Find Her Series #3 ; So This Is A Family

saraXsullivan

saraXsullivan

CSI Level Two
Well, I'm writing a series, and this is book three so here are the links to the first two:

The Find Her Series #2 ; Merry Go Round Again
The Find Her Series #1 ; Butterflied Again

Title: So This Is A Family.
Pairing: Grissom/Sara.
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI, nor do I own the characters on CSI. I use them to speak the ideas that float around my brain. My own characters, that I have made up, I get to own. Cause I’m cool and get to own people.
Summary: “Not all families end up like this Dani, ours is just a little different,” she said with tears in her eyes. Book Three in the Find Her Series.

Chapter One;
Metaphorical Recoil

Dani was sitting on the couch in the living room part of the apartment, she leaned her head back onto Adam’s shoulder. He leaned his head back onto the couch. Lindsay was sitting in the chair adjacent to the couch, with her head leaned back. All three of them were bored. It was Sunday, and they had to go to school the next day, and they didn’t know how to spend the rest of their weekend.

Lindsay sighed, “We could… I don’t know.” Dani lifted her head to give her a simple, slightly offensive, but purely joking look. Lindsay picked up a piece of her hair and started to braid it. “We could do each other’s hair,” she said and laughed.

Dani lifted her head again, “Actually, that’s not a bad idea…”

--

Twenty minutes later, Dani was fixing Adam’s pigtails. She laughed as she tightened one of the elastics and he winced a little. They were in Dani’s bedroom, where her hair stuff was. Lindsay got up from sitting on the bed, and looked at Dani’s dresser. She picked up some lip-gloss and turned to Adam. He immediately saw what she was thinking and started shaking his head.

“No way! I let you do my hair, but make-up is too far!” Adam complained. Dani looked up at Lindsay and shook her head. The hair was torture enough; make-up would come another day.

--

A half an hour later, the three friends were sitting on the couch again. Adam’s pigtails were no longer there, but he had a weird curl to his hair now that Dani kept playing with. All three of them sighed at the same time, and they looked at each other, then found it to be not that uncommon, and went back to being bored.

A few minutes later, Sara walked into the apartment. She slipped off her shoes, and went into the kitchen. She got out some things from the freezer for dinner and then went into the living room/space. She noticed the curl in Adam’s hair.

“Since when is your hair curly?” Sara asked.

Adam tried to think of a comeback, but he was too slow and Lindsay spoke before him. “We put pigtails in his hair,” Lindsay said and laughed. Sara rolled her eyes and left the room.

--

Sara walked into her bedroom to see Grissom asleep. She sat on the edge of the bed, and put her hand on top of his. Gil rustled a bit, and squeezed Sara’s hand. His eyes opened and he stared up at her. Sara let out a little smile.

“So you caught the suspect?” Grissom asked, judging her smile.

“Yeah, sitting in a patrol car and getting overtime paid off,” Sara said happily. It was about a case that had seemed to be getting almost nowhere for the longest time, then finally the smallest piece of evidence lead them to their killer.

Gil nodded lightly, “Good.”

“I got some dinner out of the freezer, so it’ll be ready in twenty minutes,” Sara said.

Grissom nodded and kissed her hand, “Okay.” Sara smiled and left the room. She went into the kitchen and put the food in the oven. She walked over to the three bored kids in her living room and sighed.

“Done your homework?” She asked to all of them, but Dani in particular.

“Yeah, we worked on that together yesterday, remember?” Dani asked rhetorically. Sara nodded and rolled her eyes.

“Well, dinner’s going to be ready soon,” she informed them.

Adam looked at the clock on the microwave in the kitchen, “I have to go,” he said to them.

Lindsay lifted her head up, and looked at the clock too, “Yeah, same here.”

They both got up from the couch and slipped on their shoes. They waved to Dani, assuring her they’d see her at school tomorrow before leaving. Dani got up from the couch and looked at the schedule on the fridge and saw that neither Grissom nor Sara worked that night. She smiled to herself, feeling safe.

Sara walked quietly and carefully to where she was leaning over Dani’s shoulder, trying to see the world through Dani’s eyes. She remained there for a moment in silence. Then Dani turned around, jumped and gave out a little scream.

“What are you doing?!” Dani asked after her breathing went back to normal.

Sara smiled, “Seeing what you were looking at,” she answered.

Dani sighed, “The schedule, what else?” She asked with attitude.

Sara shrugged, then she turned and went back to preparing dinner. Dani left the room, with her hand on her heart, feeling how fast it was going. She noticed how over-scared she was of everything, but she didn’t want Sara to worry over it, she could handle it on her own, it was nothing…
 
Sorry, took me a while to update, I know.

Chapter Two ;
Chris

Sara stared at the computer screen, with her hand supporting her head which felt like it was about to fall onto the table she was sitting at. She watched the different prints in AFIS compare to the one she had lifted from a doorknob. She had been sitting there for hours, hoping to be there when one of the prints matched the one she had collected at the crime scene. She hoped that they could catch their child molester and murderer as soon as possible, which was why she was staring at the screen.

