Moving On
Disclaimer: I obviously still do not own the rights to CSI.
Chapter Four
When Sara arrived back in Las Vegas she was actually a little nervous about heading back to the lab. She was going to have to act confident in front of everyone, but she had the feeling that there were going to be rumors flying around about her leaving. She was worried about facing her friends and telling them that she was actually going to go to another crime lab. Ultimately though, she had decided this was about her happiness and her need for a slight career change. This was not about Grissom or anyone else, this was about herself. She made sure to fill out all the paperwork needed to make the transfer to Denver and headed to Grissom's office.
"Hey," she greeted him softly.
"Sara, hi," Grissom put down his pen, "how was your flight?"
"It was good," Sara responded, "did you get my e-mail?"
"Yeah," Grissom said, "I did."
"Is it, uh, are you okay with me leaving?" Sara asked suddenly.
"Of course, why would I have a problem with it?" Grissom lied, "if you want to move somewhere else, who am I to stop you?"
"I don't know, I just thought, maybe things might be awkward between us since, what I told you about my childhood," Sara sputtered.
"I admit, I am still concerned about you, but if moving to a new setting is going to help you and make you happier I am the last person to stand in your way," Grissom told her.
"Good," Sara gave him a half-smile, "I have the paperwork here."
"I'll fill out my portion and make sure it all gets to the right places," Grissom nodded, "I must admit that I am losing an amazing CSI."
"You really think so," Sara asked.
"Yes. But congratulations on your new job anyway, I hope it makes you happy," Grissom said.
Sara could feel the uncomfortable air between them, "Uh thanks I guess."
Sara left Grissom's office and headed for the locker room. She was glad to have the official part out of the way. Now she could just focus on getting herself ready to go. She suddenly realized that she had two weeks to pack all of her belongings and ship them to Colorado. She would have to cancel her phone and utilities and everything for Vegas. It hit her that she had a lot to accomplish in a relatively short amount of time.
"You okay there?" someone asked.
Sara jumped, "You scared me."
"I wasn't trying to be scary," Nick laughed.
"I guess I was lost in thought," Sara explained.
"How are you?" Nick inquired.
"I'm great, how are you?" Sara asked, letting a genuine smile shine through.
"Pretty good, but you have to settle a rumor for me. Are you really going back to California?" Nick asked.
"What? No. I don't know who told you that," Sara furrowed her brows, "I am leaving, but not for California."
"Where are you going?" Nick asked.
"To a crime lab in Colorado," Sara explained.
"Permanently?" Nick inquired.
"I hope so," Sara said, "I just interviewed there and I gave Grissom all my transfer papers. I should be heading there in a couple weeks."
"Oh," was all Nick managed to say.
"What?" Sara asked.
"I don't know, I just hoped it was a rumor. I didn't think you were actually leaving," Nick replied, "but hey, you got a new job, good for you. Is the lab there nice?"
"Believe it or not, I really didn't see much of the lab there, I forgot that part," Sara laughed, "I met the supervisor and his team. We all went out to lunch and then it was back to the hotel. It was a very short visit. But the team seemed nice. They all seemed to be good friends. It just slipped my mind to ask for a quick tour of their lab."
"I guess that's nice," Nick said, "you know I'm going to miss you like crazy? It's been bad enough since the teams split. I hardly see you anymore."
"I know," Sara sighed, "but we can still talk, it's not like I'm leaving and never speaking to any of you again."
"I would hope not," Nick laughed, "I'd track you down myself!"
"That's the trouble of working with a bunch of CSIs, I can never just disappear," Sara smiled.
"I couldn't tell you about everyone else, but I'd never let that happen," Nick winked, "I guess I better get back to my case, Warrick and I have a dead body out in the desert."
"Sounds like fun," Sara said, "that's one thing I will not miss, the desert."
"I bet things are a little slower in Denver than Vegas," Nick told her.
"It can't be much worse," Sara agreed.
"Don't jinx yourself," Nick laughed as he left.
The news that Sara was really leaving the lab managed to get around the lab in record time. Sara was on her way back in from a case with Greg when Ecklie stopped her.
"How did you manage to get a job at another lab?" Ecklie asked, eyes narrowed, "didn't Grissom put your disciplinary problems in your record?"
"You should just be glad. I'll be out of your hair," Sara snapped, "and I told them about my recent outburst. They still hired me."
"That's amazing," Ecklie shot back.
"I-no, you know what, I'm walking away," Sara glared at him and pushed past.
Ecklie smirked at her back as she briskly retreated down the hall. He loved to provoke her, and Grissom. He got such joy from irritating them. Especially now that he was in a job of higher status. It was so fun to bait them because then when they snapped, he could turn around and suspend or fire them.
Sara had been ready with about half a dozen nasty things to say back to Ecklie, but she knew she shouldn't get into it with him. She only had to see his ugly face for a couple more weeks, then she'd be free of him forever. The last thing she needed was another big outburst with Ecklie before she transferred to the new lab. She was glad Supervisor Mayer had seemed to understand when she tried to explain about Ecklie. Perhaps he had encountered someone just like Ecklie in his past.
"Sara," Greg jogged to catch up with her, "I saw Ecklie back there talking to you. What did he say?"
"Not much, I just walked away from him before he could really make me mad," Sara explained, "but hey I only have to worry about him for a couple more weeks right?"
"Yeah. Good for you for walking away," Greg said, "but be careful. Since he knows you're leaving he might just try to make your last days here miserable."
"I really don't care what Ecklie does, I'm getting transferred and unless he stops it, I don't have to worry about him anymore," Sara smiled.
"What would you do if he refused to approve your transfer?" Greg asked.
"Punch him in the face," Sara joked, "or go directly to Director Cavallo. I know Ecklie can be petty and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried something."
"As much as I hate to see you go, I hope Ecklie doesn't try to stop you," Greg crossed his arms, "I don't know what his problem is."
"He's a self-centered, arrogant jerk, but don't go repeating that," Sara winked.
"I don't think you have to worry about it," Greg laughed.
"No, but I might have to worry about other people listening in," she stressed the last words as she spotted Hodges trying to hear their conversation.
"I wasn't listening in on your conversation," Hodges said defensively.
"Then why so defensive?" Greg asked, "no one here accused you of anything."
"But she- ah man. I didn't hear anything," Hodges assured them.
"Good," Sara crossed her arms and waited to be out of earshot to say, "there's another guy I'm not going to miss."
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I am glad that people are enjoying this story. I know you might not all be happy with the storyline right now, but deal with it! Lol, that's the way the real writers treat us. I swear they live to torture us. ;)