Realisation:

A/N: Just a little one shot, I came up with whilst on the phone ;)

I'm actually looking for a beta reader, so if anyone is interested, please, let me know :D

Enjoy.

-xx

xxx

As Gil Grissom watched Sara Sidle struggling with the mad-man who had held her hostage, leaving Grissom only able to watch behind glass windows, helpless, that he realised something.

He loved her.

He guessed he had always known he had loved her, but this really hit home.

This man threatened Sara, his Sara. He had his hands on her, in a way that nobody should ever touch a woman, much less, this woman.

The raw fear that burned in her eyes, locked with his. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he demanded the guard on duty open the locked door. He could only imagine hH He could only imagine how Sara felt.

In that moment, he thought briefly on what would have happened if he had lost her, and he was so overcome with a wave of pain, that he buried it deep in the corners of his head, not wanting to feel that pain ever again.

He now knew he had to have her. He wanted her so much, but he could only hope it wasn't too late.

All in a rush, Sara escaped and her captor was dead.

And good riddance, too, he thought to himself but he would never voice his thought.

Hours later, at the end of shift, Grissom just passed the locker room, happening to glance inside and see Sara. He came to a halt and took a few steps back to the door, looking in at her.

If it weren't for the slow, repetitive rising and falling of her chest, he would have thought she was a statue. She sat so still, her hands folded in her lap, looking ahead of her.

Grissom looked around him; the corridors were empty.

He sighed and slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind him.

He knew that she knew he was there, but she didn't let on, even when he sat next to her.

"Are you okay, Sara?"

She slowly looked up to him and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, I am. Just a little shaken still." She said quietly to him, finding a comfort in his blue eyes.

Sara had learnt in the early years of her life, that self-pity and tears earned her nothing, so she refused to ever go with them.

Her survival was in her denial. She denied that she was affected by this, she denied the fear that she had felt. It made her feel as if she were stronger, as if she had any control on things that happened around her.

He gently touched her arm, brushing his fingers along her soft skin in a comforting gesture. "It's okay, you know, to not always be strong. You are allowed to have your moments."

Sara smiled a little now, shaking her head ever so slightly. "I seem to have a lot of 'moments', where you are concerned, Gil." She answered as her eyes flickered back up to his.

"That is partially what I wanted to talk to you about. I know I told you I don't know what to do about us, Sara, but I do now." He said softly to her, his fingers still on her arm. "I was so incredibly stupid Sara, but I can only hope I'm not too late, I love you." He whispered softly, a small smile pulling on the corner of his lips as he spoke.

There were no words Sara could use to compose a reply that would display exactly how she was feeling towards him right now; so she didn't speak. She leaned forward, closing the distance between them as her lips brushed over his in a sweet, sensual kiss.

Grissom's fingers ran up her arm again, knotting themselves in her soft hair, keeping her close to him as they both melted into the kiss.

When Grissom broke the kiss, they both smiled as brown eyes met blue.

"So, this is really what you feel?" Sara asked, trying to control herself, but the grin was already wide on her lips.

"Yes, Sara Sidle, this is really what I feel. I don't want to waste another minute with you. I already wasted so much." He said, sighing as he thought back on all the times he had turned her away.

Sara grinned, that was all the past now, he was her future. Nothing mattered from the past now.

"Well, then, I believe you have a lot of making up to do, so dinner will be a good start." She suggested with a wink, smiling playfully.

Grissom smiled softly, and nodded, "Your wish is my command, my dear."

With that he stood, taking her hand in his and leading her from the locker room, out into the night.

Gil Grissom had finally realised just how important Sara was to him. More importantly, he realised he was in fact, human, and he deserved happiness.

His happiness was with Sara, and it always had been.

xxx

A/N: Thoughts? Like it, hate it?

Anyone interested in beta reading for me, I would greatly appreciate if you could let me know.

I won't be updating my other fic, why, until I can have another's second approval on it.

Reviews very welcome ;)

-xx