Disclaimer: Never owned them. Never Have. Never Will…..How sad.
A/N: I actually have nothing much to say! (picture that).
However, I'm working overtime up to Christmas, then I'm going away for Hogmanay (New Year) so I probably won't get the next chapter up until early January.
So MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOGMANAY to everyone.
Oh, and the speech in italic's is when there remembering.
Chapter 5
Catherine was sitting having a snack with her daughter around 5pm while Lindsay was working on her homework.
She was excited thinking about the call she'd just had from Archie, who had told her he'd finished the picture of Julie-Ann, and it'd be ready for her to have a look at when she came in tonight.
In her bag she had the best photo's shed been able to find of Gil and Sara last night.
She then laughed out loud, shaking her head at Lindsay who was looking at her as though she'd gone mad, as she thought about Sara's frantic phone call before the shift the previous night. She hadn't told any of the guys, because Sara had made her promise not to, but around this time the previous evening, Sara had phoned her in a complete panic.
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(Flashback)
"Oh God Cath, you've got to help me" Sara exclaimed "Griss asked me if I'd like to go somewhere nice for dinner, and I don't know what to wear…or even if I have anything to wear…you've gotta help me Cath!"
Subsequently, Catherine had made her way over to Sara's flat armed with a car full of make-up and hair products, also a few of her outfits in case Sara wanted to borrow, ready to turn the labs resident tomboy into a beautiful lady for her nights date.
She'd knocked on the door after Sara had buzzed her up and walked with Sara into a complete mess - that Catherine assumed had once resembled a bedroom. Clothes were scattered everywhere, and Catherine couldn't think of a single time when she'd ever seen Sara in such a state.
"Ok, first things first" Catherine said. "Can we pick up some of this mess , so I can see what I'm working with?"
"Cath! Griss is coming in less than 2 hours!"
"Ok, ok. We'll just find what we want then shove the rest back in your wardrobe and you can sort it out tomorrow ok?"
Sara smiled and Catherine could tell she was making a really obvious effort to calm down.
"Right. What do you have in the way of skirts?" Catherine asked.
"Skirts? Catherine are you out of your mind? I've never worn a skirt in my life and I'm not about to start now - I don't think I even own a skirt."
"Well, I brought a couple in my car. I could…"
"No, way! You are not making me wear a skirt. For a start Gil would know you helped me get dressed - and I don't want him thinking I still don't know how to dress up by myself. Can't I just wear some flared pants or something?"
Catherine sighed, knowing she'd never win the battle of getting Sara into a skirt - Lord knows, if she ever got to that stage the woman would probably try to get married in a pants suit!
Catherine looked thru the mess on Sara's bed, chair, floor, hanging over her dresser, and every other surface available, and still found nothing she have deemed 'suitable', till she glanced back at Sara's wardrobe and found a few items were still hanging up. She riffled through the hangers and al last found the perfect item to start building an outfit from. A very feminine pair of pants, chocolate brown in a velvety material with a nice flare delicate beading around the cuffs, and a matching belt with a good bit of 'bling' factor. She threw them at Sara -
"Get these on and you'll be half way there. Now, just to find a matching top!"
"That's why the were still in there Cath…none of my tops match" She wailed.
Catherine thought about the clothes she'd tossed in her car.
"Don't worry, I think I've got the perfect top to complement those pants" Catherine said "Be back in a couple of minutes".
And with that she raced out the door and back to her car. Catherine retuned a few minutes late to find that Sara had gotten herself into the pants she'd picked and was starting to tidy her room a wee bit.
"Here," She said tossing Sara a deep purple silky halter neck top. "Try this with those"
Sara shrugged into the top and Catherine knew she'd made a good choice - the top and pants went perfectly together, as though they'd been brought at the same time.
"Great!" They'd exclaimed together.
"Good, I'm glad you like it" Catherine said "Now sit down so I can do you hair, then we'll work on jewellery and makeup - oh, what do you have in the way of shoes?"
"Hmm" Sara dove into her wardrobe and came back up a few moments later with a pair of brown ankle boots with a three inch heal in her hand "how about these?"
"Perfect - now sit down!"
It'd taken Catherine over an hour to get her hair and make up done and it was nearly seven fifteen when she'd left…she now wondered how the date had gone, and if all of her and Sara's preparation had paid off.
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About the same time Catherine was sitting doing homework with Lindsay, Sara was standing in her kitchen trying to decide what to make for diner as a thank you to Grissom for the previous evening, and her mind drifted back to their night out.
He'd arrived promptly at seven twenty five and the look in his eyes told Sara that her and Catherine's work in getting ready had really paid off. She'd not seen that look on Grissom's face sine before she'd come to Vegas.
He'd handed her a bouquet of yellow roses mixed with fern leafs, muttering something about 'for old times sake' and continued looking deep and lovingly at her as she put the flowers into water before they went out.
When they'd pulled up outside an expensive looking restaurant she'd turned to him before they got out.
"Gil…are you sure?" Sara asked.
"Yes honey. Julie-Ann might not be able to celebrate her birthday tonight, but wherever she is now, I'm sure she'd be happy that we're celebrating it for her" He answered softly touching his palm to her cheek.
Sara stiffened slightly for a moment, then shivered, but not from the cold. She knew from the look in his eyes, and his actions, that even though, yes this was about Julie-Ann's birthday, it was also about much more. His look and his touch told her that, if she was willing, he was willing to risk their work for the chance to be with her again. And it was a chance she very much wanted to take, but wasn't sure if now was the best time while her emotions were running so high because of Julie-Ann.
