Too Long
Science Experiment
A/N: this is my first CSI fic, so please review! Thanks.
She hadn't known she was missing out on anything. But now she does and she doesn't want to go back to her old ways. Overtime, take-out, Blockbuster. She had forgotten about the world that existed outside her apartment.
She knew she was still young. There was no need to panic yet. But watching him she had seen what could be. She didn't want to wake up one day and realize that life had passed her by unknowingly.
She wanted what every woman wanted. A family. A husband to love her and to hold her. She was lonely; tired of going to bed alone, waking up alone, eating alone.
That's why she hid herself in the night shift. She'd always have plans at night and sleep during the day. She was fulfilled by her work but even her passion for that could not overshadow the absence of passion in other areas. She kept herself so busy that it left her little time for hobbies or activities, let alone relationships.
After a frustrating night at work she wanted to have someone to talk to. Someone who would just sit with her. Someone who knew her. She always feared that if someone knew her they couldn't love her. But now she knew the opposite was true. No one could love her because they didn't know her. She wouldn't let them.
But as days passed by she was slowly letting down her walls, letting down her guard. For the first time since she arrived in Las Vegas, Sara Sidle was going to enjoy herself.
She looked in the mirror and smiled at her appearance. A maroon tee shirt set off her dark complexion and brown hair. The short denim skirt showed off her legs. The outfit was casual enough for a date at the Stratosphere. The others would laugh at her for sure for doing such a "touristy" thing, but she didn't care. She was going to indulge herself. She grabbed her purse and left to meet Jonathan.
"Sorry I'm late." Sara declared as she rushed into the break room. Her apology was sincere, though her bright smile showed she wasn't stressed about it. Nick was amused at her disheveled appearance. She was always so composed, so professional. And very compulsive about being on time.
"The elevator at the Stratosphere broke and we had to take the stairs." She continued as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Sar-don't you know, no self-respecting native of Las Vegas would be caught dead at one of those tourist traps." Nick teasingly admonished her.
"Which explains why no one here volunteered to take me when I first moved to Las Vegas." She retorted, laying on the guilt. To their credit, the others looked appropriately chagrined.
'Touché.' Catherine thought with a grin as she watched her two co-workers spar verbally. She enjoyed times like these when everyone was relaxed, conversations seemed to flow, and tension was at a minimum.
"And since I intend to stay in Las Vegas," She continued, "I figured I should experience everything first hand for myself. Consider it a science experiment."
"Are you going to bill the lab for your experiment?" Grissom commented, entering the discussion. Sara pretended to think about it.
"Don't encourage her Gris." Nick complained. Sara elbowed him as she sat next to him on the couch.
"And the date?" Warrick interjected, using her good mood to try to get some information out of her. If he had to wait until after shift, well he didn't think he could.
"A science experiment gone horribly wrong." She replied with a grimace and a roll of her eyes.
Grissom felt perversely glad that the date had gone bad. But he still didn't want to hear the details. "Shift started fifteen minutes ago. How about we process some crime scenes?" He reprimanded his team. The group immediately went silent at his rare outburst.
"Alright then." He continued, as he handed out the assignment slips. "Catherine and Nick, you're with me. We have a mass grave site to investigate."
"Lucky us." Nick muttered softly as he followed Catherine out. If Grissom's current mood was any indication, shift was going to be agonizingly long tonight.
"Warrick and Sara, you have a drowning out on Lafayette." The pair walked out quietly, he waited until they reached his Denali and out of the wrath of Grissom to interrogate her.
"So tell me about this science experiment." He requested as they made the short drive to the end of the strip.
"Well first off, Anna told me he was 35. If he was younger than 45 I'd be surprised." He laughed at her distress.
"Then he spilled his drink." She said, trying to keep the smile off her face. "On you?" Warrick asked surprised, as he looked for stains on her clothing. Looking for any reason to check her out in her un Sara like outfit.
"Nope." She replied with a smirk. He waited for the reply. "On the big guy standing in front of us. Seriously Warrick, this guy must have been 6ft 3 and at least 220 lbs." Now he was full out laughing. She tried to shoot him her famous glare but she too gave in to laughter.
