Our Spot

Chapter 26

Sara watched Melanie walk the pathway. She didn’t move when the doorbell rang, instead straining to hear for footsteps that led away from the house. Before that could happen, she vaulted from her place in the living room.

She pulled the door open cautiously as Melanie was slipping a note in the door.

The other woman smiled nervously at Sara. “Oh, Gil said you were angry with him. I wouldn’t have come by if I’d known you were here. I am so sorry.”

Sara raised an eyebrow. “You talked to Gris?”

“Just about the divorce. I am very sorry. I didn’t expect him ever to get married again, let alone to have a child. I would have called. I should have called. People change, even Gil Grissom.”

Sara leaned on the frame the door.

“Is that for Gris?” Sara waved a thin finger at the note still in Melanie’s hand.

Melanie passed the paper to the other woman.

“The divorce is final. A copy of the papers in your mailbox. Another copy is on file at Martin, Hayes and Fine. Sorry for all the trouble.”

Sara reached inside the mailbox to her left. She fingered the papers gratefully.

“I don’t know your name.” Melanie said.

“I thought you talked to Gris.”

“He just said that you were angry and that you had taken the baby. He was very upset. Can’t say I blame him.”

At the reference to Claire, Sara listened to make sure her daughter was still napping.

“What did he call me then?” Sara would be mortified if he referred to her as his girlfriend. Maybe he called her his daughter’s mother.

“He called you his wife.”

Sara leaned back a little. “He did?”

“Yes.”

“Oh”

“So what is your name?”

“Sara.”

Melanie took in the woman’s haughty gaze and arrogant mouth. Melanie supposed that when one had claimed a man so many years ago, one had a right to conceit.

“So you are Sara.”

“Yes I am.”

“You took my husband from me.” Melanie said softly.

Sara had never encountered romantic hostility from another woman. She was rarely seen as a threat. She knew she was attractive enough. Most women thought she was too career driven, too smart and to aloof to ensnare their lovers or husbands.

“I did no such thing.” Sara answered the accusation.

“He left as a normal, distant, boring husband. He returned nearly giddy and making hushed phone calls.”

“He didn’t leave you. He probably never would have left you.” The thought terrified Sara.

“Don’t you get it? He was already gone. How old were you then? Twenty five at the most.”

“My age had nothing to do with it.” Sara had forgotten her protests.

“I don’t suppose it did. He never did chase after young women. A woman with a little seasoning was always what he preferred until you.”

“Other women…” Sara had spoken words like wolf whistling in the wind.

Melanie cursed herself. What was she doing? Gil was happy. She was happy. She had responded to some long ago hurt that had flared up in the last seventy two hours.

Melanie shook her head. “I shouldn’t have…”

“Did Gil…” The marriage was one thing but anything else. Anything else was unpalatable.

Melanie tugged at a diamond earring as she watched the younger woman and tried to extricate them both from the situation with some grace.

“I have no proof that Gil ever cheated on me. I know that he didn’t sleep with you.”

“You have no proof but you suspect.”

Melanie’s mouth formed soothing words but decided against the course of action. This woman was no fool. She would see through empty niceties. “In those days….In those days it was known that he liked women. He liked beautiful, smart women. When we married, it was quite a shock to number of women. I don’t know why he asked. I don’t know why I sad yes but he tried and I tried and it didn’t work.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Did Gris cheat on you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who do you suspect?” The questioned hovered in the air.

Sara saw her dark eyes tug and release a she considered what to say next. In the end she spoke the truth.

“Catherine. I am sure something happened. I just don’t know what and I don’t when.”


Audrey sat down heavily in the Las Vegas Crime lab lobby. She could not stand another minute in the lab. She loved her job, but the work could make one melancholy and sad.

She was surprised to see that Matthew Grissom occupied the seat next to her.

“Hi, Matty. How’s the casino business?”

“Profitable, exhausting”

“How’s that little girl of yours?”

“Ill tempered, adorable, spoiled, and a bit mean like her mother.”

“I won’t tell Sofia you said that.”

“I thank you.”

“Where is Hannah anyway?”

“With her nanny. I am taking my wife on an overnight date.”

Audrey grinned. “Oh fun! You Grissom men are quite the romantics. Working on another little brother or sister for Miss Hannah?”

Matthew shrugged. “We work too much. If and when another kid is in the cards, I am going to have to do some rearranging like Gil. My mother has decided that Gil should have been her son once she found out that they are having a barn full.”

Audrey looked at her watch. Where was Nick? “I thought you and Gil had the same mother.”

Matthew shook his head. “Nope. We actually just met about two years ago.”

