disclaimer: I did not get CSI for Christmas...so I still do not own it :(

AN: Sorry for not updating in a while, exams and x-mas kinda stressed me.

Many thanks to Myra for beta reading :)

Summary: this chap is post burden of proof...

chapter 6

A plant. From Grissom.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, the sounds of the coffee machine distracted her from thinking but she tried it anyways. Had she been overreacting? She had known that it was a really big thing to tell Grissom that she would want to leave the lab. She had expected that he would at least be slightly shocked about it, she had expected that he would not tell her that he wants her to stay but would search for a synonym, she had expected that he would do something to show her that he doesn't want her to leave but she had not expected that all this would feel so big.

For everyone else this was probably just a plant. It was just a plant but a special one. Grissom had sent it to her. And this meant a lot to her.

With a soft smile on her lips she opened her eyes again. She left her seat and walked over to the counter. Finally the coffee was ready and she filled her cup.

She hadn't heard his footsteps in the hallway, so when he entered the break room she winced. For a second she didn't know what to do and she was more than thankful that he was the one who ended the short moment of silence.

"Hey. You're on break?" Grissom asked.

Sara nodded. "Hey. Yeah." She sat down again because she didn't know what else to do.

"So…" He started but then he stopped again.

"So?" She asked after a moment.

"Did you re-think this leaving thing?" he asked with a tone of insecurity in his voice.

"Not yet." She answered shortly.

He looked at her, his sadness reflected in his eyes.

She had been staring down at the cup in her hands until then but now she felt his eyes on her and she couldn't help but look up to him. Their gazes met for a short moment but then she broke the contact with his eyes and stared down on the table.

"Do you really want to leave?" He had been holding his breath for a while, his voice was shaking when he spoke and Sara swallowed hard, his reaction still surprised her.

"Why did you buy me a plant?" She asked, not knowing how to answer his question and not ready to do it yet either.

"I asked you first." He insisted. But she didn't respond and so he nodded smirking, probably sensing that she didn't know the answer. "I figured that you might prefer a living plant. If I would have ordered flowers their roots would have been cut off and they would have died sooner or later. A plant lives as long as you treat it good, as long as it gets enough water and light and…" He cleared his throat. "I guess you get the idea."

She smiled softly and nodded. "I guess you in fact do know some things about me."

"And I do respect you Sara."

"Why did you treat me as if you wouldn't then?" She knew that this was destroying the moment and she also knew that this might upset him, she knew all this and she was willing to live with the consequences. She wanted an answer and she wouldn't stop asking him until he gave her the answer that she needed.

He stared at her. For a moment he said nothing. Sara stared at him, knowing that this made it even worse for him. She saw that he was thinking, that he was trying to find the best words to get himself out of this situation. But he didn't find those words. So there was only one way. The truth, at least parts of it.

"Because sometimes I just don't realize what I am doing to some people." He sat down on one of the chairs on the opposite side of the table. He sighed and tried to meet her eyes with his. "I'm sorry. I'll try to change that."

"It's just who you are." She said softly, realizing that he did not really understand what she meant with these words but that was not her problem. Maybe she should stop caring so much for him, but on the other hand he had just shown her that he cared for her. He did not want her to leave and even though he didn't tell her, she knew it and that was what really counted.

She emptied her cup and left her seat to fill it again. She felt his eyes on her while she moved so she turned around. Feeling caught Grissom looked away, pretending to stare down on the ground. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked, trying to lighten up their mood.

"Yes please."

She smiled softly and took a new cup out of the cabinet. She filled it with coffee and handed it to him before taking seat on her chair again.

She knew that his question was still unanswered and she also knew that sooner or later he would want an answer. He would for sure not forget about this question and she knew that she had to answer it no matter what, but she felt that she needed more time before she was able to answer it. "Do you want me to stay?" she asked and held her breath, scared of the answer that might follow.

"I obviously don't want you to leave. So yes, yes I want you to stay Sara."

A bright smile flashed over her lips, she tried to hide it but she knew that he had noticed. And as if this wasn't enough she started to blush.

"And I don't understand why you want to leave. I… I might have been a little…disregardful sometimes but… is that really a reason to…"

"It was not just a little and not only sometimes." She said softly.

He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."

She knew how much courage this cost him. She nodded and smiled softly at him. "I think I will stay."

A smile flashed over his lips. "I'm glad to hear that."

They sat there in the break room for half an hour after this conversation, talking, smiling at each other and it almost felt like it had felt back then in San Francisco. They were friends…

TBC

thanks for all the reviews I got so far! You guys always make me smile : ) thank you very much