 | ShatterStorm Productions
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| ShatterStorm Productions
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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.
A freshly showered Sofia arrived at PD juggling three coffees in her hands. She made a quick detour to Brass' office and handed the straight black coffee to Brass who accepted it gratefully. "Thanks Sofie." Sofia regarded him with a tired smile. "So what the hell is going on exactly?" Brass gestured toward the door. "The Sheriff is briefing us in the conference room. Apparently day shift caught a body that they think may be tied to the one we found last night." Sofia frowned as they walked down the hallway to the conference room. "Are you saying we have a serial on our hands?" Brass nodded solemnly. "Looks that way. I think the purpose of the meeting is to divide things up so the shit doesn't hit the fan."
They walked into the conference room to find it quite crowded already. Sofia saw others from night shift tiredly rubbing their eyes. Greg and Sara were standing over in a corner with Catherine, Nick, and Warrick a few feet away from them. Sofia walked over to them and politely nodded to everyone before discreetly walking over to Sara. Sara was staring straight ahead but Sofia was positive that she wasn't seeing anything in front of her.
Sara in fact was quite troubled with the notion that there was a serial killer on the loose. One that was rapidly escalating. Her last encounter with a serial killer had not gone over well. She had tried to understand Natalie and even to a degree sympathize with her but Natalie had still left her to die under that car in the desert. Sara still dreamt of the yellow eyes of the coyote glowing at her from under the car as the smell of her blood flooded their noses and they dug at the dirt around her. Then the rain had come and she had struggled so hard to get free. It had been so cold and so lonely. It was amazing the clarity that comes when you are dying. She had decided then that if she got out she would start living her life and stop separating herself from everything and everyone. She knew then that Grissom was not who she wanted to grow old with. He was a wonderful mentor and friend but that was all. She had also vowed to spend more time with Greg and less time arguing with Catherine and competing with Sofia. Sofia. It had certainly been interesting to wake up from her nightmare to find the blonde sitting next to her. Sara was oddly grateful to Natalie because she was uncertain that she and Sofia would have connected had things not happened as they did. Sara was a very stubborn person and despite a few attempts made by Sofia to get to know her, she had always been suspicious of the detective's motives. Waking up at her most vulnerable and finding Sofia there to lend comfort had dispelled any notion of ulterior motives. Sofia had asked nothing of Sara. Sofia was in fact the reason that Sara had been able to remember the good things in life like laughter and friendship. Sara smiled wryly. Although this morning's activities had been decidedly more than friendly. Sara was still a little wound up even after the cold shower.
Greg's face lit up as he caught sight of the blonde detective. "Hey Sofia." Sara looked over to see Sofia carrying two coffees and watched Greg throw his arm around her and squeeze her lightly. Sara expected Sofia to arch an eyebrow or give Greg one of her trademark glares but Sofia threw her arm around him in response. "Hey Greg." Sofia looked over at Sara and gave her a soft smile. Sara grinned back and her eyes lit up as Sofia handed her one of the coffees she had been carrying. "Sofia, you are a goddess." Sara immediately took the top off and smelled the pleasant aroma before taking a sip. Sofia pulled her arm back from Greg and whispered into Sara's ear. "I'll remember that the next time you tell the goddess to get in the shower." Sara's face turned a charming shade of red and Sofia chuckled softly in response.
"Hey Curtis, where's mine?" Sofia took her eyes off Sara and turned to see that Catherine had addressed her. She smiled and without batting an eye said, "Sorry Catherine, I left my violin in the car." Sara and Greg immediately started snickering while the others looked at Sofia in puzzlement before catching on to the woman's dry humor. Catherine had her mouth open while Warrick and Nick were giggling like school boys. Catherine regained her composure and started laughing as well. She drew an imaginary line in the air. "Alright Sofia, that's one for you." Sofia winked at her in response.
The room began to quiet as Grissom, Ecklie, and the Sheriff entered the room single file. The Sheriff strode up to the front of the room while Ecklie and Grissom hung back behind him. Sofia's nose twitched as if a bad smell had entered the room when she spotted Ecklie. Sara leaned next to Sofia and whispered, "Down girl." Sofia's glare intensified and Sara's shoulders shook in silent laughter.
