This is my first ever CSI fan fic, so please, be nice to me! Thanks to Angie (Holla atcha homegirl!) and Tabbiez for reading/reviewing.
Pairing: Grissom/Sara
Spoilers: None that I am aware of!
Summary: The night after the battle of the bands.
Gil Grissom strode purposefully into the lab, a small smile on his face. Last night he had finally worked up the courage to ask Sara out to dinner. Instead of going somewhere romantic as had previouslybeen his intention, they'd ended up finding an all night bowling alley. Sara was a horrible bowler, but it wasn't so much about the game as it was the person he was playing with.
The instant he was in his office, he was surrounded by his fellow bandmates. "So where'd you two go?" Greg asked. They were all shocked to see a slow blush spread itself over their supervisor's face. "I asked her out for Thursday, but she has to work." A grin came next. "She told me that she was available last night!" The men hooted and whistled at him. "If you ingrates are done, I'll continue." he said stuffily. They immediately quieted down. "We went to one of those 24 hour bowling places." Nick gave Grissom a look. "You took Sara bowling?" The Texan sighed. "The bowling alley isn't exactly romance central Griss!"
"Hang on a minute!" Grissom protested. "Once we played about 12 frames (she lost miserably) and talked for awhile, we noticed that it was almost 6 in the morning, I took her to one of her favorite vegetarian restaurants and we decided to get some take out. We sat on the hood of the Tahoe and watched the sun come up together." Warrick grinned. "Now THAT'S more like it, Grissom! It took you long enough though!"
Grissom gave Warrick an enigmatic look. "Sara said much the same thing and I merely told her, "There are a lot of pearls in the sea but, you are the only pearl thatis meant for me." Needless to say, she appreciated the sentiment." he finished, looking very smug and pleased with himself. "Where did you learn all of these lines, Griss?" Archie asked in amazement. "I read, Archie. You should try it sometime." Grissom shot back wryly. "Ooh, burned by your own boss Arch!" Nick exclaimed. Grissom had a sly smile and Nick could almost see his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Sitting down at his computer, Grissom looked up at them. "I have an e-mail to write and I highly suspect you gentleman have work to do." Groaning as one, they shuffled out of his office. Turning back to the machine in front of him, Grissom typed in the e-mail address, a short message, and sent it.
Sara was sitting at her desk reading over a file when her computer "pinged" at her, letting her know that she had a new e-mail message. Looking at the sender, she smiled. It was from Grissom.
From: ggrissom
To: ssidle
Subject: A Little Something to Think On
Sara-
After having the wondrous opportunity of your company last night, I was wondering if we could attempt another outing sometime soon. Let me know what will work the best for you.
Gil
P.S. This reminded me of you.
I wish I could remember the first day,
First hour, first moment of your meeting me;
If bright or dim the season it might be;
Summer or winter for aught I can say.
So, unrecorded did it slip away,
So blind was I to see and to foresee,
So dull to mark the budding of my tree
That would not blossom, yet, for many a May.
If only I could recollect it! Such
A day of days! I let it come and go
As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow.
It seemed to mean so little, meant so much!
If only now I could recall that touch,
First touch of hand in hand! - Did one but know!
A full fledged grin swept over Sara's features. She recognized the Christina Rossetti poem and was touched that Grissom would include something like that in an e-mail to her. A knock sounded at her door, and Catherine swept in. Sara gave her the Cliff Notes version of the night before. Catherine smiled. "You should see Gil. He looks like the cat that ate the canary! He has this little smirk on his face..."
"It might be from this." Sara explained, blushing a little as she showed Cath the poem and e-mail he'd sent her. "You know, I never thought I would live to see the day that Gil Grissom would be sending you love poems." Catherine snickered. Sara had to laugh at this. "If someone had told me he could play the drums, I would have told them that they need to be committed!" the younger girl commented.
Turning back to the computer, Sara thought for a moment. "A ha!" she said out loud. "A ha what?" Catherine asked, slightly puzzled. Sara gave her a beaming smile. "I know what poem to send back to him." Catherine came around to the other side of Sara's desk where she had a window up. "This I have to see!" Sara went to Google and typed in the name of an author. "I can remember who wrote it, but not what it's called." she explained to the older woman. Finding a promising site, Sara clicked on it and found her poem within minutes. Catherine read it, and whistled. "He's not going to be able to mistake this, Sar." she cautioned.
Looking determinedly at Catherine, Sara replied softly, "I know, Cath, but this is not something I'm going to be hiding anymore. It's now or never!" Copying and pasting the poem into her message, she took a deep breath and hit send, knowing that this could well seal her fate.
Grissom looked up at his computer screen as it pinged. There was a reply from Sara.
From: ssidle
To:
ggrissom
Subject:
Something For YOU To Think On
Gil-
I really enjoyed being with you too. I'd really like to have another "date" with you. I should be off Saturday, if that works for you.
