I Cannot Believe this is Finally Happening
Chapter 5
(Disclaimer: I do not own CSI)
Sara and Grissom started by going through both of their furniture, deciding what to keep, what to throw out, and what to give away. Grissom was apprehensive about getting rid of any of his things.
His resistance was a source of frustration for Sara. "Gil, there is not enough room for two couches, two coffee tables, five chairs, and four lamps in the living room."
"I just think it works the way it is." He shrugged of her comment.
She rolled her eyes feeling defeated. "What about the bedroom?"
"Well my bed is a king, yours is only a full." He was thinking about the situation too rationally for Sara's liking.
"I can agree to keeping your bed, but what about the dressers? I don't think both will fit, and mine is larger." She could be rational too.
"I kind of like mine, we could both fit our things in it."
"No Gil, we can't." She huffed. He was oblivious to her frustration, and that just made her more upset. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing, "Gil, when we fist talked about moving in together, you said that the town home would be our home." She took a seat on the couch.
"It is." He sat next to her, not sure what the issue was.
"But it's not if everything you own stays and everything I own goes in the dumpster or to a charity." On a certain level the whole process made her feel violated.
"Sara, my stuff goes together, it works in the environment."
"I see, and my stuff doesn't? If you cannot even open your home to any of my things, how can I believe that you're going to open your home to me?" She didn't understand why he didn't see it from her point of view.
"Sara, that is not what I'm doing." He rose in defense.
"Yes, it is. You just don't realize that you're doing it." She stood to look him in the eye. "You've lived alone for so long that you're not willing to allow someone else's taste in the door." She was hurt. "It is getting late, and I have to get ready for work." She walked away to the bathroom to take a shower.
He went to follow her, but was surprised to find she had locked the door. Instead he picked up his keys and headed back to the town home to get ready for shift as well.
An hour later she passed his office on her way to the locker room. He noticed she never even looked in his direction.
When shift began, Grissom headed to the break room to hand out assignments. When he walked through the door he saw her there sipping coffee and talking with Nick. He felt bad that he had not earlier seen the smile she was sharing with Nick. It was his own fault, but he couldn't do anything about it right now.
He could do something about later though and that is what he decided to do.
After shift Sara again passed by his office before walking out the door. She was professional while on the clock, but now that shift was over, the only reason to stop and speak with him would be personal, and she did not feel like it right now.
She drove home, while she still had one, and went back to the task of packing in the hope that she still had a place to go. It hadn't taken very long for her landlord to find a new tenant for her apartment, and he planned on moving in on the first of next month. Sara carefully loaded some boxes into her car and drove over to the town home.
Grissom was moving some things around when he heard her car door close. He walked to the door and opened it to find her getting a box out of her trunk. Walking over to her, he quietly picked up another box and said "I was worried you wouldn't come over."
She looked at him, "I have nowhere else to go." She walked passed him and into the building.
Looking around, she asked, "Gil, what is going on?"
He followed her inside, "I thought about what you said yesterday. You were right. I have lived alone too long, and I need to remember to share. There is no one I would rather share my life with than you."
She felt a little better knowing he'd been thinking about the situation. "What were you doing in here?"
"Well, I moved the two chairs out to the garage. I thought that we could keep my couch because it is larger than yours." He stood on the unfaded piece of carpet where the chairs once sat. "Your chairs are more comfortable than mine, so I made room for them. Mine are in the garage waiting for Good Will to pick them up. The coffee table is up to you, yours or mine?"
"Wow, you did that?" She was really starting to think that this could actually work.
He nodded, "If this is going to be our home, it should reflect both of us."
She set down the box she was carrying and gave him a kiss, "Thank you."
"There's more." He took her by the hand and led her upstairs.
At the top of the stairs, he guided her into the master bedroom. She looked around, but wasn't sure at what she was supposed to be looking. "Okay, what should I be seeing?"
"Well nothing really, I thought, if you agree, that we could buy a new bedroom set. Kind of like a symbolic start to a new life together. We could go now if you like."
"That would be great," she smiled. Then she wrapped her arms around him and they tumbled onto the bed.
It did not take them very long to find a bedroom set they both liked. After arranging to have it delivered the next day, they decided to go out for lunch.
Once placing their order, Grissom brought up the subject they were both dreading, "Sara you know at some point someone is going to notice our identical addresses."
"I know, what…um…?" She knew this conversation was coming but still feared it.
"I think we should meet with the sheriff and tell him." He played strummed his fingers over her hand. This wouldn't be easy for her. If there was a fallout, the county needed him more than her, his prestige in the field brought the county a lot of revenue they wouldn't otherwise have through his consulting on cases in other jurisdictions.
A knot began to form in Sara's stomach. "What if he's against it?"
"Oh, he will be." Grissom watched her eyes fall. "But we will just have to convince him that we can keep our personal and professional lives separate."
"You think he will go for it?" She wanted to have the faith he had.
"I hope so, or we may be relocating," he smiled half heartedly.
The next day Grissom set up an appointment with the sheriff for when their shift ended. They went through the night as if it were any other, but inside they were both very nervous. Once Sara left the locker room at the end of shift she went to Grissom's office, "Hey you read-" Crap!! She screamed in her head.
She was so nervous about the meeting that she failed to realize that Sofia and Catherine were in the office with him. They both had somewhat confused looks on their faces.
Without missing a beat, Grissom stood up and said, "Yes, I am." He acknowledged the other two women in the room. "We have a meeting with the Sheriff about the Mathis case." He turned and he and Sara left the room, never looking back.
Once they were in Grissom's car and driving away from the lab Sara turned to Grissom, "I am so sorry. I completely blew that," panic took over her voice.
"Honey it's okay, I think they bought it. It'll be fine," he patted her thigh as he spoke.
She still wasn't convinced, and they rode in silence the rest of the way.
They arrived right on time. "Gil, Sara," the Sheriff greeted both with a handshake, and then motioned for them to have a seat. Grissom and Sara exchanged a quick glance as they sat. "So what can I do for you?"
"Well Sheriff, I'll get right to the point, Sara and I have been dating and we are moving in with each other." Sara just sat holding her breath awaiting his response.
"Well that was definitely to the point." He folded his hands on his desk. "Is this relationship affecting the lab?"
"No we keep everything on a strictly professional level at work." Grissom's voice took on an authoritative tone.
"Very well, keep it that way, and as long as I don't receive any complaints about inappropriate behavior we should not have a problem." He sat back in his chair, looking relaxed.
"You won't, thank you." Grissom stood and shook the Sheriff's hand. Then he had to nudge Sara who was sitting in disbelief, but eventually regained enough control to stand and shake the other man's hand as well.
They drove back to the lab to retrieve Sara's car. "What just happened?" Sara asked.
"What do you mean?" He was quite pleased with the way their meeting went down.
"Gil, that was too easy, wasn't it?" She wasn't completely sure if they should celebrate or worry about future problems this could cause.
"Not really, as long as it doesn't cause him any grief, he won't care. He's pretty 'no nonsense' that way"
She could accept that, but then another thought occurred to her. "What about Eklie?"
"The Sheriff is Eklie's boss, if the Sheriff accepts us, Eklie has no choice." He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss before they pulled into the lot next to her car.
"Alright, I'm still a little nervous, but if you say so, I trust you."
A couple of weeks later their new bedroom set was set up and the furniture throughout the rest of the town house had been mutually agreed upon. Sara's boxes were all put away. It was now officially their house.
The two fell into the comfortable routine of living together. They had been spending most days together before, so the only difference now was that they were always at the same home instead of two different houses.
For the first time in nearly a month they were both scheduled to have the same night off of work. Grissom wanted to make it a night to remember so he had reservations at a four-star restaurant.
That morning, he had had to stay at the lab for an administrative meeting. He was still in his office when she stopped in. "Hey I'm headed home," she smiled as the word home crossed her lips. "See you soon?"
"I hope so," he waved her into the room and spoke softly. "Get some rest we have reservations for eight o'clock tonight."
"Reservations huh?" A sly smile graced her features, "Where?"
"You'll find out, just go home crawl into bed and I'll meet you there later." He turned his attention back to the papers on his desk.
"Sounds promising," she winked and went out the door.
Grissom's meeting was long and boring, but eventually it was over and he made good on his word. He went home and crawled into bed with Sara. She moved closer to him when his arms slipped around her waist, and they slept peacefully until late afternoon.
"Gil where are we going?" Her voice somewhat muffled by the toothbrush in her mouth.
"Sara, you'll know when we get there," he called from the steaming shower.
"How will I know what to wear if you don't tell me," she was working him with puppy dog eyes that he knew were there even though he was hidden behind the shower curtain.
"Dress up and you'll fit in fine." He had no intention of even throwing her a bone.
"Gil!?"
"Give it up Sara. That's all you're getting out of me." He could hear her playful grunt as she walked out the bathroom door.
Sara put on an elegant emerald green dress, and then spun around in front of the bathroom door for Grissom who was drying off from his shower. "Does this fit your definition of 'dressing up'?"
He stood and smiled at the sight before him. He was going out with the most beautiful woman in Vegas, at least as far as he was concerned. While Sara took care of the finishing touches to her ensemble, he put on a dark suit and they met in the living room. They each gave the other the once over, and approving of what they saw, headed out into the night.
Sara watched out the window as they drove, still unsure of where they were going. She was surprised when they pulled up to a well known four star restaurant just off the strip, which meant they wouldn't be over-run by tourists. She smiled and looked at Grissom.
"So you approve?" He asked her.
She just nodded and gave him a smile he wished he could bottle.
After they were seated and had placed their drink orders Grissom reached across the table and took her hand in his. She looked up from her menu and gave him a smile as she squeezed his hand. He kept his hand over hers rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. When the waitress brought the drinks they let go of each other to make room. Then they placed their orders. After she had walked away he took Sara's left hand in his. She looked up questioning him. "I just need to touch you."
She chuckled at little at the cheesy line, "Then by all means, touch away."
"There's a problem though." He paused, pretending to study her hand.
"What's that," she played along, not quite sure what game they were even playing.
"There's something missing." He furrowed his brow, still looking at her hand.
"What?" She wasn't sure if she should be insulted by that comment.
"Your hand, or more precisely your finger," he took a small box out of his pocket.
"Gil?" What was he doing?
He opened the box and took out a beautiful solitaire, "Sara, I love you with all of my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
She was so shocked, she could only nod. Tears were forming in her eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger. Then he reached across the table and gave her a romantic kiss. They separated when their salads and breads arrived.
They spoke a little as they ate, but Sara was still trying to get her head around what had happened. After the main course arrived, Grissom asked, "Sara, are you okay? You've been pretty quiet."
"What? I'm a little surprised; I mean Gil Grissom just asked me to marry him."
"He did?" He said with mock surprise.
She gave him a look that said nothing more than Smart ass.
After dinner they opted to take a little walk. They walked quietly arm in arm for a while. Grissom was the first to break the silence, "So when should we get married?"
"I'm ready when you are."
"You sure, I mean this is Vegas. We could get married this minute if you wanted."
"Well maybe I'm not that ready," she squeezed his arm. "Don't you think there are some things that need to be taken care of first…?"
"Ah, you mean telling others." That thought worried both of them.
"I love having this sexy little secret that only you and I know, but if we get married without letting anyone else in on the secret, well there will be repercussions. If Catherine has anything to say about it, she'll have me strung me up by my toes." She wasn't kidding.
"Kinky."
"Gil, I'm serious. I don't want to be on her shit list because I married one of her closest friends behind her back."
"Catherine has a shit list?"
She looked at him in shock. "Where have you been?"
"Alright, so when would you like to tell them?"
"Before we say I do."
He stopped walking and caught her arm before she could continue walking, I love the way that sounded, and I do." He pulled her into a passionate kiss. They pulled apart when they remembered where they were, and decided it was time to go home and celebrate their engagement the way they were both aching to.
TBC…