A/N: This is my response to the Fan Fiction Challenge on the CSI-GrissomSara Yahoo! Group that was issued on 6.24.05.

The following elements had to be used:
- The line, " Look at him, nothing fast about that."
- A jealous Grissom. May or may not relate to Sara.
- Reference to your favorite wine, champagne, sparkling wine or hard liquor
- The line, “Whose going to tell Grissom?”
- Reference to your favorite city.

---

“Who’s going to tell Grissom?”

The four other members of the original CSI night shift sat in the booth of the local diner silently, none of them wanting to tell their boss what they had heard before shift started. In addition, none of them were exactly thrilled about the fact that they were losing one of their friends to another lab.

Sara had seemed so excited when she’d come into the break room, the letter in her hand.

“This is a big opportunity for me, guys. Plus, I’ve always loved New York City. How can I not take the position?” Truth be told, Sara had felt honored that she’d been hand picked for the job by her predecessor Mac Taylor, who was accepting a position with the FBI.

Warrick had spoken first. “Sara, I think it’s a great opportunity for you. Congrats, girl.”

“Sara…I…I just can’t tell you how much I’ll miss you,” Greg had said, his voice cracking a bit. “You…you mean so much to me. Thanks for all your help. Um…I‘ve gotta go…” With that, he had quickly walked away, hoping she‘d not see the lone tear that had started to trickle out of his eye.

“Sar - what do I say? I’ll miss you.” Pulling her into his muscular arms, Nick hugged her. “You’ll have to keep in touch.” Nick kissed her softly on the cheek. “ Love ya, kid.”

It was Catherine who was bold enough to ask the question that all of them wanted to know, but were afraid to ask. “So, what did Grissom say?”

“Say to what?” he questioned as Gil Grissom walked into the break room, assignment sheets in hand.

Breaking the silence at the table, Nick spoke. “Well, Sara’s sure not going to tell him until it’s too late…one of us is going to have to let him know, so it doesn’t blindside him.”

“True,”Warrick chimed in. “Greggo, you’re the lowest ranking CSI at the table. I nominate you.”

Greg Sanders held up his hands. “Oh no you don’t! I’m not telling Grissom about this. I enjoy breathing.” He had not been an ‘official member’ of the group for that long, but he knew from his years of observation working in the lab that there was something between their boss and Sara Sidle. “Catherine, you’ve known him longer. You get to do it.”

“Greg Sanders, you might not breathe that much longer after all,” Catherine joked. “What makes you think I want to give him the heads-up that she‘s leaving? We all know he harbors some kind of feelings for her. I’m not going to unleash that demon alone.”

“OK, here’s what we can do,” Nick said, flagging down their waiter.“We’ll make this a team effort.” Asking the young gentleman to write down a number between 1 - 10, Nick turned his attention back to his tablemates. “OK, we all pick a number. The two of us who are closest to the number will go in as a pair and tell Griss what’s going on. Sound fair?”

They all nodded in agreement.

“I’ve got one,” Warrick said. “Safer that way.”

“Dibs on ten,” Greg said. “I’m gonna go with Warrick’s theory on this.”

“Five,” Nick said, stretching his arms behind his head.

“Three,” Catherine said.

The waiter turned his notepad around to show the number two. “Dammit,” Warrick said, running his hand through his hair.

“And you used to be good at gambling?” Nick said playfully as he high-fived Greg Sanders across the table.

“Well, War-” Catherine said, grabbing her handbag from the seat. “Let’s get this over with…the sooner the better. We’ll let the winners pay for breakfast.”

---

Gil Grissom was reading the latest edition of the Forensics Journal when he heard a knock at his front door. Never being one for visitors, the knock surprised him. Slipping his bare feet into his slippers, he tightened the belt around his robe before opening the door. “Cath - Warrick…this is a surprise.”

“We didn’t wake you did we?“ Catherine asked.

“No, I was just reading,” he said, still standing sentry at his door.

“Can we come in?”

