The Long Road Back to Vegas

A/N: I’m still playing with them and I promise to return them to CBS, et al at the end of this story.
There were no actual deaths associated with Hurricane Katrina in Lamar County, Mississippi. There were however 238 that did lose their lives during and after the storm in the state of Mississippi. God rest their souls. The FEMA ice story is true. As are other little odds and ends. I was there. This is just my way of getting it out of my system.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading. I’m glad everyone came along for the ride. Big thanks to Giwu who became my beta for this story quite unexpectedly. And to Bo, as always.


The Long Road Back to Vegas
By NoHayRemedio

Part III

Oh, how she missed him. The woman lay on the dirty, stained sleeping bag, curled next to a 15 pound dog, sweating in the afternoon sweltering heat. Ribbons of sweat bored into her skin. She was bone tired and wondered if she would ever feel the same again. She ached in places she had never known existed. She had used muscles that were never intended to do the things she had done. She had never operated a chainsaw before, nor cut wood, nor raked for hours barely making a dent in all the debris that covered the front and back yard. They still didn't know exactly how to get the tree out of the swimming pool. But she did know she would kill for a cold glass of ice water. Additionally, if she never saw a can of ravioli again, it would be too soon. She wondered why she had let him leave so easily; he went back to civilization while she remained in hell. The dog lifted his head and looked into her brown eyes. Funny, she thought, the dog even knew she needed comfort.

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August 30th, 2005 8:30 am CST

Bubba Roseberry, a deputy sheriff for the Lamar County Sheriff's Department was sweating, a single bead of sweat ran from his brow down the edge of his face, even in the air conditioned vehicle. Sara Sidle watched him as he navigated the cruiser through the horrible scenes that met them. He was young, barely 25, if even that. He wore his blond hair close-cropped, buzzed as was the style for most law enforcement officers. There was a slight tremor in his hands as he gripped the steering wheel and kept the speed of the car under 25 miles per hour to avoid the debris. What the three occupants of the car saw, amazed them, shocked them and sickened them.

Tall pine trees that had fallen had sliced through houses, cars, other trees and roads. The scene before them, was like a war zone in some forgotten old movie, only it was real. The damage was so extensive, so gory, it was surreal. They passed by people waiting on the side of the road, beside cars that no longer ran because they were out of gas, hoping to flag down some assistance. Bubba had finally turned off the police scanner, because he could no longer stand the pleas for help to all areas.

Sara watched Bubba mostly. Bubba kept his eyes trained on the roadway, careful to avoid people, downed trees, trash, shingles, even a toddler’s three-wheeled toy in the road. The third person in the car sat in the back, behind the screen. His eyes were closed to the damage, his hand absentmindedly rubbing and scratching the fur of the sleeping boxer who lay at his hip. The man appeared serene, quiet and contemplative. Behind his façade, the man was in inner turmoil. He wanted no more than to be safely cocooned in his bed in his townhouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the woman who he loved more than anything. Instead he was riding in the back of a police car, surveying damage from a storm the likes of which had never been seen, in the back woods of southern Mississippi. The only consolation was the woman he loved was in the front seat.

Gilbert Grissom, Ph.D., in Entomology, Supervisor of the Night Shift of a close-banded crew of crime scene investigators for Las Vegas Metro Police Department, was in love. Now he knew that he had always been in love with her. Several weeks ago he had been certain it was only a physical attraction. There had always been the physical attraction; even from the first time he had seen her at one of his forensic lectures on the Berkley campus where she had been a student. When he had called her to come investigate another CSI, he had thought maybe there would be more to their relationship. When he called Sara to investigate Warrick Brown’s part in the death of Holly Gribbs, She had done the best job possible in her investigation. However he had unexpectedly become the shift supervisor and became her boss. They worked well together for a time. He was addicted to their close bodily contact. But things quickly got out of hand, because he couldn’t allow himself the luxury of dating a co-worker/employee. When he’d been a CSI-III, he did casually date some of his co-workers. But he knew Sara Sidle needed something more from him than casual dating allowed. So in the interests of employee/employer relationships, Gil decided for the both of them a personal relationship was out of the question.

