No one is going to think less of you, Sara. You weren't the only one he fooled." Grissom's tone was quiet and sincere, and it made Sara feel even worse. She still felt as if she had betrayed him. She had betrayed herself.
"He didn't just fool me, Grissom." Sara's voice caught in her throat as she spoke. He had to know what she had done, and with whom she had done it.
"What you did, you did under false pretense." Grissom tried to reassure her even as her words stung his heart like citric acid on an open wound. Lurie had filled the emptiness for Sara that Grissom should have been occupying. He grabbed her hand, and held it gently. She looked down at his hand covering hers. She bit down on her lower lip. The tears were so close to falling. As they sat waiting, Grissom's phone rang once again.
"Grissom."
"Gil, we gotta move now! He just left his place. I'm out here with the engine running. Make it fast!"
Grissom hung up his phone, and gave Sara's hand a squeeze.
"That was Brass. We've got to do this now. You ready?" He didn't let go of her hand at first as the stood.
"Let's go."