AN: I'm so pleased that you all liked chapter two! I've got some ideas for the upcoming chapters and I hope y'all like them. Feel free to review with suggestions that you think will make this a better piece. I write solely for you, o loyal fans of mine. (I love you guys, BTW) Since I have no idea how washing machines worked in the early seventies, or even whether they existed (hey, don't laugh. I'm a very young twenty. I don't remember anything before 1990.) I have simply just decided that they do and I'm going by the old craptacular washing machine we used to have.
A thoroughly annoying shout-out to Cloe! My friend and I are in a mild snit because she thinks that Sara is a psycho and I simply won't stand for that. Yes, I'm aware I'm rambling. So…I'll shut up now.
PS: Assume that all conversations in italics are in sign language, are inner monologues, or are dreams. If I'm a dork and have a convo between Griss and his mom that isn't in italics, attribute it to my stupidity and roll your eyes at me.
Chapter Three
This is so embarrassing. Grissom clenched his jaw as he quickly stripped his bed. Hadn't happened to him since he was thirteen and now, suddenly, he was Mr. Hormones. Friggin' a, Grissom thought furiously, balling the sheets up and shoving them into the washing machine. He spun the dial to cold and punched the button to start the washing machine.
Gil? Olivia blinked her eyes a few times, trying to adjust to the light. What's going on?
Bloody nose. He lied smoothly.
Olivia's expression barely changed, except for a slight crease in her forehead. Gil hadn't had a bloody nose since he was five and Olivia didn't think that stress alone could trigger a nosebleed. Gil lived stress. He never seemed to be affected by it. Well, I'll help you remake your bed. She moved towards the linen closet.
No! Grissom frantically shook his head. I mean, no, it's fine. I'll do it. Go back to bed, mom.
Tossing him one more look of disbelief, Olivia quietly exited the laundry room. The temptation to glance in her son's bedroom and see if her hunch was right nearly got her, but Olivia held out and returned to her own room. Olivia didn't consider herself a normal mother by any stretch of the phrase. She and Gil respected each other's personal space and Olivia allowed Gil to come and go as he pleased. Sometimes she wondered if it was her fault that Gil wasn't normal, that he didn't chase after pretty girls and woo them with flowers, but instead sat on the beach dissecting carcasses.
Then she remembered dinner with Sara. Sara was so lively and energetic, smart and beautiful. Sara took a real interest in the things that Gil said and understood them, volleying counterarguments back. The two of them were so well-matched and yet neither one of them could see it.
Olivia allowed herself only one despondent sight before she slid between the cotton sheets of her bed and let sleep overtake her.
&&&&&&
Sara stared at herself in the mirror. She was pretty, wasn't she? Her seventeen-year-old self had the same hair, the same delicate bone structure, and the long legs that looked fabulous encased in this miniskirt that Stacy insisted would look perfect on her.
Stacy was a contradiction in terms. She was a science nerd with a passion for fashion. The girl owned all the latest clothes and could still recite every single element on the periodic table without pausing once. "Sara?" Stacy slathered on a coat of shiny pink lipgloss and tossed her long blonde hair. "You still here?"
"Yeah." Sara shook her head to clear the thoughts as she examined herself in the full-length mirror propped in the corner of Stacy's bedroom. "Yeah, I'm still here. Thanks for letting me stay with you while Shannon and Dave take their vacation."
"It's totally cool, don't sweat it." Stacy shrugged. "I get a free ride to school out of it. Seriously though, wear that miniskirt. Even Gil won't be able to not notice you."
"Oh," Sara blushed. "I don't have a crush on Gil."
Stacy quirked an eyebrow at Sara. "Nobody ever said you did. I was just referring to the fact that Gil wouldn't notice if Farrah Fawcett danced around naked in front of him. He's unbelievably obtuse."
"Nah, he's definitely believably obtuse." Sara grinned, slipping into the sandals Stacy had upturned for her.
Stacy folded her arms. "We all know you've got a thing for him, Sara. Don't deny it."
"I don't." Sara was lying through her teeth. "He's callous, rude, and would make possibly the worst boyfriend ever."
