Chapter 2 I do not own CSI; I just like to write about the characters
NOTE: Song clip is from the Jet Song "Are you gonna be my girl"
Three days after the knife incident, Sara returned to work after her scheduled time off. She had enjoyed every moment of it, even treating herself to a spa and a pedicure (something she personally thought was rather ridiculous, but she was at the mall, it was only ten bucks and she figured 'What the hell'.) The shop owner had tried desperately to talk Sara into a manicure as well, but Sara knew that with her line of work, any unnecessary primping usually lasted less than a shift, if even that long. Someday she might actually get one to feel more like a real woman, but for now she was content with just being Sara. After all, she reasoned with herself, it wasn't as if she were a real beauty like Catherine or Sofia. One thing about Sara Sidle, she never gave herself decent credit. Grissom had once made a comment to her about how all of the men in the lab had secret crushes on her, and she had chalked it up to his just trying to be nice.
The second day of her time off, she met up with Nick to see a movie and have dinner at the Bellagio, meeting him at the lab where he was just finishing up. She had waited for him outside the locker room and could see Grissom in the lab, talking to Greg about a case. Greg had looked up, saw her, let out a whistle before he lit up a huge smile on his face. Grissom had turned around to look at her, and Sara couldn't help but blush slightly at his gaze. She knew she had dressed up a little more than usual for the movies; after all, she never got out to do anything besides work, but she never expected Grissom's, or Greg's for that matter, attention over it.
She had on a form fitting, spaghetti strap black dress she'd bought early that day, knowing that she would hate it despite the fact that it actually accented her curves. She felt uncomfortable in it, knowing it showed a little too much cleavage, although Nick was her best friend and had seen her in a bikini once; nothing could be worse than that. She wore a simple pair of black sandals, deciding against heels since she always managed to trip in them; she never could figure out how women managed to actually function in those things. Her hair was up in a slight twist, the natural curls of her bangs framing her face and she'd even put on just a touch of make up.
Grissom came out of the lab to approach her, standing before her with his mouth agape. He was staring at her as though she was from another planet, when Nick came out of the locker room and draped an arm across her shoulder; Sara was relieved to have the distraction away from her boss's intense gaze. "Hey there beautiful." He greeted, planting a friendly kiss on her cheek. "What the hell'd you do with Sara?" He winked at her.
"Funny, Nicky." She replied, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
Nick leaned in, sniffing her slightly. "Wow, you smell good too." He grinned at her. "You're makin' me think this is a real date." He looked at Grissom with another wink. "Doesn't she look beautiful, Griss?"
Grissom stared at her, opened his mouth to speak, but just nodded instead. Nick was grinning like a madman at the interaction. "See ya later, Boss...I getta take this hot lady here out for a night on the town."
Sara elbowed him, giving him a glare as she waved slightly at Grissom, being led away by Nick's arm across her shoulders. "Will you please never do that to me again?" She seethed once they were out of earshot of their boss.
Nick glanced over his shoulder at Grissom, who was watching them leave with a puzzled look on his face. "You remember the barbie incident at Mom and Dad's?" He asked her, continuing when she nodded. "We're even now."
Sara began laughing, putting her arm around his waist as they rounded the corner to the elevator, unaware that the entire time she was slowly pulling Grissom's heart out.
Grissom stared at himself in the mirror, noting with discontentment the slight wrinkling of his face, the greying of his hair, the tired look of his eyes. He turned sideways, observing his bare chest and torso, sucking in his stomach as he did so. He hadn't really gained much weight lately, but still, someone like Nick had six-pack abs...and probably looked a lot better without his clothes on than Grissom did. Sighing, he grabbed his shirt, pulling it on as he left the bedroom, making his way to the front room to get his shoes and jacket.
He could not shake the image of Sara and Nick, somehow the thought of the two of them together drove him mad. His mind wildly thought about Nick's hands in her hair, his lips on hers, their bodies together...Nick was much younger than Grissom, he was Sara's age, and he was handsome. Grissom knew that his fantasies of a relationship with Sara were just that; fantasies. Sara was so much younger than he was and in almost every aspect, especially those related to their job, she was untouchable. Still, the longing in him was intense and no matter what he told himself, he couldn't shake the overwhelming desire he had for her.
Walking into the lab that evening, he could hear the music emanating down the hallway; knowing precisely where it was coming from. Making his way to the laboratory, he stopped near the window to watch as Sara and Greg worked, their heads bobbing to the song blaring on the stereo, as both sang along at the top of their lungs:
"Well I could take,
You home with me,
But you were with another man, yeah!
I know we ain't got, much to say,
Before I let you get away, yeah!
I said, are you gonna be my girl?"
He walked into the room, clicking the stop button on the stereo. Both Greg and Sara turned to look at him, Sara's smile evaporating the instant she saw him, turning back to study the paint chips she was analyzing with mock intensity. He walked over to her, feeling Greg's eyes boring into his neck as he did so.
"What do you have?" He asked her.
She stepped away from the microscope, letting him peer in at the paint comparisons she was running. "The one on the left is from the suspect's vehicle." She told him. "The one on the right is from the victim's skull...they are not a match."
