Chapter 13
May 3rd, 2005
8:05 a.m.
CSI Break Room
While Jessica was in with Grissom the rest of the team was gathering in the break room, Catherine giving Nick dirty looks. She just knew that the way Jessica had stormed out could not mean anything positive.
"Anybody seen Jessica?" asked Warrick as he sat down next to Catherine.
"I hope she hasn't gone and pulled a Sara on us," mused Greg.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" demanded Catherine angrily. "
Well, you know, disappearing and not telling anybody where she's going," explained Greg. "What?"
"That's cold man," chided Warrick.
"While I'm sure we're all amazed by the stunning observation about Sara's leaving," Grissom began tersely gathering Greg's attention who realized he had been heard and looked sheepishly at his boss. "Do I even want to know what has started this conversation?" he continued glancing at each of his team, watching Nick for a few moments longer than he did each of the others as he leaned against the doorjamb.
"I was merely wondering where Jessica is since shift is about to start," offered Warrick.
"Jessica returned to San Francisco tonight," Grissom replied simply before straightening as he moved into the room, assignments in hand.
"Are you pleased with yourself Nick?" questioned Catherine with a glare.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb with me Nick," snapped Catherine as she rose from her seat and stalked over to her colleague, forcing him to back into the wall. "I know you had something to do with it because the poor girl practically ran me over in her haste to get out of here a short while ago. I saw the look on her face Nick. She looked like she had just taken a punch to the gut. You know what Nicky in a way I'm glad Jessica's returned to San Francisco, because she deserves better than the way you've been treating her lately. I've seen it in her eyes Nick. Hell even Sara has seen it and she's blind."
"Catherine," Grissom's softly spoken pronunciation of her name got the woman to turn and look at him before she shook her head.
"Fine. Assignment please. And don't you dare pair me with Nick tonight, unless you want a second homicide to investigate before the night is over," she added with a growl as she walked over to Grissom waiting.
"419 take Greg," Grissom replied handing her the slip. Catherine nodded before sending one last glare at Nick then leaving the room, Greg trailing behind her eager to be out of the room. Without a word Grissom handed a slip to Warrick, the other man leaving immediately before Grissom turned to Nick. "414, Trick Roll," he explained before handing the slip to Nick. "Oh and see me after shift," he added before leaving the room as Nick looked down at the slip of paper.
Sighing softly Grissom shook his head as he opened the door, waving at the officer to let him know he was in. Locking the door behind him he turned back to find Sara. He couldn't help but smile when he did locate her, on the couch with the book on Beetles he had acquired open in her lap, half-asleep.
Turning he made his way to the hallway closet to hang up his jacket and set his things down, he considered just how he should word the news he had. And how he could keep Sara from killing Nick. The man in question, Grissom had ordered home and to prepare himself for Sara when she found out about what had happened that night.
Slipping off his shoes, Grissom padded his way back into the living room to grab a bookmark and slip it in the book before setting it on the end table, just as Sara sat up as she jerked out of her sleep. "Shh, it's just me," he whispered as she raised a hand to her temple.
"Hi," Sara began with a smile a moment later as she lowered her hand and reached out to gently graze his cheek with her fingertips. "How was your night?"
"How's your head?" he countered before she rolled her eyes. "How long have you had the headache?"
"Not long, but I took some Excedrin a little while ago," Sara replied with a sigh. "Stop worrying Gil," she continued with a soft smile. "Now how was your night?" she added bluntly.
"Normal night of work," Grissom began with a shrug as he stood and moved to sit next to her. Sara immediately slipped into his arms and settled herself next to his side.
"Really now?"
"Really," he replied with a soft smile as he ran a hand over her hair. It was back to her natural color, but still not as long as it had once been.
"Hmm, so what are you not telling me?" she asked after a few moments. "You're exceptionally tense, even for you."
"Acushla..." Grissom began with a sigh. "Honey, Jessica left last night."
"What?" Sara asked shocked as she sat up and looked at him. "What do you mean she left? Where did she go? Why didn't she come see me before she left? What the hell is going on?" she rattled off before he reached out to cup her cheek and she stopped as if someone had hit an off-switch.
Reaching up with his other hand to gently rub her shoulder he shook his head softly. "Jess came in and declined the offer last night. She went back to Frisco, and didn't have time to come see you. Although I'm sure she wanted to," he added softly seeing Sara's frown.
"What happened yesterday? She was still considering her options when we talked forty-eight hours ago, and now this..." Sara trailed off shaking her head.
Well, it was now or never to tell her about Nick. And to keep her from killing the other man, taking a deep mental breath he tightened his grip on her shoulder slightly. "She got into a fight with Nick."
Sara simply frowned at him for a few minutes before he saw a familiar look to her eyes. Nick was certainly a dead man. "What the hell did Stokes do?"
