A/N: So this is it
A/N: So this is it. The End. I'm really sad to be saying farewell to this story. It is by far the longest story I have written to date. I had a great time writing this, I hope you all enjoyed it along with me. I couldn't have done it without all of you out there reading and reviewing on it, keeping me going. So thank you! If it weren't for you, it would probably would still be back at Chapter Five and stuck there for all eternity. As always, a big THANK YOU to Emily. She has been with me on this story for a while now and has provided me with so much support and advice. She is my muse.
After this, I will be finishing a MUCH shorter story that I have yet to post, and then from there I will be returning to 'Touch and Go' a WIP posted already, but has been that way for quite some time. So, if you're interested, please read that one and leave me a review with any suggestions you might have. I would greatly appreciate it, and love to see where you, the readers, would like to see the story go.
So about this chapter, the case that Sara and Grissom work is based on a true story out in Germany, the guy being Armin Meiwes. (I changed the names and slight details.) Really creepy, google him if you can stomach it, but I was reading about it, and despite it having nothing to do with the story, felt the need to include it. So if the story seems to drag on because of it, I apologize, but I thought it was weird and would fit nicely in Vegas.
Just a recap: THANK YOU! Goodbye Frustrations, it was fun while it lasted.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Rules, Amended.
The following day, before their scheduled shift, Grissom and Sara laid snuggled up together in his bed, nothing on but a sheet to block the draft, each delighting in being truly together after so long having been apart.
They each still had their fears, and that was something that wasn't going to be resolved overnight, but they were trying it, and that's all that was important.
"I want to take this slow Gil." Sara whispered into his bare chest. "I have no regrets about last night. At all. And I meant everything I said, but if we're going to do this and do it right, we need to slow down."
"Sara, I want to be with you, not just your body, and if that means slowing down, I am perfectly fine with that." Gil promised her, knowing that he himself had been feeling very similar. "I would like to take you on a date."
"Haven't we had enough bad luck?" She grumbled as she snuggled closer to him, enjoying the feel of his body next to hers.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny." He could feel her smile against his chest. It was a wonderful feeling. "We could start simple. I promise no flowers, therefore no vases, which means no water, so no accidents there. As for the car thing, well…we could walk? Hmm…we could go somewhere that doesn't serve alcohol, so no drunk guys will hit on you and then spill drinks on you. How about Chuck-E-Cheese? All the guys there would be under four feet tall and more attracted to the skee-ball machine than a woman in her thirties." The image in his head made him laugh. Luckily, Sara was already laughing at his idea.
"Alright Romeo. I'll let you take me on a date." She sighed dramatically as if it was the worst thing ever to go on a date with Gil Grissom, only to laugh when he spoke.
"Really?" The way he asked, she was sure that he really thought she wouldn't let him take her out.
"Only if you promise that wherever we go doesn't have some sweaty old man in a rat costume and a ball pen."
"Just a rat?"
"Gil…"
"Okay…no furry creatures of any kind. Check."
"Gil?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Sara."
That night at work, everyone could sense that something had changed. The tension in the room had suddenly dissipated, Grissom and Sara didn't tense at the sight of each other and both just seemed…normal. Not overly happy, or giddy by any means, they were more professional than to act like that, but just…normal.
The team, minus Grissom, were all situated in the break room, as usual waiting for assignments. Catherine on the couch with a magazine, Nick and Warrick were playing a game of paper football across the table, every once in a while accidentally flicking it at Catherine, earning them a death glare and a few well chosen cusses. Sara was standing at the coffee machine waiting on a fresh pot, her back to the rest of the team, and Greg coming to stand with her after noticing the black cast she was trying to hide with her black turtleneck sweater.
"I see the hand wasn't 'fine.'" He mocked playfully, nudging her with his shoulder, his voice loud enough for her to hear, but soft enough so the others wouldn't.
She smiled, she couldn't help it, she was happy.
"No…fractured in 5 places and I needed twenty three stitches, but it's feeling a lot better now." She tried to sound like it was no big deal, which currently in her mind, was nothing to bother herself with…cause really, she had better things to think about.
You know, like the gorgeous man she awoke next to.
"Sara! I told you I would take you to the hospital!" Greg reprimanded until he noticed the smile on her face…subtle, but he saw it and after seeing her so glum for weeks, he knew something had happened. "But maybe someone else did?!" He prodded suggestively and wiggled his eyebrows as she shook her head and filled them both a coffee mug.
"Maybe."
"Something happened Sar. You're happy, and that doesn't just happen with you."
"Smile Greg, it's contagious." She added light heartedly as she watched his face. He wasn't smiling, more like in deep concentration trying to determine the best way to get her to spill.
Before Greg could inquire any further, Grissom walked in, slips in hand.
"Good evening everyone." He casually greeted, stealing a quick glance at Sara and giving a minute smile, nothing any one would notice, but enough for her to blush.
