Title: Gemini
Author: IrishDachsie
Pairing:
Grissom/Sara
Rating: NC17...I didn't figure it would stay PG for long
Disclaimer: Same as always…they’re not mine…no money...
A/N: Follow-up to MoaNO.
Chapter Thirty One
Sara walked into the living room after waking
up in an empty bed to find Grissom sitting on the floor with crime scene photos
surrounding him. Ant was sleeping peacefully in the light blue bouncer seat.
Alex was lying across his father’s legs, his head supported by Grissom’s thigh,
sucking hungrily on the bottle that Grissom was holding with his right hand.
With his left hand, he plucked a picture from the floor and held it up as he
examined it.
Sara chuckled lightly and leaned against the
doorframe. Ant squirmed lightly in his seat, catching Grissom’s attention. He
laid the photograph on the floor beside of him, reached over and gently rocked
the baby until he calmed back down. He glanced down at Alex and, seeing that he
had finished his bottle, pulled the nipple from his mouth. He smiled as he
picked the photo up once again.
"How long have you been up?"
Hearing his wife’s soft voice, Grissom looked
up. "A couple of hours. You were sound asleep, so I thought I’d do a
little work."
Sara smiled as she lowered herself to the
floor beside him. "You want me to take him?"
"He’s okay." Grissom returned her
smile with a bright one of his own. He handed her the picture as he shifted his
legs slightly. "What do you make of this?"
Sara tilted her head as she studied the photo.
"Looks like a dent in someone’s head."
Grissom nodded slowly. "It is…I’m having
trouble figuring out what caused it."
She glanced at the other pictures scattered on
the floor. "Is this the only injury?"
"Yeah…well, apart from the slight
abrasions on the heel of his left palm." He handed her the picture of the
victim’s hand.
"Friction burn…"
Ant whimpered lightly. Grissom rocked the seat
again. "Shh, it’s okay little man." He looked back at his wife.
"Friction burn?"
Sara smiled as she nodded, her eyes drifting
over her sleeping sons. "Yeah, kind of like…carpet burn."
"Interesting…" He looked down as
Sara gently picked up Alex.
Sara bent her legs, resting the soles of her
feet on the floor, and laid Alex on her thighs. "He didn’t fall far…"
"Hm?"
"When he fell…his hand skidded across
whatever burned him. If he had been standing and fell, the injury wouldn’t be
on the heel…it would be closer to the middle of his palm." She smiled as
Alex grabbed her finger as he slept. "Where was the body found?"
"In a ditch behind a warehouse on
Sara arched an eyebrow. "Hm."
Feeling a vibration behind her, Sara grabbed
Grissom’s cell phone from the cushion on the couch and flipped it open.
"Grissom…"
Grissom smiled as he picked up the case
folder, knowing he’d never tire of hearing her use his name when she answered
the phone.
"Hey Sara, it’s Nick."
"Hi Nick, what’s up?" She grinned as
Grissom rolled his eyes.
"Well, working this case that Grissom’s
going over…"
"Yeah, we’re looking through the pictures
now."
"Oh, well…Greg figured out what the fibers are that Doc pulled out of the abrasions on the vic’s hand. Is Grissom around?"
"Yep…" She chuckled as Nick gave an
exaggerated sigh.
"Can I talk to him?"
She laughed lightly and handed the phone to
her husband. He shook his head in amusement and lifted the phone to his ear.
"What do you have, Nick?"
"Glad to see Sara hasn’t lost her sense
of humor…"
"Uh-huh." Grissom winked at his
wife.
"The fibers in
the vic’s hand…red felt."
"Red felt?" Grissom glanced at Sara,
who was wearing a lop-sided grin. He watched her lips as she mouthed two words
silently. "As in the felt used for billiards tables?"
"Exactly."
Grissom nodded. "Where’s the nearest pool
hall to the warehouse on
"A block East…"
"Okay…take Warrick
with you. Go check it out, spray everything down with luminol
and see what you find." He picked up the picture of the victim’s head and
licked his lips. "Nick?"
He heard Nick relaying the message to Warrick and the jingle of keys. "Nick!"
"Yeah, Griss?"
"Check the balls…"
Sara smiled as she reached over and ruffled
Grissom’s hair.
"The balls?"
"Cue balls, game balls…check all of
them."
"Okay…"
Grissom flipped the phone shut and smiled as
he looked at Sara. "We really need to get you back to work…"
She nodded as she leaned into his personal
space and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Uh-huh…"
As he pulled back from the kiss, he smiled at
her. "What made you think of billiards? That really isn’t the first thing
that comes to mind when I hear ‘red felt’…"
She chuckled lightly and pulled the mint green
bouncer seat next to her. She carefully buckled Alex in as he slept.
"Well, I was watching Paul Gerni on ESPN while
you were gone…"
"Paul Gerni?"
Sara nodded as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Trick shot player in billiards. Apparently, one of the best…" She
blushed lightly as she glanced at her smiling husband. "Anyway, the felt
on the tables they were using was red. So, it was just a lucky guess,
I…guess."
