Untitled Four
Chapter One:
The clock on her desk is ticking away loudly. The night breeze floats through the room, blowing the sheer panel over her window. Sara is sat next to Grissom on the sofa in her apartment, crushed into his right side. The weight of the last few hours settles down in the room around them. Her tears have subsided, her breathing has evened out. There is no room to move, no room to stop, address what is happening, question what this might mean, not just for her but for him, for them. Time seems to drag. All she can concentrate on is his steady fingers swirling imaginary patterns on her upper arm. His left hand holding hers down in her lap.
'Sorry…' Her small voice brings him too, shaking his head slightly to clear the fog. He clears his throat, drawing a soft tone to the front of his mouth.
'Sara… you don't need to apologise.' She attempts to shift her body away, but his hold is like glue. The shrill of his cell phone suddenly pulls them both back to the real world. He huffs out a breath and leans forward reaching for his cell from the coffee table. The loss of contact from his warm hand makes her want to weep. She makes to move from their position, to give him privacy for the call but with his cell trapped between his ear and his shoulder he reaches for her hand again, pinning her to him.
'Grissom….. Ecklie… Yes, I've been made aware… Yes….. No, that won't be necessary. I'll be there….' He doesn't give Ecklie a chance to utter another word before he snaps his cell shut and throws it across the room, landing in the chair where this all-started hours ago. 'You should try and get some sleep.' His thumb brushing over her knuckles slowly.
'I don't think I'll...'
He interrupts. 'Get some sleep. I could come back later…. I could er… bring food?' His eyebrows raise in question as he pauses. 'If you'd like the company?' She nods timidly and releases his hand, standing slowly, allowing him to free himself from her vice like grip. He follows, raising a hand to her slender shoulder. 'Sleep…. Please, try… for me?' He moves past her, grabs his jacket and makes towards the door. He wouldn't have stopped if he didn't think he heard her whisper something. Turning he finds her sat on the sofa, holding her arms close to her body.
'You don't have to come back.'
'What if I want to?' She smiles a small shallow smile, that doesn't meet her eyes. This is going to take time, he knows that. He throws a sideways smile and a wink in her direction and leaves the apartment. Standing in the hallway he rakes his hand over his face and straightens himself, walking down towards his car, he punches Catherine's number into his cell. She answers after the first ring, she was expecting this call.
'Talk me through it, start at the beginning.'