That night, Grissom approached Sara, who was staring at the ground.
"Hey."
"Oh, hey." Sara looked up to make eye contact.
"So I was wondering, do you have any plans? I owe you a dinner."
"Oh uh, well, my mother's in town…"
"That's great! She can join us. I can't wait to finally meet her." Grissom was excited. Yes, he admitted to falling in love with Sara at first sight. Just trying to get her to return the feeling…this was a hard task for…well…someone like him. A social misfit.
"I…" Sara was unsure about what to do. Would it be a good thing? To introduce her mother to Grissom? The brother of the man that hurt her? Catherine said they had the same eyes. Would Shannon recognize them too? They couldn't look too much alike, could they? Maybe…if she didn't mention his last name it would be all right.
Grissom looked at Sara curiously, wondering if she was declining.
"Under one condition."
"Name it." Grissom was ready for this challenge.
"You introduce and go by your first name only. Gil. No more Grissom."
This shocked him. Only about 3 or 4 people in the lab called him Gil, and that was only on occasion. But it was a simple enough request, so he accepted it, excited for the night.
Sara had driven over to Shannon's room and was already on the bed, talking to her mother.
"Hey, uh, would you like to do dinner?" Sara asked her mom during a silence.
"Sure. Where?"
"I'm not too sure…it's with my boss and he's choosing the place."
"I guess this means I have to make a good impression, huh? Make him fall in love with us?" Shannon asked lightly, regaining some of her humor. Sara decided just to laugh along and hope that everything went without any problems.
Grissom texted Sara, telling her to meet him at an Italian restaurant neither had heard of. After much debate about what to wear, a little trouble finding the place, and then finding the parking spot, mother and daughter walked to the front of the restaurant.
This is where Sara crossed her fingers and hoped nothing bad happens.
Sara led the way, walking through the sliding double doors, looking for her boss. She found him in the far corner. Shannon, following close behind Sara stopped suddenly, frozen. Sara turned around to see what the problem was. She saw Shannon's eyes locked onto that of Grissom's.
Shit, she thought, They do look alike.
"You." Shannon whispered.
Grissom, hearing Shannon, stood up to meet her.
"You. You bastard." Shannon confronted.
Grissom, hearing the insult, looked confused. It was only when Sara raised an eyebrow at him that he introduced himself.
"I think you're confused, Ms. Kelly. My name is…"
"Mark. What the hell are you doing here?" Shannon finished his sentence and countered with her own question.
Now Grissom was really confused. How the hell did she know the name of his brother? I mean, yes, they looked a little alike, but hardly anyone knew that he had a brother.
"No. My name is Gil."
Gil. The name had to sink in a little bit before Shannon would stop glaring. But even after she stopped the glaring, she continued to stare at him. Lost in the past.
"Sorry…Gil," Sara told him. "You just…remind her of someone in her past."
"Sara…she called me by…"
"Let's…talk about it later."
The meal went by smoothly after that. Grissom was truly enjoying himself. He could hardly believe that the woman in front of him could hate science so much. She seemed so pleasant and intrigued by his job. But the way she stared at him. It was as if she was trying to read something. But there was something in her face. Something vaguely familiar.
After paying, Shannon excused herself, saying that it was time she left, and unlike them she actually slept at night.
Alone, Sara and Grissom went for a walk around a park that Sara didn't know even existed.
"It's easy to overlook things you're not looking for." Grissom said.
"It's pretty. It's hard to believe I could miss something this beautiful." Sara said, admiring the greenness of the grass and the colors of the flowers.
"Beauty is hard to find these days. So when you find someone beautiful in every way, you should try your best to hold on to them."
"Have you found someone?"
"Yes."
Sara didn't know why she felt her heart sink when he said this. She shouldn't feel this. No, her heart belonged to Eric. She shouldn't love another man too. No, you can't love two people.
"I found someone perfect in every way. In my eyes that is." Grissom finished. "Have you found someone?"
"I did. But I let him slip through my fingers."
"What was his name?"
"That…" Is once again classified information. Sara didn't…no..couldn't. This man. He already knew more about her than she allowed most people. Why? Why did she tell him so much?
"If you tell me, I'll tell you." Grissom persuaded.
Sara's heart tugged at her chest. The feeling of falling in love with someone. She knew this feeling. It had happened once before. She never thought she would feel it again. She wanted to know. Who was his perfect person?
"His name was…Eric. Eric Ellwood." There, it was out. What harm could it be? If he knows just a name?
No it couldn't be! Grissom's head started to spin.
"Yours?"
"Uh…Well…you." Grissom thought, being less smooth than he had imagined a few seconds ago. But that didn't matter anymore. Eric Ellwood. He knew that name.
A/N My apologies to everyone for the horribly long time, it's been a long month. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving