Author Note:
Hello all! I originally wrote this story in 2015 under the username Gilsaragrissom (which i do not have access to anymore). I've been wanting to revisit this story for some time and decided to do so now! Something about these characters continue to spark me, even after all these years.
So here is an updated take on that original story with additional scenes and context threaded throughout. I've also taken the launch of CSI:Las Vegas and the updated character stories provided, into consideration.
The original attempt at this story received awesome reviews so I hope this new and improved version finds you all as excited to read it as I am to rewrite it.
August 1999
The summer air was hot and crisp. Sara could feel the beads of sweat start to form on the back of her neck as she swept her hair up into a ponytail. Closing the cap on her tall thermos, having just filled it to the brim, Sara made her way to lecture hall 5.
The Forensic Academy Conference was well underway in its second day of the four day event. She had become friendly with a few of the other conference-goers the previous day as she mingled through the various networking events. She dreaded those events, but pushed herself to attend as a show of appreciation for being chosen to represent the San Fransisco Crime Lab as this year's gathering. She found her way to a decent time nonetheless and even caught herself even enjoying it from time to time.
At first, Sara had been surprised when her supervisor chose her to attend the Forensic Academy Conference. She was the youngest criminalist in the lab at the moment. Sending a more senior member would have made more sense, she thought. But Dave Crow, her supervisor going on five years now, insisted she was the right fit this year.
Crow had taken a keen interest in Sara's professional development over the years. "I know talent when I see it." He'd tell her time and again. The child in her loved getting those golden star stickers of praise from him; but her adult-self felt so undeserving of it.
So now Sara found herself back in the lecture hall, seated in the second row near the aisle. She took another gulp of the hot coffee as others filtered in and took their seats.
"Sara!"
She whipped around at the sound of her name and smiled as she laid eyes on the guy who spoke it. Her gap tooth grin appeared as Doug Wilson approached.
"Is anyone sitting here?" Doug spoke as he motioned to the empty seat beside her.
"No, all you." She shifted slightly to allow him to take his seat.
Sara and Doug met the day before at one of the networking events. She racked her brain to remember a bit about him.
"NTSB, right?" She asked finally.
He confirmed with a nod before smirking, "And you are the young prodigy of SFCL."
She looked away, the compliment causing her to blush. "I didn't expect to see you at this one. Biological Anthropology in Decomposition seems a far leap from trains and planes."
"Same." He laughed. "But my boss' new initiative is to get everyone a more well-rounded view of the crimes." He shrugged in resignation before continuing, "I don't even know why I picked this one, I heard this speaker is a bit dull."
"I heard the same." Sara motioned to her now half empty coffee canister. "I came prepared."
"Lucky the conference is in The Bay this year. It's nice to not have to travel for once." His voice trailed to a close as the speaker took the podium.
Sara glanced up and caught his blue eyes for the first time. They sparkled with excitement as his eyebrows raised, opening the forum, "Hello, everyone. I am Dr. Gilbert Grissom and I'm here to discuss what I like to call the 'First Blush' of a crime scene. Today we'll talk through a specific case my team recently closed, a double murder in a garage, and I'll take you through how a linear regression timeline of pupae and blowflies were instrumental in solving this case."
A projector began to display slides of insect casings, various species and timelines. He launched into his presentation without hesitation. He didn't shy away from all the latin even as he watched several eyes begin to glaze over. He continued on while scanning the audience for a pulse. That's when his eyes paused and hovered over a young woman taking copious notes. He furrowed his brows, reacting to the stark difference in energy between her and the others in the crowd. To his surprise, it was the very woman who had just caught his eyes in the coffee shop not fifteen minutes prior.
He'd been standing behind her in line, and something about her caused him to want to take her in, observe her movements, focus on her in a way that other people did not particularly ever really interest him. And here she was, sitting in his lecture, seemingly hanging onto each word he spoke.
He continued on but found his eyes resting on her time after time. Glancing at his watch, Dr. Grissom realized he had been rambling on about saprophagous insects for nearly the entire back half of his time. He hastily found his way back to his point, "What I mean to say, is that if the evidence changes, so too must our assumptions. While the pupae casings originally suggested a varied timeline, our findings of the nearby roadkill and various species of plants caused our hypothesis to shift." He closed out his presentation with a slide showcasing the full linear regression of insects pinned to a board.
"Wow. That was pretty dull, huh?" Doug spoke through the side of his mouth.
"I don't know, I enjoyed it." Sara didn't take her eyes off Dr. Grissom as he shuffled his papers and notes into a briefcase.
