Chapter 27
Jim Brass sat on the sofa in Estelle Donahue's living room. He had met her when he first moved to Vegas. She owned the Deli he used to frequent. She was a Jersey transplant like him. She was retired having sold the deli a few years back, so he made a point to visit her when he could. Then, last month, she fell and broke her arm, so he was there a couple times a week to look in on her.
"We got some new neighbors. A Doctor and his wife. They moved into the apartment at the end of the hall." Estelle was informing Jim.
"Oh, that's nice." Jim sipped his lemonade.
"Well, I think she's his wife. You never know these days."
"Yeah, true."
"Well, they don't have any children. Actually, she is quite a bit younger than he is. But I can see why she would be with him. He is handsome!"
"So, where does the handsome doctor work?" Brass smiled at her from behind his glass.
"Well, you know. I haven't actually talked to them. I'm not even sure what his name is. I just heard about them from Maggie and have seen them walking their dog down to the park."
"That's nice." Brass was getting bored of the neighbor gossip, but he listened anyway.
"You know, I think she's a police officer or something. Maggie said she saw her at a casino last week when there was a robbery at one of the shops."
"Oh, yeah. Well, find out her name. I can get you the lowdown." He chuckled.
"You know, next Friday we are having a good old fashioned community BBQ. The whole street is involved. We are gonna go down to the park. Going to have a Baseball game, music, dancing. Even a pet parade and fireworks!"
"Wow! That's really great. I always loved the block parties back in Jersey when I was a kid. I mean its not quite the same but hey! At least your getting to know your neighbors. I didn't think anybody did that anymore." Brass finished off his lemonade. He got up and gave Estelle a hug. "I gotta get to work"
"Why don't you come by on Friday? You're like my family. It's for residents and their families!"
"I don't know." Brass was hoping he could talk his way out of this.
"It would give you a chance to meet everyone you hear me talk about. And see who the fellow cop is that lives here with her doctor husband."
"Alright. You twisted my arm enough. I'll be here on Fridayafternoon." Jim smiled and headed out the door.
"Gil!" Sara stormed into their apartment. She slammed the door shut. Hank ran for his bed in the kitchen. It was obvious his new mom was not happy.
"What happened?" Gil came out to the kitchen and bent down next to the boxer, talking to him in that voice that people so often used with kids and dogs. "You're a good boy. Yes, you are." Gil patted his head and stood up.
"Sure ask HIM how he is!" Sara stomped down the stairs and stood in front of Gil and Hank, rubbing her right arm. "We need to go to obedience classes. My arms cannot take it anymore."
"Fine. But I don't get why he wont listen to you. He's fine with me."
"Maybe it's because you baby him." Sara held up her hand to stop Gil's protests. "Yes, I know. His owner died. He has no one. But that's no excuse for bad behavior."
Gil squatted down and rubbed Hanks head again. "She's just jealous, isn't she?" He chuckled and stood in front of an angry looking Sara. "Sorry. It's just a joke."
Gil rummaged through some papers on the counter. "Here. This is the community bulletin. I think I saw something about dog classes." Sara yanked the paper out of his hand and set it on the counter. She leaned her elbows on the counter and flipped through the few pages. Gil came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her mid section. She turned in his arms, holding the bulletin between them.
"Did you see this?" Gil pulled her in for a kiss. Sara pulled back a little. "Im serious. Did you see this?" Gil let out a heavy sigh and took the paper from her hand.
"Neighborhood picnic. All residents are invited. Saturday the 12th Noon until 10pm. Fireworks, games and fun. Bring a dish to share. Dinner from 5-7pm. Bring your own beverages. Pet Parade?" Gil frowned at her.
"We're going." She kissed him until she sucked all the air out of his lungs then quickly pushed away from his grasp. "No arguments!"
"Fine." He looked at Hank. "How can we resist that?"
Sara stumbled in through the door of her old apartment on Friday morning. She was tired. She hung her coat on the hook by the door and tossed the keys on the counter. She had moved in with Gil a few weeks ago, but still held on to her apartment. She was going to move in with him right before his sabbatical, but she decided to wait until he returned. Now Jim Brass wanted to come over. It seemed now that keeping the apartment had been a necessary decision. Sara told Gil her plans to meet up with Jim and she decided to just catch some rest there since she didn't know how long Jim would stay.
Jim wanted to talk to her about something. She had a feeling he was worried about her. He got into these moods every now and again. He was sort of like a father figure in her life. He was always looking out for her. She had just finished showering and changing when she heard a knock at her door.
"Hey Kiddo!" Jim greeted her when she opened the door. He held out a bag of donuts.
"Come on in, Jim." Sara motioned for him to enter. Sara poured then each a cup of coffee and took a seat on the couch next to Jim.
"So, how you been?" Jim asked of her.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, for a while there you seemed...depressed."
"Im not depressed." She smiled wide as if to prove her point.
"Yeah, you don't seem so now. You sure you're ok?" Concern showed on his face.
