TITLE: When the Rain Comes
Chapter 4: You Can't Always Get What You Want
A/N: This is the sequel to my first Sandle story, "A Balancing Act". Thanks for all the wonderful reviews of that story, and I hope ya'll enjoy this one just as much. This plot bunny actually came to me before the one from the first story did, but I just had to write the other story first.
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or any of the characters…just borrowing them for a while!
Pairing: Sandle.
Rating: T
Synopsis: Now that Greg and Sara are finally together, will they stay that way? An old flame of Greg's shows up and jealousy and danger get in the way of his and Sara's happiness. Will it ultimately be enough to ruin their relationship?
--
Greg Sanders rolled over in his bed, wrapped in his sheets, to silence his alarm clock. His sleep had been fitful and restless. He lacked the will to get out of bed, but he knew that he must get up and face the day. He had to keep going, no matter what, and keep believing that the whole thing would all blow over in a day or two. He kept telling himself that. But it had already been a day or two. And nothing had changed. At work, Sara only spoke to him when she had to, and when she did, her voice was chilled and emptier of emotion than Greg though possible.
It ripped his heart out. He wanted so badly just to reach out, to grab her, anything, to ask her what the hell was wrong, but he couldn't.
He got out of bed stiffly and went over to the bathroom, picking up his toothbrush and brushing his teeth. When he finished, he rinsed and just stared hazily in the mirror at his tired, bloodshot eyes. Turning the tap back on, his filled his hands with water and splashed it over his face. Then he picked up the hand towel by the sink and dried slowly.
And he began one more day without her.
--
It was Sara's day off. She turned over restlessly in her bed, trying to doze off. But the harder she tried, the more awake she became. Finally she gave up, threw off the covers, and got out of bed. She walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, looking inside for a moment. Not seeing anything appetizing, she shut the door and stood in front of it.
All she wanted was him. Every time she saw him, she wanted to reach out and touch him. She wanted to be lost in his arms. She wanted him back so badly. But she couldn't make herself. She couldn't make herself take that first step, because she knew that when she did, he would shut her down and hurt her like she had hurt him. Although, she thought, could that really be much worse than this pain? She was so tired of the pain. She rubbed her tired eyes. Then she opened the fridge and took out a beer.
--
Greg pulled up to the crime scene location. It was pretty far from Vegas, right off one of the highways, but only desert for miles in each direction. A passing motorist had caught sight of the boy by the roadway and called it in.
Greg shut off his car and climbed out, bringing his kit with him. Looking around, he spotted his supervisor and walked over to where he was standing, near the body. "Hey, Griss," he greeted, "what's going on?"
Grissom looked up, nodding a greeting. "Dead body was dumped here. It's supposed to rain tonight, so I've already photographed everything. You can help me put down evidence markers. I know it's Sara's day off, but since we need to process this crime scene as quickly as we can, I've paged her to come and help." He looked up at a pair of approaching headlights. "That must be her now."
Great, Greg thought. They hadn't worked a crime scene together since…well, since that day in the rain. He approached her car slowly, wanting to make sure that they were going to be fine working together. He watched as she got out of her car slowly, stumbling as she did so. She spotted him waiting to talk to her and walked over to him. "Hey, Greg," she said. He could tell instantly that she'd been drinking, not only by the odor of alcohol, but by the way she was slurring her words. "Did you come out here to…to break my heart again? Huh?"
"Sara, you've been drinking," he said tersely, taking her arm and leading her away from the scene.
"I just…had a few beers. Can't remember how many," she said, pulling futilely at the grip he had on her arm.
Greg reached into her pocket and grabbed her keys. "You're lucky you didn't get in a wreck on the way here," he said roughly, not wanting to think about that. He motioned one of the cops at the perimeter to come over. "Hey," he said to the cop, "could you take her home for me? She's too…sick to drive herself home." With a knowing nod, the police officer led Sara over to his patrol car, putting her in the back seat. Greg quickly wrote Sara's address down and handed it to the officer. "Thanks a lot, man."
"Anytime."
Greg watched for a moment as the patrol car drove away, and then he pocketed her keys and went back to the crime scene, shaking his head. It's just one thing after another. But this wasn't the time or place to try to figure out what the heck was going on in his life. He had a crime scene to process, and not much time to do it.
Grissom glanced up as Greg approached. "Where's Sara?" he asked.
