Another fic I never finished
Title: -
Author: Mikey
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Sara/Sofia, though I never quite got there
Disclaimer: CSI is not mine, just messing around. Alex and Kennedy are mine
Chapter 1
Sofia rubbed her face tiredly as she moved through the hallways towards the CSI’s break room. Tonight’s case had been difficult. A child’s death was always hard, but the things they had unravelled throughout the night had left her with a feeling of deep disgust. It had started out as something that seemed a simple case. A little girl, Sasha Reynolds, had fallen down the stairs. At least, that’s what the mother said when she called 911. When the EMT’s arrived, there was nothing they could do. The girl had broken her neck. When Sofia arrived at the scene, the mother was crying, and she had given as much comfort as she could. It didn’t take much longer for CSI to arrive, in the form of Sara Sidle. The woman had moved through the house slowly, starting at the bottom of the stairs and ending with the bedroom of the little girl. She remembered the conversation they had clearly.
“It seems like an accident.” She had said.
Sara had taken one look at her, before shaking her head. “I think there’s more going on here.”
She had given the woman an incredulous stare. “Based on what, exactly?”
“The whole house smells of alcohol; there are enough bottles around to get a whole squad drunk. The girl has books hidden under her clothes.”
“…That’s it?”
“There’s only blood on the bottom few steps of the stairs.”
“She might have only hit her head hard enough to actually bleed on the last steps.”
Sara had shrugged. “Call it a hunch.” She had whispered, before taking out an LUV-lamp and moving back towards the parents’ bedroom.
Sofia frowned as she thought back on that last line. There was something in the way Sara had said it, that made her shiver. She had been right too, in the end. She had found cleaned up blood spatter all over the house. Autopsy had showed that the girl had most likely been abused, a few too many broken bones in the past to be considered accidents. And, the most telling thing, the bruises on the girl’s back in the form of two hands that started showing up later on. The woman had shoved the little girl so hard that she landed face first on the bottom steps without even touching the others.
“Hey, are you alright?”
She almost jumped at the voice breaking her from her thoughts. Looking up, she noticed she was standing in the middle of the break room, and Greg was giving her a concerned look. Catherine was standing close by, looking at her curiously, and she grimaced.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Greg raised an eyebrow, which looked kind of weird on him, and she gave him a sheepish smile.
“Alright, maybe not. Just… though case, you know?”
He frowned. “What happened?”
Sofia grimaced. “I thought it was an accident, but Sara was sure it wasn’t. She turned out right. The mother confessed on pushing the girl down the stairs.” She shook her head. “It seems she blamed the little girl for her husband leaving her. She’d been abusing her for years.”
“Where’s Sara?”
Sofia raised an eyebrow, but answered him anyway. “She left after the confession. By the time I made it to the parking lot, she was gone.” She sighed. “I hope she’s alright. She seemed to have taken this one hard.”
Greg nodded once before taking out his cell phone. “Excuse me.” He said, while flipping it open and dialling a number.
“Morning, Alex.” He quipped, before holding the phone away from him and grimacing. From where she was standing, the voice was too soft to understand anything, hell, she couldn’t even say if it was male or female. The only thing that was clear was that, whoever it was, was not a morning person.
“Alex, for fuck’s sake, calm down. I’m sorry for waking you, but I have a damn good reason.”
The person on the other side seemed to calm down and Greg moved the phone back to his ear.
“Thank you. Go see Sara, will you? She had a rough case.”
He was silent for a second, listening to the other, as Sofia shared a surprised look with Catherine. Greg let out a sigh.
“A little girl died. Abusive mother.” Another silence.
“Yeah, she did.” A shorter silence this time, and Greg cracked a smile.
“Alright. I’ll see you later. Bye.”
He closed his cell and gave an annoyed look at the two women’s surprised looks. “Oh for gods sake, she does have friends, you know. I’ve heard the rumours… so has she, as a matter of fact, of her having no life. Just because she isn’t the type of person to start talking about herself…. Try asking her, for a change, instead of just assuming. You might be surprised at what you find out.”
Sofia grimaced at Catherine as Greg walked away. “I suppose we deserved that.”
Catherine simply nodded.
Sofia sighed as she moved a hand through her hair. “Right. I’m heading out. See you later, Catherine.”
Catherine gave her a small smile. “Yeah, later, Sofia.”
Chapter 2
Sara sighed as she entered her apartment. She had been driving around aimlessly for almost an hour before finally ending up at her apartment. Dropping her keys on the counter, she made her way to the fridge, pulling out a beer. After opening it, she turned around, only to almost drop the bottle in surprise. Sitting on the couch was her best friend, Alex.
“Shit, Lex, are you trying to kill me? A little warning would be preferred to scaring the crap out of me.”
The woman gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry Star, I was trying to find a way to not startle you, but you beat me to it.” She patted on the couch next to her, and Sara put the open bottle down before making her way over, sinking into the couch with a sigh. A small smile formed on her face as she felt Alex’ arms wrap around her, pulling her closer. A soft kiss was placed on her temple.
“Not that I’m not grateful but… what are you doing here?”
“A little birdie told me you had a tough case tonight.”
Sara looked up surprised. “Greg? I didn’t talk to him all night, how did he know?”
Alex shrugged. “No idea. Want to talk about it?”
Another sigh escaped Sara’s lips as she thought that question over. She didn’t particularly feel like discussing the case, but there was one thing she had to get off her chest.
“She reminded me of me.” She whispered. Alex’ arms around her tightened a bit.
“Why?”
“Dark hair, dark eyes,… the science books hidden under her clothes in the closet. Abusive, alcoholic mother…” Sara shrugged. “Need I say more?”
“No, I suppose not.”
Sara sighed. “It just… that could have been me, you know? I always knew that I was lucky that I actually got out of there alive, and tonight’s case just reminded me of that. She wasn’t as lucky as me, Lex. One wrong landing was all it took.” She shivered.
Alex sighed softly. “You feel guilty.”
