Chapter Six

Shovels in hand, Nick and Warrick began to uncover what they presumed was the body of Erin James. A tarp was spread out just to the left of the dig set, weighed down by four buckets. Each shovel full of dirt went onto the tarp and anything out of the ordinary went into a bucket.

"How deep do you think David James could've dug by himself?" Nick asked, throwing another shovel full of dirt onto the tarp.

Warrick measured the depth of the whole, "Thirty nine inches. He couldn't have done this alone. If the guy was stoned, he wouldn't have gotten two inches without exhausting himself."

"The mother?" Nick asked.

"She's definitely a part of it," Warrick said, picking up a shovel again, "She bought the new car."

"I think we need to talk to Mrs. James again."

Warrick stopped digging when his shovel connected with something that didn't feel like a rock. He and Nick exchanged their shovels for brushed and knelt in the newly discovered grave. Nick brushed dirt from the face of Erin James.

"I'll call David."

Sara sat in the break room once again, a magazine and a bottle of apple juice on the table in front of her. Grissom had retreated to his office only after reminding her of their date. Brass was out searching for their new suspect and Greg was analyzing the evidence Doc Robbins had discovered on their victims body.

Catherine entered the break room and Sara couldn't help the smile that played on her lips. She was in a great mood despite being a little tired.

"You look nice," Catherine said, "I take it you're feeling better?"

Sara laughed, remembering that she'd been caught napping here not too long ago.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she said.

"Don't worry about it, Sara. You deserve some rest every now and then," Catherine said, "You work too hard sometimes and you deal with a lot on a daily basis. We all understand that."

Sara sat perfectly still. She didn't understand. Does she know? Did Grissom tell her? Maybe I'm over analyzing. She could be talking in general.

"I don't really deal with any more than the rest of you," Sara said, "I just haven't been sleeping right lately. I shouldn't have fallen asleep here."

Catherine didn't say anything. She took her yogurt and bottled water and sat down beside Sara.

"Look, I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but I know about you and Gil," Catherine told her. She took the folded photo from her purse and put it on the table in front of Sara. "And don't get angry at him because he didn't tell me. That would've taken a lot of begging on my part and I already have bad knees. I was a dancer, remember?"

Sara looked at Catherine and then down and the photo in front of her. She picked it up, flipping it over and over in her hand before opening it.

"Where'd you find this?" Sara asked, surprised.

Catherine smiled at her, "I saw you throw it away the other day. I thought you might change your mind and want it back."

Sara stared down at the picture in her hands.

Catherine smiled. She'd done well. She stood up and left Sara to her memories. As she left she heard a barely audible sound come from Sara.

"Thank you."

Sara's pager beeped loudly and interrupted her thoughts. She took a final drink of her juice, tossed the bottle in the trash, and grabbed her photo off of the table, shoving it in her pocket as she walked down the hall toward Greg's lab.

Grissom caught up with her about half way there and she smiled at him.

"Get any work done?" she asked happily.

"Plenty, actually," he replied, "You seem chipper."

Sara laughed, "I have my reasons."

They entered the lab together, both of them smiling and laughing, causing Greg to stare at them in total shock.

"Did I miss the memo?" he asked, confused.

"What?" Sara asked, just as lost.

"You two, you're all happy and laughing, it's enough to make a guy sick. Since when is it office policy for the two of you to get along?" Greg asked sarcastically.

Grissom frowned and shot him a look. Greg stopped rattling.

"Right, well I have good news and bad news," he said, handing Sara a lab printout, "I didn't get a match for the semen Doc found on your vic."

"Is that the good news or the bad news?" Sara asked.

"That's the bad news," Greg said, "Good news is the Prof didn't do it."

Sara and Grissom glanced at each other.

"Don't get ahead of the evidence, Greg," Grissom said, "The DNA results tell us that Professor Talbott didn't have sex with Allison Conners, not that he didn't kill her."

"Ah, but it does, boss," Greg said, "I talked to the good doctor down stairs and we discovered that Allison Conners was a hemophiliac. She may not have been raped, but the intercourse was rough. Cause of death? She bled out."

"Bled out?" Sara asked.

"Right, which means that whoever broke her neck, did it after she was dead."

"So we find the sperm donor and we find our murderer," Sara said.

"Exactly."

Grissom and Sara left the lab and headed for his office. They were at the door when their pagers beeped in unison.

"Brass," Sara told him, "I'm guessing that he found Frederick Evens."

"My thoughts exactly," Grissom said, taking Sara by the arm and leading her toward the elevators.

When their car arrived and they were hidden safely inside, Sara and Grissom turned to face each other.

"Hi," Sara said quietly, her hands going to his face.

Grissom stepped into her, resting his hands on her waist and kissing her softly, "I don't know if I can make it to breakfast."

Sara smiled, "I know what you mean."

He kissed her quickly and stepped back as they reached their floor.

Grissom glanced at her one more time and stepped out of the elevator. He had to force himself to stay at least a foot away from her to keep from touching her. His hands burned to touch her skin.

"Frederick Evens," Brass said as they approached him, "Sadly, the kid wised up as soon as I had him in the interrogation room. He's got a lawyer."

"Did he come willingly or did you have to arrest him?" Sara asked.

