Cordelia_GRS_Fan
CSI Level Two
I LOVE IT! Poor Nicky though - but yay for the GSR moments!!!
Update soon!
Xx..::Mia-Sara::..xX
Update soon!
Xx..::Mia-Sara::..xX
The Retreat
- Thread starter Zan1781
- Start date
saraXsullivan
CSI Level Two
AWH!!!!
GSR <3
Awesome! Update soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-<*> sara <*>-
GSR <3
Awesome! Update soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-<*> sara <*>-
Hey! 
I've just discovered that fic and I have to tell you that I'm loving it!
At first the idea of them going camping seemed a bit off to me, but the way you have played it completely sold it to me. It's a very novel idea for Grissom to have them come togther, especially after such a hard time that they all had.
I really enjoyed the way you had all of them descibe their fears. They were very real and very much in character, especially for Grissom. I do see him as someone who feels responsible for his little family, and the fear that he might not control what happens to them is indeed something he could be actually worried about.
So far I've found this fic very enjoyable and I hope you're going to continue. I like all the CSIs as a little family, and having them reaffirming the bond that they have is great!
I've just discovered that fic and I have to tell you that I'm loving it!At first the idea of them going camping seemed a bit off to me, but the way you have played it completely sold it to me. It's a very novel idea for Grissom to have them come togther, especially after such a hard time that they all had.
I really enjoyed the way you had all of them descibe their fears. They were very real and very much in character, especially for Grissom. I do see him as someone who feels responsible for his little family, and the fear that he might not control what happens to them is indeed something he could be actually worried about.
So far I've found this fic very enjoyable and I hope you're going to continue. I like all the CSIs as a little family, and having them reaffirming the bond that they have is great!
---------------
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.
Title: Hopes and Dreams
---------------
“Was that really necessary?” Greg asked everyone, trying to squeeze the excess water out of his shirt. “Because I don’t think that I actually deserved that!” he grumbled.
“Hey, man, I warned you!” Warrick grinned, following behind him.
“And yes, that was definitely necessary,” Catherine added, tying back her now soaking wet hair. “You started it, Greg…” she told him.
“What did I do?” he asked, trying to hide his smile.
“Uh… you splashed Catherine with water,” Grissom reminded him, trying to smooth out his sopping wet shirt.
“Who jumped up at the cold water hitting her, and dumped the entire rowboat into the lake,” Nick added, running a hand through his wet hair.
Sara, bringing up the rear, just frowned.
“And because of a little splash,” Greg asked, sitting down in front of the fire, “You all had to dunk me?”
“Pretty much, Greggo,” Nick grinned, taking a seat next to him.
“You betcha,” Warrick replied, joining them around the fire pit.
Catherine laughed, sitting down next to Nick. “You should have seen your expression, Greg,” she smiled.
“You should have seen your own expression, Catherine,” Grissom told her, grabbing some dry wood from the wood pile, and setting it in the fire pit.
“It was kind of funny, Catherine…” Sara offered with a small smile, sitting down next to her.
“Uh-huh,” Greg grinned. “Well this officially ends ‘pick-on Greg day!’”
“Actually,” Warrick told him, checking his watch. “It’s 4:00 pm now, so we still have another eight hours to go…”
---------------
“Grissom…?” Sara quietly asked, staring into the now blazing light of the fire. “Do we have anything other than hot dogs for dinner…?”
“Of course,” Grissom told her with a small smile. “I got you some veggie hot dogs…”
“Oh… thanks…” she replied, watching Greg spear a hot dog, holding it over the fire.
“Do you… want me to get you one…?” Grissom tentatively asked, looking over at her.
“No, I’m okay, thank you,” she replied, slowly standing up, and moving over to the cooler to grab herself a veggie dog.
“Hey…” Catherine greeted her, stepping aside so that Sara could grab what she needed.
“Hi…” Sara replied.
“So another big day, eh…?”
“Uh-huh… I… thought that I was going to die…” Sara quietly said, reaching into the cooler, and grabbing the package of veggie dogs.
“I know,” Catherine told her, pulling a couple of diet cokes out of the cooler. “You were definitely scared…I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you that scared before…” she trailed off.
“Yeah…” Sara mumbled. “I’m not sure why I froze like that… I guess… I have a small fear of heights,” she sighed.
“Well, lucky for you,” Catherine smiled, “we’re done with mountain climbing… tomorrow is just a swim and have fun day.”