"I don't know everything honey. Catherine was the only one to hear anything, and she was threatening Nick's life so…" he trailed off with a shrug before realizing he probably shouldn't have said that.
"Phone."
"Phone?" he asked confused as she held her hand palm up between them.
Phone please," Sara clarified.
Tilting his head to the side as he regarded her he reached over on the table for the phone and set it in her palm. "Would Jessica be awake?"
"Probably not, but I'm not calling her," Sara replied with a smirk as she flipped the phone over in her hand and started dialing. Smirking she raised an eyebrow at Grissom as the phone rang. "Keep looking at me like that and you might realize that I'm not nearly as gorgeous as you seem to think I am."
"Never going to happen," Grissom laughed as she carefully rose from the couch to pace around the living room.
"Hey Cath," she spoke up a moment later and Grissom shook his head. Catherine was going to kill him; she was probably home and asleep when the call came. "Yeah, sorry about calling, really I am. But listen did you hear anything from Nick and Jess last night?" she continued before remaining silent for a number of minutes. She stopped pacing mid-step and the silence continued for a few more minutes before Grissom rose from the couch in concern. Just as he reached her, Sara started speaking again. "Thanks Cath. Get some rest. Night." Hanging up she turned towards Grissom who continued to regard her concerned.
"Honey?"
"Okay, can you take me to see Nick before you go in tonight?" she asked after a beat.
"You don't want to go now?" he asked surprised.
"No, if I go now I will kill him. Besides, I'm exhausted; you're exhausted. Right now we both need sleep," Sara answered and he shook his head.
"Alright, in that case Ms. Sidle, let's get you into bed," he replied chuckling softly. "Are you alright though?" he continued concerned as he took her hand and set the phone on the bookcase. He'd see it back to the right place later.
"Ask me after I've torn into Nick and talked to Jyn," came the soft reply as they walked to the bedroom.
May 4th, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Stokes Residence
She had left Grissom at the Tahoe, talking with the officer on her watch for first shift. Raising her hand to knock on the door for a second time Sara fought the mental image of beating the crap out of Nick Stokes with her cane. Fortunately, for her and maybe even him as she didn't get the chance to plan out her thoughts, Nick finally answered the door.
"What?" snapped Nick as he threw his door open only to find Sara waiting for him. "Sara, what are you doing here? I really don't have time to talk right now, I'm on my way into the lab."
"I know," Sara replied pushing passed him and into his house, giving him a moment to process that she had just ignored his speech and give herself a moment to adjust to his house and put things together with her teaching. Luckily she had been to Nick's a few times so she knew the basic layout.
"And don't worry, showing up late is the least of your problems," she continued turning to regard him.
"Sara, I really don't have time right now," repeated Nick as he closed the door.
"And don't worry, showing up late is the least of your problems." she repeated
"Sara, what are you doing here?"
"Actually I'm wondering the same thing about you Nick. Why aren't you off chasing Jessica so you can just stomp her even further into the ground," Sara growled in response.
"Why should I bother chasing after her Sara? It was her choice to leave town, not mine," argued Nick.
"You think she had a choice!" Sara yelled. "Yeah sure, she had a choice Nick. Let's see, stay in Vegas and face you after you forced her to reveal a secret she never even told me! And oh let's not forget how things go around the lab so how long is it until everyone knows this secret. Or get out before she has to deal with the entire world knowing what haunts her past. How is that a choice!" she continued as she turned to pace a two-foot area, her cane smacking against the side of his furniture as she moved.
"Let's talk about going around the lab Sara. I saw her with Archie; hell the entire team saw her with Archie one morning after shift and from what I saw, the conversation was far from platonic. And let's not forget the fact that she left Catherine's party with Greg of all people," snapped Nick in return. "I am not going to be made a fool of Sara. She's done nothing but lie and hide things from me since day one."
"Oh and that gives you a right to push her on that! All right Nick, fine, let's talk about those incidents. And a few other things," Sara began turning towards him as she stopped pacing and crossed her arms over her chest, her cane held up in one hand and lightly tapping against her leg in agitation. "Point one, Greg. Well you know, I may be blind as a bat, but I've got the hearing of one too. I heard Greg ask her to dance. Now I don't know what happened, but I'm assuming she looked at you or something because I heard you tell her that you weren't stopping her. Now like I said, I might be blind. But it sounded like she was looking to you to see if you would...oh I don't know, object maybe. Or better yet, if you would ask. And you did neither. So she accepted the offer to dance," Sara began.
"Oh and since your head is so far up your ass that you can't hear anything, you probably missed the sadness in her voice as she agreed to Greg's request. Then again, maybe I only caught it cause I know her so damn well. Oh and don't think I didn't know about what you were doing back at that table. Next time you want to be upset, you better hope there's no witnesses who might talk," she growled before turning to pace once more.
