Cause and Effect: Chapter two
San Francisco, 1994
Gil Grissom could barely contain a sigh of relief as the eager cluster of students finally dispersed around him. It wasn't their interest that bothered him; it was their blatant lack of interest that did. Most of them had asked him the most basic questions that he had covered thoroughly throughout the lecture, and repeating himself not once but several times grew rapidly tiresome.
He turned towards the muddle of notes he had scattered on the table below the stage, sorting through them in his own chaotic state of organisation.
He had been disappointed with the turnout for the beginning of this year's seminars. Generally a school with such a reputation as Berkeley offered an impressive range of intellect, but this time, it had, unfortunately, been lacking. He uttered a deep, long-suffering sigh, straightening his glasses absently on the tip of his nose.
"That doesn't sound like the sigh of a truly satisfied teacher".
Grissom lifted his head at the amused male voice, and a small, weary smile pulled at his features.
"Alex", he acknowledged good-naturedly. "I was wondering when you were going to show up".
Alex strode around Grissom's side, so he was leaning near the slide projector. He tilted his head at his younger colleague thoughtfully.
"Well, fear not. The lecture certainly wasn't different than any other year."
"I think I'll leave that as a compliment, thank you", Grissom said, turning back to his notes.
Alex smirked. "Come on, you know I enjoy them. So, how's Vegas? I hear you got a new boss, some old homicide captain. Bet the scientist in you is revolting at that".
Grissom lifted an eyebrow idly, lifting up his briefcase to stow away the last of his papers. "Actually, he's surprisingly open-minded."
"Still. Don't you think it's time you put in that application for supervisor?"
Grissom clasped shut his briefcase, lowering it to his side. He regarded the professor patiently. "I enjoy the work, Alex. I don't have any ambitions."
Alex chuckled lightly. "I wish I was like that. I'm just waiting for the day they make me chair of the Forensics Department."
Grissom smiled slightly, but in the back of his mind, he thought he knew why that recommendation hadn't come. Alex got too involved with his students. He was surprised the board had turned a blind eye for this long. He didn't fault the man for it, but he didn't approve of his activities, either. That was a line that shouldn't need to be crossed. Most of these women were adults, but they were also young and naïve, and easily impressionable.
Alex seemed oblivious to his musings, and straightened away from the stage, clasping his hands calmly. "Well, how about a drink? No offence, Gil, but you look like you could use one. Come on, I'll buy. We need a chance to catch up".
Grissom hesitated, eyeing the door doubtfully. He really wanted to review his notes for the following days' lecture, but a drink with Alex usually resulted in a few entertaining hours, and he was his best contact with the university's forensic community. He wasn't an overly social man, but he did enjoy the company of others occasionally. His time away from home was one of those occasions.
He shrugged indifferently. "Sure. Let me get my things back to my suite and I'll meet you at the usual place."
Alex nodded, satisfied with the arrangements, and Grissom left him for the car park.
The midafternoon sun temporarily blinded him, reminding him that the Californian sun was less harsh, but no less brilliant that the Nevada one, and he sighed, wishing he had remembered to bring his shades.
He paused mid-way to his car when he noticed a lone black Camry with the hood up a few parks over.
He hesitated, his career making it difficult for him to knowingly leave anyone in jeopardy. He stepped over, peering around the side of the car to examine the apparently injured party.
She was a young, pretty brunette, and it took him several moments to place her. He sighed inwardly when he did. She was the girl who was late to his seminar. And the only one to ask a vaguely intelligent question throughout the entire session.
"Need any help?"
Her eyes lifted slowly, and he was struck with an odd, not unpleasant sensation at their sudden guarded intensity. She swiped a strand of dark hair behind one ear, and recognition immediately filtered into her gaze. There was no denying she was attractive. She looked to be in her early twenties, with soft, fair features and dark brown hair that curled delicately around her face. She was tall and slender, and hovered over the front of the car with a certain level of confidence.
The most captivating thing about her was her eyes. They held his for several unnecessarily long moments, and he felt as if their dark pools were instantly becoming acquainted with the very depths of his soul.
She blinked, glancing away first, returning her attention to the engine she had thoughtfully been examining.
"I think I'm fine, thanks. My car's always breaking down, so I've just got to work out what's busted this time".
