Title: Better Together
Author: jenbachand
Rating: Teen
Spoilers: Anything through Leaving Las Vegas 7x11
Pairing: GSR
Author's Notes: My lyric wheel challenge. Gipsy gave me Jack Johnson's Better Together. A lovely song. Angst light. And thanks to mingsmommy for the beta & very kind words. Enjoy the song & the fic. And of course I own nothing, am making nothing, and am just staving off the angst.
The campus bookstore is his afternoon haunt. He spends a few minutes almost every day there picking up a protein bar, a bottle of water, and a different postcard of Walden Pond. Some have had pictures, some have had writing, all wind up with a note about his day and of his love for Sara written on the back and dropped in the mail. Every day, including Sunday (which means buying 3 on Fridays) he pens a note, affixes a Common Buckeye stamp, and drops it in the mail.
There is a box of items in his underwear drawer at the townhouse. Items he has been holding onto forever; well, some of them for at least the last 10 years. A coaster he had shamelessly stolen from the first place they had coffee together in San Francisco. A jagged piece of glass from the lab explosion sealed in an evidence bag. Napkins and coasters from some of the memorable places they'd eaten at in the last year. A CD she gave him her second Christmas in Vegas (that he played so much he wonders if he hasn't diminished the lifespan of it). Pictures of the two of them, taken by strangers on the mini vacations they've pulled together on the odd days off. And one of the roses from the dozens he got her for their first anniversary. Movie stubs and other items from dates and events.
A box of love that he squirreled away in case she ever left, he would have something tangible to prove their relationship had indeed been real.
He left the box where his underwear should have been, in hopes that, she'll either snoop or wash their dirty laundry and find it while putting away stuff.
On her first overnight stay at his house he could tell her fingers were itching to go over every book on his bookcase, to explore his shelves, and learn more about him. He gave her permission to "investigate" his life. Her smile had been worth the often uncomfortable feelings he had when she was poking around. Having Sara curled up in his bed sleeping soundly was worth any unpleasantness, and becoming part of a couple was worth giving up all of his solitude for.
He hasn't found the answers he left Las Vegas looking for, but he has found a peace of mind that has been missing for so long. And with that peace of mind he hopes he returns to Sara a better man.
She hadn't planned on seeing him at work the night he left. They had said their good-byes already. Seeing him standing there, looking uncomfortable and unsure, had made her sadder than the whole morning of tenderly making love for the last time for a month had. She had spent the day in a fitful sleep while he had gone into the office to wrap things up. The shift had luckily been fairly calm and the team had gone to breakfast as one morose bunch. Nick's conjectures on Grissom's weight loss and possible girlfriend almost made her smile. Almost.
The postcards have helped. Knowing he is thinking of her a little bit every day has eased the uneasiness of her mind and dulled the ache in her heart. She's spent the last two weeks moving the last of her stuff to the townhouse. Her lease is up soon and most of her furniture is either in the garage or is going to be picked up by the woman's shelter before she moves out. She was really nervous about giving up her space, but Grissom had simply pulled out the housing section from the Sunday paper and told her to pick out her favorites. His picks had been similar to hers, and the week before he left, they had gone on several home tours with their agent.
"I don't want you to think this sabbatical is about you Sara."
"It might be just a little bit. We are moving sort of fast after so many years at a standstill."
"I've been at this job for a very long time, and I think if I hadn't had you at my side this last year and a half, I would have needed time away a lot sooner."
The smell of Grissom brings out of her reverie as she steps into the townhouse and sets a box down in the spare bedroom. Walking through the house she thinks about dusting and whether she should cook something or just make a sandwich. She has been putting off doing the laundry for fear of losing his scent, but two weeks of laundry is currently making a bid for freedom out of the baskets in the bedroom. So she makes offerings to the laundry fairies and watches the sun rise from the back patio.
There's a lovely view here, and she hates to give it up, but a few of the neighborhoods are closer to the mountains and have promises of beautiful sunrises in proper backyards. When the dryer buzzes she swaps the loads around and takes the basket of warm, spring fresh scented laundry outside with her. It's crisp, but the rising sun on her face makes up for any bite Jack Frost left from the night. She makes quick of the basket of underwear, t-shirts and socks.
When she goes to put the laundry away she finds the box. Her shy, sweet, sentimental man has saved everything. She hits his button on the speed dial of her cell phone.
"Grissom"
"I found the box," she says and she knows he can hear the smile in her voice.
The phone calls become every day then and he still sends her a post card every day, but now he also e-mails her pictures from his class. His e-mails bemoan his students and how he doesn't know if he'll be able to teach anymore, as the students are either too busy kissing ass to pay attention or too uninterested in the topic.
"There's one guy who is a cross between Hodges and Greg. It's rather disconcerting." She giggles at his declaration, and he thinks his answers were in Las Vegas after all. He just wasn't looking for them in the right place.
"I got a calendar of "Forgotten English" today at the bookstore."
"Really, have you learned any new words?" she can hear the excitement in his voice at the thought of acquiring new words for completing the New York Times Sunday Crossword.
"Mmm yes. Skingy is cold, nipping, as applied to the weather."
"I actually knew that, although the weather here has been far from skingy." He has said it is more like being in Vegas than New England, and he's had to buy some lighter weight clothes than the ones he packed.
"How about ahoight?"
"I don't know that one."
"Elevated, in good spirits. Are you feeling more ahoight?" She asks with a bit of sadness in her tone.
"I will be in two days."
The best thing about coming home was the look of happiness on Sara's face when she spotted him at the airport. Not caring about who might see them, he kissed her, right there in the middle of the crowd.
Laying together in bed, Sara's long, warm body snuggled up to him, he thinks about all the memories they've created together. It hadn't been easy to step away from his career or Sara, but his mind is clear and focused. He was surprised at the number of offers for teaching positions he had received in the mail while he was away. Dr. Grissom was conducting seminars was the word on the street. He didn't really think he'd like the nomadic life of sporadic classes taught all over the country, but the thick packet from UNLV was a very tempting offer.
His space was shared, his difficulties divided, and his happiness multiplied. He thinks about the memories they'll make together, of picnics under trees and family dinners, of vacations and everyday things. Together they could handle anything.
Even the purple box and white test stick sitting on the bathroom counter.
BETTER TOGETHER/JACK JOHNSON
There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
With sepia tone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? and where do we go?
And how come we're so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing its always better when we're together
Chorus:
MMM its always better when we're together
Look at the stars when we're together
Its always better when we're together
Yeah, its always better when we're together
And all of these moments
Just might find there way into my dreams tonight
But I know that theyll be gone
When the morning light sings
And brings new things
But tomorrow night you see
That theyll be gone too
Too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find there way
Into my day to day scene
Ill be under the impression
I was somewhere in between
With only two
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be
We'll Sit beneath the mango tree
Its always better when we're together
Somewhere in between together
Its always better when we're together
Yeah, its always better when we're together
MMmmmm MMMmmmm Mmmmmm
I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is no time,
And there is no song I could sing
And there is no, combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're Better together.