Selected Transcript for "Nesting Dolls"

The Geek Love-relevant scenes, of course....  

INT. P.D. - RECEPTION – NIGHT 

Catherine and Sara sit with ANDREW MELTON. 

Catherine does most of the talking while Sara eyes his new wife, JUNE MELTON (20-year old, petite Asian), who sits quietly on a nearby by couch wearing a UNIQUE NECKLACE. 

ANDREW: I married June about a year after Svetlana left. 

CATHERINE: And when was the last time you saw Svetlana?   

ANDREW:  It was about two years ago.  She didn’t come home one night.  Next thing I know, the cops are knocking down my door. I thought something happened to her, but   they were there to arrest me for hitting her. 

SARA:  Are you saying you didn’t? 

ANDREW:  We were married for three years—I never hit her. 

SARA:  Why would she lie? 

ANDREW:  I don’t know. 

Sara stares him down. 

CATHERINE: And then what happened? 

ANDREW:  I was done.  I went looking for her to sign the divorce papers, but it was like she fell off the face of the earth. 

SARA:  Or, got buried a few feet under it. 

Catherine cuts Sara a cool-it look. 

ANDREW: Look, I took out ads in the newspaper every day for a month.  She never responded. 

CATHERINE: Yet you didn’t file a missing persons report. 

ANDREW: I was accused of abuse. How would that have looked? 

SARA: You seem to care a lot about how things look, Mr. Melton. 

Melton leans back in his chair, staring back at Sara.  He doesn’t reply. 

CATHERINE:  Well, we’re going to need a list of all of Svetlana’s friends and family. 

ANDREW: She didn’t have any. 

SARA: (full of sarcasm) She spawned from nothingness. 

ANDREW:  Her parents died in some industrial accident in Odessa. 

CATHERINE: Russia?   

ANDREW:  Yeah. 

CATHERINE: How did the two of you meet? 

ANDREW: Through an agency. 

SARA: Svetlana was a mail order bride? 

ANDREW: We were introduced through an agency. 

SARA:  (scornful) So, what happened? ...The Russian agency denied your application for another wife, or you just lost your taste for white meat....too tough?  

Catherine stares at Sara like she can’t believe what she’s hearing. 

ANDREW:  You know what, lady, I am not going to feel bad about my decision.  I dated American women, like you.  They don’t want to be anyone’s wife, or mother. You mention the word ‘domestic,’ they’re done with you.  It’s nice to be needed. (He turns to look at the submissive looking June through the glass door).  Not resented. 

SARA: (sarcastic) Yeah, I find isolation and dependence really sexy, too. 

ANDREW: You can think whatever you want.   

Andrew gets up and walks out, taking his wife with him. 

Catherine gives Sara a hard look as she closes the file folder in front of her. 

CUT TO: 

Sara and Catherine round the corner and then head down the hallway. 

SARA:  All I’m asking is to have black and whites make regular checks on her. 

CATHERINE:  If the wife asks for help. 

SARA:  Well, that’s hard to do when you don’t speak English and you’re a sex slave. I’m sure she doesn’t know her rights. 

CATHERINE:  You can’t arrest someone for marrying the wrong person. 

SARA:  You would know. 

Catherine turns to Sara, clearly surprised and “WTF?”. 

CATHERINE:  If the guy’s an abuser, if he killed his first wife, we will build a case and nail him. 

SARA:  And in the meantime, he can keep using her as a punching bag. 

CATHERINE:  We were both there. There wasn’t a mark on her! 

SARA:  Not that we could see, Catherine. 

They both stop walking, turn and face each other in the middle of the hallway. 

CATHERINE: (in a low tone, pissed) You know, every time we get a case with a hint of domestic violence or abuse, you go off the deep end. What is your problem? 

Ecklie comes out of a nearby room and begins heading in their direction. He stops to watch...and listen. 

SARA: (voice rising) You know, I probably do. And you, you let your sexuality cloud your judgment about men and I’m going over your head. 

ECKLIE:  Sidle. Get in my office. Now. 

CUT TO: COMMERCIAL 

INT. ECKLIE'S OFFICE - NIGHT

Ecklie leads the way into his office.  He goes to sit behind his desk while Sara stands near the closed door. 

ECKLIE:  You are a law enforcement officer and a representative of this city. That means I expect to conduct yourself in an appropriate manner, in and away from this lab.

SARA: You know, if this is going to be one of your ‘for the good of the lab’ speeches, don’t bother.  I’ve heard them. 

ECKLIE:  Just...take a seat. (Sara remains standing)  Willows is a supervisor.  That means you treat her with respect. Insulting her in front of coworkers— 

SARA: She’s not my supervisor. 

ECKLIE:  Alright, your superior.  Sara, you berate witnesses, you disrespect the people you work with, you lucked your way out a DUI.  Take a look, you got a half a dozen complaints in your jacket.  And if Grissom really documented your performance, there’d probably be a dozen more.  That’s not the kind of person I want in my lab. 

