Title: Sounds of Silence
Author: ScarlettMithruiel
Classification: A
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I belong to it, but sadly, it does not belong to me.
Spoilers: Bloodlines.
Author's Note: I hope they're in character, and I hope you enjoy. And please, review.
Silence. Such a familiar word to both of them. It was an aspect of their lives everyone was familiar with. She was warmer than him. No, that was the wrong term. He wasn't cold. He was…cautious. He was always conscientious of those around him, of those he was working around. He knew them. And they did not know him.
She had been silent the whole trip. Her head had been tilted downward, mahogany hair shielding her face from his worried glances. She was ashamed. To even be in this situation was shameful. Her career had been at stake.
The car traveled at a moderate pace, the whirring of the tires providing the only sound. Normally, she would want sound. She would want a beration of some kind, but he was different. He was Grissom. Silence was in his nature, and if he had been yelling or screaming, she would have been worried. But he was silent. He remained silent.
Her eyes furtively sped round the interior of the car at an anxious pace. Mostly, they flitted from her feet to the window. Was he going to ask her questions? Was he going to demand an explanation? Was he going to enter her apartment and remove all alcoholic beverages found? She shook her head at the last one. No. That would be too presumptuous of him. It would be too daring to march into her apartment and order her to do something.
She lifted her head a fraction of a degree and released a breath. Her eyes flitted over to him, hands gripping the steering wheel. So he was angry. Somewhere in her mind, she realized she cared that she had afflicted this on him. That voice was loud in her mind and her head pulsed with pain, and a new pang of guilt washed over her. She had done this to the lab. It didn't matter if he didn't want her, she still worked at the lab, and she still had to be an ambassador of the lab. Whatever she did affected the lab's reputation.
The brakes squeaked as the car slowed to a stop by her apartment building. He turned to see her. "Sara, are you all right?" She nodded. No matter what happened, she was still Sara Sidle. "You're sure?" She nodded again. She opened the door and the soft ringing of the open door alert triggered another painful pulse in her head. She managed to half-smile, despite her pain.
"It was just a beer." She shuts the door, with more force than necessary. Her eyes are apologetic for the excess force. He suspects it was from the stress.
"Yeah." He replies to her comment, and with a head tilt of acknowledgement, she heads into her apartment building. Her voice rings in his head again. It was just a beer. But somehow, he can't bring himself to believe that.
