A/N: A friend dared me to write this, but I'm actually starting to like the idea, so I hope you all like it too. I would have loved if Grissom had proposed to Sara this way.
"Alright guys, assignments." Gil Grissom said to the team as he entered the break room.
"You're on time tonight, congratulations." Catherine Willows smiled and Grissom shot her a look
"Anything good?" Sara Sidle asked, not looking up from the magazine she was reading
"Yes there is Sara, and he's right here." Greg Sanders smiled coyly at her, gesturing to himself
"Dream on G, can't you see she's got a man?" Nick Stoked chuckled
"Cite your source!" Sara said quickly
"It's sort of obvious Sar, I mean you've been happier, calmer…" Warrick Brown started
"And, I actually think I saw you take a day off last week." Greg pretended pass out at Catherine's comment
"You guys all need to butt out of my personal life." Sara snapped
"Everyone calm down." Grissom raised his voice to speak over them "We need to get to work." Everyone nodded and muttered to themselves "Okay, B&E for Warrick and Nick at a house on Marksmith drive. There's a 419 in Henderson, Catherine take Greg, Brass is meeting you there." He handed out the assignment slips "And Sara, can I see you in my office." Catherine shot her a sympathetic look as she followed Grissom out of the room
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"Sara, we've talked before about losing your temper at work." Grissom started as soon as they entered his office
"I know Gris, but, they know I'm involved with someone." She looked at the floor as she spoke "and it doesn't take a trained investigator to see that you and I get along better these days."
"Hmm." He looked thoughtful "I guess you're right. But you do need to learn to hold your tongue in situations like these."
"I know. I apologize." She said "but, how long do you think it'll take them to guess about us."
"If we work hard to hide what's going on, maybe they never will."
"Grissom, we've been working hard for the past two years, and they guessed." She pointed out
"Point taken." He ran a hand through his hair "We could…"
"Tell them!?" she sounded shocked, but though the situation over quickly "I don't know if I'm ready just yet, but I agree."
"So, we wait a while, and then tell them?"
"I think it's come down to that." She sighed "should we tell them as a group or separately?"
"Let's just wait until the time is right and see how we feel then."
"Okay." She moved slightly closer to him
"Are you saying all this just to please me?" he asked, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes
"Grissom, if I wanted to please you, I'd get you an entomology textbook." She laughed softly, and he couldn't help but remark how much more relaxed she looked.
"You know me all too well, my dear." She smiled
"I do, and as much as I'd love to stay here all night, we need to get back to work." She had moved subtly closer during the conversation, and now was only inches from his face.
"You have a case?" Grissom struggled to control his voice and Sara smiled
"Yes. And you'd better not let anyone hear your voice like that, 'cause then we wouldn't need to tell them, they'd know." She laughed again
"Nobody but you could get this reaction from me." he replied. Sara quickly closed the gap between them and kissed him. He was just deepening it when she pulled away.
"We're going to get caught." She whispered, eyes sparkling
"True." He said "And I'm not sure that Ecklie would be as forgiving as our team." She winked at him and closed the office door behind her.
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Four hours later, everyone got together in the break room to discuss their cases.
"Our B&E ended up being a bust." Nick reported, and Warrick nodded in agreement.
"What happened?" Catherine asked
"The teenage son faked the break in."
"Did he have a reason, or was he just pissed off at his parents?" Sara said
"He said that they didn't let him go to the hottest party of the year, so he decided to steal the computer."
"Weird." Catherine commented
"Are they pressing charges?" Grissom asked
"No, but I don't think he's going to be in their good books until he's thirty." Warrick laughed
"How about you and Greg?" Grissom turned to Catherine
"It was a huge scene, and we didn't know where to start at first. We have tons of evidence to sort through." She sounded less than enthusiastic at the though of the task ahead
"Well, I closed my case, and after I finfish some paperwork on it, I can help you." Sara offered
"Thanks, we need it." Catherine sounded grateful
"Anything else?" Grissom said
"No."
"Okay then, lets' get back to it."
"Wait a minute." Warrick said as Grissom stood up "What've you been doing all night boss man?"
"Evaluations and case paperwork." Sara chuckled "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, I just remember telling you to complete the paperwork as soon as you finish the case, so you don't have to spend a whole shift sifting through evidence and notes because you can't remember the details."