"Let's just say that Mr. Evens is now in the system."

Grissom let Sara enter the room first and they both sat down across from Evens and his lawyer.

"Mr. Evens, I'm Sara Sidle and this is Gil Grissom, we're from the crime lab. Do you know Allison Conners?"

"Ms. Sidle, you and I both know that Allison and my client were involved," Evens' lawyer snapped, "Get to the point."

Sara glanced at Grissom.

"I'm sorry, miss," he said, "I didn't get your name."

"Bridget Montgomery," she told him, "But this isn't about me, Mr. Grissom."

"Doctor," Sara corrected, "Doctor Grissom."

Grissom looked at her then, slightly confused at the sound of her voice. She was being defensive.

"Look, if you have no evidence or grounds on which to hold my client, then we're leaving," Montgomery told them.

"Actually," Grissom said, "We'd like a sample of your client's DNA."

"Nice try, Dr. Grissom, but until you get a warrant, forget it."

Evens and his lawyer moved toward the door.

"You know, Mr. Evens, if you hadn't tried to cover your ass, Allison's death would have been an accident."

The door closed and Sara sat alone with Grissom.

"What the hell was that?" he asked finally.

"What was what?" Sara countered, confused.

"You're doing it again, Sara," he told her, "You're letting this case get to you."

"Gee, I'm sorry, it tears me apart when young girls die for no apparent reason," she snapped, "I have a heart, Griss, and I don't really get to control it."

She stood up, ready to leave, but Grissom took her by the arm.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Sara," he said softly, "I just don't want this to hurt you either."

Sara didn't say anything.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself honey," he continued, "It's not healthy, and it doesn't help us either. We can't keep doing this-" he gestured to the empty room around them, "The more time we spend alone together, the more suspicious people will be."

Grissom was silent now. He stood beside her, not sure he should move. She was shaking and he couldn't make it stop. Anger, frustration, love, confusion; they were all reflected in her eyes.

"Sara."

"You know I hate it when you say my name like that," Sara said. She turned and left him alone in the interrogation room.

Grissom collapsed into a chair at the table. He dropped his head to his hands and closed his eyes, feeling the on-set of another migraine.

When Brass knocked on the door, Grissom didn't even look up.

"Handful isn't she?" Brass asked. He leaned against the doorframe, "Wanna tell me what that was all about?"

Head still down, Grissom said, "Make whatever you want out of it. I can pretty much guarantee that what you're thinking right now is correct."

"I know I told you once to get a cheaper hobby, Gil, but I didn't exactly want you to compromise your career for it," Brass said, "Sara's a sweet girl and all but-"

"I love her, Jim."

Brass froze.

"Gil, buddy, come on."

"Jim, I love her. Sara and I have known each other for nearly twelve years. In all that time, with all of the energy we put into trying not to get too close, I fell in love with the most beautiful woman that I have ever met," Grissom shook his head, "A career's a career, Jim. But loving Sara, I- I can't stop."

"That's quite a confession, Gil. Have you told Sara all of that?"

"No."

"Any reason why not?"

"Because telling her would only make it harder for her to decide," Grissom said softly.

"Decide what?"

"Whether she wants to be with me or not. Whether she loves me or not."

"I hate to break it to you, Gil, but I think Sara made that decision a long time ago. She was just waiting for you to catch up."

By the time Sara's made it to her car, tears were streaming down her face. She stood at the driver's side door as she dished her keys out of her pocket, trying not to cry out in anger. She had to hurry as Nick's Tahoe pilled into the garage. He parked beside her and Nick, Warrick and Catherine emerged.

Sara managed to jerk open the driver's side door just as Catherine looked over at her.

"You okay?"

"Fine," Sara choked, climbing into the car, "Just going to grab some food."

She didn't give them time to question her as she jammed the key into the ignition and pulled out of the parking garage.

"Cath, you really think Sara was all right?" Nick asked, holding the door for her as they entered the break room.

"You're kidding right?" Catherine replied, "She was crying."

"Crying?" Warrick asked, "You got that from 'I'm fine'?"

"Who's crying?" Grissom asked.

The three CSIs turned to find the supervisor in the doorway behind them. Catherine, Nick and Warrick passed a worried look around before Catherine stepped forward to speak.

"Uh, we just ran into Sara in the parking garage," she said, "She said something about getting something to eat."

"But she was crying?" Grissom asked.

Catherine noted the concerned tone in his voice.

"I don't know for sure," Catherine said, "She wouldn't even look at me."

Grissom turned and left without a word and Catherine looked at the boys beside her.

"What's that all about?" Warrick asked.

"It's a long story, Warrick, trust me."

Grissom sat down at his desk, rolling his cell phone between his hands. He'd tried to call Sara on her cell and at home but she wasn't answering either. He sat at the desk and tried to contemplate where else she might go.

"Gil?"

Grissom looked up to see Brass standing at his door.

"Just got a call, one of my guys spotted Sara's car in front of a townhouse on 17th street. They say she's been there for a while."

Grissom sighed in relief, "My house."

He stood up and brushed past a slightly shocked Brass only to run into Catherine in the hallway.

"Stay here and keep an eye on things," he told her.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Sara."