Stacy rolled her eyes. "I know. I've known him since sixth grade. He hasn't changed. But you still like him."
"I-"
"Might as well give it up already." Stacy grabbed her book bag. "You'll never convince us otherwise."
Sara groaned and followed Stacy out the door.
&&&&&&
"Morning." Sara yawned, taking her seat next to Grissom.
"Morning." He replied.
"Hey, did you get problem number twelve on the homework Ms. Shaffer assigned us? Stupid assignment completely stumped me."
"Uh, yeah." Grissom muttered, making no move to explain the problem.
Sara rolled her eyes and sighed. "What in the Hell is bothering you? You're acting like I've got the plague. If you're going to be pissed off at me then you could at least have the decency to explain why you're being such a jerk."
"Sara-"
"Whatever, Grissom." She turned away from him. "I'll just get Stace to explain it to me at lunch and turn it in late."
Grissom saw the look of rejection in her eyes and instantly felt as though he'd just kicked a three-legged puppy while it was cold and shivering in the street after being hit by a car. Sara never turned anything in late. Because he was being a jerk and refusing to help her, she didn't have anyone to help her.
Don't talk to her! His brain screamed. You idiot! You'll end up saying something stupid and screwing it up worse!
But I have to! Grissom returned desperately. Look at her. And it's my fault.
Don't do it. His brain warned.
Grissom didn't listen. "I'll explain it to you, Sara. I'm sorry that I was a jerk."
"Thanks, Grissom." And when Sara flashed him that million-watt smile, he couldn't remember why he was upset in the first place.
&&&&&&
Sara stared at the board of the French classroom. What did I do? He wasn't mad at me Monday morning and now I'm the Devil incarnate. I didn't ask him out, I didn't tell him to pin me down, nothing! What have I done wrong?
"Sara!" Madame Philippe snapped. "Are we boring you?"
"Oui." Sara answered without thinking. "I mean, non, Madame Philippe. My stomach hurts. I think I ate something bad at lunch."
Mme. Philippe had a reputation as something of a sourpuss, and had no problem living up to it. She pursed her lips at Sara. "Fine. Tony, would you please walk Ms. Sidle to the nurse's office?"
Tony shrugged, adopting his cooler-than-ice jock attitude. "Sure." He followed Sara out the door and down the hall. "You aren't really sick, are you?"
Sara glanced up at him. "You can go back to class, Tony. If you walk slowly, Mme. Sourpuss will never know that I didn't go to the nurse's office and you didn't escort me."
"You wanna talk about it?"
One look to Marello's face confirmed what Sara had suspected. He didn't give a rip, but if it would convince her to go out with him, he'd try it. "I think I'm good, Tony. Thanks for asking."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." She nodded. "You should go back to class. What with all the riveting stories about Emilie and Dominique and shopping in the open-air market, and all that."
"I'd rather stay out here with you." Tony slumped to the ground next to Sara. "Look, Sara, I'm really not the type of guy to make a moron of myself by chasing a girl who isn't interested, but I just know in my guy that you're different. You've got me making an ass of myself just to get you to say yes to my date invitation. At least give me a chance."
Sara's first instinct was to say no. Lily had given her one year to make Grissom fall in love with her and somehow she didn't see how going out with Tony Marello would accomplish that goal. But Grissom had been pushing her away for the past few days. Maybe a date with Tony Marello was exactly the push Grissom needed to get all caveman and jealous and come claim Sara as his.
A lazy smile curved around Marello's lips. He knew he'd won. "I'll pick you up, Friday at seven."
"You don't even know where I live." Sara replied, trying to maintain some semblance of control over the situation.
"Where do you live?"
"I'll meet you at the Frosty Burger by school." She returned.
"I'm looking forward to it. Now, I'll get back to French and you can continue to chill out here and do whatever it is you were planning on doing with the last ten minutes of school."
"Friday." Sara pushed herself off the wall and strode down the hall.
&&&&&&
"What are your plans for the weekend, Sara?" Grissom carefully transferred the frog from dry ice onto the lab table before them.
"Oh, nothing much." She shrugged. "You're going to be good at this, what with the fact that you work at the coroner's office. I'll just sit back and let you do the work."
