They came to a bar called Billy's and Sara ordered the first round of drinks, she had a beer and Grissom had a Jack Daniels.
"Beer? I didn't think you'd drink beer." Gil said as Sara handed him is drink.
"Why? Did you think I'd have a white wine or something? God, even alcohol is sexist now!" she laughed. Grissom chuckled too.
"Ooh look, a pool table, come on." She tugged on his arm and dragged him to the table.
"You play pool?" Grissom said.
"Don't start. I'll woop your ass Gil and you know it. Rack up." She slid the triangle towards him and he put the balls in the correct order.
Sara was very good at pool, but not as good as Grissom. He pulled off the trickiest shots and potted nearly every ball before it was Sara's turn. She stood in awe, watching him. Every time he bent forwards to get a better shot, she couldn't quite concentrate on anything that was happening on the table. After beating her three times in a row, Sara admitted defeat and as a result had to get the next round of drinks.
The bar was on the other side of a wall next to the pool table but couldn't be seen from it. Sara had been a little while so Gil went in search of her. He found her with the drinks at the bar standing next to a man. The man was getting very close to her and she kept pushing him back but he just grabbed her arm and leant towards her more. Grissom rushed up to her and put his arm around her waist.
"Hey honey, you ok?" he said to her. Sara spun around and saw a look on his face that said 'play along'.
Sara smiled at him and kissed his cheek, an action that should have sent shivers up his spine but he felt so comfortable with it and so did she. "Yeah I'm fine, just getting the drinks." The man next to her seemed to be very drunk and confused.
"Wait, y…you're with h…him?" he said, pointing a shaky finger at Grissom. Sara moved her hand to entwine with Gil's.
"Yes I am. Now if you don't mind, we'll be going." Sara picked up the drinks and still holding Grissom's hand, made her way back to the table. She sat down, still hand in hand and noticed the man staring at her. "God, what a creep, he's still eying me up." She huffed.
"I don't think he believes we're together." Grissom said into his drink.
"I don't see why not. Oh, I love this song," she said, listening to the tune coming from the speakers "come on, dance with me." She stood up.
"Uh, I don't dance well. At all. It's a very bad thing to witness." He chuckled.
Sara grabbed his hand "Yeah well I'm a great dancer so I'll make up for your two left feet. Come on Gil." She pulled on his hand and he finally gave up.
They stepped into the dancing area and Sara wrapped her arms around Gil's neck. He had no other choice but to place his hands, rather awkwardly, on her waist. The song started and he suddenly felt at ease.
"Maybe it's intuition
Some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant
And there it goes, I think I've found my best friend
I know that it might sound
More than a little crazy
But I believe...
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life"
They drifted closer together and Sara rested her head on Grissom's shoulder. He moved his hands to her hips and they swayed around the dance area. Gil closed his eyes and sighed contentedly.
"There's just no rhyme or reason
Only a sense of completion
And in your eyes, I see the missing pieces
I'm searching for, I think I've found my way home
I know that it might sound
More than a little crazy
But I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life"
"That guy's not staring at us anymore." Sara mumbled.
"Don't care." Gil whispered back.
"A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I have found you
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life"
The song ended and Gil and Sara stopped dancing. Sara looked up at him shyly and he hastily let go of her hips.
"I thought you said you were a bad dancer?" Sara said as she let go of him and made her way back to the table.
"I said I was bad to witness, to be truthful, no one's ever danced with me before so I can't comment on my skills with other people. Me dancing on my own, now that's bad." He chuckled.
"No one's ever danced with you? Not even in school? What about the prom?"
"I didn't go." He said and downed the rest of his drink.
"You didn't go?" Sara gasped "Why not? It's like, the biggest memory of school time!"
"Well," Grissom sighed "I'd been going out with a girl Heather for a while," he didn't notice Sara cringe at his words "and I asked her to come to the prom with me. She accepted. I got all dressed up on the night, drove to her house to pick her up, knocked on the door and was greeted by her dad. He never liked me, I suppose that's why he laughed like he did. I told him I was here to pick up Heather for the prom, he practically pissed himself laughing. I was still stood on the porch. He finally stopped laughing only to tell me that she'd already left with her boyfriend, who happened to be my best friend at the time." He leaned back on the chair and put his arm on the back of Sara's like he had done the first time they met. "Apparently, they'd been seeing each other for two weeks, a few days after I asked her to the prom and she still accepted. I really didn't feel like going after that, so I just went home and drowned my sorrows." Grissom downed the rest of his drink and let out a small burp "J.D. became my friend for a while. Anyway, enough about me, how did you get so good at dancing?" he leaned back again and started playing with a thread of her sleeve.