“Sure, sure…” he said, moving aside to allow both of them entrance to his home. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit? Can I get you both some coffee?”

The silence was deafening.

“What’s going on?” Gil asked, noticing the solemn looks on both their faces.

“OK, there’s no easy way to say this, so here goes.” Catherine bit her lip. “Sara’s taking a job in New York City. She told us about it last night, right before you came in for assignments.”

Grissom did his best to hold his composure. “Did she put you two up to telling me for her?”

“No,” Warrick said. “But knowing Sara and the history between you two, we knew she’s most likely wait until the last possible minute. We thought you deserved to know beforehand.”

Grissom pinched the bridge of his nose like he did so many times when he was frustrated. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“You OK with this, Gil?” Catherine said. “I mean…I know there‘s this ‘thing‘ between the two of you…”

“Catherine,” Gil said harshly. “You don’t know anything…” Noticing the tone of his voice, he retreated. “I’m sorry, I just - well…“

Gil glanced up to notice Warrick glaring at him. “Thanks for coming to tell me.”

As he closed the door, Gil Grissom fought the urge to call Sara. Deep down, he knew that he was most likely the reason she was leaving. Catherine had struck a nerve when she mentioned his and Sara’s ‘relationship’. So many times he’d wanted to do something about it, but he never could let himself tell her of his honest feelings, fearing it would cost one or both of them their careers, or worse yet, their friendship.

Sitting back down on his sofa, he picked up the magazine and tried to pick back up where he left off, but he couldn’t. He had to do something to try and make her stay before she left for New York taking his heart with her.

---

That night at work, everyone was on pins and needles wondering how the interaction would go between Grissom and were shocked when Grissom paired Sara with Greg, opting to take Warrick with him. “Typical Grissom - guess he can’t handle being around her knowing he’s about to lose her,” Catherine said to Nick as they left the crime lab.

Driving to their scene, Grissom held tightly to the steering wheel while Warrick sat silently in the passenger seat. The younger man wasn’t quite sure what to say to his boss. He didn’t want to invoke the harshness he had heard in Grissom’s voice earlier, but then again, he didn’t want to seem uncaring. “Griss,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “You know, we’re all as upset as you are about Sara’s decision.”

“Warrick, I’d rather not discuss it.”

“But why not?” Warrick questioned. “Look, you’re only fooling yourself. Griss, I’m going to be brutally honest here, and after this, you can say or do to me whatever you want to, but I think this needs to be said. I know you’re scared of starting a relationship with someone you work with. I was, too. But, man, it can work. I know you more than anyone can keep your personal life out of your job; you do it every day. It took Catherine and I a few weeks to sort that part out, but…”

Grissom interrupted. “What? You and Catherine? You’re dating? How long has this been going on? And, furthermore, how did I not know about it?”

“Yeah,” Warrick said, letting his smile shine through. “We’ve been together for about three months now. See? We did it, and you had no idea, because we didn’t let it get in the way of our work. Not that we were trying to keep it secret, though. We did our research beforehand, too. Checked every process and procedure manual to make sure we weren’t breaking any rules by starting a relationship. Griss, there’s nothing in any of those books that forbids it.”

Warrick watched his boss’ face as he contemplated everything he had just said. “And what about when you two argue?”

“Man, we don’t bring that baggage to work. If we can’t sort it out before shift, we put it on hiatus. Work is work. Play is play.”

Grissom sat silently behind the wheel as he pulled it into a parking space outside the Tangiers. Barely audible, he spoke the words he’d been thinking about since Warrick’s revelation. “I’m jealous of the two of you.”

“Griss, there’s no need to be jealous. Just tell Sara how you feel, man. It can be done. If you care about her that much…”

Grissom’s voice interrupted. “I don’t just care about her…I love her.”

“Then tell her. The sooner the better. You better do it fast, too, before you lose the chance.”