"Well, remind me to send a letter of
thanks to Mr. Gerni…"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Alex had just woken up when Grissom’s cell
rang again. Grissom cuddled the boy as he flipped open the phone.
"What did you find, Nick?"
"Hello to you too, Griss…"
Grissom shook his head at the amused tone in
Nick’s voice. "Nick, I’m trying to calm a very unhappy ten-week-old little
boy…what did you find?"
"Oh…jackpot. Blood all over the
eight-ball from table 12…blood all over the surface of table 15. Looks like a
bet gone wrong to me."
"And what does the owner have to
say?" Grissom paced back and forth in the living room as Alex let out a
frustrated squeal.
"Ooh, someone’s not happy at all."
"Nick…"
"Ah, the owner was out of the pool hall
for about 45 minutes during the night. He came back to find the hall had been
locked up. There’s an APB out for the manager now."
Grissom nodded his head and smiled as Alex
grabbed his finger. "Good job…keep me posted." He glanced at the
clock and frowned. "And…go home, it’s after 9…"
He hung up the phone quickly and wiped the
tiny tears from his son’s face. "Come on, Alex…don’t cry. It’s not that
bad, I promise."
Alex responded with another loud scream.
Grissom sighed as Ant answered his twin. He quickly scooped up the younger one
and spoke softly as he carried both babies towards a display case full of
butterflies.
"Look…aren’t they pretty?"
Alex screamed. Ant whimpered. Mikey called out for his father.
He looked down at the unhappy boys in his arms
and sighed heavily. "Okay, you’ve woken your big brother up…"
Walking into Mikey’s
room, Grissom chuckled as Alex and Ant suddenly quietened down. Mikey giggled and bounced excitedly in his crib. "Out
Daddy!"
"Hold on, Weevil…"
Grissom placed the semi-calm twins on the
changing table and lightly placed his left hand over their chests. "You
two lay still for just a minute…"
With his right hand, he quickly lifted Mikey from the crib and placed him on the floor. His son
ran from the room. "Where are you going?"
Grissom shook his head as he picked the
infants back up, closing his eyes briefly as they started whimpering. He
groaned as he heard a crash in the living room. Alex and Ant started crying
again, this time in unison.
"Where is your mother?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara pulled into the driveway with a smile on
her face. She opened the front door to find Grissom trying to calm two
screaming babies, and Weevil doing his best to help out. She hung her keys on
the hook by the door and chuckled.
"Busy morning?"
Mikey looked up and grinned as he removed his hand from
Ant’s grasp. Ant let out another tired scream. Mikey
slid from the couch and ran to Sara. "Mommy!"
"Hey baby, what are you doing?" She
chuckled as she picked him up for a hug.
"Twyin’ to hep
Daddy. But is not heppin’."
She grinned as she placed a kiss on Mikey’s cheek. "Why not?"
Mikey pointed towards his father and brothers. "He
is still cwyin’."
"So, I hear…" Sara placed her oldest
son on the hardwood floor and walked over to the couch.
Grissom smiled as his wife sat down beside of
him. "He’s actually doing much better than he was earlier…"
Sara grimaced as she took the
now-whimpering-Alex from him. "How was this one?"
Grissom chuckled. "That one started
it…"
Mikey pushed his way onto the couch, between his parents.
"I bwoke a plan, Mommy."
Sara looked down at the boy. "What?"
Grissom sighed. "Oh yeah…Weevil knocked
over the orchid. It broke the pot, but the plant is okay."
"I bwoke the
pot. Plan is o-tay."
Sara laughed lightly and ruffled Mikey’s soft curls. Grissom smiled as Mikey
ran off again in search of Rusty.
"How did the doctor’s appointment
go?"
Sara smiled as Alex finally drifted off to
sleep. Ant’s screams had drastically reduced to periodic whimpers.
"Everything is fine. She said that I
could even go back to work…" She glanced into his eyes. "At least
part-time…"
He nodded slowly. "We still need to find
a babysitter…"
She smiled brightly. "I think I might
have an idea…"
Grissom offered up a smirk as he looked at his
wife. "An idea for what?"
She shook her head in amusement as she read
his eyes. "We have one out of three boys asleep right now. It’s not that
kind of idea."
Glancing down at his son in his arms, he
smiled as he whispered softly. "Go to sleep…"
Hearing the gentle laughter from his wife, he
looked up and sighed as Ant whimpered lightly. "Well, that didn’t work.
What was your idea?"
She turned her eyes to watch Weevil knock over
a small stack of blocks with Rusty’s help. "A babysitter…"
Grissom arched an eyebrow and smiled as Ant
yawned. "Oh?"
Sara nodded as she turned to catch her
husband’s questioning stare. "Mm-hm. What about Jessie?"
"Greg’s girlfriend?"
Weevil looked up from his fallen tower of
blocks and tilted his head. "Gweb?"
Sara chuckled. "Yeah, Greg."
Grissom took a deep breath as he shook his
head, his eyes focused on his oldest son’s smiling face. "She applied for
the part-time graveyard receptionist position."
"They hired someone else for that."
She smiled as Grissom quickly turned his head towards her. "Greg called my
cell this morning."
"Oh. Well…"
"You know how good she is with Mikey…"
"Weebul
Mike!"
Sara winked at him. "Yeah, you know how
good she is with Weevil Mike."
Grissom nodded as Sara continued. "And
it’ll only be four nights a week…"
He smiled as Mikey crawled
into one of the plush living room chairs and yawned. "Ohlie
four."
"Have you spoken with Jessie yet?"
Sara shifted the sleeping baby in her arms and
shook her head. "I wanted to see what you thought about it."
Ant snuggled against Grissom and wrapped his
hand around his father’s index finger. "Well, why don’t you give them a
call?"
With a quick glance at the chair next to the
couch, she smiled brightly. "How about I call them later?"
She chuckled at his puzzled expression and
tilted her head towards their oldest son. Grissom grinned as he watched
Weevil’s sleepy eyes droop.
"What do you have in mind?"
She licked her lips as she leaned into him.
"These two are asleep. Mikey will be out in less
than five as soon as we put him down…"
He closed his eyes as her hot breath bounced
off of his neck. "Mm-hm…"
She smiled as he shifted his body. "The
doctor cleared me for more than just work, you know."
He turned his head and captured her lips with
his. He groaned lightly as her tongue slid across his bottom lip. He pulled
back, his blue eyes glazing quickly, and smiled.
"You take Alex and Ant, I’ll take Weevil.
Meet you in the bedroom?"
She answered by standing up and grinning as he
placed Ant into her free arm. "Don’t be long…"
He shook his head quickly, taking a labored breath as he watched her leave the living room.
With a hint of a smile on his face, he stood and scooped Mikey
into his arms.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He walked into the bedroom to find his wife
nearly undressed and smiling at him. Returning her smile, he pulled his t-shirt
over his head and dropped it to the floor.
"How long do you think we have?"
He watched her slide the straps of her bra
over her shoulders as he pushed his jeans and boxers down his legs.
"Weevil will probably only sleep an hour or so."
She eyed his thickened flesh and licked her
lips. "Well, I guess we should make the best of the time we have
then…"
Sara climbed onto the bed and motioned for him
to join her. He hurriedly made his way beside of her, sighing as his hand
rested on her hip. "And you’re sure about this?"
Her fingers wrapped around the hardened shaft,
eliciting a groan from his throat. She began to stroke him slowly, smiling as
his eyes fluttered. She leaned into him and kissed his chest. He moaned lightly
as her tongue flicked against his nipple.
She grinned as she was easily able to push him
onto his back. His eyes opened when she gently nibbled her way across his
chest. His erection twitched in her hand. He inhaled sharply as he felt her
wetness on his skin as she placed her right leg between his thighs.
"How…uh…how do you…want to…"
She cut him off quickly as she shifted her
body and straddled his thighs. "It would probably be more comfortable…for
both of us…if I’m on top…"
He nodded as his fingers lightly brushed
across her hips. He whimpered when she released her hold on his erection. She
chuckled lightly and covered his hands with hers. She leaned forward and
captured his lips, nipping at them as she moved her left hand to find the dark
blue tie she had placed on the bed before he came in.
She pulled back, releasing his lips as she
held up the tie. She smiled as she watched his glazed eyes attempt to focus on
her hand. He licked his lips as he looked into her dark eyes and smiled.
"Would you be opposed to this?" She
rotated her hips gently against him as she asked the question.
"I…you…" He shook his head, more out
of frustration over the fact that he couldn’t seem to form a simple response,
and let his hands slide from her hips.
She chuckled lightly as he moved his arms
above his head and wrapped his fingers around the iron spindles in the
headboard. She leaned over him and quickly bound his wrists together with the
tie, effectively securing his hands. She gasped as his tongue glided across the
underside of her breast.
Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pushed
herself back up and arched an eyebrow at him. "And…what do you think
you’re doing?"
He smiled shyly and shifted his body
underneath her. "Tasting you…"
She shook her head slowly as she traced his
lips with her index finger. "I’d gag you…but, if I did that I wouldn’t be
able to hear you…"
She slid her wet folds across his heated
length, smiling as he groaned. "That’s what I’m wanting to hear…"
"Sara…"
Her fingers kneaded his chest as he lifted his
hips slightly in an attempt to push into her depths. She bit her lip as she
pushed him back down to the mattress. "No…don’t move, Gil."
"What?"
Her fingers lightly pinched his nipple as she
took a deep breath. "You…can say whatever you want. But…I don’t want you
to move."
His eyes cleared somewhat, causing her to
smile when she saw the concern hiding in the depths of his blue irises.
"Not because I’m afraid you’ll hurt me." She lifted her hand and
caressed his cheek, smiling down at him as her thumb brushed across his lips.
"I just…want to make love to you…"
He shook his head lightly and pulled against
his restraint in an effort to touch her. "I…want to make love with
you…"
She leaned down and kissed him. As she slid
her tongue into his mouth, she lifted her hips and reached between their
bodies. Grasping his erection, she guided him into her and slowly enveloped his
hardened flesh as she lowered herself onto him.
