AN: Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks as always to everyone who takes the time to read and review – your guys' words are beyond appreciated. This chapter is a bit longer than usual - hopefully no one minds.
Take care and enjoy.
CHAPTER 29
CATHERINE POV
"How long have we been out here?"
"A long time."
"I mean, really, why call us to a scene when they haven't even cleared it yet?" I breathe out tightly. "Now we have to stand here waiting for God knows how long until they're done."
"Mmm hmm."
"There are so many other things I could be doing right now. Paperwork from about thirty open cases comes to mind."
"Uh huh."
"Then there's just the principle of the matter. We could be working other scenes. Could be fielding other calls. But no, we're stuck here."
"Mm hm."
I turn, looking over at my companion.
"Sidle, are you even listening?"
Glancing up from her phone, she raises a brow.
"Of course I am."
Seeing her expression, I smile lightly, some of the anger leaving me.
Putting her phone away in the back pocket of her jeans, Sara straightens up slightly along her place against the hood of the Tahoe we're leaning against.
"Why call us when the scene's not cleared, thirty open cases, principle of the matter, fielding other calls, stuck here." Sara's eyes stay on mine. "Anything I missed?"
I snort, "Alright, point taken. You're good at multitasking."
Sara smiles slightly, turning her gaze towards the desert trail where our scene lies on the other side of, watching the movement of the flashlights of the cops.
"I try to pay attention when my supervisors speak. Has served me well in my career so far."
I laugh, taking a deep breath to recenter myself.
"Sorry," I offer after I've mostly calmed down. "I didn't mean to be ranting, I'm just frustrated. But, it's not your fault, and you shouldn't have to listen to complaints that have nothing to do with you."
Sara only shrugs, not commenting one way or another.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I try to shield myself from the brisk wind as a new gust comes through the valley.
"If you're cold we can wait inside the Tahoe."
"This scene is a lot further out in the middle of nowhere than Gil led on, I don't want to use up extra gas running the heater. And, without it, the car's probably just as cold as it is out here."
Sara nods, brows furrowing slightly as she watches me hunch tighter against another breeze whipping through the canyon.
Leaning forward, she pulls her sweater from her arms, lifting it over her head in one smooth motion.
"Here."
"Sara, no…" I immediately shake my head. "I'm not taking your sweater and leaving you in your t-shirt."
"And I'm not standing here watching you shivering all shift," Sara counters, sending me a look. "It's just a sweater, Catherine. Take it."
"You have to be freezing…"
"I'm fine."
I narrow my eyes.
"The cold doesn't bother me," she tries again.
Pushing the grey sweater closer to me, she all but presses it into my shoulder.
"I'm not putting it back on. So either you wear it or it'll sit unused in the Tahoe."
I shake my head, "You play dirty, Sidle."
Sara shrugs, not looking apologetic in the least.
"You sure?"
"Take the damn sweater." She lets out a small smile, tone softening. "Please."
I take the offered item, quickly pulling the soft material over my head. While I had a long sleeve blouse on, the thicker woolen material of the sweater immediately does a much better job of blocking out the offensive wind.
Plus, it's still warm from its previous owner.
"Thank you," I tell Sara sincerely.
"Sure," she brushes off the thanks, eyes again focusing on the moving lights ahead of us.
It's been just over a week since my housewarming party. And, while the world didn't suddenly shift on its axis because Sara and I finally shared a hug, no matter how wonderful of a hug it was, I can tell that our relationship has definitely changed.
Sara's still quiet around me, but instead of a thick and tense quiet, the quiet now holds an almost peaceful undertone to it. Not a quiet you feel the need to fill, nor is awkward or oppressive. These silences are just that – silent, calm moments in a world otherwise filled with noise and chaos.
I know better than to think Sara and I are completely okay – that our relationship is now uncomplicated. It's still complicated, but in a different way that's finally less wrought with tension. We're both still figuring the other person out, but at least now we're doing it with hearts that feel more open – more thoughtful and less distrustful.
For the first time it feels like Sara may not be completely closed off to me, a lost cause locked behind too many iron walls. There are still walls, but there's now also rare, brief glimpses of the woman behind them. The woman whom I can't wait to hopefully finally start to get to know better.
Standing up to her full height, Sara gestures towards the hill.