Sara gave her a small smile, removing one of the veggie dogs from the package. “Good. I think I could use a day just to relax,” she commented, as she rejoined the rest of the group by the fire, inwardly feeling a little bit uncomfortable with the fact that Grissom was sitting right next to her.
“How do you know when these hot dogs are done…?” Greg asked Nick, who was holding his hot dog in the middle of the flame.
“I don’t know, Greggo,” he shrugged. “I was just going to wait until it was crispy, and then go from there…”
“No clue,” Warrick added, when Greg turned to look at him. “I was actually going to do the same thing.”
Catherine rolled her eyes at Greg, Nick, and Warrick, smiling. “Hot dogs are a pre-cooked food, gentlemen,” she informed them all. “Just wait until it looks hot enough, and you’ll be fine,” she added, sitting down beside Sara. “I would assume that it is the same thing for a veggie dog, but I honestly don’t know,” Catherine told her, spearing her hot dog, and holding it over the flame while it roasted.
“So…” Grissom cleared his throat. “I figured that we would do some more talking, while our hot dogs roasted…”
“Do we… have to…?” Greg asked, looking up at his supervisor. “I ran out of deodorant, and… like I said, sharing makes me sweat.”
“A little too much information, Greg,” Catherine sighed, staring at the ground. “But thanks for that.”
Warrick laughed, looking over at Greg.
“No one has to share,” Grissom again spoke up. “But… I thought that I would still pose my question.”
“What is it, Grissom…?” Nick asked.
“We’ve talked about your greatest fears… now I think we should talk about your hopes and dreams for the future. Although I am interested in your goals as they pertain to work, I am more interested in hearing about your personal hopes and dreams.
Warrick sighed. “I think that that might actually be more difficult to answer than the greatest fears question, Gris,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
Catherine frowned. “I would agree…” she trailed off, trying to think of something. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it before,” she added.
“Me, either,” Greg mused.
“My dream is to someday have a normal life…” Sara spoke up from her seat, in between Catherine and Grissom.
Nick raised an eyebrow, staring down at the ground. “My dream is to somehow find happiness and acceptance somewhere…”
“I want Lindsey to be a well-adjusted young lady…” Catherine added, meeting the gazes of her colleagues.
“I wouldn’t mind owning my own luxury coffee shop someday,” Greg threw out there, once again staring into the fire.
Warrick grinned, trying to hold back a laugh.
“What…?” Greg asked. “I was being serious!”
“I can definitely see you owning a coffee shop, man,” Warrick replied, slapping him on the back. “And as for me, I just want to find contentment in my life.”
Sighing, Grissom looked up at the group. “I…want…. I don’t know,” he again sighed. “I need more time to think about it, I guess….”
“Hey!” Greg sputtered. “Not fair!”
“No one has to share, Greg,” Catherine reminded him.
“I know, but…” he trailed off. “I know. You’re right.”
“I… think that the hot dogs are done, everyone…” Grissom quietly said, standing up to find the package of buns. “So… let’s eat up… we have another busy day ahead of us…”
“Swimming, right?” Greg asked.
Grissom gave Greg a small nod, before digging into his hot dog.
What are his hopes and dreams? Sara asked herself. Why couldn’t he share them…?
Does he honestly not know what his hopes and dreams are…? Nick questioned himself. Or is he just too shy to share them aloud…?
Man, this hot dog is good! Greg smiled, chuckling to himself.
Why is Greg smiling…and laughing? Warrick asked himself. Shaking his head, he grinned. On second thought, I really don’t want to know!
It’s too quiet out here… I miss the city! Catherine thought with a sigh. And Lindsey..
Grissom stared at the fire, lost in thought. Love. I want to find love.
---------------
Later that night, by the campfire
“No! Absolutely not!” Greg mumbled, staring at Nick and Warrick. “You can’t make me, guys!” he told them, trying not to whine.
“Sorry, Greggo,” Nick grinned. “Seniority wins out… have a nice night!” he added, as he walked into his tent.
Following Nick, Warrick tried not to laugh. “Goodnight, Greg!”
“Boys…” Catherine muttered to herself, walking into the tent that she shared with Sara.
“Sara…” Grissom quietly said, stopping her dead in her tracks.
“…Yes…?”
“Tomorrow… I would like to speak with you… alone…if that’s okay…?” he asked, nervously rubbing his beard.
“…Okay…” Sara hesitantly told him, before climbing into her tent for the night.
