The incessant ticking of the clock on Gil Grissom's desk was the only sound in the room, as the older man leaned his head back, weary eyes fluttering shut for a fleeting moment of peace and quiet. Looming was triple homicide with no end, leads or even halfway decent evidence in sight. The case was beginning to wear on everyone, but the most damage was done unto the mysterious shift supervisor. His chest rose and set in a soft, steady rhythm, the pattern interrupted by the occasional deep breath.

Gil opened his pale green eyes, and begrudgingly allowed the chair to snap back down from its reclining position. No smile could be found on the forensic scientists face, as he picked up the pile of random paperwork that needed to be filled out, in addition to his case. "Damn Paperwork." He muttered under his breath. The words had barely escaped his lips when Sara Sidle whisked into the room, her welcoming presence like a warm summers breeze.

His gaze rose to meet hers, and he couldn't help but notice the way her face shone right now, a twinkle glimmering in her captivating brown eyes. Slowly he rose to his feet, his interest clearly peaked as to her exuberant entrance, "Sara, do you have something for me?" Sara grinned at him, her voice nearly cracking with excitement, she thrust the papers towards him as she spoke.

"Gil, the DNA samples we found at the scene match a prior, a prior who was let out TWO days ago! Not only that, but the mother? This is her ex-husband. Slam-dunk? I think so. We go from no leads, to the perfect lead." Gil quickly took hold of his glasses, practically throwing them upon his face, as he began quickly leafing through the papers, skimming each one as quickly as possible.

"Sara, we must remember, that there is one thing that doesn't lie. The evidence. We have the evidence, so now we have to prove it. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to go back to the scene, see if we can find any more connections to this guy. Ok?"

Sara's face lost that glow and was replaced by frustration as she rolled her eyes, her eyebrows furrowing a bit. "So basically you're saying, this is a nice pile of papers, but go get your ass back out the crime scene?"

Her tone had gone from perky to haughty rather quickly, and Gil noticed the dramatic change right away. Frowning, he peered at her over his glasses, a pained look in his eyes.

"Sara, I'm not scolding you… this is good work. But, you know what comes next. Don't act li-"

"Gil! Now you're getting that 'Poor Sara' look on your face."

Gil walked over to the younger woman, resting his hands upon her shoulders, their gazes meeting. The chemistry between them became strikingly obvious as the touch lingered a longer than it should, and their gazes kept for a second longer. Pulling his hands back, he then removed his glasses, setting them gently upon his desk. Clearing his throat, the situation began to fix itself, and the dimness of his office hid any blush that lay upon Sara's face, so he continued on, composure regained.

"Sara … you're brilliant. Stop acting like I don't think that. You know what we need to do… so lets go test your theory."

She felt herself hit with a wave of guilt, for randomly overreacting once again. His touch had instantly soothed her, and left her wanting more. But, she'd said it a million times; she went after a guy who wouldn't realize he wanted her till she was gone. She always picked the difficult ones. Sara nodded, slipping her hands into her back pockets, and sauntered out of his office, glancing over her shoulder on the way out,

"I'll meet you in the garage. I'll drive."

Grissom nodded, and with that she was gone. Pursing his lips, he began slowly pacing across his office; the jars of pigs, organs, bugs and other such experiments surrounded him, much like his mind encompassing the thoughts that currently streamed through his mind.

The case, his homicide, his triple homicide, should be his number one priority. And it almost was. Almost. So close to almost is was disheartening. However, Gil found himself once again captivated by the brunette. Sara's fire… as difficult as she was to deal with sometimes, he wanted to deal with it. Her complexity was alluring, and it arose his interest with every move she made, every brash comment she uttered, and every haughty gaze she threw.

It made him long to place his hand in that fire.

Swallowing hard he realized, that as much as he wanted that, as much as he wanted her, and to deal with her in that way, it would make his life too damn complicated. Force him out of his comfort zone. And like a turtle, Gil Grissom sat firmly planted in the center of his comfort zone. Right where he liked it. Damn stubbornness.

Reaching up, he rested a large, calloused hand upon the shelf, and cast his emerald gaze out into the bustling hallway that lay just outside his doors. The bustling hallway, which would bring him to Sara, who was waiting for him in the car. She was used to waiting and was probably getting annoyed right about now.

Rubbing slowly at his temples, he wandered back over to his desk, gingerly taking the papers back into his hands and found himself staring at them. Slowly, forcibly, his mind began to focus on the case. His homicide. The awaiting triple homicide, with evidence and a lead looming. Glancing at the other papers on his desk, he made a face at the other thing he should focus on. Like more damn paperwork.

Rolling those pensive green eyes, he dropped his glasses into his pocket, grabbed his CSI kit, and left his office, clasping Sara's folder in hand. Nodding silently to those who greeted him, he continued on his path, until he pushed through the double doors, towards the SUV that sat running with a rather miffed brunette leaning against it.

"Should I ever ask what took you so long to get your kit out here?" Sara questioned, without waiting for an answer, she walked around the vehicle and hopped into the drivers seat.

"Sara, I think this could really be our guy, we just need to prove it. I remember working on this guys case a few years back, he's capable of murdering his ex-wife and two kids." Shaking her head with a sigh, she replied back quietly.

"It never ceases to amaze me what people are capable of."

Gil nodded in agreement, "We're all capable of more than we wish to admit."

Turning her head a bit, to glance at him, her eyes were glazed over, as her voice grew softer,

"Like falling in love Gil?"

Their gazes met in a wordless stare.