CHAPTER 8: Separation Anxiety

Sara woke slowly. Grissom has his arms wrapped around her and was snoring softly beside her. She raised herself slightly so she could read the time. 2 p.m. She curled up for another hour of rest before she had to get ready for work. She had always thought that if she and Grissom could spend some time together, away from work, they might have a chance. She was right. Now, they had to find a way to make things work with one or both of them at work. By three p.m., Sara knew they had to get their day started. She kissed Grissom softly on his beard until the snoring stopped and his eyes opened.

"Is it time already?" he asked. "I was in the middle of a dream about you and then it became a reality."

Sara gave him a lame smile and helped him to his feet. He padded off to take his shower and Sara headed for the kitchen to heat up the baked ziti. He was going to dinner with Brass, but that was still five hours away. By the time Grissom had dressed, the meal was ready. This was a meal they both enjoyed. The worry and jealousy were gone for the moment. Both scientists ate, and talked about their plans for the night.

"Do you think you could hide my clothes?" asked Sara. Grissom was clearly confused. "I brought several outfits with me. Could I hang them in your closet?"

Finally, he caught on that Sara was worried about Brass and his powers of deduction. "Sure," he offered. "I can even give you a drawer."

After dinner, Sara hung her outfits in the middle of Grissom's suits, next to his blue suit. She placed her lingerie and a few other items in the empty drawer and repacked the rest of her clothes in her backpack.

"I always need spare clothes at work," she said. "Please mention to Brass that I visited and brought pizza yesterday. Tell him that you already have a ride to the hospital on Saturday for your recheck, if he asks . We need a cover story in case I run in to him."

Now Grissom was awake and catching on to the new, devious Sara. She reminded him to stay on his schedule for his medicine, kissed him goodbye and headed home to her apartment. They both needed a little down time to process the changes in their lives. Grissom didn't realize that yet, so he just sat somewhat bewildered at the table, until he spotted the piece of note paper.

Pros and cons. Pros---good kisser, communication skills improving, great at his job, trying hard to be a good friend, adorable. Cons---.

What were the cons? Was the list incomplete? There had to be cons.....like an unfinished crossword puzzle, Grissom added his own comments. Cons----gets jealous easily, flirts at work, does not know how to take someone on a decent date, stubborn, ... Grissom was distracted by the ringing phone.

"You found the list, didn't you," Sara asked.

"Um, yeah...I was adding the cons to it," he replied.

"Grissom, there aren't any cons.....that was my point."

"Oh," he responded.

"Grissom, do you understand that we have spent a lot of time together over the past day and a half and I just wanted to give us both a little space? To make sure we are both on the same page? I will be back Saturday morning after work."

"Not tomorrow?" he asked.

"No. Take some time for yourself. Have a good dinner with Brass. Know that I am thinking of us every minute, but that we need this time apart, too. I have to go now. Call me if you need anything."

Sara hung up the phone and asked herself what she was doing. She loved him, but she was purposely staying away? What on earth was she thinking? To be honest, Sara was a very rational person. Had she stayed at Grissom's house a few more minutes that afternoon, she would have ended up having torrid sex in his bed. Not that sex with Grissom would be a bad thing, but the emotional high of such a session could be followed by a Grissom reality check. He may realize what had just happened and go into hiding. Sara had to be sure. She had controlled her lust for her bug man this long....she could wait a few more days. Sara jumped in the shower and washed her concerns down the drain. Just before leaving, she called Warrick. He was in the middle of a burglary case, but he told her that he had gotten some sleep and was feeling better. He still sounded a bit lost, however.

Across town, Grissom was still a bit confused. He roamed around his townhouse, retrieved his mail, checked his e-mail, and phoned Brass.

"Hey Jim," he said, "where are we going for dinner?"

"How about the Mexican place at the Rio? Would that be too much walking?"

"No, that would be great," replied Grissom. "Can we move dinner to seven?

"Sure."

Brass picked up Grissom and they had a nice dinner at the Rio. He valet parked his car, so they would not have to walk too far. They decided that they still had time to visit Nick at the hospital. Brass had spoken to Nick earlier and he was getting released on Friday.

Nick was going crazy, he was asking to be released during every check. The doctors had been a bit concerned about his dehydration and infection, but he was cleared for Friday morning. Brass and Grissom were making small talk about their next poker game and the fact that Nick's older sister was coming to stay with him for the next week.

"Does she play poker?" joked Brass.

"Naw, but she makes a mean chocolate cake," Nick replied. Just then, Nick spotted Greg and Sara. "Do you have my contraband?" Nicky shouted.

Sara held out the bag of drinks, snacks, and a western novel. She threw one of her patented mega watt smiles at Nicky and then turned to Grissom and Brass. "What have you two been up to?" she asked.

"Dinner and making trouble," replied Brass. Grissom was apparently mute as he just stared at Greg and Sara. "We were just setting up our next poker night."

They talked for a few more minutes and then Brass and Grissom said their good-byes. Greg ran down to the gift shop to get Nick a few more items. Brass pulled Sara aside and thanked her for taking pizza over to Grissom's house. Alone with Nick, Sara leaned over a gave him a big hug.

"Sara," he asked. "Have you ever seen a PEAP counselor?"

"Yes."

"They want me to see one to help keep tabs on possible post traumatic stress," Nick continued.

"It is not a bad idea," replied Sara. "It helped to be able to talk things out in a safe environment and in my case, it was required. Warrick should probably think about going too. Your whole ordeal has put a serious hurt on him."

"Thanks Sara," he said. Greg returned and he and Sara said their goodbyes and headed to work. The one place Sara could get lost for a little while.

Catherine was working a coverage shift from 6 p.m. to 2 am due to Nick and Grissom being off work. She handed out two more burglary assignments to Sara and Greg and told them that Sara would be in charge until the day shift arrived at 8. Automatic overtime while everyone shifted to help staff the team. For once, Vegas was not awash with homicides. They got to work on the burglary case at the Quick Mart in Henderson and then Greg headed off on a trick roll at the Monte Carlo. The police at each scene were especially vigilant not to let Greg or Sara out of their sight. Brass had sent a clear message to the cops after Nick's abduction. Grissom phoned four times to check on Sara.

At 8, an exhausted Sara headed back to the lab with her evidence. The two burglaries had similarities and there wasn't much evidence to log. She was back at her apartment and asleep by 10 am. Sara never slept much. The past few days at Grissom's she had gotten more sleep than at any given time. She soon found herself awake and decided to clean her apartment. She always cleaned her apartment when she couldn't sleep. She changed the sheets on the bed, just in case she and Grissom happened to end up here by chance. There was a knock at the door and Sara found a delivery man with a huge vase of flame orange roses standing there. She tipped the man and reached for the card. "I miss you." It was signed "Gil".

"Hi," she said. "The flowers are lovely!" They talked for over an hour, until Sara had to get ready for work. She wanted to catch Warrick to ask him about his case. There was an odd similarity with her burglaries and she wanted to see if they matched the one he had been working on the day before.

Between 10 and midnight, Warrick and Sara combined their evidence and realized that someone was targeting the smaller stores and markets. They were using a tool to pop open the coin collection bins on the banks of older slot machines, grabbing the dollar coins and fleeing the scene. Sara would investigate three more cases by the time her shift ended on Saturday morning. She stayed late at the lab that morning, helping Archie review the video footage, hoping for a break. They were able to put out a BOLO to all merchants, but the case was stopped for the moment. With her evidence filed and her notes in order, Sara headed home to grab a couple of hours of sleep before Grissom's recheck appointment.