Grissom was sitting behind his desk finishing his last piece of paperwork for the night. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a second. It had been an incredibly slow night, with only a burglary to process. He and Sara had wrapped it up in no time, and the remainder of the shift had dragged on indeterminably. He let out a sigh when he finally closed the last folder of his stack of paperwork. He put it on top of the pile and smiled to himself.
"What are you looking so smug about?" an amused voice asked from the doorway. He lifted his head to be greeted by a smiling Sara Sidle, casually leaning against the doorframe. "You look like the cat that just caught the canary."
He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it straight away. One side of his mouth curled into a grin.
"What?" Sara asked innocently.
"Nothing." He smiled at her and leant back in his chair. "Actually, I've got something to ask you." He got up from behind his desk and walked over to her, leaning against the other side of the doorframe. "I got a call from Atwater while you were in the bathroom."
Sara's brow furrowed. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Grissom shuffled his feet on the floor and leaned closer to her. "It may be a good thing for me, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing for you."
Sara slapped his arm and groaned. "Why don't you quit playing games and tell me what's going on?"
"There's an entomologist convention in Banff," he said excitedly.
Sara smiled warmly at him. "Cool. You're gonna love it up there, it's so beautiful," she paused, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't she went on, "I don't see what that has to do with me though."
Grissom grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "Well, I'm not expected to go alone. Atwater told me to take an assistant with me because it would make the Las Vegas Crime Lab look better."
Sara drummed her fingers against the door and leaned into his personal space. She brought her mouth next to his ear and whispered, "Are you asking me to go with you?"
"No, I'm just trying to make you jealous because I might take a good-looking colleague along," he deadpanned. "Of course I'm asking you to go with me."
"Why?" Sara asked seriously, resuming her previous position against the doorframe. "Why don't you take someone else?"
"Why would I take someone else if I can take you?" Grissom shuffled closer to her and smiled sheepishly. "Please come with me?"
Sara put a hand on his arm, lazily rubbing circles with her thumb. "What's the catch?"
His eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly. "Who said there was a catch?"
"I know you, Grissom." She backed away and sat down on his couch. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and cocked her head sideways. "Are you gonna tell me, or do I have to drag it out of you?"
He walked over to where she was comfortably sitting and sunk down next to her, their thighs touching. He turned to look at her and chuckled nervously. "There might be a slight problem."
"Which is?" she asked, nodding her head.
Grissom scratched his chin, before folding his hands in his lap. "The convention starts on the 19th and runs until early afternoon on the 24th."
Sara's eyes grew wide. "But that's Christmas Eve."
"I know," he answered nervously, "and there's another problem."
She raised her brows in mock surprise. "That's not all?"
He shook his head. "No. The other problem is that there's no return flight available until late in the afternoon on Christmas Day." He looked into her eyes and gave her a lopsided grin. "If you decide to come along, you'll be stuck with me."
Sara let out the deep breath that she had been holding in and gave Grissom a mocking glare. "And you assumed that because I'm single, I have nothing better to do?"
Grissom's look turned from amused to hurt. "Do you?" he asked softly. He turned away from her to hide his expression, and picked up a magazine lying on his couch.
Sara put a hand on his arm to prevent him from fidgeting in his seat. "Do I what?" she asked, as she reached out to gently turn his face back towards her.
Grissom swallowed and briefly closed his eyes. "Do you have something better to do?"
She shot him a beaming smile, his uneasiness melting like snow under the blazing sun. "I'd love to go with you."
This time it was his turn to let out a deep breath, relief clearly showing on his face. "Thank you," he said, before rising from the couch to take a seat behind his desk.
She followed him closely, taking a seat on the edge, her legs dangerously close to his. He looked at her, a questioning look crossing his features. "You didn't tell me when we are leaving," she offered.
He raised his left eyebrow and cocked his head. "You're right. We're leaving Thursday the 18th, early in the afternoon. I'll pick you up around noon."
Sara motioned with her head for him to continue, which of course he didn't. "More details, Grissom," she prompted.
His lips curled into a smile, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "What do you want to know?"
Sara shrugged her shoulders. "Everything."
Scratching his throat, he started telling her everything he knew. "Okay," he leant back in his chair and drummed his fingers on his desk. "We're leaving McCarran at 1.55 pm, on a plane to Calgary; where we'll pick up our rental car. From there, we'll drive to Banff. The convention starts around 10 am the next morning, and I was asked to give the opening speech. Don't ask why they chose me, but that's the way it is. The speech is scheduled to take about half an hour and that should be all for the first day. Of course, if it's anything like last time, half an hour will turn into two hours," he said proudly.