“Wow. You guys are so close.”

“I guess some siblings have that thing. Sometimes I feel like he can hear me thinking. I am very glad that I found him.”

“I wouldn’t know. I am an only child. I always wanted a brother or sister.”

“Was that commercial for Hannah’s sake?”

Audrey laughed. “I thought I was subtle.”

Audrey caught sight of Nick as he ambled down the hall. They were having breakfast at Audrey’s condo. They both had the next shift off, and Audrey planned on taking full advantage of it. Nick had been a perfect gentleman for two solid months. Audrey appreciated his respect, but recently all she wanted to do was throw him down and have her way with him.

Her phone went off in her small designer hand bag. She smiled a hello into the phone as she thought about the tiny red thong and matching panties. It was time to kick this relationship up a notch.

“Hi, Mommy.”

Nick came to stand in front of her as Audrey fired off rapid Mandarin punctuating it with “mommy” at various intervals. When she finally hung up the phone, she became aware of the two men staring.

“Sorry. Mommy is being--well a mother. I guess it could be worse.”

Nick grinned his wide Texas grin. “Did you say something about my teeth and my sperm count?”

Audrey face turned hot.

“You speak Mandarin.”

“My college roommate was from right outside of Beijing.”

“And from that you learned the word ‘sperm’?”

“He was a biology major, and I have an ear for languages.”

Audrey stood and rolled her eyes. “This is what happens when your mother is a geneticist, and her only daughter is nearly thirty, and there seem to be no grandchildren on the horizon. She’s coming in the weekend of Gil and Sara’s wedding. She wants to SEE you for herself. She thinks I am lying to get her off my back.”

Audrey looped her arm through his as they bid farewell to Matthew. “I’m sorry. She is way over the top.”

“I think it’s a mother requirement. You should hear Maggie Stokes. She has seven kids and the fact that only one has no children and no spouse seems to besmirch her good name. She’s a federal DA, but my bachelorhood makes her hide her face in shame.”

Nick watched as Audrey furrowed brow. “Honey, it will be fine. We’ll take her to Gil and Sara’s wedding. She’ll meet the gang, and see that CSIs do marry and breed.”

Audrey sighed and tried to concentrate on her red thong, not wanting to dwell on the fact that Nick had hinted at marriage and a future.

Nick wondered what was keeping Audrey so long. He was starving, and he wanted to take a nap before the evening movie date.

“Baby?” Audrey called from somewhere down the hall.

“Yeah, babe.”

“I need your help. I can’t reach something.”

Nick walked down the hall towards the sound of Audrey’s voice. He had never been to her bedroom, but he had a good idea that it was the last door on the right.

He pushed door open and stood as still as he ever had in his life, awake or asleep.

Audrey was on all fours in the middle of her bed, long neck arched, red lips parted. She was wearing, if it could be called that, a tiny piece of fabric that slipped between her round full cheeks. Her pink erect nipples beckoned to Nick. Without realizing it, a low moan came from his mouth.

“You like?”

Nick walked slowly across the carpeted floor unbuttoning his shirt as he went.

Brass had always thought her a luscious woman. She was generous hipped and full lipped and, whenever they ran into one another, he worked hard not to stare. He took this opportunity to watch her without being seen as she attacked her plate of food with gusto.

He had watched her sip a glass of wine while picking from a plate of bruschetta and tapping her foot lightly to the music in the Black room. Traditionally, but not by The Spot’s design, the Black room was for single people who wanted to have a good meal and listen to music. It was not a place for lovers, or those looking for love. He has seen her here two times over the last few months, her loneliness appearing to compound on every occasion. He recognized the same melancholy in himself.

Fuelled by liquid courage, he did not normally possess and was afraid would dissipate as easily as it came, he walked over to her table.

“Heather” he wanted their reacquaintence to be on equal footing. No titles for either of them.

She looked and smiled. “James.”

So far, so good. No one ever called him James. He liked it coming from her lips.

“May I?” he asked pointing to the empty chair.

“You may.” She said a little giddily as she watched him unbutton his tailored jacket and signal to the waiter.

He pointed to Heather’s plate of food. “Good?”

“Excellent” she said

He spoke the waiter quietly. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

“Very good, Mr. Brass. Wine the same as well.”

“Why not? The lady is known for her taste and standards.”

Heather checked her breathing. She had always been a bit nervous around James Brass. Truth be told, he scared her. His dark eyes always seem to bore through, asking questions she never wanted to answer.

At a loss for words, Heather took a sip of wine.

“How have you been, Heather?”

She looked at his vaguely handsome face and determined that she would tell only part of the truth.

