A/N: A thousand apologies! I'm at the end of a grading period, which always tends to be very busy for me. Of course, if I kept up with all my paperwork during the grading period, it probably would be less stressful, but, I tend to be rather Grissom-ish about paperwork. Add to that the fact that, professionally, I've been through an emotional wringer this week, and you end up with a massive delay in updating. So, again, I apologize. Hopefully, I'll be able to have the next chapter posted quickly.

I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much for your patience in waiting for this update! As a reward for your patience, this chapter is the longest I've written in awhile. I hope that helps to make amends! Enjoy!

I don't own CSI. Inspiration and limited dialogue have been borrowed from episode 511, "Who Shot Sherlock?" and episode 512, "Snakes."

Support Systems

Greg glanced at Sara as he drove them back to the lab. She had been silent since leaving the hospital, which was very out of character for his normally laughing, teasing mentor. The very fact that she was letting him drive spoke volumes to her inner turmoil.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"You don't look fine."

In that moment, Sara knew that she had to convince Greg that she truly was fine, or she's have to spend the rest of the ride back to the lab being grilled on her mental and emotional state. She finally turned to face him. "You really need to work on the way you talk to girls."

Greg grinned. "My game is just fine."

"So says you. You're the one who just told a girl she doesn't look good."

"That's not what I …" Greg trailed off as he glanced at her, seeing the teasing smile on her face. He looked at her for a moment. Even though she was quieter than he had ever seen her, she seemed okay. She was willing to tease him, which was always a good sign. He decided to follow her mood.

"I'll have you know that I won my first girlfriend over with a compliment," he said. "We were in seventh grade, and I told her how much I liked her braces. I still –"

"Are you okay?" Sara asked suddenly, interrupting Greg mid-sentence.

"Huh?" Greg asked, clearly confused.

"Are you okay with everything that's happened?" she clarified. "I know you were pretty shaken up before …"

"Oh," Greg said. He paused for a moment. "I don't think I'll ever learn to like stuff like that – you know, finding little kids' dead bodies, being shot at. It's not fun. But, like you said, we have to be there to put an end to it."

"Yeah," Sara agreed. She gave him a small smile. "You're not still mad at Grissom for making you go?"

Greg gave her a half-smile. "You and Grissom were right. I needed to see something like that. And, I'm glad that you made me go back today. Even though it was horrific to see those little boys in that shed, it was good to see the neighborhood during the day."

"Not so scary with the lights on?" Sara asked.

"I guess you could say that," Greg replied. He glanced at her. "You're really sure that you're okay? I've never seen you like you were with that little kid."

Sara gave him a false smile, one that Mary would have seen through in a heartbeat. "I'm fine."

Her smile and her words managed to fool Greg, as she had hoped they would.

"Good."

Feeling confident that Sara would be okay, he moved on to other topics, pausing to blast their usual punk rock from the radio. Sara was grateful. She was far from "fine," but she didn't really want to talk about it. Not with Greg. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Sara had never been so happy to get home as she was that day. She had never felt such a need to wash off her job. Dropping her keys and purse onto the table by the door, she headed straight for the bathroom.

She took a long shower, making the water as hot as she could stand. When the water finally ran cold, she climbed out, shivering as the cool air hit her warm skin. She dried off and pulled on her pajamas, then made her way to the bedroom. She sank down on the bed, pulling a pillow to her chest.

While she was in the shower, she was able to push back all the images, all the memories. She merely concentrated on lathering shampoo through her hair and rinsing soap off her body. The smallest details received the most attention. Now, with nothing to occupy her mind, she couldn't stop the memories.

Devon's starved body.

Kevin's tear-streaked face.

Raymond's unconscious frame.

Kevin sitting in her lap.

Kevin clinging to her hand.

Sara clinging to a social worker's hand.

Her mother being led away by the police.

Her father's body lying on the floor.

Her father's blood splattered across the walls.

Her entire family, gone in one night.

The tears welled up inside her until she couldn't contain them. She let the first few fall in silence, soon to be followed by a few dry sobs. After a moment, she was sobbing hysterically, crying as she had not let herself cry in years. She clutched the pillow to her as the tears streamed from her eyes and the sobs tore from her throat.

