Chapter 26

He had to tell her. He was leaving in a few days and he had to tell her. He dreaded the moment. He knew Sara would not be happy. She would feel abandoned. He did not want her to feel abandoned or alone. He would be back. She had to know that he would be back. It was only four weeks. He needed to do this. He needed time away from everything and everyone. He only hoped she would understand.

"Hey!" Sara Sidle smiled at him from the doorway of his office. She walked in and slowly approached him as he sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. He put the file he had been going over on his desk and looked up at her with a smile.

"Working late?" She lovingly rubbed his shoulder then took a seat opposite him.

"Yeah. I have a lot of files to wrap up and paperwork to hand in by tomorrow."

Sara just nodded. "Why the rush?"

"Look, Sara." He took off his glasses and leaned forward. No time like the present. "I took a four week teaching assignment. I leave for Williams in three days."

"And you just now decided to tell me." Sara crossed her arms across her chest.

"Sara. I need to get away. I need to teach. To distance myself." He rubbed his hand across his face. "This whole thing with Ernie Dell...I need to get away."

"I understand that. Really. I do." She stood and began to pace behind him.

"Sara, sit down, please. Let's talk about this."

"Talk? You want to talk. Now. AFTER you make a decision." She headed towards the door and turned to look at him. "I hope you have a good time." Sara stomped out of the room, down the hall and into the parking lot.

"What'd he do to piss her off this time?" Nick asked Greg as Sara stormed by them in the Locker Room.

"Who knows." Greg slammed his locker door shut. "And I don't care."

"Ah. You're just jealous that she cares so much about what Grissom thinks and not you." Nick chuckled at the look of irritation on Greg's face.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Nick." Greg pulled his bag onto his shoulder and headed for the door.

"Hey, Greg." Nick called to him as he got to the door. "Maybe you should go see what's bothering her. I mean, its not like you're going to interrupt her and Grissom." Nick shrugged his shoulders at him and smiled.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll just have to do that." Greg smiled and headed out to his car.

Sara sat on her couch watching CNN and sipping a beer. She hadn't grabbed for a bear out of frustration in almost 2 years. But here she was again, sulking over Gil Grissom. She got up and dumped out the beer in her kitchen sink. She took out the two remaining beers in her fridge and dumped those too. She would NOT allow him to control her that way again.

Sara once again rummaged around in her fridge, but this time it was to find something to eat. She had not been spending much time here recently, and was out of anything one would consider food. She grabbed the take out menu for a new Thai restaurant that was in her mail and looked it over. Her mind wandered back to Gil. She really did love him. Weather they said it or not, she knew he loved her just as much. So why did he feel it necessary to make a decision like this without at least the courtesy of letting her know he was considering the position? Their relationship was not normal by any definition, but somehow she still felt betrayed.

Sara picked up her phone to call the restaurant when it suddenly rang in her hand. She looked at the caller ID. Grissom. She just let it go to voice mail and began to punch in the numbers for take out. A loud knock sounded on her door. She let out a deep sigh and put her phone down much too harshly on the counter and stomped over to the door and yanked it open.

"Gil, if you think..." she stopped suddenly and her eyes got wide. "Greg! UH! HI!"

Greg smiled at her. "So, what did GIL do this time, Sara?" His emphasis of their supervisors given name did not escape her.

"Greg, I am NOT in the mood today. What do you want?" She leaned against the door frame, not inviting him in.

"Well, I saw you storm out of the lab. Obvious now why. I was just worried about you."

"Well, you have nothing to worry about, Greg. Im just tired, angry and hungry."

"Can I come in?" He held up a bag that Sara noticed now for the first time. "Bagels and veggie cream cheese. Your favorite!" Greg smiled at her.

She stood up straight and motioned for him to enter. "But only because you have bagels and I'm starving."

They sat at her counter and waited for the coffee to get done brewing. Once it was done, Greg poured them each a cup. He reached for the creamer and poured some into Sara's cup and handed it to her. Sara smiled and took a sip. She wrinkled up her nose and added more creamer.

