Author's Note: It has been literal YEARS since I've written any fanfiction. I was recently sick for two weeks and rewatched the entire series while I was curled up on the couch. Then, I took a week long road trip with my mother-in-law and spent many of the hours in the car dreaming up fanfics to pass the time. Anyway, this will be a multi-installment fic, but not necessarily chapters or indicative of a chronological progression. I have dreamt up different ways for Sara and Grissom's relationship to be discovered by their fellow team members. I will post a different one-shot for each character. I suppose you can choose to pretend all five find out in their different ways and no one ever leaks the secret to the others, or you can read them all and choose your favorite to become your headcanon. I hope you enjoy, and please review!
Busted! Jim Brass Discovers GSR
The lab was bustling with activity and light. All the light. So much fluorescent glare. Grissom's head was throbbing. A migraine had come on while he was talking through an autopsy with Doc Robbins. Why was there so much light in the morgue? Why was he staring down into a magnifying glass that was torturing him with its bright light? He couldn't actually see the plant matter he had held under the magnifier that Doc had just pulled from a skin fold on the body because the light was hurting his eyes so much. If he couldn't even see the evidence, maybe he should make an excuse and leave the morgue.
"Al, would you mind sticking this in a bindle and sending it to Hodges with whatever other trace you find? I just realized I'm late to meet Nick in the garage. Sorry." With that, Grissom turned and walked out; Doc hardly had time to reply before he was gone.
Grissom massaged his temples as he walked through the halls with his eyes down-turned to avoid as much light as possible. Sara happened to be walking in the opposite direction, and when he passed her, she whispered, "Migraine?" and he mumbled an affirmative without even looking up.
Grissom had no pre-arranged meeting with Nick, so instead of turning to head to the garage, he escaped to Brass' office. He knew Jim was out in the field with Warrick, and his empty office had a couch in it. Grissom carefully closed all the blinds on the windows and door. He hadn't turned the light on when he walked in, so with the blinds closed, it was nice and dark. He slowly sank into the couch, closed his eyes against the armrest, and was beyond relieved that he was finally not being assaulted by light.
Grissom hadn't been resting even ten minutes yet when the door to Jim's office quietly opened and clicked closed again. Someone had entered the room, but frankly, Gil didn't care who it was as long as they didn't turn on the light or talk to him. The invader did leave the light off, but then she spoke. She? He had been expecting Jim's voice.
Gently, the voice asked, "Can you sit up, just for a minute? I brought your migraine meds and a cup of water."
"Sara." Grissom said her name as he slowly sat up enough to accept the proffered cup and pills. He downed them, grateful that Sara had grabbed his pills from his office. "Thank you."
"It's a bad one, isn't it?"
"Is it that obvious?"
Sara laughed quietly. "You don't typically stare at the floor and blatantly ignore everyone who speaks to you."
"I ignored someone?"
"Oh, not someONE, several someones. Let's see- I think first was Mandy- she was trying to tell you that the prints you sent her had made it to the top of her pile. She probably moved them to the bottom after you ignored her, though." Sara smirked. Grissom gave a small groan, still without opening his eyes.
"Hmm, then it was Catherine- she said your name several times, and then said something like, 'For Christ's sake, Gil, get some hearing aides.' I have no idea what she was trying to get your attention for, though. You also definitely ignored Bobby, but I was too far down the hall to hear him; I just know that when I walked past him after passing you, he was staring at your back and shaking his head in apparent bewilderment." Sara smiled indulgently and laughed softly again.
"I guess I need to get back out there. I don't need half the lab angry with me." Gil's brows furrowed as he contemplated having to open his eyes and face the lights.
"No, you're not." Sara gently pushed his shoulders back down as Grissom started to rise. "Gil, seriously, let your meds kick in."
"But I-"
"No. Here, relax your face. You're so tense- you know that won't help. And be quiet, you don't have to keep talking." Sara began massaging Gil's temples and he relaxed under her touch. Sara leaned over him and gently kissed his forehead, just as he was about to drift off to sleep, and also just as the office door quietly opened.
Jim Brass had opened his office door a little more carefully than he usually did because he noticed all his blinds had been closed and figured maybe Gil had stopped in to borrow his couch. He tended to do that once or twice a month when a migraine hit him. He had expected to see Gil when he opened his door. He had not, however, expected to see Sara, and he had definitely not expected to see Sara kissing and massaging Gil. Was he seeing things?
Brass cleared his throat. "Uh, hey there."
Grissom's eyes flew open, and Sara looked like the proverbial deer in the headlights as her hands quickly left Gil's face. The three stared at each other for a few moments. Finally, Jim asked, with a raised eyebrow, "Is there something I should know about here, other than the migraine?" He smirked.
Sara and Grissom locked eyes. Neither spoke.
Brass was enjoying this, not the Gil having another migraine part, but the rest, this was fun. How long had he been wondering if he'd ever see the day that Gil finally just let it happen? This whole thing he'd had with Sara for YEARS had to eventually lead to something. Frankly, Jim was happy that Grissom had finally made a move before he got too old and died and left Sara permanently heartbroken. Oh, he wasn't supposed to know Sara had a thing for Gil, and he wasn't supposed to know that Gil had Sara on his mind constantly, but he knew. No one had ever told him, per se, but he liked to think he knew the both of them well enough to see the signs. Jim smiled as Sara met his eyes, clearly unsure what to say.
Brass didn't want Sara to suffer for too long, so he winked at her and said, "I take it you're trying to hide this" as he gestured toward the two of them.
Sara sighed, "Yes."
She looked back at Gil, who had closed his eyes again and whose brow was deeply furrowed from pain and his lack of knowing what to say to Jim. She ran a hand gently through his hair and looked at Gil instead of at Jim as she said, "Look, Jim, can you please keep this to yourself? We aren't ready for people to know. We don't want to have to work different shifts, and that's what Ecklie will make us do if he finds out. Please?"
"Of course I will. Come on, you know I wouldn't rat you out to Ecklie."
"I know, Jim, but office gossip spreads quickly, and-"
Brass held up his hands in a surrender gesture, and smiled as he interrupted, "Sara, hey, hey, come on now, you know I'll protect both of you. Always. Okay?"
Sara smiled weakly, and even the corners of Grissom's lips had turned upwards.
Grissom rubbed his temples and said, "Thanks, Jim. We owe you. Now, can you two carry on your conversation anywhere else? Please?"
Sara and Brass caught each other's eyes and laughed quietly.
Brass said, "Okay, okay, I see how it is. I offer to protect your ass and get kicked out of my own office for it. I'm not sure that this is how things are supposed to work."
"Jiiiim," moaned Grissom.
"I know, I know. Sara, I think we can walk out of MY office- hint, hint, there, Gil- carrying on a conversation about the suspect we're about to bring in for questioning on the double homicide at Lorenzi Park, don't you?"
Brass winked at Sara, who smiled, grabbed a random file folder off Brass' desk, said, "Thanks, Jim," looked back at Gil, said, "Stay in here until your meds kick in. That's an order," and then walked out the office door with him. Brass was sure to close the door gently on his way out. He did have to go question some suspects, but he would definitely have to take some time after shift to think about this whole Grissom and Sara thing. On the whole, his current opinion was that it was about time Gil got his head out of his ass and let Sara in.
