TITLE: Sugar Therapy
AUTHOR: jenbachand
PAIRING: Greg & Sara Friendship & Grissom/Sara
RATING: General
SUMMARY: Greg is there for Sara when she needs him.
DISCLAIMER: I made no money from the writing of this fic.
NOTES: So, this was totally inspired from the locker room scene from 8x05. Thanks to mingsmommy for the beta. Thanks to ejchristian86 for the prompt of peanut butter.
Once upon a time, Greg and Sara had hung out more often. It was during that time when he was just becoming a CSI and she had been mentoring him. They would grab breakfast a few times a week after shift. Occasionally they would grab dinner before heading in to work. But the best part of it all was seeing Sara smile.
Because even if she did love someone else, spending time with her, seeing her happy, helped nurse his crush, even if he knew he needed to move on.
When Sara had returned to work after her suspension, Greg was amazed at how refreshed she seemed to be. Sara fairly floated around the lab. Gleefully teaching him the intricacies of the job, encouraging him to think on his own about theories and smiling more than she had in the last four years combined.
That was until they heard that Grissom had asked Sofia to dinner. Sara's mood spiraled downward all evening and at the end of the shift Greg had offered to take her for waffles, his treat.
"How about a movie?" Sara had asked after they finished breakfast. And while it's true that you can get almost anything in Las Vegas at any time, catching a movie at nine in the morning was a stretch. It might come down to porn or a black and white.
Instead, Sara had led him to the IMAX theatre at the Luxor where they had bought tickets for a film about dolphins. It started off fine, but twenty minutes into it Greg decided he had to see Sara's face in the dim light. He wanted to capture that moment in a mental snapshot to keep in his memories for the lonely days in the future.
He was not prepared to see Sara with tears streaming down her cheeks and silent sobs wracking her body. Greg lifted up the armrest between them and slipped his arm around her shoulder, encouraging Sara to lean on him. The fact that she did lean over and start quietly crying into his shirt told him how upset she really was. After giving her a few minutes to compose herself, he took her hand and made his way out to the parking lot.
"Just to talk for a minute. And I may have something to cheer you up," Greg said as Sara gave him a curious look when he opened his passenger door. He opened his door, but rummaged in the backseat until he unearthed the package his mother had sent him. Inside was one thing that could always bring a smile to his face. He had picked up the package on his way to work, but it was forgotten once he reached the lab. Luckily it was cold and overcast or his mother would have flown there and skinned him for melting her treat.
"My mom called last week," Greg started as he slipped into the driver's seat, "and when I mentioned being upset about something, she mailed me this." He opened the box and pulled out the plastic container inside. His mom's famous chocolate and peanut butter fudge. She had won more baking contests for this treat than he cared to count. The taste, sweet and rich on his tongue, always brought memories of home flooding through his mind.
He offered Sara the container and she took a piece. She looked at the one inch square of layered chocolate and peanut butter with a curious expression.
"The trick is to let it melt in your mouth so the flavors mix together," Greg said as he popped a piece of the candy in his mouth. They sat there in silence with the confections melting in their mouths, each lost in a rush of thoughts as the sugar flooded their bloodstreams.
"Look Sara, Grissom is a clueless ass when it comes to you, but there seemed to be something that turned around recently. And maybe him asking Sofia out to dinner isn't what we think. She told me last week she really doesn't like the politics of the lab or being on the night shift." Greg looked over at Sara after he finished speaking. Her eyes were closed, but her lip was quivering a bit. "And I know you love him, and I do think he loves you, he's just let things go so long he doesn't know how to fix things, but as happy as you had been until last night, I think he was trying."
Sara nodded and held out her hand for another piece of candy. Rather than continue on a road that might lead to more tears, Greg instead launched into tales of his mom's cooking and his Grandpa Olaf, and odd Norwegian things he had grown up with. She laughed when he started talking about his first crush, Mary Jo Halvorson, the brunette beauty of his third grade class. She had broken his heart when she told him that boys had cooties, and he had vowed to become a scientist to cure the cootie problem that prevented their love.
After their talk in the locker room, and Sara's sad statement, Greg decided Sara needed a little sugar therapy, so he had sent a quick text to his mom and gone to start the shift. The next morning after work, there was an e-mail with one of the most coveted recipes in all of Minnesota. His mom's chocolate-peanut butter-fudge recipe.
He spent the morning melting and stirring and pouring and measuring (with only one panicked call to his mom), and when it was all complete, he left it alone to set and went to bed. Making sure that his alarm had enough time to ensure he could deliver his package. He cut it up in squares and set out for the lab. Sara was in trace when he arrived, so he asked her to catch him before she left. Her smile didn't quite meet her eyes and he knew this was at least something he could do to help.
Besides talking to Grissom. Which he did.
Greg was in the locker room gathering his stuff to head out when Sara came in. Grissom had not really told Greg anything he couldn't have figured out on his own, but he did let Greg know that Sara was talking to him about things. It wasn't exactly what Greg wanted to hear, but it would have to do for the time being.
When he closed his locker door to head out to his case, Sara was standing in the doorway.
"Hey, looks like I almost missed you," she said.
"Yeah, I would have found you before I left though. Here," he handed over the plastic box. "My mom sent me her recipe and made me swear I wouldn't divulge it to anyone if it turned out all right." But before he could even finish, Sara had whipped off the lid and shoved two pieces in her mouth.
The look of pure bliss was one he had never seen on the face of any woman.
He'd have to take steps to correct that. Maybe he could take fudge on more dates. His mom would probably appreciate that if he wound up having a couple grandbabies for her out of it.
The long line of her throat was accentuated when she swallowed and the low moan she gave made Greg think very dirty thoughts about her. Again.
But when she opened her eyes and gave him one of those Sara smiles, the ones that lit up her whole face, he thought about how much of a friend Sara had always been, and how lucky Grissom was. He smiled back at her, a goofy grin he pulled out when he was trying for charming.
"That was fabulous Greg. I'd kiss you for it, but you know, Grissom knows how to hide bodies." Her eyes twinkled a bit.
"Well, a little chocolate and peanut butter fudge goes a long way. And," he paused, "you make a difference. In every life you touch. Especially mine."
Sara set the container on the bench and reached out and hugged Greg. "Thanks. I promise I'll keep that in mind Greg. You're a great friend."
When they separated she grabbed the candy and put the lid back on. "I'm just going to go say bye to Grissom. Thanks again!" Sara headed out the door and down the hall.
He didn't know what the future would hold for Sara and Grissom, or for his friendship with Sara, but he did know that if she ever needed anything, he'd be there with some sugar therapy and a shoulder to lean on.