Author: Joyce

Title: Better Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of CSI. Go figure.

Note: Thank you so much on the huge response for the last chapter. I got 13 reviews! Jade is probably reading this right now, going 'That little!' :) But it meant a lot to me! So, once again, thank you all for reading and commenting. Enjoy the chapter! Oh, and to Jade and Cecile, I had to get this update out of my system but next on my agenda is an update to The Underdog! After I finish the crazy assignment they gave me yesterday...

Going out, being cranky and making a decision

Grissom walked through the halls of the lab, Brass behind him.

"I'll meet you in the interrogation room once you find the suspect, ok?"

Brass nodded to indicate that he had heard him and continued his way while Grissom was studying the lab results he had just got from Hodges. He was startled by someone tapping on his shoulder.

"Hey," Sara said. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," he replied somewhat confused before he led her to his office. "What did you want to talk about, Sara?"

She sighed, a sad smile on her face before she spoke up.

"I want to spend some time with you, just you. Outside of the lab."

He blinked, not having expected that. He knew she was with Warrick every night, in fact he had practically given her up thinking that she had made her final decision.

"When?" he asked her.

"As soon as possible," she said. Giving him a small smile, one that was genuine for a change.

He hesitated before he made a decision, he would probably never get a chance like this again and he needed to grab it.

"I can make time for you now."

She raised her eyebrows.

"But you're in the middle of a high profile case, working a double."

He shrugged.

"You're more important , I'll get a replacement."

"Who?" she wanted to know. "Nick, Catherine?"

Grissom shook his head.

"I can't ask them. Nick is at home getting some rest after pulling a double, he should get back in a couple of hours but I can't ask him to supervise a shift for the first time in his condition. And Cath is with her daughter, spending some quality time with her. She's back on shift in seven hours and I don't think she can be persuaded to come sooner."

Sara paled. "So that leaves..."

Grissom nodded.

"He's the only one I trust for the job. With Catherine not here he would have been my first choice regardless of the situation we're in now. Do you mind if I call him?"

Sara closed her eyes, hoping that he would forgive her but she knew she had to to this. For him, she needed to make a decision and she needed to spend some time with Grissom to do that.

"Call him," she said.

He did, dialing the familiar number.

Warrick was saved from his restless attempt to sleep by the phone ringing.

"Brown," he greeted the person on the other end of the line.

He was not surprised to hear Grissom's voice. It was the question that surprised him.

"You want me to supervise shift? Now?"

He listened to Grissom's explanation, briefly wondering what could be so important to make him leave work in the middle of a shift.

"Fine," he eventually mumbled. "But you owe me one and you better hope Ellie Brass is not in town. I'll be there in half an hour."

Warrick sighed, not at all pleased with the idea of having to supervise a shift. But at least it would be better then being in his bed without her.

Back at the lab Grissom hung up the phone, turning to Sara.

"He's coming, he should be here in thirty minutes."

She nodded before she stood up.

"I'll wait in the break room for you. I don't want him seeing me here with you. It would hurt him and I don't want to do that."

She left his office, leaving Grissom to contemplate the thought of spending some time with her. He was going to make sure she would never forget tonight. He quickly assembled the notes he had made on the case they were working on. Sorting them out in a logical way, making sure that Warrick wouldn't have trouble getting up to speed. He also send a memo to the lab personal, making sure they knew who their boss was for the rest of the shift. He had just finished his job when Warrick appeared in his office, looking tired.

"You rang, master?" he said sarcastically.

Grissom nodded, motioning for him to take a seat while he explained the case to him.

"Brass is bringing in a suspect as we speak," he finished. "I think he's breaking down, you should be able to crack him during the interrogation."

Warrick raised his eyebrows, confused by the whole matter.

"Why are you leaving when you're about to break a hot case?"

Grissom shrugged, not getting into it.

"It's personal," he just said and Warrick felt a feeling of dread coming over him. Before he could ask his boss some more Grissom stood up and left the office. "Make me proud, Warrick," was his last advice to him.

Warrick tried to read the notes Grissom had left, rubbing his temples. He eventually sighed, getting up.

"If I'm going to survive this shift I need a lot of coffee," he mumbled. He rounded the corner towards the break room, swinging open the door and stopped dead in his tracks when he almost bumped into two people coming out of the room.

"Grissom...Sara," he finished.

They both looked uncomfortable, with Sara avoiding his eyes.

"You wanted me to take over shift so you could spend some time with her?" Warrick asked, barely hiding the hurt and anger he felt.

Grissom avoided the subject, grabbing Sara's hand and walking past him.

"We really have to go, Warrick. I'm sorry," he added.

The younger man just nodded, dumbfounded and tried to look Sara in the eyes who was still looking everywhere but at him.

"Have a nice time," he eventually whispered.

Sara looked at him then, trying very hard not to cry seeing the expression on his face. She didn't want to do this. She wanted to stay here, with him, but she needed to silence the voice of doubt in her head first. She let Grissom drag her past him and looked back one last time to see him standing on the same spot, a lost look in his eyes. It was a sight that would haunt her for the rest of the evening.

Some time later Nick entered Greg's lab.

"Hey Greggo, did I miss anything the last couple of hours?"

Greg barely looked up, engrossed in his work.

