Duh! Thanks to the amazing djkittycat for oh-so-kindly pointing out my absolutely wonderfully glaring mistake of having Grissom's mother call Sara. Yeah. She's not deaf at all. So I've re-written and changed it so that the woman calling Sara is Grissom's cousin. Hope that clears things up.
A/N: Totally off-topic, but should I name my gorgeous new (well, 2002, but close enough) red VW Jetta "Greggo" "Fabrizio" or "Hans"? Bear in mind, my crazy friends came up with these names. Except Greggo. That was all me and the fact that in 'Early Rollout' Greg drives a Jetta, which is just so awesome.
Anyway, I know it's been a million years (which is actually roundabout 2 months…but same diff!) and I feel really awful, so I tried to make this chapter extra good, but it turned out extra crappy. But who knows? Let's just post it and see what happens!
PS: I know it's not realistic for Amy to be as normal as she is in this chapter, but since I really don't know how one would react after being kidnapped…let's just go with she's in denial.
Chapter FiveSara took a long look at the girl she'd just spend the past week trying to find. Amy Thomason had shoulder length blonde hair, which appeared almost brown from the dirt mixed into it. Her open and round face was red with tears, but lightly dusted with freckles. Amy's already large blue-gray eyes were magnified by the fat tears spilling over her cheeks.
Grissom seemed to be half combing Amy for evidence and half trying to prevent himself from clutching her in a bear hug.
"Amy, I need you to let me get under your fingernails." Grissom said soothingly, trying to unfurl Amy's hands. "He has fresh scratches on his face. Did you scratch him, Amy?"
She nodded, still trying to clutch at Grissom.
"Good girl." He murmured. "That was very good, Amy. I'm very proud of you." He carefully scraped any trace from underneath her heavily chipped French manicured nails. "Amy, I need you to change into this jumpsuit, okay? There's a little screen over there. Sara will make sure nobody sees you, okay?"
Amy reluctantly unclasped her arms from around Grissom's neck and followed Sara to the screen.
"Sara," Grissom touched her arm. "I need a jumpsuit. I might have trace transfer on my clothes."
Wordlessly, Sara handed him a large-sized jumpsuit and followed Amy to the screen.
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"Amy!" Veronica cried, clattering down the stairs. "You're home."
"Veronica!" Completely disregarding her disheveled appearance, Amy threw herself into Veronica's arms.
The two girls dissolved into tears and hugged each other desperately. Victor heard the commotion and came into the front hall. Upon seeing Amy and Veronica, Victor added himself to the hug.
Spencer tried to remain aloof, but he too eventually pulled Amy into a hug.
"Gil, Sara, I can't thank you enough for finding Amy." Victor pumped Grissom's hand and hugged Sara tightly. "Please, stay for another few days."
"We-" Grissom started.
"Would love to."
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Sara padded down the hall back to her room, stopping when she heard the low hum of hushed conversation.
"Amy, are you…did he hurt you?"
"Ronnie, I'm tired. I just want to go to sleep." Amy begged.
"Okay." Veronica whispered. "Good night, Ames."
Sara heard nothing for a second and then the creak of bedsprings as one of the girls rose.
"Oh, Sara." Veronica jumped slightly. "I didn't realize you were out here."
"Sorry I startled you."
"It's okay." Veronica glanced at the floor and then opened her mouth. "Sara, uh…"
"Yeah?" Sara encouraged.
"Be careful with Uncle Gil, okay?"
Sara's jaw nearly dropped. "Be careful with Uncle Gil?" She repeated incredulously.
"He's been in love with you for a long time and he's scared of getting burned."
Sara's jaw continued to hang open.
"Since he met you at Berkeley." She insisted. "He's a good guy. I know there's an age difference between the two of you, but give him a chance."
Sara groaned. "Veronica, let's go to the kitchen and get something to drink." She suggested. "And I'll explain the missing facts."
"Okay." Veronica shrugged and followed Sara to the kitchen. "So explain."
"I asked Grissom out and he turned me down. Flat." Sara stuck tow mugs of water in the microwave. "So I gave him a chance. That's what happened."
"Oh." Veronica tore open two packets of apple cider powder and poured them into the mugs. "Dad never said. I just assumed…I had no idea."
"I know." Sara replied, not unkindly.
The two women were silent for a moment before Veronica spoke up quietly. "I miss him."
"Grissom?"
"Yeah." Veronica sipped at her cider. "I miss him. He used to always be around. He took Amy and me to our first baseball game. And when Mom died and Dad broke down, he stayed out here and took me to ballet and Amy to preschool and helped Spencer perfect his curveball." Veronica paused and took a breath.
"When Mom died, I asked Uncle Gil whether he was ever going to get married. He told me that maybe someday, if he could find the right woman. One day, he picked me up at school and took me out for ice cream. He looked happier than I'd ever seen him. And he told me he'd met the right woman, and that maybe someday, he'd bring home an Auntie for me to meet. Then, three months later, he was moving back to Vegas and the spark in his eye was gone. He hasn't come back. The one time I saw him on TV, his face was so drawn and his eyes were so sad that I barely recognized him. I saw you too, standing right behind him. I wanted to blame you for killing him. But seeing you now…you didn't kill him, did you?"
Sara didn't reply.
"He killed himself."
Sara couldn't think of anything to say to that, so Veronica just nodded and dumped out the contents of her mug.
