Note: The reviews were great, and yes, I'm sorry for the evil cliffhanger. I'll try to make up for it! I'm also really sorry for the long delay, I've been unbelievably busy and had a bit of a writers block.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all mistakes are mine. Some lines are barrowed from/inspired by scenes from the episode "You've Got Male," and most of the other episodes previously credited.
Chapter 7:
Just as the thought of locking the door came into her mind, they heard the gasp of an all-to-familiar voice, causing them both to jump back, and even gasp themselves.
"What in the Hell is going on?"
Sara literally fell back into her chair, whilst Grissom could only stare at their intruder. Both of them were frozen, their faces flushing a deep shade of red. Sara looked up at Grissom, who had by now pulled his legs back onto his bed and was propped up against his pillow.
XX
Five minutes earlier…
Catherine walked as quickly as possible into the hospital. She felt incredibly guilty for not visiting Grissom directly after his surgery, but Warrick had taken the night shift CSI's-and Greg-out to a bar, celebrating the arrest of Rob Rubio.
Well, most of the night shift.
They hadn't asked about Grissom; he'd turned them down nearly every time they asked him to go somewhere with them, but Greg did ask about Sara.
"She told me she wasn't feeling well," Catherine had lied.
Thankfully, they boys had left it at that, and they enjoyed their night out. Catherine had been exhausted, so she'd gone straight home. After she'd taken Lindsey to school, she remembered Grissom's surgery, and wanted to check up on him
"Can you give me the room number of Gilbert Grissom? I'm his sister." She asked the woman at the from desk. The woman rattled off the room and floor number, forgetting to mention that Grissom already had a guest.
As she approached his room, she considered whether or not she should knock. Figuring he'd be asleep, she decided against it. She turned the handle on the door, and entered the room. The sight before her made her stop dead in her tracks.
XX
Their was a long, and very awkward silence. Catherine stood at the-now closed-door, her arms crossed over her chest, the look of a scolding mother on her face, her eyes darting from Sara to Grissom.
"Catherine," Grissom finally spoke, "what are you doing here?"
"I…was…coming to check in on you," Catherine said, obviously surprised.
"Can you please explain to me what just happened?"
"Catherine," Sara piped, "I-I'll explain. Everything."
"Everything?" Catherine asked, confused, "are you saying…that, there's more?"
Sara nodded, biting her lower lip. She straightened herself in her chair, and took a deep breath.
"You remember when you took me out to that bar, right after Hank's case?" She asked.
"Uh-huh," Catherine nodded.
"Well, after you left, Grissom showed up-" she broke eye contact with Catherine and stole a quick glance at Grissom, and began playing with her hands, "and…we got pretty drunk-"
"Oh, no," Catherine gasped, taking a small step back, "don't…tell me…you two-" the look on Sara's face was all she needed.
Catherine shivered. She covered her eyes with on of her hands, massaging them with her thumb and index finger. "Wait," she suddenly said, opening her eyes, "does this mean…that, the twins are…"
Sara reluctantly nodded.
Catherine fell back onto the door. "What were you thinking?" She asked, her anger rising.
"Cath, please, don't-" Sara tried, her emotions beginning to get the better of her again.
"Do you realize how much trouble you'll be in?" Catherine interrupted, her attention on Grissom.
"Catherine, you can't tell anyone, about this." Grissom finally spoke.
That was enough to silence her. She looked at her boss. There was a look on his face that she had never seen on him before. He was begging. In all the years she'd known him, she'd never seen Gil Grissom beg for anything. And even though it wasn't obvious, she knew he was afraid. After a few more moments of staring, her eyes flickered to her co-worker. She was begging, as well, but Catherine saw many other things. Fear, worry, and even regret.
She let out a frustrated sigh, closing her eyes. "I wont tell anyone, you two are professionals, and I know that you'll leave your personal life out of the lab. " she heard them both let out relieved sighs, "you will, right?"
"We have for the past nine weeks." Grissom said as a matter-of-factly.
Catherine rolled her eyes before continuing, "but, I can't believe that you would lie about something this big, Sara. What if someone had told Hank?"
Sara looked down at her hands again. "I don't know." She said in the most child-like voice as possible.
"If one of the guys asks," Catherine reluctantly began, "I really think one of-or both of you- should tell them the truth."
