My Best Enemy
Chapter Four
A/N: I know it's been long time since I've updated any of my stories. Without guilt, I can blame that on wonderful authors like Hazeleyes, Hazelmom, Joan Powers, Ms. Maggs, Moggie, ScullyAsTrinity, Zennie, and a dozen others that have totally distracted me. Seriously, it's been a tough six months and I needed the break. Thanks for those who let me know that they are still interested.
Grissom's Office…
Dana Karlin had a negative influence on Sara.
Grissom reached this conclusion as Brass ruthlessly relayed the details of Sara's latest escapade with her new best friend.
"Yeah, the guys said our Sara and Officer Karlin did a Salsa dance that was so hot…"
Grissom did not even want to imagine Sara Salsa dancing. Besides, it was supposed to be a stuffy, formal Policeman's Ball, not Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
"…talk about girl on girl action…" Brass continued animatedly.
Did he miss something? Was Sara dating Dana? Most importantly, was Sara bi-sexual? Not that there was anything wrong with being bi-sexual. But, what the hell?
"…in that dress. I heard it was a knockout. A slinky, backless number with a split up to her-"
"Brass!" Grissom huffed, not appreciating his friend's thorough commentary. "It wasn't completely backless."
"You saw the dress?"
"Yes, I saw the dress. Now can we please move on?"
"Gilllll? I thought we were buddies."
"Jim, please. You're giving me a headache."
"My ass! You've been holding out! Spill! I need details, Bugman!"
"Don't you have work to do?" Grissom whined as he stood, suddenly finding renewed interest in the odd collections that lined his shelves.
"Nothing more interesting than this."
In the hallway…
Sara tried to relax as she approached Grissom's office. She had decided to take Dana's advice and be more aggressive with Grissom. Sara had thought she was being aggressive before by asking Grissom to dinner. His outright rejection stung, however, Sara realized now that her approach had been wrong. Regrouped, her objective at this point, was to simply give Grissom fair warning. She was a mission and there was only one acceptable outcome.
Obviously, Grissom was interested. He'd been receptive to their mild flirting and PSV's. Also, he'd been on the verge of asking her out on at least two occasions, to date. Then there was that whole scene in the Break Room when she had come in to show off the dress and collect her winnings. These reasons alone guaranteed that Sara's mission would not meet a similar fate. At the very least, this would give Grissom the encouragement, he evidently needed, to get his ass in gear and do something about 'this.'
Sara rounded the corner with confidence, pushed open Grissom's slightly ajar door and caught the end of his conversation with Brass.
Grissom's Office…
"Sara's an adult, she can go out and dance with whomever she please." Grissom defended.
"I agree, but it'll never be with you if you don't put yourself in the game." Brass lectured.
"It would never work." Grissom's voice weighed heavy with defeat.
"So you are interested?" Brass baited.
"Interest was never the problem. There's just too many negative variables."
"It's time for assignments."
Grissom startled at Sara's voice, turning quickly. She was standing in the doorway, arms folded across her chest, glaring at him.
"Uh, okay. Be right there." Grissom managed as she disappeared through the door.
"Wonder how much of that she heard?" Brass wondered out loud, while looking suspiciously smug.
Grissom shook his head, feeling set up. "Unfortunately, plenty. You knew she was there."
"Hey, they don't call me super cop for nothing."
"Get out. And no one calls you super cop."
Conference Room…
Sara was refilling her mug with Greg's latest contribution of coffee when Grissom entered. Their eyes met briefly.
Grissom cleared his throat signaling he was ready to begin the review of cases. Sara filled a second mug for Grissom, adding a splash of milk the way she knew he took it, placed it soundlessly in front of him and then slid into the chair directly opposite of him.
He glanced up, surprised. Grissom figured Sara would be pissed with him and shooting daggers with her eyes for discussing their personal life, or lack of one, with Brass - not bringing him coffee. Talk about mixed signals.
Catherine, Warrick and Nick immediately picked up on the tension between the two, but said nothing.
During the review, Grissom could feel Sara watching him. It was driving him crazy - which was probably her goal, he deduced.
