Title: Just Say It

By: TriplePirouette

Category: GSR UST kinda RST

Spoilers: Slight for Strip Strangler

Disclaimer: They're not mine- I'm a poor college student having fun... take pity...

Distribution: please ask first :)

Summary: "We're here to use our brains to catch killers, not to bait them with our bodies!"

Author's notes: This is just a vision I had in my head- also my FIRST CSI fic. These are two hot characters, and what we saw in Strip Strangler wasn't enough- I couldn't imagine that fight being over. This is my take on what would happen if the situation arose again.

Feedback PLEASE at: [email protected] I love anything constructive! I'm new at the CSI stuff, so any tips will be appreciated! Blatant flames, however, will be disregarded and used to roast s'mores....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Catherine, Warrick and Nick looked at each other from across the table in the break room. They had stopped arguing. For the past twenty minutes all anyone in the CSI building could hear were the raised voices of Grissom and Sarah shouting in his office. Nick looked at Warrick.

"How much do you wanna bet she killed him?"

Catherine let out a forced laugh. "With those two I'm sure one of them has to be dead for that argument to be over."

Warrick went back to the paper he was reading for a few seconds, then looked back at Nick and Catherine- both of whom were filling out paperwork from their last case. "Um, do we even know what they were fighting about?"

~30 minutes earlier ~

Catherine saw his coming and hurried into the break room. "Hit the deck everyone, Griss is on the warpath." She sat at the table and began working on her paperwork as Nick and Warrick shut off the video game they were playing and headed for the table- searching for anything to make them look busy. Sara sat in the arm chair where she was, nose buried in her newest Forensic Journal. Catherine could see him coming down the hall, he had that face on-- the one he wore when he was absolutely determined, and carried folders in his left arm, presumably cases. The normally flattering all black that he wore made him look like a more menacing figure than any of them would have normally pegged their boss to be. Grissom stormed into the break room. His eyes were hot with rage.

"Sara. My. Office. Now." The words came out clipped and strained. Nick, Warrick and Catherine all let out a sigh of relief they didn't know they were holding.

Sara merely looked up from her journal and tipped her head. "Something wrong Griss?"

Her words seemed to fuel the fire within him. Though they seemed simple enough they could all tell they were meant to taunt. Facing away from Grissom, Catherine felt safe enough to wince at the tension she could feel building in the room.

Then the tension burst like a dam. Grissom growled and went over to Sara, pulling the journal from her hands, throwing it on the ground, and practically dragged her by the arm out of the break room. They could hear her raised voice in the hall, "Well this is nice! Why don't you just pick me up and throw me over your shoulder. You know you could knock me over the head like a caveman and drag me to your office, too. That might have worked..." Before they heard the office door slam they heard him bite back, "Don't you tempt me..."

The three remaining CSIs stared at each other, eyebrows raised and faces in pained expressions. Catherine was the fist one to speak up, "Ok, what did she do now?"

Nick, who was arguably the closest to Sara, screwed up his face for a minute in thought, "Maybe she finished his crossword puzzle? Who the hell knows. It's Sara and Grissom."

Looks of agreement were shared around the table, then they heard the yelling. Undoubtedly from Grissom's office and undoubtedly Sara's voice. The words, however, were muffled.

~Grissom's office~

He dragged her in the office and grumbled, "Don't you tempt me..." as he slammed and locked the door. The anger was coming off him in waves. His usually deep blue eyes were glowing with barely controlled emotion. "Sit." he ordered. When she didn't, he threw the case files on his desk and pushed her shoulder down into the chair, "I said, SIT."

He threw himself into his chair across from her and rubbed his face with his hand, letting out a heavy sigh. Sara just sat there and stared at him. She knew what this was about- and there was no way in hell that she was backing down. She sat rigid, eyes blazing back at his hunched figure, and her lips set with determination.

His head in his hands, Grissom spoke, the rage seemed to be gone, and defeat had taken over. "Just tell me why."

Sara had not been ready for his shift of mood, and tipped her head in confusion. He was being plain with her, so she'd just tell him. No doubt that Ecklie had already. "Because I couldn't let this one go." She tried not to let the emotion leak into her voice. "Because we've gotten no where, and neither have they- and if I can stop this...." she saw his eyes come up to meet hers. She knew it was the same argument she had given him about the Strip Strangler, but it was the same reason. She saw his mouth open up and cut off his objections. "I'll know what to expect- and I won't be alone out there. If I can stop this guy- why shouldn't I?"

