"Sara, I don't know what to say…I am sorry for what happened to you. I am so sorry. Had I known what had happened to you, I would have treated things so differently. Like take for example the Kay Shelton case, I told you that you had empathy for the victim, when in actual fact, it was like you were reliving the horror all over again, wasn't it?
Sara nodded and snuggled her head into Grissom's chest. "Do you know what the worse part is, Griss?"
"What's that Sara?"
"There is a fifty percent chance that I will never be able to have children. I am not sure if I ever want to have children, but I don't like the fact that it may not even be an option to me."
"How did you come to know that?"
"After the attack and I was taken away to foster care, I was examined by doctors. They told me I had scarring on my fallopian tubes from all the times I was raped. Do you know that since that day I have only been with three men? In twenty years, I only let three men into my life!"
"I am so sorry Sara!"
"Don't pity me Griss, I don't want to be pitied. I just want your support. That is what I need right now!"
He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, the embrace broke when his phone went off, "Grissom!"
"Are you planning on coming to work tonight, Grissom?" Catherine bellowed from the other end of the phone.
"Catherine, what are you bellowing about?"
"Gil, have you checked your watch lately? Are you aware what time it is?"
Grissom looked at his watch, it was shortly after ten, shift started at ten. Where had the time gone? He looked down at Sara and thought for a second, "Catherine, how busy are you tonight?"
"Well, I have a few open cases, but other than that, I am alright why?"
"I am with Sara, she is really upset and needs the support, do you think you can cover for me, feed them some kinda line, tell them I had an emergency and that Sara is out sick. If it gets too bad call me and I will come in, is that Ok Cath?"
"Sure, Gil, I am sure you are needed more there than you are here." She hung up the phone.
Grissom looked down at Sara, she was sleeping in his arms. He twisted around and picked her up into his arms and carried her to her bedroom and placed her on the bed. He pulled back the covers and placed her inside. He went to get up and she reached for him, "Griss, don't leave me!"
His heart began to pound, she was so weak, and she needed him so much, even if it was just as a friend.
"Sara, I am not going anywhere!"
He lay down beside her and she cuddled up into his arms.
"Sara, go get that for your father, like he asked!"
"I told you he is not my father!"
There was a loud crack and Laura's hand had completely Came Square with Sara's jaw landing Sara onto the floor. "You see, you ungrateful little bitch, this is what you make me do to you when you don't listen!" With that Laura got up and passed the unopened can of beer to the big man sitting on the couch. Sara got up, gained her composure and retreated for her bedroom, if that is what you call it.
Sara's bedroom was no bigger than a closet, it was nothing more than a blanket and a pillow on the floor, no window, no comfort, nothing, but to Sara it was home. It was her sanctuary, where she went to collect her thoughts, she did that a lot, and where she went to get away. She sat in her "room" with her little lamp and studied her ass off; she knew it was the only way she would ever get away from this place. She knew her marks had to be exceptional to qualify for scholarships, because without scholarships, she was going to be stuck in Modesto California for the rest of her life.
Sara sat there rocking herself to sleep through the screaming and yelling and the sounds of things breaking. She knew why they lived in this slum of a neighborhood, no one around them cared what went on, unlike the last place they lived. Sara lost track of the millions of times the police had showed up at the door with a complaint of a domestic dispute and Sara had to make up some half cocked story about fighting with her brother and it getting a little out of hand. She knew they didn't believe her, but they never bothered to send Social Services to investigate, that just fuelled the fact that they didn't even care.
Sara's mind flashed to July 1984, they were in the living room of her house. Her mother was passed out on the couch, strung out on some drug, her step father was drunk sitting in the chair staring aimlessly at the television screen, Sara's brother was not at home, he was Seventeen, nearly eighteen and he was out with his friends, Sara felt completely alone. She left the living room and retreated to her room to try and study a bit before bed, she snapped the dim light on and opened the textbook to read when she was interrupted by a drunk slurring his words at her.
"What are you doing you little bitch?"
"What does it look like I am doing, I am studying you Moron!"
HE bent down and slapped her across the face, "That will teach you to disrespect me!"
Sara quickly placed her hand on her cheek that was stinging from the pain and choked back the tears.
"What do you think you are gonna do, grow up to be better than us or something?"
"Damn right!"
HE backhanded Sara and sent her flying across the tiny room. The force was good enough that it sent her unconscious. She woke up on the bed in the bedroom he shared with her mother, stripped off all her clothes, gagged and tied to the bed.
Sara woke up with a jolt, covered in sweat and crying. She was sobbing hard, Grissom reached for her and she retreated away from him, "Sara, Sara Honey, are you ok?"
Sara heard his words and reached for him. "It was all so real Griss, it was awful, it was like it just happened, it was horrible!"
"Its ok Sara, I am here, nothing will happen to you anymore, no one will hurt you anymore, I will make sure of that!"