With a sigh, Grissom walked into his tent.
---------------
Later that night
“GRISSOM!” Greg shouted.
“GREG!” Warrick, Nick, and Catherine all shouted together.
Sara was sound asleep, oblivious to everyone else around her.
---------------
TO BE CONTINUED
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.
Title: Hopes and Dreams
---------------
“Was that really necessary?” Greg asked everyone, trying to squeeze the excess water out of his shirt. “Because I don’t think that I actually deserved that!” he grumbled.
“Hey, man, I warned you!” Warrick grinned, following behind him.
“And yes, that was definitely necessary,” Catherine added, tying back her now soaking wet hair. “You started it, Greg…” she told him.
“What did I do?” he asked, trying to hide his smile.
“Uh… you splashed Catherine with water,” Grissom reminded him, trying to smooth out his sopping wet shirt.
“Who jumped up at the cold water hitting her, and dumped the entire rowboat into the lake,” Nick added, running a hand through his wet hair.
Sara, bringing up the rear, just frowned.
“And because of a little splash,” Greg asked, sitting down in front of the fire, “You all had to dunk me?”
“Pretty much, Greggo,” Nick grinned, taking a seat next to him.
“You betcha,” Warrick replied, joining them around the fire pit.
Catherine laughed, sitting down next to Nick. “You should have seen your expression, Greg,” she smiled.
“You should have seen your own expression, Catherine,” Grissom told her, grabbing some dry wood from the wood pile, and setting it in the fire pit.
“It was kind of funny, Catherine…” Sara offered with a small smile, sitting down next to her.
“Uh-huh,” Greg grinned. “Well this officially ends ‘pick-on Greg day!’”
“Actually,” Warrick told him, checking his watch. “It’s 4:00 pm now, so we still have another eight hours to go…”
---------------
“Grissom…?” Sara quietly asked, staring into the now blazing light of the fire. “Do we have anything other than hot dogs for dinner…?”
“Of course,” Grissom told her with a small smile. “I got you some veggie hot dogs…”
“Oh… thanks…” she replied, watching Greg spear a hot dog, holding it over the fire.
“Do you… want me to get you one…?” Grissom tentatively asked, looking over at her.
“No, I’m okay, thank you,” she replied, slowly standing up, and moving over to the cooler to grab herself a veggie dog.
“Hey…” Catherine greeted her, stepping aside so that Sara could grab what she needed.
“Hi…” Sara replied.
“So another big day, eh…?”
“Uh-huh… I… thought that I was going to die…” Sara quietly said, reaching into the cooler, and grabbing the package of veggie dogs.
“I know,” Catherine told her, pulling a couple of diet cokes out of the cooler. “You were definitely scared…I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you that scared before…” she trailed off.
“Yeah…” Sara mumbled. “I’m not sure why I froze like that… I guess… I have a small fear of heights,” she sighed.
“Well, lucky for you,” Catherine smiled, “we’re done with mountain climbing… tomorrow is just a swim and have fun day.”
Sara gave her a small smile, removing one of the veggie dogs from the package. “Good. I think I could use a day just to relax,” she commented, as she rejoined the rest of the group by the fire, inwardly feeling a little bit uncomfortable with the fact that Grissom was sitting right next to her.
“How do you know when these hot dogs are done…?” Greg asked Nick, who was holding his hot dog in the middle of the flame.
“I don’t know, Greggo,” he shrugged. “I was just going to wait until it was crispy, and then go from there…”
“No clue,” Warrick added, when Greg turned to look at him. “I was actually going to do the same thing.”
Catherine rolled her eyes at Greg, Nick, and Warrick, smiling. “Hot dogs are a pre-cooked food, gentlemen,” she informed them all. “Just wait until it looks hot enough, and you’ll be fine,” she added, sitting down beside Sara. “I would assume that it is the same thing for a veggie dog, but I honestly don’t know,” Catherine told her, spearing her hot dog, and holding it over the flame while it roasted.
“So…” Grissom cleared his throat. “I figured that we would do some more talking, while our hot dogs roasted…”
“Do we… have to…?” Greg asked, looking up at his supervisor. “I ran out of deodorant, and… like I said, sharing makes me sweat.”
“A little too much information, Greg,” Catherine sighed, staring at the ground. “But thanks for that.”
Warrick laughed, looking over at Greg.
“No one has to share,” Grissom again spoke up. “But… I thought that I would still pose my question.”