She finally fell asleep clutching her pillow, with red, swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Sara didn't awake until she alarm went off, screaming at her that she needed to get up or risk being late for work. She struggled to open her eyes, which felt as though they had been glued shut. She was confused for a moment, wondering why her entire aching head seemed to feel gummy.

Then, as if in a flash, all that had happened the day before came back to her. She drew a shaky breath and pulled herself out of bed. The entire experience had been horrific, but she couldn't dwell on it forever. She needed to get to work. Once there, she would need to put on a brave front for her coworkers. She didn't want them to look into her pain-filled eyes and ask sympathetic questions. She didn't want to have to make excuses.

Because, when it came down to it, she would do nothing but make excuses. She was not ready to share that part of her life. Not with anyone.

She should have known that she'd never be able to fool him. His colleagues may have been convinced that he was oblivious to the human element, but Gil Grissom was far more observant than any of them realized. He had not become a top forensic investigator by ignoring the emotional factor. And, he generally had a good feel for the emotions of those around him.

Especially where she was concerned.

As soon as Sara walked into his office to receive her assignment at the start of their shift, he knew that something was wrong with her. In a heartbeat, he changed the assignments. He had intended to give Sara and Greg a homicide, leaving Sofia solo on a single car accident. Once he saw the pain in Sara's eyes, he handed her the accident.

Sara glanced at her assignment, then at her supervisor. "Well, this looks thrilling," she said sarcastically.

"You and Greg deserve an easy night," he explained. "You really gave it your all yesterday. I think you've earned this."

She nodded slowly. "Greg was a little shaken …"

He nodded. "I may have pushed him too far."

She shook her head. "He knows that he needed to see it. He'll be fine." She gave him a small smile. "I think he'll be glad for the break, though."

Grissom nodded again. If she wanted to use Greg as an excuse, so be it. "We'll talk after shift, okay?"

Sara frowned slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he said quickly. "I just thought that you might like to go have a cup of coffee. It's been awhile since we did that."

Sara's face finally broke into a beaming smile. "That would be great."

"Good. I'll see you here after shift?"

"I'll be here."

At the end of the shift, Sara made her way to Grissom's office. She knew that it was unlikely that she'd find him there; just because she had spent most of the night in the lab catching up on her paperwork – she and Greg had closed their case fairly quickly – didn't mean that Grissom had done the same. She was shocked, therefore, to find him sitting at his desk, files spread open before him.

"Hi," she said, knocking lightly on the open door.

"Hi," he smiled, looking up from his work. "Come in."

Sara smiled as she entered the office. "Paperwork?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "If I don't get this done soon, I'll have to answer to Ecklie … and, we both know how well that went last time."

Sara raised an eyebrow.

"Too soon?" he asked, making a face.

"A little," she smiled.

Grissom sighed and shut the file he had been reading. "Shall we go have coffee?"

"If you need to stay and work, that's fine," Sara said quickly. "We can go another night."

Grissom shook his head. "It's just paperwork. It'll still be here tomorrow."

"If you're sure …"

"I'm sure," he said confidently, leading her to the door. "Say good night to the lab."

Sara giggled. "Good night, lab."

"Good girl. Come on, let's go."

Sara had to admit that she felt a bit giddy as they walked to the coffee shop together. He had left work earlier than he had intended for her. Considering the fact that he was a complete work-aholic, that had to count for something.

They sat down at their usual booth, were greeted by their usual waitress, and ordered their usual coffee and muffins. Grissom looked at Sara for a long moment.

"What?" she asked.

"How was your shift?"

"A bit boring," she said. "I let Greg pretty much handle the accident on his own. He did a great job."

Grissom smiled. "Well, I'm not surprised. He has a great teacher."

Sara flushed slightly. "I've had a lot of help. Besides, I learned from the master."

It was Grissom's turn to blush. He was saved from responding by the arrival of their coffee and muffins. They were silent for a moment, both adding the appropriate amounts of cream and sugar to their drinks. Finally, Grissom broke the silence.

