DISCLAIMER: All characters are property of JB and CBS. No money was made from this fic so don't sue!
DEDICATION: This one goes out to my Wookie. Happy Birthday Lizzy!
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Key to My Heart
By Dearlylovedaimee
Greg sat at his desk; head buried deep inside the comfort of his arms, and grinning from ear-to-ear. He was almost to the good part of his dream, when the loud beeping sound of his DNA results being printed from his machine, finally came through. Startled that he actually might be caught sleeping on the job by Grissom, his whole body shot up instantly out of his chair, as he looked around from corner to corner for any witnesses. Satisfied that no one had seen him, he casually adjusted his lab coat and sat back down. He reached over to the printer and took out the piece of paper he had been waiting nearly two hours for and glanced at it. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and adjusted his fuzzy vision to see if the results he was reading were actually correct. Out of the fifteen men Sara and Catherine had collected samples from, not one of them matched Amanda Holding's attacker. Greg sighed heavily and rose up out of his chair to find his colleagues and deliver the bad news.
He took his sweet time getting to Catherine's office, in no hurry to break the bad news, when who should he see but one of the ladies in question. He stood back a second, trying to analyze what exactly she was doing, when a sly smile spread across his face. He folded his arms over his chest, thinking for a second the possible outcome of what he was about to do. In the end, he decided the reaction alone would be worth any consequences he might receive. Carefully, he tucked the paper his under his arm, and tip-toed over.
Unaware of what was about to happen, Sara cautiously stuck her head around the entrance to the break room. She first looked left, then right, until she was satisfied Catherine was no where to be found. She was about to breath a sight of relief when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Sara leaped five inches off the ground, and then spun around to see who it was. She put her hand over her chest in relief when she realized it was just Greg.
"Oh it's just you." She looked up at a smiling Greg, and then remembered for a second what he had just done to her. "Greg what in hell were you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" She slapped him on the arm and looked around the hallways to make sure no one had seen them.
Satisfied she was in the clear, Sara focused her attention back on a soon to be dead lab tech.
"What's the big idea sneaking up on me like that? Isn't it enough you get to torture Jacqui, but now you have to do it to me too."
"Oh torturing Jacqui is a given; now picking on you is just for sport!" He threw her a smug grin as Sara rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall. "So MacGyver, what's with the sneaking around?"
"Who says I was sneaking around?" Sara cleared her throat a little and ran her hand through her hair.
"Okay, then who were you looking for?" Greg narrowed his eyes as he waited for her answer.
"Who says I was looking for someone?" Sara tried to give him a confused look to throw him off again, but she knew it wasn't working.
"Come one Sara, what's with the James Bond routine? You've been acting strange all night. Did something happen or are you trying to avoid someone?"
"Greg, I don't really see how any of this is your business." Sara titled her head to the side and threw him a cocky smile.
"Well it's not, but if you want your DNA results you make it my business." Again he threw her another smug grin and dangled the piece of paper right in front of her for extra measure.
Sara gave a low growl and then admitted defeat.
"Alright, alright I'll talk."
Greg moved aside, and clicked his heels together while extending his arm out as an invitation for Sara to lead the way into the break room. He followed after her, coming up behind her and pulling out her seat. He headed over to the coffee pot, grabbing two mugs off the counter and filling them to the top. He pulled a bottle of his special vanilla creamer from his pocket and spiked the two drinks with it.
"Two Saunders Specials coming right up!"
Sara took her cup from Greg and brought it to her nose and inhaled. A small content smile came to her as she took in the deep aroma and her first sip.
"God that's heaven!" She closed her eyes in emphasis and then took another sip.
Greg, quite pleased with himself, took a sip of his own and then got back to business.
"Okay so spill it! Why have you been sneaking around the office like the Pink Panther?"
"Let's get one thing straight, I don't sneak. I am just careful."
"Yeah, sure you are. This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Catherine now would it?"
"What makes you say that?" Sara took another drink of her coffee in hopes she could avoid the subject all together.
"What did you do this time?"
"Why is it when Catherine and I get into a fight it's automatically my fault?"
