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CHAPTER 3

Grissom stayed at the university research department for only a few hours. He delivered his lecture after lunch and finally succumbed to his inability to concentrate and headed home. The persistent, nagging thrum of worry gnawed away at him.

He simply couldn't bring himself to trust Alex Sidle.

Ordinarily, he was able to give people the benefit of doubt. To judge them, not on their past actions, but on their current presentation to him.

And yet something prevented him from unbiased judgement with regard to his brother-in-law.

He had to speak with Sara.

However, when he eventually got home, there was no sign of anyone else. He found a note on the dining room table solving the mystery - Sara had taken her brother to collect the rest of his belongings from the small boarding house he shared with a number of other 'street associates'. He had only been in Las Vegas for a short time and, as with a majority of boarding houses, only had a room available for a short term stay.

Grissom sighed. It looked certain that their house guest's stay had the potential to be more than the simple 'couple of weeks' that his wife had initially promised.

He headed into the kitchen and made himself a cup of herbal tea before stretching out on the sofa. He was exhausted. So much had happened in the preceding 24 hours and, with the early start, he was starting to feel the first signs of a headache. He lay back, closed his eyes and lay an arm across them and gave a deep sigh.

He was just starting to doze when he heard the sounds of happy voices and the jangle of keys in a lock. The door to the apartment opened and Sara and Alex - arms full of a combination of a battered canvas bag and fresh, new department store bags - walked in.

Grissom sighed again as the talking stopped and sat up - scrubbing away the last of the sleepiness from his eyes - before pushing himself to his feet and plastering a less than genuine smile on his face.

Alex smiled at his sister.

"Thanks again for the new clothes, Sara. I'll pay you back."Sara smiled back.

"No problem." she replied.

Grissom glanced a concerned look at Sara. Noticing, she frowned back at him quickly, hoping, unsuccessfully, that Alex wouldn't see the silent interaction.

Sensing the tension, Alex rustled the bags and turned back to his sister.

"I'll go put these away and might grab a lie down as well - all this shopping is tiring."

Grissom watched as Alex gave him a surreptitious look. It was difficult to interpret, but Grissom saw all he needed to see in it - a fleeting mixture of satisfaction and smugness.

It was all the confirmation he needed.

He was being played.

"I know you have a problem with him being here." Sara said quietly once Alex was out of earshot.

Grissom continued to stare after him but felt his wife move up close behind him and wrap her arms around his middle.

"Yes, I have a problem with him being here." Grissom replied. "I have a problem with us investing so much in someone we know nothing about. I have a problem with the fact you are being so trusting…."

"I just really need….""Sara, you need to be careful." Grissom said, cutting short her sentence and pulling away from her embrace to turn and face her, locking eyes together.

A look bordering on confusion passed across Sara's face before her frown returned.

"He's my brother, Gil…""I know he's your brother. You share some genes in common but the reality remains the same - we don't know anything about him….you don't know anything about him."

Sara's eyes suddenly clouded with emotion.

"I never got the chance to know him." she said angrily. "I've got the chance now. All those years I spent growing up on my own, knowing that if my life had have gone differently I could have had one of those happy childhoods. God knows I started out with all the necessary components - Mom, Dad and baby brother - but, no. No white picket fences and fresh baked apple pie for me! The stars fall out of alignment, my Mom goes off her meds, stabs my Dad to death, and my storybook life goes straight out the window. I lose my brother, I lose everything that ever had any meaning to me! I was his big sister! I was supposed to look out for him…protect him. He's where he is now because I failed in my duties…""Sara, honey, you didn't fail….""Don't tell me it's not my fault, Gil! Don't tell me I didn't fail! I could have stopped this. I should have stopped this and I didn't!" she shouted at him, tears welling in her eyes. She was so distraught her whole body was starting to shake. "I know who's fault this is….it's mine."

Grissom felt as if he had been slapped across the face. Sara's whole demeanour had changed so abruptly it shocked him. It was as if years of pent up guilt and sadness had finally broken through the wall she had carefully built up around herself. He reached out and tried to wrap his arms around her - trying in vain to protect her from any further harm.

But, instead, she held up a hand for him to stop, locked eyes on him for one more brief second before stalking off down the corridor to the bedroom, door slamming hard as she disappeared.

Grissom stood watching after her - shell-shocked.

In the guest bedroom, Alex lay stretched out on the foldout bed. He had lay there quietly listening to the shouting match and a satisfied grin spread across his face as he heard the slam of the door.

It was all so easy.

It was early evening by the time Sara resurfaced. Grissom had left her alone to fume. He wasn't good at dealing with conflict and knew that his wife would calm down by herself provided she was given space.

There was no sign of Alex which Grissom was thankful for. He hoped it continued for the rest of the night as he really did not relish having to spend time alone with him once his wife went to work.

Sara's hostility had dissipated to general annoyance as she came into the kitchen. Grissom had already started preparing dinner and made no comment as she joined him in the kitchen and started chopping vegetables with a brutal intensity.

She cussed under her breath as the knife slipped just enough to nick her finger. She brought it to her mouth and frowned as she sucked it. Grissom looked across and pursed his lips before reaching a hand across to Sara.

"Here, let me look." he said concerned.

"It's fine." she mumbled back, taking the injured finger from her mouth to inspect the wound.

"Sara, please. Let me look." he repeated.

Frown intensifying, she thrust her finger towards him.

Grissom took her hand gently and, reaching for a piece of paper towel, wiped away the blood. It continued to ooze so Grissom wrapped it and held it tightly. With his spare hand, he reached out and raised Sara's head so her gaze met his.

"It's not deep." he said simply. "It looks worse than it is."

Sara kept his gaze and nodded acceptance.

Moving to wrap his arms around her, he held her tightly and pressed a gentle kiss to her head.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly.

"Me too." Sara replied. "I want to help him but I don't want it to come between us."

Grissom sighed but didn't break the embrace.

"Then let's see what we can do for him." he replied.

Alex appeared shortly before dinner was ready. He looked as if he had only just woken up.

Conversation was free flowing between Alex and Sara, but Grissom sat in near silence. He smiled politely at the different anecdotes but didn't attempt to enter the dialogue.

Sara respected her husbands silence and the overbearing tension which had suffocated the room earlier in the day appeared to have evaporated.

At the end of the meal, Grissom cleared away the dishes and Sara went to stack the dishwasher while Alex relaxed back in the living room sofa and flicked on the television.

Sara surveyed the scene as she reached for the bowls and smiled to herself. Perhaps it would work out after all.

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