Disclaimer: I do not own CSI :(
AN: OOC and major fluff warning! Now edited and beta readed thanks to Rhee!
Summary: Grissom asks Sara out and it becomes a night to remember
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A Night to Remember
"Hey, you got a minute?" He asked sounding oddly enthusiastic.
"Sure." She looked up from her work and gave him a soft smile.
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay."
"Are you going to the annual Las Vegas police and fire department ball tonight?"
"I thought about skipping it this year."
"Why?" He sounded surprised and a bit sad.
"I have no date." The easiest way out, without having to explain more. Plus, she was done with the attempt to make him jealous.
"A beautiful woman like you has no date for a big party?" He flirted. He FLIRTED!
"Grissom! Would you please stop flirting with me? We both know that this is not going to lead anywhere." She really didn't need this at the moment. Too often she had hoped and had been disappointed.
"And this is my fault, Sara you don't have to remind me of this every time I say something nice about you."
When had she? Never mind. Sara sighed. "Was this your question or do you want to ask me something else…then please hurry up, Grissom, I am really busy here."
"I have no date for the ball either, would you like to go there with me?" Suddenly he became all shy.
"Are you serious?" Sara threw an almost shocked look at him. Unbelieving that he had really asked her. Her, the woman he had always ignored when it came to things on a personal level. Had what she had told him last month affected him that much that he finally had changed his opinion about them?
"I am. So, do you want to go with me?" He sounded nervous, and hell, he was nervous. It had cost him a lot of courage to ask her. He knew that, since she had opened up to him, something had changed between them and something had changed in him. It annoyed him that the thing that had changed between them was that their relationship had changed into an 'only-good-friends' status and that she seemed to be happy with this, that she seemed to think this would be the best for her. He knew that it wasn't the best for him. 'I choose men that are emotionally unavailable.' He knew that she had meant him and he knew what she felt for him. It had been obvious that he was the 'emotional unavailable' man she had been talking about and he had tried his best to change. He still wondered if she really didn't notice it or if she only pretended to not have noticed that he took more care of her. Each day he asked her how she felt, if he could do something for her, told her that, whenever she should need someone to talk to he'd always be there for her. He had more personal and deeper conversations with her than he ever had with anyone else. She had to know that he had changed, so why was she ignoring it?
"Grissom, I don't think this would be a good idea at the moment. I thought we'd be trying to be friends."
"I never said that I wouldn't want to be more than just a good friend to you." He said softly and sounded almost desperate. Was she turning his invitation down? Did she really do this? He damned himself for being too late. She had given him hint after hint and he had needed too long to confess, to allow himself to have feelings for her and to allow himself to show these feelings to her.
"Okay… why not… pick me up at 7 at my apartment." She gave in with a sigh.
A bright smile flashed over his face. "Great. I can't wait for 7."
She smiled and then turned back to her work, trying to rearrange all her feelings and thoughts. He had really asked her for a date... okay this was not really a real date, because this might look like a last-minute solution… but Grissom wasn't the man for last-minute or was he? What should she wear, she only had a few dresses, and she had worn them all before. She needed a new one for tonight, a dress she had never worn before, this was special, she hoped it would be special. Damn it he had asked her to go to the ball with her! She had never been that nervous before a ball, not even at her prom night!
When shift was over she passed Grissom's office. He was still working on some files.
"Hey, I'm off now," she told softly when she entered.
"Okay, see you at seven then." He looked up and gave her a quick smile.
She nodded. "Okay, do you have a lot to do here?"
"Not that much. Don't worry, I'll be there on time."
She smiled softly. "Fine, see you then." She left, turning her head back to him when she had reached the door.
