Chapter Two:
Hoisting up the tree
She was surprised when he asked her to work a double.
Tell me to get a life and then have me work a double…
It had been a long time since they had worked a double.
She worked as if she were in a hurry to go somewhere.
"Do you have plans?" Grissom asked.
She didn't but at that moment she wished she did.
She wanted to see his reaction if she announced she had someone waiting for her.
She wanted to announce she had a date.
Instead, she shrugged her shoulder and replied, "Not yet."
Oh, that sounded good to her ears.
It was like a subtle threat.
She grinned for her quick thinking.
"Good," he replied.
She deflated before his eyes and he cursed inwardly.
"I could go for something to eat after this," announced Brass as he came to stand beside them.
He waited for either to speak.
He's waiting for her to reply…
She's waiting for him to reply…
Geez, these two…
"No takers?" asked Brass.
Sara grabbed the evidence bags. "I need to get home."
"I have paperwork," replied Grissom.
"Couldn't it wait?" he asked both of them.
"Ecklie has been waiting," admitted Grissom.
Brass glared at Grissom but turned to Sara.
"You're not going to turn me down, too?" he begged.
"Just a quick something," she muttered.
Brass smiled.
They sat in the diner together waiting for their food to arrive.
"So kiddo, I heard you're not working this holiday. Got any plans?" he asked.
"You know I don't," she groaned.
"Look, how about…"
"No pity date," she said sipping on the coffee.
"If there's any pity, it would be for me. I have no plans either. I usually work the holidays also," he pointed out.
He was right.
Christmas usually consisted of the three of them.
Grissom didn't mind sitting in the diner eating if Brass was there.
He had become their chaperone.
"Aren't you going to work?" she asked. "I mean, he'll be by himself?"
Her eyes shot up the moment she gave words to the thought.
"So what if he is? He may want it that way," shot back Brass.
She didn't.
She wanted to be with Grissom.
"I'm not really hungry," she said as she started to slip out of the booth but he stopped her.
"You're going to make me eat alone?" he begged.
She remained.
"I never cared much for the holidays…after my divorce," shared Brass. "Ellie grew up and she no longer liked being with her old man."
"Mine…were too caught up in running the inn to notice the holidays," answered Sara. "There was a tree in the lobby but it wasn't for us. It was for the guests. Once the inn began to fail, the tree disappeared."
"Sounds familiar. As soon as Ellie no longer believed, my wife never bothered to put one up. Of course, I worked a lot to avoid going home…less fighting," he said as he took a drink of the coffee.
Sara stared at him.
"Never touched her," he assured her. "Verbal fighting was enough for me. She could slice and dice me with just a sentence. I think I would have preferred a knife or a gun….sorry…sorry kiddo."
"It's okay," she whispered. "I uhm understand. I just wanted it to be over…the constant fighting…but then it was over and I was in foster care."
"You never talk about that…foster care," he said looking at her.
"No, I don't," she replied as the food arrived.
They ate trying to recover from the information shared.
Brass finally broke the silence.
"I remember there was this Christmas where I asked Santa…yeah I believed for awhile," he chuckled between mouth fulls. "… for this train set. I'd seen it in this toy store in town. It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Come to think of it, Grissom and Doc wanted the same Lionel train. There was nothing like it. I didn't see the price tag. My parents couldn't afford it. It was the year I stopped believing."
"See? Nothing ever good came out of believing in Santa," declared Sara. "Nothing but disappointment and hurt feelings. I'm never going to let my child believe in Santa."
His fork stopped in midair as he grinned.
"What?" she asked.
"You want kids," he announced.
"I uhm didn't say that," she stuttered. "It's just that if I had a child then… stop looking at me like that."
"How about you?" he asked.
"It's silly," she said.
"Fess us," he warned.
"I uhm saw this teddy bear," she whispered.
"Teddy bear?" he asked leaning forward.
"It was a five foot teddy bear," she professed. "He was huge and soft and I could crawl up on his lap and..."
She stopped herself.
He understood.
Sara was never comforted as a child.
He knew a huge, soft, loveable bear would look enticing to a small child.
He could imagine her crawling onto its lap and burrowing herself in its arms.
"I wasn't the only person who didn't get the train set that year. Grissom and Doc didn't get theirs either."
"Like I said, it's better not to believe than waste your time thinking that…"
The door opened and Grissom appeared.
"I should get going," she said quickly.
Grissom walked over as she got up.
"Grissom can take my place," said Sara as she left.
"Sit down," sneered Brass.
"What did I do this time?" asked Grissom.
"Nothing…which is the problem…has always been the problem," barked Brass.
Sara avoided the elevator as she climbed the stairs. She stopped in front of her apartment door as she breathed in deeply.
I smell pine…
Someone got a tree…
Ugh!
She opened the apartment and stepped inside.
