The Look Of Love (part 3)
After breakfast Gil dropped her at her apartment, Sara was glad she had the day off she had a million things to do.
The first thing she did was call the shop about her car, they told her it would be ready at 4pm. She called a cab company and asked to have one waiting for her at 3pm.
She decided to get some work done that she had put off.
The cabby blew his horn, Sara grabbed the trash and headed for the door. The last thing she remembered was putting her hand on the doorknob.
Gil was at the lab when he got a call from Brass. They were needed at a building fire, a meth lab had blown up and the apartment building was on fire.
There were several injuries, one death. Gil grabbed a piece of paper to take down the information, then he called the others.
He was driving his Denali when things started to look familiar, then it hit him, the apartment building was the one where Sara lived.
His face went pale, "Let her be alright."
When he arrived the first thing he did was look for Sara. He went to one of the paramedics and asked about her.
"I am not sure who is who," the paramedic said, "the dead are over there." He pointed to three body bags on the lawn.
"The severely injured have already been transported to the hospital. There is a triage unit set up over there." He pointed to another area on the grass.
Gil told the crew what he wanted them to do then he went to search for Sara.
The first thing he did was check the body bags, she was not there, then he went to the triage, he saw her sitting on the ground.
Gil walked over to her and squatted down next to her. She only had a few cuts the paramedic in charge said, she just needed a few stitches.
"What happened?" she asked him.
"From what we have been able to find out," he said, "some one in the apartment behind yours has been cooking meth. The whole thing blew up."
"So if I had not been on my way out the door ..." she looked in the direction of the body bags.
"Yes," was all Gil would say. He stood and held out his hand, she took it and stood.
They walked over to where the apartment was, it was totally destroyed.
"Damn!" she said.
Gil cleared his throat, "I have a two bedroom house, you are welcome to stay with me if you want." She said it would be fine.
Gil took her to get her car then she followed him to his place.
She was surprised how lovely it was, brick and stone with a large porch.
It was a little out in the country and you could see a grove of trees behind the house.
He opened the door and introduced her to Hank, his dog. She stood in the doorway looking around.
"This is unusual," she said, "I don't think I have ever been in a house where you have to go downstairs to get to the living room."
He smiled, "This way to the extra bedroom."
The room had a king bed, dresser, desk and small sofa, there was an entertainment center with a stereo and television. "You even have your own bath," he said.
He laid out clean towels on the bed then he handed her one of his pajama tops.
"You can wash what you have on and go shopping tomorrow, if you like," he told her. She had lost everything.
She nodded and took the pajamas and headed for the bathroom.
Gil was sitting on the couch when she came in the living room, he looked up at her. "My God, she is beautiful," he said to himself.
"Hungry?" he asked. "Sure," she said. Gil fixed something to eat while Sara tossed her clothing in the washer.
While they were eating Gil told her she could 'make herself at home.' She went to the bookshelf and took a book down, then she went to the couch, "May I?" she asked as she sat down.
They sat in silence and read, a little later he stood, "I am off to bed." They said their goodnights.
Gil went to his room, shut the door, undressed and lay on his bed. "How close she is," he thought, "if only she would come to my room." What was he thinking, he knew it would never happen. In the other room Sara was thinking the same thing.
It has been a week since the explosion at Sara's place, there were still no leads. At work that night Gil passed out assignments.
"Warrick and I are still working the fire/meth lab thing. Catherine, you and Sara need to go to the hospital, they have just admitted a woman who said her husband beat her. Nick you run solo tonight, a home invasion."
On their way to the hospital Catherine questioned Sara about life with Gil.
"This could lead to something really great," Catherine said to herself, "they need each other, it is just too bad they can't realize it."
Catherine would smile each time she saw the way they looked at each other when they thought no one was looking.
In the hospital Sara collected evidence as Cath questioned her. The lady had been beaten because "His dinner was late."
Brass arrested the man, remembering what happened before, Gil thought it best if only Cath talked to him.
After shift Sara went back to the house she took a glass of juice and some fruit into her room, she could not sleep so she read.
Gil had long ago gone to bed.
Fatigue finally took her and she fell asleep, just as always, the dream came and as always her screams woke her but this time it was different.
Different because they woke Gil too, he ran to her room and opening the door he saw her sitting on the bed with her arms wrapped around her legs crying.
