Grissom turned on his heels and went back to his office to get his
bearings. When Sara had told him that by the time he figured it out it
would probably be too late, he wasn't sure what she'd meant by that. She'd
been throwing herself at him for three years, and though he wasn't sure
that he even wanted a relationship with her, he figured that he didn't need
to hurry. He apparently was wrong. As he sat there, the pieces started
falling together. He suspected now that when she said those words several
months ago that she was already finding her heart tugged in another
direction, and that direction was now clear.
Nick and Sara always seemed to get along well, and over the last few months Grissom had continually put them together on cases. He had also noticed from their banter that they seemed to be spending considerable time together outside of work, but he had always assumed that they were just friends. He wondered to himself when things had changed and why he hadn't noticed.
"Grissom." Catherine stood in the doorway of his office smiling.
He looked at her and found a smile forming on his face. "Catherine."
Catherine raised a curious eyebrow at him. "You feeling ok?"
He nodded and gestured toward the files strewn across his desk. "Just buried in paperwork."
"Shift's over. Go home." She had that 'I'm a mom, I know what I'm talking about' look on her face.
"I just need to finish this." He glanced back at her.
She laughed at him softly. "See you tonight."
He just smiled at her as she turned and headed toward the front door. If he was honest with himself, Catherine was the reason he'd never pursued Sara romantically. Of course, he wasn't sure he wanted to interrupt the status quo and do something about it, so for the time being, he was just going to leave things as they were.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara arrived for work an hour early looking exceptionally relaxed. As she sipped her cup of coffee in the break room, she closed her eyes and smiled. Why she had never bought herself a massage she didn't know, but she was going to have to thank Nick, and she made a mental note to make getting a massage a regular thing.
Sara heard someone entering the room and she opened her eyes to see Grissom striding purposefully toward the coffee machine. "Hey, Gris."
He raised an eyebrow at her and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly upward. "Sara." He poured himself a cup of coffee. "You look very relaxed."
"Massage. I highly recommend it." She took another sip from her coffee.
"Ah." Grissom took a sip from his coffee and his eyebrows shot up. "Is Greg back from vacation?"
Sara chuckled. "Now that you mention it, he must be; the coffee is actually good."
Just then, Greg sauntered in. "I see you both found the freshly brewed coffee. It's a special variation of Blue Hawaiian that I picked up in Maui." He flashed them a toothy grin.
Sara smiled. "Greg, this coffee is heaven."
Greg looked at Sara a bit curiously. "Someone's in a good mood."
"What I'm not allowed to be in a good mood? I'm just feeling relaxed. I had a massage before work." Sara took another sip from her cup of coffee and closed her eyes, still smiling.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I thought for sure I was going to have to pull a double." Nick commented as he slid an omelet out of the pan onto a plate.
"So why didn't you?" Sara asked him with a curious expression.
"Apparently, our suspect was feeling remorseful. It's always helpful when they confess and the evidence supports that." He grinned as they sat down on Sara's couch.
Sara smiled at him as she dug into her omelet. "Hey, I wanted to thank you for giving me that gift certificate. That massage was heaven."
Nick grinned at her with a satisfied expression. "I'm glad."
She gestured toward the TV. "Should I put the movie in?"
"Sure, we may as well get it started, especially if the movie is as long as you say it is." Nick suggested.
She chuckled as she pulled herself off of the couch. "Actually, 'Gone With the Wind' was checked out so I got 'The Princess Bride'."
Nick almost choked on his food as he started laughing. "I love that movie."
Sara raised an eyebrow at him as she popped the DVD into the player. "You love 'The Princess Bride'?"
"Yes." He smirked. "What? I'm not allowed to like anything besides 'Terminator'?"
Sara sat back on the couch and crossed her arms in front of her body. "I didn't say that. I'm just surprised that's all." She studied him for a moment. "I bet there's a lot about you that would surprise me."
Nick grinned at her. "I'm not just another pretty face."
Sara started laughing. "No, you've got a nice ass too."
"We should go putt-putt golfing more often." Nick quipped. He knew that she'd been ogling his butt when he'd demonstrated how to putt.
Sara's eyebrows shot up. "Hey, you were checking out my ass too."
Nick popped another bite of his food into his mouth and grinned. "Yes, I was. It's very cute by the way."
Sara started to giggle. "Watch the movie." She set her plate down and leaned against him, smiling when Nick put his arm around her.
