Title: Day by Day
By: Manigault
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to CBS.
Note: This is a repost of a story I wrote some time back. I have the fanfic bug once again so I reposted this one in order to finish the sequel that was never posted. I will post the first chapter of the sequel, No Games, sometime next week. Thanks to all who read this!
Pre-relationship and set back a few seasons
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"Greg, get over it." Nick leaned against the counter and shook his head. "Sara has no interest in dating you or anyone else for that matter."
Greg grinned into the microscope. "That's the beauty of it, Nick. We are not going out to breakfast as potential dates…..only as friends."
From his position on the other side of the room, Grissom paused in his musings over his latest experiment and shamelessly listened to the conversation.
"I've tried setting Sara up with several of my friends and she specifically informed me that she has no interest. If you push her, Greg."
Greg looked up from the blood sample he'd been perusing. He smiled wider at the threat in Nick's voice. "Nick. Trust me. Do you and Sara go to breakfast occasionally?"
"That's different. I don't have a crush on her and want breakfast to turn into something more---serious."
"I'm going to breakfast with Sara as a friend." Greg lost the grin. "You know that I've been having nightmares ever since that explosion? Well, Sara has too. She and I are going to talk."
Sara was having nightmares of the accident? Grissom pushed the thought aside and stared across the room at Greg.
"I didn't know that Sara was having trouble with the accident." Nick admitted. He looked as guilty as Grissom felt for not considering that possibility.
"Well, I didn't tell you. And, besides, if over time Sara starts to realize that there could be something between us, who am I to argue?" Greg hoped that he hadn't put his foot in his mouth. Sara would cancel their breakfast for certain if she knew that he was spilling her secrets. Suddenly aware of another presence, he spun towards Grissom. "When did you come in?"
"I've been here since you have, Greg." Grissom turned back to his experiment. "I think that you should concentrate on talking about the explosion and not get your hopes up that it could lead to more."
Nick smiled at the irritated look that spread over Greg's face. The lab tech wanted to argue with Grissom, but he wouldn't dare.
"Why don't I go to breakfast with you and Sara?" Nick offered the younger man. That way he could observe Sara with a new perspective and keep an eye on Greg.
"No thanks." Greg took the slide from the microscope and made a quick retreat.
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Grissom tapped his pen on the stack of papers that adorned his desk. He was not the least bit concerned that Sara would take Greg seriously, but what if she felt some sense of obligation to Greg because they had both been injured in that explosion?
A shadow passed by the doorway, and he called out without conscious thought.
"Sara?"
The shadow returned to the doorway and Sara stared at him with a questioning look.
"Is your case closed?" Grissom searched for a reason to have called her back.
"It is." Sara folded her arms at the elbows and raised her eyebrows. "Is that it, Grissom? Because I'm going to breakfast."
"I need your case report." Grissom said quickly.
"My case report." Sara repeated the request with a flat intonation. "I'll get it to you when I come in tonight."
"I need it this morning."
Sara paused and stared at him as if he had morphed into someone else. "I'll come back after breakfast and write it out for you. It will be on your desk before noon."
"That's not good enough." Grissom was not sure what he was hoping to accomplish with his insistence. He was certainly not winning any points with Sara. "I need it before you leave this building. I have to turn it over to Brass so they can proceed."
"Since when was it so urgent?"
"It's not a request, Sara."
Stopping beside Sara in the hallway Catherine caught the last statement and turned quizzical eyes to the man sitting with stoic unease behind the desk.
"Fine." Sara was turning away when she saw Greg hurrying along the hall. "Greg, I'm going to have to pass on going to breakfast with you this morning."
Grissom could not see the expression on Greg's face, but he imagined it was filled with dismay.
"Okay." Greg started to turn away without asking any more questions when Sara decided to make another offer.
"You ever heard of that vegetarian place on State Street?"
"Yep." Greg said without turning around.
"Why don't you meet me there for dinner, say around five?"
The smile that spread over Greg's face lifted Sara's own dark mood. He was such a sweet kid. She did not spare another look inside Grissom's office as she moved off to complete her case report.
Catherine stepped into his office and tilted her head slightly. "If I were to make a wild assumption I would say that your plan backfired."
"Excuse me?"
"You kept Sara from having breakfast with Greg today, but now they are having dinner." Catherine stood directly in front of his desk. "You know, Sara has breakfast with many people here; Warrick, Nick, David, Doc Robbins. I don't think she has met any of them for dinner. Interesting."
Without saying another word, she flounced out of his office.
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They sat around the table waiting for assignments. Grissom was uncharacteristically late but before they started to question his tardiness aloud he strolled in with an armful of papers.
He let his eyes sweep over the investigators and was careful not to linger on one more than another. He did notice that Sara was staring at the table, her back rigid as he brushed by her chair.
"Catherine, Nick and Warrick." Grissom had their attention before he set the heavy stack of paper on the table. "You have a multiple shooting over in Watkins subdivision."
"Sara, I need you to go through these old cases and find anything that matches this case." He handed her a typed report. "It is the request of a New York agency that plans on reviving the cases with an attempt to match them with a serial killer and connect them."
