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CHAPTER 2

Jim Brass stood in the observation room watching intently as Sara Sidle talked with her brother. He had never even known that she had a brother. But there he was, scruffy looking, agitated and track marks on his arms. The polar opposite to his sister.

He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he watched as, over several long minutes, Sara's body language changed completely. At first she had been stand-offish, leaning away from Alex, arms folded, body language closed. However, the more her brother talked, the closer Sara leaned in. She dropped her arms across the table, closing the difference between them, opening up to reconnect with her long lost sibling.

Jim frowned in concerned. He had had many experiences with long term heroin addicts and knew how manipulative they could be. He had seen Alex Sidle being brought into the station - physically and verbally abusive and taunting the arresting officers - and he watched him now…playing Sara Sidle like a Stradivarius violin.

Sara walked out of the interview room after almost an hour and went straight to the locker room in almost a daze. It was nearly 4 in the morning but she picked up her cell phone and hit speed dial without considering the time. It rang for several moments before Grissom's voice answered, croaky with sleep.

"Hey," he murmured, concern clearly audible, "are you OK?"

Sara paused for a second - she didn't really know if she was OK. Her world had suddenly been turned upside down. She needed time to get her head around it. She needed her husband.

"Gil," she replied, "I'm so sorry,…can you come down here…..please….I need you."

Grissom walked into the lab seemingly only minutes after the call had ended. The worrying phone call from his wife had been over before his brain fully registered it. He was out of bed and pulling on his clothes with the phone still in his hand. Hank - Grissom and Sara's boxer dog - was stretched out on Sara's side of the bed and raised his head just enough to be able to see that his master was heading out before laying it back on the pillow and succumbing to sleep once more. Grissom pulled on a jacket and headed straight for the door, grabbing his car keys from the counter as he passed.

Fortunately, there was minimal traffic at that time through suburban Las Vegas and he made it to the lab in under 20 minutes.

It wasn't strictly legal, as he no longer worked in the unit, but he was ushered through the front desk by Judy, the receptionist - who gave him a very warm welcome - and headed back through the all too familiar corridors to the locker room. Sara was standing at the far end of the room, arms folded and head hanging down. She had been alternating between pacing the length of the room and leaning against the wall as her brain tried to process the events of the last couple of hours.

Grissom stood in the doorway and took a second to stare at his wife.

"Hey." he said simply. "What's going on? Has something happened?"

Sara looked up and gave him an anxious smile before crossing the room to him - desperate for him to just hold her. She felt his arms envelope her, a comforting wave of safety washing over her.

"Honey, I'm here" he murmured softly, "I'm here…talk to me."

Sara finally pulled away and took his right hand in hers and led him to the bench. She sat down next to him and filled him in on everything that had happened during the night. He remained silent for several moments once she had finished talking. He knew what had happened to Sara as a child and he was acutely aware of the issues she had about 'family' - how she had struggled so hard to succeed in life and had achieved everything essentially by herself. This forced independence at such a young age had given her a hardened edge - she had struggled to protect her developing ego by building a wall around it - however, Grissom knew first hand how fragile the wall was. How vulnerable she could be.

She had told him what her brother had said during their meeting. How he had endured a torturous childhood including neglect and abuse and how he had run away from his last foster home and ended up on the streets by the age of 15. He had been introduced to hard drugs around that time and had spent 2 years alternating between living on the streets and in temporary accommodation/shelters. He had tried to sort his life out over the years - had gone through rehab a number of times - but had always hit stumbling blocks which had tipped him back into the lifestyle he was so desperate to get away from.

Grissom kept a tight grip on Sara's hand while she recited her brothers story. He understood where she was heading with the conversation. He understood her desire to help her brother and wanted to be able to support her. But he also understood the potential consequences of attempting to help the man that neither of them knew.

And finally it came…

"Gil….I want to help Alex. I want to help his life back on track."

Grissom sighed and dropped his head down.

"Honey…."

"I can post his bail money. He could stay with us."

Grissom's head came up again suddenly.

"It would only be for a few weeks - just until we can find him something more permanent."

"Sara…."

"He's my brother, Gil. I can't turn my back on him. Not again."Grissom squinted at her in confusion….but saw only his wife, her eyes full of pain and silently pleading with him. So, instead of talking her out of it, he squeezed her hand and brought it up to lay a tender kiss on her knuckles.