Good God it's gorgeous whenever that boy smiles.
A jumble of hello's were returned as he shuffled through the slips and noticed Sara conveniently covering her grin with her coffee cup.
"Alright, we've got a busy night tonight. Nick, you've got yourself a B&E on Harrison Drive. Homeowners were out of the house, but the perp got away with quite a bit."
"Fun, fun. See y'all later." Nick said in dismissal as he left the room.
"Okay, Warrick, 419 in a bar. One drunk man yells at another drunk man, all the other drunk men get involved and now we've got one dead man and seven injured."
"Oh goodie. Bye guys." Warrick left, slip in hand and muttering something about how he hated the drunk tank.
"Catherine and Greg, you've got a rape. Sixteen year old female. She hasn't said anything since she was found in an alley off the Strip. She's at Desert Palms now with the parents. Greg, you go to the scene. Catherine you've got the vic."
"Never gets any easier. Come on Greg."
"If I don't see you, call me later." Greg whispered to Sara, who nodded before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks Greg. For everything." She whispered back to him, making him smile brightly. His Sara was finally happy.
"Always." Came his reply as he shuffled from the room.
"So…Boss…what do you have for me?" The smile just would not remove itself from her face as she looked at him and handed him a cup of coffee.
Apparently it was contagious, because his wouldn't go away as he looked at her either.
"Thank you." He took a quick sip of the coffee, mentally noting that she made it just right. "Man found dead in Henderson. His body was found by the neighbor severely mutilated in his dining room." He spoke leisurely as he handed her the slip and smiled even more as she perked up with the chosen case.
"Weird. Always a bonus. Homicide?"
"Well my dear, that's for you to find out." He teased, catching the smile she gave at the endearment.
"You coming with?" She asked as she scanned the slip before grabbing her coffee and walking out of the break room with him.
"Not at the moment, no. I've got a meeting with Ecklie about office supplies or something equally mundane, but I'll be along after." He sighed with a roll of his eyes, Sara taking pity on him.
"Lucky me…not so lucky for you." He glared at her and all she could do was purse her lips to keep from laughing at him.
"Just hope that I don't stab him with said office supplies."
"And why would I hope that don't do that? I'm thinking a nice, recently sharpened number two pencil to the jugular." The look he gave her was priceless, like a cross between the man that agreed fully with her and was severely tempted to do just that, and the supervisor that shouldn't be letting her get away with such a comment. "Good luck, I can honestly say that I don't have the same control that you do when it comes to that man…if you can even call him that." He shook his head and pursed his lips as well.
She just keeps adding more reasons to love her.
"Be careful tonight. I'll see you as soon as possible."
"I will. Have fun with your office supply buddy!" She mocked him as they parted ways with one last loving look from her and a glare from him, him going towards Ecklie's office and her going towards her Denali.
It was a while before Grissom had been able to lose Ecklie and meet Sara at their scene, but he made it. Only to find that Sara had already done most of the work. The body had already been photographed and combed for any noticeable evidence. David had already come and gone, placing TOD around dinner time and taking the body with him back to the morgue. Samples of the blood had been swabbed and recorded, photographs taken, markers set. The dining room, living room and perimeter had already been processed.
Damn, she really is good.
"Hey." He acknowledged, stepping carefully though the house, finally finding Sara in the kitchen, searching for anything probative to the case.
"Hey yourself. How'd your meeting go?" His face showed the answer and she gave him a sympathetic frown. "That bad, huh?"
"I was reaching for the pencil." She laughed. "I ended up using my cell phone from my pocket to page myself. Told him that my help was needed immediately on a scene."
"Clever. I've done that on a few bad dates." He looked up to her with narrowed eyes and she shrugged. "What? I've been on dates before." Refusing to even concede that with a reply, he continued on.
"It still took another fifteen minutes for him to shut so I could go."
"Sounds like Ecklie."
"Mmm. So, what have you got here?"
"Okay, well, hear me out here, cause this gets weirder than I thought."
"How so?"
"I think this man was eaten." His head spun around faster than she thought possible at her comment and he raised an eyebrow. "You missed the body, there were human teeth impressions all over it, chunks of muscle, flesh and appendages missing. David placed TOD at dinner time. I think this guy was someone's main entrée."
"'Is it progress if a cannibal uses a knife and fork?'" The quote rolled off his tongue as he opened up several drawers and cabinets. He was skeptical of her theory, but trusted her judgment as they continued searching the kitchen. It was only a few seconds later, he expecting her to cite his source, but instead heard her scream.
"What happened?!" he called, rushing over to her. Her hand was over her mouth as she looked into the kitchen sink.
"If a fork and knife is progress, what is garlic butter and a skillet?" Sara commented before turning around in attempt to control her gag reflux. She had seen many things in her years, but nothing like this.