"Oh! And you're whole 'she went home with him' deal," she began turning back towards him as she made parentheses in the air with the statement. "Well for your information, oh wise one, Greg stopped by to see me later on that night. And you know, unless he is damn fast, which even for that boy I doubt that's physically possible. There is no way anything could have happened other than Greg giving Jessica a Simple. Ride. Home. Besides which, he's too much of a gentleman to take advantage of someone who's hurting."
"So, next complaint chronologically...Archie. Well Nicholas, I would like to think that he's just like Greg and a few others, like I used to think you were. A gentleman; a good friend who gave her someone to talk to. Do you even realize what she's going through right now? NO, you probably don't. Because like I said, your head is too far up your ass to notice anything. Two weeks ago Grissom offered her the chance to stay in Vegas permanently. So that's been on her mind. Perhaps she was talking with Archie to see what he thought about it. I don't know, but any idea you have about her being in a relationship with him...is so damn stupid that I think you're IQ has managed to physically drop!"
"So let's see, what else is there in the world for you to be thinking...oh wait, never mind, back onto the whole 'she is making a fool of me' theory," Sara began as she turned to pace once more, better to be pacing the floor than over walking by him and hitting him...with her hand or her cane. No, she needed a rubber hose; there would be no marks. And how could a blind woman kill someone, especially with no marks. Hmm...Stopping mid-step for a moment she smiled, unknowingly causing Nick some concern because her smile was so...evil...
Snapping back into her train of thought she turned to glare at him for a moment as she looked for the right words. "You are a complete and utter asshole. How could you have missed in the time you spent with Jessica the fact that she has never been in any relationship before? Cause since you obviously missed it, she never had been in one before you. And yeah she's probably going to kill me for telling you this, but seeing as you may have cost me my best friend anyway, I'm going to say what I want ...no, what you need to get through your thick head."
"So you're whole thing about her 'keeping secrets'. You know, maybe if you had given her enough time, given her a reason to trust you after we left Dallas...well she might have let you in on a few things. So you know what Nick, you have no one to blame for things with Jessica but yourself. I hope it was worth it, because losing the best woman that ever entered your life is the least of the things you've lost in the last twenty-four hours." Raising her chin defiantly almost she pushed past him once more before slamming the door behind her as she left him standing in his hallway.
May 11th, 2005
11:49 p.m.
Grissom's Office
"Hey Griss, there's someone looking for you up front," Catherine spoke as she popped her head in his door.
"Thanks Cath," he began as he closed the folder he was working on and stood up. "You seen Sara?"
"She's keeping an eye on Greg and his experiment," Catherine answered with a smile.
"Should have thought about pairing the two of them years ago," he answered shaking his head. "She's a great mentor."
"That she is. She's a great CSI too. She made any decisions about what she's going to do now?" Catherine asked curious as she walked with him towards the front of the building.
"She's still not sure. But she doesn't have to rush worrying about it after all, as long as she's in protective custody and there's the threat of John finding her, any job is sort of non-existent."
"Yeah, I know. Damn I wish we could catch that bastard," Catherine muttered shaking her head.
"You and me both," he smiled softly. "Oh, that reminds me, evaluations are next week."
"Really? Already?" Catherine asked surprised.
"Yeah, want to give me a hand and do the boys?" he continued glancing at her. Ecklie had deemed it fit to give Sofia Curtis Day Supervisor, but he wanted to give her a bit more to do to help prepare her for when she did get a supervisor position. Plus, it made his life easier in all honesty.
"Sure. Won't Ecklie have a heart attack though?"
"Ah what he doesn't know," Grissom whispered with a wink.
"Deal," Catherine answered with a laugh. "Well you need me, I'll be around," she continued when they reached the front and she parted to head down towards DNA.
Shaking his head Grissom looked up at the receptionist who pointed across the room since she was on the phone. Following her 'point' he found a man looking at the pictures of the employees of the month. As he made his way over, Grissom looked at the man unobserved. He was 6'4" maybe 6'5", thin build with long brown hair ending just under his shoulder blades, in a ponytail at the base of his neck. A pair of glasses were perched on his head, and he was wearing faded blue jeans and a dark t-shirt. Stopping next to the man he cleared his throat and the man spun around to look at him.
"Ah Dr. Grissom," he began holding out his hand. "Christopher Sidle," he continued.
"Sara's brother?" Grissom asked as he shook the other man's hand. Although he didn't have to really ask, the similarities were striking.
"Quite so," Chris replied with a smile. "The people at the hospital told me to contact you about where she is," he explained as he slipped his hands in his pockets.
"Of course. Please, come with me. There are a few things we need to talk about before you see her," Grissom answered leading him to the desk to get a visitors pass before taking him back to his office. Closing the door behind him Grissom walked around to sit at his desk as Chris looked around.
"Sara certainly was never joking about your collection," Chris mused with a whistle. "Where do you find all these?"
