Disclaimer : These aren't mine…. They don't belong to me…. I don't claim to own them.

The explosion had obviously shaken more than the lab, Grissom thought. It was almost surreal, that conversation he'd had with Sara.

He knew that it was just the shock of the day talking, and that she would come in tomorrow and tell him to forget it had ever happened. The rational half of him hoped that, anyway. The other half, though he dismissed it, wanted her to ask him again, so he could say yes.

She had a spark in her that he had never seen before, in anyone, and it took his breath away. He had seen it in her the first time their eyes met, and she'd given him that Sidle grin.

But he could never allow himself to say yes. There were so many reasons, though not one had anything to do with him not liking her. He was her boss, had been her lecturer. He was older than her.

There.

That was the one reason that he came back to every time. That was the mantra he relied on to stop himself.

Now, sitting in his car riding home, he found it wasn't as effective as it used to be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nick pulled up outside Sara's apartment, and shut off the engine. Turning to look at Sara, who had sat in silence for the whole journey, he realised that she hadn't even registered the car wasn't moving anymore.

"Sara?" He gently placed his hand on her arm.

She jumped, and looked at him quizzically. "What?"

He chuckled. "We're here."

"Hm?" She looked out the window and realised where she was. "Oh. Thanks. My turn tomorrow?"

"Yep. Hey, Sara, You ok?" He tried to keep the concern out of his voice, because he knew that Sara would give him hell for even asking.

"For the hundredth, and last time, I'm fine." She scowled at him, and he backed off. "You fancy a beer?" She added, after she felt she had given him sufficient Evil-Eye.

He sighed. "Yeah. Beer would be great. I'll just park the car."

"'k then." She opened the door and climbed out, and Nick drove around the corner to the parking lot.

Once the car was parked, he pulled out his cell and punched in a number.

"Hey, Nadia? It's Nick. I'm gonna have to pass on our breakfast date, hon. Yeah; we'll have to do it some other time. Sorry. Yeah, there was an emergency at work. Well, gotta run. Bye, babe."

He snapped the phone shut, and sighed. She was only a girl, he told himself. Sara was his best friend.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Grissom parked his SUV in the driveway of his town house, and just sat in it for a moment. Then, silently, He rested his head on the steering wheel, in pure frustration. What wasn't so silent was the blaring horn that erupted from the car. He threw himself backwards and into the leather upholstery of the driver's seat, and the noise of the horn stopped, but the echo that rang in his ears took a few minutes to subside.

He sighed a long and laboured sigh. Tonight's shift was going to be very… Interesting.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sara cracked open a beer and passed it to Nick, then did one for herself. Taking a long sip, she sat down at her dining table across from him.

"I needed that."

Nick smiled. "Hungry?"

Sara nodded "A little."

"Pizza?"

"For breakfast? You serious? Where are you gonna find a place that delivers at-" She checked her watch "- Nine am?"

"This is Vegas, Baby!"

Sara just smiled and shook her head. "Yeah, whatever. Pizza'll do. Cheese and pineapple for me."

"Excellent!" With that, Nick jumped up and set about ordering Pizza, whilst Sara drained her bottle and fished another out of the fridge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, did Cath find out what caused the explosion?"

Nick shifted uneasily. "Uh, yeah. She did."

Sara swigged from her beer, and took a bite of Pizza. "Good. What was it?"

"No, Sara. She caused it. Un-logged evidence or something under the fume cupboard."

Sara almost dropped her beer. "But… We always put un-logged evidence under there…"

"The hot-plate was left on, and Cath forgot to check. It was an accident, totally. Some unidentified substance, all of a sudden-" He shrugged "-Boom. It wasn't her fault, you understand?"

"Yeah. Yeah, 'course I do." She drew heavily on her beer, emptying her fourth bottle.

"Want another?" She went to the fridge and took one out.

"I'm good, thanks." Nick was still on his second. "Hey, don't you think you should slow down?"

"I'm a grown woman, Nick. I can handle my drink."

The glare that she bestowed on him served both as a silencer and a warning.

 He looked at her for a moment. "Ok."

She sat down again, and placed the beer on the table in front of her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~