Sara smiled at the unconscious gesture and chuckled. "When I was about 6 years old, my mom though that it'd be good for me to get outta the house for as long as possible after school, so she signed me up for dance classes. I hated them, but I did them every day for 8 years. I was best at ballet and I won dozens of competitions, I'll show you my awards if you want when we get back." Her cheeks reddened as she had just basically invited him to her dorm room.
Gil smiled and nodded "Sure, I'd love to see them. How come your mom wanted you out of the house?" he saw her face drop and she looked at her hands. He reached out for her hand and held it, his thumb rubbing her knuckles. "Hey, it's ok. You don't have to tell me. It's obviously a touchy subject. I was just curious." Sara looked at him and showed a nervous grin. The thought of her parents had obviously upset her because her eyes were glassy. Grissom tugged on her hand and wrapped his arms around her as she let out a sob. Sara nestled her head in his chest and silently cried. They stayed like that for a while and then Grissom tapped her shoulder once she had calmed down. "Come on, I'll take you home. It's ok."
Sara shook her head "I don't want to go home yet, can we go for a walk or something?" she stood and walked towards the door. Grissom followed and found her outside leaning against the car. "There's a park around the corner, can we walk around there for a while? I just want to get some air." Sara said, not looking at Grissom.
"Sure." Gil said. He walked up to Sara and looped his arm around hers. Sara tightened her grip on his arm and they walked together to the park entrance.
After about half an hour of walking and casual chatting, Gil looked up at the sky which was still pretty light considering it was nearing 10 o'clock.
"What are you looking at?" Sara asked him.
"It's gonna rain in a minute." He said.
Sara laughed and raised an eyebrow at him "How do you know just from looking at the sky?"
"It's not just that." He said, mock pouting at her humour. "The humidity's dropped, wind's picking up, sky's darkened and," he nudged his shoulder against hers "I checked the weather forecast before we came out." All of a sudden the heavens opened and they were drenched within seconds. Grissom, knowing the forecast for the evening, had brought a jacket with him. Sara had nothing except a now sodden jumper covering a thin t-shirt underneath. Gil grabbed Sara's hand and pulled her towards a gazebo standing a few yards away on the grass. Once under cover, he looked at the drenched woman standing next to him. Her hair was now plastered to her head, some of her eye-liner had run and her jumper was soaked through. Grissom on the other hand was bone dry apart from his hair and a wet waterproof jacket. He shrugged off the jacket and draped it around Sara.
"Thanks. I guess you were right, it is gonna rain." Sara chuckled. "How come I'm the one that get's stuck in the rain when I live in Frisco? You're here for two days and you're prepared. Stupid tourist." She smiled and noticed Grissom's flat hair. Although now drenched, his curls were still present. Sara reached up and ran her fingers through his wet hair to style it funnily. She flicked the front up and made a kind of Elvis quiff that stayed stuck up for about two seconds before flopping onto his forehead. Grissom hadn't taken his eyes from hers since her hand had made contact with his hair.
After messing with his hair for a few more minutes, Sara moved her hand down to his cheek and wiped some of the rain drops away with her thumb. Her hazel eyes locked with his electric blue ones and once again she was lost. Gil reached over to her and dug inside the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a pack of tissues, extracted one and wiped away the eye-liner that had run down Sara's face. He stood closer to her and tenderly cupped her cheek, still wiping below her eyes. Sara grabbed his hand to stop him and moved closer to him. They were now so close that they could feel each others warm breath. Gil took the final step and brushed his lips tentatively across hers. The kiss was so soft Sara barely felt it but it was soon replaced with a braver one. Gil wrapped his arms around her under the jacket and she snaked her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Sara's tongue poked out and traced Gil's lips, asking for entry to his mouth which was instantly given.
Sara pulled back from the kiss, breathing heavily and with a huge grin on her face. Grissom rested his forehead against hers and tried to calm his heart rate. "That was…intense." Sara whispered. Gil chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Yeah, it was. But in no way unpleasant." He smiled and kissed her again with all the passion he possessed. Sara pulled back and looked at him.