"Here and there," Grissom answered with a smile. "Please, have a seat," he continued nodding towards one of the chairs on the other side of his desk.
"Thanks," Chris answered before falling into the chair. "How is she?" he asked after a beat.
"As well as she can be," he answered with a shrug. "If you don't mind me asking. Why now?"
Chris shook his head. "I've been out of the country, Switzerland, my business took me there. I left last March, just got back two weeks ago and found the letter from my folks. I stopped to see them first, then came straight here."
"I see," Grissom began as he tented his fingers and rested his chin on them while regarding the other man. "And your parents? Are they here as well?"
"No, Laura and Jack weren't sure if Sunshine would want them here so…They're afraid that she blames them; in all honesty they're afraid to come and have her reject them. Laura blames herself for what happened because John was, is, her brother," Chris trailed off with a shrug.
"I see," Grissom sighed. "In all honesty, Sara is afraid to see them as well so…As it is, I don't know if she will agree to see you," he admitted.
"That's understandable, on both counts. But I can assure you of this Dr. Grissom, my folks and I never knew. If we had…well John would have never lived. By the time Jack and I would have been done with him…" he trailed off.
"First, please call me Grissom," he began with a smile. "And I do believe you," he continued with a half smile. "Has anyone ever told you that you can read everything in your eyes? Sara's the same way."
"Yeah, we hear that a lot," laughed Chris. "How is she doing? Really? I mean I get she's doing as well as she can considering. But the letter she sent to the folks and I…it didn't tell all that much…"
"I know, I was there when she wrote them," Grissom answered with a sigh. "Physically she's as well as she's going to get. She's lost her sight completely, well no, she's got about ten percent left," he spoke softly.
"Damn," Chris sighed sadly. "There goes her career as a CSI. And knowing her she's not going to go back to school for physics seeing as sight does come in handy for that," he trailed off with another sigh. "And surprisingly, it seems the gift I brought is going to be even more important now."
"Gift?" Grissom asked with a frown.
Chris smiled slightly. "I raise dogs, Saint Bernards to be exact. The last year I was in Switzerland arranging to adopt a number of the last rescue dogs as they were shutting the program down. I managed to get a few, but thanks to paperwork and all that mess it took a year. But I'm getting off track, aren't I?"
"That's alright," Grissom answered with a smile.
"Ah, I see you're used to the Sidle babble," he began with a smile.
"Memory serves me correctly, Sara called it over-talking."
"Yeah, that's a Sara saying," Chris began shaking his head. "Three years ago I had a litter, seven pups. The runt was my baby, I had to bottle-feed him for five weeks. When I sold the others, I couldn't bear to part with him, and something told me that he was special, that I needed to keep him. In time, I sent him with a few other pups for training."
"Training?"
"Training for a few things, to be a drug dog, police dog, and a seeing-eye dog," Chris explained. "He alone was picked for the seeing-eye program."
"I think I see what you're getting at," Grissom began with a smile.
"Quite so. After his training, something still told me to keep him. Then I got Sara's letter when I got home and low and behold, it mentioned the fact that she was loosing her sight. And I finally understood why I hadn't been able to part with Sahidi all these years," Chris shrugged.
"I think she'll love it," Grissom smiled softly.
"I hope so," Chris answered with a sad smile. "Is it possible that I can see her?"
Grissom nodded. "I can't make any guarantees, but stay here," he began before rising and leaving the room. Making his way to the room he knew the two were using he stopped in the doorway to watch as Greg worked while Sara gave pointers.
"Stand there all day Gil and you might become a statue," Sara spoke suddenly before turning to look at him in the doorway.
"All right, I have to ask. How did you know he was there?" Greg asked as Grissom moved into the room.
"His shampoo," Sara replied with a shrug. "Besides I can just sense when he's around," she added with another shrug.
"Damn it's freaky how you do that," Greg began shaking his head.
"Quite," Grissom agreed as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "But Greg, I'm afraid I have to steal your companion for a while."
"Oh sure," Greg answered with a shrug as Sara looked up at him questioningly.
"There's someone here to see you honey," he explained as he offered his hand and helped her stand.
"Really now?" she asked as they made their way to the door. "And be careful Greg," she called over her shoulder.
"Sure then teach."
"You're having fun with him, aren't you?" Grissom asked with a smile as they made their way to his office.
"Always. But who's here?"
"Your brother."
"What?" Sara asked stopping and looking at him in shock.
"Your brother is here to see you," Grissom repeated softly.
"Why?"
"Why?" he repeated.
"Why now? Why is he here? Why?" she finished with wave of her free hand.
"He just got your letter two weeks ago, he was away on business," Grissom explained. "I'll be with you the entire time, but I think you should see him Acushla."
Sara closed her eyes before sighing. Taking a few deep breaths she looked up at him and nodded. "All right, I'll see him. But don't you dare leave me."
