A/N: Thank you again for all your reviews and comments! They really do mean the world to me.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
I don't own CSI.
The Friendship
Ring.
Deeply immersed in reading the latest batch of essays from his students, Grissom jumped a mile as his phone started ringing. He looked at it for a moment, blinking when it rang a second time. Realizing how long it had been since he had talked to her, he smiled. He picked up the phone knowing exactly whose voice he would hear on the other end of the line.
"Hello?"
"So, how's it going?" she greeted him.
"Fine," Grissom replied.
"Fine?" she repeated in disbelief. "That's all you're going to say to me? Fine?"
He heaved a mocked sigh, smiling. "What exactly would you like to hear?"
"Some details! An update on what you've been doing!" He could almost hear Catherine roll her eyes. "Gil, I haven't talked to you in a week. I know that you do things like this to get away from the lab for a bit, but this is the first time you've actually gone out of your way not to talk to us. It's like you've cut off contact."
Grissom smiled. "Catherine, are you trying to say that you miss me?"
"We can barely get by without you."
"Any good cases?"
"Plenty," she replied. "And, when you come back from Never-Never Land, you can read all about them."
"Now who's the one holding back on the details?"
She laughed. "Now you know how it feels."
Grissom smiled again. "There's not much to tell. I'm teaching a group of very bright students."
"Oh, that's how it's going to be? We're just going to state the obvious? Well, I'm chasing down the bad guys of Las Vegas."
"Well put," Grissom replied. "How are Warrick and Nicky doing?"
"Really well," Catherine said. "I'm impressed, Grissom. You've done a great job with them."
"You don't need to sound so surprised."
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Obviously you're a good teacher; you must be the most popular guest lecturer Berkley has ever seen."
"I think you're going a bit far."
"Well, you must spend all your time teaching if you haven't been calling me every day for an update on the lab." She paused dramatically. "Unless …"
Grissom sighed, fearing what was coming. "Unless what?"
"Unless you've finally managed to find a girlfriend," Catherine said in a teasing, suggestive voice.
"Catherine …"
She laughed. "Okay, I know. I've gone too far. I've crossed the line."
"With you, there are no lines," Grissom sighed.
"You do miss me, don't you?" she teased.
"Terribly," Grissom said sarcastically. "Do you miss me, Catherine, or do you just delight in tormenting me?"
"A little of both," she replied.
"Have we satisfied your desires at this point, or do we need to continue this conversation?"
"That was a bit more innuendo than I'd like to hear from you," Catherine laughed. "You must miss me."
"Catherine, I'm hanging up now," Grissom said.
She laughed again. "Bye, Grissom. Have fun with your students."
"Take good care of Nick and Warrick," Grissom replied. "Tell them hello. Jim and Al, too."
"What, no warm greeting for Ecklie?" she laughed.
Grissom rolled his eyes. "I doubt that our illustrious colleague would be pleased to hear from me."
"I know. That's why I want to tell him that you said hello."
Grissom laughed at that. "Stay out of trouble until I get back, Cath."
"I will. We'll talk soon, right?"
"Of course."
"All right. Bye, Grissom."
"Good bye, Catherine."
Grissom hung up his phone and stared at it for a few moments. He hated talking to Catherine when she thought he was hiding something from her. She would never rest until she knew what it was. Really, he was surprised that she had let him off so easily.
The reality was that he wasn't hiding anything from her. He truly had not called to check in with her because he had been so busy with his class. He had not realized how time-consuming this seminar would be. None of his previous seminars had put so much of a demand on his time.
Then again, perhaps his previous seminars hadn't included such talented students as this one. Sara and Tony both possessed a passion for learning that truly impressed him. He would love to have both of them working with him in Las Vegas. He was very tempted to ask them to consider changing career paths. Yet, when the thought crossed his mind, he realized that he had no idea what their original career paths were. Perhaps he needed to find out. He would love to keep working with them.
During the most recent class, Sara and Tony had entered into an unofficial, undeclared battle to be his star student. While he hoped they wouldn't actually come to blows over the whole thing, he was rather intrigued by watching it unfold. And, truly, if it would provide his classes with such lively discussions as that of the previous night, he was willing to let them compete.
May the most talented scientist win.
