Three Days Later:
"Grissom, you wanted to see me?" Sara stood in the doorway of Grissom's office. It was about an hour before shift was set to begin and she waited for him to look up from his computer screen.
When he did, he studied her a bit, trying to gauge how she was doing from her body language. He gestured towards the chair across from his desk and looked at her over the rim of his glasses as she took a seat. "I understand you're not at Nick's anymore."
Sara really didn't want to go into the details of why she wasn't there, but she nodded at his comment. "Yeah, my counselor felt that it I was ready to go back to my apartment." She just left it at that.
"How is that going?" Grissom queried, continuing to study her body language.
"Uh, fine." Sara smiled somewhat genuinely. "Harley is making the transition easier, but he certainly does his best to try and keep me from sleeping."
Surprise flickered across Grissom's face. "Oh?" He hadn't really talked to Sara in any detail in a few days because of the cases he'd worked and he had no idea who Harley was.
Sara continued, her smile widening. "Yeah, I need to figure out a way to keep him from biting my earlobes when I'm trying to sleep, although I'm not sure it's much better when he crawls under the covers and tries to lick my toes." She let out a soft chuckle. "Either way he sure is making himself at home."
Grissom looked shocked at how frank Sara was being. "So he's living with you?"
Sara nodded, looking at Grissom a bit strangely. "Yeah, where else was he going to live? I wasn't going to leave him at Nick's."
Grissom's jaw gaped for a moment and then he found his composure. "Sara, this is probably not my place, but speaking as your friend, do you really think it's a good idea to start such an intense relationship with someone when you're in the midst of dealing with some fairly significant issues?"
Sara looked at him for a moment a little confused and then as she realized what he must be thinking she started to laugh.
Grissom looked at her in disbelief. "Sara."
Sara held up her hand and shook her head to interrupt him. In the midst of her laughter she managed to blurt out the information it was clear Grissom didn't have. "Grissom, Harley is my kitten."
A impish half smile flickered across his face. "Your kitten." It was a statement full of relief.
Sara nodded. "Yeah, I thought everyone knew that Nick had gotten me a cat." Her amusement was clearly evident on her face.
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Apparently not all of us." He gathered himself to restart the conversation. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. I was just concerned."
"It's kind of funny actually." Sara smirked.
One Month Later:
It had been a particularly harrowing case, the kind of case that shook even the most hardened CSI to the core. Sara felt numb, and as she made her way to her apartment after shift, she made a little detour.
The last couple of weeks, things seemed to have returned to the way they were before she had threatened to kill herself. Outside of Nick, no one else really seemed to ask her how she was doing. Grissom would stop her now and then to see how things were going, but Sara sometimes got the impression that he was just doing his supervisory duty. They still had a quite a ways to go before the easy friendship they'd had would ever be the same.
When she'd left the lab after shift, Nick was still out on a scene working a case. Of all the days, this was one day that she really needed to talk to someone, and instead of calling him or seeking out someone else, she had left the lab as quickly as she could and headed to the liquor store on the way home.
She sat on her couch, staring down the unopened bottle of Jack Daniels as Harley crawled into her lap and began to purr. She sat there for a long time, absentmindedly stroked his fur as she contemplated what opening that bottle represented. She felt tears stinging her eyes as she pulled Harley into her arms and hugged him as she thought about the particularly brutal nature of the crime scene she'd worked. A young woman in her early thirties had been beaten, raped, and then strangled before she was posed in a very grotesque manner. The woman's nine year old daughter had been asleep in the next room and had fortunately not been harmed, but she had woken up in the middle of the night discovering her mother's body and called police. The look on that child's face haunted Sara.
She was seriously contemplating reaching for the bottle sitting on the coffee table in front of her when she heard a knock at her door. She tried to wipe away the traces of the tears that had been streaming down her face and put Harley on the floor as she went to answer the door. When she opened it, she found a concerned Nick standing there.
He immediately noticed her tears and pulled her into a hug as he stepped into her apartment and closed the door. "I heard you had the case from hell. I thought maybe you might need a little company."
Sara relaxed in his embrace and let herself cry into his chest. She was so relieved that she hadn't opened the bottle, that someone had come when she really needed them, that she just let the tears flow. As her crying subsided, she pulled away from Nick, wiping at her tears and looked up at him. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're here."
Nick noticed the bottle on the coffee table and concern flickered across his face.
Sara sniffled. "I didn't open it. I didn't want to open it and then you came." She was disappointed in herself for even buying the bottle.
A faint smile played at Nick's lips. "I'm here for you, Sara. Don't forget that, ok?" He held up a bag that she hadn't noticed. "I thought maybe you could use some ice cream. It tastes a hell of a lot better than Jack Daniels anyway."
Sara smiled in spite of the pain she was feeling inside. "I should have called you."
Nick reached over and wiped the traces of her tears from her cheek. "I'm here now. It's gonna be ok."
Sara smiled and then turned and disappeared into her kitchen, emerging a few moments later with a couple of spoons. "What kind did you get?"
He grinned. "Chunky Monkey for me and Cookie Dough for you." He followed her to the couch and sat down next to her, glancing at the bottle of liquor before looking back at her. "I'm proud of you for not opening that."
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Thanks. I'm not too proud of myself for buying it though." Her brow furrowed slightly.
He nudged her arm with his elbow. "So what do you say we watch 'Zoolander'?"
Sara rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. "Good thing I don't own it."
"Well I just happened to bring it." He chuckled as he watched her expression. "Just kidding." He smiled at the relief that spread across her face. "I thought you'd probably enjoy 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' a lot better."
Sara smirked. "Now that is a funny move."
