A/N: Thanks again for all your lovely reviews. They make it even more fun to write.

Thanks for reading this story! Enjoy!

I don't own CSI.

Rule 4: No love

Sara knew that Grissom loved her.

He had never once said the words, but she knew. It was there in his every action, in the smallest gesture, in the briefest eye contact.

She also knew that she loved Grissom.

She, like Grissom, had never said the words. Even though she knew that he loved her, she couldn't bring herself to say the words without hearing him say them first. It was too much to ask for her to put herself out there like that without knowing that he would repeat the sentiment back to her.

It became another unspoken rule: never confess your feelings.

Grissom got up off the bed, whistling for the dog to come with him. Sara smiled as they left his bedroom, and reached for the remote to change the channel on the television. The remote was on his bedside table, next to a book. She picked up the book, wondering what he was reading. He had marked his place with an envelope.

She let the book fall open to the marked page, and gasped. The envelope that she had considered a bookmark was addressed to her. Recognizing Grissom's writing, she knew that she could not contain her curiosity. She pulled the letter out of its unsealed home and unfolded it.

Tears filled her eyes as she read. She had always known that he loved her. This letter proved it. It was a page full of his feelings, complete with one of Shakespeare's sonnets to help make his point.

After reading the letter several times, she eased it back into the envelope. She slid off the bed, and made her way to the study.

He was seated at his desk, which faced away from the door. She was so quiet as she entered that he didn't hear her; only the dog at his feet looked up. She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Sara," he murmured.

She pressed her lips into his temple, then lower, closer to his ear. "I love you, too," she whispered.

Grissom turned his head as far as he could, trying to look at her. "What brought that on?"

She smiled and pulled back slightly so that she could see his eyes. "I found the letter you wrote me."

His eyes widened, but he remained silent.

"Why didn't you send it?"

He was silent for a moment, considering how to answer her question. "I suppose because I felt like a coward," he said at last. "Everything that I wrote is true, but I felt like I should be able to say it to you, not send you a letter from across the country."

"I would have been happy to get it."

"I know you would have," he said, reaching up to play with a tendril of hair that had escaped from her ponytail. "But … I wanted to look into your eyes and tell you …"

"Tell me what?" she whispered.

"I love you."

Sara sighed with contentment and leaned in to kiss him. "I love you, too," she said again.

After that first declaration, it became far easier for Sara and Grissom to profess their love for one another. It was not something that they did every time they spoke, or even every day. They had a deeper understanding of each other's feelings, and a new confidence and security in their relationship.

They were both very careful, though, to make sure they never suggested anything other than friendship and collegiality at work.

"I'm not worried about the team finding out how I feel about you," Grissom told Sara as they lay in bed together. "I'm more worried that it'll get back to Ecklie."

"Yeah, no good can come of that," Sara said. She looked thoughtful. "I'm not so sure about the guys knowing, either."

Grissom looked at her in surprise. "Why not?"

"I don't want them to accuse you of playing favorites."

He smiled and pulled her close. "I believe that you used to accuse me of playing favorites."

She laughed. "Yeah, but that's before I knew that I was your favorite."

He laughed with her. "All right, then. No one knows at work. We've pulled it off so far. I don't see us having a problem now."

"Deal." She leaned up to kiss his lips soundly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Sara? We've got a problem."

Sara looked up from the dead body lying in the living room. "Aside from the fact that a man was killed in his own home?"

"Yeah," Greg said. "It looks like his wife went with him."

"What?" Sara asked, jumping to her feet.

Greg nodded. "There's another body in the kitchen."

"Oh, man. All right. I'll call Grissom and let him know. Can you try to catch David before he puts all his stuff away? He was on his way out to the coroner's van."

"Right."

Greg shot out of the house as Sara opened her phone. He caught up to David just before he reached the van.

"David!" he yelled. "We've got another body for you to check out!"

"Tell me that's a joke."

"Come on, now," Greg said. "Give me a little credit. That's not even funny."

David smiled. "Where am I going?"

"Kitchen. There's a back door around that way that leads straight into the kitchen."

David nodded and made his way around back. Greg followed him toward the house, but entered through the front door, thinking that he'd ask Sara if they could call in someone else to help.

"I know, Griss," she was saying into her phone. "I will. … Yeah, I'll call when we're on our way back to the lab. … I know. … Okay. … I love you. … Bye."

Sara snapped her phone shut and looked up to see Greg standing in front of her, his eyes open wide. Horror crossed her face when she realized what she had said – what he had clearly overheard.

"Um … I … ah …" he stammered. "Can I call someone in to help us?"

"Yeah," Sara said, willing herself not to blush, trying desperately to hold onto her composure. "Grissom said to call Nick. He just wrapped his last case."

"Right. Nick. I'll do that."

Greg practically ran back out of the house, flipping his phone open as he went. It rang for the three longest seconds of his life before Nick answered.

"Stokes."

"Nick, you've got to get over here."

"Whoa, Greggo, slow down," Nick said calmly. "What's going on?"

"Sara loves Grissom!"

"What?" Nick asked.

"Look, our homicide just became a double and Sara called Grissom to tell him. I went outside, so I missed most of the conversation, but when I came back in, she was telling him that she loves him!"

Nick laughed. "They've worked together for years, Greg. Of course, they're friends."

"No, Nick, you don't get it! She loves him!"

"I think you're overreacting."

"That's only because you didn't hear her!"

Nick sighed. "Look, Greg, is this imagined gossip the only reason you called me?"

"No, Grissom wants you to help us at our scene."

"All right. I'm on my way."

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not imagined. It's real."

Nick laughed again. "I'll see you in half an hour, Greg."

As Grissom sat beside Sara in the ambulance that took them out of the desert, away from the wrecked Mustang, back to civilization, he could only say three words over and over again. I love you.