Title: Tick-Tock
Author: IrishDachsie
Pairing: Grissom/Sara
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
No currency is being exchanged for this. Just something that was in my head.
He stared at the door as it slammed shut. He leaned back in his chair and
bit his lower lip as his mind tried to decipher what had just happened. He
thought he had said the right thing. But…apparently he was wrong once again.
He pushed his chair back from his desk and stood. He slowly walked to the
shelves containing the multitude of specimen jars. He stared at the piglet in
the jar and sighed. As he turned the jar a centimeter to the left and slid the
glass back into its original position, a brief smile crossed his face.
It left just as quickly.
Sara was angry. She was hurt. She was confused. The kiss that they had
just shared really didn’t resolve anything. He ran his tongue across his lips.
They still tingled from her touch.
He inhaled deeply. Her scent still hung in the air, surrounding him.
He moved slowly back to his desk and sat down. Tapping the ballpoint pen
against the case folder in front of him, his mind went into overdrive. He
automatically picked up the phone and dialed a number. He hung up after the
second ring.
A plant wasn’t going to work this time.
He swiveled his chair towards the window and stared out at the bright
lights of the city. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Catherine standing in
the hall. There was no doubt that she had seen Sara leave. And there was also
no doubt that Catherine knew that Grissom was in some way responsible for
Sara’s mood when she left.
He sighed in relief as Catherine began walking down the hall towards the breakroom. Maybe for once in her life she decided to let
him work this out on his own. Catherine was a good friend, but had a tendency
to butt into his private life. He knew that she was only trying to help. It
didn’t keep him from becoming annoyed with her.
The soft ticking of the clock on the wall reminded him of something Sara
had once said. He wondered, and not for the first time, if his time had
actually run out. Had he waited too long to confront his
feelings for her?
His eyes focused on the lights of the
A small smile tugged at his lips as he recalled that day, slightly over
three years ago now. Her first day in Vegas. The first time he had heard her
voice directly behind him in a couple of years. He remembered how his heart had
begun to race. How the day seemed so much brighter with her arrival. How the
situation at hand hadn’t seemed quite as bad with her presence.
They had grown close again quickly. Each falling into the same routine
they had shared off and on throughout the years since the seminar. He thought
he could handle the gentle flirtation between them, he hadn’t had a problem
handling it before.
But, this was different. He wasn’t going back to
The gentle flirtation quickly grew into something so much more. Something
he wasn’t prepared for. He realized it wasn’t something he could just ‘handle’
anymore. He thought he had admitted his feelings for her at the hockey rink. He
was sure he had.
In his own Gil Grissom way.
But, she knew him. She understood him. At least, he thought she did. But
then again…if she knew him as well as he thought she had known him. She would’ve
known how he felt. Right?
He shook his head lightly as his own thoughts confused him.
The past year had been horrible. He couldn’t imagine having to go through
another year like that. With his hearing deteriorating quickly,
her…involvement…with that paramedic, the entire department whispering about his
‘relationship’ with Heather.
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he thought back on that situation.
Anyone who knew him…or anything about him…would’ve known that while there might
have been some sort of…attraction…between Heather and himself, he would never
compromise a case in that way.
Sure, they had spent the evening together. Talking. She had made it clear
that she wanted more from him. He had made it clear that he was emotionally and
professionally unable to grant that request. And so they had talked. Yes, they
had deepened their bond through friendship. But, that was quickly broken as
well.
Stop.
That one word ended not only what some construed as a budding ‘romance’
of sorts…but it had also pretty much ended the friendship that he had found
with her.
He felt a sadness in his heart when he thought about Heather. But, not
for the reasons that most people thought. He had hurt her. He had not trusted
her when it was most important to do so. But…she had listened. She had deduced
that his inner pain didn’t have everything to do with his possible loss of
hearing.
She knew about Sara.
Sara.
He had pulled away from her. No, not exactly pulled. He had jerked
himself away from her, refusing to let her in. They had quite a few good days together
over the past year…but, for the most part…he had withdrawn. Resigning himself
to her making a life with another man.
He knew now that he was being childish…allowing his jealousy to override
his logic. He knew that now. He didn’t at the time.
He turned from the window and made his way back to his desk. Glancing at
the clock, he realized that she had been gone for nearly an hour now. He
flipped open the folder in front of him and pulled the crime scene photos out
slowly one at a time.
Something had told him that she needed to work this case. He knew that it
was going to be rough for her. Cases involving domestic abuse always did. And
that’s why he had assigned himself to work it with her. He needed to keep an
eye on her, to make sure she was alright.
