Just call

By Dany

Summary: Someone surprising shows up at work and brings chaos and order into Sara's life.

Rating: K+

A/N: This is a response to firstdonoharm's challenge at YTDaW. Elements were:

- "Is that your final answer?" said by Grissom
- a photo of a baby in someone's wallet
- "Maybe some people aren't meant to be together" said by Sara
- A message written on a cast ( eg broken arm)
- A little boy playing a PS2
- "Nobody leaves Sara in the corner" (homage to Dirty Dancing if anyone gets it)
- A paper aeroplane

I'm sorry, but I really tried. I just couldn't use the Dirty Dancing one, nit just didn't fit.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.

xxxxx

"Hey, watch it!" Sara cursed when a small paper airplane hit her in the side.

It had come spinning out of the lab to her right. 'Spinning' because you couldn't call what it had been doing smooth sailing. One look at it and Sara knew that the problem was a construction error.

Greg was looking at her sheepishly through the door of his lab. Knowing whose plane it was, she could only shake her head in disbelief. Someone like that was supposed to be an adult?

Sara sent him a warning look before she put the plane in her lab coat pocket and walked away. She had no time and patience to deal with such a childish behavior. Besides, she was protecting Greg from Grissom. If Grissom found out, the younger man would be in a lot of trouble.

In the last few weeks, Grissom's mood had not been the best and Greg was well on his way to making it much worse. There had been an increasing case load and Ecklie had been hounding Grissom more than usual, making him visibly exhausted. The best thing was to leave him alone.

Sara reached the break room and took a seat at the table. It felt good to finally be able to sit down. If she was honest, she wasn't doing too well either. Her energy levels seemed to be at an all time low. Maybe a coffee would help – at least temporarily.

While it was brewing, she decided to leave her work alone for now and relax.

The crackle of paper coming from her lab coat when she pulled it off made her smile despite herself. She took the plane out and looked at it more closely. She unfolded it, straightened it out and started over. In a matter of seconds she held a new model out that would be able to fly. She didn't need to test it; she had done this often enough to know that it would work. Satisfied she put it down and closed her yes.

She hadn't realized that she had dozed off, but she must have, because when she opened her eyes again, someone had placed a cup of coffee in front of her. When she looked around, however, she saw nobody. Whoever had brought her the coffee was gone again; but not long because it was still hot.

She had a good idea about who it had been, but right now she was too tired to go and investigate. Slowly, she took a sip, reveling in the warm feeling that spread through her. When she placed the mug back down, she noticed that the paper plane was gone.

If Greg had nicked it, he would have to pay for it.

With another sip of coffee she went back to relaxing, postponing any investigation until later.

xxxxx

"Thank you."

Grissom looked up from his paper work and saw Sara leaning on the door frame of his office like so often before. He knew what she was talking about, but decided to play dumb. His eyebrows went up, signaling a question.

"Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you." Sara pushed herself off of the frame and walked over to his desk.

Grissom's eyes followed her fingers as she reached out and touched the paper plane.

"The evidence never lies."

He conceded the truthfulness of her statement with a nod and smiled at her.

"I have a question about this case." Sara held up the case file she had in her hand. "Would you mind going over it with me?"

Grissom looked a bit confused at first, trying to remember what he knew about this case but it wasn't much.

"I know you must be tired and we can do this tomorrow if you want. I'm sorry I as…" Sara was interrupted by someone crashing into the door behind her.

Both of them were startled, but when they saw a heavily panting Greg, they became worried.

"Sara, there is…someone…to see you." He gulped between words, trying to get some air in and Grissom debated if it was physical exertion or true shock. Only the possibility of the latter made Grissom get up and move protectively behind Sara.

"Who is it?" Sara asked, but Greg only shook his head.

"Greg!" Her tone was much more threatening this time and Greg actually looked scared.

"I think, you better see for yourself." The young man stepped back to let a slightly irritated Sara pass, followed by Grissom. Instinctively, Sara made her way to the break room. As they got closer, they could hear giggling.

