Condensation coalesced into beads, like perspiration, along the sides of the aluminum. The brilliant blue of the unopened Diet Pepsi can imbued each sphere with the color of the sky, making Sara think of tiny little worlds.
Miniature worlds.
Maybe in one of them Natalie Davis had never existed. Had never aimed her psychotic obsession at Sara or anyone else. Maybe there, Sara still enjoyed the smell of the rain and didn't have to crank up the radio to drown out the sounds of a passing storm. Maybe there, she and Grissom remained safely tucked in their cocoon of privacy and peace, where waking up in his arms was still the rule and not the exception.
Reaching out, she gently rotated the can, making sure not to dislodge any of the droplets. At the new angle, one of the overhead lights of the break room pierced a single drop, almost illuminating it from within. Sara was riveted by the sight.
Maybe in that one, they had stayed on in the jungle of Costa Rica, buried in research and each other. The light glinting off the can and through the water reminded her of the waterfall not far from the camp where she and Grissom had become so wonderfully reacquainted with each other. She would never forget watching him shed his sweaty clothing in the bright sunshine of the day, would always remember the feel of the cool blue water embracing them as their bodies came together.
Her eyes skimmed over the slowly warming surface, drop to drop, possibility to possibility. Paris. Peru. San Francisco. New England. Vegas.
"Penny for your thoughts," Greg said as he slid into the chair next to hers, pulling his head phones from his ears.
Not so faint strains of classic Steve Miller Band gave Sara an answer she was more comfortable sharing than the truth. "Just thinking about the pompitous of love."
Greg smiled and started singing, "You're the cutest thing that I ever did see. Really love your p-"
Sara cut him off with a raise of her eyebrow and three short taps of her right index finger against the gold band of her other hand. "Gris is a firm believer in the saying, 'All is fair in love and war,' Greg. And he'd be really good at hiding your body." Sara watched him ponder her words for a second before he eased out of his chair.
"You are so scary sometimes," he said as he popped his headphones back in place and walked out.
Sara smiled and turned her attention back to the can. Rivulets of moisture had made their way down into a small ring on the table, sweeping most of the tiny worlds away. Wrapping her hand around the pop tightly, she wiped the condensation from the surface, fingers quivering as she flung the cool moisture into the air with a flick of her wrist.
Opening the can, she raised it half way to her mouth before stopping and placing it back on the table. She realized that it hadn't mattered what place she'd conjured, they were together there. And in this reality, even when they were literally in two different places, often continents apart, somehow they were always together. And she knew, for now, that would continue to be enough.