A/N: Major thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this far along in the story! Mrs. Eads, I had to re-read your review a thousand times. This is my first time ever writing Warrick/Sara, and I was shocked! Anyways, this chapter is lighter and fluffier; a few friends of mine wanted some time to breathe ;)

Chapter Five: Chess Game of Love

"I'll trade you my tapioca pudding for a sip of your coffee," Sara told Warrick, holding the small package of pudding up with a smile. "Mmm… tapioca pudding- I know you can't resist that."

Warrick just laughed. "Sorry, Sara; as appetizing as you're making it sound, I'm afraid I can't give you any of my coffee."

Sara frowned. "And why is that?"

"Because it's caffeinated," Warrick informed her. "And it'll keep you awake. You need to rest."

Sara frowned. "One sip can't hurt."

Warrick just smiled. "Yes, it can, Sara, because then one sip will turn into two, and then three, and then four…"

Sara rolled her eyes. "Alright, I get it- no coffee."

Warrick grinned. "Besides- how could I deprive you of your delicious tapioca pudding?"

Sara shot him a look, her eyes narrowing. "Ha, ha, ha…very funny."

Warrick laughed. "Come on Sara- it's good for you! Eat up!"

"I think I'll pass," Sara said, pushing the pudding away from her. Warrick shrugged and picked the tray up, setting it down on the table connected to the bed. "So what are we going to do for entertainment in this place?" Sara asked.

Warrick smiled. "Draw faces on the people in magazines? Um, there are…thumb-wars, rock-paper-scissors?"

"I think that would get old rather quickly…there's only so many pages in those magazines…and only so many times you can look at pictures of Paris Hilton before you want to gauge your eyes out," Sara grinned.

Warrick just laughed. "That's very true," he told her with a nod. Sighing, he sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. Things to do…what was there to do in a hospital besides sit and bawl your eyes out while one of your loved-ones were in surgery? Not much, Warrick deducted.

Now Warrick tried to think of things he and Sara had done before together. They had watched TV…they had talked…not a lot, actually. Warrick didn't really know what Sara enjoyed; in the break room she usually sat with a book in her lap. But reading didn't sound like the most entertaining thing to Warrick right now.

What else had they done? Was there a game Sara liked? Checkers, Connect Four…

Then the little bell in Warrick's head dinged-

Chess.

They had played chess that night they were disproving spontaneous human combustion! They had just talked about it in the car, how could he have forgotten? They both had a lot of fun that night, joking around with each other as they each moved their chess pieces. Warrick wasn't surprised Sara liked chess- it was a difficult game, all things considered, once you read up on all the rules, and the names of the pieces, how they moved and what-not. It was a sophisticated game that required both skill and strategy.

A small grin found its way onto Warrick's mouth as his face brightened at the thought. Sara noticed how his eyes seemed to sparkle. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"I'll be right back," Warrick said. "I'm going to call Greg, I need to tell him something," he explained to her, getting to his feet. Stretching, Warrick headed to the door of the hospital room and opened it, closing it behind him. He almost ran to the pay-phones, he was so excited. And really, Warrick didn't know why he was so excited- did he like chess that much? Sure, it was a great game, but…it was hard to tell if Warrick was more excited about the game, or just about spending more time with Sara.

Walking over to the pay-phones located in the long hallway of the emergency room- a hallway which seemed to never end- Warrick reached into his coat pocket for some change. Hearing the sound of loose coins clinking around in his pocket, he pulled a handful out and went through them. Penny, penny, penny…nickel, penny, penny, dime, dime, dime, penny, nickel, quarter, dime, dime, penny, penny, quarter. That should be enough, Warrick thought.

Near the men's restrooms was a free payphone, and he took the phone off the receiver and slid the coins through the slot. After dialing Greg's cell phone number, Warrick looked around the small area where the phones were. There was something scratched on the wall- probably a phone number, by the looks of it. There was a yellow phone book to Warrick's left and a page torn out laying on top of it with the number for a Chinese take-out service.

