You are sooo going to hate me for this, but it's straight onto the next day, but I swear to you we'll come back to chapter 10 soon. I've not even started chapters 12 and onwards, so you'll have to be way more patient with me for a while.
Chapter 11
"The whole collection thing, is important." Sara added for levity to wake up the room. Her attempt did awaken a few brainiacs. "Whether it is something as small as a skin cell to as big as a car or an entire lorry. It's all evidence and it all has to be processed."
Clicking the projector button in her hand, Sara turned to the students. "Here we have a prime example of evidence collection."
The picture showed a racing horse in an enclosure with two people wearing CSI flack jackets and two police troopers off to the side. "As with all scenes, big or small, there is a trooper there to guard both the scene and you."
Off to the side, Grissom stood and watched, in awe with the lecture and the lecturer.
"Now we move onto the more detail of evidence collection." Sara flicked off the projector and motioned for the lights to be turned back on. "The things that need specialist involvement," She raised her right hand to point out Grissom. "Dr Gil Grissom here is not only a CSI and an Entomologist, he's my boss, so be good and make what I just said sound really important."
The room burst out into light chuckles and laughs.
Stepping onto the podium, he offered her a smile and a chuckle. "Eating out of your hand." He told her as she passed by to let him take the stage.
Grabbing the notebook they were sharing, he looked up at the crowd. "Let's move onto my favourite part. Bug analysis and the importance of being able to give a timeline and time of death."
"Excuse me?" Someone from the group spoke up.
Grissom's eyes scanned the crowd to land on a girl in about her 20's, sitting in the third row on the right. "Yes?"
The girl stood up, clutching her notepad and tucking her hair behind her ear. "I have a question for Miss Sidle."
Grissom turned to look at Sara before nodding for her to continue. "Ask your question."
Waiting a moment, the girl looked at Sara. "In the photo, there was a guard at the scene."
Sara nodded.
The girl continued. "If we have suitable safety to continue working a scene, there must be times when accidents do happen." Waiting a moment, the girl looked from Grissom back to Sara. "I was wondering if you, yourself have been in a situation where a trooper has failed to secure a scene?"
Sensing an unasked query in that line of questioning, Grissom stepped forward to address and answer, but Sara cleared her throat, getting his attention.
"That's a good question," Sara answered. "Though it's not always a case of the officer failing to do his job, but it's the suspects. In some cases, the suspect will return to the scene, for a range of reasons and sometimes you come across them, but that's why there are officers on site at all times and the training you are given in hand to hand combat and firearms always ensures you that if something should happen, you can deal with it appropriately without panicking.
Sara paused for a moment, knowing she hadn't answered the girl's question. She took a steady breath and continued on bravely. "You asked me if I'd been in a similar position and the answer is yes. A few times I've had a gun pointed at me. I was with an officer or more at each time, so I wasn't in any danger."
The girl nodded and shifted slightly, unsure of how to continue. "Thank you." She offered a small shy smile and sat down.
Grissom breathed out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding and smiled across the room at Sara, giving her a brief nod of praise.
The seminar continued for almost an hour before it finished. The final few minutes gave them enough time to answer any questions, though they would be available to answer more questions if they had them.
Sara was sitting at the desk on the podium, going over notes in her notepad and writing things down while Grissom answered some of the more advanced Entomological questions. She looked up from time to time to see the group get smaller and less loud.
Looking up one last time before packing up, she noticed the young girl who had stood up in the middle of the lecture to ask her question about crime scene safety. This girl, was, seemingly, flirting with the professor. Grissom, however, was preoccupied with writing something down.
Sara could see how the girl was looking him over. The way her body swayed slightly from side to side and her hands playing with the corners of her books in her arms. It was like she was holding herself back from touching him.
Of course she noticed this, because the first time she met Grissom was at a similar lecture and she had stood in front of him, holding her books close, but she actually asked questions and made notes, and he looked at her when he spoke. Something inside her sparked and she had to thrust it away before it grew and all her efforts to hide those emotions would be worthless.
Gathering up the last of the slides and files, Sara glanced around the room. Trying to distract herself from the display, she turned her mind to other matters and nodded almost to herself with the feeling she had achieved something with these students.
Leaving the room and walking towards the front doors of the lecture theatre, she pushed through the door with difficulty, trying to balance the box under her left arm and her briefcase in her right hand. It wasn't long before she knew things were going to start falling and she just managed to walk across the courtyard and through the, thankfully, open doors to the hotel and headed towards the elevators.
Once she stood, waiting, she managed to place the box on the floor and her briefcase was switched to her left hand so she could check her glove. It had been hot, but with a nice breeze, giving her and everyone else the warm atmosphere and the cool that came with it.
As usual, her hand felt clammy and warm inside her glove. Sighing and looking around her quickly, she pealed back the glove at her wrist and dried her palm on her blouse. Pulling the glove back, she picked up the box once again and juggled it, only to have it slip from her grasp and land on the floor with a resounding thud.