Grissom peered into the sink, and was just as disgusted to find a used frying pan with what appeared to be fried severed fingers, only without the meat. Clear bite marks visible.
"This just went from weird to outright freaky."
Together they finished processing the scene, working in sync with each other, better now than ever before. It only took about an hour once Grissom got there to help complete the scene and after packing up the evidence, they were on route back to the lab. Logging the enormous amount of evidence seemed to be the longest part, but once that was done, sometime around 7:00am, they were able to start going through it all in the layout room at the start of a double shift.
"I called a guy, he's going to fix your door tomorrow." Grissom told Sara as they began examining the first shreds of evidence collected.
"Oh yeah?" Neither of them were looking at each other, each too nervous about what such a simple thing could mean.
Please don't leave though.
Does that mean you want me to leave?
"Said he'll be by around two."
"Two?...that's the middle of the night for us." She commented with a smile.
"Sometimes even in Vegas people do things by day-dweller hours." Grissom joked.
Taking a quick look around to make sure there was no one around, Sara moved closer to Grissom and softly spoke.
"If it's okay with you, could I stay with you today? Until it's done?" She was nervous, he could tell.
"Of course. You're welcome to stay with me whenever you want Sara." The look he gave her, of pure love, gave her a full sense of security and the intensity of his gaze made her blush.
"Thanks."
For several hours, they worked side by side, bouncing ideas off one another, examining evidence, viewing autopsy reports, going through the victim's computer, finally concluding that their victim had in fact been cannibalized. It took some digging, but they found their killer with the help of Brass, and by their third shifts end they had a nice, signed and dated confession and a closed case. Locking up the last of the evidence and filing the paperwork was a quick process and then they were finally heading out the door.
"Well…that was…" Sara began, not sure how to finish her sentence.
"Interesting?" Grissom supplied and she nodded.
"That's one way of putting it." She still couldn't get the image of that man's body from her mind.
"Well, this is Vegas after all."
"What is it about the Vegas name that makes people do the strangest things?" She shook her head and cringed, recollecting the case. "I mean, suicide, I get that. People get depressed and feel that's the only way out. I don't agree with it, but I understand the thought behind it. But placing an ad online to have someone come fry you up in garlic and eat you? What the hell has this world come to?" She was completely disgusted.
"I agree that this was definitely one of the strangest cases I have encountered."
"I remember a few years back, that high school case I had. The girl had been eaten by her friends while on PCP. But that was because of drugs, this was just 'Hey, you! Hungry? Eat me.' I mean, a Little Debbie snack is a snack not a human leg." Sara cringed again and Grissom smiled at her response. Horrific cases they both were, but she was still being very cute about it. He loved the way her shoulders rose and shook slightly when she was visualizing it.
"Come on, I'll buy you breakfast." He suggested as they made their way to car lot.
"You can eat right now?" She asked, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
"What? I think I'm in the mood for human flesh ala mode." He replied sarcastically, making her laugh, shake her head and get in the car.
They weren't entirely surprised when the got to the diner to find the rest of the team already occupying a booth. Grissom wasn't happy about it, but he wasn't surprised. After all, this was Franks, and they all considered it to be like a second home.
"So much for that date." Sara whispered as they walked through the doors.
"Apparently. Come on, we wouldn't want them to think that we were here for any other reason than to see them." He replied back in a sardonic tone.
"Suck it up bucko." She teased as they walked to the table, Grissom practically dragging his heals.
"Hey guys." Sara announced as they reached the overly large booth.
"Hey! You guys made it. We left a message with Judy to tell you we were here." Catherine greeted.
"Uh, yeah…we got it, why else would we be here?" Grissom quickly covered, making Greg and Sara smile.
"Well, move your asses over and let the lady sit!" Sara ordered, watching as Warrick moved across to sit with Nick and Catherine on the other side of the booth to make room for her and Grissom next to Greg. "That's more like it!" She smiled, even more so when she realized that Grissom would have to sit next to her.
General conversation went about for about fifteen minutes, with orders placed, coffee served and finally food served. Sara had gone for simple fruit and toast, not sure if her stomach would handle anything heavier after their gruesome case.
"So, did I hear correctly? You guys had a real life cannibal?" Warrick asked, interest fully piqued.
"Ugh, don't remind me. I'm having enough trouble just keeping this fruit down after that." Sara grumbled making them all laugh.
"Oh come on Sar! We need to live vicariously through you. All of our cases were relatively routine. Nick's B&E was just their son, Warrick's bar fight was open and shut, everyone involved had been hospitalized and Greg and my rape case closed real fast when we lifted prints and collected semen from the Rape kit. The doer was in the system already. We picked him up eating a bowl of Fruit Loops and watching soap operas." Catherine explained, turning pleading eyes to the pair across from her.
