Sara - Lonely was the song I sang, till the day you came.
The procession of cars wormed its way along a dirt track road and into the woods. The sunlight became suppressed by the thick cluster of trees and the cars threw up a thick plume of brown smog behind their spinning wheels. The journey passed in silence. she stared out of the window the entire way, her thoughts consumed with Rob and Grissom and whatever lay ahead in this cabin of his.
She had seen something different in his eyes in her hotel room, she had seen the same darkness she had witnessed in so many of the criminals she had locked away. It bugged her that she hadn't seen it before, it irritated her that she had let herself get close to a man who could do such terrible things.
The cars turned and came to a halt in a clearing in the trees. The cabin lay nestled in the woodlands, a soft glow escaping from the tightly closed blinds on the windows. The police officers trained their guns all over the building obviously predicting a showdown of some sort.
Grissom threw the car into park and gave her a concerned look, he wanted to protect her and she recognized that but his protectiveness was already irritating her. Not that it was a new thing, he had always been quite protective of her. Sometimes it was subtle, he would make sure she was behind him when they walked onto a scene or he would send her away when he thought a case might upset her. Other times it was very obvious, to her anyway, the way he would gently touch her arm or her face and ask if she was alright or purposefully check on her after shift.
Theirs had become a very subtle sort of affair. Barely definable as that, but an affair nonetheless. She did wonder what would become of their almost invisible relationship now that they had breached the gap, there was bound to be consequences. He was bound to be turning it over in his head and over rationalizing the whole thing. she wouldn't be surprised if he ended up avoiding her for the next 6 months in an effort to pretend it didn't happen. She couldn't disguise the sigh that escaped her mouth at the thought of going back to that staleness. She enjoyed the passion, the need, the desire she had witnessed earlier and she was possibly very naïve in hoping that it was there to stay. But then, If she didn't have hope then what did she have?
The officers were trying to get Rob to talk to them but he had closed down. He was agitated and aggressive. She felt a bit of a fool loitering over by the car, detached from all the excitement and negotiations. She had really only come out of defiance and some sort of morbid curiosity, it was as though her muddled brain couldn't quite comprehend what was going on until she saw it with her own eyes.
They were getting nowhere fast though, Rob had battened down the hatches and was refusing to speak to anyone. Haslow crept over to her, trying to keep out of Grissom's eyeline.
"hey, I tried his cell but it didn't even ring in there. Do you think he ditched it?" he spoke in whispered tones, his eyes shifting between her and the assembled officers.
"I don't know Haslow. That's really nothing to do with me"
He slipped his cellphone out of his pocket and tapped a few buttons on it while she ignored him. She didn't really want to be speaking to anyone right now and certainly not Officer Haslow. He waved his cell in front of her face with Roberts name highlighted.
"well I was thinking, maybe you had a different number for him?"
Sara raised her eyebrows and looked at the chubby officer with surprise. There was every chance she did, she was surprised at this display of intelligence and surprised she hadn't thought of calling him before. She hazarded a quick glance towards Grissom before slipping her cell out of her pocket and turning her back to the crowd. She almost crouched down behind the car, hoping not to be seen or heard until she was sure she could be useful.
The buttons on her cellphone were suddenly really loud. The ringtone of Robert's cellphone echoed in the cabin and a collective sigh sounded from the officers. She was certain they would know it was her immediately but they seemed to focus all their attention on the sounds inside the cabin, thus making her job a lot easier. She took a few steps towards the crowd of trees and spoke in hushed tones, hoping no-one would hear.
"Rob, what's going on? You have to let the guy go"
"Sara, you and I both know this is not going to end well. I'm gonna do time anyway I may as well go out with a bang!"
"Rob, you know that's not true. Let the guy go and come out and talk to us. He has a family you know, people depend on him. We can…"
She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence before Grissom had the cellphone in his hands and a disapproving look in his eye. His silent footsteps were always her downfall, she really should have known better.
"Robert? This is Gil Grissom. You need to let that man go. These officers are cleared to open fire and are trained on the house. You have no-where to run"
Sara wasn't very sure whether the authoritarian tone of his voice worried her or excited her. She was sure, however, that this wouldn't be the last she would hear of this. Grissom was bound to be mad at her, he had spent a large portion of this trip being mad at her actually and she being mad at him. It just underlined the fact that they were both getting frustrated with this game of cat and mouse. The whole back and forth game was getting tiring and it was time to declare a winner. As soon as this case was over anyway.
"I will only talk to Sara" spar rob on the other end of the phone.
He eyed her with an unreadable expression and sighed deeply. She could tell he wasn't happy about what he was about to say and by the look in his eyes it was about her.
"if I put her on will you let the man go?"
She quickly moved to his side, pressing her head close to his to try and hear what was being said on the other end. When her arm brushed against his she took a sharp intake of breath, surprised at just how much the feel of his skin against hers affected her in this environment. She had to remind herself to remain professional and in control before she threw herself at his mercy in front of everyone there.
"I don't want her on the phone. I will exchange Mr Galt for Miss Sidle. No negotiation"
The click and the dead silence on the other end of the phone indicated he had hung up and no further discussions were to be made. She locked eyes with Grissom, still standing so close to him she could detail every crease on his skin, every errant hair and every tiny movement of his eyes as he gazed at her. They were suddenly reminded of their location by one of the officers asking what they should do now. Poor Grissom looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he looked between the cabin and her.
She realized that this was one of those situations where she had to take control. He wouldn't make a decision of that magnitude. There was no way he would encourage her to put herself in danger like that, she was doubting whether he would even let her do it if she volunteered but she didn't intend to give him an option. As he turned to look at the blueprints to find a way in she seized the opportunity to march towards the house. She moved quickly past the police cars and armed police officers, she marched straight past Nick chatting to someone and she stepped onto the porch with a defiant glance around.
"Sara! What are you doin' girl? Get over here!"
She turned then, right at the last moment, she turned on her heel as she stepped onto the porch and looked at Nick. She didn't count on meeting Grissom's eyes from all this distance. She didn't count on the emotion, the horror in his eyes as he realized what she was doing, She didn't count on Rob appearing in the doorway behind her and placing the cold shaft of his gun against her head. She didn't count on a lot of the things that followed. The man he had been holding as his prisoner ran out into the clearing almost screaming as he went. A jumble of officers ran to his aid as Rob slowly backed her into the surprising large space inside the cabin.
The last thing she saw before he closed the door was the steely eyes of Gil Grissom almost begging Rob not to hurt her. She was incredibly glad he cared, she was surprised just how much she had longed for that justification. Her heart beat hard against her chest as emotions began to overwhelm her.
now all she had to do was rid civilization of her excess baggage, namely Robert Miller, and they were home free. Surely that couldn't be too hard...