Sessions

Sara barely lifted her tear-stained face off the pillows when she heard the knock on her front door.

Grissom stood there holding a big bouquet of lilies for her.

Go away, Grissom....

He hoped se would see him. He knocked again. "Sara, honey, please let me in...we need to talk."

Sara pulled another pillow over her head. She really did not want to talk to him.

"Sara, are you here?" He knocked again. Please we need to talk."

Sara knew it was immature, but he had done the same thing to her on more than one occasion. She finally slipped out her patio door.

He figured after fifteen minutes of banging on her door without success she wasn't home. He left the flowers on her step hoping she would realize whom they came from. He headed back to his truck to head home. Where is she if she isn't here? That was when he saw a glimpse of a brunette emerge from the back patio. "Sara." He turned to get a better view. "Sara?"

"I was just on my way to the lab. Gotta pull a double," Sara told him matter-of-factly as she let herself in.

"Who called you in?" He asked since he was her immediate supervisor.

"Ecklie...they need help." She pushed past him, trying to get to her car and away from him.

Why didn't they call me in? "Sara wait. We need to talk."

"Sorry. Can't right now." She looked up to find her way was blocked.

"When? We need to discuss this...."

"What this? According to you there is no 'this'..."Sara's voice sounded bitter....hurt.

“That’s why we need to talk about it." He stopped.” Please, Sara...."His voice trailed off. "I'm trying."

She crossed her arms, waiting for the usual excuses.

"I want to try this." He was shocked at his own admission

So am I. Then she looked down. Her voice went soft. "Grissom...don't do this...don't hurt me again."

"I can't promise you I won't” he was near tears. .” But I need you to help me get through this. I love you."

It was more the emotion in his voice than his actual words that caught Sara's attention.

"Sara,” He reached for her. "I'm not sure I can do this without you." She walked into his embrace. Will you help me Sara?" Tears were rolling down his face.

"Long as you need me," she whispered into his neck.

“Why did Ecklie call you in and not me? If it was that big a case, I should've been called in too. I'll come in and give you a hand."

As soon as the tender Griss was there, business Griss took over. Sara sighed and broke the embrace. "I don't know. Office politics I guess."

"So do you want me to come in too?"

"You’re still on leave, Griss," Sara reminded him.

"Then call in and tell them you mysteriously got the flu." He looked in her eyes pleading. "Spend the day with me...please."

It was beginning to rain again. Sara looked at Grissom in his drenched blue shirt and denim jeans and suede jacket. "Come on before you get sick." Sara opened the door to her apartment.

"I always seem to come over when I'm wet." He was laughing lightly. "So you gonna call in?"

"Be right back."

Grissom took of his drenched jacket and peeled of his wet shirt and laid them on the table. Sara called and told them exactly what Grissom had said. Incredibly, they believed her and Sara couldn't help laughing. Sara put the phone down and went back to find Grissom. He was sitting in the chair doing the crossword puzzle in the paper. Sara took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Then she pasted a smile on her face before walking back into the room. "Hey."

"Hey." He looked up from his paper. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much. Got the day off again." She grinned. "Apparently, Catherine had the same idea."

"You were talking to Catherine?" He was kinda surprised.

"Yeah. It was a little weird. She told me to tell you to take your leave."

"She's not my boss,” he lightly chuckled. "I could however be persuaded by a lovely brunette.... if necessary." He flashed her a devilish grin.

Sara felt her stomach tie into knots. Easy, Sidle. Just back away from that...one step at a time. "Can I get you anything while I'm up?" she asked, slightly changing the subject.

"Coffee would be nice." He looked across at her. "So you don't work tonight?"

"Doesn't sound like it, no." Sara called back to him as she re-entered the kitchen to get his coffee.

"So if I take some leave did you want to do something, maybe go somewhere...could you take some more time...." Shut up Gil, you are going to scare her.

In the kitchen, Sara inhaled sharply. This is what you wanted. Don’t panic. It's his idea. "How much leave do you have?" she asked

"Somewhere around five months’ worth, why?"

That's how much I have.... "No reason. Just curious." Sara walked back in with his coffee. "You take this black, right?"

"Yes. So did you want to do something with me…or not bother...” You scared her. Are you happy?

"What did you have in mind?"

"Anywhere but Vegas, are you game?" He laughed.

Sara couldn't help it. She had to laugh too. She almost reached out to touch him, but she stopped herself. She flexed her hand by her side. "As my supervisor, would you authorize me six months of leave?"

"I wouldn't authorize six months, but I could go for a month, what do you think, could you spend a month with me?"

YES!!!!!! Sara mentally screamed. "I think that would be manageable."

"So where do you want to go, my lovely? He took her hand in his and began to run his other hand over it.

Sara swallowed a hard knot in her stomach. "Well...how about the mountains?"

"Colorado? I have a friend with a cabin somewhere in Colorado. I could give him a call....if you want me to."

"That would be aw.... that’d be nice," Sara corrected herself.

"If you don't want to go, Sara we could do something else."

"I do, Griss."

"All right, I'll go call Jack." He left to go make a call in another room. He returned after a few minutes. "Jack says we can use the cabin no problem. I told him we would go next week and we would be there for four weeks." He looked into her eyes. "I hope I wasn't being presumptuous?"

"No, not presumptuous at all," Sara said softly.