Sources
Chapter 25
They walked along the shoreline slowly, Sara breathing the familiar salty air and Grissom searching for sea creatures. Not far into their walk, they came upon a group of men playing a rowdy game of volleyball. Grissom eyed their shirtless physiques and suddenly felt very old.
"Sara Sidle!" One of the men left the game, running over and grabbing Sara in a bear hug. "Look at you! All grown up!"
Sara giggled in his grasp, and Grissom swallowed the rising jealousy, waiting to be introduced.
"Kev, this is my boss, Gil Grissom," she said with a grin. "Grissom, this is Kevin Wright."
"Good to meet you, sir," Kevin said, extending his arm and giving Grissom a bone-crushing handshake. "So Sara, what brings you out this way?"
She shrugged. "Had some vacation time to use up, and figured I'd pop over to California for a couple of weeks. Grissom surprised me by coming up for the weekend."
There was a palpable familiarity between Sara and Kevin. Grissom realized that she'd made a point of introducing him as her boss and making it clear that they hadn't been purposely vacationing together. His intense stare at Kevin didn't go unnoticed, and the younger man finally excused himself, hugging Sara again before returning to the game.
"Attractive guy," Grissom said through clenched teeth.
Sara watched him spike the ball in a fluid motion, his back muscles rippling. "I guess."
"You guess?" retorted Grissom testily. "Those are washboard abs on Mr. Wright, or didn't you notice?"
She made a noncommittal noise. "He was a good friend of my brother's. Nice guy, but not much going on up here," she said, tapping her head.
He snorted, noticing that she was still watching the group of buff men. "Since when are you interested in brains?"
"Since I met you."
She turned to look at him, her eyes shining with affection and a hint of humor. He realized he'd been played.
"I wasn't jealous," he said quickly.
"No, but Kevin was," she retorted. "Jealous of me. He was totally checking you out."
They walked further down the beach, each of them engrossed in their own thoughts. Grissom was the first to speak.
"I'm scheduled to work tomorrow night," he said quietly.
She nodded in response, swallowing hard. The idea of being in Tamales Bay without him made her feel uncomfortably vulnerable.
"If you want, I can call in sick and stay a little longer."
"No, Grissom, the lab needs you," she said, hoping she sounded convincing. "Besides, I was thinking of going back tomorrow too."
His face lit up. "Want to carpool? I flew here not knowing how you'd react to seeing me, so I didn't book a return flight."
Sara smiled. "Sure."
"Was there anything you wanted to do before leaving Tamales Bay?"
Her eyes grew troubled. "Yeah. I don't want to do it, but I need to. Will you help me?"
Moody Blues was quiet when they returned, and the bubbly receptionist informed them that Gary, Trudy, and the guests were all out. Sara and Grissom walked into the kitchen, pretending to get glasses of water. When they heard the receptionist start a personal phone call, they made their move.
Sara darted up the side stairs, past the sign that said "private." Grissom was right on her tail.
When they reached the top of the steps, Sara turned the knob to find that it was locked.
"I may be able to pick the lock, if you can find me some bobby pins," Grissom whispered.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Give me some credit, Griss, I lived here for thirteen years." She steadied her hands around the knob, pulling it down and to the right sharply while leaning against the bottom of the door. It swung open soundlessly.
"We should tell Gary and Trudy to fix that," Grissom whispered with a frown as they entered the private section of the house.
Sara didn't bother to respond. She stepped cautiously down the hallway, careful not to alert the receptionist below them.
"This is it," she said, coming to a halt outside a closed door. She took a deep breath and opened it, stepping inside. Grissom followed.
Her childhood bedroom had been converted to a study. The walls were a dark blue with white trim, and shelves of books lined the walls. Sara walked in, looking around. No blood stains, she mused. What'd you expect, Sidle, that they wouldn't have cleaned up? It didn't look a thing like her old room, but she felt the ghosts of that night all the same.
Falling heavily into a chair, Sara sighed. Grissom watched her shoulders slump. He came to stand behind her, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her gently. "I should have told him," she said quietly.
"Your father?"
"Yeah. He didn't deserve to be cheated on. And I should have told him what Bobby was doing to me. It probably would have saved his life."
He tightened his hold on her. "How would you respond if a 13-year-old rape victim said that to you?" She was silent, and he knew she understood.
"That's the closet," she said, pointing across the room. Grissom pondered this for a moment, then released her. He walked over to the closet door and opened it, stepping inside.
"Grissom!" Sara's face went pale. "Get out of there!"
He turned to face her, still inside the closet. They locked eyes, engaging in a battle of wills. When he saw her resolve falter a little, he held out his hand. She drew a shallow breath and stood, walking over to him. Taking his hand, Sara stepped into the closet beside him, shaking slightly.
"I'm here," he said in a soothing voice. "You're safe. I won't let anything bad happen to you. You can leave this closet whenever you want."
Sara thought of Connie and relaxed a little. She squeezed his hand, burying her head in the crook of his neck. "I love you," she told him, her voice muffled.
He stroked her hair, murmuring quiet endearments.
They spent the rest of the afternoon on the front porch of the B&B, talking and stealing occasional kisses. By the time Trudy came home, Sara had brightened up considerably.
"Mr. Grissom! Sara!" she greeted them warmly. "Do you have plans for tonight?"
They looked at each other, then back at her, shaking their heads in response.
Trudy beamed. "I was hoping you didn't! Any chance you packed dressy clothes?"