Chapter 10: "Adoptation" a.k.a. Where We Left Off

About an hour and a half later Sara arrived at Catherine's place -her mind still filled with thoughts about both Sophie's and Chris' case as she locked her car.

As she walked onto the porch, the front door opened, and Lindsey stormed out.

"Sara!" the little Willows woman said as she wrapped her arms around the brunette's legs.

"Hey Lindsey. How was school today?"

"It was ok. Miss Sanchez taught us how to do multi…multiplications," she stated, struggling with the last word.

"Ah," Sara started. "Math, now that's my cup of tea." The brunette smiled as she guided the little girl inside.

"Would you please help me with my homework then?" Lindsey asked, her face flashing the irresistible look Sara had named the 'Willows-look'. A look she had often seen on the older Willows woman as well.

"Gwen invited me for a sleepover, but mom said I had to finish all of my homework first"

Both of the Willows women knew how to get their way, and Sara just couldn't resist.

"Sure, I'll help you. Go get your stuff, and I'll be right with you," the lanky brunette said as she scanned the rooms, in search of the other blonde.

"Where's your mom?" She asked Lindsey who was already halfway up the stairs.

"Kitchen," was the short reply she got.

Walking towards said room, she stopped in the doorway. Leaning against the door-post, and folding her arms she just stood there -appreciating the beauty in front of her.

Though they had only been together for a few weeks, Sara knew that this was what she always wanted. And despite this same fact -their relationship only a few weeks old, Sara already thought about their future together. Catherine and Lindsey had become so important to her, she knew she wanted things to be forever.

Hold your horses Sidle, you're going way to fast. The brunette stopped her train of thoughts, and merely stared at Catherine's backside. And what a lovely backside it was.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or do I get a kiss?" Catherine spoke up without even turning around.

Sara smirked, and walked over to where the strawberry blonde was cooking at the stove. Circling her arms around the smaller woman's waist, she pulled their bodies close to one another.

Placing a soft kiss right behind Catherine's ear earned the younger woman a moan -causing a smile to form on her own face. Then she turned the strawberry blonde around, to give her a proper kiss.

As their lips met, Catherine's arms found their way up, hands tangling into the taller woman's hair.

"I heard your daughter is going to a sleepover tonight?" the brunette said as their lips parted. She recalled something about promising to finish things they had started that morning, and, with Lindsey at a friend's house, she had every intention on keeping that promise.

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk about," Catherine started, looking into the hazel eyes in front of her.

"The sleepover?" Sara asked, confusion written all over her face.

"No, not that part, I meant about my daughter," Catherine said. She reached her hand up, and caressed the taller woman's cheek.

"Oh," was the only sound that left Sara's mouth.

"I know how much you love Lindsey…and me, and we both love you. And I talked about this with her…I want for you to be legally responsible for her if anything ever happens to me. What I mean to ask is whether you would want to adopt her?"

Not receiving an immediate answer from Sara, Catherine continued, "You don't have to answer right away, just, think about it ok?"

Sara could feel tears forming in her eyes. She was really surprised by the older woman's request -a good surprised though. Although Catherine had said she could give it some thought, she already knew the answer.

"I would be honored, Catherine, I'd love to," Sara said as she placed both of her hands on Catherine's cheeks.

"We need to t…"Catherine started, but was silenced by a finger against her lips.

"We'll talk things through tonight," Sara said before claiming the strawberry blonde's lips in a passionate kiss.

But before things could get too heated, they were interrupted by a voice from behind.

"I thought you said you were going to help me, not mom. She can cook on her own, you know."

Leaning her head against Catherine's shoulder, a smile crept onto Sara's face. Releasing the strawberry blonde's waist, Sara let out a small sigh -only for the older woman's ears to hear- and walked over to Lindsey.

"Yeah Linds, Sara was just….ehmm…I got something in my eye," Catherine said, a little shyly -she hadn't wanted for her daughter to find them in this compromising position.

"Right mom, and pigs fly," Lindsey quipped, placing her books on the kitchen table.

"You're way too smart for your age," Sara said as she tussled through the little blonde's hair.

"I know. And now you're going to help me. So, focus, I have a sleepover to go to," Lindsey said as she opened her math book.

Taking a seat next to the little girl's, Sara shared a look with Catherine -big smiles on both of their faces.

***

The next thirty minutes Sara helped Lindsey with her homework while Catherine finished cooking dinner. Wanting to set the table, the older woman shooed her daughter and lover into the living room.

"You two girls go and enjoy yourselves in the living room for a few minutes. Dinner's almost ready."

Lindsey grabbed her books, and walked out of the kitchen. Sara was still seated, and Catherine walked up behind her.

She had enjoyed watching the easy interaction between Lindsey and Sara, and she was grateful for the brunette's response to her question. The glances the brunette had thrown her way hadn't gone unnoticed, and made her feel all warm and tingly inside.

Finally, she thought We're starting to become a real family again…well, sort of, she added in an after thought.

Even though Eddie had never been much of a husband to her, he had done his best in the father-department. However, it seemed as nothing when compared to the way Sara cared for Lindsey.

Wrapping her arms around the strong shoulders of Sara, Catherine leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on top of the brunette's head.

"I'm glad we've got some time for each other tonight," Catherine said. The past few days had been pretty hectic, and both of the women were craving for more physical contact.

