Title: Choices
Author: nighttimeowlreader
Author’s Email: anamcara42@hotmail.com
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Sara/Sofia
Summary: different ending to the whole Miniatures Killer story arc.
Spoilers (if any): Seasons 7 & 8

Disclaimer: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigators," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer Television, Alliance Atlantis, and CBS Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigators," CBS, or any representatives of Jorja Fox or Marg Helgenberger.

Author's Notes: Timeline: after Living Doll, references to Season 6 episodes, some mild violence in this part, swearing, unbeta'd. Feedback welcome.


PD interrogation room 7pm

Sofia sat in the warm interrogation room listening to Greg questioning their suspect. The rooms were purposely kept slightly above normal room temperature to magnify the level of discomfort for the suspects. Their current suspect was being questioned about the murder of his wife. The man so far, had reacted as expected when hearing that his wife was murdered. He appeared to be upset and shocked but Sofia couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. She felt the suspect's eyes on her quite frequently considering that Greg was questioning him. Sofia rose from the chair and walked to one corner of the room. She unobtrusively leaned against the wall and pretended to be reviewing the case file. She could feel the suspect's eyes on her for longer than necessary and internally grinned.

"Am I boring you, Detective?"

Sofia looked up from the file into the suspect's dark eyes and could feel the intensity of the gaze like a physical slap. She suppressed the urge to look away and stared back cooly. "I'm just making sure we have all of the facts.," she replied.

"Well, maybe if you were paying attention to what I'm saying you would learn something.," the suspect said sneering. Greg looked to Sofia and was amazed at the composure the woman maintained. The suspect clearly had a problem with women and Sofia had managed to bring this fact out in the open without letting him rattle her in the process. Sofia walked closer to the table and leaned forward on the back of her chair letting her hand and the case file rest on it.

"Mr. Adams, your wife's medical records indicate that she had over ten emergency room visits since her marriage to you. Don't you find that odd?"

"She was weak, Detective, so no I don't find it odd. She had a lot of problems."

Sofia arched an eyebrow and closed the case file. "Multiple rib fractures, sprained ankle, torn rotator cuff, shattered ulna, detached retina," she paused and slowly removed a photo from the case file, "I just need you to answer one question for me." Sofia placed the photo of Mr. Adams' dead wife on the table in front of him and her voice was razor sharp in its intent. "What did this beautiful, young woman do to deserve you?"

She watched the dark eyes linger a little too long on the photo of his wife on the autopsy table. "What happened to my wife is tragic."

"The only thing tragic is that she couldn't get away from you.," Sofia said, shaking her head. Mr. Adams brought his fist down on the table hard. "I gave that bitch everything! All she had to do was obey and I treated her like a queen. You bitches are all the same!"

Greg jumped as Mr. Adams stood up and his chair fell violently to the floor with a crash. Sofia faced the enraged man, zeroing in on his hands. "Calm down, Mr. Adams.," Sofia's voice was loud but professional.

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down!" Sofia was ready for the first swing of the large fist and managed to dodge it but the second fist glanced off the corner of her cheek as she turned and brought her own fist into his solar plexus. Mr. Adams fell to his knees, stunned and Greg immediately pushed him onto the floor while Sofia handcuffed his hands behind his back. Two uniformed cops jogged into the room after hearing the ruckus. Sofia gladly handed over their suspect and touched her bruised cheek, surprised when her hand came away with blood.

"Sofia, are you alright?" Greg pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and lightly dabbed at the trail of blood that had run down Sofia's face to stain her white shirt collar. Sofia flinched at the pressure to the sensitive area but resisted batting Greg's hand away. The concern on his face warmed her heart. "I'm fine, Greg, but next time you get to be the bad cop.," Sofia joked, hoping to make Greg smile. Greg gently took Sofia's arm and led her to the upright chair. "Greg, I'm fine. Really it's okay." Sofia was holding the handkerchief to the still bleeding cut now while Greg took out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hey Doc Robbins, it's Greg. Are you busy right now? Can you make time for a live one?" Sofia glared at Greg as his intent became clear. She opened her mouth to speak but Greg beat her to the punch. "Don't say anything. You need to have that looked at." Sofia closed her mouth and allowed Greg to help her back up and escort her back to the lab. There were only two people that could get away with babying her. One was walking next to her and the other she had left sleeping on a couch this morning. Sofia considered herself lucky to have found two people that she felt she could trust and who seemed to trust her.

C.S.I. Breakroom

Doc Robbins carefully tilted Sofia's head up to the light and gently touched the cut to the edge of her cheek. Sofia could smell the latex from his gloves and the alcohol that he rubbed against the wound made her slightly clench her teeth.