As she wiped the tears out of her eyes, he noticed the dark bruising on her knuckles. He almost drove off the road, he was so concerned. "What happened?" He asked somberly, all traces of laughter gone.
"Well that big guy was about to beat the living crap out of him, so I stepped in." Sara admitted honestly.
"You? 107 lb. Sara Sidle?" Warrick sputtered in disbelief. "Hey. I took self-defense classes." She said in her defense.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side." He remarked as they reached their crime scene. "You learn something new everyday." He said more to himself than to her. The officers on the scene escorted them to the back where the pool was.
"So what happened to that guy?" he asked as they waited for the pool to drain. "I might have broken his nose." She confessed sheepishly.
"Sara!" He exclaimed in mock horror. "What if he presses charges?" He asked concerned.
Sara snorted her disconcern. "And have everyone know that he got beat up by a 107 lb. girl?" She stated matter of factly. "Good point." He conceded with a chuckle.
"Did you see the look on Grissom's face though?" Sara queried. "Priceless." She answered her own question.
"And round one goes to Sara Sidle." Warrick announced to the empty crime scene, even going so far as to raise her hand over her head in victory.
The two managed to get through their investigation without further silliness, even managing to beat the rest of the team back to the lab. They had ruled that the drowning was accidental, the blow on the back of the head confirming that he hit his head on the diving board and never came back to the surface.
"How was your case?" Sara queried Catherine when the other team made it back to the lab an hour later. "Messy." Was her brief reply as she hurried off to the showers.
"I hope you guys had a better time than we did." Nick groused as he joined the pair in the break room.
"Slam Dunk." Warrick boasted with a grin. "What happened Nick?" Sara quizzed the Texan.
"It wasn't the case that was the problem. It's Grissom. He's in a foul mood, I'd avoid him if possible." He warned the two. His advice came not one minute too soon as Grissom entered the room and tersely requested Sara to join him in his office. The boys gave her thumbs up for good luck. She took a deep breath before following their boss out.
"What's going on?" Catherine demanded as she walked into a somber break room a minute later.
"Grissom called Sara in to his office." Warrick replied. "And you're sitting in here?" She asked incredulously. They didn't know what she meant until they saw her stand unobtrusively outside his door. With matching smirks, Warrick and Nick quickly joined her. This was one conversation they didn't want to miss.
"I don't want any more excuses Sara." Grissom confronted her as soon as she shut the door. She was startled at his demeanor. Nick was right, he was in a foul mood, she thought as sat down.
"I apologized already Gris. Jeez, it was the first time I was late. It's hardly my fault the elevator broke and I had to walk down God knows how many stairs." She spoke softly, heeding Nick's advice not to set off the already angry supervisor.
"I just don't want your extracurricular activities affecting your work." His calmness belied the anger that radiated from him. But she wasn't dense. Nor could she remain impassive.
"Do you really believe that?" Sara exclaimed in disbelief. He didn't respond so she continued on with her self-defense. "I don't see you giving Nick speeches when he comes in late or when Cath can't get a sitter for Lindsey." She argued logically. There was no reason for his irrational behavior.
"This is different Sara." He stated with a sigh. 'This I got to hear.' Sara thought to herself. "Oh really. Why?" She sat back with her arms crossed and waited for a reply.
"This should be interesting." Nick commented to Warrick as they waited for his explanation.
"Watch it Grissom." Catherine whispered, wishing she could tell her colleague to cool down before he said something he would regret.
"It just is." He answered simply. His non-answer was the last straw. Sara jumped out of her seat. "Great. Another one of Grissom's in depth explanations." She shouted in frustration as she began to pace the small office.
"For once will you just say what you mean! I'm sick of all your bullshit. I don't know what to do about this Sara. It just is Sara." She echoed his words back at him angrily. She wasn't just going to let him run all over her for no good reason. The old Sara might have, but she wasn't going to anymore.
