Disclaimer: All right everyone, sing along… "I don't own CSI, its characters, or anything associated with the show. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is the sole property of CBS and Alliance Atlantis." This document was written purely based on the fact that my muse will not stop nagging me. For the entertainment of you folks only.
Spoiler: Nesting Dolls, Burden of Proof
A/N: Okay this was harder to write than I thought, and longer than I thought it would be. So Chapter 6 is getting posted with it, as they go together and need to be read at the same time. This is too big of a deal to leave as a cliffhanger.
Grissom walked slowly to his office, keeping his head high, radiating an aura of superiority and authority. He heard Sara's soft footsteps behind him and was sure she was thinking the worst.
"Please close the door behind you, Sara", he said as he walked behind his desk.
Sara did as requested and sat in the office chair opposite Grissom's desk. He met her gaze as he had many times, walls up, supervisor mode in full swing, and he could see she was mentally preparing herself, trying to keep her emotions under control.
Grissom did not sit down. He went behind his desk and removed his coat from the back of his chair. He put it on, and then walked over to his field kit and retrieved it.
"Please stand, Sara, " Grissom requested in his authoritative tone.
Sara stood, obeying the command quickly, her face blank.
"Please follow me, Sara."
Grissom walked past her, sensing her confusion and enjoying it. He opened the door, and started down the hallway towards the locker room. It took Sara about 3 seconds to follow; clearly he had knocked her off guard.
He stopped in front of the locker room, leaning against the outside wall by the doorway. "Please get your coat and your kit, Sara."
She walked by him, giving him the hairy eyeball, not quite smiling yet, but her defiant fire from earlier had cooled.
Sara opened her locker and grabbed her coat and her field kit. Standing at her locker, she turned and faced Grissom with a "Now what?" expression on her face.
"Please follow me, Sara."
Grissom turned quickly from the doorway of the locker room and began walking away. He heard the speed in Sara's footsteps as she quickly ran to catch up with him, putting on her coat in the process. He walked to the back doors which led to the parking lot. He went through them, not bothering to hold the door for her. He heard the door hit her hands as it was closing, and heard her disgusted sniff as she opened the door for herself.
He walked straight to his SUV and unlocked it. He opened the passenger side door, walked to the driver's side door, and opened it as well. He turned to look at Sara, noting she was standing outside the passenger door, clearly puzzled and perhaps a tad annoyed. He could sense that her feelings of humiliation and fear were gone, but the flicker of defiance still remained. Ah well, two out of three.
"Please get in the car, Sara."
Sara broke her silence. With a hint of a challenge, she asked, "Grissom, what is going on?"
Grissom repeated sternly, "Sara. Get in the car."
"All right," she said with a slightly whiny tone.
Sara climbed into the SUV and shut the door.
Grissom got in, putting his field kit behind his seat, turned the key, and drove out of the lot.
Sara broke the silence. "Where are we going?"
"We'll know when we get there, won't we?" Grissom replied, not meeting her gaze.
He heard her sigh, and out of the corner of his eye, saw that she had resigned herself to her fate. She was looking out the passenger side window, resting her head in her right hand, watching the buildings pass by.
They drove in silence until Grissom turned into an empty parking lot. They had arrived at a small park off the Strip.
There was a pond here, with a lighted and paved walking trail that circled around the pond. An older-style gazebo, complete with peeling white paint, signaled the start of the trail. Scattered throughout the park were wooden benches allowing people to sit and watch the small fountain in the middle of the pond. A rusting black and white sign posted next to the gazebo simply stated "No Littering."
Grissom got out of the SUV, leaving his kit in the car.
"Time to get out, Sara."
"Grissom, what's going on? Is there a crime scene here?"
"Do you see one?"
"Well, no."
"Then I guess there isn't one."
Sara got out and followed Grissom as he began walking towards the gazebo. He walked past it and began following the trail around the lake. Sara kept pace two steps behind him.
They walked in silence for a while. Other than the soft white noise of night, and the gentle gurgle of the fountain, the only sounds were of their footsteps.
Grissom smiled to himself. This was a favorite respite of his, and he had a particular bench that he liked to call his own. This bench was their destination.
When they arrived, Grissom sat and motioned for Sara to do the same. They both sat facing the lake, neither speaking to the other.
Okay, I got her here. Now comes the hard part.
Grissom took a deep breath and began what he knew would be one of the most difficult conversations of his life.
"Sara. I brought you out here because I need to speak with you someplace where we can talk freely, where there are no implied boundaries or potential interruptions."
"I need to make you aware of what happened while you were… away. I need for you to listen to what I have to say, without interruption, until I've finished. Can you do that?" He turned to face her.
Sara was looking at him curiously, the night softening the features of her face. Her eyes were deep and warm. He dropped the supervisory walls and met her gaze with a heated one of his own.
"Uhm … yes?"
Grissom turned and looked out at the lake. What he had to tell her next would hurt her, and he knew he wouldn't make it through if he maintained eye contact.
"After I left… you… last Friday, I went to my office and found a memo from Ecklie, demanding me to provide documentation of my disciplinary action for you. When I went to his office, he and Catherine were both waiting for me."
"I told him outright that I was not firing you. Catherine then asked what action I was going to take, and I told her I had already taken it."
"Neither Ecklie nor Catherine were pleased by this. I told him that you were a great criminalist, and that I needed you."
Grissom noticed her shift her weight slightly on the bench, reacting to what he said, and the implications it contained.
"Ecklie then proceeded to say that you were a loose cannon with a gun, and that you were my responsibility."
Sara stiffened and he felt her defiant fire burn anew.
"Catherine came to my office afterwards and … we exchanged words. She disagrees with my decision to keep you on my staff. I have not spoken to her since."
"I needed to tell you this because you need to be aware of what happened, and what it represents. Ecklie is very manipulative and cunning, and Catherine has chosen to side with him. I am concerned about what their ultimate goals are, and who they are willing to step on in order to achieve them."
"I want you to be extremely careful at work. This all happened because Ecklie manipulated you as a way to get to me. He saw your outburst with Catherine as an opportunity to take advantage of you. If he was not there, everything would have blown over in time. He deliberately approached you at a time when you were clearly upset, stirring you up until he had enough justification to suspend you. He will do this again if given the opportunity."
He paused, hoping she realized how serious he was.
"Now, I must file some type of disciplinary action against you. It needs to be severe enough to appease Ecklie so I cannot be accused of favoritism. But since I disagree with the idea of imposing any discipline upon you at all, I've come up with an action that I believe you can live with."
He turned to face her, to see how she was handling this new information. Her eyes were raw with pain and humiliation. Her mind was returning to last Friday, and he needed to continue quickly before she lost control.
"Starting tonight, and until further notice, I want you working with either Greg or me. No solo cases, no Sophia. You will not be loaned to the swing shift, either."
"Each night after shift, you are to report to me for one half-hour to discuss the events of your day, which I will document and report to Ecklie. This half-hour, you will not be paid. This will continue for six weeks, allowing me to prove to Ecklie that there is no reason for your dismissal."
"So. What are your feelings on this?"
He turned to her, watching the war of emotions within her, sensing them as if they were tangible. He waited patiently to see which one would win.