"Alright people I know that some of you haven't even gotten to sleep yet and I apologize for that." The Sheriff's statement was met with several grumbles from around the room. "But we have a serious threat on our hands that needs our attention as well as the usual case flow to keep up with. Last night the body of a young woman was found tortured and mutilated in an abandoned warehouse. The body was discovered after an anonymous call was placed alerting us to the scene. This morning another body was found in a similar location again because of a phone call. Our priorities at the moment are to identify the victims in order to help discern the killer's criteria for selection. I have called in a psychological profiler to aid us in our investigation and I will be assigning teams to handle this and teams to handle the rest of our cases. I realize that you all are exhausted but we need you and if you sleep in shifts this will hopefully work out." The Sheriff paused from his long speech to let everything sink in to the people around him. "The following individuals are assigned to the serial case: C.S.I.s Willows, Sidle, and Stokes, Detectives Brass and Curtis...." Sara listened as the Sheriff rattled off more names from day shift. A part of her was shocked that Grissom had been chosen to handle the rest of the cases. She thought it would be a cold day in hell when she was relieved to have Catherine as her supervisor instead of Grissom but they hadn't yet recovered their working relationship. "Man you guys get all the action.," Greg pouted as Sara and Sofia looked at one another wearily. Greg was still fairly new to being an investigator and had yet to really have a case that just got under your skin and invaded everything. Both women could recall days of being bone tired and yet unable to sleep because of a case.
Brass leaned towards Sofia and softly said, "You might want to get that violin back since Catherine is lead C.S.I. on this." Sofia smirked at the grinning man. "No way. I think she'd take that point back if I did." The woman in question turned to address the group. "Okay, everyone want to meet in the break room in five?" Greg headed towards Warrick and Grissom still grumbling about being left out of the case. Brass, Nick, and Catherine walked toward the break room while Sofia hung back with Sara. Both women walked in silence. Sofia glanced over at the brunette as she walked. Sara's face seemed relaxed despite the lack of sleep. She was still sipping her coffee while they walked. Sofia didn't like it that Sara was on this case. It was too soon after the Davis case and Sara had been through a lot. She didn't want to see her lose what ground she had gained. Sofia thought of going to Grissom and asking him to intervene but immediately discarded the idea. Sara would consider it a violation and would be furious with her. She didn't like the idea of going behind Sara's back either. She preferred a more direct approach..
Sara was about to walk in the break room behind Nick when she felt a light touch on her arm. She stopped and turned back around to see Sofia had stopped her. Sofia almost lost her nerve when she saw the genuine smile her touch had evoked from the other woman. "Um, Sara I was just wondering if maybe you would consider switching with Greg and focusing on the other cases." Sara's grin disappeared and there was confusion and apprehension in her dark eyes. "Why would I want to do that? I want to get this son of a bitch just as much as you." Sofia took a deep breath. This was not going to be pleasant. "I just thought that it might be too soon and it would hit too close to home." Sara pulled her arm away from Sofia's touch and her face became impassive. If it weren't for the clenched jaw, Sofia wouldn't have been able to tell that the brunette was angry. "I'm fine. I don't need you to babysit me." Sara turned and walked into the room leaving a gutted Sofia in her wake. Sofia followed behind the stiff figure not giving any indication that Sara had cut her to the quick with her words. She stood by Brass and waited for Catherine to split up the duties for the C.S.I.s.
Sara and Nick worked side by side processing clothing from both crime scenes. Nick tested the blood on the clothing while Sara was collecting trace with adhesive tape. She focused on the routine of the processing and let it distract her from her anger at Sofia. She knew that Sofia was probably right but it pissed her off that the blonde had assumed that she couldn't handle it. Sara prided herself on her professional ability and in a lot of ways used it to define herself. It had felt like Sofia had struck at the core of her when she questioned her ability. It was frustrating as hell that someone had gotten through her defenses and now she had allowed that person to hurt her.
Nick could feel the tension radiating off of the woman across from him. Sara often worked in silence but there had been times when she was in a good mood and Nick would catch her singing to herself. This was not one of those times. She had seemed fine during the briefing and then afterwards it was like a switch had been flipped. She hadn't even protested when Catherine had gone to the second scene with members of day shift and requested that she and Nick stay behind to process the clothing from the victims. Something had the brunette distracted and it worried Nick. He felt like they had just gotten Sara back but it seemed like she was a shadow of her former self. The only time he saw glimpses of the Sara he remembered was when Greg or Sofia made her laugh. He wanted to shake Sofia's hand after he had witnessed her teasing of Catherine and the affect it had on Sara. Sofia had also been very kind to Sara and he was glad the women had overcome their differences.
