Title: Second Chances

Author: loubric

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimers: I have no rights to CSI. It belongs to CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Anthony Zuicker and any number of persons and entities other than me. No infringement is intended in any way, and this story is not for profit. The storyline, however is mine so please don't use it without my permission!

A/N! It is also loosely set during the beginning of season 6 before Grissom and Sara start a relationship, maybe this is how it could have started?? But it doesn't follow anything with the series …. I would appreciate any constructive criticism. Positive and negative feedback is always welcome :) Oh and Nicklebacks "Far Away" helped inspire this story.

The air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Grissom felt as if he couldn't breathe. He kept repeating in his head She's going to be okay She's going to be okay but being unable to do anything except watch was too much for him to bare and he slammed his hands on the table causing everyone around him to jump. Bending his head down, he slowly raised his hands above his head and placed his palms on the window in front of him. Using all his willpower he stopped a sob escaping him. He certainly didn't want anyone to know his feelings ….. Not yet anyway. Sighing suddenly he closed his eyes, trying to slow his heart beat down so he could think straight.

He'd wasted so much time, precious time that he could have been spending with her. Memories they could have been making, moments they could have shared. Why oh why did I do nothing, was I that blind? That stupid? Why did I wait so long? Does she know? Can she possibly realize? Oh god…. I have to have a second chance, please … let me do it right this time… I can't loose her yet, not before she's even become mine…. his heart rate increased again and he turned around and walked across the room, his back turned away from the window and away from his co-workers.

He tried to make sense of the situation, but under the stressful circumstances it was harder than he anticipated . Catherine's hushed voice broke his concentration and his head snapped up "Grissom, there's nothing more we can do here, we can't even get near her, let's go home, get some rest then we can all come back and visit her…."

Grissom wasn't going anywhere but he knew he couldn't stay without arousing suspicion so he murmured softly "Yeah … yeah you're right …. You guys go ahead and I'll just have a quick word with the Doctor and then I'll go too, guess we're not much help here at the moment…" Catherine somehow believed his fake dejected voice , Maybe this has effected her more than she's let on …. he thought as his staff left the small room, all looking tired and worried. It could have been anyone of them too.

He walked back to the thick glass window and peered through it and looked at Sara. She looked so peaceful, lying on the bed that he could hardly believe that there was anything wrong. He heard the door open behind him and he glanced up as he saw the doctor walk in.

He didn't waste a second "How is she doctor?" his voice breaking slightly.

The doctor sighed but gave a weak smile "She's going to be fine, we're lucky that we knew what we were looking for, in many other cases the disease goes unnoticed and untreated and that can ultimately lead to death. Because she was infected from a person that had the disease we were able to treat her immediately. She will have to remain quarantined here for the next week so we can be a hundred percent certain that she's TB free."

Grissom's face relaxed slightly but his voice was still firm and full of authority "I want to see her…"

The doctor shook his head slowly "I'm sorry Dr. Grissom, that's impossible, the risk to you and us is too high and legally …"

Grissom's voice was steady "You're not listening to me Dr. I am going to go in and see her, to hell with risk …" he added softly "I love her… you have to understand…"

The doctor knew all to well and smiled despite himself "If you follow me Dr. Grissom, I'll have a nurse get you some protective gear…"

Ten minutes later, donned in a white suit that covered him from head to toe, Grissom was finally sitting next to Sara. He took her left hand with his and bent forward, finally allowing his emotions to take over.

He cried.

The Day Before..

Grissom was frustrated, all of the cases his staff were working on were going no-where. Greg suddenly burst into his office with no warning and skidded to a halt in front of Grissom's desk.

Grissom peered up at the young CSI sternly "Greg .. What is the meaning of…." but he was interrupted by Greg's distressed and out of breathe voice "Suspect …… has….. We…. I ….. only figured … Sara…."he clutched his side.

At the mention of Sara's name, Grissom immediately alerted himself and tried to calm Greg down so he could find out what was wrong "Greg what did you find out?" at closer inspection Grissom could see that Greg's face was pale.

Finally Greg managed to talk coherently "The prime suspect that we've been trying to track down on Sara's double homicide has TB and Sara just left to go and see him, Grissom if he breathes on her she can get it and she could die…" Greg broke down and started to sob hysterically.

Grissom stood up and roared rhetorically "Have you called her? Does she know? We have to stop her ….. Why did we only find this out now?"

Grissom knew it wasn't Greg's fault so he grabbed his cell phone and punched Sara's number, waiting….

Pick up pick up

"Pick up Sara, dammit…" Grissom paced, visibly agitated.

"Sidle.." Sara answered.

"Sara? Sara … where are you?" Grissom said his voice full of concern.

"Gil? What's the matter?" she could hear the distress in his voice and immediately was on guard.

"Sara, listen to me carefully, have to been to see your suspect yet?" he hoped she hadn't.

