Disclaimer: I do not own any of
these characters… I'm just writing down a few ideas of mine and that's all…
don't sue, I'm poor…
Summary: Human negligence can cause
a lot of damages but sometimes adrenaline and emergency are the things you need
to heal your wounds and come to terms with your issues. There's a point in
everyone's life when they realize their own issues… but can our CSIs come over
their problems to save one of their own or will it prevent them in saving the
life of their colleague? Focus is the keyword…
Pairing: C/W
SPOILER: Weeping Willows (not major though)
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FOCUS
Chapter2
Sara gave a start. For a moment she was sure she was going to die. About three seconds later she realized she was still alive. Obviously she wasn't the only one left confused. She lifted her gaze and saw the eyes of the robber.
"What the-" but he couldn't finish the sentence. Sara gave another start when she heard another gun go off and watched as the guy hit the floor. From that point nothing registered on her mind. She saw Brass running inside, followed by other officers. They made sure the two robbers were dead but she just sat there, frozen.
She couldn't exactly identify the feeling in that moment. It wasn't pure relief or shock. No, she didn't feel either of them. She felt totally blank. She could feel her own heartbeat in its normal rate and it took a while before she actually heard Brass. Turning her attention to him, she noticed the captain kneeling in front of her, shaking her slightly to get her attention.
"Sara, answer me! Are you okay?" He asked and he seemed upset but she didn't care. She just felt… too numb to care. She felt nothing. When he asked for what seemed like the 100th time, she finally nodded, meeting his gaze to make sure he understood her. Or the other way around, she didn't know. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw as a cop helped Vartann sit up. He appeared to have a wound on his left arm but he was alive.
Suddenly she felt lighter, as if she just got rid of a heavy weight. It took her almost a minute before her mind registered that Brass pulled officer Connell off her. He saw a mixture of relief and rage on the captain's face. Vartann was immediately escorted out with the help of two officers while Brass looked around as if he was looking for something. Then he motioned for another cop to come closer before he turned back to her.
"Sara, where's Catherine?"
"Out..ahm…outside." She uttered, finally finding her voice.
"Outside where?" He asked but she didn't need to answer, he noticed the open window on his own. "Alright. Officer Ryan will take you out! Just go with him." Sara stared at him without a word. "Sara?"
"Alright." She said and went to stand up.
Brass stood up and went to the window. Leaning out he looked down and saw Warrick staring up at him with his hand on Catherine's back. Brass let out a sigh before he spoke.
"Now, you two look really cute down there." Warrick, seeing his face, just grinned back.
"Is everything alright?" Warrick asked while Catherine sat up.
"Not everything but it's safe now. Sara's fine, Vartann's only injured but we lost two of our own."
"Damn."
"Yeah. But are you two okay?"
"I'm fine but Catherine's got a bit of a problem."
"I'm okay." She spoke and stood up. Warrick watched without a word as she tried to walk, only to learn she wasn't that okay after all. "Not a word." She spoke before he could have said anything. Warrick threw a quick glance at Brass, trying to hide the smile from Catherine. He then stood up and without further ado, picked her up.
"Warrick-"
"You're fine, I know." He cut her off and began carrying her towards their SUV.
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Grissom frantically tried to get to the house but the officer, by the order of Brass, didn't let either him, Nick or Greg leave the safe side of the SUV. He knew three of his guys were missing and there were more shots ringing out. Before his worry could have gotten to a higher level, Sara appeared at the end of the SUV, escorted by a cop. Just a quick glance at her expression made it obvious that something wasn't right and Nick and Greg were on her side immediately.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Nick asked.
"No I'm… I'm not hurt." She said and pulled herself together. The sudden change of attitude and facial expression didn't go unnoticed by the men. Grissom didn't like this casual tone. Three seconds ago disbelief and shock covered her face and now she seemed normal again, as if nothing on earth happened. Exactly this behavior spoke volumes to Grissom… something horrible has happened and the fact that Catherine and Warrick were still nowhere to be found, bothered him.
"What happened? We heard the shootings." He said, stepping closer and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"The first officer… he… uhm… made a big mistake. He didn't secure the place."
"You mean the suspect is still here?" Greg asked.
"Suspects." She said. "And were. They are… dead." The way Sara spoke the last word had something unnerving in it.
"The ambulance is on it's way. They will do a check up-"
"I'm fine, I'm not hurt." She cut her boss off. "But Vartann, he got injured. Where is he?"
