A/N: All right... This chapter was rewritten about a dozen times simply because I couldn't decide what I really wanted to happen. Whether I wanted cliché or a little out of the ordinary. And I think I decided on the right thing. I, for one, am over joyed with this chapter and not just for what I hope to be my originality. Because I feel like this is my most GSR centered chapter yet. I'm not sure how y'all think of it, GSR wise, but PLEASE holla at me with your thoughts on this chapter and how my GSR goes thus far. Your reviews, as always, help me be put in the right direction, even if I'm resistant at first. Bear with me avid GSRfanatics! I'm making an effort here.
Disclaimer: >0!
Chapter 13: Revenge Gone Wrong
Sara's POV:
A strong odor attacked my sense of smell as soon as I stepped inside the bathroom. I felt my knees tremble as they fought to keep me standing as the smell became too overwhelming. It was strangely familiar but the haziness in my mind prevented any plausible idea as to what the chemical compounds might have been. Leaning against the wall was all I could do to remain off the ground from passing out.
It had to be at least a good five minutes or more before I was rescued by the sound of Brooke banging her fist against the public bathroom door. "C'mon! We're gonna finish this up before I kill the broad. Don't chicken out!" Her muffled voice cried out.
Shoving off the wall, I stumbled toward the door like I was drunk. I could barely even recollect putting my hand against the cool wood to open the door before the music enveloped me that was being played by the DJ. Staring in Brooke's general direction, frighteningly enough, I witnessed several concerned Brookes staring back at me. Shaking my head slightly to clear the dense haziness, I was relieved when the replicas merged into one body.
"Hey, you okay there?" Brooke's creased brow furrowed even more.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I automatically spurted out on my bad habit.
The concern continued until a happy look overtook it. Tapping me on the arm gently, Brooke threw a lazy arm around my shoulders as we walked back into the crowd. "Stop being so nervous! You look like a wreck when you are, which makes me nervous. And that's never a good thing."
Scoffing slightly, I glanced down at her. "Sorry. Didn't mean to." I went along with it.
After parting our ways to complete the final phase, I made my way toward the balcony on the opposite side of the room that I was on. The dizziness crept back into my mind as I was encased by more and more people shortly before I reached the outside. Gratefully, as soon as the air came rushing past me and I was able to breath in the fresh air once more, all aliments seemed to be eradicated. Turning back, I witnessed Brooke now approaching Grissom and Heather in what appeared to be a drunken fashion. But just as suddenly as she was standing, albeit barely, Brooke soon found a spot on the ground as she "fell" after losing her balance on purpose to cause more of a scene for herself. Grissom, being a gentleman apparently, soon removed himself from his seat at the bar and bent down to help Brooke back to her feet while Heather looked on with an inspective eye. Just then, behind the bar that the apparent couple was seated at, a shifty barkeep that wasn't Marc slid in front of Heather, not speaking to her but simply preparing to do something of the sorts. In the background, the DJ spoke on the microphone to introduce the next song. My ears quickly overheard him mentioning the artist of the song – Marques Houston. Naturally, that would mean that it was a slow song.
What are you planning now Brooke? I thought to myself about my mysterious sister.
When neither of the two rose from the floor, I got up on tips of my toes to get a better visual perspective on what was happening on the ground. Just barely, I noticed Brooke whispering something into Grissom's ear and then with the slightest of movements, throwing a thumb in my general direction. Surprised that Brooke was whispering while Heather was less than five feet away from her, my eyes next darted to Heather and the barkeep. To my surprise, the barkeep seemed to have held a conversation with her long enough to distract Heather from Grissom and Brooke. Had Brooke organized this all? Or was it all coincidence? Whatever it was, it seemed to be working as I soon saw Grissom stand up and his gaze was intently on me. It couldn't have been mistakened even in the slightest bit with any form of doubt. Just then, the lyrics hit me as I witnessed everyone else grab a partner and slow dance again.
You know there's somethin' 'bout a sexy song
That really turns me on and makes me feel at home
And a, the melody always sounds so sweet
As it slowly calls your body next to me
Slowly, but surely with resolve, I noticed Grissom making his way through the crowd toward me, his eyes never breaking the contact that he held with mine. I was practically hypnotized by him, frozen in the doorway like a statue under his scrutiny. When Grissom reached the halfway mark, I finally was able to shake myself from his hold and walk out of the doorway, my destination abruptly becoming the shoreline of the lake. From the outside, I could still hear the lyrics to the song ringing true in my ears, as the name of the song rested anxiously on the tip of my tongue.
And a, beautiful smooth conversation
Just to, show my love and expresses just how
How wonderful everything would be if you
Spent the rest of your life with me
What is it? I found myself wondering just before the song got into the chorus.
