Time to be Together: Chapter 12.

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She had been thankful for Greg's company after all. It had been nice to have him with her, as another person in her home so she wasn't alone, but also because it was a distraction. For a few hours, she wasn't consumed by the dark thoughts of what was happening.

Her mind was racing, she found it hard to focus on the movie, and Greg's insistent chatter. She was lost in her own thoughts, and found herself looking over her shoulder at every small sound. She did feel safer with the knowledge that she was not totally alone.

A part of her wanted to agree to Greg's offer to stay, she knew he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, but she couldn't allow herself. She wouldn't let Ronald control her life like that. She would not live in fear of this man, she would live her life -however sad it was - the way she had been.

She let him go back to his apartment in a taxi, Greg had had one too many beers tonight, and she did a walk around of her house. She checked all the windows, the doors, and even changed the code on her alarm twice. She checked both of her guns, ensuring they had't been tampered with, and left one in her bedside table, and slipped the other one into the holster she had put back on after Greg left.

She did another walk around the house, and pulled down any blind that she could, to keep anyone lurking outside from looking in. She felt exhausted, and it was just after midday, she still had plenty of time before work. She wanted to sleep, but she knew it would be a fruitless effort.

There was no way she would ever get to sleep, not unless she had one of her new found cocktails, alcohol and sleeping tablets. She would have done that, only for the fact she knew it would really put her out, and she didn't want to leave herself that vulnerable.

She wanted to phone Doug, to have him over, but she knew he would still be in WLVU for a few hours.

She sat on her bed, trying to read the latest forensics journal, but she couldn't get her mind to focus. Those three words kept running through her mind, as if someone was shouting them at her. See you soon.

She hated him. She hated everything he had done to her, everything he had made her life become. she ran her fingers through her hair, heaving a sigh as she did so. How could everything go so wrong all at once.

For a short time in her life, she thought she had left everything in her past behind her. She thought she was finally getting the happiness she felt she had been long overdue. She thought it was finally happening, she was married to the love of her life, she had great friends, a great job and a nice home. Everything had seemed like it had fallen into place.

She still had her job, her friends and her house. Still, without her husband, without Grissom, everything else seemed almost meaningless. She loved her job and her friends, but not as much as she loved Gil Grissom, and without him, everything else seemed to lose all importance.

She scooted to the edge of her bed, picking up the photo of her and Grissom, readjusting the back on it, having completely forgotten to do so earlier on in the evening. She sighed as she flipped it over, the happy smiles they wore in the picture mocking her. She could remember every moment of it, the laughter, the sheer joy, she could almost feel his arms around her once more, his breath hot on her neck.

She closed her eyes, tilting her head back for a moment. She shifted uncomfortably, rubbing her neck, shaking off the hot feeling that had overcome her.

She stood suddenly, set the photo back on her nightstand and started to clean her room. She couldn't shake the feeling of him being in the room, that he touched her belongings, her on personal things.

She spent over an hour cleaning the room. She stripped her bed and changed the sheets, picking up and laundry she had and bringing the laundry and the bedsheets to be washed. She set the washing machine, and made her way back to the bedroom with a cloth and some polish. she had almost gone for bleach, just to get rid of any sense of him in her room.

She scrubbed over every surface in the room, twice. Nothing was left untouched. She sat back on her heels, looking around her room. She let out a breath as she tried to figure out what to do next. Grissom had often teased her that if she ever grew tired of being a CSI, she could start her own crime scene cleanup company. Her room was spotless, she doubted there was a fingerprint left anywhere.

Well, there was one place. She sat back on the bed and grabbed the cloth as she picked up the photo frame once more. She couldn't seem to let it go, she always seemed to come back to it. She wiped over it a few times, amazed at her own anger at the thought of Basderic having touched this, the only thing she had left of Grissom, and even more so that he thought he could use Grissom against her, to get to her.

She wouldn't let him use Grissom against her this time. He had done so previously, to unhinge her, to get a reaction from her, and she gave it to him. She gave him the reaction he wanted, so he knew how to play her.

"You've been following me. You've been stalking me. You took those pictures, and you somehow arranged for Taylor to be at the hotel."

"And did I somehow make you go up to his room? Did I force your infidelity on you?"

"Stay away from me."

"Speaking of which, have you called your husband? Have you told him about the tough day you're having? Tell you what... Let's do it together. I have his number right here on speed dial."

She shivered at the memory, his words still ringing in her ears. She had given him the reaction he wanted, she showed her weakness. She had hit the phone out of his hand letting it smash to pieces, and then pushed him to the ground before warning him it was not over. He knew what her weaknesses were.

He went for her mother then, to really tip the scale. She quickly looked for her phone, her heart racing. She had the care facilities number on speed dial. She had only visited her mother once since she had been in Desert Palms for alcohol poisoning. She felt bad, but there had been a lot going on in her life.

