Chapter Forty Nine:
Grissom stood there leaning against the porch. Nick and Warrick were busy discussing the finer techniques of grilling while Catherine sat chuckling over a story Brass was telling. He smiled as he watched Sara and Greg in the yard playing Frisbee with Bruno. Life was good. He loved to watch her. He did a lot of that these days.
Sara noticed this also. She would be cleaning and she would turn to find him watching her. His gaze was always upon her. He had been like this since her return from the hospital. He was ever so watchful of her. He was Grissom.
She threw the frisbee and it soared over the fence. He could hear her giggling as Greg tried to climb over the fence only to be tugged back down by his shoes. Bruno wasn't about to let them win at this game. She's needed this.
She rubbed her elbow a few times and when she did, she knew she had been caught by him. If it was possible, he was more watchful of her these last few days. He sensed a change had come over Sara since her last meeting with Father Brannigan. She smiled at him and mouthed "I love you." She knew he would read her lips but then again all she had to do was look at him and he knew those words. They had always communicated those words to one another but it was only in the last two years they had understood their body language.
Sara ran over and tried to push Greg over the fence and when he landed on the other side, she giggled even more because she knew he had fallen into the bushes. She's home finally.
Brass nudged Catherine and they both looked at Grissom. He leaned in close to Catherine. "Man has it bad for her."
Catherine looked at Grissom and then Sara. She envied their relationship. They made each other complete. She wondered how they had missed not seeing how much they loved each other.
"I'm really surprised they hid their relationship for so long. You know we should have known."
Nick had been listening and he couldn't resist the subject. He had been waiting a long time for this conversation.
"We knew. We just didn't want to know. You know?"
Warrick looked at Nick and grinned. "Dude, how many beers have you had?"
Catherine chuckled. "It actually made a little sense, Nicky. We did know but we didn't want to admit it because we knew they had not admitted it to themselves."
Nick picked up his beer and clanged it against Catherine. "Exactly."
Brass took a sip of beer and looked at Sara, "All I know is that it was amusing at times to see those two work together. I miss that."
"Grissom does too," added Catherine.
Grissom turned to see the others watching him. It was a bit unnerving.
"What?" he asked as he tried to focus on them and Sara.
"Nothing. Go back to stalking Sara," chuckled Brass.
"I'm not stalking; I'm just making sure she doesn't over do it. That's all." He turned away, a little embarrassed that he had been caught.
"I think it's sweet. Leave him alone Guys," chided Catherine.
No one seemed to mind the slightly burnt hamburgers. Sara ignored the meat eaters as she munched on a salad. She caressed Grissom's knee as he tried to focus on his burger. When the caresses intensified, he lovingly reached over and held her hand. She loved doing that to him.
"Hey Sara, you know I'm a member of PETA also," grinned Brass.
Sara looked at Brass. She decided to stay quiet. She looked at him again and couldn't resist, "Okay, you're a member of PETA?"
"Yep. People Eating Tasty Animals"
Brass continued to grin and Greg smirked. The guys chuckled as Grissom sat back and enjoyed the entertainment. Sara couldn't help but laugh. These were her new memories and she loved every moment of them. She would take this over a crime scene any day.
Of course she missed them. She missed Grissom most of all, particularly when a difficult case came along. She had been fortunate in that she had not worked a domestic violence case since her return. She wondered if Grissom had anything to do with that. Previously, his intervention would have bothered her, but not now. They were each other's protection from the outside world.
It was nice that Greg had volunteered his services on a recent case. It almost felt like old times. Of course there was Ronnie to remind her that it wasn't so. Ronnie wasn't so bad but she was not the guys. That's sexist!
She wondered if this was the way Catherine felt when she first started working there after Catherine had been the only female for years. Had Catherine seen Sara as a threat? She didn't see Ronnie as a threat. No, she was just a nuisance. She looked at Catherine and smiled as she continued to chat with the guys. Sara concluded that perhaps there was a little validity to her theory.
Grissom had let go of her hand now and was walking out to check on the bees. The guys being guys soon followed. Catherine and Sara were left sitting at the table.
"Hey, kiddo. How's it going with the swing shift?"
"It's going."
"We miss you, you know. Grissom particularly. Sometimes, I see him walking past your desk and he stops like he's waiting for you. He acts like you just stepped away and is coming back. One night, I saw him sitting there in your seat."
Sara grinned. Grissom had told her about his excursion at her desk. Sara had worked a double and so had Grissom. It seemed days had gone by before they had gotten to see one another again. Grissom admitted he sat at her desk in hopes of smelling the fragrance of her hair. She had laughed but he was quite serious. She then remembered doing the same thing when he was on sabbatical. She didn't laugh at him anymore.
"He leaves me notes."
"I never thought the man would be so romantic."
Sara smiled. He was more than romantic, he was down right sexy. The thought made Sara blush. She looked out and watched as Grissom was explaining the life of a bee colony to the guys. She turned and looked at Catherine.
"How's he doing?"
"It's funny. He wanted me to find that out about you."
Sara smiled and looked at Grissom. I love you too.