"We still haven't cracked the case," he just said.

Nick watched him, finding his behavior rather strange.

"What has gotten you so worked up?"

Greg finally looked up, whispering to him.

"Warrick took over shift and he's rather...cranky to say the least."

Nick was just about to ask one of his many questions when the subject of their conversation walked in.

"We don't have time for coffee breaks, Greg. Stop talking and do something!"

Nick turned towards his friend.

"Where's Grissom and why did he gave you shift?"

Warrick's facial expression softened somewhat when he noticed Nick standing with Greg.

"Grissom's out on the town," he eventually grumbled. "And I'm the lucky guy to take over his job." He left the lab, slamming the door behind him.

Nick turned back to Greg with a 'what the hell?' look on his face. The young lab tech shrugged.

"Don't ask me. I told you, he's not a happy camper."

Following him out of the lab Nick found his friend in Grissom's office. Resting his head on his arms, looking very much like his world had just ended.

"What's the matter, Rick?" he asked him gently.

Warrick looked up.

"He's with her, you know? And the funny thing is, I told her to do that. I kicked her out of my house and drove her to him!"

"Grissom is with Sara?" Nick clarified, now understanding the grave mood of the man sitting before him.

"Yep," Warrick said, laughing. Although it was a bitter laugh. "And I'm handling it so well, except that I'm not. I thought I could you know...But seeing them leaving together.."

He trailed of before he found his composure back.

"He grabbed her hand, Nick. And she let him... I'm trying to do my job here but I can't seem to shake that damn image out of my head."

Nick took a seat on the edge of the desk.

"It will work out, I promise."

"Yeah, I'm sure it will," Warrick snorted. "Because hey, what's a couple of weeks compared to the crush she's had on him since she was what? 19?"

Nick laughed and that clearly surprised the other man who had a confused look on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"I never thought I'd see the day that Warrrick Brown would fall apart over a woman," Nick confessed, still laughing somewhat. Warrick just gave him a glare and he continued. "You know what, you said it yourself just then. It's a crush and she will figure it out and come back to you."

Nick stood up, wanting to check on his evidence. Which he had left with Hodges before he went of shift.

"How can you be so sure?" Warrick asked him before he could go.

Nick lingered in the doorway.

"What you two have together, that's not a crush. That's love, man."

He left Warrick sitting in the office, studying his notes and slowly the first real smile of the day crept on his face.

Sara and Grissom were sitting in a romantic restaurant, one that Grissom had picked out. The candles were lit and there was an awkward silence surrounding them.

"So," Grissom eventually said. "Do you like the restaurant?"

"It's good," she replied, glancing up with a polite smile on her face. "The food is nice."

"Right," he said, silence falling upon them again. He broke it again. "How are you, Sara?"

She was watching him with an confused expression on her face.

"What do you mean?"

He ran his hand trough his hair, trying to give her an encouraging smile.

"You had a rough couple of months, with the accident and losing your memory. That must have taken it's toll on you. I just wanted to know if you feel good."

She contemplated the question, thinking back on the last couple of months.

"It wasn't easy," she eventually admitted. "But he made it so much better." Grissom's smile vanished when he noticed the far away look in her eyes.

"And how are you now?" he asked her, trying to change the subject.

"I'm good," she said, a happy smile on her face. "I feel strong and I'm back to my old level at work. Everything is going well."

He nodded, taking a bite of his fish.

"You can always take time of if you want to. You know that, right?"

She actually laughed by now.

"Picture that," she said still grinning and the sentence caused that dreadful image to return. The image of two sad green eyes that she had been seeing all night.

Grissom sighed, putting down his fork.

"You've already made your decision, Sara. You know that, you just need to deal with it."

She responded with her eyebrows raised, almost resentful.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because even though we're here alone, he's with us," he said, seeing her turning red before he continued. "With you."

Her eyes returned to her plate and she started playing with her food using her knife.

"It's ok, Sara," he told her and she looked up. "I just want you to be happy. Both of you."

There were tears in her eyes.

"I always thought you were it, you know? It kinda hurts to say goodbye to you."

"You don't have to," he said, grabbing her hand. "I'm still your boss, your friend. Besides, can you imagine saying goodbye to him?"

She shook her head, her eyes big.

"No," she whispered. "I could never do that."

"Then let the past go," he advised her while taking a sip of his wine. "And be happy."

She stood up in the middle of the restaurant and gave him a hug.

"You're a good man, Gil Grissom," she whispered in his ear and she left him sitting there. Almost running out of the restaurant.

He watched her go.

"Goodbye, Sara," he said to himself, a sad look on his face.

Warrick opened the door of his home, feeling exhausted. They had finally broke the case two hours ago with the suspect confessing and he had dragged himself through the paperwork before coming home. He sighed, knowing that he had to make the call.

"Hey, it's Warrick," he said. "I'm just calling to apologize. I acted like a total jerk tonight and took a lot out on you. You didn't deserve that."

He listened to the response on the other side of the line, breaking down into laughter.

"Don't push it, Sanders. I said I was sorry not stupid. You're not getting my parking place."

Warrick rolled his eyes and laughed some more when he was interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Gotta go, Greggo. I have company."

She was standing on his doorstep, a huge smile on her face.

"I made a decision," Sara told him.

Tbc...