"Did he move the bra to where you might have wanted?"
"I didn't want it any where. I collect evidence without emotion." She spoke coolly, collectively.
"But you do get emotionally involved though with the men on your cases Hank Pedigiee wasn't the first time..."
"Excuse me?"
"A murder investigation at the residence of one Charles Renteria? Eye witness stated he saw you and your supervisor Gil Grissom standing alone outside and you were touching him in a romantic gesture."
All the blood drained from her face. Her heart threatening to sink deep further into her chess. There was a long pause before she was able to collect her thoughts.
"I brushed chalk from his face."
"Is that what they're calling it now?"
"Objection your honor!" was called by the peoples lawyer but it was faint and far away for Sara, her concentration shifting, becoming uncomfortable and uneasy.
"Dry wall dust. We were looking for a body." She tired to recover but it was clear that she looked like a deer in headlights.
"Its a fair question your honor. Just how far will Ms. Sidle go on the evidence to please her boss Gil Grissom- whether he returns her attentions or not.
It had been a few hours already but she could still feel the deep burn of public humiliation and embarrassment. Grissom had brought the case home with a slam dunk, matching the waffle blood stain to the perps scar, but even with the slap in the face to the defendant and his lawyer, she still felt violated.
She picked up her things from the locker room and walked down the hallway to leave. As she looked down the corridor she saw a familiar figure walking towards her.
"Hey Hank" she smiled half heartedly.
"Hey, You want to grab breakfast? Looks like you've had a long shift."
She looked over to Judy's reception desk where Grissom stood talking to her, as she relayed messages and mail. Then turned her attention back to Hank.
"Its tempting, but no- thank you. I think im just going to go home and have a good long sleep."
"Alrighty then, call me whenever." and with that he left.
"You shouldn't feel like you can't see him anymore just because your relationship was made public."
She looked to her left to find Grissom standing there next to her. She furrowed her brows, staring at him harshly,
"I'm not. I'm tired. Goodnight Grissom." she said a bit coldly and left.
"Gil..." Catherine's voice came out of seemingly nowhere. But he continued to watch Sara leave as he listened to Catherine. " You know... Sara went through the ringer today in court."
"Yes I know. We all did." He turned to her once Sara was out of sight.
"Thats true, but differently."
"What do you mean?"
"Her feelings for you were outed in court today."
"For me!"
"Oh please Gil, Don't pretend to be all innocent. You and I both know that there is something between you two, and if you don't know it then you're a lot more socially inept then i thought. Poor girl was torn apart today. First with Hank, the person she's seeing, I presume, to try and get over you. And two with you, on the stand, attorney went off about how she'll stretch evidence to impress you even if you don't return her affections. Which, I know isn't true now is it Gil? Its not that you don't return her affections, Its that you're too scared to return them." She paused and smiled at the confused Grissom that stood before her, "but thats quite enough of my monologue for today, its been a long shift. See you tomorrow Gil."
He watched as she too disappeared down the corridor, out the lab doors. Left with only his thoughts racing through his head. He quickly retreated to his office where he organized his desk while he did the same to his thoughts.
He couldn't help replaying Catherine's words in his head over and over again. "You're just to scared to return them.." Was this true? Was all the excuses he told himself for why he had to distance himself from Sara simply because he was afraid? But afraid of what? He began to psychologically analyze himself, digging deeper into his psyche until he just couldn't take it any longer.
Before he was fully aware of what he was doing, he had driven to her apartment and was sitting in his car, looking up at the window he knew was hers. Her light was on. His feet began to move and all of a sudden he was standing in front of her door. He took a deep breath and held in before hesitantly knocking.
He heard quite shuffling on the other side of the door, and watched as a shadow moved, covering the eye hole. The was an extremely long moment between the evidence that she looked through the eye hole, and the turn of the knob at the door.
"Grissom..." She didn't try to hide the perplexed features on her face, nor the slightly harsh voice that spoke his name. He cringed at the sound of his name being spoken like that.
"May I... come in?" His hesitant voice somehow lightened her, but only a little, she moved aside, allowing him entrance.
His fingertips from both hands touched together in a nervous manor.
"I'm sorry."
The statement completely threw her off. She just stared at him, a bit dumbfounded.
Realizing she was not going to speak he continued, "I'm sorry, I really am. I'm sorry for my curt comment before you left work today. And I'm sorry for everything I've put you through, you've been the victim of my bad moods far too often and I'm not quite sure why. But I know its completely my fault, and i don't want you to go on thinking you've done something to deserve that, because you haven't. And most of all." He paused to look up at her, make sure she was on the same page as him, "most of all I'm sorry that i let our friendship deteriorate."
He could see some of the tension leaving her body as she began to relax.
"You know. You could have just sent a plant." Her stabbing joke let him know they were going to be okay.
"I figured a gesture like that only works once, if at all." part of his lip began to curl, but is was hesitant, he wasn't sure if he was in the clear just yet.
"You're probably right." She spoke with ease. "Well, I suppose I forgive you, you can let your conscience at ease now."
He sighed with relief, "Lets have coffee before shift together?"
The statement came too easily for him, which let her know that he meant this strictly as friends. And she wouldn't have expected anything more from him.
TBC