"I'm sorry, Sofia, I know that stings. It looks mostly superficial and I don't think you need any stitches. I'm going to butterfly it just to be safe." Sofia held still as he applied the adhesive to her cheek. "You might want to put some ice on it to reduce any swelling and maybe take some Motrin for pain."

"Thanks, Doc." Sofia smiled gratefully at the older man as he discarded his gloves in a trash can and gathered up the rest of his first aid kit. "No problem at all. It was a nice change working on someone with a pulse." Doc Robbins winked conspiratorially at her before walking out of the break room. Sofia smirked and shook her head. "I don't think that I get him sometimes but I really like his humor." Greg nodded in response and started placing crime scene photos on the table. "Okay, so we know that Mr. Adams isn't a big fan of the fairer sex but we still need to tie him to the murder." Sofia immediately turned her focus to the photos probing them for anything the two of them might have missed.

A few hours later

Sara slowly made her way down the hallway with two bags of Chinese food, cursing the boot on her ankle again. It was due to come off in a week but she couldn't wait to be rid of it and start walking normally again. She had run into Warrick in the hallway who had told her he had seen both of her intended dinner companions in the break room. She walked to the doorway to find both of them leaning over crime scene photos. Their concentration seemed so focused she was almost afraid to disturb them. Greg however, had begun to sniff the air expectantly and upon catching sight of Sara in the doorway released a groan of appreciation.

"Sara, is that what I think it is?," he asked, already accepting one of the bags from Sara's outstretched hand. Sara set the other bag on the table and began taking containers out of it. "Consider your rain check cashed, Greg." The dark haired C.S.I carefully moved some of the photos to the edge of the table out of harm's way. "Sara, I could just kiss you right now. My stomach has been growling for the past four hours.," Sofia said in relief. Sara paused for a moment slightly exhilarated at the thought but merely smirked and kept pulling items out of the bag. Greg's eyes lit up as he stared at the two women. "Well don't let me stop you ladies. Physical expression between women is entirely okay and even encouraged by me." Sara locked eyes with Sofia and saw a mixture of mischief and desire on her face. Sara slowly leaned forward while her left hand snaked under the table out of Greg's sight and deposited something in Sofia's hand. Just as it looked like their lips were going to touch, Sara turned her head towards Greg and both women pelted him with fortune cookies. The look on his face had been priceless. His eyes had bugged out of his head and Sara thought he may have stopped breathing. Both cookies had hit him square in the forehead for his distraction. Both women laughed as he blinked in surprise and rubbed his abused forehead. "Hey, I'm just trying to be all about the love here.," he griped. "Yeah, well love this.," Sara said, pushing some general tsao's chicken towards him. "Ooo I have to get my chopsticks. They're in my locker." Greg hopped up exuberantly and headed to the locker room. Sara took the opportunity and sat on the edge of the table near Sofia. Sofia smiled warmly at the brunette who seemed less weary than before. Sara frowned as she took in the butterfly on Sofia's cheek and lightly touched it. "What happened?" Sofia waved it off and shook her head. "It's a long story." "I've got time if you do." Sofia stared into Sara's eyes meaningfully. "I can think of better topics to spend our time on." Sara smirked and had to look away before she was sucked in by the seductive pull of those blue eyes. "Thank you for the coffee this morning." Sofia immediately brightened at hearing the brunette had appreciated the gesture. She had been so unsure when she left it. "So it was okay then?" Sara held her hands palm up and moved them up and down as if deliberating. "It would have been better if you were having coffee with me but it was otherwise very sweet." Sara could see regret in Sofia's eyes. "I would have liked to have stayed longer. I can assure you I was quite comfortable." Sara blushed remembering how tangled up on the couch they had become as the night progressed. Sofia was quite the cuddler which was something Sara normally didn't like but she found that Sofia had changed her mind about a lot of things. "I had an appointment this morning so I had to get up." Sara nodded and internally felt relieved that Sofia hadn't bailed on her because she thought things were moving too fast. "Can I ask how you knew that was my favorite coffee drink?" Sofia smiled and replied, "You can ask, but I'm not going to tell you." Sara stared at Sofia as if willing her with her eyes to give the information up. Their stalemate was broken by Greg's triumphant return with the chopsticks. Sara sat down in the chair between Sofia and Greg and passed a container of chicken lo mein over to Sofia. She pulled vegetable lo mein for herself and unwrapped the wooden chopsticks from their paper wrapping. Sofia opened her container and arched an eyebrow in surprise. When she looked over at Sara expectantly, she was met with a look from the brunette that seemed to dare her to ask how she knew that was Sofia's favorite Chinese dish. Sofia bit back a grin and softly said, "Touche.," before diving into the noodles. It appeared that Sara paid more attention than she thought.