"OK." he said, despite his better judgement. "He can stay with us until we can find him somewhere more permanent."

Grissom felt the heavy pang of regret as he filled out the bail forms for Alex. Every part of his being felt as if it was a very bad idea, and yet it was a testament to the love he had for his wife that he posted the money and signed his name to the surety. He turned and faced his long time friend, Jim Brass, who stood close by - arms folded and leaning back against the wall - watching Grissom sign the documents.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Brass asked.

Grissom shrugged. He looked tired.

"It's important to Sara." he said simply.

"Yeah, well…you keep an eye on him, Gil. He's bad news." said Brass. "He's a typical junkie - Sara's brother or not."

Grissom raised his eyebrows.

"That's very open minded of you." he replied grimly

"Look, Gil, I've been in this job a long time." said Brass - his voice kept low so only Grissom could hear, "I see these people everyday. Drug addicts who only care about where the next hit is coming from. They will do anything to anyone. They are manipulative…cunning."

Grissom stood, arms folded, listening.

"You know you're kissing your money goodbye, don't you?" Jim pushed.

Grissom shrugged a second time.

"Probably." he admitted. "But its important to Sara. I need to do this for her."

Brass held his hands up as if surrender.

"OK. OK." he said before giving Grissom a humourless smile. "Then the best of luck to you both."

The car trip home was awkwardly quiet. Grissom sat behind the steering wheel in steely silence, shoulders clearly reflecting his tension. Sara sat in the front passenger seat quietly gazing out of the window. Alex sat in the rear passenger seat, attempting to make inane conversation from time to time before lapsing back into silence when responses were not forthcoming.

When they arrived back at their apartment, things barely improved.

Sara organised her brother in the spare room, providing him with towels and toiletries before they settled themselves in the living room with cups of coffee and were able to have a proper conversation without the constraints of a police station.

Grissom sat and listened in silence as Alex spoke about his childhood and teenage years, and how he had fallen into a lifestyle dominated by drugs and petty crime. He spoke about the pain he felt and how he was desperate to make a new start. And he spoke about how his one great desire was to develop a relationship with the older sister he barely knew.

Grissom sat and watched.

He watched the stranger sitting across from him saying all the right things.

He watched the tears come as he spoke about how much he needed his sister.

He watched him reach out to physically touch her.

And he watched as his wife fell deeper under the spell.

Grissom wanted to believe the words he was hearing, but something nagged at him deep inside. Something didn't quite gel. He couldn't put his finger on it….he didn't know if it was in the mans tone, his posture, or the slight hint of arrogance he heard in the undertones of his words. But something was preventing Grissom from believing….and after all the years of working with the crime lab, if he had learnt one thing, it was he should always trust his gut.

And so he sat back in the armchair, hands clasped in front of him, his index fingers forming a steeple - the tip resting under his chin, and he watched his brother-in-law. He noticed how Alex rarely looked at him directly - how he shifted in his chair under the weight of Grissom's gaze. He couldn't help but be rather pleased with himself.

Alex downed the last of his coffee and rubbed a weary hand across his face. Sara, noticing the gesture, stood and reached for his empty mug.

"It's been a long night, Alex." she said, glancing down at her wristwatch - 8.38am. "Why don't you go and try to get some sleep."

He smiled at her and pushed himself to his feet, arching his back as he stretched.

"Thanks." he mumbled as he broke into a yawn. "I just need a couple of hours."Sara smiled at him before turning and collecting Grissom's empty mug from the coffee table and taking all three to the kitchen sink.

"Take your time." she called back over her shoulder. "I'll be here all day."

Grissom waited until Alex had left the room - continuing to watch him as he walked away - before pushing himself to his feet and joining his wife in the kitchen. He glanced at his watch knowing he had to make an appearance at the university some time during the morning despite the greater desire to stay with his wife. There was so much they needed to talk through. He opened his mouth to speak but, before he could start voicing his concerns, Sara cut him off.

"Don't say it." she said simply. Grissom paused and looked at her without answering. "He's my brother, Gil."

Grissom closed his mouth again and frowned before wrapping his arms tightly around her and pressing a tender kiss to the top of her head.

"I know, sweetheart." he said quietly. "I know."