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The little girls silent tear trickled down her face. She hung her head, as she lowered herself to sit on the front steps of her house. Inside, her fathers voice still raged on, screaming. Sarah knew this would go on until he became hoarse. Then he would storm off, driving to a nearby bar, and possibly not come home until the next day.
This isnt as bad as it had been before, though. Many times her father would hit her and her mom. Sarah was little, but old enough to understand the concept of divorce, and she wondered why her mom didnt get one. Being poor and battered was worse than just being poor.
The door slammed behind her back, and she turned, frightened.
"Get back in the house!" A gruff voice snarled at her. She whimpered in fear, and clutched the bear she was holding. With a swift kick in her sides, she stumbled up, and ran to the backyard. She didnt emerge from the bushes until she heard the car pull away. Then with a dirty hand, she wiped away her tears, and went in the house.
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As the years went on, life continued to get worse for Sara. By the time she was 10, her family had created their house into a roomy bed and breakfast, but troubled still emerged when her father hit the bottle.
Her mom got the blunt of it more-so than she did, but since her Fathers rage had grown as success faltered, she found herself telling teachers about "falls" she had experienced nights before.
One night, when drying the dishes her mom washed, the doorbell rang. Sara hopped off the step-stool she was standing on, and dried her hands on a dish towel.
She bent over to pick up a penny she happened to see on the ground. Heads up. Not that that meant anything special.
"Oh, God!! Oh MY GOD!!" Sara heard her mothers shrill scream come from the den.
"Maam, please" A mans voice said.
"Mom?" Sara ran into the room. "Mom?"
Her mother sat, broken against the wall.
"What did you do to her!?" Sara demanded. She ran at the man, with fists up.
"Little girl! Please! Your father was in a car accident. Hes dead."
"Dead?" She was silent. Her mother howled.
"Yes. We need you and your mother to come down to the coroners office to identify the body."
"Hes really dead?" She asked in incredulous wonder.
"Yes" He reached down to touch her face, and she pulled back in pain.
"Quite some bruise there." Sara noticed another man standing behind the first; he a considerable amount younger.
He noticed her looking at him.
"Im the coroner." He assured her.
"I hit myself on the doorknob." She muttered, not paying attention.
"Youre a little too big to have run into a doorknob," said the older man, the cop.
Saras head snapped up.
"It was a high doorknob."
The younger man stepped in front of the older. He bent down to her level, and gripped her shoulders. He looked into her lost brown eyes.
"Hes gone, now. You dont have to make up stories."
She looked up into his face, then turned and walked to her room.
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Sara thought back to that night a lot. Especially now that she had joined the Crime Scene Investigation team. She remembered the police taking her to the spot her Dad was hit at.
"My name is Gill Grisom." The coroner had told her. "If you ever need to talk to me, Im right uptown." He had smiledsuch a nice smile. She had seen him again when she was 14 and her mother had committed suicide. He was at the funeral, and smiled that same sad smile at her when she walked by with the Paul-bearers.
Ever since her Dads accident, Sara had become fascinated with forensics. Find out the cause, time, and other elements of a death was awesome to her. And concentrating on other peoples problems took hers off her mind.
Not that she didnt have a good life. Single, going to college at Harvardlife was, in fact, excellent.
Mr. Grisom never left her mind, it seemed. At that point in her life, he was the only person who seemed to care whether she lived or died. She only saw him twice, and now his face was fading. But what he had meant to her would never leave.
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College was fun. Sara enjoyed all of the speakers that came into her Forensics classes, talking about past cases and experiences. She couldnt wait to graduate and pursue her career dreams.
As she was walking into the Forensics Media lab this particular day, awaiting another speakers presentation, flashbacks from her childhood kept reappearing in her mind. The entire scene from the night her father had died replayed over and over, and Sara felt as though she was going to be sick.
She ran back out of the room, and to the water fountain in the hallway. The ends of her medium-length brown hair got wet as she hovered over the faucet, lurching back and forth; then it was over.
She stood, and shook her head quickly, as if to shake out her thoughts.
"Sara?" She turned to see her college professor, Doctor Havnor, standing with a man.
"Gill, this is one of our finest students in the forensics department."
"Pleased to meet you." He held out his hand to shake hers, and she accepted.
"This is Mr. Gill Grisom; entomologist, ex-coroner, and a newly trained Crime Scene Investigator."
Sara looked up at the man whose hand she held.
"My name is Gill Grisom."
Gills eyes met her own.
"My name is Gill Grisom."
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The presentation was long, but not boring by far.
Mr. Grisom had all kinds of great stories he shared with the class, and afterwards Sara made sure to stand in the line of students that had formed to shake his hand and congratulate him.
He saw her before she even reached him.
"Sara." He said her name so warmly.
"Coroner Grisom." She smiled, and looked at her feet.
"Its so good to see you again, Sara. I had no idea you were so interested in this field. Do you mind if I ask a more-so personal question?"
"Not at all." She looked up at him, this time.
"Is your parents death the reason you chose this path in your career?"
Sara thought a moment before she spoke.
"Im not sure." She finally concluded. "Maybe it opened up some doors for me I never knew were there, but as far as being the deciding factor, no."
"What was the deciding factor?" His eyes carefully searched her face.
"Please, no!!"
Sara held the pillow to her face, not wanting to watch her mothers torment. She sobbed, but not loud enough for him to hear, and come after her.
"Im not sureI told you, already." She blurted.
"What class do you have next?" He asked gently.
"Im finished for the day." She responded.
"Great. Would you like to join me for coffee?" He smiled, and took her books to carry.
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Of course, Gill Grisom was seldom seen around the campus since he was a career man. He gave some more impressive speeches and presentations, but when graduation day came Sara had only seen him about four or 5 times total at Harvard.