"Never," he promised with a smile before they continued on their way. Opening his door he let her go in first as Chris stood up.
"Sunshine?"
"Hi Scor," she began softly looking towards his voice.
"Hey little girl," Chris smiled softly. "How you doing?"
"I'm good," Sara smiled. "How you doing brother mine?"
"Eh…same old same old," he answered with a grin. Grissom looked between the two confused.
"Really then, so you've been keeping out of Jack's brownies then."
"Of course not," Chris answered with a laugh.
"Hmm, so that means Laura can kill you. In that case, you better hide out with me."
"Tree house?"
"Of course," Sara countered with a grin.
"Deal," Chris smiled.
"Alright, enough, tell the woman who can't see where the hell you're standing," Sara ordered.
"Three steps directly in front of you, dingbat," Chris answered.
"Oh shove it idget," Sara answered before stepping forward and hugging him.
Chris wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground for a moment before setting her back down. "Science geek," he teased.
"Jock."
"Pain."
"Creep."
"Horror."
"Jerk."
"Badly named."
"Look who's talking buster," Sara countered with a smirk. "Oh great Scorpio God of Light."
"Shh, you want that getting around. You aren't the only one who changed their name you know Sunshine," Chris laughed.
"Hey, I did it first, you're the one that copied me."
"Well of course, my teammates at Northwest were starting to scare me with their pranks."
"Serves you right," she replied with a smile before frowning and stepping back. Moving around him she found the back of a chair before walking around to sink into it. "What are you doing here Scor?" she asked softly as he moved to sit in the chair next to her and Grissom moved to sit on the corner of his desk next to her.
"I had to come as soon as I found out," Chris answered softly.
"Why?"
"Because you're my sister. I had to make sure you were alright."
"It doesn't take two weeks to get from Florida to here," she reminded him softly.
"Florida?" Grissom asked surprised.
"Central Florida," Sara replied with a soft smile.
"What am I missing?" Chris asked confused.
"When I 'disappeared' I ended up in Miami."
"You were in Florida and you never came to see me?" Chris asked shocked. "Oh little girl, you are so dead."
"Blah, you wouldn't hurt me brother mine," she countered with a smile. "You didn't answer my question though."
Chris shook his head. "I stopped at the B and B."
Sara looked up at him quickly. "You did?" she began before glancing away. "How are they?" she asked finally.
"Good, except for worrying about you, and beating themselves up," Chris answered softly.
"Did…" Sara began before closing her eyes. "Did you know?"
"God no!" Chris nearly yelled before she looked at him. "No Sunshine, I never knew. Neither did Laura and Jack. If we had…well having to be kicked out of the house would have been the least of John's problems. You know how we all are, especially Jack. For being hippies who never left the sixties…"
Sara smiled softly and shook her head. "Yeah, I know," Grissom raised an eyebrow wondering what he didn't know about Sara's parents before shaking his head. He'd ask later. "Are they here too?" she asked softly.
"No, they weren't sure if you wanted to see them, they wanted to leave that in your court. But they do want to see you Sunshine, when you're ready," Chris continued quickly.
Sara nodded. "Of course. So, what now?"
"Midnight snack?" Chris suggested.
"Oh?" Sara asked raising an eyebrow at him.
"This is me sister mine, you know me. Stop at the grocery store and I can whip up a mean thing of nachos."
Sara grinned before shaking her head. "Deal."
"Good, cause I have a gift for you too," he added with a grin.
"Well I see my work is done," Grissom began with a smile. That was the weirdest conversation he had ever been present too, but it worked. "I'll let you two be. I have to go check on Greg and his experiment anyway."
"Okay," Sara began with a smile. "See you at the house?"
"Always Acushla," Grissom answered with a smile as she rose and took Chris' arm.
"Sara?" Grissom began as he entered the house nearly twenty-four hours later. They had ended up having to stay for extra shifts when a missing child had come in.
"In the living room," she called as he made his way there, only to be stopped by a miniature pony.
"Sara?"
Her head peeked over the couch. "Yes?"
"Um…help," he answered with a smile.
"Oh Lord Sahidi!" she exclaimed and the Saint Bernard turned to look at her. Rising from the couch she made her way over, one hand down to find the dog. "Sahidi, this is Gil, Gil, this is Sahidi," she introduced as he let the dog sniff his hand.
"Ah I see that you got your present."
"Chris mentioned telling you," Sara laughed softly. "And we're already signed up for classes so I can get use to working with a companion," she continued with a smile.
"Just how big is he?" Grissom asked as he regarded the dog.
"Thirty-six inches high, two-hundred and fifty-five pounds," Sara answered with a smile as she scratched Sahidi's ears. Suddenly the dog dropped to the ground and rolled over on her feet.
