A/N: Many many thanks for your comments and reviews. It's been brought to my attention, that there was a little confusion on some new characters in the last chapter. CSI 's Patrick Davies and Karen O'Shea as well as Jake Sullivan are all new to to this story, and didn't appear in Grissom's Heart. I'm sorry that their introduction caused a little confusion. To clarify, this is set 8 months after Grissom's Heart, so new characters may pop up from time to time.
Since it's Christmas next week, would you all still like a chapter posting?
Many thanks always, to my amazing beta, JellybeanChiChi.
CHAPTER 7
After leaving the diner, Sara thought taking a more circuitous route back to CSI would help calm her down. Unfortunately, it had only served to increase her fury.
"I cannot believe that son of a bitch… I can only imagine what he said to Gil. … I swear if he starts up with me…"
Her lips tightened with anger as she stalked into the building intent on hunting Jake down. This time he had gone too far, and she was damned if she'd turn the other cheek.
She found him in the layout room going over evidence of the case.
"Just what the hell is wrong with you!" she demanded furiously, getting into Jake's face. "Following me to lunch with my husband. Insinuating that there's more going on between us. Goading Gil. Not to mention you frightened my son."
Jake sneered lacking any remorse or apologetic tone. "The boy got over it with grandpa's help. Sorry, I meant, daddy's help. The whole thing is a joke, Sara! He's over the hill and half way down the other side…"
That was the final straw as Sara did something she never ever expected to do; she slapped Jake hard across the face. Shocked they both took a step back from each other.
"Sidle my office now!" ordered Karson, drawn to the layout room, by the loud voices, and arriving just in time to see Sara strike Jake.
Glaring at Jake, Sara tried to reign in her anger, realising that she'd allowed Jake to get to her more than she'd realised. His jibes towards Gil were one thing, but frightening Daniel had been the final straw.
Karson waited until Sara had exited the room, before he turned his attention back to Jake.
"Wipe the smirk off your face, Sullivan. I want to talk you next."
When Karson entered his office, Sara was standing in front of his desk, her body tense, her hands balled into tight fists.
He quietly closed the door, and spoke only after he'd taken his seat behind the desk.
"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that I'd every right to fire you for striking a colleague. You're better than this, Sara. You're a great CSI with the highest solve rates I've seen. What happened just now?"
Sara's eyes blazed as looked to her supervisor.
"When you first assigned me to this case, I said then that it wasn't an advantage to have experience working with him."
"I recall also saying not to make this personal."
"He's made it personal!" Sara exploded. "I've done everything I can to keep things professional. But he stepped over the line when he frightened my son."
That made Karson pause a moment, hitting close to home. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, more understanding.
"But the little guy is okay now?"
"Yeah," Sara nodded, the tension slowly draining from her body. "Gil and I managed to calm him, but that's not the point, is it?"
Karson looked down at his desk a moment, and then looked up to face Sara again. "The only thing left to do in this case as far as Vegas is concerned is processing the motel room where the couple was staying. Sullivan has to be there. You don't."
"I can finish this case."
"Sara, if he is baiting you, and I believe he is, then nothing good can come from you working with him when one of your colleagues can finish this up," Karson said. "This shouldn't do with your pride. You have a reputation to protect, and this guy shouldn't be allowed another chance to tarnish it."
Sara took a deep breath. She hated that she had to turn this over, but Karson was right; she needed to put her pride aside for the good of the case. "OK. I understand. But … who would you put on the case?"
Karson understood Sara's underlying question. Office gossip can be killer, and the colleague chosen to cover for Sara should be discreet and not care about gossip. "I was thinking of asking Kahlil."
Sara nodded her head. If there was one person on the team more no-nonsense than Sara, it was Kahlil. "I would appreciate that. I can cover for his duties."
"I think he's finishing up something in the garage," Karson said. "Go get him so we can get the ball rolling in the right direction."
As Sara made her way to the door Karson added, "It's good to know that Daniel's alright now."
With a sigh of relief that the shift was over, after Sara picked up Daniel at the daycare center and Hank from his dogsitter, the trio headed home. But soon after they stepped inside, Sara collected Hank's leash and Daniel's stroller to take a walk to the community park some 15 minutes away.
Returning home an hour later, she let Hank off the leash and gave him a fresh bowl of water, which he lapped thirstily before settling into his bed for a nap.
