See Chapter One for Disclaimer and Other Notes

NOTES: Weekly CSIPrompts Challenge 7: Must Start With: She stared at the disaster spread across the lawn and thought, "Well, it could be worse. The party could've been inside the house." Of course, she hadn't been inside yet. Topic: Birthdays Random Prompts: children, cake, clowns, water balloons.

A/N 2: Thank you to CSIGeekFan for the prompts; you certainly didn't make things easy, did you? LOL. And due to technical glitches this was posted a day later than anticipated.

A/N 3: To everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story. Hope you enjoy this chapter, because it's back to the case file for the most part.

Chapter 7

She stared at the disaster spread across the lawn and thought, "Well, it could be worse. The party could've been inside the house." Of course, she hadn't been inside yet.

Sara stood looking at all the children running about merrily shooting water guns and throwing water balloons; the remnants of a birthday cake with a shaped number 6 candle laying on the table, the two fully outfitted clowns making cute little animals with long balloons in assorted colors, that were scattered, intact and popped, across their backyard. She breathed very deeply, trying to steady her nerves. She hoped she had a Valium left in the medicine cabinet.

Gil Jr. was the birthday boy; who's formerly large sheet cake that had read: 'Happy Birthday, Bugsy". Little Gil was a miniature version of his father with full beard and gray curly hair; he was being hoisted into the air by several of his honorary uncles, first Bobby from ballistics, then Henry from tox, then Hodges from trace.

She watched as her still handsome and very virile husband was busy pouring what appeared to be blood red kool-aid into cups designed with the motif of "Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles". Most, if not all the children were standing quietly in line waiting for his concoction as he morphed into a vampire type caricature, with long white fangs against the corners of his gray lips.

He felt her gaze upon him and smiled up at her. She didn't return the gesture because a gang of the children formerly in line for the bloody drink suddenly herded her against her will toward the huge oak tree that appeared out of nowhere into her back yard. Sara struggled for breath as the children began to tie her up to a tree with a heavy corded white rope.

One of the children looked suspiciously like Natalie Davis, and it was the Natalie miniature who placed the silver duct tape over her mouth as the other children ran in circles around the tree, singing 'ring around the roses, pocket full of posies', tightening Sara against the bark of the tree; harder and harder they pushed her into the tree, she could feel the bark hard against her thighs. She was hyperventilating so badly she could hardly catch her breath…

Sara woke up with a startled gasp, struggling for air.

Gil was on top of her sound asleep, naked as usual. He was hard against her as he slept.

She had found it amusing that when she first shared a bed with the esteemed entomologist that he had slept in the nude for most of his life; he wasn't in the least bit ashamed of the fact and informed her tactlessly he wasn't changing his ways because of her. Secretly, she had never wanted him to change anything. She loved him as he was and a naked Grissom was a delight to her senses.

She easily shifted from under him and slid out, making her way to the bathroom. After she had finished, she tiptoed into the baby's room; he looked so peaceful, sleeping in his crib; their sweet little bundle of joy. She quickly checked for a wet diaper, but found it dry.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she stood over the crib for a long time, silently promising him that they would never call him 'Bugsy', then just watched the little boy sleep. She finally made her way back to Grissom and their bed.

Gil woke up for a moment, sleep still matting his eyes. He saw that Sara stood looking down at him with a sad expression on her face. He reached his hand for her, pulling her to him.

The nightmare had faded from her mind as he reached to kiss her lightly on the forehead. Sara crawled under the covers beside him and fell asleep immediately, safe within his arms.

"Gil, would you bring me that case we were working on before I went on leave?" Sara asked over the breakfast bowl of cereal she was eating while breastfeeding the baby.

"The skateboarder that floated?" Grissom asked his wife, knowing she felt trapped by her maternity leave. It had been two weeks. He was happy she had lasted this long without asking for some cold case file to study. He knew she wasn't unhappy with the baby, he realized she just missed her former life as a CSI and interactions with other intelligent adults.

"I think I should go back out to the skate park and talk to Cody, if you think it's okay." Sara looked up into his eyes pleading.

