"What are you doing in my brother's room?" the owner of the angry voice
demanded from the doorway. The boy glowered at Sara as he spoke, but when
he saw Grissom slide around to stand beside the stranger, his eyes widened
in disbelief.
"Uncle Tom?" Confused blue eyes stared at Grissom with a mixture of alarm and wonder.
Grissom was no less dazed by the small boy who stood glaring at the intruders. He remained speechless as Sara swiveled her head between one and the other and blinked in amazed silence. The boy appeared to be ten or so with deep auburn hair and those startling blue eyes that Sara now attributed to the Grissom Gene. She knew this must be the Mattie that Elaine had referred to when she left them beside the door a few hours ago.
She watched the boy's eyes narrow in suspicion.
"You aren't my uncle." The child stated with a glare towards Grissom. "Who are you and why are in my brother's room?"
Beside her, Sara felt Grissom take a shaky breath and release it with one long sigh, "No. I'm not your Uncle Tom. My name is Gil Grissom and that is Sara Sidle."
Grissom took a chance and stepped forward to hold out his hand towards the young man.
The boy leapt back as if Grissom had thrust a weapon towards him. Sara could see the wheels spinning behind the blue eyes and wondered what he was thinking. She did not have long to contemplate as the boy folded his arms across his chest and furrowed his brow.
"I know that you are too young to be my sorry ass granddad." The boy stuck his tongue out slightly between his lips while he pondered. "I know that you look too old to be my Uncle Tom. He doesn't have gray hair or wear glasses."
Grissom listened to the child with an amused tic lifting the corner of his lips. He was clearly fascinated by the reasoning that drifted through the boy's mind.
"Mattie!" Elaine's voice halted the boy's processing and made him jump out of his skin as he spun towards the hall behind him. "Matthew Robert Giles." Elaine scowled at the child who now locked his jaw and stood ready to take whatever words were about to assault him. "I've been searching all over for you and here you are in Andrew's room being rude to the people trying to help find him."
The words must have shot to Mattie's heart, because he turned quickly to reassess the couple in his brother's room.
"I walked home from school," Mattie grumbled. "Who are they?"
"Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle." Elaine began only to be interrupted by an impatient Mattie.
"No. Who are they? Who is he?" Mattie questioned with a frown as he pointed towards Grissom.
"Matthew Giles, I won't take that tone of voice from you." Elaine was on the brink of tears. Her emotionally charged voice must have registered with Mattie because he dropped his head and blushed.
"I'm sorry." he mumbled, staring at his sneakers with a look of chagrin.
Elaine hugged him to her side and rubbed the back of his shoulders. "Gil is your uncle, Mattie. He is the oldest son of your dad's dad. He never knew about any of us, did you Gil?"
"No."
Mattie turned to look at the man again, before pulling away from Elaine and walking swiftly towards the door. He ducked out of the room without making another comment, but Sara and Grissom saw the confusion and uncertainty that weighed heavy behind his eyes.
Elaine touched a shaking hand to her own auburn hair and made a feeble motion towards the retreating back, "That was Mattie. He is struggling with everything right now and um---." Elaine's words trailed off, and she suddenly turned and fled the room.
Sara and Grissom stared at the empty doorway with blank expressions before slowly facing each other with bemused looks.
"I think that now would be a good time to take a break and grab something for dinner." Grissom suggested. He was eager to escape this claustrophobic room and the sporadic emotions that were raining down on him from all sides.
Sara nodded and trailed after him to the hall and then on towards the entranceway.
"Hey, Gris." Sara suddenly called out as they reached the front door, "I want to let Elaine know that we are going out for dinner and will be back later on."
She was surprised when Grissom did not argue with her, but instead trailed after her towards the sound of pots and pans banging. They found Elaine in the kitchen washing a pan, her hands scrubbing the interior as if she were removing all of the stains that would ever exist within the metal object.
Sara cleared her throat and felt instant remorse when Elaine dropped the pan with a clatter and spun towards them with a look of fear.
"I'm sorry," Sara said with a faltering smile. "I didn't intend to startle you, Elaine. We just wanted to let you know that we are going to take a break and grab something to eat."
The relief that washed over Elaine's face did not go unnoticed by Sara or Grissom.
