Chapter Fourteen

Grissom waited for Catherine and Warrick's footsteps to die away before collapsing onto the couch beside his desk. "Sara? Would you turn off the light and lock the door?"

Sara smiled. "Here, Griss? I thought you wanted to keep us a secret until we were both ready. I mean… they could hear us… or… walk in… and that couch is so not sanitary, or comfortable."

Grissom glared at her. "No, Sara. I have a horrible migraine. I can't even think." His headache had progressed to a migraine quickly after he'd kicked Brass and Ecklie out of his office. For the past half an hour, he'd bee sitting at his desk in the dark, trying - but not succeding - to rid himself of the pain.

Sara brushed the hair off of his forehead. "I figured. I was only teasing. Did you take anything?"

"The light, Sara. And the door."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." She stood up to turn off the light and lock the door.

"And yes, I took everything my doctor has told me to," he said to her in the sudden but comoforting darkness. "I don't want any more disturbances."

She sat down gingerly on the edge of the couch. "Do you want me to leave?" she asked gently.

"No, no." He grabbed her hand. "Stay with me. I need you."

Sara smiled to herself in the dark. Even after months of dating, he still needed her, and it felt good to have him let her know. "Okay then, just get some rest. It usually helps, right?" He nodded and squeezed her hand. "Just get some rest. I'll deal with whoever comes by. And I won't leave."

"Thanks, dear," he whispered, drifting off to sleep.

OoOoOoO

Grissom slept for about an hour and a half. And Sara never left his side, either. When Grissom woke up at around ten-thirty, he was groggy.

"Hey," Sara whispered, helping him to sit up on the couch. "How are you feeling?"

"Horrible," he answered. "Hand me that water bottle, would you?"

Sara reached over to his desk for the water. Noticing that it had come from her apartment, she smiled. "You know Griss, stealing is not the best policy in a relationship."

"What?"

"The water is from my apartment," she explained. "But don't worry about it. It's only water. Here you go." Handing it to him, she added, "Drink it slow."

When he sat up straight to drink the water, Sara got a good look at him. "Oh my God, Grissom, you look horrible!" she whisper-exclaimed.

"Thanks. I love you too," he managed to say.

"I know. I'm sorry," she whispered, rubbing his cheek. "I do love you. So much. But Griss, honey… you really don't look good. You're really pale and all sweaty. I think it's more than just a headache. You're really sick. C'mon, you've got to go home, and get some more rest."

"Sara," he said, taking a sip of water. "I can't leave in the middle of a case. You know that."

"When you're sick like this, you can. Look, Nick, Greg and I are all on the case now. We can crack it. And if we can't, and only if we can't we'll call for Catherine and Warrick. And then, if we still can't crack it, we'll call you. Deal?" He nodded, but stopped. It was causing him pain. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

When she slipped her hand into his, he was vividly reminded of that night when he had said the same thing to her. She'd been pulled over for a DUI, and he'd had to come pick her up at the station. It was awkward for both of them, and they hadn't spoken of it again.

"Sara," he started to argue.

"Don't argue with me, Grissom," she warned playfully. "You won't win."

"Fine. But you can't drive me home. You're on the clock," he said.

Sara smiled. "Yes, but my supervisor says that it's okay to drive an ill friend home. And that rule even applies to me driving you home as well." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "And, the supervisor says it's okay for me to drive my boyfriend home, especially when he's got a really bad migraine."

Grissom smiled. She had won. "Okay, you can drive me home. But I don't want to go to the townhouse. Let me stay in your apartment. It's nicer. And cosier."

Sara was surprised. No one had ever referred to her apartment as 'cozy' before. But Grissom practically lived there when they weren't at his place, so she was okay with letting him stay there.

She smiled again. "Alright. But on one condition." She raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "Keep it clean. If I come home and it's an absolute mess, I'm going to kick your ass."

"You'll kiss it better, though, right?" he asked in mock-nervousness, despite the throbbing pain in his head.

She slid off the couch and pulled him up with her. Kissing him softly, she whispered, "Maybe. If it's really bothering you. Come on, let's go."

Sara quickly grabbed his briefcase and laptop. "Take this," she said, holding out the laptop. "I'll take your briefcase." He nodded and took it from her hands. Looking around his office, she said, "I think we have everything. I'll bring home anything we've forgotten."

Grissom nodded again, slower this time. His head was throbbing again. Taking a step forward, he swayed and almost collapsed into Sara. "Whoa, Griss," she said, reaching out to put both of her hands on his chest to steady him. "Be careful. How's your head?"

"Throbbing," Grissom answered.

Sara looked apologetic. "Okay, I'm sorry about this, but when I open the door, it's going to be very loud and very bright. Are you ready?"

Grissom mumbled no, but said, "Just get it over with. I want to leave."

Sara unlocked the door and opened it. She heard Grissom behind her gasp with pain. She took his arm and led him slowly down the hall. "It's okay," she soothed. "I'm here, and it'll be fine. You're okay."

He was walking down the hallway with his eyes closed and Sara holding him tightly. It wasn't long until people started to yell questions out of the rooms on either side of them.

"What's wrong with the boss?"

"You two going out on a date?"

Sara grimaced. She could see that Grissom was getting worse, but did nothing to stop their yelling coworkers. She couldn't. If she yelled back, she'd be yelling in Grissom's ear. If she stopped to talk to everyone, she would be wasting time in getting him home.

Nick came down the hall in front of them, and saw that Grissom was in pain. He ran down the hall, telling everyone to shut up and go back to work. Sara thanked Nick with her eyes, and quickly ushered Grissom through the double doors leading to the parking lot.

Once outside, the blinding Nevada sun did nothing to help Grissom's pain. Grunting slightly, Sara helped him into her car. "Just sit there, fall asleep again, if you want," she told him, leaning in to kiss his forehead. "We'll be gone in a minute."

"Sara!"

"Shit," she muttered, getting out of her car slowly.

"Sara!" the voice called again. This time she recognized it. That Texan accent couldn't be missed: Nick.

"Hey Nicky," she said, turning around. "Thanks for helping us out back there."

Nick looked uncomfortable; like he had seen something he shouldn't have. Which he might have. "Oh, you're welcome." He motioned to Grissom. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's got another migraine, and I think he might be getting the flu. Catherine said it was going around," she explained.

"Right," he said, avoiding her eyes. "Well, do you know when he'll be coming back? We kind of need some help on our case." Nick didn't dare mention what he thought he'd just witnessed between his friend and boss. That was a thought better left for when he could think about it in peace.

Sara grinned. "I'm your help." She walked to the back of her car, and put Grissom's briefcase away. "Our case was ruled suicide. Cath and Warrick are helping the dayshift; Griss said they were a bit backed up. He told me to stay with him, said he needed some help. I'll be back in around an hour. I've got to take him home first, get him all settled in. But then I'll be right back."

Nick smirked. "Typical Grissom," he said.

Sara looked up from the driver's side of her car. "What?"

"Just that whenever you're a potential choice for Griss to work with, he always chooses you."

She smiled and got into the car. "That's not true," she said.

"Oh?" Nick's smirk grew. "How so?"

She started the car. "How about when he made two teams? I'm on Catherine's team, not Grissom's." Nick stood speechless. "That's what I thought. See you in an hour, Nicky!" She backed out of her spot and turned into traffic.

Nick stood stock-still for a good minute. "Damn, she's good!" he muttered finally, walking back into the lab.