Disclaimer: Don't own the main characters.
Summary: While Nick is healing from his ordeal from the season 5 finale and Catherine becomes the boss on the day shift team instead of going back to the night shift, a newcomer joins the team. And when an obsession gets to him, he will do anything to obtain it and hurt anybody who gets between it. What lengths will he go? Who is in danger? Please read and find out. Set after Season 5 finale.
Title: A Silent Obsession
Genre: Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: T
Spoilers: Mentions of episodes throughout the series (Seasons 1-5)
Time-line: At the end of Season 5 finale
Warnings: Implied/suggestive adult behavior, a little language
Main Parings: GSR
Minor Parings: Cath/Warrick, Greg/OC
Other Characters: Nick Stokes, a few OC's
A Silent Obsession
Chapter 1: I Love you
The team was standing in the hospital room visiting Nick when one of the nurses came into the room and told them that visiting hours were over. So one by one they all said goodbye and patted their friend/team member's shoulder before walking out of the room.
When it was Grissom's turn, Nick puts his hand on top of the older man's, looked into his blue eyes and said with emotion. "Thank you."
Grissom cleared his throat before replying. "It was a group effort."
Nick nodded. "I know, but it was you that kept me calm, you saved me, including our team, so thank you."
Grissom gave the younger man a small smile. "You're welcome, Nicky." Nick smiled at the nickname as Grissom continued. "Get some rest and take your time before coming back to work."
Nick nodded again. "I will. I'm actually thinking about going to Texas with my parents for a few weeks."
His parents were still in Vegas and weren't planning on going back to Texas for a few days, so when they do, Nick decided to go with them and visit the rest of his family.
Grissom gave him another nod with a smile before patting his shoulder again and walking to the door.
When he got there, he remembered what he lip-read when Nick was talking on the tape recorder, so the turned around and said. "Nicky?" Nick looked over toward the door as Grissom continued. "You have never let me down."
He looked shocked at first, then he remembered that Grissom was an avid lip-reader, so he nodded and said with his voice full of emotion again. "That means a lot to me, Griss."
After one more smile, Grissom finally walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Once the door clicked shut, Grissom looked both ways down the hall, and when he didn't see the team, he took a breath and ran his hand down his face, thankful that the ordeal ended the right way.
He shook off his weak emotions, took another breath before walking toward the exit of the hospital.
When he got outside the team was standing close to the bench's on the left so they were out-of-the-way from other people.
They looked at him and gave him a small smile as he gave them one back, and right as he stopped in front of them, Warrick said something about going to the bar to get a drink, Greg agreed, Catherine also agreed before looking at Grissom. "You want to join us?"
Grissom shook his head. "No thank you, I'll take a rain check."
She nodded, then looked at Sara, which she shook her head too. "I'll also take a rain check."
Catherine, Greg and Warrick all nodded, then after they said bye, they walked away, leaving Sara and Grissom alone.
A few seconds later, they looked at each other, then he cleared his throat and said. "Come on, I'll take you home." Sara nodded as they started walking toward the parking lot.
When they got to his vehicle, he opened the door for her, and as she gave him a small smile after she got in, he shuts the door before walking to the driver's side. After he gets in, he shuts the door, starts the vehicle, then drives them to her apartment.
The drive to was done in silence, and despite everything they just went through, their outward appearance showed that they were calm and collected, but deep down they were still reeling from everything that happened during the day.
About 10 minutes later he finally got to her apartment complex, and after he parked, he turned the engine off.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, then she turned her head toward him and asked. "You want to come up? I don't really want to be alone right now." He took a moment before nodding in acceptance, if he was honest with himself, he would admit he didn't want to be alone right now either.
When they were out of the vehicle, they walked to and in her apartment complex, then up to the second floor and down to the last apartment on the left.
After she unlocked the door, she walked in with Grissom following her.
He stopped after taking a few steps in the apartment, then when he turned to look at her as she was shutting the door, he had a flashback of a very significant moment, a moment that changed everything.
