Sara was pulled from her heavenly slumber when she heard a soft knock on the door. She yawned and stretched lazily. She heard another knock and ground her teeth. "Come in," she said softly. The adjoining door opened and Grissom poked his head in.

"You awake?" he asked casually, walking further into the room and sitting down on the foot of the bed.

"No, I'm still asleep. Can't you tell?" she grumbled, causing Grissom to raise an eyebrow in typical Grissom-manner.

"You're quite the morning person," Grissom pondered, amused, rolling his eyes at the angry look on her face.

"I'm not a morning person, so excuse me," she snapped at him.

"Sorry," Grissom held his hands up in defence. He got up from the bed and left the room, closing the door behind him. A few seconds later, he knocked again.

"Come in," Sara muttered.

The door opened and Grissom walked in. "Good morning," he said quietly, looking at her from the corner of his eye to study her reaction.

"Hey," she answered sheepishly. "I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that this is not my day," she mused.

"How do you know?" he asked. "You've been awake for about five minutes and you already know this isn't your day. How can you tell?" Grissom questioned her.

"I don't know why, but I didn't sleep very well last night," she said adamantly. Grissom stared at her, but she didn't meet his eyes. When she finally turned her head to look at him, she shrugged. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Grissom mumbled, already starting to feel guilty for leaving her last night. He had been very tempted to stay with her, but he doubted she had been fully awake and she probably wasn't aware of what she was asking.

"You think I don't remember," said Sara. "I don't know exactly what's going through your head right now, but I have a feeling you think I wasn't fully awake last night. I know what I asked you last night, Grissom," admitted Sara.

"Oh," Grissom muttered shyly, then snapped his mouth shut, not knowing what else he could say to her right now.

"I asked you for a reason," she continued. "It's not as if I asked you to get naked under the covers with me," she said as she leant back against the headboard.

"I know, Sara," he said. "But I got scared," he admitted softly.

"I know you're scared, Grissom, and so am I. But if you keep pushing me away, we'll never move forward," Sara explained.

"I really am trying, Sara," he whispered. "You'll have to give me some time to get used to having you in my life day and night," he said quietly.

Sara's eyes turned wide in surprise and she stared at him.

"What?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Do you realize what you just said?" Sara asked him, surprise still written all over her face. Her mouth hung slightly open as she awaited his response.

"Um, I think so," he paused and looked at her. "But from the look on your face, I'm not really sure," he said uncertainly.

"I'm not sure I heard you correctly, but I heard something about you wanting me in your life day and night," she whispered.

"That's what I said." He shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"And you mean it?" Sara asked him.

"Yes," he answered simply. "I want you in my life." He smiled at her and sat down on the bed. "How's the hand?" he asked, as he took her hand in his and removed the bandages, gently kissing each knuckle. They had now turned a light shade of purple.

"Hurts a little, but I'll live." She moved closer to him and put her hands around his neck, pulling him nearer to her.

He gave in to her request and gave her a gentle hug. "You seem to have developed this obsession to hug me," he muttered into her hair.

"You feel nice," she said and smiled at him when he released her.

"Let me take care of your hand," he said. He walked to the fridge and retrieved some ice. He handed it to her, and she held it against her knuckles. After a good ten minutes, she removed it and passed it back to Grissom, who disposed of it in the sink. "I'll bandage your hand after you've finished showering." He smiled at her and wiped his wet hands on his pants.

"Thank you," she smiled back at him admiringly. "You make a good Doctor," she grinned.

"I AM a Doctor," he quipped.

"Right," she chuckled. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna get ready for your speech, Bugman." She got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom.

"There's no hurry. We still have a good two hours in front of us," he said, as he started to make her bed. He looked up when he heard her laugh. "What?" he asked.

"A good Doctor and a good maid," she pondered. "You're quite a catch," she said amused.

Grissom ignored her and sat down on the bed. "Can I take you out for breakfast?" he questioned her.

"Sure. What did you have in mind?" she asked as she walked back into the room to retrieve some clothes from her suitcase.

"There's a nice little café just around the corner. Best breakfast in town," he whistled.

"You've been talking to Tim, haven't you?" she smiled at him.

"I can't help it; the kid loves me," he grinned back at her.

"Well, he's not the only one," she whispered as she closed the door.

