Hey all, I took a short break from Emily and my story A Trial of the Heart to write this. Just a short story that's been playing through my mind since Committed aired. Enjoy, and look for the next chapter of A Trial of the Heart tomorrow night!
Disclaimer (because we need many these days): I did not create the characters portrayed in this story, I used no song lyrics at all, and the lines I quote from the episode Committed aired publicly for the world to see.
Committed Epilogue:
Sara walked out of the observation room after making sure it was no longer evident that she had been crying. Her mind was still reeling from all the events of the day. There was too much to process, and she felt like she was on sensory overload.
She subconsciously rubbed her neck, and winced. Her skin stung, and was tender in several spots. Continuing down the hall, she reached the locker room. Opening her locker, she used the mirror hanging on the inside of the door to look at her injured skin. Shaking her head, she was surprised Adam hadn't broken the skin. He was pushing the jagged ceramic shard so hard into her neck she was just plain lucky.
Gathering up her personal items, she walked quickly passed Grissom's office, slightly relieved that it was empty.
When she freed herself from the nurses' station she had known he was standing there, but she needed space. Once he approached her she controlled the conversation. There were too many issues going on inside her head before Adam Trent attacked her that there just wasn't room to deal with the reality of what had almost happened. Sara knew Grissom had seen through her tactics, but he let her do it. He kept his distance, and allowed her to deal with her past and present in her own way. That shocked her. Maybe because he understood her so well. Anyone else may have wanted physical comfort after such an event, but Grissom could read what she needed.
Opening the doors the cool night air washed over her, Sara stood still for a moment. Allowing the large open space surround her, reminding her she wasn't trapped.
Taking in one more calming breath Sara walked toward her car. As she drove out of the parking lot she noted that Grissom's vehicle was already gone.
Sara trudge up the stairs to her apartment, flipping through her mail as she walked. After deciding there was nothing important in her hand she fiddled with her keys and looked up.
Sara stopped, and continued to look down her hallway, "Grissom." It was a question, a paragraph, and a statement of relief all at once.
He was leaning against the wall next to her door, much like he was in the hallway of the psych ward. His eyes never left hers, as he pushed himself off the wall. The look on his face was the same one she saw when she had looked through the window. She had yet to process the emotions visible on his usually stoic face, but now she was face to face with it.
"Don't look at them."
She could hear Adam's command echo through her head. Adam had known he was there the whole time. She insanely wondered what had given his presence away. Even now she could not recall a noise on the glass, or a single word yelled in their direction as she struggled with Adam on the floor. She had just looked up and he was there. Only with that realization did Sara remember her reaction.
She was angry as she struggled against Adam's grip. Her blows were having no affect on him. His left arm quickly snaked around her shoulders tightly, almost choking her. A sudden spark of pain originated near her neck, and she worried he had found the needle, and was about to inject air into her veins.
His arm was choking her neck, and she tried to ease the pressure by pulling down on it with both her hands. 'It's not a needle,' she thought as the jagged surface was pushed into her skin.
"If they could just get up to a hundred thousand cycles per second, they'd be in the realm of sound, and light, and spirit, and everything would be just fine. Right?" Adam ranted.
Sara was breathing hard, trying to conserve her strength. She nodded at his question trying not provoke him further, and move away from the weapon against her throat at the same time. "Yah." She finally breathed out.
"You know what I think? I think I'm just vibrating at the wrong frequency." He confessed.
She started struggling again, he was insane, and she was pissed off.
"Don't," he hissed in her ear, jabbing her with the ceramic shard again.
'Get control Sara,' she ordered herself. "It's ok." She told him.
"Do you think I'm smart?" He sounded desperate.
"Yah," she answered and looked up into the eyes of Gil Grissom. He looked afraid. Sara's anger suddenly morphed from rage to deep rooted fear. The sight before him had moved Grissom to show emotions, and that worried Sara more than anything.
"Yah?" Adams question snapped her back to her reality.
Her adrenaline rush was dissipating, "Uh-huh."
Grissom's muffled voice drifted through the glass, "Open the door."
"You think I'm right?" Adam was pleading with her.
"Open the door. Open the door." Grissom was pleading with someone she couldn't see.
"I can't I don't have the right key," countered another voice.
"Just open it." Grissom ordered quietly.
Sara would have laughed had she been in any other situation. Grissom was being irrational, the end of the world had come. Sara continued to hold his gaze, and she relaxed slightly. Grissom was there, that's all that mattered.
She then felt the shift in Adam's body language. He suddenly became stiff. 'This is it,' Sara thought, 'He's going to kill me, or worse. But Grissom's here.'
Grissom must have seen the shift in both Adam's and Sara's face, "Please open the door."
Sara thought she could see the emotion coming from his lips, renewing her struggle.
"Don't you move a muscle or I will grind you bitch, you year me," Adam shouted angrily.
The renewed pressure at her neck made her wince in pain and fear, but she continued to look into Grissom's eyes.
"You don't look at them!" Sara could only nod at the order, "You keep your eyes on the floor."
Sara kept her eyes on the floor before her. She felt exposed, and just wanted to be in the safe confines of her apartment.
Suddenly Grissom's hand was on hers, taking the keys out of her hand, and guiding her through the door.
Sara clung to the metal cage that covered the window. Her legs felt like rubber, and she was sure she would collapse if she let go. 'Control your breathing Sara, get it together.' She commanded herself, holding back the tears.
The tears had been there, just under the surface since she walked into the psych ward. There was so much going on, her mind was spinning.
She heard the familiar footsteps behind her that could only be Grissom's. He was lingering behind her, trying to give her space, but concerned at the same time. Pressing her forehead against the cool metal, she took in a deep breath.
She was trying to find her balance.
"Sara?" His tentative voice surrounded her with warmth.
"I'm ok," she answered, and turned to face him. "I'm not hurt, I'm okay. I just need a minute."
He gently took her elbow and led her to a chair. Sara leaned against the wall instead. Grissom followed her lead and leaned next to her, facing her, waiting for her to speak.
Grissom led Sara to the couch, they both sat, and he waited for her to speak. He knew she had been facing one demon throughout the entire case, but now they both needed to face the present demon.
He closed his eyes and saw Sara, on the ground, struggling with a convicted rapist, who had a sharp implement pressed against her throat. He had seen the aftermath of such a scene once before. The body of Debbie Marlin embodied his greatest fears…or so he thought.
"I'm fine," she finally broke the silence.
Grissom's eyes opened and he looked at her expectant face, "I'm not." He admitted.
Sara opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. She had no idea how to respond.
Gil took her hand, and gave it a squeeze. "I want…Can we…"
"Will you sleep with me?" Sara finally asked him. She knew he would understand the context, but would also break the ice a little.
Grissom nodded, "I think I'll be having nightmares tonight." He stood, kicked off his shoes, and pulled Sara to her feet. She followed him, as he led her by the hand to her bedroom.
Sara slipped her shoes off, and laid down, pulling the fleece blanket, that was folded at the end of her bed, with her.
Grissom curled up behind her, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders gently, trying to erase the memory of Adam's similar hold on her. He pulled her against him, and wrapped his other arm around her waist.
The End…