"Are you okay, Sara?" he asked quietly.

Sara's head jerked up from her muffin, which she was tearing into bite-sized pieces. She could feel her heart rate pick up. Had Greg talked to him? "What?" she asked.

He paused, collecting and phrasing his thoughts. "I know that you had a really tough case yesterday. I just want to make sure that you're all right."

"I'm fine," she said a bit too quickly, a bit too forcefully.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." She paused and licked her lips, knowing that he wouldn't be happy unless she gave him something more. She chose to go with the obvious, and to appeal to his emotions. "It's harder with kids. You know that. It was a tough case, like you said." She hoped that the finality in her tone would be enough to tell him to move on to a new topic.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. Grissom looked deeply into her eyes. He could see the raw pain there, and wanted to make it go away. He spoke quietly, "I can't imagine what it must have been like to find those little boys like that…"

"Griss, please …" Her heart was pounding in her ears. She couldn't talk about this.

"Please, what?"

"Please, drop it."

"Sara, I just –"

"Look, I know that you're just trying to be a good friend," she interrupted. "I appreciate it, I really do. But, there are just some things that are better left alone. This is one of those things."

"If you need –"

"I don't need anything," she said, interrupting him again. "I'm fine, and I'll be able to keep on doing my job as I always have. You have no reason to worry about me."

He smiled. "We've been over this. I'm not worried about you; I'm concerned about you."

She shook her head, smiling slightly. "It's always about semantics with you, isn't it?"

"But of course."

"Well, you have no reason to be concerned, then. I'm fine."

"You keep saying that, but I'm not entirely convinced."

"I'm sorry that I can't convince you, but there's really nothing more I can say." Even as the words left her mouth, she realized what an awful lie she was telling him. There were so many more things she could say, but none of them would convince him that she was fine. She knew that they would be better off if the entire topic were dropped.

Grissom sighed. "If you're sure …"

"I'm sure," she said forcefully. "Can we please talk about something else?"

Another sigh. "If that's what you want."

"It is."

"All right. Tell me about your case today."

As she began to talk, Sara felt her pounding heart slow back to its normal rhythm. Once again, she had dodged a bullet.

Even so, she could feel her past pressing down on her. She didn't know how much longer it would be before it was forced out into the open.

She only hoped that she would be ready for it when it was.

As always, Sara returned to her favorite refuge from the horror of her personal life: work. Since taking on the responsibility of mentoring Greg, she had made her sole focus preparing him for his final proficiency. After watching him in their most recent cases, she was sure that he was ready. All that remained was to tell Grissom.

She waited until Greg was busy – she gave him the rather time-consuming task of combing through the large amount of clothing collected from party-goers in their recent case – to talk to Grissom. Knowing that her mentee was occupied, she hoped that her supervisor would be free.

Sara walked down the hall toward Grissom's office, thinking that she might find him there. His door was open, a sure sign that he was inside. Picking up her pace, she approached the open door. She was only a few steps away when she heard Sofia's distinctive laugh. She stopped short.

Grissom wasn't in his office alone. He was in his office with Sofia.

Sara took a deep breath and began walking again, this time with a new determination in her step. It was time to show that skank who was Grissom's best girl.

She knocked lightly on the open door and fixed a cheerful smile on her face. Grissom, who was sitting behind his desk while Sofia sat across from him, looked up.

"Sara," he smiled, looking genuinely pleased to see her. "Come in."

Sara glanced at Sofia for a half-second, then swung her eyes back to Grissom's face. "I hope I'm not interrupting …?"

"No, we're through here," Grissom said, standing up.

Sofia did the same, giving Grissom a smile. "Thanks, Gil. I'll see you later."

Sara nearly choked. She had only ever heard two people in the lab call Grissom by his first name: Brass and Catherine. To hear it on Sofia's lips sounded odd, foreign, and almost laughable.

"Good luck on your case," Grissom replied.

"Thanks," she said. She brushed past Sara on her way out, giving her a considerably colder smile.

Sara gave Sofia a rather falsely sweet smile. Take that. He kicked you out so he could talk to me. One point to Sara.

