Grissom drifted down the hallway of CSI like a ghost; numb from everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. He had dropped Sara off at her apartment before he returned to the lab, insisting she should get some rest after what she’d been through. Leaving her in her apartment alone was the hardest thing he had done that day, well next to helplessly watching Adam Trent hold Sara with that ceramic shard to her neck. He shook his head to rid himself of the visual reminder. He had come back to the lab alone to log the evidence and he was now technically off duty but he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Should he start processing the evidence now? If he started without Sara she might think he thought she would be incapable of finishing the case. Not to mention the fact that he was physically and mentally exhausted, so starting to process now might risk him missing something. He wouldn’t start processing the evidence until next shift. But what would he do, go home? Going back to his empty townhouse wouldn’t help. He wouldn’t sleep, he’d just spend all night thinking about Sara and how close he came to losing her. He still couldn’t believe it.

Catherine saw him pass and ran to catch up with him.

“Oh my God Gil how’s Sara? Is she ok?” Catherine asked her voice frantic with concern.

“She’s fine, yeah. I dropped her home before I came back to the lab. She should get some rest.” He said monotonously, clearly still shaken by the whole thing. Catherine breathed a small sigh of relief.

“When I heard what happened and that the paramedics were called I just...I didn’t know what to think.” She shook her head. “But she’s alright?”

“Yeah. She’s a survivor.” He almost smiled.

“Are you alright?” She asked, stepping in front of him stopping him from walking on.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I wasn’t held hostage with a blade.” He tried to shrug it off but Catherine, being Catherine, saw right through it. She looked at him, her hand on her hip as she cocked her head to one side. It was a look and a stance that made any man talk and Catherine had practically invented it.

“Gil.” He sighed.

“I...we came so close to losing her today Catherine.” He shook his head, his eyes were weary and his forehead more creased than usual. “It was just...too close. What if I had lost her today Catherine? What if he’d taken that shard and sliced her neck? I wasted so much time being afraid of her...of...us and now I’m afraid that I’ll never get to experience an us.” He shook his head and touched his chin nervously. Catherine looked at him, for the first time in all the years she’d known him she didn’t see Gil Grissom: scientist or Gil Grissom: loner or Gil Grissom: friend; she saw him at his weakest, all his defences worn away. She saw Gil Grissom: man.

“Maybe I’m not the one you should be telling all this to.” Catherine said softly, her eyebrows raised in suggestion. “Go to her. Tell her what you told me, tell her how you feel. See if there’s a chance for you to have an us. I’m willing to bet there is.” He was quiet for a minute, his eyes locked on the floor as he thought; when he looked at her again his eyes were full of determination.

“You’re right.” He nodded.

“I am.” She said a little shocked that he had agreed so quickly, she thought she would have had to convince him a little more.

“You are. I’m gonna go over there now.” He smiled nervously and turned in the direction of the exit, speeding up his pace as he went. Catherine hurried after him.

“That’s great! What are you going to say?” She asked as they reached the door.

“I don’t know!” He replied, shaking a little from a combination of nerves and excitement. “I guess I’ll just say how I feel.” He shrugged.

“Good luck!” She called after him as he jumped into his car and sped out of the parking lot. She bit her lip and hoped for the best; this could be the start of something great for both of them.

-

Grissom floored it the whole way to Sara’s apartment, trying not to think about what he was about to do or what he was going to say to her, he just tried to focus on not losing his nerve to do it. He pulled in to the parking lot facing her building and shut off the engine. Taking one deep breath he got out of the car and made his way up the stairs to Sara’s door. Another deep breath and he knocked on it; not too hard, if she was actually taking his advice and resting he didn’t want to wake her. She was not, however, resting and he heard her shuffle around inside making her way to the door. His stomach felt like it had just hit the floor and his heart was pumping like he’d just jumped out of an aeroplane but he knew this was it; now or never, he wasn’t backing out this time.

“Grissom?” Her face wrinkled in confusion when she saw him standing in her doorway.

“Hi.” Was all he could manage. Emotion filled his eyes when he saw her, he couldn’t control it, he just felt so glad to see her alive and well after what had just happened. All the fear he had relating to them melted away. All the words he had thought about saying dissolved.