"He wants his stomach rubbed," Sara laughed having been through this event before. Shaking his head Grissom reached down to rub the dog's stomach. Straightening up he watched as the dog flipped back over and stood before padding his way over to a dog bed that now resided in the living room.
"Interesting," Grissom mused.
"Very," she agreed with a smile.
Shaking his head Grissom took Sara's hand. "Well my dear, I don't know about you, but I am exhausted."
"I thought you'd never ask," she answered with a grin as they made their way to the bedroom, Sahidi following them only to go over to another bed in the corner of the room by the closet.
"He knows not to sleep on the bed right?"
"Of course," she replied with a smile.
"Why do I not believe you?" he asked with a laugh.
"Beats me."
May 20th, 2005
4:29 p.m.
A Park in Las Vegas
"So you have to describe what everyone is wearing for me," Sara whispered as she and Grissom made their way down the 'aisle'. Today Catherine and Warrick were 'making it legal' as Greg had taken to calling it.
It was a small ceremony, just the main core group, oh and Doc Robbins was there with his wife. Warrick had asked Grissom to stand beside him, while Catherine had requested that Sara stand with her. She was the closest female friend she had in Vegas, and she couldn't think of another person she would want there with her. In turn, Jim was granted the honor of 'giving' Catherine away.
"Yes ma'am," Grissom replied with a smile. "Now you realize this is not going to be an easy task seeing as we're on opposite sides of the bride and groom and the justice of the peace for the day.
"Now whose idea was it for Greg to get a twenty-four hour license so he could officiate the wedding?" Sara asked with a smile.
"I don't want to know, my Dear. Promise me we won't have him do ours."
"Are you kidding? Like my father would let him," Sara laughed before stopping to look up at him in shock. "Ours?" she squeaked.
"Ah here comes the groom," Grissom replied as Warrick came down the small aisle dressed in a black suit and pale blue tie, that matched Sara's dress and the tie Grissom was wearing.
"Hmm, does he make the outfit look as good as I imagine it looks on you?" Sara asked with a soft smile. "Oh and we're going to be talking about that later," she added with a pointed look as he merely smiled.
"Shh Acushla, you're companion cometh," he replied as he watched Lindsey come down the aisle. "It's a satin A-line dress, this I know from hearing the munchkin talk about it for the past few days. And an organza overlay on the skirt. Spaghetti straps, and blue flower beading on the bodice, with multi-colored beaded embroidery on the Organza overlay. Her hair is in ringlets with a blue rose circlet and she's carrying a small bouquet of white roses with the same powder blue ribbons as your white rose and daisy bouquet," he explained in her ear and she smiled.
"You look beautiful Linds," Sara whispered as the younger girl neared them and grinned at Sara's words.
"Thank you."
"She's right, you simply glow," Grissom continued with a smile.
"Wait until you see mom," Lindsey replied with a grin. "Hi Warrick. You look nice too," she continued to her soon-to-be stepfather."
"Thank you pumpkin," Warrick smiled as he reached out to brush her cheek gently and slip a rose from Lindsey's bouquet to tuck behind her ear.
"Your welcome," Lindsey grinned before moving over to stand beside Sara. "Aren't you supposed to be over by Warrick uncle Gil?"
"I am, and I'm going to join him as soon as I tell Aunt Sara all about your mom's dress."
"I can do that," Lindsey replied indignant that they never even asked her.
"She's right, she can." Sara agreed with a smile towards Grissom. "I think we better give her the honor," she added with a wink.
"I suppose my poor ego can take the loss. So I leave her knowledge to your gentle hands my dear girl," Grissom continued with a smile as he picked up Lindsey's hand to drop a kiss on the back before the girl grinned. Turning to Sara he lifted her hand in his to his lips as she smiled.
"Go Gil, before Cath yells at us to get moving," she teased as he shook his head before dropping a kiss on her cheek and making his way over next to Warrick.
"And I'm the one getting married today," Warrick whispered to Grissom, getting a roll of Grissom's eyes in return.
"Here comes Mom and Uncle Jim," Lindsey spoke up as Greg started humming the wedding march until Sara elbowed him in his gut and the tune cut off with an oomph.
"What does her dress look like?" Sara whispered with a smile.
"Like mine, except her's doesn't have straps, and it's got more embroidery," Lindsey began with a smile. "And she's wearing elbow length gloves, mine are only wrist length. Oh and she's got a really cool veil, it's got small crystals. Sam gave it to her."
"Oh I bet she looks beautiful. What about her hair? Is it in ringlets like yours?" Sara asked with another smile.
"Yes, but most of it is up in large curls on her head with a few smaller ringlets around her face."
"Beautiful," Sara grinned down at Lindsey. "Not unlike her darling daughter."
Unbeknownst to Sara, Lindsey rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to her mother as Jim finished bringing her down the 'aisle' to stand next to Sara and Lindsey, Warrick and Grissom on the other side of Jim.