Sara shrugged again. “In a way, I suppose I do. I just… I’m glad I got out of there, you know, but…” She trailed off, unsure.
“But you feel guilty that others didn’t.”
A sigh. “I guess.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I know. I just don’t get it Lex. I just don’t get why I got out of there, while others end up like little Sasha.”
“If I was a faithful person, I would call it fate, but I’m not, so I’ll just say that you got lucky… in a strange, fucked up way.”
Sara snorted. “You can say that again.”
It was silent for a while.
“I just wish I could do more.”
“You’re doing what you can, Star. You make sure those bastards go to jail.”
“It’s not helping them much, is it?”
“True. But it's simply not possible to save them all, and you know it. The most we can do for those we cannot save, is making sure justice is given. And you do that.”
Another silence followed.
“Thanks, Lex.”
“You’re very welcome. Now, let’s get you to bed.” Alex answered, already standing up and pulling Sara up after her.
Sara chuckled. “Yes ma’am.” She hesitated. She wanted Alex to stay with her, but she didn’t want Alex tot think she couldn’t take care of herself. She hated being weak.
“Do you want me to stay?”
Sara blushed and nodded. Sometimes it was really annoying, the way Alex could read her, and sometimes it was a blessing. She did feel slightly better about it all, but she still feared the nightmares that would most likely come.
“Then I’ll stay.” Alex said, before pushing Sara towards her bedroom. “It’s my free day after all.” Alex shook her head. “Now move it, slowpoke, I’m tired. Greggo actually had the guts to wake me up.” She gave a dramatic sigh. “Our little boy, all grown up.”
Another chuckle was the answer as both women disappeared into the bedroom.
Chapter 3
Sofia moved through the CSI hallways, lost in thought. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Greg had said the night before. She was annoyed because she knew he had been right. Not at him, but at herself. When she had first started as a CSI, she had seen the brunette in the hallways from time to time, but had never really paid attention to the woman. She was from the nightshift, and well, everyone told her that the members of the nightshift were rather… weird.
She grimaced. That was another thing that she had just taken as a fact. She had found out, when she was moved to nightshift herself, how wrong everyone had been. Sure, it was a tight group of people, and she had never truly been accepted as a part of the team, but she could understand that. She had been the one investigating them, after all. So why had she listened to the rumours, again, when she had taken an interest in Sara Sidle?
And taken an interest she had. The woman was rather beautiful after all, and Sofia had two proper working eyes in her head. And even though her beauty was the first thing that got her attention, it wasn’t the reason she had been so interested in the CSI. No, that had come when she had seen how passionate Sara was about her work. Thinking back, she figured it had started when she had found the brunette sitting in that room, going over the Child Protective Services’ files, trying to find a name to match the little boy that Greg had found.
Sofia abruptly stopped mid stride. Back then; she had been hurt that Sara hadn’t wanted her help, but now…. Combined with what she had noticed yesterday, her mind was coming up with conclusions. The haunted look, the determination in cases that had some sort of abuse…. Something bad had happened in Sara’s past. She couldn’t be sure what, of course, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Sara had been, at one point, abused. A shiver made it’s way down her spine and she noticed that her hands had formed into fists. It surprised her how protective she felt of Sara, considering the fact that they weren’t even friends.
Something that could be changed, she supposed. When she had heard the rumours of how Sara had no life outside of work, she had simply decided not to bother. Sure, she had been interested in the brunette, but she had no use in an emotionally unavailable woman. Nothing would ever come from that, not even as friends. Making up her mind, Sofia went in search of Sara.
Finding the woman in one of the smaller labs in the back of the building, Sofia paused at the doorway and observed the woman quietly. She sure was quite the vision to behold. Before her mind could drift off too far, the brunette had noticed her.
“Detective. What can I help you with?”
Sofia smiled as she walked into the room. “I was wondering if you would like to grab some breakfast with me after shift.”
Both of Sara’s eyebrows shot up. “You want to have breakfast, with me?”
Sofia frowned. “Is that so surprising?”
“As a matter of fact… yes, it is.”
“Ok, I suppose it is. I figured, no harm in asking, right? I would like a chance to get to know you a bit better.”
“And what, exactly, brought this on?”
Sofia grimaced. “Do you really have to analyse everything?”
“Not everything, no. But this… well, you have to admit, it comes a bit out of the blue, doesn’t it?”
Sofia sighed. Silently, she debated her options, before realising that the truth was probably the best way to go. “Alright. Greg gave me a bit of a scolding last night and I realised he was right. I wanted to get to know you a bit better before, see if we could become friends, but I let the office rumours get in the way. That was a mistake of mine, and I was hoping to rectify it.”
Sara looked thoughtful at her for a moment, before smiling softly. “I appreciate your honesty.” At Sofia’s curious look, she elaborated. “Greg told me earlier what happened. I’d been wondering how he knew to call Alex while I hadn’t seen him all night. I suppose I should thank you for that, even though you didn’t know.”
“Well, you’re welcome, I guess. So, how about that breakfast? Shift is almost over.”
Sara looked at her for a moment, before apparently coming to a decision. “I already have plans for breakfast, but if you want, you’re welcome to join us.”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“You wouldn’t. Its just breakfast with my friends. You already know Greg, and I’m sure you’ll like Alex and Ken.”
Recognising the offer for what it was, it didn’t take Sofia long to decide. This was quite the offer of trust, especially from Sara. “Alright. How about I meet you outside after shift? I just need to get some paperwork in order, shouldn’t take too long.”
After Sara’s agreement, Sofia made her way back to her office, a small smile on her lips.