"There is a really good place in town called the Desert Springs Restaurant." Elaine told them as she escorted them to the door. "Will you be coming back here after dinner?"
"Ah, no, I don't think so," Sara refused to glance at Grissom. "I think that we'll find something in town or maybe even drive back tonight."
She wondered if Elaine forgot that she had offered to let them stay in her guestrooms, but then decided that she honestly would not feel comfortable even if she did make the offer.
Grissom carted what little evidence they had gathered out to the Tahoe while Sara lingered on the porch.
"Elaine," Sara searched for the words she needed to ask the woman, especially if they were not coming back tonight. There were so many questions that she needed to ask. "Did Andrew have a girlfriend?"
A laugh escaped from Elaine's lips before she could stop it and she stared back at Sara with horror at her own slip.
"Yes and no," Elaine said in a whisper. "Andrew had so many girls calling him and he went out with someone almost every weekend. I suppose he had many girlfriends."
"No one special?" Sara prompted.
Shaking her head, Elaine finally shrugged. "I don't think so. Although that could have changed in the past few weeks."
"Sara?" Grissom called to her from the bottom step and she waved him off without looking at him and spoke again to Elaine.
"I never got a chance to ask you why your husband took Andrew camping in The Mojave Desert of all places. That seems like a dangerous place to go for a camping trip."
Elaine shrugged. "My son loves The Mojave. He always begged Kyle to take him camping there and Kyle finally said that he was old enough to go. I didn't like it, but my husband is an experienced outdoorsman. I trusted him to bring Andrew home safe."
Tears slid down Elaine's cheeks and she made no attempt to brush them aside as she pulled the screen door shut between them.
"I made a mistake it appears," Elaine said. She moved to close the inner door, leaving Sara alone on the porch.
"Sara? You ready to go?" Grissom called to her once again. The irritation rolling in his voice was not lost on her as she spun on her heel.
"Fine," Sara muttered as she turned to catch up with Grissom who was already sitting behind the wheel of the Tahoe. "And nothing was answered." She added beneath her breath.
"What's that?" Grissom asked her as she approached the car.
"Nothing, Grissom." Sara strummed her fingers along the driver's window and stared at the Navigator sitting in the driveway in front of the Tahoe.
Grissom followed her look and said with a slight smirk. "I already checked out the car, inside and out. I didn't find anything that the Feds didn't already collect."
"Dirt from the tires?" Sara questioned, frowning when Grissom looked at the steering wheel and avoided her gaze. "If they did collect the dirt on the tires, then did you get the results?"
Grissom mumbled something unintelligible and it was Sara's turn to lean forward and ask him to repeat himself.
"Nothing, Sara." Grissom responded with another scowl, intentionally echoing her own response to his question.
He was not sure if he was more irritated with the way in which Sara was taking over the situation or with his own trouble finding the will to prove that these two new found relatives of his were no longer alive and what had happened to them.
"Agent Bleacher assured me that they collected all the evidence from the car---." Grissom finally admitted as his gaze followed Sara who was taking something from the back of the Tahoe. He watched as she moved with purpose towards the Navigator.
"What do you think you are doing?" Grissom asked with an irritated raise of the brow.
Sara ignored him as she flaked off various flecks of grass, dirt and other unidentifiable items from each tire, labeling them in individual bags as she wrote a letter on each one. Placing the bags aside she looked inside the interior of the Navigator and tried the handle on one of the back doors. It did not open, so she moved to the passenger door and gave it a tug. Finding it closed, she walked around to the front of the car only to find her path blocked by a very annoyed Grissom. They faced off as she stared into his eyes with a troubled look.
"How many cars have we taken apart during a case, Grissom? How often have we found evidence hidden inside a dash or floorboard that would have been overlooked by less caring eyes?"
Sara did not wait for him to answer as she knew that he knew the truth of what she said. Instead she pushed him out of the way with one hand and tried the driver's side door. It opened.
Grissom glared at her as she bent inside the car and she thought he was about to snap something at her when a click rang throughout the interior and she saw the backdoor open.
Straightening up, she looked over the seat to see Grissom inspecting the back seat. Without looking in her direction, he made a half hearted excuse about being hungry and how it would be faster if they both worked the car over so they could leave.
