Title: Lost Butterflies
Summary: The CSI team deal with the loss of one of their own.
Disclaimer: CSI doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer.
Spoilers: Set after Butterflied
Rating: PG-13
"Sara...Sara's..."Grissom wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "D...dead." Catherine dropped the coffee mug she'd been holding and the shattering noise as the ceramic mug connected with the floor filled the silent room.
Warrick stared blankly at Grissom like a child who'd just been slapped and couldn't understand why. Nick's eyes were steely and distant. He slumped to the floor and clutched his head with his hands. If he could just pass out then none of this would be real. He'd wake up and go for his shift, with Sara greeting him cheerfully.
"H-how?" Catherine spluttered. The single word took all of her strength and she was amazed Grissom could even reply. "A robbery at her home went wrong. She was, she was shot." He couldn't bear to tell them that Sara had been shot in the face with a shotgun and was beyond recognition, causing Doc Robbins to identify her by her DNA.
"We...the scene..." Nick muttered from the floor. "We better get over there..." Grissom shook his head. "We're not allowed the case, we were too close." He explained what Brass had told him, causing them to argue for several minutes.
Nick rose to his feet, "If I can't work her case then I'm at least gonna' see her." He headed out of the break room and towards the morgue. None of his colleagues attempted to stop him. They silently followed the fuming Texan.
David sat in the morgue office, his eyes red and swollen from the many tears he had allowed to escape his eyes. Doc Robbins sat in a chair looking detached and vague. When he saw the night shift team enter the morgue he looked up in a way of acknowledging their presence, but continued to stare blankly at the far wall.
The four CSI gathered around the slab where the body of the young brunette lay. Cold and lifeless, a sheet over her face, covering her lack of face. Grissom reached out and placed is hand over hers. So cold. Not like the joyous, fierce Sara Sidle he had worked with for over four years, but the tests had come back. The DNA profile was that of CSI Sara Sidle.
Catherine stared into Grissom's sad eyes and felt tears escaping her own. The other two men left the morgue, sudden realization dawning on them. Sara would never greet them as they arrived at work, she'd never work a case with them again; she just wouldn't be there. She'd be replaced, just like Holly Gribbs, but no CSI could replace her. The young ambitious woman, who put her heart and soul into every case, was gone.
Eventually Catherine left to try to find some solace in her work, leaving Grissom alone in the morgue with only a crying David and a dazed Doc Robbins. Neither could bring him the comfort that Sara had. So he poured his heart out in the cold and sterile place. Four years too late. "I'm sorry Sara. I couldn't take the risk... and I lost you. I've lost the one person in this world that I could ever take that risk for. I...I loved you Sara, but now it's too late, because you're gone."
Nick stared at the lab report that had confirmed Sara's identity. He'd checked it over and over, but it was conclusive. It was Sara's DNA and it was Sara who lay dead in the morgue. Catherine left work early and spent the night with Lindsey, keeping her close, frightened of loosing her. Warrick finished his shift and went straight to a nightclub to drink himself stupid. Not his usual way of dealing with things, but this was the first time he'd lost someone who was like family. Grissom and Nick sat in the crime lab and as Nick rechecked the report for the eighth time something finally clicked in his mind. He'd read the autopsy and something had struck him as out of place, now he knew what. He threw the report on Grissom's desk. "That body has been dead over twenty- four hours." The aging CSI looked up at him from tear stained eyes, ashamed at how badly he was coping, especially in front of his colleagues. "I saw her last night, she was still very much alive." He continued. Grissom's expression went from distraught to an almost fearful expression. "Nick, you were the last one to see Sara alive?" Nick winced as his superior pointed it out, just as the sheriff walked through the door. A grim expression on his face. "In that case you'd best come with me." He handcuffed Nick, amongst protests from both Grissom and Brass who had accompanied the sheriff. "Nothing was disturbed at Sara's place, she knew her killer and you were the last one to see her officer Stokes. It's standard procedure." Nick's child like eyes were brimming with tears as they led him through the lab and towards the integration room. His colleagues stared at him as they passed through the lab and Greg sat in his office, staring at Nick with confusion. Did they really believe he was capable of murdering Sara? She was like a sister, he'd never hurt her, but to make matters worse they'd been arguing before she'd been murdered. It didn't look good for CSI Stokes.
