Disclaimer: I would have a major claim to fame if I owned CSI, but I'm nobody famous. Instead, I'll sit in my humble abode and pretend by writing for these characters what TPTB has decided not to tell us. CSI belongs to CBS...


A/N – I thought of this a long time ago, but just never put it into words. The thing about Sara's badge always bothered me (you'll understand later... I think), and I don't know if anyone has ever tried to explain it, but I just did it for myself. There are references to many of the episodes up through season 5 that lend to back story, but this story ends just after 2x12 You've Got Male.


First Impressions


Yawning tiredly, the twenty-four year-old, leggy brunette staggered from her car and up to her apartment door. Thank God I live on the first floor. I'm too tired to walk up a flight of steps, she thought, How am I going to make it through a lecture today? She fumbled with her keys for a moment. Her resolve was almost slipping as she thought of the lecture.

She threw her purse and keys on the coffee table. Sighing resignedly, she started disrobing quickly and strode into the bathroom. Absentmindedly, she started the shower water to get it to a tolerable temperature. Leaving the bathroom, she finished undressing while on the way to the bedroom.

Longingly looking at the bed, she felt her resolve slipping again. There would be no time to sleep after the lecture. For once, she cursed the fact that she worked the evening shift. It worked out perfectly for auditing lectures except when she ran into doubles like she had been for the past week. Doubles were a killer on any shift, but working from four to midnight makes it increasingly harder to get away. No one expects someone to have anywhere to go in the middle of the night.

The bed would have to wait, she decided. It would make for a really long shift, but hopefully, there would not be another double on her plate. She was known for her ability to run on a little or no sleep, but she was only human. At some point, everyone had a stopping point. Hopefully the chilly air of the upcoming winter would keep enough cool air around her to hold off the tiredness until she was able to put a few hours together to take a much-needed nap.

One last look at her bed, and she went to the closet hastily pulling clothes out that would have to be sufficient for the lecture. It was just a forensic lecture, after all. There was not one single reason to get dressed up. The clothes would also serve for her to work in, but there was no real dress code at work as long as she was presentable.

Only got a few minutes to get to the campus. Get it moving, girl, she chided herself. She strode back to the shower and quickly scoured off the grime from the evening with corpses and killers and rapists. Sometimes, she mused about working at a fast food restaurant and coming home smelling like grease or hamburgers. It had to be better than the smell of rotting flesh.

She dressed in nothing flat, as was expected in the line of work. She had learned a long time ago that in order to be successful that she had to be prepared for anything and everything that could happen and be ready to move in a moment's notice. Haste may make waste in the outside world, but to a Crime Scene Investigator, it was waste that made the haste. Time was always of the essence.

The drive to the college campus was quick. Sometimes it was a curse to live so close with all the college kids roaming around, but today it a blessing. She was glad not to have to drive so far from her apartment. Any other day she may have walked the couple of miles, but there was neither the time nor the energy available for the small luxury.

Damn it. I'm late, she cursed herself. It was only five minutes, but her pride still hurt. She valued herself by always being on time, if not early. She hoped it was not one of those typical arrogant professors who would berate people for being late, and she could just slip in quietly with her dignity still intact. Maybe there would be a seat in the back row. It was not her typical choice, but there was not much room to quibble right then.

The door was shut. Not one to be put off by that, she opened the door and walked in. The lecturer was standing at the dry erase board in the front of the room writing something in Latin. She took it as her chance to sneak in. Looking around the room, she spotted a couple of lone chairs in the front of the room.

This was going to prove to be a little more difficult, but it would have to be done. Her long legs carried her quickly to the desk. At first glance, it almost appeared as if she had made it unnoticed. Almost being the operative word. The instructor's hand stilled on the board.

"And you are?" he asked without turning around. His voice was light, yet demanding, at he completed the word on the board.

The brunette glanced around her. He can't be talking to me, can he? He's got to be talking to someone else... I hope, she thought. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, only to see that every eye was on her. She glanced back up in front of her at the man leading the room.

