Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or its characters...except Grissom in my dreams.:-)

Rating: T

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm tyring to get as much of this out there before I go on vacation/college scouting next week. Suggestions are always welcomed!

Chapter 3

Catherine slammed the door behind her.

"What the hell did you do this time, Gil?" Catherine glared at a terribly morose-looking Grissom. His eyes looked empty and lost.

Grissom answered quietly. "I don't know what you're talking about, Catherine. If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." He started rummaging through the draws of his desk, looking for something to occupy himself with.

"I just saw Sara run out of here in a mad rage and leave the building. Now, I've seen Sara pretty damn angry, but I've never seen her quite like this. And by that stupid look on your face and the fact that you're reading that trace report upside down, I know you're involved here. What did you do to her?"

Grissom exhaled deeply and handed Catherine his letter to the director regarding Sara's move to the day shift. Her eyes narrowed as she finished the letter. "Why?" she asked in disbelief.

"Professional reasons."

Catherine banged her fist on his desk. "That's bullshit, Gil."

"No it's not. Sara and I experience much difficulty in working together."

"That's not true. It's clockwork when you twowork with each other. It's only when you hurt her personally that things get screwed up between you both."

"Excuse me?" He was shocked that she realized all that, even though it shouldn't have really surprised him. Catherine had been his best friend for God knows how long. She always tried to snoop around in his personal life, or lack thereof, and although he never disclosed any information to her, Catherine's intuition helped her find out anything.

"Oh come on, it doesn't take an investigator to find out that you're madly in love with her. I've known that since you first brought her here. We all know. It's like a soap opera every day with you guys. We come into work to see another episode in this little saga of yours."

Grissom shook his head. "You don't know half of it."

She smirked. "Um, yeah, I do. You fell in love with her the moment you laid eyes on her at that seminar all those years back. She fell for you, too. You both thought it was a little crush, but when you brought her to Vegas, you couldn't keep her out of your mind. You kept leading her on, but when she got too close, you pushed her away in this perpetual cycle. Now you've realized that you can't live without her, and it scares you because Gil Grissom is not exactly a people person."

Grissom glanced around his office. His tarantula, his insects, Miss Piggy… He had no photographs of anyone.

"You really pissed her off when you didn't recommend her for the promotion. I didn't think it was possible for you to do something that stupid again, let alone do something more even more stupid. Put her on days? God, Gil. Is that her punishment for trying to open up to you?"

It was no use trying to keep his feelings for Sara away from Catherine. She knew anyway.

"I didn't think she'd be this upset. I was just trying to make things better for…us."

"Upset! That's a hell of an understatement. Sara left your office with a look of… finality on her face. I mean, to me, it looks like she's not planning on coming back here any time soon. Plus, you're not exactly chasing after her. Something must have set you off to do this. Really Griss, tell me. Why would you even think of it?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but the words just weren't flowing. He reached for his migraine medication and popped two pills dry.

"Let me help you out here. Ever since you two got back from the ball field yesterday you haven't spoken a word to each other, well, besides what happened in here a minute ago." Her voice now had a hint of concern in it. "What happened yesterday?" She walked around his desk and sat down on the edge of it in front of him.

Grissom rubbed his temples. "We got too close."

"Too close how?"

He looked up at his friend. "I almost kissed her."

"And…"

"It wouldn't be right!" He stood up. "I'm her supervisor. We'd both get in trouble. They'd accuse her of sleeping her way to the top. I don't want that. I care about her too much to ruin her career."

"Or your career. Aren't you being a little selfish with all this?"

Grissom answered by looking down at the floor in shame. She's right. After a few seconds he looked up. "Besides," he whispered, "I'm too…"

"…old for her?" Catherine finished. "No you're not, believe me." After a beat, she looked deep into his eyes. "Gil, if you really love her like I know you do, that shouldn't matter to you. Listen to me; Sara's a wonderful girl. A little moody, but still…if you lost her, well, you'd be missing out on a great life. Now's your last chance to tell her what you should had told her five years ago. There's an hour left in the shift. You haven't left work early in years. I've got things under control here. Go home and figure out how to fix things with Sara once and for all."

"No, no, I can't do that. I have too much work to…"

"You're wasting time," she interrupted him as she turned to leave. "It might be too late." And with that she left.

To be continued...