He slanted an eyebrow, doubtful despite himself. "You know how to fix it?"
She glanced at him, and he thought he saw a flash of irritation at his doubting of her abilities. "Yes. My brother used to help me with my car all the time".
He felt uncomfortable having offended her. "I'm sorry, it's just… I don't know many women who know their way around a car. I don't know many men who do, either", he added jokingly.
A small smile tugged at her lips, and she shrugged absently. "It's okay, Dr. Grissom".
He frowned slightly at the formal title. "Grissom's fine. I wasn't sure you recognised me".
"I enjoyed your seminar", she commented vaguely, lowering her hand somewhere underneath the hood.
He lifted an eyebrow, strangely warmed by the concept. "I think you might be alone on that one".
She glanced at him again, and a small, charming gap in her teeth showed when she grinned. "Okay, I have to admit, they probably weren't the most intellectual group. I come to these seminars a lot. It's really a lucky draw".
He watched her curiously, unwilling to leave her alone quite just yet. Young women in peril just came across too much in his line of work, and somehow he found himself shuddering at the thought of her becoming a statistic.
"Really? You don't go to school here?"
She twisted the cap of something in the engine. "I used to. I work at the San Francisco Crime Lab. I just like to keep up-to-date with the forensic news. My boss isn't really big on additional education on the clock, so it's all in my own free time".
He was impressed she had such a promising career, and still took time to further educate herself. "That's very practical of you".
She chuckled slightly. "Thanks. I think".
He frowned, studying her thoughtfully. "You know, I didn't actually catch your name".
She blinked, straightening slightly. "Oh! Sorry." She lifted out her hand as if she were about to extend it, then reconsidered when she realised it was covered in motor oil. "Uh, right. I'm, uh, Sara Sidle. It's nice to meet you".
Grissom couldn't help but smile at her sudden embarrassment. There was something refreshingly endearing about it. "It's nice to meet you too."
-
Las Vegas, 2005
"Sara".
Sara's frame tensed so visibly Alex would have to have been ignorant not to notice it, and she remained stock still, an obvious, clear distance maintained between her and the professor.
Grissom swallowed, insides clenching painfully in apprehension. She couldn't have picked a worse time if she had tried to.
Her eyes narrowed with a familiar, reassuring fire, and she forced herself to straighten rigidly.
"If you're here, this case suddenly makes much more sense", she spat distastefully.
Alex lifted an eyebrow, mildly amused by her bluntness. "How nice to see you too".
His voice was inexorably smooth, and he seemed completely unaffected by her obvious contempt. Sara sneered, folding her arms protectively over her midsection. "I don't think that could ever cover it".
She remained carefully at Grissom's side, and the line between them and the older professor was almost tangible it was so wide.
His sharp, dark brown eyes travelled between them languidly. The sounds of the other crime scene personnel were a distant buzz in the face of this sudden, unexpected confrontation. "Well. How interesting to see you both here", he observed casually, tone lingering over the words. "Together".
"Sara works for me", Grissom informed him through a tight jaw, gaze practically seething.
Alex nodded dryly, indicating that he did not believe them in the slightest. "Really? How nice. And I see you finally made that supervisor position".
Grissom licked his lips, remembering one of their previous conversations on that front. "Things change, Alex", he said coldly.
Alex's gaze was strangely distant. "They do indeed."
Slowly, they peeled away from Grissom to focus on Sara again, lingering over her in a way that made Grissom more than uncomfortable. "Well, Sara. The years have certainly done their favours on you. Don't you think, Gil?"
He turned pointedly to the nightshift supervisor. Sara pursed her lips, in no mood for his scorn. "I'm going to go keep an eye on Greg", she muttered, casting a brief, fleeting glance in Grissom's direction before stalking rapidly away.
Alex's unreadable gaze slowly watched her departure, before flitting over his old friend's again, annoyingly calm. "I always knew you had it bad for that girl, Gil", he said quietly.
Grissom stiffened, glaring at him acridly. "A detective will be over shortly to take your official statement", he spat blandly. "I'm sure you have at least some idea of how this procedure works."
Alex remained where he was as Grissom started to firmly turn away. "Always running, aren't you, Grissom?"
