Chapter 4:
Greg pushed his lab coat into his over-stuffed locker, and crammed the door shut. Being out in the field had been even better than he had hoped. He had learned a lot. He had earned praise from both Sara and Grissom, and he hadn't thought about the explosion once. Before, he always thought he had the safer job. It was the crime scene that was scary. All he dealt with was the aftermath and evidence. Now. . . the illusion was gone. He looked down at his ID. Soon it would say CSI I. He picked his duffle bag up off the floor, and headed out with a big dopey grin on his face. He hadn't felt this good in months!
~-~-~
"Here. You can wear this with that jacket." Catherine held up a V-neck silk blouse that was shinier than Sara would ever imagine a top could be.
"Um-no thanks. We work nights. One stray flashlight beam, and everyone around me's blind!" She laughed, and picked over a row of jeans. "HA! Here ya go, Cat!" Sara handed Catherine a pair of jeans with the butt part cut out.
"Hmmm. . . I think I wore something like that once before." She smirked at the look on Sara's face, and handed them back.
"This is better than buying from catalogs. I still can't believe I found a pair of Vans!" Sara grinned at the pair of tennis shoes she plopped into their cart.
"Those things are clunky. Splurge on a pair of Nike's, for cryin' out loud."
"You have to order these. They're very comfy. Hey!" She pulled a little black dress off an adjacent rack.
"Now yer talkin'!" Catherine looked at the dress admiringly. "Your classic little black dress. Very cute. Who's it by?"
"Ann Taylor "
"Nice enough. A nice red cardigan would look beautiful over that."
"A cardigan? Kinda prudish for you isn't it?" Sara crinkled her nose.
"A tight, red cardigan." Catherine put her hands on her hips. "Pot, thou art black!"
"Ok. I'm good. You ready?" Sara leaned against the cart and laughed.
"Yeah. I gotta pick Lindsey up at my sister's. See you back at the labs."
~-~-~
Sara pulled into her complex just as her cell phone rang.
"Sidle."
"Sara?"
"Grissom? What's up? I can be there in about thirty minutes."
"No rush. This isn't work related."
Sara was silent a moment. Not work related? With Grissom everything was work related.
"Oh, really?" She was interested yet cautious. They'd been avoiding each other for weeks. "Then, what is it related to?"
Grissom took a deep breath. He had dialed the number without thinking it through. Very unlike him. He smiled to himself at the impulsive way he had been behaving lately.
"I just wanted to speak with you. We haven't really had much of a chance to talk." He knew that sounded, well, lame.
Sara was flustered. She wasn't sure whether to be angry, or laugh. What was he getting at? 'Calm down, Sidle.' She got out of her car and started towards her apartment, bags in one hand, cell phone in the other.
"Well, what do you want to talk about?" She rolled her eyes, and walked into her building, heading for the stairs.
"You did a great job with Greg last night." He grinned into the phone. "You looked very nice in that suit."
Was he flirting with her? So far, he'd not said anything more than he'd stated last night. He continued.
"So. . .what brought that on?" He was still grinning; wishing he had better, smoother words to offer. Shakespear, Frost, anything!
"Asks the man sporting the 'I wish I was on Miami Vice' beard and short sleeves?" She chuckled as she opened the door to her floor. As she pushed her way through, she looked down the hall. There, standing in front of her apartment door, was Grissom. He was looking towards the door, probably assuming that she was inside. She grinned broadly. This was new. He had never been to her place in all the time that she'd lived in Vegas.
"So! You don't like the beard?" He waited for a reply. "Sara?" He looked at the phone to make sure he hadn't lost the connection.
"Oh, I like it just fine." She laughed as Grissom jumped a foot in the air. She closed her flip phone, and reached in her jacket pocket for her keys. "Here. Hold these." She thrust her shopping bags in his arms, and opened the door. "Come on in."
Grissom followed her inside, and looked around. It was nice, and well- decorated, but it looked lived in as well. He liked it.
"Sorry I didn't straighten up. Didn't expect company." She smiled at him. "Not that I'm complaining. You want anything to drink? I've got water and coffee."
"Thanks, but I'm fine." He walked over to her bookshelf, and looked at the titles. For someone who claimed not to be well-read, she had quite an assortment. Everything from Physics books to . . . "Is that a Harlequin symbol I see?" He cocked an eyebrow at her as she practically dove for the book in question.