"Well then, I'd better go and help Lindsey pack her stuff," Sara said, a gap-toothed smile coming onto her face as she stood up.

And with one last kiss, Sara headed out of the kitchen, in search for Lindsey.

***

It was about two hours later when Sara and Catherine settled themselves onto the couch. During dinner the three of them had talked about Sara becoming Lindsey's legal guardian -trying to explain to the little girl what it meant.

Now, Lindsey had just been picked up by Gwen and her mother, and wouldn't be back until the next afternoon. Cuddling into Sara's arms, the strawberry blonde spoke up.

"I've talked to my lawyer."

"Uhuh," was the taller woman's absent-minded reply, one hand occupied with stroking through blonde locks of hair, the other grabbing hold of Catherine's hand -entwining their fingers.

"About the adoption?"

Now that got Sara's full attention.

"Yeah," she said as she squeezed Catherine's hand.

"Well, we're not…married or registered partners…" Yet, she added mentally as a little smile crept onto her lips "but you can become her legal guardian."

"I know," the brunette stated.

"You do?" Catherine turned around in the embrace so she could face Sara.

"Yeah…I ehm…while you were doing the dishes I called my lawyer…to see which possibilities there were," Sara said sheepishly -avoiding Catherine's sparkling blue pools, and hoping she hadn't been to forward with this action.

As the strawberry blonde realized what Sara just told her, she turned her entire body around, and was now completely splayed on top of the other woman.

"We'll make appointments with our lawyers tomorrow and arrange this as soon as possible," Catherine replied before her lips attacked Sara's.

"And now," she started as she came up for a breath of air, "you're gonna fulfill your promise."

Sara noticed the sexy smile on the older woman's lips, and pulled her in -once again engaging their lips into a passionate kiss.

Nibbling on the strawberry blonde's lower lip, Sara searched entrance to deepen the kiss. However, Catherine decided not to give in immediately.

A groan of frustration filled the living room when Catherine slid off of Sara's body and stood up.

"You look sexy when you're frustrated," the older woman smiled. "Now," she reached out her hand, "take me to the bedroom."

In mere seconds Sara complied to the strawberry blonde's request, left the couch and grabbed Catherine in her arms -carrying her into the direction of their 'sanctuary'.

***


Chapter 11: Who Framed Gilbert Grissom?

Sara and Catherine were seated in the brunette's car. They had just left the older woman's lawyer, talking about all the things that had to be arranged for Sara to become Lindsey's legal guardian.

Everything seemed sorted out, all questions seemed answered, and both were sporting a big smile on their faces. However, Catherine's mind was still occupied with one last question. One that couldn't be answered by her lawyer.

No. The only person who could answer that question was sitting right next to her -driving the both of them through traffic, bringing them to the CSI HQ.

Sara noticed Catherine's fidgeting, and when she pulled her car to a halt at the CSI HQ parking lot she turned round, her focus moving from the traffic to the strawberry blonde.

"Something is bothering you," she stated

"Not really bothering, but…" Catherine started, "there's still one thing I need to know." Seeing the confused look on Sara's face she decided it was time to pop the question.

Thus, the strawberry blonde gathered all her courage, looked into the hazel eyes of the taller woman, and spoke up. "Sara, what I wanted to ask you is if you…would you like to move in with Lindsey and me?"

The silence that followed made Catherine think her question had crossed the line. But she couldn't be farther from the truth. As a matter of fact, Sara was so touched by the question she was just speechless.

This was what she had wanted all her life, what she had longed for -her own family. And now this amazing woman sitting next to her offers her this opportunity. Sara felt her heart leap of joy.

Realizing she hadn't answered yet she roughly grabbed Catherine's collar and pulled her close for a hard, demanding kiss.

"Guess that means yes?" Catherine asked, a goofy smirk on her face.

"It does," Sara answered smiling. "We'll start making arrangements tomorrow night. You're off as well, aren't you?"

"Yes," the older woman responded, her hand caressing Sara's cheek.

"Good."

After sharing one last kiss, the two women left the car and headed inside, each going their separate way.

***

It had been two weeks since Sara and Catherine had come out to their colleagues, and most of them were really happy for them -they could see how much they loved each other. And now Sara would become Lindsey's legal guardian most of them realized things were getting really serious between the two women.

However, there was still one person that apparently couldn't stand seeing Sara and Catherine together…

"Grissom, I could need an extra pair of hands on this case. Catherine told me she wasn't working one, she can help me."

"No," Grissom snapped back.

"No?!" Sara felt her temper rise. "This is because Catherine and I are seeing each other, isn't it?"

Grissom didn't respond, but as Sara caught the look in his eyes she knew enough. "I thought you could be professional about this, guess I was wrong…you've had me fooled all along."

She turned and headed off. "Forget what I asked, I'll work this case alone," she quipped over her shoulder just before leaving Grissom's office.

Walking towards her favorite lab, Sara crossed paths with her strawberry blonde lover, who immediately noticed the anger coursing through the younger woman's body.

"Well, seems you've got some more time to kill, and no, there was no pun intended," Sara said grumpily.

The case Grissom had so 'gracefully' dumped on her shoulders was way too much processing to be done by one CSI, but the gray-haired supervisor's excuse had been that because she had the highest solving-rate she would be able to handle it on her own.