"The victim, Jack Southwick, placed an ad online to be eaten. Even wrote it in his will that that was how he wanted to go out." Grissom commented, trying to save Sara from having to explain it all.
"Seriously? That's sick!" Nick swallowed hard and shivered at the thought.
"Tell me about it. Paid the perp, Kevin Wheeler ten grand to eat him. So he came to his house, cut him up, little by little, cauterizing the wounds as he went, and fried him up in some garlic right in front of the guy." Sara added on, now officially done with her breakfast.
"So he just ate the guy, right there in his house, in front of him?!" Catherine squirmed disbelievingly. At Grissom and Sara's nod she paled visibly and shook her head. "Now that's a level of creepy that I didn't even want to know existed."
"Try seeing it." Sara mumbled, causing everyone to give her sympathetic expressions and Grissom to squeeze her leg under the table. "Okay, can we change the subject please? I'd really love to forget this case." Forgetting about her hand, she had extended it out to grab her juice.
"Hey Sar, what happened to your hand?" Nick asked as he spotted the cast.
Looking to Greg, then to Grissom, Sara shook her head, tempted to slam it on the table but instead said,
"I think the cannibal talk was a better subject." Both men laughed knowingly while the other three just looked on very confused.
"She slipped in her kitchen and it went through the wall." Greg spoke up, trying to avoid her having to explain what actually happened.
Sara looked up with a very grateful expression to Greg.
"Ouch." Was the general response before Catherine felt the need to dig deeper, sensing by the looks the other three were sharing, that there was more to it.
"So how do they know?" Pointing out Greg and Grissom.
"Uhh…"
"Well, I was there." Greg immediately answered. "We were having a movie night." He added as they looked at him shocked, clearly questioning what he was doing in her apartment.
"What about you Grissom?"
"Uh…"
"He brought me to the hospital." Sara interjected, knowing he wasn't sure what to say. "I didn't want to go, so I told Greg that I was fine. But after he left it got worse, so I called Grissom to see if he could bring me." She lied her way through an explanation, but everyone seemed to buy it.
"Why does it not surprise me that you got a black cast?" Nick commented and Grissom coughed to cover his laugh, but not before Sara glared at him. "Am I missing something?"
"No, he just said the same thing after I got it.." She answered referring to Grissom.
"Well now how are we going to sign it?" Greg whined and again Grissom had to cough.
"What is with you people!" Sara sighed dramatically. "I'm thirty-three years old, not twelve! Why do you all want to sign a damn cast?" She sounded irate, but everyone could tell that she just thought that it was funny. When everyone just gave her sheepish grins, she sighed and pulled the metallic Sharpie from her purse to hand over to Greg first. "Here. Sign away to your little heart's content." She was careful to put the top of her hand up, hopeful to keep the others from seeing Grissom's remark.
Greg eagerly grabbed the marker and began drawing something on the hardened material. Finally finished he handed the marker back and she laughed.
"What's it say?" Catherine asked as everyone tried to see.
"Will you marry me? And our names in a heart." Sara remarked laughingly. Everyone just shook their heads at his antics, Grissom trying not to say anything as flashes of Greg on top of Sara, as innocent as it was, came to his mind. As if she knew what he was thinking, Sara slipped her free hand beneath the table, taking hold of his and squeezing it in a wordless declaration of her love for him.
"Okay, me next!" Nick urged, grabbing the marker.
After Nick wrote 'Love you! Try avoiding fights with walls, they usually win.' it was passed on to Warrick, who simply signed his name with a tiny heart below it and shrugged when questioned why there was no message.
"She's sitting write in front of me, anything I need to say to her, I can just say it." Sara smiled in his support, everyone else laughed at him. "Sara…I hope your hand heals well and soon. Oh, and I second Nicky here, walls are tough competitors."
"Okay me! Me! Me!" Catherine jumped up and down like a grade school student who knew the right spelling of astronomical.
"Hey, I think Cath wants a turn." Warrick teased the woman, earning himself a pretty scary death glare and a piece of Sara's discarded fruit thrown at him.
Sara handed the marker over to her and held her cast out, Grissom's message down, which Catherine had noticed from when the whole cast signing business had begun. Catching Sara off-guard talking with Greg, Catherine grabbed her hand and spun it over, revealing the message.
It's a good thing I know some Latin.
She read the writing quickly before looking up and smiling at couple across the table, who were unaware of her attentions. Uncapping the marker she wrote a quick note and her name before recapping the marker and putting it on the table.
I know. Good for you. Love, Cath.
Sara looked at it for a quick second before her eyes shot out of her head and she looked up in terror. Catherine merely smiled and winked at her, an expression that said,
"Your secret is safe with me."
Sara breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded to her in thanks before continuing on with the table's conversation and tightening her hold of Gil's hand momentarily.
It was over an hour later before Grissom and Sara finally returned to his townhouse, both exhausted.
