A/N: Many many thanks as always for your comments and PM's. They are all very much appreciated. I LOVE the first half of this chapter. I hope that you will too. You may need the tissues at the ready for the second half, however. Seems that Trouble, is never too far behind Grissom...As always, many thanks to JellybeanChiChi for the amazing beta.
CHAPTER 14
They continued with small talk for a few more minutes before Wilbur left, and Sara headed immediately towards the garage.
While she ignored the bugs Grissom had housed in the garage, Sara headed straight for Stevie's terrarium. She reached for the drawers that were directly below it. All but the third one were locked, and Sara rummaged around until she found the blue velvet box, a small white card with her name in Grissom's distinct writing sat on the top.
She quickly read the card, the words blurring as tears pricked her eyes, then with trembling fingers she opened the blue velvet box. Inside was a beautiful, gold-plated tennis bracelet, with heart-shaped, blue sapphires interspersed around its circumference.
Sara returned to the living room, still clutching the velvet box and card. She surreptitiously wiped at her eyes, not wanting Betty to see her so emotional.
On her return, she couldn't hold back the smile as she watched Daniel watching with fascination as Betty signed to him. She watched proudly as Daniel answered using baby sign. Betty praised him enthusiastically, making Daniel giggle.
Sensing her presence, Betty turned to her daughter-in-law, with a smile that faded, as she realised that Sara was trying hard not to cry.
"Sara, dear, whatever is the matter?" Betty signed with an air of concern.
Sara sniffed, visibly pulling herself together.
"That was Gil's lawyer at the door," Sara signed, and went on to explain what had been discussed. "This is Gil's wedding anniversary gift to me," she finished, holding up the bracelet, for Betty to see, who's eyes widened in delight.
"It's beautiful, Sara."
Sara nodded, touching a delicate sapphire heart, gently. "It's very beautiful," she agreed. "Compared to this, the baseball season tickets for the Las Vegas 51's and a roller-coaster pass card I got for him doesn't see quite enough."
Betty smiled proudly. "He certainly wouldn't see it that way. Not when they're from you. You know him too well and you know he is going to love them."
Sara bit back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. "He should be here," she signed, as she glanced over at Daniel, as he explored the living room.
"He will be," Betty affirmed.
"I… I just don't know. I'm scared of how long he might be… away. He'll miss too much. Daniel's first steps, his first words..."
Sara's lip trembled dangerously, as the first tear slid down her cheek. "He's never going to get this time back with Daniel. Its just...wrong."
Betty patted the space next to her on the sofa, and after a brief moment, Sara settled down next to her mother-in-law.
"I prayed that he would find someone like you," Betty signed, her expression both serious and sincere. "The first time I saw you with him, I knew it would only be a matter of time. I don't recall ever seeing him so...vital when he would mention you. And it was often. You are good for him, Sara. When Daniel is grown, you will understand that, that is all a mother wants for her son; for him to be happy. And you make him very happy, Sara. But you don't need me to tell you that. He loves everything about you, my dear. Don't be getting yourself all worked up over something you know he's going to love, because its come from you. Okay?"
Sara nodded, sniffed and wiped at her eyes, realising that Betty was right. Suddenly feeling a little silly, Sara uttered a smile laugh. "I've not been sleeping well, recently, and it's left me a little emotional. I'm sorry."
Betty nodded in understanding. It had been a difficult week for all of them. Thinking of something positive to focus on, a sudden smile lit Betty's face.
"May I ask you something that may seem a little personal?" When Sara nodded, Betty continued with a slight hesitation. "How did you two meet? I can't remember a time when your name never came up, but how you met just never came up."
A hint of pink coloured Sara's cheeks, at Betty's probing but unexpected question. Her gaze flickered to the floor, gathering her thoughts, before she returned her gaze shyly back to her mother-in-law. She'd found it strangely comforting to talking to Betty, knowing that she was struggling with the whole situation too. For once, Sara found didn't mind answering the question.
"I was a student at a seminar he was teaching on a double murder in a garage. Some friends, thought they were doing me a favour by warning me that he….was rather dull as a speaker. I make my own judgment..."
Sara's blush deepened as Betty smiled, her eyes sparkling with mirth.
"He obviously made quite an impression on you. You definitely made an impression on him."
Sara nodded, her mind drifting back to that first ever meeting. "He took my breath away," Sara signed truthfully. "I asked him a thousand questions, trying to pick up the nerve to ask him to dinner. I never did quite manage it."
"What did happen?"
