Measuring Minds

DISCLAIMER: I do not own CSI or any of its characters.

AN: This is my first attempt on CSI fanfiction. My writing might be some kind of confusing as this story deals a lot with inner thoughts and flashbacks. Furthermore, English ist not my first language, but I do my best.

GSR centered. First chapter of four.

SUMMARY: This just isn't Sara's day. Coming back from vacation she finds a note that doesn't sound too good. Everything that can go wrong goes wrong. And then there's this everlasting Grissom-problem. What to do about it?

chapter 1

The words whirred in her mind. She looked away, trying to find the right answer. Slightly she smiled, quirking her lips softly as she used to when she had to come upon her innermost. Leaning her head to the left, she hesistantly bent forward. What to say, Sara?

- - - - - -

Clutching the door-handle she stood in front of the office. The note couldn't have meant anything good. At all.

Sidle", he's gonna say. As usual. "Sidle, you blew it."
A shiver ran down her back. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
Confidence. Confidence. It cannot be THAT bad.

She withdrew her hand. Wasn't there anything else to do, anything... very very urgent? She took a step back, sure there must be something. So better go! One step back, one more.

Another step back and she felt a hard clash.Glass clinked.
Another deep breath.
She slowly turned around and saw directly into Greg's reproachful eyes. He held an empty wooden box with inlays for test tubes in his left hand.

"Sara what was that? You cannot simply...you know there are people working here! Not everyone is just taking a week to go on holiday. Seriously. What's up with you?"

Sara shook her head. Sara, what was that?

"I'm sorry, Greg, honestly. I just didn't see you coming"

"How could you, walking backwards?"

She felt like a little schoolgirl. Embarrasing.

"You're lucky this was clear material, no evidence". Greg was in rage.

She looked down at his smock. It looked as if Greg had been stuck in a tanning shower for too long. Full of little brown dashes. She had to supress a smile. He looked nearly cute, crestfallen as he was.

"Gosh, I'm gonna call the janitor. And would you mind stepping out of the puddle, please?"

Sara's shoes were sopping wet. What a great day! Greg rushed away, waving his hands around in anger and swearing some words she better ignored. She took a look around. No one noticed her unpleasant situation. So it could have been worse, she told herself. Turning down her head, she took to her heels towards the lunch room.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. Greg stood behind her, approaching her.

"If Grissom asked... it wasn't me! Please, I've had enough trouble last week. And this week wasn't the best neither, it seems. He's been quite moody lately. Everyone was so stressed by him, no one knows what's going on", he whispered in her ear. "So please, don't tell him, okay?"

"Sure" Sara said with a nod.

"Thanks!"

He gave her a buddy-like clap on the shoulder and dashed away. Greg's sentiment had changed immediately. That was him. Like a young boy, usually his strength couldn't be broken easily. But Sara's focus changed abruptly.What might have happened to Grissom? He was in a bad mood? Why?
Maybe it's because he missed me. Sara rolled her brown eyes and shook her head. She wished he had missed her, sure. But did he? He had given her reason enough to know he didn't give too much for closeness with her, not even for her presence.

- - - - - - - - -

"I'm really busy Sara. If it's about the case, please discuss it with Nick."

Grissom rampaged through his room, a file stuck under his arm. She couldn't beare to see him like that. He was working far too much. If only work wasn't the only important thing in his life... It didn't only make her depressed but also slightly angry. Why can't he just open his eyes and see... me?

"It's not about work..."

Sara tried to swallow the last word as Grissom suddenly turned around and looked at her with a look she knew too well. Every approach of talking about private things had always ended up in a disaster for both of them. His eyes could tell right now.
She gave him a smitten smile. Once again, the little schoolgirl.He sighed and sat down in his office chair. Leaning his elbows on the desk he took a deep breath.

"Sara, see. This is not the right time for talking this over, I'm..."

"No, no!"

She interrupted him promptly. She approached the desk. He looked at her, knitting his brows. She quietly put the written application onto his desk.

"What's that?"

"That's my vacation" she answered drily.

"Oh. Okay." He seemed to be surprised. That's... good. Sara. Really good. You need some time off."

She kept silent. Sure he was happy she wouldn't be around for some days, whatever.

"Just leave it here. I'll sign it as soon as I've found my glasses. They must be somewhere. And I need to see Doc Robbins for this robbery victim. I'm sorry!"

With a straight gesture he unmistakably asked her to leave. What else...She turned around in a mixture of sadness and aggression. Having reached the dooframe she stopped. She couldn't leave him in his chaos, even though she maybe should have. She turned towards him.

"Oh Grissom! Your glasses. On your head!".

He looked stunned and fumbled in his hair as if he could not see. He looked up to her.

"Thanks Sara!"

"Sure!" „Sweetie". She smiled at him, she couldn't really ever be mad at him. She just couln't help it.

"Sure" was her last word and she went off.

His eyes lasted on the place underneath the doorframe for what must have been eternity. Holding the glasses in his right hand, he leaned his chin on the other one and the words went through his mind that just were not allowed to be there: "Thanks honey!".

- TBC -