Catherine and Sara met up at a bar just off the beaten path of the strip. They sat at small high top and took their first gulps of beer. Sara waited, knowing that there was some ulterior motive for the invitation.

"How are you doing?" Catherine probed, but her eyes were soft, concerned.

With a small smile, "Fine."

"Today was rough, for the whole team. They really had us spinning our wheels there for a while." Catherine paused, seeming to give Sara a moment, "Look, I was in court today as you testified."

Sara's eyes went a little wide but she tried to play off how uncomfortable she really was, "Oh—I didn't see you in there... I thought the team was back at the lab."

"They were, I was sitting in the back... Grissom's eyes and ears on the proceedings, you know?"

She nodded hesitantly, taking another gulp of beer.

"That bogus story about chalk dust was really out of line" Catherine started, "God, with all of the shit I do to keep Grissom sane..." She trailed off for a moment. "It's a platonic gesture, and I'm irate that something so minuscule had to be dragged to public. We're a close knit team—there's nothing wrong with that."

"Thanks, Cath."

"Anyway, you and the EMT?"

Sara laughed softly, "Early investigative stages." She offered.

Catherine and Sara sat there for another half hour or so, discussing the case, working in Vegas and exchanges polite small talk. Sara enjoyed herself more that she could have expected she would, particularly given that the two were never considered friends. Friendly was even generous at times.

Sara left the bar that night feeling much better about the day, about being berated on the stand. And it was all thanks to Catherine.

February 2003

"Are you loosing your hearing?"

"I'm loosing my balance."

"Your sense of self?

"No. I know who I am." His eyes continued to stare at her lips. Here before him, Heather Kessler stood in close proximity. She was exotic and mysterious. In only the brief occasions that their paths have crossed he had come to realize how special this woman was. Incredibly smart, in tune with her sexuality and someone that didn't judge him. He lusted for her. It was the first woman he felt something for who had no connection to his workplace.

"Do you?"

"Yes. I Do." He placed a hand on either side of her face. Feeling her warmth beneath his fingers.

He had found out about Sara and the paramedic nearly 5 months ago. In that time he had pushed all thoughts of her aside. She deserved someone young and attractive that could make her happy. He realized that any freight attempt at being that person for her would end poorly. He managed to convince himself that the feelings he thought Sara might have for him were just conjured up in his head. After all, what would an intelligent, bright, young, caring, beautiful woman want with him? A middle aged, workaholic who was loosing his hearing?

Heather, however, wasn't being rationalized in his head. It had been so long since he had touched another person the way he was touching her now.

"You can always say stop." His voice horse.

"So can you." Her eyes grew in intensity. His body over took him in that moment. He left his rationale at the door and was finally, for once, able to get Sara out of his mind.

The next morning came awkwardly. He woke strangely comfortable with the actions he carried out the night before. To his surprise, Heather was not in bed beside him. He got up and pulled on the same pair of slacks he wore the previous day. Buttoning and then zippering. Once dressed he made his way downstairs so see her there preparing tea.

Their cordial conversation quickly came to a head when Grissom learned that she was diabetic—a fact that could be paramount to the case on hand. And just as quickly as he had thrown caution to the wind, he reeled it back in—calling things off with Heather forever with his actions.

As he sat outside her house that night, he came to realize how much he would regret those very actions. Heather was mysterious and intriguing. He realized that being with her was like an itch he had to scratch, but his actions that day made him feel terribly. His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts to see Sara's name displayed on the caller ID. He suddenly felt very guilty, and he couldn't quite understand why. He had done nothing wrong, not where Sara is concerned at least. He tried to quiet the feeling but couldn't shake it.

"Grissom."

"Gil, we just caught another one. 419 out in Henderson. Are you available?"

"I'll meet you there." Grissom hung up and sighed heavily. He was sighing a lot lately, he noted.