"Well, I apologize for my shortcomings as a paper pusher." He replied "Any more criticism about my work techniques?" everyone but Sara shook their heads "Good. Now, back to work." Grissom left, and Sara followed shortly after.
"Okay, now what was that about?" Greg asked as soon as they had both left
"I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen either of them joke around like that." Catherine pointed out
"Well, if I had been relaxing in the lab all shift, I'd be in a pretty good mood too." Greg said
"Agreed, but Sara and Grissom?" Nick replied
"I guess they like to have fun that doesn't involve work sometimes." Warrick said
"Maybe." Nick muttered
"Come on, we won't get anything done if we sit around here gossiping all night." Catherine stood up and paused at the door "Keep an eye on those two. I can't help but think that there's something we're missing." And with that, she left
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There was one hour left before her shift ended, and Sara had just finished all the paperwork pertaining to her case. She found Catherine in the garage looking thoughtfully at a beat up red Buick.
"Nice car." Sara said sarcastically
"Hey." Catherine turned around to face the brunette "They thought that if they wrecked and torched the car, then we couldn't collect anything from it. You want to help me process this wreck?"
"Why not." Sara pulled a blue jumpsuit on over her clothes "where do you want me to start?"
"Truthfully?" Catherine eyed the twisted metal "I don't know. I was hoping you'd have some suggestions."
"Well," Sara walked slowly around the whole car "We could divide and conquer, or do it together."
"I vote for the first one. Do you want the front or the back?"
"The best stuff is always in the back seat and the trunk." She replied
"I'll take the front seat then." Catherine said as they started working
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Shift had ended two hours earlier, and Grissom still couldn't find Sara. He was sure that she hadn't gone home, because her car was still in the parking lot. He was walking past the garage when he heard a familiar laugh. He stepped back, and saw her showing Catherine a stain on the back seat.
"See," she was saying "I told you there would be semen back here. You owe me five bucks."
"Why did I bet on it!?" Catherine asked
"because I tricked you in to thinking you were right." Sara smiled and Grissom's heart skipped a beat
"You're evil." Catherine shot back
"And I'm five dollars richer." Catherine was just about to say something when Grissom cleared his throat
"Hey, Grissom." Sara said
"How long have you been standing there?" Catherine asked
"Long enough." He answered, winking at Sara
"So you heard that I won five bucks." Sara smiled slyly at Catherine, who shot her a mocking glare.
"I did. Are you two just about done?"
"Almost. We just need to collect a few more things we found." Catherine replied
"Good. The sheriff is really enforcing the overtime thing. And, unless I'm mistaken, this case wasn't approved for overtime."
"It wasn't. we're almost finished." Sara answered for both of them
"Fine. Just please try to be out of here at a respectable hour." he turned and left as he finished speaking.
"What's eating him?" Catherine asked as soon as he was out of earshot
"What do you mean?"
"He's never asked us to leave before, I wonder what's up?"
"Oh, he's just been getting a lot of pressure from the sheriff lately to cut down on the overtime." She didn't look up as she spoke, but when Catherine didn't say anything, Sara looked at her quizzically. As soon as she saw Catherine's face, she realized that she had said something that Grissom had told her late one night. Catherine must be wondering why Grissom told me and not hershe thought
"Um…I was passing his office and I heard the sheriff talking to him, he was pretty worked up about it." Sara said, thinking fast
"Oh, that explains it." Catherine seemed satisfied, but Sara wasn't sure what was going on in her head. She made a mental note to watch what she said.
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When Sara got to the townhouse she and Grissom shared, he was already asleep. She was anxious to tell him about her slip up with Catherine, but didn't want to wake him. So, with a sigh, she climbed in to bed beside him and tried to sleep. It didn't come to her for a while, leaving her time to think about revealing their secret. She wondered if everyone would be angry with them for hiding their relationship for so long. They had just needed time to adjust, and make sure that they would stay together. Sara still wasn't sure if they could handle the questions that were sure to come with their news. She sighed and pressed her back against Grissom's. She was worried about what they were going to say, when they were going to say it, and how everybody would react. She knew that nobody would hold a grudge for too long against them, except Ecklie. She took in a sharp breath. Ecklie hated her enough as it was, and if he heard about her and Grissom, he would use it to his advantage and fire her. She rolled over and let a out a frustrated sigh.
