LINGER
Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy! You guys have really good suggestions. My brain didn't immediately register the fact that Sara had been abused too…
Chapter 7:
Greg and Sara now sat on Greg's couch, Elicia sleeping between them.
"Can I tell you something, Greg?" Sara asked, looking down at the little girl who reminded her of herself at that age.
He nodded silently. "Always, Sara."
She smiled at him. "I know what Elicia's going through…"
"What?" he asked, rather surprised with this information and honored that she trusted him with it.
She looked down, suddenly finding the carpet rather interesting. "My dad…" she started. "He lost his job when I was eight. He couldn't get a new one and started beating my mom. Eventually he started hitting me, too. After a year my mother had had enough and stabbed him, several times. She was convicted and I was put into custody of the state, jumping around foster homes. I've never told anyone before you.
(Hey… this is supposed to be after Play With Fire so… Grissom wouldn't have heard this story yet… and I find it rather creepy that Sara and Elicia were pretty much the same age…which I apparently just realized….)
Greg was silent for a moment, processing that information. A sense of pride for what she must have had to overcome to get to where she was today surging through him. "You are absolutely amazing," he said finally.
Sara smiled, relieved that he hadn't expressed how sorry he was for a past that couldn't be changed.
"So, that's why you take domestic abuse cases so hard?" he asked, putting two and two together.
She nodded. "Yeah. No one's ever bothered to ask me why before…" she said.
"Until now," he smiled. "I'll always be here to listen."
Elicia shifted in her sleep, leaning against Sara's side. She wrapped her arm around the little girl. "She's had a long day…"
He nodded in agreement. "Oh, yeah. That's an understatement." He stood up, gently lifting Elicia into his arms, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck. "I'll be right back," he told Sara before taking his daughter to her room.
She nodded and stood up as well.
"I should probably go," she said when he returned a moment later.
He stood in front of her. "Thanks for telling me about your past. I'm glad you trust me with it." He smiled.
"Only you, Greggo." She said. "Only you."
He pulled her into a hug. "I'm glad," he whispered. She leaned up, her lips lightly brushing against his. Greg's forehead rested against hers, he leaned down and kissed her again, her arms moving around his neck.
They smiled as they broke apart. "See ya tomorrow," she said, smiling as she walked out the front door.
"See ya," he replied.
Little did either of them know, a little girl stood in the hallway, grinning like crazy.
Okay, a kiss, and Elicia saw it I had to include a nice fluffy chapter before the terror that is Shane will return… Thanks for all the reviews!
