A/N: I felt inspired so I added a few more chapters. Again I borrowed and added to a Blue October song. Hope you enjoy. Please review and thanks for reading.
Unusually late, Sara rushed through the doors of the Las Vegas Crime Lab and walked briskly toward the conference room. She smiled to herself, knowing her colleagues would have difficulty believing she simply overslept. It was the truth. Working well beyond the official end of her last shift left Sara completely exhausted. Arriving at Grissom's townhouse a mere eight hours ago, she crawled into bed, so tired, she barely noticed the lack of warmth on the other side of the mattress. She succumbed to sleep almost immediately.
Grissom had been gone for a week. Foregoing her own apartment, Sara chose to sleep at his place, hoping she would, somehow, feel closer to him. They spoke frequently, but the phone calls did little to stem the loneliness. Solitude bred restlessness and work became her escape. The overtime finally cured her insomnia. Sara slept soundly, oblivious to the bedside alarm that sounded at half past ten. When she finally did wake, there were only thirty minutes to ready herself for work. Exiting the townhouse, she nearly tripped over the package that sat on the doorstep.
The mysterious package in tow, Sara reached the open door of the conference room, quickly noting its emptiness. Sighing, she advanced toward the office Catherine shared with the dayshift supervisor.
Finding her mulling paperwork, Sara knocked on the frame of the door. "Hey Catherine. Sorry I am late. I overslept."
"No problem," the interim supervisor stated. "It's a slow night. I sent the guys out on the only new case. I will let you know if anything else comes in."
Grissom's office had a lounge area hidden from view of passersby. In his absence, it had become Sara's secret hiding place. Like his townhouse, the sitting room was a place Sara felt nearer to him. She sat in his leather swivel chair. Giving the package her full attention, Sara realized it was from Grissom. She opened it carefully. It contained a handwritten note and the same Ipod she gave him at the airport. She began to read.
Sara,
It is the weekend here and I am lonely for your company. Despite the cold, I found myself aimlessly wandering the streets of Williamstown. I happened by a music store and stopped in to warm by hands and browse the selection. I came across a Blue October CD. It reminded me of you, so I couldn't help but buy it. While it's not my taste, the lyrics of certain songs have unbelievable resonance. I know I did a poor job of explaining my need to accept the professorship. Giving you my heart was as terrifying as it was uplifting. I feel a profound openness with you. In recent months, the terrors of our job began to weigh on me. I felt myself retreating inward. I could not allow this to happen, which is why I decided to take leave. I can understand how my reasons would be confusing to you. Please listen to the song I put on the Ipod. Maybe you will find sense it its words.
I love you.
Gil
Conscious of the privacy the room offered, Sara let the tears slide down her face. She leaned back in the chair and listened to the song.
I changed my color for you
I shed my coat with caution
I lack the beauty you display
See here there are the bruises
And some were self-inflicted
And some showed up along the way
So I nod my head
I'm ready for the world to see
The secret I kept here inside the man you thought id be
Slip into coma calm
The coma where I calm myself down
Here comes excuses why I let you down
Stand by for another breakdown
Sound off the alarm
Is this the chameleon boy I swore I wouldn't become
Chameleon boy
Chameleon boy
So now we've come upon the hardest thing I've ever done
Its telling you that I'm a mess
What sort of mess I mean
Is self-destructive gasoline
The kind that strips you of your best
And while I play instead the way that most would end up dead
You sleep alone at home and wish that I was in our bed
With this I'm telling you
My color changes back to blue
How do I ask you this
Will you help me through
Stand by for another breakdown
Sound off the alarm
Is this the chameleon boy I swore I wouldn't become
Stand by for another breakdown
Sound off the alarm
Is this the chameleon boy I swore I wouldn't become
Chameleon boy
Chameleon boy
I try to think of all the people I look up to
Or growing up who would I be
Now the twisted part
Where'd all my idols end up
They all passed away
Passed away
Stand by
It's chameleon boy
Stand by
It's chameleon boy
Chameleon Boy
I'm chameleon boy...
Chameleon boy...
Sara's silent tears gave way to noisy sobs before the song was complete. Minutes passed before she was able to regain control of her emotions. The desire to talk to him was overwhelming, but Sara resisted, knowing it was barely 3am on the East Coast and Grissom was likely asleep. Inspired, Sara wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and left the confines of Grissom's office in search of an unoccupied computer.