"Uh, no! Well, yes, it is, but no, it's not mine." She yanked the offensive novel off her shelf, and walked it over to a kitchen drawer which she stuffed it in. "I somehow ended up with it in my books when I moved, and I just never got around to tossing it."
Grissom nodded, even though he didn't buy that for one second.
"And how do you know what that symbol means?"
"My mother read those damn things nonstop." He grinned and shook his head.
"Ah." She motioned for him to sit, and she sat across from him on the couch.
"What did you want to talk about, Grissom? Why are you here?" She watched as a somewhat frightened look crossed his face.
"I was thinking about what you said after the explosion."
"Oh." Sara sighed. So that was it. Another lecture about how "this" can't happen.
"I want to know if I'm too late." He studied her face carefully.
Sara heard the words, but the meaning behind them was still doubtful.
"Why now? What's changed?"
"I've changed." He stated it flatly, as if it was obvious.
"This isn't some mid-life crisis is it, Griss? The beard, the snazzy clothes? I really can't handle this right now if it's just some phase you'll regret in a few months." She looked up to meet his eyes. They were full of emotion. She wasn't sure if it was concern or something else.
"This isn't a phase, Sara."
"Grissom." She shook her head. She had wanted this for so long, but after the explosion, and how abruptly he had turned her down, she had been trying so hard to let him go. She had been trying to move on. Now, here he was, sitting in her living room being charming, wanting her to give him a chance. Why was he always so damn confusing?
"Let's have dinner before shift."
"You want to have dinner with me?" Sara smiled.
"Yes. . . Let's 'see where it goes.' I think that's how it went." He grinned at her, and stood up.
"Ok. . .I've got to get ready first though." She grabbed the bags Grissom had been holding onto, and walked back towards her room, glancing back at him as if he were some stress-induced mirage. "Gimme fifteen minutes."
Chapter 5:
Sara tossed the bags from the thrift store on her bed, and headed for her closet. She decided to go with her usual casual work outfit. It took her all of ten minutes to hurriedly get ready, and walk out to meet Grissom who was thumbing through a copy of "Archaeology."
"Ready?" She walked up behind him.
"Yes." He smiled at her. She looked just as beautiful in dark jeans as designer slacks. He mentally shook himself, reminding himself that this was their first dinner together. Regardless of the outcome, they had to go in to work afterwards.
"Good. Where are we going?" She snagged her keys from the counter, and followed him out the door.
"The diner."
"Sounds fine." Sara was a little disappointed, but only mildly. The diner was the group's usual hangout when they met for dinner before shift. No one would give them a second glance there, which was good. However, it wasn't exactly the place she would have chosen for their first date; if in fact this was to be a date. There was still some vagueness on that matter.
~-~-~
They scooted into a booth by the window, and waited to be served. The waitress knew them by site. She joked around a bit about who got what, trying to make polite, somewhat witty banter. Despite the casual attire, familiar surroundings, and present company, Grissom was beginning to feel nervous. He played with his fork, and studied his water without making eye contact.
"Second thoughts?" Sara asked, bringing him out of his stupor.
"And third, and fourth." He looked up, giving her a slight grin. She hadn't expected the blunt truth, but it didn't sting. She was racking her own brain with 'what ifs' and best case/worst case scenarios.
"Want to talk about it?" She ventured.
As he was trying to formulate an intelligible sentence, a familiar grinning face appeared to the side of their booth.
"Hey! My favorite teachers!" Greg scooched into the booth next to Sara, grinning like a fool.
"Hi." Sara smiled in quiet resignation at Grissom, who just rolled his eyes, and grinned. A life of bad timing. He wasn't sure if he'd just been rescued or marooned.
"So! We got any hot cases? Oh! I gotta tell you about this case Ecklie's crew had today. Let me just say that it was quite kinky." He wiggled his eyebrows at Sara, and winked at Grissom for good measure.
"Sounds wild. Tell me all about later on. I hate to drive you off, Greggo, but Grissom and I are working on a case that's kind of 'hush-hush' right now. We were just discussing it."
Greg only showed a hint of disappointment, having been invited to tell all later.
"Ah! Gotcha. Catch ya later then." He gave her a parting wink, and swaggered out the door.