Flashback
1 month ago
Grissom walked down the hall and stopped in front of the last apartment on the left, then he took a breath and knocked.
After going home once shift was over, he tried multiple times of trying to fall asleep, but he couldn't, and knew the only way he was going to get any rest was to really make sure she was ok.
A few seconds later the door opens and he sees a shocked Sara standing in front of him. "Grissom, what are you doing here, shouldn't you be resting?"
He noticed her appearance didn't look like she had been recently resting either, but chose not to say anything about that, instead he just cleared his throat and asked. "Can I come in?"
She was still shocked that he was here, but nodded as she moved out-of-the-way to let him in.
After shutting the door, she turned to him and asked. "Would you like something to drink? I don't have much, but..."
He cuts her off. "A water would be fine, if it's alright."
She nodded as she walked to the refrigerator. "Go ahead and sit down."
He did what she said, sitting down on the right end of the couch.
When she came into the living room, she handed him the water bottle before sitting down in the chair next to the couch, and he couldn't help but think about the last time they were like this.
It was the day she told him about her childhood, which was a few months ago.
His thoughts were interrupted when she speaks again. "Are you ok?"
After taking a sip of his water, he looked at her and asked. "I should be asking you that."
Typical Sara move, she replied as she shook it off. "I'm fine."
He raised an eyebrow and asked. "Are you? because after everything that happened during shift..."
Sara cuts him off. "I'm fine, let's just forget about it and move on from it."
Grissom looked down and whispered under his breath. "I wish it was that simple."
"What did you say?"
He lifted his head up to look at her again and replied. "I said I wish it was that simple. I wish that I can just forget everything and move on."
She felt like there was more to his words, so she asked. "You're not only talking about the case, are you?"
He shook his head and gave out a humorless laugh before replying. "It would definitely make my life easier if all I thought about were the cases." She was about to open her mouth to talk, but he shook his head and continued in a rush, feeling he said too much. "I should go."
He gets up off the couch as he sets the water bottle down, she gets up from her chair and grabbed his hand before he went to far, then asked. "Why did you come here?"
He looked down at her hand as it was touching his before looking into her concern brown eyes. "To see if you were really alright."
"And now that you have?"
He gave her a small smile and replied. "I'll take a play from your playbook and move on."
After one more deep look at each other, he cleared his throat and released her hand, and as he was walking toward the door, she speaks again. "But like you said, it's not that simple for you, is it? Because when you walk out that door, no matter how much you want to deny it or bury it, that image and how you felt in that moment will still be with you." He turned around while she continued as she walked up to him. "I saw the look in your eyes when I was held hostage in that nurses office, what were you scared about?"
He cleared his throat and replied. "Your safety of course."
"I don't deny that, but there was more to that, wasn't there?"
Grissom's heart started pounding as he started. "I..." But he shook it off and said. "I have to go."
She took his hand again before he could leave and asked. "Tell me Griss."
He looked back at her and replied. "I can't." Before releasing her hand, and as he opened the door, he repeated. "I can't." Then stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
As Grissom stood there with his back toward her closed-door, he closed his eyes, trying to calm his speeding heart, not only because of her touch, but from her words too. Sara was right, there was so much more than feeling concerned about her safety, he just couldn't say it out loud.
What he told Sara about coming here to see if she was alright was the truth, but there was also something else he wanted to say, which he had promised himself as he was watching her in that nurses office that he would open his heart to her. But when he got here and saw her, the negative feelings that's been plaguing him since he could remember took over once again.
He opened his eyes as he sighed, then he shook his head and thinks to himself. 'I can't do this anymore, I promised myself that when she got out of that room I would be open with her from now on.' He took another breath before turning around and knocking on the door again.
A few seconds later the door opens again, and this time he saw a sadder looking Sara in front of him, but before he could dwell on that sight or before she could talk, he stepped into her apartment again and said. "I can't."