"What a long day." She sighed as she threw her bag on the coffee table and jacket down on the arm of the sofa.
"Uh, days. Plural, and that it was." Grissom agreed as he put his jacket with hers.
Sitting down on the couch, he extended his arm out in invitation for Sara to join him. She eagerly complied, nestling in as close as she could get to him, letting his warmth wash away the stress of the past two days.
"You're sure you don't mind me staying here until the door is done?" Sara asked, still unsure.
"Positive. I quite like having you here." He took a deep breath of her hair before placing a kiss in it.
"Do you?" She still sounded confused about them, which he couldn't blame her for, but he wished there was a way to change it.
"I love having you here. Hell, I'd love it if you lived here."
Oh shit.
Huh? Did he just say what I think he said? I thought we were taking things slow.
Did I just say that? Way to take things slow Gil.
"Uhh…" Was all she could come up with. She hadn't been expecting that. He could tell by the way her body stiffened.
"Sara…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Not that I didn't mean it, but I know you said you wanted to take this slow, and I am perfectly okay with that. I just completely screwed this up didn't I?" He was frantic and had her mind not been reeling, she would have found it to be really cute.
"Gil, it's okay. I get it. You didn't screw anything up. I promise. You just caught me a little off guard there." He nodded understandably, but a bit sadly. "Gil, believe when I say that a huge part of me is very tempted by the idea of living with you again. It is. But, I've only just started to figure things out between us. I mean, we haven't even really been on a date."
"Sara, really, I understand. I don't want to rush you, or this, at all. I want this. I want you. In whatever capacity that is." She nodded silently, and he suddenly wondered again, what it was that she wanted. "What do you want?" He whispered to her as she snuggled closer into his side, her head resting in the crook of his neck.
She was silent for a minute, thinking, and he was about to repeat the question thinking she hadn't heard him, but then she spoke, softy, but enough that he heard.
"I want…I want to be your favorite hello, and your hardest goodbye."
"You already are." He hugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. "You already are."
That night (day) they both fell asleep wrapped up tightly in each other's arms, after a twenty-minute discussion on whether it was appropriate for Sara to share Gil's bed given their decision to go slow. She wasn't sure, he insisted and promised to behave.
He won.
They slept.
She dreamed. Of them, of their life together, of being happy again.
When she awoke, refreshed, and with a smile on her face, she just lay there, watching him sleep, admiring his even breathing and the slight twitches his lip would make as he dreamt.
Leaning in slowly, she placed a light kiss to his temple and whispered in his ear.
"I love you Gil." With a final stroke of her fingers through his graying tendrils, she eased her way out of his embrace and the bed, having a plan in mind and wanting to go over to her apartment before shift.
Several hours later Grissom awoke with a smile, despite the sounding of his alarm, only for it to disappear when he reached out for Sara to find his bed empty and cold. Opening his eyes only confirmed such things. Sitting up he noticed the small piece of stationary atop of her pillow.
Gil,
Had to stop at my apartment before work. See you there. I already set up your coffee machine, you just need to start it. I hope you slept well.
Love, Sara
P.S. Thanks for keeping me warm last night.
Gil smiled. As much as he wanted to wake up with her, he found her note to be endearing. Despite the need to stay in bed where her scent still lingered, Gil rose and padded out of his bedroom.
Coming across the coffee machine, he noticed another note attached and grinned. Like an idiot.
So, I figured since we had some set rules in the prior months,
we need some new ones.
He swallowed hard, not sure where this was headed. He thought that they had decided to make this an actual relationship, not just a sexual arrangement. He could still remember the conversation that they had shared in the locker room so many months ago, when Sara had first begun there little sex-tango.
"My offer is simple. Sex. That's it. Nothing more. Just no strings attached, purely platonic, mind blowing sex. We've been together before, granted a long time ago, but still we have, so it wouldn't be awkward in that sense. And if I do recall correctly, we were amazing together." She turned to his shocked expression and gave him a wistful smile at the memory and then continued with her suggestion. "We work the same hours so it would be convenient. We know which cases will be the ones to affect each other, so we'll be able to tell when the other needs a…uh…release." Dumbly Grissom nodded at her logic. Taking that as means to continue, Sara laid out the guidelines.
"I have a few simple rules. One: No one knows but us. Two: We don't discuss it at work. Three: We're free to see other people if the opportunity should arise." By the time she got to the rules she had finished dressing and had pulled out her hair brush. Grissom had yet to speak or move. He was still in a state of shock and bewilderment at her idea.
"Oh and so as not to confuse this with a relationship, no dates. Meaning, no dinners, no movies, no cuddling on the sofa drinking coffee, no doing the crossword, no toothbrushes left behind, no shared breakfasts, absolutely nothing in public, no pet names, no leaving clothes behind, no discussion of our feelings, no discussion of our past, no late night, or in our case, day, phone calls. Oh, and no gifts." As she listed off the 'rules' on her fingers and racked her mind for anything she may have forgotten, Grissom had started to process and came out of his daze a bit. Now, as he watched her list off everything, he couldn't help but smile.