Beautiful you are, you mean the world to me
More than anything
Girl my life depends on your warm embrace,
Just to feel and taste
Ah... Beautiful, by Marques Houston. I thought to myself as I listened to the calming melody and awaited Grissom's arrival, half desiring it and half dreading it.
But it didn't seem to take too long until I felt his growing presence behind me, and drawing nearer. In that moment, I held my breath to hear his softly treading footfalls in the beach sand and reveled in the sound of the lake waves - not nearly as strong as the waves of the beach in San Fransisco that I faintly recalled, but still present. But as my eyes closed to the thought of being anywhere but here and living any other lifestyle other than this, the dizziness returned for a third round. And a manageable nausea accompanied it as well. Inwardly, I told myself that this was neither the time nor the place to be getting sick, even as sudden as it was. Surely, it had to be nervousness. Yet that smell that had assaulted me in the bathroom still remained a mystery to me, therefore posing as a suspect for my abrupt sickness. But how could I blame something when I wasn't even positive of what it was?
"Sara?" Thankfully, Grissom's low voice brought me back into a conscious state that I seemed to be drifting from unknowingly.
"Hmm?" I replied, never looking up at the man by my side.
There was a momentary pause which left me to wonder what he was doing until he finally spoke up. "May I have this dance?"
"Shouldn't you be asking that to your girlfriend?" The words dripped out with a bitter venom that I could no longer disguise or hold back, thinking back to how when Lady Heather had emerged from the bathroom, he'd immediately left the team as well as myself at the table to go to her side instead.
Flashback:
As the rest of the team sat back in the seats they'd occupied before we'd gotten up, we watched Grissom completely brush past us without a word or sound and approach Lady Heather as she appeared out of the bathroom, free of the punch Brooke had just poured on her moments ago.
"Huh... Nice way to ditch us." Greg huffed as he downed the rest of his drink in one gulp.
"Well, they are going out." Catherine pointed out to state the obvious as the two in conversation took a seat at the bar now.
Before I turned back, no longer able to look at the backs of the two people without being disgusted, I only briefly caught the death glare Lady Heather had turned around to give to Brooke. And Brooke solely.
"Yeah! You better look away before I poke your damn eyeballs out with this fork, you dumb bitch!" Brooke stood up challengingly, grabbing a fork in her right hand as she yelled out the threat across the entire hall.
Getting up, already needing to go to the bathroom, I pushed Brooke back into her seat and removed the silver fork from her clenched fist. "Behave Brooke. I'll be right back." I informed them all as I took off for the ladies room.
End of Flashback:
I'll admit, it was harsh considering he was just doing what boyfriends would normally do to comfort their girlfriends, but how was I supposed to act? Like I didn't feel anything for the man? Like I haven't felt anything for him for over fifteen years?
"I have no girlfriend, Sara. Or at least, not one that I'm in love with." He let out in a breath. "'You know you are in love when you see the world in her eyes, and her eyes everywhere in the world.'" He quoted simply.
Why do you always seem to hide behind quotes? "David Levesque." I answered to the giver of the quote. "Grissom, just... Say what you really mean for once. Stop hiding behind other people's words for once."
Baby I promise the whole world to you
Anything you want, baby, I will do
And just to prove to you that I can be,
All you're looking for, trust and honesty
"Sara, I'm here right now looking at you, and I don't see Lady Heather's eyes. I only see yours. And when I look into hers, I still see your eyes staring right back at me." Grissom continued to elaborate. "Between Heather and me, despite whatever thoughts she may have about it, it's not love in my opinion."
"Then why are you going out with her?" I inquired next, still confused on his motives in this relationship if it wasn't love.
"Pity? I'm not quite sure, Sara, to tell you the truth. She's just heartbroken right now, with going through the loss of her daughter." Grissom pulled directly up to the right of me and crouched down to touch the water.
"Pity? Pity? That doesn't exactly sound like something the Gil Grissom I know would do." I huffed, slightly jealous at the fact that he could show that strong of an affection for someone he knew less than myself, and didn't even love. But that would be taking a selfish side to things, which I wasn't ready to call myself, even if it were true when it came to the man beside me.
"I know. The concept seems hard for me to believe as well. For one, I'm leading her on. That's not something I would do, yet I find myself doing it now." The words of a distressed man were all that reached me. "Whatever the reason I had when it initially happen, it's long since past. I've come to the realization that this relationship is far from meaningful, and I can't live day by day with that. Pretending was never my strong suit nor is it one that I like to wear." His vision shifted from the cool water to my face for a brief second. "Sara. I've told her before about my concerns where the relationship is going. But she refuses to believe it. The shock from her daughter's death still isn't gone, and I fear for her. She's not stable."
