DISCLAIMER: CSI and its characters are the property of CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer.
SERIES: Sixth part of the 'Sara & Catherine: The Unfinished Story' series.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Sara & Catherine: The Unfinished Story
By MBInc
Chapter 6: Sara And The World Of Tomorrow
It had been two weeks now. Two weeks filled with friendly outings, romantic dinners, or just time spent with each other and also with Lindsey. However, it all had taken place in secret –that is, unknown to their colleagues. Both of them had agreed during the first few days they spent together that they were going to keep this for themselves at fist, to see how this would work out.
But over the last few days Sara noticed there was something with Catherine.
It was hours before their shift would start and Catherine and Sara were lying on the couch, the blonde wrapped in the brunette's protective embrace.
Sensing the slight discomfort of her lover Sara decided it was time to ask her about what bothered her.
"What's the matter?" Sara asked, placing kisses on top of the older woman's head that rested on her shoulder.
Catherine was silent for a few seconds, let out a sigh and spoke "I hate to sneak around like this."
Catherine picked up Sara's hand, entwining their fingers. She didn't dare to look into the dark eyes of the brunette. From the start Sara had made it pretty clear she wasn't ready to go public, and Catherine respected that, but these days it was becoming harder and harder for her.
Feeling the tentative squeeze from the younger woman Catherine decided to continue
"I want everybody to know you're mine, that we belong together."
Sara sighed, and let go of Catherine's hand. Pulling the blonde's face into her direction, forcing her to look up.
"Cath, I thought we talked about this" doubt was starting to fill Sara's mind 'Am I doing the right thing…why can't I just come out…they're friends, they'll understand…'
Sara let go of Catherine's face, and tried to get off the couch "I'm sorry. I just can't. Not yet"
Catherine, who didn't want to give up her comfortable spot –lying sprawled over the brunette– grabbed a firm hold of Sara.
She knew Sara had her insecurities, and decided she was worth the wait. "Please don't. Just stay. It's ok, we don't have to…it can wait…I can wait."
Trying to convey that she really meant what she just said, Catherine pulled Sara into her engaging their lips in a searing kiss.
As soon as those soft lips connected with hers Sara felt at ease again. Taking over control of the kiss she nibbled on the blonde's lower lip, earning her a low growl. Slipping in her tongue, another moan escaped the older woman's throat.
After pulling away from each other, both completely out of breath, it was Catherine who first regained her ability to speak
"Damn Sidle, if you keep kissing me like this you'd better not make me wait that long. I want to show off with you." a big smile on the blonde's face showing she was kidding, and hoping they were ok.
The kiss she got from Sara answered that…they were DEFINITELY ok.
Later that night the entire nightshift team was seated in the break room waiting for cases to be handed out.
"Busy night guys" Grissom said as he entered and started handing out files. "Nick, Greg. DB found near a garbage dump. Vega's already at the scene." While Nick and Greg walked off Sara couldn't let this opportunity to tease them pass.
"Smell ya later!" she quipped just as the two men entered the hall. And when two heads –with grumpy looks plastered all over– popped back inside, laughter filled the break room.
As the laughter died down, and Greg and Nick left, Grissom continued:
"Warrick, B&E at a pawnshop."
"On it" the tall dark man said as he headed out. "See ya"
Turning to the brunette, the next case was to be handed out "Sara, suspicious circs at a dorm room, Brass's on his way over already."
"Ok" she said as she took the folder Grissom offered her. Sharing one last look with the blonde Sara also exited the break room, leaving Catherine and Grissom behind.
"And we," Grissom said as he opened the folder, "have two DB's in the desert."
Catherine's eyes were still focussed on the retreating form of the brunette she felt so much for. Grissom, who was expecting some sort of reply, shook her from her reverie.
"Catherine?"
"Huh?"
"You coming?" Grissom was already at the door, a smug smile on his face as he noticed Catherine's absent state of mind.
"Yeah, I'll be right there." She answered as she walked into the direction of the locker room.
