Chapter 4: Don't Give Up

The night Nick returned to work after asking Emma to stay, Catherine noticed the change immediately. She saw the smile on his face, one that suggested that he was quite happy about something. She waited till she saw him alone in the hall before asking any questions.

"She said yes, didn't she?" Catherine said, winking at him.

Nick nodded as he blushed a little.

"Things went well" he replied.

"Obviously, judging by that mark on your neck."

A shocked expression came over Nick's face.

"What? Where?" he panicked, feeling his neck.

"Relax Nicky, just joking. But now I know how well it really went" Catherine laughed.

Nick shot her a look of not being impressed.

"Am I to take it the relationship is not going public yet?"

"It will eventually, just not tonight. Give us a little time, it's still new to us" he answered.

"Then stop smiling" Catherine said sarcastically.

"I can't" he shot back, turning towards the lab.

A week or so passed with no one in the lab, except Catherine, knowing about the relationship. Sometimes someone would ask Nick how she was doing, and he would politely reply that she was well and working hard at school. What Nick didn't know was that his co-workers had noticed the same change Catherine had in Nick's attitude, and were just not saying anything about it. It was hard not to notice the way he would smile more often, or be excited to be going home at the end of a shift. Eventually, Nick's friends couldn't stand not knowing any longer, and decided to test how much he would tell. In the break room one night, as Nick entered, they put their plan to action.

"Hey Nick, we were thinking about grabbing some breakfast after shift. Do you want to come?" Warrick asked.

"Where are you going?" Nick replied.

"I heard they have great food at that Blue Bird diner" Sara suggested.

"Doesn't Emma work there? How is she doing Nick? Find her own place yet?" Warrick continued.

"She's alright. No, she hasn't moved out yet, and yes she works there."

"Still living with you…really" Warrick said, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick responded.

"Nothing…"

"Has she not found a place yet Nick, or are you letting her stay?" Sara questioned smiling at the last part.

Nick gave a puzzled look to Warrick and Sara before realizing what they were hinting at.

"Have either of you been talking to Catherine?"

"Why? Is there something she knows that we don't know?" Sara asked.

At that moment Catherine walked into the lounge with Grissom. Nick shot her a look, and she threw her hands up in the air in surrender.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"Cath, apparently Nick's told you something that we don't know. Care to explain?" Warrick commented.

"Explain what? If you want to know anything ask Nick."
"Would someone care to explain this to me?" a confused Grissom said.

Everyone looked at Nick who knew there was no way out of this one.

"Alright, Emma and I are dating."

"I knew you had it bad for her" said Warrick.

"I didn't tell them anything Nick" Catherine stated.

"Wait, you knew?" Sara questioned.

"It was obvious" Catherine replied.

"Ok, enough already. We have cases that need solving, not Nick's personal life" said Grissom.
"You heard the boss" Nick added.

The conversation ended as Grissom handed out the files and cases.

As the weeks passed with the relationship now in the open, Emma began to drop by the lab. At first it was every now and then to bring Nick dinner, but soon it became frequent. She enjoyed talking with the team or joining Nick on his break. She would bring her readings and sit in the break room to study, making coffee for the group while she was there. No one seemed to mind her being there, as long as she didn't distract an employee while they were working. Grissom made sure that she was never in sight while Ecklie was around, lest he cut off Emma's privilege.

Emma sat in the lounge one evening, pouring over her text book, trying to make sense of what she was reading. The work was beyond frustrating, the class being her most difficult. She sighed audibly, and got up to pace the room.

"Stupid complicated material! I'll never get this" she muttered.

"Get what?" asked Grissom poking his head in the room.

Emma looked up in surprise at the older man.

"This" she answered, pointing at her text book.

Grissom came over to the table, glancing at the human biology text book.

"What don't you understand?"

"The neural transmitting system or whatever it is. I just don't get it, and I need to understand it cause we have the mid-term next week!"

She flopped angrily down on the chair.

"Do you want some help?"