"Is that any reason to lead someone on then?" Especially when you have someone else beside you that desperately wants the chance you've given her?
His face fell with his head in a slump, with shame almost. "No."
"Then do what you really want, and what you won't regret." My eyes shot straight ahead, thinking of my words wisely. "Because you can't live for anyone but yourself. And there's no sense in being miserable while you're living."
There was an awkward moment of silence as Grissom, and myself alike, thought over the words. Had I truly just said that? And what was my meaning behind it? Was I talking to him? To myself? To both of us... about... us? Again, my thoughts were disturbed as Grissom took a stand beside me, towering over me and offering his hand down. This time, he had an unknown and indescribable look in his eyes as he gazed upon me.
"May I have this dance Sara Sidle?" He asked once again.
A small smirk rose to my lips as I grasped his hand and hoisted myself up, and into his arms.
It's just the simple things that you do,
So just hold my hand, let me sing to you babe
The way to say baby that I thank you for bein' who you are
Brighter than a star
Again, it was like a natural stance for us to be like that – hand in hand and his arm around my waist with my other hand on his shoulder. Swaying in a simple motion this time, I laid my head against his chest to hear the contenting rhythm of his heart drumming strongly. It seemed surreal to me, and yet I knew it was for real. Though this was still a distance from the confession I wanted, it was a start that I was content with. And while this is what I had wanted for so long, any personal contact with the man, it almost felt wrong. Aside from the fact that Grissom had already admitted that there was no interest in Heather, the fact still remained. He was taken. Yet, this was simply dancing. You could dance with anyone – from a random guy at a night club to your nerdy cousin at a family occasion. It meant nothing. But I was still feeling as if I was the woman in an affair between a couple. That was what caused me to pull backwards momentarily to stare Grissom right in the eye.
At my sudden retreat, Grissom appeared almost startled – scared, even. "What's wrong?"
"I need to know... What happens now? Between us? Between you and Lady Heather... I need to know before my hopes raise too high." I said in a soft voice that I could barely distinguish as my own.
Beautiful you are, you mean the world to me
More than anything
Girl my life depends on your warm embrace,
Just to feel and taste
"What you just said, Sara... About living for yourself and being happy while you do it... Not having to have regrets about what you do..." He took a breath as he looked back down at me. "I don't want to be miserable or with regrets because I didn't do what I wanted to do. 'Petty regrets shall come and go, but the one where you passed up true love shall be your biggest of all.'"
Realizing that he was hiding behind quotes again instead of getting to the point earned him an eye roll, but I went along with it like I usually did. "Shakespeare?"
"Gil Grissom." Said Grissom softly.
"And where do you see that potential regret, Grissom?" I felt a considerably large lump forming in my throat as my heartbeat rose to dangerous speed. This can't be it... Am I dreaming about this again? Please say I'm not dreaming.
"Right in front of me." He replied once more.
Your love, is the sweetest I've ever known
Your touch, is the warmest to my heart
My heart, it all starts with you
It feels like heaven
'Cause all that I have is all that I give
Beautiful
It could've been the heat or it could've just been my emotions, but I suddenly felt myself releasing the mental constraint that told me not to get closer to Grissom whenever he was closer than deemed safe. And it appeared that Grissom was feeling the same way as his head made a descent toward mine as well. The dizziness came back again, but I wasn't ready to let blurred vision prevent me from possibly my one and only moment. Besides, I doubted that the unknown substance was entirely to blame for my dizziness this time. There was just something about Grissom that intoxicated me enough. It felt like an eternity before Grissom's ragged breath teased my lips, and with it brought a more intense dizzy spell. Before my knees gave out and before I lost complete control, I advanced at a slightly quicker pace than my timid self had been going at before, filling the gap between Grissom and me before either of us could object for some stupid reason. And while I felt the greatest of joys I'd experienced in all of my years of living – kissing Grissom along the shorelines of Lake Mead, I couldn't shake that feeling of worry about my sudden dizziness. It was no longer from Grissom or the anticipation. It encased me completely but when I came to the full conclusion of what had happened to me in the bathroom, it was too late as I collapsed into Grissom's strong arms, unconscious.
Brooke's POV:
I watched from upper balcony to down below as my plan unraveled perfectly. I'd been there since the beginning and seen everything from Grissom approaching Sara on the beach to them finally getting up and dancing. Now, with a sense of pride and satisfaction, I watched as the final step took place as Grissom and my sister kissed each other in a passionate fashion. It could've been a Hallmark moment, expect for the part when Sara fell completely limp and unconscious into her lover's arms. That's when the alarm bells set off in my head.
As Grissom tried to keep her up and wake her up, panic set in slowly. Go down there and help directly? Or alert everyone, and then go down and help her? Do I even have to ask myself that question?