At first she thought she had gotten through to him. But his face turned back to that anger, and before he stood and tore his eyes from her she saw some other emotion veiled there that she couldn't decipher. He stood and paced behind the desk then let loose on her. "NO. No you shouldn't." With every word his voice rose, and his rolled up sleeves showed his muscles working in his arms as he clenched and unclenched his fists. "Why do YOU have to save them, huh? You're not involved in this Sara! We handed off that case months ago. It's Ecklie's problem now and you have to give it up. You have to stop identifying with the victim- talking about them by their names.. It's gonna burn you out and fast!"

Sara got more and more infuriated. She had tried to explain, and he still didn't get it. She stood and stomped over to where he was pacing and looked him straight into his blazing eyes. "Then what the hell am I doing here? I thought I was here to help these people- help the ones who can't speak for themselves?"

"You are! That's what we do every day!"

"Yeah- you mean by science- by taking DNA and fingerprints- but what happens when that gets us nowhere, huh?" Her jaw was clenched and her fists were at her sides- they were nose to nose now, and their breathing was ragged and infuriated.

~Break room~

For the second time in ten minutes they heard a fist slam into Grissom's door and just stared at each other. Greg rounded the corner and peaked in. "Um, guys?" They looked up at him, "Would this be the wrong time to tell Grissom that the DNA results for the Dalton murders came back negative?"

Warrick just stared open mouthed for a second. "Um, yeah Greg," he spit out finally. "Very bad time."

"Who's getting themselves a new hole ripped?"

"Sara," they all said in unison. Greg's mouth formed an 'o' and he turned, almost tip toeing back to his lab.

~Grissom's office~

He was so infuriated he punched the door, this time hard enough to make the glass specimen jars next to it to rattle. His voice was a corse, harsh whisper as his eyes drilled into her flaming orbs. "Serial Killer, Sara. Think about it. These aren't even the Feds, it's Ecklie's team. Even the feds screw these things up." His voice rose with intensity, his hands were shaking. "We're here to help, we're here to put the pieces together. We're here to use our brains to catch killers, not to bait them with our bodies!"

She stared at him from across the room, arms folded over her chest. She took an attitude filled step towards him. "It's not as big of a risk as you're making it out to be, I'm-"

"It is a risk! One I can't let you take!" He cut her off, emphasizing the fact that he was really the only one standing in her way. He stood like a tower in front of her, the heat of the argument coming off of his body in waves timed with his deep, fierce breaths. She walked right up to him, and they stood nose to nose again, invading each other's personal space and creating a moment so tense it felt like time had stopped.

She started with an even and controlled voice, "Grissom," then took a deep breath and screamed in his face, "What the hell does MY risk have to do with you?"

Without thinking the words tumbled out of his mouth, screamed back at an intensity that Sarah wasn't quite ready for. "I can't risk losing you!" Huffing, they stared at one another for a few seconds. Pain shone in Grissom's eyes, but Sara's just narrowed, and she let out fierce words under her breath.

"You just don't want to lose a CSI- you don't want an accident on your shift... and God forbid this works, you don't want Ecklie to get the credit..." Her posture turned haughty as she shoved what she thought she knew in his face.

He grabbed both her arms roughly, shaking her a little to stop her tirade. "Do you actually think that's all I'm doing here? Sara, how dare you think that!" The words came out in harsh whispers. "It's YOU Sara. I can't risk losing YOU. No, I wouldn't want any of my CSIs doing this, but I don't want you doing it because..."

She had stopped and just stared at him, wide eyed. They were so close now that their bodies were touching, but she pulled back a little to look at his face. He had tipped at away from her, hiding his eyes. Her voice was calmer, curious, but it still held a pang of arrogance, "Just say it. Why don't you want me doing this? For real, this time. Grissom? Just say it."

His hands loosened on her arms as he tipped his head up. "I can't," he squeaked out, "There are no words for it." His hand moved to her face to caress her cheek. He took a deep breath. "Any risk involving you is too big of a risk to take."