Chapter 4
Sara smiled as she made her way towards the break room. After hearing from Greg what he had said to Sofia and Catherine the night before, she had wondered if either of them would approach her. She hadn’t really expected Catherine to do anything; it wasn’t like they really got along. She doubted a real friendship would ever exist between the two of them. She had hoped, however, that Sofia would. Not just because she might have the tiniest crush… alright, a rather big crush, on the detective. She knew she didn’t have a chance with that anyway, but she could always use more friends. And Sofia was someone she could imagine being friends with. But as the night had progressed, she had slowly lost that hope. All those previous conversations between the two of them had come to mind, and she had cringed more then once at how she had reacted. Then again, it wasn’t really a surprise to her. She had never been too good at dealing with people, and it usually showed up in the form of snappy or hurtful remarks.
The only people she truly felt comfortable around were her friends. She trusted them inexplicitly, and they knew about everything there was to know about her. Ken and Greg had only the vague parts about her childhood, but they knew enough to understand her, in a way. Only Alex knew everything. When they had met, at Harvard, Sara had been convinced that she’d never tell anyone about her past. Everyone in San Francisco had seemed to know, and no matter which school she went to, her peers bullied her. Sometimes she wasn’t sure which was worse, the kids’ bullying, or the pity looks she got from the grown-ups. One thing was sure; she never wanted either of those again.
She had seen Harvard as a way of restarting her life, and she hoped that no one would ever find out what had happened in the past. It had gone pretty well too. By pure luck, Alex had been her roommate. The first few months, they barely got along. Slowly though, they had moved into friends territory, and eventually, they’d started dating. Alex knew that something had happened to her, she still had the scars after all, but she had never asked. She would simply caress them softly and move on. She knew though, that Alex was hurting because of her silence. Hurting because she thought that Sara didn’t trust her. And that, in turn, was hurting her. When they had been together for about six months, Sara had finally told her. Stumbling over her words, she had tried to keep it vague, but in the end, everything had come out. Alex hadn’t said anything, simply holding her and letting her cry until she fell asleep. In the morning, she had been surprised that Alex was still there, and even more surprised when she’d noticed that there wasn’t any pity in her eyes. Only love, and understanding.
“Sara… hey, Sara!”
Surprised, she looked up.
“There you are.” Greg smiled at her. “You were quite far away.”
She returned the smile. “Just… remembering some good old times.”
Greg grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Anything you feel like sharing?”
Rolling her eyes, she slapped Greg on the arm. “No. Anyway, are you ready?”
“Yeah. We can go, if you want.”
Sara nodded. “Yeah. Sofia will be joining us, though. We’re meeting her outside.”
Greg’s eyebrows shot up. “You invited her along?”
Sara frowned. “Yeah, why? Shouldn’t I have done that?”
“No, no. That’s not what I meant. I was just… surprised, I guess. What made you do it?”
A shrug. “She came by to invite me for breakfast, said she’d been thinking about what you said to her last night and she realised that you were right. That she had wanted to ask me before, but after hearing the rumours…. Well, you know. And she wanted to rectify that.” Sara smiled. “She was honest about it, Greg. I didn’t expect that, but I sure appreciated it.”
Greg nodded. “I can get that.”
Once outside, it didn’t take long to find Sofia, who was leaning against her car, not far from the entrance. Sara felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the beautiful woman, toothpick between the lips, hands shoved in her pockets. She made for quite the sight, that was for sure.
“So, where are we going?”
Blinking, Sara realised she was already standing in front of the detective.
“The Leak.” She answered quickly.
Sofia raised an eyebrow. “They have breakfast?”
Sara blinked. “You actually know the place?”
Sofia smirked but stayed quiet.
“Right.” Sara said. “Never mind. And yes, they do. It’s relatively new though. Ken owns it and thought it was a good idea. Anyway, you want to join Greg and me or drive your own car?”
Thinking it over, Sofia answered with an “I’ll take my own car. It’ll be easier to go home afterwards. I’ll meet you guys there, alright?”
Sara and Greg nodded before moving towards Sara’s car. As Sara turned her head back to watch Sofia pull out of the parking lot, Greg snorted.
“What?”
Greg shook his head. “That is one big crush, my friend.”
Sara felt her face go red. “It’s nothing.” She mumbled. “I’ll get over it.”
Greg shrugged. “Not like I can blame you, that woman is f-i-n-e.”
“Sometimes, Greg, I really wonder if you’re not some misplaced high school student.”
“Hey, you should’ve never described me as your little brother. Everyone knows that ‘annoying older siblings’ is in the job description.”
Sara grumbled as she opened the car door. “Must have missed the memo.”
Chapter 5
Sofia groaned as she listened to the woman ranting to her on the other side of the phone. Glancing around, she wondered what was taking Sara and Greg so long to arrive. She had been at the bar for almost ten minutes now, and still no sight of them. She paused as she realised it was quiet on the other side of the phone.
“Elise, I told you I wasn’t interested in a relationship. I’m still not interested in a relationship. So will you please, please stop calling me?”
A click told her the woman had hung up and she sighed as she flipped her phone shut. If she had known Elise would keep calling her every single day to ask her out, she would’ve never had that one night stand, that was for sure.
“Shouldn’t have told her I was a cop either. Too damn easy to get my number.”
A chuckle behind her made her turn around. Standing in front of her was a gorgeous woman; a little smaller then she was, dark hair, dark eyes and a simply beautiful face.
“Detective Curtis?”
“That would be me. And you are….”
The woman offered her hand and Sofia shook it. “Alex Quinn.”
At Sofia’s questioning face, she elaborated.
“Sara’s friend. She called me a few minutes ago, said you were probably outside and on the phone. Seems little Greggo forgot his beeper and they had to head back to get it. She couldn’t reach you so she called me instead. Care to join me inside?”
Sofia waved her hand at the front door. “Lead the way.”
Sitting down at the table, Alex spoke up again.
“I must say I was rather surprised when Sara told me she invited you.”
Sofia grimaced. “I told her I didn’t want to intrude.”
“Oh no, detective…”
Sofia raised her hand. “Please, call me Sofia.”
Alex smiled. “Sofia, that’s not what I meant. You’re not intruding at all, I simply didn’t expect her to invite someone along. In the six years she’s been here, Greg is the only person she’s brought with her, and I was told beforehand.”