Sara was not entirely pleased with the situation between them, then. But he slowly opened his eyes and took in the vision that was Sara Sidle; he knew she was very pleased with the change in their relationship as they had taken a more intimate approach over the past week. They had been through so much in only a week’s time; it was hard to imagine it had only been 6 days since they had begun having sex. The first time was so full of lust and need, they weren’t able to discover much about the other’s body, but the subsequent times, and there been many, both had been amazed at the pure ease the two shared. He watched her from his vantage spot directly behind her as they rode in the cruiser and admired the fine curve of her neck. He took significant pride in the fact there were beard burns on that neck.

They pulled into the crowded parking lot of the Lamar County sheriff's department in Purvis, MS, walked hand-in-hand into the station where they were greeted by chaos. Bubba pulled them into a smaller room, unoccupied they thought, until a sudden clearing of the throat captured their attention. The room was dark and lit with a Coleman lantern located in the center of a large fold-out plastic table. “Thank you for coming Dr. Grissom. I’m Sheriff James Wallace and I need some help.”

“I met a Sheriff James Wallace exactly 7 days ago under entirely different circumstances,” said Grissom.

“Oh really, where was this?”

“Lincoln County, Nevada. Miss Sidle and I were called to a crime scene with significant bug activity by Sheriff Wallace. He was taller and larger than you, sir.”

Wallace laughed, “Well, I am kinda short and skinny.” A serious look passed over his features and he resumed, “I heard from Mr. Delaney the two of you were out at his place and he told me your duties as crime scene investigators in Las Vegas. I am aware, we are not within the realms of your normal jurisdiction, but I am hoping the two of you will be able to help with the recovery of some bodies associated with this damned storm.” He nodded knowingly at the two of them, for they had weathered the storm themselves. “I would like to know if you are available to help. Not having previously contacted your sheriff, I know this isn’t correct protocol, but I need some people with experience handling dead bodies."

Without looking at Sara for her approval, Grissom offered his hand to the diminutive man and said without hesitation, “Yes, of course. Anything you need from us, we’ll be willing to help.”

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August 31st, 2005 1:30 pm CST

Bruno barked as soon as the two CSI's walked into the severely damaged room. The building they were in had been demolished by a tree, split, not necessarily in two pieces, more like squashed into many pieces. They had entered through the intact front door, which carried a spray painted orange 'X', meaning the police had cleared the house and it was so damaged, it was still a danger to anyone who may have thought to enter the building. Bruno barked again, nudging his way under a collapsed wall.

"What do you think he's doing?" Sara raised her aviator shades to her forehead and looked at her partner.

"He must smell something."

They watched the dog disappear under the damage. The two CSI took the time to look at the damage, the contents of the house scattered haphazardly around what they suspected was once the den of the house. A Playstation 2 game system with numerous games lay stacked on a table with a television were the only things that appeared to be in place in the room; the bookcase was overturned, books scattered in every direction; DVD's sporadically thrown about the room. Grissom bent down and picked up one of the DVD's. Holding the title toward Sara, "I have this movie at my townhouse."

"Yeah, I have it, too." Sara laughed. "I have all six of them as a matter of fact."

"I'm impressed, but how do you have "Episode III", it's still playing at the theaters."

"Bootleg." Grissom looked at her incredulously, but she continued, "Have you ever been to one of the conventions?"

"I have, as a matter of fact, not as a participant, but as an investigator. A Storm Trooper got trick rolled by one of the working girls, but I did browse the booths."

Bruno's bark brought their eyes to the spot where the dog had disappeared several minutes earlier. Together they pushed the rubble into a pile and could see a human hand sticking out of the debris. Bruno was tugging at the hand with his mouth. Grissom and Sara began to frantically uncover the body. There was a puddle of blood at the person's head, and as they rolled the body to its left side, they discovered it was male, with some bug activity present, exsanguinations secondary to head injury.

"I wonder why we didn't smell the decomp?" Sara asked.

"Sara, our noses have acclimated to the smell of rotting everything. The heat and the humidity have destroyed our sense of smell. Bruno appears to be a natural cadaver dog, with a little training; he might be a good asset to our team."

"What?" Sara looked at Grissom incredulously. "You're keeping him now?"

"Well, we have had him for 3 whole days. He's good at finding bodies. And I kinda like the mutt," he said sheepishly.

"You didn't say that this last night," she teased.

Grissom laughed at the memory. "I was jealous."