"Hello?" Greg asked over the phone.

"Hey Greg," Warrick greeted, "How's everything going?"

"Pretty good," Greg said. "We went over to Sara's apartment and processed, we got quite a bit. She left all of the evidence in one piece, she's smart."

"Yeah, she is," Warrick said with a smile, though he knew Greg could not see him. "That's our Sara."

"Grissom and Catherine headed over to the address you gave us. They found quite a bit, too. Samples were sent to Wendy and Hodges, we're awaiting the results as we speak," Greg told him. "…So how's Sara doing? Better…?"

"Yeah, she's doing a lot better," Warrick said. "She's…smiling," Warrick said, his own smile only getting bigger and bigger.

"Well that's good," Greg grinned. "Will you tell her I said hi? Actually, tell her we all said hi."

"I will, Greggo," Warrick said. "But before I hang up, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Oh?" Greg asked, hearing a soda fall from the machine in the break room. Picking his soda up, he took the cap off and sat down in a chair, taking a sip. "What's that?"

"Go to my locker," Warrick told him, giving him the combination. Good thing I never took that chess set home after that night.

Greg laughed. "I get to look around in your locker? Wow, you must really trust me," he grinned. "Nah, no worries- so what do you want me to get from your locker?"

"Towards the back there's something that should look like a small wooden box. It has hinges on it that flip it over and turn it into a small board? It's a chess set; can you bring it over to the hospital?"

"Sure," Greg said, "Getting a little bored, are we?"

Warrick smiled. "Sara wanted something to do."

"Oh I see, so the six channels they have on the hospital television just aren't cutting it for her, eh?"

Warrick laughed. "Guess not; call her crazy."

"Alright, I'll be there in twenty."

"Thanks, Greg," Warrick said. Hanging the phone up, Warrick put his hands in his pockets and walked down the hallway toward Sara's room. This hallway was so long it reminded him of the hallway from The Shining. He almost expected to walk into a room and find the word 'REDRUM' etched on a wall, or maybe for a pool of blood to flood the floor from the elevator.

Good thing we're not in the world of Mr. Stephen King, Warrick thought to himself with a smile, heading back to Sara's room. Opening the door, he poked his head into Sara's room. "Heeeere's Warrick!"

Sara laughed. "What was that all about? Did you just recently re-read The Shining?"

"Nope," Warrick smiled, sitting back down in the chair. "But that hallway outside this room reminds of a scene from the movie."

"I see," Sara said. "So what did you tell Greg?"

"I just wanted to see how things were coming along," Warrick shrugged. "Oh, and by the way- everyone says hi."

Sara just smiled. "Well, that was nice."

Warrick nodded, returning the smile. He wasn't going to tell her what Greg had told him over the phone regarding the evidence with the case; he knew that she didn't want to think about that right now and neither did he. He was supposed to be lightening the mood, and discussing anything that had to do with what had happened to Sara wouldn't be all that cheerful, he knew that right away. And besides…they were having too much fun for him to ruin the mood.

"Listen, Warrick…" Sara trailed off. "I really, really want to thank you for everything you've done. You didn't have to do any of this, but…I'm really glad you did."

Warrick smiled. "No problem, Sara. That's what friends are for."

"Well, still," Sara smiled. "Really…thank you. I wouldn't want anyone else here right now but you."

"Well, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," Warrick told her, reaching over and gently squeezing her hand.

For a moment they both just sat there- actually, for quite a few minutes they just sat there, eyes-locked, looking straight at one another. Neither of them was sure if they even blinked once, but they certainly jumped when the door to the hospital room was opened.

"Hey!" Greg said, appearing through the doorframe with a smile, fashioning a black Jim Morrison t-shirt, wrinkled blue jeans and his signature converse sneakers. "How's it going, Sara?" he asked her.

"Pretty good," Sara smiled. "What are you doing here, Greg?"