Grissom noted her hesitation with a crest fallen expression. He was right, he'd waited to longand she'd finally given up on him. Sara however was as usual observant enough to notice his momentary change in facial expressions even though he went back to his usual blank mask as fast as he could.
"Gil, I saw your looks, I know this is about more than Julie-Ann, albeit important in her sense as well" Sara had said. "And yes, I do want to be with you again, always have - I 'm just not sure if the moment, when I feel so unusually emotional is the right time to make such a decision."
Grissom nodded and waited for her to continue, sensing that she had more to say.
"Though saying that, thank you for being so kind today, and I'd really like to have a special evening out with you,…so…ok for now."
His smile of relief had lit up his whole face.
Their dinner had gone really well. It had been awkward at first, with stilted conversation and not looking at each others faces (not to forget a very annoying waitress as well, who kept making eyes at Grissom), until they'd both laughed at the same time and broken the tension.
From that point on it had been very like the old days in San Francisco - which made both Sara and Grissom realise how much they'd missed their previous relationship - to the point of Gil admitting it out loud and even kissing her in public - in Vegas of all places when anyone they know could have come by at any time.
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The shrill ring of her phone broke Sara out of her revive. She went to pick it up, all the while cursing herself for the time she'd wasted….veggie Lasagne… she decided that'd not take to long to prepare for dinner.
"Hello" answered as she picked her phone up.
"Sara - how'd your night go?" Catherine asked without preamble.
"Cath, I really don't have time for this right now…Griss is coming for dinner in around an hour and I've yet to get started on it. I'd love to talk but I've been daydreaming for too long" Sara replied while starting to gather ingredients from her kitchen cupboard.
"Ok, I'll let you go for now….but I take it that it went really well then?"
"You could say that"
"Yes, but would you?"
"Definitely!…Cath I really have to go…I call you tomorrow morning after you finish work ok?"
"Ok then…and you'd better!"
"Bye Cath"
"Bye Sara"
And amazingly, Sara had been able to get rid of Catherine really quickly - quite a rarity for Cath not to push for details - then again it had been a rather strange few days past.
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The Lasagne was cooking nicely, and Sara had finally got herself into a clean pair of jeans and a nice floaty three quarter sleeved top and was just finishing doing her hair when her buzzer rang.
'Right on time as always' She though.
"Hi Gil, come on up" She said as she let him in.
Sara then opened her door, leaving it just ajar, so that it would open as he knocked, and went to check on her lasagne - the last thing she'd want would be to burn the dinner. She'd done that once before in San Fran, and he'd never let her forget it - it was where her reputation of being a hopeless cook had come from.
Just as she was straitening up again closing the oven door, a hand landed on her shoulder - making her jump.
"Good God Gil - how can you be so damn quiet?" Sara exclaimed.
"Really? Am I?" Grissom replied trying to look innocent but not quiet making it. Sara once again had that familiar feeling of not knowing whether she wanted to hug him…or slap him.
However, when his other hand appeared from behind his back with a beautiful bouquet of tulips (and purple ones at that - her favourite colour) the 'hug him' feeling soon won out.
"Griss, those really are stunning…but you really didn't have to - you brought me flowers last night" Sara said.
"Maybe I did - but I'm trying to make up for 6 very long years here Honey….besides, I was passing a florist and when I saw these I knew you'd love them - I just had to get them cause I have managed to remember that purple's your favourite colour" Grissom answered.
"Thank you so much" Sara said as she finally reached out to accept them, then reached up and kissed his cheek. "Just let me find something in place of a vase to do these justice"
"What do you mean?"
"Well I only have one vase - and that's holding the roses you brought me last night!"
"Well if you'd told me that honey, I'd have brought you a vase as well!"
"Very funny!"
Sara laid the flowers on the bench and rummaged around in the cupboard under her sink….she had an idea…just didn't know if the object she was thinking of was one she still had or not. Grissom looked on amused until after about 5 minutes he heard a muffled 'Got it', and Sara emerged with an old fashioned looking ceramic jug.
"What do you think?" Sara said….just as she started to smell burning…"Oh no… not again!"
She rushed to her oven, and pulled out the lasagne, thankfully only slightly singed around the edges - the centre would still be perfectly edible.
"Don't say a word Gil! This is all your fault!"
"How is it my fault you can't cook?" Grissom asked playfully.
"Because its only around you that I can't!…and I was distracted looking for a vase - you might have kept and eye on it!"
"How could I do that when I didn't know what you were cooking?"
Suddenly they grinned at each other and burst out laughing.
"You do realise" Sara said "That we're arguing like a couple again…remember how my supervisor Richard in San Fran always said we argued like an old married couple?"
"Yes I do….and I guess 6 years apart hasn't changed that any!" Grissom replied still chuckling.
"How about you put those in some water honey, and I'll cut the burnt bits off the lasagne - it still looks really good".
" Thanks - oh, and there's some garlic bread in the warming draw as well."
Sara put her flowers in water in the jug, and set them on her coffee table. Grissom dished up their dinner while Sara poured the wine, falling into there usual way of being able to know what each other is thinking, doing and wanting without speaking.
Just as they sat down to eat, Grissom leaned over and touched Sara's cheek, looking deep into her in a way that only he could.
"Thank you for giving me a second chance honey" He said as he leaned in to kiss her.
TBC
