Disclaimer: I do not own CSI and I am not making any money by writing this story.
Author's note: This occurs after the last episode of the third season. Grissom is still in the hospital.
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The ride to Grissom's apartment is made without conversation. The simple fact is that Sara can't drive and sign at the same time. They are surprisingly comfortable together despite the conversation that was interrupted in the hospital. The unresolved tension between them has been part of their lives for the past three years. It is just normal to them. Sara pulls up in front of Grissom's apartment building (I know he actually owns a house, but this is for my story purposes later). She waits for Grissom to decide what happens next.
"Would you like to come in for some coffee?"
"Sure," Sara responds with a small smile. He'll invite me into his apartment for coffee, but he won't take me out to diner at a public place.
They exit the car together. Sara follows him into the building and then into his apartment. He indicates that she should sit on the couch.
Grissom slowly moves through the actions necessary to make coffee. She's just as confused as you are. Keep repeating that to yourself. You can check reason number one off your list of the whys that prevent you from having a relationship with her. She knows sign language. Your hearing is no longer an issue. Grissom turns the coffee pot on and then returns to the living room area. Sara is sound asleep on the couch. Grissom gently moves her legs so that she is actually lying on the couch. Grissom places a blanket over her and then moves a few errant strands of hair out of her face. He turns the coffee pot off and then goes to empty the contents of his hospital bag.
Around an hour and a half later Sara wakes up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. She sees that the television is on with the volume turned down all the way and the closed captioning on. Grissom is sitting on a chair, hunched over the coffee table, with a plate of toast and a cup of coffee. Sara reaches out to touch his knee to get his attention. Grissom sets down his cup of coffee, "Your awake."
Sara sits up, "How long have I been asleep?"
"Hour and a half. Coffee, toast?"
"What is coffee toast?" Sara signs with a smile.
Grissom arches an eyebrow and then goes to the kitchen to get her some. They quietly coexist while they consume their food, but Grissom decides that "this" needs discussed before he loses his nerve. "Sara, We need to talk."
"I thought we agreed that we did not know what to do."
"Sara, the answer to a problem is not simply agreeing on not knowing what the solution is."
"It maybe for us. Well, at least for now."
"Sara, I am not following you."
"Grissom, we have not been this comfortable around each other for quite sometime. Let us just let it be. We are not a case that needs to be analyzed, solved, and then filed away."
Grissom nods. She's right of course. You want to step back and she wants to step forward. Perhaps, it would be best just to enjoy this neutrality.
"How long have you known?" Grissom sings to change the subject.
"Know what?"
Grissom points to his head.
"I found out earlier today by accident."
Grissom tilts his head to the side a little, encouraging her to explain.
"Can you believe the press actually had the audacity to enter the crime lab today. Big cameras, waving microphones, and all. You left your office unlocked so I ducked inside to avoid them and call security. It is written plan as day on your day planner."
"What were you doing snooping around my desk?"
"Plain sight," Sara smiles, "Red ink on an otherwise blank day planner catches the eye."
Grissom raises an eyebrow, "What was the press so interested about?"
"Big case. Forty-eight dead. We still have the street blocked off and a cleaned out gun shop a few blocks down."
"Evidence?"
"The pieces are falling together. I think Nick made an arrest before Catherine chased us home, but I did not get a chance to take to him."
"You were not the last to leave?"
"I had somewhere I had to be."
Their eyes lock.
"I was concerned."
"Why?"
"You waited."
"I thought it would go away."
"That does not make any sense."
"I know."
They freeze, still looking into each other's eyes, connecting.
Sara looks down, breaking the contact, "I need to go. I have to shower and change before the shift starts. I have a lot of work to do."
Grissom nods and walks her to the door. He has one hand on the door and the other on the doorframe. Sara turns around to give him one last smile. He catches her face, running his thumb down her cheekbone. "Come back later," he mouths. "I'll page you," she mouths back. He lets her go and down the hallway she strides.
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Please Review!! Thank you to those who have reviewed!
JD Burns, you asked where the two uniformed officers went. Nick and Warrick dismissed them before they packed up their kits. They then discovered glass and had to look around to see where it came from. The uniforms had plenty of time to exit the building and drive away.