Catherine reached for Sara's shoulder, giving the taller woman a squeeze. The touch of the strawberry blonde seemed to have a calming effect on Sara, and all the pent up anger started to leave her body.

"I'm sorry Sara, I really don't understand why he…"

"Don't be sorry, Catherine, it's not your fault," Sara interrupted. "Well, I'd better be going otherwise we won't be able to leave early enough to meet up with Lindsey for breakfast."

Catherine took one step closer to Sara and embraced the tall brunette. "I love you," she said as she pulled back and stepped away from the strong arms that had held her in a tight hug.

"I love you too," Sara replied, locking her hazel eyes with the blue pools in front of her.

"Now, go," Catherine shooed, "solve that crime." She winked at her lover before walking to the break room.

***

Although there had been a lot to process, Sara had made some definite progress in the case she was working on. The case, a 419 (dead body) at a frat house, had turned up fifteen possible perpetrators. The brunette had -at the end of her shift- already eliminated ten of them.

After finishing her work for that shift, she went in search for the strawberry blonde. Reaching the break room she saw Warrick, Nick and Greg, playing some kind of game.

"I thought we got paid to solve crimes. But these days it seems you guys get paid for playing videogames as where I work hard to earn my paycheck," Sara grinned.

"Well," Nick started, "It's more like we get paid to kick this lab-rat-turned-CSI's butt at videogames."

Greg sent him an evil glare, but wisely held his mouth shut as Warrick once again beat him at a game.

"I wish that was true," the tall dark man started, "because then I'd be a millionaire by now."

"Har, har," Greg started, his face showing obvious signs he was trying to come up with a witty reply. "It just happened to be that I…"

"We don't want to hear your excuse, Greg," Nick said, giving the young CSI a slap on the shoulder while taking Warrick's console. "Now, let's play once more, and to make this even more interesting…when you lose, you're the one that's buying breakfast after shift."

"Don't you mean if?" Greg tried to sound convinced of his chance to win.

"Yeah right," Warrick laughed.

"Well you guys, before you start this male bonding ritual," her fingers making quotation marks as she uttered the last three words, "anyone of you care to tell me whether you've seen Catherine around?" Sara asked.

"Said something about needing Archie's help, so I guess the A/V lab would be the place to start looking," Nick said, his eyes already focused on the screen as all sorts of bleeping noises and music filled the break room -indicating a new round of football had begun.

"Thanks," Sara said as she headed out of the room -a distracted "Uhuh" the only reply she got.

As the brunette neared the A/V lab she could hear the voice of her lover. Stopping a few steps before reaching the doorway, Sara overheard the end of their conversation.

"Thanks, Archie, this will definitely help nail the bastard." Catherine sounded relieved, and Sara could already imagine the look on the strawberry blonde's face -a satisfied smile and sparkling eyes.

"You're welcome. Let's hope the next case will be as simple as this one. I never thought someone could be this stupid," the A/V tech said as he walked to his printer, grabbed some papers, and handed them to Catherine.

"Well, Archie, guess shift's over," Catherine said after she took a look at the clock.

"For you, maybe, but for me…" Archie said as he walked back to his desk, pointing to a large pile of files.

"Well, have fun," Catherine teased.

"Thanks, you too," Archie replied as he noticed the other woman looming near the doorway.

Catherine hadn't spotted the brunette yet, and as she left the A/V lab she was caught off-guard by two strong arms encircling her waist. "It's time to go to our daughter," Sara said, pride tangible in her voice. Finally I've found MY family, she thought.

Catherine's face broke out in a smile as Sara's words registered in her mind. "To our daughter it is, then."

After dropping the papers on her desk, and closing the strawberry blonde's office, the two women walked to the locker room, and quickly grabbed their stuff, and headed out.

***

Breakfast had been fun, the three of them making blueberry pancakes, and afterwards the kitchen was in desperate need for some thorough cleaning.

Sara offered to drop Lindsey off at school, an offer gladly accepted by the little blonde. Meanwhile, Catherine had started on the dreaded cleaning of the kitchen.

Sara arrived back at Catherine's -technically it still was Catherine's place. Although Sara had spent most of her free time over at the Willows' house, she still had her own apartment. But, after Catherine's question before the start of shift, that all would change.

Seeing the strawberry blonde on her knees, cleaning the floor from the remnants of their breakfast-ingredients, Sara sported a smirk on her face.

"This is definitely a side of you I really like to admire," the brunette said, referring to the domestic setting of it all, but most of all, to the older woman's well-formed backside.

"Oh really?" Catherine asked, not turning to face her lover as she felt Sara's eyes roaming over her body.

"Uhuh" was the only sound that Sara was able to produce as Catherine finally turned around, her lips sporting a sexy smile, eyes sparkling naughtily.

Sara's heart started to speed up. It was as if she could already feel the strawberry blonde's hands on her body. She decided to tease the shorter woman a little, and not give in directly, but the closer Catherine came, the more Sara's body began to protest to that idea. Oh, how I crave for this woman's touch…MY woman's touch.

Loosing all willpower to not give in immediately, Sara took one step, closing the final distance between them, and roughly grabbed Catherine's ass -pulling her upwards. While walking the older woman towards the kitchen table, Sara could feel Catherine's legs wrap themselves around her waist.