She smiled at him. "And what am I supposed to do?"
"Not much, you just need to smile and look good," he grinned back at her. "Oh," he added, his eyes twinkling, "and every now and then, you'll have to hand me my notes."
Sara growled. "That sounds really hard to do. I'm no Claudia Schiffer you know." She stuck her tongue out at the teasing look on his face. "Do you have to be there every day?"
Grissom shook his head. "No, just a couple of days. I'm not scheduled to speak on Sunday or Monday."
She grinned excitedly. "We can do whatever we want then?"
He smiled sweetly. "I take it you have some sightseeing in mind?"
"You bet I do," she retorted sheepishly. "You gotta see Banff National Park, Jasper, Atabasca Glacier, and the Icefields Parkway. I would also suggest a visit to Yoho National Park, Lake Louise and Lake Maligne. Of course, as scientists, we can't forget the Great Divide and Moraine Lake. There's also…"
Grissom put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Sara, slow down, you're rambling."
"Do you realize we could go rafting? In the Canadian Rockies nonetheless, imagine that," she squeaked.
"Imagine that, going rafting in the Rockies in the middle of winter," he mockingly shot back. "What a sickening idea."
She put her hand on his leg and squeezed him just above his knee. Grissom let out a muffled cry and Sara smiled sweetly. "You were saying?"
"Nothing. I would love to go rafting with you in the middle of winter."
"Technically, it's not really winter yet."
"Is so."
"Is not."
"No, no, no, Sara. Winter starts on the 21st."
"Not scientifically. Winter officially starts when it's snowing," she said, trying to hide her laughter.
"You gotta be joking," Grissom moaned, miserably failing to contain an infectious smile.
"No," she chuckled, before the two of them burst out laughing. Sara was hiccupping and holding her stomach. "Hurts," was all she said, causing Grissom to laugh even harder.
He was laughing so hard, he didn't notice he was slipping from his chair, until he fell flat on his ass. "Damn."
Sara immediately stopped laughing and hopped off his desk. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned that he might have hurt himself. She raised her eyebrows as she noticed he was still giggling and sunk down on the floor next to him, leaning back against his desk. She fought a grin, but one look at Grissom sent her over the edge, and she soon joined him in his craziness.
Five minutes later they were still sitting on the cold, hard floor, trying to catch their breath. They both looked up when Big Mouth Billy Bass started singing and Greg stuck his head in the door. He rolled his eyes at the sight before him. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Grissom put his hands on the floor and pushed himself up. "What can I do for you?" he asked abruptly.
Greg swallowed nervously. "Um… I just wanted to know whether there was anything you need me for?"
Grissom shot him an amused look. "You just want to leave early, don't you?"
Greg smiled sheepishly. "Shift ends in thirty minutes and I kinda got a hot date."
Grissom smiled at the younger man. "Just go on your date Greg and try to get some rest later, tonight might not be as boring."
"Thanks," Greg nodded, before practically bouncing out of Grissom's office.
"He's gonna make me crazy one of these days," Grissom muttered to no one in particular. He turned around to find Sara standing closely behind him, a smug look on her face. "What?"
"Nothing. But I don't think you need to worry about Greg driving you nuts."
"And why's that Miss Sidle?"
"I know for a fact that you're already crackers," she replied sweetly.
"Is that so?" he asked gently, before grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer to him. "I think you need to be punished."
"Really?" she quipped, their faces only a few inches apart. The feel of Grissom's breath on her lips sent a bolt of electricity through her body. She smiled nervously when she felt his gaze on her face. She locked eyes with him and shuddered when she saw his gaze landing on her lips. Her smile grew broader and she licked her lips in anticipation. He moved his head closer to hers, but before he had the chance to touch her lips with his, a noise in the hallway made them jump apart.
"Sorry," Grissom said hoarsely. "I don't think this is such a good idea."
Sara blinked once, then twice, his words slowly sinking in. He was pushing her away again. She was so certain they had rekindled their friendship over the past month, but she had obviously been wrong.
Grissom's heart nearly stopped beating when the passionate look in her eyes turned to anger. He felt her hands on his chest, and before he had time to react, she had pushed him aside and was walking towards the door. He jumped forward and grabbed her arm. "Sara."