"He asked me for coffee, and I accepted. It felt like we talked for hours. After that first meeting, we bumped into each other too often to be coincidence. I remember having this feeling of someone watching me, which I thought was ridiculous at the time. The room was filled with people, and when I turned around, all I saw was Gil. Even then, I knew that there could never be anyone else for me. It just felt natural for us to seek each other out. When he was due to return to Vegas, it was his suggestion to swap contact details. We'd meet up at other forensic seminars, in his free time; sometimes attend a lecture together. We worked a case together when he was called in for a consult. It was shortly after that, that he started visiting San Francisco, when ever he could manage it. So when he phoned to say he needed my help, I couldn't say no. No was never an option when he asked me to stay."
Betty smiled, and placed her hand supportively on Sara's arm, and squeezed gently.
"I know he'd do anything to be with you and Daniel again," Betty signed, when she released her hold on Sara's arm. "Until he is out of that awful place, we have to stay strong for him, and support him, and each other. He will be found innocent, Sara. Have faith."
Grissom shuffled in the direction of his cell with a sense of disquiet. Since Wilbur's unexpected visit six days prior, Grissom had become aware of a sense of unease. It was as though the cell block was holding its breath. There was a tension in the air felt by prisoners and guards alike.
The latent hostility that was simmering just under the surface had Grissom on-edge. He'd not been attacked for almost a week, and that alone was enough reason to make him wary. The threat of violence that hung heavily in the air added fuel to the fire.
As if in response to the unsettled atmosphere, Grissom noticed that there seemed to be more guards present in the common area. It should have reassured him, but it did not. This...suspension seemed to be just the calm before the storm.
Grissom hesitated, debating of if he should enter his cell, but guards would come around soon for routine count. This was his new reality, one he hoped would not last long, but there was no guarantee he would leave any time soon. As he stood outside his cell waiting for count to be done, all Grissom could think about was how he needed to get the hell out of here.
His mind drifted upon Sara. She would have found the bracelet he'd gotten her by now. Sorrow filled him as he wondered if she'd liked it. He'd been tempted three times, since Wilbur's visit, to ask to be allowed to call her. He even got in line to gain access to a phone, but once again he'd hesitated. He'd love nothing more than to talk to her … to see her again, but this was not the environment he wanted to conduct the rest of his marriage in, nor for his son to grow up.
His future was uncertain, but Sara and Daniel's weren't. He knew Sara was strong, and she would get through this. However the desire to see her remained.
He closed his eyes to quell his longing but also try to quash the dull headache he had suffered since his first beating. Tension migraines are the last thing he needed in prison, but they were too hard to avoid, it would seem.
I need to get out of here.
A feeling of being watched broke him out of his thoughts. A quick glance around his surroundings. His gaze settled on the hostile gaze of Tait Darrow and the group of five prisoners whose leader Grissom had learned was Loki DeVicariis. A shudder slid down Grissom's back as Tait's malice-filled gaze remained on him.
The group broke up as the guards moved to began the count. But Grissom remained unsettled as his fellow inmates moved to stand outside their respective cells.
Once the count was over, Grissom retreated to his cell. He'd just stepped inside when he stood rooted in his spot. His heart rate suddenly increased. His pulse raced in his ears, as as he looked upon his bunk.
There lay the photo of Sara and Daniel, ripped in half.
He walked stiffly to his bed, his rage building the longer he stared at the damaged photo. Tait's words came back to haunt him, and something snapped inside him. This wasn't just about damaging his property; it was a threat. It was one thing to threaten him; quite another to threaten his wife and son.
The last time he'd felt this way, he'd ridden roller coasters for hours, so much so it had worried Sara sick. In this place he was trapped with his growing rage, and there was no escape.
He turned and swiftly left his cell, his eyes darting around the common area until he found the one he was looking for.
Ignoring everyone in the common area Grissom strode purposely towards Tait Darrow.
"You son-of-a-bitch!" Grissom's voice was filled with rage, his eyes glaring with pure, unadulterated hatred. As he spoke, he delivered a solid blow to Tait's mid-section hard enough to knock the breath out of him and double him over. Grissom took the advantage, lashing out again. His fist connected solidly with the younger man's nose, and Grissom heard a satisfying crunch as his nose broke.
With a pain filled growl of rage, Tait retaliated, catching Grissom a solid hit to the chin. Within seconds they were locked in a brawl, that had the other inmates cheering them on.
Several guards quickly entered the common area, and immediately began dispersing the cheering and rowdy inmates, while others attempted to separate the warring duo. Still consumed with rage, and high with the rush of adrenaline, Grissom lashed out, catching a guard with a vicious right-hook.