“What is it, Grissom…?” Nick asked.
“We’ve talked about your greatest fears… now I think we should talk about your hopes and dreams for the future. Although I am interested in your goals as they pertain to work, I am more interested in hearing about your personal hopes and dreams.
Warrick sighed. “I think that that might actually be more difficult to answer than the greatest fears question, Gris,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
Catherine frowned. “I would agree…” she trailed off, trying to think of something. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it before,” she added.
“Me, either,” Greg mused.
“My dream is to someday have a normal life…” Sara spoke up from her seat, in between Catherine and Grissom.
Nick raised an eyebrow, staring down at the ground. “My dream is to somehow find happiness and acceptance somewhere…”
“I want Lindsey to be a well-adjusted young lady…” Catherine added, meeting the gazes of her colleagues.
“I wouldn’t mind owning my own luxury coffee shop someday,” Greg threw out there, once again staring into the fire.
Warrick grinned, trying to hold back a laugh.
“What…?” Greg asked. “I was being serious!”
“I can definitely see you owning a coffee shop, man,” Warrick replied, slapping him on the back. “And as for me, I just want to find contentment in my life.”
Sighing, Grissom looked up at the group. “I…want…. I don’t know,” he again sighed. “I need more time to think about it, I guess….”
“Hey!” Greg sputtered. “Not fair!”
“No one has to share, Greg,” Catherine reminded him.
“I know, but…” he trailed off. “I know. You’re right.”
“I… think that the hot dogs are done, everyone…” Grissom quietly said, standing up to find the package of buns. “So… let’s eat up… we have another busy day ahead of us…”
“Swimming, right?” Greg asked.
Grissom gave Greg a small nod, before digging into his hot dog.
What are his hopes and dreams? Sara asked herself. Why couldn’t he share them…?
Does he honestly not know what his hopes and dreams are…? Nick questioned himself. Or is he just too shy to share them aloud…?
Man, this hot dog is good! Greg smiled, chuckling to himself.
Why is Greg smiling…and laughing? Warrick asked himself. Shaking his head, he grinned. On second thought, I really don’t want to know!
It’s too quiet out here… I miss the city! Catherine thought with a sigh. And Lindsey..
Grissom stared at the fire, lost in thought. Love. I want to find love.
---------------
Later that night, by the campfire
“No! Absolutely not!” Greg mumbled, staring at Nick and Warrick. “You can’t make me, guys!” he told them, trying not to whine.
“Sorry, Greggo,” Nick grinned. “Seniority wins out… have a nice night!” he added, as he walked into his tent.
Following Nick, Warrick tried not to laugh. “Goodnight, Greg!”
“Boys…” Catherine muttered to herself, walking into the tent that she shared with Sara.
“Sara…” Grissom quietly said, stopping her dead in her tracks.
“…Yes…?”
“Tomorrow… I would like to speak with you… alone…if that’s okay…?” he asked, nervously rubbing his beard.
“…Okay…” Sara hesitantly told him, before climbing into her tent for the night.
With a sigh, Grissom walked into his tent.
---------------
Later that night
“GRISSOM!” Greg shouted.
“GREG!” Warrick, Nick, and Catherine all shouted together.
Sara was sound asleep, oblivious to everyone else around her.
---------------
TO BE CONTINUED
quoth_the_raven
Corpse
:lol: Poor Greg...
Ooh! What does Grissom want to tell Sara!? Must know!
Ooh! What does Grissom want to tell Sara!? Must know!
saraXsullivan
CSI Level Two
DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UPDATE SOON OR I SHALL GO CRAZY!
*sara*
UPDATE SOON OR I SHALL GO CRAZY!
*sara*
Cordelia_GRS_Fan
CSI Level Two
OMG I need to know what he says to her!!!
Please please update soon!!!
Xx..::Mia-Sara::..xX
Please please update soon!!!
Xx..::Mia-Sara::..xX
(As always, I really appreciate you taking the time to read and review this fic! I have enjoyed writing it thus far, and I hope that you are enjoying reading it!)
---------------
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS. The poem is Robert Frost’s “Wind and Window Flower,” and the theme song is to Flipper.
Title: Say It Like It Is
---------------
The Campsite
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Greg loudly said, running down the path from the campground’s facilities to their campsite, his bathing suit already on. “The water is calling my name!”