He caught her looking at him and smiled brightly, she returned his smile and then left. He felt his heart beating faster. He wanted it to be 7 already… and on the other hand he wanted 7 to be as far away as possible. He now damned himself for asking her. Asking her for a date would have been easier when it would have been more private, but a ball, a ball where almost every cop, firefighter, paramedic and employees from the whole city would be, except for the volunteers that worked tonight. This was a big public event and there had been so many rumors about him and Sara that would now look as if they were real. He blamed his nervousness for theses thoughts, knowing that this would be the very best ball he had ever been, because of her, because she'd be there with him and not with some other guy, she would dance with him for the majority of the evening. When he remembered the guy she had been at the last ball with he shivered, jealousy had always been a feeling he had tried to swallow, but when it came to her…
Sara wondered if she'd ever find a dress in this boutique, but she had been in all the other shops at the mall, she had to find one in here; she didn't have the time to search somewhere else. The clerk brought her four dresses, a dark blue one, long, almost no neckline, but almost backless, with a long slit at the right side that almost reached up to her hips. No, this dress was surely not the one she'd wear today or at any day… never …then she tried on a black one, which she didn't like at all, it almost looked like the blue one, but it wasn't backless. The third one was white, with a few big flowers printed on the skirt. It has a plunging neckline - at least it had a low neckline - but this one was much too plunging for her, so one last chance, the dark red one, the one she had tried to avoid to try on. Sure it didn't look bad, but it wasn't that much her style. It consisted of two parts, so it wasn't really a dress; it was a long, pleated skirt out of silk and a lace corset. It looked much too Gothic like, but this "wannabe" dress was her last chance. She first put the skirt on, to find out that this skirt was really looking hot on her or she looked hot wearing this skirt, whatever. Then she put on the corset. After a little trouble with the laces she finally managed to put it on correctly and damn it suited her! She had never known that her décolleté could look that good! This dress was so perfect for her but it wasn't perfect for a ball. But hell, she wanted that dress and she wanted Grissom to see her in that dress. And it didn't look that much Gothic at all anyway, the decision was made, this dress would be hers.
It was 6:45 PM, her make-up was perfect, and so were her hair and her nails. She wondered if she could ever walk more than half a mile in the shoes she had bought, dark red stilettos, about 2 inches high. She took a last glance into the mirror, after she had heard Grissom knocking on her door, refreshed her lip-gloss and then hurried to the door and opened it. Damn it Grissom looked so hot in his tux. She felt heat rising up in her.
Grissom stared at her, stunned by her beauty. He forced himself to not let his eyes glance down on her décolleté, because another look on it would have driven him crazy.
"You look so beautiful," he whispered.
With a bright smile on her face and the softest voice ever she thanked him. Her voice and her looks, this day, this date seemed to be so unreal, so heaven-like that Grissom thought he must be dead and in heaven. He felt as if his heart was close to explode in his chest when she reached for his hand and squeezed it softly.
"I think I have never been that nervous," she confessed when he opened the car door for her.
"Me too," he said smiling softly, and then he closed her door, went over to the driver's site and entered the car. He sat down, buckled himself up and started the engine of his car.
"Do you think this dress is okay for the ball?" She asked getting unsure about her choice again.
"You look stunning in it. Don't worry, you're going to be the most beautiful woman there."
"But isn't it too Gothic?" She bit down on her bottom lip.
Grissom grinned. "Sara, you look great."
She felt her cheeks blushing. "You too." She replied.
Both smiled.
He stopped the car when they had arrived at the Mirage. He left it and opened the door for Sara. He helped her out of the car and then handed the key to the valet clerk.
When they entered the hall it was as if everybody was looking at them. Sara felt a little uncomfortable, but Grissom enjoyed it. He caught dozens of men throwing jealous looks at him and this filled him with pride and satisfaction, he was here with Sara, the beautiful Sara, Sara who had told him her deepest secret, Sara who trusted him blindly. He squeezed her hand softly when he realized that she didn't like all these looks.
"Let's get you something to drink," he offered.
She nodded softly and wished he would put his arm around her or something like this, she felt so naked. She felt relieved when she spotted Catherine and Warrick, followed by Nick and his girlfriend Allie.
