Disclaimer: I don't own csi but I really wish I did :)
What Does It Take?
You Never Really Know
Catherine sat on the bed, worried her legs might give out if she didn't. What had just happened? Like... what?
It was odd for her to be so confused. It was out of character and she knew it. But her motherly instincts were in overdrive and honestly, she was scared out of her mind.
They'd just listened to Sara and Greg almost be killed. It had been one of the worst experiences of her life. Her whole body had gone numb, and her eye contact with Nick told her he had felt the same way. She'd never seen him look that scared. She didn't know if he had noticed, but his eyes had begun tearing up.
It was difficult, knowing that her family was in the next room, a gun pointed at them. No, more like terrifying. And all they could do was sit here quietly, unknown to them.
What if the man got fed up? What if... what if he pulled the trigger? How could they deal with that? The answer was simple. They couldn't. The world would fall apart around her, the image of her family would shatter. Would they be able to live without Sara and Greg? She knew that answer as well. No. No, they wouldn't. Sara and Greg were such large parts of the family.
Maybe she didn't give them enough credit. The guilt hit her fast. She'd always called Sara on her short temper and moodiness. But she'd never bothered to tell her how much she meant to the team. How much she meant to her. The same went for Greg. She'd criticized him for being immature, but really, he was so much more than that. Why hadn't she told them any of this?
Catherine's eyes started stinging with tears. Her family meant so much to her. She couldn't lose anymore of it. When Warrick had died, she'd been destroyed. She'd moved like a zombie for weeks, running on auto pilot. And when Grissom had left... the team had all felt his absence. They were a puzzle, and he was a missing piece. A piece that was going to kill her if his matching one got hurt.
She sighed, feeling someone sit beside her. Her head turned to see Nick sitting there, his eyes concerned.
"We'll get them out of there." He said, his voice barely a whisper. But she heard the lie in it. He was doubting this as much as she was.
All of a sudden Brass's phone beeped. He picked it up, and the CSIs watched with subtle curiosity.
"Brass." He whispered, pressing the phone to his ear.
Due to their silence, they could hear a muffled response on the other end.
"Okay, bring him up." Brass said, flipping the phone shut with a small metallic click.
Nobody asked questions, or spoke at all. Catherine's thoughts were on the short phone call. Send who up? Ecklie? Nah... he wouldn't bother to come here unless it made him look good. Vartann? It was possible. Her heart hoped for it. Having him here would make this a lot easier for her.
A few second's later they heard the door to the hotel room opened, and they looked at the bedroom doorway.
After a few oddly familiar footsteps, he stood in the doorway. None other than Gil Grissom.
XXX
Sara found herself wondering. Wondering why this had happened. Because she didn't pay attention? Because she immersed herself in her work? Maybe it was karma. She wasn't fully honest with people, especially Grissom. She never told him about her drinking binges, about how much she missed him, or even when a case really affected her. Maybe this was the earths way of saying 'It's your own fault.' Karma really was a bitch.
They had only just managed to calm the man down, and both her and Greg knew it had been a close call.
He had returned to his original place in the center of the room. When Sara had stood up to calm him down his eyes flashed red at her ignoring his instructions, but as soon as he was calm she sat back down, this time directly beside Greg.
His hand was now on her arm, like somehow that was going to protect her. But it felt nice. It kept her in the present, reminding her that they needed to stay focused or... well, they'd be dead.
She could hear people in the next room, and wondered if the owners knew someone had a gun next door. If they did would they leave?
She put her hand on Greg's leg, making him look at her. The man had his eyes elsewhere so she tried to mouth something.
'What are we going to do?' She mouthed to Greg, hoping he could understand. If Grissom was here he would. Shut up Sara! She needed to stop doing that. But really, she couldn't. Grissom was her life.
Greg shrugged slightly. 'Wait for SWAT?' He mouthed.
'I guess.' She breathed, not realizing the man was now staring at her angrily.
"I told you to stop that!" The man yelled, his anger getting the better of him.
She saw the fury in his eyes and knew what was coming. The gun raised and she sat there frozen, unable to think.
She was shoved sideways. But it wasn't from a shot. Greg's hands had pushed her out of the way.
She was aware of his arm and she grabbed it, running towards the kitchen.
"No you don't!" The man screamed, insane with his fury.
And for just a moment, time seemed to slowed down. She saw the thought forming in the man's eyes. And slowly, maybe even hesitantly, his finger twitched on the trigger.
Greg, who had been staring at the same thing, pulled her into the kitchen, down behind the bar.
The shot rang out, temporarily deafening them. Wood splinters shot threw the air, falling like rain.
Time sped back up.
The man was walking towards them, Sara sensed him. Seeing as thought the kitchen was an L shape, open on both sides, she knew where to go.
Tightening her grip on Greg's arm, she crouched to her feet, bolting around the bend as he fired once again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that their attacker had barricaded the door. Screw that plan. She thought, knowing they'd be dead in seconds.
"Go!" Greg shouted pushing her forwards as the man fired again. Now the glass cupboards shattered, broken glass tumbling like a waterfall, cutting their arms open.
The reached the end of the L and ducked behind the fridge quickly, as the fourth shot sliced the thick air.
For a second, it was quiet. Then she heard people at the door, trying to shove it open. The man had barricaded it well, it wasn't budging despite the forceful shoves.
And then she saw it. The lamp's light reflected off the black metal, drawing her eyes to it. Her gun. It was lying right there, on the hallway table.
She turned her head and met Greg's scared eyes. He nodded quickly.
And a millisecond later they were both up and running along the tiled floor, knowing that any false move would cost them everything.
Another shot flew, and they ducked to the side. She felt Greg slip before she saw him. The tiled floor was well polished- just enough for his shoes to slide.
Without a second thought she released his grip, hearing his head hit the ground with a large thud. Her feet were steady as she ran the last few steps.
As Sara's had grabbed the metallic gun, she spun around, cocking it with her thumb.
Her heart almost froze. The man had just rounded the corner and had his gun pointed at Greg's chest.
Her best friend was staring at the man with a defeated, scared look in his normally happy brown eyes.
Sara didn't think twice, she just pulled the trigger.
So... how was it? What's Grissom doing there? And are Greg and Sara okay? Revieww for moree!