"We haven't seen him." Greg told her.
"Maybe he was taken to the other side." Nick spoke. "Now only one question's left." He said, turning to Grissom.
"Where are Catherine and Warrick?"
"They are here." Turning their heads to the direction of his voice, they spotted Warrick stopping in front of them, with Catherine in his arms.
Grissom slid the SUV door open to give Warrick place to put her down. Nick jumped forward to help his friend. Even though Catherine was obviously light and Warrick was strong, still, Nick wanted to help instead of standing there and watching. He owed them that… they helped him too.
"The ambulance will be here in a matter of minutes." Grissom said, stopping in front of Catherine. "Where are you hurt?" He asked, scanning her everywhere.
"I'm okay!" Catherine said, sitting on the mat in the car. Upon noticing the skeptical look on Nick's face, she went on. "It's nothing serious it's just a bit of a sprained ankl- AAAAAHH!" She cried out in pain and roughly pushed Grissom's hand away from her ankle.
"Catherine, it's a bit of a broken ankle." Grissom said. Before she could have replied, the sound of the ambulance interrupted them. In a few seconds not only one but two of them parked down not far from their SUV and paramedics got out.
Warrick waved at them and called out that they needed someone there and one of them motioned to the other to get the kit. Grissom straightened up and took a step back to give them space to check out Catherine. He stopped right next to Sara. For a while he watched silently as one of the paramedics took a better look at Catherine's ankle before he turned away, focusing his attention on Sara.
"You should let them examine you too."
"I'm fine." She said, turning to him. "Really." She said in a lighter tone.
"Whose blood is that on you?" Grissom asked, taking a glance at the small blood stain on her top. Sara looked down and just stared at herself. "Sara?" Grissom asked.
"Officer Connell paid the prize for his mistake." Was all she said. Grissom nodded. He silently watched as she glanced back down at her T-Shirt. He saw as she just stared at it for long moments before she raised a hand, running it down on her shirt as if trying to wipe it away. He saw that her hand was shaking, too.
"Alright. We'll bring her in." The paramedic announced as he stood up. "Lady, are you injured?" He asked, noticing the blood on Sara.
"No. It's not my blood." The paramedic nodded.
"I'm going to get the-"
"No, don't bother. I'll just carry her there." Warrick told the paramedic before he looked at Grissom. "I'm going with her." Warrick's tone indicated a statement rather than any enquiry for permission but Grissom didn't mind. He would have gone with her himself if he could… but now that they had even more dead, he knew he couldn't leave. He just nodded in approval.
"Are you ready?" Warrick asked as he slid his arm around her waist but Catherine didn't reply. She was just staring in front of her.
"Ma'am?" The paramedic bent down to look straight into her eyes but she reached out a hand and pushed him out of her sight. Catherine frowned. She could have bet she saw someone standing at the end of the street, just right at the corner, staring at them. No. Staring at her, she thought. She shook her head slightly, trying to push the thoughts away. She was just going paranoid… after such an experience it didn't surprise her.
"Yes, sorry. I was just thinking." She said and turned to Warrick. He just gave her a reassuring smile before he picked her up again. When Warrick and Catherine disappeared behind the ambulance, Grissom turned to Sara.
"You have to go home."
"No, you need people here, I-"
"He's right." Brass spoke, stopping behind her. "I won't allow you to go back in there." He said firmly. "Ryan!" He called and the officer appeared. "Take Miss Sidle home."
"Yes, sir."
Sara just stood there staring at Brass and then Grissom but they both held the same expression. With a last glance at Nick and Greg she gave in and turned around.
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Grissom, kneeling on the floor, just stared at the lifeless form of Officer Connell, Sara's voice echoing in his mind. "He paid the prize for his mistake." He damn did, Grissom thought. Nick and Greg checked if there were anyone else upstairs but they didn't find anything new. While processing with their own work, Grissom couldn't help but notice that Brass was fuming. The Captain's effort to try and stay calm didn't work for he was too angry.
Grissom knew what was bothering him. It wasn't only the fact that Catherine, Sara and even Vartann could have ended up a lot worse, but he lost two of his guys because of a mistake. A mistake that –as Vartann has told them- could have been avoided. When Grissom first heard about the negligence of the officer, he was furious himself. But now, seeing him dead in front of him, he knew his fury should have been the biggest consequence that the young man should have faced. But it was Vegas… the city where you either win big or lose big. Unfortunately Officer Connell didn't belong to the lucky ones.