"Hush-hush?" Grissom cocked an eyebrow at Sara and smiled.
"Sounded convincing."
"You could convince Greg that Penguins were attacking the city."
"Not in the evening. Penguins only stalk their prey in the daylight." She grinned into her coffee mug.
"Discovery channel?"
"Mystery Science Theatre." She smirked.
"Some dinner, huh?" He gave a weak grin, and kneaded his brow.
"I have no problem with it." To be totally honest, she was thrilled that they were sitting together at a diner, talking casually, and without argument.
"I know this isn't really what you expected. . ."
"Grissom, I didn't expect anything. This is fine. It's nice. I like being here with you."
She looked around the diner at other couples that were there. Some were animated, deep in discussion. Others just sat together, quietly sipping coffee, and reading the paper. She thought of how the two of them must look to people who didn't know they worked together.
"I'm not exactly an exciting date." Grissom grinned again.
Sara looked up at him. 'Date?' So this was a date to him. And he seemed to think he was letting her down in some way.
"I don't know what you think I expect, Grissom, but I'm not too hard to please."
"I didn't mean that."
"I know, but just having you here, talking to me civilly, makes me happy. I really missed that." She took another sip of coffee.
"I'm sorry if I came across as being angry with you."
Wow! That was the most straightforward thing she had heard come out of Gil Grissom's mouth in years.
"Well, you should be." She smiled again despite the past months. He could erase it all simply by opening up to her, and letting her in. She would commend his efforts so far, if it wouldn't sound condescending. She still couldn't believe he didn't understand that he already had her. She had simply been waiting for him. She'd been waiting longer than most relationships even last.
Grissom motioned the waitress over, seeing that Sara's coffee mug was empty. Sara smiled. Twenty-first Century chivalry.
"Thanks." She said to both Grissom and the waitress. She looked up at the wall clock, and groaned.
"We should get moving. Shift starts in twenty minutes." She began scooting out of the booth as Grissom laid out money for their meals and tip.
She laughed at Grissom's mild shock. The time had gotten away from him. They were both usually in much earlier than this.
"Don't' worry. Greg will already be asking around about what case we're working on." A smile crept across Grissom's face. "If he's not too backlogged, I'll bring him with me again today."
Sara liked that Grissom was warming up to Greg. She felt slightly protective of her favorite lab rat.
"How about breakfast after shift?" Sara playfully nudged Grissom's side. He grinned, and turned to face her.
"I'd like that. Someplace nicer next time. . . maybe Denny's." He gave her a wicked grin as they got in the Tahoe.
Chapter 6:
"You're going to be a great CSI, Greg." Sara pushed her sunglasses up, and finished loading her things back onto the SUV. Greg beamed.
"Thanks. I have a good teacher." He winked at Sara, unaware of Grissom standing directly behind him.
"Why, Greg, you flatter me." Grissom patted him on the back.
"Uh, hey, Gris."
Sara grinned at the two of them, and tossed Greg the keys.
"You drive, Hotshot."
"Thanks."
Grissom looked curiously at Sara. As they drove back towards headquarters, Grissom's cell phone rang.
"Yeah?. . . We'll be right there." He closed his phone, and looked over at Greg and Sara.
"What's up?" Sara looked up from her notepad.
"Double homicide less than a mile from here. I told Brass we'd meet him there."
~-~-~
"Ugh." Greg pulled his jacket off , and eyed the stains on the front. "For some reason these samples aren't as disgusting when I get them on Q-tips and bendles."
"Yeah. You might want to wash that." Sara grinned from her own locker.
"Nick said the guys were going to McCallihan's after shift for a beer. Wanna come along?" Greg asked hopefully as he carefully tucked the jacket into his backpack.
Sara thought it over. She hadn't been out after shift in a long time. In fact, she'd been sulking over Grissom.
"Sure. Why not?" She closed her locker and headed out past a very happy trainee. Grissom had seemed to be shaping up his attitude lately, maybe she should do a little 'tude adjustment herself. ~-~-~
"Hey!" Nick greeted Sara with a fresh beer and a high five. Warrick was at the bar talking to the waitress. Greg brushed by Sara and sat down next to Nick.
"Been a while, stranger." Nick teased.
"Yeah." Sara took a long drink of beer, and smiled. It was good to be out with the guys again. "Where's Cath?"
