Title: Lips of Pink
Pairing: Sara/Nick, Amelia/Grissom
Spoiler: CSI up to about season 4, CSI: Miami up to season 3.
Summary: Amelia gives birth to Speed's child and is soon back at work. As she, Catherine, and Warrick work the case of a dead stripper, Amelia begins to wonder about her and Grissom's relationship. Nick tries to figure out if Sara wants him or Grissom as they work a case of a sociologist who ends up dead.
Disclaimer: I only own what you do not recognize. I.E: Amelia, Evan, and the victims and suspects. CSI Belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and all of those smart people who created these fine CSI series.
My Note: Sorry this took so long. Life often gets in the way. I'm always apologizing, but maybe one day I'll be better about updating! If you have a kindle and are looking for a new book to read, my novel Farther Side of Away (by Signy Cullen) is free on Kindle from September 24-28.
Chapter 4: Sociology Can Be Murder
Nick and Sara had just returned from dinner when their pagers went off. They exchanged a familiar look of 'here we go again' and grabbed their gear.
They arrived at a fancy office building near the center of town. It was in a good area and the building looked to have very good security.
As they walked into the building, Nick stared up at the security camera outside the front door. "Hopefully those cameras work," he said as they passed through the doors.
Sara and Nick were greeted by a copy in the lobby. He showed them up to the second floor where they found Det. Vartann in a large office at the end of the hall.
An older man lay on his stomach on the floor, a blood pool around his head. David, the assistant coroner, was leaning over him. Nick and Sara set down their kits and surveyed the large room. The walls were mostly bare, but for a couple of paintings and a few of diplomas.
"Sara, Nick. Victim is a Dr. Gary Roberts. Age 52. He is a sociologist studying gamblers," he informed them. "He's from Michigan, in town to do his study. He's been working with a Dr. Eric Mansfield. Dr. Mansfield was the one who found the victim this evening."
Nick pulled his camera out of his bag and began to take pictures of the office. It wasn't too messed up, but just enough to show a slight struggle.
"Absence of a struggle means that it was probably someone the victim knew," Nick remarked as he moved about the room.
"Where's Grissom?" Sara asked behind Nick.
Nick cringed but went back to taking pictures.
"He called saying he's going to be a few minutes late. Apparently the babysitter got sick," Vartann said.
"It's so weird to see Grissom, of all people, with a child," David remarked.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Gris is great with Timmy," Nick said, a little defensively. He still hadn't gotten used to Grissom being a dad, but he had been great with the little boy so far.
"Oh, I didn't mean-I just mean it's odd," David tripped over his words. He cleared his throat and looked at the victim, pointing to his wounds. "Vic has multiple blunt object wounds to the head. One on the front and two on the back. There seems to be some skin beneath his nails, so he might have fought with his attacker."
"I'll get some scrapings," Sara said. She grabbed the things she needed from her kit and kneeled next to the body.
Nick moved behind the desk and took a few photos of the papers on the table. "There's a blood pattern here," he said out loud. He took a few photos of the pattern and paused to think. "Looks like something was here when the vic was attacked."
"Probably papers?" Vartann suggested. "Whatever it is, it's got blood on it."
Nick nodded. "Maybe something the vic was working on. We need a list of the people he was studying. He obviously ran into something bad." He went back to taking photos of the office. His eyes wandering over the various books on the shelf behind the desk. Some broad Sociology books and a dozen or so on gambling. Most of the gambling books looked worn, like he had read them too many times.
"Sorry I'm late," Grissom's voice floated through the room.
Nick turned to look back at his boss and then turned back to the bookshelf.
"I take it you got the babysitter situation worked out?" Sara asked from her spot on the floor. She was busy getting blood samples and finding evidence.
"Yes, I did," Grissom answered.
Nick bit back a chuckle at Grissom's short answer. He was never one to share much about his personal life.
Vartann brought Grissom up to speed while David wheeled the body out of the office. Once they moved his body, they found a few strands of hair underneath his body. Sara collected the evidence and bagged it.
After another couple of hours, they had thoroughly searched the place for evidence while Vartann and Grissom had interviewed the Dr. Mansfield that had found Roberts' body and called 911.
Nick and Sara pilled the evidence they had collected into his SUV and began the drive back to the lab. Nick still had a lot of things he wanted to say, but he didn't know how. He could tell Sara had feelings for Grissom. But he knew Grissom wouldn't leave Amelia. It was an odd love triangle that left Nick on the outside.
He loved Sara and had for a long time. He just didn't want to end up the fool in the end.
"If you have something to say, just say it Nick," Sara said.
Nick sighed. "It's not that easy. You can't just break into something like this."
"Are you mad because I talked to Grissom about Timmy?"
Nick jutted out his jaw in anger. He sighed again and shook his head. "No, I'm not. But you know Gris doesn't like to talk about his private life. And why bother asking? I just…I don't know what you want from me, Sara."
"Nick, please. I know how Grissom is. Doesn't mean I can't ask. I thought you'd be interested in how your nephew is."
"He's my nephew. I get an update everyday from Ames. Besides, he's a baby. There's not much going on there. If I want to know, I'll ask. Just-it's ok."
The pair remained quiet as they drove the rest of the way back to the lab. Nick just didn't know what to say anymore. Half of it seemed like his brain was making up drama and the rest…he saw the way Sara looked at Grissom. He wasn't imagining that, was he?
Once back at the lab, they unpacked the evidence and began to log it in. By the time they were done, the sun was coming up and Nick's back was killing him.
With a yawn, he said goodbye to Sara and headed home.
Maybe sleep would help him figure things out.