Two

"How do you feel about waiting?" Grissom asked as he toyed with the last of the remaining noodles on his plate.

"For?" Sara queried, looking up from her salad. Then sensing his apprehension and knowing too well its source answered her own question with, "You mean about getting married?"

He nodded. "We never really got a chance to talk about it before..."

Sara's smile faltered a little at this. While Grissom never blamed her for leaving, he knew she still blamed herself. He reached across the table and caressed her cheek. She appeared to revive somewhat at this.

She seemed to be considering her response for a while. He was relieved to see that there was a hint of mischief in her eyes when she confessed, "You know me, I'm not very patient."

He laughed. "Waiting for more than ten years isn't patient?" He asked.

"Point taken," she admitted with a conciliatory grin. "But as much as it was all worth it, I don't really want to wait another ten years."

Grissom thought this was fair. "What do you want, Sara?"

"The same thing I've always wanted. You."

"I'm not trying to play into a stereotype here," he began. "But don't women dream about how their weddings are suppose to be?"

"I suppose they do," she replied. "After a while, I honestly never really gave it much thought. Never thought it would happen anyway, so why waste my time thinking about it?"

The idea that Sara had valued her desirability so lightly made Grissom's heart ache a little and then a great deal more as he recalled that he had probably not contributed in a positive way to convincing her otherwise. He was trying to figure out just how to apologize for this when she interrupted his train of thought with -

"Besides, I've never really understood all the fanfare. Remember that

Chase wedding a couple of years ago?"

"You mean the one where we managed to loose the evidence on the way back to the lab?"

"We didn't loose anything. It was stolen," Sara protested. "But yeah, that one. I don't want to get married like that."

Grissom smiled.

"You don't look too disappointed," she said.

"I'm not," he answered. "While I haven't really given much thought to weddings either..."

"Well, not since you were nine..." Sara teased.

"You are never going to let me live that down are you?"

"Perhaps not never, but not for a little while," she chuckled. "You were saying?"

"I have to admit I would prefer something more intimate."

"A church wedding?" She asked.

"No."

"What about the whole holy sacrament of marriage thing and all of that?"

"I have never regarded the church as the sole place to be near to God," he replied.

"Well?"

Suddenly, Grissom's eyes lit up.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Of course I do."

"Then give me a minute," he said and before she could say anything, he had gotten up from the table and retreated into the lobby, pulling out his cell phone and dialing as he went.

Although rather perplexed by abrupt departure, Sara didn't begin to feel uneasy until after the end of the first five minutes. After a second five passed, she started to get concerned. Once another subsequent five minutes had ticked away, she was worried. By the time a full twenty had come and gone, she was about to go and track him down and give him a piece of her mind for making her panic for what she knew right well was for no good reason.

When he finally did return, he was all smiles and looking not the least bit apologetic. Her annoyance didn't last long as he said as soon as he sat down,

"How does a week from today sound?"

The sentence seemed almost nonsensical; it was almost as if he were simply asking her when he should schedule Hank's next visit to the vet instead of suggesting a date for them to become husband and wife.

When she made no immediate reply, he looked a little crestfallen. "Too soon?" He granted reluctantly.

Sara smiled and shook her head, absolutely amazed and yet readily accepting the fact that Gil Grissom was indeed a man full of surprises.

"No, it sounds perfect."