Chapter 4 – Dinner
At 5:15 pm, Grissom's alarm clock went off. He rolled over, opened his eyes, and reached a hand to turn the piercingly loud noise off. Sitting up, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Upon the covers leaving his upper torso, he shivered slightly. He sat for a moment, rubbing at his eyes. Getting up to get into his clothes, he noticed he had a slight headache and a potential sore throat. Thinking nothing of them, because they were probably a result of lack of sleep and the heat in the room, he got dressed. Packing up his belongings a while later, a shiver wracked through his body and he wished his one and only jacket wasn't still soaking wet. He couldn't seem to get rid of the chill he had before he went to sleep.
Twenty minutes later Grissom was headed down to the front desk of the hotel to check out. He made arrangements earlier in the week to extend their check-out time because of the conference. After paying for the two rooms, he grabbed his bags and headed out to the parking lot. He put the bags in the trunk and set off for Sara's room.
Sara heard a knock on her door and looked through the peep hole. She opened it a few seconds later and was met by an exhausted looking Grissom. She was surprised to see that he didn't look any better than he did a few hours ago. He still looked worn-out. She, on the other hand, was refreshed and ready to enjoy the last few hours she had with Grissom…alone. "Hi Gris. Get any rest?"
"Actually, yes," he replied, his voice a little on the hoarse side. "I did everything you told me to do." He looked over to Sara and gave her a wide smile. "How about you?"
"I got a few hours sleep. You should be proud of me," she said sarcastically.
"I am. Ready to go? I checked us out already."
"Yep." Sara made a move for her suitcase. But instead of grabbing the handle, her hand landed on top of Grissom's.
Grissom blushed at the feel of Sara's hand on top of his own. "Grab your carry-on. I've got this," he said, not being able to make eye contact with her.
Frantically, Sara let go of Grissom's hand and grabbed her carry-on. "Thank you Grissom. But I can carry all my bags."
"It's no problem at all. I already brought my bags down to the car." Grissom ushered Sara out of the room and shut the door behind them.
They got down to the car and stashed Sara's bags into the trunk next to Grissom's. After closing the trunk, Grissom headed to the driver's door.
Sara walked up to him. "Hey Gris, why don't I drive? I know the area a little bit more than you. You can be navigator if I need a little help." In reality, she wasn't that comfortable driving in Chicago and would love to have had Grissom drive. But she knew he needed to rest, especially since he still looked extremely exhausted.
"I want to drive us to dinner. You can drive to the airport. Sound like a plan?" He opened the door and got in to the driver's seat without waiting for Sara's reply.
"Sure. You just better not go back on your word," Sara said, as she walked around the car and got in on the passenger side.
"I won't." Grissom smiled at her as he started up the car and headed out of the parking lot.
Once on the road, Sara turned the heat up a bit. The car had gotten really cold sitting outside in the parking lot all week. While driving to dinner, she shared her last trip to Chicago with Grissom. She told him about the museums she visited, the great food she had, and everything else she could possibly think of about her two-week adventure.
The traffic being a nightmare at times due to the weather, they finally arrived at the restaurant an hour after leaving the hotel. Grissom parked the car and they headed in. Sitting at a quiet booth in the cozy restaurant, they perused over the menu.
Grissom looked up at Sara over the table, the candlelight reflecting in her brown eyes. "I want to make this special since it's our last night here in Chicago. Would you like to have a glass of wine with dinner?"
"Sure, I'd love one." Sara looked up and met his gaze. "Have you decided what you want to order yet?"
"Nope. I was going to ask your opinion. What do you recommend?"
"Well, I can only recommend the pizza. That's all I've ever eaten from here. But my best friend swears by the chicken parmesan."
"Well, that settles that then." He closed his menu and set it down in front of him. "I'll split a veggie pizza with you."
Sara smiled at him. "You don't have to do that Grissom. Get anything you want."
"But I want to split the veggie pizza. It sounds absolutely mouthwatering…and that's not just because I'm starving." He returned Sara's smile.
Grissom placed their order with the waiter and turned back towards Sara. Removing his glasses, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The dull headache he awoke with a few hours ago was becoming more prominent. He didn't want to call attention to it, but knew he needed some aspirin before the headache became much worse. "Sara, on the way to the airport, could we please stop at a drug store? I really need to pick up some aspirin."
"Sure. No problem at all. Are you feeling all right?" she asked, a little concerned. In the back of her mind she knew that this must be the onset of the cold she predicted Grissom was coming down with.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a slight headache. I want to take care of it now before it has a chance to get worse and possibly turn into a migraine."
Sara reached in her purse and pulled out a travel bottle of Tylenol. Pouring two caplets out of the container into her palm, she gave them to Grissom. "Here."
He took the two Tylenol from her and swallowed them with some water from the glass sitting in front of him. "Thank you. I'm beginning to owe you big time now."
"I'm glad to help. I don't want this headache to get any worse for you. You definitely don't need a migraine on the flight back to Vegas." She put the bottle back in her purse. "We will definitely stop and pick up some aspirin. I'm actually almost out of Tylenol anyway, so I could use the stop too."
He looked at her very appreciatively while he gave her a small grin.
