Thanks to Laura Katharine for the beta!

First and last lines provided by the improv challenge.

A loud cracking noise caught everyone's attention in the otherwise quiet room. Just hours before the end of shift, Grissom, Sara and Greg were called out to a 419 at a convenient store. When they arrived, it was painfully obvious that they would be working well into the day. The stockroom had been torn to shreds from what looked like a scuffle between the victim and his assailant. Shelves had been knocked over, trash bins overturned and merchandise scattered about, all resulting in the three of them being on their hands and knees for hours, sorting and processing. So when Sara stood and stretched her back - causing the loudest crack known to man - Grissom decided that they all needed a break.

"This should cover it." Grissom handed Greg some cash and headed over to join Sara, who was already perched on the rear of his Denali, her feet dangling the ground.

"It's the rookie thing isn't it?" Greg asked, trailing behind Grissom.

"What?"

"The reason I always have to make the food run - it's because I'm a rookie. That excuse is going to run out one of these days."

Grissom just sighed. He never knew when Greg was teasing or really addressing an issue he had. Greg was getting better about voicing his thoughts and grievances, but the eager-to-please lab rat was still a part of his makeup and right now Grissom didn't know which showed up for work. Grissom had a feeling that Greg was beginning to realize that being in the field wasn't what he thought it was. Getting lunch wasn't in the job description, but cataloguing and processing evidence was and Grissom heard one too many sighs of discontent from him this morning.

As he sat down beside Sara, he sent a wink her way - surprised that he even did so, but pleased by the smirk he received in return.

"Greg, you're paranoid. There's a legitimate reason as to why Grissom and I are staying behind," she said.

"There is?"

"Of course." She looked over to Grissom and tapped his foot with hers. "You wanna tell him or should I?"

The look on her face was playful and Grissom found it incredibly infectious. It has been a long shift and, by all rights, they should be sleeping right now. It wouldn't kill him to play along. Taking his time with his answer, Grissom scrunched his brow and cocked his head, contemplating Greg. "No. I don't think he's ready to know, yet."

Sara mirrored his expression and hummed thoughtfully. "You may be right. I'm sorry, Greg. Maybe next time."

"Since when are the two of you a comedy act? Soooo, I'm getting the foot long Italian, the G-man's getting turkey and provolone on rye and Sara, Sara - no time is a good time for egg salad, come on - what do you really want? Grilled cheese? Facon, lettuce and tomato? A chiropractor for that back of yours?"

"Egg salad."

"Okay, if you must. Since I take pity on your poor taste in food, I'll throw in a chiropractor for free. Well, an amateur one." Greg waggled his fingers. "I've been told these are magic."

"Greg, work your magic on getting us our lunch."

"Right-o," Greg said and ran off to the deli down the block.

Greg touching Sara in any manner, left Grissom with very little appetite. Not long before Sara met Jason, Grissom wondered if her and Greg were getting closer. He knew they never dated, but he imagined that they were heading in that direction. Greg didn't seem to be her type, but Grissom had to admit that he didn't think he was, either. It was then that he realized that it wasn't so much her having a type as it was her just following her heart.

"You're quiet," Sara stated, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm. Just tired."

"Preaching to the choir." She tapped his foot again. She really was playful.

"Oh, you used to run on less sleep than this - you're getting old," he teased and lightly tapped her foot back, enjoying the moment. It was like old times, only … different. This time he was allowing himself to feel and accept the moment - not bury it away. It felt distinctly like flirting, and for a few seconds he allowed himself to think that it was okay.

It was okay - to him. He wanted to flirt and reconnect and hopefully grow into what they had both wanted at one point or another. The problem was that they still were on different pages and Sara wanted to work things out with Jason. She was perfecting her signing for Jason. The reason he and Sara were getting along better now than they had in ages was, in some part, because of Jason.

It felt so right, but it was ultimately wrong. He suspected that Sara came to that conclusion the exact moment he did, because as he felt his face fall, he saw hers do the same.

"I got your vacation request," he stated.

Sara tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and began signing. "Is it going to be a problem?"

He secretly loved that once she was comfortable with conversational signing, she would prefer to use it in all of their private discussions. Even though she wasn't doing it for him, until Jason came back into town, it was as if it was something that they alone shared. This way of thinking would surely get him in trouble, he knew.

"Of course not."

"So he's going to see an improvement?"

"He'll be very proud."

Not for the first time, Grissom wondered about Jason's expectations when it came to Sara learning sign language. Their courtship involved a translator at the beginning and, he later learned, a lot of writing. Knowing that Sara was the type to over-achieve and push herself to extreme limits to get things done, he didn't understand Jason's lack of patience. However, Grissom wasn't deaf and even though he'd seen his mother go through it, and he had been faced with the prospect himself, first hand knowledge was something he didn't have

"He'll be back in two weeks, right?"

She signed slowly, as if she were unsure about the direction the conversation was going. "Yes. I never thanked you for this." She didn't have to elaborate on what 'this' was, he knew that she was referring to their signing 'dates'.

"You don't have to."

"Yes I do." She sat there for a few moments, her brows raised expectantly. "This is the point of the conversation where you say 'you're welcome'."

"I would if you thanked me. You didn't yet - you just said that you never had." Grissom cocked his head to the side and sighed with mock irritation. "I'm waiting."

He watched as Sara's shocked expression slowly transformed into a devilish smile. The sight couldn't please him more.

