Gil Grissom hated the annual LVPD charity ball. He hated mingling with the elite, he hated the pretentious decor, he hated not having a date. Catherine had gone with him in the past, but this year found her in Reno dutifully fulfilling filial obligations for Sam. Grissom gritted his teeth as he made his way to the layout room. Things had been pretty good between him and Sara recently; he prayed to god he wasn't about to ruin that.
Sara was bent over the table looking at phone records, a yellow highlighter poised, ready. She looked so beautiful, a strand of her auburn hair gingerly framing her high cheek bones. Grissom paused at the entrance, wearily taking in a breath. 'Now or never' he thought.
"Hey, Sara..."
"Oh, hey, Griss. Almost done with these, so far nothing significant," Sara smiled easily at him.
" Good...good. Um... do you have plans Friday night?" There, it was out. The hard part.
" No, if you need me to come in, but I'm not sure how much over time I have left..."
"Actually, uh... its the LVPD charity banquet and I have to go and Catherine is out of town and um, its formal, and I hate these things, a bunch of pompous officials who could care less about forensics, and I always leave early, but..."
Sara tried not to smirk at Grissom's nervous rambling, but DAMN he was so cute when he was flustered.
"But?"
"Well, you have the night off, and there is free food, and you could represent the night shift better than me, if , um...you'd like to go?" Gil hoped that the glint in Sara's eyes was interest and not hidden disdain.
"Sure," she was doing her best not to be a giddy school girl.
Gil exhaled the breath he didn't even know he had been holding. "Great, um, I'll pick you up at 7." He smiled back at her, before turning to hide in his office until his pulse returned to its normal 70.
The rest of the week had passed quickly, everyone was busy on cases, though none were career-makers-or-breakers. Sara had done her best not to get her hopes up, but the prospect of Gil Grissom in a tuxedo threatened her sanity. In the quiet moments between processing evidence she allowed her mind to wander, imagining his stark blue eyes staring at her, as he leaned against the bar, piercing her soul from across the room...
"Sara, you got a minute?"
"Dammit, Greg. Don't scare me like that!"
" Sorry, I thought you saw me...I walked by like twice, anyway could you help me on my B&E , I know that I'm missing something."
Sara sighed, glad that this would all be over after Friday night, most likely ending far from romantic. "Sure, Greggo." With that Sara stood up and turned her thoughts back to criminology.
Sara stood in front of her full length mirror, critically surveying her attire. The rouge dress hung flawlessly along her lean form, hugging her hips in only the way raw silk could. The hem fell just above the ankle, and her bar back proudly proclaimed her lack of a bra. Sara worried if her new dress wasn't formal enough, but the woman at the boutique assured her it was, and with the obscenely expensive stilettos she had on, she agreed that the out fit was stunning.
She glanced at the clock on her dresser. 6:52. Grissom would be here any minute. She fixed the hanging strands of hair, framing her face delicately, the rest of the her hair piled in curls on her crown. Sara was smoothing her cheeks, checking her blush, when there was a knock at the door. With a smirk, she turned and walked to the door, opening it to reveal a dashing night shift supervisor in a perfectly tailored tuxedo, and kind eyes drinking in the beauty before him.
" You look...ravishing." Gil forced out raggedly, then thrust a bouquet of lilies awkwardly at his date.
" Thanks, you look pretty good yourself," Sara blushed and accepted the flowers turning back into her apartment, and placing them in a vase.
Grissom took this as an invitation, and entered cautiously, watching her move around her kitchen effortlessly. He was rarely privy to this domestic scene and it enflamed all sorts of deeply repressed vision of Sara in his kitchen, doing things couples who live together do. He shook his head gently, returning his mind to the current scene, only to find Sara beaming at him with her radiant eyes smoldering with intrigue. Shifting his gaze, he cleared his throat. "Shall we," he asked gesturing towards the door.
Grissom's Lexus pulled up to the Bellagio, and valets opened the doors for them both. Grissom offered Sara his arm, which she gladly accepted and they made their way to the ballroom that housed innumerous cops and city officials. As they approached the reception line, Gil paused, and turned towards Sara. "Listen, in a minute I have to kiss ass to the counties higher ups and pretend to not be politically inept, so I um, I guess I wanted to apologize before hand if I'm a little out of sorts."
"Gil, don't worry about it. I loathe this as much as you," Sara said, rubbing his arm in a reassuring gesture.
Grissom's heartbeat jumped into his throat when she uttered 'Gil'. He did his best to suppress a growing smile, daring to ask, " Then why did you agree to come?"
For Sara the answer was simple. "Because you asked me to." They both beamed at each other for a split second in time, and then Gil ushered he into the ballroom, with a firmly placed hand on the small of her back.
The line of officials unfortunately include Conrad Ecklie, one of the mutual life banes of Grissom and Sara. As they approached him, at the end of the line, Gil worried what the weasel would do to ruin what was shaping up to be an immaculate evening.
" Evening Gil, CSI Sidle," Ecklie put on his smarmiest smile as he shook their hands, then leaning towards Gil added, " I hope you haven't left the night shift short staffed."
" Oh, don't worry Conrad, I have my pager and cell if anything comes up," Grissom artfully silenced the lab director and led his date further into the ballroom, grabbing two glasses of champagne as he passed a waiter. He handed Sara a drink and added ,raising his eyebrows, " Of course neither is on."
This comment earned him an approving smirk from Sara, and they walked towards the tables at the far end of the room, finding Doc Robbins and his wife, hiding from the bigwigs.
" Gil, Sara, may I introduce my wife, Millie," Doc Robbins said, arching a brow at Gil.
" Millie, nice to see you again."
" And you Gil, Sara, nice to meet you, Al says wonderful things about you."
Blushing, Sara returned the pleasantries and took the seat Grissom had pulled out for her. Soon meals were served, and the mayor welcomed all the assembled benefactors and law enforcement officials. Speeches followed which praised the city and spoke of the need for more charity efforts for children and the homeless. Grissom smirked at the political correctness and found Sara doing the same. The evening was going well, until Millie decided to indulge in her curiosity.
" Sara, so, have you and Gil been dating long? Al hasn't said a word about it."
The shit had hit the fan, or at least that's what the choking Grissom assumed. Sara, on the other hand had expected this to happen this evening and had a carefully crafted answer to deter interest on this line of questioning.
" Gil isn't that great at politics, so I'm here to 'represent the shift', and keep from doing any harm bureaucratically."
Gil and Doc Robbins could only gawk at the way Sara had defused the situations without really answering the question. Millie seemed satisfied and added, " Oh, Al hates these things too! I know he loves the dead because they aren't conversationalists", she laughed, raising her hands in a defeated gesture, " Men."
Sara ventured a look at Grissom who was smirking, impressed at the tact the beautiful woman to his right had hidden from him. He realized that it was going to take something HUGE to mess up this evening. Maybe they really were moving on and rebuilding their friendship.
After the silent auction was announced, the band began playing sappy songs, and Grissom began to get uncomfortable in his seat. He'd need another drink before asking Sara to dance. He stood, and inquired if anyone else desired something from the bar before he left the table. When he turned with his double bourbon he saw Sara fending off male advances left and right from their table. Doc and Mrs. Robbins were swooning in the crowd of couples, leaving Sara alone. Gil paused, watching the most beautiful woman in the room kindly decline the dance offers, with a sweet smile. The vision reminded him of song, and then he had a wonderful idea of how to show Sara just how he felt. He put the empty glass back down on the bar and strode over to stage to make a song request.
Sara began to wonder what was taking Gil so long, as she found herself surrounded by young policemen seeking her attention. She was running out of patience with her persistent suitors when she saw Grissom striding towards her, a determined, but sexy look on his face. If Sara didn't know better she would have thought he 'knew what to do about this'.
Grissom entered the cluster of men surrounding Sara, and extending his hand, asked " Would you care to dance?" He finished with a devilish smirk which completely undid her. Sara managed to control a gasp of surprise, but her cheeks betrayed her with a spreading blush. She took Grissom's hand as he led her to the dance floor, and pulled her close, just as a familiar song began to be played.
I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight
I've never seen you shine so bright, hm hm hm
I've never seen so many men
ask you if you wanted to dance
They're looking for a little romance
Given half a chance
They moved slowly together, the heat seeping between them was intense, but both basked happily and Gil moved his arm lower, resting it possessively on the small of her back, Sara found herself drawn closer to him. She rested her cheek against his, relishing in the delightful tickle of his beard against her soft skin.