"She'll be here. She had to call her sister to take Lindsey to school." Warrick said from behind her, having procured the waitress's phone number and e-mail address.
"Beer's on me." Sara handed Greg a beer.
"People are going to start to think I'm a teacher's pet." He winked at her.
"I wouldn't worry too much." She laughed and took another drink.
"Are my charms finally winning you over?" He clinked his bottle to hers.
"Sanders, drink yer beer."
Greg grinned, and Nick shook his head and laughed. Sara went up to the bar for another round.
"Give it up, man." Nick patted Greg on the back. "It'll never happen."
"A man can dream, can't he?"
"You've been working with her what, four years? Throw in the towel, man."
Greg grinned.
"Yeah, but I thought she was awesome a lot longer than that."
"How is that?" Greg nearly dropped his beer as Sara stood behind him with an amused look on her face. Nick held up his hands in a 'yer on your own' gesture known to all men.
"Hmmm.do I taste foot?" Greg looked up sheepishly and grinned.
"I'm flattered and all, but you were saying you knew me before Las Vegas? How's that?"
"Well, I didn't know you per say. I knew of you. I saw you around." Greg tried to explain as Nick chuckled, and Sara got confused.
"How?"
"I was an intern in the San Francisco labs when you were still there. We didn't work the same shift, but I saw you there a lot. . .always working your ass off on whatever case you had. I didn't really know who you were or anything, then when you came to Vegas, I was like WOW!" Greg smiled broadly.
Sara just gaped at him. Greg had been back at San Fran, and they'd never met?
"Why have you never told me this before, you big goon!" Sara smacked his arm playfully.
"Uh, just never saw the right time I guess." Greg smiled at her, then got quiet, and drank a long pull from his beer. He had seen Sara at the office in San Fran more often than he let on. He saw when a certain case came in that nearly tore her apart. He saw her sitting alone out on a curb in the parking lot late at night. He saw her do something he bet not many people had ever seen her do. He saw her cry.
"I guess I'm a hopeless romantic." He batted his eyes at her risking another smack, but was handed a fresh beer instead.
"And I'm a pragmatic scientist. Drink up, Bud." They all raised a toast, and drank one last beer before Catherine came with the Tahoe to take them all home.
"How'd you get saddled with driving?" Nick smiled wanly up at Catherine.
"Gotta talk to one of Lindsey's teacher's this afternoon. Wouldn't be too good to go in smelling like beer." She laughed at the wobbly crew before her. They loaded into the SUV and headed off. Warrick and Greg crashed at Nick's since they had spare Clothes in their bags.
"I'll drive 'em home after we crash a while." Nick slurred from his doorstep.
"Sounds good." Catherine got in the car, and turned to Sara, who had her head back and her eyes shut.
"You awake?"
"Hmm?" Sara opened her eyes.
"Just checking. I'll drive you home next."
"Thanks, Cat."
"Good to see you out with the group for once."
"Yeah. I missed it too."
"How's training Greg going?"
"Great. He's doing great. He's going to be a great CSI." Sara closed her eyes again.
"Great." Catherine deadpanned. "How's dating Grissom going?"
"Great." Sara's eyes shot open the moment the word left her mouth. She whipped her head around to glare at Catherine. Catherine just laughed.
"You suck." Sara's head sunk, as she groaned.
"Don't worry. Secret's safe with me. When did this happen? I thought you two were on the outs?"
"It hasn't really 'happened.' We just went to dinner at the diner."
"Uh huh. Going out again soon?"
"Denny's." Sara grinned.
"Wow. . .Grissom really is a closet romantic. I need to have a chat with that man. He should take you someplace nice."
"Say one word, and I'll toss a bottle of printing dust in your wardrobe."
"Gotcha. I hope you were kidding about the Denny's though." She grinned.
"I'm just glad we're getting along again. 'Missed that." Sara's eyes were getting heavy. The combination of a long shift, and alcohol were taking their toll. Catherine pulled up to Sara's complex, and waved goodbye.
"Talk to you later. Just let me know if you need an emergency shopping trip. The thrift store isn't the only place in town with cool clothes you know."
Sara shuddered at the thought of being dragged through some high priced department store.
"Thanks, Cat. I'm good. See ya next shift." She gave a half-hearted wave, and walked to her apartment.