"Ah well, Warrick asked me to bring him something," Greg said, holding the small box he had gotten from Warrick's locker in front of him. Looking over at Warrick, Greg laughed. "I gotta tell you, Warrick- it was pretty hard to find this trying to search through the bottles of Old Spice and Axe body spray."

Warrick laughed, taking the box from him. "Well, thanks anyways, Greg."

"Sure thing," Greg said. Walking over to Sara, he asked, "Can I hug you…? Or…will it mess up the machines?"

"Come here and give me a hug," Sara smiled, holding her arms out to Greg. He returned the smile and leaned down, gently hugging her.

"Feel better, okay?" Greg said. "Call one of us if Warrick starts driving you nuts."

"Hey!" Warrick said.

Sara just laughed. "I don't think that will be a problem, Greg. But thanks, anyways."

"No problem!" Greg said. "See you guys, later!" And with that, Greg disappeared behind the door, leaving Warrick and Sara once again alone. Warrick was glad Greg knew (or even forgot) not to tell Sara about the evidence regarding the case.

"So what did you have Greg bring?" Sara asked Warrick, looking down at the box with curiosity.

"Well…you said you wanted some entertainment," Warrick grinned. Unlocking the gold hinges on the light-wooden box, Warrick opened it revealing the small plastic black and white chess pieces inside.

Sara's face seemed to brighten up as she caught a glimpse of the pieces. "So that's why you called Greg!" she said, putting the pieces together. "You still had that in your locker after all these years?"

Warrick shrugged. "I thought it'd come in handy on a rainy day."

Sara just grinned. "So what color do you want to be?"

"Well, last time if I remember correctly…you were black. And, ladies first, of course! So, since black goes first, I suppose you're black, then!"

"Thanks," Sara smiled. After setting the chess board up on the table connecting to the bed- which was a perfect surface since Sara would barely have to move a muscle to reach it, and Warrick could just pull up a chair to- Warrick and Sara got to work setting their pieces in the right places on each individual square.

"64 squares, but so little space for you to run," Warrick said with a grin, actually immediately regretting his words the second they came out of his mouth. Damn…I hope that doesn't bring up bad memories for her.

Sara just laughed. "Someone's confident! You think you can win, Mr. Brown? Well I beat you last time, I can beat you again."

Warrick mentally sighed in relief. "We'll see about that, Ms. Sidle," Warrick countered, using her own last name. "Mind you, I have taken mental note that rooks move forward, backwards and sideways and that bishops move diagonally."

"Well, let's see if that knowledge stays with you!" Sara said as she finished setting her chess pieces up, setting her queen right next to the king on the brown square.

"Alright, your move," Warrick said, sitting back in his chair. Watching Sara, Warrick noticed how focused she looked. Her eyes moved from each individual chess piece- may if be pawn or knight- as she plotted her first move. Warrick started whistling to tease her, looking down at his watch on his wrist.

"Hey!" Sara laughed. "I'm concentrating, knock it off," she told him. Wrapping her fingers around her knight, she moved it in front of one of her pawns.

"Alright- my turn," Warrick said. Looking at each of his chess pieces, he picked one of the pawns up in the first row and moved it up two spaces so that it was only one space between Sara's knight. "Come here little horsy, you know you want to move so that I can diagonally jump you!" Warrick laughed.

Sara just laughed. "In your dreams," she told him.

Warrick had forgotten how good Sara was at chess, and that became quite clear to him about thirty minutes into the game, when she had all but two of his chess pieces and still had a fair number of her own. She had him trapped, Warrick knew it- he only had his king (which coincidentally was the most horrible piece in the entire game) and a pawn. He couldn't do much, and he could tell Sara's queen had her eyes on taking down his king.

"Damn," Warrick muttered.

Sara just smiled, resting her head against her elbow.

Warrick moved his pawn toward Sara's queen, immediately regretting the move as her queen took his pawn out in mere moments. "Damn it, I forgot the queen could do that," he mumbled.

Sara laughed. "Check, by the way."