Grissom walked into the room and observed what was before him. He sighed, knowing that Sara had been sitting there for a long time. He was hesitant to put her on the case, because it had involved a child. Since Dani had been kidnapped, Sara had been especially involved with cases involving children, but Grissom knew that just avoiding the problem wouldn’t make it go away. He hoped that the more Sara worked on children’s cases, the more she would learn to not get too emotional when she was on them.

As Grissom watched Sara stare at the computer screen, he knew that so far, he was wrong. He stood over her shoulder, and placed a comforting hand on her back. Sara looked up at him, noticing he was there. She showed a little smile to him, and turned back to sulking to the computer screen.

“There were no DNA hits in CODIS,” Grissom informed her. Sara wasn’t surprised, but it did worsen her job, the little hope in her was gone. Their child molester and murderer was most likely not in AFIS, and Sara had just wasted hours of work.

--

After shift, Sara was sitting in Grissom’s car, while he was driving home. She stared out the window, with her arms crossed and head leaning on the glass. They hadn’t solved the case yet, and it was bugging her.

Grissom wasn’t oblivious to Sara’s emotions, but he didn’t want to talk about them right now, he would wait until later. She seemed like she was going to yell at the next person that spoke to her. Grissom pulled into the parking lot, and kissed Sara’s cheek before getting out of the car. Sara got out of the car, and walked to the apartment with Grissom’s arm around her waist. Grissom opened the apartment door with his key, and looked around the dark apartment.

Sara went to Dani’s room, and found her on the computer. She went over and gave Dani a hug, nearly losing her composure and breaking down right there. Dani turned and hugged Sara back, she knew something was wrong, because Sara hadn’t said anything yet. Usually she would have already said something like ‘Did you sleep well?’ or ‘How was your night?’ or ‘Have you eaten breakfast yet?’

Once Sara had fought the tears away, and knew they would be gone, for at least a while, Sara released Dani. “Have you eaten breakfast?” She asked. Dani nodded. “Okay, are you ready?” Sara asked.

“Almost,” Dani answered.

Sara nodded, “Okay, don’t spend too much time on the computer,” she said and left the room. She walked into the living room to find Grissom sitting on the couch, eating an orange. Sara sat beside him, particularly involved in her thoughts. Grissom offered her a piece of the orange, but Sara shook her head.

“Dani was reading monologues,” Sara said in an informative tone of voice. Grissom finished chewing a piece of orange, then looked at her.

“She likes to read,” Grissom said.

“I mean, she was looking for a monologue,” Sara said. “The site had over a million monologues on it.”

“It could be for Drama class,” Grissom suggested. He was challenging Sara, and she knew it.

“She doesn’t have Drama this semester,” Sara said and smiled. Grissom stopped chewing with another piece of orange in his mouth. He stared off in the distance for a moment, processing his thoughts and figuring out that there weren’t many explanations for it.

“That’s odd,” He finally came out with. Sara nodded with a smile, as he agreed with her.

--

Two weeks later, Dani came home with Adam, and another boy. Sara was watching a show on TV, and Grissom was sitting beside her, reading. Dani walked into the apartment and smiled at them.

“Can Adam and Chris come in?” Dani asked.

“Who’s Chris?” Sara and Grissom asked at the same time. Chris and Adam walked into the apartment, and Chris gave a little wave.

“Him,” Dani said and shrugged. She smiled, “I have news.”

Adam, Chris and Dani took a seat in the living room part of the apartment. Grissom’s eyebrow went up, eager to hear what Dani had to say.

“Well, last week I tried out for a school play, and I’m in it,” Dani said with a big smile on her face.

“In it? You’re the main character!” Adam said.

“No, Chris is,” Dani argued.

“Yeah, but you’re in it more than he is, only half of his face is in it for most of the play,” Adam said.

Sara and Grissom exchanged confused looks. “What play is it?” Grissom finally asked.

Dani looked over at Chris and nodded, then they both sang, “The Phaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaantom of the Opera,” then they both laughed.

Sara’s eyes went wide, “Really?” She asked with excitement. Dani nodded.

“Chris is the phantom, I play Christine and Adam is Raoul,” Dani said.

“You’re doing a musical?” Grissom asked. The three kids nodded.

“We’re going to go through lines, and stuff,” Dani said and the three left the living room and went into Dani’s room. Sara turned to Grissom, stunned.

“Can you imagine Dani singing, dancing and acting?” Grissom asked.

Sara thought of it for a moment, “Actually, yeah I can.”
 
Chapter Three ;
A New Friendship

“Sara, you’ve looked at that evidence at least ten times,” Grissom said softly. He walked into the evidence room and stood beside Sara.

“This case is getting nowhere, and he’s going to strike again,” Sara protested. She knew that he wanted her to let the case go, and to put it in the un-solved pile along with countless others.

“When he does, we’ll have new evidence,” Grissom said. “Unfortunately, you have to look at it that way,” he knew they weren’t doing the body justice. Grissom’s cell phone started to beep, and Sara looked at him. He took it out, it was a message from Brass, ‘DB in Desert’.

