Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: :) Probably the last update for a while. Busy week, and then my best friend and I are going wedding dress shopping next weekend, so I can't make any promises for updates. Buuut, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting two out so close to each other, so maybe it'll happen again.

Hope you enjoy! Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter Nine:

"Shit!" She aimed a fiery kick at her car, and then winced and hopped after the loud thunk! indicated that she had made solid contact. A part of me wanted to laugh, but I restrained myself, choosing not to catch her shoulders and attempt to comfort her. Clearly, Sara had a temper I was unaware of up to this point, and I wasn't entirely certain that she wouldn't turn it on me if I came too close just now.

The night had not started badly, nor had anything awful occurred in the mean time, so it did seem like an over-the-top reaction. We'd both been looking forward to tonight for a while—or, at least, I had been—and the evening had begun rather nicely, I thought. Tony and I had spent a good deal of time directing the set up of the ballroom in the Union where there seminar would be taking place—it was small and, truthfully, a little experimental at this point. If we received positive feedback, Tony had it in his head to make it more of a conference that would take up a week, hosting several scientists from various disciplines to give a number of different lectures as well as being on discussion panels… but for now, it was a few hours on a Thursday night, and the speakers were from the faculty here. Still impressive, of course, but not a new experience for the students who would be attending.

Still, once everything was settled and the schedules of the day resting by the entrances to the large room, there was a lull that gave me time to realize that I was checking the door constantly, expecting Sara early—and expecting her with no small amount of anticipation. It wasn't a date, of course, and I knew that. I did. She was a student, I was a teacher, and we were both here to explore the sciences and learn something. It was academic. But at the same time, I wasn't about to deny that I felt like there was a certain importance to the night. I mean, I saw her outside of class, but only immediately following it. With the exception of running into her in the Chemistry building and having her accompany Tony and I to his office, this would be a first.

And it was night time, not the middle of the day, in a colleague's office, in between classes. …And that had been before I really knew her.

Not that I knew her all that well right now. We could talk for hours about forensics, but in the five class periods and their subsequent hours-long discussions since she'd told me about her boss having sex in his office, I had managed to learn very little about her. She was a little more relaxed, of course, but I had yet to hear about her family at all. She talked about Eddie a lot, which bothered me. He was certainly too old for her—older than me, and I was too old for her—and what she called protectiveness sounded an awful lot like possessiveness. She talked a little about Anni, but it was generally in passing. She would be talking about herself, and Anni's name would pop up, because it seemed like Sara did very little, outside of school, without the girl. I half-expected her to come to the seminar with said friend in tow.

But no, she came alone, looking… very nice. Not that Sara didn't look nice every day, but the clothing was generally young-looking. Very, very much so. Tonight, she looked like a professional. Like a colleague. Like a woman I could meet at an academic seminar and ask for drinks afterward, with the hopes of dinner and a kiss at her door at the end of the night. …It wasn't that I forgot who she really was, exactly, but… it was easy not to think about, seeing Sara so polished. Her black pea coat was expensive and fit her snugly, the hint of a white scarf at her neck bright, making the dark curls on her hair seem so vibrant. My feet moved of their own regard, swiftly over to her, propelled forward by the leap in my stomach as soon as I saw her step through the door.

I knew I was too close to her when I asked to take her coat because I could smell her. More than just the sweetness of her hair that I was used to, but the actual smell of her skin—warm and soft but with an edge to it that I struggled to understand. It was familiar, nagging at me, but unidentifiable. She shivered, and I hoped it was from the coat slipping from her bare, tanned shoulders, rather than because she'd realized my proximity. We sat beside each other through the event, her arms brushing mine more often than felt fair. I would have known those long limbs were bare, even through the fabric of my shirt, and it did awful, wonderful things to my senses. She was in a low pair of heels and her toenails were a deep burgundy that made my heart beat harder—not necessarily faster, but definitely harder. I felt certain she would hear it, but she didn't seem to. She didn't glance in my direction except in-between speakers, and I had the feeling that she was more focused on them than on me.

Which, of course, was as it should be. What had I expected? She was here for the event, not for me, and she was an extremely attentive student. I had known as much. Still, the bright gap-toothed smile she turned to me when Tony announced me—in glowing terms that I certainly didn't deserve—had my hands shaking on my notes, and gave me a secret thrill… I realized that I felt hopeful, but I wasn't sure what I was hoping for, exactly. I mean… at the very least, I knew that I had no right to hope for it, and I knew that the hope would go unfulfilled, unless by some twist of fate, I ran into Sara in five or six years, somewhere else entirely, and the dynamic was dramatically changed. ...And expecting something like that was beyond ridiculous.

I didn't like to admit it to myself, but it gave me quite the ego trip to watch her watch me speak. Three days a week, she watched me with something akin to awe, but this was something more than that—it felt like a bigger, more profound kind of awe when she displayed it so openly in this room full of people. And when I had finished, and Tony had stepped up to announce someone named Dr. Arios, I slipped back into my seat a little flushed, and felt my face burning when she reached a hand out to me, unafraid, and clasped my forearm in silent acclamation. I spent the rest of the seminar reliving that single, simple, fleeting contact.