Sara bit back a grin and let him complain.
TBC
"Uncle Tom?" Confused blue eyes stared at Grissom with a mixture of alarm and wonder.
Grissom was no less dazed by the small boy who stood glaring at the intruders. He remained speechless as Sara swiveled her head between one and the other and blinked in amazed silence. The boy appeared to be ten or so with deep auburn hair and those startling blue eyes that Sara now attributed to the Grissom Gene. She knew this must be the Mattie that Elaine had referred to when she left them beside the door a few hours ago.
She watched the boy's eyes narrow in suspicion.
"You aren't my uncle." The child stated with a glare towards Grissom. "Who are you and why are in my brother's room?"
Beside her, Sara felt Grissom take a shaky breath and release it with one long sigh, "No. I'm not your Uncle Tom. My name is Gil Grissom and that is Sara Sidle."
Grissom took a chance and stepped forward to hold out his hand towards the young man.
The boy leapt back as if Grissom had thrust a weapon towards him. Sara could see the wheels spinning behind the blue eyes and wondered what he was thinking. She did not have long to contemplate as the boy folded his arms across his chest and furrowed his brow.
"I know that you are too young to be my sorry ass granddad." The boy stuck his tongue out slightly between his lips while he pondered. "I know that you look too old to be my Uncle Tom. He doesn't have gray hair or wear glasses."
Grissom listened to the child with an amused tic lifting the corner of his lips. He was clearly fascinated by the reasoning that drifted through the boy's mind.
"Mattie!" Elaine's voice halted the boy's processing and made him jump out of his skin as he spun towards the hall behind him. "Matthew Robert Giles." Elaine scowled at the child who now locked his jaw and stood ready to take whatever words were about to assault him. "I've been searching all over for you and here you are in Andrew's room being rude to the people trying to help find him."
The words must have shot to Mattie's heart, because he turned quickly to reassess the couple in his brother's room.
"I walked home from school," Mattie grumbled. "Who are they?"
"Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle." Elaine began only to be interrupted by an impatient Mattie.
"No. Who are they? Who is he?" Mattie questioned with a frown as he pointed towards Grissom.
"Matthew Giles, I won't take that tone of voice from you." Elaine was on the brink of tears. Her emotionally charged voice must have registered with Mattie because he dropped his head and blushed.
"I'm sorry." he mumbled, staring at his sneakers with a look of chagrin.
Elaine hugged him to her side and rubbed the back of his shoulders. "Gil is your uncle, Mattie. He is the oldest son of your dad's dad. He never knew about any of us, did you Gil?"
"No."
Mattie turned to look at the man again, before pulling away from Elaine and walking swiftly towards the door. He ducked out of the room without making another comment, but Sara and Grissom saw the confusion and uncertainty that weighed heavy behind his eyes.
Elaine touched a shaking hand to her own auburn hair and made a feeble motion towards the retreating back, "That was Mattie. He is struggling with everything right now and um---." Elaine's words trailed off, and she suddenly turned and fled the room.
Sara and Grissom stared at the empty doorway with blank expressions before slowly facing each other with bemused looks.
"I think that now would be a good time to take a break and grab something for dinner." Grissom suggested. He was eager to escape this claustrophobic room and the sporadic emotions that were raining down on him from all sides.
Sara nodded and trailed after him to the hall and then on towards the entranceway.
"Hey, Gris." Sara suddenly called out as they reached the front door, "I want to let Elaine know that we are going out for dinner and will be back later on."
She was surprised when Grissom did not argue with her, but instead trailed after her towards the sound of pots and pans banging. They found Elaine in the kitchen washing a pan, her hands scrubbing the interior as if she were removing all of the stains that would ever exist within the metal object.
Sara cleared her throat and felt instant remorse when Elaine dropped the pan with a clatter and spun towards them with a look of fear.
"I'm sorry," Sara said with a faltering smile. "I didn't intend to startle you, Elaine. We just wanted to let you know that we are going to take a break and grab something to eat."
The relief that washed over Elaine's face did not go unnoticed by Sara or Grissom.
"There is a really good place in town called the Desert Springs Restaurant." Elaine told them as she escorted them to the door. "Will you be coming back here after dinner?"
