A/N: Sorry for the delay. My muse seems to have gone AWOL. I owe a debt of gratitude to the PwF chatters for their help. This chapter is shorter than I like, but it crosses a hurdle I was having a hard time crossing.
Gil Grissom paced nervously across the hardwood floor of his townhouse. He didn't have company often. With the exception of Catherine once, he couldn't recall the last time anyone had been to his home on a matter that wasn't work-related. He forced himself to acknowledge that Sara had been there, too, but only because he had overindulged. Thus, he knew he was entertaining-deficient. Squinting, he scrutinized the room. Something's not right. He moved the magazines to the other end of the coffee table. Ah, that's it. No, that's not it. He moved them back to the center. It's not about magazines, Gil. Maybe it's the throw rug? Nope, he smoothed it with his foot, no wrinkles. He straightened a display of butterflies on the wall, only to realize it was already straight. It's not about the house, Gil!
The true object of his anxiety would be arriving any moment. He couldn't believe he had actually invited her into his home and made dinner for her. Letting someone into his personal space was akin to, well, letting someone into his personal life, and that was something he did do casually. He peered into the oven and reassured himself that the lasagna was doing well. While he considered himself a good cook, he'd never before attempted to make meatless dishes. Calm down, Gil. Lasagna? Check. Bread? Check. Salad? Check. Wine? Check.
Once Sara arrived, Gil found his nerves calmed considerably. They greeted one another warmly and sat in the living room. "What's this?" Sara asked, pointing to the television.
"Mammoth something or other," Grissom shrugged. "It's Discovery."
"Oh, I've seen this one. This where they find a relatively intact mammoth carcass frozen in ice in Siberia and study it to learn about mammoths and their environment."
"Uh, yeah," Gil nodded. Why was he not surprised that she had seen the program?
"They had another one out recently about Neanderthals…it was pretty fascinating."
Grissom smiled. Her enthusiasm was both endearing and infectious. "I enjoyed that one."
They spent some time discussing the displacement and subsequent extinction of Neanderthals caused by Cro-Magnon encroachment, and the scientific significance of the fact that the mammoth proved Siberia had once been a grassy plain. Grissom was accustomed to people tuning him out when he spoke of these types of topics, and Sara's mutual interest was truly a breath of fresh air.
After a short while, they relocated to the dining table. Grissom served the salad and poured the wine. The conversation continued about a variety of subjects, but both were careful to avoid discussing work. They had been very successful thus far at keeping separate the working relationship and the personal relationship, but both also knew that it was inevitable the two worlds would collide.
They leisurely dined and conversed, thoroughly enjoying each other's company. Soon, the lasagna and bread were gone and they retired to the living room. "Nothing on," Gil frowned as he flipped through the channels.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Sara grinned. "No matter how many channels you have, they still find a way to all show crap at the same time."
Grissom grunted and switched off the television. He sunk back into the sofa next to Sara, appearing to be lost in thought.
"What…what are we doing?" Sara asked softly.
"Huh?"
"Us. What are we doing? Is there a plan?"
"I'm trying, Sara," Gil sighed. "I really am…"
"And you're doing great," she reassured him. "I'm just a little too curious for my own good sometimes." She flashed him an embarrassed grin.
"I've never been in love before," he breathed candidly. "I'm not sure how to handle it. Part of me wants to jump in with both feet, throw caution to the wind, live in the moment. Another part of me, the skeptic, wants to take it very slowly. The whole thing scares the hell out of me."
"Did you just say what I think you said?"
"Yes," Gil removed his glasses and placed them on the coffee table. "I'm in love with you, Sara."
Sara swallowed, attempting to process the information. She had always wished for this, but never really dared to hope for it. "I love you too, Gil. You don't have to be afraid of me."
"I'm not afraid of you," he pulled her close to his chest. "I'm afraid of the situation. There are so many ways for this to go awry…"
"But maybe it won't go awry. If we work at it and want it to work out badly enough, it just might work out."
As Gil leaned in to kiss her, a shrill noise rattled them. Grissom reached to the end table and grabbed the offending telephone. "Damn it! It's Catherine! I'm not on call tonight."
Grissom's conversation with Catherine sounded very one-sided to Sara's ears. Gil barely got a word in, just a series of "Uh huh"s and "okay"s. She wondered for a few moments why his surprise at their colleague's call caught her attention. I'm not on call tonight. That was it. Did that mean that Catherine didn't call him socially? Sara had always assumed that she did. But then why would Grissom assume her call was work-related?
"I'm so sorry," Gil said sincerely as he hung up the phone. "Bugs."
"It's okay," Sara smiled and placed her hand over his heart. "I know where you work. I know how it is."
He tried his hardest to express his gratitude for her acceptance of the premature end of their date. His previous dates had not at all understood when the situation arose. But then this was Sara. Sara was different. Sara was special.
TBC
