October 2000. Las Vegas, Nevada.
He hadn't seen her for two years, but he spoke to her at least a couple times per week, and he loved her voice, which he could have identified anywhere. She was exactly as beautiful as he remembered, though he couldn't think about that, and he was so glad she'd come.
He looked older than he had the last time she'd seen him—his hair was greying more now, and he was a bit less fit—but she still thought him the handsomest man she'd ever seen; she may have been a bit biased. What had happened to the girl was a tragedy. She wished it could have been something less tragic that brought them together again. Still, she was glad to see him.
When it was all over, when Holly Gribbs's killer (her killer—the poor young woman had died) had been captured, they were all headed home. Well, everyone else was headed home. Sara lived in San Francisco, and, although she'd given Grissom a draft, she still had to finalize her report. She hadn't made a hotel reservation; she hadn't really had the chance. She looked at Grissom.
"Here, come with me," he said. "I have space."
So she went to Grissom's townhouse. Sara knew this man so well but had never even seen where he lived. He'd had phone sex with her from this townhouse even…. Okay, no, to be fair, she'd had phone sex with him. (Sara hadn't known what usually happened after she hung up the phone.) But it was still weird only now for the first time to be seeing where he lived.
When they got inside, she put down her bag, and before he could show her around she kissed him. She thought he might try to stop her, but he didn't, at least initially.
Then it came. "Sara…" he said.
She knew where this was going. "You're not seeing anyone, are you?" (She was about 95% certain he wasn't.)
"No," he said, "but…."
"I know the drill, Gil. I'm too young, you're too old, we live in different states, you're not looking for a relationship…." Sara rattled it all off.
He had to laugh at her ability to take the words right out of his mouth.
"Look, I've had a shitty day. You've had a shittier day. I think we could use something to take our minds off it. And I still think it could be nice," she told him. With that, she kissed him again. Then, maintaining eye contact with him, she moved back a little and started removing her clothes.
He couldn't take his eyes off her; she really was beautiful. Once she'd removed her clothes, she stepped forward and started removing his clothes, and she kissed him again. He'd found Sara could be very persuasive, and he couldn't really argue with her logic. So he kissed her back, and he moved her toward the bedroom.
It's a terrible thing to say, for such a shitty day, but it was still really quite marvelous.
Grissom had asked Sara to meet him the next morning after his shift ended, at the diner near the crime lab that his team often frequented. He was late, and, as she awaited him, she played with the sugar packets and sang under her breath, "I am sitting / In the morning / At the diner / On the corner / I am waiting…." She hoped he wouldn't keep her waiting too long.
After Grissom had arrived and they had placed their orders, he started to explain himself: "So, the team's down one since Holly's spot is now unfilled. Really we're down more, though, because I have to do paperwork Brass used to do."
"That sucks," Sara said in sympathy.
"I don't want to bring on someone who doesn't know what they're doing. We can't handle that again." He paused and sighed, then he continued, "I want someone I trust."
"Okay," Sara said, but she didn't understand where he was going with this.
He could tell she didn't understand. "I trust you," he told her.
"Thanks…" she said. She still didn't get it.
"I think you should join the team."
"Your team?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Your team's in Vegas," she said, stating the obvious.
"Yes."
"I live in San Francisco," she said, again stating the obvious.
"I think you should move to Vegas, Sara. I think you should move to Vegas and join the team."
For once, Sara didn't know what to say.
"You're a good CSI, Sara. You'd be a good addition to the team. I'd really like to have you here."
Sara wasn't used to being called good. She didn't like it.
Grissom could tell she didn't like it. Heck, he'd known that before he made the comment. He was baiting her. "You're not used to being called good, are you?"
She tried not to make a face at him.
"I'm sure in San Francisco you're a great CSI, Sara. At most of the labs in the country you'd be great, excellent even. I'm not grading on their scale. We're the number two lab in the country. We solve crimes other labs render unsolvable," he told her, echoing Brass's standard line. "Here, you'd start out good, but we can make you great. We can make you the best. I think you should consider it."
She was still pondering.
"Just think: you could be lab director someday—first female lab director in Vegas," he told her.
At this, she wrinkled her nose. "No, thanks, you can keep the administrative work; I'll stick with the science."
Grissom could hardly argue with her on that; he agreed completely. So he chose another tactic. "Come on, Harvard," he teased her. "You know you want the challenge." He winked at her. He didn't yet know the specifics of Sara's background, but he'd already surmised that she'd achieved what she had with her brilliance and her determination, not with money and connections.
Grissom looked quite smug. She could tell he felt he was getting to her. Sara wanted to wipe that big fat smug smile off his face. She wanted to wipe that big fat smug smile off his face with her mouth. The things this man could do to her…. But otherwise she still wasn't sure what to say. She needed to buy some time. She didn't want to make it quite that easy for him. "When do you need an answer?" she asked.
"I mean, it's not exactly a formal hiring process, but we are short, so probably sooner would be better than later," he told her with another smile, but this one was welcoming.
"Well, I told my boss I needed a few days off, so maybe just give me the chance to check out the city, try to see if I can picture myself living here. If you're okay with a houseguest for another few days, that is? Then I could have at least a bit of time for deliberations." As long as Sara was deliberating, she didn't work for Grissom; as long as Sara was deliberating, they could still—
"Sounds reasonable. I'm sure we can work something out," he said, smile deepening. Then it faded a little. "But Sara… if you do decide to stay on, this…" he said and gestured between the two of them, "this can't happen anymore."
