No ownership of CSI is claimed. Some inspiration and dialogue are taken from episode 420, "Dead Ringer."

March 2016

Grissom and Jake reach the landing as the doorbell rings. Anna's cry of "Nana!" seems to reverberate through the house.

"I sincerely hope that Sara got the gum out of her hair," Grissom says.

Jake smiles, but his eyes betray his nervousness.

"It'll be fine," Grissom says, adjusting Laura on his hip. "Let's go say hello."

Jake follows Grissom down the steps and to the front hall, where Sara and Anna are greeting Betty. She and Anna are already in conversation; their hands are flying. Jake feels his heart sink. Even with Anna's lessons, there is no way he can keep up with what they are saying.

Noticing her husband and foster children, Sara puts her hand on Anna's shoulder. Anna's hands pause as she turns to look at Sara.

"Can you introduce Jake and Laura to Nana?" she asks.

Anna jumps up and down in excitement. "Nana, this is Jake and this is Laura," she says, both speaking and signing, to Jake's relief. "They're my brother and sister now."

Betty signs something back to her. Jake has no idea what she said, but Anna frowns in confusion, and Sara's eyes narrow. Grissom hands Laura to Jake and steps forward.

"Hi, Mom," he both says and signs, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. "I'm glad you're getting to meet Jake and Laura. Like Anna said, they're part of the family now."

She holds his eyes for a moment, then looks at Jake, signing hello. Jake, pleased that he remembers that sign from the handful that Anna taught him, signs it back to her. She raises her eyebrows and looks at Grissom.

"Anna has been teaching Jake some sign language," he explains. "He wanted to be able to talk to you."

"I only know a little," Jake says, signing slowly.

So did Sara, when I met her, Betty signs back.

Jake frowns. "Too fast," he says, signing slowly again.

"She's just commenting on how much I had to learn when we met," Sara says.

As he watches Sara's hands, Jake feels, for the first time in a long time with the Grissoms, like an outsider. He doesn't understand this language, and the idea of learning it seems impossible. They are being incredibly kind by speaking along with signing for his benefit, but he knows that Betty can't do that. Not knowing what she's saying makes him feel like he is at a terrible disadvantage.

"Come on," Sara says. "Dinner is ready."

I'm assuming Gil cooked? Betty asks.

Sara laughs. "Of course."

"She's getting better, Mom," Grissom says.

Jake grabs Anna's hand as they walk to the dining room. "What are they talking about?"

"Nana said that she knows Daddy cooked, not Mommy," Anna says. "She always says that when she comes to our house for dinner."

Jake raises his eyebrows and sighs. No wonder Sara said they don't get along. He suddenly feels very pessimistic about the impending evening.

March 2004

"You did it!" Greg yelled, spinning around with Sara.

She laughed. "I did it!"

"Nick's off to a quick start," Greg commented, watching their friend begin his leg of the race.

Sara grinned. "I think he wants to make sure that I don't beat him."

"I knew you should have let him win that race the other day."

"He was showing off," Sara replied. "Besides, Catherine was the one who said he needed to be taken down a peg."

"Yeah, blame it on Catherine," Greg said, shaking his head. "You were the one who beat him in practice, not her."

"Well, it looks like he'll beat me today," Sara said. "He's really moving!"

"I hope you don't care anymore," Greg said. "At this point, it's for the good of the team."

"Exactly. Hey, do you think we'll beat LA SWAT?"

Greg grinned. "I'm going to be happy if we don't come in last. How embarrassing would it be to be beaten on our home turf?"

"Greg, please don't try to sound like you actually played sports … ever."

Greg gave her a winning smile. "I like you, so I'll let that go. Come on. Let's go wait with Archie."

"Archie doesn't run until after Catherine, who runs after Warrick, who is after Nick."

"Exactly. It'll take us that long to get there."

"Why?" Sara asked blankly.

"Have you seen these roads? It took me ages to get here to meet you. If you had run any faster, I wouldn't have been here until after you. I actually thought about meeting Mandy, but there was no way I'd make it by the time she finished."

Sara laughed. As their lead-off runner, Greg had had a lot of time to kill. "Okay, I'll believe you. Let's go hang out with Archie."

"I thought Catherine was faster than this," Archie said, bouncing in anticipation. "Do you guys see her?"

"Catherine likes to pace herself," Sara said. "I'm sure she'll be here soon enough."

"I hope so," Archie said. "I can't wait to get started!"

"Hey, guys."

They all turned as Warrick approached, still wearing his running gear.

