Hi everyone, how are you all? So it's been I think four (maybe five) years since I posted last, where to even start with everything that's happened in between that time!

I was channel flicking the other day and 'Brain Doe' was on, filled with some delicious Sandle moments which have inspired this rambly, long one shot. I hope you all enjoy it. It feels great to be back!

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

Sucker Punch

"See what happens when you break pattern?"

"Let's go, we only have an hour and we have somewhere we need to be." Sara's voice cut through the the silence of the locker room while Greg searched for the sandwich he had made for their four am lunch break. She quirked an eyebrow at him indicating there was no time to faff about they needed to get out of there. Now. "My treat, to make up for earlier." She added as if the sweeten the deal and convince him to walk out of the lab with her. His mind went through a number of poor jokes about stranger danger and Mrs Robinson before he settled with just beaming at her muttering quietly, "I thought you'd never ask" before following her out into the bright morning light of the car park.

It was 'Brunch Day'. It was the one day of the week Sara had started to look forward to with as much excitement as a child going to meet Santa. It was their day. A tradition that had started out of nowhere when they had found a small cafe in what had seemed like a back of beyond. They had come back with stories about pancakes and pastries that had blown their minds and changed their lives. Despite preaching about maple syrup like a religion they had returned the next week just the two of them. Every Wednesday Greg would pick Sara up before their shift to go partake. They would drive in sleepy silence not having had their morning caffeine fix. The first few sips were the sweetest at their favourite table overlooking the car park so they could people watch.

That day Sara had cancelled having overslept and woken up feeling far too tired to move. Greg had accepted her apology but had pouted all day about the missed breakfast foods. She'd not had the heart to tell him that her bad mood had been rooted in an emotional conversation over a poor Skype connection with Grissom. They had talked about their plans to see each other next, the tension made worse by the robotic sound coming through the speakers. Neither one of them had been particularly good conversationalists that evening and when she'd hung up the phone Sara found herself unable to sleep. She replayed the things her husband had said and fixed her responses so they were sharper and got to the point better. No amount of rethinking changed the feeling she had at the pit of her stomach staring at the ceiling pretending to count sheep.

They climbed into her Denali glancing around at the people that might spot them leaving for lunch and suddenly remember that thing they needed to do or see. There was never time for a full break in the lab - every meal interrupted but someone needing help or to brainstorm. It amazed them how they had become so accustomed to eating with crime scene photos laid out on the break room table with them. It was morbid to say the least. They were in luck there was no one to drag them back under the false, fluorescent lights of the lab that day. Greg messed with the radio skipping after the opening bars of most songs with a callous disregard for whatever Sara wanted to listen to on the drive. She had more important things to worry about he reminded her when she protested his vetoes - they had an hour to get to there and back.

If Sara was honest with herself she'd missed her quiet evening routine with Greg. All of her human interaction had been limited to the lab these days. After returning to Vegas she had reconnected with the old friends in the office but it wasn't the same. When they were out for drinks or dinner someone would inevitably bring up the new piece of jewellery on her left hand. (Or yet more painful to handle ask her about the whereabouts of her husband.) It hadn't been long before she had fallen back into old habits and let work consume her. The next thing she knew almost five years had passed her by and nothing had changed. The time spent with Greg had become the entirety of her regular social calendar. She enjoyed it for what it was; he made her feel at ease and never asked her to justify her living arrangements.

They would joke about work, trashy daytime TV they were binge watching and reminisce about their early days in Sin City. They had once been so close. He had welcomed her with open arms when she had first returned but it had been awkward while they remained out of sync. The first time they'd had dinner together after all of those years they'd spent the first half hour almost in complete silence staring at their plates. Sara had wanted to ask about something more meaningful than how the lab had been while she'd been away but had drawn a blank. Greg had sensed her sadness and bit his tongue to stop himself asking about her marriage. She had appreciated his sensitivity on the topic - he had seen past of those things and just focused on her in that moment.

He had changed. She couldn't pretend she hadn't seen it. He no longer deferred to her for decisions in the field, confident in his own abilities to do the job. It was different working together as equals. They knew what they needed to be doing and without too much conversation would just get on with it sharing the occasional meaning glance. He looked different too. Long gone were the dorky band tees and bleached hair. The well fitted suits and matching ties were running the show now. She couldn't deny women would look at him when they were out with appreciative glances and the barmaids that would flirt with him when they went out for drinks. Sara struggled with feelings she couldn't identify on those nights.

They took their usual booth in the corner watching the other people in the cafe - the regulars they would normally see were not there at this time of day but atmosphere was almost exactly the same. There was a buzz in the air most likely caused by the sugar rushes of the patrons and the warm air circulating around the small eatery. Greg studied the menu in front of him with great detail though both knew that he would end up settling for the same thing he always ordered. (Stack of pancakes with everything.) "There you two are, Marie and I were wondering why you weren't in earlier…. weren't we?" The waitress was almost squealing with excitement glancing back at someone at the counter they assumed was Marie. "We were saying earlier, we haven't seen that nice couple that come in here every Wednesday."