"What can I do for you?" Grissom asked as Sofia left his office.

"I wanted to talk to you about Greg," Sara replied.

Concern briefly crossed Grissom's eyes. In his fear for Sara's emotional state, he had forgotten to check up on his team's newest member. "Is he all right? I thought you said … I know those gunshots really shook him up."

"He's fine," Sara said. "I think going back really helped him. He still knows what a dangerous neighborhood it is, but he got to see that it isn't always a battlefield."

"Good. And he handled everything all right with the kids?"

"Yeah," Sara replied. Better than me, she thought. Knowing how Grissom would respond, she chose not to articulate that thought. "You know, after working with him recently … I think that he's ready for his final proficiency."

"You're sure? This will be his last shot. If he fails, he's back to DNA for the rest of his career."

Sara nodded. "I'm sure. He can do it."

"All right," Grissom smiled. "I'll evaluate him on the next homicide that comes in."

Sara grinned. "He'll pass. I know it."

As luck would have it, a homicide was waiting for them when they arrived at the lab the next day. The graveyard shift congregated in the break room, waiting for Grissom. Sara and Sofia did their best to maintain a professional attitude toward each other while avoiding making eye contact. Greg tried to keep a conversation going, but it was useless. All three of them were relieved when Grissom entered the room.

"Hi," he said cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the undercurrent between the two women on his team. "We've got a busy night tonight. Sofia, the Bellagio thinks they've got a ring of cheaters running through the casino; you'll need to check that out. Sara, trick roll at the Tangiers. And, Greg, you're coming with me on a homicide."

Greg looked at Sara as though he were lost. "But, Sara and I …"

"You're coming with me to do your final proficiency," Grissom clarified.

The color slowly drained from Greg's face. "Tonight?" he squeaked.

"Tonight." Grissom glanced at his watch. "We leave in fifteen minutes, so make sure you're ready."

Grissom left the room, followed closely by Sofia. Under normal circumstances, Sara would have bolted out of her seat to follow them. However, knowing that Greg was practically shaking in fear, she stayed back to talk to him.

"Hey," she said, giving his shoulder a shake, "this is good news! You just need to pass this, and you'll be a real CSI. You'll be able to solo and everything."

Greg swallowed and turned to look at her. "Sara … do you think I can pass this?"

"I do," she said firmly. "Greg, if you want the truth, Grissom told me when I first started working with you that you wouldn't take your final proficiency until I said you were ready. Yesterday, I went to him and told him that you were. And, Greg," she said, smiling at him, "you are. We've been working together for a long time now, and, in case you haven't noticed, you've practically run our last few cases without me. You can do this. I know you can."

Greg gave her a grin. "Yeah," he said, his voice stronger than it had been since hearing of his assignment. "I can do this."

Sara smiled and, shocking both of them, leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'm proud of you, Greg."

His color came back in full force, turning his face a brilliant shade of red. "Thanks," he said, swallowing again.

Sara grinned and stood up. "Good luck – not that you'll need it."

She walked out of the room to retrieve her kit, leaving a very cheerful Greg Sanders behind her.

Sara was finished with her trick roll sooner than expected. She drove back to the lab to complete her final report; once that was done, she called her supervisor. The phone only rang twice before he answered.

"Grissom."

"Hey, Griss, it's Sara," she said.

"Hi, Sara. How's the trick roll?"

"Done," she replied. "Can I come over and help Greg?"

"Sure," Grissom said. "We're still at the vic's house." He rattled off the address.

"Excellent," Sara grinned. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

She left the lab with a grin. She couldn't wait to see Greg in action.

Grissom was outside when Sara arrived at the scene. He and Jim were just finishing interviewing three people who were wearing period costumes. Shaking her head at the strangeness that was Las Vegas, Sara joined them.

"What's with the trick or treaters?" she asked, watching as the three witnesses walked away.

"Our vic liked to pretend he was Sherlock Holmes," Grissom explained. "Those three are his fellow detectives."