Sara looked down at her notebook, highlighting the questions she had written in the margins. She looked up again to see Tony saying good bye to Dr. Grissom. Once Tony had walked away, the older man turned to her with a smile.
"May I help you, Miss Sidle?"
"I just have a few questions," she said.
Grissom nodded and sat down next to her. "Okay. Let's hear them."
Sara launched into her first question, which provided an excellent point to start a conversation about all of them. As they had after the previous classes, Sara and Grissom sat talking about forensics for over an hour. When they had finally managed to satisfy Sara's curiosity, Grissom decided to satisfy his own.
"May I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"What do you want to do with your life?" he asked.
Sara frowned slightly. "What?"
"You're a physics student, right?"
"Yes."
"What do you want to do with your physics degree?"
"Well, it will be my second. My undergrad degree is in physics, too," she said. She paused and bit her lip. "I've always intended to continue on and get my PhD in physics."
Grissom nodded. "And then?"
She looked at him blankly.
He smiled. "A PhD is a wonderful thing to have. People call you "Doctor," and tend to treat you as though you're a cut above, even though you know that you're not. But, in the end, it's only a piece of paper that cost you five years and thousands of dollars. It's not a career."
"But, it leads to one."
"True." He looked at her intently. "What career do you intend to pursue?"
Sara bit her lip again. "I had always thought that I'd go into teaching at a university somewhere."
"If I may be so bold, you don't sound very sure of yourself."
She shook her head. "I've never been very sure of what I want to do beyond getting the degrees." She looked at him for a moment as though deciding something. In the end, she blurted out her question. "How did you decide to become a criminalist?"
"I didn't," he said simply.
She looked at him blankly.
He smiled. "This isn't a 'career' for me, Sara. It's my passion. I didn't grow up thinking that I wanted to work in law enforcement, or that I wanted to investigate crime scenes. I fell into this line of work, and it is and always has been a perfect fit. I get to be a scientist, I get to solve puzzles and I get to help people. Truly, it's everything I never knew I wanted until I found it."
His passion for forensic science was infectious. Sara's eyes began to shine with his as she listened to him speak. "I never even knew …"
"I don't want you to get into this just because I love it," he cautioned, knowing that he would hate himself for not saying this even more than he would hate himself for saying it. "It's not something I want you to get into because of some romantic notion."
Sara's face colored slightly, even though she knew that his use of "romantic notion" had nothing to do with her own feelings. "I won't," she promised.
"Good," he said. "But, if you decide that it is a field you'd like to pursue, I'd be more than happy to help you get started."
"Thank you," she said sincerely. "That really means a lot to me."
"Seriously?"
Sara looked at Mary in confusion. "What?"
"What is all this?"
"Magazines."
"Yes, I can see that. I thought I was the reader of this relationship." Mary began rifling through the stack of magazines Sara had deposited on the coffee table. "All forensic journals?"
"Why not? Sara asked defensively. "Do you have any idea how much knowledge Tony has about forensics? I need to do a lot of reading if I'm going to be able to keep up with him in class."
"Sara." Mary sat down on the couch with her. "What are you doing?"
"I just told you –"
"You just told me a small, isolated bit of information that has nothing to do with anything," Mary said. "You've had plenty of classes with Tony in the past, and you've gone head to head with him plenty of times in the past, but never have I seen you do so much extra reading for the sake of looking better than him."
"You're right; there's more." She paused, as if searching for words. "I want to learn about forensics," Sara said. Her eyes took on a shine. "I had never really thought about a career in forensics before now. You're the one who said I needed to find my passion, and … I think that this may be it. It's truly fascinating, Mar."
"It's truly fascinating, or he's truly fascinating?" Mary asked gently.
Sara's eyes widened. "Mary …"
"Sara, listen to me. You have been taking this seminar for three weeks, and I have yet to see you come home on time. You stay after class talking to Grissom until the janitors kick you out of the building. You've suddenly developed an interest in a branch of science that I don't remember hearing you mention before. You can't tell me this is all because you find the subject area so intriguing."
Sara took a deep breath before responding. "I do find it intriguing," she said quietly. "I never really knew anything about forensics until now, and, honestly, Mary, it really has captured my interest."