“What are you doing here?” She asked. He stepped forward, reaching out and pulling her into him, planting his lips on hers as he did so and kissed her passionately. Actions spoke louder than words right.

At first Sara tensed up, unsure of what was going on but all that disappeared after a second and she returned the kiss. Bringing her arms up and wrapping them tightly around his neck. Eventually the need for oxygen became greater than their need for each other and they broke apart.

“I...uh...what?” Sara said when she regained the power of speech. “What was that?” Not that she was complaining, just confused.

“I...I had words planned...sort of and I was going to say them but then I was just so overwhelmed when I saw you that they never got to come out.” He struggled to explain, suddenly afraid that she didn’t want him anymore. But she had kissed him back. “I’m sorry.” His face fell with disappointment and embarrassment.

“Did you mean it?” She asked, lifting his face to look her in the eye.

“Of course I meant it...I think I finally know what to do about this...about us.” He said, fighting hard not to lose himself in the depths of her brown eyes.

“And what’s that?” She asked, she wasn’t going to make this easy on him, not after all she’d been through.

“I want to try! I want to make us work. Before I was scared, I was scared of having you in my life and getting close to you and then you leaving me because I didn’t think I could handle that. So I ran; I pushed you away and hid from my feelings, I was a coward. But now, now the only thing I’m afraid of is not having a chance to have you in my life because you’re already in my heart Sara. I love you.” The words came out so naturally, making him wonder why he had ran away from them for so long. “I love you.” He smiled. Sara’s jaw dropped and she looked at him in confusion.

“And if you are willing to forgive my pigheadish-ness then I would like nothing more than for us to see what we could have together. And I’m sure there are about a million other, better ways I could have said that to you but there you have it.” His eyes sparkled with sincerity.

“I...I love you too.” Sara stuttered overwhelmed by his whole confession. They smiled at each other, relieved at having finally voiced their feelings for each other. Grissom pulled Sara in for another kiss, this time more tender and meaningful. They were so caught up in the moment they forget where they were until they were interrupted by Mrs Gettleman, Sara’s neighbour, walking past tuting loudly at them. Remembering they were still in the doorway they broke apart blushing slightly and avoided the old lady’s gaze.

“I’m sorry.” Sara had to laugh at the situation. “Would you like to come in and we can talk some more?” She offered, stepping aside.

“I’d love to.” Grissom smiled at her. Finally things were going right.

-

The next night at work Sara was bombarded with people enquiring about her brush with death and gawking at the scratch on her neck. But she handled it all with great patience and a smile that could not be wiped from her face. Most people just assumed it was because she had survived being held hostage, most people were just glad to see her smiling again but Catherine knew that there was more than likely a reason for the smile. She knew she shouldn’t pry, she knew she should just leave them be and let what happened between them stay between them; but she just couldn’t help herself. Staying out of things just wasn’t in her nature.

Seeing Sara alone in the layout room Catherine seized her opportunity, cornering her by standing in the doorway, blocking the only exit.

“Well you certainly look happy for someone who was held hostage at a mental hospital yesterday.” The insinuations dripped from Catherine’s words. Sara shrugged.

“I guess surviving does that to you.” Catherine gave a tight lipped smile, seeing how the brunette was playing her.

“Uh huh.” Catherine could play games too though. “And I suppose it would have nothing to do with a certain supervisor charging over to your apartment after your brush with death to finally proclaim his feelings for you.” Catherine smirked. Sara looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming SUV. She stuttered but no words formed, just a collection of incoherent noises.

“Uh huh.” Catherine smiled broadly. “So I take it something happened between you then?” She was loving every minute of it. Sara gave her a glare that said she wasn’t saying anything about it. “Ok, ok, I won’t pry!” Catherine held her hands up in defence.

“Sorry, it’s just I’m still not sure of what’s going on – we’re just taking things lslow right now and seeing how it works.” Sara softened.

“I understand.” Catherine nodded. “I’m just glad to see you happy again. And if he ever fucks up again and makes you unhappy, you let me know and I’ll sort him out.” She smiled. Sara grinned back at her, enjoying the feeling of friendship they were sharing.

£You bet I will.” They laughed.