The next day Grissom received a call from the local crime lab's daytime supervisor.
When Dave Crow learned of Grissom's presence at the conference he waisted no time at all. A quick call revealed his motives—a particularly peculiar case riddled with entomological evidence that could benefit greatly from his consult.
So later that day, Grissom walked into the San Fransisco Crime Lab and approached the receptionist.
"I'm here to see Dave Crow."
The woman accepted his credentials and provided him with a visitors badge after gesturing to the waiting area. "He'll come grab you shortly."
Down the hall Sara walked alongside her co-worker, Jeffery Tucker. He was several years her senior but their camaraderie never felt its age gap.
"Look, Sara." He took the case folder back from her, "All I'm saying is that if the husband did it, he wouldn't just leave the body in the backyard. There would be at least a freight attempt at a clean up."
"We'll see what the evidence says about that." She snatched the folder back from Jeffery.
"I've got to check my messages." Jeff motioned toward reception as they turned the hallway.
"Alright." She looked at her watch, "Can you pick up the results from DNA and Trace when they're ready? There's a lecture this afternoon I'm trying to make it to."
"You came in early to grab a case before heading to the conference? You're such a nerd." He teased playfully as he snatched the folder back to his possession. "And a suck up."
"Dr. Grissom." She stoped in her tracks at the sight of him. Jeff's attention eagerly left the message slips in his hand to see who Sara was addressing.
"Sara Sidle." He smiled, the joy he felt in seeing her again was written across his features. He glowed.
"This is, uh, Jeff Tucker, another criminalist here at the lab." Her eyes stayed locked to his.
"Dr. Grissom, you're name is familiar." Jeff spoke absently and he observed the energy charging between the two.
"That's because he's our consultant for the day." Dave Crow chimed in as he approached from behind and extended his hand. "It's excellent to see you again, Dr. Grissom."
"Likewise." Grissom spoke while Sara shot a confused look Dave's way.
"We've got that body farm case that's crawling with latin." Dave handed a folder to Grissom before continuing, "Don't you have a lecture to get to you?"
"I do…" She lingered a moment longer before excusing herself.
"Ugh, bugs." Jeffery spoke which earned a disapproving look from Grissom as he and Dave made their way to his office. A supplemental light table in Crow's office was covered with evidence.
"When Sara mentioned she attended your lecture yesterday It felt like the stars aligned. This case is driving me nuts. Your expertise is a lifeline."
Grissom began to dive into the evidence and give each piece a fresh examination. The two sat across the table from one another in silence for a long while as their concentration earned all their attention. That is until Grissom opened the conversation finding his curiosity about Sara unfading.
"You, uh— you've worked with Sara for a while?"
"She's great isn't she?" Crow gushed easily with no additional prepping or prying necessary. Though his round about answer raised Grissom's curiosity further. He continued without prompt, "She's got such potential. Sara's the kind of criminalist that will give you 130% on her worst days. She's great energy for the team, like having a curve breaker in class."
"She's green, no?" Grissom questioned her experience given her age.
"She's got a different vantage point than my other CSIs." Crow justified. "Harvard at 16, then Berkley afterward for grad school. She's was looking to be a coroner before I convinced her into the lab. Her physics mind would have been wasted as a ME."
Grissom shifted a bit uncomfortably in his seat. Learning of her credentials and timeline left him with more questions than answers. But one's he knew he'd be unable to ask of Crow.
"Don't go trying to poach her." Dave yanked Grissom out of his thoughts, "Finders keepers." He added to ensure his joke came across as just that, a joke. "But really..." He was reading Grissom's intrigue clearly.
He spent the rest of Dave's shift with him, pouring over larvae and chemical analysis until they agreed that a few more samples needed to be recovered.
"Sara, can you take Dr. Grissom back to the crime scene? I have a budgeting meeting with the undersheriff I can't blow off again."
Grissom looked up from the microscope to see Sara had just walked into Dave's office.
"I'll drive." She smiled easily.
"Which lecture did you attend today?" Dave questioned as he shuffled around some papers to prep for his meeting.
"One on blood spatter analysis and another on excavation. Informative."
"Can you document any key take aways for the team?"
"Already done. I left the notes in your inbox with Shelly at the front desk." She turned her attention toward Grissom, "Shall we?"
A short while later they arrived at the scene where the victims body had been found. Grissom took in the landscape, surveying the terrain and plant life. He watched as she took soil samples unprompted and began doing the same. There was a comfortable silence between the two as they tuned in keenly to their observational skills. Every once in a while he glanced up at her to observe her movements, her facial expressions, her pursed lips as she studied a larvae casing.
She looked up to ask a question and caught his eyes on her. Quickly she averted her gaze to pretend like she hadn't noticed before proceeding with her question, linking the larvae casing she stored in a small glass jar to his lecture from the day before.
