Chapter 2
It had been three days since Sara and Grissom had what she had started referring to as the "come to Jesus meeting". Things at work had been a little awkward the first day but a call from Grissom after shift helped to smooth out the rough edges. They spent an hour just talking about inconsequential things – as inconsequential as two geeks can get. When he called the second day to 'chat' Sara was amazed. Before hanging up, Grissom asked Sara to have breakfast with him the following day.
After a particularly tough shift, Sara stopped by Grissom's office. Taking up her usual position in the doorway, she took a minute to study Grissom without his being aware of her presence. Smiling, she said, "Hey."
Grissom looked up and smiled, "Hey yourself. I'll be done here in a minute."
Glancing around to make sure no one could overhear, Sara asked, "Where are we going?"
"I thought we could go to the diner. I thought it might be better if we weren't 'alone' together," Grissom said and then added hurriedly, "Not that I don't want to be alone with you but…"
"It's okay, Gris, I know what you mean," Sara said with a wide smile. "I'm not going to tear into you. The diner sounds great."
"How about I meet you there in fifteen minutes?" Grissom suggested.
"Okay. Don't be late," Sara said. With a wave she turned and walked toward the locker room.
Sara retrieved her things and was just closing her locker when Catherine walked in. "What are you so happy about?" Catherine asked.
"Nothing, why do you ask?" Sara replied turning to face the other woman.
"You have a smile on your face a mile wide,"Catherine said."Got a hot date?"
"Maybe. Maybe not," Sara said with a teasing glint in her eye. "What makes you think that?"
"No reason. You've just had this "cat that ate the canary" attitude the past couple of days. Makes a girl wonder if you're keeping something to yourself," Catherine joked.
"I'll never tell," Sara said as she walked over to the door. Pulling it open, she turned back to Catherine and said, "See you tonight." She didn't see the thoughtful look on Catherine's face as she sauntered down the hall toward the front doors.
When Grissom arrived at the diner Sara was already seated at a table in the back. As soon as their eyes met the famous Sidle smile split her face. He couldn't believe that he was responsible for putting it there. He also couldn't believe that he would be able to live the rest of his life without seeing it everyday. All she had to do was smile to make him feel like a better person.
Grissom slid into the booth across from her andraised aneyebrow, "Waiting for someone?" he quipped.
"Yep, I sure am. And I hear he's the jealous type. You might not want to be sitting there when he shows up," Sara said with a laugh.
"I think I'll take my chances. Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" Grissom responded to her teasing with a laugh of his own.
"Well, I suppose one cup of coffee wouldn't hurt," Sara said.
They continued the light-hearted banter until the waitress come over and asked for their order. She asked after the rest of their group before she walked away. The two became quiet as the implication of her question hit them both. It was almost as if the concept of this being a date hadn't occurred to them until that moment.
"Wow," Sara said. "That sort ofbrought ithome, huh?"
"Yeah, who knew anyone would notice that we were here alone?" Grissom asked. "Do you feel as awkward as I do right now?"
"Probably. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Sara said. "I mean coming here – not having breakfast together."
"So, I guess holding hands across the table is out?" Grissom deadpanned.
Sara sat there in stunned silence for a second before bursting into laughter. "Thanks. I needed that."
Once the tension was broken, the two talked easily. They talked about work and roller coasters and their colleagues. Their food arrived and they continued their conversation. They talked about books, movies and cooking. Their plates were cleared and they kept talking. They covered politics and religion. The leaps would have seemed random to an outsider but Grissom and Sara didn't seem to have a problem keeping up. The only thing they didn't discuss was their relationship. It was as if the past five years had never happened. Neither of them noticed how much time had passed until Sara yawned.
"My God, it's ten o'clock," Grissom said, looking at his watch. "We'd better get going or we won't get any sleep."
"Boy how time flies," Sara said with a smile.
Grissom grabbed the check and, standing, helped Sara out of the booth. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the register. After the bill was paid he guided her out of the restaurant. They both stopped to put on sunglasses against the glare. Walking her to her car, he kept his hand on her back.
Turning to look at Grissom, Sara said, "Thank you. I had a really nice time."
"Me too," Grissom replied. "I want to do this again. You know how hard that was to say, right?"
"Yeah I do. I'd like do this again too. No rush though," Sara told him.
"Okay. No rush," Grissom said. He leaned in and kissed Sara lightly.
"Is that the best you've got bug man?" She asked teasingly.
"Oh, I think I can do better," Grissom replied with a twinkle in his eye. He placed his hands on either side of her face and leaned in again. This time the kiss was slow and sexy. He brushed his lips over hers several times before deepening to let their tongues tangle. Pulling back, he asked, "How was that?"
"Wow," Sara said breathlessly. "I think I need to go now. I can't take another one of those."
"Okay, I'll see you tonight," Grissom said and leaned in to capture her lips in one more quick kiss. He opened her car door and waited for her to climb in. Closing the door he stepped back and waved as she pulled away. Grissom turned to walk to his car and bumped into Catherine.
"What are you doing here, Cath?" Grissom asked.
"I'd ask you the same thing but I think I already figured it out," Catherine said.
"I...uh...I," Grissom stammered while looking at the ground.
"Don't say anything. I knew something was going on with Sara. I just didn't know that something was you," Catherine was grinning at Grissom's embarrassment.
"I love her Catherine," Grissom stated.
"I know that Gil. Just make sure you know what you're doing. I don't want either of you hurt," she told him. With that she left Grissom standing alone and walked into the diner.