"Grissom, you wanted to see me?" Sara stood in the doorway of Grissom's office. It was about an hour before shift was set to begin and she waited for him to look up from his computer screen.
When he did, he studied her a bit, trying to gauge how she was doing from her body language. He gestured towards the chair across from his desk and looked at her over the rim of his glasses as she took a seat. "I understand you're not at Nick's anymore."
Sara really didn't want to go into the details of why she wasn't there, but she nodded at his comment. "Yeah, my counselor felt that it I was ready to go back to my apartment." She just left it at that.
"How is that going?" Grissom queried, continuing to study her body language.
"Uh, fine." Sara smiled somewhat genuinely. "Harley is making the transition easier, but he certainly does his best to try and keep me from sleeping."
Surprise flickered across Grissom's face. "Oh?" He hadn't really talked to Sara in any detail in a few days because of the cases he'd worked and he had no idea who Harley was.
Sara continued, her smile widening. "Yeah, I need to figure out a way to keep him from biting my earlobes when I'm trying to sleep, although I'm not sure it's much better when he crawls under the covers and tries to lick my toes." She let out a soft chuckle. "Either way he sure is making himself at home."
Grissom looked shocked at how frank Sara was being. "So he's living with you?"
Sara nodded, looking at Grissom a bit strangely. "Yeah, where else was he going to live? I wasn't going to leave him at Nick's."
Grissom's jaw gaped for a moment and then he found his composure. "Sara, this is probably not my place, but speaking as your friend, do you really think it's a good idea to start such an intense relationship with someone when you're in the midst of dealing with some fairly significant issues?"
Sara looked at him for a moment a little confused and then as she realized what he must be thinking she started to laugh.
Grissom looked at her in disbelief. "Sara."
Sara held up her hand and shook her head to interrupt him. In the midst of her laughter she managed to blurt out the information it was clear Grissom didn't have. "Grissom, Harley is my kitten."
A impish half smile flickered across his face. "Your kitten." It was a statement full of relief.
Sara nodded. "Yeah, I thought everyone knew that Nick had gotten me a cat." Her amusement was clearly evident on her face.
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Apparently not all of us." He gathered himself to restart the conversation. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. I was just concerned."
"It's kind of funny actually." Sara smirked.
One Month Later:
It had been a particularly harrowing case, the kind of case that shook even the most hardened CSI to the core. Sara felt numb, and as she made her way to her apartment after shift, she made a little detour.
The last couple of weeks, things seemed to have returned to the way they were before she had threatened to kill herself. Outside of Nick, no one else really seemed to ask her how she was doing. Grissom would stop her now and then to see how things were going, but Sara sometimes got the impression that he was just doing his supervisory duty. They still had a quite a ways to go before the easy friendship they'd had would ever be the same.
When she'd left the lab after shift, Nick was still out on a scene working a case. Of all the days, this was one day that she really needed to talk to someone, and instead of calling him or seeking out someone else, she had left the lab as quickly as she could and headed to the liquor store on the way home.
She sat on her couch, staring down the unopened bottle of Jack Daniels as Harley crawled into her lap and began to purr. She sat there for a long time, absentmindedly stroked his fur as she contemplated what opening that bottle represented. She felt tears stinging her eyes as she pulled Harley into her arms and hugged him as she thought about the particularly brutal nature of the crime scene she'd worked. A young woman in her early thirties had been beaten, raped, and then strangled before she was posed in a very grotesque manner. The woman's nine year old daughter had been asleep in the next room and had fortunately not been harmed, but she had woken up in the middle of the night discovering her mother's body and called police. The look on that child's face haunted Sara.
She was seriously contemplating reaching for the bottle sitting on the coffee table in front of her when she heard a knock at her door. She tried to wipe away the traces of the tears that had been streaming down her face and put Harley on the floor as she went to answer the door. When she opened it, she found a concerned Nick standing there.
He immediately noticed her tears and pulled her into a hug as he stepped into her apartment and closed the door. "I heard you had the case from hell. I thought maybe you might need a little company."
Sara relaxed in his embrace and let herself cry into his chest. She was so relieved that she hadn't opened the bottle, that someone had come when she really needed them, that she just let the tears flow. As her crying subsided, she pulled away from Nick, wiping at her tears and looked up at him. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're here."
Nick noticed the bottle on the coffee table and concern flickered across his face.
Sara sniffled. "I didn't open it. I didn't want to open it and then you came." She was disappointed in herself for even buying the bottle.
A faint smile played at Nick's lips. "I'm here for you, Sara. Don't forget that, ok?" He held up a bag that she hadn't noticed. "I thought maybe you could use some ice cream. It tastes a hell of a lot better than Jack Daniels anyway."
Sara smiled in spite of the pain she was feeling inside. "I should have called you."
Nick reached over and wiped the traces of her tears from her cheek. "I'm here now. It's gonna be ok."
Sara smiled and then turned and disappeared into her kitchen, emerging a few moments later with a couple of spoons. "What kind did you get?"
He grinned. "Chunky Monkey for me and Cookie Dough for you." He followed her to the couch and sat down next to her, glancing at the bottle of liquor before looking back at her. "I'm proud of you for not opening that."
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Thanks. I'm not too proud of myself for buying it though." Her brow furrowed slightly.
He nudged her arm with his elbow. "So what do you say we watch 'Zoolander'?"
Sara rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. "Good thing I don't own it."
"Well I just happened to bring it." He chuckled as he watched her expression. "Just kidding." He smiled at the relief that spread across her face. "I thought you'd probably enjoy 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' a lot better."
Sara smirked. "Now that is a funny move."