"Sorry. Not enough cream."

"You know, I noticed that Grissom always puts in just the right amount of cream in your coffee."

"What?" She stared at him, her cup clunked down heavily on the counter.

"Yeah. I know you take cream. But I guess we don't share enough coffee for me to know exactly how MUCH cream. But Grissom, the few times I've seen him get you a cup of coffee, he always knows how much to put in."

"That's very observant of you, Greg. But maybe if you were THAT observant in my cream preferences, you might get it right every time."

"Hmmm. Good point." Greg smiled and sipped his coffee. He took a bagel out of the bag and cut it in half. He handed it to Sara. She smiled and put it on her plate. Sara opened the cream cheese and piled it on each half. Greg chuckled at her.

"What? You have a comment now on my bagel choices now?" Sara licked the cream cheese off of her middle finger. Greg grabbed her hand pulled her index finger into his mouth, swiping his tongue over her digit, sucking it clean. Sara sat wide-eyed and shocked. She yanked her hand away from Greg's mouth and shoved him off of his stool. He nearly fell over, but he caught himself on the counter.

"Dammit, Sara! You didn't have to get so physical." Greg put the stool upright and sat back down. "I'm sorry."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She was leaning against the sink, safely on the other side of the island counter. "What made you think you had the right?"

"Grissom." He said smugly and took a bite of his bagel.

"What? You aren't making any sense, Greg. Explain. NOW!" She glared at him now. Greg wiped his hands off on his pants and turned to face her, leaning his elbows on the counter.

"A few weeks ago, I went to the Bagel Shop and the two of you were there. I was about to go in and say hello. That's when I saw Grissom grab your hand and suck each of your cream cheesy fingers into his mouth."

Sara just stared at him, open mouthed. She didn't know what to say.

"So, seeing as you and he are just good friends. And you and I are good friends. I just assumed that this was appropriate friend behavior." Greg tried to hide his smile, but was failing miserably.

"Hmmm. Ok. I see your point." Sara walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. How was she going to handle this? Greg knew something was up between her and Gil, but he didn't have details. How was she going to spin this in her favor?

Greg took a seat next to her on the couch and put her coffee and bagel down on the table in front of her, along with his. Sara just smiled and took a bite of her bagel. Greg smiled and sipped his coffee. When Greg took a bite of his bagel, Sara got an idea. He took another big bite and failed to wipe the cream cheese off of his upper lip. Sara smiled mischievously at him.

"What?" Greg asked as he took another bite, leaving a bigger trail of cream cheese.

Sara leaned in and pulled his head towards hers. She ran her tongue over his top lip and then kissed him thoroughly. When he darted his tongue out, she pulled back sharply.

"You should have stuck around to see how I helped Grissom clean the cream cheese off of his face." She winked and sat back sipping her coffee.

Greg just smiled crookedly at her and finished his bagel.

Armed with confidence from his new found information, Greg headed to his next shift with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He headed to the break room to get a cup of coffee. Nick and Catherine sat at the table discussing a case. Greg got a cup of coffee and sat at the table listening to Nick. Warrick and Sara entered having a heated discussion about a suspects innocence. Warrick sat down at the table and sighed. Sara just glared at him and took a seat next to Greg. Grissom entered the room and headed right for the fresh pot of coffee. Greg smiled to himself and looked over at Sara.

"You want a cup of coffee, Sara? I'm going to top mine off. I can get it for you."

Sara narrowed her eyes and crinkled her forehead, suspicious of his actions. "Sure, thanks, Greg."

Greg got up and stood next to Grissom who was currently adding sugar to his coffee. He poured a cup for Sara and plunked it down next to Grissom's cup. He leaned in and whispered to Grissom, "Sara's cup. Can you put the cream in? Seems you know what she likes."

Grissom turned his head towards Greg's innocent smile and raised an eyebrow at him. Greg just continued to smile at him. Grissom was about to say something when he heard Sara clear her throat. He glanced in her direction and she gave him an almost indistinguishable nod. He smiled and took the cream container in his hand and poured in the amount he knew Sara liked in her coffee and smiled at Greg.

