A/N: I promised myself that I wouldn't write anything like this. I wanted to save these types of scenes for when I hit this point in my Grissom and Sara epic adventure. But, here it is. This is what I get for listening to my iPod too much. I heard "Bliss (I Don't Wanna Know)" by Hinder, and this little idea jumped into my head and wouldn't leave. It's short, it's angsty …I hope you like it.
Thanks for reading and reviewing!
I don't own CSI. WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR 807 AND 808.
Smile
Grissom sat down on his bed to take off his shoes. After working yet another double, he was exhausted. That was the way he wanted to be – so tired that he'd be asleep as soon as he fell into bed.
He dropped his shoes to the floor and looked down. His eyes fell on the picture on his nightstand and he sighed. He stared at him and Sara, grinning like fools, captured forever in a four-by-six frame. He picked the picture up and studied it for a moment, marveling at the fact that it had been an entire month since he had kissed the love of his life.
He smiled slightly as he thought of the day the picture – a cropped version of the picture on their mantle – had been taken. Catherine had invited the entire team over for dinner. Lindsey, who had recently received a new digital camera, had insisted on taking a picture of her mom and the team. They had posed themselves in front of Catherine's fireplace, laughing as their photographer told them to squeeze closer and closer together. The end result was a rare picture of the team. No one looked stressed or harried; no one appeared to be on the verge of running somewhere to check on something. They all were laughing, clearly happy to be together.
Sara, who was standing just in front of Grissom, ended up with her back pressed tightly against his front. Although Catherine and Greg were beside Sara, and Nick and Warrick stood on either side of Grissom, in the version of the picture that Sara had created from the original that Lindsey had emailed her, only Grissom and Sara stood together, the picture of happiness.
Grissom studied her smile, smiling along with her. For some reason, she always had that affect on him; he couldn't help but smile when she did.
His smile slowly faded from his face as cold fear took hold of him. When was the last time he had seen her smile?
He drew a mental blank.
Far easier to answer was the last time he had seen her: when she kissed him at the lab just before walking out of his life. But, she hadn't been smiling then. In fact, the look of her face had sent chills through him.
He thought back … and back … and back.
He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her smile.
And that made him want to cry.
The phone rang, shaking him out of his thoughts. He picked it up automatically.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Sara!" Grissom exclaimed. "How are you, sweetheart?"
"I'm … okay," she said slowly. "You?"
"Okay, I guess," he said. "I miss you," he added quietly.
"Yeah," she sighed. "I miss you, too." She swallowed. "God, Gil, it is so hard being away from you."
"I know," he whispered. "But, it's only for now, right?"
"Right," she said, sounding a bit stronger. "Only for now."
"Are you still with your mom?"
"Yeah. I'm … I'm learning a lot about her."
"That's good."
"Yeah. It's … it's not been pretty, but … it's what I needed to hear."
"Do you want to …?"
"Not yet," Sara said, cutting him off. "I just … I just want to hear your voice now. We can talk about everything later."
"Okay." He looked down at the picture again. "Sara, may I ask you something?"
"Of course."
He drew a deep breath. "When was the last time that you smiled?"
She paused. "What?"
"I know, it's stupid. It's just … I'm sitting here, looking at this picture of us at Catherine's, and you've got the biggest smile on your face, and … I don't remember the last time I saw you smile."
Sara was quiet for so long that he thought that she had hung up.
"Sara? Honey?"
"I'm here," she said, her voice a bit wobbly. "I … Gil, I don't remember the last time I smiled."
"Okay," he said quietly. "Okay."
"That's why I had to do this," she said, her voice choked with the tears that he knew were falling. "I had to go away so that I could …"
"Remember how to smile," he said softly.
"Yeah." She drew a deep breath, trying to calm down. "You make me so happy, Gil. Happier than I've ever been in my life. But … if even you couldn't make me smile … I had to get out."
"I understand."
"Do you?"
"I do." He paused. "Even though I miss you every moment of every day, I … I want you to be happy, Sara. If spending time in San Francisco will do that for you, then take all the time you need. I'll be here when you're ready to come home."
"I will be back," she said, sounding stronger than she had during their entire conversation. "I'll come home to you, Gil."
"I know you will."
She sighed. "I should go."
"Okay. I love you, honey."
"I love you, too."
"Good night."
"Good night."
Grissom started to put the phone down, only to hear his name being screeched from it.
"Gil! Wait! Grissom!"
"I'm here!" he exclaimed, yanking the phone back up to his ear. "What's wrong?"
"I remember," she said, truly sobbing now.
"You remember what?"
"The last time I smiled was when you asked me to marry you."
Even though his heart was breaking at the sound of her tears, a warm contentment spread through him at her words. "Oh, honey."
"I told you that you make me happy."
"You make me happy, too."
"I'll be home soon."
"Sara … take your time. I don't want you back here without your smile."
"I know," she sighed. "Good night, Gil."
"Good night."
Four months later
Grissom stood in the baggage claim area of McCarran, more nervous than he could remember being in ages. He shoved his hands in his pockets to hide their shaking, wishing that there was a way to make the nerves leave him completely.
Then, there was. Just seeing her from afar was enough to calm him. He started toward her with a grin.
She scanned the crowd with her eyes until she found him. Abandoning all decorum, Sara ran across the room and jumped into his open arms. Grissom crushed her against him, kissing her hair as she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Oh, God, Sara, I've missed you," he sighed.
"I've missed you, too," came her muffled reply
She finally pulled back to look at him, and he saw it for the first time in over six months.
A beaming, gap-toothed smile.
Fin