Standing just outside the front door to the small apartment, Jim Brass unconsciously flexed the fingers on his left hand as he waited on the black Denali to arrive. It had been a hot day but now, as the sun sunk below the horizon and bathed the area in muted shadows, the temperature had cooled considerably. Still, it wasn't enough to diffuse the stench coming from inside.
Stretching his back against the familiar twinge of discomfort, he waved off the offer from one of the uniformed officers to take over. Physical therapy had alleviated a lot of the muscle pain but this was his lingering reminder. He still wasn't one hundred percent and probably wouldn't be for another few months but at least he had been cleared to return to work. Mostly, he had been tasked with paperwork and other administrative duties that generally went with being a captain, but when the call came in tonight and no one else was available, he welcomed the opportunity to get out into the field again. However, had he known what the case entailed, he might have rethought his decision.
Watching the traffic go by, none of them the SUV he was waiting for, he thought about Ellie. He hadn't seen or spoken to her since she walked out of his house two months ago and he couldn't help but wonder how she was. They still had a long way to go but for the first time in a lot of years, Ellie had actually opened up to him. If it took an explosion and a near death experience to get them this far, he'd do it again. Blood or no blood, she was his daughter and he wasn't about to give up on her yet. Hopefully, she wouldn't give up on him either.
Looking up at the Vegas sky, seeing the sun's final breath erupt in a magnificent display of oranges and reds, his thoughts shifted.
He still had trouble with the psychological effects of the explosion. Maybe that would pass with time but he couldn't help feeling a little unsettled knowing the bomber's identity remained a mystery. His dreams were still disquieting, plagued by the same desperate scenario only sometimes it was Sara, other times it was Ellie or Catherine, once it was his ex-wife--not exactly a nightmare. Catherine understood what he was going through; she had from the beginning. She was a comfort to him, someone he'd come to depend upon when the demons got to be too much, and for that he would always be grateful. Although he'd never admit it to her or anyone else, he knew he was in love with her. He also knew it was completely one-sided. They were each filling a much-needed void and sooner or later she would figure out that Jim Brass wasn't the excitement she craved and move on. He told himself he was okay with that.
Then again, maybe his own self-doubts were merely raising their ugly head again and he was completely underestimating her. They'd been cultivating this relationship two months now and she showed no signs of getting bored with him yet. True to her word, Catherine had been patient, never pushing him to do more than he could, and thankfully, when the moment finally happened, all his parts were functioning perfectly. If the unrestrained use of his name that morning were any indication, Catherine was very satisfied. He sure as hell was.
Glancing at his watch, he started to wonder how much longer when he noticed the dark truck pull into the drive.
Gil Grissom came up the stairs first followed closely by Sara Sidle. Jim had heard through the grapevine that Grissom had gone into his silently protective mode ever since the explosion. Of course Grissom still kept his feelings to himself but at least it was a start.
"Have I got one for you." Brass led the way through the open door and stopped beside the half-naked body lying on the floor. "Meet Roy Rivers, age 29, now deceased."
As Jim moved aside to let the two investigators pass, Sara turned and flashed a knowing smile at him. In return he gave her a wink. Neither had to say a word; they both knew.
Grissom leaned in, sniffed then screwed up his nose in disgust. "Is that what I think it is?"
Brass fanned the air with his hand. "It is. Our boy, Roy, got really mad at his girlfriend so he decided to take a dump in the middle of the kitchen and then proceeded to fling feces at her and," he held out his hand and made a broad sweeping motion, "the entire area you see before you. I'd say he had plenty of fiber in his diet."
Gil looked around the room: at the flies buzzing around the dark spots on the ceiling, the walls, smeared all over the floor and countertops. "Roy was saving up."
"I take it the girlfriend wasn't very pleased," Sara said, a grimace on her face. It never ceased to amaze her what people did to each other in the heat of anger.
"You could say that." Standing by the body, Brass said, "I expect you'll find her prints on the cast iron skillet over there." He started to leave the room.
"Hey, Jim."
He stopped by the door and turned to look at Grissom. "Yeah?"
"It's good to have you back."
Brass looked at the muck all over the crime scene and grinned. "It's good to be back."
The EndA/N: My thanks to everyone for reading and especially to those who've left a review. I really appreciate it!