Chapter Five:
That Somebody
There's a somebody I'm longing to see
I hope that he turns out to be
Someone who'll watch over me
Gershwin
She had a fitful night, waking several times.
Her dreams had been filled with a faceless figure looming over her.
There was something familiar about the figure.
She felt soothed by its presence but then frightened when it disappeared and then reappeared in different shapes.
She felt it was a man but she could never make out the facial features.
She rolled onto her side, closing her eyes once more.
There was a slight sound as she felt the bed give.
"It's just me, Sara."
She smiled as she felt his body against hers.
She started to roll over but his body blocked her.
"Sleep," he urged as his lips kissed her cheek.
"I just want…"
"Not yet," he said softly. "I want you to trust me…completely."
"Grissom, I've always trusted you."
He shifted his weight, grimacing from the movement.
"Still sore?" she asked.
"Yes…if we lie…just like this, I think I can sleep," he explained.
"Night," she whispered.
"Night…my Sara."
So it was you that sent the emails...
I'm "his Sara"...
A delicious warmth spread through out her body.
His lips planted featherlike kisses along her neck.
She sighed at the pleasure, leaning fully into him.
"Is that alright?" she asked quickly.
"Yes…that feels good. I sleep better with you…in my arms."
"So…you have been coming…not a dream."
"Only a few times when I needed to know…to feel…make sure you were okay."
She relaxed in his arms, liking the way his body felt next to hers.
It was a safe and warm feeling that surrounded her, a feeling that had eluded her since childhood.
She was disappointed when she woke to find he was gone.
She rolled over, hugging the pillow he had used.
When she first came to Vegas she had given him a key to her apartment.
She lied, telling him it was just in case she locked herself out or worse, something had happened to her and they needed to get inside her apartment.
He seemed flustered by taking the key but she quickly handed him the papers giving him legal power of attorney for medical purposes, explaining she had no family to act on her behalf.
"My boss in San Francisco agreed to act on my behalf but now that I'm here…I just thought that you could help me out."
"Oh, sure."
"Well, okay then. I think I have myself covered in case anything happens."
He glanced through the paperwork.
"It's just a standard form…nothing heroic."
His hand caressed the key to her apartment.
His face reddened as if he were completely embarrassed over the situation.
"I used to lock myself out a lot," she quickly explained. "My boss was a real life saver."
He nodded not knowing what to say.
"Well, thank you."
Her phone rang and she crawled out of bed and got it.
"Sidle."
"Sara…this is Grissom."
She knew it was him by the caller I.D. but she said nothing, smiling at the sound of his voice that was filled with concern…and a hint of something else.
She smiled. "Hey."
"Sara, do you mind if Brass and I come over and run through the events…for report purposes?"
"Of course not. Hey Grissom, could you bring coffee from the café. I would really love some coffee."
"The Café? Where is the café?"
She sat up. "The café around the block…you know the one…"
Grissom interrupted. "We'll find it. Ecklie is here. We'll be there in an hour or so."
She showered and then made the bed.
Her head felt much better but the ribs remained sore. It was a miracle she had not been crushed by the lumber.
She smiled when she opened the door and Brass handed her a large cup of coffee.
"Hey kiddo. How are the ribs?" he asked.
"Better."
She was disappointed that Grissom was not with him and Brass caught her disappointment.
"Grissom got tied up with Ecklie and the undersheriff."
"Well, that's never good," she replied.
Brass chuckled. "Let's have a seat and go over some things."
"Is there a problem?" she asked.
"No…no…we just need your input."
"Okay."
"Are you sure you're up to this?" he inquired.
"I'm good…not in the hospital like Nick," she countered.
"I know, I know but you know things have been a little…who am I kidding…it's been hell these past few weeks and now this happened. I just want to make sure you're okay."
She hugged him slightly making him blush but he was used to receiving this show of affection from Sara.
She was the one weakest for him, always partial to the gap-toothed woman whose smile always seemed to warm him on cold nights.
"I would tell you if I wasn't feeling okay…but just you," she teased.
He smiled, knowing that she was telling him the truth.
He'd learned that Sara trusted few people and he was glad to be one of them.
"Let's start from the beginning," he directed.
They sat down across from one another as she smiled but then went into work mode in a split second.
He loved that about her.