Warrick sighed, looking down at his last-remaining piece. Damn you stupid little king. Why do I lose if I lose your piece? He thought to himself. Maybe because you're a little wuss- yeah, that's why. That's why you have to have fifteen other pieces including your wife here to save your ass.

"You look like you're deep in thought," Sara said.

Warrick grinned, looking up at Sara. "Well, I was just wondering why you lose if you lose the king. I mean really- why? He's the lousiest piece in the game, but it's understandable, I guess… that's why he's got fifteen other pieces including his wife here to save his ass."

Sara just laughed. "Do I sense you stalling for time, Mr. Brown?"

"Me? Stall? That's ludicrous; of course I'm not stalling for time," Warrick grinned. Without thinking, he moved his king.

Sara smiled and moved her queen next to space right next to the king. Warrick quickly noticed this- was Sara just tired, or was she not thinking? Wait…maybe she was doing this on purpose, to let him take the king.

"Oh no, you're not giving me a free shot," Warrick said.

"What?" Sara asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb," Warrick grinned. "Your queen just committed suicide."

Sara just shot Warrick a look, trying not to smile.

"Re-do the move, I'm winning fair-and-square," Warrick told her, handing her the queen back.

"Oh, so you don't like my generosity?" Sara asked, slowly reaching for the queen.

"I said I was going to beat you," Warrick smiled, his hand still extended to her with the piece in his hand. "I'm going to beat you my way, and my way's fair."

"Suit yourself…" Sara told him, reaching for the chess piece. Warrick now held Sara's hand in his as she curled her fingers around the piece- her skin was so smooth, why hadn't he noticed it before? Their eyes were still locked…why were their eyes still locked? He was giving her the chess piece back; there was nothing sensual about it! …Yet at the very same time there was.

"I…uh…" Sara couldn't find her voice. Her voice got caught in her throat. She had a perfect hold on the chess piece yet she did not move her hand from Warrick's. His hand was warm, and for some reason- a reason Sara did not understand- she did not want to move her hand.

"…You…uh…should go your turn," Warrick coughed.

"Oh! Right," Sara said. In her haste to move her hand, she accidentally knocked the entire chess board down. Warrick was quick, though, and he caught the board before it hit the ground. Unfortunately the chess pieces were not so lucky.

"I'm sorry!" Sara said, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. "God, I'm such a klutz…do you need some help?"

"No, it's okay," Warrick told her with a smile. "Rest assured, I can get it, and you're not a klutz, it was just an accident, no big deal."

Sara just nodded as Warrick kneeled down to retrieve the pieces. After getting the pieces around the bottom of the bed, he noted the queen still in Sara's hand. Smiling, he reached over for it, unintentionally leaning his chess against her stomach. "Sorry…" Warrick mumbled, trying to take the piece from her hand.

Sara laughed. "You want this piece?" she asked him, holding the queen up.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Warrick smiled. "I would really appreciate it."

"Okay, here you go," Sara said, handing it to him. As soon as Warrick was about to close his hand, Sara pulled it away from him again, holding it above her head.

"Hey!" Warrick laughed. "That was mean!" he added. After they playfully wrestled for the chess piece for a few moments, Warrick tripped over Sara's IV stand and landed on her bed- on top of her.

Both Sara and Warrick's minds couldn't register what was happening before it had already happened. As Warrick tripped he landed right on top of Sara, luckily not crushing her as he straddled her waist. Before he was able to prop himself up on his elbows, it was too late. His lips were pressed against hers and they were looking into each other's eyes.

Warrick knew this probably shouldn't have happened, even though it was an accident…

…but neither of them turned away.

Warrick didn't want to do anything to scare Sara, so instead he let her decide whether or not to break the kiss or to deepen it. He was surprised when he felt Sara tracing the outline of his bottom lip with her tongue, seeking entrance which he immediately granted. In seconds the kiss went from just an accident to something much more.

Finally they pulled away when they remembered they needed to breathe. They just looked at each other, never breaking eye-contact as they panted, trying to catch their breaths.

"…I love you," Sara whispered.

"I love you, too," Warrick replied.