He spun on his heels. "I believe I asked you a question," he growled. His eyes met hers in a deadly glare. It was a clashing of the wills as their blue and brown eyes collided in a fiery gaze.

She furrowed her eyebrows and snorted lightly. There's no way she was announcing herself to the rest of the room. She may be late, but she would rather be kicked out than tell everyone who she was. Anonymity had always been her friend. Just who did this conceited jerk think he was to demand her name?

"I don't believe you need my name unless the rest of the room is going to introduce themselves as well," she retorted haughtily. She set her face to stone as she stared back at him. Two could play this game.

"If someone is going to make a mockery of my lecture, I would at least like to be offered the courtesy to know who they are," he replied flatly, never averting his eyes from hers.

This man truly was indecipherable. His voice, his face, and his body language were all empty and unreadable. Her first impression of him was leaving a serious distaste on her palate. He could only be described as frigid.

The sleepy part of her gave in. She just wanted the lecture to start so she could immerse herself in it. Her voice came out more soft than she anticipated as she stated, "I'm sorry to have given you that impression. It was not my intention at all. I was just running a bit behind from work this morning, and I mean no disrespect." She flashed a small smile at the end hoping to warm him up a little, and maybe get him off her case.

"Apology accepted – this time. I would suggest that you not allow this to happen again for the remainder of the lectures this week... because I will not allow it to happen again." He pursed his lips and tilted his head slightly at her, almost challenging her to say something else.

There were a few slight wisps of grey in his hair that gave him more of an authoritative tone and softened him at the same time. It gave him a distinguished air that held her gaze almost as much as his eyes. He looked handsome and menacing at exactly the same moment. How could one man be so contradictory?

She bit back her reply. He was treating her like a child, but it was no use arguing. She wanted and needed the lecture. Her mind was open to any knowledge she could get her hands on, and forensics called for being continually updated. That, and there was something about this man. She could not keep herself from staring into those eyes.


He dismissed the class with a few parting thoughts about making sure they were prepared for the class the next day. He had eyed the late brunette specifically when he had said it. He would not tolerate her interrupting the class again, no matter how intriguing she was.

Lunchtime had come and gone. The brunette had actually come back after lunch. That was the first time that anyone had ever done that after one of his intimidating speeches to anyone who arrived late. He must be slipping and would have to kick it up a notch next time.

She had yawned a lot, and it had been excruciatingly distracting at first. He had to give her credit for trying to hide it, however. She had stayed awake and even taken notes, something that a he found he could not say for some of the other class participants. Her incessant questions about that subject matter had also bothered him at first. That was until he realized she was that hungry for knowledge and was actually absorbing the material.

To say that he was impressed would have been an understatement. There was something about this young woman that captured his attention. He busied himself putting his papers away in his briefcase, contemplating what he was going to do for dinner. That was until he heard a voice from behind him.

"Sara Sidle," she stated firmly.

There was a name to go with that throaty voice and hauntingly beautiful brunette from earlier. He turned around with an amused smile on his lips. This woman never did cease to amaze him. Anyone else would have run out of the room after class. Instead, this woman – no, girl – chose to confront him. Was she afraid of anything?

"Gil Grissom," he replied, holding out a hand to her.

He watched as she smiled broadly back at him and reached out to take his hand. Her handshake was firm and soft at the same time. "I wanted to apologize for real this time, and to tell you that I truly enjoyed the first day of the lecture. I look forward to the rest of the week."

He looked at her quizzically for a moment. "For real this time?" he asked as he reluctantly released her hand.

"I wasn't exactly being sincere earlier. I didn't want to get into a battle in front of the entire class. And, I really wanted to hear the lecture. So, getting kicked out wasn't something I wanted to happen either. I was—am tired, and I may have acted like an ass earlier." Sara rolled her eyes at herself, realizing the speed at which she could use words to make herself appear to be a total fool. Her mouth had often acted before her brain had time to censor what she was thinking, but more in anger than in useless excuses.

"I hope you're not like that to your usual professors here." He tried to soften his tone from the almost condescending, but it still came out snippy.