"Thanks, Griss!" Greg chuckled and bounced back over to his seat next to Sara. He put it down in front of her. "Just how you like it."

Nick, Warrick and Catherine were all staring at Greg, having missed the interaction between the young CSI and his Supervisor. They all exchanged questioning looks. Nick and Warrick shrugged their shoulders in confusion but Catherine wasn't satisfied. She was keeping an eye on Greg.

"Hey, guys!" Greg addressed the group. "I was thinking. Why don't we all go out tomorrow night before shift. I know Griss, Sara and I have the night off, but maybe we could all meet up around 9pm?"

A round of "sure" and "ok" followed his suggestion. Greg nodded and smiled. "By the way, guys. It's my turn to pick...and NO Sara, you are NOT going to talk me into going somewhere other than what I choose."

Nick and Warrick just snickered at Greg's comment.

"Fine, Greg, you pick. But if you pick some techno place, you will be going alone."

"You guys have no taste!" He rolled his eyes and pretended to be hurt by their words. "Well, how about Shorty's. Thursday is karaoke night. Sound ok?"

"Ok." They all agreed. Sara smiled and looked at Gil. He was still standing at the counter.

"Gris, you in?" Greg asked him. All eyes were on him.

"Well, we'll see. I might be busy." He took a seat at the end of the table. "Now, lets get to assignments, shall we?"

Sara looked at herself in the mirror. She was still a bit upset with Gil. They had talked briefly, but he had to pull a double when he was the only CSI available for a Traffic fatality. He was going to go home and get some sleep, but promised her that he would meet them later at Shorty's. Sara glanced at the clock. 8:30pm. She grabbed her keys and shoved her money and ID into her pocket and headed out the door.

Greg, Nick and Catherine stood out front of Shorty's waiting for their co-workers. Sara approached the group and smiled. Greg took her into a hug. Catherine watched their interaction. She had noticed that Greg and Sara seemed to be getting closer lately. With enough alcohol, she might get some information from Sara. Catherine's phone vibrated on her hip. "Willows."

"Well, that was Warrick" she told them a moment later. "He's running late. Something about Tina." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, let's go get a spot!"Greg offered.

"Wait. Is Griss coming?" Nick asked of the group. No one offered an answer, so they decided to just go in and grab a table.

Sara made sure to sit on the end of the semicircle booth they chose. She wanted to be able to sit close to Gil. She was mad at him for leaving, but she wanted to be as close to him as possible while he was still here. She decided to sing a song for him to let him know how she felt. She just hoped she could get up the nerve to do it. She downed her second Appletini, thanks to Greg's suggestion of drinks, and hoped that liquid courage was enough.

"So, Catherine, you going to sing a song?" Nick asked her.

"No. I have to work later, so no liquor. The only way I'd get up there is if I'm severely impaired." She chuckled. "What about you, Nick?"

"No, I think I'll just enjoy making fun of other people." He smiled and sipped his beer.

"What? You better NOT make fun of me!" Sara smile across the table at him.

"You're going to sing?" Nick was amused. Catherine watched Greg's reaction.

"Hey! You wanna do a duet, like we did before?" Greg asked Sara.

"No, no. I, uh, kinda have a specific song I wanna sing." She smiled and sipped her drink.

"Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to choose a solo. Tell me what you want to sing and I'll sign us up." Greg got up and put his name and Sara's on the list.

Twenty minutes later they called Greg's name and he stood before the crowd with a huge grin on his face. "This is for my friends!"

A clearly drunk Greg went into his version of The Rembrandts "I'll be there for you." The table of his friends laughed as he stumbled through the words and tried to keep his balance on the small stage.

"HEY!" Someone said into Sara's ear. She turned her head and smiled at Gil. He slid in next to her, unnoticed by their coworkers whose eyes were glued to an inebriated Greg Sanders. Gil took Sara's hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze under the table. She smiled at him but pulled her hand away when Catherine turned towards them.

