Chapter 23

Sara punched the end key on her cell phone. She stared at the keypad. She was in still in shock. Had she really just called Catherine to invite her to go shopping with her? She shook her head and placed the phone back into its place on her waistband. She grabbed her keys and set off to meet Catherine at Zoe's Boutique. Catherine went on and on about the selection and reasonable pricing, so Sara agreed to give it a try. Sara was usually a department store shopper, only buying new outfits when necessary. She owned a few dresses, but she seldom had occasion to wear them. She had worn them on dates with Grissom and wanted him to see her in something totally new. Sure it was a little "girly", but Sara wanted to see that look of approval in his eyes. Of course, Catherine had no need to know that tiny detail.

Sara pulled into the parking lot and walked the short distance to the boutique. She stopped in front of the shop and peered into the window. Two mannequins in the front window sported trendy, sexy and sleek dresses. One was black and the other was a hot pink. "Do women, other than hookers, really wear hot pink?" Sara thought.

"Wow! That pink one is hot, huh?" Catherine stood behind Sara, huge smile on her face. "I just might have to try that one on!"

Sara smiled and tried not to laugh. Catherine grabbed her arm, pulling her along as she opened the door to the boutique. Sara followed Catherine to the left, right behind the window display. Sara caught a glimpse of the price tag of the hot pink number and laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Catherine was beside her.

"I am sorry. But THAT dress is not worth the price they have on the tag."

"Sara. If you weren't serious about buying a nice dress, why did you call me?"

"I am, catherine. I just don't see hot pink as a nice dress. It's gaudy and skimpy."

"Well, Sara, not everyone shops in the cookie cutter department stores. These are all one of a kind and unique dresses. When you wear this" she pointed to the hot pink dress, "you are wearing a work of art, designed to fit you."

"Fine. I'm sorry. But no hot pink for me, ok?" She smiled gently at Catherine.

"Fine. Besides, I have my eye on this one." She walked to a rack of dresses and pulled one out, smiling wide. "THIS has Sara Sidle written all over it." She held up a black dress. It was shorter than Sara would have picked out. It was simple, but the neckline plunged low. Sara shook her head in the negative. Catherine frowned. They went through the shop for what felt like hours to Sara. Catherine would hold up a dress and Sara would shoot it down.

"Ok, Sara. There's got to be SOMETHING in here you like!" Catherine sat down in a chair next to the dressing room. She glanced around the room and got a sympathetic look from the cashier. Sara continued to roam around the store. She walked to the back of the store and stopped. A smile slowly spread across her face. Catherine was rubbing her temples, her eyes closed, and Sara chuckled at the sight. Catherine glanced up and shot her a warning glance. Sara kept smiling and held up a dress. Catherine smiled and nodded. They had found THE DRESS for Sara Sidle.

Grissom paced back and forth in his living room, glancing at his watch every few seconds. He had 20 minutes until he had to leave for David's wedding. He was going alone and meeting Sara later. Sara had gone on some sort of shopping trip with Catherine. She wouldn't let him see what she purchased. She told him he had to wait until she arrived at David's reception. Sara had to work the night before, so she would miss the wedding portion the next afternoon. She promised him she would wake up in time for the reception that didn't start until 6pm. That way she would at least get a few hours of sleep. Nick was doing the same.

Grissom jumped when the sharp electronic tones of his cell phone broke the silence.

"Grissom."

"Hey, Gris! It's Catherine. You, uh, ready for David's wedding?"

"Yeah. I'll uh, meet up with you guys in like a half hour."

"Well, Gil. Here's the thing. My date cancelled last minute. He has to work. He's a doctor and got called in."

"Oh, well, that's too bad. I don't have a date."

"GREAT! Then pick me up in 10 minutes!" Catherine hung up before he could protest. Just perfect! She had taken his meaning totally wrong. He meant that he did not have a date. Sara did not have a date. Nick did not have a date. She could go alone as well. How did he get himself into these situations? He grabbed his keys and headed off to pick up Catherine.

Gil walked slowly up the path to Catherine's front door. He let out a deep breath and pushed the doorbell. Lindsey opened the door and smiled at him.

"Hello, Dr. Grissom!"

"Hi, Lindsey. Is your mom ready?" He shifted nervously from right foot to left.

"I'll be there in just a sec, Gil!" Catherine called to him from somewhere inside.

"She can't find her lucky silver dollar." Lindsay rolled her eyes and left Gil standing alone on the front step.

"Ok, I'm ready." Catherine appeared and smiled at his appearance. He was wearing his court suit with a pale blue shirt and a darker blue matching tie and hanky. She smiled at him. He really was quite handsome, but she preferred him with the beard. He had shaved it off for some reason unknown to her. She thought maybe a girlfriend, but he was going solo tonight, so maybe that was not the case.

