This will be a short story, honest, only about 2 maybe 3 chapters (one of these days I will manage a short story that doesn't hit the five chapter mark). Kind of inspired by the alternate ending I had in my head for 'Your tears are all the pain I'll ever need' but totally unrelated so doesn't matter if you haven't read that. I own nothing.
Grissom appeared at the door to the locker room unnoticed by Sara as she took a deep breath and straightened her suit in the mirror.
"You don't have to do this Sara."
Sara looked up and noticed Grissom stood in the doorway, "Yes. I do."
Grissom nodded and walked into the locker room, sat down next to her and took her hand. Almost without thinking she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Grissom. I have to do this" she whispered "I'm sorry."
He looked at her seriously, he hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head slightly so that she was looking at him, he held her gaze. "Sara, you have nothing to be sorry for. But nobody would think any less of you if you didn't do this. We can find the evidence, he will have left a trail somewhere, our job is to pick up the evidence they don't realise they've left behind. There's always something Sara, always."
She sighed and cast her eyes downwards but didn't pull away as he cupped her cheek.
"For once Grissom there isn't any evidence. This guy has killed 10 girls already, who knows how many more he'll rape and kill if we don't stop him. If I stayed silent because I was scared and then a month or two from now found myself processing the body of a girl he'd hurt ... I couldn't live with that Grissom." She looked back up into his eyes. "I need to do this."
Grissom nodded as what he had known all along finally sunk in. Sara was leaving and he couldn't even contact her. She had to put this guy away, she was the prosecutions main hope, she had processed half the cases and had seen him leaving a crime scene, and then recently she had seen him raping his next victim and stopped him before he could kill her. He knew she had to do something, she'd spoken to the girl afterwards, she'd been with her in hospital when she had died due to the drug he had given her, she couldn't not put him away.
But she didn't have to go away.
He inwardly sighed as he knew that wasn't an option, just because a leader was away didn't mean the gang would break and they'd hunt Sara down, they'd both seen Witness Protection fail but both had seen it work as well and protect people, and they'd seen hundreds of cases where the people hadn't run away and had been killed. Sara had to go away.
He looked up at her and realised just how much he'd miss her, just how much he needed her around everyday, just how much he loved her, just how much he wanted to kiss her before she went.
He met her gaze as she lifted it.
"I know" he finally whispered quietly. "I'll miss you" he took a final look in her eyes and seemed to reach a decision, slowly he lent down closer and closer to her.
He gently pressed his lips to hers but pulled away before either could deepen it.
"I'm sorry" he murmured his eyes downcast.
"Don't be" she told him honestly. "Meet with me after the trial? I've still got one night in Vegas."
Grissom looked up again and nodded. "Of course."
Sara nodded and stood up quickly, "Time to go, I'll call you when I get out." She told him as she hurried towards the door.
A few moments later Sara was sat in her car getting her breath back while Grissom was still sat on the locker room bench.
Simultaneously they lifted their hands up to their still tingling lips and touched them gently, mourning what would now never have the chance to be.