The waiter appeared at their table with the two glasses of wine, putting Sara's down first then Grissom's. "Here's your wine. The pizza should be out shortly." He turned and headed back to the kitchen.
Grissom picked up his glass and held it up in front of him. "Here's to us and to a wonderful evening. I'm so glad we have this time to spend together."
Sara picked up her glass too, a little surprised at Grissom's toast. "I am too. Cheers."
Smiling at each other, they touched glasses and took a sip of their wine. Neither of them could believe how comfortable they felt with each other.
A few minutes later, the waiter reappeared with their pizza and placed it in the middle of the table. "The cheese and hot peppers are at the back of the table. If you need anything else, please let me know."
Grissom took the spatula, as the waiter left. He picked up his plate, put a slice of pizza on it, and handed it to Sara. Sara in turn handed her empty plate to Grissom so he could put a slice on it for himself. He reached over to the hot peppers and cheese and placed them in the middle of the table. Sara grabbed for the cheese, while Grissom took the peppers. He sprinkled a little on his pizza and dug in. "This is excellent," he said after two bites. "Great suggestion Sara."
"I'm glad you like it," she said, while tugging at a string of cheese that wouldn't seem to break loose from the pizza she just took a bite of. "Told you it was good."
"I'll have to remember to get your opinion more often." He laughed and took another bite of pizza.
A few minutes later, Grissom reached for his wine glass to take another sip. He felt his nose start to run and he sniffed. He reached into his pants pocket to pull out the packet of tissues Sara gave him earlier in the day, and was glad he remembered to keep them on him. He pulled one out of the packet and wiped at his nose. Now feeling a slight tickle, he took another one out, turned to the side of the table and blew his nose. Feeling rather embarrassed, he turned back around. "Excuse me. The hot peppers must be getting to me."
When Grissom turned back around, Sara smiled to herself. He looked so adorable when he was embarrassed. Since he was too absorbed in his pizza to notice, she decided to take a good look at him. His face was pale and his cheeks were a little pink, it could be from his embarrassment or he could have a fever. She couldn't really tell. She also noticed that his gorgeous blue eyes were getting a little glassy. She could already tell that his voice was getting hoarser and he was beginning to sound congested.
They finished their pizza and the waiter came to the table to clear everything away. "Can I interest you two in a cup of coffee and one of our delicious desserts?"
Grissom and Sara looked at each other, with Sara nodding her head yes. "Sure," she piped up. "We'll each take a cannoli and a cup of coffee."
Grissom, feeling his sore throat worsening, interrupted. "Actually, make it just one coffee. I'd like some hot tea, if you have any, with lemon."
"Sure. I'll be back in a few minutes with your dessert and drinks."
When the waiter left, Sara turned back to Grissom. "No coffee? Something must be wrong. I've never known you to turn down a cup of coffee."
Grissom looked up and met Sara's concerned eyes. "Nothing is wrong," he said, trying to reassure her. "I just feel like having tea instead. I'd like to try and get some rest on the plane and if I have coffee, I won't be able to."
"If you're sure…okay." She didn't want to say this, but felt like she just needed to get it out in the open, especially with Grissom's worsening condition. "But I do want you to know that I'm here for you if you need me, for anything."
Grissom looked at her with a raised eyebrow, a bit confused. "Okay. I'll remember that, thanks."
Just then, their dessert and drinks arrived. Seeing they still had half an hour before they needed to leave for the airport, they sat there slowly eating their dessert and sipping at their warm drinks. While relaxing and enjoying their final half hour together, they kept sneaking quick glances at each other, with neither of them saying a word. On more than one occasion, Sara noticed Grissom wiping at his nose with a tissue and started to get more concerned. His cold seemed to be coming on fast.
Having lost track of the time, Grissom took a look at his watch and saw that they should have left the restaurant fifteen minutes earlier. "It's time to get going. We're a little late in leaving, but I don't think we need to worry. Security shouldn't be that bad at the airport." He reached for the bill and took out his wallet.
Sara opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. Grissom saw this. "Sara, put your wallet away. Dinner is on me."
"Are you sure?" she asked, tentatively putting her wallet away.
"Yes. It's my pleasure. I've had a wonderful evening."
"I have too." She started to laugh. "Are we even now?"
He looked up from the money he was counting. "What?"
"Are we even?" she said, continuing to laugh. "You know, all the times I've come to your rescue today?"
"No," he said, joining in with her laughter. "This definitely doesn't count. I'd want to pay even if you didn't do anything for me. I just really appreciate your company. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my last night here in Chicago."
Sara stopped laughing as she absorbed the last few words Grissom had spoken. "Thank you so much Grissom. This is one of the best nights I've had in a while."
"I'm glad to hear that," he said smiling. He put the bill and a generous tip on the table and slid out of the booth. He walked over to Sara's side of the booth and helped her out. As they exited the restaurant, he unknowingly put his hand on the small of her back. Sara felt this and blushed and smiled at the same time, surprised at the gesture.
They got to the car and Sara saw Grissom headed to the driver's side. "Hey, I thought I was driving us to the airport Gris?"
"Sorry." He looked at her and smiled apologetically. "Habit I guess." He handed her the keys and they both got in the car.
TBC