"Right," Sara said slowly. "So, they're reenactors? Like the people who reenact the Civil War?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. They get together once a week to solve mysteries a la Holmes."

Sara shrugged and shook her head. "To each his own, I suppose. Where's Greggo?"

"Inside," Grissom replied. "I'm evaluating him on his ability to process Sherlock's secret room."

"Um …"

"Just go in and have a look," Brass said with a grin. "If you liked these three, you'll love the secret room."

"Okay, I'm getting a little freaked out," Sara laughed.

"Let's just say … the man took his hobby seriously," Grissom smiled.

"Okay," Sara said with another shake of her head. "You're just evaluating him on that room?"

"Yes."

"So, is it all right if I help with the rest of the house?"

"It's all yours."

Sara smiled. "Great. I'll be inside if you need me."

Grissom watched her walk away. Although he couldn't help but notice the sway of her hips as she moved, it was her smile that stayed in the forefront of his mind. He shook his head to bring the case back into focus. When he turned back to the task at hand, it was to see Brass grinning at him.

"What?" he asked somewhat self-consciously.

"Nothing," Brass said, trying too late to hide his grin.

"Jim …"

Brass grinned again. "Sara's a great girl, Gil."

A look of shock crossed Grissom's face. "What? Wait, Jim, there's nothing …"

"I'm sure there's not," Brass said. He started to walk away. "But, there should be."

Grissom stared after him, completely at a loss for words.

Sara couldn't help but feel sorry for Greg. Through no fault but that of bad luck, he had been given a case that was full of twists, turns, planted evidence and complete confusion. He went from thinking that it had been suicide to murder to, after a follow-up visit to the house, suicide again. In the end, he listed suicide as the cause of death.

Sara sat with him, listening and asking questions as he went over his final conclusions with her. Although she would not have picked this as a suicide, he presented a convincing argument.

"Write it up," she said at last. "Give your report to Grissom. Way to go."

Greg looked at her nervously. "You don't sound very confident."

"What matters is your confidence," she replied. "This one is all about you, Greg. Grissom doesn't care what I think about this case, and neither should you."

He smiled. "Okay. You're sure that it'll be okay?"

"I want you in the field with us," Sara smiled. "I won't steer you wrong."

Greg gave her a grin and left to write up his report. Sara sat back in her chair and sighed. She really hoped that he would pass.

"Sara!"

Sara dropped her sandwich. "What?"

Grissom came into the break room and closed the door behind him. He grinned at her; Sara was sure she hadn't seen him look so excited in ages.

"Greg passed!"

Sara jumped up. "Seriously?"

"Of course."

"Even though his conclusions were wrong?"

Grissom waved his hand as though to wave aside her comment. "He collected the evidence and analyzed it perfectly. We work together to establish everything else. You know that. I helped him to see that it was a murder rather than a suicide. He'll probably do the same for me someday. So, yes, he passed."

Sara's grin could have split her face in two. "This is great! I'm so excited for him! Have you told him? Can I be there when you do?"

"Actually … I was thinking …"

"What?"

"Since this is Greg, I think we need a rather nontraditional way to tell him."

Sara's eyes lit up. "What do you have in mind?"

Grissom grinned. "Swing is still here. Shall we get Catherine, Nick and Warrick in on the action?"

"Definitely."

They had plenty of time to come up with a scheme to give Greg the good news; their young colleague was busy avoiding everyone. Having concluded that the man had committed suicide rather than realizing that he had been killed by a friend, Greg was convinced that he had failed. They felt that a little bit of fun would be the best way to raise his spirits.

"Can we use Mr. Wiggles somehow?" Nick asked.

Catherine shook her head. "I told you guys to hide him!"

"We did," Warrick said very seriously. "Right now, he's in the shower."

"You put Mr. Wiggles in the shower?" Catherine exclaimed.

"We didn't turn it on," Nick said innocently.

"Right," Warrick said, giving her a wide-eyed look. "We didn't want to waste water."

"We know how expensive that can be," Nick added.

Catherine gave them a look of disgust while Grissom and Sara looked at each other in confusion.

"Care to clue us in?" Grissom asked.

