FIC: Sins of the Father (Gil/Nick)
Title: Sins of the Father
Author: Knightmusic
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Gil/Nick
Summary: An orphaned girl and a murdered son, and Gil and Nick are left to discover the impressions a father leaves on the life of his child.
Author's Note/Warnings: First of a multi-part story. Established relationship for Gil and Nick (takes place quite some time after "Incidental" and "Perfect"). I must be crazy for trying to sustain this many WIPs, but it seems to be working so far.
Disclaimer: If I owned CSI, this story would be canon. But alas, you will not see my name in the credits.
And let us all take a moment to bask in the wonder that is my beta-reader laurelgardner. Without her, I would be forever trapped in a world of run-on sentences, passive voice, and multiple other literary sins. (Is that better, dear?)
“Dispatch didn’t tell me anything, just told me to get down here. What do you need?” Gil asked, getting out of his Tahoe and pulling his kit from the back seat.
“We’ve got a witness we need your help with.”
Gil stopped moving and turned, very slowly, to look at Nick. “You called me in, during your shift, to talk to a witness?” he asked. He knew better than to assume that Nick had made an off-the-cuff decision to do what he did, but that still didn’t help him understand.
Nick took a couple of breaths in his fidgety, nervous way. “It’s a little girl,” he said. “She’s about six or seven, and she won’t talk to anyone. Won’t even come out of the closet she’s hiding in.” He paused and looked right at Gil. “We think she’s deaf. You’re the first person we thought of.”
“Oh,” said Gil, any trace irritation he had at being summoned to someone else’s crime scene vanishing. Certainly, the department could have gotten ahold of a translator to try and talk to the girl, but he knew Nick was right to call him in. Having a CSI who knew sign language made it less likely that they would miss anything relevant to the investigation.
“Good thinking, Nick,” Gil said, and flashed a smile at him. Nick returned it and led him through the house and into the master bedroom. Gil took in the blood stains on the wall and mattress, and the void where the victim must have lain until David arrived to remove the body.
“She’s in there,” Nick said, gesturing to the open closet door.
Gil crouched down to peer in. The closet wasn’t very big, and he could see a small girl tucked into the far corner, half hidden by her mother’s dresses. She was watching him intently.
“Hello,” Grissom signed, and her face brightened immediately even though she didn’t say or sign anything back.
“My name is Gil. What’s yours?”
“Chloe,” she signed after only a slight hesitation.
“Do you want to come out of there, Chloe?” Grissom asked. Chloe shook her head and signed “no” several times.
“Okay,” Grissom signed. “Then may I come in?”
She thought about it for a little while, and then nodded her head. The floor of the closet was empty, so Grissom eased himself in and sat down next to her. She seemed somewhat at ease in here, and it made sense. Hiding here had saved her life, and she probably knew it.
“Why do you know how to sign?” she asked.
Grissom smiled. “My mother taught me. She was deaf.”
“My mother taught me too. She’s not deaf. I don’t know anyone else who signs. Or anyone else who‘s deaf.” Chloe looked at him like he was the most wonderful and interesting thing she had ever seen.
“Chloe, can I ask you some questions?” Grissom asked after a short pause. She froze for a second, considering, then nodded.
“Do you know what happened here tonight?” he asked. Chloe’s face fell. She looked suddenly younger and more vulnerable than she had a moment ago.
“Someone hurt my mother.” she signed.
“Did you see who it was?” Grissom asked.
“No. Mother told me to hide in here and stay quiet. I did.”
“Where’s your father?”
“I don’t have one,” Chloe answered.
Grissom suppressed the sigh that wanted out of his chest. He wanted so desperately to be able to offer some comfort to this girl. But he didn’t know how.
“Gris?” he snapped his head back to the door when he heard Nick’s voice. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl’s head move, too. “I’m gonna get back to processing this place. Give a call if you need any help, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, having to remind himself to speak. “If I can get her out of here, I’ll get her to family services.” Nick nodded and left his line of sight. Gil turned back to the little girl.
“We’re here to help you,” he signed. Chloe didn’t look convinced. “You’re safe now.”
“Is my mother okay?” she asked, and Grissom had to close his eyes for a minute. This part was never easy, even with an adult. Telling a child was nearly impossible. He always tried to avoid it when he could, and told himself it was because others could handle it better than he would.
It scared the hell out of him.