Emma gawked at the night supervisor who was offering to help her.

"If you have time, sure."

"Alright, follow me."

She curiously followed Grissom to the lab where he pulled the clear dry erase board towards them. Grabbing a marker he drew a diagram similar to the one in her text book on it. He then proceeded to explain, as best he could the neural system to her. Emma watched, and surprisingly she began to understand what he was saying. Eventually she too could describe the diagram and the important points that she needed to know. Grissom then looked at his watch and exclaimed,

"How time does fly. I really should get back to my office. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, not right now. But thanks so much for helping me with this."

"No problem Emma. If you ever need anything else explained, I would be happy to help you."

Emma smiled at him,

"That's really nice of you. Thanks."

This began an almost weekly ritual of Emma going to Grissom for him to help her with her studies, or quiz her on what she knew. It was extremely helpful, and she ended up acing the class. Even after her class finished, Emma still went to see the night supervisor. Their relationship became one of mentor and student.

Through this new relationship, Emma began to notice things about her mentor that others didn't. In particular she observed the way he interacted with Sara. She saw the way Sara would randomly stop by to talk to Grissom about a case, or just to say hi. Emma became aware of the change in Gil's mood when Sara was around. It didn't take her long to figure out that Sara wanted the older man, but he was putting up a wall between them. She resolved to try to help bring the pair together, to give them a push in the right direction. It was just a matter of how to do it.

She talked with Nick, who had told her not to count on anything, since Grissom had turned Sara down before. Emma didn't want to give up. She tried to talk causally about Sara to Grissom, but he always changed the subject. Talking to Sara was not much easier.

"So you knew Grissom before coming to Vegas?" Emma asked Sara.

"Yeah. He invited he to come here, but now I don't know if that was such a good idea. Well I mean I like it here, but…never mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong, I like the team and all, but Grissom and I don't get along the way we used to."

"Are you saying that the two of you used to date?"

Sara blushed, shaking her head. Emma knew she was hiding something.

"No, not really."

"You want to don't you?"

Sara was silent for a moment.

"It's complicated. I don't know what to do about this" she replied, quoting Grissom.

"You should talk to him."

"Believe me, I've tried. He doesn't know what to do about 'this' either. But let's just drop it ok."

Emma nodded, knowing not to push her any further.

She decided to try to talk to Grissom next, to gage how he felt about 'this.'

"Have you ever been to San Francisco?" she asked him the next night.

"I met Sara there."

"Really. Where did you meet her?"

"I used to lecture there, she came to them."

"So how did it come about that you invited her here?"

"I needed someone to help out with an investigation. She came to mind so I called her."

"So you knew her as a student, or outside of class?"

Grissom took a moment before he answered.

"I knew her as a friend."

"You must be good friends for her to pick up and come here for you, and stay."

Emma emphasized the word stay, testing how far she could take the conversation with Grissom. He looked over his glasses at Emma.

"She never had to stay."
"But she did."

"I don't want to talk about this Emma."

"Then maybe you should talk to her."

"I have work to do" Grissom replied, getting up, leaving the room. Emma knew she wouldn't get any further with him, but she got what she wanted.

Grissom sat in the Blue Bird Diner sipping his coffee. He heard the bells of the door, and nearly spilled his coffee when he saw Sara walk in. She looked around and spotted him.

"Hey, I got an urgent page to meet you here" she said.

Grissom gave her a quizzical glance before replying,

"That's funny, I got a message to meet you here."

"You did. I didn't leave you any messages. Did you page me?"

"No"

"Well if you didn't page me then who did? Well, if you don't have anything pressing to tell me, then I guess I'll see you later at work."

Sara turned around to leave.

"Sara wait. Would you like to stay and have some coffee. I feel bad that someone dragged you out here."

Sara considered his offer for a moment, then nodded and sat down.

"Out of curiosity, what did the message I supposedly left you say?" she questioned.

He cleared his throat, thinking of what the note had said.

"It said that we needed to talk, and you wanted to meet me here."

