Author's Note: This is a short chapter, I haven't forgotten about this story, I just got distracted by others. Lol. I do have plans for this one, though, and I'll try to remember to keep focused on it. Hope you guys are still reading, let me know what you think...

Jenny

Chapter Two:

Sara nudged Jaysen with her elbow, nodding towards the last room of the dimly lit corridor, "229. That's her room."

"You should go first." Jaysen said, the nervousness in his voice matching the trepidation in her eyes, "She always liked you more."

Sara shook her head, "No, no. I look more like Dad than you do, I'll probably just make her mad. Sons and mothers are supposed to have a connection, you should go."

"Do you think we should go grab a bite to eat, then come see her?" Jaysen asked, praying Sara would give in and be irresponsible with him, although he knew she wouldn't.

Sara took a step closer to the door, "We have to see her, Jaysen. We don't really have a choice, we're running out of time. Let's go together."

"Okay." Jaysen agreed, taking a deep breath as he pushed open the door. The room was just as badly lit as the hallway, and even though he wasn't quite sure what he felt for his mother, he was disgusted by the filth and neglect of this hospital ward. She may be a criminal, but she deserved medical care just like everyone else.

One look at his sister's face, and Jaysen knew he wasn't alone in his sentiment.

Both of the younger Sidles jumped when their mother's weak voice spoke, "Who's there?"

Sara felt bile rise in her throat, and she mentally braced herself for the visit to follow. She had been avoiding this for so long, and the closer she got to the bed, she more shaky she felt. She was always an emotional person, and these circumstances were causing it to be more pronounced than ever.

Clearing her throat, she replied in what she hoped wasn't a too shaky voice, "M..Mom? It's Sara and Jaysen."

"I know I couldn't have heard that right, because my children haven't lifted a finger to see me in years." Despite the frailty of the woman's voice, the anger was clear and strong.

Sara grasped Jaysen's hand tightly, taking a step closer to the bed, closer to the demons she had been internally fighting for years, "We wanted to see you..."

"Before I die? Okay, you've seen me, not get out!" Again, though her voice was barely over a whisper, both Jaysen and Sara could hear the hostility firmly planted in her words, "I don't need pity from either of you."

Sara looked nervously to Jaysen, who squeezed her hand reassuringly before speaking, "Sara and I have decided it was time to make amends with you. We aren't here to pity you, we're here for closure."

"Come back next week when they're burying me, and you'll get your closure." Laura Sidle said in her soft, bitter voice, "Or will it be too much out of your hectic lives to attend my funeral?"

The residual anger and resentment Sara had been holding in for the last 20 years resurfaced quickly, and the words she had been thinking left her mouth before she could control herself, "Look, Jaysen and I have put aside our differences to come support you. I dropped everything to come here, I left an excellent job, a wonderful group of friends, and my entire life just so I could try and mend fences with my family. Sure, I may have waited until the last minute, but that doesn't make my feelings any less real. You may not want us around, and you may want to die alone and miserable, but let me guarantee you something, Jaysen and I will be here until you take your last breath, and we will put together a funeral, and we will bury you, and we will get closure."

"Sara's right, Mom," Jaysen added, "You took away our childhood, and you've shadowed over our adulthood. We're making peace with you so we don't end up in the same situation you are in 20 years. We could have let you rot in this bed without even trying to see you, but we didn't. And, like Sara said, whether you want us to be here or not, we're here. We didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Dad before he died, and we're not willing to lose another parent without saying goodbye."

The room was silent for a moment, before Laura's weak voice replied, "Leave it to the two of you to make this about yourselves. Nothing has ever been about you, my situation with your father, me being in jail, us losing contact. All of that was between me and your father, you two are not victims. Grow up, move on, and go home for heaven's sake, I do not want to have any part of your pity party."

Jaysen took a step away from the bed, clearly ready to obey his mother's wishes, leave and never come back, but Sara had other plans.

