Author's Note: I know Sara is actually older than Nick, but, as usual, I'm taking more creative license. Now she is a year or so younger than him. And I'm doing a huge time-cheat with the case. Actually like an everything-cheat. Information, time, surveillance, the whole nine yards. Hey, do you guys know where the phrase, "The whole nine yards" comes from? Really high-end suits used to be made with nine yards of fabric, so if you ordered a suit with "the whole nine yards", it meant you were going all the way. Yeah. That was very Grissom, wasn't it? Sorry.
Has anybody noticed how ironic it is that Keith URBAN sings COUNTRY songs?
To MollyMKS: Thanks so much for the review! Oh yeah, the cat's out of the bag now. I have an enormous family too. Like fifteen first cousins on my mom's side and about thirty on my dad's. It's actually a bit of a nightmare at times. I thought it would be cute for Nick to want to relate, so that's why I threw that in there. Glad you liked it!
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: If I owned CSI, we wouldn't have to wait two or three weeks between new episodes. It would be like, two seconds. Maybe minutes. Three hours, tops.
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The pair lay dozing on Sara's couch when the phone awoke them.
Sara grumbled but reached over Nick to answer the cordless.
"Hello?"
"Sara, it's Grissom. I'm sorry, but we need you both here now. We mad a major breakthrough on the case."
"Okay, I'll wake Nick. We'll be there shortly."
"Okay, thanks."
She hung up. "Nick," she whispered. "Nick," she said a little more loudly when he didn't reply. She groaned. This man slept like the dead. Finally he woke up. "Grissom needs us," she said to him reluctantly.
He groaned.
"I know, I know. But we have to go. Grissom said they made a breakthrough."
"Fine."
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Doc Robbins had autopsied the girl found at the scene. She had been ID'd as Mandy Hawkins, age seventeen. Cause of death wasn't drug overdose, as Sara had suspected, but manual strangulation. She had no Tylenol in her system, but her hands still tested positive for GSR. There was one more thing to add to the mix: She was eight weeks pregnant.
Body One, which had been found on the top floor, was ID'd as Rory O'Brien, age 21. He had died of a gunshot wound to the head, but there was no GSR on his hands.
Body Two, found on the main floor, was 18-year-old Jonathan Jennings, who, like Rory, had died of a gunshot wound to the torso but whose hands tested negative for GSR.
Body Three, found near the girl in the basement, was ID'd as Cory Kendall, aged 19. Gunshot wound to the head, no GSR.
They'd run a background check on everyone, and they found out that Mandy worked at the general store, Rory pumped gas at the one and only gas station, Jonathan was a volunteer Park Ranger, and Cory, an Olympic contender, was an instructor at the gymnastics facility.
Doc had collected a sample for a paternity test for Mandy, but the results hadn't come through yet. Now they were just waiting.
In the break room, everybody was discussing the case. Nick and Sara had been the ones to collect the evidence, but everybody was working it.
Nick and Sara were sitting close together on the couch, Nick's arm around Sara's shoulder.
Grissom said, "Paternity test is in. Would the real Cory Kendall please stand up?"
"The gymnast was the father?" Warrick asked.
"Yep," Grissom said.
"She was only seventeen, he was nineteen. That's statutory rape," Catherine said.
"Just because it's illegal doesn't mean people don't do it," Grissom said.
"True," Catherine acknowledged.
Taking charge again, Grissom said, "Okay, so what do we know? Where did these people go? What did they do? Who were they with? We need answers."
Nick spoke up. "The last time Mandy was seen, she was with Rory at the shooting range. I dug up some surveillance. Mandy frequented the shooting range, and this time she took Rory with her. Witnesses say he refused to fire the weapon."
"That would explain the GSR on her hands," Warrick stated.
"Yeah, but we still don't know who strangled her," Grissom said.
"Let's just see if we can do this logically," Sara suggested. "Let's just say that Mandy goes to the shooting range with Rory. She fires the weapon, he doesn't. They go back to her house and meet up with Cory and Jonathan. Cory is a gymnast, and those who knew him say he loved showing off how he could write things with his toes and how flexible he was. Apparently he could put both feet around the back of his head at once – without using his hands. A guy with that kind of podiatric dexterity would have no trouble firing a gun with his toes. Can Doc test him for GSR on his toes?"
"Yeah. I'll call him right now," Grissom said.
Moments later, he returned. "He couldn't stop laughing, but I think I finally got through to him that this is serious. He's testing right now."
Sara continued. "So, assuming he tests positive for GSR, we can assume that he waited at Mandy's house for her to come back. We know that Mandy and Rory were really close friends, so it probably wasn't that out of the ordinary for him to come to her house. Cory kills Rory to get him out of the way, strangles Mandy in the basement, dumps the Tylenol beside her, and commits suicide." She looked rather pleased with herself.
Catherine quickly burst her bubble. "Well, that's all well and good, but how did Jonathan Jennings end up dead?"
Sara pouted.
"I have a theory," Nick piped up. "I talked to the Forest Authority. You know how the house was really secluded? Well, the FA checked the houses around there too, just routine stuff. Maybe Jennings was just checking in, saw something he shouldn't."
"Innocent bystander," Sara completed.
"Yeah. There you go. Now all we have to do is wait for the result and see if the evidence coincides."
Everybody chatted for a few minutes until the call came from Doc Robbins. The room quieted down as Grissom talked with him. "Okay…yes…yes…yes…yes…maybe…yes…thanks." He snapped the flip phone shut, but offered no information.