He groaned into her mouth and pulled against
the tie once more. She pushed herself up and smiled down at him as she slowly
began to move against him. "I’ve missed you, Gil."
He grunted a strangled reply as he forced
himself to remain still.
"I’ve missed feeling you inside of
me."
She smiled as he moaned softly and pressed his
head into the pillows. She continued her slow pace, allowing her fingertips to
circle his nipples. Her eyes remained focused on his face, and she fought the
urge to pull the restraint free.
"Gil?"
He swallowed as he opened his eyes to find her
gazing at him. "I…"
"Move with me."
He didn’t need to be told twice. He groaned
loudly as he bucked his hips up against her. She matched his groan with one of
her own as their thrusts increased in intensity. Feeling the intense need to
have his hands on her body, her trembling fingers pulled the knot in the tie
free.
Feeling the silken material slip from his
wrists, he quickly moved his hands to her hips. His fingers gripped her flesh
as he pulled her body down on him with each hard thrust into her. He watched a
small bead of sweat roll down her chest, between her breasts.
He felt her walls tighten around him and felt
the quiver of her muscles in her thighs. Looking into her eyes, he licked his
lips and offered a slight smile.
"Come…for me…Sara…"
Her fingers gripped his forearms as she moaned
his name. He waited until he felt her hot juices smother him before he allowed
himself release. His fingers dug into her hips as his semen drenched her inner
walls.
Her sweaty body collapsed onto his and he
quickly wrapped his arms around her. With so many words he wanted to say to
her, he gasped for air, able to utter only three of them.
"I…love you…"
He felt her smile against his chest and
realized that she couldn’t speak either. He returned her smile, content in
holding her body against him.
The words would come later.
Grissom pulled the sheet of paper from the
printer, much to his wife’s amusement. He read it quickly, nodding as he pushed
himself out of his chair and made his way to the couch.
"Read over this, will you?"
Sara smiled as she took the paper from his
hand. "Gil, is this really necessary?"
His eyes widened. "Of course it’s
necessary. Three boys, with very different and distinct likes and dislikes.
What if Alex wakes up hungry? She needs to know that he likes his formula cold
and that Ant likes his warm."
Sara chuckled as she read through his list.
"Is it imperative that she know Mikey’s favorite sport is baseball?"
"What if there’s a choice between a
football game and a baseball game?"
Sara’s chuckle turned into laughter as she
shook her head. "First of all, Mikey shouldn’t
be awake if there are two games on at the same time. Second of all, in the
event that he is awake at that time…I’m sure he’ll tell her…if he’s even
aware of it."
Grissom’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You’re
making fun of me."
"Uh-huh. Only because you’re funny."
"Well, Jessie might see it differently
should the situation arise."
Sara laughed lightly as her husband pushed
himself from the couch and walked across the room to the front door. He smiled
shyly as he opened the door to find Jessie standing on the porch with Greg
standing proudly beside of her.
"Hey, Griss…"
"Hi, Greg." He gave the young man a
brief nod before he turned his attention to Greg’s girlfriend. "Hi,
Jessie…it’s nice to see you again."
He stepped to the side, allowing them to enter
the home. Jessie offered him a bright smile. "How are you, Mr.
Grissom?"
As he shut the door, he chuckled.
"No…just Grissom. No ‘mister’…okay?"
"Okay…Grissom."
Sara gathered her jacket and keys, smiling at
Greg and Jessie. She handed Jessie the piece of paper in her hand and winked.
Leaning forward, she whispered softly into the young woman’s ear.
"Use your best judgement…"
She pulled back and slipped her arms into her
jacket. "All of the boys are asleep right now. Weevil will, more than
likely, sleep throughout the night. The buglets’
schedules are charted out for you…"
"Buglets?"
Greg laughed loudly, earning him a stern glare from Grissom. "Sorry, Griss…that’s just funny. First there’s Weevil…now we have
the Buglets…"
Grissom tilted his head slightly, fighting the
smile that was threatening to appear. "Don’t you have to get to work or
something?"
Greg placed a quick kiss on Jessie’s cheek and
whispered a soft "goodbye". She smiled as she watched him close the
front door behind him. She turned back to Grissom, her smile widening.
"You know, Greg really looks up to
you."
Grissom’s face reddened slightly as he cleared
his throat. Sara chuckled as she grabbed his hand and tugged gently.
Grissom smiled at Jessie and tilted his head
towards the kitchen. "Both of our cell numbers are on the refrigerator…as
is my office number. If you have any questions…or…if anything happens…"
Jessie nodded quickly as she shooed them
towards the door. "I’ll call. But, I’m sure that everything will be just
fine. Have a good night at work, and I’ll see you in the morning."
She grinned as Sara eventually pulled him
through the door and closed it. She made her way down the hall towards the
children’s rooms. After checking on all three boys, only to find each of them
sleeping peacefully, she walked back into the living room and flipped on the
television.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom strode into the break room, smiling as
he listened to the chatter between his subordinates. He cleared his throat to
get their attention and quickly handed out assignments.
"Nick, you and Catherine have…" He
glanced back down at the slip. "Well, I’m not exactly sure what you have.
