Grissom had finally completed the final paperwork on the case. He sat at his desk and
smoothly removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose in thought. How could he
put an end to the misery he had caused for himself and Sara. He was worn from the
emotional roller coaster he had ridden today. He wondered whether he should make an
effort tonight. Was it too late? Whoa now there is a loaded question. Grissom slumped
forward leaning his elbows on the remaining file folders and wondered if their
relationship was as hopeless as the big fish board containing the unsolved cases.
"I can't just sit around pondering the 'coulda 'shoulda 'woulda's. I need to go and determine 'What to do about This'. I just hope I am not too late."
He had no grand plan, no romantic gesture of flowers or chocolate as this would seem
presumptuous. Grissom knew that "This" whatever it was, would need to be taken at a
snails pace if he hope for it to progress into something salvageable. He needed to open
up and admit his feelings, no matter how difficult that may be. Picking up his jacket he
strode confidently out to the Denali and unlocked the door. It may not have been the key
to his future, but he had to think in simplicity so that he did not become overwhelmed.
The key was only a key. There were no metaphors here. Adjusting himself behind the
wheel he contemplated how Sara would react and the thought scared him beyond belief.
He was not a man to deal well with the unknown, especially when he had created so
many factors that may sway her towards a negative position. Grissom was not a man to
give up too easily on something that he was focused on so he started the engine and
made a steady path towards Sara's apartment. Although he had only been there once he
could not forget the path towards his destiny.
Arriving at the apartment he swiftly exited the truck and headed to her door. He could not
chance a look back now. He needed to do this. He had no idea what he was going to say,
no planned speech or soliloquy to recite, just raw emotion. He stood just far enough
away from the peep hole so that Sara could make the decision to speak to him, or not. He
figured the rejection would be easier this way. After all, how could she not be aware that
he had openly made an effort to flirt with her earlier in their shift?
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at Mouth to Mouth." No misinterpreting that little slip.
He had unwittingly let his desires speak before his mind had caught up.
However, a gentleman always lets the lady decide her fate. He had thrown out the line,
and now it was her choice how far she wanted to run with it, if at all. Swallowing his
pride and his fear, Grissom knocked on the door….the lights were on, and her truck was
parked outside, she must be home, Grissom knocked again…
One hour earlier…
Sara dragged herself up the stairs and unlocked the door. She unwillingly trailed into her
apartment understanding the stench of loneliness. She eyed the half empty cartons of
leftover Chinese food teetering on her crammed side table. Sara had once upon a time
thought about quitting her overindulgence in take out cuisine, but she had given up on
alcohol and Grissom…what else was left? And besides, she had not been able to gain a
pound lately. She didn't want to think of the reasons for her drastic weight loss, but if
she was forced to take one guess, she would name one name that caused her stress. She
had plenty of time but just had no more emotion to question Griss's motives for what he
had said today. She rifled it into her mental rolodex as a Griss'ism and left it at that. No
more overactive imagination at the hidden meanings and no more speculation on why he
had said those specific words to her. Why not Sophia, Catherine or even Lady
Heather…then again, they probably already knew of his talents in mouth to mouth.
"Why am I doing this to myself? STOP IT, NOW!"
Lethargically she stumbled her way into her bedroom in search of her favorite flannel
pajamas. Not an easy task, even for a trained investigator. Clothes were strewn about in
all directions and her bed was in a disarray of sheets and pillowcases. As tired as she
was, Sara decided that she needed to clean up her life, and the bedroom was a good start.
She shuffled through items eventually recovering her pajamas and then trudged to
towards the washroom for a bath. The life organization could wait until she had gotten
some relaxation. Picking up her towel from the linoleum and placing it alongside her
flannels she ran the tub and began to hum along to one of her favorite songs about
unrequited love. Dipping in a toe she heard a quiet knock on the door. She forced herself
to keep away the romantic notions that one day perhaps it would be Grissom on the other
side. In her version he would sweep her up and profess his undying love and affection.
Sara knew that it would only be her nosy neighbor once again and decided to close the
bathroom door and drown out her desires in bubbles and steam as she relaxed into the
warm water along the smoothness of the porcelain surface. She was unaware when the
knocking stopped.