"Is that all?" He said, his amusement getting the upper hand to his fears and insecurities of this 'arrangement.'
"Um…I think so." She answered absently, thinking hard to be sure. "Wait. And no repeats of today in the lab again."
Silently he nodded his understanding while she took up her seat on the bench again.
"So…sex." He stated more than asked, trying to wrap his head around the idea.
"Sex."
"No strings."
"None." Seeing that he wasn't quite sure, and wanting to save herself from further humiliation, she took a deep breath and stood. Coming to stand right before him she leant down and placed a chaste but lingering kiss to his lips, something she hadn't done in almost seven years, and with her hands lightly caressing his cheeks she breathlessly whispered to him.
"Just think about it. You know where to find me." And with that, she left. Leaving him to his thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, the smile from before now completely gone to be replaced with worry, he plunged forth.
Go make your standard scrambled eggs and toast.
Don't forget the orange juice.
-S
xoxo
He looked at the note even more confused now, flipping it over a couple times to see what he was missing. Sure, he had been lost in reflecting on that moment, but he was fairly certain he hadn't skipped a part of the note that said what those rules were.
I thought that she said something about rules.
Rereading it again, he was sure. He was definitely missing something.
Well, maybe she only wrote that to give me forewarning that she wanted to talk to me about it. Women. They should come with instructions.
Shaking his head and placing the note down on the counter, he went to the cupboard and pulled out his frying pan, only noticing the green post-it note stuck to its center once he had placed it on the stove.
Well, this is getting interesting.
Peeling the sticky note from the pan, he read.
Rule #1
It's never just sex.
This is a relationship not just an arrangement.
He breathed again and back was his beautiful smile.
Yup, this should be interesting.
Quickly going to the fridge, he pulled out the eggs, milk and orange juice. Each container holding its own note. Going numerically, he started with the eggs.
Rule #2
It doesn't matter if anyone knows or not.
Catherine and Greg already do, and as long as I have you,
I don't care about the rest.
Next was the milk after he cracked a few eggs into a bowl.
Rule # 3
Work is work, home is home.
We keep them separate, but in
both worlds we need to trust each other.
Honesty always, even if it hurts.
Pouring in the milk and whisking it up quickly, he poured it into the frying pan. Grabbing a glass from the cupboard, he poured the OJ, stirred the eggs, and read the fourth note.
Rule #4
We don't see other people.
Kind of goes without saying, I think, I hope.
He laughed, he was liking these rules so far. Seeing that his eggs were coming close to being done, he went for the bag of bread, only to find another note stuck to it. Popping a couple slices into the toaster, he returned to the small green square.
Rule #5
Dates are allowed.
Just as long as no bodily harm is caused.
We've had our fair share of that already.
And no Chuck-E-Cheese!
Finding no more notes in sight, he plated his breakfast and ate quickly before heading for the shower to finish getting ready for work. Upon opening the bathroom door, he noticed yet another sticky note with the black familiar lettering on it, posted to the center of the mirror. Coming closer, he noticed that it was two notes, one directly on top of and covering the other. Taking them both down, he read the first.
Gil,
If you came to the bathroom before going to
start the coffee pot, put this note back on the mirror,
(don't peak at the one under this)
turn yourself around and go do that first.
It will all make sense. Trust me.
Love, Sara
xoxo
The chuckle that escaped echoed in the small room as he read it.
She certainly thinks of everything.
Peeling the top note off, he read the one below.
Rule #6
Leave your toothbrush and clothes behind,
but you don't need it as an excuse to come back.
Always come back and I'll do the same.
Looking down at the cup that housed his toothbrush on the countertop, he noticed that it now had a friend. His blue toothbrush was now accompanied by her red one. If possible, the smile on his face grew wider.
It's amazing how much I love this woman.
Turning to the linen closet behind him, he opened it for a towel, only to find another green paper.
Rule #7
Always share the crossword.
P.S. I hope these are going in order.
If not, know that you missed something.
I'm trying my hardest to visualize your routine
and do this without waking you.
Good Luck.
S.
It's scary sometimes how well she knows me.
Fifteen minutes later, after showering, a towel wrapped around his waist, Grissom reemerged into the bedroom to dress. He was hoping to find more notes as he grabbed a pair of pants, and sighed disappointedly when he didn't. Going to the closet for a shirt, he was debating between the grey shirt and the blue one. Even he had to admit, that sometimes he was just like a girl when it came to his wardrobe. Finally grabbing the grey one, he unhappily moved to the dresser, only to grin when he opened up his underwear drawer for boxers and socks, to find another note.