"Fine!" he shouted angrily, his first response in a few minutes. "I don't like seeing you whoring yourself out to men!" He roared. Sara felt like she had been slapped in the face. She stared at him in stunned silence, willing the tears not to fall. Never had she been more humiliated in her life. The silence in the room was so thick, even the ears outside the office didn't breath for fear that they would be heard.
"All those times you were worried about crossing the line with me." She began softly. "Well you just did Grissom." It took all her will power not to quit on the spot. Even Grissom was shocked at the offensive words that came out of his mouth. But not enough to apologize. At this moment he couldn't even form a coherent thought.
"Tell me he didn't just say that." Warrick pleaded with Nick and Catherine. They were just as dismayed as he was.
The trio moved away inconspicuously just as the door opened and Sara stalked down the corridor. "I'll go." Warrick decided and ran to catch up with the distraught female.
"You're not driving." Was all he said. She turned at the sound of his voice. The compassion she saw in his green eyes knocked down the last of her composure. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed. He wrapped her tightly in his arms, wishing he could take away some of her pain. When she finished her tears, he took her by the hand and escorted her into his car. She didn't ask any questions or make any complaints. Sara sat quietly staring out the window, not surprised when they pulled up to his house.
She took in her surroundings, noticing that Warrick's house was more personal than Nick's. Nick's apartment was a straight up bachelor pad while Warrick's radiated warmth and the feeling of home. Pictures hung on the walls, magazines and books stacked on a coffee table surrounded by comfortable couches. She was so involved in her inventory she didn't notice when he brought her a glass of wine and forced her to sit.
Sara quickly downed the glass and pulled her feet up on the couch to rest her arms on her knees. Warrick sat there patiently, waiting for her to compose her thoughts, knowing she would confide in him when she was ready.
"You don't think I'm a whore, do you Warrick?" She whispered fearfully. She could care less if Grissom thought so; he was so out of touch with his staff anyway. She was more upset that he questioned her work ethic. And she knew that Nick and Catherine and the rest of the lab wouldn't think that either. But Warrick's opinion meant more to her than anyone else's. She could handle their rejection, but she didn't think she could handle his.
"God, no. Sara." He answered quickly as he tried to reassure her. He had seen many sides of Sara but this one scared him. She seemed so vulnerable and unconfident. He could kill Grissom for hurting her.
"It's not your fault you know that right? You have every right to have a life and to go out." He spoke gently and she nodded that she understood.
"I wanted to quit." She confessed softly. "No one would have blamed you." Warrick agreed, "But I'm glad you didn't."
"What upset me the most was that Grissom could question my work ethic." She stated in disbelief. "I know." Was all he could say in reply. They sat in silence for a few minutes until her eyes began to flutter closed. Warrick repositioned her on the couch and covered her with a blanket before shutting off the lights and going to bed himself.
"Just because you're pissed off, doesn't mean you can just take it out on us." Catherine declared harshly as she made her way into Grissom's office. He might try to intimidate the rest of the staff, but she was undaunted. They had been friends for too many years not to tell him when he screwed up.
"Were you eavesdropping?" his voice tinged with anger as he challenged her. "First off, no the whole lab could hear you calling Sara a whore. And second off you've been treating Nick and I, and everyone else in the lab like shit tonight, just to let you know."
"Is there a purpose to your visit?" Grissom wanted to know. He just wanted some peace and quiet, not another confrontation.
"Gil," she said quietly, trying another tactic to get his attention. "We've been friends and colleagues for fifteen years. You tell me when I screw up and vise versa. You screwed up." She informed him. "I hope Sara is more forgiving than I am." She stated honestly. "And you would be lucky if she didn't hit you with a harassment suit." Catherine informed him truthfully. "You had three years to do something Gil. You can't blame her for moving on." His anger seemed to dissipate so she decided to leave it on that. "If you want to talk..." she let her offer hang as she left his office.
'I can blame her for moving on.' He tried to convince himself but his effort was futile. In truth, he wasn't angry with Sara, though he acted like it. He was angry with himself. 'And I don't know what to do about it.' He said with a sigh.