“Business is good.”

He stared at her taking in the swell of her breast. “But you aren’t so good?”

She took another sip of wine.

Heather searched for a safe topic. “How are Grissom’s festivities coming along?”

Brass looked surprised. He didn’t know why. Heather had ears everywhere.

“Gil is very happy.” he said wondering if she still carried torch for his friend.

“Yes I know. I haven’t RSVP’d. I don’t know…” her hands fluttered in the air.

“You were invited?”

“Yes. Sara likes me. I like Sara.”

“And it doesn’t matter what the men think?”

Heather laughed. A bit of her nervousness left as he laughed softly. “Not so much.”

“You should go. Maybe you will meet some people.”

“You have people, and you are having dinner alone.”

“That’s because all my people are paired off, and they actually like being alone together.”

“That’s nice to have someone like that. Someone that’s everything.”

“You ever had an everything?”

Heather started to balk, but realized it wasn’t worth it. Once she had believed that you should not give away any of your power to anyone, but that had been before she met Gil. “I thought I might once.”

“Gris.”

Heather nodded.

“You guys weren’t together for that long.”

“We were never together.”

“You aren’t bitter? He did think you killed someone.”

She stopped eating and put down her fork. She had never really talked about it and rarely thought about it. Instead she glossed over that ugly bump in her life with her usual dignity and grace.

“He did what he knew how to do at the time. He ran. It hurt but he learned from it. I learned from it. I thought that I might not be able to forgive him, but to my shock and horror, I did.”

“Shock and horror?”

“I have power issues.”

He looked at her and considered the next question carefully. He didn’t want to scare the woman who had always seemed a bit skittish around him, but he needed to know.

“Go ahead, James. Ask what you want to ask. I have told you more than I told my last therapist.”

“You still hung up on him?”

“No” she said honestly. “I still care about him. I want him to be happy. You love someone. I mean you love them purely and honestly, you want them to be happy even if it’s not with you.”

She picked her fork up and resumed eating.

“You loved him?”

“I do love him and possibly could have fallen in love with him. I miss what I wanted him to be.” She took another sip of wine and gave him the full effect of her sultry looks. God, this woman was gorgeous. “You ever had an everything James?”

He shook his head. “Not even close. I don’t think I knew what I was missing until the first time I saw Sara and Gris together.”

“It does give one pause. Couples like that make the rest of use believe in the impossible.”

They ate. They laughed. Jim did his James Cagney impression and Heather did her best Mae West. The waiters and waitresses whispered in the kitchen about Lieutenant Brass and Lady Heather, two of their favorite customers making eyes at one another.

After Jim paid the check, he walked her to her car. He looked at the red luxury sedan.

“Reminds me of you.” Jim said stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“How’s that?” she asked leaning against the car giving Jim the full benefit of her cleavage.

“Classic with a splash of sexy.”

“Just a splash?” She flirted.

“With you lady, that's all that is required.” Rocking back on his heals he took her in. She was lovely. “Heather, I am not a young man, and I find that laying ones cards on the table is best.”

Heather stepped back apprehensively. He probably just wanted to sleep with her. She was tired of that tune, men who believed her to be some sexual cure all, some vixen that would make all their dreams and fantasies come true. In the past, she had played the part believing that with every encounter she would find that thing that poet’s wrote about, that she would wake up feeling loved and wanted. Gil was the closest thing to her dreams, and even those encounters were sorely lacking.

It wasn’t that he had called Sara’s name once. People slipped. They had fantasies. Calling out the name of a girl at work, or a crush from college while in the throws of passion didn’t mean much by itself. Gil had called her by the other woman’s name both in at and out of bed. That means more than some wet dream or erotic wanderlust. That meant she was his everything. She was his fantasy and his reality.

More recently her encounters had been recreational, a release for a highly sexual being. She was surprised to find herself disappointed in James Brass until the words he spoke knocked the wind out of her.

“Heather Annabel Kahn you are something else. I want to drive off into the sunset with ya. I want to give you everything you ever wanted. You make me feel like a kid again. I am not the most best looking guy, but I’m smart, I’m loyal, not too shabby in bed, and I will treat you better than any man has ever treated you. So what do you say? Let’s give it a shot?”


Sara frowned at the phone. The number was familiar but she couldn’t place it.

“Sidle soon to be Grissom.”

A low whisper came through the phone.

“Sara.”

Sara struggled to hear. “Heather?”

“Yes.”

“Okay first let me get this out of the way. You are the only thing I have that resembles a girlfriend.”

“Okay…”

“And this particular issue seemed like one where girlfriends talk to one another…”

“I assume it’s a man.”

