A/N: Love the reviews, worship the reviews, die for the reviews! Thank you! Sorry for the lateness in updates... :-( Holidays had me rushing everywhere for everyone. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!! Lol.

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Chapter 24: Bail, Necessities, & Carjacking

Sara's POV:

"How much is bail?"

"Three hundred dollars, Miss Sidle." The woman with a nasally voice responded yet again, clarifying what I'd previously heard. "Or you could just wait until her goes to her arraignment. I think they might already be there."

"What about a Teague James?"

"Two hundred dollars." The woman replied.

Five hundred dollars to get my best friend and my sister out of jail. I reasoned internally.

"All right. Thank you." I said, a deflated aspect to my voice.

"You're welcome Miss Sidle. Have a good day." Click.

"How much?" Alex asked, slowly coming in from the hallway.

For a minute there, I wasn't sure how I should respond or even if he was talking about the same subject as me. And there was something unnerving about his tone. An expectant tone, if that was fair to say.

Obviously, I'd let my silence and confusion carry on for too long for I was graced with an eye roll as Alex meandered around the couch and sat down next to me. "I'm not stupid. I know what's going on. How much is bail?"

"Five hundred dollars for both Brooke and Taj."

There was a moment where Alex went into thinking mode before briskly standing and all but running back into my room. Looking over the back of the couch out of curiosity, I saw him rummaging through his pant pockets and retrieving something. Just like Brooke, Alex came jetting down the hallway again, leaping over the back of the couch as if it were a fence he was jumping and bounced back beside me. What he presented to me made my eyes stare in amazement, double blinking more times than I could count.

Alex had a bankroll well above the amount for bail money. Well over.

"How did you get so much money?" The question flew out of my mouth instinctively, wondering what the kids of this family were up to.

"I snatched this from Eric's jacket pocket when he was throwing me around." Alex explained, placing the bankroll into my hand. "I don't know how much that is, but I don't think my Dad's gonna be needing it as much as we do."

If I hadn't known that Alex wasn't Brooke's kid right off the bat, I would suspected it at this very moment in time. A genuine Robin Hood of Las Vegas.

Counting out five hundred, I found out this bankroll went well beyond five hundred, like I had suspected on sight. Not to say that it was morally correct or completely by legal points of view right, but it was only a hunch that Alex's Father was not one to pay his child support. That was what called for my next action of giving the rest of the money back to Alex, telling him to keep it in a safe place where he wouldn't lose it.

It was approaching one in the afternoon now, and I knew that poor Brooke wouldn't last another hour in jail without going crazy. Grissom had gone out in search for baby supplies for Roxas well before I'd even woken up. A note had been left on the coffee table reading,

Sara,

It's obvious that you weren't materially prepared for children in your house, so I've taken the liberty of going out to buy the necessities. Kylie is tagging along for some of her much needed "insight" as she puts it and Roxas and Alex are still fast asleep on the bed. I'll be back shortly.

Love,

Gil

I didn't know what I should've been more surprised about: the fact that he used his real name or the fact that the endearment was "love". At any rate, it had made my lips form a mile long smile that stretched from ear to ear after reading it over and over. It was a reassurance that the chloroform fumes weren't making me hallucinate all the moments I've spent with Grissom since the night of that Police Ball.

Looking over at the other end of the couch where Roxas sat, at peace and fiddling with a string that was dangling on his shirt, I smiled again. He was adorable. Brooke must feel so lucky to have him in her life. I know I would if I was blessed with a son like him.

Well, he is your Godchild.

Getting up upon hearing my stomach growl in protest to being empty, I figured the kids must've been getting hungry as well. Meandering over to my fridge, I took a peek inside only to see that baby supplies weren't the only thing I lacked in this house.

Hmm... Let's see... Do I even have any cereal left that's not stale? I asked myself when I came up with nothing in the fridge.

Opening all of the cabinets, I learned that I had a lot of stale cereal boxes stuffed in the far back. Thankfully, I had at least one good box of Life in the last cabinet I checked. I was almost positive that this cereal was edible and that the milk wasn't expired. Fixing up three bowls for Roxas, Alex, and myself, I allowed us to sit on the couch instead of the breakfast island since I didn't want Roxas to accidentally lean back and fall off of the stool. Brooke would kill me. I'll kick myself in the ass for a stupid move like that. But to my surprise, while Alex had settled down and ate in silence, Roxas seemed to be observing his food in pure curiosity. Surely this hadn't been the first time a bowl of cereal had been presented to him in this form. Under Brooke's supervision, surely she must've been forced to feed him like this at one point or another.

Alex seemed to have read my mind generally as he placed his spoon down and swallowed the remaining cereal he had in his mouth. "We've never been able to afford milk since Auntie Brooke and Roxas moved in with us so he's used to eating his cereal with cold water like the rest of us."

Now that revelation hurt to know. And I'm sure if I asked Brooke, she would agree with me.

No child or infant should know what it's like to have to eat cold water cereal. Not like Brooke, Jay, and I had to growing up.