"But?" Mary prompted, hearing the hesitation at the end of Sara's statement.
"But," she said slowly and a bit reluctantly, "he has captured my interest, too."
"I knew it!" Mary exclaimed gleefully, clapping her hands together. "I knew you weren't just staying after class because you wanted to talk science! You wanted to talk to the scientist!"
"God, Mar, you're making me feel dirty."
"You're not quite dirty yet," Mary grinned. "Plenty of people crush on their teachers. It only becomes dirty if you actually start dating him."
Sara sighed. "He'd never date me."
Sensing the plea for a compliment, Mary decided to humor her. "Why wouldn't he? Clearly, he likes spending time with you … unless you've been keeping him after class by holding a gun to his head."
Sara smiled. "He works for the police. I think there's a pretty strong law against threatening a police officer with a gun."
"He's not an actual police officer," Mary said dismissively. "But, I think you've found my point. He's staying to talk to you because he wants to, not because he has to."
"I don't know …"
"And, let's not forget, you're a beautiful girl," Mary said.
Sara rolled her eyes. "Not that it's done much for me in the past."
"You know, Sara, your problem is that you can't see what others see when they look at you. You don't have any idea how pretty you really are."
"Some people might say that that's a good thing."
Mary rolled her eyes. "Stop being so modest."
"I'm not," Sara protested. She sighed. "Can we please just drop this conversation?"
"All right," Mary agreed. She picked up the top magazine from Sara's stack and threw it at her. "Let's just sit here and read together."
Sara smiled as she opened the periodical. "I've always wondered what a day in the life of Mary would be like."
Mary laughed. "Then hold on and get ready to experience it."
Sara prepared for her seminar with a bit of excitement and anticipation. She had devoured the forensic journals as though they were required reading for her thesis, and was looking forward to discussing what she had learned with Grissom.
"Mary, I'm leaving!" she called as she opened their front door.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Mary called back.
Laughing, Sara stepped across the threshold. "Bye!"
"See you later!"
Grissom's eyes lit up when she walked into the room. Well … maybe they didn't "light up," per se, but he did look up when she walked in. She considered that, and the smile that he gave her, a small victory.
"Hello, Sara," he said.
"Hi," she replied.
The brief exchange was enough to fluster her, if only slightly. She made her way to her seat and took out her things for class. Busy looking through her bag, she had no idea that Grissom had followed her to her seat until he spoke.
"I think you'll enjoy tonight's lecture," he said. "I'm incorporating a bit of physics. We'll look at part of their role in forensics."
Startled, Sara looked up. "I thought this was about entomology in forensics," she said with a slight frown.
"It is," he replied. "Haven't you learned, in all your years of study, that all branches of science are interconnected?"
She smiled. "You're right, of course."
"I think you'll be surprised how many connections there are between what you've already learned and what you're learning now."
"I already am."
"Good. I hope I can show you a few more tonight."
He certainly achieved his goal. After class, as Sara patiently awaited her turn to talk to Grissom, she considered all she had learned during the lecture, combined with the pervious lectures, what she had learned in her physics classes and all that she had read in the forensic journals. She could hardly wait to discuss it all with Grissom. When Tony had finally finished his dissertation on all things forensic, Grissom turned to Sara with a smile.
"You're so patient," he commented as he took a seat next to her. "You always wait until he's done before speaking with me."
"I want to have my questions answered," she replied. "And, I like to know that you're not thinking in the back of your mind that you need to finish talking to me because there's someone else waiting to ask you a question."
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Do you put that much thought and effort into everything that you do?"
Sara shrugged. "It's just basic common sense."
"Ah, but common sense is the one thing that is most often lacking in the scientific community," Grissom smiled. "We all become so completely involved in our studies that we forget that common sense exists … which is a shame, considering that it can often lead us to the answers we seek."
It was Sara's turn to quirk an eyebrow. "Did I just climb to the top of a mountain to gain that bit of wisdom?"
"No, it came to you without all the trouble," Grissom replied. "Now, what can I help you understand tonight?"
"I've been doing a bit of outside reading," Sara said. "I'd really appreciate it if you could help me connect some thoughts. I'm trying to compare what I've read with what we've discussed in class."
Grissom's eyes widened and he smiled. "I'd love to."