She stared in disbelief.
There stood an eight foot tree.
The angel almost touched the ceiling.
She quickly glanced around as if checking to ensure she was in the right apartment.
Sara walked over and gawked at the massive tree.
It was no doubt beautiful.
She spent the next several hours examining each and every individual ornament.
She curled up on the couch and stared at it.
She could not seem to pry herself from it.
Who would do such a thing?
Maybe, it was a mistake…
Someone ordered the tree and it was delivered to the wrong place…
She fretted.
It could easily disappear as quickly and mysteriously as it had appeared.
As she lay there, she suddenly noticed a note placed on her fridge.
She scrambled from the couch and grabbed it.
Sara,
There is a Santa Claus.
She blinked.
She blinked twice.
She then snorted.
"Right!" she howled. "Someone at work did this."
Sara glanced at the others as they lounged around the break room.
She sauntered in and got a cup of Greg's special brew.
"How was the double?" asked Nick.
"You did it. Didn't you?" she asked.
"Did what?" he responded as the others took notice of the conversation.
"You…and the tree," she announced.
"Tree?" Nick asked.
"Christmas tree…in my apartment," replied Sara.
He looked confused.
"I came home and found a tree… a really huge tree in my apartment," she stated.
"Really?" asked Greg sitting up.
"Nick did it," she announced again.
Nick shook his head.
"Wait, you came home and found that someone had put a Christmas tree in your apartment?" asked Warrick.
"It was decorated…with the old fashioned ornaments…," she began.
Nick whistled. "I bet that cost a pretty penny."
Sara glanced around the room.
"It wasn't any of them. They smooch off us when it comes time for ordering pizza," grumbled Catherine.
They were deep in thought.
"You uhm should be careful," cautioned Catherine.
"Why?" asked Sara.
"You may have an admirer…of the wrong kind," warned Catherine. "…if you catch my drift."
"You don't think…" Sara stopped.
It made sense.
Nothing ever good happened to Sara Sidle.
She had attracted a fatal attraction.
She groaned.
"How did they get in?" asked Nick.
"I agree with Catherine," warned Warrick. "You should be careful. You never know…"
"Know what?" asked Grissom as he stepped into the break room.
"Sara has a huge Christmas tree in her apartment," announced Greg.
The others watched for Grissom's reaction.
"Good for you," he replied as he glanced over the rim of the cup. "What?"
"It's Brass," said Sara.
All heads nodded.
"Talking about me?" Brass asked as he appeared in the doorway.
Sara smiled as she walked over planting a huge kiss on his cheek.
He blushed. "Wow and I thought you didn't like dinner."
"Why her?" asked Greg. "You never got any of us anything? I could use a tree."
Brass looked baffled.
"The tree… the tree you got Sara," explained Catherine.
"If I admit I didn't get you a tree, are you going to take back the kiss?" he asked.
"Wait fellas," said Catherine seriously. "If none of us did it then…"
They shared glances.
"Probably got sent to the wrong address," sighed Sara. "I'll probably get a call from my landlord…telling me there's been a mix up."
She didn't tell them about the note that had been left behind addressed to her.
The others seemed a bit relieved.
She took off for her desk before the others could say anything.
"I think she really likes that tree," whined Greg.
"Hey, maybe we could... replace it…if someone does show up to take it back," said Nick.
"I'm still worried about how they got access to her apartment," admitted Warrick.
"I agree," chimed in Catherine.
"I think we're just paranoid," stated Nick. "We're just too suspicious. Maybe Sara does have an admirer."
"Yeah, a wealthy one at that," announced Catherine. "That had to cost a pretty penny."
"Hey, you think she'll let us see it?" asked Greg.
She told herself it was silly to be nervous with each phone call.
It could be someone nice.…
Not an ax killer…
Maybe there's another Sara in our building…
And it was sent to the wrong apartment…
Then I'll just pay for it…
What if I can't afford it...
She glanced down at her fingers and berated herself.
She had not chewed on her nails in years.
She slowly walked to her apartment door as she breathed in deeply.
I still smell pine…
She opened the door and smiled when she saw the tree still there.
She shut the door and walked over to it.
"Well, I guess I have you for a little while longer," she smiled.
Her eyes shot over to the fridge when she noticed another note.
Her hand rested on her revolver as she walked over and picked up the note.
Sara,
There is a Santa Claus.
She glanced back at the tree but did not notice anything different.
Still, she seemed a bit on edge as she did a walk through.
She gasped when her eyes caught sight of the huge teddy bear on the bed.
Once the apartment was thoroughly checked, she sat down beside the bear.
Her hand stroked its fur.
It was soft.
She leaned back, curling up next to the bear as she chuckled.
"Thanks…secret admirer," she blurted out.
Note from author:
Oh, the plot thickens....
Take care,
Penny