Sofia shrugged. “Well I suppose my invitation for breakfast sort of came out of the blue.”
“Not one to dance around the point huh?”
“Not really, no. I figured asking couldn’t hurt.”
“I didn’t know we had company this morning. Friend of yours, Lex?”
Sofia looked up to see a red haired woman slip in the booth beside Alex.
“Actually, this is a friend of Sara’s.”
The surprise on the woman’s face was quite clear and Sofia couldn’t help but chuckle as she offered a hand over the table.
“Sofia Curtis.”
The woman smiled as she took the offered hand. “Kennedy Quinn. You one of those lab rats too?”
“Ken, be nice.”
Kennedy shrugged. “They shouldn’t hide all these gorgeous women in a lab. First Sara, now this one. How many more are hidden in that building? It’s unfair to the outside world.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Would you stop flirting already? It’s no wonder nobody dares to bring female friends along, you scare them away.”
Ken stuck her tongue out. “I think it’s you they’re scared of, actually. Your inner psychologist never stops analyzing people.”
“Whatever. Anyway, Sara’s not a lab rat, she’s a CSI. Field work and all, remember?”
Ken waved a hand. “Same damn thing.” She turned back to Sofia. “Now, Sofia, are you a lab rat or not?”
Sofia smirked. Sara had been right when she thought she would like these two. “I used to be.”
“So what do you do now?”
“I’m a homicide detective.”
It was quiet for a second, then Ken’s eyes widened. “Oh. Now I remember you.”
Multiple things happened at once. Alex nudged Ken’s side, Sofia raised an eyebrow, and a waitress appeared at the table.
“Oh dear, you captured a life one.” The woman said in mock shock, before leaning closer to Sofia. “Honey, I tell you now, run while you still can.”
Alex snorted and Ken pouted. “Aww Marlene, we’re not that bad, are we?”
Marlene only raised an eyebrow. “Let me see….” She mumbled, tapping a finger to her chin. “Sara is a decent woman. Sweet too.” She continued, nodding. “Too bad you already had her before I knew you guys. Alex, I suppose you’re alright, but you’re related to this one,” A general wave towards Ken was offered, “and that just brings you down. Greg is alright half the time, I suppose. But you….” She shook her head at Ken. “I have no words.”
Ken grinned. “Thank you darling, I do try.”
“That you do.” She turned back to Sofia. “Do you have an idea of what you want to eat or do you need a menu?”
“Do you have pancakes?”
“Regular ones, yes.”
“I’ll take those then, and some coffee.”
The woman nodded and turned to Alex. “Figures. I always need to make fresh coffee when you people show up.” She sighed.
Ken rolled her eyes. “Don’t complain, I pay you well enough for it.”
“True. I suppose I should say you have a few good points, like hiring me and paying me above average. Anyway, any other guests?”
“Nope, just this one.” Alex answered.
“Right. See you when the other two arrive then.” And she left.
Sofia looked at her companions. “You’re not eating?”
Alex explained. “Ken tells Marlene in advance who’s meeting up in the morning, and we all tend to eat the same thing in the morning anyway. The moment all of us are here she gets our food.”
“I see.”
“There they are.” Ken said happily and Sofia noticed Sara and Greg walking over.
“Hey guys, sorry we’re late.” Greg said, sitting down next to Ken.
Sara smiled as she leaned over to give both Alex and Ken a kiss on the cheek. Sitting down next to Sofia, she offered the woman one of her rare full smiles.
“Hope these two haven’t been harassing you.”
“Depends on what you call harassing.” Sofia answered.
Sara sighed. “Well, Ken’s here so… never mind. I don’t want to know.”
Ken crossed her arms. “What is this today? First Marlene, now you?”
Sara shrugged. “You ask for it.”
Ken opened her mouth for a retort, but at seeing Alex and Greg nod in agreement, she closed it again and huffed.
“Whatever.” She mumbled. Then she brightened again and turned to Alex.
“I have loads of baby pictures of you to show the ladies.” Turning to Greg, she continued. “And you’re not getting that phone number I have in my pocket for you.” Then she turned to Sara. “And I’m sure you don’t want Sofia here to know all your secrets.”
Leaning back, she smirked at the unified “You wouldn’t!” from Alex and Sara and the excited “She gave her phone number?” from Greg.
“I would. And yes, Greg, she gave me her number, telling me to give it, and I quote, ‘to that cute boy from last week.’ Don’t know what she sees in you though. Whole bar filled with beautiful ladies, and she picks you? Sheesh.”
The three of them shared a look and sighed. A clearly practised “You’re the best Kenny.” Followed and Sofia snorted.
“I take it you blackmail a lot?” She asked Ken, who gave a mock horrified look.
“It’s not blackmail honey, I’m just… making them see the truth.”
“It’s blackmail.” Marlene butted in as she put 5 cups and a can of coffee on the table. She smiled at Sara.
“Hey darling, how are you this morning?”
Sara smiled. “I’m fine Marlene. You?”
Marlene shrugged. “Same as always. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
“Thanks.”
Marlene nodded and left again.
Ken sighed and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “Here you go, Greggo.”
Greg grinned as he accepted the paper, carefully putting it in his pocket.
“So, secrets, huh?” Sofia said to Sara with a raised eyebrow.
Sara shrugged. “Not sure what she would have said, but I’m not taking chances. Who knows what Alex told her.”
“Hey now, I resent that! I do know how to keep things confidential, you know, even though you don’t pay me.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “That’s because you’re my friend, not my shrink.”
“That’s a thin line sometimes, Star.”
“You want me to pay you then?”
“Of course not!”
“Do you accept payment from your patients?”
Alex sighed. “Damnit. Fine, I’m not your shrink.”
Sara nodded in satisfaction. “I knew you would see reason.”
Breakfast arrived soon after, and Sofia smiled as the pointless chatter around the table continued. Sara sure was a different person from work around these people. Relaxed and smiling wasn’t a look she saw on Sara often, but it looked damn good on her.
