Learning Boundaries
Disclaimer: Refer To Chapter One.
Together, they walked from the lab. Grissom placed a hand on the small of her back as he led her out the door and to her car. It was instinctual, and Grissom almost pulled his hand back when he realized what he had done. The internal struggle waged in him between wanting to touch her and not wanting to indicate that there was more.
Grissom was not sure this was a great idea to go out to lunch. But, he continued to tell himself that it was a lunch between coworkers, not a lunch between two people that had feelings for each other. His entire being was torn between wanting her to be happy and him wanting her to himself.
If there was a possibility that Sara believed this was more, she might decide to be withdrawn again and lose that damn smile that irritated him so much. It was not her smile that irritated him, but that the smile was not meant for him. He realized that as he pulled completely away from her that was the time she had become the most happy in recent years.
They stopped at her car. It was then that he removed his hand. "Any special place you want to go eat?" he heard himself asking. Immediately, Grissom hated the way the words came out.
Sara turned around after unlocking the door. The sound in Grissom's voice made her hesitate a little herself. God, Sara thought, this is awkward. She hated the impulse she had had to ask him to lunch, but there was no way out of it now – unless he wanted out.
"Um... I... we don't have to do this..." Sara stammered.
"What about waffles?" he asked with a small with a hint of a grin.
Sara felt herself relax just a little. They had been together for most of the night. They had talked for hours about anything and everything they could think of, and now, she was having trouble picking food for the meal she had just asked him to. "Waffles sound... good."
They agreed on the diner just down the road, and the waffles were rumored to be stellar. It was a place that neither of them had been to before, and it sounded like fun to try something new. After agreeing where to go, they both got in their vehicles and left the crime lab parking lot.
Inside the diner, Grissom and Sara sat opposite each other at a booth, both waiting on their order of waffles to be delivered. Conversation was light. After all the hours they had talked there were still little things to talk about – weather, news, Vegas – anything neutral. Even though dead bodies and talking about them was commonplace, neither approached the subject of work.
The meals were delivered, and the talk continued just the same. Both of them were relaxing and feeling completely comfortable. The lunch was over too quickly. Grissom paid the bill, to which Sara disagreed furiously.
"Grissom, I asked you to lunch. This isn't fair," she protested.
"Fair or not, you're not paying. Not this time." He eyed her quizzically before adding, "You can pick up the tab on our next lunch."
Sara found herself almost speechless. As stunned as she was, she replied, "Okay. That's a deal."
The friendship was rekindled. It was almost as if she had just stepped off of the plane and entered Las Vegas for the first time. They could look at each other and talk. They could be together and not worry about what they might say to screw it up. Both went home to relive the events of the day.
Days passed faster than ever. The lab was comfortable again. Neither Sara nor Grissom had mentioned the lunch to anyone, and they had not approached going out to another meal alone together. It was not intentional, but it had just not come about in the course of events.
The cases had been hard, but the CSIs were tougher. Through it all, they were still a family. They had even gotten Grissom to go to breakfast or out for drinks a couple of times when they got off at the same time.
Catherine talked to Grissom, and he had actually thanked her for the insight into what had become a very tense situation. And, he invited her over to his townhouse for breakfast a few times. Once, he even went to a park with her and Lindsey on a Saturday. He felt like he was part of the living world again.
Everything was perfect, or so Grissom thought. He went to work one fateful Sunday night with that thought on his mind. Happily he had placed his jacket on his chair in his office, checked his messages, and picked up the assignments for the group. He was about to head to the breakroom when he heard voices filtering down the hall catching his attention.
From the darkness of his office, he watched Sara and Greg laughing, walking down the hallway. Grissom then watched as Greg put an arm around Sara's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Every single nerve in Grissom's body tingled with anger at that moment in time.
However, that anger only increased when he saw Sara put her arm around Greg's waist and pull him closer as they walked. His face turned red and he pulled back further into the darkness as they passed his office. Not that it mattered if he hid in the shadows, because they were obviously not paying attention to anyone else.
It was then that Grissom realized he had missed his chance. Sara had given him a way in time after time, and he was just too afraid to take the risk. It had been so good between them for the past few weeks. It was like he had his Sara back. But, she was not his Sara anymore. She was never really his Sara at all.
His heart broke into tiny pieces, and he wanted to walk out there and rip Greg's head off. It was not rational thought, but it was still how he felt just thinking of someone else touching Sara. He liked Greg, he did, but this was just too much to handle. Grissom wondered how he had missed the signs. And, he could not help but wonder when it had all started.
His emotions were out of control. Grissom forced himself to calm down. He had no right to be angry with Sara or anyone she chose to be with. She was young and beautiful and sexy and happy. There was no guy in their right mind who would pass up the opportunity to be with Sara Sidle. Grissom had not felt in his right mind in a long time.
Her smile was infectious. Everyone in the breakroom had caught it by the time Grissom walked in. Grissom cleared his throat, interrupting the festive time that the team was having. He eyed each of them, making them feel guilty for having too much fun.
"Nick, you and Sara are on a DB on Stoney Bluff Ave." he said as he handed the paper to Nick. "Warrick, you're on a suspicious circs over on Freemont St." He handed the paper to Warrick. "Catherine, you and Greg have a DB of your own at the Bellagio." He said not another word as he handed the paper to her and walked from the room.
"What's with him?" Nick asked.
"Who knows what makes him tick," Warrick replied walking from the room, "He's up and down like his own personal roller coaster."
They all went to work and left Grissom filling out forms and paperwork in his office. As time carried on, Grissom felt himself coming to a conclusion about Sara. As much as he wanted to be with her, he felt it would not be right to either of them. Sara looked happy with Greg, and if that was what she wanted, then so be it.
A conversation in the hallway made him question his own sanity. Judy was standing by the water cooler talking to one of the newest receptionists. She was telling the new girl all of the office gossip and giving a little who's who of the building.
Judy whispered, "Greg's a real flirt. He'll do anything to get attention. Today, he told me he and Sara – she's the dark-haired, moody CSI you bumped into earlier in the shift – made a bet. He lost the bet on purpose. His part of the bet was that he'd have to shower her with small gifts and flirty stuff for 24 hours."
Judy glanced around in the hall before continuing. "He's got a little crush on her… but if you ask me, Sara's interested in someone else here in the building. Greg's a good catch. Fun to be with. You two would be a really cute couple. I'm going to have to introduce you when we see him around again tonight."
They giggled like a couple of schoolgirls, walking off down the hallway heading back to their desks. Grissom forced himself to forget the hallway conversation and get back to work. He shook his head wondering how he could be so clueless when everyone else in the building seemed to know more about Sara than he did.