"They're moving closer, I think we're about to get our go ahead."
"Finally."
Sara sends me a small smile, shaking her head as she pushes away from the car.
"This looks familiar."
Sara nods, remaining quiet as seems to be her style for a lot of the cases we've worked together. Offering insights when needed, but not filling the air with unnecessary words.
My own eyes take in the victim, lying face down in the desert sand. The area is deserted, surrounded by high rock canyons just like it was last time. But, instead of evidence of a lot of company, like there obviously was at the rave, there's barely any disturbances to the ground around us.
"I don't think this was another rave," I conclude.
Sara nods, her expression telling me she already came to that same conclusion.
"But it's related," she tells me.
When I look over, she gestures to the deceased's arm.
"Black light tattoos."
Leaning down closer to the body, Sara takes a few photos, eyes roaming over the surrounding area.
"Did they say why it took so long to clear the scene?"
Her tone is strange, slightly tense but controlled. Like she's trying not to sound tense.
"Lot of ground to cover, I suppose, to make sure there's no one else here."
This scene, like the last one, is essentially in the middle of the desert – very few paths or roads leading up to it, but a whole lot of desolate desert surrounding it. Desert that has hills and mountains and overall rough terrain to try to cover.
Looking around us, Sara glances back down to the body before she again glances towards the canyon walls off to our right.
"Sara?"
She swallows, body tense as she looks through her camera, keeping it by her waist and trying to be subtle about what she's doing.
"Sara."
Moving closer to her, I note the way she immediately changes her positioning so that she is again standing between myself and the mountain face, eyes focused on her camera's screen which I can now see is zoomed all the way in to get a closer look along the ridgeline. She's looking for something.
Or, someone.
"Sara."
Glancing up at me briefly, Sara focuses towards the cops who have retreated back to their cars, standing there in case we need them, but clearly focused elsewhere, now far away enough that they can barely be made out in the dim lighting of the early morning.
"The bullet passed through the vic, it's lodged in the rocks beside him," Sara says, gesturing with her shoulder behind her. "The bullet is from a sniper style rifle."
I raise a brow, glancing back over at the body.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
If she's right, and knowing Sara's unrivaled intellegence I have no doubt she's right, this scene takes on a whole new angle. And, now it's clear to me why she's scanning the nearby ridgelines. It's eerie thinking that if someone was up there with a scope, they may still very well be there. Watching us.
Aiming at us.
"Someone lured him out here…" Sara says tightly, not needing to finish the rest of the statement as I take in the discarded motorbike nearby.
"Probably set up a meeting at this location," I continue her unspoken train of thought in agreement. "He thinks he's arrived first, not realizing the person he's meeting is actually already here, set up in the ridgeline to take him out."
There's one tire trail leading away from the vic's motorbike, and now I know not to expect another.
"Sara."
I hate the sound of my voice, the nervousness that's betrayed in my tone. I'm the superior here - if one of us is going to lose their composure, it sure as hell cannot be me.
"We need to get back to the car," I state. "We hold tight until the sun is higher and we have some decent light. I want all these ridgelines canvassed before any of our people gets ambushed in here. We're sitting ducks down in this canyon."
Sara doesn't move, her body stiff as she slowly lowers her camera from her scan of the area, trying to look like she's taking a picture of something near the ground.
"Sidle…"
Shaking her head, Sara's back is rigid, her body so tense that she's nearly immobile.
"Too late. We have company."
"Shit," I keep my voice low, knowing better than to look where she was scanning the ridgeline just moments before.
Instead, I move slightly forward, watching as Sara immediately shadows my movements, like she knows what I'm thinking before I say anything.
Keeping her body in front of mine, she kneels down, pretending to take a close up of something on the ground as I kneel next to her, placing an evidence marker into the sand.
"How many?"
"One that I could see."
I keep my expression steady, pretending to document something as I pull out an evidence bag.
Reaching into her vest for tweezers, Sara picks up our nonexistent evidence, placing it in the bag I hold open for her.
"How do you want to play this?" she asks quietly, keeping her head angled away from the mountain.
"We have two options," I answer, keeping my expression stoic. "We head slowly back to the car, try not to tip him off that we saw him. That we're heading back for another reason. Or, we keep going, waiting until he leaves. If he was going to shoot, he would've done it by now. Seems more like he wants to watch and see what we find."