Except, of course, during Tony's closing, in which I noticed a change in her posture that I had noticed several times before this—other speakers didn't receive the level of awe she gave me, when I spoke… and I couldn't compare to the way she watched him. Not in a million years, and I disliked the way it made me frown and speculate on the absurd and suddenly doubt myself when moments before I had felt so confident.

She stood off to the side while Tony and I spoke to any number of people, at the end—professors, both in and out of the sciences, community members, students—and then waited patiently while we made certain that maintenance didn't need anything from us for the cleanup… and finally, together, we approached her. She had the black coat tucked under her arms and she was leaning back against the wall, her legs extended straight in front of her. She still looked beautiful, but I was surprised to note she seemed a bit tired. As soon as she caught sight of us, she stood up straight and the look was gone from her face—she was fresh and smiling once again—but it stuck with me. It seemed almost childlike… I half expected her to rub her eyes with full fists.

Tony took her coat gently from her and helped her into it, something I had been hoping to do, but I fought down said disappointment as we walked out and Sara sighed. "So… did it all go off the way you two planned it?"

I blinked in surprise, but Tony nodded. "You know, it really did. The students seemed to enjoy themselves, didn't they, Sara?"

She gave him a very bright, wide, gap-toothed smile that had my heart fluttering, despite not even being directed at me. "Well, I certainly did. …But yes, I think the reaction was positive…" She maintained her observations out of the building and into the parking lot, where we all stopped, and after a beat, Sara spoke up for us. "So… Did you guys want to grab some coffee before we call it a night? I rarely get a night off so…"

Tony laughed and put a gentle arm around her shoulders. "Oh, you poor thing! Yes, I suppose Gil and I will have to buy you some coffee and some delectable dessert for your time, won't we?" He teased, and she grinned, glancing at me until I nodded my agreement, smiling and wishing I had something witty to say or some excuse to touch her the way he did, unthinkingly.

This feeling persisted through coffee at a diner complete with cheesecake—Sara's covered in chocolate and caramel and a rather large strawberry that she plucked off the top and dipped in the sauce on her plate, eating with an unintentionally provocative air, while she and Tony discussed everything under the sun, including several personal questions that put me on edge, because I was aware that I did not know enough about her to ask such things. Like, "Did all of that business with your scholarship get worked out?" and "Did you decide if you'll be making that trip back to California anytime soon?" and "How is Anni? …The same, I gather." followed, of course, but an indulgent chuckle I didn't understand nor appreciate.

Throughout the ride back to campus, sitting alone in the backseat, I told myself that I should have been more assertive—taken control of this interaction and made her notice me. Of course, I had to argue with myself that there was no reason I should want her attention on me… but then, if I never acted on those feelings, how much could a little indulge hurt? So when, after we climbed out of Tony's car, it became clear that Sara had parked a little further away in a student lot, I stepped up and said I'd walk her to her car. Tony left, and the pair of us began our walk in the dark, Sara's shoulders a little hunched from the cold bite of the night and the misting spray of precipitation that was not heavy enough to warrant turning back to take my car over to hers, but which still managed to coat your skin in a thin layer that seeped in and chilled you deeply.

She shivered, and with an impulsiveness I didn't feel, I stepped closer and put my arm around her in the same way Tony had. "…Cold?"

She looked up at me out of the side of her eyes, a very small smile on her pink lips. "…Better now." The man in me roared, and the scientist in me scratched his head. Something about her reaction wasn't… surprised enough… but did I really want to see shock and disgust in her gaze? Especially when she'd just allowed the same thing from Tony without a second glance? No, of course not. Maybe Sara was a very touchy-feely person. Maybe Sara didn't see this as me crossing a line.

Maybe it wasn't.

"…I'm sorry. I should have driven you over here… the rain is…"

"Nice." I glanced at her in surprise, our faces rather close together, and she smiled that coy little smile again. "I mean, now that I'm not cold anymore… It is nice. …Nothing like rain on your face to make you feel alive."

I pursed my lips, wondering about this statement, setting it aside for later consideration. "…No, nothing like warm rain on your face to make you feel… alive. Makes me miss California. And Minnesota."

She snorted a laugh. "Minnesota?"

I quirked a smile. "Yeah… they get lots of thunderstorms in the summers, so it'll be humid all day and then in the early evening the thunder will start rolling in and the lightning flashing against the purple clouds hovering at the horizon, just above the most brilliant sunset you've ever seen… and then it starts to rain, but it's still so hot and humid outside that the rain hardly feels cold. If it just comes down slow and steady, you could stand outside for half an hour before you started to feel the chill…"

Her eyes were fixed on mine, and I realized that our walking had slowed, but I wasn't sure how to pick up the pace without breaking the moment. Slowly, she licked her lips, her eyes taking on that slightly distracted, clouded appearance of searching for words. Finally, "…Do you wish you hadn't left Minnesota?"