“Your mother was very brave,” he began, hoping to be as gentle as possible. “She saved you.” Chloe kept looking at him; looking right into his eyes. He’d never seen such solemn eyes on such a young child. He wondered if she’d always looked like this, or if tonight’s events had suddenly made her this way.
“I’m sorry that we didn’t get here in time to save your mother,” he answered, finally. She looked away, but didn’t seem like she was going to cry. “I’m sorry,” he signed again, and whispered the words as well.
“It’s not your fault,” she signed, without looking back.
He dropped his head and wished Warrick was here. He was brilliant with children, and they always seemed to like him instantly. Gil knew how to be kind when questioning them, knew a good tone of voice to keep them from being scared, but that was as far as he ever went. Just because he could communicate with this girl didn’t mean he knew what to say to her.
When he looked back at her, she was biting her lip, but showing no other signs of distress. “I have to get out of here, don’t I?” she asked. Grissom nodded.
“When you’re ready.”
“Are you going to stay with me?”
“Yes.” Grissom answered without thinking about it, and Chloe smiled for the first time. She reached out a hand to Grissom; he took it and stood up. Once he had led her out of the bedroom, he tried to let go, but she hugged his hand to her chest. He let her.
“Nick?” he called.
“Yeah?” Nick poked his head out from one of the other bedrooms. When he saw Grissom with the girl he ducked back in for his kit and met them in the hallway.
“I don’t think she has any evidence on her, but-” Grissom said
“Yeah, I know. I’ll process her anyway,“ he answered as he opened the case and knelt down next to Chloe. She tried to hide behind Grissom.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Nick said, flashing her the biggest, friendliest smile he had. She didn’t respond and he looked to Grissom for help.
Grissom knelt down to look Chloe in the face. “It’s okay,” he told her. Chloe cast a speculative eye on Nick and squeezed Gil’s hand harder.
“Maybe you should do this,” Nick whispered, handing him a pair of gloves. Gil nodded without looking away from Chloe. He pulled his hand away from her to put them on.
“Do you like science?” he asked her, not really knowing what to say to put her at ease. She shrugged and he smiled. “Well I do. And I’m going to see if there’s anything on you that will tell us what happened here tonight.” He reached for a flashlight, and then stopped.
“This won’t hurt at all,” he added. Chloe took a big breath, exhaling loudly, looked Grissom in the eye and nodded. He turned on the flashlight and shown it over her, front and back. He found no evidence of blood, and the only hairs on her clothes appeared to be hers or possibly her mothers. He took a tape lift anyway, then set down the flashlight.
“Can you open your mouth for me?” he asked.
“Why?”
How do you explain DNA to a seven-year-old? “I want to see what the inside of your mouth looks like.”
“Like the doctor does?” she asked.
“Yes. Like that.” She opened her mouth and he took the swab quickly and gently before he could scare her.
“Thank you. That’s going to help us find out who did this.” He handed the samples back to Nick who’d been sitting there, watching him the whole time. He had a very slight smile on his face.
“You’re cute with kids,” he said, standing up. “But then, I kinda think you’re cute all the time.”
Gil still hadn’t found a way to react when Nick said things like that to him. Fortunately, Nick didn’t read anything into it, and just had a tendency to laugh when Gil fumbled for a way to answer. Right now, he just took Chloe’s hand again and stood up.
“Thanks for helping out,” Nick said, and, after only a brief pause to indicate how much he wanted to kiss Gil before he left, turned and headed back into the room he’d been processing.
“Of course. I’ll see you later, Nicky,” Gil answered and brought the girl outside where Vega was waiting.
“Have you located any family?” Grissom asked.
Vega shook his head. “No father listed on the birth certificate. We’ve got a distant cousin in Kansas, but she says she’s never even met the girl,” he looked at Chloe, who was still clinging to Grissom’s hand. “I don’t think there’s much more we can do.”
Grissom looked away, over Vega’s right shoulder, and closed his eyes. The emotional lapse only lasted a second or two, but it was enough. He opened his eyes and looked back at Vega, all business again.
“Okay. Tell Nick that I went with her to the hospital.” Vega nodded.
The paramedics were waiting for them, and even though they were as quiet and gentle with Chloe as they possibly could be, her grip on Grissom’s hand never relaxed for an instant. He’d intended to leave her with the EMTs and follow them to the hospital in his Tahoe. But Chloe refused to get in the ambulance. Even his patient explanations that they were here to help didn’t pacify her.
When he suggested that he ride with her, she climbed docily into the ambulance, pulling him in behind her.