"Yeah, I get it." She'd realized that already. She understood they'd be swapping one obstacle (distance) for another (employment relationship) and that, even without that, he still didn't think he wanted a relationship. A small part of her thought maybe she could eventually change his mind on the latter, though.
Grissom continued, "Also, Sara… if you decide to stay on, you probably shouldn't tell anyone about the…." He again gestured between them.
"The sex?" she responded and laughed.
He nodded.
"Thanks, Gil," she said and shook her head at him. "Having been born yesterday, I needed that particular piece of advice."
Their breakfasts arrived then, so they paused their discussion. For his part, Grissom was glad she was considering his offer. Sara wasn't considering the offer, though; Sara's so-called deliberations were only buying her a few more days with him. Although the caliber of the lab was the icing on the cake, Sara realized it really all came down to one thing: she wouldn't be able to turn down this man.
Sara knew he was quirky, but it didn't matter—quite the opposite, in fact; she found everything about him utterly irresistible. Every time she discovered a new quirk, something that might have sent other women running for the door, it only made her want him more. Every day she'd spent with him, she'd only wanted him more. Sara couldn't believe how much she wanted this man.
For the next few days, Grissom lent Sara his car while he was at work. He'd also given her a list of places she should check out. So she could report back to him, she drove around the city and out to both Red Rocks and Valley of Fire. She already knew, of course, what her answer would be. But he'd given her four days, and she was going to make the most of her deliberations. And, when he wasn't working or sleeping, they had a marvelous time.
On the day before she'd promised he'd get her decision, he even managed enough time away from work and sleep to take her out to Lake Mead for an early dinner. They drank beer and ate calamari, and Sara thought maybe life in Las Vegas would be pretty good. Afterward, they stood on the dock by the lake, and she kissed him, and she thought maybe life in Las Vegas could be very good. She wondered what it would take to change his mind.
Sometime later they lay in his bed. Gil Grissom still wasn't used to having such a very tall, very attractive, very naked woman in his bed. He knew he wasn't looking for a relationship, but Grissom was still amazed by this beautiful and brilliant woman. He hoped she'd stay in Vegas. He thought he should tell her how very beautiful she was, or maybe how very brilliant, or how very kind or compassionate or luscious. He couldn't say some of these things to her soon, if she stayed, so he should say them now. He looked down at her. "You are…" he said as he sought the right word. "You are so…." He kind of repeated himself; he still was trying to decide on the word he wanted. "You are so… completely fuckable." Grissom barely understood what he'd just said to her. It was possibly the least Grissom-like thing he'd ever said. Both Sara and Grissom would later blame Greg Sanders; it must have been Greg's influence. Nevertheless, he'd said it.
Lucky for him, Sara laughed. "Fuckable?" she queried, again laughing.
Grissom looked intently at her. "Fuckable," he confirmed.
"Well, okay, then," she told him, with a smirk. "Please proceed."
And so he did. It was marvelous.
That was the last night Sara and Grissom would spend together for many years—well, not the last night they'd spend together, but the last night they'd spend together naked. Sara, of course, accepted Grissom's job offer the next day, and Gil became Grissom. Grissom himself, though always a somewhat awkward soul, withdrew even further over the next few years; Holly Gribbs's death, his new responsibilities as graveyard shift supervisor, and his feelings about his otosclerosis all took their toll—as did his continued efforts to suppress his feelings for the lovely Ms. Sidle. Sara herself was perhaps somewhat less cocky and confident, in personal matters, than she had been that day in San Francisco when she'd kissed Grissom while standing before the Golden Gate Bridge.
If they'd known then what they and we know now—that it would take them quite so many years and so much angst to be together once more—perhaps Sara and Grissom would both have suggested Sara take another week so they could at least enjoy further her so-called deliberations. But they didn't, so that was that. Luckily, we know what Sara and Grissom didn't for quite some time: though it was still a long time coming, eventually Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom would get their happy ending. For Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom had fallen in love, and this was just the first loop in their roller coaster ride. And, as promised, this story got Sara Sidle to Vegas.
Not nearly the end, but the end of the beginning.
UP NEXT: PREVIEW: NEXT STORY: NO, I NEVER MEANT TO BREAK YOUR HEART: THIS AREA WAS ALWAYS A GOOD PLACE FOR STARGAZING: A HOW THEY GOT TOGETHER STORY.
SOUNDTRACK LISTING:
DNA ftr. Suzanne Vega. "Tom's Diner (7" Version)."
The Who. "Who Are You."
EPISODE REFERENCE(S)
01x02. "Cool Change." Original air date: October 13, 2000.
A/N:
On what's next:
Since I'm writing the scenes and events that make me happy (basically the stories I have told myself to fall asleep at night!), the next story is on how the science nerds got together in Vegas. I have reread it way more often than the editing process necessitates, because it indeed makes me very happy. It's about 10,000 words, to be posted in four parts (with four chapters and two mini-chapters). The first part should be up in a couple weeks or so. Since FFN does not have a series feature, I will post a preview here when the next story starts.
And let's not forget:
Thank you so very much for reading and so, so very much for the kind reviews/favs/follows! (This week I plan to figure out replying to the reviews individually!) I love this story (and the science nerds, of course), so it very much makes my day or even week to know anyone else is enjoying it, too! I really hope you have enjoyed this first story, and, if you're reading this, I'd love to hear from you! Many thanks in advance! 💛
Finally, I hope you'll be back for the next story, too, because our two lovely science nerds… well, they're just getting started.
