Disclaimer: My last name is not yet Zuicker or Mendolsohn, hence my lack of ownership of CSI.
A/N: Hope everyone likes this chapter! Sorry for the delayed update but school got in the way....
Fire Burns Hotter
"When were you planning on telling us you were related to the suspect?" Grissom asked Sara with a hint of anger in his voice. They were standing outside the interrogation room, Jessa still inside.
"I didn't think she'd mention my name; we were never that close," Sara defended.
"Even still, you being on this case could make it look like it's compromised."
"But it won't be compromised, I promise."
"I'm sorry, Sara, but I have to take you off. You can do paperwork or go home and rest. I'll have a new assignment for you tomorrow."
Sara sighed and walked away. She wasn't going to go home, she was going to stay here and be sneaky about this. She was bound and determined to work on this case.
"Come on, Sara, drag racing is fun! Plus there are tons of hot guys there!" Jessa told Sara as they sat in Sara's living room. Sara was trying hard to concentrate on her Chemistry homework.
"No, Sua, I have to study for this Chem test. It's really important."
"Your no fun, Sar. Why can't you be more like Steve?"
"Because Steve is six years older than me."
Steve was Sara's older brother. He was a good kid, until he left the house. His parents never knew what he was doing until Sara accidentally found weed in his room.
"Fine, Sara. Stay home, study, be a loner. But don't come crying to me when you feel like you finally lost your mind with books."
"Oh, don't worry, I won't."
Her desk was overflowing with paperwork. Sara's mind wandered as she brainstormed ways she could still keep investigating this without Grissom knowing.
"Nick." She thought.
She walked around the lab in search of her Texan co-worker. She found him in the Trace lab.
"Sorry to hear you got pulled from the case," Nick said apologetically.
"Damn, you heard?"
He nodded his head.
"So you wouldn't be willing to help me keep track of this would you?"
"No, I'm not getting on the bad side of Grissom, I like my job too much," Nick said, looking into the microscope.
Sara paused.
"It's unusually quiet in here. Hodges on a break?"
"Yeah, you lucked out big time."
"If only my luck came sooner I'd still be on this case," Sara sighed.
The end of shift came and Sara headed home in her Denali; up the stairs and into her quaint little apartment filled with books and little things to remind her of her home in San Francisco, not that she wanted to look at them particularly closely today.
She made herself some breakfast and sat down in her living room. Just then, she heard a knock on her door. She put down her plate and answered it.
"Hello, Sara."
"What are you doing here?" Sara asked Jessa, sounding worried and alarmed.
"I don't have anyplace to stay since your guys taped off my hotel room. I figured my fave cousin Sara would be willing to put up with me for a few days." Jessa had a sly smile plastered on her face. She shared the trademark gap-toothed smile.
"Do you know how questionable this all is to my job?" Sara asked.
"No, it's not anymore. You're off the case. I knew they'd take you off after I hinted we were related. Now I can stay here and have no worries and you can have no worries about losing your job." Jessa said, walking past Sara and into the apartment.
"Jessa, my job is being jeopardized right now. You're a suspect in a murder and it won't look to good if you're staying here," Sara said, closing the door.
"They don't know where I'm staying," Jessa picked up the plate of Sara's half eaten breakfast and took a bite.
"Weren't you being held there for questioning?"
"No, I was going to be tried for cocaine possession, but then my dad bailed me out."
"Your dad bailed you out?" Sara asked, astonished.
"Yeah, he doesn't like when I'm incarcerated, so he put up the money and here I am," Jessa said, taking another bite of Sara's breakfast.
"Oh, good old Uncle Frank." Sara sat in her comfy chair.
"This is a nice place. I'm thinking I should've came to visit you sooner."
"Yeah, about that. Why did you come to visit me?" Sara put on her best interrogation face, the one she used when she wasn't joking around.
"I just came to tell you that your brother is engaged to a twenty-two year old who he knocked up."
"You're kidding?"
"Would I lie about family?"
"Because you've done it before."
Jessa stared coldly at Sara. "So?"
Sara sighed and shook her head.
"Jessa, please. I'll loan you some money so you can stay at a motel. As nice as it is for you to come for a visit, I'm extremely busy."
"Fine. Have it your way, but it will come back to bite you later," Jessa stood up, walked by Sara and slammed the door shut.
Sara was a little frightened by her cousin's last remark. Whenever Jessa made a threat, she always followed through with it.
"Hey, Sar, did you hear about Kent MacAulay?" Jessa asked, walking up to Sara during lunch at high school.
"No, what happened?" Sara asked, disinterested. She turned the page of her book while eating her sandwich.
"Of course you wouldn't know. Anyway, remember he called me a skank the other day?" Jessa sat down next to Sara.
"Yeah, among the countless other guys, but go on."
"Well, I had Chris Lawrence teach him a lesson after school yesterday," Jessa said with a smirk.
"Sua, you didn't!"
"I didn't so anything, Chris did it." Jessa got up and walked away.
Sara shook her head. "How could we be related?" She thought.
A/N: Review! Review! The best word in the English language, almost....anyway, review!