March 2003

Only one month later and Sara was also relationship-less. Her and Hank crashed and burned when she discovered that she was the other woman in his long-term serious relationship. She had wished she was surprised but she wasn't. In fact, any relationship Sara had been in that lasted longer than a few dates had always ended in betrayal. Two college boyfriends had done the same. And one after college. In fact, Hank was the first man she'd seen longer than a month since she was 24. A fact she blamed on Grissom, knowing that she was only letting it go on to distract herself from her supervisor.

But as soon as Hank disappeared, her feelings for Grissom bubbled to the surface again.

"Pin me down." She replayed that moment in her head over and over again. His hands around her wrists, his body mere inches from her own. She could almost feel the tickle of his beard on her check. She had stared into his blue orbs, imagining what this scene would look like in private. Then her word vomit, the over talking she so cautiously tried to not do around him. She mentally kicked herself as the moment played out in her head then replayed to the beginning. "Pin me down."

May 2003

Grissom and Sara and only worked on a handful of cases together since October. She wanted to confront him on the matter. To Sara, this didn't feel like an accident. And she had gone along with it long enough and she was ready to finally say something about it. She sat in the break room eating her lunch when she spotted him down the hall.

Now or never. She reassured herself as she stood to follow him down the call. Each time she got close, another person would grab up his attention. She followed him for a couple of minutes until someone pulled him into his office, closing the door behind them.

She shook her head in defeat. Even getting a few minutes to talk to him was near impossible these days. She turned back to walk to the break room when a rushing heat her face. The sound of glass shattering and raining down on her. She laid now, on the ground, trying to fight her way back to standing. She passed out briefly. Once she came to, she saw greg being pulled away on a stretcher, Grissom diligently by his side. No one had seen her laying there.

She stood, letting the shards of glass fall from her as she walked out of the lab holding her hand. There was commotion outside but Sara couldn't really comprehend it. She was still dazed from the blast so she decided to park herself on the sidewalk and sit on the curb.

A little while later, Grissom spotted her sitting there, childlike almost. He rushed toward her.

"Sara." He crouched down beside her, noticing her reaction time was delayed. "Honey, this doesn't look good."

She looked up at him with near empty eyes, "No, no. I'm fine. Really."

"You need stitches." He urged. Not letting go of her hand as he called over the paramedics. "Is your boyfriend here? Um... Hank right? I can grab him for you if you'd like."

She shook her head.

"He's not here?"

"He's not my boyfriend." She paused, "We broke up over two months ago." A fact she had thought Grissom knew.

He nodded awkwardly in response as the paramedic came and took her hand out of his hold.

"You, uh, got a minute?"

"I was just leaving." He voice was a bit cold. It often was around her lately and she couldn't understand why.

"Yeah, the board says your off tonight."

"I am."

"Me too."

"You should be on paid leave."

"I'm fine." She assured him.

"You were lucky. And I'm not talking about the explosion." Grissom was referring to the moment earlier in the day when he found out Sara had entered a crime scene to clear it ahead of the police. An action which could very well have caused her her life.

"We got the guy." Was all she had to say on the matter.

"Is that all you have to say?"

Grissom pulled the card from his rolodex that he had been staring at. It was the contact for Dr. Roth, a highly recommended ENT that he decided to finally schedule surgery with. He walked toward her, making his way to leave.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?"

"No..." His voice trailed off in a mix of what seemed to be both amusement and confusion.

"Why not?" She spoke quickly as if she expected his initial rejection. "Let's have dinner, see what happens."

"Sara." He sighed outwardly. "I—I don't know what to do about this." He motioned between them with his hand.

"I do." She held his gaze strongly. "You know, by the time you figure it out, you really could be too late."

He mouth left agape as he watched her walk out down the hallway. The rolodex in his hand quickly reminded him of what he needed to do that day. He couldn't let himself think about that interaction, he didn't have time for it.

She spent that night alone in her apartment like she often did. Feeling foolish for putting herself out there like that for him. But she couldn't shake the look on his face when she said her last words, "You really could be too late." Did that shock him? The idea that she may not wait around. She knew without a doubt now, more than ever, that these feelings weren't one sided. But her patience was wearing thin.

She often took the brunt of his bad moods and he was rarely available as a supervisor to her. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.