Gil opened the car door for Catherine and smiled politely at her. She did look nice. He should probably let her know. Her sleek black dress left little to the imagination. He hoped that Sara had not let Catherine talk her into something like her dress. He would appreciate it, but he knew the rest of the males present would as well. Gil slipped into the driver seat and looked over at Catherine.

"You look really nice, Catherine. That dress suits you. I hope you found one that suits Sara just as well." He started the engine. SHIT!

"Thanks, Gil." She smiled wickedly and turned towards him. "Uh, how did you know I went shopping with Sara?"

"What?" He tried to ignore her as he backed out of the driveway. But once he was on the road, Catherine asked again.

"Come on, Gil. How'd you know?"

"Well, I called her. And she told me." Well it was honest at least. Mostly.

"Oh." She turned back to the front and sat thinking. "Why did you call her on her day off?"

"Jeez, catherine, does it really matter?" He was trying to not act too obvious and was failing miserably.

"Why so upset? What excuse did you use? Case file? Forget a password?" She smiled at him.

Gil turned his head to look directly at her. She saw the flash in his eyes, but it was not the anger she expected. He was hiding something.

"There was no excuse. I needed to discuss a case with her. We go to trial in a few days." He shrugged and tried to act casual.

"Oh, well, why didn't you just say so?" She let out a huff and stared out the window.

Gil smiled to himself. She had bought the line he fed her. Hopefully she would let it go, but this was Catherine Willows. There were no guarantees.

The night shift CSI's sat together in a long line in a pew on the groom's side. The vows had Catherine, Tina, Wendy and Mandy wiping their eyes. The guys all rolled their eyes. They sat at a few tables off to the side at the reception. They all clapped when the Bride and Groom arrived an hour later. Nick showed up and took a seat at the table with Warrick, Tina, Grissom and Catherine.

"Just in time! Dinner is about to start, huh?" Nick smiled at the group.

"Yeah. Leave it to you to show up on time for food." Warrick teased him from the other side of the round table.

"Hey, why isn't Sara here? Did she oversleep?" Nick looked around the table.

"I don't know, Nick. She said she'd be here at 6pm. And it is now, 6:15. She probably just needed time to get dressed and do her hair and makeup." Catherine commented as she sipped on her second glass of wine. Nick reached over and pulled her glass away.

"You have clearly had too much wine. This is Sara we are talking about, not you!" Nick said as laughed lightly.

"NO! She got a dress. Really! Tell em, Gil!" Catherine nudged Gil's arm. His eyes grew wide. He didn't know how to respond. He sat silently. Nick and Warrick were looking at him curiously. Suddenly their eyes darted away from his face and landed on something just behind him.

"WOW!" They exclaimed at the same time. Gil whipped his head around. There stood Sara. She was absolutely gorgeous. She wore a light blue silky looking dress. The neckline scooped low, but not too low. The length was short enough to show off her long legs, but not so short that it was innapropriate. She wore a string of pearls that Grissom had purchased for her on her last birthday. He smiled at the sight of her. He relished in the fact they had a secret. It made what they had more special and exciting.

"You look amazing, Sara!" Catherine was at her side now inspecting her. Sara had her hair down and loose, letting her slight curls flow free.

"Yeah, you look amazing." Tina smiled warmly at her.

Gil stood up and pulled out a chair, indicating for her to take a seat. She took the seat that had been Gil's next to Catherine, and Gil took the empty seat next to her. Catherine sat down next to Sara and noted how Gil made it so that he was now close to Sara. She smiled at the couple who so obviously belonged together. They just had to figure it out.

Sara turned to look and Gil and got what she wanted. That look. He was trying to hide his emotions for the sake of their secret, but she knew the look in his eyes. She smile slightly.

"You, uh, look handsome tonight, Grissom." He turned to her and smiled.

"Not so shabby yourself, Sara." He reached for her hand on her leg under the table and whispred "You look beautiful."

Dinner was served soon after Sara's arrival. She sat in relative silence, glancing at Gil from the corner of her eye. He held her hand under the table cloth as they ate. She gave it a squeeze and brought her hand up to the table when Tina began to watch her and Gil. His fumbling with his fork trying to eat with his left hand had not helped the matter.

After the obligatory wedding dances, the party goers were invited to join the Happy Couple and the Wedding party out on the dance floor. Warrick pulled Tina up and they headed out to dance. Nick got up and headed over to the table where Mandy was sitting and led her out to dance.

"Well, Gil, aren't you going to ask?" Catherine leaned forward to ask around Sara.

"What?" His eyes grew wide.

"Well, you brought me. You at least should ask me to dance, Romeo." Catherine chuckled.

Sara turned to him and quietly asked "You came with Catherine?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Her date cancelled, so, uh. I brought her." Catherine was now standing next to him waiting. He got up and trudged out to the floor with Catherine pulling him along by the arm.

Sara was left alone at the table. She looked around the room and got up and sat with Wendy, Henry and Hodges at their table. She didn't like sitting alone.

"Hey, guys. Mind if I join?"