"Sara...Sara's..."Grissom wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "D...dead." Catherine dropped the coffee mug she'd been holding and the shattering noise as the ceramic mug connected with the floor filled the silent room.
Warrick stared blankly at Grissom like a child who'd just been slapped and couldn't understand why. Nick's eyes were steely and distant. He slumped to the floor and clutched his head with his hands. If he could just pass out then none of this would be real. He'd wake up and go for his shift, with Sara greeting him cheerfully.
"H-how?" Catherine spluttered. The single word took all of her strength and she was amazed Grissom could even reply. "A robbery at her home went wrong. She was, she was shot." He couldn't bear to tell them that Sara had been shot in the face with a shotgun and was beyond recognition, causing Doc Robbins to identify her by her DNA.
"We...the scene..." Nick muttered from the floor. "We better get over there..." Grissom shook his head. "We're not allowed the case, we were too close." He explained what Brass had told him, causing them to argue for several minutes.
Nick rose to his feet, "If I can't work her case then I'm at least gonna' see her." He headed out of the break room and towards the morgue. None of his colleagues attempted to stop him. They silently followed the fuming Texan.
David sat in the morgue office, his eyes red and swollen from the many tears he had allowed to escape his eyes. Doc Robbins sat in a chair looking detached and vague. When he saw the night shift team enter the morgue he looked up in a way of acknowledging their presence, but continued to stare blankly at the far wall.
The four CSI gathered around the slab where the body of the young brunette lay. Cold and lifeless, a sheet over her face, covering her lack of face. Grissom reached out and placed is hand over hers. So cold. Not like the joyous, fierce Sara Sidle he had worked with for over four years, but the tests had come back. The DNA profile was that of CSI Sara Sidle.
Catherine stared into Grissom's sad eyes and felt tears escaping her own. The other two men left the morgue, sudden realization dawning on them. Sara would never greet them as they arrived at work, she'd never work a case with them again; she just wouldn't be there. She'd be replaced, just like Holly Gribbs, but no CSI could replace her. The young ambitious woman, who put her heart and soul into every case, was gone.
Eventually Catherine left to try to find some solace in her work, leaving Grissom alone in the morgue with only a crying David and a dazed Doc Robbins. Neither could bring him the comfort that Sara had. So he poured his heart out in the cold and sterile place. Four years too late. "I'm sorry Sara. I couldn't take the risk... and I lost you. I've lost the one person in this world that I could ever take that risk for. I...I loved you Sara, but now it's too late, because you're gone."
Nick stared at the lab report that had confirmed Sara's identity. He'd checked it over and over, but it was conclusive. It was Sara's DNA and it was Sara who lay dead in the morgue. Catherine left work early and spent the night with Lindsey, keeping her close, frightened of loosing her. Warrick finished his shift and went straight to a nightclub to drink himself stupid. Not his usual way of dealing with things, but this was the first time he'd lost someone who was like family. Grissom and Nick sat in the crime lab and as Nick rechecked the report for the eighth time something finally clicked in his mind. He'd read the autopsy and something had struck him as out of place, now he knew what. He threw the report on Grissom's desk. "That body has been dead over twenty- four hours." The aging CSI looked up at him from tear stained eyes, ashamed at how badly he was coping, especially in front of his colleagues. "I saw her last night, she was still very much alive." He continued. Grissom's expression went from distraught to an almost fearful expression. "Nick, you were the last one to see Sara alive?" Nick winced as his superior pointed it out, just as the sheriff walked through the door. A grim expression on his face. "In that case you'd best come with me." He handcuffed Nick, amongst protests from both Grissom and Brass who had accompanied the sheriff. "Nothing was disturbed at Sara's place, she knew her killer and you were the last one to see her officer Stokes. It's standard procedure." Nick's child like eyes were brimming with tears as they led him through the lab and towards the integration room. His colleagues stared at him as they passed through the lab and Greg sat in his office, staring at Nick with confusion. Did they really believe he was capable of murdering Sara? She was like a sister, he'd never hurt her, but to make matters worse they'd been arguing before she'd been murdered. It didn't look good for CSI Stokes.