SARA:  The only reason this is your lab is because Grissom doesn’t kiss ass. You couldn’t hack it in the field, so you fail your way up, you break up our team, and now you just hang out in the hallways waiting for one of us to screw up. 

ECKLIE: Sidle, you’re on one week suspension without pay.  

SARA: Great. 

ECKLIE:  And when you get back, you’re apologizing to Catherine. 

SARA:  No, I’m not. 

Later...

INT. SARA'S APARTMENT - DAY 

We see Sara in her apartment. She’s sitting at a desk, with a book open in front of her.  We hear music playing.  When she hears a knock on her door, she stands up and uses a remote to turn it off.  Going to the door, she looks through the peep hole, unlocks it and opens it to reveal ... 

Sara half-smiles at Grissom. 

SARA: Well, if you’re here, it can’t be good.  

GRISSOM:  Can I come in? 

Grissom crosses over the threshold.  

SARA: (half smiling again, gesturing with the beer in her hand):  Wanna ask me if I’m drunk? 

GRISSOM:  We both know that isn’t your problem. 

They both move further into the room. 

GRISSOM: I spoke to Catherine. 

SARA: (knowingly) Ecklie. 

GRISSOM: He wants me to fire you. 

SARA:  (exhales) I figured. (beat)  Can I get you anything? 

GRISSOM:  Sure.  An explanation. 

SARA: I...lost my temper. 

Sara moves away from him. 

GRISSOM:  That seems to be happening quite a bit.  Do you know why? 

SARA:  What difference does it make?  I’m still fired. 

GRISSOM:  (quietly) It makes a difference to me. 

SARA:  (she rattles this off, but a little too readily) I have a problem with authority.  I choose men (she gestures at Grissom with her hand) who are emotionally unavailable. I’m self-destructive.  All of the above. 

GRISSOM:  Have you ever gone a week without a rationalization? 

Sara looks away, then looks back, looking irritated. 

GRISSOM:  It’s from The Big Chill. One of the characters explaining a basic fact of life.  That rationalizations are more important to us than...sex, even. 

SARA:  I am not rationalizing anything.  I crossed the line with Catherine. I was...insubordinate to Ecklie.   

GRISSOM: Why? 

SARA:  Leave it alone. 

GRISSOM:  No, Sara. 

SARA: What do you want from me? 

GRISSOM:  I want to know why you’re so angry. 

She stares at him. 

CUT TO:  commercial.

Later...

INT. SARA'S APARTMENT - DAY 

SARA: It’s funny, the things that we remember and the things that we don’t.   

(Camera pulls back to show Sara sitting cross-legged in an arm chair.  Grissom is seated close by, on the couch)  

SARA:  There was a smell of iron in the air, castoff on the wall. There was this young cop, puking his guts out.  I remember the woman who took me to foster care....I can’t remember her name. Which is strange, you know, because I couldn’t let go of her hand. 

GRISSOM:  Well, the mind has its filters. 

SARA:  I do remember the looks. I became the girl whose father was stabbed to death. (then, as she looks at Grissom)  Do you think there’s a murder gene?   

GRISSOM:  (pauses) I don’t believe genes are a predictor of violent behavior. 

SARA: (shakes her head) You wouldn’t know that in my house.  The fights, the yelling, the trips to the hospital.  I thought it was the way that everybody lived. When my mother killed my father, I found out that it wasn’t.  

She lowers her head to her knees and starts to cry.  Grissom watches her, pained.  He reaches out to grasp the hand she has curled around her knee.  He squeezes it tightly; Sara squeezes back. The camera lingers on their joined hands. 

CUT TO: 

The end of the episode—final scene. 

Grissom walks in to Catherine’s office, where Catherine is sitting behind her desk with Ecklie sitting right next to her. Very close, with his arm stretched across the back of the chair. They appear huddled together, oddly cozy. 

GRISSOM: You wanted to talk to me about Sara? 

ECKLIE: I haven’t received her disciplinary action. What’s the hold up? 

GRISSOM:  Well, I’m not firing her. 

CATHERINE:  What action are you taking? 

GRISSOM: I’ve taken it.  

ECKLIE:  I thought I was clear. 

GRISSOM:  Oh, you were.  Now let me be clear. 

GRISSOM:  Sara’s behavior is a direct result of my management. 

ECKLIE:  So I should fire you? 

GRISSOM:  But you won’t.

ECKLIE:  Look, Gil, I’ve been there. We’re human.  We get attached to people, we try to fix their problems. It doesn’t work. 

GRISSOM:  She’s a great criminalist, Conrad, and I need her. 

ECKLIE:  I’m sure you do. (He stands, and gives Grissom an almost triumphant look) You know what?  She’s a loose cannon with a gun and she’s all yours. 

Ecklie walks out. 

Grissom takes in the words, and then he looks at Catherine, who stares back.  For two old friends, they don’t seem to know each other very well at this moment at all. 

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