Title: Wuthering Souls

Disclaimers: Sadly, I do not own anything or anybody related to CSI.

A/N: I don't know, just hope that you still remember this story and me after all this time. I didn't plan to disappear but I have no other excuse just the typical: real life played tricks on me…but this time, it seems it lost its energy, so it stopped making my life difficult. So I am back and full of vim and vigor!

Chapter Three

1 March 2001 at 2 pm, Las Vegas, the USA, Grissom's townhouse

Headache. Massive pain. Sara Sidle did not often wake up to a killing headache but it seemed this day would be one of those rare ones. She simply was not able to open her eyes yet. Bright sunshine filled up the room that normally would mean a new and fresh beginning but not today. Sara tried to turn onto her side but even a slight movement hurt. It was not something she had been used to. The woman was used to pain, she remembered how a broken bone could hurt, she knew how the heart could bleed from sorrow but this pain was new. At least new in its intensity. Could a migraine hurt like this? she was wondering. Could it be like Grissom's pain when a migraine hit him full force?

"No!" she hit the bed-sheet with her fist as she croaked. "Grissom again …everything is about him…him…him!"

It was maddening that her last and first thoughts were that certain man who most probably was sleeping like a baby in his bed and was not worrying about her or about her agitated feelings. This resurfacing anger gave Sara some strength to open her eyes so she could get up.

As she sat up, Sara wanted to open her eyes but it was too bright in the room. She did not even understand why because her room was always like a black hole that lacked even a slight ray of light at sleep time. Had she been that stressed out to close the bedroom drapes? No, she remembered closing them and then going to bed, she could recall everything she had done. The sad feelings about Pamela Adler, Grissom's cruel or rather said emotionless words and the crystal she had been holding before crying herself into slumber.

At the thought of that mineral, Sara opened her eyes to find it but at that moment her breath caught in her chest. There was nothing that could prevent her from looking around. Neither the headache nor the blinding light. She did not recognize anything. Panic was developing in the room instantly.

"What the…hell?"

Sara got up quickly and got dizzy as she was trying to solve this mystery. She thought she remembered everything and now she was in a stranger's home. Another strike of headache attacked her that made her close her eyes again but the young woman felt tears welled up and started to fall over.

"This can't be happening…and talking to myself is never a good sign either," she whispered.

She tentatively looked right and then left but did not recognize anything. Then suddenly a tiny plastic box caught her eyes. It said 'Prescribed for Gil Grissom, born 17 Aug 1956'. His medicine for migraine.

"It's impossible!" she stammered and stayed in bed waiting for the inescapable and humiliating walk of shame. "How did I get here at all?"

After a few seconds, Sara was unable to just sit there so she left the bed that smelled so good and…Grissom and walked toward a room she suspected was the bathroom.

In sense of guilt, she looked at her toes like a little child who did something bad and another shock hit her. She was wearing pajama-bottom. Pajamas? She never slept in pajamas. And those toes seemed so unfamiliar…

"Hairy toes?"

Sara had no much time to ponder on it as she looked up and the first thing she looked at was the mirror on the wall. She had expected to see the embarrassed Sara Sidle but the person who was looking back at her was a man who mysteriously reminded her of Gil Grissom.

For a long minute, she was just standing there not even dared to move or breathe. The man did the same. She blinked…so did the man. She moved…so did Grissom.

Probably, an average person would scream in this situation but Sara was standing there and trying to comprehend what she was experiencing.

"If there is the 'he'…then where is the 'she'?"

Sara slowly inched toward the reflection that was supposed to be her but apparently was Grissom. At the very same time, Grissom seemed to approach her, too. His look was terrified and suspicious.

Sara touched the mirror and some kind of a warm feeling flooded her. Grissom's eyes radiated warmness, too and soon a loving smile appeared on his face. The sudden happiness caused slight pain in Sara's heart so she gripped the T-shirt above her heart. Grissom did the same.

Sara tore her stare from him and looked down to her hand and the spell was broken. She touched flat chest, she felt muscular breast. It was not hers…just like the loving smile was not his either. Her short lived happiness was only an illusion.

She looked back into the mirror and this time, she got afraid. What the hell is going on, she asked wordlessly. She knew who she was but it seemed what she saw now was an illusion. Illusion or insanity. So many times she had imagined that she would wake up in his bed or that Grissom would look back at her in the mirror but now it felt rather disturbing than thrilling.

Even though the realization in the bathroom scared her, she did not want to wake up from this dream. It felt so real…it felt so unique. And as it was only a dream, she thought, why not to enjoy it a little longer. Mischievous chuckle left Sara's mouth.

"Well, Mr. Grissom…in my dream I can do anything to you…with you," she told her own reflection. "Did you say something? No? Well…smile!"

And as Sara laughed, her reflection laughed too. "See? It's not that difficult."

"Now, tell me that I was right with the Adler case!"

Nothing happened.

"You can nod," she played and Grissom nodded.

Sara loved this game and driven from sudden braveness, she ordered Grissom to strip.

Again, nothing happened.

This time, Sara did not smile either. Grissom did not want to show her his body…not even in her dream. She played with the thought of offering that she was going to show him her naked body first but then she saddened hopelessly.

"I won't force you, Grissom. Now I can wake up," she said and waited for the even sadder wake-time to come.

The woman waited and waited but the feared reality never came. She went back to his bedroom and called for him but no one answered. Slowly walking to the window, she looked through it. Everything appeared so real. The noises, the people and the wind. She now wanted to wake up, it all felt very surreal. Her being in Grissom's house felt inappropriate. Even the window-pane mirrored Grissom's face so she stepped back immediately.