"You know. A lot was going on. Gil was gone. Keppler was here. A little reverse forensics game happened." She shot Jim a look and he shrugged his shoulders at her. "Then when Gil was finally back, Kepler got shot." She took a long drink of her coffee. "It was just a lot going on."
"Yeah. I guess we did have a lot to deal with." He noted how she mentioned "GIL" twice. "Gil's little sabbatical was unexpected huh?"
"Oh, yeah. I know. He waited until the last minute to let anyone know." Sara avoided eye contact with Brass as she took a donut out of the bag Jim brought.
"Yeah, he can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. But I suppose he had a reason for going. I mean, God knows this job can affect a man. Even Gil Grissom." Jim smiled at her.
"He's just a man like anyone else, Jim. You're his friend. You should know that."
"Yeah. Realizing it more and more every day." He winked at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sara was trying to act unaffected but was failing miserably.
"Oh, last week, I called him in early on a Saturday morning. He seemed upset by it. I didn't press the issue. But usually it's the kind of objections you hear from someone whose got a prior commitment or obligation. Something he didn't want to leave at that hour." He grinned at her.
"I have NO idea what you are talking about, Jim." Sara sat back against the arm of the sofa and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well, never mind then." He got up and threw his coffee cup away. He looked around her apartment. "You have a sale or something? Seems like you don't have half the stuff you had in here before."
"Oh, uh. I just decided to put some stuff in storage. Grissom helped me move some stuff a couple months ago. Greg was mad I didn't ask him." She rolled her eyes.
"Oh. Well, that was nice of Gil to help." Jim sat back down next to Sara. "Seems you two have called a truce, huh?"
"Truce? That indicates there was some kind of war. We were never at war, Jim. Just out of touch."
"Well, then, whatever it is or was, I am just glad to see you two kids talking to each other again."
"Yeah. Gil's been making a conscious effort to be more human. Seems to be working. And I think the break did him good." She smiled sweetly at him.
"Think it did good for all of us." Jim winked at her again.
"Why...Do you keep doing that?" Sara questioned his actions.
"Maybe the man will finally get his head out of his ass and realize what a treasure there is right in front of his eyes."
"Jim..." Sara trailed off not knowing how to respond.
"Did I just render Sara Sidle speechless?" Jim chuckled at this. "Well, if you ever need me to whip his ass in line, let me know."
"Thanks for the offer, Jim." She kissed him on the cheek and smiled at him.
"Well, I better get going. I need to get some rest and run some errands before a little get together tonight." He got up and made his way to the door.
"Well, take care, Jim. Thanks." Sara shut the door and locked it. Within minutes she was crawling in between the cool sheets of her bed and closed her eyes thinking "If Jim only knew."
Grissom sat on the floor next to Hank. He was failing miserably at putting on a doggie t-shirt Sara had insisted he wear to the neighborhood picnic. Pet Parade. Sara better not think he was going to be the one walking with Hank in that next to little girls and their poodles! No way!
"Hey, Babe!" Sara greeted Gil when she entered their home. "What? You don't have him ready yet?"
"Sara. This is, first off, ridiculous. He's a dog." He pointed at Hank. "Besides. I think he's a bit humiliated by this." He held up the offending dog apparel that read "Forensics Hound" and had a giant paw print on it.
"Hey! I had that made for him specifically! Its cute!"
"Who's babying who again?" Gil smiled smugly at her. Sara snatched the garment from Gil's hand and sat down next to Hank. "Ok, buddy. Lets get this on."
Gil watched as Sara struggled with a stubborn Hank. He started to chuckle when, after a good 5 minutes, Sara had only succeeded in wrapping the shirt around one of Hank's paws.
"Ok. This isn't working." Sara stood up and peered down at Hank. He just moaned and lay down. "You would think that two advanced degree scientists could get one stupid shirt on a dog!"
"Hmmm." Gil was trying not to laugh.
"You know what. We have to go." Sara threw her hands up in defeat and proceeded to go down into the kitchen to grab the fruit salad she had made. "I guess you wont have to withstand the humiliation of a pet parade."
"Were you talking to me? Or Hank?" Grissom teased as she made her way back to where he and Hank stood waiting.
"Well, both, I suppose." She walked over to Grissom and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "You ready?"
"Not quite." He smiled at her and took the bowl out of her hand and placed it on the coffee table.
"What are.." he cut her off with his mouth and pulled her flush against his body. Sara moaned into his mouth and began to kiss him back.. Gil pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against hers. "Now we can go."
Jim Brass walked beside Estelle the few short blocks to the park. He had his right arm joined with hers and held a bowl of potato salad with the other. Kids were running down the sidewalk in anticipation. You could hear music and laughter grow louder and louder with each step closer to the park. Estelle was talking to him about her friend Maggie and her upcoming trip to Michigan to see her daughter. Brass just nodded every now and again, letting her know he was still listening.