“Water can’t talk, man,” Warrick yawned, crawling out of his tent, and running a hand through his hair. Stretching, he glanced back into the tent, mumbling something about his bathing suit and towel.
“Warrick… bathing suit… change… now…” Greg told him, sitting down around the fire pit.
“Right,” Warrick replied, slipping back into the tent to grab his suit.
“I’m going to the restrooms,” Nick announced to Greg, exiting his tent.
“You better have a bathing suit in your hand,” Greg warned, suspiciously eyeing the plastic bag.
“Greggo, relax, I do!” Nick smiled. “But if you keep this up, I’m going to dunk you again later…I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please, try to contain yourself!” he added, jogging off down the trail.
“Catherine? Sara? Are you two awake…?” Greg then quietly asked, walking over to their tent.
“I don’t know how we couldn’t be awake,” Sara grumbled, unzipping the flap, and stepping out into the morning sun. “Do you think that you made enough noise, Greg…?” she asked, as she started to follow Nick down the path to the facilities.
“No, not really…” Greg shrugged. “If I was, everyone would be up and ready to go…”
“Greg,” Grissom sighed, stepping out of his own tent. “It’s only nine in the morning…was this really necessary?”
“You bet it was,” Greg told him, smiling, as he saw Catherine also emerge from her tent.
Catherine frowned. “I need to go change…” she mumbled, carrying her bathing suit with her to the restrooms.
“Me, too,” Grissom added, as he walked back into his tent.
Greg just grinned, waiting for everyone to come back. Laughing to himself, he started to sing one of his favorite television theme songs: “‘They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning/No one you see, is smarter than he/And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder/Flying there under, under the sea!’”
“Greg…” Grissom sighed, re-emerging from his tent, now dressed in a bathing suit and a white t-shirt. “You do know that there are no dolphins in Lake Tahoe, right…?”
Greg just grinned.
---------------
The Lake
Twenty minutes later, Greg ran down the beach, cannonballing into the water. “That’s cold!” he told everyone.
“Yes… it is,” Catherine sighed, dipping her toe into the lake.
Without hesitating, Warrick scooped Catherine up in his arms, splashing into the water after Greg.
“Hey! Warrick! Put me down!” Catherine screamed, laughing.
“Really?” Warrick asked. “You got it, Cath!” he grinned, as he dropped her right into the water.
“Not what I meant!” she told him, sputtering, as her feet found the ground. Standing up, she playfully splashed him with water.
“I want in on this!” Greg grinned, swimming over to Warrick and Catherine, and splashing both of them.
Nick just laughed, taking his time getting into the water.
“I don’t think so, man,” Warrick frowned, watching Nick’s slow progress. “Greg? Catherine?” he asked, getting their attention. Pointing to Nick, he grinned. “On the count of three, okay…? One… two…”
“Hey! Wait a minute!” Nick shouted, quickly looking up.
“THREE!” Warrick, Catherine, and Greg all shouted together, splashing him.
---------------
The Beach
“So… can we… talk now…?” Grissom asked Sara, before she had the chance to follow Nick into the water.
“Sure…” Sara trailed off, burying her toes in the sand.
“Would you like to… take a walk…?” Grissom asked, pointing away from the lake, and up the beach.
“Okay…” Sara quietly replied, finding something in the sand to study, still not moving. Feeling Grissom’s eyes on her, she sighed. “Oh. Did you, uh… mean now…?”
Grissom pursed his lips. “Yes…” he quietly replied. “If now is good for you…”
Sara shrugged, slowly walking down the beach. Taking a deep breath, Grissom followed her.
---------------
The Lake
“Where are they going…?” Greg quietly asked Warrick, once again splashing him.
“Don’t know, man, but it’s none of our business, either…”
Nick just watched Sara and Grissom walk off together, until Catherine splashed him. “You did not!” he said with a smile, tearing his eyes away from the pair on the beach, and focusing his attention on getting even with her. “Tell me that you didn’t!” he grinned, splashing her back.
“WATER FIGHT!” Greg yelled.
---------------
The Beach
Grissom cleared his throat, sneaking a quick peak at Sara out of the corner of his eyes. “So…” he trailed off.
“Yeah…”
This is unbelievably awkward, Grissom thought to himself.
Why won’t he just talk to me…? This is… awkward… Sara thought with a sigh.
“I don’t… really know what to say, Sara,” Grissom hesitated, walking towards a rock outcrop, and taking a seat on it. “I just…”
Sara sat in the sand next to the rock, looking up at Grissom, listening.