"Nick and I entered the warehouse. There was lumber stacked on both sides of the narrow walk way. We heard something above us and saw a figure…someone was walking on top of the lumber. Shots were fired at us as we dodged from side to side. The person kept jumping from side to side, attempting to get a clear shot of us. Nick pulled me out of the line of fire more than once. We both fired off a few rounds. I thought I had shot him but when the bullets kept flying…"
"Actually you did. Ballistics matched a bullet pulled from the assailant to your weapon. It wasn't the bullet that killed him. Mine did," he added quickly.
"He almost killed us. The last time he jumped over to the other side, the lumber slid down on top of us. My gun slid across the floor and Nick shielded me with his body."
"Sara…this is the part that doesn't make sense. Nick could not have shielded you because he was trapped under the lumber. We had to pull both of you out."
She looked confused. "Maybe after he shielded me, the lumber shifted again and it fell on him."
I didn't hear lumber falling a second time…
This doesn't make sense…
"Your blouse…had blood on the back of it. Doc initially thought you had been wounded…perhaps shot but there were no marks on your body. The blood was typed and…it didn't belong to you…or Nick. There was also blood on the concrete floor where you were found. It also matched the blood on your blouse."
"I don't understand. There wasn't anyone there except the three of us. Nick, me and…the guy shooting at us."
"We crossed checked the assailant's blood to the blood on your blouse and it was not a match. Someone else…was there."
"Jim, I would know. I wasn't unconscious. Maybe…the blood was already on the floor…and I somehow got it on my blouse."
I don't remember seeing a pool of blood…
I'm trained to notice these things…
How could I miss something like that?
How could Nick have missed the same thing?
"Jim, I'm positive Nick shielded me. I was gasping for air and Nick covered his body over mine. I heard gun fire and then…Nick cried out. He'd been shot. He fell away… I couldn't see him anymore. I was afraid he'd been killed."
Brass sighed. "Nick's memory is a little hazy. He doesn't remember it exactly like that."
"How does he remember it?" she asked.
"He remembers trying to get off a shot but got hit in the shoulder just before the lumber slid down trapping both of you. He said he passed out and doesn't remember anything until the medics arrived."
Brass finished his coffee. "Sara, if he'd been shot leaning over you then the bullet would have entered his back. Doc checked. Nick was shot from the front."
"I can't explain…the discrepancies."
Brass patted her knee. "It was probably there…maybe with the dim lighting, the bullets flying both of you over looked the blood."
"Could it have belonged to the victim?" she asked. "Nick and I never saw the body…Doc did."
"The blood doesn't match but then again, it could belong to someone involved in the murder…or another vic whose body wasn't left behind."
She nodded.
"Sara, are you okay? You look a little flushed."
"Headache."
His hand slipped into hers and she squeezed it gently before releasing it.
"I have a hard head," she pressed.
"That you do which is why I'm going to insist on mentioning the headache to Grissom."
"But…"
"They can handle the unit. What they can't handle is worrying about you if you come back when you're not ready."
"I am. Look…"
"I have a hard head too," he pointed out.
She frowned.
"Don't come back until you're ready."
He knew she was disappointed in not seeing Grissom.
He'd chastised the man for bowing out at the last minute.
"I heard they were working into a double… but Ecklie can pull from the other shifts."
Later, she picked up her phone and started to call him to assure him that she was fine, knowing Brass might overly dramatize the headache bit but his phone rolled over to voicemail.
"Hey, it's me. Sorry you're working a double. Listen, Brass may have told you…I'm good….really. I'll see you soon."
She closed the phone and then stretched out on the couch closing her eyes.
He'll come soon…
The headache returned and she reluctantly took something for it, returning to the couch, drifting off immediately.
Visions of a faceless man reappeared in her dreams but she wasn't afraid.
Instead she ran toward him, hoping to figure out the identity of this person but she couldn't get close enough.
She stirred slightly when a hand gently stroked her hair.
He grinned at how easy it was to comfort her while she slept.
Boldly he lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the bed that was already turned down.
Her eyes fluttered but by then he was lying next to her, his arms wrapped securely around her.
He knew the pain medication would give some much needed sleep.
I know you, Sara...
You know things don't add up...
You're working the case even when you've been confined to the apartment...
He kissed her gently, struggling with his inner emotions as he slipped away.
She didn't know what to think when she woke in her bed rather than the couch, having no recollection of coming to bed.
Her head was still fuzzy and she felt tired as if she had been working rather than sleeping.
She didn't like loose ends and there were just too many discrepancies.
The event was crystal clear in her mind and she knew that it was Nick who had protected her from the assailant.