Author: Mikey
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Sara/Sofia, though I never quite got there
Disclaimer: CSI is not mine, just messing around. Alex and Kennedy are mine
Chapter 1
Sofia rubbed her face tiredly as she moved through the hallways towards the CSI’s break room. Tonight’s case had been difficult. A child’s death was always hard, but the things they had unravelled throughout the night had left her with a feeling of deep disgust. It had started out as something that seemed a simple case. A little girl, Sasha Reynolds, had fallen down the stairs. At least, that’s what the mother said when she called 911. When the EMT’s arrived, there was nothing they could do. The girl had broken her neck. When Sofia arrived at the scene, the mother was crying, and she had given as much comfort as she could. It didn’t take much longer for CSI to arrive, in the form of Sara Sidle. The woman had moved through the house slowly, starting at the bottom of the stairs and ending with the bedroom of the little girl. She remembered the conversation they had clearly.
“It seems like an accident.” She had said.
Sara had taken one look at her, before shaking her head. “I think there’s more going on here.”
She had given the woman an incredulous stare. “Based on what, exactly?”
“The whole house smells of alcohol; there are enough bottles around to get a whole squad drunk. The girl has books hidden under her clothes.”
“…That’s it?”
“There’s only blood on the bottom few steps of the stairs.”
“She might have only hit her head hard enough to actually bleed on the last steps.”
Sara had shrugged. “Call it a hunch.” She had whispered, before taking out an LUV-lamp and moving back towards the parents’ bedroom.
Sofia frowned as she thought back on that last line. There was something in the way Sara had said it, that made her shiver. She had been right too, in the end. She had found cleaned up blood spatter all over the house. Autopsy had showed that the girl had most likely been abused, a few too many broken bones in the past to be considered accidents. And, the most telling thing, the bruises on the girl’s back in the form of two hands that started showing up later on. The woman had shoved the little girl so hard that she landed face first on the bottom steps without even touching the others.
“Hey, are you alright?”
She almost jumped at the voice breaking her from her thoughts. Looking up, she noticed she was standing in the middle of the break room, and Greg was giving her a concerned look. Catherine was standing close by, looking at her curiously, and she grimaced.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Greg raised an eyebrow, which looked kind of weird on him, and she gave him a sheepish smile.
“Alright, maybe not. Just… though case, you know?”
He frowned. “What happened?”
Sofia grimaced. “I thought it was an accident, but Sara was sure it wasn’t. She turned out right. The mother confessed on pushing the girl down the stairs.” She shook her head. “It seems she blamed the little girl for her husband leaving her. She’d been abusing her for years.”
“Where’s Sara?”
Sofia raised an eyebrow, but answered him anyway. “She left after the confession. By the time I made it to the parking lot, she was gone.” She sighed. “I hope she’s alright. She seemed to have taken this one hard.”
Greg nodded once before taking out his cell phone. “Excuse me.” He said, while flipping it open and dialling a number.
“Morning, Alex.” He quipped, before holding the phone away from him and grimacing. From where she was standing, the voice was too soft to understand anything, hell, she couldn’t even say if it was male or female. The only thing that was clear was that, whoever it was, was not a morning person.
“Alex, for fuck’s sake, calm down. I’m sorry for waking you, but I have a damn good reason.”
The person on the other side seemed to calm down and Greg moved the phone back to his ear.
“Thank you. Go see Sara, will you? She had a rough case.”
He was silent for a second, listening to the other, as Sofia shared a surprised look with Catherine. Greg let out a sigh.
“A little girl died. Abusive mother.” Another silence.
“Yeah, she did.” A shorter silence this time, and Greg cracked a smile.
“Alright. I’ll see you later. Bye.”
He closed his cell and gave an annoyed look at the two women’s surprised looks. “Oh for gods sake, she does have friends, you know. I’ve heard the rumours… so has she, as a matter of fact, of her having no life. Just because she isn’t the type of person to start talking about herself…. Try asking her, for a change, instead of just assuming. You might be surprised at what you find out.”
Sofia grimaced at Catherine as Greg walked away. “I suppose we deserved that.”
Catherine simply nodded.
Sofia sighed as she moved a hand through her hair. “Right. I’m heading out. See you later, Catherine.”
Catherine gave her a small smile. “Yeah, later, Sofia.”
Chapter 2
Sara sighed as she entered her apartment. She had been driving around aimlessly for almost an hour before finally ending up at her apartment. Dropping her keys on the counter, she made her way to the fridge, pulling out a beer. After opening it, she turned around, only to almost drop the bottle in surprise. Sitting on the couch was her best friend, Alex.
“Shit, Lex, are you trying to kill me? A little warning would be preferred to scaring the crap out of me.”
The woman gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry Star, I was trying to find a way to not startle you, but you beat me to it.” She patted on the couch next to her, and Sara put the open bottle down before making her way over, sinking into the couch with a sigh. A small smile formed on her face as she felt Alex’ arms wrap around her, pulling her closer. A soft kiss was placed on her temple.
“Not that I’m not grateful but… what are you doing here?”
“A little birdie told me you had a tough case tonight.”
Sara looked up surprised. “Greg? I didn’t talk to him all night, how did he know?”
Alex shrugged. “No idea. Want to talk about it?”
Another sigh escaped Sara’s lips as she thought that question over. She didn’t particularly feel like discussing the case, but there was one thing she had to get off her chest.
“She reminded me of me.” She whispered. Alex’ arms around her tightened a bit.
“Why?”
“Dark hair, dark eyes,… the science books hidden under her clothes in the closet. Abusive, alcoholic mother…” Sara shrugged. “Need I say more?”
“No, I suppose not.”
Sara sighed. “It just… that could have been me, you know? I always knew that I was lucky that I actually got out of there alive, and tonight’s case just reminded me of that. She wasn’t as lucky as me, Lex. One wrong landing was all it took.” She shivered.
Alex sighed softly. “You feel guilty.”