All three ate in companionable silence enjoying the break during a trying shift. Greg's eyes were drawn to Sofia twirling a chopstick around her fingers with amazing dexterity while she looked at the crime scene photos. Sara smirked at the fact that Sofia was able to examine the photos while she ate. It took a rare breed of people to do that and it made Sara feel a warm sense of kinship with the other people in the room. Sara tugged one of the photos closer and asked, "What are you guys working on?" "Woman murdered in her home. The husband says she was accident prone and fell down the stairs but something just doesn't feel right. We like him for it. We think he was abusing his wife and he definitely hates women. He's the one that took a pot shot at Sofia." Sara's eyes darted to Sofia's cheek and she felt her whole body tense and her face flushed. The chopsticks in her hand snapped with a loud crack and both Sofia and Greg looked at her in surprise. "Are you okay, Sara?," Sofia asked. Sara discarded the broken chopsticks and ran her fingers through her hair. "He fucking hit you?"

"Sara, it's fine. Greg and I took care of him." "It is not fine! He could have really fucking hurt you! Why aren't you icing that?" Sara hopped up from the chair and walked over to the small freezer that rested on top of their communal refrigerator. Sofia and Greg stared at Sara slightly dumbfounded at the outburst and watched her wrap some ice cubes in a thin towel. She walked back to Sofia and lightly pressed the towel against her cheek. Sofia winced at both the pressure and the temperature. "I'm sorry.,"Sara said softly. She grabbed Sofia's hand and guided it to the towel. "Hold that there. Have you taken anything for pain?" "Um, no." Sofia looked sheepish under the disapproving gaze. "I've got some Motrin from my locker. Be right back." Greg followed the brunette curiously as she exited and then grinned when he saw Sofia watching the doorway as she took the ice off of her face. "Shut up, Sanders.,"Sofia growled as Greg tried to hide his laughing behind his hand. "Remind me to call Sara when you're giving me a hard time."

"What's so funny, Greg?" Sofia quickly brought the ice back to her face when she heard the brunette's voice and then groaned when she hit it too hard. This sent Greg into uncontrollable laughter and Sara just stared at him as he put his head on the table with his shoulders still shaking. Sofia hopped up from the chair and removed one of the ice cubes from the towel. She wasted no time in dumping it down Greg's shirt and watching him squirm from the cold temperature. "Sofia! I think you got my ass wet!," he protested. Sofia kept her face dead pan and replied, "Sounds like a personal problem, Greg." Sara looked from the blonde to the currently hopping former lab tech and shook her head. "Greg, go to the bathroom and get that out before it melts. Sofia, sit down and get that ice back on your face." Sara gave her famous Sidle stare at both of them and Greg took off for the bathroom while Sofia stared back defiant. Sara moved closer until she was right in the blonde's personal space. "Ma'am, are you resisting?," she softly asked. Sofia felt a pleasant chill run up her spine. "If I didn't know better I would say you were making fun of me, Sidle." Sara grinned knowing she had been caught. She awkwardly started playing with a corner of her shirt. "Nick might have mentioned how hot it was when you said that to a suspect. But he said your sunglasses were involved." Sofia nodded at the memory. "Yes they were involved. Didn't think he was paying attention." Sara smirked and held her index finger and thumb an inch apart. "I think he has a little crush on you." Sofia smiled, "Really? Too bad he's not my type." "And what is your type, Curtis?" Sofia scrunched her nose up and looked slightly above Sara's head as if in deep thought before pinning Sara with her eyes. "Lately I've grown quite a soft spot for gimps." Sara's mouth opened in outrage. "Oooo I'll get you for that." Sofia backed away as Sara advanced on her. "Hey, I'm injured here." Sofia held her hands up in a placating manner and stopped moving when her back came up against the wall next to the refrigerator. Sara put her fingers halfway into Sofia's pockets and tugged so that their faces were only inches apart. Sofia was completely focused on Sara and it wasn't until they heard someone drop something in the hallway and start cussing up a storm that they remembered where they were. Sara took her hands out of the detective's pockets and willed her heart rate to slow down. She could see that Sofia was just as shaken as she was. Sara had never had this problem when she and Grissom were seeing each other. Whenever she was around Sofia, she was compelled to touch her. It was dangerous and Sara's lack of control scared her. She backed away from Sofia and sat back down at the table. Sofia followed suit and put the ice back on her cheek. Sara kept her eyes on the table and Sofia kept glancing at her worriedly. She was worried that she wasn't being patient enough with Sara. "Hey Sofia, can I ask you something?" Sara met Sofia's worried gaze. Sofia nodded her assent. "Will you still like me when I'm not a gimp?" Sofia closed her eyes in relief and started chuckling. "It'll be really hard, Sara, but I'll do my best.," she replied.


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