Grissom was forced to his knees, then all fours, then flat on his stomach. He struggled violently as the two guards tried to handcuff his hands behind his back, still too pissed off to fully co-operate. One knelt on Grissom's head, in restraint, as Grissom bellowed in fury, as more guards joined the desperate struggle. One guard secured his legs, crossing his feet at the ankles, and holding them securely.
Eventually, with his hands handcuffed behind his back, he was roughly hauled to his feet, a guard on either side of him, each gripping his upper arms in a painful grasp as he was marched from the common area back to his cell.
Once back in his cell, one guard stayed with him, while the second, searched his cell, tossing what belongings he had on the floor. Grissom remained silent and sullen, as the guard ransacked his cell, the adrenaline of the fight, now leaving him feeling drained, though the fury and rage still remained.
The guard paused in his searching as he flicked through a book, and then turned to face Grissom, who tensed as the guard's grip on his upper arm increased. The searching guard held up a small bag of drugs that had been hidden between the pages of the book.
"It seems that the charges against you are mounting up, Grissom," stated the guard. "You're already facing multiple charges for fighting, and hitting a member of staff."
"That isn't mine," Grissom responded.
The guard snorted contemptuously; it was something he heard a lot in the course of his duty. "That's what you all say," he stated, as he carried on searching Grissom's cell.
He moved over to the bunk and began a through search of the sleeping area. When he paused this time, he whistled through his teeth, a satisfying smile on his face. He tutted and shock his head as he carefully held up a toothbrush that was sharpened to a point.
"It really isn't turning out to be your day, is it Grissom?"
His head and heart pounding, Grissom could feel his rage rising once more, and without thinking took a step forward. He was roughly pulled back, his face pressed against the wall as he was shoved against it.
"That has nothing to do with me!" Grissom vehemently denied, as he struggled against the guard that was restraining him. "I've been in the library for most of the day..."
The guard strode over to him, after bagging the evidence against Grissom.
"I'm not really interested in your excuses. In fact I don't give a shit who you were on the outside Grissom. In here you're just like every other lying sack of shit that says he's innocent. The warden is going to be very interested in what I have to show him. Now get moving!"
Grissom was roughly turned around and shoved outside of his cell. The two guards flanking him, as they escorted him to the warden's office.
In their townhome, Sara leaned back in the office chair of their small home office. While Daniel was down for his afternoon nap, Sara had taken advantage to do the mundane task of paying bills and managing the checkbook.
The oppressive silence of the house, pressed down on her. Although it had been a few weeks, since Grissom's imprisonment, and she had been forced to accept this new reality, the heavy silence that now filled a once happy home, was harder to accept.
Hank, as if sensing her despondency, whined and shuffled closer to her, burying his nose into her stomach, his tail thumped the floor, half-heartedly. It was clear that he shared her contemplative mood.
Sara smiled bleakly, scratching the dog affectionately behind his ears, drawing a little comfort as Hank buried his nose a little further into her stomach.
Sighing deeply, her gaze settled on the photo Grissom kept on his desk, of the two them on their wedding day. Their smiles were radiant and beaming. They'd been happy with their thoughts only on each other and the anticipation of the birth of their first child. There were no clues of the horrors to be inflicted upon them by Mike Garrett only a few hours after the photograph had been taken.
Sara thought she could understand Gil's reasons he didn't want to see her. She figured he believed even after he was released Grissom would prefer not to have their life scarred by memories of his time in prison. But that still didn't explain why he hadn't called her on their wedding anniversary. In fact, it didn't explain why he couldn't call at all. Surely he knew, surely he understood, that she believed in his innocence? It hurt her deeply, to think that he might think she thought him guilty.
With another deep sigh, she once more dialed the number of Grissom's lawyer, Hobson Nash, expecting it to ring to voice mail as it had the last three times she'd called him in as many hours. She was surprised, when the call was answered.
They chatted for a few minutes, before Sara got down to the reason of her call.
"I think I understand his reasonings about why he doesn't want to see me, but why can't he at least call?"
"Sara, I can't really answer that for him. But it's possible that he may not have earned enough telephone privileges, I don't know. There could be any number of reasons."
"Then could you ask him, when you next see him? I just….I need to talk to him..."
"Of course," was Hobson's answer, but to Sara he sounded distracted. It was confirmed when he added, "Look, I know you're worried Sara, but these things can take time. I'll pass on your message, but I really must go….I'm very busy."
Sara ended the call feeling like she'd gotten nowhere fast, and left with more questions than answers. She could only hope that Hobson would pass on her message and Gil would call.