A/N: Part Two! Same disclaimer as the first part. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to me. :)
Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been emotionally dead this past week. As always review make my day!
Edited to add some small details. I doubt anyone would/can notice, but it was bugging me.
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After a few seconds Warrick was the first person to speak in comprehendible sentences. "So you're telling us that it's Sara. It always has been Sara. And if tonight goes right it always will be Sara."
"To sum it up nicely, yes." Grissom simply said.
"Wow." Catherine said, finally beginning to comprehend what just happened.
"Grissom." Nick started after a few moments of quietly conversing with Warrick and Greg. "What we're about to say is strictly man to man, so we're going to ignore the fact that your our boss for the moment."
Grissom just looked at the men and had a pretty good idea as to what they were about to tell him. He nodded his head slightly signaling the guys to continue.
All three men looked Grissom in the eye, "If you even think of hurting Sara, we'll hurt you a thousand fold." Warrick said in the most threatening voice he could muster for the situation.
"If I do hurt her, you'll have to get in line behind myself." Grissom said, meeting each man's eyes. "I love her more than life." He paused for a moment and continued. "If it came down to it, I would step down from supervisor to… make sure we would be happy… together." Grissom finished looking away, back down to his hands which were folded in his lap.
The last admission drove home everything that Grissom had said in the past half an hour. He was sacrificing his career and everything that he'd work for, for Sara. Everyone knew the repercussions that would result from Ecklie, the DA, or the Sheriff finding out about the relationship between Sara and Grissom. Not only could it compromise any and all of the cases but the entire lab. They knew the risk and were willing to take it, for the sake of love.
And when Sara entered the room with two manila folders tucked under her arm she was greeted with smiles from everyone at the table. They knew that she was in safe hands.
"Are we ready to go?" Sara asked the group. She received a collective 'yes' and everyone began to shuffle around the room gathering their belongings.
"Sara?" Greg asked her quietly as she made her way out the door and in to the hallway. He let out a large sigh and continued, "I'm glad it's Grissom."
She turned around and looked him in the eye and replied, "Me too Greg, me too." They both shared a quick smile before continuing down the hall.
Grissom stood back watching Sara lead the group out of the break room, admiring her instinctual leadership. "Grissom?" Catherine asked placing her hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I'm glad it's Sara."
He turned around and looked at her, smiling, and replied, "Me too Catherine, me too."
Everyone piled in to one car, Grissoms. Sara sat next to him in the front and Greg, Warrick, Catherine, and Nick all crammed in to the three-person back seat. Without thinking Grissom grabbed Sara's hand once they pulled out of the police station parking lot and gave it a gentle squeeze. Glancing over at Sara, he smiled softly, wordlessly reassuring both of them that everything was okay. Neither one realized what they were doing, but the back seat exchanged silent glances of admiration at how easy it was for both of them to fill the roles of lovers.
"Grissom?" Greg asked, sounding a little in pain. "How much longer?" He winced as Grissom made a left turn which caused the door handle to ram further in his side.
"Not much." Grissom replied glancing quickly up into the rearview mirror. "You should know Greg. We're going to the same diner as we always do."
"Yea, but I usually don't have a door handle jabbing me in the ribs." Greg replied.
Nick glanced over Catherine at Warrick and silently caught the man's eyes. Warrick grinned and nodded slightly as to not draw the attention of the youngest CSI. The next left turn Grissom made Nick and Warrick shifted all their weight to their left successfully trapping Catherine in a man sandwich and sending Greg back in to the door handle.
Greg's face contorted with pain and all he could squeak out was, "Ow…" This caused Nick to burst out laughing and Warrick followed suit when he saw the look on Catherine's face, who was still trapped 'uncomfortably' between the two men.
Sara turned around in her seat to assess the situation and just replied in the most serious motherly tone she could fake, "Don't make me come back there and separate you guys."
Without missing a beat Warrick replied, "I don't think Grissom would appreciate that."
"I wouldn't mind." Grissom replied keeping his eyes on the road almost afraid of what he would see if he looked in the back seat. "Just as long as you save room for me."