"What!" Sara retorted. "It's not even any of their business."
"Okay, then, fine. Don't tell them, let them speculate. But can you imagine what Warrick or Nick, or even Brass would do if they thought it was Hank?"
The image of Nick and Warrick cornering Hank in some dark ally came into her mind. Warrick was popping his knuckles, and Nick had a base-ball bat…the end result wasn't pretty. She could definitely see Brass pulling a gun on him.
She shook the image out of her head. "It's not that easy, Catherine. It's not like we could just drag them into Grissom's office and tell them what happened that night."
Catherine rubbed her forehead, and looked down at her shoes, muttering something that nor Sara or Grissom could hear. "You know," Catherine started, "they're going to find out eventually."
Sara's hands fidgeted in her lap. She couldn't help but feel guilty, for a lot of things. She was the reason Grissom was in this situation; if she'd just let him leave when he'd wanted to that day, they wouldn't be here right now.
Grissom smiled back, and got up to leave.
"Wait!" Sara called, Grissom turned and faced her. "Why don't you stay? Shift's over." She pursed her lips, pointing to the extra seat by tilting her head. Smiling, Grissom walked over and sat down. "I'd like that," he smiled. God, she loved that smile.
Look where that smile's gotten me now, she thought bitterly.
If she and Grissom had decided to be honest, she wouldn't have had to lie to Catherine in the first place.
"How far along are you?" Catherine asked in a voice just over a whisper.
"Eight weeks." Sara said, biting her bottom lip.
"So…it's…"
"Hank's." Sara said in a voice she herself almost couldn't hear, finally looking at Catherine. The look of shock and sympathy on her face almost made her want to tell her the truth.
Almost.
"Oh, God…Sara. I'm so sorry."
"Just…don't tell anyone? I mean, I know they'll know soon enough, but the only other person who knows is Grissom."
"I wont." She put a hand on Sara's shoulder. "If you need anything, anything, let me know."
And what killed her most was something that happened the year before. The call she had made to Hank, asking to go out with him. If she had never called him, none of this would have happened.
Sara walked into her apartment, setting her keys, purse and coat on the counter. Today's case had really bothered her.
One of the victims-Donna Marks-lived the almost the exact same way that she did. She had no social life, ate off of her take-out menus, ordered her cloths and other things on-line…and now she was dead. It sent a shiver down Sara's spine.
She picked up her trash can and walked over to her refrigerator. The first thing she did was threw out all of her boxed up take-out Chinese food. Then, after closing the fridge, she removed and threw out all of her take-out menus from the refrigerator's door. Lastly, she walked over to the counter again, and dumped her stack of clothing and home decorating magazines into the-now nearly full-trash can.
She had to admit that she felt much better. But once she looked at her answering machine, and saw the big fat '0' blinking back at her, she knew that there was one thing that she needed to do.
She picked up her phone and dialed the number he'd given her a few weeks ago. She paced back and forth as it rang until, finally, he answered.
"Hello?" Answered the familiar voice of Hank Peddigrew.
"Hey, it's Sara." She said, smiling as though he was able to see it.
"I was, um…thinking-" she mentally kicked herself. Just say it! "You wanna go out…somewhere?"
There was a long pause. "I thought you'd never ask," he finally said.
Sara smiled from ear to ear, "Great! What do you want to do?"
They talked and planned their 'date' for the next several minutes. When she hung up, she felt wonderful.
"Are you happy now, Grissom?" She asked to herself, "I finally have a diversion."
Sara's heart hurt. She always hated lying. If it was something small, she didn't always mind. But with something like this, she wasn't so happy she went with the idea anymore. She hated being lied to, and she hated lying to people who trusted her. Like Catherine. It had taken her a long time to win Catherine's trust, and now every bit of that trust was shattered. Catherine had been nothing but good to her since she'd gotten pregnant, and any chance of that happening again was slim-to-none
"C-Catherine?" Sara asked. Catherine only opened an eye.
"I-I'm sorry for lying to you. I know I probably ruined any bit of trust you had in me."
Catherine was a little surprised by the apology, but it was true. No, it's not, Catherine thought, frustrated. Even though she felt slightly betrayed, she knew that Sara was only trying to protect Grissom, and he was doing the same. They may have even been trying to protect their unborn children, from the odd looks and stares they might receive in the future.
