Title: A Good Idea?

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: There is no particular time frame maybe round about pre-6 season. I know this is another GSR story, and I'm not sure if it'll be one chapter or many. Depends on the interest. I would appreciate any constructive criticism. Positive and negative feedback is always welcome! Thank-you.

Chapter 1

It had been a few weeks since Grissom had refused Sara's offer of a date and she was feeling rejected, embarrassed, angry and hurt. Trying to push it all aside and concentrate on work was proving difficult and on more than one occasion, she either snapped at a witness, suspect or lately even her collogues.

Today she was in a particularly feisty mood and even Greg was avoiding a confrontation with her. Storming into the lab, she approached Hodges.

"Hodges…" she barked as she came to a halt beside him.

He looked at her through slanted eyes and oozed sugary sweetness as he blatantly mocked her "Sara…"

Sighing frustratingly, she hissed, "I gave you those fibers hours ago, have you got a match yet?"

He turned and walked to his printer. He purposely walked extra slow and grabbed the piece of paper with a sluggish manner.

Tapping her food in irritation only fueled his mockery and he walked back to her even slower.

Unbeknownst to either of them, they had an audience. Grissom had followed Sara, intending to talk to her but had stopped at the doorway to observe the exchange between her and Hodges. He had noticed a shift in her behavior, she had become increasingly stressed, short tempered and sensitive. He had a feeling it had majority to do with the fact that he had turned down her offer of dinner and he had regretted that decision ever since the words had left his lips.

Looking back on that fateful night, he had kicked himself for not blurting out what his heart had said "Yes". Now, weeks later, his desire for her had increased to a magnitude that he could barely fathom, and every moment he saw her he wanted to reach out and touch her. The pain and hostility that she was experiencing was evident and he knew that he had deeply hurt and offended her. He didn't know how to make things right and at this moment he had to put his personal feelings aside and deal with her increasingly aggressive attitude to everyone around her.

However, he still couldn't deny the fact that he was extremely attracted to her. He had never felt the kind of physical pull that drew him to her, in any other woman before. He studied her every move, and took extreme delight in looking at every inch of her body. How he wished he had said yes!

Shaking his head, wishing wouldn't change what happened, if he wanted Sara he would have to think of a way to, essentially, win her back. She had lost a lot of trust in him, he knew that and he had to make things right even if they could never be more than just friends.

Looking up at Sara and Hodges he smirked at the way Hodges was deliberately baiting her.

Throwing up her hands in frustration, as Hodges accidentally (or rather on purpose) dropped the print out on the floor, she turned on her heel and stormed out the room, running straight into Grissom.

"Whoa …. Slow down Sara…." He said gently, sensing her annoyance as she tried to push past him.

Ignoring him, she tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back nearer to him.

"Let go of me." She said through gritted teeth. Being this close to him was painful and humiliating.

He tightened his grip and whispered sharply "Sara, we need to talk, my office now."

Laughing scornfully, she murmured "No, sorry I have far more important things to be doing with my time thank-you, Dr. Grissom."

He knew he deserved it but he was still shocked at the pain he felt at her calling him Dr. Grissom and not Gris or Gil. Trying to keep his voice from faltering he said sternly "As your supervisor I am telling you that I need to talk with you in my office, however if you would prefer that I ask Ecklie to join us, I will be more than happy to accommodate you."

Her eyes cold and her voice sharp as a knife she muttered "Whatever you say Dr. Grissom. Let's go to your office." She yanked her arm away from him and stalked down the passage and towards his office.

By the time she reached his office she was fuming and her heart was beating a mile a minute. She slumped down in the chair facing his desk and defensively crossed her arms. Not saying a word, she stared straight ahead waiting for him to talk. He quietly shut the door behind them and sat down opposite her, his arms outstretched on the desk.

Neither spoke.

He removed his glasses and set them down, his blue eyes piercing hers.

"Grissom … " she sighed exasperatedly "…what do you need to say to me, I really don't have time for general office chit chat…." Sara said finally, getting annoyed with the way he was staring at her. She still found him desirable and the way he stared at her made her feel alive but she had almost given up hope of their ever being anything more than just friendship, if they could even have that.

He had decided to try to talk to her about her attitude but deciding that was probably a bad idea, he thought he would say what was truly on his heart.

"Sara …. There's something I really need to say to you, and please, let me finish what I need to say before you jump down my throat, you have a habit of interrupting people.." he said trying to lighten the mood.

It fell flat, increasing the tension in the room.

"Grissom don't get me started on all the habitual things you do, just get to the point."

He sighed, This might be harder than I ever imagined he thought, then choosing his words wisely he said aloud "The first and more important thing is that I'm sorry…"

Her heart skipped a beat but her mind overruled her heart and she continued to stare at him icily. "Carry on…"

He took this as a good sign and began talking, his words tumbling out from his mouth haphazardly "Sara … we've known each other for such a long time, and I consider you to be one of my closest friends … maybe even the closest. I've never been a very emotional man, outwardly but that doesn't mean that I'm not... and sometimes I come across as cold and uncaring but to tell you the truth Sara, it's because of you. You seem to know me better than I know myself and that scares me. Work has been the centre of my life for as long as I can remember and the thought of taking a leap of faith, especially with you terrifies me. I was and always am so frightened of hurting you that in my effort to push you away and keep you safe, I hurt you even more... and I've seen how my actions have affected you and …." He sighed "…..I know this will be of little comfort to you…..but I wanted you to know that I really wanted to say yes, when you asked me out to dinner and I wish with all my heart that I had..."

