Appreciation Day
Sara braved the chilly desert night as she stepped out onto the patio just outside the formal party inside. Parties hadn't been her thing since college, let alone a formal party. She felt self conscious in her dress. The thought of Sara Sidle in a dress was a laughable concept to people who really knew her and grew up with her, but here she was, in heels, and looking like the beautiful woman she didn't know she was.
Inside was the annual Officers Ball, and she felt lonely because she hardly knew anybody in there for one, and two, if she wanted to get drunk, she would do it a home with her own special mix. On top of everything else, she didn't feel very appreciated. The ball happened to fall on National Staff Appreciation Day, a day in which your boss or supervisor gives gifts to his/her employees.
The idea was great, it was just the part of following through that was the loophole. Actually, Grissom did follow through, but he skipped her somehow. Sara had the shift off so she didn't show up to work. Grissom had given cards and little gifts to everyone to be in the spirit of the day.
When she showed up to the ball, Grissom was there along with Nick, Warrick, and Catherine. Catherine showed off her power beads that Grissom had gotten her and it was then that she realized that,
"Sara, Grissom didn't give you anything for Appreciation Day," her tone being rather forlorn for Sara's sake.
It was then that Sara withdrew, and she watched everyone else having a good time, envying Catherine and other women who were not afraid of how they looked in a dress. The mere fact that Grissom didn't even acknowledge her or give her a second glance her way after exchanging a greeting made her leave the whole scene, and now here she was, out on the patio, sitting on the bench looking helpless for not the first time in her life.
Deciding that she would just sneak out through the pool patio, she took down her swept up hair and took off her evening gloves and shoved those, along with the sparkling barrette into her purse. Her hair warmed her neck a bit. Three hours of primping and for what? She just wasn't worth it.
She adjusted herself in the black strapless dress that she spent next to nothing on.
She got up angrily off the bench and looked up at the clear sky. Stars held no envy because there was way too many of them, and they were all the same. She wished that she was a star instead of a human being with hurt feelings and a broken heart.
She sighed. She heard footsteps approaching in the back of her mind. She was still focused on the stars. She knew those footsteps, and she wasn't frightened by them.
"Nice night out," he said as he stopped about three feet behind her.
"Yeah," she sighed. "It's perfect."
"Why aren't you in there turning heads?" He asked.
"I'm not in a partying mood," she said simply. "Why aren't you in there?"
"I was looking for you," he said.
"Warrick," Sara started. "You're going to ruin your night if you stay out here with me."
He didn't respond for a moment, and Sara thought that perhaps he went back inside where it was warm and where it was fun. That was good because she didn't want to make him miserable with her own pathetic story of not being noticed or thought of. She felt like a spoiled child who didn't get what she wanted on her birthday. It wasn't even about the gift, it was more about where she stood. She needed to know whether or not she was needed-wanted at the lab anymore.
She jumped when she felt two warm hands caressing her bare arms. The warmth felt good and she instinctively put one of her hands on his.
Her skin was just as silky and soft as he'd always imagined it. Seeing her looking the way she was looking made him rethink his views of Sara Sidle. She was definitely-although it's the worst cliché in the world- a diamond in the rough. Speaking of…
Sara almost protested when his hands left her arms, but she figured that he gave up on trying to make her feel better.
All of a sudden, a small, sparkling little thing floated right in front of her and onto her chest. It was a teardrop diamond hanging from a simple silver chain. She gasped at both the shock from its coldness, and from the necklace itself.
She turned to Warrick, who had a small satisfied smirk on his face.
"Warrick, I-I…" Sara stuttered.
"Shh," he whispered. "It's your gift from me."
"That's sweet of you," she said, finding her words. "But you didn't have to, this must have cost you a fortune."
"Don't worry about that," he said. "You're beautiful, and if no body else says it, I'll say that I appreciate you. You've done a lot for all of us, and I want to say thank you."
Tears were brimming in Sara's eyes and she blinked them away as she smiled a bit.
"Thanks," she said, running a finger over the small diamond.
Warrick took the sight of her in. She looked more stunning than before and her dress hugged her in all the right places. She was a vision, and he wondered how he missed her for all these years.
Sara leaned up and kissed him ever so lightly on the lips. They stayed like that for a few seconds before she pulled away and turned to look at the sky again. She felt him lightly, teasingly caress her bare shoulders down to her hips before placing a soft, warm kiss to the back of her shoulder before resting his hands on her hips.
They just stood there, watching the stars, without a care in the world.