She leant across the table filling their mugs with steaming (strong!) filter coffee as they registered her comments not knowing what to say. Greg gave Sara a quick look before glancing up at the waitress with the most sweet, chocolate-could-melt look smile he could muster. He was half expecting his friend to kick him in the shins under the table, luckily Sara kept her feet firmly over her side of the table fuelling Greg to go even further. "Someone overslept today." He jabbed, pointing at his companion in a cartoonishly obvious way. Sara opened her mouth aghast before throwing her head back to give a husky laugh that had always made Greg weak. "Well I'm glad you made it." The waitress commented with a knowing expression taking their orders. A strange quiet fell between them as they struggled for words after she had walked away.

"Twice in one day eh?" Greg couldn't stop himself the words escaping before he'd had time to censor the smugness in his voice. He was referring to their suspect at the gym they had visited; he couldn't deny it he had enjoyed being confused for Sara's other half. Amongst all of the everyday chaos he could pretend to be in an entire alternate reality where the world was upside down and Sara had chosen him. He also had quietly kept note of the fact that in both situations she had not corrected the mistake. There was hope a tiny, little voice in his head had screamed before he was pulled back to reality. There was still a chance that one day she might look at him and see more than just a friend. (More than that guy that had pined for her for almost fifteen years.) But his Sara never let anything slip. She would flirt with him, stay the night on his sofa after too much wine and then try to set up him with the random women they encountered. If she wanted more she had never made her move or indicated that it would be ok for him to do so either.

"It's something." Sara focused on the dark liquid in her coffee cup not ready to meet his eye or have the conversation they both knew they were going to be having. She knew there was only a point up to which Greg could be polite; over the years she had seen him lose his temper or make snide remarks when people had irritated him. His words more cutting than she was used to or had ever experienced. With all of the tension between them in that moment she imagined just how easily she could have been on the receiving end of that. He was being light and breezy while challenging the very foundations of her life. He was pushing her to acknowledge that he was very much there in body and mind while the man she spent her life waiting for was a thought somewhere in the distance. Greg was going to be downfall; she had sensed it from that first comfortable embrace. Of all the people she knew, he would be the one to unravel her.

"So Mrs Gregory Sanders, are you going to tell me why you cancelled before shift?" He kept his voice low leaning over the table slightly, placing his outstretched hand next hers as if too scared to actually touch her. Greg knew that something must have happened with Grissom otherwise Sara would have told him already what had put her in a bad enough mood to say no to a full veggie breakfast (hash browns and all). He wanted to offer her support but she already knew that he was there for her. He always was, always had been, always would be. She used him as an emotional fluffer for long enough to know that he would listen without any judgement. Greg resented the frustration he felt with her sometimes - he was taking it all far more personally than he should have done (and certainly Sara did).

"Grissom…" She took a sharp intake of breath, fiddling with her wedding ring and taking a sip of her coffee. She was waiting her time all to avoid admitting the truth. Verbalising her feelings would make it all so real. Weakness did not come naturally to her and in that sat in front of Greg, Sara felt everything like a weight on her shoulders. She knew she needed to talk to someone, to rationalise what she had been obsessing about by herself for all of this time. "We're just struggling to make our schedules work, that's all." She choked. She was disappointed in herself for not being honest with Greg. He offered nothing but a nod in response to her confession not knowing what the appropriate response was. You should leave him for me - didn't seem like the right thing to say during a lunch break to a married woman even if you're in love with her.

"Good thing you've got a back up, work husband isn't it?" He gave a goofy shrug, it was a lame joke. It had bitter undertones and sounded needier than he wanted it to. Greg wanted to say something profound and romantic but apart from Damn it Sara I'm in love with you nothing came to mind. Sara gave a small laugh and squeezed his hand, silently thanking him for not pushing it. It was a silent promise that at some point she would let him in. The conversation stopped there and they diverted topics, discussing the peculiar details of their case and the evidence they had gathered so far. They talked about which Real Housewife they were rooting for during the cat fights.

The food disappeared, the coffee had run dry and it was time to get back to work. They walked out into the heavy desert air, the bright light almost blinding them as they looked out at the large expanse in front of them. Greg paused to study Sara in all of her melancholic glory wanting more than anything to say the right thing, scratch that, the perfect sentence that would make her realise just how wild she drove him. She turned to face him with a small content sigh, in the hour they had spent together she had felt real, seen and valued. He watched her carefully but instead of saying they should get into the car she stepped closer to him until they were inches apart. Sara gave him a coy smile, tucking her hair behind her ear, straightening up so they were almost eye to eye.

Before Greg had a chance to process what was happening she kissed him. Sara Sidle actually kissed him. Her lips softly brushed against his, the taste of maple syrup enticing him to pull her closer. She nudged forward till they bodies were touching, leaning into him and deeping the kisses with no indicating she would pull away. Greg never wanted it to stop he wanted to stand outside of that cafe kissing Sara in the middle of nowhere forever. And from the way her fingers awkwardly tangled with his, he sensed she felt the same way. The sound of the door swinging open and slamming again forced her to pull away sheepishly watching the people pass them on the way to their car. Sara gave him a half smile and a shrug, "We wouldn't want to let Marie and Angie down would we?"

The End