"There's Maggie!" Estelle broke away from his hold on her and caught up with her friend. She introduced her to Jim, smiling all the while. He walked behind the chattering women the rest of the way to the park, bouncing the bowl of potato salad from one arm to other. They finally arrived at the park and found the food table where he deposited the bowl. Estelle pulled him along after her and Maggie to find some other friends.
An hour later, Jim sat down under a tree with a beer that one of Estelle's friends had offered to him. It was a nice day, but he still hated the Vegas Sun. He watched the crowd from his spot. At the far end of the park a baseball game was going on. Not far from his spot were picnic tables and grills. Several men were busy cooking hamburgers and hot dogs. He looked at his watch. 4:15pm The dinner rush was supposed to happen around 5pm.
"Ok everyone who wants to join the pet parade, gather on the south side of the field!" A man with a megaphone announced to the crowds.
"This should be cute, huh?" Estelle was standing beside him. Jim got up and dusted off the back of his jeans. "Did you have a pet when you were a kid Jimmy?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Couple dogs. A cat once. But Im not really an animal person."
"Oh. Well, that's too bad. A cat might cheer you up!" She said hopefully to him. Jim smiled at her. They had this conversation many times. He was just to busy to keep even a plant alive, and definitely not a living animal.
By the time they made it to the end of the field, the pet parade was underway. Parents held up video cameras and took endless amounts of photos. They finally made their way to a spot where they could see. Jim was surprised at the amount of adults participating. He assumed that it was for kids.
"Oh, isn't that little girl just precious?" Estelle was smiling and pointing at a little girl in a pink short outfit walking a golden retriever puppy.
"Yeah, she's adorable. Reminds me of Ellie at that age." He smiled remembering his daughter. Estelle just patted his arm knowingly. Jim took a moment to look around and noticed a man with a dog and a little girls holding his hand. They were near the front of the group, his back to where he stood. He could swear the man looked a lot like Grissom. He chuckled to himself. Gil Grissom in a pet parade! With a little girl and her poodle! He'd pay money to see that! Jim wandered away from the crowd a bit and waited for Estelle and her friends.
Sara held up her camera and clicked countless photos of her boss and lover as he walked Hank along the parade route next to Caroline Suthers, a little girl they met at the park. She was there with her grandma who was unable to walk that far with her granddaughter, so Gil decided he and Hank would join her and her poodle in the pet parade. Sara smiled at him. He was just too cute! He held Hank's leash in one hand and Caroline's hand in his other.
They finished the route and headed back towards Sara. She had to hold back tears when Caroline wrapped her arms around Gil's legs in a warm hug. "Thank You! Mr. Gil!" Gill nervously patted her on the head and smiled awkwardly at Sara. Caroline and her dog snowball ran off towards the playground. They walked back to the picnic table where Martha Suthers waited for them.
Sara had finished showing Caroline's Grandma the pictures on her digital camera when a woman around Mrs. Suthers age approached them smiling. She had a cast on her arm.
"Hi, Martha!"
"Estelle! How are you. How's your arm?"
"Oh, its fine." She looked at Sara. "You must be the police officer I heard about."
"Oh, well, Im not a police officer. My names Sara Sidle. I'm a crime scene investigator for the LVPD. Both me and Gil."
"Is Gil your husband?" Just then Gil walked up with Hank. Sara looked at him. Gil smiled and extended his hand to Estelle.
"Im Gil Grissom. Sara and I aren't married but maybe someday." He winked at her.
"Oh. Ok. And who is this?" Estelle bent down and patted Hank on the head.
"This is Hank." Grissom declared proudly.
"I thought Maggie said you were a Doctor?"
"Oh, uh, well PhD, yes, but not an MD. People make that mistake a lot. I'm a forensic scientist, specializing in Entomology." Estelle gave him a confused look. "Bugs. I like bugs." He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Bugs. That is very unique, Mr. Grissom." Estelle took a seat across from Martha Suthers. "You don't mind if we join you, do you?"
"No, of course not. But who is WE, Estelle?" Martha asked her.
"Me and Jimmy. I talked him into joining us!"
"Oh, wonderful. I've been wanting to meet him for so long."
"Where did that boy get off to anyway." Estelle searched the crowd. "There he is! JIMMY!" She waved her hand at someone in a crowd of men by the grills. "He's a police officer." She was telling Gil and Sara. "You might know him."
Jim Brass heard Estelle calling to him from a picnic table. He was talking to some of the guys manning the grills. He said his goodbyes and made his approach towards Estelle. He pushed his way through the crowd and stood in shock when he got to the picnic table.
"Jimmy! This is the Doctor and his girlfriend!" Jim Brass stared wide-eyed at an equally shocked Gil and Sara . "Well, I guess he's not a medical doctor, but he likes bugs."
Jim stood there holding his beer, not saying a word. "What's gotten into you today? Aren't you going to say Hello to them, Jimmy?"
"Yeah, Jimmy! Are you going to say something?" Sara asked him with a slight smile on her lips.