"You made it here fast," Greg said.

"Not all of us like to move as slowly as you," he said with a grin. "You're not going to like why I'm here, though."

"To cheer on your teammate?" Archie suggested.

Warrick shook his head. "We're out of the race."

"What do you mean?" Sara gasped. "We've been training for this for months! We're not dropping out!"

"I didn't even get to run yet!" Archie exclaimed.

"Hey, don't blame me," Warrick said, holding up his hands as if to ward off their verbal attack. "Blame Griss and Catherine. They found a dead body – a cop from LA."

"Oh, man."

Greg, Sara and Archie immediately calmed down.

"Where are we meeting them?" Sara asked.

"Greg is meeting them at leg sixteen."

Greg nodded.

"You two are coming back to the lab with me," Warrick said, nodding to Archie and Sara. "We've got a dead cop in a hotel room. Sara and I are on that one."

"I'll be waiting for the video," Archie said. He shook his head. "I still can't believe I didn't get to run."

"Another year," Sara said.

"Yeah," Archie said sadly. "Another year of training, too. The training part wasn't exactly what I'd call fun, you know."

Sara grinned. "You'll learn to love it."

He shook his head. "I think I'll stick to surfing, thanks."

Warrick looked at them and shook his head. "Can we go now? Or, would you two rather hang out here and debate the virtues of every sport we can come up with?"

Sara rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Okay, Warrick. Take us to the lab."

March 2016

Dinner is not nearly as painful as Jake and Sara have feared. Anna, in her excitement to see her grandmother, monopolizes a great deal of the conversation, telling her all about her friends and what she is learning at school. Betty is more than pleased by Anna's scholastic news, and encourages her to share more.

"Enough talking," Grissom finally says and signs. "Anna, you need to eat something."

Anna frowns. "But, I want to talk to Nana. I haven't seen her in ages."

"You can talk to her all you want after dinner, sweetie," Sara says.

"But –"

"Daddy is right, love," Betty says. "You need to eat."

"You're going to stay a while after dinner, right?"

"Of course." Betty smiles. "I want to spend as much time with you as I can."

"Good." Anna picks up her fork to finish her dinner.

Betty smiles at her, then at Grissom and Sara. "She's a good girl."

"We know," Grissom says, smiling at Sara.

"Have you looked into summer programs for her? You want to make sure that she keeps up academically over the summer."

"I don't know about that," Sara says slowly. "I like the idea of summer being time off – a true break."

"What are they talking about?" Jake whispers to Anna.

"Nana wants me to go to school over the summer," she whispers back, frowning. "I thought there wasn't school over the summer."

"If you fail something, there is," Jake replies softly. "But, you always get As. Don't worry about it."

Anna smiles at him, looking relieved. "Good."

Betty frowns. "But, she's so bright – you should let her use that time to learn even more."

"She'll learn plenty, Mom," Grissom says. He smiles at Sara. "We could take her on a battlefield tour in Pennsylvania."

Sara rolls her eyes. "I'm going to kill Sofia for telling you about that."

"Sofia?"

"A coworker," Sara explains. "She told Gil, years ago, about spending her childhood summers touring Pennsylvania to learn about the Civil War."

"She was very lucky that her parents cared so much about her education," Grissom says.

"Gil's right," Betty says. "Anna should have every opportunity. That's why I asked about summer programs. I'm not trying to tell you how to parent her, you know. I'm just making suggestions."

Sara wants to laugh. For the first two years of Anna's life, Sara was not sure if Betty was clear on which of them was the little girl's mother.

Knowing what his wife is thinking, Grissom clears his throat. "Tell us about Florida, Mom."

"Did you go to Disney World?" Anna asks. "I want to go there."

"Maybe you can … later," Betty says. Her eyes flick to Jake and Laura.

Sara frowns. "I don't think I like what you're implying," she says, abandoning using her voice.

"Sara, you have to admit –"

"No," Grissom signs empathetically. "Not with the children at the table."

"What's going on?" Jake whispers.

"I don't know," Anna replies. "They're not saying what they're talking about, but Daddy said they can't talk about it when we're here."

Jake frowns, his heart sinking. He has a feeling he knows exactly what they're talking about.

March 2004

"Two dead cops," Warrick said as he and Sara returned to the lab with their evidence. He shook his head. "So much for fun at the law enforcement party."

Sara sighed. "Manny Senteno was married. Vartann is bringing his wife in to identify the body."

"Ouch," Warrick said. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, I'll do it," Sara said.

