DISCLAIMER : I don't own CSI nor it's characters. Everything belongs to the brains behind this wonderful show. Props go out to them. :D

AUTHOR'S NOTE : Set Post-Butterflied. Still unsure as to how this story is going to unfold and I like it that way. I could surprise the readers and myself. :D

The title may also change.

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CHAPTER V

All heads in the break room stared at Grissom's figure at the doorway. Sara was the first to break away from the group to stand as far away from Grissom as possible. She seated herself on the chair at the other end of the table.

"These ... " Catherine gestured at the bouquet, "are not mine. They were sent for Sara." Catherine looked at Grissom suspiciously, trying to gauge whether he was just bluffing.

"Oh... I'm ... I'm sorry. I thought ..." Grissom stammered, visibly shocked to learn who the owner of the roses was. He looked at Sara who stared back at him her eyebrows knitted tightly.

"How can you assume the flowers are for me?" Catherine interrupted Grissom's apology. "Am I the only woman in this room? And in case you haven't noticed, most of the male population in this lab has a crush on our Sara." Catherine wanted to Grissom squirm. He was an idiot for thinking the roses were hers and an even bigger idiot apologizing the way he was to Sara.

"I know that," Grissom's voice took a deeper timbre on that note. "It's just ... I thought ... Catherine ..."

To say that Sara was angry and disappointed was putting it mildly. One, she was disappointed to learn that it wasn't Grissom who sent the flowers. Her thoughts lashed out saying, "Geeezussss woman! What is wrong with you? Why do you keep on hoping for a miracle?" Two, she felt angry at him for assuming that the roses belonged to Catherine. "What, am I not attractive enough to get roses from the opposite sex now?"

"Save it, Griss!" Sara interrupted his stammering. "We've just come to the conclusion it is impossible to imagine somebody would find it nice to send me flowers, let's just leave it at that. I don't know who sent them but I'm sure whoever it was has a great sense of humor for doing so."

The others felt like that was the end of the discussion for they separated and settled on the chairs around the table leaving the bouquet in front of Grissom who still stood before the table. Everybody tried to ignore its presence but it was like the proverbial elephant in the room.

Grissom cleared his throat and started handing out the shift's assignments. He tried to ignore the roses, but they smelt really good and he wished that he had sent them to Sara himself. He knew he had made Sara angry and he felt disappointed in himself considering that he was really looking forward to her coming back from her break.

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"Well, that went well back there, didn't it?" Catherine asked Sara during the trip to their crime scene.

Sara merely shrugged, not really wanting to discuss it anymore. She didn't want to keep remembering that stupid look on Grissom's face upon finding out the roses were hers.

"So you have no idea who they were from?" Catherine prodded on, ignoring Sara's impatient sigh.

"I don't know Cath and frankly I don't care anymore." Sara curtly said, putting her sunglasses on and looked out her window hoping that the conversation would end.

"I'm sorry that Grissom thought the roses were for me." Catherine continued on, seemingly oblivious to Sara's growing discomfort.

"Yeah well, it's not your fault he thinks it's silly someone would send me flowers." Sara muttered beneath her breath.

"You know how he is... " Catherine said, glancing shortly at Sara's profile and receiving a low "yeah..." from Sara. Catherine wasn't ready to drop the subject just yet. "You seem to be over it though. Normally you'd be kicking his ass in an argument by now."

"I guess I'm just tired of arguing with him. It's just going nowhere anyway, this way I save myself a lot of trouble." Sara huffed.

"What's going on?" Catherine slowed the car down and cast Sara another glance. "You've never let him off the hook this quick?"

"I really don't want to talk about it Cath." Sara sighed once again and this time took the time to look at Catherine straight in the eye. "Let's just say I'm over trying to analyze what Grissom does and means."

They spent the rest of the trip in relative silence, discussing what little information they had on the case from time to time. Catherine was still reeling from what Sara said last though. She wondered what Grissom had done this time.

Upon arriving at Dessert Palm, Sara and Catherine quickly asked the receptionist where they could find Mrs. Adler, the victim of their suspicious circs case. They had the chance to talk to the paramedics that brought Mrs. Adler to the hospital and were filled in.

Apparently, the victim's house suddenly caught fire and she was almost trapped inside if the fire fighters didn't save her. Due to second-degree burns, she had to be brought to the hospital while the fire was being put out.

Walking along the hospital's corridors towards Mrs. Adler's room, Sara did not notice the set of eyes that followed her the minute she stepped out of the floor elevator.

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A/N : I just cannot tell you guys how overwhelmed and happy I am with the reviews. My friend and I were discussing how to go about this story earlier and let me tell you we're pretty excited about what we've come up. Let's hope I don't disappoint. :D