"No," Catherine said, leaning against the door, "it hurts that you two would lie to me, but I understand why you did it."
Now it was Sara's turn to be caught off guard. She could feel tears stinging in her eyes, she blinked them away. "Thanks, Catherine." She said, straining to hold in a sniffle. Catherine smiled, and walked over to Grissom's bed side. Slowly, he leaned back up. She put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry for this…whole thing." She said, playfully rolling her eyes.
Grissom blushed slightly. "Me, too."
"What do you want me to tell the guys while you're out?""I'm on medical leave." Grissom answered simply.
Catherine only nodded. She pat him on the shoulder one last time before backing away. He went for the door, but stopped just short of opening it.
"Next time," she began, her tone playful, "you two should seriously consider locking the door." And with that she left, leaving two shocked, gaping and blushing faces behind her. They were quiet for a few moments, until they couldn't hold her laughter in any longer. It started as a single chuckle from Sara, but when Grissom heard her, he burst into laughter, causing Sara to do the same. They laughed so hard that it hurt.
But after a few minutes, reality set back in. Catherine was right. Their team would probably find out eventually. Sara knew that, at first, Warrick and Nick; and maybe even Greg, would be angry for not being told the truth in the first place. But once the babies were born, she knew they wouldn't care anymore.
But she also knew that their look on Grissom might change. She knew that each of them held a huge amount of respect for the man. But would they after they knew the truth? At least he hadn't left her, make her take care of things on her own. And for that she was forever grateful.
Perhaps the boys would be, too.
XX
Later that same day…
Grissom was sound asleep in his bed, after taking a few painkillers. He'd been surprised after entering his house, finding what Sara had done for him. And he had loved it. But, after only a few minutes of being home, his ears began to throb again. So, after Sara lit a few of her candles in his room, he'd gone to bed, leaving Sara sitting at his kitchen table, alone.
She couldn't stop thinking about what Catherine had said.
"If one of the guys asks," Catherine reluctantly began, "I really think one of-or both of you- should tell them the truth."
She put herself in their shoes. Nick and Warrick were like older brothers to her. She wouldn't lie about something like this to her actual brother-if she knew how to contact him, she would have told him-so why should she hide it from them? Because the father is their boss, she thought. Greg was almost like an annoying little brother, so the same thing applied. Brass was hard to place, but she knew that he cared about her.
God, how would they react?
Greg would probably be more disgusted than anything. Not at her or Grissom, but…Well, Greg knows how babies are made, and the thought of Grissom doing that with her-when he had a crush on her-she just knew would make him sick. Aw, poor little Greggo, Sara thought, laughing a little to herself. The poor thing may even be a little heartbroken, too. She kidded, even though no one was around to laugh with her. She was only teasing, though, and would never hurt Greg's feelings intentionally. But she also knew that their would be lots, and lots, of teasing from him, too. She just hoped that with a little talking-and threatening-that he would eventually stop.
Nick, at first, would most likely be-like Greg-freaked out. Then again, Nick was no-where-near as immature as Greg, so she could be wrong. He won't be able to look Grissom in the eye for a while, that's for sure, she thought. She'd have to explain what happened, of course. Sara remembered when Nick had slept with Kristy Hopkins; who was unfortunately a prostitute, and she had been found dead the next morning. He had told Sara that they'd had a 'connection' of some sort, so he'd given in to her and slept with her. Sara was sure that after she told him about what she and Grissom felt, he'd understand.
Warrick would probably be confused. She could picture his eyes growing wide, and his mouth making a huge 'O' shape, the thought made her giggle. But she also knew that the first thing he would do (and probably what they all would do) would be to confront Grissom, and make sure it wasn't some sick prank. She could remember when she first came to Vegas, and how badly she and Warrick got along. So much has changed between us, she thought. They down-right hated each other. But after a case involving a cop blamed of pulling over and shooting a man (though he was later proved innocent) they had begun to get along. She was sure he'd be happy.
And last, but certainly not least, Brass. Sara had no doubt in her mind that Brass would be furious with Grissom. He'd be furious with both of them, actually. Brass had (even though neither Sara nor Grissom knew he did) always known that there was something going on between the two of them. Sara always thought that; no, Sara knew that Jim Brass put on that he was a big, tough guy. But deep down, he was a big softy, and once her children were born, she knew that he'd spoil them rotten and would never let them out of his sight. But as long as she, Grissom, their children and their friend's were happy, she didn't care.