Sara shrugged again. “In a way, I suppose I do. I just… I’m glad I got out of there, you know, but…” She trailed off, unsure.
“But you feel guilty that others didn’t.”
A sigh. “I guess.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I know. I just don’t get it Lex. I just don’t get why I got out of there, while others end up like little Sasha.”
“If I was a faithful person, I would call it fate, but I’m not, so I’ll just say that you got lucky… in a strange, fucked up way.”
Sara snorted. “You can say that again.”
It was silent for a while.
“I just wish I could do more.”
“You’re doing what you can, Star. You make sure those bastards go to jail.”
“It’s not helping them much, is it?”
“True. But it's simply not possible to save them all, and you know it. The most we can do for those we cannot save, is making sure justice is given. And you do that.”
Another silence followed.
“Thanks, Lex.”
“You’re very welcome. Now, let’s get you to bed.” Alex answered, already standing up and pulling Sara up after her.
Sara chuckled. “Yes ma’am.” She hesitated. She wanted Alex to stay with her, but she didn’t want Alex tot think she couldn’t take care of herself. She hated being weak.
“Do you want me to stay?”
Sara blushed and nodded. Sometimes it was really annoying, the way Alex could read her, and sometimes it was a blessing. She did feel slightly better about it all, but she still feared the nightmares that would most likely come.
“Then I’ll stay.” Alex said, before pushing Sara towards her bedroom. “It’s my free day after all.” Alex shook her head. “Now move it, slowpoke, I’m tired. Greggo actually had the guts to wake me up.” She gave a dramatic sigh. “Our little boy, all grown up.”
Another chuckle was the answer as both women disappeared into the bedroom.
Chapter 3
Sofia moved through the CSI hallways, lost in thought. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Greg had said the night before. She was annoyed because she knew he had been right. Not at him, but at herself. When she had first started as a CSI, she had seen the brunette in the hallways from time to time, but had never really paid attention to the woman. She was from the nightshift, and well, everyone told her that the members of the nightshift were rather… weird.
She grimaced. That was another thing that she had just taken as a fact. She had found out, when she was moved to nightshift herself, how wrong everyone had been. Sure, it was a tight group of people, and she had never truly been accepted as a part of the team, but she could understand that. She had been the one investigating them, after all. So why had she listened to the rumours, again, when she had taken an interest in Sara Sidle?
And taken an interest she had. The woman was rather beautiful after all, and Sofia had two proper working eyes in her head. And even though her beauty was the first thing that got her attention, it wasn’t the reason she had been so interested in the CSI. No, that had come when she had seen how passionate Sara was about her work. Thinking back, she figured it had started when she had found the brunette sitting in that room, going over the Child Protective Services’ files, trying to find a name to match the little boy that Greg had found.
Sofia abruptly stopped mid stride. Back then; she had been hurt that Sara hadn’t wanted her help, but now…. Combined with what she had noticed yesterday, her mind was coming up with conclusions. The haunted look, the determination in cases that had some sort of abuse…. Something bad had happened in Sara’s past. She couldn’t be sure what, of course, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Sara had been, at one point, abused. A shiver made it’s way down her spine and she noticed that her hands had formed into fists. It surprised her how protective she felt of Sara, considering the fact that they weren’t even friends.
Something that could be changed, she supposed. When she had heard the rumours of how Sara had no life outside of work, she had simply decided not to bother. Sure, she had been interested in the brunette, but she had no use in an emotionally unavailable woman. Nothing would ever come from that, not even as friends. Making up her mind, Sofia went in search of Sara.
Finding the woman in one of the smaller labs in the back of the building, Sofia paused at the doorway and observed the woman quietly. She sure was quite the vision to behold. Before her mind could drift off too far, the brunette had noticed her.
“Detective. What can I help you with?”
Sofia smiled as she walked into the room. “I was wondering if you would like to grab some breakfast with me after shift.”
Both of Sara’s eyebrows shot up. “You want to have breakfast, with me?”
Sofia frowned. “Is that so surprising?”
“As a matter of fact… yes, it is.”
“Ok, I suppose it is. I figured, no harm in asking, right? I would like a chance to get to know you a bit better.”
“And what, exactly, brought this on?”
Sofia grimaced. “Do you really have to analyse everything?”
“Not everything, no. But this… well, you have to admit, it comes a bit out of the blue, doesn’t it?”
Sofia sighed. Silently, she debated her options, before realising that the truth was probably the best way to go. “Alright. Greg gave me a bit of a scolding last night and I realised he was right. I wanted to get to know you a bit better before, see if we could become friends, but I let the office rumours get in the way. That was a mistake of mine, and I was hoping to rectify it.”
Sara looked thoughtful at her for a moment, before smiling softly. “I appreciate your honesty.” At Sofia’s curious look, she elaborated. “Greg told me earlier what happened. I’d been wondering how he knew to call Alex while I hadn’t seen him all night. I suppose I should thank you for that, even though you didn’t know.”
“Well, you’re welcome, I guess. So, how about that breakfast? Shift is almost over.”
Sara looked at her for a moment, before apparently coming to a decision. “I already have plans for breakfast, but if you want, you’re welcome to join us.”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“You wouldn’t. Its just breakfast with my friends. You already know Greg, and I’m sure you’ll like Alex and Ken.”
Recognising the offer for what it was, it didn’t take Sofia long to decide. This was quite the offer of trust, especially from Sara. “Alright. How about I meet you outside after shift? I just need to get some paperwork in order, shouldn’t take too long.”
After Sara’s agreement, Sofia made her way back to her office, a small smile on her lips.
Chapter 4
Sara smiled as she made her way towards the break room. After hearing from Greg what he had said to Sofia and Catherine the night before, she had wondered if either of them would approach her. She hadn’t really expected Catherine to do anything; it wasn’t like they really got along. She doubted a real friendship would ever exist between the two of them. She had hoped, however, that Sofia would. Not just because she might have the tiniest crush… alright, a rather big crush, on the detective. She knew she didn’t have a chance with that anyway, but she could always use more friends. And Sofia was someone she could imagine being friends with. But as the night had progressed, she had slowly lost that hope. All those previous conversations between the two of them had come to mind, and she had cringed more then once at how she had reacted. Then again, it wasn’t really a surprise to her. She had never been too good at dealing with people, and it usually showed up in the form of snappy or hurtful remarks.
