Okay, this is quite short, a little bitty but hopefully not too bad. Okay, it's a bit of a filler chapter but I just have to update. Thanks to those lovely people for reviewing last time, this one's for you.
I'm really sorry but I didn't have time to proof read this much.
Read, Enjoy, Review – and I will really love you!
Chapter Twenty-Three# Cry Little Sister#
"Shit!" Nick shook his head vigorously, expelling a fine cloud of what tasted like icing sugar and flour. "God, it's everywhere!" He cried, feeling it in his ears and nose. "What the hell just happened?"
Greg, Warrick and Ryan all looked up at the large bucket, swinging gently from a rope in a tree.
"How the hell am I gonna get this crap off?"
Greg knelt down and whispered something in Nick's ear. The Texan grinned slowly. "Sounds like a good idea, G."
"Well, I do have one occasionally." Greg said modestly.
Nick shook his head once more and stood up, not even trying to brush any of the white powder off, instead going straight to A11 looking like a ghost. Grissom looked up in shock at the laughing teens entering the classroom.
"Nick? What happened to you?"
"Not really sure, sir." Nick shrugged. Grissom rolled his eyes and left the classroom to the group.
"So you honestly think I should just leave it on?" Nick asked Greg.
"Yep."
"Fine." Nick shrugged.
Ryan laughed and reached into his bag. "Crap!"
"What?" Everyone asked quickly.
Wordlessly, with pink hands Ryan pulled out his bright pink biology textbook and the remnants of a popped water balloon.
"Damn them!" Warrick cursed.
"They're going too fast to counter prank. Even for me." Greg worried.
"You're the one I'd worry about." Sara pointed out.
"Le damn."
Morgan rolled her eyes at Greg's bad French accent.
"Ryan, here." Tali threw him a pink pen.
"Do I look like I need more pink?"
"Exactly." Greg and Tali said at the same time.
"Oh. Play along?"
"Yep." Nick nodded his white head.
"Okay." Ryan nodded. "Why the hell not?"
"Um guys?" Sara said quietly, instantly getting the attention she needed. "My mom wants me to go see Tyler after school today."
Everyone was quiet. Since there was no question about Tyler's sobriety, or lack of, at the time of the accident Tyler been sent to a juvenile detention centre, being six months shy of his eighteenth birthday. He would be let out two days after his eighteenth birthday. Sara hadn't visited him once.
"You should go." Greg said softly, and Sara looked at him, pain in her eyes.
"But he-"
"Sar, he's your brother. If I had a brother I'd at least hear what he had to say." Greg insisted.
"Okay." Sara took a deep breath. "I'll go."
CSIVCSIVCSIV
Eddie Willows watched the younger teens laugh off pranks for a whole day.
Nick spent the day looking like a ghost. Ryan ran hands covered in pink dye through his hair and claimed that though he was sure he wasn't gay, he somehow he felt feminine today.
When Archie realised that they'd hacked into his school computer account and downloaded porn, he simply transferred it to Stetler's account and erased his own history.
No sooner than they'd 'accidentally' thrown pasta in Warrick's face and down his clothes, the boy gave Willows a big hug, smearing sauce all over his leather jacket and scarpering before he could react.
Dan Cooper pulled Tali's skirt down sharply only for her to scream "RAPE!" in front of Miss Danville, a popular science teacher who had been told about the whole situation by Grissom and so immediately understood, giving Cooper an immediate detention
When Rick paid Maxine Valera to steal Morgan's uniform during gym and replace it with a pastel blue ballet leotard and skirt she had slipped them on without question, putting her hair into a bun for good measure.
The end of the day had come, and Willows was determined that Greg Sanders wouldn't laugh off his prank. He jumped into his car and tore out of the parking lot, swerving dangerously close to Greg as he sped to his final pranking destination of the day.
"Shit!" Greg cried, falling over backwards into Ziva and Tali as the car swerved towards him.
"Maniak!" the David's swore in unison.
"You okay, Greg?"
"I'm fine." Greg retorted quickly. Ryan ran up to Greg quickly.
"You ready?"
"Yeah. Let's go. See you guys tomorrow!" Greg waved to Tali and Ziva and began to walk home with Ryan.