They were still in the middle of their rather intense conversation when the janitor, who now knew to expect to find them in their classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays, stopped in the doorway.
"Hi, folks," he said. "It's time for me to lock up."
Sara and Grissom looked at one another in surprise.
"I didn't realize it was so late," Sara said rather regretfully. She looked down at her notebooks. "I suppose this can wait until Tuesday."
Grissom looked as though he was making a rather difficult decision. "No," he said at last. "It can't."
Sara looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"I don't want to lose the thread," he explained. "This isn't something that can be taught two hours a week. We need to keep going while the thoughts are at the top of our minds."
"But, Dr. Grissom, they're locking the building."
Grissom looked back at the janitor. "I believe that you mentioned a coffee shop before?"
What have I done?
Grissom mentally kicked himself all the way to the coffee shop. He couldn't believe that he had made such a suggestion. Teachers and students weren't supposed to go out for coffee, were they?
He thought back, and realized that he had had several teachers who had taken him out for coffee to discuss classes in the past. They had all been special mentors who had helped to shape his career.
If he were honest with himself, that was exactly what he was hoping to do with Sara. She had told him that she wanted to continue on with her studies in physics, but he knew that she wasn't entirely sure that was what she wanted to do with her life. He hoped that something he said to her might trigger enough interest that she would consider jumping into forensics. This was one mind, one person, who belonged in forensics. He intended to do his best to get her there.
Is this really happening?
Sara felt completely giddy as she walked with Grissom to the coffee shop. She could hardly believe that he had suggested that they go for coffee to continue their conversation. Was this really about science, or something more? Teachers and students didn't go out for coffee, did they?
If she were honest with herself, she knew very well that she had been in classes and study groups that had gone out for coffee, lunch and dinner with professors before. She had even been a member of a class that had been invited to the professor's home for dinner. Maybe it wasn't all that odd or unusual.
But, a girl could dream, couldn't she?
With cups of steaming coffee in front of them, Grissom and Sara discussed the finer points of the lecture and the articles she had read. They continued on until she was sure that she had a good understanding of both.
"Thank you so much for taking so much time to help me with this," Sara said. "You really don't have to be so kind."
"I want to teach you," Grissom said simply.
Sara bit back a giggle at the thought of what Mary would say when she shared that comment later. "I really do appreciate it," she said.
Grissom looked at her for a moment. "May I ask you a question?"
Sara thought of the last time he had asked that, and the conversation it had led to. She wasn't sure if she was mentally ready for another question about her future. She looked at him a bit warily. "All right," she agreed.
Grissom smiled, reading the nerves in her eyes. "Tell me about yourself," he said.
Sara blinked at the abrupt subject change. "What?"
"Tell me about yourself," he repeated. "What made you go into physics?"
"I've always been a science geek," she said with a somewhat apologetic smile. "My high school physics teacher was the best. He really inspired me, and made me see the beauty in science."
Grissom never knew what happened in that moment. He didn't know if it was the words or the way she said them, or even if it was something else, like the sound of her voice or the shine in her eyes. But, whatever the cause, he suddenly realized exactly how beautiful Sara was. He had noticed how pretty she was on the first day of class, but, at that moment, he saw the true beauty in her. Even more, he saw her ability to see beauty where others only saw complications, and knew that he would never look at his world the same way again.
"Dr. Grissom?" she asked, a bit unsettled by the way he was studying her. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he said. He glanced at his watch. "I should probably be going."
"You're right," Sara said, looking at her own watch. "I have an early lab tomorrow."
Grissom signaled their waitress, who promptly brought the check. Sara reached for her wallet, but he waved her off.
"I'll get your coffee," he said.
Sara's eyes widened. "You don't have to do that."
"Don't worry about," he said. "You're still in school. I know how tight your money must be, and I know that you need to spend it on better things than coffee with an old man."
She smiled. "I don't think you're old."
The words were out before she could stop them, and she felt her cheeks growing warm. But, Grissom, apparently unaware of her embarrassment, smiled.
"Thank you."
Sara watched as he put the bills on the table, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the situation. "When I graduate and have a real job, I'll buy you a coffee," she promised.
He smiled at her. "I'll look forward to it."
Sara's heart skipped a beat.