Fortunately, the kitchen table had already been cleared from all of the breakfast remnants, so Sara placed Catherine on top. Kissing the strawberry blonde's lips, Sara let her tongue dart out, letting it graze along Catherine's bottom lip. But just as Catherine opened her mouth, Sara let her tongue trace a path along the other woman's jaw until she reached an earlobe.

Not leaving this sensitive spot untouched, Sara began to nibble and suckle on Catherine's earlobe -earning her a loud appreciative moan. The brunette's lips started to trail a path from the earlobe, down the delicate neck, and ended at Catherine's pulse point.

Feeling Sara's soft lips suckling hard as they connected with her sped-up heartbeat, Catherine took a deep breath. Her own hands now started to frantically roam across the taller woman's body -tugging at the barrier of clothes that restrained her skin from touching Sara's.

Removing her lips from the soft skin of Catherine's neck, Sara carefully pushed Catherine until she was lying on her back. Locking eyes with those of her lover, Sara reached for the other woman, her fingers starting at the strawberry blonde's lips, going all the way down to the buttons of Catherine's blouse -popping them open one by one.

Catherine could only stare into those dark eyes that were hovering above her, totally mesmerized by the brunette's touch. Catherine sat up right a little to allow Sara to remove her blouse entirely as well as her blue lacy bra, but as she reached for the hem of Sara's shirt, the taller woman shook her head and pushed her back down.

Slowly, Sara pushed the material of her shirt upwards, first revealing her taut stomach, then her, with black lace covered, breasts. With one quick movement she had removed the piece of clothing, and threw it on the ground.

Catherine grasped again, taking in all the beauty that is Sara Sidle as the brunette removed her own bra. Before her hands could reach out towards her lover, Sara pinned herself on top of Catherine, kissing her fiercely as her nipples pressed against the already rock-hard nipples of the strawberry blonde.

Their tongues started a dance of domination -neither of them wanting to lose, nor wanting to win- exploring each other's mouth as if they had discovered a new land, a new world. Their world.

Sara could feel Catherine's pelvis pressing harder against her own, both their breaths getting more labored by the second as they were moving against one another faster and faster.

Within minutes Sara had discarded the rest of their clothing -throwing them all over the kitchen floor. Pulling the strawberry blonde closer to the edge of the table, Sara knelt down, and she could already smell the sweet wetness of her lover.

Placing butterfly kisses along Catherine's inner thigh, Sara carefully inched closer to Catherine's core -already aching to be touched.

"Sara, please," Catherine pleaded as her need became too much.

The taller woman didn't respond directly at the strawberry blonde's request, her lips inching closer to Catherine's throbbing nerve core. The younger woman's breath tickled Catherine's clit -sending shivers through her body- and just as Catherine was about to ask again to be touched, Sara fiercely attacked the strawberry blonde's core -a loud moan escaping Catherine's throat.

As Catherine began pushing her pelvis harder against Sara, the brunette knew the touch of her tongue wasn't enough anymore for her lover. So she began to kiss her way up the older woman's body, stopping at the delicious breasts that also craved for some attention.

Catherine felt her body still had tension, built up by Sara's expert tongue movements, pent up with no immediate release, and tried to reach for the brunette's hand to guide her towards her wet center.

But before she could get a hold of Sara's hand she already felt two long fingers inside of her, and started rocking along with the pumping motion of the younger woman's hand.

So, instead of reaching for Sara's hand, Catherine found her own hand cupping Sara's also ready sex.

Sara's eyes locked with Catherine's once again as she felt the strawberry blonde softly pinching her nerve core before sliding a finger between her slick folds.

Together, they started rocking in a steady rhythm, both edging closer to release. Sara added another finger and urged Catherine to do the same as she felt she was about to reach her orgasm. And almost instantly Sara's entire body began to shake uncontrollably, finally finding the release it so desperately wanted.

Catherine fell over the edge as Sara's shaking body covered her own -both of their hands still inside one another.

After lying motionless for a few minutes, Sara crawled off the table, and offered Catherine a hand. Pulling each other close, they engaged their lips in a searing kiss.

"Wow," Catherine breathed as she pulled back a little. "Have I recently told you how much I love you?" she asked smiling, her arms reaching up and encircling the taller woman's neck.

Sara cupped her lover's soft cheek. "Well, I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you say that."

Catherine smiled, leaning into the touch. "I" She placed a kiss on the palm of Sara's hand, "Love" kissed the brunette's forehead, "You" and sealed her declaration with a heated kiss on Sara's lips.

"I love you too," Sara said, as they broke off their kiss. "And now," the tall woman started as she picked Catherine up in her arms and headed for the stairs, "we are going to take a shower, and afterwards I'll help you clean up the mess we made in the kitchen."

***

That night after dinner Catherine and Sara had discussed the moving in. They decided that Sara was going to move in with Catherine and Lindsey, their house being big enough for a third person.

"Why don't we start moving this Saturday?" Sara asked as she came walking back from the kitchen, two steaming mugs in her hands.

"I don't know," Catherine started, and continued after taking the offered coffee, "I've got to work that night."

"That's ok, I can handle things," the brunette answered as she sat down next to Catherine.