Sara made no move to correct his assumption that she was still in college. It really was none of his business that she already had her master's degree and a well-respected job at the San Francisco Crime Lab. She was merely here to learn, and he was here to teach.

"Well, I've got to get to work. It really was a pleasure," she said sincerely.

He narrowed his eyes. "I thought you came from work this morning." His tone held a note of disbelief. He was trained to spot these little inconsistencies, after all.

"No rest for the weary, unfortunately. I pulled a double," she admitted, "I generally work the evenings... It gives me time to use daylight to my advantage, and still sleep when normal people do." Sara's eyes widened into an almost shock-like state. "I—I've gotta go," she stammered.

Her usual confidence had just shattered before her very own eyes. Sara rolled her eyes at herself again as she spun and nearly sprinted for the door. For some reason her mouth had found that time to start spouting anything that sprang into her brain. It really was something that had never happened before and would give her something to ponder later.

A very confused Gil Grissom was left standing in her wake. He watched her leave and stared at the empty door for a few minutes before he was able to regain his thoughts. He picked up his briefcase and shook his head. Grissom had a feeling it was going to be an extremely interesting week with her attending his lecture.


Food was forgone in lieu of a one-hour nap in her car in the parking lot of the SFPD Crime Lab. There would be time to eat later that evening if everything went well. At this point, her body needed a little recharging, however short it was.

Sara's cell phone alarm buzzed, jolting her awake in an instant. Groggy from just waking up, she had to fight the instinct to answer it, thinking it was a call. She rubbed her eyes furiously with the palms of her hands. She had just enough time to get inside and grab a cup of coffee before assignments were handed out.

"Sidle, you've got a DB. Here's your assignment. Don't waste time getting there," her supervisor ordered, thrusting a paper into her hand, "All the info you need is on there."

He walked away without further conversation. Hello to you, too, she thought, I didn't even get a cup of coffee, yet. She listened to her supervisor walking away talking on his cell phone to someone asking for some consultation and promising a favor in return.

Sara blinked the sleep from her eyes and walked to the coffee pot, grabbing a cup to go. It could not be dismissed as easily as the food was. Coffee was an essential to staying up at this point in her life. That dead body would have to wait for a few minutes longer. Not like the DB is going anywhere, she mused.


Sara arrived at the scene as quickly as she could. Hauling her kit out in an exasperated manner, she took in the scene. No partner tonight, she realized. It would make for a better night that way – no need to entertain anyone else. She decided she was in no mood for conversation anyway.

She talked with the officer securing the scene and found the body. The coroner was kneeling over the body when she walked up. She gave him a once over, not really looking at the body itself just yet. She left him to examine the body while she took in the rest of the scene. She would get her chance to inspect at the body as soon as he was done. There was no use in crowding him.

"Hey, Chuck, how're you doing?" She asked lightly, laying her hand on his shoulder in greeting.

"Better than this poor bastard," he quipped sarcastically. "Although, his bad day started a while back. I can't give you an accurate TOD."

"You will once you get back him back to the morgue," she stated flatly, assuming he was just speaking of an immediate answer. Sara's mind was elsewhere trying to read the rest of the scene and look for anything that would lead to a killer.

"No, no. I won't be able to give you a definitive TOD. I'll have to leave that up to someone that knows something more about these little guys." He indicated towards the body with a wave of his hand as if Sara was watching him.

She turned her head to look at him, and then down at the body in front of his knees. There was something off about the body. Sara focused her eyes on it while walking a few steps closer. She squinted her eyes and smirked.

"Cool. Bugs. Bonus! I get to put some of my new knowledge to work tonight." She knelt down beside the body, shoulder to shoulder with the ME. Sara placed her hand on his knee for a little light support as she bent in for a closer inspection.

Her emphatic reply would have made the ME worry a little about her mental state if he had not already known her for a few years. He just looked over at her a little wearily and shook his head. Sometimes she enjoyed her work a little too much.

An officer called over to her, "Hey, Sara! I'm sending a guy your way. Harrison sent him to help you with the collection tonight."