Juggling chores and playing with her son, the hours passed quickly. With Daniel finally settled and asleep, Sara glanced at the clock to find that it was 8:45 pm.
Gil's last lesson at the University finished at 7 pm, and it wasn't unusual for a few students to stay back, asking questions.
Unconcerned for the moment, Sara settled down on the sofa with a forensic magazine.
She dozed off for a bit, and when she awoke, she realised that it was almost 11 p.m., and Grissom still wasn't home. Sara began to truly worry. She tried his cell phone, which went straight to voice mail.
That led to her pacing the living room and biting her nails. Finally she heard his car pull up, and two minutes later the jangle of his keys in the lock.
He hesitated a moment, before the pale, worried expression on her face registered in his mind, and he moved across the room swiftly, before gathering her into his arms.
Burying his face in the space between her neck and shoulder, he whispered, "I know I should have called and I'm so sorry I worried you, sweetheart."
She could still feel the tension humming through his body and her arms tightened around him, willingly giving him her support and strength and reassurance.
"You've not been at the university all this time, have you?" she asked eventually, feeling the tension slowly release from his body.
He shook his head, pulling back as he said, "Riding roller coasters," his expression unreadable, and an uncertainty in his gaze she hadn't seen in a very long time.
She reached out and touched the cheek, where she'd once brushed off imaginary chalk. His eyes closed briefly, and he inhaled a breath before slowly releasing it again. It was obvious that his usual method of de-stressing hadn't helped. Once more she wondered what exactly Jake had said to him.
"I love you."
He'd become more open in verbally expressing his feelings for her over the last eleven months, especially since a last-minute consult had taken him to L.A while she'd still been pregnant with Daniel. It was the tone in which he said it now, that gave her pause.
Her gaze softened, her hand moving up his cheek as her fingers brushed through his close-cropped greying curls, before gently tracing the three tiny scars on his right eyebrow, the only visible reminder of his encounter with Mike Garrett and his efforts to rescue her.
"I love you, too, sweetheart," she whispered softly, holding his gaze with her own, as her hand settled on the nape of his neck, her other hand gliding up his shoulder, before palming his cheek, as she kissed him.
His arms tightened around her, pulling her close to him as he returned her kiss, almost desperately. When they eventually broke apart, he continued to hold her close, as if centering himself.
"I know you don't want to talk about it, Gil," Sara said, as he reluctantly pulled away, as Hank whined and paced back and forth between their feet, demanding some attention. "But you know whatever he said, isn't true."
"I know it's not, honey," he immediately responded, raising her hand, and kissing her palm, a flash of the old warmth in eyes returning. It was enough to reassure her.
Hank whined, and nudged at Grissom's hand. Sara took the hint.
"Why don't you have a shower, and there's some leftovers that can be heated. I can take Hank…"
"It's fine. I'll take him. I had something while I was out." He kissed her cheek, before grabbing Hank's leash and heading out before she could utter another word.
He returned half an hour later, giving Hank a fresh bowl of water. He checked on his son before heading for a shower, and slipping into bed beside his wife, he snuggled up beside her, holding her close. Content to just be.
Friday couldn't come fast enough and Sara welcomed the week's end. Since her encounter with Jake and her talk with Karson two days prior, Jake had thankfully said nothing to her. Kahlil finished the case for her processing the motel room with Jake with no fuss and no gossip.
The knowledge that Jake would soon be returning to Seattle had put her in a good mood. What was even better was whatever Grissom had been brooding about since that lunch two days ago seemed to have worked out of his system. She'd respected her husband's choice in not wanting to discuss what happened, just as he had respected her choice not to talk about Jake when he first breezed into town.
It was her scheduled weekend off, and she was looking forward to spending it with her family and friends. And it would start as soon as she was off work. Instead of taking her car to work, she had Gil drive her. The plan was to pick up Daniel and then Sara so the three of them could go to a nearby park for a picnic dinner.
Her last task on that Friday was to process a car from a smash and grab. The garage proved to be stuffy, and after 45 minutes, she took her arms out of her jumpsuit and wrapped the arms around her waist. Standing now in her tank top, she immediately felt cooler. Checking her watch, she thought it was best to text Grissom now about picking her up soon.
"Almost done for the day. Come by in 20?" she texted.
The reply was almost immediate. "Got Daniel with me. We aren't far. Might be there a little early. I'll wait in the lot."