She had begun to ponder how her enemies may react when she heard a loud creaking noise. A few moment later Grissom stepped into view.
"Hi, sleepyhead." Sara cooed, rising from her chair and walking over to him.
"What time is it?" He asked groggily.
She looked back at the clock over the stove. "Almost seven,"
She took his hands and pulled him over to the table. Even when they were both seated, she didn't let go of his hands. "Grissom," she began, looking down at the table, "I've been thinking about what Catherine said. About how us lying hurt her, and…" she trailed off, looking into his eyes.
"I don't want to lie anymore."
Grissom sighed, and remained quiet. Sara's heart beat increased.
"I thought you'd say that." He said at last. "But, Sara, do you know what could happen? If someone overheard, we could lose our jobs. If a suspect's lawyer found out, they would say that our judgment is questionable. I don't want to lie either, honey, but-"
"Grissom, you're over reacting." Sara cut in, "I'm not saying that we should call them into the break room and explain ourselves, I'm saying that if they ask me, I don't want to lie to them."
"Sara, it's to risky. Someone could overhear you." Grissom said, his tone sharper than necessary.
"Not if I'm alone with them." Sara replied, her tone just as sharp. She let go of his hands. "I'll only say it if I'm alone with them, like in a car or something."
Grissom opened his mouth to respond, but Sara beat him to it. "Grissom, don't you trust them?"
The question hit him like a speeding truck. Of course he trusted his team! It was other people in the lab that he didn't trust. He didn't trust some of the detectives. He didn't trust some of the lab techs (like Hodges) and he most certainly didn't trust Ecklie. Why didn't Sara understand that?
"Yes, Sara. I trust the team, I really do. It's the other people that I don't trust." He explained. She looked like she was about to reply, but he stopped her. "Sara, do you know how much we're already risking? If-"
"Oh course I do!" She exclaimed, rising from her chair and slamming her fists onto the table, "Do you think we'd still be together if I didn't?"
"That's not what I mean, Sara. What I'm trying to say is that we're already risking so much, I don't want to put are relationship in even more danger by telling the others."
"I know that, but-" she trailed off, huffing, "what if it was you who was being lied to? How would you feel?"
He stopped and thought about it for a moment. She had a point, but…"I would understand why they would do it."
"Damn it, Grissom!" Sara hissed, "why did you have to come up with that stupid idea in the first place! This is your fault!"
Neither of them spoke after that, they just stared at each other. Sara was mentally kicking herself. She'd really screwed things up now. How could she have said that to him? He had only been trying to help her. After what felt like an eternity of staring, Sara finally broke eye contact, staring down at her feet.
"I-I'm sorry, Grissom," she said hastily, walking away from the table, "I-I-I shouldn't have said anything, you were right. It's to risky. I…I-" she quickly walked over to her purse, snatching it from the counter.
"I'll see you later, Grissom." Was all she managed to say before she felt hot tears sliding down her cheeks. She turned her face away from him and headed for the door.
"Sara," Grissom breathed, walking after her. She ignored him and grabbed at the door handle.
"Sara, stop!" He called, grabbing her arm.
Sara tried to jerk her arm free, but he wouldn't let her go. They struggled for a few moments before she finally stopped and look up at him. Her face was already a shade pinker, and her eyes were beginning to puff. The sight made his heart break.
"Sara," he began, his voice low, "I…I'm only trying to protect what we have. What we're going to have." He held her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs, "I don't want that to go away."
She let out a shaky sigh, closing her eyes. Out of all the things that Grissom expected her to do to him, hugging wasn't one of them. She always managed to surprise him with that.
"I'm sorry," they said in unison, laughing at it after a moment.
"I'll make you a deal," Grissom smiled, tucking a finger under her chin and lifting her head up, "if they haven't found out by the time the twins are born, we'll tell them then. Okay?"
Sara beamed.
He always made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
XX
One week and two days later…
It was Grissom's first day back at the lab after his surgery. He was thrilled to be back, and, to his surprise, no one had (so far) asked about his leave of absence. But, he did receive several smiles and 'welcome back!'s. Even Sara was smiling when he entered the break room, ready to hand out assignments.