Taking a small scoop with the spoon I'd put in Roxas's bowl, I raised it to his mouth. Of course, for him, I had watered down the milk since it was whole milk a little. It had been a myth I'd heard a while back when I was first coming to Vegas, waiting for my bags to come on the conveyor belt. And as Roxas took in the spoonful and accepted it, I'm glad I had been bored enough to listen to the babbling soon-to-be grandmother to her expecting daughter-in-law.

After his first bite, Roxas was in speed eating mode to the point I was fearful that he was going to choke. Alex insisted that this was just how he normally ate, but that didn't stop me from glancing over in between bites to make sure he was still breathing. Roxas had finished well before Alex and myself, a grin spread across his face once his stomach was content. Alex came in second, while I took up dead last. Once the dishes were cleaned, dried, and put away, I was just in time for Grissom and Kylie's grand appearance. Poor Grissom appeared exhausted while Kylie was his polar opposite.

Walking over to him to take some of the bags he was holding, I greeted him with a kiss hello and late good morning on the cheek. Setting all of the bags on top of the breakfast island, I began sorting them out. It looked like diapers and baby wipes weren't the only things Kylie had convinced him Roxas would need. Clothes were on the list as well.

One less stress off of my back. I couldn't help but think. I hope it didn't kill Grissom's wallet though.

"Looks like you got a work out." I teased Grissom as he helped me.

"More like a work out and three quarters." Grissom expelled a breath in a laugh. "That little girl has too much energy and 'insight' for my tired self."

"Don't tell me this cost you a lot." I said, searching for a receipt. "I know how some kids have no concept of how much things cost."

"No Sara, it didn't cost a lot at all." Glancing up, I saw Grissom had the receipt between his middle and index finger. It had a long extension as far as I was concerned. "Trust me, my paycheck is higher than yours Miss Sidle. This doesn't even dent my wallet."

"Oh really?" I cocked an eyebrow at him, challenging him. "Let me see it then."

"No." He quipped, folding it and putting it in his back pocket, smiling back at me. "But now, I'm pretty sure your set with all of the minor things." Grissom quickly switched subjects. "Clothes that Kylie claims fits him, diapers, baby wipes, bottles and formula, baby food, and though Kylie insisted it wasn't necessary, one bib." He ran through the entire list of the general item, ending with an exhale of breath. "Sadly enough, yes, I would've been clueless as to what to search for if Kylie hadn't tagged along."

"He didn't even know where the baby aisle was until I brought him to it!" Kylie's voice wafted into the kitchen from down the hall in the bedroom.

Giving him a sympathetic smile, I began making a special spot in my cabinet to the right of my stove for all of the baby food.

"I stopped by the court house and saw Brooke waiting for her arraignment."

The formula found a comfortable spot in my bare fridge while the bib remained on the breakfast island next to the house phone. After that, I stopped as if I'd finally absorbed the meaning of the words. "She's already out? I just called to find out how much Brooke and Taj's bail was. They didn't say they were already at their arraignment."

"People do make mistakes Sara." Grissom defended with a raised eyebrow and a look from the side.

"I know..." I spoke in an exasperated tone of voice.

The remaining contents followed me down the narrow hallway to my bedroom where I placed them to the right of my bed.

Before I could even make a move to change Roxas's diaper however, Kylie was already on the job in a fraction of a second. "No worries. I'm a pro when it comes to handling Rox."

Apparently, Kylie was right. She had changed, cleaned, and redressed Roxas in about a minute flat. That beat my record growing up for having to look after Jay constantly, and the motherly aspects involved in it.

Roxas was now clad in one of the outfits that Grissom had bought, using Kylie as his eyes. White T-shirt and jeans, very suitable. Especially for any kid of Brooke's. And I had to stop myself from laughing when I saw Roxas get down from my bed and run over to where Alex sat by the window, and snatched the beanie off of his head to put it on his own. With contentment and satisfaction in his appearance, Roxas walked out to the living room with Alex tailing after him, telling him to give it back. Kylie offered no restraint from giggling as we all abandoned my bedroom for the parlor.

Leaning against the wall just before completely exiting the hallway, I watched the scene unfold before my eyes. It was a very domestic one, if I do say so myself. Roxas had sought after shelter behind Grissom, trying to pull Grissom's pant legs over his cherubic face to conceal him from Alex crossing his arm less then four feet away. Kylie now started to taunt Alex about him being a baby for not sharing his beanie. Grissom stood in the middle of the storm with a bemused expression across his face before reaching behind him to lift Roxas up and into his arms.

Though Grissom would probably reject the notion profusely, he was better with kids than he gives himself credit for. He seemed to have a comfortability with all of the children like he'd known them for years, or if they were his own. Grissom had a natural stance for holding Roxas that wasn't alien to him at all.

Maybe he grew up with little cousins close by? My mind quickly proposed. No... He seems like he might have been a solitary person when he was young.

