DISCLAIMER:Don't Own it. No Money Made... Just for fun and enjoyment.

A/N: I decided it wasn't fair if Sara was the only person to suffer around here. ;)

REVIEWS: Thanks to all who have reviewed.


Chapter 39

Grissom was doing his absolute fastest work possible in order to finish his paperwork for the week. He had spent the last two shifts working side by side with Sara on the Rape/Homicide case, and neglected a few things that desperately needed to be finished before he could leave for the weekend. However, he did not regret the work which kept him from his other duties. It had been surprisingly enjoyable to watch someone else lead through a case, and it was made even more pleasant by the fact that Grissom was watching Sara come into her own, as well.

It had been an exciting and frustrating experience for him. Exciting, in that he was working with Sara and enjoying her company again, in a way he had been too afraid to try for a very long time. He had almost forgotten what a great team they once made. They had found that comfort level again, and then Grissom had to go and mess it up by showing his green-eyed monster.

After his epiphany regarding his relationship with Sara, he concluded that perhaps the educator Paul Eldridge was right when he said, "Jealousy would be far less torturous if we understood that love is a passion entirely unrelated to our merits." Grissom may not have ever felt truly worthy of her affections, but he had no choice but to admit that his jealous bone ached whenever he even contemplated her with someone else. He had finally reached the end of the rope that tied his fears to him, and he knew, without a doubt, the time had come for him to go or get off the pot. Sara deserves at least that much.

He was just getting to the last bit of paperwork he had left and was wondering why he ever started the next evaluation stage for Greg, because it was taking his precious time away. His time to go and talk to Sara, to try and find some way to tell her everything that had been going through his head over the last few weeks, to tell her that he finally knew "what to do about this." He looked up just in time to see Sara approaching his door. He was just about to call her name, when Nick came running up beside her and put an arm across her shoulders. Grissom listened intently to their exchange. It made him feel like a stalker, but he could not help himself.

"Hey Sar, whatcha got goin' on this weekend? Curlin' up on the couch, eatin' veggies and readin' forensic journals all weekend?" Nick was obviously trying to get a rise out Sara.

Sara repaid him with a quick elbow in the ribs which caused him to groan before she responded his jibe, "For your information, I have a date tonight, Mr. Smart Guy."

Grissom did not hear anymore of the conversation, or notice that both of his CSI's waved at him on their way past his door. There was only one thing occupying his mind at that moment; Timing really is everything.

When Catherine hung her head in the door to his office, he did not even notice. She had to holler his name a couple of times before he was finally ripped out of his shattered stupor. "Huh?"

"You need to get that checked again. I'm worried about you." Catherine came into the office and sat down opposite of him. When he gave her a puzzled expression she realized that it was just Grissom being Grissom and lost in his head again, "Never mind… Look, I'm on strict orders to make sure you don't back out of the party tonight. So, I'll meet you at your townhouse at five thirty, and we can ride over together."

Grissom shook his head a moment to clear the fog, "Wait, what orders?"

"Steph and her mom are convinced that you're gonna chicken out on the party tonight, so they enlisted me to get you there." Catherine just shrugged before continuing, "Anyway, I want to get there early to help Steph and Beth get things ready, and I bet Thomas could use your help with the table," Catherine was on a roll and Grissom struggled to keep up with her machine gun speech. "So I'll meet you at five thirty, and we'll ride over together, okay?"

Grissom slowly mulled over the information and then said, "Actually, I was going to walk over." He gave her a sideways smirk.

"Ah, no. My days of walking five or six blocks in a pair of heels are long gone, Gil. Besides, what happens if one of us gets paged?" Catherine was sure to get her point across.

Grissom nodded his head, "Point taken. Is there anything else being required of me this evening?"

Catherine thought about it a moment and then shrugged, "Nope, not that I can think of. Just make sure you look good. If I have to show up to a dinner party on your arm, then I want it to make a statement."

He bowed his head with another smirk on his face, "I'll even wash behind my ears."