"Nick, Sara, you've got a home robbery," he handed them their slip and rattled off the address. "Oh, and, um…" he called out just as they were leaving the room, "the home owner's…pretty pissed."
"Yay," Sara said sarcastically, cocking her head.
"Warrick, Catherine, assault outside Planet Hollywood. Guy found unconscious beside his car."
"…what about you?" Catherine asked, taking her slip.
"I have a mountain of paperwork on my desk." He sighed, turning on his heels and heading out of the room.
XX
"Aw, no." Nick complained, pulling into the driveway. A scrawny woman with wild, frizzy red and black hair was walking back and forth, from officer to officer, flailing her hands in the air. It was obvious, like Grissom had said, that she was pretty pissed. Nick noted that she had a large cup in her hand, and whatever drink she had inside it was spilling over the top every time she moved her arms.
"Finally!" She panted as Sara and Nick approached with their kits in hand. "What the Hell took ya so long?" She had a very strong New York accent, Nick noted. It reminded him of a the girl he'd seen at a about a year ago. The Tony Braun case; she had been his girlfriend. What was her name, again? Jenna, no. Jenny, nope. Janet, maybe? He couldn't remember.
They ignored her, and continued to walk inside the house. "Has someone already interviewed her?" Sara asked a nearby officer.
"Yes!" She heard from outside, "Detective O'Something over there already did! Can I please go inside my house now?""No, ma'am," Nick said, "you'll contaminate the scene."
He knew she kept yelling and swearing at them, but he ignored her. They entered the house, noting that there was no sign of forced entry. Sara and Nick were both surprised that their was almost no sign of a struggle, other than a drawer from a nearby dresser lying in the middle of the room.
"Hey, I've got a few blood drops on the floor over here," Nick said, swabbing it, "and a little on the edge of the drawer."
"Maybe when the intruder threw it across the room, it grazed his arm." Sara added.
"The home owner's name is Clair Greene," Detective O'Riley said, walking up standing in the doorway, "she says that she came home and found all of her expensive jewelry missing. Claims that her, as of two days ago, ex-boyfriend Jason Hall did it because he was 'out to get her'."
"She might be right," Nick said, snapping several pictures of the drawer, "there's not sign of forced entry, and intruder didn't knock anything over or pull out any other drawers, indicating he knew right where to go, meaning he's probably been in the house before."
Sara dusted the drawer and lifted all of the prints off it. "So, the case should be a slam dunk, right?" O'Riley asked, shifting his weight to his other foot.
"Not necessarily," Sara informed him, "the ex-boyfriends prints in the house isn't very suspicious. If-"
"What!" Clair yelled in a high pitched voice, storming up to the front door. "What do ya mean it isn't very suspicious? He's the one who did it!"
Sara slowly began to walk over to her, hoping that she wouldn't enter the house. "That might be true, Ms. Green, but-"
"Might? No, lady, he did do it! He said he was gonna get me back for dumpin' 'em!" Some of her drink spilled onto the carpet.
"Ma'am, you're contaminating-"
"Who gives a damn!" Clair shouted.
"O'Riley, could you…?" She pointed out the door.
He nodded and began gently pushing her away from the door.
"You bitch! Ya can't kick me outta my own house!" Clair retorted, splashing the rest of her drink in Sara's direction. Sara jumped back, but it managed soaked the bottom half of her shirt and the top part of her pants, causing them to stick to her body, making her baby bump clearly visible. Why didn't I where my vest? She thought.
"Get her out of here!" Nick called, going to Sara's side.
"You alright?" Nick asked, his eyes scanning over her. They landed on her abdomen, and he stared for a moment.
"Yeah," she sighed, ringing out the end of one of her sleeves. She caught sight of is gaze, and cleared her throat, unable to hide her blush.
"Oh, um - here," he slid his arms out of his vest, "wear this."
"Thanks, Nicky." She slid her arms through it. It practically swallowed her.
They processed what was left without further incident, and without further conversation. Sara was too embarrassed to talk to him at the moment. She hoped it would stay that way. But as the got into the car and she gave him back his vest, her noticed that her cloths still hadn't dried.
Crap.
She was going to have to walk into the lab like this.
XX
Nick was silent the entire ride back to the lab. The awkwardness and tenseness was so strong you could cut it with a knife. Sara's heart was beating-what felt like-a million times a minute. Of course he had noticed, anyone would have, but why wasn't he talking to her? It was killing her.