It was a mystery all of its own, but unfortunately I didn't get to ponder it much further as there was a knock at my door but three seconds later. Pushing through the war zone, I approached my doorway and opened it, only to see a wild haired Greg Sanders standing on the other side of it.

"Hey Sara!" His smile was flashed my way before his eyes finally traveled in.

His reaction was, to say the least, astounded.

The arrival of the youngest CSI had quieted Alex down and made Kylie discontinue any taunt she had on the tip of her tongue mid-sentence. Grissom appeared slightly panicked while Roxas just held a fascinated stare at Greg's hair. I could only surmise that Greg only flattened his hair for work. Greg's saucer eyes double blinked when they finally settled on our boss standing half in my kitchen and half in my living room holding a baby. Deer in the head lights.

"Boss?" Greg managed after clearing his throat. After that, Greg struggled with the next few words, undecided what he wanted to question first, so that's when he turned to me. "Okay, now I'm really confused!"

I couldn't say for the life of me why I suddenly felt like I was getting caught in a lie or like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Just how did you explain that you'd taken into three children from an abusive home and that you were going out with your boss without making all of that sound... even more eccentric than before?

"No need to be Greg." Grissom cleared his throat as well, finally reclaiming his voice. "Unfortunate circumstances for these children led to Sara taking them in temporarily and I'm simply helping as much as I can."

Thank God you can think straight. I said in gratitude.

"Okay..." Greg dragged the last part out a little longer to express his still existing confusion on the matter he'd just discovered.

"C'mon Greg, you know that women just can't magically give birth to children like that. They haven't invented that yet!" I claimed. "So, is there a reason to this visit or are you just dropping by to say hi?"

Shaking his head to clear the puzzlement, he focused on me instead of the scene behind me. "Just to say hi and see if you wanted to go catch a movie with me, but I can see you're a little busy..."

"Children do have a tendency to take up your time, Greg." I smirked at him, thinking of the statement.

"I see." Greg's eyes seemed fixated on Roxas. "Well, do you need anything? I'd be happy to..."

"I've already got everything, Greg, but thanks." I jumped the gun before he'd even finished.

"All right then. I guess I'll see you tonight at work then." Greg backed away from the door, running a hand over his zany hair.

"Sure thing Greg. See you then." I sent him a smile just as I closed the door.

The creaking of steps concluded that Greg was now leaving, but now I couldn't help but laugh when I heard Greg all but scream, "I knew it!"

Brooke's POV:

After Taj's arraignment was over with, I practically threw myself out of the doors like a freed bird. But it wasn't because I felt relieved that I was done with my arraignment; It was because I still had that guy on my mind and that look branded in my mind's eye.

"Brooke! What in the Hell has gotten into you?" Taj asked once we were on the street corner, thumbing for a ride.

"I saw him."

"Who? Who has got you turned into a skittish wreck?" Taj let out an aggravated growl.

"One of the guys from that night!" Now my skittish movements became erratic as anxiety settled in. "One of those damn guys in that group of twenty must've had an arraignment today too! When he left, he was eying Gil and Kylie in a way that I didn't like! And the look he gave to me before he left! I didn't like any of it!"

"Hey hey hey... Calm down, a'ight? Calm down. First of all, who's Gil?" Taj cupped my face, stroking my hair softly to simmer me down.

"Sara's new boyfriend." I was quick to reply, trying to chill out on my own now.

"A'ight... This guy from the fight... He gave Gil a look that you didn't like?" Taj tried to collect the fact again in a more organized fashion.

"Yes!" Frustration added onto my anxiety. "I'm afraid that asshole is gonna follow Gil back to Sara's place and do something to them. I need to get over there now." Retreating from Taj's body, I walked around in a small circle running my hand through my hair nervously. "I wouldn't be like this right now Taj if I didn't feel something was about to seriously go wrong! And Sara has got my baby in there with her!"

Taj mumbled a few words under his breath before searching around. The sound of a car could be heard down the road and Taj was quick to step out into the middle of the road. Even as the car came into view, Taj never budged, forcing the car to stop just before it was about to clip him at the knees. The lady beeped repeatedly while he ordered me to get into the car. I took the backseat while he took passenger.

"What the Hell are you doing?! Police!" The lady screamed out her window.

"Just shut up and drive us to a place lady. This is official unofficial business, and this is a Hell of a lot better than me commandeering your vehicle." Taj proclaimed through gritted teeth.

The tone Taj had used caused both the lady and my eyes alike to widen. There was a certain aspect about Taj's voice that I'd never heard before that I heard now that I found both frightening and exhilarating at the same time. It sure made the lady obey though!

Rambling off the address of Sara's apartment complex, the lady grew a lead foot and drove with no further questions.

TBC...

A/N: Did I leave you guys at a cliffhanger? Aww.. Muffin... Lol And that damn minion... And well... You know I had to throw Greg in. I mean, who doesn't love the Greg intrusions? C'mon, who?? That's right, NO ONE. (Chloe, if you defy me... Lol) Oh, odeepblue??? More action next chapter. And everyone? GSR next chapter, on the house...

Peace out, one love,
MC New York