Sara did not even bother to acknowledge the remark. It was not like she could do anything about it anyway. Her supervisor, Ben Harrison, could really be inconsiderate sometimes. He sent her out to the dead body without telling her that he was sending her someone to help. Now she was going to have to entertain someone – probably a rookie. This was definitely going to require more coffee.

The man walking up to her was a little cautious. It was not a vacation he was on, but he certainly had not expected to be called to a crime scene. It was to be expected in his field of expertise, however, and he was a workaholic. So, he was looking forward to working the scene. On top of that, he would be owed a favor in San Francisco that he could call on in a time of need.

Grissom continued walking down the little walkway that he was directed towards the body. The officer had directed him to a woman named Sara. He hoped this one was a little nicer but just as good looking as the last one. She had a temper, he could tell. But those eyes... He forced himself to stop thinking about a woman and focus on the scene – that was why he was called.

Hearing footsteps coming up behind them, Sara stood and turned around abruptly. She almost tripped backwards as she came face to face with her lecturing entomologist. His blue eyes bored into hers as they stared each other down. Head to toe, each of them gave the other a once over.

The ME turned slightly, calling over his shoulder before getting to his feet. "Hey, Gil. Good to see you again. What's it been? Three... four years?"

Grissom hesitantly tore his eyes from Sara to look at the coroner. "Well, hello, Chuck. And, no, it's been more like five years. How fast time flies when you find another entomologist to do your dirty work." He smirked at the addition of the last statement.

"Ah, don't be bitter. You know they don't compare to you, they're just cheaper," Chuck replied sarcastically with a little raise of the eyebrows. "But, you might have some competition on your hands. Our resident physics expert has decided to take an interest in bugs." He glanced sideways at Sara, who had remained quietly absorbing the conversation thus far.

"Oh, really?" Grissom smirked again and glanced at Sara himself. He tipped his head to the side slightly. "Someone thinks they know a lot about the insect population, huh?" He was deliberately baiting her with his light tone.

"Oh," Sara replied, finally able to close her gaping mouth and make words, "I know enough to get by."

The ME felt a little tension. He watched Sara and Grissom eyeing each other. Not being a trained or astute investigator, he assumed it was because the two had not yet been introduced. He gestured towards Sara, saying, "Where are my manners? Gil, this is—"

"We've already met," Grissom interrupted. "It's nice to see you again, Sara Sidle."

"Ah, well... um... I'll leave you two to the body, then. Let the boys know when they can take it away." With that, he was brushing past them.

"You didn't tell me you were a CSI," Grissom accused her once they were alone. He kept his tone light and playful.

Sara smirked. "You didn't ask," she countered.

Grissom pursed his lips into a line. "Fair enough. What else don't I know about you?"

"Oh, a lot of things," she toyed with him. Sara flashed him her famous wide smile before turning back to the body.

Grissom winced a little. If she smiled like that at him more often, he might just fall prey to her feminine wiles. She had a mouth on her, that much was evident. He had seen it earlier, but now it was in full bloom. Sass, intelligence, and beauty all wound up in a package was both deliciously and dangerously inviting.

"Body's not getting younger, Grissom. You're the bug guy. So, you might want to get over here and harvest these little critters soon," Sara called over her shoulder while she was picking up some fibers off the body.

Sara was not only inviting, but distracting. Grissom could plainly see he was going to have to force himself to concentrate while he was around her. He shook his head as if that would help him free his thoughts of her and knelt down at her side.

"I don't have my k—"

Sara was already in the process of handing him a jar along with a pair of latex gloves. "I have everything you need," she cooed lightly.

Not missing a beat, Grissom winked at her. "I bet you do."

The next few hours went along the same lines. Grissom helped Sara process the scene in its entirety. Each anticipated the other's move almost before they made it. It was the perfect harmony. Sara, like Grissom, had never worked with someone so fluidly. They each, though either would be loathe to admit it, thought how hard it was to work with people sometimes.


"Hey, Grissom, you going to stay here all night?" Sara asked of him, walking into the layout room. She raised an eyebrow as if that would enforce her question a little more.