As Sara closed the door, she replied in a sadder tone. "You've already established that."
He shook his head as he turned toward her. "No I mean, I can't pretend anymore."
She looked at him wide-eyed as she asked. "Pretend?"
He walked up to her as both hearts were pounding, then he responded softly. "I can't pretend that when I see a hurt look on your face and in your eyes, that I don't care. When all I want to do is take you in my arms and hold you tight." A tear came down Sara's cheek as he continued. "And when I see a tear coming down your cheek I just want to wipe it away, tell you everything is going to be alright, that I'm here for you, and apologize for everything that I've done to hurt you."
As more tears came down her cheek, she replied. "What's stopping you now?"
He gives her a little smile, cups her cheek, and runs his thumb up and down to wipe her tears away. "Everything is going to be alright, I'm here for you now, I apologize for everything that I've done to hurt you." She gives him a smile as he continued. "And I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you." He took a moment before asking. "Sara, I'm I too late?"
As Sara looked into his blue eyes, he was showing a vulnerability she wasn't use to seeing, she could also see the truth in them. And she would be lying to him if she said he was too late because she's been waiting for this moment for years. She wished it happened sooner and she hadn't gone through that pain year after year, but there was no point in wishing something that can't be undone. The only thing they can do is move forward, and in this moment, she couldn't imagine moving forward without him.
So with that in mind, she shook her head and said. "You could never be too late."
He smiled a little bigger as he moved his head closer to her, but then he stopped before his lips touched hers, and whispered. "Can I kiss you?"
She chuckled and whispered right back. "I'll kill you if you don't."
He chuckled back before brining his lips to hers for a light kiss, but eventually it grew passionate for a few minutes because the feeling was just to strong to ignore anymore. When they pulled back breathlessly, he brings her in his arms and just holds her, and she wraps her arms around him and holds him too, both happy that they were finally starting something.
They realize they needed to talk more about what happens next and resolve a few things from the past, but they were content on just being in each other's arms right now.
End of Flashback
Grissom came back to the present when she asked. "Do you want something to drink?" He could see in her eyes that she was barely hanging onto her emotions, which they were both surprised she lasted this long. Not that she was the weak and weepy type, but somebody they cared about was in danger, and the feeling of finding him alive was still overwhelming that she had to let it out somehow.
He walked up to her, cups her cheek and said soothingly. "It's ok, Nick is going to be ok."
She shook her head as she replied. "I wasn't only worried about him, you could have died in that warehouse, hell we all could have died tonight."
He cups her other cheek before replying. "But we didn't, we are all ok."
She sniffled as she places the palm of her hand over his heart and kept it there for a few minutes while looking into his blue eyes, then she slid her hand up to his bearded cheek to cup it before running her thumb up and down it. "Because of you." He was about to shake his head, but she continued. "It's true, if you wouldn't have calmed him down, we wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't be touching you, or looking into your eyes, or saying..." She stopped as she looked down.
He wipes her tears away, then places his free hand on her chin to left her head up, and asking. "Saying what?"
She looked into his blue eyes again, then swallowed before finishing. "That I love you."
This was the first time in their relationship that the 'L' word was said out loud, it didn't mean it wasn't there since the beginning, or that they hadn't shown each other in little ways on how they felt, but there had been this fear of letting that word out. Now in the light of everything that happened, she couldn't hold back anymore, he needed to know exactly how she felt about him.
Her eyes started shinning as she saw his eyes get brighter, then he gave her that half-smile she loved before he said the words she's been dying to hear since she met him, especially this last month. "I love you too."
She smiled brightly as he wiped the remaining tears away, happy he finally said the words too.
After looking deeply into each other eyes, they leaned toward each other and let their lips touched.
They kissed softly before pulling back, and after another look into each other's eyes, they kissed again, only this time it was done with a little more passion.
AN: Hope you liked it. Want to find out more? Please Review.