"These two geniuses used ballistic gel to create a life-sized model of a man to electrocute to prove a theory," she said. "They've named him Mr. Wiggles."

Grissom made a face. "I'm all for experimenting to prove a theory, but I'm not sure that ballistic gel was the best choice, guys."

"Exactly!" Catherine exclaimed. "I told them to hide it."

Grissom laughed. "Well, in that case, we need to use it for this. How?"

"Let's make him you, Griss," Sara said suddenly.

"What?"

"Yeah!" Nick exclaimed, picking up on Sara's thought process. "We'll put him at your desk, and tell Greg that he needs to go in to see you …"

"We'll dress him up like you and turn him so Greg can't see the face," Warrick added. "Then, when Sanders walks in, we'll turn him around …"

"And give Mr. Wiggles a sign that tells Greg that he passed," Catherine finished.

Grissom looked impressed. "I like it. Let's do it."

Once they had created their set up in Grissom's office, it was only a matter of finding Greg. They enlisted the help of Hodges, asking him to page Greg to the trace lab. Sara promised him a glass of champagne for his efforts; Hodges was quick to agree. Nick and Warrick stood in the hall in a spot Greg would have to pass to get to the trace lab. When they saw Greg, they would redirect him to Grissom's office. Grissom, Sara and Catherine hid themselves in Grissom's office; Grissom held the end of the clothesline that would pull the chair around to face Greg.

"Thank goodness you have all these shelves of creepy jars," Catherine said as they crouched down. "They make for good hiding places."

Grissom shook his head. "Hey," he said, his eyes lighting up, "how's the fetal pig?"

"Miss Piggy is just fine," Catherine said with a shake of her own head. "I put her on my bookcase. Lindsey is a little put out that she's not in your office anymore, but I think she'll get over it."

"I thought she liked the butterflies more."

"Oh, she does. But, she's always had a soft spot for the fetal pig. She said it was something like forcing her out of her home."

"Guys, quiet!" Sara hissed. "He's coming!"

Within seconds, Greg walked into the office and headed straight to the desk. Grissom pulled the line, and the chair turned to face him. Greg sputtered in shock as he read the news that he had passed his final proficiency.

Laughing and cheering, Nick and Warrick walked into the room while Grissom, Catherine and Sara came out of their hiding places. Greg still looked completely shocked as Sara hugged him tightly.

"I knew you could do it," she whispered. "Congratulations."

Greg grinned, hugging her back. He knew that he would never have been able to do it without her.

"I hate Sofia."

Mary sighed. "Every time you talk to me … wait, shouldn't you be at work?"

"I'm in my car," Sara said. "I only have a minute."

"So, why do you hate her now?"

"Greg passed his final proficiency, so we all had a little party for him. She didn't come!"

"Well, Sara, to be fair, it's not like she really knows Greg like the rest of you do. She probably thought you wanted to celebrate without her hanging around. Which, unless I'm completely off here, I'd say is true."

"I know," Sara sighed. "It's just … I think it would have meant a lot to Greg. Damn it! If I were a better liar, this would never have happened."

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Mary asked in complete bewilderment.

"If I had been able to convince Ecklie that Grissom and I had had that conference, maybe he would have left our team alone."

"Sara. First, this is not your fault. Grissom's the one who was supposed to conference with you. Second, from what you've told me, Ecklie is an ass. He probably would have split you up anyway."

Sara sighed. "Still … maybe I should tell Griss. Maybe he can …"

"What is there to be gained from that?"

"Alleviation of my guilt."

"You really feel like this is your fault?"

"I really do."

Mary sighed. "Well, if it will make you feel better…"

"It will."

Grissom sat in his office, once again tackling the endless mountain of paperwork on his desk. It was a rather slow night; he wished that they had at least one homicide – it would get him out of the lab and away from this paperwork. He knew that Sofia was finishing her most recent case, but he was pretty sure that Sara and Greg were in the break room playing videogames. While he knew they had better things to do to occupy their time, he wasn't in the mood to be the "stern boss," so he stayed hidden away in his office.

