A/N: This is a continuation of my story Not Ready To Let Go. I hope you enjoy it. All regular disclaimers apply. I don't own Sara or Grissom, or any of the other CSI regulars, but everything else was at least mildly my idea.
Chapter One"Sara?" Riley Lange, her adoptive brother knocked on the door. "Sara, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Ry." Sara tried to sound convincing, but her nose was stuffed up from crying and her voice was nasal.
"The Hell you are. Sara, what's going on?"
"I told you, nothing."
Riley opened the door. "Sara, you haven't ever been able to lie to me, don't even bother trying to start now. I'm your big brother, so you have to tell me. Remember, Big Scary Riley makes everything better."
"You're not that big and you're not that scary." Sara smiled weakly, the playful banter of siblings rushing back to her.
"I'm only not that big to you, Amazon." Riley had always teased Sara about her height. She'd hit a massive growth spurt at fourteen, culminating in her current height, five feet nine inches.
"Midget." Sara retorted. Riley was anything but a midget, standing over nearly everybody he met at six foot five, his sandy blonde hair and well-defined muscles made him extremely bankable in the Hollywood industry. "Tell me, how's everything going with acting? I saw your last movie. Very impressive. Where'd they teach you to dance like that."
Riley winced. "Action superheroes have to dance. They can do everything. Otherwise, how was I supposed to charm that secret agent into my bed?"
Sara shook her head. "And how do Olivia and Madison feel about this?"
Riley grinned. "Well, there's nothing like having your dad be a movie star. The twins are fine with it, Sara."
"That's good." Sara was pleased with herself for getting the subject off of herself and Grissom.
"Now about you and what's bugging you…"
Damn. She hadn't gotten off so easy. "Nothing's bugging me, Ry, I swear."
"Read my lips. L-I-A-R. I swear to God I will sic those damn teenagers on you if you don't tell me what's wrong."
Sara remained silent.
"Fine. Twenty questions it is, though I'm going to take a wild guess that I'll only need one." He raised an eyebrow at Sara. "This has something to do with that supervisor of yours, Grissom, doesn't it?"
Sara gaped. "You actually read my emails?"
"Uh, yeah." Riley smirked at Sara. "Why, don't you read mine?"
"Yeah, but you're such a busy guy, raising those girls on your own and everything, I thought you'd just skim 'em to get the general gist of things and not bother to remember things."
"Back on subject. Is it about this Grissom?"
"Ry, I just need to get away from him. Things have sort of…gone downhill for us. I left five years ago with the idea that I'd stay for a while to help Grissom get situated, then I'd come back to San Francisco and help you raise the girls. But in that year that I was helping Grissom, I ended up falling in love with him. I didn't mean to, but nobody ever means to fall in love. It just sort of…happened one day and there wasn't shit I could do about it. So I called Steve. Told him I wanted to transfer to Vegas. He was very supportive. Thought it would be a great career move." She laughed derisively. "Little did I know it was a career killer. I've been in a downward spiral ever since, and I have to get out."
Riley nodded. "Whatever you need, Mad and Liv and I are here for you." Riley got up. "He's missing an amazing thing, Amazon. He doesn't deserve you. But, if you love him, there's nothing anyone can do about that. I just want you to be happy."
"Thanks, Ry." Sara hugged him.
"Dinner's in ten minutes. Shannon made crab cakes, your favorite."
"Thanks for remembering." Sara hugged Riley. "I'll see you in ten."
Grissom made a mistake. That was the only way to categorize this extremely stupid freak-out. He'd taken two weeks of vacation, packed a suitcase, jumped in his Denali with nothing more than a name of city, intending to find Sara.
This was definitely one of his less rational moments.
But, he'd resolved to himself that he could fix this thing with Sara. It wasn't over until she slapped him in the face and told him to fuck off. Grissom glanced at the employee info sheet he'd copied from Sara's file. Grissom had immediately noticed she'd listed him as her emergency contact, but had shrugged it off, figuring she just hadn't changed it to Nick or Warrick yet.
10523 Santos Boulevard. Grissom read off the page. Riley Lange. Okay, so I just have to find Santos Boulevard. I'll ask directions in that restaurant. Grissom parked the Denali and opened the door to Marina's Café.
"Hi." A friendly-looking older waitress approached him as he glanced around, trying to find a seat. "Can I help you?"
