A/N: Another Sandle fic. Gotta love the ship. Idea came curtesy of the torrential down pour that was going on when I stated this fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or the characters.

The Best Day Of My Life

"This sucks." Sara Sidle stated blandly as she stared out of the window in the layout room.

Her eyes were glued to the torrential down pour that was raging outside. Occasionally, a crash of thunder could be heard, or a flash of lightning would illuminate the dark nighttime sky, but other than that, the only thing to be heard was the constant pelting of rain against the window; which, evidently, was creating a massive distraction, causing her to not be able to concentrate on the task at hand.

Spread out on the table in front of her were several different rosters and lists that came from the Sierra Gold Ballroom. The night before there had been a triple shooting during the annual auction that was held there. She, Grissom, and Greg had went to work the case on account of Catherine, Warrick and Nick being backed up with a possible murder-suicide at the White Tiger showroom.

Unlike her co-workers, she had refused to go home to sleep even for a few hours, being the workaholic she is.

It had been almost twenty-four hours since the incident and every single lead she had come up with since then had been a dead end.

Staring intently at the guest list, trying to return her attention back from the outside world was turning out to be a futile attempt, as a very familiar voice sounded from the doorway, pulling her out of her reverie.

"Sara! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Greg Sanders exclaimed as he moved into the room, slamming a file down on the table, and taking a seat beside Sara.

"Please say that you have something for the case." Sara said as she stifled a yawn and laid her head down on her arms.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I just came from the autopsy of our vics and-" He stopped himself as Sara released a yawn.

Smirking, Greg lowered himself to the table-top, mirroring Sara's position so he was at her eye level.

"Tired are we, Miss. Sidle?"

Sara closed her eyes and nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be? I've been up for almost thirty hours straight without so much as a five minute nap." She stated calmly.

"Thirty hours? Didn't you go home yet?" She heard Greg's voice question.

"No. You know how I am when we get put on a case as bad as this. Now, what is it that you found out while in the autopsy?"

"Nuh-uh. Not telling." Greg answered in a sing-song voice.

"What? Why?" Sara asked incredulously.

"I'm not telling you unless you promise to let me drive you home after shift so you can get some rest." Greg replied.

"I can drive myself home Greg."

"Any other time I would agree with you, but with the state you are currently in, it's very likely that you would end up in a ditch or something."

"What do you mean in my current state?" Sara questioned as she shifted in the hard, metal chair.

Silence enveloped the room.

"Greg? What do you mean in my current state?"

Still no answer.

Sara cracked her eyes open only to be met with the sight of the empty layout room. Looking around curiously, she sat up, only to notice that the table had been cleared of Greg's file and her papers.

Odd, I didn't hear him get up and leave… She thought. This is probably just another one of his pranks.

Thunder crashed outside and a flash of white light shot across the window, leaving Sara with a paranoid felling. Goosebumps rose on her skin as the rain pounded harder against the glass.

God, how I hate thunderstorms…

"Greg, this isn't funny anymore…" She trailed off as she turned back to the window just in time to see another streak of lightning turn the late night sky into a bright sea of purple and grey clouds.

"Where are my papers?" Sara called out into the empty room, hoping that Greg was hidden somewhere, which was very unlikely considering the lack of furniture and a closet only big enough to hold a broom and dust-pan.

She glanced back down at the empty table momentarily, but let out a shriek as two arms picked her up from behind. Swiftly, she reached up and wrapped her arms around her captors neck, out of fear of falling to the hard, cement floor.

A chuckle sounded from above her, causing her to look up into, none other than the face of Greg.

"Jumpy much, Sidle?" Greg asked as he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Greg! What are you doing? Where are you taking me? Where are my papers?"

"Calm down Sara," Greg soothed as he pulled her closer to his chest and continued to carry her down the hallway, "I'm taking you to the break room so you can lie down. The table isn't really the best place to get some rest."

"And my papers?"

"Already down there."

"I can walk you know." Sara added as an afterthought.

"You're so tired you would probably collapse."

Sara couldn't disagree with that one.

The two were silent the rest of the way. When they entered the break room, Greg attempted to deposit Sara on the old, somewhat lumpy couch over in the far corner of the room.

"Um, Sara?"

"Hmmm?"

"You're going to have to let go of me." Greg laughed as he reached up and unwrapped his friend's hands from around his neck.

Blushing, Sara quickly wrapped her arms around herself, curling up into a small ball and she turned over onto her side, resulting in her back facing Greg.