She sat next to her mother, taking the older woman's shaky hand into her own, "You're wrong. Sure, you may have done what you did because of everything going on between you and Dad, but Jaysen and I had to deal with the fallout, just like you did. So, yes, we were victims, yes, it is about us, and while we've tried to hide from our past for twenty years, we're ready to face you and all of our problems."

She was silent for a moment as she tried to steady her voice and keep the tears away, "You may not want to see us, but we have to see you, otherwise we'll never get over this and we'll be victims forever. Jaysen and I aren't going to allow you to have that power over us anymore. We need to move on, and you need to help us. You owe it to us to help us."

"I don't owe either of you anything," Laura replied, so softly that Sara had to lean in to hear, "You two owe me the world. It was only a matter of time before he started beating you, I saved the two of you from growing up to be just like him. I sacrificed my freedom to protect the two of you. You may have not gotten to live in the house you were born in, with the parents who brought you into the world, but you two never had to endure the pain and scars that your father dealt to me on a regular basis. Stop thinking of yourselves, for a change."

Jaysen stood next to Sara, looking down on his mother. With a soft voice, he replied, "We did have to endure pain and scars, but unlike yours, ours are on the inside. We're going to leave now, but we'll be back tomorrow."

"Don't waste your trip, I won't see you!" Laura called out with a raspy voice as her children walked towards the door, "You ungrateful little-"

The door shut behind them as Jaysen led Sara into the hall, both of their eyes glistening with tears. Jaysen looked towards the restrooms, dabbing at his eye a bit, "I'm going to the restroom."

"Me too." Sara replied, grateful for the privacy it would give her. She made it to the first stall, sinking to the floor with sobs, despite her usual phobia about the cleanliness of public bathrooms. Today, she didn't care. The tears were falling faster than she could ever remember them falling before. She knew it would be hard to visit her mother, she just didn't know how hard it would be.

Her cell phone started ringing, and she struggled to contain her tears while she answered, "Hello?"

"Sara, is that you? What's wrong?"

Sara wiped her eyes, trying to steady her breathing and stop the flow of tears which just seemed to be getting stronger by the minute, "Everything's okay, Greg. What do you need?"

"Grissom told me where you were, and what you were doing."

"Don't even think about coming out here, Greg, it will only make things worse." Sara warned, not yet ready to face her colleagues over the demons of her past, "I...I'll be back in a few weeks, I promise. I'm not staying."

"I'm going to come and support you, no matter what you say. I'm a CSI, remember? I can easily coerce someone into helping me find you. You're my best friend, Sara, and friends help each other out. No offense, but you don't really sound like you're handling things too well on your own."

"Gee, thanks Greg." Sara replied sarcastically, wiping her eyes once more, "I really don't want to have half the team down here trying to get me to come home."

"I didn't say I was bringing half the team, I've got vacation time coming up and I was thinking that San Francisco is a great place to visit. I love Cali...but I'm sure if everyone knew where you were, they'd be dragging you back too. Nick and Warrick are so sad that you're gone, although I'm not going to lie, they're a bit PO'ed that you left without telling them."

"I assumed as much." Sara whispered, taking a few more steading breaths and rising to her feet, "Just don't expect me to be in a good mood, or even a 'decent' mood."

"Believe me, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm getting myself into. I'll see you tomorrow, Sar."

"Bye Greg." Sara replied, hanging up her phone with a sigh. She had to admit, talking to Greg had made her feel a bit better. While she still wanted to cry, she was able to hold back the tears. Once alone in her hotel room, however, she wasn't sure she'd be able to fight them anymore.

Deciding Jaysen was probably waiting for her, she splashed some water on her face and braced herself once more for the flood of emotions that always seemed to overwhelm her when her family was involved.

She met her brother in the hallway, noticing that he looked just about as bad as she felt. She squeezed his hand, "So, do you want to go grab a drink or something?"

"As a matter of fact," Jaysen replied, "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Together, they walked down the corridor and outside onto the street, both knowing they'd have to face their past again tomorrow, but comforted by the knowledge that they wouldn't have to do it alone.

TBC