"Anything else?" He asked, standing up straight to look at her.
"The blood from the suspect's car is not a match to the vic." Greg said from the other side of the room. "Uh, Archie ran it...it's not even human."
"Canine." Sara concluded. "Must have hit a dog...the skull chip, also, could be from the animal, we're going to have it ran just to be sure."
"So, what you're telling me is we've hit a dead end?" He asked them, glancing from one to the other.
"Apparently so." Greg said with a shrug. "I'm going to go over the car again, make sure we didn't miss anything." He nodded to Sara before exiting the room.
Sara began clearing the microscope, silently ignoring Grissom while pretending to be absorbed in the task. He watched her quietly a moment. "Hey, Sara?"
She looked at him. "Yeah?"
Mouth open, he searched for words. "Can you...meet me in my office later?" He asked. "There are some things we need to discuss."
She pursed her lips. "Is this a..uh...disciplinary thing?" She asked. "If it is Grissom, I'd just as soon get it done now."
"No..." He said quickly. "No, Sara...it's not a discipline thing. I'd just like to..." He searched for the words. "We just really need to...we need to talk."
Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him suspiciously. "Okay...I'll come in after shift."
"Great." He offered her a small smile before heading from the room, glancing back at her as he did. She offered him a smile of her own, and he felt his hopes begin to lift.
It turned out to be a long shift, Sara and Warrick being called in on a murder-suicide on the south end of town. The others were busy at various locations, and Grissom worked with Catherine on a suspicious drowning. It was nearing 5 PM, they had all put in well over 18 hours when Grissom walked into the break room, finding Sara pouring over the newspaper while drinking coffee.
Pouring himself a cup, he sat across from her. She lifted her head up to smile at him and was about to say something when Greg and Nick came rushing in. "Game starts in less than an hour!" Greg called to Sara as Nick came in, putting a baseball cap on her head.
"Come on, Sar." He said. "It's Three Chug Thursday and we want to get there before the best seats are taken."
Sara looked at Grissom, the crimson of her cheeks spreading as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Three Chug Thursday?"
"At the Lucky Seven." She said, her cheeks blazing red. "Every Thursday...you get three beers for the price of one if you can chug them all in less than three minutes."
"Sara can do it in two and a half." Greg boasted.
Grissom's eyebrow went up again. "You chug beer?"
"Well, no." She explained. "Not since my P.E.A.P counseling..."
"She's the best cheerleader, though." Nick smiled, straightening her cap on her head. "C'mon Sara...Greg's going to try and out do Henry; I got a 50 spot riding on Henry."
Sara stared at Grissom, and he could see the power struggle occurring in her head; she wanted to go. "Uhm..." She said. "You guys go ahead without me...I have some things I need to take care of."
"What?" Nick and Greg called in unison. "C'mon Sara, it wont be the same without you." Greg begged.
"You know, guys..." Sara grinned at them, taking the hat off. "Have three for me...and Nick," She pulled a twenty out of her pocket. "Put this on Greg...he's been practicing."
They conceded, eyeing Grissom as if it were his fault before saying goodbye to Sara. Grissom watched painfully as Nick bent down and kissed Sara's forehead before leaving. Once they were gone, Sara met his gaze. "You said you wanted to talk to me?" She asked.
"I didn't mean for you to miss Three Chug Thursday." He responded, nodding towards the door.
"Oh, that's okay." She said. "I basically go just to placate them...and to watch Greg fall off of the barstool. Somehow I find it more entertaining than sitting at home reading forensics books."
"You and Nick seem close..." He said it quietly, watching intently for her reaction.
She shrugged, tossing the paper onto the table. "We help each other forget about this place." She said, meeting his gaze. "Nick is my friend, Grissom. There is nothing more to it than that."
"What about your date?" He asked her, trying to seem non-interested.
"What?" She asked before realizing what he was speaking about. "Oh, that...that wasn't a date; Nick and I don't date. God no...he's like my brother..."
"But...you...looked so," He faltered, trying to bring his thoughts to light. "... beautiful."
The comment caught her off guard and she stared into his eyes, a shy smile playing on her lips. "That, uhm...was a bet...from Nick." She stumbled. "He said I would show up in sweats with a pony tail; I told him I did own girl clothes and he said I'd never wear them." She shrugged. "Personally, I think he was just trying to embarrass me in front of you..."
"Have dinner with me." He said suddenly, spitting the words out before he could change his mind.
She furrowed her brows, looking at him questioningly. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah...have dinner with me, Sara. Tonight."
"Sooo...we could discuss things over dinner, instead of in your office?"
"No." He shook his head, reaching out to take her hand in his. He studied her face, his eyes skimming over her hair, her eyes, her lips. "So that we can start all over again."
