Title: Chosen
Author: Jeanine (jeanine@iol.ie)
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sara/Warrick
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.
Notes: For the LiveJournal CSReports Virtual Rewind challenge, to the "Buffy titles" challenge. And I couldn't just write one, so I ended up doing a minor series.
***
It's been a long time since Sara's woken up with someone, even longer since she enjoyed some lazy morning lovemaking. It's never bothered her before, but after this morning, after Warrick, she's beginning to realise what she's been missing out on.
She thinks that it should feel stranger than it does, that the awkwardness associated with these things should still be there, all the more so since this is Warrick, the man who's been her friend for years. There should be some deep conversation about what they're doing, where they're going; there should be a thousand worrying thoughts flying between them.
She knows this, but she can't think of anything but being in his arms.
Once she wakes up, sees him staring at her, once she kisses him, it takes a while for them to make it out of the bedroom. They eventually find their way to the shower, which they share, ostensibly because they're running late, in reality for other reasons altogether. Getting dressed is another chore, because it's the exact opposite of her desires, but they do manage to get to the kitchen.
He acts quite surprised when she starts preparing an omelette, and she archly reminds him that she grew up in a B&B, that there are a thousand ways to cook a breakfast, and she knows all of them. She expects a pithy response, frowns when his face falls, when his eyes become shadowed, and he leans back against the counter, crossing his arms and sighing heavily.
Placing the eggs and bowl beside the sink, culinary masterpiece forgotten, she goes to him, says his name. He doesn't speak, and she rests her hand on his chest, leans into him. "Talk to me," she begs softly, and he sighs again.
"I never knew you could cook," he tells her, and she shakes her head.
"No-one knows that," she replies. "And breakfast is the only thing I can do."
Her words are meant to soothe him, they fail. "It's not just that… I didn't know your parents had a B&B… I know you came from San Francisco, but I don't know if that's where you grew up… I don't know if you have brothers and sisters, or any other family…"
Sara's other hand goes to his chest, stays there. "We've got plenty of time for that," she tells him, and he meets her gaze, holds it steadily.
"And what about Grissom?" he asks, the question making her reel as if he's slapped her. "I know how you feel about him…"
Sara swallows hard. "How I felt," she corrects him gently, all her emphasis on the last word. "That was a long time ago Warrick… and I know who I want to be with."
His lip twitch in the shadow of a smile. "Yeah?"
A smile spreads across her face. "Yeah," she says, brushing her lips across his.
The omelette stays forgotten, and it's another time she's chosen well.