The sound of children playing and people milling around were evidence that the park near Grissom's house was used on the weekend. The dog park attached was nearly empty besides a terrier and a golden retriever, whose owners were talking to each other outside the fence. Sara ignored their irresponsible oversight of their dogs. Throwing the rubber ball, Sara watched Hank run after it. He didn't return the ball but throwing the ball was a form of exercise. As she retrieved the ball from Hank's slobbering mouth, she jogged a few feet with the boxer following her. Holding the ball out, she switched it between her hands with the dog watching her. She laughed as she threw the ball and Hank took after it.

"You're a sight to behold." The voice made Sara turn, the wind blowing her hair into her face as she did. She found Grissom leaning against the fence.

Walking over to him, Sara smiled as she approached the metal barrier. "Hmm, where did you disappear for half an hour?"

"Alas, work never stops. Ecklie called again about the Tran testimony." Grissom reached up and brushed a blowing lock behind her ear. "He wants me to cover the testimony instead of Nick."

"Why?" Sara pulled her sunglasses off her eyes and pushed them up onto her head, keeping her hair out of the way. "You were only on the periphery of that case."

Grissom sighed. "Politics, the DA insists."

"Hey." Sara reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his curls. "Either way, it's a slam dunk case. You go in, tell the facts, and wait for the jury to deliver a conviction."

"I know Darlin', but I hate playing politics."

The sound of growling and barking made Sara turn to see the golden retriever backing Hank into the fence. She instantly ran over to the dogs while yelling at the two women still talking and ignoring the dogs. "Hey, get control of your dog!"

That got the woman's attention as Sara reached for Hank's collar, getting bit by the golden retriever in her wrist. The blonde woman entered the yard as Sara pulled Hank away, using her body as a block. "What are you doing to my dog?"

"I haven't done a damn thing." Sara told the woman. "Your dog boxed mine in and because you don't have control of your dog, I got bit." She looked straight at the woman. "Be lucky I won't be pressing charges or call animal control."

Sara ignored the woman's comments as she pulled Hank by his collar to the gate where Grissom was waiting. He instantly leashed the dog's collar and shut the gate after Sara was through it. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Sara bent down next to Hank and ran her hands over his body. The dog licked her which made her laugh. "He seems to be fine."

As she stood, she felt Grissom help her up and hissed when his fingers pressed on the bite wound. Once she was on her feet, Sara watched as Grissom examined her wound. "Honey, this doesn't look good."

"I've heard that before." Sara stated and looked at her wrist. "It'll be fine. I can wash it out and bandage it."

A hand on her back, he took Hank's leash and started walking towards the path that lead to the sidewalk. It would take them back to his townhouse, their day together interrupted. "We'll drop Hank off and then I'm taking you to the local clinic. You and I both know dog saliva can cause infections." He looked over where the owner of the golden retriever was still talking with the other woman. "I'd feel better if she was the one paying the bill."

"Gil, don't." She shook her head. "I don't want a confrontation."

Their third weekend spending time together, walking and talking about anything and everything, wasn't ending well. Learning little things about each other was met with smiles and laughter most of the time. A few tense conversations were had as they sat on his couch with coffee in their hands. Those mainly concerned cases where one of them was stand-offish or angry at the other. Somehow, despite the heaviness of the Debbie Marlin case, they had ended up cuddling.

Sara looked up when coffee was handed to her as they sat on his couch. Weekends were spent at his townhouse while weekday mornings or evenings were at her apartment. They hadn't been on a date yet but instead were focused on building a foundation.

"Thanks." Sara smiled as Grissom sat down beside her. "How'd you sleep?" It was a common question because they knew each other had trouble sleeping. Sara had insomnia and Grissom rarely slept longer than four to six hours after years of doubles and triples.

"I tossed and turned till around two. The Peterson case, testimony was rough."

Sara nodded. "Warrick said the DA went all out on describing the nasty particulars of the case so the jury would know the brutality of it. I'm glad I wasn't a part of that case."