They made plans for him to pick her up at her apartment at 7, agreeing that they would keep it 'informal'. All the same, Sara rushed around her bedroom emptying drawers and tossing hangers on her bed, trying desperately to find anything that looked nice but still informal. After much debate, she chose her most expensive pair of jeans that she had bought a few months before. Normally, she would never buy expensive clothing, but the jeans had made her figure look more full and so she had talked herself into it. Digging for a shirt, she picked a white sleeveless blouse that was fairly low cut and added a silver necklace to the combination. After 5 minutes of frustrated attempts, she decided to leave her hair down since it refused to do anything else. She was just finishing up her make up when the doorbell rang; glancing at herself one final time, she went to the door to greet him.
Opening the door, she smiled at him; he looked absolutely gorgeous. Wearing a pair of black Dockers, he wore a light blue shirt with the top few buttons undone; the shirt brought out the brilliant blue of his eyes and Sara found herself smiling widely at the sight of him. "Hey.." She greeted. "You look great."
He brought an arm around from behind his back to reveal a brilliant bouquet of lillies; her favorite. She grinned, accepting the flowers as she held the door open for him. "Sara, you look wonderful." He told her as she found a vase to put flowers in.
"I looked forever for clothes." She told him. "If you look in my bedroom, it looks as though I have been robbed." She smiled, filling the vase and setting it on the table. "They're beautiful, thank you."
"I remembered." He told her, speaking of years before while they were in San Francisco. "You always loved lillies..."
She grabbed her jacket and they left her apartment, heading to one of his favorite Italian restaurants for dinner. They sat laughing and talking over dinner as though they were back in San Francisco and all of the years had simply evaporated. After they had finished their meal, Grissom stared at her over the light of the table top candle, struck again by her incredible brown eyes. He reached across the table, taking her hand in his as he began rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "Sara..." He began. "Words do not come easy to me...and I have a difficult time saying what I feel." He looked at her, her eyes sparkling from the candlelight. "I have treated you very badly these last few years, and I just want you to know that I am very sorry for that."
She smiled at him, looking down at their hands on the table as he continued. "I just want you to know that you have been on my mind so very often...you have become all I ever think about." He swallowed. "I never meant to treat you badly, Sara...it is just that what I feel for you...scares me terribly."
She was quiet, watching as his thumb rubbed the back of her hand, gently stroking loving patterns across her skin. "What do you feel for me?"
He sighed. "I can't seem to go a day without seeing your face." He said. "I want to touch you so badly sometimes that I lash out at you instead..." he looked at her, his blue eyes locking with hers. "I have no idea how to deal with what I am feeling, I do not know what I am supposed to do with this..." He squeezed her hand. "But, I need to know Sara...if I am too late?"
She was staring at him and he was becoming uncomfortable. Finally, she smiled. "No..." she said quietly. "You could never be too late."
"Come home with me tonight." He replied in a hushed tone, watching her expression carefully. "Spend the night with me."
Sara wasn't sure how to respond, staring at him in disbelief for a few moments. She could see the look in his eyes, the longing and tendernes expressed there as he gazed at her. She nodded slowly, feeling the warmth in her cheeks as she did so. "I would love to."
They drove to his townhouse in near silence, his hand entwined with hers as he drove. He would steal sideways glances at her occasionally, squeezing her hand as he did so. Once they reached his townhouse, he took her jacket, hanging it in the hall closet as she glanced around. She was studying his butterfly collection when he came up behind her, placing his hands on her hips as he explained each different species to her; her genuine interest and fascination thrilled him.
As he finished the last one, his arms were wrapped completely around her and he could smell the gentle vanilla of her hair as he held her close, letting the silence engulf them. His hands explored her abdomen, slowly moving under the silk of her shirt to explore the soft skin beneath. She turned around to face him, putting her arms around his neck as he pulled her into him, kissing her passionately as his hands moved up her back. They moved together, their desire becoming uninhibited, the years of frustration leading them through the motions. He slowly lifted her shirt above her head, tossing it aside onto floor as his hands worked the clasp of her satin bra. It came undone with ease as Sara let out a sigh, grasping his face in her hands as she plunged her tongue in deeper.
"Sara..." he breathed, pulling away to look at her. "If I do anything you do not want...if I move too quickly..."
"Shhhh.." she said, kissing him again, her hands working the buttons of his shirt, ripping it open as she massaged his chest. They moved towards his bedroom, locked together as they went, leaving a trail of clothing to mark their path. He gently lay her on the bed, staring down at her with intense desire before dropping to her, removing her remaining clothing with little effort. They moved together, satisfying their burning hunger with unrelenting passion. As Grissom felt her release explode beneath him, he responded with his own, collapsing with her in exhausted bliss.
Sara breathed heavily, her arms smoothing up and down his bare back. "Wow..." she gasped, kissing his cheek. They lay there together, letting their breathing return to normal before he rolled over, pulling her into his arms.
"I cannot tell you how long I have wanted to do that." He told her, kissing the top of her head. Her played with her hair softly, slowly feeling the calm of the evening close around him as he heard her breathing even out; she was asleep. Grissom didn't know what the future would hold for him and Sara, he did not know how they would manage a relationship and their careers; all he knew was at that moment, he was happier than he had ever been in his life. He could feel himself drifting to sleep with her in his arms and for the first time in Grissom's life, he felt complete.
He had Sara.