Affliction
Title: Affliction
Author: sidle77
Rating: Nc-17 (for violence, adult situations and sexual content)
Pairing: GSR
Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own them, any of them and will give back once I’m done playing. CBS owns all (but not my idea!)
Summary: Grissom and Sara finally find the happiness that they deserve but what will happen when the cause of their worst nightmares returns to finish what she started?
Spoilers: Anything and everything
Status: WIP
A/N: This is a follow up to Retribution and is set in an A/U. Please note there is no C/D in this story. Massive thanks to Cropper for her amazing Beta work, patience and support. This would not be what it is without you!
Prologue:
Grissom ran faster than he thought he possibly could. He reached the converted barn, the second location marked on the map. He quickly slid the door open and ran inside. His heart lunged from his body when he saw the glass tomb and Sara's struggle within it. He ran to the glass, just as it filled completely. He desperately searched for a door, a switch, a lever, anything.
"Sara!" He furiously banged on the glass.
Sara kicked frantically, barely an inch of space left and then the water completely engulfed her. She heard a muffled banging and fought to move closer to the noise. Despite the blur in her vision she knew it was him banging on the glass. The colour of his eyes gave him away. Grissom held her gaze and saw nothing but his own fear and horror reflected back at him. Sara placed her palm weakly to the glass as bubbles floated before her. Her lungs were burning and she was helpless. She could not fight the demands of her oxygen-deprived body any longer. She drew a final gasping breath. Her lungs filled with water and she knew it was over.
There was nothing, only darkness and defeat. Her eyes drifted shut and she became weightless, floating, oblivious to the furious beating on the tomb enclosing her......
"Noooooooo!" Grissom screamed punching the glass once more, harder, harder, harder. The glass held strong as his knuckles began to split and bleed and his hands began to bruise. Grissom did not feel the pain, only the panic running through his soul. The fear, the helplessness.
"Sara!!!!!! God.....Sara..........!!"
He turned and looked around quickly, frantically, for anything that could help him. He saw a sledge hammer propped up against the far wall and shot towards it. Grabbing it he dashed back to the glass. He positioned himself to strike and with every ounce of strength he could muster he swung the hammer, hard and heavy into the glass. It hit the cage and sprang back towards him, didn't even make a dent.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Grissom swung again, to the same effect. He dropped the hammer in despair and strained for his own breath now.
"Sara....", tears filled his eyes as Sara floated before him. He could not break the glass......
Chapter 1.
5 days earlier.....
The night before the wedding
Sara looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and took a deep breath. Despite all of the planning and all of the waiting, she still couldn't quite believe that in just over half a day she would be Mrs Gilbert Grissom. Sometimes she felt she’d been waiting her whole life for the moment to arrive and had to resist the urge to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. It had been almost two and a half years since their harrowing ordeal at the hands of the deranged Kate Stevens and her lunatic husband and Sara wanted no surprises, no drama, nothing to mar the ceremony planned for the following day. All she wanted was for she and Grissom to finally enjoy some happiness they deserved.
Michael would soon celebrate his second birthday and, despite the fact that they had never gone back to using any form of contraception following Michaels birth, it wasn't until three months ago that Sara learned she was pregnant again. She was overjoyed, they both were. Sara could still recall the look on Grissom's face when she told him. She could still see, as vividly as if it happened only moments before, the beaming smile that crossed his face. He looked as if all his dreams had just come true in that one small instant of time. Sara placed her hand on her very slightly showing stomach and smiled. This baby represented their second miracle, the one they would get to watch grow together.....
They had been forced to wait much longer than they had intended to tie the knot. It seemed that something had always delayed their plans to finally unite as official partners in life and love. They had to endure the lengthy trial of the two fiends who had nearly destroyed their lives. Work commitments piled up steadily as both eventually returned to lab, and of course, there was Michael.
Sara walked out into the lounge of her hotel suite at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and smiled at her son, dressed in his footed pyjamas, happily amusing himself with his building blocks on the floor. He'd grown so much in two years.
They wanted Michael to be a little older before they wed so they felt more at ease about leaving him for more than just one night. They still felt a little uncomfortable with being away for too long but had decided that a mini honeymoon would be fine. Even if it was just for 3 or 4 days. Just as they had finally settled on a date and started making plans for a wedding, fate struck them another blow.
Michael had anaphylaxis. He was eight months old when he was stricken with a serious ear infection. Grissom had struggled to keep Sara calm in the emergency room because all she could think of was the worse case scenario, Grissom’s hereditary otosclerosis and the possibility that her son had inherited it. They both breathed much easier when the doctor informed them he only had an ear infection. The infection was a little on the serious side, but nothing that could not be treated with a good dose of antibiotics.
It was only when he had a massive reaction to the penicillin that they realised something was very, very wrong. Several nerve wracking days were spent waiting in the paediatric care centre of Dessert Palm where Michael underwent a battery of tests. He was finally diagnosed with anaphylaxis and had exhibited a serious allergic reaction to the penicillin he had been given to treat his ear infection.