"I'd have removed you and put you on another case." He saw her about to speak but put up a hand. "Not because I'd believe you couldn't handle it but because of the brutality. The scene was similar to how you described your father's murder. Honestly, I thought about you when they walked the girl out and the mother was placed in handcuffs."

Reaching out, Sara squeezed his knee as it lay close to her own. She sat cross-legged as was normal or with her legs up, arms around them, when they discussed a pretty bad case. "It wasn't me, Gil. You don't have to worry." Sara smiled at him. "So, I'm guessing your bad dreams were putting me in the girl's place."

"As much as I speak about separation of science and emotion, the brain during REM sleep sometimes fails to differentiate." Grissom looked at Sara, not diverting his eyes as he sometimes was prone to do when speaking. "It happened with the Marlin case and the Petersen case and Desert State. My subconscious often has trouble processing anything that concerns you or a case that has similarities in regard to you."

Sara moved her coffee into her right hand and reached out with her left to squeeze his hand that lay against the cushion between them. "Tell me about how the cases affected you. I want to hear it from your point of view."

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" He asked cautiously. "You may not like what I have to say."

"I heard your speech to Lurie, processing that was a nightmare for me. Anything else is small facts."

Grissom watched as she spoke and he'd expected some kind of painful emotion to cross her face when mentioning his speech. There wasn't anything more than understanding and that was probably because she'd spent a year processing the fact. He also didn't fail to notice after the Marlin case, Sara had started ignoring their mutual attraction, even if the playfulness and flirting that had existed for years remained.

"I did the walkthrough and the moment I saw her in the bathroom, my anxiety rose to a level I'd never felt before. It was only exiting the house and seeing you that my brain registered you were safe."

"You had me take the perimeter, why?"

Thinking for a moment, he finally spoke. "I didn't want you seeing me exposed. I was raw on that case Sara, so raw. You read me in ways that Catherine and the boys can't. You see the invisible, not just the visible."

Sara put her coffee on the coffee table and reached out to take his, placing it beside her own. Seeing his brow furrow, Sara slid over after stretching her legs. "Come here." She laid her head against his shoulder and without prompting, he moved his arm from under her and put it around her. She felt his lips against her forehead and then her crown. "Better?" She moved her head back a fraction to meet his eyes.

"More than you know." He whispered against her temple.

"You avoided me because you felt like I'd expose you." Sara stated, "what were your thoughts throughout the case?"

Grissom took a deep breath. "I felt like I had to solve the case. My mind, my subconscious mind, kept confusing you two. It was hard not to fill driven and only see the world through that one lens. Every moment of the case, I was reminded of my age and how I let my work consume my life. Those men gave love a chance but I was stuck."

"Hearing your speech was hard but it made me realize that you weren't ready." Sara spoke softly. "You loved me but you weren't ready. I'd have to wait patiently till you were."

"How long would you have waited?"

Sara moved her head back so their eyes met. "Till my death. I'd have waited forever for a chance to love you. Even if was just a single moment."

"You deserve so much more."

"Maybe but I want you." Sitting up a fraction, she reached up to caress his cheek. Leaning in, Sara kissed him gently. As they pulled apart, she smiled. "You don't have to tell me that you wouldn't have waited just as long for me if our positions were reversed."

"I would."

Sara glanced beside herself as she sat in the waiting room of the local 24-hour clinic. The waiting room was filled with parents and kids, day laborers, college kids, and one man she believed was homeless. Grissom sat beside her patiently waiting as she did, his hand on her left leg. It was crossed over her right which was flat on the floor. With her left hand being the one injured, she was lucky because she could fill out the forms with her dominant right hand.

"Babe?"

"Hmm?" He responded to her as she concentrated on filled out the forms.

"Can you get my wallet out of my bag?" She glanced up, "I need my insurance card."

Her messenger bag lay against her leg on the chair she sat in. Grissom opened the bag wide enough to withdraw her wallet. He unclasped it and looked inside, searching for a card that was identical in his wallet except for name, date of birth, and ID number. "Here you are my Dear."

She smiled and looked at him as she accepted the card. "Thank you."

Twenty minutes later Sara found herself being called back to a room. She sat on the gurney as Grissom sat in the chair against the wall. She looked down at her wrist, the bite was a little swollen but not so much as it could have been. Grissom watched her and asked an important question.