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Sara traipsed into the kitchen and began rummaging for some fruit. As she wandered from the kitchen to the rec room, Sara heard Amy's voice.
"Hey, Steve, I don't blame you." Amy said gently.
"I should have known." Steven insisted.
"You couldn't have known."
Sara frowned but took her apple back to her room. "Oh my God!" Sara jumped, realizing that Grissom was sitting on her bed. "Grissom."
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving tomorrow morning. You have plenty of vacation time left if you want to stay."
"Nah, you're right. I should probably get back to Vegas too." Sara took a bite of her apple.
"I'm not…" Grissom blushed. "I'm not going back to Vegas just yet."
"Oh." Sara tried to resist prying. She could see the conflicting sides of his emotions warring on Grissom's face. Grissom's private self won out and he said nothing. "Anything else?"
"Uh, no." Grissom stood. "I'll see you at dinner."
"Okay."
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The symbolism wasn't lost on Sara. Victor sat to her left and Grissom to her right, the two men facing off on opposite sides of the table. Spencer was off at a baseball game and Veronica was on a date. Amy sat across from Sara.
Sara ate her pasta and glanced from Victor to Grissom and back. Victor seemed oblivious to Grissom's death glare and Amy was just enjoying being safely at home, though she jumped every time a car drove by or the house creaked.
Grissom speared the last bite of his steak and shoved it into his mouth. "Victor, thank you for your hospitality, but I have to leave tomorrow." Grissom said after finishing his steak.
"Are you going home?" Victor asked.
"Sort of." Grissom shifted uncomfortably. "I'm visiting Emily."
Who's Emily? Sara hated the flood of jealousy that rushed through her. How come she was worth it?
"I'm going back to Vegas." Sara announced. "Thank you for putting us up, Victor. Amy, I'm so sorry this happened to you."
Amy nodded. "Daddy, may I please be excused?"
"Sure Amy."
Victor glanced from Grissom to Sara. "Both of you are welcome to come back any time."
Sara tried not to snort derisively. "I should go pack."
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"You ready to go?" Grissom had rented a loaner car for his trip and had offered to drive Sara to the airport.
"Yeah. Thanks for giving me a ride." Sara shouldered her carry-on bag. "I'll see you in a week?"
"Yeah. A week." Grissom took a breath, as if he were trying to work up the courage to say something. "I…if you and Victor want to date, you should."
Fuck it. Sara snapped. "Damn it, Grissom. I don't get you. You tell me to get a life, I do, and you get pissed off at me!"
"His daughter was missing, Sara!"
"I'm not just talking about Victor." Sara retorted. "Are you deliberately this obtuse or are you actually inhuman?"
"I'm human, Sara."
"Sometimes it doesn't seem like it."
"What do you want from me?" Grissom threw his hands up.
"Emotions. I want my friend back." Sara was frustrated.
"He's gone." Grissom shot back coldly. "Every time I open up to you, I get hurt. Hank? Do you know how hard that was?"
"When the Hell have you ever opened up to me?" Sara folded her arms.
"After the case with the girl who's father sexually abused her four years ago."
"That was well before Hank. And you call that opening up? You sent me a plant with the words 'from Grissom' on it. How is that opening up?"
"It was, for me. And then you practically slap me in the face by not even mentioning it."
Sara's face blanched. "You. Jerk." She whispered. "I don't believe you. You are absolutely unbelievable."
"What?"
"I put myself on the line, asking you out and you turned me down flat, now you have the nerve to tell me I hurt you? You think I didn't get hurt?"
"It was just a crush." Grissom waved the statement away crossly. "We'd both have gotten hurt."
Sara hitched her carry-on over her shoulder. "I'm going to miss my flight. I'll see you in a week."
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Sara hadn't moved from the entryway to her apartment. How could Grissom say that he would get hurt? And then the tears came.
Sara hated crying, but there she was, crying like a baby. She hated fighting with Grissom. It made her stomach tighten and her heart burn.
Her tearful breakdown was interrupted by her cell phone's insistent ringing. "Hello?" Sara tried to sound calm and normal.
"Are you Sara Sidle?" A female voice demanded.
"Yes." Sara narrowed her eyes. "Who is this?"
"Gil is in the hospital. You're listed as his emergency work contact. He's seriously injured. Marina Del Rey General Hospital."
"Who is this?" Sara repeated.
"I'm Claire Dawson, his cousin
"Sara, are you still there? He need to see the people he loves."
"I can't come, Ms. Dawson." Sara finally shut her apartment door.
"If you're the same workaholic Sara Gil always talks about, you have plenty of vacation time saved up."
"I can't come, Ms. Dawson. I'm sorry, but I just can't."
"He needs you Sara." Claire pressed.
The tears started again. All Sara wanted to do was rush to Grissom's side, but he probably didn't want her there and it would only cause more problems. "Ms. Dawson, your cousin and I aren't really on speaking terms right now."
"All the more reason for you to come." Claire pushed.
That sparked Sara's interest. "What's going on, Ms.Dawson? Why is this so important?"
"Gil's been in a terrible car accident."
Sara nearly dropped her phone.
"He's dying."
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A/N: What, dying? I guess you'll just have to hang on the edge of your seats until I can get another chapter up. Mwahaha, my evil plan is complete. I hope y'all liked Veronica getting all backstoryish on Sara. Veronica is my personal favorite character right now. Anyway, good night.