"Um, yes. I'm wondering if you could direct me to 10523 Santos Boulevard."
"Who are you looking for?" The waitress glanced at him suspiciously.
"Sara Sidle."
"Sara Sidle? She hasn't lived around here for years. Not since she left for Vegas. Something about some guy. Riley was in a fit about it for weeks."
Grissom nodded, realizing that the 'some guy' had been him. "Well, she's visiting with her brother for a while, and I've got something I really need to give her."
The waitress shrugged. "To get to Santos, you drive up this street and take a left on Crestmore until it turns into Santos. Pretty straight shot. You'll recognize it by all the friggin' big mansions." The waitress smiled at him. "I'm Marina, by the way. I've known Riley and Sara since they were kids. Used to be holy terrors. Tell Riley and Sara I said hi."
"Will do." Grissom flipped down his Oaklies and returned back to his car. He followed Marina's directions all the way up to Santos. Damn. Marina wasn't kidding about friggin' big mansions. You could fit the entire lab into the smaller complexes. He found 10523 and pulled into the circular drive, noting the big statue. Riley must be pretty wealthy to afford this place. Grissom surmised, putting the car in park. Before he could lose his nerve, he walked up the grand steps to the mini-palace Sara was staying at and knocked firmly on the carved wooden door.
It was answered almost immediately by a woman in jeans and a tee shirt, quite obviously from Mexico. "May I help you?" She furrowed her brows.
"Yes, I'm looking for Sara Sidle."
"May I ask who you are?" The woman made no move to let him in.
"I'm her boss."
She nodded. "Come on in. You haven't come to deliver bad news, have you? Sara's had a rough day."
"Uh, no. No bad news."
"Have a seat. Sara will be down for dinner at any moment."
"Thanks." Grissom nervously shoved his hands in his pocket. "Are you Mrs. Lange?"
The woman laughed. "Heavens no! I'm Riley's maid."
"Oh, uh, you don't…"
"Wear a uniform?" She chuckled again. "Riley says its stupid and I can do my work just as well in jeans. I'm Shannon. Let me know if you need anything." She gave him one last smile and jogged off.
Sara splashed her face with cold water, hoping she'd chased away the tears by now. It wouldn't do her any good to have her two prying, albeit extraordinarily loveable, nieces wanting to know why she'd been crying. It wasn't that they didn't understand love treating people like shit, their own mother had run off with the family gardener a few years before Sara had left for Vegas. Riley, having to work out of the house for long stretches of time, had invited Sara to come live with him and the girls, in the hope that she could provide a motherly role for them. Of course, that was before Vegas and Grissom.
Sara bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Mmm, Shannon, that smells wonderful. I missed your cooking."
"It's good to see you again, Sara." Shannon and Sara exchanged hugs. "There's somebody waiting for you out by the main entrance."
Sara cocked her head. "I'm not expecting anyone. Did they give you a name?"
"He said he was your boss."
The blood drained out of Sara's face. "Shannon, please tell me you didn't let him in."
Shannon immediately became concerned. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't want to see him. I'll go get rid of him now."
"Thanks." Sara put her head in her hands. "I'll explain it to you later, but I really can't speak to him right now."
Shannon strode into the main hall. "I'm sorry, sir. Sara isn't in any mood to talk right now."
"I really need to speak with her." Grissom insisted. His nerve was going fast. "It's really important."
"She really doesn't want to speak to you."
"Please, Shannon."
"Look, I think you should leave."
"I'm not leaving until I speak with her." Grissom insisted.
"Shannon, what's going on?" Riley's booming voice preceded his frighteningly imposing body. "Who are you talking to?"
"This is Sara's boss." Shannon stood beside Riley. "He wants to talk to Sara, but she doesn't want to speak to him and he's not understanding that he needs to leave."
Riley's
gaze hardened. "Shannon, can you call Madison and Olivia for
dinner? I'll be right in."
Shannon nodded and went to find the
girls.
"So you're Gil Grissom." Riley's green eyes sparked with intense dislike. "I don't know you personally, but I do know that my sister doesn't want to see you. Don't come back, Gil. Do not come back or I swear to God that you won't ever get near my sister again." He took a step forward.
"Get the Hell out of San Mariano, Gil Grissom."