While she was getting all the things she needed out of her locker, she heard a door open and close behind her. Just as she was about to turn around to see who entered, two arms snaked around her waist and soft lips connected with her neck.
Wanting to turn around and face her lover Catherine found herself being held back. She could feel Sara push her strong body into her own, and before she could stop herself, a low moan escaped her throat.
And with that the brunette was gone already, leaving a very stunned Catherine behind. Much time to think about what just happened she had not, because Grissom paged her with a message asking what was taking her so long.
Fifteen minutes later Sara arrived at the dorm, and saw Brass questioning someone. She stepped out of the Tahoe, grabbed her kit out of the back, and walked over to the detective.
"It's too late….Now I'll never have the chance…"
Sara heard sobbing, and as she reached Brass and placed herself next to him she noticed the person Brass had been talking with.
A young woman, seemingly in a shock as she kept repeating those words the brunette had just heard while she walked over.
Brass gave a quick nod to Sara, acknowledging she was there, before trying again to make the woman answer his questions.
"Ma'am we need to know what exactly happened" His stern voice spoke.
Sara noticed the distressed look on the woman's face, and decided to take over before Brass would push this girl over the edge and make things even worse. With one look into Brass' direction he knew what Sara's plan was, and walked off giving the women some privacy.
Taking a step towards the young woman she placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave a reassuring squeeze which earned her the full attention of the girl in front of her.
Giving the girl a once over Sara realized the girl reminded her of herself back in college. Dark brown hair, brown eyes and the looks of someone who didn't care much about anything other than her study.
"Come with me, let's sit down for a minute." Pulling the young woman towards a bench she finally got her to calm down a little.
"I'm Sara Sidle I'm with the crime lab. In order to help you, you need to tell me what happened, ok?" she said as she placed her kit next to the bench and sat down.
A nod was the only response she got before silence filled the air.
"We were in our room. We were arguing and then I left"
'Ok,' Sara thought 'it's a start' She knew she had to pry to get more information.
"Who's 'we'?" Sara asked
A loud sob escaped the girl's throat. "Chris and I…My name's Sophie. Christine…she…she's my…my roommate"
Sara noticed the way she had said that…roommate…and decided to continue "Roommate? You're just roommates?"
Another nod, then that dreadful silence again. But just as the CSI was about to speak up again Sophie started to shake her head.
"We're friends, best friends…at least that's how we stared out, but last week we both realized there was more going on between us"
The sobbing became heavier and Sophie's entire body started to shake. Sara placed her hand once again on the shoulder of the other woman.
The investigative part in her knew she had to push the girl, pry to get all the information she could get, but seeing the young woman crumble into pieces right in front of her made her doubt whether to do so.
The decision to continue was already made for her as Sophie spoke up again. "We both realized we loved each other, and just three days ago we went out on our first real date"
A smile came onto her face as she apparently remembered what they had done during that date. "We had such a nice time that evening"
"Why were you two fighting?" Sara asked
"She…she wanted me to go with her this weekend, to meet her parents. But I…I wasn't ready yet to come out. She said it were only her parents not the entire world…but I…I couldn't"
Sara had to fight the urge to let out a groan of frustration remembering the discussion she had had hours before with Catherine about the same subject.
"And after your argument you left?"
"Yes, I needed time to sort things out, to think about everything. So I went to Joe's. That's a small café just a block away. I sat there for an hour and realized that there was nowhere that I'd rather be than with Chris, so I hurried back to our room to tell her I was sorry for acting so stupid and that I'd love to go with her."
Sophie's eyes were blood-red as she looked up into Sara's. The CSI knew this was hard on the young woman and in the back of her mind her own conversation she had had with Catherine kept playing over and over again.
"When I arrived at our room I saw the door was open, and when I entered I noticed the entire room was a mess."
Sophie let out a little snicker "At first I thought she had taken out her anger at our furniture…she has this temperament…that's one of the things I love about her."