Rule #8
I am quite fond of "Honey" and "Dear."
P.S. Wear the blue shirt, it makes your eyes sparkle.
Yup, definitely scary.
With a laugh, he mumbled to the empty room,
"Stalker."
Turning back to the closet, he switched the shirts and began dressing.
Fully dressed, he went out to the kitchen again, filling a travel cup with coffee before turning to his brief case, opening it to check that he had everything, even though he knew he never opened it after bringing it home.
Apparently Sara was aware that he did this as well, for there was a note right on top of the files.
Rule #9
Shared breakfasts are splendid…
so long as I'm not cooking.
We both know how bad that would turn out.
Nodding his head in agreement, Grissom could vaguely remember from their time in San Francisco a small grease fire from Sara attempting to make a stir-fry for his birthday. Hockey-puck style blackened pancakes and the fire alarm of four different apartments going off when she attempted breakfast in bed. Three different microwave explosions from cooking things in closed containers for far too long. And her entire kitchen covered in chocolate ice cream after she tempted fate with chocolate milk shakes…forgetting to put the cover on the blender.
Although, that one turned out kind of fun.
Grissom remembered with a smirk and a chill down his spine. Who knew Sara Sidle covered in chocolate ice cream could be so exciting?
The woman can dismantle a car and do any math problem faster than any person I've ever met, but she can barely make toast.
Shaking his head free of those memories, he gathered all the notes together, placing them in his pocket.
"Coat, where did I put that thing?!" He muttered as he looked around, finally seeing the sleeve draped over the back of the sofa upstairs. "There you are." Picking it up, he threw it over his shoulders and slip his arms through, lifting an eyebrow when his left hand encountered paper in the sleeve. "Hello." He greeted the note as he pulled it from its hiding place.
Rule #10
Cuddle on the sofa with me drinking coffee.
Always.
P.S. I hope you didn't get a papercut with this one.
Thankfully he hadn't. Adding the note to his pants pocket with the others, he checked his coat pocket for his wallet. Again, just another part of his daily routine. Sure enough, his wallet held a little green sticky.
Rule #11
Gifts aren't necessary.
Just your love.
That's all I want and all I need.
Having you love me is the best gift
I have ever received, and I plan
on treasuring it for as long as you'll let me.
So maybe there was one rule that he would have to bend…a lot. What could he say, he loved the thought of giving her gifts. Adding the paper to the rest, he headed towards the door, briefcase and coffee in hand. Stopping where he kept his field kit by the door, he did the same as he did with his briefcase, only this time opening it up to check his supply levels.
Low on gloves. High on Sara's rules.
Pulling out the paper, he chuckled.
You're almost out of gloves.
Rule #12
I must stick with my original plan and say no
to anything inappropriate in the lab.
But since that isn't a fun one, I'll give
you two on this sheet!
Rule #13
Hold my hand in public.
And in private.
I like your hands, they make me feel safe.
She had told him that once, back in California after they had been together about a month. At the time he hadn't fully understood how important that feeling of protection was to her. Before he could think any further about that, his eye caught another paper, posted to the back of the front door. Standing up, he quickly peeled it from the door to read it.
Rule #14
We can discuss the past, but not rehash it.
The past is the past, what happened, happened
and we can't change that, but we're here now.
Let's live for now and for the future.
P.S. Don't forget your phone.
The stalker comment slipped from his lips again as he patted down his pockets only to discover that he had indeed forgotten his cell phone…and his keys. Finding the phone on the coffee table, he opened it to check for messages, only to find another post-it, folded up and placed on top of the buttons. Making quick work of the creases, he read.
Rule #15
Late night, or in our case, day,
phone calls are fully allowed.
Suggested even.
P.S. Keys are on the corner table.
"Scary, scary woman. How the hell did I ever get to work on time without her?"
Sure enough, there were his keys, another note stuck to the table beneath them.
Rule #16
I always want to know how you feel.
Good or bad.
I want for you to know how I feel as well.
P.S. I love you, and I'm glad
that we're giving this a shot.
S.
xoxo
Now he just felt giddy. This little goose hunt for rules was not only entertaining and helpful in getting ready, but it was making him love her so much more than he thought possible. Taking a quick look around to make sure he had everything, which he was more certain of today after all of Sara's reminders, he concluded that he was set to go and grabbing all of his things, walked out the door, turning back around to lock it.
Should have guessed that one.
Covering the lock was another note, somehow he hadn't expected that one, but he should have. Pulling it down, he noticed that it was like the one on the mirror, with it having two notes. Before pulling the sheets apart, he read the top one.
Rule #17
Never leave without saying goodbye.
That one didn't have him smiling, but rather regretting the past yet again. Taking a deep breath, he flipped to the second paper.
Rule #18
Never leave.
Sad as it was, he did manage a smile at that one.
