A/N--Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. I've got a busy weekend so I probably won't post another chapter till sometime next week. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me on this so far. Apologies to anyone who thinks that I portray Sara poorly. I thought I made it clear that she was in an actual relationship with Alex. I hope that as the stories (yes, I said stories ;) ) continue and you see where I plan to take it, your opinions will change. Bear with me, folks.

Thanks to Nessa Owen for her awesome beta work and advice/support. Any remaining errors are mine.

Sara entered the break room and was not surprised to be the first one in. Even though her personal life was no longer dormant, she was still the same workaholic as before. One of the reasons her relationship with Alex worked so well was that his work ethic was similar to hers. They both loved their jobs and were very dedicated. She remembered their second date and how sorry and embarrassed he'd been when he was paged to work. As she tried to tell him no apologies were necessary, her pager did the same.

She made her way over to the cupboard and pulled out a mug and her secret stash of hazelnut creamer. Upon reaching the carafe she noticed there was a full pot already made.

"Looks like I'm not the first one after all," she said to herself, letting her thoughts drift to the person most likely to beat her to work.

Things with Grissom were bittersweet. Since she'd been pulled over, their working relationship had improved, and they seemed to be back on track. It was like they had this unspoken agreement to start anew and it was amazing how easy it was. The hard part was their personal relationship. Drinking that night -- letting her emotions get the better of her and affect her judgement -- was something she couldn't tolerate. Witnessing his confession, finding out he would never do anything about his feelings for her -- she thought she could never feel worse. That was until she put her life and others' in danger by getting behind the wheel. While she sat in the police station waiting for Grissom, she made a vow to let him go. Her heart was tired and her spirit was low, and so she decided to move on.

While she stirred in the sugar and creamer her mind was back on Alex. He was very understanding and comforting when she'd explained her feelings for Grissom. She had come clean with everything. It was the first time she had opened up about it, and to have it be with him – someone she was growing closer to everyday – was refreshing. After Grissom, she didn't know she could care so deeply for another man. It wasn't love but she thought it could be. She knew at times he had his doubts about whether she was over Grissom, and to be honest, so did she. Well aware that this vacation was Alex's way to make their relationship more permanent, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd closed the door on Grissom or just had her back to it.

Timidly taking a sip from her coffee, she turned away from the counter and headed towards the table. Just as she sat down, Grissom entered the room. His demeanor changed from relaxed to tense upon making eye contact.

Heading to the counter to repeat the ritual Sara had just completed, he spoke. "Hi."

"Hey, Grissom." Seeing him use her creamer, she protested, "Hey, that's mine! It's my secret stash."

Silently laughing at her outburst, he relaxed and turned to face her. Cocking his eyebrow he replied, "Not-so-secret stash. I'm not the only one. Bobby uses it too."

"Hmm. Well, you're buying the next one." Her eyes followed his trek from the counter to a seat opposite her. "So, uh, you called yesterday and you…um…you didn't leave a message. Was it important?"

Grissom set his mug down on the table and cleared his throat. Looking up at Sara, he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Noting that this wasn't the place for the conversation he had in mind, he shut his mouth and looked away.

His silence prompted her to speak. "Grissom?"

"Yeah, uh, I need to talk to you about something. About your vacation."

"What? Did something come up on the schedule?"

"No. No, nothing came up. Listen, Sara, can we talk about this after shift? Maybe over breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

"Or coffee, if you already have plans," he said, nervously.

"No, uh, breakfast is fine." Sara, concerned about his behavior, leaned forward. "Are you sure everything is OK?"

Before he could answer, Catherine walked through the door. She took her seat beside Sara, giving Grissom a questioning look.

"Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Going good. Would be even better if we didn't have creamer-stealing thieves around here."

"Oh, you mean the hazelnut creamer behind the plastic cups?"

"Ok, who isn't stealing my creamer?"

"Not me," Nick said from the doorway with Warrick at his back. "I can't stand that crap."

"OK. Everybody is here. There are no new cases tonight, which is good because yours are still open," Grissom said, giving them all a pointed look. "Catherine, you and Sara have those interviews tonight?"

"Yeah, Doc's autopsy came in. It's officially murder. The manager is rounding up the hotel staff and we meet in an hour."

"Good. Nick? Warrick? What about you guys? How's your case?"

Warrick looked over at Nick before answering. "We're just waiting on the lab results. Greg said that we should have them by the beginning of shift, so they should be ready."

"Good. Alright, get moving and keep me updated." Grissom picked up his mug and left the room giving one more glance at Sara.

Leaving Catherine and Sara in the break room, Nick and Warrick left for Greg's lab. Catherine turned her chair around and gave Sara an inquisitive look.

"What?"

"Did Grissom call you yesterday?"

"Yeah, he did. He…"

"Ugh, I told him not to," Catherine interrupted. "I don't know why he thought he could do this now. I told him that he was too late and that you and Alex were happy. What did you say?"

"Well, I, uh," Sara stuttered, not sure about this turn of events.

"You need to do what makes you happy," Catherine said quickly, putting a hand on her forearm. "If it's Grissom who makes you happy---great. If it's Alex, well, that's great too. I'm just sorry he waited until you were with somebody else to make his move."

As Catherine got up she smoothed her coat and shook her head. Looking down at Sara sympathetically, she said, "Listen, I need to get something from the locker room. I'll meet you at the car, OK?"

"Sure."

When Catherine left the room Sara let out a breath of disbelief. Resting her elbows on the table, she lowered her head in her hands. Surprise quickly turned to anger as she slammed her hands down and quickly got up and headed out to the parking lot. Passing by Grissom's office, she risked a glance his way. She had a lot to think about before breakfast.

TBC