15. Forget me not

"Did you make Crawford change his mind and change the ammo?" Sara asked when Sofia sat across to her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The blonde didn't smile, her face was stoic.

"First he couldn't wait to arrest me, or at least book me, then he goes after Basderic and changes the ammo. Somebody ordered him to change his mind."

"I didn't order detective Crawford to do anything."

"Not?"

"No." It wasn't her job to tell a detective what to do, how to handle a case. She trusted them, trusted, they know what they were doing every day.

"Are you mad at me, Sofia?"

"I am. What the hell were you thinking when you went after Basderic alone? You, from all people, should know how fucked up he is, that he plays people and in the end kills them. He did the same before, you knew it. How could you walk into his trap? He was about to do the same to you."

"I tried to tell people he's after everything, nobody believed me."

"Not true. They did believe you, but they had to follow the evidence. I know Grissom used to say the evidence never lies and he is right. Evidence doesn't lie. You only have to find all evidence. Which was the problem with your case, the evidence against you was presented on a silver plate and they couldn't just ignore it. But his setting you up helped you too. There was no evidence that confirmed his story of you beating him up, nothing. And after that was official, they could look for all the hidden evidence, the evidence, that proved you're innocent. All you had to do was stay out of Basderic's way, make sure he couldn't hurt you more and wait to cooperate with your colleagues. They are your friends, for Christ's sake. You complained they didn't trust you, you did the same. You went Lone Ranger and it almost got you killed if Crawford hadn't taken care of the ammo."

"He did and I knew he did. There was no risk involved."

"What if he had had another gun? It was stupid, it was dangerous and…fuck it, Sara. Why the hell did you not talk to me?" It was what bothered Sofia most. Why did Sara not come to her? Talk to her? Weren't they kind of friends? After all those weeks in the bar, talking about cases and some private stuff, she had expected the brunette to trust her.

"Because you're the Deputy Chief, you have to play by the rules."

"I'm your friend, although it looked like you didn't care much about your friends, don't trust them."

"You off all can't complain. You knew about Grissom's and my problems. More than the guys."

"I did and it's why should you have come to me."

"Are we here to argue? Because if we are, I end the evening here. The last days were stressful enough, I don't need another evening with accusations. I'm tired and I don't want to hear all these things anymore."

"Did you talk to Greg and Nick?"

"I did. I also told them the marriage is over and that it wasn't what I wanted. And I don't think it's what Grissom wanted. Sometimes things don't work out the way you hope they do. And they said, the marriage is or was so important to them because it kept Grissom in Vegas. They all miss him and…I guess I was the connection."

"Yes, you are the connection to Grissom, you kept his memories alive, but you're your own person. You are Sara, not Misses Grissom. They love you because of who you are and not because you are or were married to. Grissom is a part of you, but he's not the part, that makes you you."

"No, that's right."

"I liked the fact you and he were married, you are alike, but I like you for being you. And when you have a problem I want you to come to me and talk to me. Or at least to Greg and Nick. We're your friends, we're there for you, no matter what. No matter what any evidence says. And I hope you got that."

"I did." Sara took Sofia's hand. "I did understand I've got some really good friends." She had the proof.

"Then everything is said and we can continue to have a beer and finish this topic. My treat."

"The best words I heard today." Sara smiled a little bit. It was time to stop thinking about Basderic, there were other things on her mind and maybe today was a good day to open up to Sofia a little bit more. The blonde proved she was a good listener and after the end of her marriage, that could be exactly what she needed. A person, who listened and didn't judge her.