Chapter 3
Lost in thought, Grissom walked slowly to his car. Climbing in, he drove home. Even though he was bone tired, sleep was elusive. Catherine's words played over and over in his head. His fear had always been getting hurt. He wasn't sure how he felt about other people knowing about his relationship with Sara. It was very new and fragile. He didn't know how it would stand up under scrutiny. With all these things running through his head, he drifted into a fitful sleep.
Sara, on the other hand, had no trouble sleeping. Having missed Catherine's untimely arrival, she was left with nothing but the memory of Grissom's kiss. Dear Lord, the man could make her knees weak with nothing more than his lips on hers. Her dreams were filled with naked Grissom. She awoke with a smile and ten years of sexual tension filling her veins. She couldn't remember the last time she was this happy. How much longer would she have to wait for the real thing? She was all for taking it slow but this seemed excessive.
Grissom arrived at the lab well before the start of shift. He hadn't slept well and his mood was dark. He was sitting at his desk looking through his messages when Sara knocked on the door.
"Hey, how's it going?" Sara leaned against the door jamb with her arms crossed her face split by a huge smile.
Grissom didn't look up. "Fine."
Sara stood there for another moment, the smile fading from her lips. "Gris, is there something wrong?"
The hesitation in her voice made Grissom raise his eyes to her. "No. Nothing's wrong. Just didn't get much sleep," he said tersely, turning back to the pink slips in his hand.
"Ooookay, see you later." She walked toward the break room with a puzzled expression on her face. What could be wrong now? I can't imagine how anything could have happened in the last twelve hours that would've caused this. Enteringthe break room she headed for the coffee pot. Taking a sip from the cup she sighed in pleasure. Moving over to the table, she sat down in a chair next to Nick. "Hey Nicky, how's it going?"
"It's going. How 'bout you?" Nick drawled, smiling.
"I'm good." Sara returned his smile as Warrick walked in. "Hey 'Rick. What's up?"
"Nothin' girl, what's up with you?" Warrick's gaze was questioning.
"Not much." Sara met his eyes with a crooked grin. Catching his probing look she quirked one eyebrow in a silent question of her own.
"What's that look for?" Nick wanted to know. He glanced back and forth between them a couple of times. "Am I missing something?"
"What look?" Warrick laughed. "You must be seeing things, Nick, my man."
"Yeah, whatever, you two are up to something," Nick told them both.
"Who's up to something?" Grissom walked through the door with several files under his right arm and looked around at the three CSI's. They all fell silent with guilty looks on their faces. "Where's Catherine? We need to get started." He placed the files on the table.
"I'm here," Catherine walked past him and headed for the coffee pot.
"Okay. All we have tonight is a carjacking at the Tangiers. Nick, you take that. If anything else comes in I'll let you know." Grissom handed Nick the sheet with all the details. "Catherine, where are you on last night's John Doe? Is there an ID yet?"
"We're hoping for a hit on the fingerprints. We've also put out feelers for missing persons. So far we've gotten nothing. Warrick and I can go back to the scene to look for possible witnesses tonight." Catherine pushed her hair behind one ear and massaged her forehead. She seemed to be fighting a headache.
"Are you okay?" At her nod, Grissom continued. "Good. Keep me posted. Sara, what about the smash and grab? Any suspects?" He managed to pose his questions without meeting her eyes.
"I have the surveillance tapes for Archie. Since Greg's off, I guess I'll be in the A/V Lab." Sara's voice was quiet. Her eyes were wary.
"Okay, that's it. I'll be doing paperwork if anyone needs me." With that he turned and walked out of the break room and down the hall.
Everyone stood and left the break room. Catherine stopped Warrick in the hall. "I'll catch up with you in a minute. I need to see Gil about something."
"Is everything okay? He seemed a little Grissom-like just now." Warrick green eyes were full of concern. Even though Catherine had been upset about Tina they had managed to keep their friendship close. She had told him about seeing Grissom and Sara at the diner. He had a feeling that something bad was about to go down. He just hoped they all survived the fallout.
"I don't know but I intend to find out. Would you check on the fingerprints? Meet you at the car in ten." Catherine turned and headed toward Gil's office. She knocked and walked right in. Taking a chair in front of his desk she cleared her throat and waited for him to look up.
"Go away Catherine. I don't want to talk about it." Grissom's voice was rough and his tone short. "I said everything I have to say earlier."
"Gil, what are you doing? You tell me you love her but you won't even look at her. I saw the way you kissed her. That didn't look like you were unsure. Have you gone crazy since this morning?" Catherine wanted to raise her voice but the pounding in her head wouldn't allow it. She hoped the pain killers she had swallowed in the car would kick in soon.
"Cath, it's really none of your business. I know you think you can help but I don't need your advice right now." Grissom knew his reply was rude but couldn't seem to stop himself. He couldn't take any prying right now. Sometimes there was no other way to escape Catherine.
With tears in her eyes and a quiver in her voice Catherine said, "Fine. Just don't come to me when you screw it up again. I have helped you out with her for the last time." She stood up and left his office. She wiped her eyes, squared her shoulders and headed toward the car to meet Warrick.
Damn! I blew Sara off without a reason. Then, like I didn't have enough to deal with, I just made one of the strongest women I know cry. She was trying to help me and I made her cry. Could I be a bigger jerk if I tried? Grissom leaned back in his chair. Removing his glasses he pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming. It was starting in his shoulders and running up the back of his neck. Sitting up he opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of pain relievers. He shook out three. Swallowing them with some of the bottled water on his desk, he silently hoped they would stop the pain before it took hold. Reaching for his cell, he called Catherine.
"Willows," she answered abruptly. She had been brooding when his name popped up on the caller id. She debated letting it go to voice mail. Unfortunately, he might actually be calling about something work related and she couldn't take that chance.
"Catherine, I'm sorry." Grissom's voice was subdued. "I know you're only trying to help. This is something I have to work out for myself. I never meant to hurt your feelings."
"Gil, I understandhow Sara has felt all these years and I'm beginning to question her sanity. You can be extremely cruel when you want to be. We'll talk about this later. I'm not up for it right now." With that she closed the phone, cutting the call off.
Warrick glanced at Catherine's profile. "Hey, are you okay?" His deep voice was full of concern. He started to reach out to her but stopped himself. Close or not, he didn't feel comfortable touching her anymore. Sometimes the things you gained didn't out weigh the things you lost.
Catherine turned her head and looked at Warrick. She was holding on to her composure by a thread. "I'm fine. I just forgot how big of an ass Gil can be sometimes. I just need a minute to pull it together. Okay?" With that she turned back to look out the window at the passing lights.