"Are you going to tell her that he was found with another woman in his room?"

Sara shook her head, her eyes straight ahead, focusing on something neither of them could see. "I … really don't know."

"I think you should," Warrick said. "She deserves to know."

"Do you think so?" Sara asked. "Wouldn't it be better to let her think that her husband was always faithful?"

"I believe in the truth," Warrick said. "Besides, I'm sure finding out that the other woman is dead, too, will soften the blow."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Let's hope so."

An hour later, Detective Vartann found Sara and Warrick in the layout room, going over evidence. He tapped on the doorframe as he entered the room.

"Hey," he said. "Mrs. Senteno just arrived. Who's coming to the morgue with us?"

"I am," Sara said, getting up from her stool.

"Okay. She's in the lobby."

Sara nodded, and followed Vartann to the lobby. Mrs. Senteno was sitting alone, twisting her purse straps around her hands over and over again. She looked close to tears.

"Mrs. Senteno?" Vartann said gently as they approached.

She jumped to her feet and looked at Vartann without speaking.

"This is Sara Sidle," he said. "She's a crime scene investigator, and she's working on finding out what happened to your husband."

She nodded. "Hello," she mumbled.

"Hi, Mrs. Senteno," Sara said. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

She nodded again. "Can I see my husband now?" she asked, addressing the question to Vartann.

"Of course," he said, ushering her out of the lobby.

They walked to the morgue in silence. Vartann paused before opening the door.

"This won't be easy, Mrs. Senteno."

She nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Vartann opened the door and ushered the women into the morgue ahead of him. He walked to the table that held Manny Senteno with a sheet covering him. Mrs. Senteno caught her breath as she stared down at the sheet. Sara crossed to the other side of the table to stand with Vartann.

"Okay?" Vartann asked.

Mrs. Senteno nodded and took a deep breath, staring down at the table. Vartann pulled back the sheet; tears filled her eyes as she looked at her husband.

"Mrs. Senteno, is this your husband?" Vartann asked.

"He doesn't wear his hair like that," she said, shaking her head slightly.

"There's some forms for you to sign, then we can talk in the lounge," Vartann said, starting to pull the sheet back over Manny's face.

Mrs. Senteno caught his hands to stop him from pulling the sheet up.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Mrs. Senteno, we haven't finished our investigation yet, but your husband died from a gunshot wound," Sara said.

"Who shot him?" she asked.

"We don't know," Sara replied.

"Where was he found?" Mrs. Senteno pressed.

"In his hotel room."

Understanding seemed to dawn on Mrs. Senteno as her eyes fell on the next body over; the second hotel room victim's foot, complete with painted toenails, was visible.

"He wasn't alone, was he?" she asked, looking back down at her husband's body.

"No," Sara confirmed.

"I married a cop," she said. "With that comes alcohol and women to take the edge off. First time … he said it meant nothing. He promised never to do it again. By the third time … I told him to stop confessing. I wasn't going anywhere."

Sara raised an eyebrow slightly. "Don't ask, don't tell," she said, struggling to keep the judgment out of her voice.

"I wasn't willing to trade my family for the flavor of the month," Mrs. Senteno said. "That doesn't make me pathetic."

"No one's saying that it does," Vartann said as Sara silently held Mrs. Senteno's eyes. "Are you ready?"

Mrs. Senteno nodded, still staring at Sara. "What would you have done?" she asked. "Would you have left your husband for it? When it's something that's so common among his …" She trailed off and swallowed her tears.

"Come on," Vartann said, putting his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the room. He glanced back. "Sara?"

"I … need to go back to the lab," she said. "Unless you need me?"

He shook his head. "I'll call you if I do."

"Thanks."

Sara waited until she was sure they were gone, then walked slowly out of the morgue. Her thoughts raged against Mrs. Senteno. How could she do it? How could she stay with him even after …?

She took a deep breath. "I would have left," she whispered. "I did leave. I wouldn't let a man treat me that way." And, Mrs. Senteno, neither should you.

"Why did he put her in that position?" she whispered. "And, why did another cop let it happen?"

Sara was almost ashamed to admit that, even though she had worked with the police for years, she had never stopped to notice if the reputation they had earned was valid. Was Mrs. Senteno right? Was it to be expected that a cop would cheat on his or her spouse? Or, was that something that her husband had convinced her was true to cover up his own misdeeds?

And … if the reputation was based in fact, did it extend beyond the police officers themselves? Perhaps … even into the crime lab?

Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed Warrick until he bounded out of the break room to catch up to her.

"Hey!" he called. "What happened? Did you break the bad news to the wife?"

"Oh, I didn't have to," Sara said.

Warrick exhaled. "Women always know," he said.

"Not always," Sara said, remembering how long she had dated Hank before realizing that she wasn't his only lover.

"I think so. Women always know when their man is straying."

"What are you, the voice of experience?" Sara asked testily.

Warrick chuckled. "No. I'm a really nice guy."

Sara smiled. "Oh, I believe you."

"Well, you need to believe this," he said, opening a folder to show her.

Their conversation turned to the case, for which Sara was grateful. She didn't want to think about cheating men, or women who may or may not realize what was going on, anymore.

March 2016

The longest dinner Jake can remember finally ends. He looks at Sara.

"I'll clean up," he volunteers.

"Thank you, Jake. That's sweet."

"I want to help," Anna says, jumping up with him.

"Is that okay?" Grissom asks, looking at Jake.

"Sure," Jake replies, handing her a fistful of silverware to carry into the kitchen. "Got it?"

"Yes."

Anna leads the way into the kitchen; Jake follows her with a stack of dishes.

"Remember, that's the nice china," Sara calls after them. "No dishwasher!"

"We know!" Jake calls back.

"It's nice to see that he's helpful," Betty says.

"Jake's great," Grissom says, abandoning speech now that Jake has left them.

"How long do you anticipate he'll be here?"

Sara frowns. "He doesn't have any family, Betty. We'll keep him as long as we can."

"You're sure? Don't foster children … flit about?"

Sara's frown deepens. "What does that mean?"

"It just seems … from what I've heard … they aren't … constant."

"If that's the case, it's because of the families they're with," Sara says, suddenly breaking into speech with her signing. "Families give them up, Betty, not the other way around."

"Sara," Grissom says quietly, "you don't have to do this."

"I do," she whispers. She looks at her mother-in-law. "Tell me what you're so afraid of. Tell me what about this bothers you so much."

"Sara," Betty signs slowly, "I know that you are a wonderful mother. I know that. I just … worry about Anna. I worry about the affect this will have on her. She's obviously very attached to Jake, and I don't want to see what will happen to her when he leaves."

"Jake isn't going anywhere."

"I know there are reasons he could leave …"

She shakes her head. "He doesn't have any family. We're all he has, Betty, and I don't want him to lose that."

"Sara, I know you have a big heart, but –"

"I was a foster child," she interrupts. Tears suddenly fill her eyes, and sign language is forgotten as she begins to vocalize. Grissom jumps in as her interpreter, a job he has not filled for many years.

"For years, I didn't have a family," Sara says. "All I wanted was for someone to keep me for more than a few months at a time. If I can save Jake and Laura from that … I'll do it. I don't want anyone to have to go through what I did."

Betty pats her hand. "You're a good mother," she signs again.

Even so, the misgivings don't leave her eyes.

March 2004

"Hi," Grissom said, sitting down next to Sara in the break room. "I heard you guys solved your case."

"As it turns out, the grieving widow wasn't as accepting of her husband's extramarital affairs as she led me to believe," Sara said. "How about you guys?"

"Jealous teammate doped him," Grissom said. "He honestly didn't expect to kill him – just incapacitate him so he could run his leg of the race."

"You know something?" Sara said. "I think I'm done with the Desert Relay. It's too much."

Grissom frowned. "But you had such a good time!"

"I did," she said. "But this whole … what did Catherine call it? Spring break with a badge?"

"Yeah."

"It's too much. We need to act like grown-ups, you know?"

"You always do."

"Yeah," she said, looking away.

Grissom smiled and put his hand over hers. "Have you eaten? We could go get breakfast."

Sara looked at their hands for a minute and gently pulled hers away. "No," she said.

Grissom frowned. "No?"

"Griss, I …"

He looked at her intently. "Tell me."

"Mrs. Senteno said she accepted her husband sleeping around because he's a cop. I'm not sure if she just said that, or if this truly was the affair that broke her resolve. Either way … I won't be played for a fool again."

"Sara, what on earth are you talking about?" Grissom asked.

"I waited for you for years," she said. "Then, when we had our chance, you said it wasn't working. So, that was it. You're married to your job, and can't make room in your life for me." She stood up. "I've been someone's other woman, and I've been your plaything. I'm just afraid …"

"Of what?" Grissom asked, standing up with her.

"With you, if I let us have another chance, … I'll be both."