"So, what was that you were looking at over in the layout room?" Greg asked conversationally as he paced around the perimeter room.

"Not telling." Sara said, copying his words from earlier, "Well, at least not until you inform me about my so-called current state."

Deciding that he could possibly use her question to his advantage and have to chance to get closer to her, both physically and emotionally, Greg pulled a chair over so he was sitting as close to her as he could be without actually being on the couch.

"Well, for one thing," Greg started as he reached a hand out hesitantly and placed it in the middle of her back, slowly, gently, running it up and down the complete length, "You're very tense. Your muscles are tight and strained. Too much stress and sleep deprivation can do that to a person."

Sara shuddered at his touch, the warmth from his hand seeping through the thin black material of her t-shirt.

"As you and I both know, sleep was entirely out of the question for me." Sara replied shakily.

"No," Greg said as he moved his hand up to her silky brown hair, his fingers playing with the small strands, "You made sleep out of the question, it was available to you but you didn't take it up on its offer to send you into dreamland."

I know I take every chance I can to hop on the train to dreamland so I can spend hours hearing you laugh and staring at your pretty face… Greg mused to himself, know that his thoughts told the absolute truth. He always yearned for after shift when he could go home and let Sara Sidle, his own personal vision of loveliness, haunt his dreams time and time again.

"And then there's the fact that you work yourself too hard." Greg continued with his explanation as he pulled her hair away from her ear, bent closer, and whispered in his most charming voice, "As you and I both know," He repeated her words from her last comment, "You're a major workaholic."

"What? I am not!" She cried as she turned around and swatted Greg's shoulder before crossing her arms and falling back down to the couch, letting herself remain facing him so she could hit him again if need be.

Don't deny it, you know that he's right… Her mind taunted her.

"Shut-up." Sara muttered, forgetting that she had spoken what she was telling her mind out loud.

"What was that?" Greg asked as he grinned to himself, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees.

"Nothing."

"There's another sign! Now you're talking to yourself!"

"No I'm not!" She retaliated.

"So you were telling me to shut-up?"

"No!"

"Well the only people in this room are you and me and since you weren't talking to me, you must have been talking to yourself, unless there's something you're not telling me…" Greg trialed off.

"Not telling you?"

"That you're physic and you can see a ghost in the room and are talking to it telepathically."

"What the hell?"

And he's saying I'm losing it…

"Never mind."

"I'm not even going to ask." Sara noted as she relaxed back into the cushions.

"Anyways, as I was saying, you work yourself too hard. Honestly Sara, when was the last time you actually let loose and have a little fun?"

"Umm…"

"I thought so." Greg said as he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Seriously Sidle, if you continue on like this you'll get to be old and boring like Grissom."

"Grissom's not old and boring." Sara retaliated, taking notice that Greg made no move to remove his hand. She didn't mind though, she actually welcomed it, strangely enough.

Sara Sidle, this is your soft spot talking, admit it, you like the little used-to-be-lab-rat…

"How old is he?"

"Sara thought for a moment before saying. "Fifty something."

"Exactly. That's ancient!"

"To you maybe…"

"What are you saying exactly?"

Sara ignored his question, and moved onto trying to defend her boss' lack of social activities.

"Well he's not boring. He does lots of interesting stuff."

"Oh really? Name me something interesting you've witnessed him doing in the past two days." Greg challenged as he took a chance to get Sara a little more comfortable with him. Slowly, he began running his hand up and down her arm.

"Well he… you know I saw him…"

Greg let out a laugh, realizing that she was trying her hardest, but couldn't come up with a single thing she had witnessed Grissom doing that was even the slightest bit interesting.

"Sara, the man plays mental chess for fun and his best friends are insects. There isn't really anything you can say or do to justify that."

"I guess you're right." Sara sighed, defeated.

"Now, when was the last time you've done anything fun?"

Deciding that Greg would be able to see right through her if she lied, she muttered, "It's been awhile…"

"Well, there's another thing you're going to have to promise me," Greg sighed, hoping desperately that Sara would agree, "Not only do you have to let me drive you home, you have to promise me that the first night we both have off, you'll let me take you to a movie or something. Honestly Sara, being cooped up in here all day has got to be bad for your health." He joked.

Sara giggled as she though about how peaceful it could be if she agreed.

You don't want peace, you just want to be alone with him, get to know him a little better; kind of like what you're doing right know… Her mind told her.

Come on Sara, give me a chance. I know that if you just spent even a few hours with me and only me; no work to distract us or anything, you could see just how much I care for you and what I have to offer… Greg thought, anxiously awaiting her answer.

