OK, the compulsory boohoo Sara's gone chapter and then we can get to where we're going with this. Will try and update it again soon, tried to write the next chapter a few times and it's just not coming out like I want it to and even when it comes out ok I've no idea where I'm taking it and any ideas I come up with just don't fit, so it's been problematic but will still try and update soon. Sorry this chapters so stupidly short but needed something to break up the story a bit.
Ok, seriously short but writing the rest tonight. Me being the extremely clever person that I am managed to write an amazing next chapter that I was actually happy with, then went and deleted it before I could post it as wrote it right after this one and can't remember what it said at all, not even a tiny little phrase of it. Did I mention I have an incredible memory? But will try and redo it and then post it soon.
Every member of the team had noticed the fact that Sara was gone and all were pulling more cases and working even harder as a result. They all knew that Grissom was reluctant to hire someone knew and they all knew that he was taking Sara's leaving badly but none knew how badly.
Even Catherine didn't know that anything had happened between them before Sara had left, but she felt Grissom retreat even more. She assumed that it had finally sunk in that she had actually gone, she had been well aware of just how much Grissom cared for Sara, and knew that a decent amount of flirting had passed between them, she assumed he was mourning the possibility of it now leading to anything.
Grissom knew he was pulling back but couldn't help it. He needed to just to cope with the extra work load, he hadn't realised quite how mcuh work Sara did without her even pulling overtime, but he didn't want to hire a new member, it would feel as though he was trying to replace Sara, which he wasn't and never could but still felt like it was betrayal of some sort.
Like not leaving the place open for her was like he was saying that he wouldn't welcome her back if she ever did manage to return.
But he was also caring less and less about the things he was doing, what he was eating, what the rest of the team were up to, they'd tried getting him to go out with them a few times but it'd never worked, Catherine had even tried calling in all the favours she was owed and doing some top-notch flirting to try and get him Sara's phone number, but anybody who knew anything was staying tight-lipped about it and wasn't giving her so much as the state that she was in.
No one could think of a way to bring him out, instead all they could do was wait for him to grieve or whatever he was doing and then help him when he came out the other side.
But no-one had ever realised quite how much Sara brought to the team, how she managed to fill awkward silences with some irrelevant point, or how when they were on a case with her, her passion seemed to be imparted into them as well and they found themselves with more drive to solve the case, even Hodges found himself noticing and been slightly saddened by her absence.
All of the team wanted her to return but knew that there was no chance she ever could.