"I'm thinking about subletting my apartment. That way there won't be much to move, at least, not a lot of furniture. Besides, I think Lindsey will be more than willing to help."

"She probably will," Catherine said, placing her now empty mug on the table in front of her. "And so does her mother," she added as she shifted her body closer to Sara.

Taking the strawberry blonde's hand Sara smiled at her beautiful lover. "And you will. The three of us will be able to move all my stuff within a few hours, so that'll leave you enough time to get ready for work."

Catherine squeezed the younger woman's hand, and closed the gap between their lips. She felt Sara's arms sneak around her waist as the brunette let her tongue trace her bottom lip. Pushing Sara back on the couch, but remembering Lindsey was upstairs finishing her homework Catherine knew they had to slow things down.

As they broke off the kiss, Sara was the first to speak up again. "So I guess that's all settled?"

"Yep," Catherine said as she changed her position, turning around in the strong arms of her lover, and just enjoying the comfort of being in Sara's protective embrace.

A few minutes later Lindsey came down stairs, and the three of them decided to watch a movie.

"Can I pick the movie?" Lindsey asked already walking towards the tv.

"Aw," Sara teased. "You already got to choose last time. When will it be my turn?"

"Not tonight," Lindsey said, turning and facing her mother and Sara while crossing her arms in front of her.

"And why is that?" the brunette queried.

"Because then we'd be watching The Italian Job every time it would be your turn to choose," Catherine stated, a smirk coming onto her face.

"Yeah, and we've seen it like a thousand times already," Lindsey added, backing up her mom in the hope she'd be the one that could pick the movie they'd watch.

"Well," Sara said sheepishly, "what can I say other than that I've got a thing for blondes. One in particular. "

"Oh really?" the older woman grinned. "And who might that be?" Catherine quirked an eyebrow as she turned to watch over her shoulder.

"This beautiful strawberry blonde woman I work with." Sara gave Catherine a quick peck on the lips, and then said to the little Willows woman she could pick the movie she wanted.

Within seconds Lindsey had returned, and put the dvd on. The little girl settled on the couch -placing herself between the two women.

***

About half way through the movie (as Adam Sandler took Drew Barrymore on one of their 50 First Dates) Lindsey had crawled onto Sara's lap and had fallen asleep.

Catherine, who was watching her daughter and her love rather than the movie, felt her heart flutter at the sight that graced her eyes.

Getting off the couch she bent forwards to pick up Lindsey to take her to bed, but before grabbing her daughter she locked eyes with Sara -who looked at her with sparkling eyes.

"I'm so glad to be a part of this," the younger woman said sincerely. "It feels so good to have the two of you in my life." A single tear escaped one of her hazel eyes -a tear of happiness.

Catherine was at a loss of words, but needed to let Sara know she felt the same. So she let her lips crush upon the soft ones of the brunette.

As the need for air became too much to ignore, Sara pulled back and looked into her lovers eyes. "Let's bring our daughter to bed."

Catherine loved the fact that Sara was so determined already in calling Lindsey their daughter, and couldn't stop a big smile from spreading across her lips.

"Our daughter," she repeated softly, earning her the brunette's famous full-blown gap-toothed grin.

***

The next evening both of the women were walking down the hallways of the CSI HQ. It was the start of a shift that would turn into one of the most stressful shifts they had had in a long time.

Like every night, everybody gathered in the break room, and as Sara took a seat next to Catherine, Ecklie came walking in.

"Listen up everybody," he said as he opened a folder. "We've got a major problem at hand and all other cases you are currently working on will be handed to Nick and Warrick."

"Why?" Catherine inquired. "And why are you here? Where's Grissom?"

"Gil Grissom is part of the problem," Ecklie started, "Apparently he witnessed a shooting."

"And?" Sara spoke up, "Why's that a major problem?"

All the nightshift members looked expectantly at Ecklie. Being a witness normally wasn't such a big problem for CSIs -on the contrary: their witness reports were often better than those of other civilians.

Ecklie sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and after a few seconds of silence he spoke up again. "Well, the problem is that other witnesses saw Gil Grissom having an argument with the victim half an hour before the shooting happened."

The CSIs looked at Ecklie in surprise. Of course -being in an argument with someone, and actually killing someone were two separate things, but most of the times they were related.

"And to make things even worse, two officers found the murder weapon at the scene -possibly Grissom's gun." He looked at all the CSIs before continuing, "So, I hope you all understand we want to keep this case low-profile and out of the media."

"Why can't we help on Grissom's case? We want to…" the square-jawed Texan spoke.

But before Nick could continue Ecklie interrupted.

"You can't. We're already breaking rules by letting members of our own team do the investigation, but that was a decision made higher up."

Now it was Nick who wanted to interrupt again. But seeing the 'shooting-daggers' look on the ex-dayshift supervisor he was wise enough to keep silent.

"As for those other cases, they're time sensitive, so we can't just put them on hold," Ecklie continued. Then he addressed the two women. "Gil is in a holding cell at the PD. One of you'll go to the scene, and the other is coming with me to the PD."

"I think I'll take the crime scene," Sara said, turning to face Catherine, "If that's ok with you."

"Fine by me," the strawberry blonde answered.

