Chapter 6

After breaking from the reuniting hug, Sara and Jeremy walked over to the baggage pick up. Sara asked him about her family and he wanted to know how her work was going. Jeremy grabbed his suitcase and they headed to Sara's car. Once they were instead the car and heading to her apartment, Jeremy decided to broach the subject of his interview with Brass.

"So I just want to make sure you are okay with me moving to Vegas. I know that it's was a long time since we had seen each other. But I want to get to know the woman you grew up into. I have to admit that I would sometimes worry about what kind of life you managed for yourself after all you went through."

"You're telling me. The last time I saw you, you were high on god knows what. But to answer your question I am really happy that you are moving to Vegas. Or maybe moving. I missed you." Sara stated in a rare instance where she would let others see her weaknesses.

"Good I'm glad."

Sara was not really sure why she felt so comfortable when Jeremy was around. Well, maybe comfortable is not the right word. There was still that awkward feeling at times because Sara was often unsure what to say and she was scared that at any moment Jeremy would bring up their past. But she felt… safe, yeah, that was it. She felt safe around Jeremy. He would never hurt her in any way and just having him around reminded her of how he was always there to protect her as a child.

She hoped he would be able to get the job in Vegas. She wanted him nearby. She needed him nearby.

XXXXX

Jeremy's interview was at 9 a.m. Seeing as he didn't rent a car, Sara offered him hers to take. She wondered if she should drive him so Brass would be positive that Sara wanted him in Vegas. She believed that Jim would do whatever she wished so long as Jeremy was qualified, which he was. Before working patrol in Seattle, he had been a homicide officer in San Francisco. He was close to being promoted to detective when he and Heather had relocated because her father was sick.

Sara decided that Jeremy could make it to the police station himself and opted to stay home. She did, however, make him breakfast before he left. She couldn't really cook but she made scrambled eggs and pancakes (from a box) while Jeremy was taking a shower.

"Smells good." Jeremy proclaimed as he exited the spare bedroom all ready to go. He was wearing black dress pants, a white shirt with a green tie that brought out the green in his hazel eyes. Sara thought he had come a long way since he used to have no fashion sense as a teenager.

"Do I look okay for my interview?"

"You look very nice. You'll do great."

"What do I need to know about Captain Brass?"

"He comes across as a bit rough but he actually has quite a large heart so don't be scared. Most likely he will just ask about your experience."

"Okay. I'm kinda nervous." He took a deep breath. "Do you think that he will ask questions about you? Or our past?"

"I never thought about that. He will probably want to know how we are related since I never really told him."

"Do you want me not to tell him?" Jeremy was unclear on why they had to be so secretive. Sara seemed almost ashamed of him in some way and it made him nervous.

"No, you can tell him if he asks," she answered after a lengthy pause. He would find out sooner or later and perhaps it would be easier for her if it came from Jeremy.

"So tell me about the people you work with." Jeremy wanted to hear about her co-workers partly because if he got the job he would be working with them as well and partly because he thought it would be a good way to get Sara to start talking.

"Well, there's Warrick, Nick, Greg, Catherine, and Grissom. The boys are like..." she stopped short of saying her brothers; she was unclear on how Jeremy would react to that. She loved Nick, Warrick, and Greg but they would never replace Jeremy and she didn't want him to believe that anyone could. "…My friends from college. It feels like we have known each other for a long time. We get a long really well."

Truthfully the men she hung around with in college were nothing the guys. Most of them had used her for sex or else were just study buddies and not true friends. But she didn't know what else to say.

"Catherine's the mom of the group. She has a teenage daughter, Lindsay. We don't really get along all the time. We started off rough and then things were okay but I sort of have a problem with authority and she likes to be bossy. It's a recipe for disaster. But things are pretty good now; we are trying."

Jeremy couldn't help but laugh. "You have a problem with authority? I never would have guessed." Sara had always been the child in class to point out her teacher's mistakes or demand reasons for each and every rule. Jeremy was happy to hear she still had that quality because it had disappeared amongst their parents. Sara was too scared at home to question the rules or talk back. It was really heartbreaking for Jeremy to watch her spirit break but he was glad she had found it again somewhere along the way.

"And Grissom?" he prompted.

"Grissom is our supervisor. He is very smart and fairly strange. He is an entomology expert so he is a huge asset to the lab." Jeremy noticed that Sara talked about all her other coworkers in relationship to her except Grissom. He must have been that jerk from the crime scene. She must not like him, he concluded.

"Well I should be going. Are you sure it's okay that I take you car? I could call a cab. It wouldn't be a problem."

"It's not a problem for you to take the car. I don't need to go everywhere."

"Okay. See you later." He kissed her cheek and headed to the door.

"Good luck," Sara replied after recovering from the startling display of affection. Sara wasn't much of a touching feely type, but she remembered as a child whenever she needed a hug she could always count on Jeremy. She would sometimes be hugged by their father but all too often he would just push her away.

She was glad that Jeremy didn't have a problem with affection. His wife and child were living in a loving home and that made Sara happy.

XXXXX

Jeremy arrived at the police department 15 minutes early for his appointment. He checked in with the secretary and she told him to take a sit for a moment.

He was escorted into Jim Brass' office ten minutes later.

"Good morning Captain Brass. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today."

"Thank-you for making this trip down. Take a sit. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"You thank you, sir, I'm good."

"Alright then, shall we get started?" With the nod of Jeremy's head he jumped right in.

He asked him the basic questions about experience and training and then when he was satisfied with Jeremy's answers he continued.

