Repsonse to an Unbound challenge! Hope y'all like it...
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Grissom, Sara or CSI... damn copyright...
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He stared out of the window, seemingly unreachable for anyone. Sara watched him quietly, a sad expression on her face. Usually, she would just begin talking about the case the second she entered his cold office, but today… she found that her eyes were wet with unshed tears. Grissoms' eyes were full of pain as he gazed gently out the window at the falling rain. She could hear him humming the melancholy tune of a lullaby. It was haunting in a beautiful way. Instead of his usual alert stance, he sat slumped, almost looking defeated, with his head leaning against the glass of the window. Sara didn't know what to do; should she break his out of his trance and fill him in on the case? Or should she let him relax for what was most likely the first time in a long time. Quietly as she could, she took a chair. Grissom sighed, not noticing her, and put his head in his hands. He sat like that for a while, curled up like an infant in his chair by the window. Then he looked up at the rain cascading down the glass again, a few tears still trickling their way down his face. Sara was speechless; here was the man who never got attached to cases, never showed an emotion towards anyone else, never cried. For a change, he was. She watched him for a minute as he wiped the tears away, only to have them replaced by more. His crying was much different from hers. While Sara would just break down and cry every tear she felt she had, Grissoms' tears came slowly, calmly, tracing a trail down his face. Sara couldn't stand it anymore. She stood and went to Grissom. He continued to look out the window, still unaware of her. She was about touch his shoulder when he put his hand on the glass of the window, peering out like a child waiting for it to snow.
"Sara…" he breathed, turning his hand into a fist to cope with the pain burning inside of him. Standing behind him, Sara felt her breath catch in her throat. Grissom continued to stare out the window for a minute. Sara finally mustered the courage and gently touched his shoulder. He whirled, shocked, and stared at her.
"Hey, chief." She sniffed, smiling sadly. She wasn't aware that she'd been crying until
now. He continued to stare. "Um… I have the report on the case…" she clenched a fist at her side, struggling with herself. Her heart won over her head, and she tentatively knelt next to his chair, taking his hands in her own. "Grissom…" his voice seemed to be a whisper in the wind. Sara was having trouble speaking, for a change.
"Sara, what are you doing?" There was no real fight in his voice.
"Grissom, you need to open up to me. Please," she put her flat palm on his face. The feel of his beard against her palm made her spine tingle, but she ignored it. "Tell me what's wrong." He remained quiet for a minute.
"Sara… I'm sure you know as well as I do that human emotion is a difficult thing to understand."
"Then just show me." He stared out the window again. Sara felt like sobbing in his arms, but she held on. He was most important, and she refused to show him how much she was hurting. Grissom seemed to have reached a decision within him. He looked directly into her eyes and put his hand over her, which was still resting on his face. Closing his eyes, he sighed, then looked back at her.
"For a while now, I've had no idea what's been going on. I found that I just don't have the… excitement for this job anymore. It happens too much, Sara… these people dying for no reason, and their killers never being caught. And every time that happens, I feel responsible. I know I don't… show it, but it does wear me down. I'm quitting tomorrow." Sara couldn't speak. How could she live without him? She couldn't take all this change. Grissom starts showing emotion, telling her what he feels, and then he leaves?
"Grissom… no…" he shook his head, smiling a little.
"Sara, this means that I can finally do what I've wanted to do for years." Sara had never known that he had been interested in another career. As he stood, he revealed that this was not at all what he meant; helping her gently up off the floor, he pulled her close to his chest. Sara relaxed against his soft body, breathing in his scent. He put his fingers under her chin and slowly, gently lifted her head so she was looking at him. He searched her eyes for a moment, then their lips met. Sara felt as if she was flying; it was blissful, in a way, the way they fit so perfectly, how soft his lips seemed against hers, how he was holding her close to him. She surprised herself and pulled back slowly. Grissom looked surprised himself.
"Grissom… this is a big change in you. Are you sure this is what you want?" He just smiled at her and kissed her again, this time with more passion. Sara melted into the kiss, grinning to herself. Maybe changes weren't so bad after all.