Her first job was in California. She was put doing basics, nothing too extreme for the new guy. But she got offered the opportunity of a lifetime in Las Vegas, and jumped on it.
The team there was great.
There was Catherine, who, though at times seemed like a heinous bitch, was really a fantastic person and not to mention great at her job.
Nick and Warrick were nice, too. Fun to go out with for a few drinks after a hard case, they werent as serious as Catherine, yet very good at their jobs.
But the greatest person of all, at least to Sara, was Gill Grisom. The surprise of her life had occurred the minute she stepped into the office and saw that he worked there. To Sara, this seemed like a dream come true. Grisom was so great at what he didshe knew she had gotten into a good place if HE was hired here.
To Gill, this was fate. Sara was at every corner he turned, and that was outstanding.
So vulnerable when she was 10, she now was strong and beautiful. Every minute he saw her he wanted a minute more. Sara was all he desired, and she haunted his dreams as well as his being.
Catherine knew about this. She was his best friend, so of course he had told her all about his feelings for Sara.
The trouble with having a member of the opposite sex as a best friend, are the other members of that sex that see you as unapproachable since obviously youre dating.
Sara felt this way.
She found herself falling for Grisom every day just a little bit more, but it was obvious he and Catherine were an "item."
She expressed her woes to Warrick, but he laughed at her.
"Catherine means nothing to Grisom." He chuckled, arranging files.
"So hes a womanizer?" She asked, hand on hip.
"Try not at all. Catherine and him are not dating. Never have, never will. We tried last year to set the up, and instead made everyone hate us. I guess they work as friends, but if anything romantic in between them comes up, theyre at each others throats 24/7. It almost ruined a case they were working on at the time." He shook his head. "Never again."
"Hes not dating anyone at all, then?" She asked.
Warrick stepped off the step-stool he was on and faced her.
"Sarah, do you have the hots for Grisom?"
"Not the 'hots'. Its just an attraction."
~ ~ ~ ~
"The age-thing doesnt bother you?" Catherine asked him.
"It would only bother me if it bothered her. I know how much older I am then Sara." Grisom replied.
"Age doesnt matter in love." She quoted.
"Right, but shes so young."
"Shes not that young." Catherine sipped her tea.
Shes got a whole life ahead of her. She needs to find someone who will be there all of that life to take care of her. Grisom sighed.
"Sounds like youre volunteering for that job." She gave him a half- grin.
"Catherine." He stood up, placing a few dollar bills on the table, and pulling on his coat.
"Id give my left arm for that job." He walked out of the restaurant.
~ ~ ~ ~
"So, you want Nick and I to set you guys up?" Warrick asked, stepping down from the ladder.
"No. It wouldnt work out." She shrugged, and looked at the floor.
"Why do you say that?" Warrick carried a few clean empty containers to the counter.
"The age thing?"
"No! WellI guess, kind of." She crossed her arms.
"You think hes too old?" Warrick began organizing the containers.
"Nomore that Im afraid he thinks Im too young."
Warrick snorted.
"I highly doubt that." He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, its obvious"
He looked over to see Sara intently staring at him.
"Yes?"
"wellnevermind." He went back to his containers.
"Warrick, what?!"
"Nothing."
Sara sighed of exasperation, and walked out the door.
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Sara shuddered as the thunder rumbled in the distance.
She hated storms. And being outdoors when it came would really ruin her day.
Her cell phone sounded. She grabbed it off her belt.
"Sara? Its Grisom."
Her heart leapt up in her throat.
"Make sure you get as many samples of the victim off the street before the storm comes. Glass, blood, concrete-get it all. The rain will wash most of it away."
Sara felt her heart sink again as she hung up.
Who was she kidding? Grisom could never love her.
To him she was just a silly little kid.
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Grisom hung up the phone with a sigh.
There was so much he wanted to say to Sara besides, "get as many samples as you can."
He couldnt believe what a jerk he was.
The woman he loved had no idea he was totally head over heels for her.
But Sara threatened everything he was.
When he saw her, even from a distance, a million thoughts swarmed his head.
Buy her roses, take her to a fancy Italian restaurant
Feed her a spoonful of pasta over a candle-lit table
Sometimes, he felt as if he couldnt breath around Sara.
But nothing could be done.
He was too much of a chicken to express his love her, and even if he was man enough to do it, a girl like Sara could never fall for him.
She had her whole life ahead of her, and he was an old man.
Sure, he felt lonely at times with no one to go home to
But work was Grisoms life. And he had prospered into a strong leader for the CSI Team.
But dreams of a family couldnt be pushed from his mind.
At times he wondered what might have been if he wasnt so focused on his career and, in younger years, dated moremaybe fallen in love.
But then he rememberedif he wouldnt have taken the path hed chosen, he wouldnt have met Sara.
And she was the only woman he could ever fall for.
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"Hey, Sara!"
Warricks voice rang through her ears as she arranged her samples.
"Weve got a poker game going tonight, and have an empty seat. Want to come?"
"No thanks, Warrick." She mumbled, as she picked up one of her containers and squinted in at what was inside.
"Nice guy, there." Warrick leaned in for a closer look.
"Didnt know the pet store makes a profit selling those." He made a face.
"Found him while I was picking up tissue off the road." She placed the container down.
"Niiiceso what do you think he has to do with the case?"
"Im not sure. Im going to see if Grisom knows the answer to that." She turned to face him.
Warrick had an amused look on his face.
"Now I see why you dont feel like laying down a bet tonight."
"Whys that?" Sara asked, glaring.
Warrick chuckled.
"Nevermind. Youll be too busy laying something else down tonight." Warrick headed for the door.
"Ask Catherine." Sara suggested.
Warrick clicked his tongue and waved as he walked out.
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