She almost sighed with relief when the phone was answered, with a less than cheery 'How can I help you today?'.

"Hi, my name is Sara Sidle, I am Laura Sidle's daughter, she is in your care there."

"Laura... Laura Sidle, yes, yes she is here. Is everything okay, Miss Sidle?"

"How is she?" Sara asked gently.

"She has been a little agitated recently, but apart from that, there is nothing that we haven't seen before."

Sara nodded, more to herself than anything else. "I'm a CSI for Las Vegas Police Department, I need you to restrict her visitors, if anyone comes to see her, especially a man, he is not to be allowed near her. From now on, I am the only person in to see her, okay?"

"Okay, of course Miss Sidle. I will update her chart with that, and let all nurses and security on admissions know about your wishes." Sara could hear the curiosity in her voice, and she knew she was itching to ask more questions. She wasn't going to give her the chance to.

"Thank you. Also, if someone other than myself comes wishing to see her, please, phone me straight away, my number is on record, and if you can't get my cell, please, ring my work number that should be also on file."

The woman agreed and the call was ended. Sara sighed with that little bit of knowledge that she had made that call. She was not naive enough to think that her mother was one hundred percent safe, Basderic was a master manipulater. If he wanted to get to her mother, to get to her, he would do everything in his power to do so.

Sara stood and padded out of her bedroom. She was beginning to get restless. She glanced at her clock it was just after two o'clock. She still had hours until her shift started. As she stood in the living room with her arms wrapped around her chest, she looked around the house. Empty. She heaved another sigh, and decided she may as well clean the rest of her place. Not that it wasn't already spotless.

The sound of crunching gravel made her body tense. She caught a glimpse of a vehicle outside, and as she made her way over to the door, she realised what it was, and allowed her body to relax. The post. She was never usually home or awake when it was delivered, and usually collected it when she was coming in from work the following morning.

She slipped on her shoes, unset the alarm and unlocked the door as she made her way out to the mailbox, glad it wasn't far down her drive. She opened the mailbox, and pulled out the two envelopes that were inside. The first was a white envelope, with her name and address printed in black marker on the front.

She looked to the second envelope, a manila one, once again, her name was handwritten on the label on front. Her mouth went dry, and her body stilled. She knew that handwriting anywhere. Grissom's. Her eyes shot to the sent address in the corner, Santa Monica. That was where his mother's house was, where he had grown up. She had moved to Vegas, but they kept their home. Maybe she was back there. And now he was too. He was in America.

Before she knew it, she was back inside, her heart pounding so hard, she thought her chest might explode. She sat at the sofa, trembling ever so slightly. She dropped the first envelope to the coffee table, but stared at the manila one. With unsure fingers, she felt herself tracing over her name, 'Miss Sara Sidle.' She had taken his name, but as far as work was concerned, they both decided it would be easier and less confusing if she stuck to Sidle. In anything he had sent her since their marriage, it had been addressed to 'Mrs. Sara Grissom'.

This was like a slap to the face, almost winding her. she took a deep breath as she turned it over, debating whether or not she should open it. She had a feeling she knew what it was. She swallowed the large lump that had formed in her throat, and she slowly peeled it open.

Seemingly moving on auto-pilot, she slid out the contents. A note fell out first, and his delicate handwriting was what caught her eye first. She picked up the note, and read it, having to blink back the tears that threatened to fall as she finished it.

'Sara, all it needs is a signature, and this is over. You can be happy, and we can move on. Gil.'

Numbly, she looked at what else he had sent. She never thought it would come to this. She thought they would have been able to work it out. Sure, they hadn't spoken since, but he was Grissom, maybe he just needed some space.

Now, that thought had been ripped from her. The last ounce of hope she had, fled. He had sent her divorce papers. He was filing for divorce. They would officially be separated, a divorced couple, another notch on Vegas's failed marriages, and Sara's failed relationships.

She hadn't realised she was crying until she noticed the tears that had fallen to the paper. She quickly wiped the away. She didn't know how to feel. To be honest, she didn't really feel anything. She believed once you got to a certain point, any more pain just wasn't felt, your body was numb, even to the most heart wrenching pain imaginable. She was struggling to capture her breath, her body shuddering.

She inhaled quick, sharp breaths, blinking rapidly against the tears. She set them aside as she stood up. She needed a drink. She needed more than one. She made her way into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle out of wine out of the cupboard. She took a glass and filled it, taking a slow, deep gulp from it.

She brought the bottle with her, back to the sofa, and she set it down on the table. She picked up the divorce papers once more, her eyes only seeking out one thing; his signature. There it was, scrawled elegantly across the white paper, in a contrasting, screaming black that made her throat tighten.

She picked up his note, each of his words ripping into her heart as she read them once more. She still didn't understand, why was this happening? Honestly, she had thought that all he needed was some time, he would understand then what a mistake he had made. Maybe he had realised his mistake, maybe his mistake had been marrying her in the first place.