Warrick tilted his head forward a bit. "Well?"
"Well what?" Grissom asked. "Oh! Yeah, Cory had GSR on his toes. Looks like we've solved this case. You can all go home now, you've all worked hard and it's only fifteen minutes until the end of shift anyway."
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Sara was awfully quiet on the way home, and Nick noticed it. "Penny for your thoughts," he said.
"Oh," Sara said, stirred from her thoughts. "Why do you think Cory killed Mandy?"
"She was pregnant with his child. He was nineteen, she was seventeen, it was an illegal relationship. I don't really know."
"See, that's what I was afraid of."
He reached over the centre console and took her hand. "I want you to know something. I will always love you, okay? Always."
She gave a small smile. "Likewise, Cowboy."
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Thursday, 2:45 PM – Doctor's Office"Hi, Sara Sidle. I have a three o'clock with Dr. Holmes," Sara said to the receptionist.
"Very good, Ms Sidle. She'll be with you shortly. Please have a seat," she replied pleasantly.
Sara and Nick sat down in one of the relatively uncomfortable chairs. During that time, Nick tried to explain Dutch Blitz to her, but it was no use without the actual cards there.
At three o'clock exactly, a nurse came out and said, "Sara Sidle?"
She gathered her purse and coat, and Nick followed her into the examination room. The nurse eyed him warily at first, but a nod from Sara told the nurse it was okay. She handed Sara an examination gown. "Put this on," she directed. "Dr. Holmes will be in to see you in five minutes."
"Thank you," Sara said.
The nurse left, closing the door.
Suddenly Sara felt very awkward with Nick there. It was one thing for him to see her in a romantic context, medically was for some reason, entirely different.
He could feel her concern and said, "I can leave if you want."
She bit her lip, contemplating for a moment. "No," she said finally. "You can stay. I want you to stay."
"Okay, but if you change your mind…" he trailed off.
She changed into the gown and sat on the edge of the table. Somebody knocked on the door. "Decent?" came a friendly voice.
Not that it really matters, thought Sara. "Yes."
Dr. Holmes sat down on a chair at the end of the table, holding a clipboard. "So I understand that you think you're pregnant?" she said. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes. I took a pregnancy test five days ago and it was positive."
"Okay, well, lie down, I'm just going to examine you here."
Nick started to look a bit uncomfortable, but it was nowhere near the embarrassment that Sara was feeling. He tried to distract himself, looking at the floor, counting the dots in the ceiling tiles, anything to make himself feel less like he was there. Thankfully, the seat he had was against the wall on the side of the table and not the end, so he couldn't see what was going on.
When Dr. Holmes was finished, she told Sara to sit up. She complied.
"Yes, you are pregnant, but everything seems to be fine. Do you have any questions?"
"Yeah, actually. Can you estimate a due date or anything?"
"Well, when would you place conception?"
"Umm…" Sara was counting back. "A week ago?"
"Well then, I would say about September 30th. Anything else?" Dr. Holmes asked.
"What can I expect in the near future? Lately, I've been completely exhausted, puking one to three times a day, and my head hurts all the time," Sara half-complained.
"Those are all normal symptoms, but you seem to be vomiting a little more than the norm. If that doesn't stop relatively soon, come back and we'll fix that."
"One more question: miscarriage."
That was all Sara needed to say. "Ah, yes, miscarriage. About one-fifth of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, and it usually happens before the twentieth week," she explained, somewhat sadly.
"Okay, well, thank you, Dr. Holmes. When should I make my next appointment?"
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"Well, that wasn't awkward," Nick said as they walked out to the Denali.
"You're telling me," Sara chortled. "So? What do you think?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. About what?"
"All of it, I guess."
"Well, the miscarriage thing is a bit worrying, but other than that…I don't know. What do you think?"
"Same. We'll tell everyone else once we're through the danger zone, okay?" Sara asked.
"Sure."
They got into the Denali and drove to Nick's house. It was closer than Sara's and she was really hungry.
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Saturday – McCarran Airport"This is the final boarding call for flight 256 to Dallas, Texas. Please report to Gate 12," came the announcement over the PA system.
Sara was very excited about going to Texas for the first time, and Nick could definitely tell. She was squirming, waiting for the plane to take off. To Nick, it was nothing special. He was more concerned about how he was going to face his father than anything else.
"What're you thinking about?" Sara asked Nick.
He was shaken from his thoughts. "Oh, just…stuff."
"Like what?" she pressed.
"Cisco."
That was all the answer she needed. "Oh."
Changing the subject, he said, "Are we going to tell my family about you being pregnant?"
"Define family…"
"Mom, Cisco, my siblings, their spouses, and their kids?"
"Mmm…" She was uncomfortable with that many people knowing, and he sensed it right away.
"We could just tell Mom and Cisco."
"And your sister Michele. She sounds nice, and from the way you talk about her, she's really good at keeping a secret."
He smiled. "Yeah, she is. She's my best friend. Well, was, until I moved away. Now Warrick and I are best friends, but Michele will always be my partner in crime."
"Well, technically, Warrick is your partner in crime. After all, we do work at a crime lab," she teased.
"Work with me here."
"Okay, we can tell those three people. But only those three, nobody else," she added quickly.
"Agreed," he said, and kissed her on the forehead.
They felt the jets roar to life beneath them, and Sara squealed with excitement. She was finally going to Texas.
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Author's Note: I am no expert on pregnancy, so bear with me. Most of the stuff I just make up, but some of it is off the Internet or wherever. Reviews greatly appreciated!