“I just…” he continued, sighing. “I’m not very good at expressing myself, Sara… I never was, although… I guess you already know that.”
Sara raised an eyebrow, trying to hold back a small laugh. “That is… a bit of an understatement, don’t you think...?” she asked him.
Grissom just frowned, biting his lip. Sighing, he quietly said, “‘Lovers, forget your love/
And list to the love of these/She a window flower/And he a winter breeze.’”
“…What…?” Sara asked him, puzzled. “I don’t… understand.”
“Robert Frost, ‘Wind and Window Flower…’” he replied.
“I still… don’t get it…” Sara mumbled.
“You are the window flower, and I am the winter breeze, Sara. You are… delicate, and sensitive, and…” Beautiful.
“And… what…?” Sara tentatively asked him, drawing her knees up to her chest.
“And… brilliant…” he finished. “And… I am the winter breeze. Cool, unfeeling, destructive…”
“You’re not… destructive, Grissom,” Sara quietly told him, watching an ant walk across the sand in front of her.
“Yes I am,” he told her. “But listen. There’s more. ‘When the frosty window veil/
Was melted down at noon/And the caged yellow bird/Hung over her in tune/He marked her through the pane/He could not help but mark/And only passed her by/To come again at dark.’”
“You’ve… stalked me…?” Sara quietly asked, once again suppressing a small smile.
“No,” Grissom told her, her sarcasm lost on him. “But… I have… thought about you over the past six or so years. I… took note of you, and… admired you from afar… and yet… I never said anything to you,” he admitted, rubbing his beard in an attempt to cover up his nerves.
“But… I don’t understand, Grissom…” Sara whispered. “I’ve… asked you out before… if you’ve thought about me in the past, then… why did you never say yes…?”
“Because,” Grissom replied, looking over at her. “‘He was a winter wind/Concerned with ice and snow/Dead weeds and unmated birds/And little of love could know.’ Sara…” he sighed. “I don’t… know much about… love. It makes me feel…awkward and uncomfortable.”
Did he just say…love? Did Grissom just say the word ‘love?’ “You said love…” she pointed out.
“I just meant that I don’t know much about…relationships. I’ve… had a few, but… I am so out of touch with dating, that I just… don’t know how to act…” he admitted. Glancing out at the water, Grissom closed his eyes for a moment. “‘But he sighed upon the sill/He gave the sash a shake/As witness all within/Who lay that night awake./Perchance he half prevailed/To win her for the flight/From the firelit looking-glass/And warm stove-window light.’”
Sara glanced down the beach, watching Nick and Warrick gang up on Greg. Again. “They won’t… leave him alone,” she mumbled, trying to process Grissom’s words.
“Who won’t… leave whom alone…?” he asked, confused. Did she… hear what I just said…?
“Nick and Warrick,” she pointed to the water. “They won’t leave Greg alone…”
“Oh…” Grissom replied.
“I don’t… what are you trying to tell me, Grissom…?” Sara asked, turning her face so that she could study his expression.
“I’m telling you that the winter wind is trying to meet the window flower… I’m… trying, Sara. But… there’s one more verse. ‘But the flower leaned aside/And thought of naught to say/And morning found the breeze/A hundred miles away.’ I… like this poem,” Grissom quietly told her, his eyes meeting hers. “Except for the last line. The wind… did not believe that he could love the flower, or that the flower would love him back, until… it was too late… by the time that he was ready to try to… form a relationship with her, she had… already given up on him…”
Sara swallowed, looking down at the sand.
“Sara… say something… please…?” Grissom asked her.
“I don’t… I don’t know what to say, Grissom…” she whispered. “I’ve… waited for years to hear you tell me that you have feelings for me, and… you still can’t technically tell me what I want to hear… you have to hide behind a poem…”
“Sara, I just… I don’t know how to express my feelings,” he quietly told her. “But that doesn’t make them any less real…”
Sara hesitantly looked up at Grissom. “So… you do…? Have feelings for me…?”
Grissom slowly nodded yes.
“Good, because I have feelings for you, too…”
---------------
TO BE CONTINUED
---------------
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS. The poem is Robert Frost’s “Wind and Window Flower,” and the theme song is to Flipper.
Title: Say It Like It Is
---------------
The Campsite
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Greg loudly said, running down the path from the campground’s facilities to their campsite, his bathing suit already on. “The water is calling my name!”