Copious amount of blood found…no body. Could be murder, could be nothing."
He shrugged his shoulders as Sara narrowed her
eyes in confusion. Catherine read the address on the paper and chuckled.
"You sure you don’t want this one?"
Grissom’s eyes darkened as his jaw tightened.
Sensing his disapproval of her light comment, she nodded quickly and glanced at
Nick.
"Let’s go see what we find…"
Grissom took a deep breath as Catherine and
Nick left the room. Exhaling slowly, he looked at Warrick.
"B&E on Ann Road…" He smiled as he watched Warrick
try to place the street name. "Right off of Decatur Boulevard…"
Warrick snapped his fingers as he nodded. "Cool."
He looked towards Sara and smiled. "You
and I have a DB…on the roof of a warehouse on Bonanza."
She nodded as she stood and followed him out
of the room and down the hall. "Gil?"
He paused as he opened the door for her.
"Yeah?"
The air had a slight chill to it as they
walked through the parking lot. "What did you give to Catherine and
Nick?"
He shrugged his shoulders and glanced at the
stars in the clear sky. "Just a lot of blood…"
"Where?"
He sighed heavily as he opened the Tahoe door
and motioned for her to climb in. She stared at him as he rattled off the
address in question and then closed her door. She turned to look at him as he
climbed into the driver’s seat.
"Lady Heather’s…"
He nodded, turning the ignition. As he pulled
out of the parking lot, he glanced at her and offered her a sweet smile.
"This case seemed the most interesting out of the three, so I kept it for
us."
"What if this case was a smash and
grab?"
He placed his hand on her knee, squeezing
gently. "Then we’d be on Ann Road investigating a B&E…"
She smiled, relaxing into the seat and
watching the lights of Las Vegas through the windshield.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was cooler on the roof of the building. The
wind swirled around them as the flashes from the camera lit up the surface. She
kicked an errant pebble as Grissom carefully turned over the victim’s body with
David’s help.
"Well, this just became more interesting…"
Sara knelt down beside the body, opposite
Grissom. "Deep ligature marks around the neck…"
Grissom nodded. "And a broken neck."
Sara looked up, her brow furrowed.
"Hanged?"
"It would seem so."
She glanced around them and pursed her lips.
"Not here."
"This is a big man, easily 6’3". No
elevator to the roof. One set of footprints…which match the treads of his
shoes."
Sara examined the man’s shoes and shook her
head. "And…no roof dust on his shoes. None that I can see anyway…"
Grissom looked around, the puzzlement showing
clearly on his face. "So, he wasn’t killed here. Didn’t climb the stairs
himself, obviously. But, whoever brought him up here wore the exact same
shoes?"
"Who could bring him up here?"
Grissom shrugged and smirked lightly. "Another
large man. Who wears large Rockport boots."
"You’re a big help…"
He chuckled as he stood up, pulling the latex
gloves from his hands.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Catherine found Grissom in the layout room,
his evidence spread out around him. He looked up as she leaned on the opposite
end of the table.
"Yes?"
"Heather sends her regards…"
Grissom stared over the top of his glasses.
"Is that all you have to say? I’m pretty busy here."
"No." She stood back up and offered
Grissom an understanding smile. "She also asked me to tell you
congratulations on the births of your children and that she wishes you and Sara
the best of happiness."
Grissom gave her a curt nod. "How’s your
case going?"
"You know, I didn’t realize how deeply
she really cared for you until tonight."
Grissom pulled his glasses from his face and
glared at her. "If you have anything to discuss with me about your case,
then get on with it. If you’re here to discuss Lady Heather, then don’t bother.
I’m very busy, Catherine. I don’t have time for this."
Catherine took a step back and drew a deep
breath. "For the amount of blood we found, we’re going under the
assumption that there’s a dead body somewhere."
"Assumption?"
Catherine bit her lip briefly. "Look,
Grissom. There was a shitload of blood. One source. Whoever it belongs to, is
no longer living. Problem is, we don’t know whose blood it is."
"Find out."
Catherine shook her head in frustration and
stormed out of the room. The muscles in Grissom’s jaw twitched as he picked his
glasses up from the table and slid them back on.
Taking a deep calming breath, he refocused his
attention on the evidence in front of him.
Sara looked over at her husband as he
carefully navigated his way through the maze of cars on the road. She reached
over and touched his thigh, smiling as he quickly glanced at her.
"You okay, Gil?"
"Huh? Oh…yeah. I’m fine."
She nodded slowly. "Uh-huh. Is that why
you haven’t said a word the entire time we’ve been driving down the road?"
He let his right hand fall from the steering
wheel and land on top of hers. He sighed heavily as he checked his mirrors and
flipped on the turn signal. Her brow furrowed as she glanced at the fuel gauge
when he pulled into the Chevron.
"We have three quarters of a tank…"
"I know." He pulled into one of the
parking spaces beside of the building and killed the engine. Releasing her
hand, he laid his head against the headrest and closed his eyes.
"I know you didn’t pull in here to take a
nap…" Her fingers squeezed his thigh lightly. "What’s wrong,
Gil?"