She spun around furiously, nearly knocking him over in the process. "Let go of me!" she spat at him, her eyes dangerously close to tears. "I hate what you always do to me!" she shouted through clenched teeth, pulling her arm away from his grasp as she stormed from his office.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"What are you looking so smug about?" an amused voice asked from the doorway. He lifted his head to be greeted by a smiling Sara Sidle, casually leaning against the doorframe. "You look like the cat that just caught the canary."
He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it straight away. One side of his mouth curled into a grin.
"What?" Sara asked innocently.
"Nothing." He smiled at her and leant back in his chair. "Actually, I've got something to ask you." He got up from behind his desk and walked over to her, leaning against the other side of the doorframe. "I got a call from Atwater while you were in the bathroom."
Sara's brow furrowed. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Grissom shuffled his feet on the floor and leaned closer to her. "It may be a good thing for me, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing for you."
Sara slapped his arm and groaned. "Why don't you quit playing games and tell me what's going on?"
"There's an entomologist convention in Banff," he said excitedly.
Sara smiled warmly at him. "Cool. You're gonna love it up there, it's so beautiful," she paused, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't she went on, "I don't see what that has to do with me though."
Grissom grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "Well, I'm not expected to go alone. Atwater told me to take an assistant with me because it would make the Las Vegas Crime Lab look better."
Sara drummed her fingers against the door and leaned into his personal space. She brought her mouth next to his ear and whispered, "Are you asking me to go with you?"
"No, I'm just trying to make you jealous because I might take a good-looking colleague along," he deadpanned. "Of course I'm asking you to go with me."
"Why?" Sara asked seriously, resuming her previous position against the doorframe. "Why don't you take someone else?"
"Why would I take someone else if I can take you?" Grissom shuffled closer to her and smiled sheepishly. "Please come with me?"
Sara put a hand on his arm, lazily rubbing circles with her thumb. "What's the catch?"
His eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly. "Who said there was a catch?"
"I know you, Grissom." She backed away and sat down on his couch. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and cocked her head sideways. "Are you gonna tell me, or do I have to drag it out of you?"
He walked over to where she was comfortably sitting and sunk down next to her, their thighs touching. He turned to look at her and chuckled nervously. "There might be a slight problem."
"Which is?" she asked, nodding her head.
Grissom scratched his chin, before folding his hands in his lap. "The convention starts on the 19th and runs until early afternoon on the 24th."
Sara's eyes grew wide. "But that's Christmas Eve."
"I know," he answered nervously, "and there's another problem."
She raised her brows in mock surprise. "That's not all?"
He shook his head. "No. The other problem is that there's no return flight available until late in the afternoon on Christmas Day." He looked into her eyes and gave her a lopsided grin. "If you decide to come along, you'll be stuck with me."
Sara let out the deep breath that she had been holding in and gave Grissom a mocking glare. "And you assumed that because I'm single, I have nothing better to do?"
Grissom's look turned from amused to hurt. "Do you?" he asked softly. He turned away from her to hide his expression, and picked up a magazine lying on his couch.
Sara put a hand on his arm to prevent him from fidgeting in his seat. "Do I what?" she asked, as she reached out to gently turn his face back towards her.
Grissom swallowed and briefly closed his eyes. "Do you have something better to do?"
She shot him a beaming smile, his uneasiness melting like snow under the blazing sun. "I'd love to go with you."
This time it was his turn to let out a deep breath, relief clearly showing on his face. "Thank you," he said, before rising from the couch to take a seat behind his desk.
She followed him closely, taking a seat on the edge, her legs dangerously close to his. He looked at her, a questioning look crossing his features. "You didn't tell me when we are leaving," she offered.
He raised his left eyebrow and cocked his head. "You're right. We're leaving Thursday the 18th, early in the afternoon. I'll pick you up around noon."
Sara motioned with her head for him to continue, which of course he didn't. "More details, Grissom," she prompted.
His lips curled into a smile, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "What do you want to know?"
Sara shrugged her shoulders. "Everything."
Scratching his throat, he started telling her everything he knew. "Okay," he leant back in his chair and drummed his fingers on his desk. "We're leaving McCarran at 1.55 pm, on a plane to Calgary; where we'll pick up our rental car. From there, we'll drive to Banff. The convention starts around 10 am the next morning, and I was asked to give the opening speech. Don't ask why they chose me, but that's the way it is. The speech is scheduled to take about half an hour and that should be all for the first day. Of course, if it's anything like last time, half an hour will turn into two hours," he said proudly.