And I have never seen that dress you're wearing
Or the highlights in your hair
That catch your eyes
I have been blind
The lady in red is dancing with me
Cheek to cheek
Grissom could only think of all the times he had ached to hold Sara this close, the feel of her lithe form pressed against his chest, her warm, tickling breath against his neck, it was the culmination of over a decade of fantasy that he had so long tried to suppress.
There's nobody here
It's just you and me
It's where I wanna be
Sara pulled her head back to gaze into to Grissom's eyes. He met her purse-lipped question with a gentle smile and nod. She snuggled back against him, his wide chest warming her heart. This song was for her.
But I hardly know this beauty by my side
I'll never forget the way you look tonight
The lyrics stirred something deep within Sara. She fought the thought that MAYBE, just maybe, Grissom really meant all the things the sultry voice crooned.
I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight
I've never seen you shine so bright you were amazing
I've never seen so many people
want to be there by your side
Grissom's breath hitched, as Sara slowly slid a hand up the expanse of his back, to cup the back of his neck. Her slender fingers gently stroked and toyed with his curls. He let out his breath, shakily, in ecstasy with the woman in his embrace.
And when you turned to me and smiled
it took my breath away
And I have never had such a feeling such a feeling
Of complete and utter love, as I do tonight
He prayed that she understood his feelings, mirrored perfectly by the songwriter, speaking the volumes that he could never articulate to her, for she always stole his breath.
The lady in red is dancing with me
Cheek to cheek
There's nobody here
It's just you and me
It's where I wanna be
Sara didn't know if she had ever felt this close to anyone before, as long as the band kept playing, and she was pressed up against the man of her dreams, her life made sense.
But I hardly know this beauty by my side
I'll never forget the way you look tonight
I never will forget the way you look tonight
The lady in red
The lady in red
The lady in red
My Lady in red
I love you...
The song ended and they moved apart reluctantly, both feeling the chill on their skin after drinking each other's warmth. They gazed dreamily into each other's eyes, but their contact was broken by Ecklie's piercing voice making an announcement closing the silent auction. Gil nodded and gestured for Sara to return to their table, where they found a smirking Doc and Mrs. Robbins. Sara turned towards Gil, a nervous smile appearing on her porcelain face. His laughing eyes returned her unease, and, placing a hand on Sara's bare back, ventured, " Well, it was lovely seeing you again Millie, Al. But we're going to head out. I'll see you at the morgue, Al." With that Grissom led Sara away from the table, and towards the doors at the far end of the ballroom.
Once through the door Grissom sought Sara's hand and the walked together, joined. When they emerged into the chilled Vegas night, he broke their bond to remove his coat, and drape it gently over Sara's shoulders. She looked into his face, seeking out his azure eyes, expressing her love for his gentlemanly manners with one of her stellar, wide smiles. Gil's heart lurched at that, and he wondered how he had ever convinced himself that he did need this woman in his life. He helped her into his Lexus when the valet had brought it around.
The ride back to Sara's apartment was silent, but not the awkward silence of two people unsure of their future. It was the silence of two people completely content in each other's company. They stole chaste glances at each other, not embarrassed when the other caught them. The ride was all too short, in both their opinions, and Grissom hopped out of the car and rushed to Sara's door, opening it and offering her an arm. She took it, even though the step down wasn't steep, she relished the fact that Grissom was letting her touch him, letting her be close to him. He led her to her apartment and they stopped outside her door. Sara turned after unlocking the door, boldly looking into Grissom's face, a phantom fear that she might see something other than love in his eyes. Her worries were for naught, because Gil had finally submitted to the truth. He needed her. His eyes spoke the words that he could not, and staring into the pools of his soul, Sara knew that he would not turn away this time.
Sara pursed her lips, half in anticipation, half in nervousness. Gil was surprisingly the one to break the deafening silence between their closing gap. "Sara, I ...had a wonderful evening, may I, um...may I kiss you."
"Gil, you should know you never have to ask," Sara smirked seductively at his boyish awkwardness. With that he descended upon her lips, gently, but with a fervor that intoned of his greater passion. Sara reveled in the contrast of his soft supple lips against hers, and the coarseness of his endearing scruff. The kiss was brief, but monumental for the two socially graceless scientists. It was the beginning of a long coming dream for them both.
"Goodnight, Sara."
"Goodnight, Gil."