"No! If anyone should do this it will be me. Its all my fault. If I'd been more aware of my surroundings this never would have happened." he said
He took several deep breaths as everyone watched him. Grissom, shocked, said nothing, but just nodded his head in Greg's direction. After a few seconds Greg gave his hardest yank and the plug came loose from the wall socket and dangled from his hand. They all stood by as the monitors went from steady beeps to that monotone beep and the life lines went horizontal, then shut off. Still shocked, everyone looked to Greg in silence. No one said a word as Greg wept his last words.
"Sorry, Sara. I had to do it. I love you."
Almost all at once everyone broke out in tears, save for Grissom who had left the room to grieve in private. He hated the thoughts running through his head, but could not stop the onslaught of emotions that he felt. After his time alone Grissom went in search of Sara's doctor to make arrangements to have her body released into the care of Palm Mortuary for preparation of her memorial service and funeral. Grissom had found a plot at Woodlawn Cemetery that was near a nice tree and now only awaited delivery of her headstone that would read "Sara Sidle, beloved friend and colleague. You will be dearly missed by all."
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Two days had passed and as friends, colleagues and police officers alike gathered at Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church ( which Grissom thought appropriate as, in a way, she was his saviour) in packed pews. The service began with a poetic benediction in Latin and was followed by Grissom, who was seated near the altar, stood up and spoke.
"We gather here today to remember and celebrate the life of an amazingly brilliant young woman. Sara Sidle wasn't just a CSI,
she was a dear friend, a confidant and she dedicated her life to bringing people to justice. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her and had the unique pleasure of working with her. She shared her life with all of us and she will never be forgotten by anyone of us. She touched our lives with her enthusiasm, dedication and love. We all loved her and that will never change."
Wiping tears from his eyes, he returned to his seat as Nick, Catherine, Warrick and finally Greg said their bit. All in all it was a beautiful ceremony. As the service ended, everyone got into their cars, civilian and police alike, the procession made it's way to Woodlawn Cemetery where they all gathered, multitudes of people, and listened to the priest as he recited Thanksgiving for the Departed.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us all with the gift of this earthly life and has given to our sister, Sara her span of years and gifts of character.
God our Father, we thank you now for all her life,
for every memory of love and joy,
for every good deed done by her and every sorrow shared with us.
We thank you for her life and for her death,
we thank you for the rest in Christ she now enjoys,
we thank you for giving her to us,
we thank you for the glory we shall share together.
Hear our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord."
"Amen"
"Merciful Father and Lord of all life,
we praise you that we are made in your image and reflect your truth and light.
We thank you for the life of your child Sara ,
for the love she received from you and showed among us.
Above all, we rejoice at your gracious promise to all your servants, living and departed,
that we shall rise again at the coming of Christ.
And we ask that in due time we may share with our sister that clearer vision,
when we shall see your face in the same Christ our Lord."
"Amen"
"Lord of all, we praise you for all who have entered into their rest and reached the promised land where you are seen face to face.
Give us grace to follow in their footsteps as they followed in the way of your Son.
Thank you for the memory of those you have called to yourself:
by each memory, turn our hearts from things seen to things unseen,
and lead us till we come to the eternal rest you have prepared for your people,
through Jesus Christ our Lord."
"Amen"
"Father in heaven, we praise your name for all who have finished this life loving and trusting you,
for the example of their lives,
the life and grace you gave them,
and the peace in which they rest.
We praise you today for your servant Sara and for al l that you did through her.
Meet us in our sadness and fill our hearts with praise and thanksgiving,
for the sake of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ."
"Amen"
"Father in heaven,
we thank you because you made us in your own image and gave us gifts in mind, body and spirit.
We thank you now for Sara and what she meant to each of us.
As we honour her memory,
make us more aware that you are the one from whom comes every perfect gift,
including the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ."
"Amen"
"God our Father,
we thank you that you have made each of us in your own image,
and given us gifts and talents with which to serve you.
We thank you for Sara ,
the years we shared with her,
the good we saw in her,
the love we received from her.
Now give us strength and courage to leave her in your care,
confident in your promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
"Amen"
"Eternal God and Father, we praise you that you have made people to share life together and to reflect your glory in the world.
We thank you now for Sara ,
for all that we saw of your goodness and love in her life and for all that she means to each one of us.
As we too journey towards death may we do so in the company of Jesus,
who came to share our life that we might share the life of eternity.
To him be glory with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever."
"Amen"
"Lord God, creator of all,
you have made us creatures of this earth but have also promised us a share in life eternal: receive our thanks and praise that, through the passion and death of Christ,
your child Sara, our sister,
whom we commend into your hands today,
shares with your saints in the joy of heaven,
where there is neither sorrow nor pain but life everlasting.
Alleluia."
"Amen"
"Almighty God,
you love everything you have made and judge us with infinite mercy and justice.
We rejoice in your promises of pardon, joy and peace to all those who love you.
In your mercy turn the darkness of death into the dawn of new life,
and the sorrow of parting into the joy of heaven;
through our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who died, rose again, and lives for evermore."
"Amen"
"Almighty God,
we come before you, the supreme judge,
and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant,
and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect;
we give you thanks for giving us an unshakeable kingdom and we worship you in reverence and awe,
through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Though this was by no means a military burial, Nick made his contribution as he removed a bugle from a backpack he'd brought and as Sara's casket was lowered into the ground he played Taps as police officers saluted through the duration of the tear jerking performance. When the casket had settled in the ground, people lined up and as they passed the open grave and dropped roses onto the casket. When the ceremony had ended everyone gathered at Grissom's flat which he opened up to everyone for the wake.
In the far corner of his flat there stood, on an easel, a blown up photo of Sara and her two thousand watt smile. All throughout the large flat people were consoling each other and remembering the good times as Grissom loaded a dvd into the player and directed everyone's attention to it. The dvd played a montage of photos of Sara set to "My Immortal" by Evanescence and "Ave Maria". When the show was over there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
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It had been a week since Sara's passing and the team was planning a trip to Sara's apartment to fulfill her last wishes; that everything she owned be given to charity, save for her police scanner which was left to Grissom as a reminder of sorts of her dedication to her job. Everything being packed up and loaded into a rental moving truck, Nick and Warrick drove it to the same church that her service had been held at.
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R.I.P. Sara Sidle. She will be missed and mourned by all those that loved her.
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Completa!!