Diclaimer: I don't own CSI and all related articles but insert joke here
A/N: Okay so there is fluff in here, you just have to wait a couple of chapters :)
CHAPTER 1
The assignment of the day (or should I say night) was a DB in the lake of an old mansion on the outskirts of the city.
"Whoa, nice place!" Sara commented upon arrival. She was in the back seat of Nick's Denali, Nick driving and Grissom in the passenger seat.
"That's the kind of thing you get for 20 million." Nick joked but stopped smiling at Grissom's unamused face. At least he brought a smile to Sara's face the noted by a look at the rear vision mirror. He knew Sara wasn't well, you could tell just by looking at her; her face pale and eyes shrunken. He just couldn't understand why she put herself through this but he had other thing he was supposed to be focusing on at the moment.
"They're still pulling the DB out of the lake so no identification so far…" Brass filled them in as they grabbed their gear and headed for the lake at the back of the property. Sara felt her mind slipping but couldn't understand her lack of concentration. Instead of recognizing she was too sick to be working – like Nick had already told her - she just became more frustrated with herself – and Nick for that matter. She couldn't understand why he had to butt into her life. She could work when she felt like it but when he found out she was sick before shift, he tried to lecture her. The nerve of him! At least she got a good look at him half naked as a constellation.
"… the body was found by the gardener, I'm just going to interview him now." Nick volunteered himself to join Brass in getting the gardener's statement which left Sara and Grissom to process the surrounding area.
Grissom always failed to put two and two together when it came to people but if he had, he would have realized why Sara was so not energetic that night. Instead he decided to try and give her a pick-me-up.
"Sara, come check this out!" he called to her. Now since Grissom wasn't experienced in dealing with people, his idea for a pick-me-up would be as good as his relationship advice.
"I've been told by the guy who cleared it that this hidden ladder leads to some kind of underground room. I thought that you'd love to work your own crime scene so here it is."
"But…" Sara retorted
"But nothing. Just go down and have some forensic fun!"
Sara grumbled, she had no choice but to go down the ladder. Suited up, she began to climb down. The physical activity was a stress on her malnutritioned body but she refused to show any signs on weakness. She was Sara Sidle after all; capable of enduring anything except the smell of liquid human. She just focused on going from one rung to the next. Towards the bottom of the ladder though she started to become quite dizzy then suddenly her hand slipped and everything when black.
