Take Me Out Tonight

Rating: PG 13

Disclaimer: Wish they were mine… alas they are not

Summary: Grissom told her she should get a diversion and she did. (Involves the musical Rent!) GSR

A/N – So this story has been playing around in my head for a long while. Sara uses her talents and performs on stage in a Las Vegas 1 night production of Jonathan Larson's Rent!

Disclaimer – CSI isn't mine, and neither is Rent. Sigh But I love them both. Any of the songs mentioned are not mine and come from the beautiful mind of Jonathan Larson.

Chapter 3

Sara waltzed into the break room 3 hours after the audition with a huge grin on her face.

Nick and Warrick looked up from the TV screen when she walked in, and Nick asked "Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?"

"Well first off, I'm a vegetarian. And second, I'm just in a happy mood. Is that a crime?" Sara quickly replied.

"No," chimed in Warrick. "It is just a nice change to see you happy".

"Thanks" Sara replied as she got herself a cup of Greg's special coffee.

"Hello everyone!" Catherine said as she walked into the break room.

After grabbing herself a cup of coffee, she sat down at the table across from Sara. After studying the woman for a moment, Catherine asked "Ok, so who is it?"

"Pardon me?" Sara asked as she put her coffee to her lips.

"Well that grin on your face tells my woman's intuition that you had some sort of non-platonic man interaction within the last 24 hours"

"What!" Sara exclaimed as she almost spit out her coffee, as Grissom wandered into the room.

"Come on Sara. I know that look anywhere. Obviously someone got a little lovin' yesterday"

Sara, now aware of Grissom's presence in the room, shot back "No, that is not true. Why does everyone assuming that my happiness has to do with some guy. I'm smiling because I'm happy. I'm happy because today is a good day. End of story. We have a job to do. Assignments?" Sara finished quickly as she looked over at Grissom.

Grissom snapped back into reality. All the while Grissom was thinking about how a new mystery man could be in his Sara's life. He was relieved when she said there was no guy. However, he did notice that Sara was extra happy today, and he could not push that thought out of his head.

Grissom eyed a now blushing Sara carefully before he paired everyone up and sent them out into the field.

-- -

After shift, Catherine, Nick, Greg, Warrick, and Sara were all putting their kits back in their lockers. All the cases were pretty basic and none of them needed any extra overtime. Sara checked her watch and realized she had to meet James in 5 minutes. She was lost in her thoughts about the play until Nick spoke.

"Hey, how about we all go out to breakfast after shift?"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement except for Sara.

"What about you Sar?" Nick questioned.

"Sorry guys, not today. I have somewhere to be" and without any further explanation, Sara hurried out of the locker room.

"Ok… Anyway, Catherine, why don't you drag Griss to come along with us" Nick said.

"Sure. Where are we eating today?" Catherine asked.

"Well, can we make it a short meal. I promised Tina I would try to be home more" Warrick chimed in.

"Man you are whipped" Nick joked. "How about we go to the diner across the street? We can grab a really quick meal, so War won't miss his curfew."

"Haha" Warrick grumbled.

"Ok. I'll drag Grissom out of his office and we'll meet you outside the lab in a couple of minutes" Catherine said over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

- -

Sara walked into the diner and spotted James sitting in a booth off to the left side.

"Hey" Sara said as she slipped into the booth across from James.

"Hey yourself" he replied. "I ordered some coffee for both of us"

"Thanks, I could really use a cup" Sara replied.

"Believe me, I understand the way the graveyard shift affects a person's caffeine intake"

Sara chuckled and thanked the waitress when she brought over their mugs of coffee.

"So are you excited to be in the play?" James questioned Sara as she picked up her mug.

"Oh yes. My boss once told me that I needed to get a diversion. Everyone tells me that I put in way too much overtime. I think they are really close to putting me into workaholics anonymous". Sara joked "Hello, my name is Sara S and I'm a workaholic. And I'm over talking."

James chuckled "Well it shows that you are really dedicated to something. I admire that".

Sara blushed "Well not when it takes over your life and even when your home you listen to the police scanner and absolutely refuse to take your vacation days. I guess that is why I want to be able to do something I like outside of work."

"So how about a toast to a new start" James suggested as he raised his mug.

"To a new start" Sara laughed lightly as their mugs clinked together.

Just as their mugs clinked together, the rest of the nightshift team sat down at their usual spot on the other side of the diner. However, they could not see Sara and James because they were blocked by the counter.