Sara looks down, taking a few more photos.
"I'll follow your orders," she looks up, eyes steady as they meet mine. "However you want to do this, I'm with you."
I want to reach out to her, take her arm, do something, anything, to communicate what I want to tell her right now. Appreciation for her words, the loyalty and bravery that's behind them. We've barely worked a dozen scenes together, and she's willing to follow my command when it matters most. When our lives literally depend on it. That type of trust is a lot to ask of anyone, but it's particularly a lot to ask of Sara.
But, I can't say anything – not now. Instead, I hope my eyes convey my unspoken sentiments of gratitude for me.
"Working the scene could take hours. We have officers who could unknowingly wander into the line of fire. We need to get back to the car where we can warn them without tipping this guy off. We're open targets down here, he could easily pick us off one by one if he decides. We can't just sit here waiting."
Sara nods, pretending to point to something on the ground as she meets my eyes.
"I'm ready when you are."
Holding her gaze, I nod, taking a chance as I reach over as if I'm trying to get a better view of a picture she took on her camera's screen.
Instead of holding the camera, however, I place my hand over hers where it rests on the dark metal. We stand together, pretending to look closely at the screen.
Squeezing her fingers tightly in mine, I try to convey all I can in that one gesture.
Then, I separate from her, moving to gesture towards the car as if we forgot something and need to head back.
Sara nods, playing along stoically.
I make it about ten feet before a single, deafening shot rings out through the canyon.
Immediately, I'm dropped to the ground, a weight pressing down on me before I feel myself moving without my control. It takes me a moment to realize I'm being dragged along the sandy ground.
Before I can comprehend what's happening, another shot rings out, and I can hear yells coming from the distance as a rock just off to my right explodes into a cloud of dust, shattered pieces raining down around me.
My body is pushed quickly, falling to my right as I am now facedown on the ground, the constant weight on my back.
Another shot rings out, echoing through the canyon.
Feeling the weight above me slowly lift, I turn, noting the large rock directly behind me that's currently providing shelter.
Then, I notice Sara finish pushing herself off me.
"Shit," I curse, my brain finally starting to catch up with everything. Seeing the boulder that's cutting us off from the ridgeline, I glance at my companion.
"You okay?" I ask frantically.
"Yeah," she nods, breathing tight. "You?"
I nod, "Thanks to you," I tell her sincerely, gesturing to our current location that Sara all but dragged me to, probably saving my life as her instincts kicked in perfectly before mine even knew what was happening. Not to mention the young woman diving on top of me to get me down and shelter my body with her own.
"You sure you weren't hit?" I ask her again, beyond appreciative of her actions but hating how she's kept insisting on putting herself between me and this damn madman's line of fire ever since she realized our situation.
Another shot rings out, sending rock dust skittering down around us.
"Our guys are too far out of this canyon to get a shot," I note, noticing the absence of return fire. "To get in position they would be putting themselves right in this guy's crosshairs."
Sara nods, pulling out her own weapon as I do the same.
Right now, we're on our own.
Hearing another crack of a bullet and feeling the rock we're using as shelter literally exploding as more pieces of sharp grey stone rain around us, I shake my head.
"This rock isn't going to hold out much longer. We need to get where our guys are and out of this man's line of sight."
Sara nods, "I can give you cover."
"No," I immediately counter. "We do this together. I'm not leaving you here."
Sara opens her mouth, but is silenced by my hand literally placing itself against her mouth to silence her.
"I'm not arguing this, Sidle," I tell her tightly. "We're in this together. We get out of it together. Both of us."
When I've gotten my point across, I remove my hand, watching as Sara clenches her jaw tightly and turns slightly away.
"Shit," I curse as rock explodes around us, pieces hitting us as they fly through the air, our boulder taking its most violent hit yet.
"You okay?" I ask, watching as Sara moves slightly closer to me as I notice for the first time that the portion of the rock near her shoulder is completely gone, all but incinerated after that last blast.
"Yeah," she gets out, shaking her head as I see her free hand rub at her ear. The blast was nearly deafening for me, and I'm not the one who was right next to it. I would bet Sara's right ear is definitely ringing right now.