I don't want to scare you off, but I found the perfect poem for you.
Just know that I love you.
Sara
He took a deep breath, and it froze in his chest when he read the poem that Sara had chosen for him.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
When he finally exhaled, he was surprised to find water in his eyes. He never thought that she would be quoting Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous "How Do I Love Thee?" to him. Closing his eyes, he silently thanked her for giving him a badly needed nudge. It was now time for her to know how he felt about her. He tried to run through all the poems he knew, but then a thought came to him and he decided to go with it.
Sara was waiting on pins and needles in her office. Catherine finally got tired of her pacing and threatened to tie her to her chair. Sitting down, she put her face in her hands and groaned. "I'm an idiot." she said, her voice muffled. "Sar, you're not an idiot. A relationship ignoramus perhaps, but not an idiot. Look on the bright side- he hasn't come tearing down the hallway like a madman and his Tahoe is still in the parking lot." Catherine consoled.
In the silence that followed, a loud "ping" was heard and Sara immediately dived for the computer. "Don't kill the poor machine! It didn't do anything to you!" the blonde joked weakly. Sara shot her one of her patented "Sara Death Rays" and Catherine decided that she should probably be quiet now. Closing her eyes tightly, Sara told herself to stop being such a chicken and just open the stupid e-mail.
From: ggrissom
To:
ssidle
Subject:
You and Me
Sara-
I never thought that you would have waited so long for this proud, scared old man to finally admit that he cannot live without you. I haven't been honest with you, and I want to try and explain myself. I always thought that I didn't deserve someone like you. I'm older than you, I'm more cynical, and I have trouble telling people how I feel about them (in case this observation slipped past you). I figured that I was doing you a favor by turning you away. I didn't realize that I was breaking your heart as well as mine in the process. I feel as though this can be a new beginning for us, one that has been a long time in coming. I love you too, Sara.
For Sara
There were many times
When someone else would have
Given up and written me off
As an utterly lost cause.
There were many times
I was ready to write myself off
Because I could not let go
Yet didn't know how to ask her to stay.
And yet, the one person
Whom I wronged above all others
Was always the first one
To pick me off the ground.
There was only one person
Whose smile could warm me,
And whose cold shoulder
Held the power to make me weep at night.
Whose presence could make me
Believe in the world again,
And whose absence
Could tear everything I knew apart.
For her
I rise and meet each day head on
And for her
I try to see the good in others.
I dedicate my life
And everything I do herewith,
To the only one
I've ever loved.
I make this vow
For Sara.
-Gil Grissom, 2005
Sara could not stop the tears of happiness from falling. Alarmed to see her crying, Catherine asked urgently, "Do I need to go get the plastic spoon and take care of him for you?" She shook her head no. "So you're crying because you're happy?" Sara nodded, and suddenly, her eyes were fixed on the doorway. Catherine turned to find Grissom standing there, concern written on his face. "I'll just leave you two along." she said, knowing full well that neither of them were listening to her.
Grissom barely registered Catherine telling them she was leaving. All of his attention was focused on Sara. She was crying, yet she didn't seem sad or angry. "Sara?" he asked hesitantly. She was out of the chair and had her arms around his neck in seconds. "Gil, that was...so beautiful." she sniffed, her head resting on his shoulder. "So I take it you liked what I had to say." he teased gently. Sara swung her head around to look at him, and gave him a mock glare. "You certainly waited long enough to tell me!"
He sighed, and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "As I told you, I thought I was a favor by pushing you away. However, I could never completely let you go. You meant too much to me." Sara looked into his eyes, her brown ones piercing deep inside him. "There were a lot of times I could have left, Gil but I didn't. As much as I hated you sometimes for pulling me back, in the end I knew I couldn't leave you. We both had issues there!"
Chuckling, Grissom reached out a hand and tilted her chin up slightly. "We're still going to have issues, but I'm more than willing to try and work through them." "What about Ecklie?" Sara whispered. Grinning roguishly, Grissom withdrew a small tape from his pocket. "I believe Brass more than amply took care of any concerns that Conrad may have about us." "Is that from..." Sara began. "Yes, it's from last night. I highly suspect that our dear Ecklie would NOT want this tape leaking out to anybody." he replied, wiggling his eyebrows at her in an extremely suggestive manner.
"Just kiss her already!" Greg's voice shouted from behind them. They turned their heads to find the team assembled in the hallway, watching intently. "Don't you people have work to do?" Grissom asked, a plaintive note in his tone. "Gilbert Justin Grissom, we've been trying to get you guys together for years now! You're not going to get rid of us that easily! Kiss her, and we'll leave." Looking down at Sara, he gave a fake sigh. "Ah, the things I do for my team." he said as he bent down and claimed Sara's lips with his.