She could not explain the bullet wound.
The more she thought about it the more her head ached.
Something was amiss and she spent the day going through every minute detail of the case.
The unexplained blood on her blouse bothered her.
She assumed it was Nick's.
It made sense that it was Nick's. His body would have been covering hers.
She could not sleep, tossing and turning.
A phone call from Nick did not help clear up any of the confusion.
He downplayed the hero part as she expected he would.
Nick was the kind of guy a girl could proudly bring home to meet the family.
Sara sighed.
She never took anyone home to meet her family, trying to hide the violent nature of her father.
She was glad when Greg dropped off her car.
The next time she got stir crazy, she would take a drive.
Her head warned her she would not be doing that for awhile.
She felt sorry for the guys.
Greg and Warrick looked exhausted.
"Sorry guys that I can't help…yet," she lamented.
"Just get plenty of rest because you're going to need it when you return," yawned Warrick.
"Did Brass tell you about the results of the blood found on your blouse?" asked Greg.
"Unknown source."
"The blood was unique….whoever had this blood must have some major health issues," replied Greg.
"What do you mean?" asked Sara.
"It's nothing like I've ever seen. There was some unknown substance…mixed in with the white and red blood cells."
"Could it have come from an animal? Wait, maybe someone was experimenting with blood…had a sample…that would explain the blood at the scene."
"If you ask me, I think the blood doesn't have any connection with the case."
Greg's conversation baffled her even more.
She glanced at her watch then checked her email.
She was not used to idle time but she also knew driving was out of the question.
"Okay…I can get a cab…just don't think about the germs," she said aloud.
Grissom's head shot up when he caught sight of her walking down the hall in the lab.
He removed his gloves and came to the door, calling her name.
She turned and smiled.
"Hey, I came to talk with you," she said.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes inspecting her from head to toe.
She felt herself blush from the act since she had purposely taken a little more time choosing an outfit.
Her hair was actually styled and she was wearing makeup, something she rarely did.
To his surprise she was wearing perfume.
Her appearance seemed to unsettle him.
Work and the way she was looking at him was not a good combination at the moment, needing to focus all of his attention on the case before him.
He felt sleep deprived, not able to stop his mind from wondering what would have happened if Sara had been seriously injured in that warehouse.
Worse, he could not imagine losing her.
The thought was too painful to even consider.
"I'm a bit busy," he said as he nodded toward the table.
"Can I help?" she asked.
"Sara, you're on medical leave," he reminded her.
"Griss…you know I'm better. Let me help."
He hesitated as he observed her, grateful to see with his own eyes that she was better.
His sleep had been haunted with being called to a scene to process Sara's body.
He needed a good night's sleep soon and perhaps her little visit would put his fears to rest.
"You can report tomorrow evening," he said as he turned his attention to the evidence lying before him.
She stepped into the room, shutting the door.
He glanced at her action but tried to concentrate on his work.
"Brass came by. He told me that Nick's statement does not match mine."
"It's understandable. He was shot…you suffered a head injury."
She licked her lips as she moved closer.
"My memory…is accurate. I just can't explain the blood."
He took a deep breath. "Sara…Nick was not shot from behind…his wound supports his statement. Look, he said he was trying to shield you as much as possible…when the lumber fell, you lost consciousness…and just…"
"No…Griss, I fired a shot and then Nick…I know what happened."
"Sara, the assailant was killed by Brass. He was cleared today…let's just let it go."
She leaned in close. "You look tired. Are you sure I can't help now?"
He smiled at her gesture.
"Tomorrow."
She appeared to be pouting.
He glanced at her briefly. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"
She smiled. "I sleep better when…I'm not alone."
He dropped the piece of evidence.
"How about you?" she asked.
He cleared his throat. "Me?"
"Have you been sleeping better?"
"I sleep fine."
She looked at the bloodied knife on the layout table. "Sleeping with someone…keeps the nightmares away."
He looked over his glasses.
"I think there's a fingerprint at the end of the knife," she observed.
He checked but then frowned when he found one.
"Night," she whispered as she walked toward the door.
His eyes could not help but follow her.
"I'm glad I gave you that key…years ago. I'll wait up for you."
His jaw dropped at the insinuation.
Sara had never been this bold.
His beeper went off and he quickly turned it off intent to clear up the matter of the "key" but she was already gone.
Note from author:
Ok...several hints were in this chapter...chapter six is coming up and that is the chapter where you get to find out...what's going on...
Take care!
Penny