A/N: Takes place directly after "Grave Danger."
Summary: My thoughts on how Grissom and Sara might have started their relationship...
Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS and no one else... I'm just renting the characters :-)
Note: This is my first fanfic EVAR! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated...
The next few weeks are full of distractions, peppered only by Grissom taking the time to righteously kick himself for how he acted in the parking lot. She was upset, vulnerable, and you took advantage, he chides himself. She's been avoiding him ever since, can barely look him in the eyes. But when she does, they are full of defiance Did I make our relationship worse, he asks himself. Is that even possible?
But as foolhardy as he was, he knows now to give her some time to come back around. Everyone's been dealing with Nick's kidnapping differently and he figures that her feelings are too remote right now for her to be able to respond to his overtures. Well, that's what he tells himself, anyway. There's no way to really know until he talks to her, and it seems as though he used up all of his bravado in that parking garage.
Things finally seem to return to normal—Nick's back on shift, the team is back together again and Las Vegas still delivers its usual robberies, assaults, and of course, murder. It's the latter that puts Grissom and Sara together again at last as they drive out to meet Brass on a dirt road outside of Henderson.
Naturally, the car ride is tense. They haven't been alone together since they kissed. Sara's attempts at levity and chatter are a nuisance to Grissom and after a few minutes, he's had enough. "Look, Sara, don't you think it's time we had a discussion?"
She exhales slowly and keeps her eyes fixed ahead of her, lips twisted in a grimace.
If they are ever going to have a real conversation, one of them has to be the adult and make it happen. Grissom decides that this time, it's going to be him. "Well, don't you?"
"Just drive, Grissom…" she says quietly.
"I want to talk about it." His voice is gentle, but firm.
"Oh, I bet you do…" she mocks. "There's been plenty of times I wanted to talk to you… but you weren't interested. Or too chickenshit."
"That may be true, but you're a lot braver than I am."
"Not anymore, Gris. Look what bravery gets you… look what it got Nicky…"
Grissom grips the steering wheel and looks at her sideways, barely keeping his eyes on the bumpy road ahead of him. "What happened to Nick had nothing to do with what happened between us."
"Oh, so it was a big coincidence?" Now Gil is silent—an honest response would be unhelpful. It's true that Nick's near-death experience rattled him, made him take stock of his feelings for Sara. But those feelings were already there, he just finally admitted them to himself and expressed them to her. His silence prods her onward, her voice rising in pitch and agitation. "I get it, okay, Grissom? We were both shook up… You saw me in distress. You… comforted me… That's it. No harm done. Can we drop it now?"
"Sara, that's not what…"
But she interrupts him, "We're here." Sara waves to Brass as they pull up to an abandoned building whose function is undetectable at first glance. Gil has barely stopped the car before Sara jumps out of it. He grits his teeth in disappointment and follows her.
"Hey, guys," Brass greets them amiably. "We got a DB in the water tank out there. We managed to pull it out before you got here. David's with her now." He indicates a stretch of cement just before the building doors.
Grissom surveys the scene, opts to get the big picture before he goes in for the details. Sara walks past him to get the report from David. "There must be twenty cops here, Brass. What gives?"
"We think the body belongs to Christine DeSoto. She was found nude, but her wedding ring has Brad's name in it. Do you remember that case?"
"Sure. Married cops coming home from a camping trip… get surprised by an unknown assailant, he was bludgeoned over the head and she was abducted. That was three months ago, right?"
"Right. And Devon Wright, the main suspect, had skipped town just afterward. Never did find him." Brass kicks the ground unconsciously. Gil wonders if he's picturing Wright's body under his feet.
"I remember. DeSoto, the husband, had just arrested him for a major felony—some kind of computer scam—and Wright jumped bail. With all the charges against him, he was looking at twenty years, easy."
Brass looks off at the corpse on the ground, his face tight with regret. "Well, now he's looking at life."
Sara interrupts their conversation with her report from David. In the distance, the Coroner's van has pulled up and David starts placing the dead woman's body in a black bag. "Well, we're pretty sure she was strangled some time ago. Obviously, the body's too bloated to give us much evidence. Any signs of sexual trauma, fingernail scrapings, hairs or fibers will have washed away a long time ago." Even after all these years and hundreds of cases, Sara is still affected by these deaths. It only makes her a better CSI, Grissom thinks. It pushes her to work harder, be smarter, find the killers as quickly as possible.
Grissom surveys the scene again. "So what exactly is this place?"
"It used to be a water filtration plant, but a new facility was built closer to town and this place was abandoned in the 60s. There's the treatment plant there, and the water tank is next to it. The body was found in one of the smaller tanks inside the building."
"How on earth did anyone find her?" Sara asks.
"Anonymous phone tip," Brass says ominously. Grissom and Sara are visibly taken aback.
"The only person who would know where she was is the killer," Sara says. "Why would he tell us where she is?"
"Maybe he felt guilty after all this time," Brass offers. "Anyway, I can show you where she was found. It's our best shot at finding any evidence."
Brass leads the way and the three of them find themselves in a dank, dismal room that has seen years of nothing but neglect. Dust and cobwebs reign in the tank room where a series of pressurized vessels, still full of water, line the room in two rows. Brass gestures to the only open one in the back of the room. "Caller was very specific… told us exactly where to find her."
"The floor is damp," Sara observes. "Still, I'll try to find some shoe prints."
"I'll dust the tank and the surrounding areas," Gil replies.
"I'll leave you two to it, then. I'm going to try to get some of these guys to go home. They're all so agitated. Christine's death was a major blow. Brad never got over it—quit the force and moved out of town." Brass sighs with exhaustion and leaves the room.
Both Grissom and Sara begin to process the scene, each swept up in their own process, the conversation in the car long forgotten. After a few minutes, Sara hears a strange high-pitched beeping coming from somewhere in the room. Grissom looks up and they give each other confused glances. Then a second location starts beeping, closer to Grissom. Then another. "What…?" Sara begins.
When another beeping starts next to Grissom, he glances at the tank to the side of the one he's processing. There is a gauge that notes the water pressure, but no digital devices that would make that sort of noise. The room is filling with the sound of intermittent accelerating beeps and Sara and Grissom are becoming frantic. Gill presses his ear to the tank in front of him. "There's something in there…" His eyes widen in horror and Sara's comprehending stare catches the breath in his throat. The back door is closest to him… the exit is clear across the room.
One of the tanks closest to the front door stops beeping. Then it explodes, sending water and twisted metal fragments in every direction. Grissom does quick math… there are a dozen tanks in the room, all filled with water… Oh God… Grissom grabs Sara's arm begins running toward the back door even as another tank explodes. "Sara," he shouts, all composure long gone. "Run!"
This is probably the last update tonight. I'll try to get more posted tomorrow. Thanks again for your replies!