"You're kidding me." Sara felt the eyes of her co-workers drilling into her as they had to be wondering what she'd done to piss Grissom off now. She certainly was wondering.
"I kid you not." Grissom motioned towards the stack. "They requested that you set aside any cases that appear to have more potential than others in being related."
"If they had the potential of being related then we would have connected them." Sara said flatly.
Warrick snorted. Nick patted her on the shoulder as he stood. "Well, I'll fill you in on our multiple when I get back."
Sara ignored the friendly jabs and kept her attention on Grissom.
"When did you start disliking me so much, Grissom?"
"What?" The question caught him off guard. He'd expected her to protest, to be angry with him, but not ask him that question.
"You heard me." Sara reached for the stack of paperwork and pulled it over to her. She was not happy with what he asked her to do, but she would do it.
"I don't dislike you, Sara." Grissom looked around the now empty room. "I need someone with a sharp eye to help me go through these cases. That's it."
"Help you?" Sara felt a stirring of hope that he was not leaving her to drudge through this alone.
"I plan on subjecting myself to the same task." Grissom tried to keep his voice light.
Personally, he questioned why he had to contend with this at all. In his estimation the 'cold case' team could go through these themselves and make a decision. Carvallo had passed it off on him this afternoon when he arrived and now he had two days to comply.
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"Hi, Sara," Greg's much too cheerful voice broke through their intense concentration of case number four. They had diligently weighed through the paperwork for the past five hours, picking it apart for similarities to the New York City serial killer. Now Greg stood by the table with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Hi back, Greg." Sara smiled at the young man and earned a shy smile in return.
Grissom scowled. "What is it, Greg? We're busy."
"Grissom." Sara shot him an annoyed look and turned back to Greg. "I need a short break. How's it going, Greggo?"
"Fine." Greg handed the paper container to her and she took it with a pleased smile. "I thought that you could use a cup of joe."
"Thank you." Sara sipped the steaming liquid and breathed in the aroma with genuine appreciation. "White chocolate mocha…my favorite."
"Where is mine--- Greggo?" Grissom held up his empty hands and smirked.
A funny expression flit over Greg's face and he looked at Sara for help. With a shake of her head, she turned to Grissom.
"If you were nicer to Greg then maybe he would think to bring you coffee every now and again."
"I doubt that." Grissom dismissed them both by turning his attention back to the case in front of him.
Greg sighed with relief. "See you later, Sara."
"Bye Greg."
Sara took another sip of her coffee and studied the case details. She was immersed in the facts when Grissom mumbled something beneath his breath.
"What's that?" Sara leaned forward to see if it pertained to the case.
"I said that you're leading Greg on by going out to dinner with him and accepting his coffee with such pleasure."
Sara knew that her mouth fell open. She shut it quickly and leaned back in her chair. "Tell me you did not just say what I think you did Grissom."
"What do you think I said?" Grissom did not look up from the case.
Sara was wary. "If I didn't know better I would say you were jealous." She ran a finger over the rim of the coffee lid. "Since I know better, then I would say that you are afraid that I will hurt Greg?"
"What if it's neither?" Grissom peered at her over the rim of his glasses. "What if I tell you that I don't think interoffice romances are appropriate? Any interoffice romances."
"Then I would say that you are full of it." Sara leaned forward and pulled the case out from beneath his nose. "I know for a fact that you have gone out with several lab techs over the years. I can give you details."
Grissom's mouth opened and shut quickly. "That is precisely why it is a bad idea."
"If the said individuals are lame enough to come back here and brag about going out with Gil Grissom…" Sara allowed the implication to linger in the air.
"They bragged about going out with me?" Grissom could not keep the teasing quality from his voice.
"Forget it, Grissom." Sara pushed the case back in front of him and stared at her own notes.
Grissom leaned back in his chair, took his glasses off and folded them while keeping his eyes trained on the blush creeping along Sara's neckline. He had a few failed attempts at dates from the lab over the past few years. None since Sara had arrived from San Francisco three years prior. He never thought the said dates would brag about going out with him, at least not in a positive sense.
"Are you dating Greg?" He decided the direct approach would be the smartest.
"Excuse me?" Sara's eyes shot daggers through him. "Why are you asking me this, Grissom?"
"It's a simple question." Grissom placed his glasses on the table in front of him. "Are you dating Greg?"
"No. Happy?" Sara took another sip of coffee and averted her eyes. "We go out as friends. A concept that is foreign to you."
"It's not so foreign, Sara." Grissom knew his next statement was not smart the second it left his mouth. "In fact, Catherine and I go out as friends all of the time."
Sara tried to hide the hurt, but she failed to look away in time. She stood abruptly and made a flimsy excuse about needing a bathroom break.
Grissom watched her rapid exit and frowned to himself. Good move, Gil. He berated himself for his lack of tact as a simple question attacked his conscious. He didn't want to go places with Sara did he? No, that didn't sound right. If he could go places with Catherine and entertain no romantic thoughts, then why could he not go places with Sara? Answering his own question, the realization settled into his mind.
TBC
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