She had always loved the park. As a child she had spent a lot of her time there. Not really because she wanted to or because her mother took her there but because it was the only place she could get away from home.
Most of her childhood was spent reading, studying, and hiding from the bad man, her father. When she couldn't get to the park she would sit on the floor in the corner of her room she sat in the corner of her room reading and trying to tune- out the yelling and screaming from the floor beneath her. It would usually work but then the yelling would get closer and soon it was directed at her.
All the fights and yelling had mostly been between her mother and her father. Her father was always drunk and her mother would get on his case about it and he would just slap her across the face to get her to shut- up. But then it took a lot more because she would be more persistent. She cried for him to stop and think about their children. That's when little Sara Sidle was brought into the picture. Her father would storm in her room and beat her around a little asking her mother if she was happy now. Her mother would just look sadly at her daughter incapable of taking action against her husband. She would never go to the police or tell anyone because she knew she would be killed along with her daughter. He threatened them many times saying he would kill them if they breathed a word. Sara knew he wasn't joking because although she was a child she could just see the hate and hollowness in his dark eyes.
Her mother finally took charge one night when little Sara was getting beat for reading while eating. All while she was watching her mother took a butcher knife and stabbed her husband 14 times in the chest. Sara could only remember sitting in the corner until the police came and took her mother away leaving her with a social worker who held her hand telling her she safe.
Looking back it wasn't bad all the time. When her father was on a "business trip" but who really knew where he went her mother would take her out to lunch and she faintly remembered a mall. But she didn't want to remember. It was in the past and that's where she wanted it to stay. Besides she had long since then moved on. After going to Harvard and getting away from the foster care, she got a job in the Coroner's office in San Francisco. She met with some criminalists there and changed her career. After working one year at the San Francisco Crime Lab she was told to go to an entomology lecture to learn about bugs and how they could help her at future crime scenes.
She was undoubtedly the star pupil there and she felt an attraction to the lecturer, a Gil Grissom. She wasn't sure if she liked him as a role model or something more but all she knew was she could get lost in his blue eyes. After the seminar he had asked her out for coffee because she was the only one paying any attention and they talked about her career in San Francisco as a CSI. One and a half years later she gets a call from a man that she thought she would never hear from again. He asked her to be a CSI with him in Las Vegas and she accepted without hesitation.
That was some time ago though. She had given up hope on having a relationship with him a long time ago. Now she was single, sleepless, and walking around the park at four in the morning. She often came to the park to forget about a bad case or clear her head, like she had done as a child. She went back home after realising it was cold and she needed sleep.
Sara was surprised at how many hours she had slept. She woke only from the afternoon sunrays pouring through her curtains onto her face. This was the first time she hadn't woken up from a bad dream in a while. She got ready for work and got in her car when she realised the time. She knew she was early but not 5:00PM early. She didn't really want to go back upstairs to loneliness so she went to the park, where she could be near people, be alone, but not really feel as alone as she was in her apartment.
Now the park had a few more people there because it was late afternoon not 4am. She sat on a bench just watching the other families play with their children.
"Hi!" A cute little girl said happily sitting beside her.
"Hello there," Sara replied not knowing what else to say.
"My name is Emily. What's your name?"
"My name? Umm, Sara,"
"Oh really! My dolly's name is Sara! That's cool." She cried happily.
Sara was never really fond of children. She didn't quite know how to act with them. She thought they reminded her too much of her childhood and she thought if she talked to them she would be like her mother and that was something she feared the most, becoming her mother. She would never let that happen. Sara soon threw her thoughts of the past away and focused on the little girl becoming a little concerned.
"Are you here with someone? It's getting late,"
"Yup, my mommy and daddy are over on the grass. They kissed, eww!" She said acting grossed out. She was the cutest kid ever, Sara thought.
"How come you're here?" Emily asked.
"Well, I come here to get rid of all the bad thoughts. It helps me a lot. Do you like the park?"
"Yes, a lot! I have a lot of friends." Before Sara had time to say anything Emily's mother came walking up looking a little worried.
"Emily honey, you can't go running off like that talking to strangers. I'm so sorry miss."
"Oh no, it's fine. We were just talking about the park." Sara smiled sweetly so the mother wouldn't think she was a bad guy, heaven knows there are enough to go around.
"Bye Sara," the girl called out. Sara waved back. She was glad she'd met Emily. Some how the innocent child had made her feel a lot better.
Sara walked into the break room seeing everyone there, coffees in hands.
"Hello everyone," Sara said.
"Hey," from Catherine and Warrick.
"How come you're so happy tonight? Not that I mind." Nick asked.
"I went to the park!" She sounded like a child.
They all smiled liking that she was happy except for Grissom who frowned knowing the truth as to why she went to the park. He knew he couldn't leave it alone so he planned to talk to her about it later on.
"Okay," Grissom decided to get started.
"Catherine, Warrick, you guys have a double homicide at the Tangiers. Nicky, you are going solo to an apparent suicide at the Flamingo and Sara, you are with me tonight at the Four Aces Motel. Homicide, let's get to work then guys." With that he told Sara he would wait in the SUV and he left.