Chapter 12 – Change of Plans

Fifteen minutes later Sara came out of the bedroom, changed and ready to go to Grissom's. In her hand she had a small overnight bag with a few items she might need while keeping him company. Entering the living room, she saw Grissom asleep in the chair. Not wanting to wake him up, she put her bag back in the bedroom and picked up the throw from her bed. She walked back out to Grissom and covered him with it. Smiling, she sat on the couch and sympathetically gazed at him. Another thought, which she knew Grissom probably wouldn't go for, came to her mind. Not even wanting to wake him up to ask his opinion, she made the decision for herself.

Quietly getting up from the couch, she grabbed the keys for the Denali and headed out to get Grissom's bags. Before returning back to her apartment, she detoured to the laundry room to put some of his clothes in the washer.

After making her way back to her apartment, she returned to her bedroom and closed the door. She pulled the sheets off her bed and made it up with a clean set, adding a few extra blankets. Looking at the alarm clock, she saw she had a few minutes before Grissom's clothes could be put in the dryer, so she took the time to unpack her suitcase and carry-on.

Cautiously opening her bedroom door, she padded to the front door and sneaks a peek at Grissom in the process. He was still sleeping. She made her way back to the laundry room and put Grissom's clothes in the dryer. Upon returning to her apartment, she headed straight for the couch. She was beginning to feel sleepy herself and decided to relax a while.

An hour later, Sara woke up because of a crick in her neck. Seeing Grissom was still asleep, she took the opportunity to get his clothes from the laundry room. She carried his clothes up to her bedroom, folded them and put them on top of her dresser. Noticing the items she purchased at the hotel gift shop sitting on the dresser, she grabbed them and put them on the kitchen counter.

Deciding it would be a good idea to wake up Grissom, she went back to the living room, but stopped at the thermostat to turn up the heat a bit. It wasn't too cold in her apartment, but she knew the slight chill in the air wouldn't help Grissom feel any better. After turning up the heat, she crouched down in front of Grissom and started to gently shake him awake. "Grissom . . . Grissom, wake up."

A few seconds later, Grissom's eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times trying to remember where he was. "What…where…oh yeah." he said, his voice deep with congestion.

Sara stood up. "I've made up my bed for you and added a few more blankets. I also washed some of your clothes and put them on my dresser. Why don't you change into something more comfortable and get in to bed. I'll bring you some medication when you're done."

Grissom rubbed his face trying to comprehend what Sara was telling him. "You want me to stay here…and you're letting me have your bed? Sara, no. I'm fine," he said, turning his head away from her and sneezing twice. "Why don't you just take me back to my place? I'll be fine at home. I've got everything I need there." He slowly got up and headed for Sara's bedroom. "Let me get my things. You can stop by in the morning whenever you feel like it. I don't think I'll need my car for a few hours anyway. There is no need for me to stay here. "

Sara followed Grissom in to her room. "Grissom, don't be so stubborn, and stop arguing with me."

"I'm not arguing with you. Remember what I said on the plane? I just don't need anyone to take care of me. I'll be perfectly fine at home, alone." He wanted to be angry with her so she'd do as he said, but he just didn't have the strength to do so. He was actually lucky he was able to form words in to coherent sentences with the way he was currently feeling.

"I know you feel miserable and just want to go to sleep." She watched as Grissom yawned. "You can barely keep your eyes open. And you may say you feel fine, but your face is telling me the truth. Plus, I've already made up my bed for you. I'm fine sleeping on the couch. I usually end up sleeping there most of the time anyway."

Grissom turned around, walked to the bed, and sitting down, looked up at Sara. "I don't know what to say Sara." He gave her a tired smile. "You've already done too much for me. I don't think I can ever repay you," he said, affectionately.

Sara walked to the bedroom door and turned around. "Just change Grissom. I'll be back in five minutes." She gave him a caring smile and closed the door behind her as she walked out.

Deciding it would be a good time to make up the couch for herself, she grabbed an extra pillow and a blanket out of the linen closet. Having completed that, she went to the kitchen to get Grissom's medication and a glass of water.

Returning to the bedroom, she gently knocked on the door. Grissom opened it, dressed in sweats and one of his long-sleeved shirts. "Hi," he said.

"Hi. Are you comfortable now?"

"Yes. Thanks for washing some of my things."

"No problem at all." Sara walked over to the nightstand, put down the glass of water and handed Grissom two pills. "Go ahead and take these. I know that you're way overdue on the decongestant."

And to prove Sara's point, Grissom quickly reached for a tissue and sneezed three times.

"Bless you." She met Grissom's weary eyes. "If you need anything during the night, please wake me up." She smiled at him as she turned towards the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Sara. And thanks for everything." He yawned while partially closing the door behind her as she walked out of the room. He walked back to the bed, but couldn't bring himself to pull down the blankets and get into it yet. Instead he just stood there staring at it and began to think about his current situation. He knew he made up his mind before leaving for the conference earlier in the week to let Sara know how he felt about her and that he'd like to become more than friends. Now being in her apartment, sleeping in her bed, and with her looking out for him, he realized this was the push he needed to make a move. Yawning, he unfortunately realized this wasn't the exact moment he'd make his move though. Tomorrow morning he'd talk to her. Right now he was too exhausted and he felt absolutely miserable. With those thoughts circling in his head, he was finally able to pull down the blankets and sheet and slide in to Sara's bed.

After leaving her bedroom, Sara walked out to the living room and sat down on her make-shift bed. As she looked down at the package of decongestant in her hand, her mind turned to Grissom. She had made a promise to herself that this week would tell her whether she should continue to think there could ever be anything between them or to let him go. Some of things he had said or done made her think there could be, but she knew that most of it didn't really count because Grissom wasn't feeling well. He normally wouldn't be so accepting of her actions. He definitely wouldn't be staying in her apartment or in her bed either. Putting the package of decongestant on the coffee table, she pulled the blanket off the couch, wrapped it around herself, and picked up her book from the end table.

Being so exhausted, Grissom couldn't wait to get to sleep. However, every time he almost fell asleep, he started coughing. After about 20 minutes of coughing and tossing and turning, he couldn't stand it and slowly got out of bed. He wrapped a blanket around himself and headed out to the living room.

Seeing a shadow over her book, Sara turned her head and saw Grissom standing behind her. "Hi Grissom. Did you need something?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, but actually, yes." He coughed a few times. "You didn't, by any chance, pick up some cough syrup at the hotel did you? This cough is driving me crazy and I'll never get to sleep with it."

"I did buy some cough syrup." Sara put her book down and got up from the couch. She walked over to the kitchen counter with Grissom following behind her. She turned on the light above the stove, picked up the bottle and handed it to Grissom. "I thought you might need it too. I'm glad I was prepared." After handing the bottle to Grissom, she returned to her spot on the couch.

Grissom looked at the instructions on the bottle, and took the proper dose, grimacing at the taste as he swallowed the thick, red liquid. "Thanks Sara. Hope this helps." He rinsed the cup out and placed it back on top of the bottle. He walked back to the bedroom. "Goodnight," he said, yawning, while passing Sara.

"Goodnight Grissom." Once Grissom left, Sara reached over to the end table and turned off the lamp. Snuggling under the blanket on the couch, she went to sleep.

TBC