"I need to talk to you."
Sara unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted her
body sideways to look at him. "About?"
Taking a deep breath, he rolled his head until
his eyes met hers. "Catherine, Heather…"
Her eyes darkened for a brief moment as she
nodded her head. "Uh…okay."
He chuckled lightly. "It’s not what you
think, honey." He waited until she had visibly relaxed and then continued.
"Catherine came into the Layout Room and told me that Heather said
hi…"
"Uh-huh…" Sara’s muscles tightened.
"It’s nothing to worry about. Heather
just wanted to congratulate us on the boys…and…us."
"If there’s nothing to worry about, then
why are you so nervous?"
He shrugged his shoulders and turned his head
to look out the windshield. "I guess because it took me by surprise."
"And Catherine was just passing along a
message?"
"I think so…"
Sara narrowed her eyes. "You think so?
What exactly did Catherine say?"
"Her exact words? ‘I didn’t realize how
deeply she cared for you until tonight’."
"What?"
Hearing the rise in her tone, he reached over
quickly and took hold of her hand. "Calm down, honey."
"What the hell kind of thing is that to
say?"
He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "I
think she was just fishing." Not receiving a response, he offered her a
weak smile. "She doesn’t know if anything happened there or not…"
"Did you set her straight?"
"Sara, she knows that I’m completely
committed to you and our children."
"So…you didn’t?"
He closed his eyes as she pulled her hand away
from him. "It’s absolutely none of her business what did or didn’t happen
between Heather and me."
She turned in her seat, facing forward.
"So, it’s better to let her keep thinking that it possibly did
happen?"
"Sara…"
She quickly held her hand up in a request for
him to be quiet. "Just…drive. I want to go home."
"Sara, I…" His voice trailed off as
she turned her angry eyes towards him.
"I really don’t want to hear it right
now, Gil. I want to go home."
"Brass is on his way over to the vic’s mother’s house."
"I know, I was there when he told you.
Remember?" She took a shaky breath and exhaled slowly. "Take me home.
You go meet Brass. Shift was over thirty minutes ago. I want to go home and
check on our children."
He reached for her hand, pulling back quickly
as she jerked it away from him. "I love you, Sara."
"You can fill me in on what’s going on
with the case when you get home."
Shaking his head sadly, he turned the ignition
and backed out of the parking space.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He pulled up to the curb, parking the Tahoe
behind Brass’ unmarked cruiser. His hand trembled lightly as he pushed the door
open and climbed out onto the quickly warming asphalt.
Brass offered him a smile as he quickly walked
to him. "What took you so long?"
"Sara wanted to get home to the boys…so,
I dropped her off on the way here."
Jim glanced towards the passenger side of the
vehicle to confirm the statement. Not seeing Sara perched in the seat, he
frowned. "She’s not coming? That’s not like Sara…"
Grissom moved around the detective and began
walking towards the house. "Shift is over…Jessie probably needed to get
home as well. I’ll fill her in when I get home…"
Brass nodded, knowing there was more to what
Grissom was telling him. "You okay?"
Even though Grissom was wearing his
sunglasses, he felt the glare that the investigator was shooting in his
direction.
"I’m fine."
If Jim wasn’t already suspecting that
something was wrong, the tone in Grissom’s voice was enough to send him on
alert. Shaking his head slowly, Brass led the way to the front door and rang
the doorbell.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara had listened intently to Jessie’s account
of what had happened during the night. She smiled as the young woman happily
announced that Weevil had slept all through the night, and the buglets had awoken only once each.
As they shared a cup of coffee before Jessie
left, Sara informed her that she was more than welcome to sleep in the bed in
the guest room…as opposed to sleeping on the couch, which is where Sara had
found her when she walked into the house.
Jessie had smiled and thanked her. Finishing
off her morning coffee, Jessie had bid Sara a pleasant goodbye and stated that
she’d see the Grissoms in about thirteen and a half
hours. Sara walked Jessie to the door, thanking her once more for watching the
kids for them.
After Jessie left, Sara closed the door and
leaned against it. Tilting her head to one side, she listened for any sounds
telling her that any of the boys were awake. Hearing none, she slowly made her
way to the couch and sank down onto the soft cushions.
She tried her best to resist them, but the
tears made their way over her eyelids and down her cheeks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom and Brass sat on the couch in Joyce
Butler’s living room. Mrs. Butler sat on the chair opposite of them, tears
flowing freely as they informed her of her son’s mysterious death.
"Who would want to kill Peter?"
Grissom folded his hands on his lap and shook
his head. "I’m not sure, Mrs. Butler. But, we will do our best to find
that answer for you."
"Philip is going to be so upset…"
Brass leaned forward as he pulled his pen out
of his jacket pocket. Flipping open his small notebook, he questioned the woman
sitting in front of him. "Philip?"
Joyce nodded quickly and wiped the tears from
her cheek. "Peter’s brother. They were so close…"
Grissom chewed the inside of his lip. "Is
Philip here?"
