Last chapter. Characters aren't mine.
"So what did you think?" Greg asked Sara as he fastened his seatbelt.
"I think the chances are very good Hale is your father. The resemblance is amazing."
"I agree, but I was actually wondering what you thought of him."
Sara sighed. "He seems like a kind man. Lonely. Imagine spending your whole adult life on the outside looking in - the woman he loved married to another man, so he rarely saw her; his own child being raised by his rival, his only contact the odd photo or chance to watch from a distance. It's sad, really. He obviously has always cared about you."
Greg nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I realized that as we were talking. I was a little pissed he'd never contacted me, but I guess now I can understand why."
Sara pulled into a parking lot. "Hope Holiday Inn's alright."
Greg nodded. "Whatever. I'm so tired. It's been a long, horrible couple of days."
Sara smiled sympathetically and opened the car door. "Let's go get that room so you can relax, then."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but all we have left tonight is a room with one king sized bed."
Sara cast a glance at an exhausted Greg. "We'll take it." She smiled at his raised eyebrows. "Don't worry; I'll keep my hands to myself."
"Yeah, but who says I will?" he whispered in her ear. She didn't reply, just grinned and handed him the room key.
"Let's get our stuff and head on up."
The room was small but decent, with the surprising inclusion of a jacuzzi tub. "Oh, yes, there are definitely benefits to getting the couples' room," Greg said as he stroked the polished surface. "I do love a jacuzzi - and don't worry, I share." The tub was oversized, obviously built for two.
"The bed is huge." Sara bounced on the bed. "Comfortable, too."
"That's good. I'll probably be out like a light as soon as I climb in." Greg sat down next to her. "Sara, I want to thank you for all you've done. I couldn't have gotten through this without you."
"That's what friends do. You've been there for me, and I'm here for you."
"Yeah, but this was above and beyond the call of friendship. My family situation is beyond freaky."
"And mine's not? Greg, I think it's time you heard MY whole story. "
He scooted close and swung his legs over to lay beside her on the bed. She folllowed suit, moving to lie facing him. "There were two of us. My older brother Steve was seven years older than me. Anyhow, my parents always fought a lot. They argued about money, argued about my Dad's drinking, argued about everything. Sometimes he'd hit her, leave bruises across her face, on her arms, probably more where we couldn't see. For the most part it happened after Steve and I went to bed, so I heard it but usually didn't see anything. It started escalating around the time I went into fourth grade. I was nine then, old enough to know why Mom kept having to go to the hospital to get patched up. He broke her arm, knocked teeth out, gave her a concussion. I was so afraid he was going to kill her one day. Evidently she was too, because one night when I was ten she killed him." Greg's arm slipped around her but he said nothing, so she continued. "Mom went to the mental hospital, and Steve and I were farmed out to separate foster homes. He ran away from his the first week. I stayed, until they moved me on to another, then another, then another. I was in the system until I graduated at age sixteen. A lot of bad things happened to me along the way, and pretty much nobody seemed to give a damn." She sighed. "I learned not to trust anyone but myself. I decided nobody would be there for me but me, and I charted my own course as best I could. My Mom finally got out of the hospital while I was in college, but she killed herself two months later. My brother has been in and out of prison over the years. I think this time he's pretty much in from now on since he beat his girlfriend to death last year."
"Have you seen him since it happened?"
"Just once. He tried to get me to lie for him to give him an alibi. When I refused he told me not to ever contact him again. Once I reviewed the evidence and realized that there was no possible way he didn't do it I felt okay doing just that. We'd been out of contact for years before that." She sighed. "We're a pair, aren't we?"
He pulled her close. "That we are." He was silent for a few moments, gathering his nerve. "You're an amazing woman and an awesome friend. I'm lucky to have you in my life. Only sometimes..."
"Sometimes?..."
"Sometimes I wish we could be more than friends." He spoke this part in a whisper.
She didn't reply for several minutes. "I think about it sometimes, wonder if we might end up as more. I think it's definitely a possibility. I'm past the thing with Grissom, and we're definitely getting closer. Timing's off right now, but we do seem to be headed in that direction."
He grinned broadly. "So you're saying you're interested in me as more than a friend."
"Yeah. Yeah, I am, but we need to take it slowly. You have a lot of shit to sort through right now, and I'm here for you as it unfolds. Once this passes and things settle down, then maybe we can talk about... about being more than just friends." She smiled and put one hand on his cheek. "It's always a mistake to rush into something new when your life is up in the air. There's no hurry. I'll still be here in a few weeks, or a few months, however long it takes."
"So if I asked you to go out with me, say, next month, you'd be okay with that?"
She smiled. "I would."
He pulled her close. "I'm holding you to that. Remember that."
the end