He went to her, sat next to her and took her in his arms. He talked to her, trying to calm her and held her as she cried.
Her gasping breath returned to normal, "Sara. What is it? What is wrong?"
She did not answer, she had fallen asleep in his arms cuddled close to him.
He started to lay her down, she started to stir, not wanting to wake her, he too fell asleep.
Sara woke, at first she did not expect him to still be there, she was glad he was.
Her movement woke Gil, she pretended to be shocked.
"Nothing happened Sara," Gil said, "I promise."
"I believe you," she said. "Are you alright? What happened?" Gil asked, "I heard you screaming."
"It was just a bad dream," she told him, not wanting to go into detail.
"Thank you for being here." He smiled at her, "Let me go get some breakfast started."
Across town another couple woke up, something had happened the night before and Catherine was never happier.
"Good morning, love," Warrick said as he gently kissed her. "Good morning yourself," she told him returning the kiss.
"I think we need to talk about what happened," Warrick said.
"You regret it?" Cath asked him, choking back tears.
"Not at all," he said holding her, "it should have happened long ago. What I was going to say was I don't want it to be the first and last time. I have loved you from the first day I saw you."
"I have to admit," Catherine said, "it took me longer to fall in love with you, but I do love you."
While eating breakfast Gil wanted to question Sara more about her dream, he was very concerned about her.
Each time he tried she put the brakes on. He decided she would tell him when she was ready.
Before shift started Catherine was talking to Sara.
Sara asked her how her date went. "All I am going to say is now I know what Gil meant when he told me sex without love is pointless. I have had my share of men but last night was like the first time all over again." They both giggled.
"Speaking of men," Cath said, "how are things going with you and Gil?"
Sara looked at her, "There is no 'me and Gil' what are you talking about?"
"Sara Sidle, how blind do you think I am? I see the way he looks at you, the way you look at him. It has LOVE written all over it."
Sara was about to say something when Gil came in the room. "Assignments everyone," he said.
"Cath, you and Sara need to go over your paperwork on the assault case. The DA wants to go to trial in two days. Nick and Warrick, you have a floater, a body was found floating in the river. I am going to catch up with Doc on the hit and run from yesterday."
Sara and Cath were alone in one of the layout rooms. "You started to say?" Cath said.
"I must admit that I do love him," Sara said, "but there is no way he can feel the same way, you have to be mistaken."
"You think so?" Cath said, "what if I prove it?" "Just how are you going to do that?" Sara wanted to know.
"You will see," is all Cath said. "I really have no idea," Cath said to herself.
Brass stuck his head in the door, "I need you two to come with me."
Sara told him they were reviewing their evidence for the assault case. "It is no longer an assault," he said, "he bonded out. We think he snuck into her hospital room and finished the job, they found her dead about half an hour ago."
"Son of a bitch!" Sara yelled, hitting her fist on the table.
Cath looked at her, "I think you need to stay here, you are to involved."
"You are not my supervisor," Sara said grabbing her kit and walking out the door.
Gil had walked in as Sara left, he asked Cath what happened.
"You better go see if you can keep her temper in check," Cath told him. He agreed and left also.
At the hospital Gil found Sara in the lady's room, he could tell she had already collected whatever evidence there was.
Sara was leaning against the wall, tears streaming down her cheek.
"Why? Why do people do this to someone they claim to love?" she said in a half whisper.
Gil suddenly realized that her nightmare came after she handed this case, he also remembered that each blowout, here and in San Francisco, came after a domestic abuse case.
He walked into the room, "Does this have anything to do with last night?" he asked wiping away her tears.
Sara looked at him, she saw it, his eyes spoke much more than the words he had said. There was tenderness, concern, caring and love. Cath was right.
"I can't not now," she said as she walked away.
Sara took the evidence to the lab and then went to the morgue. Doc Robbins was just finishing up.
"What can you tell me?" she asked. Doc told her that she was suffocated.
"With what?" she asked. Doc handed her some fibers he had collected from her nose and mouth.
She thanked him and went back to the lab where she found similar fibers from the pillow.
She also found epithelial on the pillow, they matched the husband, "Got you, you son of a bitch," she said picking up all the evidence and heading off to find Brass.