Sighing, he turned his attention fully to his paperwork. Though it generally took some time, he did have the ability to bury himself in it and work until it was done.

He was fully buried when he heard the light knock on his door. He wondered if his visitor would leave if he didn't look up.

"Hi," Sara said cheerfully.

Her voice was enough to make him look up in time to see the bright smile on her face as she entered the office. He took off his glasses to look at her.

"You got a minute?" she asked.

"Sure," he said simply, putting his glasses and papers down on the desk. He always had time for her.

"We really haven't had a chance to talk since the staff changes," Sara said as she sat down across from him.

Grissom looked at her as if she were crazy. They talked every day. They had gone out for coffee together several times since the staff changes. What on earth did she mean by that comment?

"I … uh …" she said slowly, "I wanted to let you know that I said some things to Ecklie that may have done the team a disservice."

Ah. That. They truly hadn't discussed the break up of the team since that first, shell-shocked morning. "Ecklie wanted to break up the team, and he did," Grissom said, shaking his head slightly.

"He asked me if you and I had had our post-PEAP counseling session."

"And we didn't," Grissom acknowledged. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her, it was that their job often got in the way of the things they were supposed to do. "Regardless, you should never have to cover for your boss," he said. "I'm sorry."

"You've always been a little more than a boss to me," Sara acknowledged with a slight nod and smile.

Grissom's head came up slightly at her words. Did she mean …? Could she still …? He could feel his heart rate increase.

"Why do you think I moved to Vegas?" Sara smiled.

My God. At the time, it had never occurred to him that she was moving for any reason other than a career opportunity, or, at best, to help an old friend. But, listening to her now … His heart began to pound.

"I – I know our relationship has been complicated. It's probably my fault. It's probably definitely my fault."

Grissom knew that he had to stop her, or she'd be in his office rambling until it was time for their next shift to start. "You completed your counseling, right?"

"Yeah, yes, yes," she said confidently, leaving no room for argument.

"And?" he asked quietly.

"Let's just say that … I … I sometimes look for validation in inappropriate places." The look she gave him was so full of meaning that there was no way he could possibly misinterpret it.

They looked into each other's eyes until they couldn't stand it anymore, and both looked down. Grissom felt his hammering heart dropping. He was her inappropriate place. He knew it, and she knew it. She had been seeking his approval since that long-ago day when she had first apologized for being late for his lecture and asked him the first in an endless series of questions.

He wanted to change that. He didn't want her to feel like she had to seek his approval. He wanted her to know that she had it – that she would always have it. And, he didn't want to be the thing in her life that inappropriate. He wanted everything about their relationship to be appropriate. Maybe not by lab standards – romantic relationships between members of the same team are forbidden – and maybe not by society's standards – she's fifteen years younger – but by their own standards. He knew as he looked into her eyes that they would both find a romantic relationship to be more than appropriate.

He almost surprised himself when he started talking.

"Look, let's … um …"

He stared at her and she stared at him. He had to ask her out. He had to ask her to do more than to join him for coffee. But, what should it be? Dinner? Breakfast? No, no, breakfast would be all wrong. That sounded like he was asking her to spend the night. Not that he didn't want to, but they hadn't really been out on a real date yet, so it seemed wrong. It was far too soon. He didn't want to rush into anything. They couldn't afford to screw this up. Maybe lunch … maybe a movie –

"It's okay. Okay?" she said, giving him a falsely bright smile.

He had taken too long to ask his question. She didn't know what was going through his head. She thought that he didn't really want to ask her, that he was just forcing himself to do it because it was what she wanted. His heart sank even further.

"You know what, we did our session," she said as she got up. "Don't forget to document this for Ecklie."

As she walked out of the office, Grissom felt his heart constrict and drop through his stomach to the floor. He had missed his opportunity.

This had become ridiculous. They had gone from friends to coworkers to friends … but, now he knew that they both wanted more. Just being friends wasn't enough for either of them. He had always thought that it was just his problem, and, clearly, Sara thought that it was just hers. She had no idea how he felt about her, or how much he wanted …

He would have to be the one to make a move. He just hoped that he'd be able to find the courage to do it.