Somehow, Sara knew it was their guy. She quickly put the evidence away and then followed Grissom to his car, where they drove to the desert. There were a few police officers with cars with flashing lights, there was no crowd around the body.

As Sara walked up to it, she wanted to puke.

“No!” She screamed. Dani laid there, lifeless, her panties around her ankles, her skirt ruffled. Dani had been his next victim.

Sara woke up in a cold sweat. Dani was kneeling beside her, looking scared and confused. Grissom was on the other side of her, also looking scared. It was quiet for a moment.

“Sara, are you okay?” Dani asked in a weak voice. It sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Sara took a breath.

“Yes, I… I’ll be fine,” Sara answered.

Grissom looked at the worried Dani, “You should go back to bed now,” he said to her softly, to keep the mood gentle. Dani nodded and left the room.

Sara sat up, tears in her eyes. Her dream was so real, too real. Gil sat up and hugged her. Sara started crying into his chest, she didn’t want to re-live Dani being kidnapped. It was painful enough the first time, again would be too much.

--

The next morning Dani woke up and rolled over to see her clock, it read 6:56. She laid in her bed for a few minutes, then sat up. She got her script from her desk and started reading it. She was so excited to be in the play, she had always loved acting and singing and dancing, but had never got the chance to show anyone.

The Phantom of the Opera compelled her. The cast had watched the movie during a rehearsal one day. She loved the story, and she loved the character she got to play. What Dani couldn’t believe was that she was playing a character that two boys were fighting over, so wouldn’t the director want a prettier person to play her?

Dani heard someone getting up from Sara and Grissom’s room. She listened to the footsteps, and knew it was Grissom. She listened to him walk out into the living room. Dani got up from her bed and sat at her desk. She turned her computer on and signed onto MSN. As soon as she signed on, Chris started talking to her. She was surprised that he was on, sometimes Adam would be online at this time of the morning, and that was what she had expected, not Chris.

Chris says: Hello.

Dani says: Hi.

Chris says: What’s up?

Dani says: Nothing, just woke up, what about you?

Chris says: You’re up early.

Dani says: Yeah, I tend to wake up early.

Chris says: Well, the director said that we should get to know each other, so that our characters are believable and we’re comfortable with each other, so do you want to hang out today?

Dani says: Well with that very detailed explanation, I don’t see why not. Want me to call Adam?

Chris says: Well… I think we should just hang out.

Dani says: But he’s in the play too.

Chris says: I know, but, well, we’ll get more done if he’s not there.

Dani sighed. She had never really spent time with anyone other than Adam outside of school. Well, she had spent time with Lindsay, but Adam had been there. She had spent time with Chris, but Adam had been there.

Dani says: True. I bought the CD, so we can practice singing and hitting the notes.

Chris says: You do know we don’t have to sing opera, right?

Dani says: Yes, I know, but we still have to hit the right notes. I have to go eat breakfast.

Chris says: Okay, call me sometime today.

Dani says: Okay, bye.

Dani has signed off.

Dani sat back and sighed. She didn’t feel right leaving Adam out of her plans, but it wasn’t something unheard of. She knew that people had more friends than one. Dani got up from her desk and went out into the living room. Grissom was watching a documentary on TV about cockroaches.

“Nerd,” Dani commented as she sat down beside him. She gave a little giggle. Grissom gave her a little pursed lipped smile. Sara came out from the hallway and sat down beside Dani, and immediately gave her a hug. Sara hugged her tight, as if the world could crash around them but they would still be safe.

“What would you like for breakfast?” Sara asked in a light and weak voice. The breaks between words told Dani that she had been crying. She decided not to ask her about it, although she was extremely curious to find out what had been bothering her sister.

Dani shrugged, “Doesn’t matter, cereal?”

Sara nodded and got up from the couch. She went out into the kitchen and got out three bowls. She looked in a cupboard and found a box of cheerios, she poured the cereal and milk into the bowls and set them on the island. Dani and Grissom moved from the couch and sat on two of the stools that surrounded the island in the kitchen. Sara washed her hands and sat down at another stool. For a few minutes, the family was quiet, then Dani decided to speak.

“Can Chris come over today, we’re going to work on the songs for the play,” Dani said, looking over at Sara.

“Is Adam coming too?” Sara asked.

“Well, he doesn’t sing with Chris, so I doubt it,” Dani said, realizing she hadn’t completely convinced herself yet. She said ‘doubt’, meaning it wasn’t for sure, but Chris had seemed very sure.

“Okay,” Sara said and nodded. Then the silence set in again.
 
Great story so far ;). I don't get to read to many, as I'm kept busy by Poke-a-Hontis. But your story is very well written and I'll be sure to pop in to read more :). Looking forward to the next chapter. :D
 
Aww. Poor Sara.

I like where this is going, too. But.. I'm suspicious about this Chris guy. He seems posessive and .. Not good, just not good. I think he's going to hurt Danny..

Shut up Alyssa, you're up to early.
 
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