Chapter Fifty:

The gang left one by one and Sara watched as Grissom suited up to work on the bees. She had hoped to spend some time alone with him so that she could talk with him about leaving the department. She saw the extra suit and decided to join him. He turned and smiled at her.

"Oh, I love it when you dress up." Sara laughed and joined him at the table. She watched as Grissom carried the smoker over to the bees.

"Well, you know, whatever it takes to get some time with you. How's the

study going? Any sign of Colony Collapse Disorder?"

"Nope, so far it's healthy." Grissom continued to use the smoker. Sara coughed a little as she watched him interact with the bees. " Nothing too healthy about smoking."

"Well, the scent confuses the guard bees. They won't emit the pheromone that tells the colony there's an intruder."

Grissom opened the box and looked at the frames and bees inside.

"Don't worry, he's harmless," smiled Sara.

Grissom took out a frame and showed Sara the bees.

"Who's who?"

"These are the workers -- infertile females."

"They don't sting?"

"No, not unless you swat one, or close one up in your hand, or freak out. Go ahead, take off your glove."

"Eh... all right, I trust you." That's my Sara

Sara took off her glove and a bee landed on her hand. She smiled as it crawled around on her hand.

"See? It's cool. The worker bees defend the hive, procure the pollen, make the honey,

nurture the larvae and pupae in each of these brood cells." I'll always take care of you Sara

Sara watched the bee on her hand. Grissom smiled as he watched her. He had watched for her nine years and she never ceased to amaze him. He couldn't resist asking.

"You know, maybe we should get married."

Sara was surprised. He hadn't been this forward in long time. It was nice. Their eyes met. She wondered if he would still propose if he knew that the old Sara was gone.

"Ouch!"

She turned her hand over to see the where the bee had stung her. It had already begun to swell.

"Oh, oh ... Ow."

" I'm sorry."

"Ow."

Grissom picked up the smoker and used it to distract the bees. She started to pick at the place but he stopped her.

"No, no, don't, don't, don't pick it out. Makes it worse, releases the venom into the bloodstream. It's better to scrape it."

Grissom took out his pocket knife and started scraping the sting from Sara's hand. He gently removed it as Sara watched him. His hands gently caressed her palm.

"So, uh... what do you think, you know, about..."

"Yes. Let's do it."

"Yeah?"

He wasn't prepared for her answer. He guessed she would put him off like she had done with so many other questions he had in the past but she didn't. He was elated. He leaned forward to kiss her only to have their masks bump. Sara laughed hysterically. She knew that only Grissom could propose in such a manner and she loved him for it.

She thought about the discussion she had rehearsed in her head but decided it could wait.

He grabbed her and they ran into the house. Sara giggled as they tried to hurriedly remove the outfits. With a few curses here and there, they freed themselves. It was a wonderful way to end a day.