Even though the last few weeks it hadn't seemed so, Gil had been Catherine's friend for many years, and since Sara had developed a certain form of anger towards the man -a sense of anger Catherine could completely relate to, but could keep hold of better than her lover- she knew she had to be the one dealing with Grissom.

"Alright," Ecklie said as he stood to leave. "Let's all get to work." And turning to Catherine he added, "Parking lot in five minutes."

Catherine nodded, and together with Sara she walked to the locker room.

"This isn't going to be easy. Grissom won't be glad to see us working his case," Sara said, casting her eyes to the ground.

"I know, but we're all professionals. Gil will see that we're only doing our job, letting the evidence tell the story, and leave our own feelings out of it," Catherine said as she took the brunette's hand.

"But I'm so angry at him. I don't know if I can be objective this time," Sara almost whispered.

"Sure you can," Catherine stated, and cupped the brunette's chin -forcing to look her in the eyes. "You are the best CSI we have. Just do what you do best. Process."

Sara stared at the sparkling eyes of her lover, and instantly was reminded of the deep feelings she had for the other woman.

"I love you," she whispered, still mesmerized by the strawberry blonde's eyes.

"I love you too," Catherine let her lips graze softly along Sara's before grabbing her kit and heading out.

***

After driving through traffic for twenty minutes, Sara noticed the flashing lights of the patrol cars, indicating she had arrived at the scene of the crime.

She grabbed her kit from the back of the Tahoe, and ducked underneath the yellow crime scene tape. Brass greeted her, and together with David the three of them walked towards the victim.

A woman, approximately mid thirties Sara guessed, was lying in front of the entrance of some obscure bar -face down, and two gaping holes in her back.

After Sara had shot several photos of the scene she asked David to check for an ID.

As he turned the body he found a small purse underneath the woman. They were in luck, the wallet held the woman's ID: Joan Kingston, 34, 579 Matherson Drive, Henderson.

"We've got several witnesses who said they had seen her fight with Grissom minutes before they heard the shots," Brass said. "And, in the alley next to the bar we've found the possible murder weapon."

"Yeah," Sara started. "Ecklie said it could be Grissom's gun."

"Well, that's for you to find out," Brass smiled halfheartedly.

***

After processing the body, and seeing it off to the lab, Sara headed to the alley, and started the search for evidence again -filling evidence bags with a .9 mm gun, a cigarette butt, a long blonde hair that had been wrapped around the hammer of the gun, and finding a shoeprint.

***

Meanwhile Ecklie and Catherine arrived at the LVPD. Walking towards an interrogation room where they would be able to interview Grissom, Ecklie spoke up.

"I'll have a quick talk with Gil before you come in-" As he saw Catherine was about to interrupt he held up his hand to stop her. "Don't worry, I won't talk about the case. I'll only break the news that you and Sidle are working his case."

"He won't be happy to hear that," Catherine said -more to herself- as Ecklie took the last few steps to the interrogation room and vanished inside.

***

"No," Grissom started, shaking his head, "I don't want them on this case."

"Neither do I, but that's not for you to decide, Gil," Ecklie said as he observed Grissom. "Besides they're the best Las Vegas has to offer, and you know it."

With that said he left the CSI nightshift supervisor in the interrogation room, a cop taking his place at the door.

Dropping his head in his hands Grissom started to think how things had gotten to this point. He couldn't remember everything that had happened the night before.

He had gone to Lady Heather's -seeking for some sort of comfort, trying to forget about Sara and Catherine, knowing Lady Heather could be the one to help him with this. He hadn't gone there for sex, nor for something involving whips or any other kind of torture apparatus. He just wanted to talk to someone, someone who would understand him, and Lady Heather was the person who could.

However, the talk he had had with Lady Heather only made him angrier -Lady Heather telling him he should let Sara and Catherine be.

So, after this unsatisfying talk, he headed for some dark bar off strip, and -in a very un-Grissom-like state- began downing one whiskey after another.

Things that happened after that had become a complete blur...

Catherine entered the interrogation room, shaking Grissom out of his thoughts. Not saying a word, the bugman followed the strawberry blonde's every move.

Putting her kit on the table in the middle of the room, Catherine pulled on a pair of latex gloves, and got out her camera. Only after that she looked at her boss for the first time.

"Grissom, would you please stand up?"

"Back to last name basis are we?" was the only thing the gray-haired man said.

Catherine decided not to go into this personal remark, her mind was set: this was a case like any other, an investigation that had to be done the same way as she would do any other. And thus, Gil Grissom would have to be treated like a suspect, not as a friend. If that is what he still is to me, the strawberry blonde thought.

"Don't make this any harder than it already is. Please, stand up."

The graveyard shift supervisor stood up slowly, and took one step to the side. Standing up straight, he spread his arms, and waited for Catherine to start processing his cloths.

While the woman took several photos of stains on Grissom's clothing -one appearing to be a smudged handprint- she spoke up again. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't know," Grissom said angrily.

"Nothing? Can't you remember something? Anything?" Catherine asked. Grissom had a great memory, so she found it very strange he couldn't -or wouldn't- tell her a thing.

Grissom stated silent.

"You know you're the main suspect in this investigation, right? And you probably also know that there's already a lot of evidence that points into your direction."

Gil hung his head. He indeed knew everything pointed to him. It was as if big neon arrows were shining above his head.