"So…" she began, trying to break the awkwardness, "h-how do you think we'll get this guy? If it is the boyfriend, I mean."
"Dunno," was all he said.
Once they pulled into the lab's parking lot, Sara noticed that Nick parked a lot closer to the entrance than he had before. Nick got out of the car before her, so she took the alone time to look at her shirt. It was still damp, but it didn't stick to her as much as it had before. But her bump was still noticeable.
She huffed out a frustrated sigh, and got out to help Nick. Only to find him carrying everything they'd collected by himself.
"Um…Nick?" Sara asked, "do you need any help?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Grab your kit and lets head inside." He said quickly, walking towards the labs entrance.
She was still confused, but agreed. She grabbed her kit, closed the trunk, and fallowed him into the building. She was able to hide her poking belly and the stain on her shirt by holding her kit in front of her. It wasn't how she usually held it, but it worked until she was in the locker room, searching through the cloths she kept in her locker.
Once she found the outfit she'd been looking for, she hurried to one of the stalls at the hidden part of the locker room. After she had set her dirty cloths into her locker, she began to look for Nick, but a familiar-and unwanted- voice stopped her.
"Why the change of cloths, Sara?" Asked Hodges in a mock-intrigued tone, "did something happen at the scene?"
"…yeah," Sara said slowly, "the home owner got pissed and slung her drink at me."
"Ah," he said, in the same mock-intrigues tone. He looked as though he was about to continue, but Sara beat him to it.
"See ya, Hodges." she said quickly, followed by her nearly running down the hall.
Damn him! She thought, gripping her hair in her hands. Damn that little creep! Always looking for something to rub in you're face. The second he finds out the whole lab is gonna know.
"Hey, Sara, you alright?"
"Yes!" Sara snapped, thinking Hodges had followed her, "would you just-"
She turned, and was surprised to find Greg standing behind her, wide eyed.
"Oh, sorry Greg," she sighed, putting a hand to her forehead, "I thought you were Hodges."
Greg gaped at her. "I'm offended!"
Sara laughed. "Sorry to offend you,"
"But, seriously, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just had a rough time at the crime scene, and Hodges is being…Hodges."
"Okay," Greg said, satisfied that she hadn't lied and said she was 'fine'. At least she told him what was bothering her. Sara walked away from Greg, but with a small smile on her face. While some people were out to make her miserable, there were many more watching over her.
"Finally!" Sara exclaimed, walking into the layout room, "I've been looking all over for you, Nick."
"I had to make a few stops." He said, "I already dropped the prints we pulled in Mandy's lab, and the blood evidence with Greg."
"Now what?" Sara asked, her hands on her hips, "we just sit and wait for results?"
"That's what it look like." Nick sighed, just as frustrated as Sara. This was one of the few cases where certain things-like fingerprints-didn't matter. If the boyfriend really had done it, he could claim that he had been asked to get her jewelry from the drawer for her, or that he helped her put it together when she bought it. And he could claim that he'd cut himself while doing so, which would explain the blood.
"Have you processed the drawer?" Sara asked, dully.
"Not since we where at the crime scene."
"Maybe there's some trace evidence on it." Sara pointed out, her tone hopeful. Moments later, they were each scanning over it with a magnifying glass, but found nothing. Sara sighed. They just couldn't catch a break. After putting the drawer in an evidence box, they headed to the break room.
Sara plopped down onto one of the two couches, resting her arm on the arm rest, and Nick did the same on the other side of the couch. Only then did she realize how tired she was. She remembered only a few months back when she could stay up for three days straight-if necessary-on nothing but coffee and snacks from vending machines. Her eyelids suddenly became very heavy. It was times like this that she really wished she could still drink coffee.
Nick rose from his end of the couch, causing Sara jump slightly. He walked over to the coffee maker, and grabbed himself a cup.
"You want some coffee, Sara?" He asked over his shoulder, once the coffee had finished brewing, "you look tired."
Of course I do! "No thanks," she answered, leaning back into the couch.
"Ah, come on," Nick said, pouring her a cup anyway, "I haven't seen you drink coffee in weeks. Have some,"
"No, Nick. I'm fine."
"Sara, you're about to drop," He offered her the cup, "drink."