"Alright Greggo, I guess I could do that." Sara replied nonchalantly.

"Alright. It's a date!"

Sara just stared at him curiously. Upon realizing what he had just said, Greg set to correcting himself.

"I mean… it's not a date, its just… two friends having some fun and spending a little quality time together. It wouldn't be a date unless we both had mutual hidden feelings of love for each other or something like that. I mean, you know… we're not going to do anything, just possibly a friendly hug or a small friendly kiss between best friends, or… no, wait! That came out wrong! What I meant to say was…"

He is so cute when he stutters… Sara thought. Now, to get him to stop ranting about him not meaning what he said in the first place even though I know he did.

Making her decision spur of the moment, Sara leaned up and gave Greg a small kiss, stopping his rant for the time being. Making sure not to move his hand from her arm, she laid back down and stared up into his stunned face.

"Greg, I get it. But either way you say it, I still call it a date."

"And let me guess, that," Greg gestured to his lips, "Was just a friendly kiss between best friends?"

"No."

Greg's eyebrows shot up so high, they got buried in his long bangs.

"That was an 'I'm tired of you rambling so would you please shut up' kiss."

"Oh." Greg chuckled as he stared at the floor. "I was rambling, wasn't I?"

"Just a little." Sara gave him a wink and smirked.

Greg Sanders, enjoy yourself and engage her in a little bit of fun right now; you know you want too, and by the way things are going between the too of you, you could probably get away with it too… Greg's conscience persuaded.

"So Sara, what do you say to a little fun right now?" Greg whispered seductively as he ran his hand further down her arm.

"What did you have in mind, Mr. Sanders?" Sara replied, playing along.

"Well, we've been talking long enough. I think it's time I finally make you surrender to me." Greg grinned as his hand reached her waist.

In a flash, Sara was convulsing on the couch, ear-splitting screams and laughs. Greg, who was currently straddling her, was fighting off her arms swatting at him, tickling her for all he was worth.

"Greg! Stop it!" Sara managed to get out.

"Nope. I want you to beg." Greg smirked.

"Please Greg!"

"Nope. Beg."

"Please!"

"Louder!"

"Please!" Sara cried in a strangled voice.

"Louder!" Greg screamed back, showing no signs of retreat.

"Please!" Greg fell off the couch at the scream from the doorway. He swiftly stood up to see Warrick and Nick standing just inside the room.

"Guys! Hi!" Sara said quickly as she sat up and smoothed out her clothes. "What's up?"

Warrick sniggered.

"What's up is that we could hear you guys all the way room the evidence room. What's going on?" Nick asked suspiciously as he took in Greg's tousled hair and wrinkled clothes.

"Just showing Sara here how to have fun." Greg answered quickly, hoping that his co-workers would drop the subject and leave them alone.

He could only imagine what it looked like when they came in only to find him on top of Sara on the couch, her screaming and all.

"Whatever man, but you two should at least look like you're working," Warrick said, pointing to the file on the table, before glancing out the door, "Grissom's coming this way."

With that he turned and walked out of the break room as if nothing had ever happened. Nick however, needed to get in one last comment.

"Next time Greg, maybe you should close the door, perhaps lock it. Sara here is quite the screamer."

"Shut up Nick!" Greg shouted after him, picking up a pillow and tossing it out off the doorway.

CRASH!

Moments later, Grissom hobbled into the doorway, the pillow in one hand and a book in the other.

"Greg, what is the meaning of this?" Grissom asked as he held up a pillow.

"Umm, Sara did it!" Greg replied childishly.

Sara's mouth dropped open as she glared daggers at him.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"I don't care who did it! Just don't let it happen again. Now please, there is only two hours before your shift is over, please spend your remaining time here getting some work done and not fooling around. All I need is to trip over another pillow…" Grissom muttered as he strode away, pillow still in hand.

"Well, I guess we should get back to work now." Greg said as he brushed himself off, holding out a hand to Sara, "Miss. Sidle." He said sweetly as she took his hand and he led her over to the table.

Once they both got settled, Greg turned towards her.

"So, as I was saying back in the layout room, the bullets Doc Robbins found in each victim came from a common twenty-two caliber; enough power to penetrate the skulls, but not enough to go straight through." Greg said as he looked down at his open file.

"Well, at least we know what were looking for." Sara replied as she glanced back down at her papers.

"And you've got… what?" Greg prompted as he stared at the side of her head.

