Thanks for your reviews, means a lot that you're all reading this.

Chapter Three

Sara awoke the next morning to the sound of her alarm clock – 6am. The rising sun was starting to break its away through the gap in the curtains at her bedroom window. She sat up in bed and wiped the sleep away from her eyes. Pulling the covers back from her body, she slid her feet onto the hardwood floor. She'd barely had three hours sleep, had been up reading her books from the library about psychology; Sara didn't get on well with sleep, hadn't slept well for as along as she could remember, but she was used to it now. Night time brought peacefulness to her, she could think more at night.

Sara's room was small, but it didn't need to be very big, she didn't have a lot of possessions. A large bookcase sat along the wall opposite the bed, a desk next to it, a window above that. The single bed was pushed up against the wall; a chest of drawers was at the bottom of the bed. The walls were an off-white colour, and needed repainting, but it was bearable. Sara didn't have much money: she worked Saturday afternoons in a supermarket nearby, and that covered rent and food, that was all she needed until she could start her career as a CSI.

She changed from her nightwear, a simple t-shirt and cotton shorts, and pulled on an old university jumper, sweatpants, and trainers. Grabbing her keys from the desk, she slid them into her pocket and left the apartment. Running helped Sara clear her mind for the day ahead. She enjoyed watching the world come to life while she ran. Grateful she lived near a large park, she could do several laps before the dog walkers started to come out.

The morning air was cold, but she enjoyed the feel of it. Today was day two of Grissom's seminar week and her stomach was alive with butterflies. He was so full of stories to tell, cases he'd solved, things he'd seen. Sara wanted to know it all; she wanted to hear him tell her, to have those eyes on her.

Sara shook her head. She was getting carried away with this. But there was something about him, something she couldn't get out of her mind, and didn't want to.

Finishing her run, Sara showered and dressed at home before walking over to the conference academy. Sara entered the lecture room with ten minutes to spare, bottle of water in hand, she smiled at the fact she was the first student there. Grissom was stood next to the desk, reading a book. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans, his shiny black shoes, and a black polo shirt. He raised his head from the book as Sara entered, "Good morning."

"Morning." Sara could have chosen any seat in the room, but she felt drawn to the seat she'd sat in yesterday, so she chose that one, placing her water bottle on the her table and her bag by her side.

Grissom came and sat down on the seat next to her, leaning over to show her the pages of his open book. "See the larva in second intar on the body – they're telling you everything you need to know how long a body has been at the crime scene straight away, whether or not it was transported, or if that's where the crime took place.

Sara was fascinated, no one had ever mentioned decomposition in regards to fly life cycle to her.

"It's not just the body that can speak, Sara, it's the world around it."

She smiled at him gently as their eyes met, and he smiled back. She was trying to remain calm, but he only seemed to be making the feelings inside of her worse, like he knew how she was feeling, and was playing with her.

"We're going to look at some crime scenes today; I think you'll enjoy it." He closed the book and rose from the chair beside Sara.

Students started to fill the room as Grissom wrote on the large blackboard 'double murder in a garage'. After everyone had arrived and taken their seats, Grissom began…

Break time seemed to come in a flash for Sara; she was enthralled in the crime scene Grissom had explained to the class. Directional blood splatter, positioning of objects in the room pre and post-murder, suspects, DNA – she was disappointed when Grissom had called 'break'.

The class cleared out to enjoy the afternoon sunshine, but Sara remained in her seat, opening her bottle of water. She'd chosen a short-sleeved black t-shirt, khaki canvas trousers and pumps to wear, and although the room was hot, the cover to her skin was helping deflect the sun that came through the windows.

Sara expected Grissom to head out with the rest of the class, maybe he smoked? But he stayed put by his desk, drinking his bottle of water. "I see you've come prepared." He tilted his water bottle towards hers.

"I never make the same mistake twice." She replied.

He took the empty seat beside her like he had done previously that day. "I'd like to take you for a coffee."

Sara's eyes shot up from her notes on the desk, to his. He was smiling, but he seemed a little unsure, almost nervous. She didn't know what to say, her heart screamed 'yes', but she was surprised at his forthrightness.

With a lack of reply, Grissom began to explain himself, "The other people in this class, Sara, they're not here because they're passionate about forensics, not like you are. You deserve to know more from this—"

"Yes," Sara cut in, her heart had won out. "Coffee would be nice."

He looked relieved that she'd answered. "I don't know San Francisco very well, but I've seen a coffee house on my way from my hotel, if you don't mind me driving."

Sara shook her head.

"Great." Grissom got up from the seat and wandered over to his desk, picking up one of his books and scanning the pages for some information.

Sara didn't know what to think. She'd spent time with lecturers before, in their offices, enthusiastically explaining gun shot residue or a psychological process she'd just read about, but none of the lecturers she'd had before had chosen to spend time with her, they'd simply been doing their jobs. This was completely different, she admitted it to herself: this was a major crush, on a man she barely knew.

She'd had boyfriends, several since whilst she'd been at university, but she'd struggled with being younger than them and so focused on her work. There'd been one serious guy, Jake, he'd been studying a degree in law enforcement, and she devoted herself to him, in heart and body. Until one night, 18 months into their relationship, when she'd found him in bed with one of the other students in her class. She'd thrown herself into her degree after that, leaving university will top marks, but had decided never to let herself get that hurt again, to be so vulnerable with anyone.

Break was over after a few more minutes, Sara setting out all her notes on her desk to be able to read all the information straight away - she knew this was only a practice crime scene set-out, but she wanted to solve it. Grissom had sketched out the layout of the crime scene on the blackboard, and once finished, he turned around to face the class, and continued with his lecture.