"Yuck."


Sara and Grissom lay on a filthy sleeping bag as night had fallen. They had searched through many unoccupied houses that day for any survivors or victims. They were both tired and hungry although they had been fed with the government issued MRE's (meals ready to eat) from the allotment for the rescue workers, and had snagged Bruno several cans of ravioli. They had bottled water, not exactly cold, but it was wet. Sara was so tired and when Grissom became somewhat amorous, laying kisses down the side of her neck, she had refused his advances.

"Grissom it's just too hot." Sara whined.

Grissom had closed his eyes and said, "I know." He felt the heat of the day in his bones and before he closed his eyes to sleep he looked down at Sara's feet. Bruno was doing what dogs were known to do. He was humping Sara's foot.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"The dog is humping your foot."

"Yeah, I know."

"Why don't you kick him off?"

"I'm too tired."

Grissom closed his eyes, when a sudden thought shot through his head. "Sara, you never let me hump your foot."

"Gris, I didn't know it was an option." Sara rolled onto her side facing away from him, in the process, the dog stopped humping.

"Damn dog." Grissom growled at the dog. "She's mine, not yours." He stared at the dog for a long while, then let his eyes wander to the curve of her foot. "Sara, it's an option if you want it to be."

Without moving, she said, "I never figured you for a foot fetish man. But not tonight honey. I'm tired and dirty and hot. Good night."

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September 3rd, 2005 3:00 pm

Six days after the storm passed, things were not getting back to normal. There was so much damage and so much horror it was like living in a constant nightmare. The days were the worst. It may have been in the high 90's outside, but factor in the humidity and it felt like 110 in the shade. There was no power, no air conditioner, unless you were lucky enough to have a car that still had gas in it or perhaps a generator. There was no running water and the smell of rotten food, unwashed bodies, urine and feces was enough to make anyone sick. The only thing that stood out as good was the camaraderie of the police officers. There was always someone cooking something on the grill, the smell of charcoal was a welcome relief to the stench. People were trying to help others. There was the story in the next county of how the sheriff had put handcuffs on a National Guardsman who was guarding two truckloads of FEMA ice. The sheriff commandeered the trucks and distributed the ice to the people of the county. That had everyone in good spirits and glad that 'Sheriff Billy' had 'stuck it to the man'. Most were leery of the non-existent federal assistance. But better days were hopefuly coming and coming soon.

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Nick Stokes showed up at the Lamar County sheriff's department, asking if anyone knew the whereabouts of a Dr. Gilbert Grissom and a Sara Sidle. He had encountered much difficulty driving from Dallas where he'd been staying with his family after his kidnapping. He had talked to Catherine Willows at the Crime Lab in Las Vegas the day before and she told him that Grissom and Sara had gone to Red Mound to bury her mother before the storm and had not been heard from since. He'd brought with him many food stuffs and about 30 gallons of gas, because he had heard of the shortage on CNN. Catherine hadn't known why Grissom had gone with Sara, but with the three of them out, the nightshift had been taken over by Conrad Ecklie and some dayshift CSIs.

The woman with strawberry blonde hair at the information desk the sheriff's office looked at the young Texan with a smirk. Nick noticed her uniform and name tag: D. Ray. "You mean Gil's a doctor?"

"Yup. You know them then?"

"Yeah, him and Sara they been helping us out a whole lot. They good people."

"Yes, they are."

"Are they friends of yours?"

"Grissom is my boss and Sara is a co-worker but more like my sister. I work with them in Vegas. I'm Nick Stokes."

"Man, I heard them talk about you, heard what happened to you. I'm glad you're alive," said the green eyed woman.

"They told you about me?"

"We were all sitting around, exhausted, telling stories about bad things that happened to us and they told the story about you being kidnapped and how Gil almost got blown up by the wacko when he was trying to pay the ransom. Sara was crying, but she was trying to hide it, you know?"

Nick looked at the woman. He was silent for a few seconds. He really didn't need a reminder of that time in his life. "Well, Sara's tough, but not as tough as she thinks she is. Do you know where they are? Nobody from our office has heard from them in about a week," he said.

"I think they went with the Sheriff somewhere. I'll try to round them up for you." She picked up his radio, spoke, "Sheriff, you copy?"

"10-4"

"What's your 20?"