Reaching out, I turn her head towards mine.
Sure enough, there's dust and debris covering the right side of her face, down to her shoulder and trailing off towards her hip.
"You good?" I ask her, knowing how badly your balance can be affected when your ears are out of whack.
She nods, shaking her head one last time to clear it as she checks her weapon.
Confirming safeties are off and guns are loaded, she looks at me.
Not knowing what my body is doing before it's already happening, I reach out to pull her towards me by her shirt collar. With my free arm, I embrace her tightly, placing a gentle kiss into her debris ridden hair.
Pulling back, her gaze holds mine as she nods at me with understanding.
"Ready?" I ask.
Swallowing tightly, she gives me a small smile.
"No time like the present I suppose."
Taking her lead, we both move so that we're crouching on our feet, poised and ready to make a break for it.
"On three."
As soon as I reach one, Sara and I leap to our feet, our weapons ringing out into the cold air as we shoot blindly towards the ridge line as we run as fast as we can towards the end of the canyon walls. Towards safety.
There's more than one echoing shot back in our direction, and it's all I can do to keep my gun up and firing as I just keep running.
As I reach the exit from the canyon, I keep running until I reach the safety of our Tahoe, parked directly behind the police cars that now hold multiple officers yelling orders and commands into their radios, doors open as they take shelter behind them, guns pointed towards the canyon entrance.
Skidding down behind our SUV, I reach out and pull Sara down next to me before the brunette can get any ideas of joining our guys.
There's nothing more for us to do, we're CSIs after all, and this is now the responsibility of Vegas PD.
Breathing heavily, I try to get in enough air, feeling my hands shaking as I try to put the safety back on my weapon. The last thing I need is to make it out of a firefight only to shoot myself in the foot because I'm trembling so bad I can barely keep my arm still.
Seeing Sara next to me doing the same, we both try to catch our breaths, the voices of the cops nearly falling into the background as they continue to yell into their radios for backup.
"You okay?" Sara gets out, coughing slightly as she tries to slow her breathing.
"Yes," I answer, feeling enough places stinging to know I've definitely got some scrapes and bruises, but I'll gladly take that over what could've happened. "You?"
Sara nods, her eyes roaming over me to confirm I'm alright before she closes her eyes, head leaning back to land soundly against the Tahoe.
Reaching over, I place my hand on her thigh, fingers grabbing the material of her jeans tightly to ensure that she's here, that she's safe. That we both escaped this nightmare intact.
It feels like a lifetime before backup arrives, cop car after cop car skidding into the valley and police officers organizing themselves to be able to make their way towards the shooter.
Though, I suspect he's long gone by now. It's one thing to take cheap shots when you're the only one at a gun fight with a sniper rifle. It's another when you're faced with cops with equal artillery and bullet proof shielding.
When our portion of the scene is almost vacant as everyone has pressed forward towards the shooter, I look over at my companion who's been silent.
"I think the EMS is here," I state, noting the new sirens and the calls over the radio. "We should probably get checked out."
Sara nods slightly, letting me know she heard me, but makes no move to get up.
It's strange, but I find myself reluctant to leave my position as well. While we realistically can't stay here, sitting here next to Sara right now is the safest I've felt all day. I don't want to get up. I don't want us to be separated as we are each pulled away to give our statements. I want to stay here, right here with Sara, where I know it's finally safe.
But, unfortunately, it's not possible.
Holstering my weapon, I squeeze Sara's leg before removing my hand, pulling myself to my feet. Groaning as my muscles protest the move, I let myself assess the damage. Definitely some angry scrapes along my arms, but the thick material of Sara's sweater and my jeans seem to have held off any more serious damage. Another thing I have to thank Sara for. Noting a few scrapes along my hands and face, I shake my head.
We came so close tonight…
Unable to finish the thought, I glance down.
"Can you stand?" I ask Sara, holding out my hand towards the brunette who's still leaning her head back against the car door with her eyes closed.
Taking a deep breath, Sara nods, lifting her gaze to mine before she pulls herself up.
Looking her over, I see that she fared similarly to myself, definitely a lot of scrapes and bruises, and her previously injured ankle that doesn't look like it appreciated the impromptu workout she just gave it.
