Chapter Four: Crossing the Line

a/n: We're getting into the nitty gritty of the story, and it reads better if I insert some flashbacks rather than have Grissom tell everything to Heather. The present is in the standard font and the flashbacks are in italics. This chapter promises to get your attention.....thanks in advance for reading.

After Sara had confided in me, it was tough on her; she's not comfortable being so vulnerable. She kept saying she was ok, but I could tell otherwise. Of course, it didn't help that we had several really tough shifts that week, doubles, even a triple thrown in, so I knew she would be sleeping until the last minute before she had to come in for her next shift. I bought one of those Starbucks special mocha things, and brought it over to her place. I called her from just outside her apartment. At first it sounded like she might have dropped the phone, it was obvious she had been in a deep sleep.


"Sidle," she finally managed to mumble into the receiver.

"Wake up, Sidle, there is a special delivery at your door to help you perk up."

"Grissom?"

"Yes?"

After a pause when he heard sheets ruffling and a door closing, "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Just pad over to your front door and let me in, it's time to rise and shine."

"I still don't get it."

"Well, I hate to spoil the surprise, but I'm outside your door with Starbuck's best."

"Why? I mean I don't understand."

"I care about you, surely you know that, and after what you shared last week, I wanted to check up on you, and make sure you were feeling ok about it."

"I'm sorry, but, aaah, I don't know how to put this, but, um, I have company."

"Company?" he snickered, "how can that be, you're sleeping."

Silence followed until Sara finally uttered, "think about it."

"Huh?" he responded, until the light came on, and a rush of adrenaline poured into him. He finally realized she was in bed with someone. It was a crushing reality. While he was struggling to get a grip on it, she followed with, "I'll bet Sophia would like some coffee." And the line went dead.

He staggered out to the parking lot of her apartment, barely able to focus on anything, when a CSI Denali got his attention, but it wasn't Sara's. He examined the car and the contents and determined it was Greg's. With a renewed purpose he redialed Sara.

"Sidle."

"Sara, who are you with?"

"I fail to see how that is any of your business."

"It is my business if two of my CSI's are engaged in a romantic relationship in violation of lab policies."

"For someone who has made it quite clear you have no interest in any relationship with me away from the lab, you are not entitled to the intimate details of my private life. If I act inappropriately in the lab, you are free to get involved in that." Her voice dropped an octave, "but, that won't happen, believe me. I once told you, I know what to do about this."

He had no trouble connecting the reference to their conversation, when he told her 'I don't know what to do about this.' 'This' being their attraction coupled with all the associated conflicts with the lab. He was at a total loss for words, so Sara took advantage of the silence, "Goodbye, Griss."


"I was completely lost. I thought what she foretold had come to pass. I mean, she told me when I figured it all out it might be too late. And, here we were; I'm thinking I'm ready and she's with someone else. She showed me that she did indeed know what to do about this. But, she was doing it with Greg. I was awash in second thoughts and regrets. I think that was the first time I felt hurt like I am now. It was worse than when she was with Hank because I knew Greg. He is such a good guy and I knew he had always cared for Sara. He had youth and exuberance; just what I feared Sara would miss being with me."

"How serious were they?"

He laughed a bit, "Well, I'll get around to that. At the time, of course I had no clue. You can believe I watched them like a hawk, I just knew I could catch them doing something, and then she'd have to talk to me. But, it was just as she said it would be, it didn't happen. I worked cases with her every chance I got, just to be with her. Ultimately, we worked a case at a mental hospital. I didn't realize her mother had been brought to a place like that. She really handled it beautifully, better than me actually."

He took a deep breath at the memory, "The most frightening thing happened. One of the inmates, a narcissistic rapist no less, grabbed her in a locked room and held a pottery shard over her jugular. I was watching through a glass window while some flunky guard was positively fumbling with keys, unable to unlock the room. I don't know if I'd ever been so afraid. I've had a gun drawn on me and been less afraid. The door was opened after the longest minute of my life, and the crazy fool released her and slit his own neck."

Heather was stunned hearing the story; she had always pictured the CSI's out of harm's way.

"Sara went on and finished the case. I couldn't believe it, I mean, I could barely work it after that. That case and that image of her in the clutches of that lunatic really affected me, and I was already feeling so much regret for waiting as long as I had, seeing that she turned to Greg. I decided that it was time to make my move. If I was too late, then I had to know. If not, then the time had come. She showed me perfectly well how a couple could be involved outside of the lab and it not affect anything at all. I couldn't stay away any longer."

"Thank God," Heather lamented.

Grissom smiled and shook his head. It was quite the journey to finally get to even this point. "After we wrapped that case, I picked up some breakfast food, all her favorites, and fresh squeezed orange juice, but this time I called before just showing up."


