Disclaimer: I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them, but it sure would be nice to be the corpse of the week on CSI so I could have lunch with the cast…

Author's Note: I know for certain that there are those die hard Grissom/Sara fans who are going to flame me to high heaven for writing this, for even suggesting that Sophia might actually be a good match for Grissom. I like her spunk and the fact that she's not afraid to say what's on her mind. So with that said, flame away. Also, I would have to agree with just about everyone else on Planet CSI that the team being split up was utterly stupid. However, I can't believe that it is a permanent move. I mean they appear to be writing out Sophia's character. Grissom seems to be in hot water with Ecklie. Catherine is bucking to get ahead. Perhaps this scenario might unfold: Grissom gets demoted, Catherine becomes supervisor of the nightshift, Nick and Warrick return to the nightshift. TPTB will continue to string along the viewers who believe romance between characters might actually happen. Incidentally, I don't think that will ever actually happen, because the writers of TV programs have historically never known what to do with a story line once they actually do put characters in some sort of a romance and thus end up killing the show because they lack imagination. So until CSI sails off into the TV history sunset (on the ship of your choice)…there is fanfiction. Long live fanfiction!

"You know someone once said that what you are never changes, but who you are never stops changing." Grissom said with a boyish smirk on his face as he turned around to face Sophia who was standing in the doorway to his office. "Let's have dinner, shall we?"

The edges of Sophia's mouth curled upwards. "I'd love to." She found Grissom utterly fascinating and unlike her counterparts on the nightshift, she didn't have him placed up on a pedestal, she saw him as a peer, a very attractive peer.

"Good." Grissom pursed his lips together for a brief moment as he pulled his jacket on. He hadn't really noticed Sophia per say until they'd worked a case together in one of the VIP suites at one of the casinos on the strip. Her long blond hair had grabbed his attention and in the back of his mind he couldn't deny how similar she looked to Teri, and that brought a pang of regret of one of the many that had gotten away.

"I know this little place a few blocks off the strip. You don't strike me as the type that likes to eat in casino restaurants." Sophia was paid to be observant and what she'd surmised about Gil Grissom was that the man rarely took relational risks and that meant that the signals she'd been throwing out since she'd begun working with him had come in loud and clear.

"You're right." Grissom smiled. "I prefer to enjoy the company of whomever I'm eating with." He fully intended that he was going to focus on Sophia and only Sophia tonight. He had spent far too much time letting life get away from him and she was right, who he was was constantly changing.

His comment won him a smile from her as they made their way out into the parking lot. "Do you want to follow me, or do you want to just share a ride?" There was something in the way she arched her brows that implied that she just might be open to more than just dinner.

"Let's carpool." Grissom's smirk wasn't lost on Sophia. He was definitely open to the possibility of something. When he'd first met her, he questioned her loyalty to Ecklie, but since she'd been demoted and put on his team, he found that she was a brilliant criminalist and her only loyalty was really to the evidence, something he found quite stimulating.

They climbed into her SUV and threaded their way through traffic, acutely aware of the fact that the nightshift had stretched into the day shift and that there would be time for a meal and only a few precious hours of sleep until the next shift began.

"So would you consider providing me with a reference?" Sophia wanted to test the waters. She really did not want her career to stagnate, but she also considered that Conrad Ecklie might not be the Assistant Lab Director forever either.

Grissom looked at her thoughtfully as she drove. "Sophia, I'd be happy to give you a reference, but I'd be happier if you chose to stay. Conrad is, well, he's just Conrad." Grissom's expression said more of his opinion of Conrad Ecklie than anything else he could have said.

Sophia laughed. "Spoken like someone who knows him well." She furrowed her brow as she stopped for a red light. "I don't want to kill my career either."

Grissom nodded and let out a deep breath. "I'm sure that wherever you go, you'll do well, but consider that upward mobility doesn't always mean that you're doing what you love."

"Gil Grissom, the unwilling supervisor." Sophia smirked at him. She had heard that he'd been put in charge of the nightshift several years back and that he hadn't really been all that happy about it. But like it or not, he was damn good at his job and the evidence of that was a group of criminalists that were some of the best in the country.

Grissom laughed. "Something Brass doesn't like me to forget now and then."

They pulled into the parking lot of the cozy looking Italian restaurant and when they walked in they discovered that it wasn't that busy.

After being seated, Sophia looked at Grissom over her menu. "The Parmesan encrusted Talapia is excellent."

Grissom smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." There was just something about Sophia that he found intriguing, and as he studied his menu he allowed himself to think about what it was that attracted him to her. For some reason in the middle of this he found his thoughts drifting to Sara. Sara. She was beautiful, that was true. She was brilliant, that was true too. But for some reason, he'd never allowed himself to pursue her. He had reasoned that she was a subordinate and rules and regulations prohibited it, but here he was having dinner with Sophia, also a subordinate, feeling not the least bit guilty that maybe he should be with someone else. And that's when he realized that if he had really wanted to be with Sara, he would be. The truth was, he found her feelings for him flattering, but he just didn't have the same depth of feeling for her on a romantic level that she'd held for him.

"Gil." Sophia smirked at him from across the table.

"Yes." He smiled back at her, completely aware that he'd obviously been lost in thought and had not apparently heard what she'd said.

"Just checking if you're still with me." There was something a bit sultry about her smile.

His lips twitched up into a half smile. "Completely." He was definitely open to wherever this evening led.

They enjoyed pleasant conversation over a wonderful meal and the more they talked the more they found out that they had in common. He liked the fact that she wasn't afraid to tell him exactly what was on her mind, regardless of whether or not he agreed with her. And again his thoughts drifted briefly to Sara. One of the things that had held him back from pursuing her was the pedestal that she'd put him on. One of the reasons that he'd recommended Nick for the promotion and not her was the fact that Nick wasn't afraid to challenge him. Perhaps in a different time if Sara was more comfortable in her own skin and wasn't concerned with what Grissom thought, he might pursue her then. That is, if the timing was right. I just never seemed to be quite right.

Lingering over dessert neither one of them seemed particularly interested in leaving, until the waiter set the bill on the table next to Grissom.

"I guess that's our cue." Sophia commented, glancing at her watch.

Grissom slipped his credit card onto the table to give to the waiter and smiled at Sophia. "I've had a wonderful time."

Sophia appeared to be collecting her thoughts. "You live in Henderson, isn't that right"

Grissom nodded, an idea forming in his mind. "I do." He had thoroughly enjoyed himself and wasn't sure he wanted the evening to end.

"I do too." She put another forkful of her Tiaramisu into her mouth, not doing a very good job at hiding a coy smile. "I was thinking that I could just drop you off rather than head all the way back to CSI; give you a lift to work on the way back in."

"I think that sounds like a fine idea." Grissom was very pleased with the way the evening was going.

A short time later, Sophia pulled her SUV into Grissom's driveway. "Thank you for dinner. It was very nice." She couldn't help but smile. "I had a good time."

Grissom quirked an eyebrow at her while a tiny smile played at his lips. "Do you want to come in and see my collection of insects?" His invitation sounded innocent, but neither occupant of the vehicle was naïve enough to think that was all he was really suggesting.

Sophia let out a soft chuckle as she turned off the ignition and looked at him with a sultry smile. "I'd love to."

The End