Greg pushed his lab coat into his over-stuffed locker, and crammed the door shut. Being out in the field had been even better than he had hoped. He had learned a lot. He had earned praise from both Sara and Grissom, and he hadn't thought about the explosion once. Before, he always thought he had the safer job. It was the crime scene that was scary. All he dealt with was the aftermath and evidence. Now. . . the illusion was gone. He looked down at his ID. Soon it would say CSI I. He picked his duffle bag up off the floor, and headed out with a big dopey grin on his face. He hadn't felt this good in months!
~-~-~
"Here. You can wear this with that jacket." Catherine held up a V-neck silk blouse that was shinier than Sara would ever imagine a top could be.
"Um-no thanks. We work nights. One stray flashlight beam, and everyone around me's blind!" She laughed, and picked over a row of jeans. "HA! Here ya go, Cat!" Sara handed Catherine a pair of jeans with the butt part cut out.
"Hmmm. . . I think I wore something like that once before." She smirked at the look on Sara's face, and handed them back.
"This is better than buying from catalogs. I still can't believe I found a pair of Vans!" Sara grinned at the pair of tennis shoes she plopped into their cart.
"Those things are clunky. Splurge on a pair of Nike's, for cryin' out loud."
"You have to order these. They're very comfy. Hey!" She pulled a little black dress off an adjacent rack.
"Now yer talkin'!" Catherine looked at the dress admiringly. "Your classic little black dress. Very cute. Who's it by?"
"Ann Taylor "
"Nice enough. A nice red cardigan would look beautiful over that."
"A cardigan? Kinda prudish for you isn't it?" Sara crinkled her nose.
"A tight, red cardigan." Catherine put her hands on her hips. "Pot, thou art black!"
"Ok. I'm good. You ready?" Sara leaned against the cart and laughed.
"Yeah. I gotta pick Lindsey up at my sister's. See you back at the labs."
~-~-~
Sara pulled into her complex just as her cell phone rang.
"Sidle."
"Sara?"
"Grissom? What's up? I can be there in about thirty minutes."
"No rush. This isn't work related."
Sara was silent a moment. Not work related? With Grissom everything was work related.
"Oh, really?" She was interested yet cautious. They'd been avoiding each other for weeks. "Then, what is it related to?"
Grissom took a deep breath. He had dialed the number without thinking it through. Very unlike him. He smiled to himself at the impulsive way he had been behaving lately.
"I just wanted to speak with you. We haven't really had much of a chance to talk." He knew that sounded, well, lame.
Sara was flustered. She wasn't sure whether to be angry, or laugh. What was he getting at? 'Calm down, Sidle.' She got out of her car and started towards her apartment, bags in one hand, cell phone in the other.
"Well, what do you want to talk about?" She rolled her eyes, and walked into her building, heading for the stairs.
"You did a great job with Greg last night." He grinned into the phone. "You looked very nice in that suit."
Was he flirting with her? So far, he'd not said anything more than he'd stated last night. He continued.
"So. . .what brought that on?" He was still grinning; wishing he had better, smoother words to offer. Shakespear, Frost, anything!
"Asks the man sporting the 'I wish I was on Miami Vice' beard and short sleeves?" She chuckled as she opened the door to her floor. As she pushed her way through, she looked down the hall. There, standing in front of her apartment door, was Grissom. He was looking towards the door, probably assuming that she was inside. She grinned broadly. This was new. He had never been to her place in all the time that she'd lived in Vegas.
"So! You don't like the beard?" He waited for a reply. "Sara?" He looked at the phone to make sure he hadn't lost the connection.
"Oh, I like it just fine." She laughed as Grissom jumped a foot in the air. She closed her flip phone, and reached in her jacket pocket for her keys. "Here. Hold these." She thrust her shopping bags in his arms, and opened the door. "Come on in."
Grissom followed her inside, and looked around. It was nice, and well- decorated, but it looked lived in as well. He liked it.
"Sorry I didn't straighten up. Didn't expect company." She smiled at him. "Not that I'm complaining. You want anything to drink? I've got water and coffee."
"Thanks, but I'm fine." He walked over to her bookshelf, and looked at the titles. For someone who claimed not to be well-read, she had quite an assortment. Everything from Physics books to . . . "Is that a Harlequin symbol I see?" He cocked an eyebrow at her as she practically dove for the book in question.
