MUTUAL TENSION

Grissom had taken the night off to get some sleep. He often had to remind himself that even he was human. He went into the lab early the next morning to finish up the work he had left from the evening before. He was glad to see his office door closed when he walked down the hallway. He went inside and settled behind his desk, his mind preparing itself for its daily mental workout.

After his break, on his way back from the lunch room, Grissom caught Sara peering into his office. She heard him approaching and turned around.

"You, uh, left your office door open again…" she said.

Grissom smiled in his subtle way. "Hi, Sara. What's up?"

"Well, I was actually trying to find you yesterday, and then I ran into Catherine. She seemed very—"

"I know," Grissom interrupted. "She talked to me."

Sara looked confused, almost hurt. "She did? I didn't even think you were here last night. I mean, I looked and then—"

"Sara, I've got a lot of work to do," Grissom said honestly. "Was there something you wanted?" Sara's mouth moved as if she was going to say something. She caught herself and then looked away, her expression showing dismay. She could only shrug. Grissom looked past her into his office. "I guess you'll talk to me later then." He walked in and closed the door.

Sara stood beside the doorway of the office where Grissom couldn't see her. She leaned up against the wall, her head pounding with a million thoughts. Who killed Eve Romero? What evidence did we miss? How can I get promoted? What was wrong with Catherine? Why could Catherine find him and not me? Why does he sometimes treat me like crap? Then she heard voices echoing in her mind. Since when were you interested in beauty; since I met you, follow the evidence, when was the last time you took a vacation, I couldn't do it, someone young and beautiful, a new life with her, pin me down, nothing gold can stay. Then it occurred to her.

She went off down the hall, millions of invisible thoughts flowing silently after her.

Grissom sat at his desk, completely unaware of Sara's presence on the other side of his office wall. He knew she had wanted to say something and that it disappointed her when he cut her off, but he was busy. It could have waited, Gil. But he was afraid of what she had to say. I couldn't do it. He stood by his words. It hurts to stay silent. He hated hurting her.

To ease his mind, he opened up "The Decomposition of Entomology" and let out a heavy sigh. His eyes scanned the pages as his woes faded into the back of his mind; into the recesses where his consciousness rarely dared to venture.

Later in the evening, Warrick found Sara working at her computer. Her fingers worked furiously as she typed, stopping every so often as her eyes scanned the screen. He walked into the room, leaned one arm on the table and put his foot up on the chair beside hers. She didn't look up.

"Have you seen Catherine?" he asked. "We've got to call the case."

She finished typing a sentence and then looked up at him. "Uh, no actually, but I spoke to Grissom. He said he took care of things."

"Yeah, but where is she? The case file is still on her desk."

"Catherine's at home, Warrick," Grissom's voice suddenly said from behind them. He was walking past the doorway and had heard them conversing. "I'll finish up the case, don't worry about it." They all stared at one another awkwardly. Warrick felt the tension between Grissom and Sara as if it transmitted between them and through him via an invisible, electric current.

"I, uh, think I'll go help Nick on that hit and run," Warrick said as he left the room. Grissom and Sara stood staring at one another.

Grissom started to speak. "Sara, I—"

"We need to go back to Eve Romero's house," Sara said suddenly. "It's pretty windy up in the moutains, right? I think I might know where some evidence could be hiding." Grissom's mouth twitched. Sara smiled."Do you like mountain climbing?"

Grissom cocked an eyebrow. "Sure do."