Greg cleared his throat dramatically as he opened the bible in his hands. Grissom looked over Warrick's shoulder and rolled his eyes when he found a paper resting on the page giving a list of things to do when. "Dearly beloved..." Greg began before looking up to see Catherine raising an eyebrow at him.
"All right, all right," Greg began with a grin. "Members of night shift, in case you haven't figured it out by now, which considering you're CSIs you should have, we're here to see Catherine and Warrick make it legal and make Grissom's job all the harder working things out with the powers that be that control our jobs."
"Oh for the love of Pete," Greg groaned when Sara cleared her throat. "All right, we don't want traditional, we don't want the Sanders' version. On to middle ground I suppose," he began with a heavy sigh. "We're here today to see these two amazing people join their lives for the rest of eternity. Legally at least seeing as they're so in love that I figure they're already joined for eternity in the eyes of God."
Hearing a slight laugh from a few people gathered he grinned before continuing. "Catherine, do you take Warrick to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"Always," Catherine replied with a smile towards Warrick.
"Good to hear. Now, that we know she wants to do this, who will give this amazingly gorgeous woman to this entirely too lucky man?"
"I do," Jim answered with a smile as he raised Catherine's hand to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on it before giving her hand to Warrick. "Congratulations, and if you hurt her, I'll hunt you down and Grissom will help me dispose of your body," he threatened lightly.
Warrick nodded before glancing over at Grissom. "Point taken," he replied seeing the look Grissom was giving him.
"Good," Jim replied with a smile before turning to return to his seat.
"Well then, now that we all have become co-conspirators to a possible homicide in the future..." Greg began with a smile. "Do you Warrick, take this amazing creature, who could beat the crap out of you, you know, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"Yes, but if you don't stop, it might be you she's beating the crap out of Greggo," Warrick replied with a smirk.
"Point taken," Greg answered glancing back down at his list. "Now our lovely bride and lucky groom have decided to exchange their own vows, so I am going to shut up and let the two of you enjoy your moment."
"Thank you," Catherine replied with a smile as she turned to Warrick. "Baby, you're all that I want, and all that I need. The love I found in your heart warmed the cold place in my soul I hadn't even realized was there. And I know that nothing can take you from me, we've been down that road but you keep me coming back for more," she trailed off with a soft smile. "Nothing can change what you mean to me, and there's a lot more that I can say, but for the life of me the words aren't there. But I know this, our dreams are coming true, through the good times and the bad, I'll be standing there beside you...and I know that it's the one place I truly belong in this world."
Warrick smiled as he reached up to brush her cheek before taking her hands in his once more. "When darkness falls upon your heart and soul, I'll be the light that shines for you. When you forget how beautiful you are, I'll be there to remind you. When you can't find your way, I'll find my way to you. Be your shoulder, when you need someone to lean on, and be your shelter, I'll be there to carry you, the rock that will be strong for you, the one that will hold on to you. If I never do another thing in my life, I know that I was the best man I could be, simply because I was here for you," he finished with a smile as she reached up to brush a tear away.
"Now that we're all fighting tears, that was beautiful," Greg sighed wiping at his eyes. "Repeat after me. I, Warrick Christopher Brown, take this amazingly hot and sexy woman, and promise to spend the rest of my life completing her every wish and thanking whatever God gave her to me."
Warrick shook his head as Sara reached out and smacked the back of Greg's head. Turning to Catherine he smiled softly. "I, Warrick Christopher Brown promise to love, honor, and cherish you, your beautiful and amazing daughter, and any children we are granted for the rest of my life. And I'll even take Greg's advice and work to fulfill your every wish as well."
Catherine laughed softly as Greg straightened up, ready to continue his job. "Beautiful, really," he grinned, ducking as Sara swatted at his head again. "Now it's your turn to repeat after me. I, Catherine Samantha Willows, take this so totally undeserving man and promise to spend the rest of my life making him work to deserve this honor."
That time it was Catherine that hit Greg before she turned to Warrick. "I, Catherine Samantha Willows promise to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of my life. And I'll thank God every day for giving you to me, and try not to kill Greg so you don't have to provide an alibi for me anytime in the future."
"Deal," Warrick smiled as Greg looked between everyone worriedly.
"Well in that case, unless there are any objections..." Greg began looking around as he glared at them. "Good, cause no one is ruining my chance at saying this," he continued a moment later with a large grin. "Then by the power invested in me by the state of Nevada and the genius officials of our government. I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, but bear in mind there are children present."
"Hey!" Lindsey spoke up.
"I meant me," Greg complained as Warrick swept Catherine up into his arms and a small cheer went out in the gathering.
"Hey Jim, who is that?" questioned Nick when he noticed a man in his late fifties with sandy brown hair approaching.
"Beats me," Jim replied with a shrug. "But he's got an invitation," he continued recognizing the card in the man's hand.