"What's wrong?" she jumped at the sound of Grissom's voice
"I didn't know you were awake." She turned to face him
"I don't think anybody could sleep with all that moving around." He joked
"Sorry."
"Don't be. So what's the matter?"
"I'm worried." She confessed
"About telling them?"
"Yeah. Do you think they'll be mad at us?"
"I wouldn't worry about it Sara." He squeezed her hand
"Our team is my family Grissom, I can't lose their trust."
"You won't, they'll be fine." He tried to reassure her, but it wasn't working
"What about Ecklie?" she whispered
"What about him?"
"You're clueless sometimes. You don't think that he'll use this to his advantage?"
"Use wh…" he trailed off, realization flashing across his eyes "Oh."
"Yeah. What if he finds out Grissom? My work is a huge part of who I am. If I can't do that, then…" her voice got softer until it was inaudible
"Sara, you won't lose your job over this." He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly "He can't do that."
"If he makes it about the good of the lab, then he can." She protested "And if I know anything about him, it's that he will try this."
"If I know you, you won't let him get away with anything without one hell of a fight." He rubbed her back in small circles
"Of course I'll fight Grissom, but he is the assistant lab director. He has seniority." She pointed out
"Yes he does, but he's too much of a sissy to stay in a fight with you for long. And to fire a CSI, he has to discuss it with the sheriff, who is impressed with your solve rate and commitment, and I think he's a little bit scared of you." She smiled
"Well, he's stuck in that office of his all day, so I wouldn't expect him to be used to anyone with an opinion." Grissom chuckled softly
"There, you see, everything will be fine." She smiled and closed her eyes
"Night, Gil."
"Goodnight Sara."
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The next morning, Sara left for work before Grissom. She and Catherine had just finish processing the car, and they were planning on going over the rest of the evidence that Greg hadn't gotten around to. She walked in to the break room for coffee, and realized that Grissom was handing out assignments. Leaning against the counter with her mug, she listened, grinning when she heard that Nick and Warrick got a decomp.
"Aw, Gris, why can't you give it to Sanders?" Warrick protested
"You're a grown man Warrick, stop whining." Grissom handed the assignment slip to Nick "Greg already has a task." He turned around and came face to face with Sara "Hey. Can I talk to you for a second?" she nodded "Alone." Nick and Warrick exchanged an amused look as Sara followed Grissom to his office.
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"Alright, what's going on." She asked as soon as they had reached his office "Having me here alone once a day is a little much."
"I'm sorry Sara, It won't continue." She nodded "I gave Greg a new case, so you and Catherine are going to handle the DB."
"You needed to see me alone to tell me that!?" she asked, arching her eyebrows
"I'm not finished. Remember that cocoon I sent you?"
"Yeah."
"I think it's time for you to open it."
"Isn't there something inside?" she sounded disappointed
"If there is, it's dead by now Sara. I'm sorry." He rested his hand on her back for a moment
"That's alright. If I open it, and there is something inside, do you think I'll be able to see what it looks like?" her eyes were shining with hope
"Maybe." He smiled "Try it." She picked up the cocoon and brought it over to Grissom
"How do you unwind these things without wrecking them?" he took her hands in his and guided her slowly until she got the hang of it. They finished undoing it, and a small ball of paper dropped onto the floor.
"That's odd." She muttered to herself, setting the cocoon aside and picking up the paper. She slowly unwrapped it and found a ring inside. On the paper were a few words:
I love you Sara Sidle
Marry Me?
Tears came to her eyes and she turned to him.
"Grissom, I…you…wow" she was at a loss for words for a few moments "Yes."
"You'll marry me?"
"Of course." She flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around him in a fierce embrace. Her lips met his, and at that moment, neither one cared who saw.
"You see?" he said, smiling "I told you you'd be surprised."
A/N: There we are, chapter one. Should I continue with their wedding or leave it as it is? Only reviews will tell, so please tell me what you think. For anyone who's wondering, chapter 27 of Coming Back is coming soon. This thing just wrote itself, so I had to post it.