"What made you want to become a cop?"

Jeremy hated that question the most. He debated on whether or not to answer truthfully or not but he believed that Jim Brass was the kind of guy who would appreciate a truthful answer. Plus detectives were hard to lie to.

"Well, when I was a teenager I made a few wrong choices. I quickly became addicted to drugs. When I was finally smart enough to sober up I realized that I wanted to work on getting creeps like my old self off the streets." Well, he was partially truthful he left out the part about trying to look away bastards who beat their wife and children.

"Are you completely sober now?"

"Yes sir, for over 13 years."

"Congratulations. Your record shows that you have a few suspensions under your belt. What was the nature of those events?"

Jeremy changed his mind: these were the questions he hated the most.

"Well on a few occasions I have lost my cool or become over involved in a case."

"What are the specifics of the last incident?" Brass didn't mind cops that crossed the line as long as it didn't happen to often and it was for appropriate reasons. He had more than a couple suspensions under his belt. Jeremy only had two suspensions and he was more than qualified so it would be okay.

"Well, sir, the most current one was because I crossed the line with a suspect."

"I want the whole story."

"Well, I was called out on a domestic disturbance case. The wife was black and blue and there was an eight year old girl who had tears running down her face, she reminded me of… someone. She had bruises on her arm so I knew he had at least grabbed her roughly. So I pretty much did the same to him. Unfortunately, he had political connections so I was suspended."

"Well, I understand the reaction to cases like that, we all have our triggers. However, as officers of the law we have to keep our cool. What are you doing in order to prevent something like this from happening in the future?" Brass inquired.

"Well sir, I think that this transfer to Vegas would be a step in the right direction. Sara told me that you asked her about our relation and I think it would be a positive move for me to live near her. Other than that it is a constant effort to not get worked up on men who hit their wives and abuse children but I am trying really hard to maintain my cool. I am willing to do whatever it takes in order to stop: counseling, anger management, you name it."

"Okay, I have to ask because I feel as though there is the potential for Sara to get hurt in this transfer. What exactly is your relationship with her?"

"Sara is my sister."

Brass looked at Jeremy as if trying to decide if he was telling him the truth. Finally he nodded.

"She has never mentioned having a brother in law enforcement or even a brother for that matter. I can't help but be skeptical as to what is going on. I know Sara is a private person but it feels as though there is more than that."

"Well, I don't really know if this is my place to say but I really need this job so I'll tell you. But Sara doesn't want anyone's pity which I'm sure is why she's never said anything. So please don't mention it to her." Brass conformed with the nod of his head. "Sara and I had a pretty shitty childhood, pardon my French. Our dad would beat our mother almost everyday and often myself and Sara too." Jeremy didn't want to see the look in Jim's eyes so he continued without making eye contact. "When I was 18 and Sara was 12, my mom finally snapped and stabbed him to death. I had already left home by then, but Sara saw the whole thing. She was placed in foster care and I was using heavily so we lost contact with each other. We recently reconnected and I need to move closer to her. I feel like I've let her down her whole life and I need to make it better."

By the end of Jeremy's story Brass had tears in his eyes. The usually tough detective couldn't help but be touched by the story. The way Jeremy felt he let Sara down was the same feelings Jim had towards Ellie. Fortunately Sara's story had a positive outcome.

"Well, that is very admirable; I'll see what I can do to help you out." Brass has to be professional because Jeremy wasn't the only officer he was interviewing but he knew that he was the man for the job: he was qualified and Brass waited Sara to be happy. "And for the record, Sara has turned into a lovely woman: she's smart, she works really hard and in my opinion she's happy, although that often depends on the boss' mood."

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked as he sat up straighter in his chair. It was as though he was getting ready to go "talk" to whoever this guy was.

Oh know, I shouldn't have said that. What is a good lie?

"Well, just between me and you the director of the crime lab, Conrad Ecklie, can be a large pain in the you know what. He has it out for Grissom and his team."

With that Brass' phone rang saving him from explaining it anything further. After he hung up he informed Jeremy that he had to head out and he would be in touch.

It was very formal but he knew that he would be calling Jeremy after he completed two more interviews for the job.

XXXXX

Sara and Jeremy were sitting in her living, with him telling her about the interview, after he returned. She had been waiting all morning to hear how it had gone. She was happy to hear it went well and he would talk to Brass when she saw him in the next couple of days to give in her two cents.

"Sara, from the little that I know about you already, I can tell that you are a private person. But, does anyone you work with know about your life?" Jeremy was concerned that he had told Brass more than Sara wanted him to know.

"Umm… Grissom knows some stuff. He knows about the abuse and the murder. He knows a little about you but not too much. Other than that no one else knows anything."

"I told Brass some of it." She looked up and waited for a better description than "some."

"I told him that dad abused mom; well all of us, and that you had witnessed his death. I said after that we lost touch and that's why it is important to me to be with you now because I missed out on so much."

Upon seeing the mist in her brother's eyes Sara couldn't be mad at the over share. He had the best intentions. Damn it, now I'm going to cry.

Sara got up from her spot on the chair to join Jeremy on the couch. She sat close by him so that their shoulders were touching. Her left and his right. She reached her right arm across his body to stoke his arm in a comforting manner. He turned to her and hugged her and together they cried.

TBC…

AN: I know I said this would be up a lot earlier and I thought it would but I had a family emergency come up. But everything is good now, except it is almost finals time at school (ahh). Hope you enjoyed