As they watched the movie, Sara couldn't help but laugh at Nick. He seemed to know most of the lines and he made a point to say his favorite ones. She finally poked him in the ribs, causing him to jump.
"Hey, what was that for?" He looked amused.
Sara raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't tell me you'd memorized the entire movie." She tried to contain her smile which was tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Nick smirked. "You didn't ask." He started to tickle her.
"Nick." She grabbed for his hands as she squirmed next to him on the couch, giggling and trying to tickle him in return.
Nick raised his eyebrows in amusement. "What?" He continued tickling her.
Sara finally decided to give up trying to grab his hands and just kissed him instead, giggling against his lips.
Nick stilled his hands and responded to the kiss, finally pulling apart with a smile on his face. "I guess that works as well as saying 'Uncle'."
Sara laughed. "I never understood where that came from anyway. Why would you say 'Uncle' to make someone stop tickling you?"
Nick chuckled. "I don't know, but my nieces and nephews never questioned it."
Sara smirked. "Are you comparing me to your nieces?"
He shook his head. "No. I'd much rather kiss you than play 'Uncle'." Nick commented, trailing his fingers down her cheek.
Sara leaned toward him, eyeing his lips. "You would, huh?"
Nick nodded. "Uh, huh." Nick glanced down at her lips. "What about you?"
Sara silenced him by pressing her lips against his.
A few minutes later, they broke apart and Nick grinned. "I guess that was a 'yes'."
They exchanged quite a few more long deep kisses before noticing that the movie had ended.
Sara started to laugh. "It's a good thing we both know how this movie ends."
"Yeah, the guy gets the girl." He grinned at her and pulled her in for another kiss, finally pulling apart and resting his forehead against hers. "Hey, I should go, we both have to get some sleep before shift tonight."
"Ok." Sara walked Nick to the door, leaning in to give him another kiss before he pulled his jacket on.
Nick reached out and touched the side of her face. "I really like you, Sara. I really hope we can spend some more time together like this. I know we've known each other a long time, but there's a lot about you I don't know yet."
Sara smiled. "I really like you too. This transition from friendship to something else is a little strange, but I like it."
Nick chuckled and dipped his head to kiss her again briefly. "I'll see you tonight."
"Count on it." A smile revealing the small gap in her teeth spread across her face.
A grinning Nick stole one more kiss from Sara before he headed out to his Denali and went home.
Nick and Sara always seemed to get along well, and over the last few months Grissom had continually put them together on cases. He had also noticed from their banter that they seemed to be spending considerable time together outside of work, but he had always assumed that they were just friends. He wondered to himself when things had changed and why he hadn't noticed.
"Grissom." Catherine stood in the doorway of his office smiling.
He looked at her and found a smile forming on his face. "Catherine."
Catherine raised a curious eyebrow at him. "You feeling ok?"
He nodded and gestured toward the files strewn across his desk. "Just buried in paperwork."
"Shift's over. Go home." She had that 'I'm a mom, I know what I'm talking about' look on her face.
"I just need to finish this." He glanced back at her.
She laughed at him softly. "See you tonight."
He just smiled at her as she turned and headed toward the front door. If he was honest with himself, Catherine was the reason he'd never pursued Sara romantically. Of course, he wasn't sure he wanted to interrupt the status quo and do something about it, so for the time being, he was just going to leave things as they were.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara arrived for work an hour early looking exceptionally relaxed. As she sipped her cup of coffee in the break room, she closed her eyes and smiled. Why she had never bought herself a massage she didn't know, but she was going to have to thank Nick, and she made a mental note to make getting a massage a regular thing.
Sara heard someone entering the room and she opened her eyes to see Grissom striding purposefully toward the coffee machine. "Hey, Gris."
He raised an eyebrow at her and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly upward. "Sara." He poured himself a cup of coffee. "You look very relaxed."
"Massage. I highly recommend it." She took another sip from her coffee.
"Ah." Grissom took a sip from his coffee and his eyebrows shot up. "Is Greg back from vacation?"
Sara chuckled. "Now that you mention it, he must be; the coffee is actually good."
Just then, Greg sauntered in. "I see you both found the freshly brewed coffee. It's a special variation of Blue Hawaiian that I picked up in Maui." He flashed them a toothy grin.
Sara smiled. "Greg, this coffee is heaven."