Grissom smirked at her. "You won't be able to resist. I give you two minutes."
Sara looked mock-offended. "Oh, please. Give me some credit. Five minutes at least."
He arched an eyebrow and scooted over to make room for her. Sara leaned close to him, enough that she could smell his aftershave blended with his own personal scent. Sara had to smile when she realized that Grissom smelled exactly the same thirty-two years later. Clean and spicy and manly. The way Sara thought a man should smell.
Sara wanted him so badly. Even though seventeen-year-old Sara was a virgin, thirty-four-year-old Sara was not and right now, she wanted him.
God help me, I hope this stupid plan works out, she thought, blissfully inhaling another whiff of Grissom's delightful scent.
&&&&&&
Sara pushed open the door of the Frosty Burger. What are you doing, Sara? This is stupid. She reminded herself that she was only trying to hurry Grissom up. At this pace he'd fall for her when they were both dead and long gone.
"Sara." Tony waved to her from the jukebox. "I was thinking that instead of Frosty Burger, we should go to a movie. There's this great little drive-in about ten minutes from here. Two screens. One has Dr. Strangelove and the other is showing Bonnie and Clyde."
"Uh, Dr. Strangelove sounds good." Sara shrugged. She followed Tony out to the car. "I don't think I've seen this one before. Shannon and Dave don't really watch movies a lot."
"How come you call your parents by their first names?" Tony held the door open for her then jogged around to the driver's side.
Sara didn't know how to answer that. It had taken a long time and a very big emotional breakdown for her to tell Grissom, and she was in love with the man. Rather than dealing with the inevitable awkwardness of having to explain that she was a foster kid, Sara simply said, "weird family."
"Oh. Gotcha." Tony paid for their car and found a good spot. "Oh, hey, I picked up some food for us at Frosty Burger." He handed her a bag of food. "This is one of my favorite movies." He confided in her. "If the guys on the team knew, they'd totally laugh at me, but this movie always makes me laugh."
Sara couldn't completely suppress a smile at that. Even if there was no spark between herself and Tony, she hoped that they could become friends. She soon became absorbed in the movie and didn't notice Tony sliding across the bucket seat next to Sara. Casually, he reached his arm around her and moved to kiss her.
Sara turned her head. "I'm sorry, Tony. I don't kiss guys on the first date."
"Come on, Sara." He grinned wolfishly. "It's not like I'm asking you to sleep with me or anything. It's just a kiss."
"Tony, I don't think that…"
"Stop being such a prude, Sara." Tony leaned over her, using his considerable strength to force her onto the seat. "You'll enjoy it, I promise."
"No, Tony." Sara said firmly, trying to push him off.
"Look, I know you'll enjoy it. Just relax, baby, let Tony do all the work."
"Get OFF of me!" Sara screamed, struggling with her arms pinned to her side.
&&&&&&
Grissom generally didn't go out. He didn't like people, he didn't like cheesy diners, and he didn't like most movies. However, he and his mother had watched Dr. Strangelove together when he was younger and it had instantly become one of his favorites. When he'd noted that the Murphy Drive-in was showing it, he decided to go.
Grissom expected to be practically the only one at this movie, but there was one other car parked a few rows ahead. He saw the guy in the convertible lean over the girl and Grissom made a disgusted noise. His peers never failed to make him cringe in embarrassment.
That's when he heard somebody shout, "get the Hell off of me!" followed by a scream. Grissom stiffened when he heard the voice. He'd recognize that voice anytime, anywhere. That was Sara. Sara! Grissom opened the door to his car and charged over to the other car.
"Get off of her!" Grissom realized it was Marello, making good on his promise to have sex with Sara. Son of a bitch! Grissom slugged him hard and fast, right across the face.Grissom's eyes widened when he saw Sara tearfully gripping her shirt, which had been torn in several places, to her body. Sara opened the door and got out. "Sara?" Grissom gripped her shoulders. "Did he hurt you Sara?"
"Just take me home." Sara managed through her sobs. "Get me out of here."
&&&&&&
Grissom walked Sara to her doorstep. "Sara, are you sure you don't want me to take you to Stacy's?"