"Really. Well I don't really have anything to talk about, unless you do."

A waitress came over and brought Sara some coffee. Sara picked up the cup, and underneath was a piece of paper. It read;

Talk to him.

Sara shook her head, knowing instantly who had planted the note and paged her.

Grissom gave Sara a look.

"What's that?"

"Oh, just the bill" she answered, sipping at her coffee, trying to figure out what to say.

They sat in silence for a few moments, while a song played on the radio.

Don't…don't you wish we tried?

Do you feel what I feel inside?

You know our love is stronger than pride…oh

No don't…don't let your anger grow

Just tell me what you need to know

Please talk to me, don't close the door.

Hmmm, 'cause I wanna hear you

I wanna be near you

Don't fight, don't argue

Give me the chance to say that I'm sorry

Just let me love you

Don't turn me away

Don't tell me to go

Don't!…Don't give up on trust

Don't give up on me, on us

If we could just hold on long enough

Sara thought the song was ironic, based on why she was still sitting across from Grissom.

She looked up and met Grissom's gaze. She wondered what he was thinking. Did he ever think about her? About the offer she had once given him? About what she had said to him after he had turned down her offer.

Don't pretend that it's okay

Things won't get better that way

Don't do something you might regret someday…

Don't!

Don't give up on me

Hmm, Don't!

(We can do it) We'll get through it

Grissom watched her, while he also listened to the song. "Regret" he thought, "that's something I should know about." He regretted not spending more time with Sara. He regretted rejecting her after the lab explosion. He regretted pushing his feelings aside for work. He didn't want to give up, but didn't know if she had given up on him.

Don't fight, don't argue

Just give me the chance to say that I'm sorry

Just let me love you

Don't turn away, don't tell me to go

He knew they did have to talk.

"Sara…" he started.

She had been starring into her mug, still listening to the song, and when his words broke their silence, she looked quickly back up at him.

"Sorry, I was…concentrating on the song."

"So was I."

"Grissom, listen.."

"No Sara, I need you to listen."

She gave him a puzzled look, unsure of what he was going to say to her.

"It's funny how sometimes things just become clear, how something as simple as a song can make you think about a situation differently."

Sara nodded. So he had been listening to the lyrics as well. She thought he might have become lost in his own mind, like he frequently did at the lab.

"I've been thinking a lot lately about you, about how our relationship has changed…"

Sara was shocked. He was actually going to talk with her about what had happened.

"What you said to me that day, it's haunted me. I have wanted to talk, but at first didn't know how to deal with it. So I pushed it aside. I regret it. I have thought about it, and I think the lyrics to the song have made me realize that I can't push this aside anymore, that we have to deal with 'this'" he said, stressing the last word.

He watched her, searching for a reaction on her face. He saw her eyes dart down to the table, but she kept her emotions hidden well. He continued,

"I'm sorry Sara…"

She brought her eyes up to meet his. What was he sorry for? Sorry for not talking sooner about 'this?' Was he sorry that nothing could happen between them? Was that what he was implying. She quickly interjected.

"No I'm sorry. I should never have said those things to you, I should have known better."

She starred into her coffee, believing that he would reject her once more.

"You aren't the one who should be apologizing."

He reached across the table, placing his hand on top of hers. Surprised, she glanced at him. What was he doing?

"I'm sorry that I might be too late" he finished.

Sara was stunned. She was at a loss for words.

Grissom watched her face as she took in what he had said. He didn't like to be unsure of things, to not have a plan. But now, he was taking a big gamble. He waited for her to respond.

"Am I too late?" he asked, not wanting to regret pushing her away ever again.

Sara was still shocked, but realized what her supervisor was asking. She was going to take a chance as well and she hoped it paid off.

"No…"

He rubbed his thumb over her palm.

"Good, because I don't want to give up on us."

What do you think? More GSR coming! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!

Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Don't!" It belongs to Shania Twain and Mutt Lange who wrote it. I just thought it was perfect for Grissom and Sara.