Chapter 2
MW
Sara awoke the next morning with the smell of ocean through her house. As she got up for the day she saw an old box. She remembered it but didn't remember what was in it. She took a brake from cleaning her house to go through it. As she opened the box she saw a picture that made her smile and cry at the same time. It was a picture of the team at a dinner after closing a big case. Grissom had an arm around her and was laughing at the boy's faces. Nick stuck his tongue out to the camera, while Greg picked his nose. She laughed so hard she was crying. She remembers all the little fights she had with the boys. She missed being around them. But that life was behind her for now. So she took the box and placed it in her closet for now. She returned to cleaning. She opened the shop at 12 and since there wasn't a lot of business she decided to restock. When she turned on the radio she danced and sang to Jo Dee Messina's Stand Beside Me. It was her favorite part of the song. She didn't hear the door bell ring as someone came into the shop. Actually it was 5 people that walked into the shop. The people could hear someone singing in the back. So they went to the desk to see who was singing.
"I want a man that stands beside me
Not in front or behind me
Give me two arms that want to hold me not own me
And I'll give all the love in my heart
Oh...It's hard to tell him no when I want him so bad
But I got to be true to my heart
This time!"
The people heard the beautiful voice end the song, when Greg hit the ding button. A dog began to bark, Grissom recognize the dog from the night before. The dog saw Grissom and settled down. A woman yelled to them.
"Be right out." Sara tripped on something and said some bad words as she walked out with her head looking down. But the team gasped when they saw her.
"Sara!?" They all said in unison. She looked up and was in complete shock.
"What are you doing here?" Sara barley got out.
"Conventions that Ecklie made us go on." Nick said with great enthusiasm.
"Wow…well its good to see you guys. Um…did you want to buy anything?"
"How long have you been working here?" Greg asked.
"Um…almost a year. Since my mom left it to me when she moved. She didn't want to work here now that she remarried to a rich man."
"Really, wow you got some really nice stuff." Catherine said looking at the necklaces that where hung next to the desk.
"Yeah those where my grandmothers design." Sara said picking one up and looking at it. Grissom was silent for the entire conversation. That is until the dog barked and went and sat by Grissom. The bark brought Sara out of her little world and made her look up at Grissom. She smiled weakly at him. She didn't know what to do.
"Hello Grissom."
"Hi" Was all he said. Out of all the things he could say. The only thing that came out of his mouth was HI! While Warrick and Catherine where looking at baby things and Nick and Greg looked at the drift wood forts, Grissom never moved.
"Are you ok?" Sara asked in concern.
"No." He admitted.
"Well what's the matter?" She wanted to hear from him.
"That you've been here. And you didn't call any of us. We didn't know where you were or if…if you were alive. I'm just a little shocked to see you now." Grissom was more open now. One of the reasons he knew she left was because he wasn't open with any of the team. But he changed that with Catherine. He talked to her more than he ever did before.
"Wow…um well I don't know why I didn't call. I guess it hurt too much you know. And I thought it would be easier than if I called all the time. But now I know that it didn't at all. God I missed you guys so much." Sara said looking at the ground. Nick turned to her.
"Then why did you leave?" The allotment question of the time.
"I left because," Grissom was hoping she would say him. "Because I was becoming burnt out. And I didn't want anyone to see me crack. God you should have seen my mother trying to handle me." She chuckled at the memory. Nick nodded his head accepting the answer. Grissom mental took a deep breath.
"Well it looks like Hero likes you Grissom." Sara said with a chuckle and a bright smile. Oh how he missed that smile. Grissom looked down at the dog. The dog looked back at him and wagged his tail.
"Looks like it." He said as he petted the dog.
"So what are you guys doing to day?" Sara asked ring up Catherine purchases.
"Well now we have the second half of this thing today." Catherine said with a grunt. Sara chuckled.
"Let me guess, Rick Farris?" Sara said with a knowing grin.
"How did you know?" Grissom asked.
"He went to high school with me. Hate him so much. He was one of those guys that get on your nerves quickly." The team chuckled.
"Hey why don't you guys come over for some home cookin instead of take out. Cath it might do you some good." She laughed as Catherine took out a king sizes heresy bar.
Cath looked at her and laughed that she was caught.
"Sounds good to me." Nick and Greg said together.
"So what time do you think you'll be done?" Sara asked. Grissom was the one to respond.
"Around 8…" She looked at him with a huge grin. A conversation was being said between their eyes that the team would have loved to hear.
As the team left Sara was happier than she'd been in a long time.
