Just as she had expected, Grissom was there sitting alone in his office. She passed by and stopped after the doorway. For a moment, she just looked at him, trying to think about what she was going to talk to him about. Why had she asked him in the first place? She didn't know what to say. Soon enough, he sense her presence.

"You are allowed in my office, you know," he smiled but didn't look up.

"I can see you've been busy lately; it isn't like you, not showing up at the crime scene."

"I've had all kind of paperwork to file and then Ecklie came in and we had a talk."

"Oh." She remembered the last "talk" Ecklie had had with her; it hadn't been very amusing. "I can't stand that man."

Grissom stayed silent, Sara could tell he shared her feelings about Ecklie and decided to change the subject before he took out his anger on her by mistake.

"Did I mention that you still owe me a coffee? And I don't mean in the Styrofoam cups from the break room."

"Uhh…"

Luckily, for Grissom anyway, Catherine showed up in the doorway, saving Grissom for a few minutes.

"Grissom, can I talk to you for a minute or so?"

"Sure," he got up from his desk, giving a small smile to Sara as he walked by her and out into the hallway.

Sara still didn't know what she was doing there in Grissom's office and she still didn't know what to say to him, but as if her thoughts were answered, Grissom came back in.

"How about we take a break in an hour? At that coffee shop just off the strip…"

"Sure." She got up. "I suppose I'll see you then. Bye."

Inside, she felt happier than she had ever felt, well, except that day only a year and a half after she had came to Las Vegas. She remembered it all quite vividly, actually.

---

There they sat, in the bleachers at the skating arena where a hockey player had been murdered. Sara hadn't been happy with her life, particularly Grissom then. They had had their arguments, but she still loved him and yet, he just pushed her away. She couldn't handle it anymore.

And then, in the heat of the argument, he had come through.

"Since when have you been interested in beauty?" Sara asked angrily.

"Since I saw you."

Those four words were all it took to make her change her mind about him. She was so confused, but a small smile played upon her lips.

---

Suddenly, she recalled time after time all the moments after that Grissom pushed her further and further away. She knew that he felt the same, or at least he did once, but now she wasn't sure. He cared about her, but he also cared about the whole team. Never, did he give her any return of feeling and time after time, Sara had retreated home after the shift to lay in bed and cry herself to sleep.

But she had a newly discovered hope this time. Something was different; it felt as though it was now or never that she tell him at least some of the truth.

She walked in and found a seat off to the side, by a small window. It was early yet, and Grissom hadn't shown up, so she busied herself in reading; it was an article on new research on DNA. In the background of her thoughts, she heard someone moved towards her and set something on the table, then move the chair from across from her and sit down.

Looking up, she greeted him, "Hey Grissom."

"What are you reading?"

"An article by William Scotsman on DNA, quite interesting actually."

A woman came over to take their orders.

"A coffee please, one cream and two sugars," Grissom said and then turned to Sara.

She quickly turned up from the article, "Oh, uh, hot chocolate, please."

The waitress turned away and Grissom spoke again.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

She put the article back in her bag and looked up, "Us."

"There is no "Us", Sara," Grissom said, "I think you mean to say "you and I.""

She had been right all along, she knew he was going to do this to her again. He continually pushed her away from him, and then brought her close, only to repeat what he did before. Little did he know that every time he did that, it hurt her so much.

Lucky for Grissom, their drinks were brought out and Sara still hadn't replied to his remark. She simply drank her hot chocolate and watched him drink his coffee.

"Why are you so afraid? I thought I was friends with someone fearless, intelligent, and brave. All I see now is you running away from your life. Frankly, I get sick every time you do this." She left a ten on the table, "For the coffee and hot chocolate." Whatever hope she had of Grissom ever admitting that he felt something for her was drained from her mind. It was over.