What they saw surprised them. There, right between Nick and Warrick, sat a little boy who couldn't be older than five. He was playing with the boys' PS2 and, by the looks of it, showing them who the boss was. Even though he had an arm in a cast, his fingers seemed to be quite nimble.

At first, he didn't seem to notice the new arrivals, but even the action on the screen couldn't hold him entranced forever. When he looked around, he noticed Sara. "Mommy!"

The boy dropped the controller and crawled over Warrick before he jumped into Sara's arms. "Mommy, I missed you so!"

His own shock seemed to be nothing compared to Sara's because Grissom could see in her eyes that this was not what she had expected. Even more, she looked scared. What he didn't know was if she was surprised and scared because a secret had been brought to light or because she really didn't know what was going on?

The thought of Sara keeping such an enormous secret made his stomach turn and his blood boil. What if Sara really had a child?

Only dimly was he aware of the words that were exchanged as he concentrated on studying the little boy in Sara's arms.

"Where did he come from?"

"Judy said he walked in by himself and asked for you. She didn't know what to do and brought him here." Nick explained what he knew.

Warrick elaborated a bit more. "He didn't say much. Just asked if he could play with us."

"I don't even know his name." Sara's words brought Grissom back to reality.

Sara didn't know who he was.

He noticed that the guys were all staring at her and she was getting uncomfortable. "Sara, why don't you take the boy to my office?"

He moved behind her again, standing taller in his need to protect her. For a moment it seemed as if Sara grew taller too. With a curt nod, she left the room.

Grissom didn't know what to do now, wanting to help her but also wanting to respect her privacy. He had resigned himself to waiting here for her when he noticed that Sara paused outside and looked back at him. Something in her eyes told him that she didn't want to do this alone.

Without thinking much about it he followed her and together they retreated to his office.

xxxxx

After closing all of the blinds, Grissom sat down beside Sara. The little bay was clinging to her, seated on her lap, but looking happy. It was an odd scene but not unpleasant.

"I don't know what to do about this," Sara sighed and looked down at the boy.

She looked a bit insecure and really speechless, so Grissom decided to take matters into his own hands.

"I'm Gil. What's your name?" He smiled, hoping to get a bit more on the boy.

The boy looked up at Sara as if he was waiting for an okay sign from her. Sara seemed stumped at first, but then nodded. That seemed to have been the permission the boy had been waiting for.

"I'm Lukas and I'm four and a half." He looked proud of his statement while Sara, on the other hand, looked shocked. The name seemed to have rung a bell.

"Are these your bugs?" Lukas asked Grissom, squirming a bit on Sara's lap.

"Yes, why don't you go and look at them." Sara let him down and the boy began to move around the office.

Grissom leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "Do you know who he is?"

Sara nodded, still watching the boy explore all of the shelves. "I think he's my nephew."

"Then why is he calling you 'mommy?'"

The situation was more than a bit confusing. Desperation to get to the bottom of this was only making it worse. His mind refused to accept the possibility that Sara could be lying to him. Sara would never do that.

She started fumbling under her lab coat and pulled her wallet out. Her shaking hands made it difficult, but she managed to extract a picture. When she held it out for him, he could see a baby with dark hair and eyes, just like Sara's. He couldn't tell if that was really the same child, but there were certain similarities.

Sara still hadn't answered his question so he thought it was time to change the subject. "Your brother has a son?"

Sara nodded, but her eyes never left the boy. "Lukas, how did you get here?"

He stopped his exploration and wandered back over to Sara. "Daddy brought me."

He looked so innocent and hopeful that Sara didn't know how to respond.

However, his answer made Grissom wonder what a warped story Lukas had been told to make him believe that it was perfectly normal to call his aunt 'mommy' and that his dad just left him alone at a foreign place.

"He also told me to give you this." The little boy pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pants and gave it to Sara.

She unfolded it and began to read. Her eyes went wide, telling Grissom that it was nothing good.

