SPOILERS: None.
A/N: I thought this story could with a good "Bench Scene" ;) – Thank you all so much for your reviews. Thanks again indiegurl2008 for the beta work. Any remaining errors are mine. This is a long chapter so please enjoy...
Grissom knocked on the door to the The Silent Cove while taking deep breaths in a conscious effort to calm his nerves. His earlier conversation with Sara had helped allay his fears that his company was unwanted, but he was apprehensive about meeting her family.
A slight shadow appeared through the stain-glassed window on the front door. Sara could not help but smile at the sight of Grissom. She forced back tears as he pulled her into a hug. He had been there for less than a minute and she already felt overwhelmed by his presence.
Sara led him to his room which was opposite her own. Sara noticed her mother had prepared the room as she would for any guest; being the perfect hostess was in her blood, even if she didn't really like the guest.
Grissom set his bag on the bed and quickly took in his surroundings. Meanwhile, Sara stood in the doorway unsure of what to say. There was just so much she wanted to tell him and she wasn't sure where or when to begin.
"This is a great room, nice view." Grissom said as he pulled up the blinds and looked out the bedroom window.
"This room and my room, the one across the hall, have the view of the ocean. When I was a little girl I always wanted the ocean view. It reminded me that there was a whole other world outside of this house."
Grissom nodded and turned back to Sara. He noticed that, although beautiful, she looked exhausted. Her dark brown eyes were dull and sad, and the dark circles told stories of sleepless nights. He wished that by just holding her he could make all the pain and sadness go away; He knew that was impossible but it didn't make the wishing stop.
"Where is your family?"
"My brother had to go down to the city on business. He's looking forward to meeting you tonight. My mom is gardening in the greenhouse out back. It's always been a kind of therapy for her." Sara paused and shifted on her feet before changing the subject. "So, are you hungry? It's almost lunchtime, I'm sure my mother will be in to make something soon."
"I'm o.k. I had brunch on the plane."
Sara wrinkled her nose at the thought of an airline's idea of brunch. Grissom chuckled softly at her expression.
"It wasn't too bad actually and I was too hungry to be picky."
"Well, maybe we could go for a walk, I really want to show you something."
"Sure." Grissom walked over to the bed and started to open up his overnight bag.
"I'll let you get settled and freshen up or, um, you know...whatever." Sara blushed a little at her stammering. "I'll be downstairs when you're ready."
Grissom stared at the empty doorway for a moment before searching through his bag for a warm sweater.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They followed the trail above the beach in a somewhat comfortable silence. It was cold and mildly breezy. The overcast sky seemed to be darkening. Grissom decided to break silence first.
"It looks like it might rain."
"Hmmm..." Sara nodded and looked up. "Whoever decided to call California the Golden State has never been to Tamales Bay."
Grissom was glad for Sara's levity considering the circumstances. "Actually, the state's nickname that was adopted in 1968 had nothing to do with the weather, it was originally a reference to California's modern development with the discovery of gold in 1848. Plus, the state flower is the golden poppy and it used to flourish – "Grissom stopped when he realized Sara had stopped walking. She was giving him that look., then she started laughing. Grissom couldn't believe it. "What?"
"Ohmigod Gris – you would know that." Sara shook her head and smiled at Grissom's flushed cheeks. "Don't be embarrassed, I find it very...reassuring."
Her smile quickly faded as Sara realized they were nearing the cove. She walked slowly to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Grissom walked up beside her.
"This is where it happened." Sara said softly.
Grissom followed her line of sight and leaned forward slightly.
"Where, what happened?"
"My father, he died right here. A woman walking her dog found his body on those rocks Monday morning."
Grissom was shocked to hear that her father died on the beach, this wasn't the type of "accident" he was expecting. As Sara's words sunk in, he looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Monday? But I thought your mother called you Thursday."
"She did." Sara stepped back and looked further down the trail. "There's a bench just off the trail if we keep walking."
"O.k."
XXXXXXXXXXX
The brown wooden bench was cold and damp but neither occupant seemed to care.
Sara relaxed a little when she saw there was no one around, Grissom had so many questions but wanted Sara to confide in him whenever she was ready. So he waited.