It wasn’t a surprise when she broke down in his office earlier. They knew
who had killed the young lady. They knew that the murderer was aware of the
victim’s pregnancy. They had all of the evidence to put the bastard away.
And he had taken the easy way out.
Sara had been the one to find his body crumpled in a corner of the living
room. Her anger escalated to the point of Grissom taking her back to the lab
while Catherine and Warrick finished processing the second scene.
He had taken her into his office and allowed her to pace, to rant, to
rage. He had never thought she was more beautiful when she stood in front of
the glass-encased pig and turned the jar slightly, shaking her head as a brief
grin appeared on her lips.
He had crossed the room slowly and tentatively pulled her into a hug as
her tears began to fall. He had felt her warm breath on the side of his neck
right before her soft lips pressed against his skin.
He had closed the gap when she quickly pulled away, muttering apologies
for the slip. She had gasped when his lips touched her own briefly.
He had held her quivering body against him as he kissed her for a second
time. He had offered her a shy grin as he pulled from the kiss and looked into
her eyes. It was then she had asked him a question. Her voice was so soft he
had barely heard her.
He had smiled widely at her. His answer had been ‘no’. And then he had
leaned in to kiss her once more.
She had flown into an onslaught of obscenities as she pushed him
backwards. The last thing she had said to him was something about going and
fucking himself. And then she had slammed the door. He shook his head softly.
He picked up the keys to the Tahoe and walked out of his office, waving off
people as they called his name to look at this or look at that or answer a
question for him.
He didn’t see Catherine’s smile as he walked past the breakroom.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He pulled into a parking space beside of her car and took a deep breath
as he looked up at her window. The lights were off, but he could see the soft
bluish flicker of a television screen illuminate the living room.
His fingers drummed nervously against the steering wheel as he made his
final decision.
Exhaling deeply, he opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle. With
one more quick glance up at the window, he made his way to the stairs.
He took each step slowly, giving himself enough time to try to come up
with the right words to say. He sighed sadly, wondering if the ‘right words’
would be wrong again. He made it to the landing and looked back at the blue
Tahoe parked there. It wasn’t too late for him to just walk back down and
leave. It wasn’t. She didn’t even know that he was there.
He shook his head violently against that thought and began to climb the
next flight. This time a little more quickly.
He found himself standing in front of her door without a clue as to what
he was going to say to her. He sighed lightly and took a step backwards. At
that moment, the door opened to reveal sad, chocolate brown eyes staring at
him.
After a brief hesitation, he took a step towards her only to be halted
when she held her hand up, her palm facing him. He looked at her hand, the
slightly raised scar showing prominently in the dim light.
He whispered her name softly, only to feel his heart stutter as she shook
her head slowly. Ignoring her silent request for him to keep his distance, he
took another step towards her. Stopping when his chest touched her raised hand.
Reaching over with his right hand, he quickly covered hers as she
attempted to move it and held it against the soft fabric of his shirt. Her gaze
fell to their hands on his chest. She inhaled sharply as her fingers made light
circular motions underneath his hand. She silently cursed her digits for not
obeying her command to keep still.
As she carefully redirected her eyes upwards, she gasped when she saw the
emotions swimming in his bright blue eyes. Feeling her body relax somewhat, he
took another step forward. With a soft smile, he gently backed her into her
apartment.
Only after he was positive that she wouldn’t throw him out did he close
the door behind him. His eyes never left hers. With a soft shaky voice, she was
able to utter one word.
“Why?”
He tilted his head slightly and raised her hand to his lips. After
placing gentle kisses over her fingertips, he answered her question in a
whispered tone.
“Because I want to make dinner for you. Not take you out to some busy
restaurant.”
He surprised himself with the lack of nervousness in his voice. He was
even more surprised when she offered him a genuine smile. He returned her smile
as she took a step closer to him. His hand reached out and brushed through her
dark hair as his gentle voice broke through the silence once again.
“Sara, I know what do to about this now.”
Her smile finally reached her eyes as she draped her arms over his
shoulders. “Do you now?”
He chuckled lightly as he closed the distance between them and brushed
his lips across hers. “Let me show you?”
As their kiss became more passionate, a bell sounded in the kitchen. He
pulled back from her lips and questioned her silently.
“Kitchen timer…”
“Are you cooking something?”
She shook her head lightly and offered him a bright grin. “You had two
hours to get here from the time I left the lab…”
~ End