"She was really sick," Greg lied, "too sick to do the scene, so I had one of the cops take her home. Looks like it's just you and me."
"Well, let's get started then."
--
Grissom and Greg had collected all of the evidence and the body of the young woman was on its way to the crime lab. The sky had just begun lightly spitting and the two CSIs were sweeping the surrounding area with flashlights. "You know, Greg," Grissom said slowly, "I've noticed a certain… acerbity between you and Sara recently. This is something that's going to affect the two of you working together, is it?"
Greg shook his head. "No, you don't have anything to worry about, Grissom." He tried to give his boss a false smile, but it just didn't come. "At least, I hope not," he added under his breath.
"Good." After a few moments of silence, Grissom spoke again. "Greg, come over here and look at this." Greg walked over to the spot the Grissom was indicating, shining his flashlight on the ground. "Tell me what you make of this."
"Well," Greg started, looking at the indentations in the sand, "it kinda looks like two objects were dragged." He continued walking beside the indentations, which led his further from the scene. "They continue on at relatively consistent intervals…pretty far…" he said, shining his light further in the distance, revealing more of the same indentations. "As for what made them, I don't know…maybe….uhh…"
"Feet." Grissom finished for him. I think whoever dragged the body here was literally dragging his feet as he walked. Good job, Greg." He leaned down and photographed the tracks.
"Uh, thanks…" Greg said. Why didn't I think of that?
The two CSIs continued following the tracks for a couple hundred yards when Grissom spotted something. Kneeling down, he quickly took a photograph of it and then lifted it from the sand with his forceps. Squinting, he examined it closely. "Looks like some kind of…glue cement. Bag it, Greg." He turned around to hand the evidence to Greg, but he was gone.
--
Greg continued following the footprints, not noticing when Grissom, who was walking behind him, stopped to examine something.
He continued on for maybe another few hundred yards when he noticed something large just in front of the tree line. An older model Ford Bronco. He snapped a picture with his camera. "Grissom, look!" He looked behind him, but Grissom wasn't there. Greg walked closer to the car, noticing that the rear door was open. He came closer, shining his light in the driver's window. What he saw shocked him. "Grissom!" he shouted, running the rest of the way towards the SUV. He flung the driver's door open and felt the pulse of the man slumped over at the wheel. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the beat beneath his fingers. Greg quickly scanned the man and didn't notice any injuries. The man was broad shouldered, husky and strong looking. It appeared that he was just passed out.
"Grissom!" he called again, but receiving no answer, he impatiently pulled out his cell phone. Before he could dial, it was sent spinning out of his hands. He looked up in surprise to see the man awake and staring at him with a fierce intensity. Greg's knees suddenly seemed weak, and he could barely keep himself up. He looked down and was stunned to see blood staining his jacket. Then the pain hit so strongly that he was nauseated, and it was too much. The world started spinning, faster and faster, until it faded completely.
The man stood up shakily and caught Greg as he was falling, lifting him up with a little difficulty and putting him in the back of the Bronco. He threw the bloody knife in next to Greg and slammed the rear door shut. Then he got back in the Bronco, started the engine, and drove away.
--
TBC!
Please review! Thanks. Haha angstiness here we come. Poor Greggo.
Chibigirl: Yes, Sara is being rather unfair. Be she does have a reason, and we're getting to that.
Csi-sam-sanders: Thanks, glad you liked it…hope you like this one as well!
SleepyHead: Yes, these Sandles were a match made in heaven…nothing can keep them apart!
Kegel: Yeah, I agree Sara was a little harsh, but she has a lot of relationship insecurities. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!
Jewelbaby: I like Nicky so much more now that I've written about him. He'll work his way into this one too!
Jayme Beth: Thank you for the review! Ha ha I doubt I could keep Sara and Greg apart for long…
Juliette: LOL, I can't give away any details…because I haven't made them up yet! Glad you're liking the story. Thanks for the review!
Pistonsgirl: YES! Greg angst! Here it is. You know I couldn't go for long without it! LOL.
ObsessedTWfan: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the story! BTW, you aren't a Third Watch fan by any chance are you? I love that show! I was so pissed when it got cancelled.
LocoGreggo: I've actually been a lot slower updating my stories now that summer vacation! When college is back in session I get faster. Must be because I try to procrastinate from doing my homework! LOL.