"No…he’s at work right now. Should he be
here right now? I mean, do you have questions for him?" She took a sharp,
pained breath. "Philip works so hard. So does Peter. Such good boys…"
Brass sighed as he shook his head. "No,
ma’am. Not right now. We may have some questions for him later. If you could
give him our cards and ask him to give us a call if he knows anything…"
"Of course, Mr. Brass."
Grissom and Brass stood and, offering their
condolences once more, walked to the front door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom walked through the front door of his
home to find Sara slumped down on the couch. Her eyes were closed, her
breathing deep and even. He instantly saw the dried streaks on her face telling
him that she had been crying.
His heart ached as he walked over and knelt
beside of the couch. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he reached out and
gingerly traced the slightly sticky streaks on her face.
He whispered her name softly. She shifted in
her sleep, pulling away from his fingers. Taking a deep breath, he spoke her
name again. This time her eyes fluttered open, focusing quickly on his blue
irises.
"How long have you been home?"
He shifted back from her, letting his hand
fall from her face. "Just a couple of minutes."
She nodded as she brushed her fingers through
her tangled hair. "Did you find out anything new?"
"Sara, I’m sorry."
She shook her head quickly. "I don’t want
to talk about that right now, Gil…"
"Sara…"
She glared at him through dark eyes. "Not
right now."
She pushed herself off of the couch and walked
into the kitchen. She switched the coffee maker on, turning around to find her
husband standing a couple feet behind her.
"Fresh coffee for you. I’m going to bed
for a little while. I’ll get up when the boys wake up…"
"Sara…"
She shook her head slowly and walked around
him. Placing his hands on the countertop, he sighed sadly as he heard the
bedroom door close down the hall.
Grissom sat down on the couch, exhaling forcefully
as he closed his eyes. Not for the first time, he wished that time travel
existed. He sighed heavily at the thought and debated on whether or not to go
into the bedroom.
He shook his head gently, knowing that she needed
time alone. What he really wanted to do was to open the door, climb into bed
with her, and get her to talk to him. But, this was Sara.
He knew her well enough to know that when she needed
time to think, it was best to give it to her. Even though times like this made
it extremely hard. Through all of the years that he had been working, it was
always him who people thought wouldn’t communicate. And, for the most part,
they were correct. But that was before Sara, before marriage, before children.
And right now, all he wanted to do was talk it out.
Instead, he picked up the television remote and
flicked through the channels. He stopped on Animal Planet and decided to watch
Steve chase a cobra through the dry grass.
He fought the yawn that was threatening him. Weevil
would be awake soon.
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
She tossed and turned on the firm mattress. There
was no doubt that she was tired, but she just couldn’t get comfortable. She
hated arguing with him. Especially when it was over something that really
wasn’t his fault.
Technically, Catherine had started this one. What
was the point in her telling him that she didn’t realize how much Heather cared
for him?
Maybe she was
just fishing.
Sara groaned and rolled onto her stomach, placing
the pillow over her head. A restless sleep eventually found her. A sleep
plagued with images of people she didn’t even want to think about, much less
have them in her dreams.
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
When Mikey woke up,
Grissom contemplated waking Sara up. But as he cracked the bedroom door and
peeked inside the room, he decided to just let her sleep. He yawned as he
followed his oldest son into the living room.
“Waz dat?”
Grissom smiled as he watched Mikey
climb onto the couch with his small cup of apple juice. “The Crocodile Hunter.”
Mikey furrowed his brow as he studied the television
screen. “Dat’s a nake.”
“Yeah, he hunts snakes too…”
Mikey turned to look at his father with a puzzled
expression on his young face. “Why?”
Grissom chuckled lightly as he shrugged his
shoulders. “Because he’s Steve Irwin…”
The boy seemed to think about that for a minute,
then mimicked his father’s motion of shrugging his shoulders. “He’s Dee Urn.”
Hearing a soft knock on the door, Grissom sighed and
stood up. He opened the door to find Jim Brass standing on the front porch.
“Shift’s over…”
Brass chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I know. But, I’m
off tonight.”
Grissom narrowed his eyes. “I’m not…and you’re not
really my type.”
“Funny. You’re not my type either…” Brass released a
hearty laugh.
“DIM!”
Brass reached down and lifted the young boy into his
arms as Mikey ran into his legs. “Hey there, Weevil.”
“We watchin’ Dee Urn on deebee.”
“Are you?”
Brass chuckled as Mikey
nodded enthusiastically. Hearing the television show’s theme, Mikey wiggled in Brass’ arms. As he placed the boy back
onto the floor, Jim smiled at Grissom.
“What do you need, Jim?” He winced lightly as his
tone sounded a little more harsh than he intended.
“You look like hell.”
Grissom sighed as he closed the front door. “Thanks.”
Brass folded his hands in front of him as he
regarded his friend. “Look, Gil…I’m not sure what happened, but you and Sara
need to talk it out.”
Grissom ran his hand through his hair. “It’s just a
slight argument…”
Brass nodded slowly. “When a husband says it’s a ‘slight
argument’, the wife normally thinks it’s a much bigger problem…”
Grissom walked into the kitchen, followed closely by
the detective. “Sometimes, the husband thinks it’s a bigger problem as well.
