A/N: I was going to go the traditional route for this one, but ended up with this instead. I hope my little risk pays off. And also, season eight's story will be started later today.
Spoilers for episode 7x24, Living Doll.
It took me five weeks to figure out what to do.
After Ernie died, I felt like my brain turned to mush. It was hard to think, concentrate, and I felt just a little lost. After the police were finally done poking around in his house – our house – I went in to look around. Carefully. I'm always careful.
I didn't watch the video that Ernie made, but I did see who he sent it to.
There was a name on the door at the lab, I cleaned the room, but for five weeks, I never saw him. He must have been away. People came in and left, and left and came in, but I never saw him. I just watched.
Carefully.
But I didn't mind that he was away, not for now. It gave me time to think. Thinking is important.
I smiled when he found the miniature of the apartment room I left for him. But I did it carefully, so no one would see.
I missed Ernie. I missed him a lot. Sometimes, it was so much that every breath I took felt like a million knives stabbing me in the chest. It hurt. And all I wanted was for him to have to feel that pain, too.
And all of a sudden, I knew what to do.
I always liked the darkness. I liked staying in the shadows. So when I got hired to clean the lab, I was happy that I got to do it at night, where I could slip between the patches of darkness and no one would see me. It was one of those nights when I first saw her.
The building was quiet, empty, dark that night. But there they were, in the room that said Grissom, and they were talking close. Very close. Carefully.
I didn't know who she was, but I just knew that she was special. I knew I was going to take her.
I was going to take his special girl.
I started watching. Carefully. I was saw them leaving one night, and they walked right past me, cleaning in the shadows, invisible as a ghost. They didn't see me, but I saw them. I saw how he wiped away her tears and I saw where he put his hand as they walked away. I saw how she leaned into him and from the window, I saw him open his door for her.
The next day, I followed them to a car accident. He kissed her in the car. I watched them pretend, pretend as if everything was normal, and even in the brightest of daylight, they didn't see me. But I saw it, the way his trailed his hand down her arm, and the knives in my chest stabbed harder. I was right there watching them, but they didn't see me.
Invisible as a ghost.
I felt like I couldn't breathe. He shouldn't be allowed to be happy, when he's caused me so much pain.
I worked hard. I worked slowly. Carefully. I didn't want anything to go wrong. I promised Ernie I wouldn't hurt anyone else, but I was doing this for him. He would understand. He would be proud of his special girl.
Everything went to plan. I took her, I drugged her, I dragged her, I left her. And when I walked away, I had a smile on my face.
I knew that when he found her, he would feel those million little knives stabbing in his chest.
And we would be even.