"I've got the guest list of everyone who was invited, the list of those who showed up, and a list of all of the workers on duty during the shootings but so far, I've got nothing. The rain was distracting me constantly."

"What? Don't like the rain or something?"

"Not necessarily."

"Really? I love it." Greg shrugged as he closed over his file.

"What's to love about it? All it's good for is getting you wet."

"I could spend all day standing in it."

"You enjoy that." Sara mumbled as she pushed her papers into a neat pile before standing up and walking over to the counter. "Coffee time."

After shift, Greg caught Sara leaving the locker room, shrugging on her coat.

"Ready to go, Sara?" Greg asked as he rushed to his locker, opening it quickly, and extracting his dark brown leather jacket.

"Yeah. I think it's about time I got some sleep." She replied as she waited for him to come back over to her. "Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"If you're driving me home, what's going to happen to my car?" Sara asked as she realized that it would have to be left at the lab all night. "I need it to get here tomorrow."

"No worries Sara, I'll pick you up before shift starts." Greg answered her as he closed his locker.

Sara thought about this for a moment, "Alright Greggo."

"So, I was thinking-" Greg was cut off right after he slid Sara's arm through his.

"That's never good."

"Hey!' Greg cried playfully as he took his free hand and ruffled her hair.

"Greg! The rain is going to ruin my hair enough, it doesn't need your help!" Sara exclaimed.

"Speaking of rain, I was thinking that we should do a little experiment."

"Experiment?"

"Well, more of a bet actually."

"A bet." Sara said simply.

"Yes. Are you up to it?"

"Do your worst."

"I bet you that I can make you love the rain." Greg stated as he took his keys out of his pocket as they reached the door to the parking lot.

"You may try but I've got the prize in the bag." Sara replied as she unhooked her arm from his.

"Which brings me to the prize. If I win," Greg said, pointing to himself, "You have skip Friday's shift and go up to North Las Vegas with me to see The Guess Who live in concert. This will be all-expense paid by me, of course, and yes, Miss Sidle, this is a genuine date. It will include the concert, dinner, a walk under the moonlight, and a kiss good-night."

"What? We can't skip shift to go to a concert; are you mad?" Sara shrieked.

"As a hatter." Greg grinned.

"And if I win?" Sara asked.

"That's for you to decide, not me." Greg reminded her.

"Alright. If I win, we don't skip shift, and you have to go to the annual policeman's ball this year, dressed as a woman. This will include, a wig, cute blonde ringlets, make-up, a dress, and you asking Nick to be your date."

"That's harsh Sidle."

"Hey, you said it was for me to decide."

"Touché." Greg responded as he stared out at the heavy rain fall. "Well, here goes nothing."

Greg opened the door and led an irritated Sara outside. The rain soaked through their clothes quickly and forced their hair to cling to their foreheads. The walked across the parking lot in silence until they reached Greg's car. Sara, being thoroughly confused now, looked up into the face of a now wet Greg.

Hmmm, I think this is the first time I've actually seen him with his hair not spiked… Sara thought as she stared at his now flat hair.

"What, do you want to wear a dress or something? You never even attempted to make me enjoy the rain! Lipstick and silk, here we co-" Sara was cut off by Greg's lips crashing down against hers, his body pushing hers against his car as his hands rested on her hips.

I'm so getting hurt for this but what the hell, this is heaven… Greg thought as he eased up on the kiss, making it gentler, hoping that this at least showed Sara how much he cared about her.

What the hell is he doing? Sara thought in a state of panic. Loosen up Sidle, you like it and you know it. Just give into the temptation. You both deserve it. Her conscience argued.

Giving in, Sara reached up and wove her hands into his wet hair, pulling his lips closer to hers, if that was even possible. Responding to her progression, Greg ran his hands up and down her sides, pushing her even farther into the car.

When the time finally came when they both needed air, they pulled apart slowly, Greg placing a few butterfly kisses on her jaw before giving her one final sweet one on the lips. Both were panting, letting the rain surround them and sooth their senses.

"Greg," Sara mumbled as she stood up straighter, pushing herself away from the car.

Oh shit, here comes the pain… Greg thought as he pulled away from her, but only slightly.

"What time on Friday?" Sara smiled as Greg picked her up and spun her around before putting the unlocking her door, and holding it open for her like a true gentleman, before moving over to the driver's side and getting in.

If Friday turns out to be anything like today, Greg though as he placed the key into the ignition, Sara placing her hand over his, It's going to be the best day of my life.