Walk A Little Straighter…
Greg and Sara tell each other of their dark pasts.
As you know… they aren't mine, I just borrow them and manipulate them to do my bidding. And no, the song isn't mine either… Enjoy!
"Hey, Sara," Greg said, looking up from the case file he'd been skimming through. "You wanna get some coffee after shift. We both need a break."
The case they'd been working had been taking a toll on both of them. Domestic abuse and a burn victim both of their problem areas rolled into one. She nodded, pulling her gaze from the autopsy report he'd already finished with. "Sure, Greggo."
He smiled. "Great."
She glanced out her watch. "Why don't we go now? Shift was over an hour ago and we've hit a bump in the road with the case. A break sounds really good right now."
"Alright," he said, putting down the file and following her out the door of the break room. "Where to?"
She contemplated the question for a moment. "Hmm… You've stopped bringing in your Blue Hawaiian meaning you've given up on hiding it at the lab. So, I suppose that means if I want good coffee I have to go to your place." She teased.
"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock." He smiled, opening his car door for her.
She looked at him as he climbed into the car. "So that means you actually intend to share your beloved coffee."
He nodded. "As long as you don't tell anyone else where I'm hiding it. I don't need Nick and Warrick breaking into my apartment to raid my kitchen."
"Can do." She promised, staring out the window as they drove to his apartment.
"So, what was your family like?" he asked, several minutes into a conversation that had lasted a good hour. Both of them were extremely comfortable. Greg, collapsed on his couch,; Sara slumped in the lounge chair a few feet away.
She frowned, causing Greg to regret his seemingly random question. "I'm sorry, Sara. I shouldn't have asked." He said, prepared to launch into a lengthy apology.
She shook her head. "No, it's okay, Greg. I'll tell you."
"Really?" he was rather surprised that she was even considering telling him about her mysterious past.
She nodded. "I trust you. I know I can talk to you and you won't judge me for it."
He smiled. "You're right."
She sighed, ready to tell him. "When I was seven my dad lost his job, he never could get another one and he took it out on me and my mom, he hit us. It was almost a year later, in the fall, just after I started third grade. I came home and heard them yelling. That was nothing new, but when I walked into the kitchen I saw my mom reach for a knife that was sitting on the counter." She paused, a sob escaping her.
He moved to her, wrapping his arms around her.
"She stabbed him, kept stabbing him. I could smell the blood. The Crime Scene guys and detectives that showed up, two of them got sick. I was just frozen there. Someone pulled me away; I remember being told to pack up my things. They put me in foster care. I jumped from foster home to foster home, burying myself in schoolwork, until I got to where I am today." She finished, as she let the tears fall, feeling comfortable in his arms.
Still absorbing the information he spoke, still holding her in his arms. "My parents fought all the time, too." He admitted.
She looked up at him, realizing the fact that she knew as little of his past as he had of hers at the start of the conversation.
"There's some country song Nick was listening to a few weeks ago, called 'Walk A Little Straighter' or something. Whoever wrote that stole my story. My dad was an alcoholic. After my mom died when I was ten he started drinking. That's when he stopped doing things with me, stopped taking me to the beach to take the boat out."
She nodded for him to continue, mentally replaying the lyrics to that song in her mind.
He kept going; glad she was still listening to him. "Well, when I was fifteen, my seventeen year old sister got pregnant. My father was so drunk when she told him about it that he started hitting he. I got her out of there and haven't seen my dad since."
Now it was her turn to hug him. "Looks like we both had really bad childhoods." She said, breaking the silence. "What happened to your sister?"
"Katie and her husband Mark live in San Francisco. I only get to see them at Christmas. Megan, their daughter, is fourteen now I think." He told her.
Sara smiled. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked, noticing the distant look in his eyes.
He shook his head, "Just thinking that if I ever have kids I really hope I don't turn out like my father."
"You won't." she said. "I think you'd make a great father."
Thinking back on that conversation, Greg realized that had it never happened, he wouldn't have married Sara Sidle three months later. And he wouldn't have been given a daughter a year after that. Nor would he be tucking his little girl in tonight, five years later.
He smiled. "At least she'll never have to say it." He whispered as he walked out of the room.
"What?" Sara asked, hearing his statement as she appeared at the other end of the hall.
"Walk A Little Straighter, Daddy," he said, quoting the song he'd used to describe his own childhood.
She nodded, smiling, as she pulled him in for a kiss.
Okay, that's finished, I know, I haven't been any kind of updater for a while, but my plot bunny farm kind of died over the last few weeks, they came back with a vengeance last night… I spent two hours writing out plot ideas… I'll be updating Linger soon so, hope you enjoy this.
The lyrics for that song are here too…
Billy Currington's 'Walk A Little Straighter'
I remember looking up
To look up to him
And I remember most the time
He wasn't there
I'd be waiting at the door
When he got home at night
He'd pass me by to go to pass out in his chair
And I'd say
Walk a little straighter daddy
You're swaying side to side
You're footsteps make me dizzy
And no matter how I try
I keep tripping and stumbling
If you'd look down here you'd see
Walk a little straighter daddy
You're leading me
He stumbled in the gym
On graduation day
And I couldn't help but feel
So ashamed
And I wasn't surprised a bit
When he didn't stay
He stumbled out before they called my name
And I thought
Walk a little straighter daddy
You're swaying side to side
It's not just me who's watching
you've caught everybody's eye
And you're tripping and stumbling
and even though I've turned 18
Walk a little straighter daddy
You're still leading me
The old mans still like he always was
But I love him anyway
If I've learned one thing from him
Its my kids will never have to say
Walk a little straighter daddy
You're swaying side to side
You're footsteps make me dizzy
And no matter how I try
I keep tripping and stumbling
if you'd look down here you'd see
Walk a little straighter daddy
You're leading me
Yeah walk a little straighter daddy
You're leading me