She smiled at him. "And what am I supposed to do?"
"Not much, you just need to smile and look good," he grinned back at her. "Oh," he added, his eyes twinkling, "and every now and then, you'll have to hand me my notes."
Sara growled. "That sounds really hard to do. I'm no Claudia Schiffer you know." She stuck her tongue out at the teasing look on his face. "Do you have to be there every day?"
Grissom shook his head. "No, just a couple of days. I'm not scheduled to speak on Sunday or Monday."
She grinned excitedly. "We can do whatever we want then?"
He smiled sweetly. "I take it you have some sightseeing in mind?"
"You bet I do," she retorted sheepishly. "You gotta see Banff National Park, Jasper, Atabasca Glacier, and the Icefields Parkway. I would also suggest a visit to Yoho National Park, Lake Louise and Lake Maligne. Of course, as scientists, we can't forget the Great Divide and Moraine Lake. There's also…"
Grissom put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Sara, slow down, you're rambling."
"Do you realize we could go rafting? In the Canadian Rockies nonetheless, imagine that," she squeaked.
"Imagine that, going rafting in the Rockies in the middle of winter," he mockingly shot back. "What a sickening idea."
She put her hand on his leg and squeezed him just above his knee. Grissom let out a muffled cry and Sara smiled sweetly. "You were saying?"
"Nothing. I would love to go rafting with you in the middle of winter."
"Technically, it's not really winter yet."
"Is so."
"Is not."
"No, no, no, Sara. Winter starts on the 21st."
"Not scientifically. Winter officially starts when it's snowing," she said, trying to hide her laughter.
"You gotta be joking," Grissom moaned, miserably failing to contain an infectious smile.
"No," she chuckled, before the two of them burst out laughing. Sara was hiccupping and holding her stomach. "Hurts," was all she said, causing Grissom to laugh even harder.
He was laughing so hard, he didn't notice he was slipping from his chair, until he fell flat on his ass. "Damn."
Sara immediately stopped laughing and hopped off his desk. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned that he might have hurt himself. She raised her eyebrows as she noticed he was still giggling and sunk down on the floor next to him, leaning back against his desk. She fought a grin, but one look at Grissom sent her over the edge, and she soon joined him in his craziness.
Five minutes later they were still sitting on the cold, hard floor, trying to catch their breath. They both looked up when Big Mouth Billy Bass started singing and Greg stuck his head in the door. He rolled his eyes at the sight before him. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Grissom put his hands on the floor and pushed himself up. "What can I do for you?" he asked abruptly.
Greg swallowed nervously. "Um… I just wanted to know whether there was anything you need me for?"
Grissom shot him an amused look. "You just want to leave early, don't you?"
Greg smiled sheepishly. "Shift ends in thirty minutes and I kinda got a hot date."
Grissom smiled at the younger man. "Just go on your date Greg and try to get some rest later, tonight might not be as boring."
"Thanks," Greg nodded, before practically bouncing out of Grissom's office.
"He's gonna make me crazy one of these days," Grissom muttered to no one in particular. He turned around to find Sara standing closely behind him, a smug look on her face. "What?"
"Nothing. But I don't think you need to worry about Greg driving you nuts."
"And why's that Miss Sidle?"
"I know for a fact that you're already crackers," she replied sweetly.
"Is that so?" he asked gently, before grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer to him. "I think you need to be punished."
"Really?" she quipped, their faces only a few inches apart. The feel of Grissom's breath on her lips sent a bolt of electricity through her body. She smiled nervously when she felt his gaze on her face. She locked eyes with him and shuddered when she saw his gaze landing on her lips. Her smile grew broader and she licked her lips in anticipation. He moved his head closer to hers, but before he had the chance to touch her lips with his, a noise in the hallway made them jump apart.
"Sorry," Grissom said hoarsely. "I don't think this is such a good idea."
Sara blinked once, then twice, his words slowly sinking in. He was pushing her away again. She was so certain they had rekindled their friendship over the past month, but she had obviously been wrong.
Grissom's heart nearly stopped beating when the passionate look in her eyes turned to anger. He felt her hands on his chest, and before he had time to react, she had pushed him aside and was walking towards the door. He jumped forward and grabbed her arm. "Sara."
She spun around furiously, nearly knocking him over in the process. "Let go of me!" she spat at him, her eyes dangerously close to tears. "I hate what you always do to me!" she shouted through clenched teeth, pulling her arm away from his grasp as she stormed from his office.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