And he just tells his friends that it’s a ‘slight argument’ because it’s really
none of the friend’s business.”
“Point taken…”
“Look Jim, I’m not trying to be an ass. It’s just…”
Grissom sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “I’m really tired, I don’t like
arguing with Sara, and…”
He stopped as Brass raised his hand and smiled. “I
don’t need to know, Gil. I just figured that you and Sara might need some time
alone to talk things out…and get some sleep.”
Grissom nodded silently and leaned against the
counter.
“Naomi and I are taking her granddaughter to the zoo
today. I thought Weevil might like to go with us.”
“He loves the zoo.”
“So, would it be okay if I ask him?”
Grissom thought for a moment, a brief smile
appearing on his lips. “Sure.”
“We can take the twins too, if you want…”
Grissom shook his head quickly. “No, they’re
fine…and a little too young to appreciate a trip to the zoo…”
Brass grinned as he nodded and walked back into the
living room. He sat down on the couch beside of the young Grissom, smiling at
the boy as Mikey snuggled against him.
“Hey Weevil?”
“Huh?”
“Would you like to go to the zoo today?”
Mikey quickly looked up at him. “Wif
oo?”
“Well, with me…and Naomi and Lydia.”
“Nomie too?” The young boy
giggled as he clapped his hands.
“Yep, Naomi’s coming too. So is Lydia…you haven’t
met her yet, but she’s around your age.”
“Widda?”
“Close enough…” Brass laughed lightly. “Now, go ask
your Daddy to get you ready and then we’ll go pick up Naomi and Lydia, okay?”
“Otay!”
Grissom smiled as his son ran up to him excitedly.
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
Sara’s eyes fluttered open and glanced at the clock.
Seeing that she had slept for over five hours, she quickly sat up and slid out
of the bed. As she made her way to the living room, she looked into the nursery
to find both Alex and Ant sleeping peacefully. Tilting her head, her eyes
narrowed in confusion as she failed to hear her husband or her oldest son.
Walking into the living room, she shook her head
lightly as her gaze focused on her sleeping husband. She knelt beside of the
couch and allowed her fingers to brush through his graying
curls.
“Gil?”
His eyes opened and he pushed himself up to a
sitting position. “Hey…”
Sara’s eyes darted around the room quickly. “Where’s
Mikey?”
“Jim and Naomi took him to the zoo. He said that they’d
be back around 5 or 6…” He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What
time is it?”
“Almost two.” She moved to the couch, twisting her
body so that she was facing him and her back was against the armrest. “Why
didn’t you come to bed?”
“I…uh…I thought you needed time. So, I was watching
tv…guess I fell asleep.” He shrugged his shoulders lightly.
“Can we talk?”
He nodded slowly and stood up. “Want some coffee?”
“Sure.” She followed him into the kitchen and
watched him as he carefully measured the grains and dropped them into the
filter. “Have Alex and Ant been up?”
He nodded as he watched the water stream through the
filter. “They were up for a little while. I fed them and put them back down.”
He glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. “That was about two hours
ago.”
She pulled two mugs from the cabinet and sighed.
“Why didn’t you tell her?”
He inhaled deeply as he placed the canister of sugar
on the counter. “It’s none of her business, Sara.”
She watched as he carefully filled their mugs with
the dark, steaming liquid. “So, it’s best for her to continue to assume that…”
He cut her off quickly as he dropped his spoon into
the sink. “Do you believe me when I
say nothing happened?”
Her eyes widened as she registered the tone in his
voice. “Yes.”
Unlike his tone, hers was soft and quiet. He shook
his head in frustration and stared at her through slate gray eyes.
“That’s all I need, Sara. For you to know. I don’t care what anyone else thinks happened…or
didn’t happen, for that matter.”
“Gil…how long has it been since that…incident? And
people are still talking about it. How do you think that makes me feel?”
His eyes darkened for a moment and he gave her a
curt nod. “Okay, Sara. You win.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise as he picked up
the cordless phone. “What are you doing?”
“Calling Catherine. If it’s so important to you for
her to know exactly what happened on that night, then I’ll tell her. I’m tired
of this…”
She pulled the phone out of his hand and placed it
on the countertop. “Tired of what, Gil?”
“Tired of not knowing whether or not I can come to
bed, whether or not it’s okay to hold you or kiss you…tired of you being pissed
off over something that has no bearing on anything.”
He took a deep breath when he saw her eyes glisten. With
a tone much softer than seconds earlier, he continued.
“I don’t care what she thinks, Sara. Or what she
assumes happened. All I care about is the fact that you know the truth…and that
you believe me. I don’t like broadcasting my personal life. And if I bring it
up now, it’s just going to fuel the rumors that have
died down. She was just fishing to see if I would confirm or deny anything.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. “I realized…”
He raised a shaky hand and tenderly wiped the tear
away. “What?”
“How much she cared. I realized it.”
He sighed as she walked into his personal space and
rested her head on his shoulder. “None of that matters now, Sara. None of it.”
He placed a kiss in her hair as she sniffled lightly.
“Want to go over the notes for the