The Proposal
Grissom moved his head from side to side, wincing as his neck cracked audibly. He'd worked for a full twenty-four hours, and another night shift was about to begin. He was definitely getting too old for this sort of thing. At least the break room was empty, affording him a few minutes to work on a crossword puzzle and unwind before handing out assignments.
"You sure you're not rushing things?"
He glanced up to see Nick and Greg enter the room. Greg had a thick catalogue under one arm. They sat down at the long table.
"I'm telling you, man, she's been dropping hints for weeks."
Nick shook his head as though he couldn't quite believe it. "But marriage? How long have you two been dating?"
Grissom's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn't even known Greg had a girlfriend.
"Remember when I made CSI, and a bunch of us went out to Houlihan's for drinks?"
"Yeah."
Grissom remembered too. He'd been invited, but had claimed he was busy.
"We kind of. hooked up afterwards." Greg was actually blushing a little. "And things just kind of progressed from there."
"Crazy," Nick said, and Grissom silently agreed. "So which of these are you thinking about?"
Greg pointed to a page in the catalogue. "This one. It's nice without being flashy. I've been saving up for a while."
"Well, you only get engaged once," Nick conceded. "Hopefully."
Greg punched his arm, grinning. "It's going to last. I know it. Me and Sara. we just make sense together."
The pen shook in Grissom's hand as he pretended to concentrate on the crossword puzzle. There was no way. Maybe his hearing was going again.
"I have to admit, I had my doubts," Nick said. "Sara's so serious, and you're. not. But when you guys went on that double date with me and Melanie, I couldn't believe how good you two were together. She was more relaxed and happy than I'd seen her in. well, maybe ever."
Greg beamed. "I've been practicing my proposal," he admitted.
"No way! Let's hear it!"
"Okay, well, I'll be down on one knee, obviously."
"Where?"
"I've got a reservation at Romano's for Saturday night."
Nick nodded in approval. "So you're down on one knee."
"And I take her hand and say. uh." Greg took a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket.
"You have notes?"
"Shut up. I take her hand and say, 'Honey, we've been together for a while now, and my life has changed so much because of you. You're the first person I think of when I wake up, and the last person I think of before I go to sleep."
Grissom rolled his eyes.
"And when I think about the future," Greg continued, "I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my life with. So Sara, will you make me the happiest man in the world and say you'll be mine?"
"Aww, that's nice, Greggo," Nick said kindly. "Feeling pretty good about her answer?"
"Oh yeah. Absolutely. I mean, at first, she was still hung up on some other guy. But then she started realizing that I was better for her, and now she keeps talking about our future. Yeah, I'm not worried."
They didn't notice Grissom in the corner, struggling to breathe.
"Think she suspects it'll be Saturday night?"
"Nah, I haven't even asked her to dinner yet. We have kind of a standing agreement that Saturday is date night. I'll talk to her about it during shift today."
Just then Sofia and Sara walked into the break room. Nick moved the catalogue onto a shelf and pulled out a couple of chairs for the women.
Grissom stood, making his way over to the table.
"Whoa, you okay?" Nick didn't mask the concern in his voice as he took in Grissom's red face.
"I'm fine," he said shortly. "Are you planning on rejoining the night shift, Nick, or do you have somewhere else to be?"
Nick shrank under Grissom's glare. He gave a meek wave to the others as he left the room.
"Okay, that was unnecessary," Sara ventured.
"Sofia and Greg, DB in the desert," Grissom said, ignoring the interruption. "Details are in your packets. Better get going, there's possible contamination at the scene."
Greg glanced at Sara, then got to his feet reluctantly and followed Sofia out the door.
"We've got a break-in at a convenience store." Grissom couldn't look at Sara. She might have some mark on her, some clear indication that she was Greg's. And even if she didn't, she'd have a blinding one after Saturday.
They walked through the halls of the lab, not speaking. He wondered if she'd wear her latex gloves over the ring, or leave it at home when she was on the job. He was pretty sure he could come up with a procedural reason for her not to wear it.
"You're quiet," she remarked as they buckled themselves into the Denali. "Did you work straight through?"
"Yeah." Let her think that was the reason.
Sweat was trickling down the back of his neck as he imagined Greg on one knee, taking Sara's hand. The two of them dancing cheek-to-cheek at their wedding, his hand on the small of her back. Lying in bed, nestled together in slumber. Did Sara talk in her sleep? Did she dream of Greg?
"Do you want me to drive?" Sara was staring at him, taking in his flushed face, his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.
"No, why?"
"You, uh. haven't left the parking lot."
He gritted his teeth and pulled the Denali out into traffic, struggling to keep his expression neutral. She kept stealing glances at him.