The fragile composure of the group was broken. Nick, Greg, and Warrick all had tears streaming down their face, Catherine was laughing so hard that she had moved in to the silent laughter phase, Sara snorted whenever she tried to take a breath, which then caused everyone to go in to another fit. Even Grissom was laughing, a hearty belly laugh that shock his entire body.
When they finally reached the diner a little composure was present in the car, but when Greg accidentally tripped over his shoelace and did a face plant in the parking lot, it was quickly lost. It took the group twenty minutes to make it from where Grissom parked to their usual table in the back of the diner.
"God, I don't think I have ever laughed that hard in my entire life." Nick said, wiping away a stray tear. "Grissom, your comeback was priceless. 'Only if you save me room.' That was great!"
Grissom just smiled at him and replied, "Every once in a decade I'll come up with a quote worthy phrase."
Everyone was quiet for a moment, looking over their menus even though they knew what they wanted.
"By the way, I'm paying" Greg said, glancing at the desserts. When he looked up the entire table was staring at him. "What?" he said with a smirk of satisfaction plastered on his face.
"How are you paying for all of us?" Sara said unable to imagine how big this bill was going to be. She'd seen how much food the boys could shovel down.
"Let's just say I placed a risky bet and won." Greg replied, still studying the desserts. He couldn't settle between the cheesecake and the chocolate silk pie; so he decided on both.
They ordered their food and Grissom asked the group, "So what do you guys think about the possibility of Ecklie being your direct supervisor?" Grissom had no plans of letting that actually happen, he just needed something to get the attention away from him and Sara. When he felt the group was sufficiently distracted he took a pen out of his pocket and quickly jotted a note on a napkin, folded it and slid it across to Sara.
'I love you.' It simply read. Sara smiled at him and took out her own pen, wrote a short reply, folded the napkin and slid it back. 'I love you too.'
Greg noticed that Sara and Grissom had barely touched their food when it arrived, leaving it in a cold heap on their plates, too absorbed in their own thoughts. He could figure out what was distracting Grissom, but Sara's thoughts were still a mystery. In an attempt to pull her away from her troubles he said the sexist, crudest, joke he could think of; and it worked he got her full, undivided attention which in it's present form was lighthearted frustration.
Grissom smiled a silent reply and studied Sara, whose attention shifted to Greg, offering a quick sarcastic remark to a sexist joke she had overheard. He took out his pen and wrote two short words with a shaky hand.
Catherine saw the inconspicuous note passing between Grissom and Sara and the movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She reached out and intercepted the secret note without Sara noticing that Grissom had offered another response.
'Marry me.' Catherine quickly read, and was determined not to let her shock be obvious to the others. Looking up at Grissom- who was still in astonished that his note was taken, she realized how exposed and fragile he was at that moment. That moment that was supposed to be Sara reading those two words, not her.
Taking a pen out of her purse she added a quick message at the very bottom. 'Not here. Not now. You can do better.' Catherine handed the note to him and watched his face while he read it. He looked confused, but when he looked at her it was an acknowledgement that she was right.
"Grissom what do you think?" Warrick asked, knocking Grissom out of his thoughts.
"About what?" he quickly replied, trying to not make it that apparent that he wasn't listening.
"Going down to the fountains to watch a show. None of us are in a hurry to get back to the lab." Greg said, finishing up the last bites of his cheesecake.
Catherine looked at him and silently conveyed that the fountains at the Bellagio would be an appropriate place for him to ask the silent question that was written on the napkin. He smiled at the boys, "It sounds like a great idea. Do you want to walk there or drive?"
"Walk!" Greg quickly responded. "I'm not getting in the back seat of your car with those three. I'll call shotgun if all else fails."
Grissom chuckled at the memory of those four in the back seat only an hour earlier. "We can walk, it's only a few blocks away."
"Sounds like a plan." Nick said sliding out of the booth followed by Greg and Sara.
"I gotta go pay." Greg said quickly swiping the check before anyone could reach for it. "And don't worry about tip, I have that covered too."
"We need to go out to dinner with him more often." Catherine remarked after Greg was out of earshot.
The group slowly made their way to the front door and stopped when Sara realized her cell phone was missing.