"Uh, no! Well, yes, it is, but no, it's not mine." She yanked the offensive novel off her shelf, and walked it over to a kitchen drawer which she stuffed it in. "I somehow ended up with it in my books when I moved, and I just never got around to tossing it."
Grissom nodded, even though he didn't buy that for one second.
"And how do you know what that symbol means?"
"My mother read those damn things nonstop." He grinned and shook his head.
"Ah." She motioned for him to sit, and she sat across from him on the couch.
"What did you want to talk about, Grissom? Why are you here?" She watched as a somewhat frightened look crossed his face.
"I was thinking about what you said after the explosion."
"Oh." Sara sighed. So that was it. Another lecture about how "this" can't happen.
"I want to know if I'm too late." He studied her face carefully.
Sara heard the words, but the meaning behind them was still doubtful.
"Why now? What's changed?"
"I've changed." He stated it flatly, as if it was obvious.
"This isn't some mid-life crisis is it, Griss? The beard, the snazzy clothes? I really can't handle this right now if it's just some phase you'll regret in a few months." She looked up to meet his eyes. They were full of emotion. She wasn't sure if it was concern or something else.
"This isn't a phase, Sara."
"Grissom." She shook her head. She had wanted this for so long, but after the explosion, and how abruptly he had turned her down, she had been trying so hard to let him go. She had been trying to move on. Now, here he was, sitting in her living room being charming, wanting her to give him a chance. Why was he always so damn confusing?
"Let's have dinner before shift."
"You want to have dinner with me?" Sara smiled.
"Yes. . . Let's 'see where it goes.' I think that's how it went." He grinned at her, and stood up.
"Ok. . .I've got to get ready first though." She grabbed the bags Grissom had been holding onto, and walked back towards her room, glancing back at him as if he were some stress-induced mirage. "Gimme fifteen minutes."
Chapter 5:
Sara tossed the bags from the thrift store on her bed, and headed for her closet. She decided to go with her usual casual work outfit. It took her all of ten minutes to hurriedly get ready, and walk out to meet Grissom who was thumbing through a copy of "Archaeology."
"Ready?" She walked up behind him.
"Yes." He smiled at her. She looked just as beautiful in dark jeans as designer slacks. He mentally shook himself, reminding himself that this was their first dinner together. Regardless of the outcome, they had to go in to work afterwards.
"Good. Where are we going?" She snagged her keys from the counter, and followed him out the door.
"The diner."
"Sounds fine." Sara was a little disappointed, but only mildly. The diner was the group's usual hangout when they met for dinner before shift. No one would give them a second glance there, which was good. However, it wasn't exactly the place she would have chosen for their first date; if in fact this was to be a date. There was still some vagueness on that matter.
~-~-~
They scooted into a booth by the window, and waited to be served. The waitress knew them by site. She joked around a bit about who got what, trying to make polite, somewhat witty banter. Despite the casual attire, familiar surroundings, and present company, Grissom was beginning to feel nervous. He played with his fork, and studied his water without making eye contact.
"Second thoughts?" Sara asked, bringing him out of his stupor.
"And third, and fourth." He looked up, giving her a slight grin. She hadn't expected the blunt truth, but it didn't sting. She was racking her own brain with 'what ifs' and best case/worst case scenarios.
"Want to talk about it?" She ventured.
As he was trying to formulate an intelligible sentence, a familiar grinning face appeared to the side of their booth.
"Hey! My favorite teachers!" Greg scooched into the booth next to Sara, grinning like a fool.
"Hi." Sara smiled in quiet resignation at Grissom, who just rolled his eyes, and grinned. A life of bad timing. He wasn't sure if he'd just been rescued or marooned.
"So! We got any hot cases? Oh! I gotta tell you about this case Ecklie's crew had today. Let me just say that it was quite kinky." He wiggled his eyebrows at Sara, and winked at Grissom for good measure.
"Sounds wild. Tell me all about later on. I hate to drive you off, Greggo, but Grissom and I are working on a case that's kind of 'hush-hush' right now. We were just discussing it."
Greg only showed a hint of disappointment, having been invited to tell all later.
"Ah! Gotcha. Catch ya later then." He gave her a parting wink, and swaggered out the door.