"Sidle."

"Sara, this is Gil."

"Gil?!" She never called him that so she was already wondering what was up.

He rolled his eyes on his end, "I have some breakfast for you because I wanted to come by and see how you were doing. But, I …., I wanted to call first, you know, in case, ah, well, I wanted to make sure it was ok."

She was smiling at his awkwardness. "Sure, I guess it's fine."

"No company?"

She laughed out loud this time, "No, no company."

He heaved a huge sigh of relief, "Ok, look for me in ten minutes."

When he arrived, she let him in and he went straight to the kitchen to prepare everything. Sara thought that maybe he was feeling guilty about assigning her to the mental hospital case, although he really shouldn't be.

He served up her whole wheat bagel and cream cheese along with fresh berries and whipped cream. Her jaw dropped.

"What in the world is going on?"

"I told you, I came by to check on you." He said as he drew her hair aside and grimaced as he looked on the bruised and abraded skin of her neck. "Does it hurt?"

"Nothing compared to being cast aside by you." The words were barely out of her mouth when her eyes grew wide and she covered her mouth, shaking her head. "Oh my God, Griss, I'm so sorry, I don't know what made me say that."

"Don't apologize," he said dejectedly, "you had that coming."

She simply nodded and looked down, unable to maintain eye contact.

"I also came over to, you know, um, talk."

"Talk?" she looked up quizzically.

"Sure, ah, I'm wondering, about this thing with Greg." Grissom was clearly uncomfortable, shifting, scratching his temple, "Yes, so this thing with Greg, um, am I too late?" After finally getting out the words, he waited for her answer, unable to even breathe.

Sara's jaw dropped, and her mouth started to curl into a smile. Then she started to laugh. It was a deep, throaty laugh, a laugh that was heard much too rarely. Grissom was at a loss, he was looking around, his face growing more quizzical by the minute, but Sara couldn't help herself. She finally managed to get out, "Greg and I are just friends."

"But, I don't understand, you slept with him."

"True, but we only slept." Sara looked sideways at Grissom, "Have you ever heard of friends with benefits?"

He was more confused than ever. "No."


He looked at Heather, "So have you heard of that?"

She snickered, "Yes, but I would think it a tad too hip for you."

"Are you really trying to make me feel better, because comments like that don't cut it."

"Sorry, please continue," Heather said ruefully.


Sara started to explain, "Friends who are attractive but unattached, might choose to, well, help each other with certain needs in between relationships."

Grissom was looking horrified, "Whose idea was this?"

"Whose do you think?" Sara laughed.

"Right."

"Anyway, you were seeing Sophia, and I was feeling terrible."

"I've been meaning to ask, how you knew about that, by the way?" he interrupted.

She laughed at his lack of people savvy, "Well, every chance you two had you were chatting it up together, all smiles and everything. And, I know you took her to dinner, lab policies be damned," she deepened her voice in mock defiance.

"But, how…"

"Sophia made sure I knew about it, and it was killing me." She replied sadly. "So when Greg came up with this lame brain idea, I was in. But, we had worked so many doubles that week, I mean, we were wiped out. After shift we shared a six pack, Greg fell into my bed while I got a quick shower. When I got out, he was passed out, probably the beer and the exhaustion. Anyway, I did the same, and slept until my phone rang and it was you. After that we both lost our resolve, and decided we didn't want to risk our very good friendship with something like that."

Grissom was floored, "And you led me to believe you two were involved!"

"No," she shook her head, "I told you I had company, period. I let you make your own conclusions. And, even if I led you to believe we were having sex, how is that wrong? You didn't even want to have dinner with me."

Grissom met his match. She was right. He had made her off limits personally, and he had no right to expect her to be forthright with details of how she spent her time away from the lab, or with whom for that matter. He nodded, accepting the truth, but continued, "So, um, back to my earlier question…"

"Which was?"

Grissom was like a deer in the headlights, frozen in fear, when he uttered, "Am I too late?"

Finally, it hit Sara what this was all about. He wanted her. He wanted her. With eyes starting to mist over, her body racked a few involuntary sobs. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

By now Grissom was starting to spill some emotion. He took her hand and stood her up so that they could embrace, and he pulled her in tightly as he buried his face into her neck and took in her scent. He breathed in deeply and moved to face her, closing his eyes and moving his mouth to her lips, leaving the lightest of kisses, causing her to catch her breath. After taking in the closeness, he moved in again to kiss her, this time more forcefully. They deepened the kiss and tightened the embrace until it was clear that they had entered a new phase of their relationship. They had crossed the line all right, and there was no going back.

tbc....