Chapter 2

Losing Control

Sara was greatly surprised at the means of transportation from her apartment to the airport. The lab would never dive into their precious funds and arrange for a stretch limo to glide her away in. The Federal Bureau of Investigation did have more money and resources then CSI and she could only hope that her boarding accommodations in Miami would be as luxurious. Sara had scenarios running through her mind of pulling up to a run down shack on the side of a swamp where every neighbor had a male family member referred to as "Bubba". The image gave the young CSI the "willies" before the limo came to a halt outside Grissom's townhouse. Grissom looked slightly agitated when he climbed into the limo, sitting far away from his partner as possible. The action had left Sara furious and depressed at the same time.

All right, I'm guessing I did something to piss him off again…

"Um, Grissom…I know it's a big vehicle and there is plenty of room, but do you have to sit that far away?" Sara held her breath waiting for Grissom to answer. When nothing was said she started to feel her anger building once more.

"Sara…" Grissom stated under his breath. "I personally think this is a bad idea…" Even though Grissom sat in a seat in front of Sara she swore she could see the stress lines forming on his forehead. She knew that if they were to pull this endeavor off, he had to open up to her.

"Really…What's bothering you? What did I do?"

"Nothing…I just don't want to talk right now and we have a long debriefing ahead of us." One of his hands rubbed his forehead, trying to get rid of his daunting headache that just would not go away. This mission already began to bother the lead CSI to the highest degree. Even though he would have been more stressed if Greg had taken his place, he still was not entirely comfortable of the idea of having to be "married" to Sara.

"You're not really going to be married to her… You do know that…Yah, but that still breaks a promise I made thirty years ago. I was never to get emotionally involved with a woman… And now it looks as if I'm about to break a promise that I was starting to believe would be kept…Forever."

Grissom was lost in his thoughts for a good half an hour until the limo came to an abrupt halt outside the Kumata Inn. From the outside, the hotel had a Mexican feel to it with terracotta stones and cacti lining its exterior. The soft hum of dance music lined the air as the two CSI's approached the check-in clerk. A young woman within her thirties was giving herself a manicure before Grissom impatiently tapped on the marble desk to get her attention. The clerk responded by tossing her fluffy blonde hair into a rather messy bun before allowing her blue eyes to look up at the Supervisor in recognition.

"Name please…" The clerk muttered under her breath while her hands rested on the keyboard in front of her ready to pull up a reservation.

"Grissom and Sidle…" Grissom nervously scratched his beard waiting for the young worker to hand them their keys so they could move on to the quiet, solitude of their rooms. He desperately needed some privacy to contemplate on the days he had ahead of him and being around Sara was not helping his thought process. Her perfume swirled around him every time she stepped a foot forward as she looked at various pieces of art which hung from the walls. The scenery was the least on his mind at the moment.

"I need to get away from her..." Grissom thought.

"Umm…I have only one reservation…Under a Mr. and Mrs. Grissom?"

Sara's attention was immediately diverted from the art to the concierge worker as she quickly began to fight utter panic. Grissom's reaction was no different, and the color quickly drained from his face.

"There has to be some sort of mistake…I was told that my colleague and I would have separate rooms. Would you be able to place us in different suites please…?" Grissom's heart rate began to slow down as he realized that the error could be easily fixed.

"Sorry Mr. Grissom but all the rooms are filled due to the 'Plushy and Furry Convention' going on this weekend. Someone called in earlier and said that one room would be fine because it was the start of your honeymoon. He said you're going to Miami to celebrate tomorrow. Congratulations, sir."

Grissom was not amused; Culpepper purposely wanted Sara and himself in one room either to practice at being together as a couple or to simply annoy him. Regardless, he had to be professional in every respect.

"I suppose that will be fine then." Grissom picked up the keys from the desk and started to make his way to the nearest elevator, not turning around or saying one word to Sara about the matter. The silence only infuriated her further. The elevator ride up to their "suite" was as painful as going to the dentist as the two CSI's relished in their silence not wanting to breech the subject of their sleeping arrangements.

As the ding of the elevator echoed inside the small metal shaft, Sara walked as fast as she could away from the silence which fueled her anger. Grissom took his time walking down the hallway, never looking up at Sara as he swiped his card gaining access to the room. Their suite was indeed luxurious, equipped with a crystal chandelier, silk sheets, a flat screen television and a large King size bed in the middle of the room. The romantic dark red hue lined the walls of the "honeymoon" suite and started to make Grissom believe that he should in fact sleep in the hallway as a last resort.

"Just sleep on the floor…She'll sleep on the bed. It's just one night, then we have a whole house full of separate rooms in Miami." Grissom thought.

Sara's thoughts were far from worrying about their sleeping arrangements. She was trying to figure out how she was going to stand being around Grissom for more then one minute let alone the rest of the night. Eventually, she finally decided to break the silence.

"Grissom, what exactly did I do to piss you off this time?" Sara bitterly blurted out. She watched in anger as Grissom took his time contemplating the question.

"What?"

"Come on…Don't do this to me. If we're going to have to be together until this killer is caught don't you think we should work on our communication?" Sara crossed her arms and waited once more for her supervisor to answer.

"Listen…Sara...Whatever I did, I'm sorry." Grissom's apology didn't seem to calm down Sara's nerves.

"Grissom, you're going to have to do a lot better then that. You've avoided me for two years ever since I asked you to dinner….I guess I've moved on. Believe me when I say that I'm over you, you're the last man I want to spend time with. I just want this all to be over so we can go back to avoiding each other." Sara began to regret her words as Grissom choked back any emotion which would leave him feeling vulnerable.

"Sara… I'm going to take a guess and say you're anger has clouded your judgment." Grissom's voice was no longer gentle and low, it was beginning to take on an edginess that slightly frightened Sara.

"Whatever you think Grissom." Just as Sara was about to walk away, Grissom forcefully grabbed Sara by her arm.

"We're not finished." Grissom yelled. His face displayed his anger to the truest of its color; the blood rushing to his face made him to appear fiercer then normal.

"Grissom…You're scaring me."

The fear in Sara's eyes said it all, he lost control. Genetics was a bitch. He dropped Sara's arm as fast as he could and walked to the other side of the room, gaining distance in order to cool off. Regret filled his heart as he watched Sara stroke her arm in fear.

"This is why you'll never have her, or anyone else. You can't risk it. Say something to make her hate you- something she won't forgive you for…Then, the rest of the assignment will be pure business, no pleasure." Grissom's mind had the perfect solution to end the relationship, however his heart ruled last.

"Sara…I'm going to just get Greg to take my place. This was a bad idea and I'm sorry for interfering. And…What am I saying? I have no excuse for what I did…There are things about me you don't know. Things that I'm not proud of…You're right, we can't be together and I'm glad you've moved on. You're safer without me around…"

"Yeah I think I am…" Sara ended her statement by lying down on the bed. Grissom watched in sadness as she turned off the light and went under the covers without another word.