As Catherine started to check whether there was any GSR -gunshot residue- on Grissom's clothes, she noticed something strange -or, in Grissom's case, something good.

"There's no GSR on your hands Gil or front of your shirt, and the only place where it is traceable is the backside of your shirt."

Catherine motioned for the man to sit down again and as the two of them were seated again, the strawberry blonde spoke up again. "Please Gil, you know we want to help you. Let our personal relation not stand in the way of this."

Grissom placed his hands on the table, and looked up into Catherine's eyes, but still didn't say a word.

"The GSR tells me you didn't fire the gun. But why does all other evidence point towards you? Please Gil, tell me what happened," Catherine tried once more.

Grissom knew Catherine was doing her job, and treated him very professionally -not once talking about how he had treated her and Sara. He knew he would have to speak up if he wanted to get out of that place, and save what was left of his career.

So, he started to tell Catherine everything he remembered…

***

Sara walked into the CSI HQ, carrying her kit filled with evidence bags. Just as she entered her favorite lab her pager went. Checking it she noticed Doc Robbins was waiting for her at the morgue.

So, after locking all the evidence in the vault she headed over.

"Hey Doc, What have you got for me?"

"Well, as could be expected, the gunshots killed her. The second one that is. First was a through and through missing all vital organs. The second, however, was a direct hit in the heart, ripped the aorta."

"The second wasn't through and through?" Sara inquired.

"No, given the diagonal trajectory of the bullet I think this shot was fired when she was already face-down. It ripped the aorta and got jammed in the sternum. I was able to retrieve it for you," Doc Robbins said as he walked over to a table, and grabbed an evidence bag holding the fragment of a .9 mm bullet.

"Thanks," Sara said as she took the offered bag. She gave the victim's body one more look before addressing the coroner again.

"Were there any traces of…" Sara didn't finish her sentence, but Doc Robbins knew what she was referring to.

"No," he started as he put his glasses on and read off his notes, "No signs of sexual assault, but the tox results were a bit odd."

"How so?" the brunette quirked an eyebrow.

"There were traces of beta-blockers in her blood, but when I examined her heart I found that there was nothing wrong with it. There was no need for her to take them."

"That's definitely strange," Sara said thinking it all over. "How could that drug have come into her system?"

"Well," Doc Robbins started, "I haven't had time to get her medical files, but noticing the state of her liver I'd guess she was giving the wrong medication. A thing that, unfortunately, happens too often."

"So even if she hadn't been shot there was a big possibility she would have died anyway," Sara said.

"That is correct."

"Hmm, it won't bring us any further in solving the case, but it's good to know. Thanks Doc," Sara started walking away, but turned round as Doc Robbins called after her.

"I hope everything will turn out ok. I know your relationship with Grissom has changed, but I also know you'll give this case your best," the crutched man said.

"I will, but now…" Sara said holding up the evidence bag containing the bullet, "I have to process."

The coroner gave a small smile and nodded, watching the retreating form of the CSI.

After retrieving the gun found at the crime scene from the evidence vault, Sara's next stop was the gun and ammo lab, to find Bobby -who would be able to see whether the bullet and gun match.

***

"So, you're telling me that after you left that bar things get…fuzzy? Come on Gil, you can do better than that," Catherine said, her anger almost noticeable. "This is not the time for your otherwise unfailing mind to falter."

"I can't remember," Grissom said, slamming his fist on the table.

The hard thump made Catherine wince. Grissom noticed the scared look the strawberry blonde CSI gave him, and immediately his features relaxed.

"I'm sorry, Catherine. It's just…I've been trying to remember what happened for over the last couple of hours…and it's still a blank. I'm sorry," he said as he placed his head in his hands, closing his eyes and letting out a big sigh.

Catherine calmed herself down, and at seeing the broken state of her boss, she hoped Sara had had more luck.

"It's ok Gil. As soon as you remember, please let me know," the woman said as she gathered her stuff. "I must go meet up with Sara now."

Grissom winced as he heard the brunette's name, but wisely kept his mouth shut as he felt Catherine's eyes staring at him intently, and only nodded at the strawberry blonde.

Catherine stepped out of the interrogation room, holding Grissom's cloths in an evidence bag.

***

Half an hour later, Catherine walked into the break room and was greeted by the sight of her lover impatiently tapping her feet as she stood waiting for the coffee machine to be done.

"Hey you," she greeted the tall brunette who immediately turned when the sweet voice of her lover reached her ears.

"Hey," Sara replied, stepping away from the kitchen counter and opening her arms for the strawberry blonde.

For several minutes they just stood there like that -holding each other real close, not saying a word.

"I really needed that," Catherine looked up in Sara's eyes as she pulled back a bit.

"So did I."

Switching back to 'investigator mode' Sara reluctantly let her arms release their hold of her lover. "So, what did you find out?"

"Well," Catherine started while taking a seat at the table, "the evidence I collected would suggest Grissom was at the scene during the murder, but it also shows he didn't fire the gun."

After Catherine had filled Sara in on all that Grissom had been able to recall, the brunette filled her in on all she had found out at the morgue, and just as she was going to tell about the bullet her pager went off once again.

"Speaking of the bullet," Sara smiled. "Bobby's got some results. Care to join me?" she asked the smaller woman.