Wordlessly, she handed Grissom the note before she picked up Lukas and hugged him to her.

'Sara,

I can't take care of Luke anymore. You were always the family person and I know you'll do well.

Jake'

Anger welled up in Grissom. Although he had no connection to the boy, he was angry that a father would do something like this to his son. You can't just kick a child out of your life if it doesn't fit into your plans anymore. "I don't know what to say."

"Me neither." Sara pressed Lukas closer to her and kissed the top of his head. "Could you take me home? I need to think."

And again, they left together.

xxxxx

With a sigh, Sara closed the bedroom door behind her. "He's asleep."

Grissom had taken her home and the moment he had opened the car door to help her out she knew that he wasn't going to leave.

Sara had tried to serve breakfast but she had nothing more than a bit of toast and some jam. The rest of the morning had been spent trying to get the whole story out of the boy.

For a four year old he was exceptionally perceptive. He had heard and seen more than he should have and although he wasn't really able to make sense out of the information, Sara could. Apparently a lot of men had visited her brother wanting money for various things and when Lukas had broken his arm Jake couldn't pay the bills. She would have to settle that.

When Lukas could barely keep his eyes open, Sara knew it was time to get him to bed. She could only imagine how early the poor little had had to get up to be dropped off during her work hours. Technically it was still a bit early for a nap, but she still managed to put him down.

"That's good." Grissom was sitting on her couch waiting for her. He didn't ask, but she could see he was curious.

"I really don't know more than you do." Sara let herself fall down into the armchair next to the couch. The question from before was still hanging in the air, and she knew now was the time to explain some things.

"Lukas was born just before I moved here. Even then, things weren't good between my brother and his girlfriend. She wanted more from life, I guess. Settling down with a family wasn't the thing for her. Or maybe Jake wasn't the man to have that family with. A couple of weeks after I had settled in here, Jake called. He told me she had left him and the baby. One morning she was just gone. I don't know. Maybe some people aren't meant to be together."

She glanced at Grissom, trying to judge his reaction. There was a fear that he would think badly about her because she had stayed in Las Vegas and left her brother to himself. "I told him I'd come back, but he refused, saying that he was fine. I've only seen him and Lukas a handful of times since then. They seemed to get along fine. Jake is a good father, no matter what and I know he loves his son. He would never mistreat him."

Tears were welling up in her eyes. She couldn't help but feel that she had let him down. Her explanations were just rationalizations and her heart told her something completely different. "I let him down."

Sara hung her head, regret overwhelming her.

"Sara, you trusted your brother and he never showed you that that trust was misplaced." She was a bit shocked when he took her hand and squeezed it.

"Lukas shows no signs of neglect. I'm no doctor or psychologist, but he seems to be a bright and happy boy." His explanation seemed plausible, she knew that, but her heart had some trouble understanding.

"Still, I feel like I should have seen that Jake was in trouble and couldn't handle it anymore."

There would be no convincing her of the opposite, at least not today, and so Grissom let it go. "What are you going to do now?"

Sara looked up, tears still in her eyes. "I don't know. But I won't leave him."

The decision had been made when she found out who he was. She would be there for him. She would never let him be passed around like she had been.

"If you need time off…" Grissom looked a bit helpless but sincere, and Sara was amazed by this caring and understanding side. Why didn't she get to see it more often?

"That would be good." It would not be easy to stay away from work – and Grissom – but Lukas needed to be her top priority.

"I'll arrange everything for you." Grissom squeezed her hand again and got up. "I'll let you get some rest now. Call me if you need anything."

He smiled at her, encouraging her to believe that everything would be fine. She could do this; he trusted her.

xxxxx

"Is that your final answer?" Grissom asked the little boy, trying to ignore the giggling in the background.

He hadn't been able to stay away. He wanted to see how Sara was doing and if she needed help.

When she had opened the door, she'd looked more than tired. The change of schedule coupled with the additional burden of caring for a small child had probably been too much for her.