"Spoken like a true prodigy." Doug glanced at Sara's notebook, filled margin-to-margin. He laughed easily, "Will you even be able to read any of that chicken scratch?"
"It makes sense to me." She defended quickly through a pursed lipped smile.
"Want to go grab more coffee? I've got an NTSB networking event soon and you would not believe some of the drags that get into this line of work. I'll take all the caffeine I get get my hands on right now." He took a moment to imitate an incredibly bored person earning him a somewhat amused smile from the woman beside him.
"I do not envy that. But I'm going to stick around for a bit, I have a few questions."
Doug glanced up toward Dr. Grissom who was standing by the podium, getting ready to head out. "Of course you do." He smirked with a flirtatious undertone as he turned his attention back to Sara. Doug stood and grabbed his things.
"Good luck staying awake." She gestured before he left. She then made her way to the front of the lecture hall, taking a cleansing breath as she did in an effort to gather up some courage. Her ponytail bounced as she walked toward him.
"Dr. Grissom." She spoke as she approached, grabbing his attention from his briefcase. "I have a few questions on your lecture—if you have the time."
He smiled as he looked up to see who was speaking and suddenly she became aware of every inch of her body. His boyish grin light up his face. She felt weak as she watched him lean against the podium without effort as he responded, "Of course."
Without skipping a beat she began to fire off question after question. Each answer lobbed right back her way. They volleyed like this for a while. Each question left her lips with ease except for the one question she actually wanted to ask; him to dinner.
"It's getting late," Dr. Grissom began as he glanced at his watch.
"I'm sorry, I've been taking up so much of your time." Whoah, she thought to herself noting how she was suddenly over talking. A trait no one who knew her well would ever attribute to her.
"Not at all." He paused a bit awkwardly, "Let's—" He paused twice now, trying to find the words that were just at the tip of his tongue. "Are you hungry? We could keeping discussing this at that diner around the corner?" His speech gave a barely audible distinguishing inflection of a question.
"Yeah?" She smiled widely between glancing down briefly. "I could eat."
He buckled his briefcase closed and motioned to the exit.
The day had cooled off a bit as the sun began to slip down below the horizon. Sara and Grissom sat across from one another in a diner booth. Their plates cleared now. Left on the table was their coffee cups. Sara's hands wrapped around her mug. Her body leaned in with enthusiasm as they continued to talk about the lecture's topic and every tangent possible under the sun.
"Grissom." She spoke like water, spilling from her mouth as if she'd been saying his name her whole life. "That's the Ringo of the entomological timeline." She smiled with pride for her effortless Beatles joke. "I'm sure you've heard that one a thousand times, huh?" She softened as his eyes rested on her smile.
"Sure, but I think this is my favorite iteration." His face unchanged, but his blue eyes smiled brightly as they bore through her chocolate orbs.
He cleared his thought and looked down at his mug with a start when the eye contact went on for a little long. "How long have you worked for the San Fransisco Crime Lab?" He launched into his own questions. Feeling deeply curious about her.
"Five years now," She waited a beat before adding, "In January."
"And before that?"
"I interned with the coroner's office through grad school."
Grissom's eyebrows raised before his eyes lifted, "This is your first job out of school."
"It is." She confirmed as she watched him process. "You're surprised?"
"I suppose so," He admitted apprehensively, she watched as he struggled to search for the next thing to say.
"You can't always rely on your first blush, can you?" She quipped with speed to rescue him. That boyish grin reappeared on his face in that moment. Butterflies swirled wildly in her abdomen.
He glanced down at his mug briefly, finding it increasingly difficult not to stare at her.
"Can I walk you home?" He took note of the dark sky and realized they'd been there for hours now.
"Thanks, but I'm just a few blocks from here." She stuck out her hand as they stepped out of the diner. The cool air held a soft breeze, tussling her hair. "Thanks for your time tonight, It was really great to meet you."
His breath caught in his throat as their hands touched. He suddenly couldn't remember the last time he'd felt someone's skin like this. No latex barrier. Just her soft, supple, warm skin and her long fingers resting in his palm. He became very aware of a heat rising through him now and felt nearly frozen in place.
"I'll uh— see you tomorrow?" He sputtered causing her to turn back toward him.
She gave a smile and nod, then turned back to be on her way, ponytail swaying with each step. He watched as she disappeared down the sidewalk up a steep hill. He stayed stood there under the diner's awning for a bit longer. Enjoying the remnants of warmth still held within his hand.