"Excuse me, Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown?" asked the gentleman as he stopped in front of the couple
"Yes?" Catherine asked as she stepped back from Warrick who was grinning from ear to ear.
"A gift for you...from Miss Harrison," he said handing them an envelope before turning and walking away from the group.
"Do you want to open it?" Catherine asked glancing at Warrick as she regarded the envelope.
"Go ahead," Warrick replied with a smile before Catherine flipped it open and broke the seal. Pulling out a card, a piece of paper, and a ribbon with a key she frowned as Warrick took the paper and key while she opened the card.
"Oh my God," Catherine murmured in shock as Warrick unfolded the paper.
"Damn!" he whispered before looking up at Catherine. "Am I dreaming?"
Catherine glanced over at the paper in his hand and shook her head. "Not according to the card," she replied looking between the card and the paper in his hand while he read the card.
"Uh guys? Would you mind filling the rest of us in here please?" asked Nick
"We got a house," Catherine replied still shocked.
"A house?" Grissom asked in shock.
"A house?" Greg squeaked. "Man, my gift seems so…insignif now."
"Where's the house?" Sara asked softly as the majority of the group turned to look at her before looking back at Catherine and Warrick.
"Summerlin, five bedrooms, pool...completely paid for including six months worth of utilities. Just how in the poor house did Jessica just put herself?" Catherine asked still shocked.
"Cause we might be forced to kill her for doing that to herself," Warrick added softly looking back down at the deed.
"HOLY COW! That had to be a good amount of money," Greg murmured.
"She didn't put herself in the poor house," Sara answered with a frown. "But I am so going to kill James for not staying to get a hug," she added with a shake of her head.
"James?" Nick asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, the guy who delivered the card. Got a problem with his name?" Sara asked coldly.
"Nope, not a thing."
"Yeah, it's a good name, isn't it Jim," Greg continued before Nick could make things worse by pushing Sara's buttons. The two hadn't talked since Jessica had left...
"Umm, look I know we're not that close to Jess like you. But how could this not put her in the poorhouse?" Nick asked after a moment.
"Because it won't. And she wanted to give this to you because she cares about you guys. So..." Sara trailed off with a shrug.
"Well," Catherine began with a sigh, "any of us manage to talk to her, I'm going to tell her off before thanking her for the rest of my life. And...it seems she has arranged a meal for us there so...anyone up to seeing our new house?"
"You bet!" Lindsey spoke up before anyone else could, causing the adults to laugh as Grissom walked over to Sara and took her hand.
"Talk later?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah, later," she agreed softly. "Come on, let's go see this place," she continued louder.
Thirty minutes later the group was enjoying a wonderfully prepared meal while Catherine, Warrick, and Lindsey occasionally looked up at the fully furnished house still in awe. It was when everyone was leaving that Catherine found the nursery and squealed causing everyone to rush upstairs and shake their heads. The nursery was done in sage and white with Winnie the Pooh. Grissom described the room to Sara as everyone made their way outside once more, leaving the newlyweds and their daughter to get used to the new house. Sara shook her head softly, thinking about how much work Jessica had put into this. Yes, the woman may have left and had to give up the few friends she had made, but if they wanted proof that she cared about anyone back in Vegas...well, somehow she couldn't see there being any greater proof.
June 10th, 2005
4:28 p.m.
Grissom's Townhouse
"I think that's everything," Grissom began as he held the door for Sara to enter in front of him.
"So do I," she replied with a smile as she walked with the groceries to the kitchen. "Are you truly sure about letting me re-organize your kitchen?" she asked with a smile.
"No, I lied so you wouldn't do it. Of course I'm sure Acushla," he answered with a smile.
"Good, cause you get to help," she countered with a grin.
"Yes ma'am," he replied with a salute as Sahidi moved to go lay down in the living room. Grissom watched the dog go before shaking his head. God, if someone had told him a year earlier that he and Sara would be living together in a year, he would have declared them insane. Of course if they had also told him she would have moved in after leaving Protective Custody, he would have called the mental institution himself.
And yet, here they were. Six months after she was rescued in Texas, Sara had decided enough was enough. She couldn't spend her life hiding. If she did, the John won. So she had left protective custody and had a restraining order placed against John that very morning. And, Grissom had suggested she move in with him. She had argued half-heartedly before finally agreeing. Smiling he shook his head once more. So many changes in a year, so many things happened in a year. Just a year before Sara was on vacation after her near DUI…and now here they were. And he was even letting her re-organize his house.
"Gil, are you still with me?" Sara called and he turned to look at her with a smile.
"Always."
"Good, now get your butt over her so we can get the organizing done," she answered with a smile. "Oh and where is that tag maker thingy so we can mark everything in Braille for me?"
"Right here," he answered as he picked up the device.
"Alright then, to work we go," she laughed as he sat down next to her on the kitchen floor.