Chapter 8

For a moment, she took a few steps towards him. Her face full of surprise and for a fraction of a second there was a warmth flowing through her.

He was here. He was standing only a few feet from her. And she couldn't stop the feeling that rose up in her chest to bump into her heart.

"You're here." She said softly, but then something hit her and the warm feeling was squashed with ice cold fear.

Sara held up her hand and shook her head, not believing what she was about to do. "What are you doing here Grissom?" She tried to make her voice hard and stern, but something slipped through to make it sound like a breathless gasp. Her surprise was evident on both their faces.

"I got your letter." He moved closer, coming to a stop before her. "I couldn't let you leave."

Andrew stepped in and glared at Grissom for a moment, then looked at Sara. "What letter? You didn't say you left a letter, to him, of all people."

Sara's eyes shifted to her father's. "He's my boss Dad. Of course there's going to be a letter. And I don't need to tell you anything. This has nothing to do with you." She took a deep breath and turned away.

"Sara." Grissom called hastily. "We need to discuss this." He dug into his pants pocket and pulled out the envelope she had left for him, no doubt housing the letter she'd wrote.

Sue took Sara's hand and smiled gently at Grissom. "Maybe you could wait in the living area. I'm sure Sara wants to talk to you too." She gave her husband a pointed look. "Andrew can get you a cup of coffee while you wait. Can't you dear." She gave no room for argument.

Sue closed the door to the kitchen, slowly backing away from the door to give them some privacy. It might have been easier to let them talk in the living area or the dining room, but customers were coming back from trips out and others coming back from the beach.

She only hoped that her daughter wouldn't ruin her life because of something she was running away from.

Grissom stood in the doorway to the kitchen, though the door was shut, he could still hear activity outside in the reception hall.

When he looked up, he saw Sara standing in front of the stove, facing away from him. He took a deep breath before attempting to speak, though it was cut short when the back door opened and Stewart stumbled into the room with a pile of boxes containing potatoes.

"Hey, grab a box would ya sis?" Stewart puffed.

Sara took the top box and was surprised when Grissom took the next one, so they were all carrying a box each.

"Thanks." Stewart breathed hard as he dropped his box on the large unit in the centre of the kitchen. He looked up to see the other two standing silently.

Sue called out Stewart's name, knowing where he was and knowing it wasn't the right time for introductions. Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that her ear was pressed to the door the instance she closed it on them in the first place.

Alone again, Sara absently picked up a baby potato and roll it in her hands nervously. "That's Stewart, my big brother." She told him, returning the potato to the box.

Grissom nodded, looking at the door as though her brother was standing there. "He's the cook?" Though it wasn't what he wanted to talk about, it was as good a place to start than any.

Sara smiled proudly. "Yeah. He's only here for the summer, then he's going to head back north to his wife. She travels a lot and won't be back from Europe until then."

"Oh." He nodded again, moving closer to the centre unit to lean slightly against it. "Sara-" He began, but paused when she sighed.

"Grissom, listen, I know things haven't been right between us for a long time, but please don't be here to tell me the lab needs me." She looked up when he didn't say anything.

The actually thought, among many more, was that he'd turn up out of the blue just to plead his case of not being able to hire someone on such short notice. Or, the fact that he only wanted her back in the professional sense, didn't go over too well either.

"That's not why I'm here." He eventually said, feeling a little drained from the journey. He moved to pull a stool from under the unit and sat down.

Sara watched for a moment, before grabbing the coffee and filling two cups. She was tired after her trip here and all she wanted was coffee and sleep. At least she could do something right and fill that need for him even if it wasn't received.

He reached for the cup she placed in front of him. "Thank you." He said sincerely, causing Sara to freeze.

It wasn't everyday something as small as pouring a coffee was thankfully received from him. It was usually a grunt or nod before he turned and left. Sara still felt like he was going to turn and leave, but as she stood and waited, it never happened.

"You must be hungry." She hesitantly suggested.

"No, Sara…" He sighed and set his cup down, wrapping both hands around it. "I'm not hungry, Sara. Please, just tell me what's going on."

She shrugged and pulled herself up to sit on the kitchen unit beside the stove, across from the beseeching eyes in front of her. "I needed a break."

"Right." He sighed heavily. "So, you were going to come back-"

"To Vegas? Sure… To Work? No." She answered firmly. Some of her fears had pushed back to let a little anger seep through. It was still amazing how this man could make her feel one thing and feel something else completely in only a matter of seconds.

Grissom stared at her wide-eyed and stock still, not sure what to say. How could she not come home? Her whole life was in Vegas, with Warrick, Nick and the others. The lab was like a second home for her, she'd even joked about it several times in the past.

Something stuck him then and he realised that that was what it was. Everything that was once in the past was now just that, the past. To this day, he could remember the tiny changes and he suddenly saw them all in clear clarity and to the honest truth, it scared him more than what he had been avoiding for a long time.

Nothing in his entire life had prepared him for this, nothing.

"Well," He shook his head and shrugged casually. "I'm sorry Sara, but no."

Feeling like she was suddenly being spoken to by her mother, she recoiled. "What?"

Grissom shrugged again. "I said no. Putting the whole job issue aside, there's the letter to discuss and after all this time, I finally want to know."

"Know what?" Sara asked, dumbfound at what she was hearing.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he tutted, very un-Grissom like, and stood, pushing his stool back to stand up straight. "I think this has gone too far, don't you?"

"Know what?" She insisted.

"About what you want to do about us." He clarified, walking around the unit.

Shaking her head slowly, Sara chuckled mirthlessly. "This is no joke Grissom. Stop playing games. If you want me to forget about everything I've ever done to influence and… seduce you, then… then, done." She finally spat out, looking up in time to see him stop in front of her, nearly touching her knees with his hips.

"What would be the point?" He asked rhetorically, catching her confused stare. "If I asked that of you, I'd have to do the same thing." He shook his head quickly as he went on. "I very much know that I can't do that, no matter how much I try, you'll always be on my mind."

TBC