---

Sara had finally come in to tell Grissom about her job offer, and that she was going to take it. He didn’t try to convince her to stay, but rather asked could he take her to dinner to celebrate her offer. News of this had traveled fast through the halls of the Crime Lab, much to the disappointment of their co-workers. “He’s stupid,” Greg had commented. “Stupid to let a woman like Sara slip away from him.” Everyone else had agreed.

Walking into the restaurant, Sara Sidle was determined to stand her ground. Grissom had pulled this same stunt when Sofia Curits had tried to leave the lab, and she wasn’t going to be fooled. Seeing him already seated at a table near the bar, Sara mentioned to the hostess that she would be seated with Grissom, and was led to the table.

“Sara, how are you?” he said, his words not as eloquent as he had wished. He wanted to tell her that she looked stunning in the olive colored pantsuit she was wearing, but couldn’t muster the courage to do so. He wasn’t as socially savvy as he wanted to be.

“Fine,” she said coldly, taking her seat. “And you?”

“Nervous,” he said, speaking before he could think. “What’ll you have to drink?” he asked, motioning for their server.

“A glass of white wine will be fine,” she said.

Most of their dinner was spent in silence, the only conversation being about their food, or the usual small talk banter. Sara could see that he was trying to think of the right way to ask her to stay. “Thanks for dinner,” she said, getting ready to stand. “I will miss working for you.”

“Sara, about the new job…” Gil took a reassuring drink of his scotch before continuing. “I…I…I really wish you would reconsider.”

“What are you going to tell me, Grissom? The lab needs me? That I shouldn’t want to leave a lab that has the second best solve rate in the country?”

“No,” he said dejectedly. “I wish you’d stay. We need you here.”

“Who?” she said, her temper starting to flare. “No one really wanted me here in the first place.” With that, she stood. “Thanks for the dinner. I do appreciate the last ditch effort.”

Grissom sat stunned as he watched her walk out the door. His mind drifted back to the conversation that had taken place the other day.

“I don’t just care about her…I love her.”

“Then tell her. The sooner the better. You better do it fast, too, before you lose the chance.”

Quickly standing from his seat, he took off after her.“Sara, wait.”

She turned to look at him, standing in the middle of the main hall of the Luxor Casino. “What, are you going to try to guilt me into staying somehow? It’s not going to work. This is a step up for me…that’s it! You don’t want me to go because then I’ll be your equal…not your peon who you can string along and make believe anything you want, only to dash my dreams on a whim. That’s all I’ve ever been to you anyway- a whim. I can see it clearly , Grissom.”

“Sara…”

Before he knew it, he’d pulled her into his arms, his mouth attacking hers with a fervor he’d never imagined he was capable of. His movement surprised Sara at first, but as his lips devoured hers, she began to relent, letting herself get lost in the splendor of his kiss. Pulling away for a breath, he stared at her, willing her eyes to meet his.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, still winded from the embrace.

“Sara, I love you. I always have. Please, forgive me for being such an ass about it all. I can’t live without you here. Please…if you feel anything for me anymore, please stay.”

With tears in her eyes, Sara looked up to meet his gaze. “Grissom…”

“Sara, please call me Gil. I need to hear you say my name just once...just once before you leave."

“Gil…why couldn’t you say this earlier?” Her voice was trembling. “Why did you wait until I was just about to leave?”

“Because, Sara…I was scared of us not working out and losing you forever. I let my head get ahead of my heart, and for that I’m sorry. Please, reconsider your move. I wouldn’t blame you for leaving, but I will never forgive myself for losing you.”

A lone tear streaked down her face. “Do you mean that?”

Nodding his head, Sara sighed. “Griss..I mean, Gil…I…I love you, too.” A small smile crossed her lips as she whispered. “But I think I need a little more convincing…can you kiss me like that again?”

He smiled as he pulled her into another embrace, this one more soft, more gentle, more caring.

From the balcony overhead, Catherine turned to Warrick. “Looks like you talked some sense into him for once.”

Pulling Catherine into a hug, Warrick smiled. “I told him he needed to hurry…but would you look at him," he said, watching the slow kiss transpiring below them. "There’s nothing fast about that at all.”

FIN