"Hush-hush?" Grissom cocked an eyebrow at Sara and smiled.
"Sounded convincing."
"You could convince Greg that Penguins were attacking the city."
"Not in the evening. Penguins only stalk their prey in the daylight." She grinned into her coffee mug.
"Discovery channel?"
"Mystery Science Theatre." She smirked.
"Some dinner, huh?" He gave a weak grin, and kneaded his brow.
"I have no problem with it." To be totally honest, she was thrilled that they were sitting together at a diner, talking casually, and without argument.
"I know this isn't really what you expected. . ."
"Grissom, I didn't expect anything. This is fine. It's nice. I like being here with you."
She looked around the diner at other couples that were there. Some were animated, deep in discussion. Others just sat together, quietly sipping coffee, and reading the paper. She thought of how the two of them must look to people who didn't know they worked together.
"I'm not exactly an exciting date." Grissom grinned again.
Sara looked up at him. 'Date?' So this was a date to him. And he seemed to think he was letting her down in some way.
"I don't know what you think I expect, Grissom, but I'm not too hard to please."
"I didn't mean that."
"I know, but just having you here, talking to me civilly, makes me happy. I really missed that." She took another sip of coffee.
"I'm sorry if I came across as being angry with you."
Wow! That was the most straightforward thing she had heard come out of Gil Grissom's mouth in years.
"Well, you should be." She smiled again despite the past months. He could erase it all simply by opening up to her, and letting her in. She would commend his efforts so far, if it wouldn't sound condescending. She still couldn't believe he didn't understand that he already had her. She had simply been waiting for him. She'd been waiting longer than most relationships even last.
Grissom motioned the waitress over, seeing that Sara's coffee mug was empty. Sara smiled. Twenty-first Century chivalry.
"Thanks." She said to both Grissom and the waitress. She looked up at the wall clock, and groaned.
"We should get moving. Shift starts in twenty minutes." She began scooting out of the booth as Grissom laid out money for their meals and tip.
She laughed at Grissom's mild shock. The time had gotten away from him. They were both usually in much earlier than this.
"Don't' worry. Greg will already be asking around about what case we're working on." A smile crept across Grissom's face. "If he's not too backlogged, I'll bring him with me again today."
Sara liked that Grissom was warming up to Greg. She felt slightly protective of her favorite lab rat.
"How about breakfast after shift?" Sara playfully nudged Grissom's side. He grinned, and turned to face her.
"I'd like that. Someplace nicer next time. . . maybe Denny's." He gave her a wicked grin as they got in the Tahoe.
Chapter 6:
"You're going to be a great CSI, Greg." Sara pushed her sunglasses up, and finished loading her things back onto the SUV. Greg beamed.
"Thanks. I have a good teacher." He winked at Sara, unaware of Grissom standing directly behind him.
"Why, Greg, you flatter me." Grissom patted him on the back.
"Uh, hey, Gris."
Sara grinned at the two of them, and tossed Greg the keys.
"You drive, Hotshot."
"Thanks."
Grissom looked curiously at Sara. As they drove back towards headquarters, Grissom's cell phone rang.
"Yeah?. . . We'll be right there." He closed his phone, and looked over at Greg and Sara.
"What's up?" Sara looked up from her notepad.
"Double homicide less than a mile from here. I told Brass we'd meet him there."
~-~-~
"Ugh." Greg pulled his jacket off , and eyed the stains on the front. "For some reason these samples aren't as disgusting when I get them on Q-tips and bendles."
"Yeah. You might want to wash that." Sara grinned from her own locker.
"Nick said the guys were going to McCallihan's after shift for a beer. Wanna come along?" Greg asked hopefully as he carefully tucked the jacket into his backpack.
Sara thought it over. She hadn't been out after shift in a long time. In fact, she'd been sulking over Grissom.
"Sure. Why not?" She closed her locker and headed out past a very happy trainee. Grissom had seemed to be shaping up his attitude lately, maybe she should do a little 'tude adjustment herself. ~-~-~
"Hey!" Nick greeted Sara with a fresh beer and a high five. Warrick was at the bar talking to the waitress. Greg brushed by Sara and sat down next to Nick.
"Been a while, stranger." Nick teased.
"Yeah." Sara took a long drink of beer, and smiled. It was good to be out with the guys again. "Where's Cath?"
