Sara sighed as she glanced at the wall fragment they'd removed from construction site. She couldn't match the blood splatter pattern to save her life. Realizing she needed help she headed to the one place where she wouldn't be turned away. Heading to Grissom's office, she found him filling out the paperwork that was he was behind on. Part of her didn't want to disturb him but she had tried different methods of matching the blood with no success.
"Hey." She stood in the doorway and he looked up. "I need help."
He waved her in, something he needed to stop doing with Sara because she was always welcome. "What can I help you with?"
"This blood splatter pattern is off. I've tried so many ways to match it and I got nothing." She sighed, "you should see the garage and the layout room, I tried so many times to recreate it."
Grissom held out his hand and she handed the file to him. As he started to read over the file, he glanced up at her. "Take a break and eat dinner. Call in whatever you want."
"Whatever I want?" Sara smiled, "even that new vegan burger place I like that's massively overpriced?"
He nodded as he watched her speak. "Go on."
"I so love you right now." She stated while turning to leave his office, Greg was in the hallway as she did so.
"Oh, what did Grissom do now to deserve some love?" Greg asked her once he was in the hall.
Sara smirked, "buying us dinner, whatever we want."
"Out of his pocket or lab pocket."
"His own." Sara nudged Greg's arm. "I'm ordering from that new vegan place I love. You like their bean burger, right?"
"Oh yeah. For being vegan, that place makes a mean bean burger."
Sara grinned, "okay, I'm ordering."
Judy called from the front desk to let her know that food had arrived so Sara ducted into Grissom's office to get the money. He wasn't there so she tried the layout room and found him observing the splatter patterns she'd tried to recreate. He turned to see her and she smiled as she moved inside the room.
"Two patterns in one." He stated as he grabbed a permanent marker from the table to circle each pattern.
"Food is here." She stated and watched him grab his wallet out of his back pocket. "Thirty."
He chuckled under his breath. "You're feeding Greg too, aren't you?"
Sara smirked, "is that a problem?"
"No." He handed her the cash. "Take your time and eat, there's no rush to get back here to these blood patterns. I have to figure out how you have two patterns but one victim."
Grissom sat in his office doing paperwork while Sara sat on the floor of his office reading a book when Greg came running into the room. Both looked up from where they were as Greg wasn't known to run unless absolutely necessary and definitely not in the lab. He seemed out of breath and as he caught his breath, Sara stood up and walked over to them.
"Greg, what is it?"
Grissom took off his glasses and sat up as Greg was able to string together a sentence. "Nick, he's been taken, kidnapped."
"What!" Grissom stood up and Greg nodded as he looked between the two.
Sara caught Greg's attention, "go collect all of the cases Nick has been working on this year. Open and closed. Go now."
Greg nodded and left the office as Grissom rounded his desk. He put a hand on Sara's arm and met her eyes. "I'm going to go out to the scene, Catherine will likely go with me. I need you here to run the lab side of things until we get back."
"Yeah, I can do that."
Despite his open door, he cupped her cheek. "I don't want you leaving the lab until Nick is found unless you're with another CSI or Brass. I have Nick missing, I can't have you missing too because we both know who I'd be looking for between the two of you. If Ecklie insists you clock out, stay in my office. You understand?"
Sara nodded, "yeah." He kissed her forehead before turning to grab his kit.
Grissom ducked his head into the layout room to see Sara going everything they had. She had trouble watching the video so Warrick stayed with Archie. She looked up as he stood in the doorway and he motioned for her to join him.
"Anything?"
"I'm making the money drop." His voice lowered a fraction. "Catherine got it from Braun." He put up a hand when she opened her mouth. "You're going with me but you're staying in the vehicle. Warrick is on the feed, Catherine can't get within a mile of the cash, and Greg is still new. Cops will spook this guy but I need someone there."
"Okay." Sara told him.
The ride was tense and Grissom spent it holding Sara's hand. She was uneasy and angry but she was holding herself together remarkably well. Arriving at the scene, he put the SUV in park and glanced at the backseat where the bag of money was. Sara followed his glance and reached to her side, pulling her weapon. He watched her hold it out to him.
"Take it. You won't let me go with you so take it." Sara insisted so he took the weapon and it's holder.
"Sara…" He caught her chin and her eyes settled on him. "Whatever happens, if I'm not out in ten minutes, call dispatch."
She nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt to hug him. He held her as he heard her speak. "I love you." She pulled back a fraction and looked him straight in the eyes. "I've only gotten weeks with you and you promised years, so you better come out. You better come back to me."
"Sara…" He cupped her cheek. "I want you to know something. No matter what happens today or tomorrow, being with you has been the happiest I've ever been in my life. I don't say it enough but I love you."
"Go, we need to get Nick back."
"Stay here." He stated and got out of the vehicle.