Satisfied and smiling, Sara returned to her task. She worked for another ten minutes when she suddenly felt uncomfortable. It was as if someone was watching her.
She straightened up, to find Jake standing framed in the doorway of the garage, his arms folded across his chest as he watched her appreciatively.
Quickly freeing the arms of the jumpsuit she'd tied around her waist, she shrugged her arms through and quickly fastened it up.
"Oh, come on Sara, what's with the modesty? It's not like I've not seen it all before."
"You lost that right a long time ago," she replied, taking his intrusion as a cue to begin boxing up her evidence and heading home.
Jake stooped down close to where Sara was leaning. "Why don't I get that for you? Since I'm here, I might as well help out."
"Not necessary, thanks." Sara's tone was clipped but she worked to control her emotions. "I'd think you'd be too busy boxing everything up to head back to Seattle, than loitering around in doorways. That sort of behaviour can get you into all sorts of trouble."
"I like trouble."
Sara didn't bite and ignored Jake's reply that dripped with arrogance. Having nothing more to say to him, she walked out of the garage.
Her first stop was the evidence locker, then the locker room. Instead of changing in front of a locker like normal, Sara opted for privacy in the disabled stall. But that didn't stop her from peeking out of the door every time she heard someone entering the locker room.
After she changed, she made her way to the CSI parking lot, her stride faster than usual. Once outside, she felt some of her anxiety ease until Jake came running up to her, making her stop in her tracks.
"Jake. Please. Just leave."
"Look, Sara, I know I've not made it easy for us working together. And I had no right to say that back in the garage."
"That's right. You didn't and you don't."
"OK. So let me apologise properly and buy you a drink."
Sara huffed and shook her head. "What is wrong with you? I'm not interested in any token apologies you have to say. I'm married, and even if I wasn't, the last thing I'd want to do is have a drink with you!"
She turned to walk away, but he barred her path.
"What's he have that I don't?" Jake wanted to know.
"He has me," stated Sara, matter-of-factly, and she turned to walk away again.
But Jake grabbed her wrist painfully, and jerked her back. "Don't walk away from me, bitch!" he said in in a hash voice, his eyes blazing. "You know he only married you because he was careless enough to get you pregnant. You'd think he'd know better."
Sara tried to pull her arm back, but Jake's grip tightened further. Sara's eyes blazed.
"Listening to locker room gossip again, Jake? That's the trouble with rumours; no one is interested in the truth. You know exactly why we broke up. Your arrogance. Your jealously. And, frankly, you're an asshole."
Jake's gaze blazed with anger. "I'm an asshole!" He screamed. "Bitch, you will regret that."
The sound of a car's engine roared in the closed confines of the parking lot, and the door was flung open, even before the car had come to a complete stop.
"Get your fucking hands off my wife!" Grissom bellowed as his fist slammed into Jake's mouth and nose without any warning.
Jake stumbled backwards, releasing Sara as he did. But Grissom wasn't done. He punched Jake again, grazing his knuckles against Jake's teeth, as blood flew in all directions.
It was Daniel's frightened cry from the backseat of the car that pierced the red fog that clouded Grissom's mind. Jake took advantage of Grissom's distraction, throwing a punch to Grissom's stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of him, and double him over. Another punch landed on Grissom's mouth, splitting his lip and blood ran down his chin as he fell back against a car hood. Jake lashed out again, and blood dripped from his nose.
As Jake raised his fist again, Sara stepped in, grabbing his wrist and twisting it back, putting pressure on his thumb as she pushed it back.
His legs feeling rubbery, Grissom slid from the hood of the car, his back resting against the front bumper as Jake fell to his knees. Sara kept the pressure on Jake's wrist and thumb.
She bent down close to Jake's ear. "He's more the man than you'll ever be, Jake. And he'll always have me."
She released him and knelt down by Grissom's side. His face was drained white, his chest heaved as he fought to calm his rapid breathing. Blood still trickled from his mouth and nose, as did a small graze on his cheekbone.
Sara gently reached out, her fingers grazing his uninjured cheek, and Grissom flinched slightly at her touch, but she didn't withdraw her hand.
Instead, she kissed his forehead gently. "Thank you. You timed that right."
Grissom nodded his head in agreement. He couldn't give Sara much more at this point.
Sara gave a glance back at Jake, who was still reeling on the floor. "Come on, Gil. Let's go home."