Although he didn't have the night off, he wanted to help. Sara had organized some games that Grissom was now playing with the boy. Right now, they were playing some sort of child quiz game, where Lukas had to connect the matching pictures, names and figures with a string. The boy nodded in answer to Grissom's question and grinned.

"That's right, well done!"

Grissom tried to focus on the boy, but he could feel Sara watching him and it was distracting. "Sara, why don't you go lay down?"

Sara shook her head. "Then I won't be able to sleep at night."

Grissom let it go, knowing it was a necessary step in adapting to living with a child. It meant that it would be a while before Sara would be back at work, but he understood. She was needed here right now. "Next one?"

"I want mommy to play with us." Lukas looked at Sara, begging her with his eyes to join them.

Although she was exhausted, she gave in, guilt still weighing her down.

They kept playing until Lukas called, "That's wrong, mommy!"

And indeed, Sara had been more than a bit distracted. "I'm sorry. You can do it better. I think I'm going to make dinner anyway."

She got up and went to the kitchen. Grissom felt bad for her, but there was nothing he could do to make her more comfortable in this unusual situation. He kept playing with Lukas, wondering if it was time for him to go. Sara hadn't mentioned including him in their dinner plans.

When she called Lukas to dinner, Grissom got ready to leave, but Sara stopped him. "Stay."

xxxxx

"You will be gone when I wake up?" The little boy asked Grissom after he had gotten ready to settle in for the night.

"I have to work tonight."

He was sitting next to the older man on the couch, looking up at him. Apparently, the boy was very taken with him. He had gotten used to Grissom's presence quickly and didn't really want him to go.

"Alright." He sounded so sad that Grissom did something uncharacteristic of him.

"Do you want me to write something on your cast?"

The boy looked at him curiously. He seemed clueless as to what was expected from him.

"Give me your arm."

Lukas held it out and Grissom took a pen from the coffee table and began to draw. At first he drew a beetle, then a stick figure, a magnifying glass and a police star. To finish his artwork he wrote his last name next to the drawings.

"Now you only have to show your cast and people will know you want to see me."

The message was something even a 4-year-old could understand and the boy threw up his arms to hug Grissom.

It surprised him, making him freeze. After a few seconds, he finally returned the hug, making the boy and Sara smile. When they pulled apart, Sara took Luke's hand and led him to the bedroom.

Again, Grissom wanted to get up and leave and again, Sara asked him to stay.

Patiently, he waited until she emerged back from the bedroom.

"Thanks," Sara said when she returned to the living area and sat down in the armchair.

"No problem, have you thought about what you're going to do yet?"

She nodded, fiddling with her fingers. She was nervous, but she didn't know why. This was Grissom, and she needed someone to talk to.

"I need to organize everything first, but I want to come back to work. I need to. Just…just not right now. I need some time to work it all out." The insecurity showed in her voice. This was her plan, but she was unsure of how Grissom would take it.

Work was the biggest part of their relationship and she felt like she was taking something from herself as well as him. What would they do without work?

"Sara, take as much time as you need. You need to take care of Lukas first and foremost."

She was moved by his understanding. It wouldn't make the separation easier, but maybe there was a way that they could still see each other, after all, he had come today.

"I already talked to a lawyer. If Lukas is going to stay here and I'm going to take care of everything, I need temporary custody."

A part of her still hoped that Jake would soon be back, but no matter how unreliable he could be sometimes, he stood by his decisions. There was a good chance that he would visit, but not take the boy back. It seemed as if Luke would be staying with her for much longer, but that was something she didn't want think about now. She would take it as it came.

Grissom seemed to support her decision. He nodded and smiled at. "Whatever you need, I'll help you."

Her eyes went wide as his generous offer rendered her speechless. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. Often, she was too proud to accept help, but in this she'd take it because so much more depended on her; Luke depended on her and she would never do something that would endanger his welfare.

"Just call me."

She would. This time she really would. "Thank you."

"It doesn't matter what it is, just call."

The end