Ties That Bind
Disclaimer: Refer To Chapter 1…
Plopping down in the booth beside her, Nick ventured, "Thought you had a date, Sara?"
Everyone's gaze gravitated to her. All too quickly, looking down at her hands nervously, she spat out, "It wasn't a date, and I only postponed."
"You cancelled a date for us?" Greg asked, shocked.
"Sometimes," Sara explained honestly, "some things are just more important."
"You're dating someone?" Grissom's voice seemed to startle everyone, himself included. He looked at her attempting neutrality. Grissom had never been one to interfere or even question anyone's personal life, and he hoped upon everything that no one had caught the amused tone in his voice.
"I—I… How'd we get on this subject?" Sara stumbled apprehensively.
Warrick saw her discomfort and saved her by swiftly switching the subject to him and Tina. He remarked at how he was happy for their breakfasts because he could eat anything and not have Tina censoring his food intake.
The conversation was light and very pleasant. It was a new start for the team. They were playful and relaxed. It was like a group of teenagers had taken over their bodies.
Lying in bed, Grissom looked down at Sara. She had her head lying on his chest, relishing the closeness, her arm draped over his stomach. Grissom rubbed her back with the arm he had underneath her.
"Why did you give me almost six years to tell figure out what I really wanted?"
"Six?" Sara scoffed, "More like almost ten."
"Ten?" Grissom asked incredulously.
"Yes, ten," she said, flabbergasted, "How easily you forget just what you and your bugs did when you swept into my life at that seminar."
Grissom smiled at the memory. "Me sweeping into your life? As I recall, it was you who was sitting in the classroom first, was the last to leave, and posed an insurmountable amount of inquisitive questions in between… I seriously thought of having security come and get you at one point." Sara poked him in the stomach, to which Grissom relented, "Okay, not seriously, but it was intimidating."
"I was upset when the seminar was over. The time was too short, and I was only too thrilled when you suggested we keep in touch. I couldn't wait for the next e-mail or phone call from you in those years. Oh, and those couple of other times we were able to meet when you were in town on business. Those were the highlight."
"You were so young and beautiful and brilliant. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. And, to this day, nothing had changed. I wish I had just relented back then and told you how I felt."
"We wouldn't be where we are today – neither of us."
"You don't know that," he countered.
"No, I don't know that, but it just feels like it. If we had discussed our attraction back in San Francisco, what would we have done? Me move here or you there? Where would we have gotten jobs? If I'd've moved here then, you wouldn't be a supervisor. If you'd've moved there, you'd always wonder what you were missing here. You gave Vegas its ranking."
"Do you ever miss San Francisco?"
"I used to. But, truthfully, not really. It was more of an occasional 'I wonder what they're doing now' feeling. You're here, and that's what I really wanted. I'd follow you to the most remote places on the planet just to be near you."
"So, you don't regret it?"
"No," she stated emphatically. "Not for a minute. Not only has it afforded me being close to you, but it's also been a wonderfully educational experience. I got the best of it all. I have learned so much being on your team. You're amazing… in so many ways. I wouldn't trade a minute of my experiences here in Vegas."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"Why did you ask me to come to Vegas?"
Grissom chuckled lightly, slightly stunned at the sudden shift in her questioning him. "I wanted to be close to you in the only way I felt I could at the time. You were so… well, everything. I was afraid I could never be what you needed, but I needed to be close to you. Your innocence and drive, your uniqueness, your hunger and passion for information and our profession were intoxicating. I was just afraid I couldn't give you enough."
Grissom kissed her temple and continued, "So, I took what I felt I could get, and that was you in a professional sense. At times it was so hard to differentiate because I did want more. After finding out you did too, it was even harder. I pushed you away because I was even more scared of getting hurt. I still feel I don't deserve you."
Sara kissed his stomach. "You're everything I've ever wanted and needed. I couldn't ever ask for more… Today… today I realized what it's going to take for us to be together, and I finally and completely understood some of your hesitation. It's going to be hard for us to work together. Working in the sense that there are other people involved that could get hurt. Or when I do something stupid, and you'll have to be there to reprimand me. Or if I do something stupid, and you get in trouble for it."
She hugged him tightly as she rambled on. "You're all I could think of after I said what I said to the team, and I worried what they might say to you… How you'd be forced to deal with me. I don't want to put you in that situation."
"Mmm. We'll figure it out as we go."
"I suppose we'll have to, because I'm not going to give up easily," she breathed. Anxiously, she spouted, "Hey, you'll never believe what Catherine told me today. She basically said that she was afraid of losing you to me because of our history."
"Catherine is insecure about losing me? But…"
"Yes, well, apparently, it's bothered a lot of people as to what you and I were before you invited me to stay, and just what your or my intentions were. She felt threatened by you picking me personally to work with you. She thought I was going to take her friend and then her job."
"You, um, didn't tell her about… us, did you?"
"Not exactly. I think she knows how we feel, but I assured her that there was nothing, and probably never would be anything, for her to feel threatened about. We made up, and I think everything is good. In fact, I talked to the entire team, and we all made amends of sorts today."
"I'm glad." Grissom sighed. "So, what do you want to do in our three hours before we have to leave for work?"
Sara giggled and looked up at him. "I have a few things on my mind." She moved up to lie beside him and kissed him passionately.
The screeching telephone beside him made Grissom grunt disapprovingly. A telephone call was the last thing on his mind. Still kissing Sara, he threw his arm behind him to the nightstand and fumbled for the phone. Finding it, he reluctantly pulled away.
"Grissom," he stated, looking longingly at Sara's lips, "… Okay, we'll he right there. … Well, um, I assumed other people would be called in as well. … I'll call Sara. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to come in early. … Be at the lab in forty minutes." He clicked the phone shut and sighed.
"Duty calls," Sara surmised with a grin.
"You ready to go to work?"
"It's what I live for," she replied, jumping off the bed and heading for the shower.
"Hey!" Grissom called out, "I didn't tell you how cute you were today wearing my T-shirt."
Sara peeked her head back in the room for a second. "That reminds me…" she said with a smile, "Do you have another I could borrow? I didn't bring anything to wear again."
"I'll never complain about your lack of clothing when we're in the house. However, I do find it my duty to mention that you may want to wear your own clothing to work from time to time before people become overly suspicious… You are more than able to bring over some items and leave them here."
Sara could not contain her happiness at that statement. She sprinted over to the bed and threw herself on top of Grissom. "Thank you."
Grissom hugged her and knew in that moment, everything was right in the world. He had his job, his happiness, and his Sara. Everything was molded together perfectly, and there was no way he could be any happier than he was right then.
The End
(Deep Bow)
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