"So my mom said she'll pick me up around nine, when they get back from the...what is it they're gonna see again?"
"Ballet I think." Greg mused. "Not really sure. All I know is that my mom and your mom are going out and we gotta look after Emily at mine."
"She'll love my hands and my hair." Ryan laughed.
"Hell yeah..." Greg smiled, not trying to show how nervous he was that he hadn't been pranked yet.
Half an hour later he pushed open his front gate and froze. The words 'Trick or Treat?' and an x-ed out smiley face were spray painted in red on the door and there were holes in each of the front windows.
"Aw, man!" Greg complained. "My mom's gonna freak!"
"I'll say."
"We'll have to go round the back; my mom won't trust me with a key again just yet."
"What did you do to the last one?"
"Boom." Greg grinned, and Ryan rolled his eyes. "Little boom. I was seven."
"Greg, what's in the pool?"
"Noth-" Greg ran to the pools edge and peered in. A resuscitation dummy was lying in the bottom of the pool. "What the hell?"
Ryan peered over his shoulder. Suddenly the two boys felt rough hands push them into the pool.
Greg shook the water out of his eyes but there was no one there. "Great."
"Greg?" A voice called. "GREG!"
"Here mom!" Greg spluttered.
Elise Sanders and Anna Wolfe ran around the side of the house, Emily on Anna's hip. She was the only one to giggle.
"Greg, what have I told you about swimming in your uniform? And what happened to the windows."
"Somebody crashed my party." Greg said miserably, as Ryan helped him out of the pool. "So they ended up in the pond. We've been pranked all day."
"Ryan got pink hair!" Emily laughed.
"And hands." Ryan agreed with less enthusiasm. "And books, and bag..."
"Nick looks like a snowman, Sara's favourite book in the world was ruined along with all her work and her uniform, Tali got her skirt yanked down, Archie's computer got, unsuccessfully, hacked, Warrick got food all over him and someone swapped Morgan's uniform for a leotard, so she had to explain to all the teachers why she was dressed as a ballerina." Greg summarised. "And that's not mentioning the fact that we have paint on our door, holes in our windows and we just took an unplanned dip in the pool."
Greg's mom sighed. "Greg..."
"I'm sorry."
"Well, you'll have to wash the door. I'll call a handyman for the windows, you might cut yourself."
"Mom!" Greg moaned. "I didn't put it there!"
"Did I then?" Elise raised one eyebrow and Greg groaned.
"Fine, fine."
"Ryan, you can help."
"Okay mom." Ryan knew better than to argue.
"I think your dad has some boards in the shed to board the windows up with for now." Elise pondered. "I'll sort that out."
"And I'll keep Emily out of the way and make you both a hot chocolate for when you're done." Anna finished, making both boys smile.
Two hours later both boys sat in the den with Emily, alone in the house.
"I thought your mom would never leave!" Ryan laughed.
"Me either. 'Are you sure you'll be safe?'" Greg mimicked.
"Greg?"
"Yes Emily?"
"Where's mommy?"
"She's out with my mom." Greg replied, tickling Emily's feet.
"Can I stay here and lib wid you? Ryan's mean." Emily made her eyes large and round.
"Uh, no..." Greg laughed.
"I am not mean."
"Are too." Emily chimed in her baby voice.
"Am not!"
"You are!" she threw herself dramatically into Greg's arms and Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Am not." He muttered.
"Are so." Greg grinned.
"I give up. I give up." Ryan shook his head.
"Bored." Emily stuck her thumb in her mouth. "Where's your princess?"
"Who, Morgan?" Greg asked.
Emily nodded.
"At her house, I think."
"Can she dust come here?" Emily asked.
"I don't think so." Greg said sadly. "She said she has a lot of homework."
"Please?" Emily wheedled.
"I'm sorry, Ems." Greg sighed and the three year old crossed her arms, sticking her bottom lip out. Then her eyes lit up.
"What about da one who looks like Belle...Sara?"
"She's going to see her brother." Greg remembered.
"Why?"
"He's...in prison." Greg said awkwardly.
"Why?"
"Cause he gave me some owies."
"Oh... how about Tlali?"
"Ta-li." Ryan corrected.
Emily frowned. "Tlali!"
