Slip Up
By Dany
Summary: Greg receives an unusual note, but is it really for him?
A/N: Response to an Unbound Challenge. I know, I'm late and it's too long, but I just didn't have the time to put this up sooner and I have no idea what I should have left out, so… this is my answer.
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.
xxxxx
"Perhaps it was a mistake."
"What kind of mistake could that be?" Greg asked, pacing in the break room, too confused to sit down.
"Maybe he was writing something personal and his mind slipped up." Catherine had to admit this was rather strange, and Grissom was not exactly known to write personal stuff at work.
Who was she kidding, he did not even write personal stuff that ended that way. Considering this, she could understand why Greg was all psyched out over finding his efficiency report closing with 'Love, Grissom'. There had to be a logical explanation for this.
"Why don't you ask him?" Three heads turned, staring at Nick as if he had lost his mind. Realizing his mistake, he ducked his head, looking sheepishly at his coworkers.
"Bro, you need to listen before you say something, because I swear you have no idea what we were talking about." Warrick was close to giving Nick a smack on the head, but refrained from it, knowing it would not change a thing.
Greg still paced like a tiger in a cage, wondering what he should do about this. The others were really no help. The problem was, as much as he would have liked to forget all about it, he knew he couldn't. The statement would never leave his head again.
He took another look around the break room again, and when he saw the amused looks on his colleague's faces, he wondered if it had been wise to say anything at all. How did he end up in this situation?
The amused grins vanished quickly when Sara entered the room.
Nick buried himself deeper into his magazine, while Catherine and Warrick pretended to bee deep into a game of chess – which was a stupid move since Catherine did not have the patience for the game. Greg was afraid Sara would see right through the hoax, but she went straight for the coffee pot to down two cups in rapid succession.
Lucky for her the plate was already shut off or she would have burned her throat. She didn't give her friends one glance, but their eyes were on her, wondering what was going on. She had red puffy eyes, and her hands were trembling.
Just as Nick was about to stand up and ask her what was wrong, Grissom entered the room. Greg tensed and Sara turned her back on him.
Grissom forewent any greetings and plunged right into work. "Sara, you're with me on a B&E in Henderson, Warrick…"
He didn't get any further, because Sara shouted out, "Go to hell," before she ran past him.
He looked completely confused and turned from one CSI to the other, searching for an answer. AS he focused on Catherine he saw a piece of paper lying next to her with his familiar crawl at the bottom. "Oh shit," he stammered as he read what he had written, before he slammed the assignment slips on the table and hurried after Sara, leaving the rest of the shift behind, looking at each other in confusion.
Warrick was the first to regain control over his thoughts. "You don't think…" he asked, but his only answer was heavy silence.
xxxxx
Grissom hurried through the hallways, frantic to find Sara. He wondered how he could have been so stupid to mess up something like this?
At the same time, he felt his anger rising. It was just a mistake on a little note and she was totally overreacting. He hadn't even known that he had switched the text and she was blaming him. That woman had a short fuse, he had to be very careful.
Grissom ignored the stares he got and focused on finding Sara, but she was nowhere to be found. Just when he was about to give up when he noticed the blinds on his office where drawn. They had been only half shut when he had left.
So that's where she was hiding.
He entered his dark office and shut the door behind him. To find her in the dark, he held his breath to detect hers. It sounded like she had been crying, which made it easier to find her.
He threaded carefully, avoiding all obstacles until he was standing right next to his office chair. Now, he could feel her warmth.
"Sara, let me explain," he pleaded with her.
He reached out to touch her, but she moved away from him. "What's there to explain. You write me this wonderful letter, that has me crying with joy, but when I get to the end it says: 'Therefore I think we'll have to terminate our previous agreement. Grissom.' You say all those things just to get rid of me in the end? You are a bastard."
She made to jump out of his chair, but Grissom had anticipated her move and got a hold of her.
"You wouldn't be here if you were a 100 percent convinced that I really meant that. At least he hoped that that was the truth.
When Sara didn't respond, he saw his chance to explain. "Sara, that sentence wasn't for you. I was interrupted when I was writing your letter and the papers got switched. That was not your message, honey."
He reached for her again and this time she let him touch her. His hand landed on her shoulder, and he let it slide up her throat to cup her cheek.
"What was my message?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Grissom smiled although he knew she couldn't see it. "Love, Grissom."
Her sharp intake let the insecurities flare up again, but Sara reacted immediately. Her hands wandered up his arms to his face. She pulled him closer and pressed her lips to his. "Really?" she asked as she pulled away.
The dark gave him courage to speak out loud what he hadn't been able to say before, "I love you, Sara."
In the dark they sought each other out again and merged in a passionate kiss…
…As suddenly the lights flicked on and they instinctively sprang apart, looking every bit as guilty as they felt. Greg was standing in the door, eyes wide, jaw on the floor.
"Uhm, Greg," Sara started, but words failed her.
"I guess, I know who was the addressee of this," the young man mumbled, already retreating, shutting off the lights again. "Take your time, the others have already left with the assignments."
Before Greg could leave, Grissom called him back. "Greg, in case you're wondering, your message was 'Therefore I think we'll have to terminate our previous agreement. Grissom.'
When he saw Greg's face fall in the light of the hallway, he continued, "Due to your excellent work, we can proceed to get you a position as CSI."
Greg's face lit up, and he was close to bouncing up and down. "Thanks. I swear, I won't say a word to the others about this."
With that he left the room, and behind him, the door slammed.
The End