Science Experiment
A/N: this is my first CSI fic, so please review! Thanks.
She hadn't known she was missing out on anything. But now she does and she doesn't want to go back to her old ways. Overtime, take-out, Blockbuster. She had forgotten about the world that existed outside her apartment.
She knew she was still young. There was no need to panic yet. But watching him she had seen what could be. She didn't want to wake up one day and realize that life had passed her by unknowingly.
She wanted what every woman wanted. A family. A husband to love her and to hold her. She was lonely; tired of going to bed alone, waking up alone, eating alone.
That's why she hid herself in the night shift. She'd always have plans at night and sleep during the day. She was fulfilled by her work but even her passion for that could not overshadow the absence of passion in other areas. She kept herself so busy that it left her little time for hobbies or activities, let alone relationships.
After a frustrating night at work she wanted to have someone to talk to. Someone who would just sit with her. Someone who knew her. She always feared that if someone knew her they couldn't love her. But now she knew the opposite was true. No one could love her because they didn't know her. She wouldn't let them.
But as days passed by she was slowly letting down her walls, letting down her guard. For the first time since she arrived in Las Vegas, Sara Sidle was going to enjoy herself.
She looked in the mirror and smiled at her appearance. A maroon tee shirt set off her dark complexion and brown hair. The short denim skirt showed off her legs. The outfit was casual enough for a date at the Stratosphere. The others would laugh at her for sure for doing such a "touristy" thing, but she didn't care. She was going to indulge herself. She grabbed her purse and left to meet Jonathan.
"Sorry I'm late." Sara declared as she rushed into the break room. Her apology was sincere, though her bright smile showed she wasn't stressed about it. Nick was amused at her disheveled appearance. She was always so composed, so professional. And very compulsive about being on time.
"The elevator at the Stratosphere broke and we had to take the stairs." She continued as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Sar-don't you know, no self-respecting native of Las Vegas would be caught dead at one of those tourist traps." Nick teasingly admonished her.
"Which explains why no one here volunteered to take me when I first moved to Las Vegas." She retorted, laying on the guilt. To their credit, the others looked appropriately chagrined.
'Touché.' Catherine thought with a grin as she watched her two co-workers spar verbally. She enjoyed times like these when everyone was relaxed, conversations seemed to flow, and tension was at a minimum.
"And since I intend to stay in Las Vegas," She continued, "I figured I should experience everything first hand for myself. Consider it a science experiment."
"Are you going to bill the lab for your experiment?" Grissom commented, entering the discussion. Sara pretended to think about it.
"Don't encourage her Gris." Nick complained. Sara elbowed him as she sat next to him on the couch.
"And the date?" Warrick interjected, using her good mood to try to get some information out of her. If he had to wait until after shift, well he didn't think he could.
"A science experiment gone horribly wrong." She replied with a grimace and a roll of her eyes.
Grissom felt perversely glad that the date had gone bad. But he still didn't want to hear the details. "Shift started fifteen minutes ago. How about we process some crime scenes?" He reprimanded his team. The group immediately went silent at his rare outburst.
"Alright then." He continued, as he handed out the assignment slips. "Catherine and Nick, you're with me. We have a mass grave site to investigate."
"Lucky us." Nick muttered softly as he followed Catherine out. If Grissom's current mood was any indication, shift was going to be agonizingly long tonight.
"Warrick and Sara, you have a drowning out on Lafayette." The pair walked out quietly, he waited until they reached his Denali and out of the wrath of Grissom to interrogate her.
"So tell me about this science experiment." He requested as they made the short drive to the end of the strip.
"Well first off, Anna told me he was 35. If he was younger than 45 I'd be surprised." He laughed at her distress.
"Then he spilled his drink." She said, trying to keep the smile off her face. "On you?" Warrick asked surprised, as he looked for stains on her clothing. Looking for any reason to check her out in her un Sara like outfit.
"Nope." She replied with a smirk. He waited for the reply. "On the big guy standing in front of us. Seriously Warrick, this guy must have been 6ft 3 and at least 220 lbs." Now he was full out laughing. She tried to shoot him her famous glare but she too gave in to laughter.