"Yeah why? The stupid moron sneezed on me without covering his mouth, no manners ….."

Silence

"Grissom?" she waited.

His heart dropped and he tried to keep his voice from becoming too agitated "Oh god Sara … don't move a muscle, don't stand near anyone, where are you? I'll call 911...just wait.."

Sara was getting worried and irritated "Grissom would you stop babbling for two seconds and tell me what the hell is going on!" she practically shouted.

His voice barely above a whisper "TB"

"What!?" she replied.

"Your suspect, he has TB and you could have it now too."

Sara felt her blood run cold.

"Honey, stay where you are, I'll send someone to pick you up, you're going to be fine…"

Sara was awake but she kept her eyes closed, faking sleep. She had heard someone come into her room and immediately knew that it was Grissom and she had been shocked when she heard him start to cry. Grissom never cried, never showed a hint of emotion until now.

Why now? What happened? This can't be just because of the TB .. Could it? Is he finally realizing that I love him? Oh god maybe he just loves me like a sister, no it can't be like that, all these years of flirting, maybe he does have romantic feelings for me, should I dare to hope …

She waited until he had stopped crying and then slowly turned her head towards him and opened her eyes.

"Hi" she said softly.

Grissom's head snapped up and their eyes locked.

"Hi there.." Grissom smiled and his voice was muffled slightly by the mask he was wearing.

"Couldn't get rid of me that easily eh.." she said sarcastically.

Grissom smirked "Thanks to Greg finding out about the TB… Sara you're going to be fine, you'll be back at work in no time."

Sara sighed dramatically and feeling a little flirty added "The doctor said I'll have to be waited on hand and foot for at least month.."

Stroking her hand with his gloved fingers he murmured softly "Sara …. I have finally realized the magnitude of our situation. Anything could happen to us, everyday we put our lives at risk, and when Greg told me that you could die from the TB something inside of me snapped…"

Sara didn't say a word, she just stared at him, waiting for him to finish.

"Sara … my darling … can you ever forgive me for wasting so much time, for hurting you, ignoring you … Sara could you possible ever love me again?"

Sara's voice was surprisingly steady when she replied "Grissom …. I never stopped loving you .. And I never will.."

Grissom smiled broadly and sat forward, resting his head on her stomach. She bent down and hugged him. They sat like that for what seemed like hours, comforting each other.

Grissom finally broke away.

"I wish I didn't have this mask on, all I want to do is kiss you, feel your soft skin.." he murmured as he gazed at her face.

Sara smiled softly "It's only a week, then I'll be out of here and we can be together … finally."

"I can't wait Sara…" he said.

1 week later.

Grissom was visibly agitated. Today was the day that Sara was supposed to come back to work and he would finally be able to touch her, see her and smell her without the stupid suit and mask.

I'll finally be able to kiss her….

During the past week her had visited her as often as he could. They had spent hours and hours talking and getting to know each other. Laughing, crying, sharing and flirting. The sexual tension every time he was near her was at a breaking point. The fact that their love was out in the open between them made the situation almost unbearable. They could only look at one another and today was the day they could finally do anything but talk.

He couldn't concentrate on any of his paperwork. He sat down at his desk. A few minutes later he stood up and walked across the room and stared at the books on his bookshelf. Nothing was helping, his mind kept wandering to Sara.

How am I going to control myself here at work, we decided to keep this professional but how am I going to keep from touching her? He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

A knock on his door startled him and he turned around and saw Nick's head poking in.

"Hey Gris, thought I'd let you know that Sara just arrived." his happiness was evident on his face as he left without waiting for a comment from Grissom.

Grissom took a deep breath and left his office and walked down the corridor. He turned the corner and saw Sara standing at the end of the passage surrounded by Greg, Catherine, Warrick and the now approaching Nick.

She looked up and saw Grissom. Her eyes found his and she smiled broadly.

In an instant she decided what she wanted to do and she didn't hesitate. Leaving her friends in mid sentence she started walking towards Grissom. Her steps became larger and quicker. She broke into a run.

Grissom saw her walk towards him and he started in her direction. Her beautiful face made him smile as he continued in her direction. He saw her break into a run, and he didn't care who saw. Their professional discussing went out the window and by the time she reached him, his arms were wide open.

They didn't think twice as she collapsed into his open arms. His mouth found her lips and she opened willingly. The kiss was deep, passionate and full of unfulfilled hunger. His strong arms wrapped around her tiny body. She wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss became more urgent and intensified. Breaking away, breathless, their heads touching as thousands of words passed through their eyes.

He cupped her face with his hands "I love you Sara."

"I love you too Gil." she replied and their lips met again, tenderly and soft.

Catherine, Greg, Warrick and Nick were left speechless at the end of the hall.

The End.

A/N I am not a doctor and the little info that I got on TB was thanks to the wikipedia website my apologies if it's not 100 accurate :) Feedback is always welcome!