"The life of an entomologist is boring. Someone has to watch these little guys mature." He barely looked up from his journal he was jotting notes in.

Sara plopped a bag down on the counter. "Hungry? I'm quite sure you've yet to eat, since I know I haven't."

Grissom peered up over the journal and stared at her. He had known her less than twenty-four hours, and here she was bringing him food. They were almost complete strangers who got off to a very rocky start when they first met. Sara Sidle was one puzzle that he was sure would be intriguing to figure out.

"How do you know I'm going to like it?" he asked with a lift in his voice.

Sara frowned at him playfully. "A turkey sandwich is hardly something that most people find offensive. So, unless you're allergic to wheat bread, turkey, tomato, lettuce, or mayonnaise, eat up."

"What if I'm a vegetarian?" he asked, toying with her.

"You're not. I'm trained to spot the clues. I saw you eating a club sandwich for lunch today in the lunchroom. Anyway, it most often takes a woman to make a man a vegetarian." She swatted him playfully on the arm and slid one of the sandwiches over towards him. "Free food. Eat it."

It was Grissom's turn to frown. "And you know I don't have a woman to turn me into a vegetarian how?"

"I'm an investigator, and a damn fine one at that. You may not think highly of a CSI 2, but I know my job." Sara took a bite of her own sandwich.

"You didn't answer my question," Grissom prodded, unwrapping his proffered sandwich.

Sara sighed through another bite. "Good God, Grissom, it's not rocket science. Although, I could handle that just as easily. You're not wearing a ring, you're sitting here with me eating a turkey sandwich, you're watching bugs mature, and you've yet to make a phone call to anyone to let them know what you're doing."

Grissom watched with rapt interest as she rambled on. She took another bit of her sandwich before she continued. "You're a workaholic – it goes with the territory. Before you ask how I know that, it's because you're sitting in a CSI building pinning bugs on a board when you're only in the city to lecture."

She took another bite, barely glancing at him while she was talking. "Anyway, you don't get called for a second date when the first one gets interrupted by a call to a scene. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

Grissom stared at her, dumbfounded. "Do you ever shut up?" His voice took on a snippy tone, which went against his intent for there not to be one.

"I, uh... I... usually, yeah. I don't ever talk this much. I—I'm sorry. If I'm bothering you, I'll just go." She stood from her seat and turned for the door. Sara's over-talking was really getting on her nerves. What was with her and her sudden incessant babbling?

Grissom reached out and grabbed her arm. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. I appreciate the sandwich, and I don't mind your talking. I was just surprised, that's all. I would rather you stayed here with me." He looked at her sincerely while his eyes pleaded with her to sit back down.

Sara looked at him for a few seconds, scrutinizing his face, making sure he was serious. "Okay, I'll stay on one condition," she relented.

"What's that?" he asked, utterly intrigued.

"You tell me more about these bugs and what's happening. If you're teaching, and I'm learning, I won't feel the need to talk so much." She gave him another of those very large grins he could not resist.

Grissom licked his dry lips and narrowed his eyes playfully. "Okay. It's a deal."

Sara's phone was both a pleasant and an unwelcome interruption. On one hand, Grissom was thinking more about her than the bugs he was pinning to the board. On the other hand, he was delighted to be in her presence and intrigued by everything about her. He continued pinning the bugs while Sara took her phone conversation out into the hallway. She came back in a minute later with an apologetic look on her face.

"I just got another call. So, I'll leave you in peace to do your work." She shuffled her feet nervously. It was clear she did not want to leave him.

"I'll see you later in the evening," he replied solemnly.

"You're not going back to your hotel tonight?" Her voice was hopeful.

"I'll stay here for as long as I can tonight. I'll put on a time-lapse camera for when I'm not here. It's far easier to make notes as I go rather than having to go over the data later. I'll have to leave the camera on all day tomorrow while the lecture is going, and I'd prefer to keep the camera to a minimum," he explained.

Sara was not quite sure she understood, but she accepted it, and it meant that he quite possibly could be around when she got back. "Oh, okay," she said as she walked from the room.


To Be Continued...