Grissom paused at the pointed barb, eyes narrowing back at the older man with a cold intensity he had rarely shown. "I'm going to make two things clear to you, Alex. Do not make any implications about my relationship with Sara again. And if we have the need to contact you regarding this case, we will do so. Do not come near me, and do not go anywhere near Sara".
Alex slanted an eyebrow slightly, expression unreadable. "If that's what you wish".
Grissom clenched his jaw, whirling back towards the crime scene, bones leaden with the sudden, overwhelming cold that came over them. The sense of devastating dread was unbearable, and some long-ago part of him broke free from its suppression, and feared unwillingly for what he knew was far from over.
-
Greg blinked as Sara stalked abruptly back into the room, Grissom not far behind her. Both of them withdrew into a tense, immensely pointed silence, and he briefly wondered if something had happened between the two of them out there.
David had just finished carting the body out to the coroner's van, and Greg had started to methodically examine the bedsheets for any signs of a struggle with an assailant. Darkly, Sara crouched down on the other side of the bed, eyes focused so fixedly on the surface he was sure she wasn't seeing anything at all.
He suppressed a deep sigh, inwardly wondering when she was going to get over whatever crush she had on him. He still couldn't figure out exactly how Grissom felt about her. Hell, he still couldn't tell if Grissom really liked him. But being one who had suffered from a strong, lengthy infatuation with the pretty brunette himself, he could certainly understand if Grissom held that particular viewpoint. He just didn't think it was good for her. The heartache he seemed to constantly put her through hardly seemed worth the trouble.
After about half-an-hour of combing the bed and surrounding areas, he reluctantly broke the silence to report their negative findings.
"There's nothing here, Grissom", he admitted, talking loudly so his boss could hear him from the other side of the room. "Whoever did this was a pretty meticulous cleaner".
Sara winced, silently nodding her agreement. He smiled vaguely, relived to see she was backing him up on his statement.
It was funny, when he had originally started to train as a CSI; he had initially assumed Grissom would be his prime mentor. Warrick, Nick and Sara all still constantly vied for his attention, yet when he actually thought about it, he much preferred Sara's approach to teaching him. It might have had something to do with the fact that Sara was also his friend, while Grissom was and would always be his superior.
Grissom sighed deeply, lowering his collection bindle grudgingly to his side. "Okay. You two go back to the lab", he said tiredly. "Sara, go see Doc Robbins when he's ready to autopsy, and ask him to collect an SAE kit. Greg, take everything we have and start to get it processed."
The two of them exchange an uncertain glance, neither of them quite willing to ask Grissom what he would be doing.
At last, Greg straightened to his feet, breaking whatever weird, pointed not-staring at each other Grissom and Sara had going on, and started hefting his kit towards the door. After a slight pause, Sara gathered hers and began to follow him.
Mutely, Sara handed him the keys, and Greg glanced at her disbelievingly as she climbed passively into the passenger side. Sara never let him drive. Ever. In fact, he was pretty sure she had made it some sort of rule between them.
He glanced at her askance as he climbed behind the wheel, and when he sensed no explanation was forthcoming, shrugged, and turned on the ignition.
They rode in silence until he paused at a red light, and he spared a fleeting glance at her, dim streetlights casting her in a muted, yellow glow. "You all right?"
She blinked, shifting slightly from her self-imposed mood. "What? Oh, sure. Why?"
Greg resisted rolling his eyes, keeping his gaze planted on the taillights of the car in front of them instead of meeting her probing stare. He was the first to admit Sara Sidle could be one pretty damn intimidating woman when challenged.
"Well, you're, uh, moody. And the boss is pretty damn moody. Somehow methinks the two things are related."
Sara sighed tiredly. "Well, they're not. God, can't I just be in a bad mood, without someone questioning me about it?"
"Sure. Except you were in a fine mood earlier. It wasn't until you went outside you started to get crabby."
"Greg, just… just leave it, okay? It's nothing for you to worry about".
He eyed her doubtfully, but the traffic began to move, and he couldn't force the topic any further. By the time they reached the lab, Sara was already halfway out the door, and he knew that whatever chance he had of her confiding in him, he had probably just blown it.
He sighed deeply, gathering together the few evidence bags they had collected, and starting reluctantly towards trace. Alienating Sara and now a night of Hodges? Yeah, this was just his best day ever.
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