"DB found in an abandoned house in the desert." Grissom blurted, unable to handle Sara's silent torture. "You're the primary." Shoving the assignment slip towards Sara. "Take Catherine with you."
Must be guilt, Sara decided, snatching up the slip. Good, he could choke on it for all she cared. She wasn't done with him, not by a long shot. Grissom would pay for talking about her behind her back, but she at least, had another admission of interest.
Crime scene in the desert…
"So, you and Dana seeing each other?" Catherine questioned as nonchalantly as you can ask a co-worker if she was gay while collecting evidence from a dead body.
"If you're asking my sexual preference, then I'd have to say that's none of your business and I'm sure some law has just been broken here."
"Fair enough. So, are you dating Dana?"
Sara chuckled. She didn't expect Catherine to back down that easily. "No, Catherine. Dana and I are good friends. We hang out, not date. So, uh, feel free to ask her out."
"Excuse me?"
"Come one Cath. I've seen the way you two flirt."
"I flirt with everybody!"
Sara chuckled with a smile. "You said it."
"Okaaaaay. What was that other night about? You in a dress - a knock out dress for the record, thank you very much- I have great taste. And Dana in a suit? She was dressed like a guy, for Pete's sake Sara! That was a date."
"That was us having some fun."
Sara finished her collection and stood, facing Catherine.
"She was awfully possessive." Catherine began again.
"Jealous Catherine?"
"Not in the least."
"Then what is this really about?"
The women eyes one another in a silent standoff of some sort, then Catherine gave in.
"When did you give up on Grissom?"
"Huh?"
"Grissom. You know him, five eleven, graying older guy, into bugs-"
"I am so not discussing him with you!"
"Sara, you've been into Gil since you stepped foot into Vegas. Now, suddenly you're hanging out at clubs and formal dances, seeing other people. Grissom clearly seemed interested the other night, but then I hear that you danced with a dozen guys and girls at the ball. Are you not interested anymore or are you playing the field? And if it's not Dana, then what or who is it?"
"Are you seeing Warrick?" Sara challenged.
"What?" Catherine's confidence faltered at the unexpected question.
"You heard me. Doesn't feel good does it? Having someone invading your privacy. Why is everyone suddenly so into my personal life today?"
"I'll answer your question if you answer mine." Catherine proposed.
Sara stared at Catherine suspiciously.
"Look, I'm just trying to help. Maybe I could offer some insight." Catherine dangled a proverbial carrot.
Sara took a moment to consider Catherine's offer. She and Catherine had been bonding lately. "What we say here, stays between you, me and John Doe here." Sara relented, pointing a finger at DB near their feet. Confiding in the older woman would probably be the only way to ever know Grissom better, and may give her an edge.
"Deal."
They shook gloved hands on it.
"Okay. You first." Catherine urged.
"Has there ever been anything between you and Grissom?" Sara sought the answer to a question that plagued her for years.
"No. Just friends. I'll admit at one point, after Eddie, I thought that maybe I was in love with Gil, but those feelings were not returned…too much competition, anyway. I love Gil, but I'm not in love with him. It's more like a sibling thing."
"Okay." Sara nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Are you seeing Warrick?"
"No."
"Do you want to?"
"That's three questions." Sara shrugged. "Yes. Spill it and you die, Sidle."
"Have you asked him out?"
"You're really pushing it, but no, I haven't asked him. My turn."
"When did you fall in love with Gil?"
Sara mulled over the question, not completely comfortable with the use of the L word in there. "That's a good one, Catherine. You've got like three questions in one. Harvard."
"So, you met Gil while you where attending Harvard. He taught a seminar there I believe, about ten or eleven years ago. You fell in love with your professor. Kept in contact with him when he returned to Vegas, you graduated and then moved to San Francisco. You came to Las Vegas because you were still in love with him and hoped to pursue a relationship." Catherine theorized.
"I came to Vegas because Grissom asked me to help with an investigation." Not confirming or denying Catherine's summary of events.
"Right. Someone he trusted."
"What?"
"Grissom said he was bringing in someone he trusted to investigate Holly's murder. Second question. Why Grissom?"
"Why not Grissom?"
Catherine shot Sara a disapproving scowl.