Grissom wished the two of them would have had more time alone but feeling that Sara needed someone to be with them he stopped, waiting until the others had caught up with them.
"Hey you two. I didn't know the two of you would come here together. What a nice surprise," Catherine said smiling.
Sara swallowed hard, not knowing how Grissom would react to this comment. But gladly he seemed to want everyone to know that he wanted more than just being good friends with her. He put his arm around her waist and dragged her closer to him.
"Well, gladly she had no other plans tonight. So I was lucky and she said yes when I asked her."
The music began to play and Grissom threw an asking look at Sara. "You want to dance?"
A smile flashed over her lips and she nodded. He dragged her to the middle of the room where a few couples were already dancing.
She put her arms around his neck and his were twined around her waist. Well aware of the fact that again half of the room was looking at them they danced for seven or eight songs, close to each other, forgetting everything else around them. Then his hand slipped up from her waist to her cheek, grazing her breast and neck with his fingers. He caressed her cheek softly with his thumb and then he softly pulled her face closer to him.
Knowing what he intended to do next she felt her heart beating faster and faster. How long had she dreamed of feeling his lips on hers? For years, and now it was about to happen! She saw how nervous he was, a smile flashed over her lips, then she felt that it was time for her to take control.
Her hands slipped up to his cheeks. When their lips met Grissom felt as if he'd explode. All these feelings that he had swallowed for so long, much too long, all these demands he had always denied, wanted to leave him right now, they demanded to be shown to her. And he wanted her so damn much, he wished they'd be somewhere else, his house, his bedroom, when he felt her tongue on his lower lip he opened his mouth softly and invited her in. Tasting her, drinking her energy, this was all her ever dared to dream off and a little bit more.
Another few songs must have been passed by when their lips finally loosened from each other. They had totally forgotten about time, about place and all the other persons around them. He caressed her cheek softly with thumb and index finger.
"That was so good," he whispered, still feeling hypnotized by her.
She smiled brightly. "Even more than that."
"Your feet must be killing you," he said sounding concerned, glancing down at her feet.
A smile flashed over her lips, he cared about how her feet were? "No…it's okay…although I'm not used to these shoes," she said grinning.
"Let's sit down there," he pointed to a few chairs in a corner of the hall. "Go there and keep a seat free for me, will you, Honey? I'll get us some drinks."
She nodded softly, refusing to let him go.
He smiled at her. "Hurry up, someone else could steal our seats," he said grinning and kissed her softly, then turned away and headed to the bar.
She walked over to the seats and sat down. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a few seconds; her feet were really killing her. But this was the last thing she cared about. She was here with Grissom, Grissom the man that she had been in love with for more than five years now and this man had finally asked her for a date and he had kissed her and he had called her Honey! Well he had done this once before, but this was when the lab had been blown up, this had been something else. She heard footsteps coming closer, and then someone sat down on a chair next to her. She opened her eyes, knowing that this person couldn't be Grissom, wondering who else could it be. When she realized that it was Hank she swallowed hard.
"Hey, haven't seen you for a while," he said, grinning at her.
This grin caused a strong urge to vomit in her, but she tried to swallow her disdain for this 'person'. "Hi," she said softly.
"You look stunning."
"Thanks," she glanced into the hall, desperately hoping she could spot Grissom somewhere, but she couldn't.
"Are you here with someone?"
"Yeah, he's getting me something to drink." Why couldn't he just leave?
Hank nodded. "Would you like to dance?"
"No, thanks. I already did."
"Sara…listen, I know I was a totally asshole. I really regret hurting you. I am so sorry for what happened. I now realized what I had when I had you and what I lost when I lost you."
"Hank, don't think I would be that stupid again. And don't think that at least a single cell of me would still feel anything for you. Actually I never did, it should be me who'd have to apologize to you. I was in love with someone else all the time." It was true, even though she knew he wouldn't believe her. It sounded more like a way to justify herself, to talk herself out of the situation.
"With whom?"
"Grissom."
"Oh I always knew that there was something going on between the two of you." He accused her.
"Oh no. Don't get me wrong, you are still the only one who was cheating in our relationship." Again she glanced around, relieved that she finally spotted Grissom carrying two classes of champaign. A smile flashed over her lips. "Would you excuse me now, Hank. Oh and this is Grissom's seat."
Hank threw an asking look at her.
"Could you please leave us alone?" Sara asked swallowing a grin, how stupid was this guy?
Grissom arrived and handed her one of the glasses, then he leaned forward and kissed her softly, not even paying the slightest piece of attention to Hank, who finally got it and left the two of them alone.
"Was he harassing you?" He asked worried.
"No, it's okay."
"I could still kill this guy for what he did to you." Grissom said with low voice.
"You know what he…?"
"Yeah, Catherine told me."
"Great, so the whole department knows that Hank was cheating on me? Oh my God, this is so embarrassing."
"Well…for now the whole department will know that the two of us have something going on. Oh, and I swear that I will never cheat on you."
She smiled brightly at him. "Kiss me." She demanded softly.
He leaned forward and kissed her passionately.
It was about 4 AM when they finally called it a night. They drove to her apartment with a taxi. Grissom told the driver to wait for him, then he opened the car door for Sara, and helped her out and escorted her to her apartment door.
"This was the most wonderful evening in my whole life," she whispered softly. "Thank you so much." She twined her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.
He felt so sad that he had to let her go now; he wished this evening would have never ended. His hands held her hips, he caressed her softly with is thumbs. He looked down into her eyes. These wonderful brown eyes, he could melt away just right now. He closed his eyes and kissed her softly.
"I am the one who has to thank you. I have never felt that good. I have never enjoyed an evening as much as I did tonight, you changed my life! Thank you." His hands were resting on her hips after he had slipped them up and down her sides for a while.
She kissed him again, pressing herself closer against his chest.
"How did I change you?"
"You said I'd be emotionally unavailable, I don't want to be emotionally unavailable when it comes to you, you have to know how much you mean to me Sara. You have to know. Because you mean the world to me. You are my everything. I couldn't survive without you."
She felt how tears rose up in her eyes. She tried to swallow them, but a few single tears refused to not run over her cheek. Grissom wiped them away with his thumb. "I love you, Sara."
That was enough, she couldn't hold back her feelings anymore, and the tears ran down her cheeks relentlessly now. She forced herself a bright smile to let Grissom know that these were tears of joy.
"I love you too," she whispered softly into his ear. "And I am so glad that I am finally worth risking something."
He threw an asking look at her, then he remembered the conversation he had once had with Lurie; had she heard it? Had someone told her about it? Hadn't Brass been the only one else in the room?
"Sorry…I shouldn't have said anything…this was just something…" she noticed that the expression in his face had changed.
"Who told you?"
"No one…I heard it…I stood behind the one-way window." She confessed.
Grissom bit down on his bottom lip. "I'm sorry…you are definitely worth fighting for but this was something the emotional unavailable Grissom didn't realize. But now, now I know that I need you."
She twined her arms tighter around him, pressed herself closer against him and kissed him softly. "I love you," she whispered into his ear. "But I really have to call it a night now. I'm awake since more than thirty hours, I really have to get some sleep."
A smile flashed over his face. "Will you dream of me?"
"I always do."
He kissed her softly, and then let her go. He waited until she had closed the door behind her, knowing that from now on she'd surely open it often for him.
Lost in thoughts he left the building, letting the cab go and walked home afoot. He needed time to realize that this evening had been real, that Sara had really told him that she loved him, that he had the courage to tell her that he loved her.
This was definitely a night to remember. Sara had slipped out of her dress and now lay in her bed, still thinking only one thing; Grissom loves me! And she knew that this night had only been a beginning, the beginning of the rest of her life, a life with Grissom. Finally.
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THE END