They all sat down together and picked up their menus when they all heard a familiar laugh.

"Is that…" Catherine started

"Sara?" Nick and Greg finished

They all looked around to see where the familiar laugh was coming from when they spotted Sara in the booth at the left of the restaurant. Sara did not notice them staring at her because she had her back to the group.

The nightshift crew stared in shock at both Sara and the mystery man until Warrick broke the silence saying "So that's where she was off to in a hurry this morning. Seems like you were right Cath"

"Yeah I guess I was" Catherine admitted quietly. "He's pretty handsome. Good for Sara."

Grissom on the other hand was fighting to keep his composure and resisted the urge to jump out of his seat and punch the mystery man in the face. Sara lied to me he thought as he remembered the conversation in the break room. She said that she was not dating some guy. Griss was fuming and he noticed that Sara's companion was giving the group strange looks.

"Looks like we have an audience" James mentioned to Sara, nodding his head over her shoulder.

Sara turned her head to where James was looking. Oh Crap! she thought. Here eyes locked with Grissom's and she could tell how furious he was. I wonder what his pulse is at now her mind joked. His eyes bore into hers, and Sara suddenly felt really embarrassed and ashamed, like she was cheating on him. But you're not Sara, she reminded herself. He has made it perfectly clear that he is not interested in you. He is never going to figure out what to do about this.

Sara turned her attention back to James.

"Those are your coworkers from the night shift, right?" James questioned.

"Yeah" Sara sighed

"So why are they gawking at us like animals in the zoo?"

Sara chuckled "Well, I guess it must be a sight they never see. Sara Sidle out with a male who is not currently working on a case with her."

"A beautiful girl like you? I find that very hard to believe" James replied as he reached over the table and intertwined his hand with hers.

Sara blushed "You're too kind. And stop flirting with me" she joked. "You are going to give me some sort of complex"

On the other side of the diner, that display of affection did not go unnoticed by Grissom. He could feel his pulse racing and his blood boiling. You take your filthy hands off my Sara he thought.

Catherine could feel the tenseness in Grissom from across the table. She leaned over to whisper to him "You know Gil, if looks could kill, that guy Sara is with would have been on a slab in the morgue 5 minutes ago"

"Griss, you ok man?" Warrick asked.

Grissom snapped back into reality and replied "Yeah, I'm fine". Still his gaze lingered on the table on the left as he heard Sara laugh happily again.

A little while later both Sara and James finished their omelets and coffee, and after James finally persuaded her into letting him pay for the meal, they both headed for the door. Sara was trying to move as quickly as possible so the rest of the crew would not notice her leaving. However, the trained investigators stopped her before she made it halfway to the door.

"Sara!" Nick shouted as he waved her over.

James shrugged his shoulders as he followed Sara over to the other table.

"Hey guys" Sara spoke softly, avoiding Grissom's harsh gaze.

"Hey Sara, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend" Greg asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Guys, this is James. James that is Greg, Catherine, Nick, Warrick, and Grissom"

"So, James. How do you know Sara?"

"Well we both…" James started.

"Go to the same supermarket" Sara quickly chimed in. "We always seem to be bumping into each other all over the place."

"Yeah I work at Desert Springs Hospital, so I've seen you all around there before" James offered.

"Yeah, since we both work graveyard, we should get going so we can get some sleep. In our own separate apartments" Sara added quickly as she noticed the expressions of her coworkers misinterpreting her last statement. "I'll see you guys back at the lab tonight" Sara finished as she quickly directed James over to the exit.

Once outside James asked "Why don't you want them to know about the play?"

Sara sighed "This is something I need to do for myself. I really want to separate myself from work, and involving the nightshift won't help that".

"I understand that. Anyways, I'll see you later?" James asked pulling Sara into a friendly hug.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon. Call me if you want to practice before rehearsals start next week"

"Definitely" James replied pulling away from her arms.

He waved goodbye as he got into his car and drove away. Sara headed over to her own car and drove off towards her own apartment.

Inside the diner, Grissom witnessed their "friendly" hug. Inside he was torn up. Did I really lose her this time?

TBC… Dun Dun Dunnnnn… Sorry to leave you here…. But it has to be done. Hope you like it so far. I'll update as soon as I can…

Remember to please review… Reviews make me happy… and make me type faster!