Greg looked at Sara a bit curiously. "Someone's in a good mood."
"What I'm not allowed to be in a good mood? I'm just feeling relaxed. I had a massage before work." Sara took another sip from her cup of coffee and closed her eyes, still smiling.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I thought for sure I was going to have to pull a double." Nick commented as he slid an omelet out of the pan onto a plate.
"So why didn't you?" Sara asked him with a curious expression.
"Apparently, our suspect was feeling remorseful. It's always helpful when they confess and the evidence supports that." He grinned as they sat down on Sara's couch.
Sara smiled at him as she dug into her omelet. "Hey, I wanted to thank you for giving me that gift certificate. That massage was heaven."
Nick grinned at her with a satisfied expression. "I'm glad."
She gestured toward the TV. "Should I put the movie in?"
"Sure, we may as well get it started, especially if the movie is as long as you say it is." Nick suggested.
She chuckled as she pulled herself off of the couch. "Actually, 'Gone With the Wind' was checked out so I got 'The Princess Bride'."
Nick almost choked on his food as he started laughing. "I love that movie."
Sara raised an eyebrow at him as she popped the DVD into the player. "You love 'The Princess Bride'?"
"Yes." He smirked. "What? I'm not allowed to like anything besides 'Terminator'?"
Sara sat back on the couch and crossed her arms in front of her body. "I didn't say that. I'm just surprised that's all." She studied him for a moment. "I bet there's a lot about you that would surprise me."
Nick grinned at her. "I'm not just another pretty face."
Sara started laughing. "No, you've got a nice ass too."
"We should go putt-putt golfing more often." Nick quipped. He knew that she'd been ogling his butt when he'd demonstrated how to putt.
Sara's eyebrows shot up. "Hey, you were checking out my ass too."
Nick popped another bite of his food into his mouth and grinned. "Yes, I was. It's very cute by the way."
Sara started to giggle. "Watch the movie." She set her plate down and leaned against him, smiling when Nick put his arm around her.
As they watched the movie, Sara couldn't help but laugh at Nick. He seemed to know most of the lines and he made a point to say his favorite ones. She finally poked him in the ribs, causing him to jump.
"Hey, what was that for?" He looked amused.
Sara raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't tell me you'd memorized the entire movie." She tried to contain her smile which was tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Nick smirked. "You didn't ask." He started to tickle her.
"Nick." She grabbed for his hands as she squirmed next to him on the couch, giggling and trying to tickle him in return.
Nick raised his eyebrows in amusement. "What?" He continued tickling her.
Sara finally decided to give up trying to grab his hands and just kissed him instead, giggling against his lips.
Nick stilled his hands and responded to the kiss, finally pulling apart with a smile on his face. "I guess that works as well as saying 'Uncle'."
Sara laughed. "I never understood where that came from anyway. Why would you say 'Uncle' to make someone stop tickling you?"
Nick chuckled. "I don't know, but my nieces and nephews never questioned it."
Sara smirked. "Are you comparing me to your nieces?"
He shook his head. "No. I'd much rather kiss you than play 'Uncle'." Nick commented, trailing his fingers down her cheek.
Sara leaned toward him, eyeing his lips. "You would, huh?"
Nick nodded. "Uh, huh." Nick glanced down at her lips. "What about you?"
Sara silenced him by pressing her lips against his.
A few minutes later, they broke apart and Nick grinned. "I guess that was a 'yes'."
They exchanged quite a few more long deep kisses before noticing that the movie had ended.
Sara started to laugh. "It's a good thing we both know how this movie ends."
"Yeah, the guy gets the girl." He grinned at her and pulled her in for another kiss, finally pulling apart and resting his forehead against hers. "Hey, I should go, we both have to get some sleep before shift tonight."
"Ok." Sara walked Nick to the door, leaning in to give him another kiss before he pulled his jacket on.
Nick reached out and touched the side of her face. "I really like you, Sara. I really hope we can spend some more time together like this. I know we've known each other a long time, but there's a lot about you I don't know yet."
Sara smiled. "I really like you too. This transition from friendship to something else is a little strange, but I like it."
Nick chuckled and dipped his head to kiss her again briefly. "I'll see you tonight."
"Count on it." A smile revealing the small gap in her teeth spread across her face.
A grinning Nick stole one more kiss from Sara before he headed out to his Denali and went home.
