I do not own CSI or anything affiliated with CSI. I am merely someone with a little time on their hands. GSR!
This is my response to the Unbound Improv Challenge.
"Just close your eyes," he said.
Both Sara and Grissom rolled their eyes instead. When told that all the night shift CSIs had to attend a "trust exercise", the reaction was the same: a resounding no. Unfortunately, with an election around the corner, the mayor wanted to be sure that all civil servants were working at 100. Grissom and Sara, along with Nick, Warrick and Catherine, arrived at the community center a few hours after their shift ended and were met in the lobby by Mark, the Trust Exercise Coordinator. He looked like the type of guy who would get between two big guys fighting and say in a soft voice, 'let's not fight, guys,' and then get punched in the gut. The group was separated, and Grissom and Sara had followed Mark into a room that closely resembled a kindergarten classroom.
"Now Sara, you need to trust Gil. You need to let yourself fall forward and believe that Gil will catch you. Gil, she's counting on you to catch her," Mark explained so softly both CSIs had to strain to hear him, "Are the two of you ready?"
"I guess," Sara muttered. Did she trust Grissom? Of course she did. No matter what happened between them, he would always hold her trust. What he would do with that trust was another matter all together.
"Yes," Grissom replied, a slight tremor in his tone. A loud voice in his head told him not to let Sara fall, and that if he did drop her that he might as well jump of a cliff now. He willed his shaking hands to still. The thought of holding Sara sent an unwelcome rush of blood to his head. Don't drop her, don't drop her, don't drop her...
"All right, whenever you're ready," Mark instructed, clasping his hands in anticipation.
Sara held her breath as she rocked her weight forward to her toes and let gravity take her down. In an instant, two big, strong hands caught her and held on tightly. Reflexively, her eyes popped open and were met with wide blue ones. Grissom had ducked down slightly for leverage so they were now eye to eye. The two stood there for a long moment, unaware of the rest of the world.
"Good job Gil, Sara! Now it's time to switch roles. Gil, you have to understand that she may not be able to support your weight, so help her out once she catches you," Mark interrupted cheerfully.
It hit Grissom like cold water. She can't support his weight. She can't walk around while he sits there thinking what to do about "this". Standing up straight, he prepared to fall into her welcoming arms.
As soon as she saw Grissom stand, her heart sank, the way it always did when he pulled back from her. Biting back a sigh, she followed his lead and offered her arms to him. Sometimes it felt like she was doing all the offering.
"Eyes closed Gil. Now, fall," Mark said, taking a step back to watch the exercise occur.
Grissom didn't even think, he just let his body go where it always wanted to, towards Sara. He collapsed into Sara's arms and welcomed the warmth. Opening his eyes slowly, he hoped to project everything he wanted her to know. Her gaze searched his, and not even Mark's voice could snap them out of their revere.
"Excellent! You both did wonderful. Now Sara, you're going to be meeting up with some of your colleagues in room 102, and Gil, the rest of your colleagues will be coming here."
The sound of the door opening separated the two, and Sara hesitantly left the room, giving Grissom one last look. Had she seen what she thought she saw? Should she call him on it later? She'd been burned by him before, was she willing to open her heart once more?
"I am in the trust box. I cannot be insulted while in trust box," Nick imitated one of the coordinators, acting like a mime in an invisible box as he, Warrick and Catherine walked through the parking lot, "Warrick, when you tease me about being a cowboy, it hurts."
Warrick began to chuckle and knocked on Nick's "box", "Anyway we can lock you in there?"
"I can't believe we had to waste our time off doing that. I could be at home with Lindsey right now," Catherine muttered as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder, ignoring the boys' jokes.
"Hey, anyone see Grissom and Sara?" Nick asked, looking around the parking lot for their fellow CSIs.
"They probably snuck out so they could go to work," Warrick joked with a roll of his eyes.
"Hey Sara, can I talk to you?" Grissom asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. Sara abandoned trying to get her keys in her car door and turned to Grissom.
"Sure, what's up?" She asked, praying her voice didn't give away her nervousness. She wanted desperately for him to say something about their "falling" exercise. But history taught her not to get her hopes up when it came to Grissom.
"This uh...this," Grissom stuttered, completely unaware of what to say. If you gave him a topic like bugs, he could talk fluently for hours. But when it came to Sara, he was at a loss for words. Sara became slightly irritated.
"Look, Grissom. Just say what ever you want to say. Tell me you want to be with me, tell me you don't, just tell me something," Sara stated, unsure if the words actually came from her. Grissom looked stunned.
"I fell. I fell and you caught me. No one's ever caught me before," Grissom said earnestly. Nothing else seemed to work, he might as well try speaking from the heart. Sara seemed taken aback at his confession.
"I, wow. I...don't know what to say Grissom," Sara's eyes remained locked on Grissom's, praying he didn't retreat back inside himself now that he was making so much progress.
"And why, if you caught me, do I still feel like I'm falling? I always feel like I'm falling around you Sara. And that scares me," never in a million years did Sara think she would ever hear anything like that from Gil Grissom.
"Oh, Gil," she sighed, resting her right hand on his cheek. Boldly, Grissom stepped forward and placed his lips over Sara's. When they pulled away, Sara couldn't help but smile.
"Okay, I guess that's settled then."
Ok, bad me, I went over the 1000 word limit. What do you expect, this is my first Unbound response! R&R!