Heat flared in my stomach at her words, and at the sight of her tongue, though it seemed removed from the upper portion of my body, which was still cold with rain and fixed on her eyes, so dark here, illuminated by only the occasional streetlight. "No. I… I want to go back, eventually, but… I couldn't be there anymore."

"…Why?" She asks me, but we're coming up on her car, and as she turns to it, I release her, hoping to let the subject die. I don't want to talk about losing my friend, but I also don't want to talk about my girlfriend in Madagascar. Judge me all you like, but it wasn't so much a conscious decision as a problem with impulse control—I was unable to control my impulse to hide her until after I'd already attempted to, avoiding her question, and at that point, did I really want to bring it all up again?

In any case, she was pulling keys from her pockets, unlocking a rather old, beaten-up-looking vehicle, and slipping inside to start it before she bid me goodbye. I waited, trying to focus on what would be an appropriate parting for a student and teacher in this moment, and so it startled me when she seemed to fly from the car, slamming the door, without my ever hearing it start. …Oh. It hadn't started.

Which is when she hauled off and kicked her car, before hopping around like a bunny, clutching her food in pain.

I gave her a second before I finally stepped forward, catching her shoulders gently and turning her to me. She looked embarrassed, and so very cute in that embarrassment, her cheeks coloring and her mouth falling open, trying and failing to find an explanation for her behavior. I chuckled softly. "…Car won't start?"

"…No." She sighed. I quirked a smile.

"Come on, let me give you a ride home."

"…No, I… I don't have any way to get back to school tomorrow. Or work. I-I-I… I need to figure out what's wrong and fix it. Shit!" She murmured again, this time a whisper rather than an exclamation, and her eyes were just shiny enough to tell me she was fighting back tears. "I just… I really don't have the money to fix my car right now…"

Without thought, my hands moved from her shoulders to her cheeks, bracing her face and tilting it towards me. Once I had done so, of course, I had an internal alarm going off, telling me that I wasn't just crossing a line, I was running straight into enemy territory, screaming, with my hands waving above my head…but to pull away now would only call more attention to my faux pas. I played it off like I cupped the cheeks of all my students in dark parking lots at nearly eleven at night. "…I'll pick you up, tomorrow, and after class we'll take a look at the car, okay?"

She blinked in surprise. "…Really? You can… you know how to… Really?"

I chuckled softly and let my hands fall, feeling like now that she was calm, it was not so awkward to pull away. "Well, I mean, most of my knowledge is incomplete… but I've taken apart my share of vehicles, so I think we should be able to figure it out. You may be late for work, but it's better than paying a mechanic…"

She nodded, with wide eyes, and I smiled softly at her, reopening her car door and retrieving her keys. I passed them to her, locked the vehicle, and slid my arm around her shoulders again as we turned to head back to the Union parking lot and my car. I mean… it was still raining, and still quite cold, and now she was emotional. …It was perfectly natural that I should pull her against my side and attempt to offer warmth and comfort and solidarity, wasn't it?

The walk back to my car seemed to pass more quickly, and, once inside, I turned the heat up high, hoping to warm her red nose and cheeks and dry out her slightly damp hair. She gave me directions and I pulled out of the parking lot, tossing looks in her direction as often as I thought was safe. I was worried she was going to get sick, and had half a mind to stop somewhere for chicken noodle soup before dropping her at home, before I realized that it was far too late to expect anything to be open. I frowned a little and glanced over at her again, but she didn't seem to be shivering anymore. Instead, her eyes were on me.

"…What?"

"You don't want to tell me why you left Minnesota."

I blinked in surprise. I was not used to people being so direct. After a moment of hesitation, I shook my head. "No, I don't."

She nodded, turning her eyes back to the windshield, and I felt remorse wash through me. Maybe I should just tell her. Maybe I—"You missed your turn… take the next right and double back…"

I sighed and focused on my driving, taking occasional directions, and finally pulling up outside a rather nicer building that I would have expected considering Sara's car and the way she'd just been fretting about the money to fix it. She offered me a smile, but I wasn't sure how genuine it was, and even leaned across the center console of my car to give me a loose, one-armed hug. "Thanks Dr. Grissom. I… For everything."

"When's your first class?"

"Oh. Um… I can just take a bus or walk or something. Really. I'll be fine."

I shook my head. "No, really, Sara. I'd be more than happy to give you a ride. My first class is at eight, so I try to be there by a quarter after seven… when's your first class?"

"…Seven."

I smiled and nodded. "I'll be here at six forty then, okay?"

She nodded, looking a little meek and a little uncertain, and then moved forward quickly and caught me in a much tigher, two-armed hug. "Thank you." Her voice was a little watery, and this time I let my hands rest on her smooth, narrow back, my thumb brushing over the knobs in her spin.

"…You're welcome, Sara."

She pulled back, gave me another smile, and hurried out of the car, waving when she was at her doorway before letting herself in. I waited another moment or two, just to be sure things were okay, and then headed home. I had quite probably missed Allison's phone call, if she'd made one, but I just couldn't bring myself to be concerned about it.