The divorce papers felt heavy in her hands, she set them down, and grabbed her glass again, downing what was in that glass. She set the glass down, feeling anger bubbling within her.

He was being typical Grissom, not talking about problems. He had not returned any of her calls, her desperate pleas to talk to him, to make some sense of this constant confusion. They were investigators, they always wanted answers, she always wanted the why, but Grissom had never really been concerned about that.

She ran frustrated fingers through her hair. He had never been one to give up when things got difficult, it had always been an extra challenge to him, so why was he giving up now? After over fourteen years, everything they had been through then, and he was giving up now. God, that man had the ability to frustrate her more than anyone else, and it seemed he did it with such little effort.

Her fingers found the wedding ring, which now felt too heavy, too hot, hoovering over her heart. Her fingers slipped through the gold chain which held it close to her skin. Overwhelmed with her anger and pain, she grasped the chain hard, and pulled it from her skin, breaking the chain and dropping it to the table, tears spilling over her cheeks as she did so. Angry red welts bit into her skin where the chain was ripped from her, but she didn't feel any pain.

It didn't do anything to quell the anger that was bubbling within her. She grabbed the glass, and before she knew it, it was soaring through the air, and smashed against the wall opposite, showering the ground in thousands of crystal tears.

She slouched back on the sofa, running her fingers through her hair once more. Her hands clasped over her mouth, and she let out a frustrated scream that had been building ever since she got Ronald's note.

She noticed the other envelope she had forgotten about. As if trying to distract herself, she took it up, and opened it with less grace than she had the other.

"What the fuck." She muttered under her breath, bile rising in her throat as she picked up the two photographs. The first, she had seen before. One of the photos that had been taken of her and Taylor Wynard kissing that night outside the bar. The second was what really got to her. It had only been taken recently. One of her and Doug. It had been taken the night she had told him about Joshua, about her miscarriage. She was asleep on his chest, her hand tight against his shirt, keeping a tight grip on it. Her eyes flickered to Doug, who in the photo had just pressed a kiss to her head. There was nothing romantic about it, but to an outsider, it would certainly raise a lot of questions about their relationship.

Pure anger bubbled through her veins. There was only one person behind this. Ronald Basderic. "Bastard." She breathed, as she looked over the photos once more. She turned them over to the back, and both of them had the same message wrote on the back, in a dark ruby red.

'I wonder how Grissom would feel if he seen these. Could it lead to the dreaded word... Divorce?'

"Bastard!" She screamed as she picked the bottle of wine up and threw it to the other side of the room, watching the glass shatter and spray over the wall and the ground with a fountain of deep red drops.

She was done playing his games. She wouldn't be his puppet. She withdrew her cell phone once more, and dialed Doug's number.

It rang four times before it was answered, but nobody spoke. "Hey, Doug?" Sara said gently.

Silence once more. She checked her phone, ensuring she had dialed the right number and that the connection was right. "Doug?"

"S-Sara..." Came his strained reply.

"Doug? Are you okay? Where are you?" Sara asked quickly, her voice giving away the worry that was tight in her throat.

"My, my, Sara, you really don't sound too well. Having a bit of a tough day, are we? Anything going on you would like to talk about? They do say that sharing your problems make them easier to deal with, so why don't you go ahead and share them, Sara." His voice sent chills through her body, but she was too angry, too worried for Doug to worry about that.

"You bastard." She growled. "You are my only problem. But trust me, you won't be a problem for long. I will find you, Ronald. If you hurt him, I promise you, you will wish you had stayed in jail."

"Come now, Sara. Play nicely. Is that really how you want to talk to me while I am taking such good care of your... Friend?" Ronald purred back to her. She could almost see the manic smirk he would have, his eyes dancing.

"What do you want?" She breathed, her obvious frustration showing.

"Isn't that obvious, Sara? I want you. Dead. But not yet. You took away Edie from me, so let me take a few things away from you." He replied simply as if he was discussing something as normal as the weather. "Let's play a game, shall we? One of my favorites. Hide and seek. I'm hiding, you need to find me. But hurry, if I get bored waiting, I will have to find some entertainment with Doug." He teased her.

"Sara. Don't listen to him. Stay away, don't come here. I'm fine." She heard Doug's words in the background. She couldn't help but wonder if the casual 'I'm fine' sounded as pathetic all those times when she said it.

She winced at the thud and the sharp groan that came from Doug soon after, no doubt he had been punched straight in the face. She knew she had no choice. She had to find him, and she had to get to Doug.

"Don't keep me waiting, Sara." He paused for a moment. "Oh, and, make sure you do this alone now, let's keep it fair, this time." He growled and the line went dead.

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A/N: I want to apologise for the really long wait guys! Hopefully you haven't given up and are still sticking with the story, and want to see what happens! Review, let me know what you think :) Pretty please :)