"I'll bring home the file in the morning, dear and you can go over it, but if you go out to the park, then I better go with you, since I assisted you in the original case." He smiled at the looks she gave him, first a smile, then a frown, then a smirk. "I can keep the little one occupied while you ask questions." Then he leaned down and kissed the mother of his only child.

"That's Eric Sinclair, one of the guys I had brought in to the station for questioning. He was a bust, but I think he knew more than he let on. The guy in the tight pants is Nick Wrigley, a member of Cody's skate team. I think he knows something, too, but he plays his cards closer to his chest than his buddy Eric." Sara pointed out the huge window overlooking the skate park to the two young men who stood apparently talking to one another holding their boards close to their chests. "Hey Cody?" Sara called.

Tristan, the skateboarding dog, looked up as his master left the couch and slowly padded barefoot to where the Grissom's were standing. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Eric is holding another skateboard." She looked pointedly at Grissom, "Didn't we take the other board in as evidence?" He nodded in the affirmative as the baby belched while he patted his back. Sara looked to Cody Johnson, "How many boards do these guys go through in a month?"

"The serious ones can break a board in an afternoon, from the stress of the tricks or because the materials in a given board are poor in quality, for instance, say one from Wal-Mart, but the professional boards we sell, usually last about two to three weeks, given a skater who skates all the time to about a year or more, for the novices or the really small kids."

A teenaged girl wearing a white t-shirt with a green logo and pink shorts approached the two young men. She had her mid length auburn hair tied up in a ponytail and Sara noticed the girl walked straight up to Nick and invaded his personal space.

The tall black haired youth backed away from the girl, but she practically bear hugged him.

Eric, on the other hand, appeared happy to see the girl, but she ignored him completely.

Nick then boarded his skateboard and rolled off toward the bank of ramps.

The girl had a perplexed look on her face as Eric tried to initiate a conversation with her. As she turned to go, Eric caught her by the shoulder and the girl stopped to listen what he had to say.

Sara watched the heated exchange between the two teenagers from their vantage point in the skate shop, as Cody explained the difference between types of skateboards. She interrupted his speech, "Who is that girl," pointing to the figure who was walking toward the refreshment center, with Eric in tow.

"That's trouble. She's a poser and a wannabe skater, but she's never even stood on a board that I know of. I think she sells something to some of my customers, but I'm not sure if it's drugs or herself." Cody Johnson replied.

"Do you know her name?" Gil asked from where he still stood looking out over the skate park, holding his namesake.

Cody looked at Gil, "They call her 'V'. That's all I know."

"Thanks for all your help, Cody." Sara said taking the baby from Grissom. Sara cradled the baby, then kissed the little boy on the forehead.

"NP." Cody scratched the dog on the back of his neck and settled back down onto the couch. "If you need anything else, I'll be in an executive meeting."

Sara and Grissom laughed at their boss' stepson's humor, having heard the Sheriff utter than phrase on more than one occasion.

They left as Cody closed his eyes after stretching out on the well used couch, with Grissom taking back Gil and placing him in the baby sleepy wrap against his chest. Sara followed her two men out the door, shutting it quietly behind her, when she turned around, she ran directly into Eric Sinclair.

"Whoa, lady. I ain't going to the hoosegow again, am I? Not good for my street 'cred either. 'Cause I didn't do nothing then or now." Eric laughed under his breath.

"Eric, can you tell us anything about that girl you were talking to a little while ago?" Grissom inquired.

"She is so cool; her name is 'V', but if you ask me anything else I'm gonna have to call my lawyer and he's on speed dial number one," he said as he flipped out his cell phone.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Sinclair," Sara smirked as she began to walk toward the girl in question.

Eric glared at Sara, before walking off toward the parking lot.

As she approached the girl, Sara noticed the white t-shirt bore the phrase: McGuire's Irish Pub and Bar, in Pensacola, Florida since 1977. "That's an interesting coincidence, if there is such a thing," she thought to herself.

Sara addressed the girl: "Are you from Florida or go there recently on vacation?"

The girl grimaced, "What?" with a very hostile glare in the way of one Sara Sidle-Grissom.

