The confession

The door creaked from behind me, I managed to pull myself away from the tiny thread under the microscope my eyes watering in their relief "Sofia?" I watched her look outside again before stepping in.

"Hey…" her voice was casual, relaxed, maybe tired.

"What's up? " I sensed something wasn't right though her reply was some what unexpected.

"I was just on my way out… actually, but I turned back remembering Grissom…" I looked away at the mention of his name and she paused, looking at the new evidence in front of me before continuing "…he told me you would be here till late. In fact what he said was, if you are looking for Sara you know where to find her, I suggest after hours though, when it's quiet!" I watched her hands fall from her hips, defences breaking all the while mine building.

"Why when it's quiet?" I asked her as she approached me. She lent on my desk lowering her cleavage in my direction, my eye's swiftly moving up to meet her gaze.

"I wanted to ask you something…" She paused taking a closer look at the evidence I'd been processing "…Brooks?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I found a tiny fibre caught in the latch of the glove box of his car. I was just trying to match it to the victim."

"Any luck?"

"No, not yet…" I shrugged it off "…so, what did you want to ask me about?" I brought her back to subject at hand, and very nicely done if I do say so myself.

She must have seen my inward smile and she took a moment. The moment lasted longer than I had predicted, her eyes looked back out the window and then she found the stool across from me, the one that was simply waiting to be sat on. I was about to ask her again, I didn't like all the pausing between conversation and of course I had work to do. My mouth opened to speak…

"Sara, I have a confession to make."

She beat me to it. I shook my head at her… all I could think was that this was an apology about her and Grissom.

"I didn't expect to get involved with…" she shook her head to start again "To be honest I tried to ignore it but I think that it only added to the tension, which I realise you felt the brunt of and I'm sorry for that"

"Sofia, you should know that Grissom knocked me back more than once, what he does in his personal time really is none of my business!" I spat back the fury of many weeks of watching her flirt her way around him.

"Wait, no… listen…"

"Please, don't!" I said pulling back and placing my eyes back on the microscope.

There was an awkward silence… "I'm sorry." Sofia told me, I pretended not to hear it, kept my eye's down and before I knew it Sofia was standing and heading for the door.

"Do you love him?" I asked her just in time for her to turn back.

She looked to the floor "No, I don't" it was almost like an answer to another question I hadn't asked her "I was never interested in him in that way." She added.

I looked up searching her face for something honest, I was confused, this wasn't a confession. The lights flicked though the blinds from outside capturing her eyes "In what way was you NOT interested? You two were doing breakfast lunch and dinner and I'm sure you found something other than food to satisfy your appetites!!" I said in spit of what she'd said, and what I saw in her.

"We went out for dinner ONCE!" She had moved back into the room and was now standing above me. "I don't care about Gil Sara, I can see why you might think that but I don't not in that way!" She was moving closer to me, so close I could feel her breath against my face tickling my skin.

"Don't act like I need your sympathy, and don't lie to me about Gil, the least you can do is be honest with me!" I evened the score, turning away as she pulled back slightly.

"I don't" she defended quite bluntly.

"Oh please!" I snapped.

"It's the truth!"

I looked up again "The truth?" Still no confession…

"You really wonna know? You want to know who it is? It's not Gil Grissom that makes me hang around hours after a case is closed, he's not the one who I starve for, the one who I feel standing next to me before they've even walked into the room!" Her mouth opened her tongue wetting her lips. She holds me, still in a moment that felt like forever I wait for her to finish and she then she does "It's you Sarah, It's all about you!"

I swallowed hard, was this right, did I hear that correctly? "He said that?"

Sofia shook her head and winced "Who Grissom? No, I'm saying it!"

"Wait, what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm not interested in Grissom, he was under the same impression but I never was! That night he and I went out for dinner all we did was talk. I told him something about myself that I really hadn't considered telling anyone Sara, I thought it might help him to see why I might've unintentionally led him on. And then he told me to talk to you about it, he said you would understand! I admit at first I was confused, but I thought about it. I spent my nights off jogging just to help me sleep and if that didn't work I resulted to drinking, and I realised, he'd figured it out Sara, he knew."

"Knew what?" I asked quickly. I watched her arms fold, a hand to her chin.

"That I have no interest in anyone else, no one but you"

I gripped the stool with both hands careful not to fall off, I was stunned but not for what she had confessed but that I had not figured it out myself. Suddenly it all made sense, I realised what it was; The act we played, the tension, the fighting, bitching, back stabbing, and tallying points. And the touching...

"I don't know if I'm right about you Sara, but either way I am so tired of this 'THING' between us! I'm sorry that I got inbetween you and Grissom I really am" There was a silence, but I never looked away from her. If I was going to say it, this was the moment to do it, no turning back. "Say something!" she pleaded.

"He suggested you talk to me?" I asked her, wanting to move but not.

"I assume he wanted me to explain how I felt to you, you being the one I…"

"Wait until I see him, god I'm going to kill him." I was laughing through my fury. I guess the humour in it had started to set in. Sofia looked confused "He knows!" I explained.

"About me, yeah..."

"About me and how I feel." I cut her off sharply.

"About him, yeah he does."

"No I mean about you…" Sofia was right, she was right all along. I smiled, now seeing how lost she looked, how reaction far from the Sofia I knew.

"Excuse me?" she asked, a smile beginning to form with the intent of not letting it show.

"I was dating this girl called Kim at the time I moved to Vegas. He and I just played it for a while, Grissom that is. Because he knew it brought suspicion in the lab and I wanted it to stay a secret. People like to talk, I don't like to talk!"

"I was right?" she pointed and smiled.

I paused before answering… "You were right! I kind of owe Grissom one for helping me cover it up for so long, though of course, now that he has figured you out and sent you to me… I do believe he and I are even!"

"This whole time I've been jealous, I though you and Gil were like, destined. When Gil told me that I should talk to you I knew there was something more but how the hell did I not see it for so long? I swear I had not believed it until, I guess until today!"

"I know. I'm gonna kill a bug or two!"

"So can I ask you a personal question?

I smiled, suddenly shy to her attention. "I don't see why not"

"You don't you know, have a thing for Gil then?"

"No!" I shook the thought off. "No, I admit he and I have a connection but it's not a sexual one."

Sofia stepped closer to me "Can I ask you another question?

I laughed now, this was a cute game except I was becoming the subject of it "Shoot!"

"Wonna take a break with me?"

I watched her eyebrow's waver and I nodded "absolutely…" looking away absently at some random papers next to the microscope just to tease her.

"Sara?" Sofia called from the doorway in an alluring voice.

"Yeah!" I smiled and pulled myself away from my work "I'm right behind you!"