"Nick, I…I-" she sighed, she knew what he was up to. "I…can't."
He smiled, satisfied. "Didn't think so." He dumped her cup into the sink, then rejoined her on the couch, his arm around her shoulder.
"So," he said, his voice low, "is it Hank's?"
She looked down at her lap, remembering her conversation with Grissom. After a moment, she shook her head. "No."
He looked at her, baffled. The Sara Sidle he knew was not one for one night stands. "Do you…have a new boyfriend?"
She thought about Grissom again. He didn't say that she couldn't give the guys hints. Then again, he didn't say that it was okay, either. But she didn't want to seem like a knocked-up-tramp, either. He own words were ringing in her head. "I don't want to lie anymore."
So even though she knew that Grissom would be furious for her doing so, she decided not to lie to Nick.
"Yes,"
He almost looked relieved, Sara noticed. He gave her a look for her to continue, but she didn't. "Are you gonna tell me who he is?" Nick asked. She shook her head.
"Why?" Nick asked, his voice teasing (but louder). "You think we'll tease you again?"
"Uh…yeah," she agreed, going along with it.
"Well," Nick sighed, "I'd do the same. I'll get to meet him though, right?"
She wanted to tell him that he already knew him, but that was pushing it. "Yes. But no grantees when you will, though."
Nick made a snort. "You're not gonna wait until, you know, after it's born, are you?" He asked, his voice much lower than before.
"Aah," she said, unable to contain her smile, "after they're born."
Nick gaped at her again, but his 'O' shape quickly turned into a huge smile. "Twins? Seriously?"
She nodded, her own smile growing.
"Are the two of you happy?" He asked, his holding a hint of concern.
"We're…" She paused, and pursed her lips, thinking about it. "Thrilled."
Nick pulled her over with the arm he had on her shoulders, hugging her. "That's great, darlin'."
She smiled against him. This felt so much better than lying. "Do you mind keeping this between us?" She asked.
"Of course I will."
Before their conversation could continue any further, Sara noticed O'Riley walking towards the break room. Nick downed his coffee, and the two of them stood, walking towards the rooms entrance.
"Sidle, Stokes," O'Riley called, "I've got some good news, and bad news."
"What's the bad news?" Nick asked reluctantly.
"Bad news is, Clair Greene went after he ex, they fought, and it was pretty bad. Good news is, her ex had all the jewelry he stole from her still in his pockets."
With that, Sara and Nick headed back to the locker room to get their kits.
XX
They followed O'Riley to the new crime scene, and weren't surprised by what they found. Clair and her ex were screaming at each other from across the parking lot with cops struggling to hold onto them, police lights flashing, and a crowd of bystanders forming behind the crime scene tape. Both of them knew that it was going to get ugly, they just hoped they were out of it.
They exited the car, kits in hand, and met up with Detective O'Riley as he came out of the pawn shop, a tape in his hand. "Footage from inside the shop, it has the ex-boyfriend trying to sell him the jewelry." He said, handing I to Nick. After securing the tape, they walked up to the officers that were holding back Clair's ex, Jason Hall.
"Has he been interviewed?" Sara asked.
"Yeah," answered one of the officers, "he claims that he had no idea that the jewelry was even in his pockets."
"It's da truth, man!" Jason sputters out.
"Picture that," Nick mumbled, setting his kit down. Only a few second later, though, he picked it back up.
"Why don't you process him, and I take care of-"
"No," Sara stopped him, knowing where he was going, "I'll be fine, it's not like she has anything to drink this time."
Nick couldn't help but smile at that. He turned and began to process Mr. Hall, while Sara walked across the parking lot, over to Clair.
"Not you again!" She whined, struggling to get out of Officer Metcalf's grip.
"Hey, if you hadn't gone after him, I wouldn't be here." Sara pointed out.
She heard Clair mumble something rude under her breath, but chose to ignore it. She pulled out her camera and began to take photos of the bruises on Clair's arms when she heard a scream from behind her.
She turned and saw Jason Hall running at them, full speed, Nick and the officers were right on his heels.
Sara was quick to get out of the way. She could only watch as Officer Metcalf slung Clair behind him, attempting to stop Jason. Sara watched as Clair took off in the other direction.
"Nick!" Sara called, pointing in Clair's direction.
