Disclaimer: Like before i own nothing.

Chapter Two

Nick, Sara and Greg were sitting in the break room chatting about random things that came up in conversation. Nick was sipping his coffee as he listened to Sara and Greg's conversation.

" My Uncle's wife has breast cancer, this will be her third time. It's unbelievable."

"It can take only one infected cell for the woman to contract it again."

Greg nodded.

"Yup, seemingly they are saying that deodrant is causing breast cancer, most of the population of people infected with breast cancer have it in their left breast. It's something to do with them being right handed and spraying more deodrant on the left side than the right side."

Sara sighed and sipped her coffee. Nick piped in.

"It's as if you can't stand next to a window for too long or you'll contract cancer, the scientists are blaming everything nowadays."

"What do they expect people to do, not use deodrant and walk around smelling of B.O.?"

"You mean people walking around smelling like Ecklie, Greg."

All three of them laughed at Sara's comment. Nick decided to change the topic.

"How's your rape case going with Grissom?"

Sara put her coffee down and looked at Nick.

"We cracked it, Simpson and some of his buddies decided they wanted some of Joan Orland. Fun gone too far. I hate these cases where innocent people get hurt because of selfish bastards like Simpson and his gang."

Nick nodded.

"We all feel like that Sara. Thats why we do our job and put these guys away."

Oh she knew the others felt it too, but somehow her hold on the victims was much stonger. She related to these victims. Nobody understood that. They all thought she was rather sensitive in the rape and abusive cases, but it was much more. Sipping her coffee she thought about Grissom. Things had been geeting better then worse, it seemed as if they played this game repeating themselves.

"One step forward, two steps back."

Nick and Greg both looked at Sara.

"What was that Sidle?"

Sara looked up and broke from her reverie. Did she say that out loud?

"I...nothing i was just thinking, you know..?"

Both nodding, they continued to stare at Sara.

"What? I was thinking."

"Wow another human soup. Just great!"

Sara had been assigned with Grissom once again for another case. A young teenager had been reported missing two weeks ago and the liquid remains which settled at their feet belonged to that teenager.

"You know, it never surprises me when cases like these come in. Seems i'm always the one with the short straw."

Grissom looked up from is evidence collection and raised an amused eyebrow.

"Your hardly going near him Sara. I'm the one thats going to smell, so quit moaning."

Sara scanned the area, human soup, human soups belongings, human soups shoes and what was that? She moved closer to the body warily. The liquidised body fat was very slippery and she didn't want to fall on her ass in it. Creeping towards the body Grissom looked at her and narrowed his eyes.

"You found something?"

Sara didn't asnwer him as she prowled her way to the body. Getting closer she slipped on a bit of body fat and nearly lost her balance. Collecting herself she bent down next to the body and took her tweezers out. Carefully plucking something blue from the remains of the teenager she held it up to the sky.

"Damnit, he stinks!"

Grissom walked over to her and looked at the blue thing caught in her metal tweezers.

"A fibre?"

Shaking her head she held it to the light to get a closer look. It was round and shiny, she didn't think the body fat had anything to do with the shinyness.

"Plastic maybe? I'll get this sent off to trace."

Grissom nodded and smiled.

"What bother's you more, saliva or decomps?"

Sara pursed her lips and looked at the human soup.

"Definatly saliva."

Grissom sat in his office staring at the clock on his wall. 15 minutes before shift ended. If he wanted to do this he had to do it now, although he still had to win the internal battle he was having with himself.

She's your co-worker.

She's a friend.

She's younger than you.

Age doesn't matter.

What happens when she gets bored of you and she moves onto the next guy?

Sara wouldn't do that. She's not like that.

She dated that punk Hank.

He meant nothing.

Shaking himself from the internal battle he got up out of his chair and went in search of Sara. He found her rather quickly, she was in the break room reading a forensic magazine. Magazine in one hand, sandwich in the other.

"Hungry?"

Sara looked up and finished chewing what she had in her mouth.

"I have to eat like everyone else you know."

Grissom raised his eyebrow.

"Always the reader...what article you reading?"

Sara put her sandwich down and stared at Grissom, he himself stared at her back expecting an answer to his question. Shrugging her shoulders Sara put the magazine down.

"I was just skimming through it."

"Oh."

Sara threw the rest of her sandwich and the packaging in the bin and wiped her mouth. Opening the fridge she pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip of it. Grissom watching her every move.

"Did you need me for something?"

God, if only you knew.

"That blue plastic you sent off to trace. It's actually a part off a flashlight."

Sara nodded while sipping her water.

Clearing his throat he continued. "I see you have tonight off."

"Yeh, hopefully i'll get called in. I can't stand these nights off."

Grissom looked at the ground and shuffled his feet in a nervous gesture.

"Hopefully you won't get called in. It'd ruin our evening."

Sara looked at Grissom as if he'd grown another head, her jaw open to the world for the flies to wander in. She was dazed. "Huh?"

"We both have tonight off, i was wondering if you'd....like to go out...with me. For something to eat."

"Go out?"

Grissom nodded.

"With you?"

He nodded again.

"Tonight?"

"Yes."

Shaking her head of the cobwebs, she closed her mouth and took a drink of the water she had opened. Her mouth was dry from the shock and absurdity of the situation.

Right, he didn't want to go out with her a few weeks ago when she had asked him out. Yet he thought she would agree to go out with him, after him turning her down. No way buddy.

"No."

Grissom frowned.

"No?"

Sara stared at him.

"Why not? I..."

"I don't know what to do...about this."

Sara gesturing the same as Grissom had done a few weeks back.

What had he done? Did he think just after a few weeks she'd be willing to go out with him after him declining her dinner invitation? He had been such a fool, and now she knew he had feelings for her and he wanted to do something about it. She had turned him down to get her own back but he could still feel the pang of pain at his heart from rejection. He tried to breath evenly, but he couldn't. He wanted to work this out between them, he wanted to try but obviously it was too late.

Sara broke his concentration.

"Hurts doesn't it."

Grissom looked her in the eye.

"Rejection. It hurts. Knowing that there's something strong between two people. You try to work things out. Rejection is a painful thing."

Grissom flinched at her words. It was true. He was such a fool to think she'd forget about his simple No.

"I....didn't mean to hurt you intentionally."

Sara huffed a laugh and blew out a dragon breath.

"Grissom, you never do. It's just you. You can't help it, your just socially inept. I know how your feeling at the moment, i went through it when you turned down my invitation. What makes you think i'm going to stop everything at once to have dinner with you? Things don't work like that Grissom. I'm still hurting, and frankly it's gonna take time for me to heal."

Sara took one last look at Grissom before she left the breakroom. She knew it wasn't a wise decision she had made but she had wanted him to feel the pain she had been feeling for weeks now. Love was a horrible thing.