"Ah, no, I don't think so," Sara refused to glance at Grissom. "I think that we'll find something in town or maybe even drive back tonight."
She wondered if Elaine forgot that she had offered to let them stay in her guestrooms, but then decided that she honestly would not feel comfortable even if she did make the offer.
Grissom carted what little evidence they had gathered out to the Tahoe while Sara lingered on the porch.
"Elaine," Sara searched for the words she needed to ask the woman, especially if they were not coming back tonight. There were so many questions that she needed to ask. "Did Andrew have a girlfriend?"
A laugh escaped from Elaine's lips before she could stop it and she stared back at Sara with horror at her own slip.
"Yes and no," Elaine said in a whisper. "Andrew had so many girls calling him and he went out with someone almost every weekend. I suppose he had many girlfriends."
"No one special?" Sara prompted.
Shaking her head, Elaine finally shrugged. "I don't think so. Although that could have changed in the past few weeks."
"Sara?" Grissom called to her from the bottom step and she waved him off without looking at him and spoke again to Elaine.
"I never got a chance to ask you why your husband took Andrew camping in The Mojave Desert of all places. That seems like a dangerous place to go for a camping trip."
Elaine shrugged. "My son loves The Mojave. He always begged Kyle to take him camping there and Kyle finally said that he was old enough to go. I didn't like it, but my husband is an experienced outdoorsman. I trusted him to bring Andrew home safe."
Tears slid down Elaine's cheeks and she made no attempt to brush them aside as she pulled the screen door shut between them.
"I made a mistake it appears," Elaine said. She moved to close the inner door, leaving Sara alone on the porch.
"Sara? You ready to go?" Grissom called to her once again. The irritation rolling in his voice was not lost on her as she spun on her heel.
"Fine," Sara muttered as she turned to catch up with Grissom who was already sitting behind the wheel of the Tahoe. "And nothing was answered." She added beneath her breath.
"What's that?" Grissom asked her as she approached the car.
"Nothing, Grissom." Sara strummed her fingers along the driver's window and stared at the Navigator sitting in the driveway in front of the Tahoe.
Grissom followed her look and said with a slight smirk. "I already checked out the car, inside and out. I didn't find anything that the Feds didn't already collect."
"Dirt from the tires?" Sara questioned, frowning when Grissom looked at the steering wheel and avoided her gaze. "If they did collect the dirt on the tires, then did you get the results?"
Grissom mumbled something unintelligible and it was Sara's turn to lean forward and ask him to repeat himself.
"Nothing, Sara." Grissom responded with another scowl, intentionally echoing her own response to his question.
He was not sure if he was more irritated with the way in which Sara was taking over the situation or with his own trouble finding the will to prove that these two new found relatives of his were no longer alive and what had happened to them.
"Agent Bleacher assured me that they collected all the evidence from the car---." Grissom finally admitted as his gaze followed Sara who was taking something from the back of the Tahoe. He watched as she moved with purpose towards the Navigator.
"What do you think you are doing?" Grissom asked with an irritated raise of the brow.
Sara ignored him as she flaked off various flecks of grass, dirt and other unidentifiable items from each tire, labeling them in individual bags as she wrote a letter on each one. Placing the bags aside she looked inside the interior of the Navigator and tried the handle on one of the back doors. It did not open, so she moved to the passenger door and gave it a tug. Finding it closed, she walked around to the front of the car only to find her path blocked by a very annoyed Grissom. They faced off as she stared into his eyes with a troubled look.
"How many cars have we taken apart during a case, Grissom? How often have we found evidence hidden inside a dash or floorboard that would have been overlooked by less caring eyes?"
Sara did not wait for him to answer as she knew that he knew the truth of what she said. Instead she pushed him out of the way with one hand and tried the driver's side door. It opened.
Grissom glared at her as she bent inside the car and she thought he was about to snap something at her when a click rang throughout the interior and she saw the backdoor open.
Straightening up, she looked over the seat to see Grissom inspecting the back seat. Without looking in her direction, he made a half hearted excuse about being hungry and how it would be faster if they both worked the car over so they could leave.
Sara bit back a grin and let him complain.
TBC