"You are something else."

'So are you, Sidle', he thought with a smirk.

Grissom watched as she became hesitant once more, and then he was worried when she frowned, dropped her hands and started to speak. "Grissom, why are-"

"I come bearing food." They both started at Greg's untimely return. "I included gratuity to the runner, and he thanks you."

Grissom bit his tongue and frowned. He didn't care about the money, but he did care about his alone time with Sara coming to an end. In the back of his mind, he realized that they should have discussed the crime scene that awaited their return, but for the first time in a long while, he didn't put work first. Swinging his legs out of the back of a truck and playing footsie with a beautiful, heart-stealing woman was definitely better use of his time, he decided. Though, he suspected that she wanted to discuss something important, or maybe something that was bothering her, and that did make him a little uneasy. Not sure whether he really wanted to know where the conversation was heading, he decided that the interruption might have been providence. This probably wasn't the place for such discussions.

It wasn't the smell, but the weight of his firmly wrapped sandwich in his hands that caused his stomach to grumble. Grissom thought of how odd it was that when he knew Greg was bringing back food, he was moderately hungry but not to the point of his body letting others know. Now, as he sat with sandwich in hand, he couldn't be more starved. It was because it was in his possession, he knew. There was something about things being there, being tangible, that made you want them more - need them more. Other thoughts swarmed through his mind, but he was definitely sure Sara wouldn't take to being compared to a turkey and cheese sandwich.

Once the food arrived, lunch passed by all too quickly and soon they were back to work. There wasn't as much to sort through as there was before their break, but by the time they were done bagging possible evidence, two more hours had passed. After much badgering, Grissom assured Greg that he wouldn't ignore his request to ask Brass about an additional charge of vandalism, or at least pain and suffering to CSIs, when the time came for an arrest.

Watching Greg take the last of the evidence out to the truck, Grissom decided that once everything was logged in, they would all go home and resume the investigation on the next shift. The body wouldn't be autopsied until Robbins came in anyway, so they might as well get some rest. His knees were screaming, Sara's back was still bothering her and Greg was getting way too slap-happy for his liking.

All Grissom wanted right now was a glass of iced tea, a hot shower and his bed. He would only be able to fit in a couple of hours of sleep, but at the moment, those few hours sounded heavenly. As he watched Sara stretch her back for the fourth time that day, he wondered if she was going to be able to sleep with her back aching. She hadn't complained about it the whole day, but it was obvious she wasn't comfortable. He didn't want her in any discomfort, but he wasn't in the position to do anything about, neither was her un-fiance. She would probably go home, swallow some aspirin and … he didn't know what she would do after that. He knew that she gave up listening to the police scanner ages ago and his visit to her apartment last year told him that she owned reading material other than forensic journals. He tried to picture what she would do in her home, but all he could come up with was a vision of her sitting in her chair, knees up to her chest, crying. That vision had been a constant since that day, and he wished he had better memories of the first and only time her was in her home.

Grissom shook his head sadly and finished reloading his kit. Regrets plagued him, and no matter how he tried, he could never really put things behind him. He couldn't change their past, but their present wasn't looking too bad. They were talking and smiling and, even if it was only today, they flirted. And above all else, his help will hopefully help her regain something she had lost - her relationship with Jason. The feeling was bittersweet.

"We're done," said Greg with a sigh as poked his head in the stockroom. "I'm ready whenever you guys are."

Grissom nodded as Greg retreated once again. Picking up his kit, he looked over at Sara who was leaning against a storage shelf with her arms crossed over her midsection. He smiled as she let out one of her wide yawns.

"You ready?"

"Yep."

He held the door open for her and accepted the shy smile of thanks he got in return. It was the little things like that and their moment earlier, that made him believe that this was enough.

Curiosity got the better of him and he gently grabbed her elbow as she passed. "Wait a minute."

"What is it?"

He really didn't think this was the best time to discuss this, but curiosity got the better of him. "You were going to ask me something earlier."

"Oh. Uh, it was um…" Her gaze dropped to his chest and she released a heavy sigh before looking back up to him. "I guess I just wanted to know why you're helping me with all this. I mean, you're essentially helping me work things out with Jason and … why?"

Grissom let his hand linger on her elbow a little while longer before letting it drop to his side. He didn't know how to answer her because he, himself didn't know the answer. Looking at Sara, seeing her wait for his response, he knew that wasn't the truth. Taking a deep breath, he decided to bite the bullet. She deserved that.

"Because, when you … love someone … or in my case, accept that you love someone, you want them to be happy more than anything."

She stood there, looking stunned, and Grissom started to worry. They really should have gotten some sleep before discussing anything like this. He felt enormous relief when she finally started blinking.

"Oh. I, uh -"

Grissom cut her off with a raise of his hand. "Don't respond. Please." This whole thing was hard enough, he didn't want to hear any sadness or receive pity from her - definitely not about this. She already knew he felt something for her, now she knew what he felt, and in some odd way, it made him feel better about the situation.

"Okay, Griss."

He nodded and reclaimed her elbow, guiding her out the door. He actually told Sara that he loved her. Now, he needed to replace his iced tea with a glass of scotch. Grissom's steps felt a little lighter as they made their way out of the store and he wondered if the weight he released didn't go directly to Sara's shoulders. He wasn't that concerned because Sara grinned as they walked to the SUV.

TBC…