“Water can’t talk, man,” Warrick yawned, crawling out of his tent, and running a hand through his hair. Stretching, he glanced back into the tent, mumbling something about his bathing suit and towel.
“Warrick… bathing suit… change… now…” Greg told him, sitting down around the fire pit.
“Right,” Warrick replied, slipping back into the tent to grab his suit.
“I’m going to the restrooms,” Nick announced to Greg, exiting his tent.
“You better have a bathing suit in your hand,” Greg warned, suspiciously eyeing the plastic bag.
“Greggo, relax, I do!” Nick smiled. “But if you keep this up, I’m going to dunk you again later…I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please, try to contain yourself!” he added, jogging off down the trail.
“Catherine? Sara? Are you two awake…?” Greg then quietly asked, walking over to their tent.
“I don’t know how we couldn’t be awake,” Sara grumbled, unzipping the flap, and stepping out into the morning sun. “Do you think that you made enough noise, Greg…?” she asked, as she started to follow Nick down the path to the facilities.
“No, not really…” Greg shrugged. “If I was, everyone would be up and ready to go…”
“Greg,” Grissom sighed, stepping out of his own tent. “It’s only nine in the morning…was this really necessary?”
“You bet it was,” Greg told him, smiling, as he saw Catherine also emerge from her tent.
Catherine frowned. “I need to go change…” she mumbled, carrying her bathing suit with her to the restrooms.
“Me, too,” Grissom added, as he walked back into his tent.
Greg just grinned, waiting for everyone to come back. Laughing to himself, he started to sing one of his favorite television theme songs: “‘They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning/No one you see, is smarter than he/And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder/Flying there under, under the sea!’”
“Greg…” Grissom sighed, re-emerging from his tent, now dressed in a bathing suit and a white t-shirt. “You do know that there are no dolphins in Lake Tahoe, right…?”
Greg just grinned.
---------------
The Lake
Twenty minutes later, Greg ran down the beach, cannonballing into the water. “That’s cold!” he told everyone.
“Yes… it is,” Catherine sighed, dipping her toe into the lake.
Without hesitating, Warrick scooped Catherine up in his arms, splashing into the water after Greg.
“Hey! Warrick! Put me down!” Catherine screamed, laughing.
“Really?” Warrick asked. “You got it, Cath!” he grinned, as he dropped her right into the water.
“Not what I meant!” she told him, sputtering, as her feet found the ground. Standing up, she playfully splashed him with water.
“I want in on this!” Greg grinned, swimming over to Warrick and Catherine, and splashing both of them.
Nick just laughed, taking his time getting into the water.
“I don’t think so, man,” Warrick frowned, watching Nick’s slow progress. “Greg? Catherine?” he asked, getting their attention. Pointing to Nick, he grinned. “On the count of three, okay…? One… two…”
“Hey! Wait a minute!” Nick shouted, quickly looking up.
“THREE!” Warrick, Catherine, and Greg all shouted together, splashing him.
---------------
The Beach
“So… can we… talk now…?” Grissom asked Sara, before she had the chance to follow Nick into the water.
“Sure…” Sara trailed off, burying her toes in the sand.
“Would you like to… take a walk…?” Grissom asked, pointing away from the lake, and up the beach.
“Okay…” Sara quietly replied, finding something in the sand to study, still not moving. Feeling Grissom’s eyes on her, she sighed. “Oh. Did you, uh… mean now…?”
Grissom pursed his lips. “Yes…” he quietly replied. “If now is good for you…”
Sara shrugged, slowly walking down the beach. Taking a deep breath, Grissom followed her.
---------------
The Lake
“Where are they going…?” Greg quietly asked Warrick, once again splashing him.
“Don’t know, man, but it’s none of our business, either…”
Nick just watched Sara and Grissom walk off together, until Catherine splashed him. “You did not!” he said with a smile, tearing his eyes away from the pair on the beach, and focusing his attention on getting even with her. “Tell me that you didn’t!” he grinned, splashing her back.
“WATER FIGHT!” Greg yelled.
---------------
The Beach
Grissom cleared his throat, sneaking a quick peak at Sara out of the corner of his eyes. “So…” he trailed off.
“Yeah…”
This is unbelievably awkward, Grissom thought to himself.
Why won’t he just talk to me…? This is… awkward… Sara thought with a sigh.