Sara's phone vibrated from where it was clipped on her belt. She picked it up not even looking at the ID. "Sidle." "Sara, it's Catherine. I need you and Nick to meet Brass and Sofia. They think there may be a third crime scene. A call came in fifteen minutes ago and they are en route to the scene."
"Okay, Cath, we're on it." Sara hung up the phone and looked to Nick. "There may be another crime scene."
Brass and Sofia arrived with wails of sirens as two other cars pulled up beside Brass' car. Brass popped the trunk on his car and handed Sofia a kevlar vest while he pulled his suit jacket off to slip his on. Sofia velcroed hers in place over her shirt and unholstered her gun. The sound of the safety being clicked off seemed loud to her amidst all the chaos but she was no stranger to the heightened senses that accompanied the adrenaline rush. Sofia and Brass walked up to the run down house that was on the outskirts of town. Four officers trailed behind them and all had their weapons drawn. Sofia stepped up to the door and pounded on the scarred wood with her fist. "Las Vegas PD! Open the door!" Sofia looked at Brass who stood on the opposite side of the door. Both had begun to breathe heavily with the anticipation of not knowing what was going to be on the other side. Brass looked to the officers behind them. "Okay fellas, open it up." The door was busted open with a single try and Brass and Sofia held hands up over their eyes at the cloud of dust that filtered out to meet them. They cautiously walked through the door sweeping their weapons in front of them and scanning the room for any movement. Sofia could feel sweat dripping down her back and her neck. There was trash all over the house. The smell was a mixture of rotten food and stale sweat. Sofia pushed down the nausea as they got further into the house.
They had cleared the entire first floor and the upstairs when Sofia noticed a door leading to a basement. Brass went to open it when Sofia put her hand on his arm firmly. "Do you hear that?," she asked. Brass listened carefully and then cocked his head toward the hallway. "It kind of sounds like crying." Sofia nodded and both headed for the hallway. Brass put his hand on the cold metal of the doorknob and pulled, jumping back in shock when a scream erupted from the closet. Sofia pointed her gun in the doorway and gasped. Bloodshot green eyes peeked out from the bowels of the closet and a small hand was held up in defense. Brass and Sofia immediately holstered their guns.
"Honey you can come out we aren't going to hurt you.," Brass said softly. He reached his hand out for the dirt covered figure and jumped back when his hand was viciously slapped away and the high pitched voice screamed again. "Brass, let me try. She may have been attacked by a man.," Sofia said, keeping her voice low. Brass nodded and slowly backed away from the trembling figure. Sofia crouched down but still kept her distance from the figure in the closet. She unclipped her badge from her belt and put it on the floor in front of her. "Hi, my name is Sofia and I'm a police officer." Sofia got no response but the sniffling had stopped as had the screaming. "Can you tell me your name?" Sofia began to fear that maybe the child had been so shocked that she was unable to speak.
"Sydney." Sofia heard the little voice croak. She smiled in relief. "Sydney, I want to help you but I need you to come out of there so we can make sure you're okay." Sofia saw the green eyes staring at her badge. "You can pick it up if you want." A small hand reached out and picked up the metal badge. "Pretty neat, huh." The little girl nodded and then stared behind Sofia. Sofia turned and saw the other officers walking around the hallway. "Those are other police officers. They aren't going to hurt you, Sydney." Before Sofia could turn back to Sydney, she was almost knocked over by the force of a smaller body colliding with hers. Sydney had wrapped her arms around Sofia and was clinging to her. Sofia hugged the shaking child to her and rubbed her back soothingly. "Sydney, I'm going to stand up now. Can I pick you up?" Sydney nodded and Sofia slowly stood up, picking up the child with her. Sydney relaxed slightly in Sofia's arms and Sofia finally got a look at her. She froze as she spotted the bloodstains on Sydney's clothes and face. "Sweetie, are you hurt?" Sydney shook her head no. Sofia sighed in relief. But whose blood was she covered in? "Sydney, are your mommy and daddy home?" Sydney sucked on her thumb and nodded. "Mommy downstairs., " she said. Sofia glanced across the room to Brass who had a grim look on his face. He nodded to Sofia's silent inquiry. The mother was dead. She needed to get this little girl out of the house.
