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(And still, the world stood still. I couldn't move and all I could feel was this aching in my heart, saying I loved her still)
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It had been around one year since Sara had left the lab in Vegas for a move to San Diego and about six months since Jim had followed her. They both had job offers and they decided that Sara would go first and that Jim would follow.
Things at the lab in Vegas had become nearly unbearable, what with Grissom and his intense disapproval of Jim and Sara's relationship, his general grumpiness and other related and non related issues. Both Jim and Sara decided that it was time for a change and since they both had job opportunities in the same city, they went for it. Sara was out of her apartment was out of her apartment within one week of her tendering her resignation, but for Jim it was a bit more difficult, as he had to sell his house. This was why his departure took so much longer than Sara's.
Over the past year they continued to see each other and even moved in with each other. Everyone from Vegas, at one time or another, had come out to visit the happy couple, save for Grissom who was still bitter. It wasn't until he attended a conference in San Diego that he was forced to confront his "Sara" issue. You see, when Jim and Sara began to date, Gil felt as if he had been stabbed in the back, however we all know that he was reluctant to pursue Sara, no matter his feelings for her. He would always think of her as "His Sara", even though she wasn't. Gil's relationship with Jim went down the tubes when he witnessed the two of them one night, walking down the strip hand in hand and kissing. From that poin the was pretty much a very unpleasant person to be around.
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The day was beautiful as Gil walked down a store lined street filled with coffee shoppes and stores that sold overpriced merchandise. The sky was clear and there were families everywhere, children, couples with prams and baby bjorns. While looking through the window of a curio shoppe, he was struck. In the reflection of the glass he saw Jim. Jim was well tanned and casually dressed. It was a Saturday and he was off of work, just wandering about looking for nothing in particular.
A tap on his shoulder and Grissom whipped around and came face to face with Jim who was smiling, hoping that Gil still didn't wish him ill will. Jim had put it all behind him, hoping that Gil would have done the same, which he did. He had no idea that Jim and Sara had kept their relationship going. He figured that if they had then Sara would be with him that day and Jim wouldn't be wandering all on his own.
Jim suggested that they sit down at one of the many cafes and reminisce over a cup of coffee. While drinking, they shared back and fourth about how things had been going over the last year, how things had changed and new employees and all. Much to Jim's surprise, Greg had made CSI-2 and was really quite good at his job. Warrick had divorced his wife and married Catherine, adopting Lindsay in the process. Nick had come out as being gay, which wasn't really all that much of a surprise, apart from the fact that he had a big old crush on Grissom who had yet to come out of his hermetically sealed closet. He had alluded to his sexual preferences on more than one occasion and he and Nick had even gone out a few times; not on dates, but just to go out and have something to do.
But there was still the "Sara" issue. He could not deny himself that he still held feelings for her, but known only to he also had feelings for Nick. He was torn between his feelings for Sara and his more carnal feelings for Nick.
As for Brass, his job was similar to his duties he held in Vegas, save for he was the head of the CSI lab there in San Diego. This didn't raise any problems between he and Sara, as they seldom worked the same shifts, but they did have their weekends and tried to coordinate their days off.
Gil was in the middle of a sip when he saw a very familiar person approach from behind Jim. She set her hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek, lovingly. Jim stood, pulled out a spare chair and introduced this woman, Sara, as his wife.
As Grissom sat there digesting this new information, his mind swam with all the feelings he had when they were all back in Vegas. He still loved her, though he'd never admit it; he was waaaay too late, and given his sexual preferences, he was confused. Suddenly he was torn between his feelings for Nick and his feelings for Sara.
He was frozen. He couldn't move. All he could do was sit there and watch Jim and Sara holding hands and being all lovey dovey. Suddenly everything froze, the people walking around them; they were all frozen. The only ones moving were Jim and Sara. His heart ached for her, but as she said, "when he'd figure out what to do it might be too late", and it was.
After about ten minutes Jim and Sara rose and said they needed to complete their errands; that it was getting late, that it was so good to see him and they turned and walked away. Still seated, Grissom watched as they walked down the street hand in hand. His heart was aching and all he could do was sit there and watch as his one time love ( though he was the only one that knew of it) walked away with his one time best friend.
That's when the song played. There was a red light at the intersection not far from Grissom and as he listened to the words he nearly broke down, but held it together until he reached his hotel room. The driver turned up the radio and the words blared:
"And still, my world stood still. I couldn't move and all I could feel was this aching in my heart, saying I loved him still."
Grissom never thought much of Reba, but the words seemed to fit the current emotions that were swelling over him.