"Turn your head," I request, trying to get a better view of her right side that took the brunt of the shot that hit our rock shelter.
Reaching out, I gently angle her chin to the side, getting a view of the side of her head.
"Damn it," I mutter, seeing the scraping along her face that likely matches mine. But, what has me concerned is that some of the blood isn't coming from the grazes, it's coming from inside her ear itself, trailing slowly down her neck where it soaks into her t-shirt.
"I know," she tells me, eyes lifting to mine as she shakes her head again slightly, like she's still trying to get her head to focus.
"Your ear ringing?" I question, knowing mine are definitely buzzing, not only from the sniper shots close to us, but also our own weapons discharging multiple times in close proximity as we tried to create cover for our escape from the canyon.
She nods, hand reaching up to rub her ear.
"Stop, honey," I tell her, moving her hand back down. "It's bleeding a bit, and I think we need to not touch it right now."
Swallowing, Sara nods, and I note how she keeps closing her eyes.
"Are you dizzy?" I question, noting she's acting like Lindsey does when she's ridden on the merry go round too many times and is trying not to throw up.
"A little," Sara answers, all she's willing to admit to.
Dragging her eyes back open, she sees my concern.
"I'm fine, Catherine," she assures me. "I promise."
Looking her over, I let out a shaky breath, trying to steady myself and keep myself that way. I can't fall apart. Not here. Not now.
Reaching forward, I pull Sara towards me, embracing her tightly as this is my first opportunity to truly do so properly, and may be the only one for a while as we are about to be sent in a thousand different directions after the events at this scene. There's going to be statements, debriefings, and about a dozen other things to do.
Holding her tightly, I feel her reach around me to do the same, her chin coming to rest atop my head.
While I wanted our prior hug at her apartment to not be the last, this isn't in a thousand years what I wanted the circumstances to be when we did hug again. I wouldn't have wished this on anyone, ever.
"I'm glad you're okay, Catherine," she tells me quietly, voice soft and sincere.
"Me too," I respond. Holding her tighter, I grip the cotton material of her shirt in my hands. "Thank you for doing what you did, Sara. You probably saved my life back there getting me down and behind that rock."
I shake my head.
"But, I never want you to place my life before yours like that again."
Pulling back slightly, I keep our bodies connected while our heads separate so she can see my eyes.
"Do you understand me?"
Sara swallows, looking away.
"Do you understand me, Sara?"
She's quiet, too quiet.
"My life isn't more important than yours," I tell her sternly.
"You have Lindsey-"
"Don't," I warn her. "Don't you dare. Yes, I'm a mother. But that doesn't make me more valuable than you. You deserve to make it home alive at the end of the day just as much as I do."
I move one of my hands from her back to lay it along the uninjured side of her face.
"No more of this self-sacrificing bullshit, Sidle. First with Gabe, now me. God knows who else. You need to stop acting like you're expendable."
Sara's jaw is tight, her head lowering under my words.
"You're not expendable, Sara." I tilt her head back up until her eyes reach mine. "Not to me."
"Jesus, Cath," Kelly curses, pushing herself to her feet as she greets me in the lab's lobby. Eyes roaming over the scrapes along my skin, she grimaces. "Are you sure you're alright?"
I called Kelly from the station when it became clear that I was going to need a ride home tonight, Lindsey thankfully on a school trip.
I knew I freaked out my friend when the conversation started with "Kel, I promise I'm okay, but there was an incident at work..."
That is not a call anyone ever wants to get from a loved one.
"I'm good," I tell her. "Sore as hell, but damn happy that's all I am."
Pulling me into a hug, Kelly holds me close.
"Sometimes I hate what you do," she tells me. "This is one of those times."
"Hey, cheer up," I laugh lightly, "I could still be a drug addicted stripper."
Kelly laughs, some of the tension leaving us, "True."
Pulling back, she grabs her keys, giving my hand a squeeze. "Ready to head out of here? Get you home for a warm shower and some pain killers?"
"Definitely."
Making our way outside, I walk towards Kelly's car when I see the person two cars down.
"Sara?"
Head jerking up, the brunette looks like she just got caught trying to steal something.
"Hey," she offers, trying to sound casual. "You finished with your statement?"
"Yeah, you?"
"Yup."
