Chapter Thirty Seven
Sara hadn't been aware of how late the hour had gotten until she stepped out of the building. Dusk had gathered and navy blue clouds prevented even the fading sunlight to reach. But the area was as bright as day with the flashing lights of the squad cars and ambulances.
Despite the warm blanket, Sara couldn't stop the cold from making her quiver. In fact, she felt weak just by the continuous way her bones rattled. She saw the EMTs wheel Sean into their van, complete with emergency IV tubes and oxygen masks. The police had cordoned off the area and were struggling to contain the crowds from crossing the crime scene parameters.
"Sara!"
Sara dimly wondered if she was hearing things. No one here could possibly know her name.
"Sara, oh my God!"
She looked up and was struck motionless by surprise. Catherine had jumped out of an SUV and was running towards her. Even before she had time to react to her lover's unexpected appearance, she was wrapped around firm arms.
"Sara, are you alright?" Catherine frantically ran her hands along Sara's hair. "Oh God, I was so scared. You just leaving like that. I was so scared for you, babe."
"Cath…" Whatever else Sara was about to say got muffled when Catherine pulled her face down for a kiss.
Sara felt some of the warmth seeping back into her veins at the feel of Catherine's lips on her own. She slowly brought her hands up to cradle the blonde. Just days ago she had thought that this pleasure was lost to her forever. The possibility of kissing Catherine, holding her, had forever faded into dreams. But now, breathing in the familiar scent of the woman and sensing the loving embrace caused her heart to flutter in happiness.
"God, Sara, don't ever do this to me again. Don't ever leave without telling me where you are. I was going insane with worry." Catherine almost sobbed as they broke a few inches apart.
"How else could I have had you here, kissing me crazy in front of all these cameras?" Sara grinned.
Catherine gasped as she realized that the media and a few bystanders were cheerfully taking pictures of them. She went a deep red and awkwardly untangled herself from the brunette. She scowled when she heard a chuckle beside her.
"This is not funny, Sara." She tried to look stern, but failed as she found her own cheeks twitching with amusement.
"Oh, Cath, I love you." Sara kissed the top of the fair head. "And I'm so happy you are here."
"Well, take my word for it, from now on I'm sticking to you like glue. You can totally not be trusted."
"That's a given." Brass shouted, approaching them. "What were you thinking, Sidle, playing Wonder Woman?"
"I did what I had to do, Brass." Sara offered.
"And did it ever occur to you that you could have gotten killed in the process?"
Sara assessed the grim expression on both Brass and Catherine's face and decided it was better to not admit it had occurred to her that she was taking a life risk. Instead she said, "I was so mad at him that I guess I wasn't doing much thinking."
"You damn well weren't." Brass scolded. "Next time, do that before going on a suicide mission."
"Yes Papa." Sara sighed.
"Taking off on her own, unarmed, unescorted. Whatever is this girl thinking?" Brass muttered under his breath. "Thank God, she had enough brains to at least tip the police off."
Sara sighed. Catherine leant in close to her. "He was just so panicked, Sara. We all were. Grissom was so tensed, he forgot to feed his pets."
"Good. We'll finally be rid of them. They scare the bejeezus out of me."
"Sara." Catherine grabbed her hand and forced her to look at her. "I'm serious, don't ever pull such stunts. We nearly lost each other this time. I can't bear it if it happens again."
Sara traced those delicate cheekbones with her thumb before bending to plant a firm kiss of promise on her girlfriend's lips.
They caught the first flight to Vegas. Exhausted by all that had happened, Sara had drifted off into a deep slumber, her head cushioned in the soft contours of her companion's shoulder.
Catherine couldn't sleep. She had been operating on pure adrenaline and a rush of righteous vengeance for the past couple of days. But even she had to admit that a few days of captive had sapped her energy. It felt nice to have everything back to normal again. But the aftereffects would come soon enough, she knew that. She was already feeling the first strains of it. The grief, the terror and the anger, all had been overpowering. As it slowly drained away from her body, she was beginning to feel a strange numbness.
Though she had gotten back Sara and Lindsay from this turbulence, she had also lost something. She had lost her complete trust in Sam. He hadn't entirely been a father figure for her, but they had shared a bond, albeit an unstable one. And her mother loved him, still love him. She didn't want to think how the news of what Sam had done would affect Lily.
She leant back against the firm plane seat and let her mind relax. But try as she might, she couldn't rest her tumultuous thoughts. Nothing would be the same again. She knew Sara wouldn't be the same again. Her Sara had been jaded by her past, but at the very least, that past had remained in the past. She could only imagine what Sara would go through once the whole concept of what her brother did finally dawned upon her.
Catherine glanced at their hands linked together. She gently rubbed Sara's palm with her finger and smiled at the tiny friction of warmth it caused. The brunette was so fast asleep that she didn't take note of it.
Catherine made a solemn vow to herself. Whatever Sara had to go through, she wouldn't go through it alone. They had each other and they'd fight this together. She had almost lost every shred of hope when she was shut away in that cabin. She had only been able to watch how her supposed death was devastating all those she loved, but not able to do anything about it. There was no way she could speak for the future, especially not after what had occurred in the past month. But she could speak for the present, and it lay with Sara. She had come so close to losing it and she would make sure that it never happened again.
And one more chapter and an epilogue to go:D
