A/N 1 – I'm not sure how long this will go on. I'll just be randomly adding little GSR snippets in here as I write them. Just my little vision of how the rest of them team will see the clues that Grissom & Sara leave behind about their relationship.
A/N 2 – I don't believe they'll be posted in order, but I can't really be sure. There's no specific or well-timed reasoning as to how my brain will think these things up. So, just bear with me, and don't put too much stock in any timeline.
Cranky with Coffee
( Ring ) ( Ring )
The shrill ringing from both sides of the bed startled Sara out of her semi-conscious state. Sara rolled over into Grissom. She started grappling with the sheets attempting to pull them over her head. A dozing Grissom was curled into them, holding them down this his arms. Making due with what she had, Sara shoved her head under her pillow.
( Ring ) ( Ring )
Both of their cell phones shrieking in harmony again priedGrissom from the edge of sleep. Grissom yanked the sheets over his head. The searing light from the windows was threatening to blind him. He rolled over and pushed his head into Sara's side and burrowed deeper into the bed.
( Ring ) (Ring )
"Make it stop," Sara demanded through muffled tones from under the pillow.
"It'll only stop when we answer them, Honey," Grissom said into her side.
"That's the third time they've called. Can't they take a hint?" Sara gasped as she flung the pillow across the room. "I need sleep," she groaned.
"We both need sleep." Grissom put his arms around Sara tightly. "We could just turnthem off. It'll take forever for the batteries to die."
( Ring ) (Ring )
"Aaaaahhhhh!" Sara moaned.
"It has to be important. We can't ignore it much longer," Grissom whispered.
"We haven't slept in over fifty hours."
"Don't forget we've worked about forty of those," he sighed.
( Ring ) (Ring )
Sara grabbed the cell beside her. Grissom feared for the person on the other end. "What!" she demanded. Grissom's phone continued to ring, but Sara did not care.
"Sara, it's Catherine. Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you fortwenty minutes."
"Catherine, I was sleeping. No! I was attempting to sleep. Whatever it is, I'm not doing it. I'm not coming in. I need sleep." Her tone was ice cold.
"Sara, I wouldn't call you if it wasn't completely necessary."
"I haven't had a day off in almost two weeks, and I've been up for over fifty hours. There is nothing you can say to make me come in. I'm going back to bed now."
"Sara, wait. I know you're tired. Hell, we all are. It's been tough lately, but we need everyone to come in. About an hour ago a bomb went off in the cafeteria during lunch at the High School. Eighteen people are dead, eleven are critically injured, and thirty- four are hurt." Catherine took a breath. "You didn't hear about it on the scanner?"
"I wasn't listening to the scanner. It bothers Gr–me while I'm trying to sleep."
The chuckle beside her was almost annoying. They both knew it would have been hard to explain that little slip-up. Sara was far too tired to care, and far too tired to know what she was even saying.
"How long until you get here?"
"Catherine…" Sara whined.
"I'll see you in thirty minutes. Oh, and have you talked to Grissom? I can't reach him either."
"No, but I hope he's sleeping like I wish I was. Try harder, though. If I have to drag my sleep-deprived self in there, he better be heading in as well."
Sara snapped her phone shut and tossed it across the room where it fell beside the pillow. She pulled the covers over her head and let out a stifled scream.
"Honey, what is it?" Grissom asked.
"You'll find out in a second. Cath's going to call you."
"I guess I'll have to be surprised since you're clearly not going to tell me." He ran his hands around her body and grabbed her sides right below her ribs.
"Gris, you tickle me right now, and I swear I'll…" She closed her eyes and tensed her body waiting for the inevitable.
"You'll what?" He grinned and kissed the tip of her nose through the blanket.
"I'm too tried to think," she whined again.
Grissom rolled Sara over on her stomach and straddled her waist. He started rubbing her back. "So I heard. You almost told Catherine about us."
"I know. There's a point that I reach after no sleep that my brain stops function for the simple things. I can process a crime scene to a T, but I can't remember not to tell people my secrets," she rambled. After taking a much needed breath, she groaned pleasantly. "Oh, that feels good. Don't stop.
"Mmm…" He continued to knead her shoulders and back.
( Ring )
He grunted and grabbed his phone off of the nightstand on his side of the bed. "Grissom." He attempted his best sleepy voice. He cradled the phone between his chin and shoulder while he continued to rub Sara's back.
"Gil, it's Cath. Were you sleeping?"
"It's always a possibility... I just got out of the shower and was settling in. What can I do for you?"
"You're so much more pleasant than Sara when I wake her up."
"That's good to know. I'll keep that in mind. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
"We've got a situation…" Catherine filled him in on the circumstances.
"Okay." He hesitated a second. "You said Sara's in a bad mood?"
Catherine laughed into the phone. "Well, she's not raving to come into work."
"Okay. I'll give her a call and pick her up on my way in. I'll get some coffee in her, and she'll be perky by the time we get to the lab."
That brought another chuckle from Catherine. "This I gotta see."
Grissom led Sara into the lab with an arm on the small of her back. She was furiously rubbing her face, trying to erase the sleep that was threatening to consume her. Yawns were keeping her from saying anything.
Sara slipped into the breakroom and slid into a chair. She slumped over the breakroom table, waiting on the rest of the crew to roll in. She rested her head in the crook of her elbow. Grissom walked in behind her. He poured the remaining coffee from the pot and took a sip as he sat down in the chair next to her.
"Looks like we've got a live one over here," Nick joked, pointing at Sara, who only grunted a response.
As each member walked in, they all walked over to the coffee pot expectantly. It was their afternoon ritual after having been working for hours on end. Each person groaned as they realized it was empty.
"Ah, man, who drank the last of the coffee?" Warrick asked, looking pointedly at Grissom.
At that comment, Sara raised her head for the first time. Grissom was just pulling the cup away from his lips. "If that's the last of the coffee, it's mine," she grumbled, grabbing it out of his hand.
She took a long sip from the cup. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Grissom peering at her. Sara turned her head faintly to look at him. She threw on the most angelic expression she could muster and offered, "Okay. Don't act like I just stole your microscope. I'll share it with you."
To Be Continued...