"Don't mind if I do."

Bobby was seated behind a computer as the two CSIs entered his lab. He smiled and greeted them. "I've got good news, and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Save the best for last," Sara answered.

"Alright, now, the bad news is that the gun you've found at the scene indeed is Grissom's gun."

"Shit," Catherine hissed.

"The good news, please," Sara sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

"The bullet you gave me is of the same caliber as Grissom's gun, but was not fired with his gun," the tech said.

"That's great, means Grissom's off the hook," the brunette replied, looking at the smaller woman standing beside her who crossed her arms in front of her, a grave look on her face.

"For the murder, yes. But not for his irresponsible behavior. Ecklie'll probably reprimand him for his carelessness, losing his gun. And there still are those eyewitnesses who saw him in an argument with the vic." Partly, Catherine was relieved Grissom was off the hook, but part of her was also…glad…that being reprimanded by Ecklie was what he had coming.

Maybe that'll help change things between him and Sara and me, the strawberry blonde thought.

"We need to let Grissom know all about this, let him out," Sara said as both of the women were walking towards the evidence vault.

"I think," Catherine said, stopping and resting her hand on the brunette's arm, "that you should be the one to fill him in. It might change his attitude towards you, towards us."

Sara nodded, feeling Catherine's hand on her arm made her crave for more, but she knew that had to wait. There were more important things that needed to be done at this moment. "Yes, I'll go right away. But since the killer is still out there, could you start processing the rest of the evidence I found at the scene?"

"Sure. Now, go, set our boss free," Catherine said, mentally adding: and let's hope he learned something from this all. After a chaste peck on Sara's cheek, Catherine opened the vault, grabbed the evidence bag containing the hair, and set off to find Wendy.

Sara took a deep breath to clear her mind, collect her thoughts, and walked out to her car -heading for the LVPD.

***

Sara and Grissom were seated in Brass' office. The brunette had explained he was no longer a suspect, but had to report at Ecklie's office.

The entire time Grissom hadn't uttered a single word, and now Sara's temper started to rise. Not even a "Thank you"? the brunette thought.

Just as she stood to leave Grissom reached for her arm, stopping the brunette from walking away, and looked her in the eye.

"Thank you, Sara."

Sara merely nodded, her back turned to Grissom.

"I…I…" he started, but his mouth couldn't form the words he wanted to say. Forcing himself he finally said it: "I'm sorry about how I treated you and Catherine. It's just…I"

"It's a start," Sara replied. "But there's still a long road ahead before things'll be back the way they were." She turned to face her boss, "I am willing to try, I know Catherine is. Are you?"

"Yes," he said, his voice sincere.

"Good." And with that said, Sara left.

***

Sara walked to Catherine's office, and after knocking and receiving an "Enter" she headed inside.

"Hey babe," the brunette said as she closed the door behind her and walked over to Catherine who was doing some paperwork.

After placing a kiss on top of the strawberry blonde's head, Sara started to massage Catherine's neck.

"Hmmm, that feels nice."

"Yeah well, your neck feels very tense, so…" the tall woman said.

"How did things go with Grissom?"

"I think we're on the road to recovery of our friendship," Sara said as she twirled Catherine's chair so they were facing each other. She took a seat on her lover's lap and continued. "He said he was sorry."

"That's a start," Catherine said, her hand tangling in the brown locks of Sara.

"Exactly what I told him." Was the last thing Sara said before she engaged their lips in a soft and loving kiss. Catherine was glad she was already seated as she felt her entire body began to tremble just from Sara's kisses, and wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist, pulling her even closer.

Then there was another knock at the door, but even before Catherine answered it was opened.

"Oh, I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to…" Wendy said, blushing as she noticed the women's position. "Just thought I'd let you know before you head home that I ran the DNA from the blonde hair through CODIS. No hit though, sorry."

"Thanks, Wendy, and sorry you had to witness…" Catherine was stopped by Wendy raising her hand.

"My own fault, I should have waited for you to answer. Besides, it's good to see some of us are gettin' some," she laughed as she saw the two women's flush faces.

"Well, shift's over. Later guys," Wendy waved as she walked out of the strawberry blonde's office. "Time to go home."

"Oh, we're going to…as soon as we've finished this paperw…" but before Catherine could finish her sentence Sara had captured her lips once again.

"Babe, the sooner you let me finish filling in these papers, the sooner you can have your way with me," Catherine said, a sexy smirk plastered on her face as she watched Sara's eyes widen -an even bigger smile coming onto her face as Sara quickly got off of her lap and took a seat in the chair at the opposite side of her desk.

"Well then, hurry up I've got some ravishing to do," Sara said cockily.

***

Despite the eyewitness reports, the evidence told the CSIs Grissom hadn't shot the woman. But given the fact that his gun was found at the scene, added to his irresponsible behavior, he had to go on an unpaid leave for two weeks.

The DNA from the blonde hair was of no use, the Combined DNA Index System not kicking out any matches.

The shoeprint came back being that of a much-sold brand, and neither brought the CSIs any further.

Running the recovered bullet through IBIS told them the bullet had been fired by a .9 mm Glock. However, it all kept leading to a dead end, and the case remained unsolved.

So the question still remains: Who framed Gil Grissom?

Continued


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