Never leave? I think I can handle that. I lost her once, almost lost her twice, not doing that again.
Making quick work of the lock, he headed straight to his car, placing his kit and briefcase on the passenger seat. Getting in, he pulled the seatbelt out to buckle it, finding another note stuck to the harness.
Rule #19
Lots of strings attached.
P.S. You better be reading this one, if not,
that would mean that it either fell off, or you're
not wearing your seat belt.
I'll just hope that you read it and try not to worry.
Drive carefully.
Love, Sara.
Starting the engine came with yet another laugh. Grissom was fairly certain he hadn't smiled or laughed this much in years. It was quite rejuvenating he found. The drive to the lab was the same amount of time as it always was, but it seemed much longer for him as he was very eager to just look at the beautiful woman he was so head over heals in love with. Finally making it, he first spotted her car, so he knew she was there, it was just a matter of where.
"Hello Judy. How are you doing today?" Grissom greeted kindly as he stepped up to the reception desk.
"Oh, I'm good Dr. Grissom, thank you." She smiled sweetly at him, before shuffling about her desk. "Here are your messages Sir, oh and this was left for you by Sara." She handed him a stack of pink papers followed by a simple white envelope with 'Grissom' written across the front.
Stepping to the side some, he placed his kit and briefcase on the floor and his coffee on the desk as he opened the envelope, his curiosity getting the best of him. As he had hoped, it was another green post-it, making his heart race in anticipation.
Gil,
I get the feeling that you are standing in
reception reading this.
Knowing you, you couldn't wait.
I hope you have found
all of my notes so far. There is only one rule left.
I'd like for you to go to your office for it.
Rule #20
Love me forever.
I'll see you momentarily.
Love, Sara.
"Dr. Grissom? Are you okay?" Judy asked in concern, his wide smile a strange sight for her to see except for a few times after he had conducted an experiment with positive results.
"Hmm?" He looked up to see the worried expression on her face, and only grinned further. "I am better than okay Judy. You have yourself a great night." With that he picked up his things and walked away, leaving a stunned Judy in his wake.
Regardless of the protest in his knees, Grissom just about ran to his office. It being still several hours before shift, there weren't many people about, so no one to question his sudden speed. Opening the door to find his office dark was not surprising, not that it even registered in his mind for more than a second. His mind was purely focused on his last note. Flipping the lights on, he took a quick scan of the room, trying to spot the green note. It took several glances around before he spotted something, not the green note he was looking for, but something else. Momentarily forgetting his search for the note, he put down his things and approached the object questioningly, knowing that it wasn't his and that it didn't belong in his office.
A suitcase? Why would there be a suitcase in…
Before he could even finish his thought, he heard the door close and he spun around to set his eyes on the most wonderful sight he'd ever have seen.
Sara.
"Rule number twenty-one." She stated as she stepped closer to him. He watched her move, frozen to the spot. "Always kiss me goodnight."
In that moment, he was a goner, completely awe-struck and speechless. She looked no different than she did everyday, but somehow he was seeing her in a new light. Knowing that forever she was his. He was captured by every bit of her.
She had continued to step closer to him and just as she made it to stand directly before him, smiling that smile he fell for all those years ago, she motioned to the suitcase behind him.
"I, uh, thought about what you said, and well, if your offer still stands, I think that Rule Twenty-One would be easier to follow if we were under one roof." She was nervous about her approach, not entirely sure if he had been fully serious about wanting her to move in with him.
It was a few seconds before she could practically see the wheels turning in his head, connecting the dots. Then her heart started hammering in her chest as his face broke out into the largest smile she had ever seen on him.
"Really?" She was beginning to really enjoy his 'kid-on-Christmas' side, it was really rather striking. She nodded to him before speaking.
"When I was going around planting all those notes today, I realized that I don't need more time to figure this all out between us. I love you. I know that with every fiber of my being." She paused, grasping his hands. "I know that neither of us are perfect. We'll annoy each other and tick the other off, say stupid things and then take them back, but put all that aside, I know for sure that I will never find another man who loves me more than you do." She stroked his cheek lightly with her fingertips and finished. "I'm ready for this. I'm ready to be with you, fully. I'm ready to really start our life together." For the first time in weeks, her voice was filled with a confidence that he knew she felt. "I'm ready to love you."
She was ready.
So was he.
Saying screw it to Rule Number Twelve, Gil wrapped his arms around Sara's shoulders, giving her the tightest hug he could, her arms instinctively embracing his abdomen. Peppering her hair, neck, cheeks and anywhere else within reach, with kisses, he finally leaned in and gave her a long, passionate kiss, leaving her breathless.
"Remember tonight Sara, for it's the beginning of always." He whispered into her ear, both of them tightening their hold of the other.
Yes, she would remember tonight. There was no way she'd ever forget.
-The End-.