“Yes. I am at his house.”

Sara looked at the clock. She read seven AM. She had not gone back to work and was unsure if she wanted to. She heard Gil sounds in the kitchen.

“So you are at his house, and where is he?”

“I don’t know. I woke up, and he was gone, and he didn’t leave a note. I think I might have been a one night stand.”

Sara stretched and tried to piece together the situation.

“How long have you known this guy?”

“Couple of years.”

Sara ran a tongue across furry teeth. Gil Grissom truly did love her.

“Did you talk about where you were headed?” Sara wondered at the oddity of giving Lady Heather, femme fatale, ex-lover to her husband to be romantic advice.

“A little.”

“What does that mean?”

“He said I made him want to ride off into the sunset. He said…” Heather was a little ashamed of the sentimentality of the next words. “He said he would be good to me, that he’d treat me well.”

“So is this man known for lying? I can’t imagine you buying a load of crap.”

Heather swung her legs out of bed and was conscious of her nudity; she searched the room for something to wear. “I have been awfully lonely lately.” She admitted.

“Still, you have good instincts. It’s how you make your living. Are you sure he didn’t leave a note?”

“Yes.”

“Then he’s coming back. Maybe he’s buying breakfast. He knows about the diabetes?”

“I think so…yes I am sure he does.”

“Maybe he needed to make some pantry adjustments”

“Oh…you think he would do that for me?”

Sara didn’t speak for several seconds. In the end, most people just wanted to love and be loved. That’s what it was all about, the crimes of passion, the betrayal, the constant seeking for something you couldn’t quite name. As she spoke she ran her hand over Gil’s still warm place on his side of the bed.

“Of course he would, Heather.” Sara reassured gently.

Jim Brass whistled a merry tune as he turned the key in the lock. A sweet scent from the candles he that had burned the previous evening. He put the bags down on his kitchen table went in search of his house guest. He found her standing in his bedroom window looking out at his expansive back yard and wearing the still crisp white shirt he wore from the evening before.

“Hello there, gorgeous.”

Heather, lost in her own thoughts, had not heard him return.

“Hi” she said.

“I hoped to be back before you got up but buying breakfast for a diabetic is a heady task. I had to get the Nutrition Manager at the local market to help me. He says he knows you. He says you like the Splenda sweetened stuff.”

“Oh” Heather said self-consciously

Brass’s cop ears processed the syllable. There was something in her voice.

“You thought I was trying to figure out how to ditch you?”

Heather let out the breath she had been holding for longer than she cared to admit. “In so many words, yes.”

He pulled her close to him inhaling their mingling scents. It was going to take some time with Heather. She didn’t expect much from men, and mostly she had been right.

“I am in this for the long haul, gorgeous. I’ll show you.”

“I have no idea how to do this.” She said against his cheek.

“You don’t have to. Just hang on for the ride.”


Sara sat plate of food and a cup of coffee down in front Gil who was typing furiously on the office computer. He turned the screen away when he saw Sara looking at it.

“Heather called.”

Gil looked over his glasses at his Sara. “What’s wrong?”

“Man troubles.”

Gil took of his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You know this is weird, right?”

Sara shrugged. Early on she had figured that life with this bunch was anything but tradition.

“She doesn’t have any friends. She was slightly freaked out. Who would I have called before I came here? No one. It’s not easy being us. Who does Cath talk to besides our little collective? I am sure Audrey has similar issues.”

“So the women are strong, what’s the dynamic with the men?”

“The men?” Sara sat on the edge of the large antique. “The men are strong enough to handle strong women I guess. You aren’t threatened. I mean, look at the night your dad showed up at Matty’s. Who else could talk to Cath like that but Warrick and who else but Cath could convince you to send me a plant?”

“How did you know about that?”

Sara blew him a kiss.

Gil shook. “Is she serious about this guy?”

“Sounds like. Something about sunsets.”

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t say. My impression is he’s older, maybe Jim’s age. Sounds like he’s got quite a showplace like Jim.”

“He’s done.”

“You think?”

“Men our age start attempting bad poetry. Never a good sign.”

“I never got any poetry.”

“There’s still a wedding, dearest.” Gil smiled cryptically. “Now out. I need to finish my
vows.”

Sara blew him another kiss. She wanted to ask him about Catherine but couldn’t bring herself to. Everything was as close to perfect as it was ever going to be. Maybe the Catherine thing didn’t matter.

A/N So what do you think? Did something happen between Cath and Gris? If so when?

Also are my lines, which denote scene changes, showing up in your email. I am having some formating iss