Sara started to panic so she sat on the edge of his bed and tried to calm herself by burying her face into her hands. She felt that her skin was rough and she had much shorter hair. As she finally looked at her hands she realized that they were not feminine. They were his hands…not hers.

She ran back to the bathroom to see who she was at last and this time, she did not feel laughing. Once again in an hour, she was just standing there staring at the figure in the mirror. It was him or was it her in his body?

"What the hell is going on? Is it like being insane? Am I crazy? It is impossible! Why would it be impossible? It would not be unheard of in your family."

She could hardly breathe, "Sara! You're an adult woman, a serious CSI…in Grissom's body…now, I'm officially insane."

CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR

2 March 2001 at 11 am, Amarna, Egypt

Raining. In Egypt, water was always a welcomed and precious gift from the gracious Aten. And it was raining in Amarna for hours. Right after the surface had again fallen into a slumber, the first cold drop of water had hit the ground providing rejuvenation for all creatures in the ancient city of Akhetaten.

In the dim room, there were only a few candles that gave some light. The mystic paintings on the walls were dancing in mysterious light and it made the feeling for the priests standing around the imposing altar that the figures in the frescos came to life. The yellow disk on the highest wall with rays reaching to the earth looked like the Sun on fire. At the end of each ray there were hands depicted which extended the ankh to the pharaoh. In the middle of the disk, there was a huge eye. As the candle light kissed the wall, the eye was shining like nothing could shine in the world. No one dared to look straight into it.

The High Priest was spreading his arms wide and keeping them up high with his palms facing the excellence picture of Aten. All the twelve priests were now on their knees on the other side of the altar keeping their eyes strictly on the ground.

"Aten, thou lord of beams of light, when thou shinest, all faces live," the High Priest started. "We all came together now to get prepare to give thou the thing we most care for in all the world. We hold out our bodies and souls on humble tray, oh noble Aten. Thou re-birth in every sunrise and die in every sunset, thou so merciful, thou so eternal."

The priests knew that they were allowed to stand up now and their discussion was going to start soon. Their desire and intention of recovering the original glory of Aten were so strong that they were ready to do anything and everything. What Maia – Tutankhaten's wet-nurse – had started thousand and thousand years ago had torn the glorious kingdom apart ruining the balance in life. Until the balance set back, no human could find peace, no one could find honest solace or love.

"It's happening again…we all know that. Aten showed me last night and revealed it to you at dawn. Now, we were given a new chance to prove our Majesty our devotion and love," he continued.

"We are working tirelessly to cleanse the world of all its evil practices and magic," one priest added.

"Our time is ticking. The crystal…it possesses two souls again. Its shining stole the shining of the Sun not respecting Aten, therefore those who held and used the crystal are suspicion of treason."

"We must find them," they yelled, "we must punish them and destroy the crystal once and for all."

"But we failed all the time we tried," one shouted.

"We have no right to fight our fate. We have to find them. But now we didn't even know where to start to look for them."

There was only one priest who had remained on the ground sitting while the others had risen to stand after the High Priest's speech. This man was six feet, 4 inches tall with shoulders wide enough to block any attack. But no star athlete would ever wish for such a defect he had. He rather looked like someone who was in the shadow of death. His skin was pale, almost translucent and his eyes lacked the usual sparkle that every living person had. Priest Selim had never seen what the world looked like. But he saw things only could be seen by mind and spirit.

Priest Selim lifted his head for the first time after he had been escorted in the chamber, "Fake bird will take you to fake home…where nothing is what it looks like."

"Did you see a dream again?" the High Priest turned to the blind man.

"Iron bird salutes Aten and takes you to a far land where sin rules. They have pyramids but they are all deceitful. They don't know Aten, however our Majesty shows his power every day to them."

"Where is this place?"

"Too far…it's a young land without history…but owns every pride of us. They built pyramids but don't know Aten, they even have the Great Sphinx and they don't fear looking into his eyes."

"Then we are going to find this young country, tame the iron bird and order him to take us to this city of sin."

"Find a man with strong will and a woman with stronger mind but be careful!" Priest Selim murmured.

"You will join Priest Fadil in the adventure and do not return until the crystal is destroyed."

"How to punish the fallen?"

When the High Priest mimed the priests to silence the two, Priest Fadil asked, "With your Highness's permission?"

"Granted. And now, be ready for the journey."

CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR- CSI-GSR

1 March 2001 at 6 pm, Las Vegas, the USA, Grissom's townhouse

In twenty minutes, Sara needed to leave for work but she still was sitting on the floor with his mobile phone in her hands. She had dialed her own number many times but the other end of the call had never answered. Sara had hoped that if it had really been only a surreal dream and she would had been really her, then the sane Sara would had picked up the phone as she always did. But this hope had vanished after many vain attempts of calling herself.

Whenever she had tried his number, the line had signaled busy…Then she had dialed his land line number and the phone had started to ring next to her. She had wanted a bottle of beer but had found only water and scotch. Sara hated scotch; it was Grissom's favorite drink…and what else to find in his own home.

At last, Sara got up from her little spot and took a deep breath, "If I'm here, then where are you, Grissom?"

It was a weird feeling that even "her" voice was not hers but his. At first, she had been talking a lot to enjoy his voice but then it had lost its funny side. His voice still warmed her but now she had to concentrate on the time passed.

"I need to get ready…I need to change clothes…I need to take a shower…but shower means…don't panic Sara…probably this was your last time you can see him naked…but it's like harassment…"

Sara Sidle was on the edge of crying when she could hear the doorbell. She paced the room, she wanted to hide but somebody was determined enough.

She tiptoed to the door and very-very carefully caressed the spy-hole lid to the side. Without blinking, she peeked through it and felt she was going to faint.

"Can't be happening," she whispered at the sight of herself on the other side of the door.

TBC