Title: Teach Me
Summary: From the after effects of Grave Danger, the CSI team are faced with the past and repercussions of the lab explosion. And no one takes it harder than the victim himself; Greg. Just my own little mind trying to vent my frustration over TPTB's lack of continuance with "Play With Fire".
A/N: Picking this up after leaving it to collect dust for a bit. And of course, this has been beta'd by the amazing Aidrianna. Like I said, you're a very brave girl :hugs:. Thanks a bunch.
Disclaimer: Don't own CSI and all its characters, whoever owns them, owns them. But it's not me- though I wish.
CHAPTER 9-----
Cracking her knuckles from lack of use, Sara was glad she didn't have to give Hodges a knuckle sandwich for breakfast. He seemed preoccupied with something from Ecklie.
Who was she to mess around his apple-polishing?
Speaking of breakfast, Sara wondered if she could pull in a certain someone to accompany her for a quick bite at the diner down the street. She had circled the entire place looking for him and all she figured he had left the building already. If she was fast enough, she could still catch him before he was too far. Pulling on her sunglasses, Sara squinted as the sunrays assaulted her with its usual morning perkiness.
It wasn't who she was searching for but she could do with some human interaction. "You heading in or out?"
If detective Brass was the slightest bit startled, he never revealed it, at least not that Sara could see. "Clocking in.," he replied in the simplest form.
"Too bad," she pursed her lips together for the effect of teasing him, knowing very well he was going to have a bright sunny day of murders and what nots. She would've left it at that, in fact, but she had finally spotted the main star she was hunting down and decided to mix him into her next line for Jim. "I was going to ask you if you'd like to have breakfast with Greg and I."
"You having breakfast with Greg Sanders?" This time, Jim looked genuinely surprised.
"Why, is that wrong?" Her curiosity was far stronger than her defensiveness at the point, though the latter was on the verge of breaking out again. Sara knew Jim always had an unspoken dislike for Greg with Jim's constant jabs and puns at him.
"No," Jim shot out the answer faster than Hodges can revel in his pride. "Just that I had a chat with him and sounded like he didn't have any breakfast plans."
"Well, I haven't asked him yet. Guess I should go ask him now before he leaves." She nudged the glasses up higher her nose hoping to block out more of the offending sunlight from her eyes. "Bye, Captain."
Sara busied herself with getting to Greg before he dashed off into his VW. What better way was there to get any attention than by shouting like a mad idiot? "Greg!" Landing silently on one foot, she gave Greg a small nod as he motioned for her to remain quiet while he finished with the phone call.
Shifting from one foot to the other, Sara remained patiently on her spot while waiting. She noticed his tiny flinches as if his cell was pinching his ears and that made her wonder who on the other end could inflict the discomfort. Her mind wandered to all sorts of possible theories and one of them hilariously included aliens from another dimension.
Hunger must be getting to her.
"Yeah?"
Forget about formalities and politeness, Sara was starving and she was going to get him to accompany her. "I figure you as a bacon and eggs kind of guy."
"Huh?" Greg frowned and shook his head, obviously in confusion.
So much for the straight-to-the-point approach. "Breakfast, Greg. I'm starving and I can bet even you need sustenance to be hyper most of the time," Sara couldn't help but laugh at his morning daze. "How about heading to the diner two blocks down for a scrumptious meal made to please any hungry CSI?" She sealed her offer with one of her smiles; Sara was never one for making puppy-dog eyes and that was Greg's department.
"Uh, sure."
Sara had this small fear that she would have to put a fight up with Greg to get him to have a meal, but now, relief flooded her as she added more brilliance to her smile. "Great," hands already rummaging through her jeans pockets, Sara extracted her keys and teasingly shook the collection in the air. "I'll see you in my car- I'm driving."
It was rather predictable but Sara knew that as soon as she announced that she was to be the designated driver, Greg would be the very first to roll his eyes and retort that no one would ever dare challenge her on that. When he didn't, the slight surprise crept up from her and she flashed him a small smile. It went unnoticed as Greg was again paying full attention to the phone and whoever it was on the other side.
Not bothering to even wave, Sara silently backed away and headed for her own car. Searching through the rows of metallic coloured vehicles, she spotted hers and hit the button on her controls, unlocking the doors. Glancing back at Greg, Sara eyed the younger man and her thoughts wandered to the conversation she had accidentally eavesdropped upon.
Her throat felt tighter and rough as she pondered about what he had said, all those demons hiding inside without letting anyone know. She knew the feeling all too well; covering something that's been clawing within and tearing her apart piece by piece, desperately and silently seeking someone who would understand her inner self more than she did.
Pulling open the driver's door, she slid into the seat, her fingers feeling underneath it for the lever and adjusting the position of the place just a little. Finally satisfied with it, Sara pushed the keys into the ignition and allowed the engine to purr to life. Letting her head rest back, she reached for the air conditioning switch and let the relief settle slowly in the car and around her. The cool air felt good to her skin and the seat's soft woven material eased her aching muscles.
From behind her tinted lenses, she could still witness Greg's morning-sun-bake phone call. Whoever it is, must be something important for Greg to just stand there and be morning roast, not bothering to seek the shade for comfort.
Gently, the sunglasses slipped lower from her sight, giving her a better view of her junior rookie. For more than a year she had been playing mentor to him, guiding him along the rocky path of a level one, showing him the tricks of the trade and allowing him the space he needed all at the same time. If she could, she would've cocooned him from the emotional side effects of the job, the death, the sudden brutality and passion of each heinous crime.
But she couldn't.
No, the emotional luggage was part of the job and there was no way of skipping that point in the task. It was what made a CSI who she or he was, reminding the investigator that it's the emotions that give them the fuel for the job and not ambition. If it was ambition that pushed you, you'd burn out before you even come close to a level two promotion.
Yet, Sara discovered an interesting truth to her student-teacher relationship of her and Greg. It had become a quest for personal gain when she unofficially took the role. Giving herself a reason to look forward to come to work each day instead of filling herself with hate for the criminals. Now she was driven by her need to show the world that Sara Sidle was worth more than just a crime-solving machine.
She could care.
She could care enough to impart her knowledge to the young and inexperienced and to show that she had other uses. It was then, during the self-revelation, that Sara also unearthed the reason behind her desperate invitation of breakfast. She needed to help Greg tiptoe through the shattered past and emotions. Maybe, just maybe, it was her way of finding retribution for her own unvoiced demons.
Maybe.
'Seeking someone who would understand her inner self more than she did.'
The thought echoed in her mind once more.
Just maybe, she could find that someone in him.
Eyes closed and her self-motivation sealed, she found herself reaching out and opening the car door for that very person she needed to reach her goal. There were no words required from her, as all he did was flash her his grin.
"Move over," Sara cocked and eyebrow at his demand, "I'm driving this time."
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Thanks to Sillie, boboskiwatin, dArkliTe-sPirit, Hyperactive Forever, remoob1513 and KateK for the lovely reviews. And thanks to everyone else for reading.
-Cheers
Jo