"Okay. All right." Sara motioned for them to exit the house. "All yours David." She called to the Coroner's Assistant, then led them to the truck out of ear shot.
Catherine waited patiently, she could tell Sara was giving her question serious thought.
"I was early that day." Sara started, staring into the clear night sky. "For the seminar. I watched him from the back of the room as he prepared. He seemed…nervous. I don't even think he realized I was there. I'm not sure why I was there. The course had nothing to do with my major and I didn't need the credits.
Anyway, once the classroom filled and he began his presentation…he wasn't nervous. He was tall, handsome, smart and so sure of himself. His voice was seductive, yet commanding. I was drawn in by his passionate words as he spoke about maggots and blowflies. I never thought insects could sound so appealing." Both women laughed. Sara closed her eyes as she remembered his intense gaze. "He was beautiful." She whispered.
"When the lecture was finished, I started with questions. I-I had a tendency to irritate my professors and classmates. Too many questions. Dr. Grissom was patient and seemed pleased with my interest. After class, we went to a café nearby, talked forever. It was like we were olds friends, catching up. He never asked me out, we just kept showing up - everyday. Grissom and I…" Sara paused searching for the right words. "We clicked. I knew then."
"That you loved him?" It was the first time that Catherine spoke since Sara began her story.
"That there was a connection." Sara sidestepped Catherine's question. "I tried to deny it, but the way he looked at me. There were so many other pretty girls on campus, throwing themselves at him but he didn't seem to notice or care…" Her voice trailed off as she got lost in a private memory. "We spent our free time together. It was personal but never intimate. He said he respected me as a woman, a student and a scientist. Never in my life did I think I could feel…fulfilled with just a touch of his hand on my arm, a brush of his shoulder…at the time it was enough. And then he was finished and went back to Vegas and I changed my major."
"You kept in touch." Catherine stated the obvious.
"We kept in touch. E-mails, letters, telephone calls. As a mentor, he followed my progress in school and as a friend, he kept me strong and determined. He would send me articles, journals and poetry. I knew he lo- he felt the same for me, Catherine…I could feel it in every word, written or spoken.
Another year of school and a recommendation from the Dr. Gilbert Grissom and I got a job just like that." Sara said, snapping her fingers. She paused and looked at Catherine. "I can't believe I'm telling you this." She turned her gaze to the ground and kicked at some loose dirt. "I came to Vegas from Frisco and you know the rest."
Catherine watched as Sara tried to compose herself. She knew opening up was not an easy task for her.
"Sara, this thing with Grissom…It would be complicated for him." Sara grimaced, her anger building quickly. "Grissom…he's older than you. If things didn't work out…If you just want a fling-"
"A fling? You think I waited all these years to have a fling?" Sara demanded, almost irate. "Grissom is not Dr. Lurie and I don't want to be his damned Butterfly Mistress!"
Catherine frowned at the comment trying to keep up, but Sara plowed on.
"I'm not going anywhere, Catherine. He doesn't have to worry about me leaving. I couldn't if I wanted to, anyway. So, I'm stuck. I'm stuck here in this fake, dry ass desert town with no friends, no family and zero job advancement ability! Just hanging around, waiting for Grissom to figure it out. I don't even know why I bother. He already said I wasn't worth the risk." Sara practically shouted as she tossed their cases in the back of the truck. Slamming the hatch closed, she spun around to face Catherine. "And I'm so sick of my age being used against me!"
"Calm down! Grissom just needs a little more time-."
"Jesus Christ! How much more time could he possibly need? I've waited long enough, Catherine. And you know what? I'm done."
"Sara."
"I'm done waiting and I'm done with this conversation."
Catherine let Sara drive back to the lab, which almost proved to be a fatal mistake. Thank God, they were traveling in a densely populated area or the small creatures Sara almost hit on the road could have been pedestrians.
Once inside the lab, Sara stormed past Grissom's office without a side glance.
"What the hell happened, Catherine?" Grissom pulled her into his office at the end of shift when she tried to slink past unnoticed.
"I was trying to help. I…"
"Catherine?" He groaned, knowing this was not going to be good.
"Not here, Grissom. Make sure there's something strong to go with those eggs. I'll be over in an hour."