Title: For Now: Forever
Author: Jeanine (jeanine@iol.ie)
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sara/Warrick
Spoilers: None
Feedback: Makes my day
Disclaimer: If it was in the show, it's not mine.
Archive: At my site Checkmate () , Fanfiction.net; anywhere else, please ask.
Summary: Sara watches Warrick from across the room
Notes: Part of the "For Now" universe, a companion piece to "For Always". Previous instalments "Leaving" "Staying" "Homecoming" and "Surprised" are at my site.
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The first time she ever danced with him was at his leaving party, the day that she hid in the locker room to hide her upset, collect herself, the day he followed her and held her, made her feel better just by being there to listen.
That day was also the first time that he ever held her like that, wrapped her in his arms and made her feel so safe, so protected.
The second time he ever held her was the morning he actually flew out. He'd asked her to take him to McCarren, having said a teary farewell to his grandmother the night before, and she'd done her best to keep her own tears at bay in the departures hall. She'd managed it too, getting all the way back to her car before sobbing as if she'd lost her best friend.
That was the first time she'd realised she had.
He'd kept his word to her though, not for the first time. He'd called her, emailed her, and her fridge door was soon covered with postcards that formed a map of the United States. He came back to visit, and when he was playing in San Francisco, she booked her vacation time to coincide with his time there, had gone to meet him. She'd shown him all her old haunts, and she'd gone to see him play.
That wasn't the first time she'd seen him play; that had happened long ago. But it was the first time she'd ever seen him play in front of an audience, the first time that she'd seen him up on stage, looking like he belonged there. She'd always known in her heart that he'd been right to leave CSI, that he'd been born to do this, but that had been the first time that she'd come to believe the evidence she was seeing with her own eyes.
Eyes that to her surprise became more than a little blurry once the rest of the band left the stage, leaving just Warrick there with his piano, and he began playing notes that were so familiar to her. They were the notes of her favourite song, the song that she'd told him only that day was her favourite, and she knew that while the club was crowded, that there were any amount of women who would love to take him home with them, he was playing just for her.
She knew she missed him, but she never realised just how much until the day that he came back, surprised her in front of the CSI building. That day she ran to him and he wrapped her in his arms, once more making her feel safe and protected. That time was the first time that he'd held her and she'd felt like her feet weren't touching the ground, which of course they weren't. He'd lifted her up, swung her around, but when he'd put her down again, oh-so-gently, she'd still felt as if she were floating.
That's how she felt earlier on today when she walked down the aisle to meet him, long ivory dress swishing around her ankles, her eyes, free of tears, focused completely on him, on how he was looking at her, making gooseflesh creep up her arms. It's how she felt as she walked back down the aisle on his arm, how she felt as she danced with him with all eyes on them, feeling as if they were the only two people in the room.
That's how she feels now as she watches him once again playing her favourite song on the piano, her mind filling in the lyrics of "The Way You Look Tonight", tears finally coming to her eyes. He doesn't take his eyes off her, and she knows that he's playing just for her, that for him, she's the only person in the room.
For now, she's content to stand here, just looking at him, even though she really wants to do more than that. But she knows that that will come later, tonight in their room, when he dances with her, sings to her, holds her, once again making her feel protected and safe, like there's nothing that can touch her, and as long as he's with her, she knows nothing can. Because unlike the first time she danced with him, unlike the first time that he held her and her feet didn't touch the ground, she knows that this isn't just for now.
She knows that it's forever.