"Sydney, I'm going to take you outside now. There are probably going to be a lot of people and a lot of noise. If you get scared, I want you to squeeze my arm okay?" Sydney nodded and held onto Sofia tightly. Sofia started walking towards Brass and found herself locked in a death grip. She stopped walking and Sydney relaxed her grip minutely. "I'm going to take her outside and get her checked out." Brass nodded. "I'll let you know what we find after C.S.I.gets in there." Sofia shifted her scared burden a little and walked towards the busted down front door. She could indeed see a flurry of activity going on as crime scene tape was put up around the perimeter of the house and an ambulance had arrived.
Sara and Nick pulled up in the Denali and parked next to one of the patrol cars. Both grabbed their metal cases and started walking towards the crime tape. "You want inside or outside?," Nick asked. Sara didn't respond. She was frozen to the spot on the street as she saw who exited out the front door. Sofia purposefully walked out carrying a young girl in her arms. The child was clinging to Sofia's neck and had burried her face in Sofia's shoulder. The child looked like she was covered in dirt and blood. Watching Sofia with the child reminded Sara of a lioness protecting her cub. Sofia's eyes were scanning her surroundings looking for any threats as she carried the child to the ambulance.
"Sara, you okay?" Sara returned her attention to Nick who was waving his hand in front of her face. "Yeah, I'll take the inside but I want to process the little girl first." Nick nodded and headed for the front of the house. Sara walked over to the ambulance. She could see Sofia speaking softly to the child who still wouldn't let go of her even to be examined. Sofia sat on one of the gurneys and placed the child on her lap. Her arms were held loosely around the child's waist. Sara watched one of the male EMTs exit the ambulance while the female one remained. There were blood stains all over the child's clothes and some on her skin. Sara was taken back to another day and another child covered in blood. What she would have given to have a Sofia carry her out of her house and protect her that day. Sofia's eyes locked with Sara's. Sara was still mad at the detective but the small child sitting on her lap made that irrelevant. Sara set her case down on the ground at the back of the ambulance and watched the EMT examine the little girl.
"Okay Detective, as far as I can tell there aren't any injuries." Sofia nodded and thanked the EMT. She then returned her eyes to Sara. "Sydney, I want you to meet my friend, Sara." Sara found herself captured by big green eyes as Sydney stared at her shyly. "Hi Sydney.," Sara said, slowly walking closer. She didn't shrink back as suspicious green eyes pinned her. Sofia watched Sara snap on latex gloves and open her metal kit. "Sydney, Sara needs your help so that we can find out what happened in the house. Now do you think you can watch what she does to me so that you see that nothing is going to hurt?" Sydney nodded. "Okay Sofie." Sofia and Sara looked at the little girl and smiled at the nickname. Sofia couldn't seem to get away from it but she certainly wouldn't hold it against a child. Sara removed a q-tip swab from her kit and looked at Sofia expectantly. Sofia opened her mouth and allowed the brunette to swab the inside of her cheek. Sara capped the swab and set it aside while she grabbed another. She would actually need Sofia's DNA anyway to exclude her since obvious transfer had occurred when Sydney turned Sofia into a climbing tree. Sara prepared another swab and held it up to Sydney. "Do you think you can do better than Sofia did?," she asked. Sydney giggled and opened her mouth. Sara swabbed her cheek. "I think that was a much better job, Sydney." Sydney smiled shyly at Sara and then turned and grinned at Sofia. "Great job, kiddo.," Sofia said. Sara was taken aback by the adoration in Sydney's face when she looked at Sofia. You would think that the detective had handed her the moon. But essentially, Sara realized, that was indeed what Sofia had done. She had been a stabilizing force in a chaotic environment. Sofia had been that for her too and she found herself at war with feeling remnants of her earlier anger and gratitude to Sofia for putting up with her despite her moods.
Sara and Sofia continued their game of Sara first collecting evidence from Sofia and then Sydney. She took fingernail scrapings, swabs of blood from the skin, and fingerprints. The only problem now was to get the clothes. Sydney had yet to move from the comfort of Sofia's arms. Whenever Sofia tried to put her down she began to cry. Sara took photographs of Sydney and Sofia while the EMTs packed up. They had to take Sydney to the hospital to make sure that she hadn't been assaulted. Sofia wasn't looking forward to that. If anyone had harmed this child, Sofia knew it would be even harder to distance herself from it.