Sara's eyes were as big as saucers. Her mouth hung open with words that couldn't quite form in the back of her throat. Her brain tried to process the words... any risk was too big if she were involved.... Her eyes searched his for something, anything. But all she saw was defeat. She made a choice, and for once it didn't involve a case or her work. Slowly, she let her eyes settle in with his, and brought her hand up to his face to mirror his pose. "Grissom.... sometimes, there are just some risks you have to take..."

But that threw Grissom for a loop. He pushed away from her, frustrated and angry. How were they talking about the case again? He had just spilled his biggest secret to her, and he thought she was understanding.

Sara watched him walk away and then turn to pace back. He hadn't let her finish! "Grissom!" she barked at him.

His head snapped up. He went back to her, ready to start fighting again, his face turning red as he did so. But before he could even get another word out she attacked him. In the split second it took him to think of a reason he had gotten her so angry as to physically attach him, all thought was washed from his brain by the feel of her lips colliding with his and her hands grabbing the base of his skull, pulling him toward her.

His actions came as instinct and without thought. His arms wound around her body- one at her waist, one into her hair, pulling her body unbearably closer to him. He kissed her back fervently and within seconds their tongues were caressing. The only sounds that could be heard in the room were their deep, rushed breaths that they desperately pulled air in through their noses, the sound of flesh sliding over flesh in heated passion, and deep, guttural moans that escaped without their knowledge. Breathless, they soon pulled away, and locked gazes.

~Break Room~

The silence had been driving the three CSIs wild with curiosity. They sat in silence for a while, each trying to pretend that it wasn't bothering them. Nick was the first to speak up. "Maybe one of us should just casually walk past Grissom's office... make sure she's not trying to hide the body or anything..." Nick's attempt at humor fell flat, but all three CSIs looked at each other and seriously considered looking in on their friends. They had been gone just a little too long for anyone's comfort.

Catherine began to open up her mouth to talk, but stopped in her tracks as she saw Sara coming down the hall in a rush. She was flushed and she had an odd look on her face, determination mixed with something Catherine couldn't quite place. Nick and Warrick followed her gaze to the CSI as she entered the break room. "Sara." she greeted her.

"Uh, hi.." Sara seemed uncomfortable, like a trapped animal under the gazes of her friends. "What?" She reached to the floor and picked up her crumpled Forensic magazine, frowning and beginning to smooth out the pages.

"You look...." Nick searched for the right word, "upset." Sara glanced up from the forensics magazine, then buried her face back in it and sighed her relief. Her co-workers assumed her flush was from the heated argument, not from the passionate make out session she had just shared with Grissom. Nick saw her body sigh, and taking in the hidden face feared the worst. He tried to lighten the mood. "You didn't, did you?"

Sara's breath caught. She was sure he knew somehow. She prayed her voice would be steady, "Didn't what, Nicky?"

"Didn't kill Grissom.... I mean- we could hear the yelling all the way out here. Then it just- stopped. What happened in there? Was it about you taking the day case with Ecklie?" As Nick talked Sara closed the magazine and dropped to the chair she had been sitting in and looked at the three puzzled faces in front of her.

"It was- and it wasn't." Sara's brain went a mile a minute trying to think of something to tell them. "I'm not taking the case anymore." She started with that. It seemed to placate them, but she saw the question on Catherine's face, and answered it before she could even ask. "My decision, Catherine. Grissom.... made a point that I couldn't ignore."

She knew she was being cryptic, but she wasn't going to just spill to them. She wasn't even sure how she was going to handle what had just happened. A heated argument...a passionate kiss...a promise to not take a risk...and a breakfast invitation for after shift... she couldn't qualify it in her brain yet. But looking at their faces she knew they weren't going to just take that. She needed something else. She took a deep breath and spoke again just as she saw Grissom walk past the door in search of Greg, "Some risks are worth taking, others aren't. In the end, he made me realize that maybe this isn't a risk I should be taking right now."

Nick and Warrick looked at each other, Catherine looked down at her hands. Warrick looked back at Sara and spoke, "Good, Sara. None of us wanted you in that position anyway. We're glad you realized that." He smiled back at her when he saw a grin break out on her face, but didn't notice that she was actually looking a little past him to the door of the break room, where two cerulean eyes were smiling back at her past the backs of the three other CSIs.

She hadn't taken the risk she thought she was taking, Sara pondered, but it seemed that she had taken an even bigger one instead.