"I have tried for weeks to talk to you about my family, my counselor thinks it's important that you know some of my history so you can better understand the problems I've had lately. I think that it's important too, especially now." Sara crossed her arms across her chest and took a deep breath before continuing. "My father wasn't an obvious alcoholic. I suppose many aren't. He was very subtle, a social drinker who morphed into a mean drunk. When I was younger, we usually only had guests on the weekends except in the summer. My brother and I looked forward to the summers. When we had guests, he behaved himself. He was the perfect host and husband. I guess he was just smart enough to never let anyone see mom with bruises."
Sara could feel Grissom watching her intently. If she was going to get through this, she couldn't look at him.
"When I was 8, I woke up during the night and I heard my parents arguing. To this day I don't really know what it was about. I got up to use the bathroom and I saw light from their room streaming into the hallway. Their door was cracked open and I could see my mother's face. She was...terrified. Her lip was split open and one of her eyes was already starting to swell. I was so scared for her and myself but mostly I was just angry. I hated him and I just wanted it to stop. I gathered up every ounce of strength I could find and I ran into their room. The only thing I could think to do was to scream. So I did. I stood in front of my mother, faced my father and screamed bloody murder. My father just looked at me like I had lost my mind, I closed my eyes and kept screaming hoping that when I opened them again he would be gone. But that didn't happen. The next thing I knew I was slammed into the wall. I was in his way so he... removed me. He had never hit me before and I was stunned. I lay on the floor holding my head while a pretty good goose egg formed. My mother was yelling at him and he was telling her to shut up. My brother just appeared at my side and he pulled me up and dragged me out. He took me back to my room and got ice for my head. He made me promise to never try something like that again. He was only 12 years old but he became my protector. We always stayed out Dad's way and he never hit me again. My mother wasn't so lucky."
Sara paused then and her voice cracked as a lone tear escaped her left eye. She reached up to wipe it away but Grissom beat her to it. With a bent forefinger he gently brushed her cheek. Sara shuddered at the contact and struggled to re-focus her thoughts. I have to finish this; it's now or never. Grissom lowered his hand and let it rest on her shoulder.
"One day when I was 13, I came home from school and my mom didn't greet me like she typically did. I remember the house was eerily quiet, I resisted the urge to run up to my room and hide. I needed to find my mom. I quietly searched the entire house terrified my dad was hiding somewhere. I went into the laundry room last and I noticed the backdoor was slightly open. I made sure that my dad was not around and slowly opened the door. I saw her lying at the bottom of the steps that led up to the greenhouse. I ran to her and tried to wake her up but it was obvious she had hit her head so I ran back into the house and called 911. My brother came home shortly after that, and a neighbor drove us to the hospital. My dad of course was nowhere to be found. Dylan and I knew he had done it. He finally turned up the next day claiming he had been away on a business trip, such bullshit. My mother was unconscious for 3 days. She had a broken ankle and a head injury. When she finally woke up we were so sure she would tell the truth, she would expose him and kick him out, but she didn't. She told the police that she fell. They suspected my father, but she wouldn't press charges so the investigation was dropped. Later, she told us that my dad had promised to never hit her again. Apparently nearly killing her had changed him. Dylan was 17 when this happened and he no longer intimidated by Dad. He confronted him and threatened to kill him if he ever touched mom or me again. He would be leaving for college in less than a year and I think he needed to know we would be ok. Dad stopped drinking and got counseling. After that I rarely heard my parents argue and he never got violent. Dylan came home from college for a visit one year over Christmas break. Even though Dad had changed, the damage had already been done. His relationship with us was strained to say the least and he and Dylan fought nearly the entire holiday. Dylan went back to college and he never visited again. I couldn't reallyblame him. We talked every week...we still do."
Sara leaned her head back and realized Grissom's hand was now resting on her neck under her hair. She kept telling herself to sit up and pull away but her body betrayed her and she leaned back further. She closed her eyes for a moment and almost forgot there was still more to tell.
TBC...
A/N: I know, I know, I'm sorry it's a terrible place to stop – more soon I promise :)