Sara nodded to her apparel, "That shirt you have on now. Where did you get it?"

"Ain't none of your business, bitch," as the girl known as 'V' butted around Sara and headed to the parking lot.

Grissom had watched the entire exchange and raised his eyebrows in amusement at the open mouthed Sara stood watching the girl disappear into the sunset.

Greg Sanders sat on the couch, holding his godchild in the crook of his arm while 'Mythbusters' played on the big screen television in the Grissom's loft. Sara was downstairs preparing lunch in the very modern spacious kitchen.

As Sara brought up the tray of sandwiches and chips, she noticed that the baby and Greg were both sound asleep. She sat the tray down on the coffee table and tapped Greg's shoulder slightly as to not disturb the sleeping child.

Greg opened one eye to Sara, then stretched the arm that wasn't cradling the baby and looked around the room, sleepily.

Sara stood smirking down at him, "You look good with a baby. You have any prospects for a mother to go with a baby?"

Greg laughed out loud, "There's this one girl I've been seeing, well, let's just say she's a charmer."

Sara said soberly, "You really need someone to help combat the things we see in our job." She smiled then and added, "When's the book being published?"

"The printing should start in a couple of weeks, but I've not seen the gallies yet, so I'm not real sure," he looked a little lost.

Sara changed the subject: "This case is just plain weird. We can't figure out how the Green kid got from skating at the skate park to being dead in Lake Mead. He was found in the Lake by a park ranger on the 11th of April. There's no evidence other than a 'McDonald's' receipt dated on the 9th of April. His cell phone had never been found, but no calls or texts since the 9th." Sara took a deep breath.

Greg looked first at the baby sleeping soundly in his arms and then to Sara as she continued.

"Nobody seems to care about Duncan Green. His father is indifferent. Mother is dead. The hookers didn't really care in the least and the skaters either know something or don't, but none of them are talking. It's like he as a ghost, his entire life. It's sad, no one cared about him, even in death."

"Well, in the hit and run Nick and I had, we did find some evidence of Duncan's skateboard that matched the board that was taken into evidence from the Sinclair kid. It was along Highway 573 which is the most direct way from the park to the lake."

Sara begins to talk her conjecture as she sees it in her mind: "Duncan gets dropped off by his father and the hooker. He buys a board , skates for a while, probably skates down the street to the McDonald's for some food. He's away from home and gets lost; goes in the wrong direction toward the lake instead of the skate park. Something happens to his skateboard, splintering it, maybe a car ran him off the road."

The baby hiccupped in his sleep, startling Greg and Sara. When Gil appeared still sleeping, Sara continued in a lowered tone of voice: "The car stopped on the side of the road, Duncan gets in and takes him to Overton Beach were his body is found three days later. COD: massive blunt force trauma to the head. There is too big of a gap in there that we don't know anything about where he went, what he did, who he talked to, when did he sleep, if he slept at all, before he slept with the fishes."

Greg laughed. "I didn't know you liked 'The Sopranos'.

"What?" Sara looked at him with apparent lack of knowledge as to what he was referring.

"Never mind, maybe we can get some info from some of his friends or family back in Florida." Greg mentioned.

"Brass has spoken to a Detective Gene Gonzalez in the Pensacola PD who have questioned family members, neighbors and schoolmates of Duncan Green. Just a few tidbits of info, but not much: 1. Duncan worked at McGuire's Irish Pub as a busboy for six months before his death. 2. His father reported he wore his 'McGuire's' t-shirt on the last day he saw him, but he wore a shirt bearing the words "Get Lucky" which is a reference to a skateboard product. 3. His best friend from home, a Charles Barnette, 21, of Gulf Breeze, FL reported that his younger sister came up missing and reportedly is in Vegas, Viola Barnette, 16, listed as missing by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement since July 24th, 2007 and according to the detective, Charles reported that Duncan was going to try to look her up while he and his father were here in town."

"So is she the girl you talked to this morning? The 'V' girl?" Greg questioned.

"I don't know if she's Viola Barnette, but she is definitely a person of interest."

TBC