Disclaimer: I don't own csi but I really wish I did :)

What Does It Take?

Waking Sleeping Beauty

Sara Sidle wasn't one to overreact. In fact, she usually did the opposite. Maybe that's what got her into such dangerous situations. Maybe that's why she got suspended at least once a year from Ecklie. Maybe, just maybe, that's why she found herself alone every night.

Grissom wasn't here with her. Nope, he was in Paris. Maybe if Sara was more like everyone else, if she found herself reacting more, he wouldn't be there.

She rolled over in the empty bed, her arm stretching over the sheets, a part of her irrationally wishing for him. Wishing with every fibre of her being that he would hug her, kiss her and whisper to her. But of course he wouldn't. He was in Paris, teaching the brilliant young minds of France.

Sara often found herself doing this. She just couldn't deal with him being away for so long. She saw him, what? Maybe once a month, for just a day or two. And the occasional Skype date, but really, that wasn't the same.

She wanted to tell him that. She wanted to let him know how much his absence pained her each day. How much she wished he was sitting with her. But she couldn't. That just wasn't Sara Sidle. If she felt lonely, she went to a bar and drank. And every time she came close to telling him how much she wanted him back in Vegas, somehow her voice just stopped. It wasn't fair to ask him to come back here. She was just being overly needy...wasn't she?

Her cell phone's shrill ringing put a brake on her thoughts. Trying to shove them from her mind, she glanced at the bright screen, almost blinding herself in the forced darkness of her bedroom.

Seeing the caller ID, she picked up immediately.

"Sidle." She muttered out of habit, even though she knew who it was.

"Hey." Nick's familiar Texan voice said through the phone. "We've got a 419 at the Bellagio."

Sara sighed. All of a sudden her bed seemed a lot more comfortable. "Okay." She said, but it sounded more like a half-groan.

"Look, Sara... If you want, I can ask Greg.." Nick said, once again caring too much. "You sound tired."

She smiled in the darkness. "So do you. But your not lying in your bed right now are you?" The sarcasm overpowered her voice with a ridiculous strength.

Nick chuckled over the line. "No. Guess not. I'll swing by your place in 20?"

"Kay." She said, flipping her phone shut with a yawn.

Now all she had to do was get up, shower, get dressed, do her hair and make-up, eat and organize her kit. Great.

XXX

Nick rolled into Sara's driveway rubbing his over-worked eyes. He'd pulled two doubles in a row and by the looks of it, a third.

The minutes ticked by on the SUV's digital clock, but he made no effort to rush Sara. He already felt bad enough for waking her up, and he'd noticed the change of behaviour she'd had lately.

He knew what it was. Every time Grissom was mentioned, referenced or thought of, Sara's face became sullen. Her smile faded and the light in her eyes dimmed.

Nicky didn't know what he could do for her. She didn't like being comforted, every member of the team had learned that the hard way. He couldn't just get Grissom over here, he was working a lecture circuit. And Sara was, for the first time in her life, below the minimum amount of field hours.

He stared into the bushes, thinking abut Grissom. He hadn't seen his mentor in years. Part of him wished, with all his might, that he could see him again. But the other, more powerful side, told him that wasn't going to happen. It was Gil Grissom he was talking about. Not just anybody.

A slight movement by a tree caught Nick's eye. He squinted into the sunlight, but the flash of movement had disappeared.

A knock on the car door shocked his heart.

"Geez Sara." He said after he unlocked the door and she clambered in.

"Someone's off his game." She said sarcastically, punching his arm. He laughed with her, pulling out of her driveway.

They drove down her street, Nick forgetting about the flash of movement he had seen altogether. He shouldn't have.

OOOOOhhhhh :P Whats happening next? You gotta wait to find out! Reviewww :)