I completely forgot about the stairs that wound down to the ground level and hopped up and over the balcony itself, landing gracefully on my feet like a cat and ran to aid my sister. As I slid to the two's side as Grissom laid her down on the beach, I peered down at her face with a worry I only had once in a while. Like when it involved Roxas or any of the other kids back at the house. Or Jen. And it was a worry that I didn't like to have.
"Sara! Damn, what happened?" I asked with an urgency in my words.
"I'm not sure. She just suddenly passed out without warning." Grissom explained as he checked her pulse.
Taking heed to my brief lessons in first aid that I'd learned what seemed like centuries ago, I loosened Sara's clothing to allow her to breath easier and checked her breathing. It appeared to be just fine and her pulse was normal. So why had she passed out? I scooped a handful of the cold lake water and strategically splashed it onto her face, making sure that it didn't get into her mouth or nasal passages. Unknown to the three of us, everyone else was assembling out on the balcony to observe what had happened. But I didn't concentrate on them. Not with my sister laying unconscious for no apparent reason in front of me.
"Someone call an ambulance!" We heard a voice call from within the buzzing crowd on the balcony.
"C'mon Sara... C'mon Sizzle B. Wake the Hell up." I told her as I continued to splash the water onto her face.
After a mumbled mantra of, "Wake the Hell up" was said for two minutes, a flutter of life came through Sara as her eyes flickered open and gazed around with a hazy look in them. Sick and confused. But before she could even get a squeak out, I'd enveloped her in my arms and hugged her until Grissom pried me off, claiming that I'd make her pass out again from lack of oxygen.
"Sara Sidle, if you ever do that to me again, I will make you regret giving me gray hairs at my young and prime age." I said with a light note to mask my extreme worry that I always took to be a part of parenthood. Except this time, the recipient wasn't Roxas. It was my older sister. "What the Hell happened?"
"It was in the bathroom. Chloroform." Sara spoke up as she remembered.
She wasn't nervous when she got out of the bathroom. She was practically getting poisoned! Argh, how much more of an idiot can I become? I thought heatedly to myself.
And at that point, the only person I could think of that would do that was standing in the front row of people in the crowd, peering down on the scene with the slightest of smirks playing on her thin lips. As I looked up at her now with a snarl and a glare that could kill in the meantime as I already plotted on my hands getting to her throat to strangle her, I only broke the intense glare when Sara grasped my hand. Staring down at my sister with a softer look, I complied when she asked for me to come closer for her to whisper into my ear.
"Thank you for the plan. I think it worked." Her voice said in a grateful tone.
"Anytime sis. Hey, I think I've got some business to take care of. An ambulance is on its way to check you out." I said to her in a way that I hoped didn't reveal my violent plans. "I'll meet you at the hospital later, a'ight? I promise."
The look in her eyes told me that she wasn't satisfied with the information I'd provided but I got up and prepared to leave, throwing a look up at the balcony. Only to half of my surprise, the Heather chick was already gone. At least she wasn't a complete idiot, but she obviously was if she was screwing with my family. I guess it was just one of those lessons in life she was gonna have to learn the hard way. You don't mess with my family and get away with it.
"Take care of her, G." I called over my shoulder as I raced around the side of the building to catch up, only briefly hearing Grissom questioning her about the chloroform.
As I slowed down to the stop in the parking lot, I searched for Lady Heather's car – the Carrerra. My eyes darted for the entrance of the parking lot as I heard that exact car take off at a steady pace. The blood boiled in my veins as I took off at a dash for Sara's car, leaping up and over the door and into the driver's seat. Starting up the car, I threw the car into reverse to pull out of the parking space before tossing it into drive to pursue my one and only target for tonight.
Lady Heather.
TBC...
A/N2: So, original or what? Listen, I'd like to make yet another confession. I've done some thinking and I've realized, this story most likely will only have a side story on the GSR. I know, I'm disappointed in myself for not thinking this story through more carefully. I think that if I had included writings from Grissom's POV, I might've been able to pull off a full GSR, but in the future, I'm not sure if that's likely. So all you hard-core GSR fans, know that I am with y'all a 1,010, but please don't give up hope on me! If y'all let me know how this chapter went, then I'll do more than consider adding Grissom's POV to my writings in this story. I think we all agree that's where the GSR would be coming from, right? Because, believe me, he's involved in this story in more ways than one. So, thank you for your time, and if this note discourages any of my reviewers because I'm on the fence about what to do, well, it was nice knowing you & thank you for your time.. To all of y'all that are still walking this path with me, I'm grateful. But now, I ain't tryna turn all Preacher New York on you so I'ma leave it at that and let me know what you think.
Peace out, one love,
MC New York