They processed the crime scene efficiently. Sara printed the door and cash register while Grissom retrieved the surveillance tapes and interviewed the clerk. After a couple of hours, they were back in the car, heading to the lab.
"Are you going to go home after we drop off the evidence?" Sara asked, a wrinkle of concern etched into her forehead. "You've been acting weird tonight, I think you could use some sleep."
"Actually," he said, his mind racing, "I was going to head to the diner to grab something to eat. Why don't you join me?"
The question clearly startled her. "Oh. yeah, okay. Sure."
Grissom pulled in front of the lab while she brought the evidence bags in. She came back out with her hair in a ponytail, and his heart contracted a little. "All set?"
"You bet," she replied evenly.
The drive to the diner took five minutes. Five minutes of complete silence, in which he mentally categorized all of his missed opportunities, all the times he'd pretended not to notice her. He wondered if Greg's heart flip-flopped as violently as his own did when Sara entered a room.
They sat in a booth, not bothering with menus. She ordered a tomato sandwich on toast, and he ordered the same.
"Uh, Griss?" The forehead wrinkle had deepened. "You hate tomato sandwiches."
He twisted his lips, trying not to smile, but eventually a laugh escaped from the pit in his stomach. "I know."
She laughed right back, shaking her head at him. "What is with you tonight?"
"Tell me about Greg," he said abruptly, leaning forward.
Sara narrowed her eyes warily. "Uh. what about him?"
"Well. seems like he's changed a lot lately."
"Yeah, that's true." She nodded, looking pensive. "He's grown up a lot. Gone from a boy to a man."
"Any particular reason?" He was fishing, and Sara wasn't a fool. She'd know it.
"Time, probably. And responsibility. And let's face it, love."
He felt the blood drain from his face. "Love?"
She nodded, looking away.
It couldn't be love. It just couldn't. He thought back to the first time he'd seen her, the way that her eyes had sparkled with life, the way she'd stolen the breath from him.
"Do you have plans for Saturday night?"
She sighed. "I can work if you need me to, sure."
"No, I." The words were right there, he just needed to say them. Say the words, damn you. It's been years, and now you're days away from losing her forever. Just say it.
"Griss, what-"
"Would you like to have dinner with me?"
She froze. "What?"
"Dinner." His pulse was surely in the cardiac emergency levels by now. "With me."
"Like a date?" The wrinkle was back, and he wanted to kiss it, then kiss her mouth, then kiss the wrinkle again.
"Yes, like a date."
Her expression was unreadable. "Why?"
"Because. uh." His mind raced. "Because my life has changed because of you. Because you're the first person I think of when I wake up, and the last person I think of before I go to sleep." Stupid Greg, with his stupid clichés.
But her eyes were soft. After all, there was a reason why clichés caught on in the first place. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He stared at the table, trying not to let the desperation show. "It'd mean a lot to me if you'd give me another shot."
She was quiet for a moment, then rubbed his arm gently. "That was hard for you, wasn't it."
"No," he scoffed, then smirked. "Yes."
"Dinner sounds good," she said. "Great, actually."
Relief trickled over him like cold rain as he looked up at her. "Really?"
"Really."
Their tomato sandwiches arrived. He looked at his dubiously.
Sara smiled at the waitress. "Can you also bring us a cheeseburger, medium rare, with two pickles and no onions?"
"Sure thing."
Grissom's eyebrows shot up. "How'd you-"
"I secretly record everything you say, and study the tapes at night."
He pursed his lips at her. "So. Saturday."
"Yeah, Saturday. What do you want to do?"
She was acting way too calm. Was the thing with Greg less serious than he'd thought?
"We can do whatever you want. but, Sara. what about Greg?"
Her eyes widened slightly. "What, for a double date? I don't think he's free. he said Saturday's the night he's going to propose to Sara."
"Sara?"
"Sara Choi, from Ballistics." She crunched on a pickle. "They've been dating for months. Didn't you know?"
He let out a shaky breath. "Sara Choi. Sara. Choi. No, I didn't know." He couldn't stop the giant smile from spreading across his face. "Wow. She's quite a catch."
She nodded. "I think he's still kind of floored that someone like Sara could love someone like him."
"I know how he feels." The words were out before he'd thought them, and they stared at each other in shock.
Finally she gave him a lopsided grin. "One day at a time, stud."
Grissom's burger arrived and he took a giant bite, chewing with gusto. He had a date planned with Sara. They'd go out that Saturday, and maybe that Sunday too. He'd open doors for her and compliment her hair. He made a mental note to pick up some flowers on Saturday morning, as well as a really nice wedding gift for Greg. Because catching a Sara was definitely worth celebrating.
The end
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