"Are you in pain?"

"No." Sara glanced up at him. "Would you be shocked if I said I wanted to punch that woman for acting flippant with me?"

He chuckled softly. "No. I'm aware of your temper, but I have noticed you've become more controlled with suspects. Am I correct that you're still seeing your P.E.A.P. counselor?"

"No, but I am seeing a trauma counselor." Sara told him. "Apparently, I needed a trauma counselor and not a regular counselor. Their approaches are different and how they handle recall of memories. She has me do these stupid assignments and keep a journal." She shrugged and looked down at her hand. "I started realizing that if I didn't get help, one day I would blow up or self-destruct. I would never want anyone to see that, especially you. It would hurt you and if I was the source of your pain, it'd destroy me further."

Grissom reached out and grasped her good hand. "If you ever want to share, I'm here to listen."

"Would you go with me to my next appointment?" She glanced up at him, "the next session is one I've rescheduled twice. I don't want to do memory recall under hypnosis. I remember a lot but part of her therapy is recalling everything and learning to cope with it. I'm scared of what will happen, what I'll say or do. You know confronted with it via our victims makes me angry and my temper flares."

"What day and time?"

"Wednesday at eleven." Her smile was small but full of gratitude.

He stood up and took the two steps towards her, pulling her into a hug. Sara held on as he kissed her head and rubbed her back. Sara looked up at him and he leaned over again, kissing her softly. "I can handle your temper. Depending on the situation, I find it one of your best features."

"Oh really?" She asked somewhat surprised.

"You wouldn't be Sara Sidle without your temper."

Sara chuckled and spoke playfully, "shut up and sit down."

The doctor came a few minutes later and sat down on the stool in front of the gurney after washing his hands and pulling on gloves. "Okay, so dog bite. How did this happen?" He took Sara's hand and examined it.

"Dog park. Another dog cornered our dog and the owner was useless so I grabbed our dog's collar. I got bit in the process."

"Bend your wrist up and down." Sara did as instructed. "Well your range of motion isn't impeded so it's likely superficial. We'll get an x-ray to be sure it didn't nick the bone. A tetanus and rabies shot to be cautious and flush the wound and bandage it. Antibiotics to finish up. I don't think the dog did any real damage though."

Grissom looked at the doctor. "Will she be restricted in activity?"

"As long as the wound stays clean, I don't see why she would be." The doctor pulled off his gloves and stood up. "Have you had rabies vaccine before?"

"When I was in my teens."

The doctor nodded. "That means you'll get one shot instead of a series. The nurse will be in to take care of everything in a few moments."

After the doctor left, Sara looked over at Grissom. "Guess this means no cars, roofs, decomps, or water cases for a bit."

"Cars yes, everything else is a no." He saw her confused expression. "You can wear gloves as you normally do when working on cars. You need your wrist at full strength to scale roofs and anything liquid could cause infection if the wound gets wet."

"Hmm, sorry that we're here instead of you making me dinner."

He shook his head. "There's no reason for you to be sorry. I wouldn't have gotten to Hank in time and you tried to grab him in a safe way."

"I still wish I had punched that woman." The statement made him smile. "Do I still get dinner before I head home?"

"If you don't mind me taking control of your kitchen, I have a new recipe I'd like to try."

Sara smiled. "I have two new Forensic Files on my TiVo, if you're up for those also."

"I thought we agreed no dates until we've talked."

"I think we've talked enough for dinner and TV." Sara told him. "Maybe not a date-date but you're always feeding me as I read."

Grissom nodded. "I think you're right. Yesterday's conversations were deeply personal."

"But necessary." Sara smiled before looking down. "I should warn you that after my therapy sessions, I tend to be quiet and don't want to do anything but sit in silence."

"I'd like you to stay at the townhouse on Wednesday. I'd feel more comfortable knowing you're not alone after going through something you don't want to."

Sara nodded and agreed without objecting. "Okay."

Next we see true confessions regarding their love for each other. The first chapter had them confessing they loved each other but it was brief and just an acknowledge.