As she wiped the tears out of her eyes, he noticed the dark bruising on her knuckles. He almost drove off the road, he was so concerned. "What happened?" He asked somberly, all traces of laughter gone.
"Well that big guy was about to beat the living crap out of him, so I stepped in." Sara admitted honestly.
"You? 107 lb. Sara Sidle?" Warrick sputtered in disbelief. "Hey. I took self-defense classes." She said in her defense.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side." He remarked as they reached their crime scene. "You learn something new everyday." He said more to himself than to her. The officers on the scene escorted them to the back where the pool was.
"So what happened to that guy?" he asked as they waited for the pool to drain. "I might have broken his nose." She confessed sheepishly.
"Sara!" He exclaimed in mock horror. "What if he presses charges?" He asked concerned.
Sara snorted her disconcern. "And have everyone know that he got beat up by a 107 lb. girl?" She stated matter of factly. "Good point." He conceded with a chuckle.
"Did you see the look on Grissom's face though?" Sara queried. "Priceless." She answered her own question.
"And round one goes to Sara Sidle." Warrick announced to the empty crime scene, even going so far as to raise her hand over her head in victory.
The two managed to get through their investigation without further silliness, even managing to beat the rest of the team back to the lab. They had ruled that the drowning was accidental, the blow on the back of the head confirming that he hit his head on the diving board and never came back to the surface.
"How was your case?" Sara queried Catherine when the other team made it back to the lab an hour later. "Messy." Was her brief reply as she hurried off to the showers.
"I hope you guys had a better time than we did." Nick groused as he joined the pair in the break room.
"Slam Dunk." Warrick boasted with a grin. "What happened Nick?" Sara quizzed the Texan.
"It wasn't the case that was the problem. It's Grissom. He's in a foul mood, I'd avoid him if possible." He warned the two. His advice came not one minute too soon as Grissom entered the room and tersely requested Sara to join him in his office. The boys gave her thumbs up for good luck. She took a deep breath before following their boss out.
"What's going on?" Catherine demanded as she walked into a somber break room a minute later.
"Grissom called Sara in to his office." Warrick replied. "And you're sitting in here?" She asked incredulously. They didn't know what she meant until they saw her stand unobtrusively outside his door. With matching smirks, Warrick and Nick quickly joined her. This was one conversation they didn't want to miss.
"I don't want any more excuses Sara." Grissom confronted her as soon as she shut the door. She was startled at his demeanor. Nick was right, he was in a foul mood, she thought as sat down.
"I apologized already Gris. Jeez, it was the first time I was late. It's hardly my fault the elevator broke and I had to walk down God knows how many stairs." She spoke softly, heeding Nick's advice not to set off the already angry supervisor.
"I just don't want your extracurricular activities affecting your work." His calmness belied the anger that radiated from him. But she wasn't dense. Nor could she remain impassive.
"Do you really believe that?" Sara exclaimed in disbelief. He didn't respond so she continued on with her self-defense. "I don't see you giving Nick speeches when he comes in late or when Cath can't get a sitter for Lindsey." She argued logically. There was no reason for his irrational behavior.
"This is different Sara." He stated with a sigh. 'This I got to hear.' Sara thought to herself. "Oh really. Why?" She sat back with her arms crossed and waited for a reply.
"This should be interesting." Nick commented to Warrick as they waited for his explanation.
"Watch it Grissom." Catherine whispered, wishing she could tell her colleague to cool down before he said something he would regret.
"It just is." He answered simply. His non-answer was the last straw. Sara jumped out of her seat. "Great. Another one of Grissom's in depth explanations." She shouted in frustration as she began to pace the small office.
"For once will you just say what you mean! I'm sick of all your bullshit. I don't know what to do about this Sara. It just is Sara." She echoed his words back at him angrily. She wasn't just going to let him run all over her for no good reason. The old Sara might have, but she wasn't going to anymore.