"Sara, you look amazing! Love the dress! Where'd you get that?" Wendy sat and chatted with Sara for a few minutes about the dress. Hodges and Henry were discussing some television show and arguing a bit.

"David. Why don't we go dance. Work off some of that steam you've built up." Wendy grabbed Hodges and was leading him out to the dance floor, leaving Sara alone with Henry. He smiled nervously at her.

"Hey, kiddo!" Jim brass took a seat next to Sara.

"Hey, Jim! Better late than never, huh?"

"Well, some of us got called in to work early. But I snuck out again. Ecklie's in some mood today."

"Well, at least I know he will be gone when I go into work." Henry added to the conversation.

"Uh, yeah, probably." Brass looked at Henry. "Who are you again?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Henry. Lab tech. I don't think we have actually ever met. But I have heard some interesting stories about your interrogations."

"Hmmmm." He eyed Henry, sizing him up. Was he interested in Sara? Why was she sitting here alone with this lab nerd. He followed Sara's gaze and noticed it landed somewhere on the dance floor. He saw Warrick and Tina, Doc Robbins and his wife, Nick and Mandy. Oh. There it was. Gil and Catherine. She had her arms wrapped around Gil's neck. He looked uneasy. He got an idea.

"So, Sara. How bout we go cut a rug, huh?" Jim got up and held out his hand.

"Ok, sure." Sara said her goodbye to Henry and followed Jim out to the dance floor. The song was somehow fitting for a dance with Brass. It was Nat King Cole. Jim swung Sara around in a circle singing along with the lyrics.

"L is for the way you look at me. O is for the only one I see..." He swung her around and they bumped into Gil and Catherine.

"Hey, you two. Watch it!" Catherine teased and laughed. Gil smiled at Sara but said nothing.

"Okay, ladies and gents. Here's a relatively new one. By request of the Bman. Whatever that means!" Gil shot Sara a look and she smiled knowingly. Her Bugman had requested this song.

"Hey, Jim. I think that Catherine would like to dance with you. How bout we switch up?" She pointed at the couple dancing next to them.

"Oh." He looked at Gil. "You mean you want to dance with Grissom and not me." He looked hurt.

"No, Jim..." He laughed and held up his hand. "I get it, ok. Enjoy."

Jim cut in on Gil just as the song began. Sara had slowly pretended to exit the dance floor. Grissom caught up with her quickly and swept her into the Gil Grissom version of a slow two step.

"I cant believe you requested this, Bman." Sara whispered in his ear. The song was slow but with a slightly upbeat tempo. Gil swayed with Sara to the music, twirling her around and puling her close. The second time he did, it was a bit too close. They were now in the back and lost in the large crowd of bodies. Gil swung her out and back again, this time pulling her in and singing seductively in her ear, "I cant believe how much it turns me on, just to be your man." He pulled away and pushed her back again before puling her in.

Sara's laugh was infectious. Gil was finding himself laughing now as well. He saw Jim and Catherine eyeing their antics but he somehow did not care. He was dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room. He pulled her closer and swayed seductively with her to the rhythm of the song. Sara ran her fingers through his hair, getting lost in the moment. Soon the song ended and another slow country ballad began. They remained in each others embrace, but Gil loosened his hold on her. He did not want idle gossip at the lab. They danced a normal distance apart that friends would dance.

Jim sat down at the table with Catherine and sipped on a glass of water. He watched as Gil and Sara danced. It appeared normal, nothing to report to the gossip mill. But he knew them better than anyone. The intimacy of their stare told a story. They were saying things with their eyes. Something no one else could know or understand. Why couldn't those two just get their shit together and do it already? What was stopping them?

The song ended and Gil wanted nothing more than to go home and spend time making love to Sara. He walked with her back to the table and groaned at the sight of Catherine. How was he going to get out of this? They took their seats at the table. Grissom closed his eyes and began to rub his eyes in a pinching motion with his thumb and index finger. Sara knew he was stressed.

Catherine jabbed Jim in the side. When he turned to her she nodded towards Grissom. He just nodded back at her.

"Hey, uh, Gil. I hope you don't mind but Jim here is going to be taking me home. I have to work tonight, so I have to get going." She got up and Jim followed.

"Well, goodnight all. Don't do anything too crazy." He winked at Sara.

"Well, Bugman", Sara commented when they were alone at the table, "I thank you for that song and I think its time for you to, uh, prove your point." She smiled seductively at him.

"Sara." He let out a breath and glanced around the room. Hodges kept looking at them. He fidgeted nervously in his seat. "Im going to go. You leave about 10 minutes later and meet me at my place." He got up and stood behind his chair and faced her so Hodges couldn't see his face. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "You really are the most beautiful woman here."

Sara smiled at him and he quickly exited. She sat there alone. She knew she was blushing. She just hoped no one, especially Hodges, noticed. Ten minutes later she got up and left, not noticing that Hodges had a wicked grin on his face.