CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

Grissom threw himself into his work. He also withdrew into himself. He no longer joined the rest of the team for breakfast after shift, and when he was not at work he spent his time alone at home or riding his beloved rollercoasters. He had aged in a matter of weeks and he was becoming a matter of concern to all those who worked with him.

Brass tried to get him to go out drinking with him. Figuring that if he could get him tanked he would open up. But he simply refused.

"I'm fine Jim. I know what you are trying to do and getting me drunk won't solve anything" he told his friend on numerous occasions.

Catherine tried by asking for his help with Lindsay. She knew his soft spot for her daughter and hoped that he would not refuse. He did spend some time with the two of them, but she could still not get him to open up. I mean she knew that the whole problem was that he loved Sara and that she was gone. But no matter how hard she tried she could not find out anything about why Sara had left. Though she had to admit, she had some idea.

"I'm not talking about it Catherine, can't you just let me enjoy this time with you and Lindsay?" He would tell her, every time she tried to bring it up.

Nick, Warrick and Greg avoided Grissom as much as possible. Despite the fact that he was fading before their very eyes, they were angry with their boss because they knew that he was the real reason Sara left and that anger overshadowed any sympathy that they felt towards him.

In fact, each of the three men had been in contact with Sara. Only via email though. But that was enough for the moment. Greg had been the one to track her down, eventually, with a little help from Archie. Once he had got over the initial shock that she would leave him without saying goodbye, he had gone to the AV tech and together they had spent the better part of a week tracking her down.

Once they had contact with her and were sure that she was all right, they decided that they would keep that information between the four of them. Anyway, Sara had pleaded with them not to tell anyone else once she had gotten over the shock of being found so quickly.

Greg remembered the first email from her. It had been an angry one. When he had replied that she had no right to be angry, that he and the others had more right to be angry at her, because she was the one that left without telling them she was going or why, she had replied with both an apology and an explanation. She had told him to pass it onto Nick and Warrick, but under no circumstances were they to mention her to Catherine or Grissom.

They had all agreed. However they knew that she was not telling them the full story behind her reasons for leaving. But that was her right, and they were more than happy with the fact that they at least had contact with her and that she was fine and seemed to be enjoying her new life.

In return they told her what was happening in Vegas, being sure to steer clear of anything pertaining to Grissom and his current state. She never asked, which was probably just as well because they were not sure how sure she would react if they told her just how poorly their boss was doing, so they kept the information general and light.

In the field, no-one could tell that Sara's departure had torn them apart inside.

They maintained their professionalism, the solve rate had dropped a little, but that was to be expected, after all they had lost one of the best CSI's the lab had ever had. The only really noticeable difference was that Grissom did not venture into the field as often and kept to himself in his office most shifts. The only one that was happy with this scenario was Ecklie who no longer had to pressure Grissom for reports or budget submissions.

Normality slowly returned to the graveyard shift as the weeks went by. Occasionally Sara would be mentioned and that would jar memories to the surface for all of them and as time passed they were even able to laugh at some of them. Grissom never mentioned Sara and no-one ever mentioned her name within his hearing.

TBC