He answered her questions without hesitation, and smiled as more came his way.
"I was thinking of attending Dr. Gerard's lecture tomorrow morning to round out this entomological education I'm getting this week." She smiled a bit suggestively, "Do you know him?"
"Don't waste your time." He spoke plainly. Dr. Gerard had been an colleague of Grissom's some time ago. But their paths split when Grissom chose to continue to follow science, and Dr. Gerard followed fame—as much fame as an entomologist could really garner at least. "If you have more questions about this topic you can just ask me. Gerard's practices are..." He paused briefly to think of the right word, "not up to my standards."
"Careful what you offer," She playfully jabbed as they loaded the newly collected evidence and samples into the back of her SUV. "I've been known to abuse my academic resources."
He gave a reserved smile as he tried to understand what she'd meant, then watched as her eyes focused on the expansive field before them.
"It's nice to get out of the city for a little while." She spoke, taking in the serenity and calmness of the environment they were found in. "I hope it was this peaceful out here when she died." She shrugged sadly.
The drive back to the lab was relatively short and Grissom spent the time thinking about how nice it was to work along side someone with this energy. He felt recharged in her presence. She had a zest for the job that he sometimes forgot could exist. Her questions were thoughtful and provoked a lively discussion. He felt stimulated by her, like the best cup of coffee he'd ever had. Intellectually stimulated... physically stimulated. Being around her was forcing him to remember that he was man with urges, something he often relegated to the recesses of his mind.
"My flight isn't until tomorrow afternoon," He offered in way of breaking the silence, "I'll trade you. You take me around San Fransisco and I'll fill you in on the topic Gerard will cover. I'm only ever here for work so I've never really seen the city."
"You've got yourself a deal." That gap toothed grin easily slid across her face and excitement filled her core. She glanced over at him once more as she parked the car. Something about him drew her to him in a way she'd really never felt before. She wanted to be in his presence, to say things that would reward her with that boyish grin. The idea of spending the day together felt like a dream. Just yesterday she was lobbing question after question his way just in an attempt to get up enough courage to ask him to dinner.
They made plans to meet at the lab in the morning and parted ways. Sara spent that evening in bed alone thinking about him. About his blonde-brown hair, his bright blue eyes, the spark in his speech as he spoke passionately about a case or finding. Those butterflies reemerged inside her abdomen as she thought about what it might be like to touch him. She wondered if he felt it too.
The two spent an easy day together. Their conversations came easily, a fact not lost on Grissom who typically took much longer to warm up to a new person. But her energy was like water flowing through him, almost as if they'd known each other for a long time. She showed him the wharf, the arts district, took the cable car trolly and stopped into a small shop for a re-up on coffee all before finally making their way to the Golden Gate Bridge.
"Isn't it beautiful?" She turned toward the bridge as the wind pushed her hair out of her face. It was their last stop of the day before his flight and she could feel herself yearning for more time with him.
"Breathtaking." He replied, but his eyes were resting on her figure rather than the acclaimed structure in the distance. A halo of light outlined her shape and he watched as her features softened with a delicate exhale. He took a small step closer to her, the wind pushing her scent toward him. A subtle hint of lavender filled his sense. He found himself musing about her in a way he never really allowed his mind to wander typically. How would it feel to reach out and touch her? Did she want him to? Did she feel this too? Or was he over indexing? She was so much younger, perhaps all this really was professional inquest for her.
"Every couple needs a photo with Mrs. Golden." A man's voice ripped Grissom from his thoughts. There stood a vendor, approaching with his camera in hand. Sara just about waved him off when Grissom piped up, "Sure, why not."
He moved toward her, resting his hand on the small of her back—an excuse to touch her, he realized. Now suddenly very aware of how close they were to each other, her scent was intoxicating. For a moment he let his mind imagine what it would be like to bury his face in the crook of her neck, her hair draping over him, tickling his cheeks. What it would be like to kiss her there.
Heat rose through her body like a shockwave at his touch on her back. She leaned into him and smiled for the photo. Her head nearly resting on his shoulder. He moved away from her to tip the vendor and retrieve the photo as Sara found herself surprised at how lonely his sudden absence made her feel.
Grissom moved to hand the photo to Sara, "A memento?" She accepted and thumbed over the image for a moment before pulling out a pen from her tote and scrawling her phone number and email address on it. She handed it back to him, her fingers purposefully lingering on his as he took the photo. Their eyes locked as the electricity of that touch coarsed through them.
"Keep in touch." She spoke softly as her eyes searched his in a desperate attempt to see if he'd felt similarly about her.
He agreed with a soft nod, his blue eyes taking her in one last time before easily flagging down a cab and departing for the airport.