Grissom grinned from ear to ear and shook his head. It was wonderful how he and Sara were becoming so at ease with each other. He walked back to his room and closed the door behind him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

They were sitting in a quiet corner of the restaurant. The booth was located near the end and they were rarely interrupted in their hushed conversation. Grissom was flipping pages in the menu, and Sara was eyeing him curiously. He looked at her and shrugged innocently. "What?" he grinned.

"You have no idea what you're gonna have, do you?" she asked.

"No, I don't. They have so many good things here, and I'm so hungry…" He didn't finish his sentence.

"We can come back tomorrow morning before our trip to the Icefields Parkway," Sara told him.

"Is that an invitation, Miss Sidle," he asked with a hint of humour in his voice.

"I guess it is." She took his hand in hers to stop him from madly flipping through pages. "Do you trust me?" she asked boldly.

"Of course," he stated simply. "I trust you with my life." He let his menu fall to the table and intertwined their fingers.

"Let me order for you then," she explained sweetly.

Grissom didn't say anything; he just nodded and kept staring at her. The waitress arrived and Sara ordered the same thing for them both, but Grissom was so mesmerized by the beauty of her face that he didn't hear what she had ordered.

They sat staring at each other until the waitress returned with their food. Sara briefly thanked her and looked at Grissom expectantly. "Um, Gris," she started.

"Yeah," he replied dreamily. He was still not over the fact that Sara had let him hold her hand in public. It felt so good to be able to hold her and touch her, despite the fact that they hadn't kissed yet. He was quietly wondering what Sara wanted. He knew she meant a great deal to him, more than anyone else had ever meant in his life and he wanted more from her, but his old fears remained. He was afraid of commitment; he was afraid of hurting her and he was afraid of her hurting him.

"Grissom," she chanted, pulling him out of his reverie.

"What," he stuttered.

She smiled at him and looked at her hand. "Can you please let go of my hand," she said with a hint of humour in her voice.

"Huh?" He was utterly confused now. 'Stupid daydreams, luckily I can just scratch everything I was thinking. She doesn't want to be with me,' Grissom thought mentally. He forced a smile to his lips and let go of her hand.

Sara narrowed her eyes when she saw the hurt look on his face. "Gris?" she tried gently.

"What?" he answered a little harsher than intended, flinching at the tone in his voice. He wanted to say something, but his voice caught in his throat.

She waved her bandaged hand in the air. "Unless you want to feed me," she explained softly.

Grissom closed his eyes in confusion, the muscles in his jaw set tight. When he looked at her and saw her holding her toast in the hand he had just reluctantly let go of, everything clicked into place. She hadn't rejected him earlier, nor had she been afraid to be seen with such an old man holding her hand in public. He couldn't stop the huge smile from forming on his face and he chuckled, shaking his head at his own stupidity. He was finally starting to see a little clearer in the huge puzzle that was Sara Sidle. Piece by piece, everything was falling into place.

Sara was munching on a piece of toast, and she kept her eyes on him. When the huge smile spread on his face, she couldn't stop her own smile. She shook her own head in amusement and swallowed her piece of toast when he looked at her. "How many times do I have to tell you, that it's you I want to be with," she muttered softly.

"But why?" he asked, staring at her intently.

"Because you're Grissom," she said simply.

He raised his eyebrows. "Why, Sara?" he asked, not giving her time to answer. "Why does a beautiful young woman like you, want an old man like myself," he said seriously. "Let's face it, I'm no spring chick anymore," he mumbled sadly.

Sara let go of her toast and took his hand in hers. "There are so many reasons why I want to be with you, Gris," she explained, taking a deep breath. "But since you are so insecure, let me just explain a few," she paused to look at him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You are the most intelligent man I have ever met. You are honest, caring and under that brick wall of yours, I know that you are extremely tender. You are highly desirable and I could get lost in those wonderful blue eyes of yours," she smiled at him when she saw him fighting the huge grin that threatened to break out at any minute. "I'm not only attracted to you physically and emotionally, I'm also attracted to you intellectually. You're the ying to my yang," she finished.

Grissom swallowed hard and smiled. "Thank you," he whispered softly. "You don't know what it means to me," he continued in a hushed tone. Sara leant across the table and kissed his cheek. As their eyes met, he immediately became lost in the depths of her chocolaty brown orbs.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *