Let me first start off by saying this story is absolute fluff! But in the wake of such an angst filled season finale I thought a lil fluff couldn't hurt anyone : ).
Preparation:
Sara remembered why she hated events like this so much. She hated dressing up. Well she reasoned with herself, she didn't hate the dressing up so much as the actual picking out of what to wear. She was a jeans and sneakers gal, definitely not a ball gown kinda gal. That she sighed, was Catherine's department. And that is why she currently found herself being dragged halfway through the mall with said ball gown gal.
"Look Catherine, we've been to about seven different stores so far. If I haven't found anything yet maybe it's a sign. I'm just not meant to go."
"Are you serious?!" Catherine said giving her a look that read, we're not leaving till we find something.
"Look Sara it took a lot for you to come to me and tell me about you and Gil and how important it was that you look nice for next week so we're not leaving until we find something. And not just anything. Something that will really knock his socks off!" She replied enthusiastically.
Sara just rolled her eyes as they entered their eighth dress shop. When she'd heard about this year's upcoming policemen's ball she wasn't surprised. It was an annual event after all. She was surprised however that she found her self attending this year. Normally functions like this were definitely not her thing. But Brass had come to the team and asked them if they would be willing to attend because all the proceeds raised from this year's event would go to the widow and children of an officer who had been shot and killed in the line of duty by a robbery suspect. The man left behind a wife and five children and Brass worked with the man's father years back and had gotten to know his family very well. The man had become like a son to him. The team instantly agreed to go noting that Jim never asked anything of them unless he thought it was really important.
It wasn't until Grissom had mentioned to her one night that he would be going with the guys to be fitted for the tux he would be wearing that night that she realized she needed a dress. This thought led to a mass panic. In the past she never really cared how she looked at events like this. But this time was different. This time Grissom would be there and they would be more than just co-workers. Although up to this point the only person who knew they were more than colleagues was Brass, she knew she had to look good for him. After all he looked quite dashing in a tux. It annoyed her to no end that all men had to do for formal events was rent a tux while women had to actually spend time searching for the right dress to wear. And of course the search didn't end there. Once the dress was found, one had to find the right shoes to match, and handbag and shawl and so forth. Men had it soooo easy.
So one night Grissom had found her hunched over her laptop searching clothing websites.
"Hey hon what are you doing?" He asked as he walked into their study.
"Well when you mentioned going to be fitted for your tux I remembered that I need to find a dress," she rattled off rather quickly a look of panic crossing her face.
Grissom noticed her alarm and tried his best to comfort her.
"Look honey don't stress about it. You'll look good in whatever you wear. Heck you could even wear a garbage bag to the event and you'd still look good," he said as he kissed the top of her head.
"Good?" She kept repeating to herself over and over in her head. Good just wasn't well… good enough. She had to look great, fantastic, fabulous. Good just wasn't going to cut it. That's when she thought she'd ask Catherine for some help.
She hadn't meant to tell Catherine about her and Gil but Catherine had weaseled it out of her anyway. She had decided that she'd casually ask Catherine if she'd found a dress for the event yet.
"So Cath have you found a dress for the benefit yet?" Sara asked as they were sitting in the break room.
"Actually no. I was thinking about going shopping after shift," Catherine said as she read through the latest Cosmo.
"Oh well if you want some company let me know," Sara said casually as she started to walk out of the room.
"Sara Sidle stop right there," Catherine said in her best authoritative tone.
Sara winced and stopped slowly turning to face the blonde.
"Since when would you want to accompany me shopping? For a fancy dress no less!"
Sara paused thinking about her response.
"Well… I mean I just haven't found anything yet and well you know I thought if you were looking and I was as well we could look together that's all."
Catherine gave her a look that said she wasn't buying it.
"I mean it's no secret that you are the best dressed woman in the lab Catherine. You just have a fashion sense that I know I'll never posses. I just thought maybe you could point me in the right direction," Sara said matter of factly. "Besides maybe with your help I'll knock him of his feet," Sara hadn't realized she uttered that last thought out loud.
"Excuse me?" Catherine said.
"Huh?" Sara asked, still oblivious to the fact that she had voiced her wish out loud.
"Who'll be knocked off their feet?" Catherine asked, now insanely curious.
Sara's face turned bright red as she realized that she had said those words out loud.
"Come on Sidle give it up. Who's attention you trying to catch?" Catherine had her suspicions but she was looking for solid proof.
"Well I got their attention it would just be nice if I could you know wow them a little," Sara said shyly.
"Well I have no problem helping you find a dress. In fact I'd love too."
Sara felt relieved.
"On one condition," Catherine said.
Sara felt this was going to turn out bad.
"I get a full bio on this person you're trying to wow," Catherine said with an I gotcha look on her face.
So to ensure that she looked fabulous when she attended the ball she had told Catherine that her and Gil were together. Now she didn't want Grissom to know that the reason Catherine knew about them was because she needed help in the fashion department so she told him that she'd pulled up a website Catherine had wanted to see on her laptop forgetting that she had left up one of the emails he had sent her. He had bought her story and thought since there was nothing they could do about it they'd just have to be more careful in the future. Catherine had been sworn to secrecy anyway…Hah like that would last. So that is how Sara Sidle found herself being dragged halfway across the mall at Caesar's searching for the perfect dress.