"I'm going to go back and check the booth, maybe it fell out of my purse during dinner." Sara said as she started walking back to where they sat. "You guys go wait out by the car, I'll be right back."
Grissom held the door open as everyone filed out in to the parking lot.
"So are you going to do it at the fountains?" Greg asked once everyone was had made their way Grissom's car.
"Do what?" Grissom replied. The question caught him off guard, forgetting that he had shown them the ring.
"Propose." Nick answered.
"That's kind of why I suggested it." Greg said. "It would give you the perfect opportunity."
"You and Catherine must be telepathic." Grissom said, putting his hands in his pockets. His nerves were already working themselves up in to a knot.
"Don't worry man." Warrick said, sensing his boss's tension. "We'll walk slow. Give you a chance to calm yourself." He clasped his hand on Grissom's shoulder as a sign of encouragement.
"Thanks." Grissom said, acknowledging Warricks sign of support.
"Now shush Sara's back." Catherine whispered just as Sara approached.
"Found it!" Sara said to the group. "It was shoved between the cushion and the wall."
Everyone smiled and offered their half-hearted congratulations. Grissom took Sara's hand and asked "Are we ready to go?"
Like Warrick had promised, the group slowly made their way to the Bellagio. In an attempt to calm Grissom's nerves Catherine told a story from when she first came to Vegas, how beautiful she thought the city was at night. Greg followed with his own stories. Nick told of Texas, and Warrick spoke of growing up in 'Sin City'. Sara remained quiet by his side, occasionally making a comment or two about her life in Vegas.
When they finally reached the fountains Sara ran up to the wrought iron fence and looked across the length of the water. "You know, I've lived in Vegas for almost seven years and I have never stopped to watch the show." she said to no one in particular.
"It's beautiful." Warrick said, walking up to where she stood. "Even though I've lived here my entire life, each time I watch it it's like seeing it for the first time."
Sara smiled at him and replied, "I hope it'll take my breath away."
"Oh, it will." He replied, giving her a bright smile; of course knowing the possibility of how this evening could end.
Grissom, who had hung back watching Sara's interactions with Warrick, made his way up to Sara and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. The world around them dissolved in to black leaving only them, as it's inhabitants. He noticed that she seemed lost in a trance, gazing out across the fountains waiting for the famous light and water show to start.
Nick and Greg stood on one side of Sara while Catherine and Warrick were on the other. Each pair was astonished at how intimate Grissom's gesture was, and that Sara was more than happy to have his arms wrapped around her.
As the street lights around the fountain dimmed Catherine glanced over at Grissom, amazed at how far he had come. It seemed like yesterday when she helped him pick out a plant to send to Sara after an earth shattering argument. As much as she hated to think or admit it, her little emotionally inept Grissom was all grown up.
"I love you Sara." Grissom whispered in to her hair. The smell of her shampoo overwhelmed him, sending his mind reeling through all the moments they had shared together in the past twelve years. And for the first time in his life he felt that awe and amazement of love, true and pure love. It was so overpowering that he felt the unfamiliar sting of tears threatening to fall. He could feel her relax in his arms, when he spoke of love to her.
"Sara…" he began. Grissom opened his mouth but the words he had planned seemed trite and silly. He paused, trying to quickly think of a quote, a saying, something to say to break the tension but his mind seemed to be blank. He was at a loss for words, words other than those that he was trying to say.
"Is this it?" Greg quietly asked Nick, who like Warrick and Catherine was paying more attention to Grissom and Sara than to the water show in front of him.
"If Grissom can summon up enough courage to ask her, then yes Greg, it is it." Nick replied.
Grissom looked anxiously around him and caught the eyes of Nick and Greg. They both smiled and nodded, giving him their silent approval to marry their 'sister'. Catherine and Warrick did the same when he glanced in their direction; their approval was all he needed to say those two words.
"Marry me." Grissom whispered. It wasn't a question, but it didn't qualify as a demand, it was a request made by a man who had wasted too much time being unsure of his feelings.
She tensed up but never turned around to look at him, her eyes closed as she tried to capture the tears that slowly made their way down her cheeks. Sara quietly attempted to convince herself that he didn't ask what he did; it was just a figment of her overactive imagination. It couldn't be real…he didn't have a ring.