"I just really need to sleep in my own bed tonight." Sara put her key in the lock. "Thank you for, uh, fighting Marello off."
"Sure." Grissom's blue eyes hardened at the mention of Marello. "I'll kill him if he ever comes near you again."
"I think a broken leg would be enough." Sara leaned against the door. "Can you come in for a few? I don't think I'm ready to be alone yet."
Grissom shifted on his feet and looked supremely uncomfortable. "Sara, I don't think I'm the best person for this. You've just been severely traumatized and Stacy would probably do better with this, and-"
"I can't explain it, Grissom, I just need you here right now." Actually, Sara could explain it. She'd loved Grissom for over ten years and right now, she needed him. "Just…please."
Grissom couldn't say no. Not after the night she'd had. "Okay." He followed her into the spacious house and closed the door. "Do you, um, want to talk about it?" Grissom really didn't want to talk about it, but right now was about what Sara needed, not what he wanted.
Sara took a deep, shuddering breath, and leaned against Grissom. Awkwardly he wrapped his arms around her, trying to control his breathing. "Thank you for coming to my rescue." She murmured. Tack this one on to the rest. You rescued me at Berkely all those years ago, you rescued me after the near-DUI, and you rescued me after my breakdown with Cath last year. And now you've rescued me again. My knight in shining fucking armor.
"You're okay now, Sara." Grissom whispered soothingly, holding her to him. You're physically okay but we're both mentally about to go around the bend. Sara lifted her head off of Grissom's shoulder and stared up at him. Without his brain's consent, his hand reached up and cupped her chin, stroking the tears away. "You're safe now." His lips barely moved.
Sara turned her head into his palm and placed a light kiss on it. "I need you, Grissom. Now more than ever." She moved her lips from his palm to his neck. What are you doing, Sara? She asked herself. You almost just got raped and now you're trying to get Grissom in bed. This isn't right, Sara. This isn't how it's supposed to happen. But despite what her brain said, Sara needed to feel him, to be loved, and to know that he had her.
"Sara, you're not ready for this." Iron will. Grissom chanted over and over to himself. There was something about Sara, something that he couldn't deny that made him want to make love to her. He wasn't a virgin. He'd lost that to the Head Coroner's daughter a year ago. But Sara was too precious to do this to. If he slept with her tonight, it would only add to the burden. Sex could never, ever be a solution to this problem.
"I need you." She whispered again, holding herself against him. "Please, give me what I need." She was pushing and she knew it.
"Sara-"
She pushed her lips against his and he was done. Iron will turned to will of glass. Grissom observed his surroundings. Bedroom. If I'm going to make a monumental mistake and screw up, I might as well make it romantic.
As if reading his thoughts, Sara broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his. The stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, before Sara silently lead him to her bedroom.
When it was over, Sara snuggled into him, using him as a shield. She couldn't say it out loud, because Grissom would surely run in the opposite direction, as fast as his legs could carry him, but she could mouth it. I love you. Sara told his shoulder, her eyes slowly closing.
TBC.
AN: Okay, so, this chapter probably sucked and you're probably all rushing to the store to buy tomatoes to be flung at me, but please understand that there is a reason for this! Which is probably really apparent…come to think of it.
I was hoping that the fact that Sara and Grissom had sex wasn't completely gonzo. I felt like because Sara was a thirty-four year old, living in the body of a seventeen year old, it was the whole mental-age-versus-physical-age deal. Like maybe at seventeen originally she wouldn't have been ready, but because it was Grissom and because she traveled back in time and is trying to make him fall for her, it would be okay. Again, please try not to shoot me!
PS: So far nobody has guessed who Stacy is. She has elements of Catherine, because there are parts of Catherine I like, but she is not Catherine. She is also neither Lady Heather, Terri Miller, or any of Grissom's other love interests. A slightly stranger guess was Ecklie before a sex-change operation and I can most confidently assure you that Stacy is not Ecklie before a sex-change operation. (Though, it would be kind of funny.) The only clue I can give you is to go back to the prologue and pay lots of attention to the dialogue.
Enjoy your weekend!