The elevator doors opened and two people got off. Sara was reaching for the box when someone else picked it out of her grasp.
"I thought you would have waited for me." Grissom's voice was tinged with sadness as he stepped onto the elevator. He looked at her as he pressed their floor number. "You didn't need to carry this." He lifted the box in his hands for a second.
Sara shrugged and held her briefcase against her chest and hugged it to her. "I didn't want to butt in or anything, just to tell you I was heading back. There wasn't any need."
He sighed. "I was only answering some questions."
"You were being ogled by that girl." She muttered, instantly stiffening and growing nervous. "Anyway, you have a lunch meeting."
Grissom stared at her for a moment, then registered what she had said. He nodded and looked up at the lights highlighting the different floors in their assent. "It's just lunch, really. Catch up on old times and talk." He looked back at her and smiled slightly. "We won't be there long. We can do something afterwards if you want?"
Sara's eyes widened with surprise. "I thought it was just you, Professor Collins and some colleagues?"
Waiting a beat, Grissom furrowed his brows in confusion. "You're not hungry?"
Her own face shone with confusion at this line of questioning. "It's for Entomologists only."
Looking at her, he sensed there was something more and had a good idea of what it was. "It's a lunch meeting. Nothing says you can't be there."
"I'll be fine." She assured him with a brief fleeting smile.
Watching her turn away from him, he couldn't help feeling like she didn't want to be seen with him. But why would that be if she was assisting his lectures with him? He was confused, and worried.
"I'd like you to come." He said softly, staring at her profile, waiting for any kind of response.
Sara looked down at her hand worrying away at the catch on her briefcase.
Turning to her fully, he stepped closer to touch her. Though he had touched her the night before to try and give her the comfort she wouldn't allow herself, he felt the nervousness of all those years seep back into him, only slightly to stall him, but he soon covered the hand that was playing with the catch.
"Don't hide away Sara. Remember, I'm here. Come with me. It's only lunch." He paused for a moment, gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "You need to eat. I know you're hungry. You barely ate breakfast."
"I wasn't hungry." She pathetically protested, sighing tiredly.
"Fine." She breathed, looking up from their hands to see his blue eyes trained on her.
"Don't hide from me honey, please." He pleaded, knowing deep down that she needs comfort, but so did he.
She shook her head sadly and looked at the doors as they finally opened. "I won't." She assured him.
Sitting at the large rounded table in the large room of many other professors and teachers of all areas of forensics, Sara couldn't help but feel like an outsider once again. She didn't have the qualifications they all had, or the experience. It was unsettling to sit and listen to people talking and not know what half of them are saying.
Mostly it was about Entomology, but there were brief introductions of forensics that Sara could understand and even comment on, now and then that is. She was surrounded by four Entomologists, Grissom included, with three other women, also in some area of forensics that Sara didn't have much knowledge over.
"So, Sara," One of the women decided to rouse her of her thoughts. "How long have you been a CSI?"
Looking at the sudden collection of audience, Sara returned her glass of water to the table and clasped it under the table with her right. "Um, around eight years I suppose."
"What's your area of expertise?" She asked.
Sitting up straighter, Sara squared her shoulders. Though she had listened to their conversation and was included, she couldn't remember all their names, so just answered the questioned with a small smile. "Materials and Element Analysis."
The smile faulted when she felt someone cover her hands that were nervously mashing together below the clothed table.
"You'll be well into computers then?" One of the professors laughed. "Personally, I can't get my head around then. I suppose I'm old school."
Sara's smile returned when she remembered a similar line from a best friend long ago. But that was at the back of her mind right now. Her hand was starting to shake as she realised it was Grissom's hand prying both hers apart with his one big hand.
She looked up at him, but he was talking to Jared. The others fell back into light conversation, but Sara was battling with what was currently happening to her.
The panic really started to set in when he managed to pull her glove off. A second later, his palm was pressed against hers as his index finger and thumb lightly caressed the side of her hand. She was frozen with fear almost. She hadn't taken her glove off in public, ever, at least since the explosion. Only her doctor and herself had seen her hand, and the rest of her injuries.
Grissom had seen them last night, but only her neck and hand. Briefly as it was. Now he was holding her hand, in public, without the glove.
"If you'll excuse me." Sara stood, tugging her hand free from Grissom's and stuffing it hastily into her pants pocket so no one would see when she left. "I think I need to rest. I'm still not feeling too well."
The woman, who had asked her the questions, looked up concerned. "Will you be alright Sara? Do you want me to come with you?"
Sara's eyes suddenly had a flash of seeing her mother asking the same question. Shaking her head with a small hesitant smile, she declined the offer. "That's ok. Thanks. It was nice meeting you all."
Grissom quickly wiped his mouth on his napkin before pushing back his chair. "I better make sure she's ok."