"Marry me Sara." He repeated sensing her uncertainty. Grissom removed the ring from his pocket and held it in front of her.
Sara's eyes finally opened and saw the ring that he held up before her. The three words echoed in her head, bouncing, spinning, and finally settling comfortably in her mind. All the emotions, tears, hopes, fears, doubts that had occupied her mind all came spilling out in that moment. There was no doubt now that he did love her as much as she loved him; that he didn't date her out of pity, but because of who she was; that she wasn't broken, but normal; that it was possible for someone to love her.
Grissom heart sank when Sara let out a small sob when she saw the ring. He had hurt her. He made her cry. Crying could only mean one thing, 'No'. He closed his eyes and all the self-doubts overwhelmed him, sending his emotions over the edge. He would be alone for the rest of his life; life wasn't even worth living without her in it.
"Yes." Sara whispered.
Grissoms eyes shot open and his body froze. He watched as she turned around in his arms so she could face him. Sara gently placed a hand on his cheek and smoothed the skin under her thumb.
"Yes." She repeated. Two answers for two questions she thought to herself.
It was in that moment that he realized that the tears had not been from pain, but of joy.
Grissom finally took the ring, which had gone from cold metal to warm platinum, and slid it gently on her finger. She let out a small giggle amidst a sob when she felt the band slide in to place.
Sara looked at him, his deep blue eyes shimmering with emotions that he had concealed for far too long. She wore the brightest, most beautiful smile he had ever seen on any living being. Instinctively they both leaned forward, foreheads resting against each other; arms wrapped around the others waists, their tears making their way down already moistened cheeks.
Their eyes met one last time before he kissed her, with more passion and love than he had ever done before. When their lips parted it took them a moment to remember where they were and who was watching.
The rest of the team stood there, eyes wet with tears of joy, watching Sara and Grissom as they exchanged whispered 'I love you's'. After a few minutes, Sara looked up and realized that she and Grissom had been in their own universe for the past half and hour. She blushed and let out an uncharacteristic giggle when she saw Greg quickly wiping away a single tear.
Nick was the first to come forward and congratulate, "Way to go man," he said, shaking Grissoms hand. "I'm really happy for both of you, honestly." He said moving to engulf Sara in a bear hug.
"You guys deserve this." Warrick added. "More than anyone else I know." He too shook Grissoms hand and hugged Sara.
Catherine followed, offering her congratulation and embraced Grissom and Sara.
"You had us worried there for a minute Boss." Greg said, "We didn't think you were going to go through with it." All eyes were suddenly on the youngest CSI.
"Wait," Sara started turning to face the group, "you all KNEW this was going to happen tonight? And you didn't tell me?"
"Way to go Greg. You pissed off Grissom's fiancée." Nick said. "You do realize that he now has to put with Sara's temper for the rest of his life and I'm sure tonight is not the night he wanted to deal with it."
Sara face expressed her shock at Nick's reply and Grissom could barely contain his laughter. "You've waited all day to use to word 'fiancée' all day haven't you?" he asked Nick.
"Oh yea!" Nick replied.
Sara went up to each of the guys and playfully hit each of them in the stomach.
"Why is there violence?" Greg asked, mockingly rubbing the place where Sara hit him. "I'm already injured." He said referring to the incident in the car.
"Because you," she directed at Warrick and Greg, "knew that Grissom was going to propose and you didn't prepare me."
Turing to Nick she continued, "And you, because you pointed out that I have an anger problem which I do not have."
"Sara, sweetie," Grissom said, putting his hands on Sara's shoulder in an attempt to soothe her, "violence is not a good way to convince people you don't have a temper." He knew that Nick and Sara always had this playful banter but decided to go on with the joke. "Besides, I think your temper is sexy."
Her eyes widened at his comment and gently thwacked Grissom in the stomach. "Thanks for your support baby." Sara said with a smile on her face.
"Not to break the mood or anything," Catherine said as she looked at her watch, "but we've been gone for almost two hours. And I don't think the department will approve of people getting engaged on company time."
"At least they didn't get married on company time." Greg added.
Sara noticed a smile growing on Grissoms lips; he liked Greg's suggestion as much she did.