Grissom had returned to work 3 months after Michael was born and Sara 3 months after Grissom. They hired a part time live in nanny, Claire, who had been recommended by Wendy from the lab. Claire would stay at the house with Michael on the nights both were working and when ever else they needed help. Michael had taken to Claire immediately as had Grissom and Sara, and their arrangement worked out perfectly. They had the security of knowing their son was being cared for while they worked and he would wake when they arrived home. Grissom and Sara usually took turns staying up with Michael while the other grabbed a couple of hours sleep. Some days neither would sleep at all and just enjoy their time with their son....
Now with Michael almost turning two and as healthy as he could be they felt more comfortable leaving him for a few days so they could enjoy a little time away together. Sara walked over to the closet and took out her dress. She admired it closely as her eyes peered back to Michael who was happily admiring his mighty high tower. He pushed it over and it tumbled to the carpet. Michael clapped his hands in triumph, giggling happily to himself.
"It's way past your bedtime young man."
Michael smiled at his mommy as he clapped again and began rebuilding his tower. Sara grinned and looked back at her dress. It was just a simple, sleek, perfect fitting white silk dress. She began to feel a knot in her stomach as she gazed over it. She took another deep breath and hung the dress back in the closet next to Michaels tiny suit. She smiled looking at it.
There was a knock at the door. Sara walked across the room and opened it.
"Gil! What are you doing here?"
Grissom grinned. "I missed you. I wanted to see you."
"Well, you can't! It's bad luck."
Grissom lofted and eyebrow and opted a professional tone. "Sara, technically that rule does not apply until tomorrow morning. Besides you’ve told me repeatedly that your not superstitious."
"Gil....." Sara warned. “Look, I just don’t want to take any chances okay. I know what your like, this is why we agreed to separate rooms this evening. No distractions before our big day.”
Grissom sighed. I know, honey I understand but I haven’t seen you for hours. Please.....?"
Michael heard his fathers voice coming from the doorway and a huge grin split his face. "Daddy!" He shouted excitedly, climbing unsteadily to his feet and wobbling over to the door.
"
Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Mike up! Up, Daddy!" Michael wiggled with glee as he held his hands up to his father.
Grissom smiled down at his son. Sara frowned with mock displeasure.
"Now look what you've done", she groused teasingly as she crossed her arms firmly over her chest.
Grissom shot her a look that was half curious and half pleading.
"Fine! Sara relented grudgingly. “Ten minutes and that's it. Michael needs to go to bed anyway. If anything goes wrong tomorrow Gil Grissom, I'm blaming you, you understand?" She lightly prodded him in the chest with a long, elegant index finger while trying unsuccessfully to hide her smile.
Grissom grinned and quickly swooped Michael off his feet.
"Heeeheeehee", Michael laughed patting Grissom lightly on the face, his chubby hands stroking his fathers beard. Michael suddenly pointed across to his tower.
"Glocks...."
"Blocks?"
Michael nodded. "Glocks".
"Ok". Grissom carried Michael back to his blocks and placed him on the floor.
Michael grabbed a block and gave it to Grissom.
"Biwld", he demanded.
Grissom sat on the floor next to his son and began to help Michael build. Sara sat on the bed and watched, smiling.
When the blocks were almost too high to stand without toppling over Michael clapped in triumph.
"Tower!" He shouted.
"Very good Mike. Tower". Grissom repeated.
"Tower!"
"Ok buster.." Sara said to their son getting to her feet. "...bed time. We have a big day tomorrow."
She reached down and picked Michael up. Grissom stood as well.
"Give daddy a kiss goodnight."
Michael leaned over and gave Grissom a fat kiss on the lips.
"Thanks champ. Goodnight."
"Gudnye daddy".
Sara carried Michael off to the bedroom and returned about ten minutes later to find Grissom looking at the night time Vegas skyline through the window.
"Hey".
Grissom turned and regarded her with a gentle smile. "Hey. He go down ok?"
Sara grinned. "Doesn’t he always?"
Grissom slowly walked towards her and put his arms around her waist.
"Time for you to go", she said softly.
"Oh….I don't get one last night of sin as a bachelor?"
Sara laughed. "No you don't."
"Too bad."
"Hmmmm”, Sara commiserated. ”But you can have a kiss."
"Yeah?"
Sara nodded as Grissom grinned at her, wasting no more time as he leaned in and kissed her passionately. Her arms encircled his neck as he held her closer. Sara moaned lightly into his mouth as his kiss intensified and his tongue began to explore hers. Every time they kissed, always felt like the first time.
Sara could feel the burning sensation of intense arousal stirring in her stomach and pulled away quickly.
"Ok..." She gasped. "That's enough or we will both end indulging in one last night of sinful pleasures.”
Grissom grinned. "Ok, I'll go."
They headed for the door. Grissom turned to look in her eyes as he opened it. "I'll....umm.....see you tomorrow."
Sara nodded. "Good night."
Grissom smiled and left, heading for his room on the next floor.
Sara closed the door and leaned heavily against it, emitting a long, hard, shaky breath. Her heart was racing a mile a minute. God did he have to turn her on like that? She headed for the bathroom and probably a cold shower.
Grissom walked into his bathroom and checked himself out in the mirror. Now he sighed heavily at the thoughts running through his mind and what the next 24 hours would mean to his whole life. He reached up and fondled his beard, contemplating......