"Do you want to come back to my room for a drink?" she asked him. He nodded and took her hand. The rain had stopped but was still threatening to come again. "Do you want your jacket back?"
"No, it looks better on you." He smiled. They walked hand in hand back to the car and then drove back to the college. The college had a sort of open door policy, so basically you could come and go as you pleased but it was your own fault if you missed classes or failed exams etc. The Dean said it was a good way to teach responsibility. Surprisingly, most people passed exams and rarely missed classes so it was obviously working.
They entered Sara's room to find that her roommate was, thankfully, not there. She must have gone to her boyfriend's for the night. Once inside the room, Sara shrugged off Gil's jacket and laid it on a chair to dry.
"What can I get you? Do you want to follow the non-alcohol rule or shall we be rebellious?" she asked him, crouching down to look inside the small fridge. "I've got Bud's, Fosters, or red wine."
"I'll have a Bud please." Gil said. Sara extracted one and held it out for him to take. He grabbed both the bottle and her hand and pulled her towards him, catching her in his arms. "Thanks." He said, taking the bottle from her hand and placing it on the table next to the fridge. Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Their tongues battled viciously and hands caressed every inch of skin they could reach. Sara started to unbutton Gil's shirt but he stopped her. "Sara? Are you sure? We're not moving to fast?"
Sara kissed her way down his jaw and neck to the newly exposed skin of his chest. "I'm sure that I want you right now." She whispered. That was all the assurance he needed and he claimed her mouth with his, pushing Sara to the edge of the bed and falling onto it.
"Sara, honey wake up." Grissom shook Sara's shoulder softly and her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, good morning." She noticed he was fully dressed and got a little worried. Sitting up and wrapping the sheet around her. "How come you're dressed, what's wrong?"
Grissom sat on the bed and dropped his head. Sara placed a hand on the side of his face and he looked at her. "I need to go back to Vegas, today. Something's happened." His eyes were bloodshot because he'd been crying.
"Gil, what's happened?" Sara watched in horror as Grissom broke down, head in his hands.
"It's my…mother." He sobbed. "She's dying. She's been in hospital for a while with heart problems but the doctor called me about ten minutes ago to tell me she might not make it through the night. I'm getting a flight back to Vegas in about an hour." He wiped his eyes and looked at Sara and was surprised to see that she was crying too.
"Oh Gil, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Can I do anything?" she moved over to him and hugged him.
"No, there's nothing you can do, but I don't plan to be coming back to San Francisco. I'm sorry Sara, there's too many factors to consider. Even if my mother survives, I'll have to stay in Vegas to take care of her and it's not fair on you to come to Vegas to visit me." He cupped Sara's cheek and he looked truly sorry. "Being with you was the best time of my life, but we have to stop this relationship." He was still crying. "I'm sorry, I really am. I've already told the Dean that I'm going so he's bringing in another Criminalist. I need to go." He stood up and so did Sara, still wrapped in the sheet.
"I understand Gil, I do. I'm sorry about your mother, I'm sure she'll be alright." She really didn't know what to say in this situation. The man she loved had to go and would never be back. But it was his mother.
"Here's my number." Gil said, scribbling it down on a piece of paper. "When you've finished University call me, I'll have a job waiting for you." Sara took the bit of paper and placed it inside a Forensic journal that was lying on her dresser.
"Thank you, let me get dressed and I'll drive you to the airport and return the rental car afterwards." Grissom nodded and went to his room to pack his stuff.
After getting dressed at the speed of light and wiping away the stray tears from her face, Sara walked to Gil's room to find him sitting on the bed.
"Gil, come on, it's time to go." Sara whispered. They walked to the car and Sara drove them to the airport.
Once he was checked in, Grissom walked over to Sara and gave her one final good-bye kiss. "I'm really sorry Sara, it's for the best."
Sara hugged him again "You have nothing to apologise for Gil. It's not your fault. We'll see each other again, I'm sure of it."
The speakers stated that Grissom's flight was boarding so with one final hug, he turned and walked to the terminal.
Sara waited at the airport until Grissom's plane had left and even though she knew he couldn't see her, she sill waved sadly. The man she loved was gone. It was for the best, but it still didn't make the pain go away.