"Thank You, Las Vegas!!" Greg was shouting as he stumbled off the stage. They announced the next singer as Greg plopped down in the booth next to Grissom., forcing Gil and Sara to scoot over to make room for him. Sara was glad. It gave her an excuse to sit close to Gil. She let her hand run up and down his thigh. Grissom continued to talk to Greg and Nick and Catherine as if nothing was going on under the table.

"Sara. Calling Sara S. You're up!" Came the announcement. Sara smiled at Gil who raised an eyebrow in question.

"I, uh, signed up to sing a song." She explained to Grissom "Greg, move it! I gotta get out!" She yelled across Gil to Greg. Greg and Grissom got up to let her out.

Sara stood before the group of bar patrons and smiled, her eyes landing on the group of her friends. She noticed that Warrick had joined the group, but she kept her eyes on Greg's. If she let her eyes rest on Grissom, she would never follow through with this. As the music began she swayed to the music, feeling the effects of Appletini #3. Grissom smiled. He recognized the song. It was by Leanne Rimes. He had heard it many years ago in San Francisco the night he met Sara.

Sara began to sing her voice seemingly unaffected by the alcohol.

"How do I,
Get through the night without you?
If I had to live without you,
What kind of life would that be?
Oh, I
I need you in my arms, need you to hold,
You're my world, my heart, my soul,
If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away everything good in my life,

And tell me now
How do I live without you?
I want to know..."

Catherine kept glancing at Greg. He had a huge smile on his face. He kept looking at Grissom and smiling. Gil just sat there listening. His expression unreadable as usual. Sara's gaze seemed to be fixed on Greg through most of the song. But when she came to the build up near the end, her gaze shifted to Grissom.

"If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away everything,
I need you with me,
Baby don't you know that you're everything,
Real in my life?"

The song soon ended to a loud round of applause. Greg stood up, hooting and hollering with the rest of the drunken men in the room. Sara smiled and put the microphone down. She walked towards the table but didn't resume her position.

"I have to go." She declared and headed for the door. Greg followed her and made sure she got into a cab safely. He knew the song was emotional for Sara, but Grissom didn't even seem to be affected. What was going on with those two? He wasn't quite sure about the dynamics of their relationship. They were forever a mystery to him.

Greg returned to the table. Catherine had to leave, shift started in an hour. Warrick decided to stay for a bit, but he had to go in to work as well, but went and bought a round for the men. Grissom drank his scotch down and decided he needed to leave and check on Sara.

"I gotta go, guys." They all said there goodbyes and promised to behave. Warrick left with Grissom to head in to work. Grissom drove home. He entered his townhouse to find Sara asleep on the couch.

Gil sat on the edge of the couch next to his lover. He was going to miss her. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Sara stirred and turned onto her back, looking into Gil's blue eyes.

"Hey." She sat up and wiped her eyes.

"How you feeling?" Gil was running his hand up and down her thigh.

"I'm great." She chuckled. "I hate Greg. Those appletini's are lethal."

"You feel sick? You need some aspirin or something?"

"Yeah, aspirin would be great. Don't worry. I'm not going to get sick." She ran a hand through her mussed hair. "I am a bit humiliated. Did I really sing that song?"

Gil chuckled. "Yes. You did. And it was beautiful, Sara."

"Right. Drunks always sing well. What did the team say about it?"

"They didn't say anything. Greg really enjoyed it. He clapped louder than anyone." Gil smiled at her. He was going to miss this. Sitting close, talking. Sara put her head on Gil's shoulder and leaned into his embrace.

"I'm going to miss you, Bugman." She sniffled, trying not to cry.

"Shhh. Sweetie, don't cry." Gil ran his hand up and down her back. "It's only 4 weeks."

"I know. But you know. You really are everything good in my life, Gil." She sat up and looked into his eyes. He pulled her in for a kiss. Sara put all her emotion into the kiss, leaving Gil gasping and breathless.

"I'll be back Sara. I promise you."

A/N: Ok, so are you sick of songs in my fanfic? I had to include songs that I hear and immediately think of some GSR moment. Hehehe. This one has been in my head for months. So, hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review. Wendy.