Summary: "Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love." Charlie Brown.
Yeah, I know – EVERYBODY uses this quote! Thanks to Carmen for the beta job and niff for giving it a once over. Oh, and Laura Katharine who badgered me.
Spoilers up to 4x4. And, ugh – I don’t own anything. Well, not true. But I sure don’t own CSI – though I am saving up money to buy William Petersen. Anybody want to pitch in? I’ll share!;)
"Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?" Sara asked, watching as Greg slowly sank onto the couch in the breakroom. She wanted to reach out and touch his arm but under the circumstance felt it was best to leave him be.
"I never said it didn’t hurt," Greg responded, wiping his brow with the back of his hand, his eyes not quite reaching hers. "I just said that I was prepared for it."
"Oh. I’m…I’m sorry. I truly am."
"Yeah."
Sara didn’t know what to do next. She had dealt with this situation before but never like this and never with a close friend. She knew that no matter what words of comfort she could offer, they just wouldn’t seem right - not coming from her at least.
"So … did you read that new article in the Journal of Forensic Science about Qiagen BioRobot EZ1? DNA extraction will-"
"Greg…" Sara interrupted.
"Yeah, I know." Greg sat up and rested his elbows on his knees. The sadness was still apparent but it was now accompanied with determination. "I just don’t want this to be weird now. I knew that I would be taking a risk by asking you out but I figured – I don’t know – I guess I didn’t want to regret not asking."
"I can understand that." All too well, she added mentally.
Smiling, Greg reached over and grabbed her hand playfully. "Ah, you understand but will you take pity on a lovelorn man like myself and be my date for just one evening?"
"Do you really want a pity date?"
"No, I don’t." And that was the truth. He didn’t want pity – he wanted what every man wanted. Sara Sidle. And he knew that Sara wanted, or loved rather, a different scientist. One that quoted sonnets and scholars and loved bugs more than humans – well, more than most humans. He also loved Sara.
Between the look in her eyes and the pain in his heart, Greg knew that he had to change the mood before it got too uncomfortable. Cocking his head to the side, he winked salaciously and cracked a grin at her answering smirk. Maybe all was well again.
"I just thought that I owed you a dinner since I have already seen you naked." Greg waggled his eyebrows and waved his hands in the shape of an hourglass, tracing her body from afar.
"You said that you didn’t look!"
"Sara my dear, woman of my dreams, of course I looked! That scenario was this close to a dream I had last week." Greg leaned back and enjoyed the look of disbelief on Sara’s face. "The only things that were missing were soap crayons and a loofah," he added.
"You really need to stop dreaming about me."
"That wasn’t even the best one by far."
"Greg!"
Their stare down didn’t last long as they both broke down with laughter. The awkwardness still lingered but they both knew that it would only be a matter of time before things went back to normal. Of course, that would be after Greg went home and head-banged to something loud and angry for a couple of hours, in need of shaking off this latest rejection.
It was the beeping on Sara’s belt that disturbed their moment of levity. Greg watched as she unclipped the device from her side and grinned softly at the message she was sent. A slight shade of pink graced her cheeks as she sucked her bottom lip in an attempt to swallow her growing smile. He had seen Sara in several shades of beautiful but never like this.
When did this happen?
She was happy and dare he say … in love?
"Have you ever fallen in love?" Greg asked.
Sara’s head snapped up at his question and she fought the urge to look down at herself and check to see if it was actually written all over her. Squinting her eyes, she stood and started collecting her things.
"You really didn’t see me naked, did you?" she asked, trying to change the topic.
"Tsk, tsk, Sara. Answer the question," he requested as he stood, shrugging on his jacket.
Sara paused and glanced at him worriedly. "You’re not in love with me, are you?"
"You would be the one missing out if I was. Answer the question." Greg tried to ignore the look of relief that passed over Sara’s face. Love hurts.
"Uh…yeah. Twice, actually."
"Twice? I thought love was a once in a lifetime thing – or is one of them me?"
"Sorry, Greggo," she said, placing her hand on his forearm and giving a good squeeze. "It was the same guy."
As they made their way to the door a familiar figure passed by. He nodded as he passed, as he did most everyday, but something was different this time. Greg could have sworn he felt the air shift as Sara’s eyes met Grissom’s. It was in that moment that he knew he never really had a chance – it was also the moment he knew that he loved her. He would gladly forsake his happiness for hers and by the look on her face, she was definitely happy.
"Wow, that must be some love," he commented, gesturing to his boss as he rounded the corner.
Sara smiled, not at all denying what Greg was implying. "Yeah, it is."
They left the room together, trying to hide the smiles on their faces.