Time seemed to stretch and Sara found herself holding the radio as she watched the clock count down. Before it had reached ten minutes, the building exploded and she dropped the radio. Opening the door, she ran to the building despite the still falling debris. "GIL!" She paused in the torn doorway and bent over as dread filled her. "Gil." She whispered as tears filled her eyes. "No. No. No." Knowing what she had to do, she turned and walked back to the SUV, trying not to cry. Grabbing the radio inside, she sent the call. "This is Charlie 05 Sidle, I need Bomb Squad, EMS, CSI, and the Coroner to 4672 Carney Lane. Charlie 01 Grissom is down." Once the radio dropped from her hand, she leaned against the car and let herself cry. "I love you too." She whispered. "Forever."
"Sara!" Sara heard her name and she looked over to see Grissom in the doorway. He looked horrible but he was alive. A sob escaped her as she ran towards the building but as his feet touched the ground, he put out his hands to stop her from embracing him. "Don't touch me, I have evidence on me." The expression on her face tore him. "I know my darling, I know."
Sara did her best to control herself. "I told dispatch to send everyone. I thought you were down so I told them you were." She brushed back her tears with her hands before pausing. "We have the SUV and the kits. I need to get the evidence off you before we lose it. Stay here." She used the walk to the SUV to calm herself. Throwing open the back, she grabbed Grissom's emergency kit that was always packed in his work SUV during shift. She grabbed the camera from where it sat beside the kit and gloves. They were too big for her hands but they would have to make do since her kit wasn't available.
She returned just as police and EMS arrived but she put out a hand as the paramedics hopped out of their rig. Grissom beat her to it as he spoke to him. "Give her five minutes, I have evidence on me."
Sara turned to the paramedics, "do you have a sheet?"
"Yeah." The paramedic ran to the back of the rig and came back with a sheet. "What do you need?"
"Lay it out on the ground." Sara turned to Grissom as he stepped onto the sheet. "You know the drill."
CSI arrived as Sara got done with photographs and was collecting swabs and particulates from Grissom's clothes. Catherine and Warrick came running over past the crime scene line to see Sara working and Grissom being patient as she worked to collect everything.
"Oh thank God." Catherine stated as she and Warrick stopped at the edge of the sheet laid out. "Sara radioed that you were down."
Grissom nodded. "She thought I was. I was on the edge of the explosion so I was unharmed but it took a few moments for my mind to catch up."
"You need help Sara?" Warrick asked her and she looked up from where she was bent over collecting evidence from Grissom's pants.
"I'm almost done." She swabbed trace on Grissom's shoe and then stood up. "That's everything." She turned to the paramedics, "he's all yours once he clears the sheet."
Warrick helped Sara fold the sheet once Grissom was off of it. He helped her take bindles and bags of evidence to the SUV. He put his hand on her shoulder and she nodded silently that she was okay. "I can't imagine what you were thinking when you called that in."
"I'm going to get in overalls and start processing."
"You don't have a kit with you."
She looked at him. "I have Grissom's spare. He won't mind me using it to process the scene."
Watching the feed as Nick started getting eaten by ants, Sara got up and immediately went to Grissom. She couldn't do much but watch and it was rough on her. Her therapist would be getting her money's worth that week. Sara put her hand on Grissom's shoulder and he reached up to squeeze her hand before he refocused on the screen. She knew what he was doing, he was trying to isolate the specific ant since it could tell them something.
Within twenty minutes they were on the road headed to a nursery and Sara glanced at Grissom as he drove over the speed limit. He was always the safer driver between them but she knew Nick's life was on the line. Cops were behind and ahead of them. Greg was driving behind them with Catherine and Warrick in the SUV with him. She'd just managed to slip into the SUV before Grissom pulled out of the parking lot.
Running up and down the nursery aisles were rough for everyone but the truly rough part was when they heard Catherine call for everyone to get out of the hole due to explosives. Sara felt her upper arm being grabbed and knew Grissom was pulling her out of the hole. His plan to help equalize weight had her moving as she headed towards the SUVs. The one she normally drove had been driven by Greg after he'd caught her keys when she threw them to him in the parking lot as she climbed in with Grissom. It had climbing equipment inside because she was the climber of the group.
Standing watching the ambulance drive away had Sara's adrenaline draining from her. It gave away to exhaustion and she knew she'd be asleep halfway to the lab. They had to return to drop off their work SUVs, grab their kits, and drive home in their own vehicles. Hearing Grissom beg for his people back, it made her a fraction of the way happy because she knew Ecklie owed them. She also knew she'd likely be having one of her episodes again. Day shift would be collecting the evidence regarding Nick's kidnapping because Ecklie was sending them home.
As they headed back towards the lab, Sara glanced over at Grissom. "I thought I lost you today."
"I know you did. I heard you scream." He reached out and grasped her hand. "I'm sorry Honey, I really am."
Sara nodded. "I know you are."
"Do you want to follow me to the townhouse?"
"I'll get breakfast so we can eat and that'll let you pick up Hank from the sitter." Sara glanced his way. "I may sleep for a week."
"You and me both."
Yeah, it was rough writing Grave Danger I and II - but it ends this work because it connects into If They Knew
Let me know what you think of this chapter.
