To Help Me Get Through

By SandpiperGirl

Disclaimer: I don't own them; they belong to Mr. Anthony Zuiker. I'm just borrowing them. Promise to return them unharmed.

Summary: Admitting, grief, pain, nowhere to go. A little G/S angst that will eventually turn romantic. Drama, need I say more?

Side Note: I came up with idea after watching Butterflied for the 50 millionth time. That and after thinking way too much at work. Please read and review. Don't flame me, it hurts!!!! Thank You so much to my wonderful beta's Lindsey and Rochelle. You two are so great!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 1: The Phone Call

Sara walked into the now familiar place and sat down. She ordered the same. It wasn't the first time she had come to this place. She'd been here every so often, mainly when finishing a particularly hard case. But recently she had come almost every night before and after work. She knew it was wrong, but since she had heard the few words she had longed to hear come from Grissom, she couldn't stop coming. It wasn't because he had finally admitted his true feelings for her. It was because she had said something a few months earlier. She hadn't said it because it was a spur of the moment type of thing; she had said it because she truly didn't think he would ever come around. But he did. Grissom's sudden revelation wasn't the only thing; it was only the tip of the iceberg for her. It seemed that everything had suddenly built up on her, and then hearing the one thing she had always wanted to hear from him put her over the edge. It also didn't help that it was 10 years to the day that Abbie died.

In a typical pattern, she did this every year. Two weeks before the date, she drank more than normal, then cried herself to sleep. After the date she went on as normal. She never got help with her grief after the murder; she just went on being herself. The only person who understood her pain didn't reach out to her when it mattered. So her yearly routine started 2 weeks ago. She came here to have a few drinks, and then she went home. But tonight it was different. Everything seemed to have an effect on her. Every case she had been dealt over the last four years seemed to come to mind. Well, that and the fact that and her best friend Amy with whom she usually commiserated wasn't here. So she was alone to drown her sorrows and pain in the bottle.

The truth was that she was spinning out of control, and there was no one in the world that could stop it. She was becoming a burn out victim. She didn't have a diversion, and the one she wanted wasn't allowed to be. Thus, she buried herself in her work, but doing this became more painful as the years went by. So she drank, and she cried. Her life was depressing. The one boyfriend she had was a jerk of the lowest terms. The one man she wanted she couldn't have. Abbie was dead. Her brother hadn't talk to her in 15 years. She lost the promotion. She just existed as a shell. She lived the same pattern, told the same stories to the bartender, the only person who actually listened and tried to give some advice.

Tonight she had drunk more than her fair share. And by closing time Sara had passed out. The bartender didn't exactly know what to do. She tried to call Amy but didn't get an answer so she called the one person Sara had often talked about as she sat at the bar.

Across town, Gil Grissom was in his office waiting on some DNA results. Suddenly, the phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts, which at that time, were on the case at hand. He reached over and picked up the phone.

"Grissom."

"Uh, hi, Mr. Grissom, this is Tendra Winters, I'm a bartender at Club1 and there is a girl here who you might know ... Sara Sidle?"

"Yes, is she alright?" Grissom asked sitting straight up in his chair.

"She's fine. I'm closing up for the night and she's passed out. She usually comes with her friend, uh, I think her name is Amy. Anyway, tonight she came alone. I tried to call Amy but was unable to locate her, and Sara talks about you so much, so I thought you might be able to take her home. I would do it, but I don't know where she lives."

"Okay, I'll be right there," sighed Grissom, glancing over to the corner of his desk where a resignation sheet sat with Sara's name on it.

"Thanks."

Grissom hung up the phone and got up. He was walking out of his office when Catherine called out his name from behind him. He kept on going. He only had one thing on his mind now, and that was Sara. Catherine called out his name again, only this time, it was much louder. She was now running in order to catch up to him. She finally did, and reaching out, she grabbed his arm, turning him to face her.

"Grissom, didn't you hear me yelling at you?"

"Yes, but Catherine whatever it is, it'll have to wait. I have to go and take care of something," said Grissom, turning back around and starting to walk out the door.

"Is it case related?"

"No," answered Grissom over his shoulder as he exited CSI, leaving Catherine standing there in the middle of the hall trying to figure out where he was going in such a rush.

Whilst waiting for Grissom, Tendra was doing the usual cleaning up of the bar. She kept glancing over at Sara, who was still out. She wondered about the girl. Sara had been in there every night for the past two weeks, which wasn't normal, as she usually only saw her once a week. Each time she came in she would be with a couple of guys or Amy. But tonight she came alone and talked about a girl named Abbie, and Grissom. Tendra wished she could help Sara in some way. Maybe she was helping Sara, by calling Grissom, who might be able to help even more than she could. She finished what she was doing and looked at her watch. 15 minutes. 'Not bad,' she thought as she walked back behind the bar. She decided to work on the books while she waited for Grissom to show up and take Sara home. Tendra had only started to work when a knock came from the door. She sighed as she went over to the door. She unlocked it and let the middle aged man in. Shutting the door, she came from behind him and stood in front of him.

"Thank you for coming to get her," said Tendra, taking the man in.

"You welcome. How long has she been passed out?" Grissom questioned, looking around Tendra and at Sara.

"About 3 hours."

"How much did she have to drink?" Asked Grissom, looking at Tendra for the first time since coming in.

"Let's see. I served her 5 drinks, and my other bartender, Deena, served her another 5 or 6."

"You didn't stop her?" Asked Grissom with some concern.

"No, I've tried in the past, but she doesn't give up easy."

"I know that," replied Grissom, walking over to Sara.

"I tried to wake her before I called you, but she didn't respond."

Grissom looked at Sara for a moment, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to wake her either. Instead, he picked her up. Tendra grabbed Sara's purse and gave it to Grissom. She then held the door open as Grissom walked out.

"Thank you," Grissom replied brusquely, before turning back around and walking to the Denali that was parked in front of the bar.

Tendra smiled, and then closed the door to the bar.

After getting Sara into the Denali, he closed the passenger side door and got into the SUV himself. He put the key into the ignition and started the engine. He glanced over at Sara, knowing that he had to put a stop to this somehow. Maybe he could get to the bottom of her uncommon, but not singular, drinking spell. He let out a sigh, knowing that again this year he had to take her to his townhouse so she could sober up, the difference this year being that he was going to make her face her demons.

They arrived at Grissom's townhouse; he got her out of the SUV, and carried her to the door. He brought her inside, and took her to his bedroom, where he carefully laid her down on the bed. He stood up and gazed at her. Shaking his head, he proceeded to take her shoes off, and got an extra blanket to lay over her. Grissom, knowing about the day after, went into the bathroom and grabbed the trashcan, placing it beside the bed. He observed her for several minutes, remembering the last time this had happened. He then shook his head as he walked out of the room to his couch. He grabbed the book that was lying on the table in front of him, and started to read. He knew what would happen when she finally came too, and he was prepared for the worst this time.

TBC.