Sara, listening to the story revealed to her, remembered her own strawberry blonde lover and how temperamental she could be.
"I know what you mean" she stated, a little smile also forming on her face.
Sophie's face showed a little confusion about that remark, but she let it slip and continued
"Then I noticed Chris wasn't there. I looked everywhere, checked the bathroom the laundry room, everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found. Then I went back to our room thinking she also had needed some time to think, and probably would be back soon."
Sophie stood up and turned her back to Sara. Knowing the end of all that had happened was near Sara did one last try.
"When you went back to your room, did you notice anything strange, besides the mess?"
"Not at first. I started picking up stuff…books, placing them back where they belonged. That's when I noticed."
The young woman's shoulders slumped as a big stream of air left her lungs. "I saw blood, near the door. A candlestick covered with blood lay next to it."
Suddenly Sophie's knees gave in and she fell to the ground, crying out loudly again repeating the words she had uttered before: "It's too late….Now I'll never have the chance…"
Sara quickly stepped towards the young brunette, pulled her up her feet again and spoke up "I'll do everything I can. I'll find out what happened"
She had to fight back tears that were starting to form in her own eyes and were trying to form a trail of wetness over her cheek. She knew she shouldn't let this case get to her this much, but giving her own private situation there was no way she could forget about that.
Seeing the girl so broken, so desperate in front of her, she made up her mind. She couldn't risk losing Catherine. Where would she be without her? 'I'd probably feel the same as Sophie' she thought.
A light cough shook her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see Brass with a sad look on his face.
Sara shot him a questioning look –conveying what she wanted to ask without using words– and got a shake of the detective's head as answer.
Her stomach dropped as Brass walked off to a car of the coroner's office that just arrived.
Their suspicious circs had now turned into a murder case. Something she wasn't happy about. But then again, when would one be happy about a murder case?
Knowing she was needed to process the scene she motioned for an officer to come and watch Sophie while she walked over to talk with Brass.
Picking up her kit she headed off into the direction she had last seen the detective. With a heavy heart she headed towards an alley, and with every step she took it became harder for her to lift her feet.
Entering the alley that lay just behind the dorm she saw Brass standing next to David who was crouched down beside a garbage can.
With one last step she found herself standing next to Brass, staring into the face of a girl. Black hair framed around a small, beautiful face. The only thing that didn't fit the pretty face were those dark eyes, filled with terror.
Sara swallowed hard. They had found Chris. As far as she could see now, a blow to the head was what caused her death.
She placed her kit on the ground, put on latex gloves, and pulled out her camera. As she started taking pictures of the scene, she knew she wouldn't let Catherine wait for her any longer. Knowing that she needed the strawberry blonde –that she loved her so much, she didn't care about the world around them anymore.
About half an hour later, David took the body into custody and went on his way to the morgue where Doc Robins would perform the autopsy.
As Sara finished the scene in the alley Brass spoke up "Find anything?"
"I think the blow on her head didn't kill her right away. She put up a fight. Found epithelial cells under her nails. Also found blonde hairs on her sweater. Definitely not hers, also not her girlfriend's, big chance they're from the perp. I'm done here."
"Ok, I'll inform the girl"
"No" Sara said, earning her a questioning glare from the tired looking man standing next to her. "Let me do it"
"What about the primary crime scene? Their room? It still needs to be processed" Brass quipped back.
"That scene is compromised. Sophie told me she cleaned up part of the mess. I'm not sure whether there'll be evidence left that will hold up in court. Let me first talk to Sophie, then I'll start on that room."
"Alright, I'll start asking around, see if any of their dorm-mates noticed anything strange"
As she walked over to the bench two eyes filled with fear looked up at her.
"I'm so sorry Sophie, but we…" Before Sara could finish her sentence a loud cry interrupted. Seeing the look –a mix of anger, despair, and grief on the girl's face Sara knew Sophie realized what she wanted to tell her.
"No!...It can't be…No…I never got the chance to show how much I loved her…and now…now it's too late."