"Because you run your mouth before your brain has a chance to filter it."
"Greg!" Sara stared at him in disbelief. "I don't do that……do I?"
"For the safety of my health and well-being I plead the 5th." Greg chugged the rest of his coffee down, then got up to get more.
"Am I really that bad?" Sara slouched down in her chair slightly, pushing her cup away from her, and frowning.
Greg rolled his eyes and made his way over to his friend. He slid his seat closer to Sara's and put his arm around her as he sat down.
"Oh come one Sara I was just joking. Don't be upset."
Sara threw her arms up in the air and shrugged, "That's just it Greg, I am upset and I have no idea what I'm supposed to be upset for."
"Well did you and Catherine have a fight?"
"Hell I don't know."
"Okay, tell Greg the whole story."
"Well, yesterday we had the night off, so Catherine decided to invite me out for dinner. We went to Racelli's and everything seemed to be going fine up until we got home. I have no idea what I did but suddenly Cat was mad, we were fighting, and I wound up sleeping on the couch."
"Ouch."
"You're telling me! Have you ever tried to fit a 5 foot 9 person on a 5 foot 6 couch? You do the math."
"Yikes. So I take it you got less sleep then I did."
"Bingo."
"But that still doesn't explain why Catherine is mad at you. Did you loose something, were you supposed to remember something?"
"Hell Greg I don't know! I'm beginning to think it's just one of those Catherine moods. You know the type."
"Oh yeah, I do indeed."
"I just wish instead of giving me the silent treatment, she'd tell me what's wrong."
"Now you know how we guys feel when you women pull that stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Oh you know, the if you don't know what you did wrong, then I'm certainly not going to tell you thing. I hate that with a passion!" Greg glared his eyes at Sara and then returned his attention to his coffee cup.
"I'll have you know I have never done that before in my life." Sara folded her arms across her chest and smiled.
"Oh sure you have."
"I most certainly have not."
"Sara, trust me, you have. All women have, whether then know it or not."
"Well not me, because I know what I do when I'm upset."
"Lash out irrationally?"
"Oh shut up Greg." Sara leaned forward to punch Greg in the shoulder, but missed as he moved over.
"But seriously, how long have you and Cat been seeing each other now? You'd think you two would be over this kind of nonsense by now."
"Well let's see, we started dating in January. I believe it was the 17th if I'm not mistaken."
"January 17th huh, let's see that's how many months?" Greg began to count on his finger from January to June until a light bulb went off in his head. "Um Sara?"
"What Greg."
"Would you do me a favor?"
"That depends, what is the favor?"
"Count how many months it is from January 17 to June 17."
"Okay, but why."
"Di di di just do it for me will you please."
"Well if you insist. Okay, let's see that's January to February, February to March, March to April, April to May, and May to June, so that's what six months?"
Greg closed his eyes and nodded. "Yep!"
"So what, it's six months….. OH MY GOD!"
"Ladies and gentlemen I think she's getting it!"
"OH MY GOD, GREG HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID?"
"Runs in the family?"
"GREG." Sara moaned, "This is serious! I forgot our six month anniversary. I mean that's like grounds for a murder right there. If there is one thing my brother Jared taught me, it's that you absolutely, under no circumstances ever forget your six month anniversary. That's like a sacrilege. Oh I have to fix this and fast. Catherine must have my head stone picked out already. Thanks Greg but I have to go." Sara bent down and kissed him on the cheek before she went to make her exit.
"HEY SARA, WAIT!"
"What Greg, I don't have much time?"
"Don't you want to know the results of your DNA test?"
"Greg, I can't be bothered with work at a time like this."
"Sara it took me two hours to get these results so park it and listen."
Sara's eyes grew wide at Greg's serious tone. She came back in the break room, then sat on the edge of the couch and waited.
"My results show that neither one of the men you tested were the ones that beat her up."
Sara sat there for a minute, more then sure he had something else to tell her then spoke up.
"And...?"
"And...that's all."
"You yelled at me for that?"
"Yes I did."
"So help me God Greg I really hate you."
