The Way It Is

By: Anti Darth Ani

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Chapter VIII - Believe

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Hello everyone. Once again, thanks to all my readers and reviewers. I think I was insulted by CSI watcher. I'm not quite sure, but I do believe so. [Um… I DO watch the show…] Oh well, at long as the majority of you like it, I'll keep writing it. I'm writing instead of studying for finals…

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Sara looked at her reflection in the mirror. Why was she worrying about what she was going to wear? It was Hank. She didn't have to look nice or impress him anymore because she wasn't dating him anymore. Sara realized she hadn't spent this much on her image even when she was dating Hank. Sara finally just put on a pair of comfortable jeans and a white tank top.

Why was she throwing gasoline into the fire? The whole situation of her life was a wreck and she wasn't making it any better. Maybe she should just cancel on him. Then she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. As her stomach rumbled, Sara changed her mind. She needed to eat. This thing with Hank wasn't even a date. It was simply her going out to talk over things with a guy while she ate.

Then again, as Sara look at her reflection in the mirror, she noticed that she had tried very hard on her outfit. Why did she care what she was going to wear? Nothing was going to happen with Hank if she didn't want it to. The whole situation seemed ridiculous to her and Sara just wanted it to stop.

Sara sighed and slumped onto the edge of her bed. Did she know what she was getting herself into? No, she had no idea. But she seriously doubted things could get any worse. Sara stood back up and slipped her black boots on.

When she reached for her keys off the kitchen counter, Sara recalled the conversation she had had with Grissom over the phone. Like she had expected, Grissom insisted she stay home until all her cuts and bruises were gone. He had actually sounded somewhat worried about her, but Sara believed it to be artificial. Grissom was just not an emotional person.

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Sara wasn't ready to see him again. But as she walked into the dimly lit restaurant, she immediately saw him standing against the far wall, searching the crowds of people for her. Sara let her chest tighten and for a moment all she wanted to do was turn around and split. She didn't owe him anything, she could leave without an explanation and not feel sorry about it.

Just as she was about to turn around and walk out the door, Hank spotted her. He stood up and briskly walked over to greet her, a grin spread across his face. Damn it, Sara thought. She was stuck with him now. Sara did her best to smile, hopping he would think it was sincere when she knew it wasn't.

Sara let him pull her to the table the waitress was leading them to. Sara couldn't help notice the way Hank was looking at the waitress. Sara shook her head to herself. He was gawking over the waitress and she knew it. How had she even for a spilt second thought that maybe, just maybe, he had changed. Guys like Hank never changed, they always stayed players. Nothing would change that.

Sara made sure she sat in the booth across from him. She didn't want to sit next to him and allow him the opportunity of getting too close to her. They were seated in the last booth in the row, Sara noticed. Behind her, a hallway led to the kitchen and the bathrooms. She also spotted a bright red EXIT sign with an arrow pointing in that direction. If things went too bad, she could excuse herself to the bathroom and then just leave.

The waitress smiled brightly and introduced herself, handing each one of them a plastic menu. Sara observed that when the waitress handed the menu to Hank, she leaned down a little further than she had to, showing Hank some of the cleavage that was busting out of her top. It took all of Sara's control not to give the waitress a crude remark.

Stupid, she thought of herself as she glanced over the menu. Hank was still Hank, he hadn't changed a bit. She would never be enough for him, just a little distraction to fool around with on the weekends. Sara skimmed the menu until she found a salad that look worthy of her growling stomach. She doubted that he even remembered she was a vegetarian, considering he had brought her to a steak house.

The waitress was back in a flash, wanting to know what they wanted to drink. If she keep it up all night, there was the slight chance that Sara wouldn't even have to talk to Hank and she would be able to get out of the restaurant without any harm done.

After she ordered a glass of water with lemon, she continued to point her attention to the menu. Hank kept looking at her and Sara felt his gaze on her. She just ignored him until finally he pulled the menu out of her hands and set it face down on the table.

"So how have you been lately?" Hank struck up a conversion. "I haven't seen you in a while," Hank reminded her. Only because you didn't want to, Sara added to herself. She shifted uneasily in the booth, trying to decide what to say. She already knew she was going to lie, because she didn't want to bring up her situation with Nick.

"Work's been hectic," Sara responded after careful thought. Sure, let him think that she was stuck on her work again. That nothing important had happened in her life. Make him see that she didn't need a man in her life to keep herself together.

The conversion continued slowly through drinks and the meal. Hank kept throwing out questions and Sara would answer them with the least amount of words possible. The less she had to say, the better she felt about the situation.

Sara was in the middle of taking a bite of her salad, which she had almost finished, when a pair of hands covered her eyes. Sara was startled at first, jumping a little in the booth. "Guess who?" the voice whispered behind her. Sara felt her heart sink.

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I wasn't planning on ending it here. I was going to continue and tell you who it was, but I think it'll be more fun to make you wait to find out. I do promise to update ASAP so that you're not freaking out about it or anything…