The only people she truly felt comfortable around were her friends. She trusted them inexplicitly, and they knew about everything there was to know about her. Ken and Greg had only the vague parts about her childhood, but they knew enough to understand her, in a way. Only Alex knew everything. When they had met, at Harvard, Sara had been convinced that she’d never tell anyone about her past. Everyone in San Francisco had seemed to know, and no matter which school she went to, her peers bullied her. Sometimes she wasn’t sure which was worse, the kids’ bullying, or the pity looks she got from the grown-ups. One thing was sure; she never wanted either of those again.
She had seen Harvard as a way of restarting her life, and she hoped that no one would ever find out what had happened in the past. It had gone pretty well too. By pure luck, Alex had been her roommate. The first few months, they barely got along. Slowly though, they had moved into friends territory, and eventually, they’d started dating. Alex knew that something had happened to her, she still had the scars after all, but she had never asked. She would simply caress them softly and move on. She knew though, that Alex was hurting because of her silence. Hurting because she thought that Sara didn’t trust her. And that, in turn, was hurting her. When they had been together for about six months, Sara had finally told her. Stumbling over her words, she had tried to keep it vague, but in the end, everything had come out. Alex hadn’t said anything, simply holding her and letting her cry until she fell asleep. In the morning, she had been surprised that Alex was still there, and even more surprised when she’d noticed that there wasn’t any pity in her eyes. Only love, and understanding.
“Sara… hey, Sara!”
Surprised, she looked up.
“There you are.” Greg smiled at her. “You were quite far away.”
She returned the smile. “Just… remembering some good old times.”
Greg grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Anything you feel like sharing?”
Rolling her eyes, she slapped Greg on the arm. “No. Anyway, are you ready?”
“Yeah. We can go, if you want.”
Sara nodded. “Yeah. Sofia will be joining us, though. We’re meeting her outside.”
Greg’s eyebrows shot up. “You invited her along?”
Sara frowned. “Yeah, why? Shouldn’t I have done that?”
“No, no. That’s not what I meant. I was just… surprised, I guess. What made you do it?”
A shrug. “She came by to invite me for breakfast, said she’d been thinking about what you said to her last night and she realised that you were right. That she had wanted to ask me before, but after hearing the rumours…. Well, you know. And she wanted to rectify that.” Sara smiled. “She was honest about it, Greg. I didn’t expect that, but I sure appreciated it.”
Greg nodded. “I can get that.”
Once outside, it didn’t take long to find Sofia, who was leaning against her car, not far from the entrance. Sara felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the beautiful woman, toothpick between the lips, hands shoved in her pockets. She made for quite the sight, that was for sure.
“So, where are we going?”
Blinking, Sara realised she was already standing in front of the detective.
“The Leak.” She answered quickly.
Sofia raised an eyebrow. “They have breakfast?”
Sara blinked. “You actually know the place?”
Sofia smirked but stayed quiet.
“Right.” Sara said. “Never mind. And yes, they do. It’s relatively new though. Ken owns it and thought it was a good idea. Anyway, you want to join Greg and me or drive your own car?”
Thinking it over, Sofia answered with an “I’ll take my own car. It’ll be easier to go home afterwards. I’ll meet you guys there, alright?”
Sara and Greg nodded before moving towards Sara’s car. As Sara turned her head back to watch Sofia pull out of the parking lot, Greg snorted.
“What?”
Greg shook his head. “That is one big crush, my friend.”
Sara felt her face go red. “It’s nothing.” She mumbled. “I’ll get over it.”
Greg shrugged. “Not like I can blame you, that woman is f-i-n-e.”
“Sometimes, Greg, I really wonder if you’re not some misplaced high school student.”
“Hey, you should’ve never described me as your little brother. Everyone knows that ‘annoying older siblings’ is in the job description.”
Sara grumbled as she opened the car door. “Must have missed the memo.”
Chapter 5
Sofia groaned as she listened to the woman ranting to her on the other side of the phone. Glancing around, she wondered what was taking Sara and Greg so long to arrive. She had been at the bar for almost ten minutes now, and still no sight of them. She paused as she realised it was quiet on the other side of the phone.
“Elise, I told you I wasn’t interested in a relationship. I’m still not interested in a relationship. So will you please, please stop calling me?”
A click told her the woman had hung up and she sighed as she flipped her phone shut. If she had known Elise would keep calling her every single day to ask her out, she would’ve never had that one night stand, that was for sure.
“Shouldn’t have told her I was a cop either. Too damn easy to get my number.”
A chuckle behind her made her turn around. Standing in front of her was a gorgeous woman; a little smaller then she was, dark hair, dark eyes and a simply beautiful face.
“Detective Curtis?”
“That would be me. And you are….”
The woman offered her hand and Sofia shook it. “Alex Quinn.”
At Sofia’s questioning face, she elaborated.
“Sara’s friend. She called me a few minutes ago, said you were probably outside and on the phone. Seems little Greggo forgot his beeper and they had to head back to get it. She couldn’t reach you so she called me instead. Care to join me inside?”
Sofia waved her hand at the front door. “Lead the way.”
Sitting down at the table, Alex spoke up again.
“I must say I was rather surprised when Sara told me she invited you.”
Sofia grimaced. “I told her I didn’t want to intrude.”
“Oh no, detective…”
Sofia raised her hand. “Please, call me Sofia.”
Alex smiled. “Sofia, that’s not what I meant. You’re not intruding at all, I simply didn’t expect her to invite someone along. In the six years she’s been here, Greg is the only person she’s brought with her, and I was told beforehand.”
