Growing Up

Part 4: Preparation is everything

Summary: Grissom and Sara prepare for a romantic dinner together.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Jtb, Grissom will come around, don't worry – it might take a while though.

xxxxx

An hour after the official end of shift, Grissom was finally able to emerge from the building, having worked through one stack of paperwork. There was still a smaller one, but that could wait. He wanted to have dinner with Sara.

The question of where to go had been in the back of his mind the whole time, keeping him from making more headway with the files. Now that he had packed up his things and almost reached his car, he still mulled over the question. In fact, he was so concentrated on planning their day that he hadn't noticed Sara leaning against the driver's side of his car.

He bumped into her, only looking up when he had already pinned her against the car. His briefcase was slipping out of his hand, but he didn't notice.

All he could see was Sara's face, her twinkling eyes and her mouth curved up in amusement. "Can I join you where you are?"

He kept looking at her, his confusion evident.

Sara's smile widened. She had rendered the wordy Grissom speechless. It didn't bother her that she didn't receive answer.

Unlike him, she was aware of their surroundings so she saw Grissom's briefcase slip. She took it from him before it could fall. "Maybe I should drive," she teased and held out her hand, wriggling her fingers.

To her surprise, Grissom relented and handed over the keys to his car. He walked over to the other side and waited for her to unlock the doors.

She shook her head but didn't say anything. She loved his oddities, so she let him be. Sara threw the briefcase in the back and hopped in, adjusting the seat and the mirrors to her liking.

At the same time, Grissom relaxed into his seat, closing his eyes. He was making the finishing touches on his plans.

"Where to?"

He didn't open his eyes, but he started smiling. "There is a grocery store three blocks from my home. Think you can find it?"

Never one to pass up a challenge and still a bit puzzled by Grissom's behavior, Sara started the car and drove in the direction of Grissom's home.

xxxxx

Ten minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of the supermarket, proud of herself at having found it without any directions from Grissom.

When the car ceased its motion, he opened his eyes again. His focused gaze told her that he had not been asleep, which, for some reason, made her uneasy. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't know what he had in store for her today, or maybe it was the fear that if he thought too hard about them, he would pull away. She couldn't help it.

This fear was instinctual, rooted in those years she had to fight for both of them. She had heard his words, had felt his love, but for the doubt to vanish, it would take time.

Seeing is believing; they were scientists after all.

"Come on, let's get some food," it was the first time that Grissom had spoken since leaving the lab.

Sara gave him a smile, hiding her doubts behind it. She got out of the car to follow him. "What are we going to get?"

Grissom turned back to her and waited for her to catch up with him. "We can get anything you want," he offered as he reached for her hand.

"We've eaten together before, also self-made food, and I thought that maybe we could prepare it together this time. If you want, see it as a continuing education program for both of us."

Sara stared at him as if he had grown another head. Their kitchens were too small for such an experiment, and they still lacked a coordinated domesticity. They still felt awkward at times to be in someone else's home. Whenever Grissom tried to help her, everything became a mess.

The first time they had dinner at her place, he had been early - so early that she hadn't been done with her preparations. He had offered to help, and she had been thrilled, at first. Although the thought had seemed inviting, reality was a disaster.

They had kept bumping into each other, and their proximity made her grip on the knives slippery, which almost resulted in blood evidence where it didn't belong – in the food. Grissom was too afraid to open any drawer, any cupboard, without permission, which hindered the flow of movements even more. Later on, she had almost burned the vegetables because she was too distracted by Grissom's muscles playing up and down his forearms as he kept chopping some herbs. With a lot of effort, she was able to salvage their dinner, but it left both of them nervous enough to cook alone after that.

Until now.

Now Grissom obviously wanted to recreate chaos dinner.

At least he wanted to do it at his place. This way she wouldn't have to clean up. "So, basically you want me to help you pay up on your promise?"

His answering grin was boyish, and she couldn't help but reward him with a smile of her own. For show, she sighed, knowing her face had long betrayed her. "All right, but only if you take the responsibility."

Grissom shrugged and strolled ahead to the vegetable section.

To her surprise, they were able to agree on the food right away. They picked out various vegetables to go with rice as well as a salad.

When Sara wanted to head to the register, Grissom just shook his head and pointed to another section of the store. Puzzled, she followed him and found herself in the breakfast section. Sara looked at Grissom, searching his eyes for an answer, but all she saw was hope mixed with a hint of fear.

The pieces fell into place. He wanted her to stay.

With more confidence than she felt, she picked a jar of raspberry jam and a loaf of bread. She held up both items for him to see and was relieved to find him nod.

He had made his offer, but it was unspoken, and that had confused her. She wondered if it was a spur of the moment thing, and he would regret it once they were about to enter his sanctuary, and he realized that he had invited her to stay in his home – as opposed to hers.

The two times they had stayed at his place, they had never ventured further than the living room. He hadn't had to let her in deeper.

And now he had invited her in. A jar of raspberry jam and a nod were odd representatives of that.

It was sweet.

Sara smiled at him to show him she understood the sacrifice, the step forward they had just made. It was only a smile, but they were not ready for a kiss in full public view yet.

It was illogical, she knew that, since they were grocery shopping together and no one would buy a professional excuse, but everything more than a light touch seemed too personal.

Their first test at domesticity went better than she anticipated. Maybe the second part, the cooking, would not be that bad.

xxxxx

Upon entering his house, Grissom went through his routine, making Sara feel left out. He put his briefcase away, got something to drink and went into the back to change his clothes. Although he had offered Sara something to drink as well, she was hurt that he seemed to ignore her for the most part, so she was even more surprised when he called for her. She pushed the urge to react childish and ignore him as well down and followed his voice.

She found him in his bedroom, sorting through his drawers. When he turned to face her again, he held up a T-shirt and some sweat pants. "They will still be too big, but these are the smallest pair I own."

Sara was staring at him, overwhelmed by his gesture. It felt like they were, or rather, Grissom was, crossing more boundaries today than he had ever before.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to stop by your house so you could get your own clothes." His voice was low, and his head hung, the insecurity pouring off of him again.

How could he go so fast from confident, like in the store, to this?

His emotions had a tight rein on him, throwing him back and forth. Not for the first time Sara wondered if she put him on this rollercoaster ride, or if he was always this emotional and just knew how to hide it to perfection at work. One day, she would have to ask him, but for now, something else seemed more important.

"No problem, I should have thought of it myself." She was silent about the fact that she never would have expected for Grissom to ask her to stay.

He looked at her, the smile returning to his eyes.

"Can I have them now?" she smirked, holding her hands out.

Grissom shook himself out of his immobility and stepped closer to Sara. Before he could hand the clothes over to her, she gripped his shirt and pulled him closer, locking her lips to his.

This should reassure him until she could prove her love for him further.

TBC