Sara walked over to Sophie and embraced her, trying to sooth the girl. But knowing this gesture would never be enough to take away the pain inside her, a single tear rolled over the CSI's cheek.
"Can I see her?" Sophie asked "I need to see her"
"She's being brought to the coroner's office now. You can see her later." Sara let go of the younger woman and walked her over to Brass who was standing at his Taurus –waiting patiently for the girl to take her along.
"Can't you come with me?" she asked as she noticed Sara walked back to the dorm.
"I don't think that'll be possible, you see, I need to process your room first before I can leave"
"Then I'll wait. I don't wanna go alone" Sophie said, ignoring the detective who would accompany her.
"Detective Brass will go with you, you won't be alone" Sara said
"No. I'll wait till you're ready"
Brass shrugged a little and Sara pulled him aside "I'll go process the room. Could you please wait here for me, don't leave her on her own. Ok?"
"Sure," Brass said "You know kid? You're definitely getting the hang of these people-skills" Meek smiles formed on both of their faces. "Now go, process!"
Half an hour later Sara was done with the room. Next to the candlestick, with blood and fingerprints on it, she had also found a muddy footprint, and more blonde hairs –same length as the ones found in the alley.
Brass ordered an officer to take his Taurus back to the PD as he rode along with Sara and Sophie in the black Tahoe.
No word was spoken during the ride over to the morgue, and the only sound heard was that of soft sobs.
Even before she had seen the lifeless body of her girlfriend Sophie felt sick. Not from the prospect of seeing a dead body for the first time in her life, but from the sterile environment she entered in the morgue.
Together with Brass, Sophie was waiting in a small room while Sara went to check if everything was arranged for the viewing.
Knowing Doc Robins had taken care of everything she walked back to the room to get Sophie. But before she opened the door her mind filled with images of Catherine. 'God, how glad I am I have her…that she's there for me' Last few days Sara had been adapting her independent life into one where she allowed her to be dependent on someone. Not just someone, but on Catherine…her Catherine.
"Sophie?" She asked as she opened the door "Everything's ready. You can see her now."
Sophie merely nodded and passed Sara onto the hall. After a few steps they stopped in front of a large door that separated the hall form the viewing room.
Before Sara pushed the door open Sophie grabbed her hand. She needed all the support she could get and she trusted the older woman enough to ask it from her. Her tears seemed to have dried temporarily, and she was pulling herself together.
Entering the viewing room they walked over to a table with on top of it a white sheet that covered a body. Sara pulled the sheet down a little. A beautiful face appeared, and although all life had left, Christine's face was still as beautiful as Sophie remembered it.
After all the sobs and tears she had seen Sophie had shed, Sara was amazed at how strong the young woman looked now, not a single drip of water trailing a path over her cheek.
Sophie cupped her girlfriend's cold cheek. "I'm so sorry about our fight. I do love you…I will always love you" And with that said she placed one last soft kiss on the lips of her lifeless lover.
Because there were things that had to be arranged and also because Sophie needed to make a statement Sara and Brass took Sophie along to the CSI HQ to settle everything there.
The three of them walked into the large CSI building. And right before they reached a silent place where they would be able to take care of everything that still needed to be done Sara noticed someone walking their way.
She only needed a glimpse to know that someone was Catherine. Completely ignoring her surroundings she walked over to the blonde.
Her dark brown eyes started to fill with tears. Catherine noticed the sad state of her lover, but knew Sara wouldn't probably appreciate a public show of affection.
Therefore she was completely shocked at what happened next.
Sara's hand cupped her face and she felt an arm snake around her waist.
"Catherine, I love you so much, and I don't care anymore" Carefully but forcefully she claimed the strawberry blonde's lips in a searing kiss.
As Catherine opened her eyes and found her ability to speak again she noticed some colleagues with open mouths staring at them.
"What about them?" she said as she nodded into the direction of those staring persons.
"I don't care, we'll deal with them later" Sara answered before she once more engaged their lips in a kiss.
The End