Looking at her curiously, I finally note what she's doing.
"You're not trying to drive home, are you?" I ask, eyes wide.
Definitely caught in the act, Sara shrugs. "No…"
Seeing my glare, she blushes slightly. "Maybe…"
"Sidle. No." Walking up to her, I hold out my hand. "Give me your keys, right now."
She hesitates, eyes moving between me and her Jeep.
"Now!"
Reluctantly, Sara holds out her hand, my own hand snatching the keys away a second later.
"Vertigo, headache, loss of balance…any of this sounding familiar? Any of this sounding like someone who should be driving?"
Sara looks at me.
"I'm your supervisor and the senior CSI on that scene. I get copies of the incident report."
Seeing her expression I almost want to smile – she knows she's beat.
"Get in," I tell her, gesturing to our car. "I had the better sense to not try to get myself killed on the road tonight by driving when I'm this shaken. Apparently common sense isn't as common as I'd hoped."
For the first time, Sara seems to notice the other person standing by the driver's door of the car I'm gesturing to. Her eyes meet Kelly's and then she looks away, expression tense.
"I can ask one of the guys."
"Sidle, get in the car."
Swallowing, Sara slowly looks up.
"Now."
After nearly two full minutes of silence, Sara finally makes her way towards Kelly's sedan.
"I have…blood…"
She gestures towards her jeans and t-shirt, various blood spatters staining the material.
"Don't worry about it," Kelly assures her. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Sara immediately cuts off Kelly's concern, tone polite but far from warm.
Eventually concluding she's not going to win this battle, Sara opens the back door, getting inside as we do the same.
It's a very silent ride that follows.
And, it gets even quieter when Sara realizes we're passing her part of town. Perhaps anticipating what's coming, her expression darkens in the mirror as I look back.
"You're not staying alone tonight," I answer her unspoken question. "Not with a head injury."
"It's not a head injury."
"Please, Sara."
Taking a deep breath, I look over my shoulder to meet her gaze directly.
"Lindsey is away tonight, and I really don't think either of us should be alone right now."
"Kelly…"
"Is busy."
Sara swallows.
"Sara…" I trail off, not sure how to express what I really want to. "I don't think you should alone tonight after how disoriented and dizzy you were after the shooting. But, I also don't want to be alone in my empty, dark house either. Not when that damn shooter is still out there."
It's clear that our shooter is on edge, taking shots at us when he could have remained hidden makes me think he's nervous about this case. Nervous that the evidence we collected today could finally give him and his identity away. Today was a bold move on his part, and in my experience criminals start making bold moves when they've messed up. I feel like this scene was pivotal, and that there's a key piece of evidence there the killer is nervous about us finding, one he didn't have enough time to remedy himself before the cops arrived. He screwed up, and now we just need to figure out how.
But, in the meantime, we have to pray he doesn't make any more bold, desperate moves.
I swallow hard to keep my voice steady, "I was scared shitless today, Sar. I thought I was going to die. I'm still fucking terrified and the last thing I want is to be left alone with my thoughts. It's selfish, but it's true. And I'm not too proud to admit it."
Yes, I could ask Kelly to stay. But, I don't want to make Kelly more scared than she already is, put her in the position of having to listen to her friend describe how she was nearly executed at a crime scene. Right now, I want someone who already understands what I went through and my current frame of mind without me having to say a damn thing because she also lived through the terror of today.
Again, it's selfish but honest.
I can see the hesitance in Sara's expression, the weight of this request for someone like her.
But, eventually she nods, giving in to my request. She protected me today at that scene, and she's still willing to protect me after it. If letting my ego down enough to show my fear is what it takes to keep both Sara and I safe and calm tonight, I don't regret a thing. And, whether she's too stubborn to admit it to herself or not, I think Sara could use the company tonight just as much as me.
The rest of the ride is silent, Kelly watching on quietly as we pull into my drive and get out of the car.
"I'll pick you up in the morning," she says. "Take you to the lab to get your cars."
"Thank you, Kel," I tell her, leaning in through her open window to give her a hug. "I really appreciate this."
"Take care of yourself," Kelly says, eyes moving from me to the brunette. "Both of you."
Without another word, she drives off, leaving Sara and I alone for the first time since our scene.
AN: Thanks for reading.