Sofia shrugged. “Well I suppose my invitation for breakfast sort of came out of the blue.”
“Not one to dance around the point huh?”
“Not really, no. I figured asking couldn’t hurt.”
“I didn’t know we had company this morning. Friend of yours, Lex?”
Sofia looked up to see a red haired woman slip in the booth beside Alex.
“Actually, this is a friend of Sara’s.”
The surprise on the woman’s face was quite clear and Sofia couldn’t help but chuckle as she offered a hand over the table.
“Sofia Curtis.”
The woman smiled as she took the offered hand. “Kennedy Quinn. You one of those lab rats too?”
“Ken, be nice.”
Kennedy shrugged. “They shouldn’t hide all these gorgeous women in a lab. First Sara, now this one. How many more are hidden in that building? It’s unfair to the outside world.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Would you stop flirting already? It’s no wonder nobody dares to bring female friends along, you scare them away.”
Ken stuck her tongue out. “I think it’s you they’re scared of, actually. Your inner psychologist never stops analyzing people.”
“Whatever. Anyway, Sara’s not a lab rat, she’s a CSI. Field work and all, remember?”
Ken waved a hand. “Same damn thing.” She turned back to Sofia. “Now, Sofia, are you a lab rat or not?”
Sofia smirked. Sara had been right when she thought she would like these two. “I used to be.”
“So what do you do now?”
“I’m a homicide detective.”
It was quiet for a second, then Ken’s eyes widened. “Oh. Now I remember you.”
Multiple things happened at once. Alex nudged Ken’s side, Sofia raised an eyebrow, and a waitress appeared at the table.
“Oh dear, you captured a life one.” The woman said in mock shock, before leaning closer to Sofia. “Honey, I tell you now, run while you still can.”
Alex snorted and Ken pouted. “Aww Marlene, we’re not that bad, are we?”
Marlene only raised an eyebrow. “Let me see….” She mumbled, tapping a finger to her chin. “Sara is a decent woman. Sweet too.” She continued, nodding. “Too bad you already had her before I knew you guys. Alex, I suppose you’re alright, but you’re related to this one,” A general wave towards Ken was offered, “and that just brings you down. Greg is alright half the time, I suppose. But you….” She shook her head at Ken. “I have no words.”
Ken grinned. “Thank you darling, I do try.”
“That you do.” She turned back to Sofia. “Do you have an idea of what you want to eat or do you need a menu?”
“Do you have pancakes?”
“Regular ones, yes.”
“I’ll take those then, and some coffee.”
The woman nodded and turned to Alex. “Figures. I always need to make fresh coffee when you people show up.” She sighed.
Ken rolled her eyes. “Don’t complain, I pay you well enough for it.”
“True. I suppose I should say you have a few good points, like hiring me and paying me above average. Anyway, any other guests?”
“Nope, just this one.” Alex answered.
“Right. See you when the other two arrive then.” And she left.
Sofia looked at her companions. “You’re not eating?”
Alex explained. “Ken tells Marlene in advance who’s meeting up in the morning, and we all tend to eat the same thing in the morning anyway. The moment all of us are here she gets our food.”
“I see.”
“There they are.” Ken said happily and Sofia noticed Sara and Greg walking over.
“Hey guys, sorry we’re late.” Greg said, sitting down next to Ken.
Sara smiled as she leaned over to give both Alex and Ken a kiss on the cheek. Sitting down next to Sofia, she offered the woman one of her rare full smiles.
“Hope these two haven’t been harassing you.”
“Depends on what you call harassing.” Sofia answered.
Sara sighed. “Well, Ken’s here so… never mind. I don’t want to know.”
Ken crossed her arms. “What is this today? First Marlene, now you?”
Sara shrugged. “You ask for it.”
Ken opened her mouth for a retort, but at seeing Alex and Greg nod in agreement, she closed it again and huffed.
“Whatever.” She mumbled. Then she brightened again and turned to Alex.
“I have loads of baby pictures of you to show the ladies.” Turning to Greg, she continued. “And you’re not getting that phone number I have in my pocket for you.” Then she turned to Sara. “And I’m sure you don’t want Sofia here to know all your secrets.”
Leaning back, she smirked at the unified “You wouldn’t!” from Alex and Sara and the excited “She gave her phone number?” from Greg.
“I would. And yes, Greg, she gave me her number, telling me to give it, and I quote, ‘to that cute boy from last week.’ Don’t know what she sees in you though. Whole bar filled with beautiful ladies, and she picks you? Sheesh.”
The three of them shared a look and sighed. A clearly practised “You’re the best Kenny.” Followed and Sofia snorted.
“I take it you blackmail a lot?” She asked Ken, who gave a mock horrified look.
“It’s not blackmail honey, I’m just… making them see the truth.”
“It’s blackmail.” Marlene butted in as she put 5 cups and a can of coffee on the table. She smiled at Sara.
“Hey darling, how are you this morning?”
Sara smiled. “I’m fine Marlene. You?”
Marlene shrugged. “Same as always. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
“Thanks.”
Marlene nodded and left again.
Ken sighed and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “Here you go, Greggo.”
Greg grinned as he accepted the paper, carefully putting it in his pocket.
“So, secrets, huh?” Sofia said to Sara with a raised eyebrow.
Sara shrugged. “Not sure what she would have said, but I’m not taking chances. Who knows what Alex told her.”
“Hey now, I resent that! I do know how to keep things confidential, you know, even though you don’t pay me.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “That’s because you’re my friend, not my shrink.”
“That’s a thin line sometimes, Star.”
“You want me to pay you then?”
“Of course not!”
“Do you accept payment from your patients?”
Alex sighed. “Damnit. Fine, I’m not your shrink.”
Sara nodded in satisfaction. “I knew you would see reason.”
Breakfast arrived soon after, and Sofia smiled as the pointless chatter around the table continued. Sara sure was a different person from work around these people. Relaxed and smiling wasn’t a look she saw on Sara often, but it looked damn good on her.