"Fine!" he shouted angrily, his first response in a few minutes. "I don't like seeing you whoring yourself out to men!" He roared. Sara felt like she had been slapped in the face. She stared at him in stunned silence, willing the tears not to fall. Never had she been more humiliated in her life. The silence in the room was so thick, even the ears outside the office didn't breath for fear that they would be heard.
"All those times you were worried about crossing the line with me." She began softly. "Well you just did Grissom." It took all her will power not to quit on the spot. Even Grissom was shocked at the offensive words that came out of his mouth. But not enough to apologize. At this moment he couldn't even form a coherent thought.
"Tell me he didn't just say that." Warrick pleaded with Nick and Catherine. They were just as dismayed as he was.
The trio moved away inconspicuously just as the door opened and Sara stalked down the corridor. "I'll go." Warrick decided and ran to catch up with the distraught female.
"You're not driving." Was all he said. She turned at the sound of his voice. The compassion she saw in his green eyes knocked down the last of her composure. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed. He wrapped her tightly in his arms, wishing he could take away some of her pain. When she finished her tears, he took her by the hand and escorted her into his car. She didn't ask any questions or make any complaints. Sara sat quietly staring out the window, not surprised when they pulled up to his house.
She took in her surroundings, noticing that Warrick's house was more personal than Nick's. Nick's apartment was a straight up bachelor pad while Warrick's radiated warmth and the feeling of home. Pictures hung on the walls, magazines and books stacked on a coffee table surrounded by comfortable couches. She was so involved in her inventory she didn't notice when he brought her a glass of wine and forced her to sit.
Sara quickly downed the glass and pulled her feet up on the couch to rest her arms on her knees. Warrick sat there patiently, waiting for her to compose her thoughts, knowing she would confide in him when she was ready.
"You don't think I'm a whore, do you Warrick?" She whispered fearfully. She could care less if Grissom thought so; he was so out of touch with his staff anyway. She was more upset that he questioned her work ethic. And she knew that Nick and Catherine and the rest of the lab wouldn't think that either. But Warrick's opinion meant more to her than anyone else's. She could handle their rejection, but she didn't think she could handle his.
"God, no. Sara." He answered quickly as he tried to reassure her. He had seen many sides of Sara but this one scared him. She seemed so vulnerable and unconfident. He could kill Grissom for hurting her.
"It's not your fault you know that right? You have every right to have a life and to go out." He spoke gently and she nodded that she understood.
"I wanted to quit." She confessed softly. "No one would have blamed you." Warrick agreed, "But I'm glad you didn't."
"What upset me the most was that Grissom could question my work ethic." She stated in disbelief. "I know." Was all he could say in reply. They sat in silence for a few minutes until her eyes began to flutter closed. Warrick repositioned her on the couch and covered her with a blanket before shutting off the lights and going to bed himself.
"Just because you're pissed off, doesn't mean you can just take it out on us." Catherine declared harshly as she made her way into Grissom's office. He might try to intimidate the rest of the staff, but she was undaunted. They had been friends for too many years not to tell him when he screwed up.
"Were you eavesdropping?" his voice tinged with anger as he challenged her. "First off, no the whole lab could hear you calling Sara a whore. And second off you've been treating Nick and I, and everyone else in the lab like shit tonight, just to let you know."
"Is there a purpose to your visit?" Grissom wanted to know. He just wanted some peace and quiet, not another confrontation.
"Gil," she said quietly, trying another tactic to get his attention. "We've been friends and colleagues for fifteen years. You tell me when I screw up and vise versa. You screwed up." She informed him. "I hope Sara is more forgiving than I am." She stated honestly. "And you would be lucky if she didn't hit you with a harassment suit." Catherine informed him truthfully. "You had three years to do something Gil. You can't blame her for moving on." His anger seemed to dissipate so she decided to leave it on that. "If you want to talk..." she let her offer hang as she left his office.
'I can blame her for moving on.' He tried to convince himself but his effort was futile. In truth, he wasn't angry with Sara, though he acted like it. He was angry with himself. 'And I don't know what to do about it.' He said with a sigh.