"No you don't. I'm too cute for you to hate."
"Why you…" Sara curled her fists up into a ball, acting as if she was going to hit him, when her cell phone rang.
"Saved by the bell! This is Sidle. Okay, yeah great! No no I'll be there in a few, no need to disturb her. Alrighty thank you. Uhumm, okay bye. I have to go Greg, but I owe you one."
"For helping you?"
"Ha silly boy." Sara let out a snort laugh and turned around to leave the building and a very confused Greg behind.
Later that evening, Sara was finishing up the last of her bagging and tagging of evidence when she looked up at the clock. It was nearly seven in the morning, and if she knew Catherine, she'd just be getting ready to leave. She quickly gathered her files together, throwing the plastic bags in their case box, and then shoved herself back, to slide across the floor in her chair, towards the doorway. She had purposely chosen the lab directly across from Catherine's office, in hopes she would catch a glimpse of her as she came inside her office. Sara positioned herself directly in the middle of the doorway, but careful as not to be noticed.
It took only a second to spot Catherine coming down the corridor. Sara smiled with satisfaction, as she watched her girlfriend through her office window.
Catherine didn't even miss a beat, as she swung open her door and barged in. She was stopped dead in her tracks by the sight of six large bouquets of pink roses preserved in gold.
Catherine blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyesight. When it was obvious to her that the roses were indeed real, she walked over to the nearest bouquet and inhaled. A warm smile spread across her face as she carefully touched the rose, running her finger tips gently down to where the card sat. She picked it up out of the flowers and flipped it over to read it out loud.
"Catherine,
I dream you, I breath you, I feel you. In each step I take, in every move I make, I know I will never be alone. You have showed me the way back to my heart and in turn you have become it. I am thankful for every moment we spend together and can't imagine my life without you in it.
I love you,
Your Sara"
Catherine looked up from the card caught a glimpse of Sara sitting across the hall in the doorway to the lab. She set the card down on her desk, and made her way to her girlfriend. Sara rose from her seat, and held out her arms to Catherine. Sara engulfed Catherine into a hug and closed her eyes, taking in her smell.
"Cat baby, I'm so sorry."
"I know, believe me I know."
"I should have used my head. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"
"Do I get more flowers if I say no?"
"Well not flowers, but you do get this." Sara pulled a heart shape box out of her lab coat and handed it to Catherine.
"What is it?"
"Why do people always ask what is it? Why don't they just try opening it for a change?" Sara rolled her eyes and gave Catherine her favorite gap-toothed smile that let her know she was only teasing.
Catherine returned it, and then lifted the lid to the box to reveal a key.
"Is this what I think it is?"
"Well, that all depends. What do you think it is?"
"A key to a brand new car?" Catherine wiggled her eyebrows as Sara's eyes widened.
"You wish. It's actually a key to my apartment. I figured since we spend more time there anyway, you might as well have a way to get in. I figured it would save you the time and trouble of having to pick my lock."
"I'm never going to live that down am I?"
"Not in a million years."
"Just checking."
"So does this mean I'm forgiven?"
"Well, that all depends. Does this key come with a key chain? Because if it doesn't you're going to have to buy me an anniversary breakfast."
"Well I guess you'd better hurry up and get your stuff together." Sara leaned down and kissed the end of Catherine's nose, then moved down further to capture her lips.
They were just getting in the moment, when they heard the sound of sniffling coming from the doorway. Both girls turned to see who it was, but soon regretted their decision.
Greg, Nick, and Warrick all three stood in the entrance to the lab, faking crying, and clapping.
"Such a Kodak moment!" Greg said as he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.
Nick and Warrick stood beside him, failing miserably at trying not to laugh. They soon lost control when they heard Greg pretend to blow his nose.
Catherine looked over at Sara and put her hands on her hips.
"You told Greg? I can't believe you told Greg!" Sara shrugged her shoulders and pulled Catherine into her embrace. As she hugged Catherine tightly, she could still hear the faints mumbles in her left ear.
"Of all the stupid things, she tells Greg!"
The End