"Where is he?" Grissom heard the too familiar voice from the door and stood up. By the time he turned around he found himself face to face with Conrad Ecklie. Sofia followed him and greeted Grissom with a nod of her head before she joined Nick and Greg.
"I heard about it. That's unacceptable!" He said and Grissom, for once, agreed.
"But they are ok. More or less. I sent Sara home and Warrick went to the hospital with Catherine."
"Hospital?"
"Yeah, might be a broken ankle." Ecklie nodded before he took a step aside and started to look around.
"Careful." Grissom warned him. "You might destroy some evidence." Ecklie's head snapped back to him but for some reason he didn't shoot back.
"I'm heading back to the office. Have to notify a few people." Grissom just nodded, happy to hear that he was leaving. "I'll drop by at the hospital on my way back."
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Warrick sat outside in the waiting room. In the last 45 minutes no one has said anything to him and even though he knew Catherine's injuries weren't too serious, waiting annoyed him. The only person he communicated with not too long ago was Grissom. His boss called a few minutes ago, asking about Catherine and letting him know to expect Ecklie. He wasn't too thrilled to hear about him and wished the doctors would be faster and they could get out before Ecklie actually arrived.
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Catherine concentrated on the ceiling above her. She got a pain killer and it worked fine. While waiting for the doctor to finish with her, she got lost in her thoughts. Thinking back at the events she suddenly realized she could have ended up dead. Her whole day seemed to be weird and it unsettled her. She had no idea what happened to Sara and Vartann inside but she knew she was even luckier than them. For a moment she wondered how Sara was doing, whether the events wore her out as much as they did her. Or maybe even more, after all she was closer to the "fire". But Sara was a strong girl, she thought, or at least she always appeared to be.
Catherine didn't know what got into her, her thoughts wandered to places where she has never been before. She thought about Warrick's arms around her, trying to cover her. She realized that was probably the point when her adrenaline stopped rising and she managed to calm down. She felt safe there. Still, something bugged her. She didn't know why but she felt uneasy all day…. even before the incident at the crime scene.
"We're done, Miss Willows." The doctor announced, startling her. "It isn't broken but I put a fixing bandage on it. For the next three days you have to stay home."
"I'm sorry, doc, but I have to work." She said, leaning forward.
"Miss Willows. If you stay put and follow my advice and do not try to stand or walk or do anything that is physically straining, you can go back to work in about three days. If you do not let it rest, it will take much longer to heel. Your choice." Catherine hated that the doctor was right.
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Grissom shut the engine and let out a sigh. He glanced at the building in front of him. The building in which Sara's apartment was. He leant back in his seat and closed his eyes. It was still dark outside, the morning sun still nowhere in sight. He was off work a lot earlier anyway. Grissom wondered why Ecklie let he and his team go home earlier even though he had a strong suspicion that it wasn't Ecklie's idea at all. In spite of being a workaholic, Grissom didn't mind leaving work this time.
He knew he wanted to check on both Catherine and Sara but things didn't go too smooth. He called Catherine to ask if she was already at home but his inquiry after her wellbeing turned into a smaller fight. He knew they had some unresolved issues and the stress pressed upon her just a few hours before definitely didn't help that matter. She had that tone again. That tone that she sometimes had with him ever since their conflict about her visit at the Highball bar. Grissom knew he was unfair with her back then but he was annoyed and Grissom had to admit he miscounted this time. He thought she would just forget about it like they did with their other fights… but this time she didn't. He could also feel the disappointment and annoyance of the fact that she was demoted.
Unfortunately he got annoyed himself and their conversation turned into a… rather strong disagreement, which ended up with Catherine hanging up on him. He then called Warrick, who quickly told him he was driving her home. At least she was in good hands, Grissom thought. He, however, didn't hear about Sara ever since he sent her home.
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It took the doorbell to ring three times before Sara finally opened the door for him. When he saw her, he immediately knew that Sara's injures were not physical. She just walked back inside without a word, leaving the door open for him to come in. Grissom silently took a seat next to her on the sofa, waiting for her to say something. When he realized he was the one who had to start the conversation, he cleared his throat.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." She replied, maybe a bit too quick.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about, Grissom." She said and silence settled down.
Grissom couldn't talk to Vartann yet, so he still had no idea what happened inside the building. But just a look at Sara told him it must have been close to a nightmare. He didn't want to push her but he knew the only way for him to help her was to find out what happened. Knowing that pushing her was not a good idea this time, he decided to settle down in her pace, waiting for her to be ready to talk. Fortunately, Sara took the first step… yet again.
