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You're In My Way
By ralst

 

"I heard a rumour," Sofia said by way of a greeting. "It seems that the darling of the graveyard shift is leaving for greener pastures."

Sara turned from her locker, the last remaining traces of her life in the lab tumbling into the box at her feet. "I'm nobody's darling." She kicked the locker shut and retrieved her box. "You're in my way."

"Always was, always will be." Sofia's folded arms and deceptively casual pose made her an almost impenetrable barrier; keeping Sara imprisoned in the relative privacy of the locker room. "Why are you leaving?"

"It's time to move on." Sara stepped to the side, as if to pass on by, but Sofia remained where she stood, blocking the door. "You're in my way."

"You said that already."

The two women stared at each other, but it was the normally taciturn Sara who was the first to break.

"I've been offered a job in San Francisco." She waited for Sofia to move, but when she didn't Sara was forced to elucidate, "It's time that I moved on."

"Now?" For the last three months, ever since Sara had been rescued from the staged car wreck, she'd been treated like a returning heroine, her relationship with Grissom the nearest thing to fated love the cynical hearts of CSI could fathom. "What about Gil?"

"He'll get over it."

"No, he won't." Sofia had first hand experience of being abandoned by Sara. "None of us ever do."

Sara's lips turned white as she forced back a harsh retort. "I'm not in love with him," she finally admitted.

"I know that."

"Really? Because I didn't." All those wasted years, chasing after a man who could never be what she needed, despite all his efforts. "I thought he was the answer to all my dreams."

"No, you thought he was the solution to all your nightmares," Sofia contradicted, "and that's not the same."

"What would you know?"

"A lot." Sofia's smile was bittersweet, her words little more than a whisper. "I'm the one who held you while you cried, remember? The one you didn't think was good enough to share your pain."

"That wasn't... I never said that." Sara wanted out of that room, even if it meant tackling Sofia to the ground in order to make her escape. "You're in my way," she repeated, struggling to manoeuvre the heavy box past Sofia.

"Not if I'm your destination."

Sara's movements became desperate as she pushed Sofia to the side and escaped into the corridor. She had made such a mess of everything, but it was too late now to make amends; the only choice she had was to start again, somewhere new, where her demons could hide without interruption.

"Goodbye, Sofia, I'm sorry I... I'm sorry."

The End

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