DISCLAIMER:Don't Own it. No Money Made... Just for fun and enjoyment.
A/N: Thought I should include some of what was going on in Sara's head. Here's a nice little snapshot.
REVIEWS: Thanks to all who have reviewed.
Chapter 28
Another night, another crime scene: that seemed to be Sara's life story. She did not know when her life had become this intertwined mass of case after case, with nothing else to keep her warm at night, outside of the satisfaction of closing a case. She just knew that without her hope for a relationship with Grissom, she was not sure why she still felt a need to stay in Las Vegas. In many ways, she had given up her hope a long time ago, long before Stephanie MacInnerney showed up, but until that day, she had always kept that little flame alive somewhere in the back of her mind.
Seeing Grissom with Stephanie, and knowing how much happier he had become since her arrival should have snuffed that little flame right out. However, Sara distinctly felt like the flame had been fanned into a pyre. She guessed her heart was just as masochistic as the rest of her, because it would appear that the flame was working to burn out anything and everything which had ever been touched by Gil Grissom. The trouble was, it was everything Sara held dear, and with his recent behavior, she had come to care for him even more.
Sara wondered if Grissom had any idea what his kindnesses were doing to her everyday, but then she remembered that even Grissom could not change that much. He was still the socially and emotionally oblivious man he had always been; that was likely to never change. Sara knew he was just expressing himself the only way he could, and he would never be able to see that she wanted so much more from him. For that, she was actually glad, because she did truly care for the man, and if being with Stephanie was making him happy, she could never deny him that bliss.
If Sara was honest with herself, she would also admit that Stephanie was probably the perfect person for Grissom. She matched or exceeded the man in every aspect, and it appeared to give them an amazing amount of comfort with each other, which was something Sara had never seen in Grissom. Even with Catherine, Grissom was never so free with his words or deeds, and she was quite certain Catherine was probably his best friend; her and Brass.
Sara knew that everyone was pleased with the new coroner, and even she had discovered that she was a talented and easily likeable young woman. Young woman. Sara repeated that phrase over and over in her mind, and the reason behind it made her want to cry.
Sara had always assumed Grissom had problems with their age difference, and that it was one of the primary reasons for him not wanting to start a relationship with her. That little illusion had been wiped away when Sara learned how old Stephanie was from Greg. Sara had more than a few years on the doctor, so obviously Grissom was not bothered by an age difference.
No, Sara was quickly coming to the conclusion that Grissom was going to be much better off without ever delving into a relationship with her. They were both slightly broken people, and it was becoming painfully obvious to Sara that he had found someone to heal his soul. That led her to the equally obvious conclusion that she had not found such a person yet. She still needed someone to fix her.
Thankfully, before she had anymore time to go further down those roads of thought, she felt a buzzing in her ears. As she returned her focus to the outside world, she found Nick standing beside her trying to get her attention, "Earth to Sara… Come in Sara." When he saw that her eyes had returned to focus, he let out a small laugh, "Nice to have ya back with us, Sar. Where in the world were you at, girl?"
Nick's smile was the first thing Sara focused on, and it threw her off for a moment, "Huh? Oh yeah, sorry about that… What did you need?" She struggled to bring her mind out of the fog of introspection as she spoke.
Nick gave her the concerned brother look and put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you sure yer okay?"
Sara smiled at him. She knew that Nick cared about her well-being, and she appreciated his attention, but she was not ready to talk about everything just yet, "I will be. Can that be enough for now?"
"For now." Nick was content with her answer, but he wanted to add one last proviso, "As long as you tell me when it's not workin'… Deal?"
"Deal." She knew that no matter what, if she needed him, Nick would be there for her; he was just that kind of guy. He simply knew no other way to be a friend. "Now, what do we have left here?"
Nick looked around the room briefly, "Well, you got all the prints, and I got everything that could have been used as the murder weapon and scanned the area for other trace evidence. Sooooooo… I think that just about does it." Sara joined him in looking around the room once more and nodded her head, "Awright, I'll pack this stuff up and take it out to the car, if you wanna release the scene to PD?"
She nodded once more, "Sounds like a plan… Meet you back at the car." She headed out to speak to the officers on duty at the door as Nick started putting everything into evidence boxes. When she stole one more look back at the diligent man, she realized why she was staying in Las Vegas. It may not be a conventional family, but the people she found here had become her family. And as dysfunctional as they might appear to be on the surface, they were the most functional family Sara Sidle had ever been a part of in her lifetime. All that was left to do was to find some kind of closure to her other problem, and life could be good for her. Trouble was, she still was not sure she even wanted that closure; not just yet.