"I… I don't think I can go to work tomorrow." Was all she said and that was when Grissom knew he had reason to worry. Sara Sidle's life was her work… and if she didn't want to go to work, that definitely meant that something was wrong.
"Alright. Take…. just take as much time as you want." Silence settled between them again for a short while before Grissom spoke again. "Maybe you should talk to someone. Maybe a shrink or…" He trailed off but she didn't show give any reactions. "… or me". He finally finished.
"I just want to be alone for a while." Was all she said and Grissom understood. This wasn't the right time. With a sigh he stood up.
"If you need anything, call me." Sara just nodded. "Sara." She looked up at him. "Call me."
"I will." She said and stood up to escort him to the door.
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When Warrick shut the engine in front of Catherine's house, her mother was waiting outside. Catherine barely had time to open the car door when Lily was already there, tearing it open.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" Catherine's mother asked, obviously upset. "I wanted to go to the hospital but by the time I found out about it, Gil told me you were on your way home." She said and hugged Catherine tight. Catherine didn't have time to say anything because in the next moment her mother pulled away and grasping Catherine's shoulders, fumed. "WHY didn't you CALL me? Do you have an idea how worried I was!"
"Mom, it's okay. Didn't Gil also tell you that it's nothing serious?"
"He did but still I had no word from you! I was SICK WORRIED, Catherine!" But Catherine just rolled her eyes. As annoyed as it made her, she still understood her mother. She would have reacted the same if it had been about Lindsey.
"I know. But I'm okay."
"Sort of." Warrick finally interrupted, receiving a glare from Catherine. "She almost broke her left ankle. Thankfully it's just sprained but the doctor ordered her to rest for at least three days."
"Oh rest she will get, I can promise you that." Her mother said firmly. When Catherine opened her mouth to say something, she was cut off again. "No arguments here!" Lily said and helped her out of the car.
"Let me help."
"No, Warrick, you've helped a lot already. It's okay, I'll be fine." Catherine said, leaning slightly against her mother to support her own weight.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Call me if you need anything!"
"Alright." She nodded and watched with her mother as Warrick got into his car and drove away. Catherine stared after his car and a small smile appeared on her face. His offer and caring that he gave her all day warmed her heart. But her smile faded when she spotted something on the pavement not too far away. Uneasiness crept into her for a moment and she didn't like it. Her instinct told her something wasn't right and she had felt it enough times that day.
"Catherine, are you okay?" Her mother interrupted her. She turned to her mother, averting her eyes from the street.
"Yes… I just, let's just go inside…NOW, okay?" She said but saw the confused look on her mother's face. "Ah I just want to see Lindsey. It was a tough day."
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Grissom stood in the middle of his office, reading a case file. He was facing a hectic day. With Sara and Catherine away -as a result of the events from previous day, he was short of people. Things didn't start off too well anyway. Sara was out of touch, all he found was a message from her that she needed a bit more time than one day. It bothered him that she didn't ask for his help. Grissom was used to be the one whom his guys turned to if they needed help or even if they didn't, he at least knew what was going on. He always felt ready if any of them needed him. But this time it was different.
So there he was, one hour before his duty started, waiting for the back-up guys to come, while problems and tensions seemed to pile up. Sara seemed to cut herself away from everybody. If this wouldn't have been enough, Catherine didn't call for his help either and he was somewhat hurt that she called Warrick earlier to take her to Ecklie. Ecklie, who, as Grissom was told, couldn't help the urgency to talk to her and make her sign a few papers because of the accident.
Grissom of course knew why she didn't call him. There was a time when he would have been her first call but not since that gap appeared between them. Unfortunately this gap seemed to be a lot harder to get rid of than what he first thought and he wondered if they were ever going to be as close as they used to be.
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Catherine got out of Warrick's car, supporting herself with the walking stick that they picked up from the hospital on their way home. The doctor had said it would be useful in case she needed to walk. Catherine had to admit the doctor was right and she couldn't go to work even if she wanted to. Her ankle hurt like hell and maybe this short break was going to do good for her anyway. It gave her a bit of a chance to interact with Lindsey, who, not expecting this new chance with her mother, had already made plans for the night. She had arranged with a classmate of hers that she would sleep at their house and as much as Catherine wanted to be with her, she insisted that Lindsey went to her friend.