He looked up, saw what Sara was pointing at, and took off after her. Sara's focus was on him and the-in her opinion-psychotic woman he was chasing, and not the group of officers that was trying to control Jason, tumbling toward her.
Had she been focused on them, she might have been able to dodge the fist that made contact with her face, sending her spiraling toward the ground. She wanted so badly to just lay there, but with the riot still tumbling right for her, she rolled out of the way, but didn't stand. Only when Nick and another officer had locked Clair in a police car, did he help her to her feet.
"Sara, what the hell happened? Are you alright?" He asked, pulling her to her feet.
"I…I don't know." She managed, taping the area where she'd been hit. Just the slight amount of contact made her face burn. Nick let go of her for a moment, but when she started to fall back, he grabbed her again.
"You need to sit down," Nick said, walking her over to their car. He went around and got an instant ice-pack from the first aid kit, and handed it to her. She didn't protest, and put it up to her face.
"I'm going to go get everything, and then I'll be right back." Nick said, trying to stay calm. "Okay?"
"I'm not a baby, Nick," Sara said, glaring at him with her good eye, "don't treat me like one."
"'Kay," he breathed, jogging back to where he left his kit. If she was able to smart off, he figured she would be fine. But he was still taking her to the hospital, just to be safe.
XX
The sun had started to rise by the time Nick and Sara made it back to the lab. She had been checked out at the hospital, and the doctor's said everything was fine. But, by the time the reached the lab, a huge, black bruise had formed on Sara's face. Her eye was swollen, but she could still see out it. It took up most of the left side of her face, covering her eye, just above her eyebrow, and stopping at her lip. Jason Hall had a big hand.
He'd offered to take her home, but she refused, wanting to wrap up this case and not have to worry about it.
"I really don't want to go in their, though" Sara whined.
"Well, what are you gonna do, stay home for a week?" Nick teased, walking around and opening the door for her.
"Shut up," she huffed, getting out of the car.
It had been the left side of Sara's face that had been hit, so it wasn't visible from any of the offices or other rooms on her right. But the people who did notice made no attempt not to stare.
"Do you mind logging in the evidence?" She asked, "I'll meet you in the layout room."
"Sure thing," Nick said, patting her on the shoulder. Sara walked as fast as she could to the layout room, thrilled to find it empty. She leaned against the large table in the center of the room, her back to the door.
It seemed to take forever for Nick to meet her there. But once he finally did, they processed the little evidence they'd collected, and were done in about an hour. Sara was in a lot of pain, but she hid it well, enough to where Nick couldn't tell. After meeting up with Archie, after he had processed the tapes, they knew the case was closed.
"We've got him on tape trying to hand off the jewelry, and we have Clair on tape assaulting him. Two-in-one!" Nick laughed. Sara only let out a small laugh, knowing that it would hurt if she smiled.
A few minutes later, they sat in the break room again. Sara sat at the table this time, though, hiding the left side of her face from anyone who walked by.
"Does it still hurt?" Nick asked.
"Not really," Sara lied. Her entire face was throbbing. "I think I'm going to head on home," she said.
"See ya next shift," Nick said as she turned out of the room.
Before she even knew where she was going, she found herself standing in front of Grissom's office. The door was only half way open, so she couldn't tell if he was in their or not. She didn't him to worry about her, but she hated leaving without saying goodbye to him. She slowly opened the door.
The door squeaked as she opened it further, getting his attention. The smile that appeared on his face only lasted a second, once he caught sight of the bruise. Sara stepped in, closing the door behind her. The moment the door was closed, Grissom was out of his seat and had pulled her over to the couch at the other end of his office.
"What happened?" He finally managed to ask.
She told him everything. She even told him what she had told Nick, about having a new boyfriend, and being pregnant. She expected him to get mad for telling him, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled her close to him, kissing her forehead.
"I'm so glad you're okay," he breathed against her, kissing her again. Sara felt tears in her eyes. She'd had a horrible shift, one of the worst in a long time. She'd had her cloths soaked at a crime scene, been annoyed (and even a little creeped out) by Hodges, been punched in the face, and been (and would continue to be) in excruciating pain.
But Grissom made all that go away.
XX
Again, I'm so, so, SO sorry for the long delay. But, hey, at least I didn't give you another cliffhanger, right? I hope you continue to read, and don't forget to review!
TBC!