"Tali's at dancing." Greg interjected.
"Den what about da one who speaks funny?"
"Nick?" Ryan and Greg asked at the same time, and Emily nodded.
"I don't know."
"Neber mind." Emily huffed, crossing her arms even tighter. Suddenly her face lit up, and she whispered something in Greg's ear.
"Of course we can."
Emily laughed and clapped her hands together. "Yay!"
"What?" Ryan asked cautiously.
Emily sounded ecstatic. "We're gonna play princesses!"
CSIVCSIVCSIV
Sara walked in nervously to the reception. The receptionist looked up at her. "Can I help you?"
"Yes. My name's Sara Sidle, I'm here to see my brother, Tyler." She bit her lip.
"Oh, okay. This way." The lady led Sara through the security scanners and into a room with rows of seats in front of a glass wall. Each seat was chained to the floor, and there were metal sheets separating the spaces between each chair, each with a phone hanging on them. Sara hesitantly sat down in the signalled chair and waited as Tyler was brought to see her.
They picked up the phones.
"Hey sis." He swallowed, eyes on the floor.
Sara was shocked. She'd expected hate, blame... Instead her strong, confident – no arrogant brother couldn't even meet her eyes. Tyler had lost weight around his face, not that he'd been that big to begin with. He looked tired. Very tired.
"Hey." She swallowed too.
"Sara, I'm so sorry about what I did." Tyler said mournfully. "I could've got you killed and I could've killed Greg. I was an idiot. A drunk idiot."
My, this is the time for apologies... Sara thought. "It's okay. I...I forgive you." With shock, she realised that she did.
"Thank you, Sar. It means a lot." Tyler said in relief. "I...I've got something for you. The warden'll give it to you on the way out."
"Thanks." Sara said in surprise.
"How's school?"
"Alright..." Sara explained about the Halloween party and the following pranks.
"Wow, you've been busy." Tyler remarked. He glanced at the clock as the warden tapped Sara on the shoulder. He looked as if he wanted to raise his hand, but a sharp glance from the warden stopped him.
Sara took the CD from the warden on the way out and ran straight to her room as soon as she got home, plugging her headphones into her laptop and putting in the plain disk.
When the options box came up she pressed play, and music began filling her ears.
"A last fire will rise behind those eyes
Black house will rock, blind boys don't lie
Immortal fear, that voice so clear
Through broken walls, that scream I hear
Cry, little sister - Thou shall not fall
Come to your brother - Thou shall not die
Unchain me, sister - Thou shall not fear
Love is with your brother - Thou shall not kill
Blue masquerade, strangers look on
When will they learn this loneliness?
Temptation heat beats like a drum
Deep in your veins, I will not lie
Little sister - Thou shall not fall
Come to your brother - Thou shall not die
Unchain me, sister - Thou shall not fear
Love is with your brother - Thou shall not kill
My Shangri-Las
I can't forget
Why you were mine
I need you now
Cry, little sister - Thou shall not fall
Come to your brother - Thou shall not die
Unchain me, sister - Thou shall not fear
Love is with your brother - Thou shall not kill"
Sara felt a tear slide down her face.
"Sara?" her mom opened the door. "Your dad's home."
Sara nodded and followed her mom downstairs. Laura's mouth fell open in shock when James pulled her into a tight hug.
"Sara..." he said releasing his wife, and Sara hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry." He whispered in her ear.
"It's okay."
"It's not." He insisted.
"I haven't quite got the dinner on just yet, but-" Laura bit her lip much like Sara did.
"No, we can go out for dinner tonight."
"Where?" Sara asked curiously.
"Wherever you two want to go." James looked Laura in the eyes. "You do so much. Give yourself a break."
Laura burst into tears, and for once her husband was there to lean on.
So what do you think?
Please tell me, reviews speed my little fingers on my keyboard. ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHERE 'CRY LITTLE SISTER' (the song Tyler gave Sara) IS FROM GETS BROWNIE POINTS, LOL!
(PS, my school's doing a dress-up day based on who you wanted to be when you were a kid and as I'm blonde with blue eyes I was tempted to go as Catherine Willows (coz she's been round since I was a kid). Should I, and any ideas for costume?)