The reason was simple. She couldn't expect her daughter to forget about her schedule and previously arranged meeting just because Catherine Willows finally had some time off. Even though it did felt damn good when Lindsey offered and would have been more than happy to stay at home, Catherine wanted to be fair with her. As a deal, they agreed that instead of the planned two nights, Lindsey will sleep at her friend only one night so they can spend the rest of Catherine's unexpected holiday together.
"Let me help you." Warrick said as he stopped next to her. He was such a gentleman, she thought and suddenly found it hard to turn him down. But she had to.
"No, Warrick. You're already late. I'm okay." She said, placing a hand on his chest.
"Sure?" He said, place his hand on hers.
"Sure." She smiled back.
She waited for him to turn around and get into his car but he didn't move. He just stood there, seemingly hesitant, making Catherine's heart beat faster with each second. For a moment he looked as if he was about to say something but then he remained silent. He just stared into her eyes for a few more seconds before his smile grew and he leant forward. Catherine stood stoned as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Alright. Call me if you need anything." He said and this time he did turn around. She mentally kicked herself and managed to smile again when he looked back at her.
Warrick and his car were already out of sight long ago but Catherine still couldn't avert her eyes from the direction where he just disappeared. She just stood, confused. She didn't dare to think of the possibility of what that might have meant. No, it couldn't be, she thought.
She only realized that she was standing outside in the nightfall, alone, when her phone gave a beeping sound. Taking it out of her bag, she realized the battery was off and she couldn't even turn it back on. She turned around and entered her house. Lindsey was all set to go, she wanted to catch her in time to say her good bye.
Closing the door, Catherine put her bag down and a bit awkwardly though but made her way further into the house.
"Ah there you are!" Lily said, putting down a napkin before she walked out of the kitchen. "So, I'm dropping Lindsey off at Alicia. Then I'll go home, grab a few things and I'll be back in… about an hour."
"Alright, mom. Take it easy." Catherine said, watching her mother grabbing her stuff in a hurry and she didn't like it. Her mother had a bad habit of being hectic sometimes. Catherine still wondered how on earth did she have a driving license. "No need to rush. I'll be fine."
"Oh I know you'll be. You have company." The way her mother said this, made Catherine arch an eyebrow. Her tone was overly sweet and suggestive and that was what Catherine didn't like. Her mother was not supposed to be suggestive… usually what pleased her mother, annoyed her. So if her mother was so smug about something, she was most probably going to be annoyed about it.
"Company?" She repeated.
"Yes. You know Catherine, you really should introduce more friends of yours to me. It was always about the bad ones."
"Bad ones?" Catherine repeated, starting to be annoyed.
"Yes. But this time it's different. Howard is different than the others. I really, really like him." Catherine was shocked.
"Mom. You never liked any of my male friends." She pointed out. "And who the hell is Howard?"
"Ah, Catherine." Her mother rolled her eyes and let go of the topic. She knew Catherine would not talk about it –again- so instead of getting into a fight with her, she picked up Lindsey's stuff. "Lindsey." She shouted toward the door which lead outside. "We have to go."
"Mom!" Catherine was definitely annoyed at that point. She furiously turned after her mother, ready to get into the fight that Lily tried to avoid, only to be interrupted by Lindsey. Catherine's daughter passed her by and took her bag from her grandmother. She then walked back to her mother to give her a kiss. Catherine just threw a glance at Lily, a look that told her they were not finished yet.
"Call me if you're there." Catherine told her daughter.
"Don't worry, Catherine." Her mother said, opening the door. "She'll be fine. You just relax with Howard here." Lily said, ushering Lindsey out through the door while waving the other hand to the direction of her visitor. The visitor that Catherine totally forgot about. Catherine's brows furrowed again, confusion all over her face regarding "WHAT HOWARD".
"Bye mom! Bye Howard!" Lindsey waved before Lily shut the front door.
Catherine just threw a quick glance to the direction where Lindsey just waved at a second before but she immediately jerked her head back in the moment she realized "what Howard" it was. Her eyes went wide and she gripped the walking stick tighter to support her weight. In the middle of her house, Catherine found herself face to face with none other than Howard Delhomme.
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To Be Continued…
(Clarification BUT also might be SPOILER: For those who might not remember: Howard Delhomme is the killer from season 4's "After The Show". Catherine became his next obsession after he murdered two models.)
And thanks a LOT for the reviews, guys! And sorry for yet another cliffhanger... but that's just the fun of it, isn't it? gg