"She'll be here. She had to call her sister to take Lindsey to school." Warrick said from behind her, having procured the waitress's phone number and e-mail address.
"Beer's on me." Sara handed Greg a beer.
"People are going to start to think I'm a teacher's pet." He winked at her.
"I wouldn't worry too much." She laughed and took another drink.
"Are my charms finally winning you over?" He clinked his bottle to hers.
"Sanders, drink yer beer."
Greg grinned, and Nick shook his head and laughed. Sara went up to the bar for another round.
"Give it up, man." Nick patted Greg on the back. "It'll never happen."
"A man can dream, can't he?"
"You've been working with her what, four years? Throw in the towel, man."
Greg grinned.
"Yeah, but I thought she was awesome a lot longer than that."
"How is that?" Greg nearly dropped his beer as Sara stood behind him with an amused look on her face. Nick held up his hands in a 'yer on your own' gesture known to all men.
"Hmmm.do I taste foot?" Greg looked up sheepishly and grinned.
"I'm flattered and all, but you were saying you knew me before Las Vegas? How's that?"
"Well, I didn't know you per say. I knew of you. I saw you around." Greg tried to explain as Nick chuckled, and Sara got confused.
"How?"
"I was an intern in the San Francisco labs when you were still there. We didn't work the same shift, but I saw you there a lot. . .always working your ass off on whatever case you had. I didn't really know who you were or anything, then when you came to Vegas, I was like WOW!" Greg smiled broadly.
Sara just gaped at him. Greg had been back at San Fran, and they'd never met?
"Why have you never told me this before, you big goon!" Sara smacked his arm playfully.
"Uh, just never saw the right time I guess." Greg smiled at her, then got quiet, and drank a long pull from his beer. He had seen Sara at the office in San Fran more often than he let on. He saw when a certain case came in that nearly tore her apart. He saw her sitting alone out on a curb in the parking lot late at night. He saw her do something he bet not many people had ever seen her do. He saw her cry.
"I guess I'm a hopeless romantic." He batted his eyes at her risking another smack, but was handed a fresh beer instead.
"And I'm a pragmatic scientist. Drink up, Bud." They all raised a toast, and drank one last beer before Catherine came with the Tahoe to take them all home.
"How'd you get saddled with driving?" Nick smiled wanly up at Catherine.
"Gotta talk to one of Lindsey's teacher's this afternoon. Wouldn't be too good to go in smelling like beer." She laughed at the wobbly crew before her. They loaded into the SUV and headed off. Warrick and Greg crashed at Nick's since they had spare Clothes in their bags.
"I'll drive 'em home after we crash a while." Nick slurred from his doorstep.
"Sounds good." Catherine got in the car, and turned to Sara, who had her head back and her eyes shut.
"You awake?"
"Hmm?" Sara opened her eyes.
"Just checking. I'll drive you home next."
"Thanks, Cat."
"Good to see you out with the group for once."
"Yeah. I missed it too."
"How's training Greg going?"
"Great. He's doing great. He's going to be a great CSI." Sara closed her eyes again.
"Great." Catherine deadpanned. "How's dating Grissom going?"
"Great." Sara's eyes shot open the moment the word left her mouth. She whipped her head around to glare at Catherine. Catherine just laughed.
"You suck." Sara's head sunk, as she groaned.
"Don't worry. Secret's safe with me. When did this happen? I thought you two were on the outs?"
"It hasn't really 'happened.' We just went to dinner at the diner."
"Uh huh. Going out again soon?"
"Denny's." Sara grinned.
"Wow. . .Grissom really is a closet romantic. I need to have a chat with that man. He should take you someplace nice."
"Say one word, and I'll toss a bottle of printing dust in your wardrobe."
"Gotcha. I hope you were kidding about the Denny's though." She grinned.
"I'm just glad we're getting along again. 'Missed that." Sara's eyes were getting heavy. The combination of a long shift, and alcohol were taking their toll. Catherine pulled up to Sara's complex, and waved goodbye.
"Talk to you later. Just let me know if you need an emergency shopping trip. The thrift store isn't the only place in town with cool clothes you know."
Sara shuddered at the thought of being dragged through some high priced department store.
"Thanks, Cat. I'm good. See ya next shift." She gave a half-hearted wave, and walked to her apartment.