She started to speak but he cut her off with his deep voice "…… I realize that you probably might never forgive me, and I might have lost the chance of us being anything more than friends …… I guess I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life, and I'm willing to let you go … if that's what you want …. But Sara if there's any hope , if you could forgive me, please tell me, so I can start trying to make it up to you…"

His blue eyes, now alive with emotion, bore into hers. She sat paralyzed. Words couldn't describe how she felt at his confession. She was amazed, he never said more than two words normally and never about his feelings. Her anger had now been replaced with confusion.

She spoke softly, barely above a whisper. "Gris …. I … um…. Thank-you for opening up, but … I.." she stood up abruptly and headed for the door. Turning around, her eyes glistening with tears she added, "I need some time to think …. I'm sorry…."

And before he could say anything else, she had left. He buried his face in his hands fearing that he had lost her for good.

Days later, after avoiding Grissom at all costs, Sara had arrived home emotionally and physically exhausted. She stripped down to nothing, walked into her bathroom, and stared at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale and she had dark rings under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She jumped in the shower and let the warm water run over her body, and tried to make sense of her emotions. She was still surprised at the confession of Grissom's feelings, and had played the scene over and over in her mind.

Can I forgive him? Not just for the date but for everything, do I want too though? The questions played in her mind as she finished washing her hair.

After drying her hair, she slipped into some comfortable sweats and sat on the couch, staring into space. Maybe I should go and see him, maybe talking with him outside of work will put things into perspective.

Her mind momentarily put at ease, she grabbed her car keys and headed for the door.

Grissom was pacing his living room, agitated and unable to concentrate on anything. Books, magazines and cross word puzzles lay strewn across the room. His half-eaten dinner lay forgotten in the kitchen and he was seriously considering taking up smoking or drinking, just to have something to take his mind off things.

Glancing at the clock, he decided that he would make one last attempt at reaching out to Sara before he left things to her accord. Grabbing his jacket and keys, he rushed out the door.

Breaking every Las Vegas city speed limit, Sara pushed her foot more firmly on the gas pedal, eager to get to Grissom's house. Her heart was beating fast, and she could feel the adrenalin pumping through her veins. She was feeling apprehensive and surprisingly excited; she had a nervous butterfly feeling in her stomach that had never been there before. She pulled into a parking spot and as she walked up the stairs to his front door, she had this sudden realization and she knew exactly what she wanted to say to him. It felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders and heart as she knocked on the door.

No answer.

She knocked a bit louder, and rang the doorbell. The place was dark and the curtains were open. She peered in through the nearest window, and saw darkness. The air was still.

She reached into her pocket to grab her cell to give him a call, but found that in her haste she had left it on the kitchen counter. Feeling dejected, she sighed and sat on the nearest step, thinking she would wait a while incase he had just stepped out for a moment.

The car took the corner sharply and the tires screeched in protest. Grissom gunned it into the quiet parking lot, and practically parked on the sidewalk in his hurriedness. Jumping out the car in anticipation, he ran up the steps two at a time, before finally reaching Sara's front door, gasping for air. Trying to catch his breath, he pounded on the door, and rung the bell simultaneously. Feeling agitated he ruffled in his jacket pocket to call her on his cell phone and swore profusely under his breath, realizing that he had left it at home.

Deciding that he would wait all night (or morning) if he had too, he zipped up his jacket and with his back against the door waited impatiently for Sara to get home.

Glancing at her watch, Sara saw that she had been waiting for 45 minutes. Sighing she thought Well, I guess it's just not meant to be, might as well go home. She reluctantly got up and slowly walked back to her car. The ride home was a blur of lights and traffic. She arrived home, not even realizing how long it had taken or which way she had driven. Luckily, I wasn't pulled over for lack of concentration she thought as she grudgingly walked up the flight of steps to her apartment door.

Fumbling for her keys she stood at the top of the stairs, deep in concentration.

"Hey …" a deep voice said from the shadows.

Sara jumped and nearly screamed out aloud, but when she looked up, she saw Grissom walking towards her.

"Grissom, what are you doing here? You scared the crap out of me?" she whispered loudly.

He approached her cautiously and grinned "Sorry, guess I thought you saw me … I uh … hope you don't mind. .. I came round to …. Ah talk to … visit you …"

She tried to hide her delight in seeing him, but he saw the way her eyes lit up when they came into view of his. She looked away suddenly.

"I don't mind …." She said softly, self consciously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She walked past him and started to unlock her door.

"Can I come in for a coffee and a chat maybe?" he asked slowly, his heart drumming loudly.

Turning around slowly, she leaned against the door, looked up at him, and murmured, "I don't think that's a good idea Gris …"

He looked defeated, and she felt his energy drop as he signed reluctantly, and started to turn away.

The End …… Did she do the right thing?

A/N I know I was mean by leaving it hanging, but I wanted to see what you all think, I haven't decided what way to go with it yet? Any ideas?? Lou xx