“I don’t… really know what to say, Sara,” Grissom hesitated, walking towards a rock outcrop, and taking a seat on it. “I just…”
Sara sat in the sand next to the rock, looking up at Grissom, listening.
“I just…” he continued, sighing. “I’m not very good at expressing myself, Sara… I never was, although… I guess you already know that.”
Sara raised an eyebrow, trying to hold back a small laugh. “That is… a bit of an understatement, don’t you think...?” she asked him.
Grissom just frowned, biting his lip. Sighing, he quietly said, “‘Lovers, forget your love/
And list to the love of these/She a window flower/And he a winter breeze.’”
“…What…?” Sara asked him, puzzled. “I don’t… understand.”
“Robert Frost, ‘Wind and Window Flower…’” he replied.
“I still… don’t get it…” Sara mumbled.
“You are the window flower, and I am the winter breeze, Sara. You are… delicate, and sensitive, and…” Beautiful.
“And… what…?” Sara tentatively asked him, drawing her knees up to her chest.
“And… brilliant…” he finished. “And… I am the winter breeze. Cool, unfeeling, destructive…”
“You’re not… destructive, Grissom,” Sara quietly told him, watching an ant walk across the sand in front of her.
“Yes I am,” he told her. “But listen. There’s more. ‘When the frosty window veil/
Was melted down at noon/And the caged yellow bird/Hung over her in tune/He marked her through the pane/He could not help but mark/And only passed her by/To come again at dark.’”
“You’ve… stalked me…?” Sara quietly asked, once again suppressing a small smile.
“No,” Grissom told her, her sarcasm lost on him. “But… I have… thought about you over the past six or so years. I… took note of you, and… admired you from afar… and yet… I never said anything to you,” he admitted, rubbing his beard in an attempt to cover up his nerves.
“But… I don’t understand, Grissom…” Sara whispered. “I’ve… asked you out before… if you’ve thought about me in the past, then… why did you never say yes…?”
“Because,” Grissom replied, looking over at her. “‘He was a winter wind/Concerned with ice and snow/Dead weeds and unmated birds/And little of love could know.’ Sara…” he sighed. “I don’t… know much about… love. It makes me feel…awkward and uncomfortable.”
Did he just say…love? Did Grissom just say the word ‘love?’ “You said love…” she pointed out.
“I just meant that I don’t know much about…relationships. I’ve… had a few, but… I am so out of touch with dating, that I just… don’t know how to act…” he admitted. Glancing out at the water, Grissom closed his eyes for a moment. “‘But he sighed upon the sill/He gave the sash a shake/As witness all within/Who lay that night awake./Perchance he half prevailed/To win her for the flight/From the firelit looking-glass/And warm stove-window light.’”
Sara glanced down the beach, watching Nick and Warrick gang up on Greg. Again. “They won’t… leave him alone,” she mumbled, trying to process Grissom’s words.
“Who won’t… leave whom alone…?” he asked, confused. Did she… hear what I just said…?
“Nick and Warrick,” she pointed to the water. “They won’t leave Greg alone…”
“Oh…” Grissom replied.
“I don’t… what are you trying to tell me, Grissom…?” Sara asked, turning her face so that she could study his expression.
“I’m telling you that the winter wind is trying to meet the window flower… I’m… trying, Sara. But… there’s one more verse. ‘But the flower leaned aside/And thought of naught to say/And morning found the breeze/A hundred miles away.’ I… like this poem,” Grissom quietly told her, his eyes meeting hers. “Except for the last line. The wind… did not believe that he could love the flower, or that the flower would love him back, until… it was too late… by the time that he was ready to try to… form a relationship with her, she had… already given up on him…”
Sara swallowed, looking down at the sand.
“Sara… say something… please…?” Grissom asked her.
“I don’t… I don’t know what to say, Grissom…” she whispered. “I’ve… waited for years to hear you tell me that you have feelings for me, and… you still can’t technically tell me what I want to hear… you have to hide behind a poem…”
“Sara, I just… I don’t know how to express my feelings,” he quietly told her. “But that doesn’t make them any less real…”
Sara hesitantly looked up at Grissom. “So… you do…? Have feelings for me…?”
Grissom slowly nodded yes.
“Good, because I have feelings for you, too…”
---------------
TO BE CONTINUED
saraXsullivan
CSI Level Two
WOW!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! quoth_the_raven
Corpse
Yay! I felt like smacking Gris once or twice, though...it would just be easier to say it!