"In route to station now, ETA five minutes."

"Gil and Sara with you?"

"10-4"

"They got a visitor at the station." The radio crackled and immediately went dead. D. Ray looked at the radio, shook it a bit, and promptly said, "Damn batteries died again."

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Nick did have his suspicions about Grissom and Sara being a couple as he watched the two of them, plus dog get out of the Sheriff's cruiser. Grissom had his hand on Sara's low back in a possessive manner and she was grinning up at him. But when Sara's eyes lit on Nick standing at the entrance, she immediately ran to him, hugging him with more strength than he knew she possessed. Grissom took his hand and shook it.

"Very good to see you, Nicky," he said.

"Gris, man, everybody's worried about you guys. Catherine especially," responded Nick.

"Well, we haven't exactly had a clear means of communications over the past week," said Grissom.

"Understandable."

Sara broke in. "Nick, how'd you get here? My knight in shining armor."

Nick and Grissom laughed. "I was in Dallas, talked to Catherine, she said ya'll were down here. It wasn't like I was doing anything, so I decided to come get ya'll and take you back home. I brought some supplies, too. Who is this, here?" as the eager dog tried to jump up on Nick.

"Grissom's dog, Bruno. Gris saved him during the storm and he's become a pretty good cadaver dog, found 2 dead bodies as we searched through the debris for survivors." Sara proudly told Nick.

It was decided that Grissom would go back to Las Vegas with Nick and Sara and Bruno would stay in Mississippi for a little while longer. Sara would stay with her uncle Tommy, helping with the removal of the debris from his property. Bruno would stay in case his owner showed up to claim him. Sheriff Wallace told them he would get them special commendation for their help after the storm, and they assured him, they didn't need any, because they were victims of the storm also. Wallace told them if they ever needed anything from him, he'd happily help them and to name their first child after him. Luckily for Grissom, Nick didn't hear that statement, as he and Sara were saying their good-byes in the outer office.

"Do you think you could help me have a few minutes alone with Sara before Nick and I leave?" he asked.

"Not a problem at all," the sheriff grinned.

Sara returned to the Sheriff's office, as the Sheriff grabbed Nick's arm and led him out the door. "Young man, Gil says you are a good CSI, tell me if you think our office would benefit from a CSI..." Stokes looked at the Sheriff's office door which closed with a loud bang.

"Sara, I'm going to miss you."

"Shut up and kiss me." Grissom gathered her body into his. He was immediately hard and she felt his erection between them. "Now that is what I'm talking about."

"Jimmy said he could probably distract Nick for about 10 minutes."

"Long enough." She overtook his lips with hers, forcing into his mouth with her tongue. His hands were removing her shorts as she reached into his pants to caress his meaty length. They both knew the other had gone without benefit of underwear, being they didn’t have any that were clean. Grissom fingered her wetness and circled her clit. Sara had her fist over him, gliding back and forth.

"Foreplay is over." Grissom growled. He removed his hand from her cunt, grabbed his cock and aimed into her without anymore preamble. Sara gasped; he grunted. They were joined fast and furious. He bucked into her; she met each thrust with a thrust of her own. Her legs wrapped around his ass. As he pounded into her, he felt the sperm building up in his testicles. "I'm close, honey."

"Me too." Sara moaned into his ear. "Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me." He took her for her word and pressed all of him into her. He never wanted to be anywhere but inside her for the rest of his life. "Gilgrissomlovemeloveme." she moaned.

"Loveyouloveyouloveyou", as his seed spilled into her, her walls collapsed, spasm upon spasm overtook both of them.


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September 10th, 2005 11:45 pm

Sara Sidle lay on the bed they had shared before and during the hurricane. She was hot, tired and horny. She missed him, terribly. Oh, did she miss Grissom. They'd had been together for almost two weeks, now it had been a week since he had gone. It was funny how in such a short span of time her body missed his beside, above, beneath, and around hers. She wanted him, now, but that was unrealistic. Or was it? His scent still remained in the sheets and quilts. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel his touch; umm, there, just under her breast. Her right hand moved on it's own to the place she pictured his hand. She cupped her breast and imagined his hand squeezing with just the right amount of pressure. Her left hand moved further south, under the lightweight shorts, caressing her own silkiness. Oh, to feel his breath there now, brought a slight sigh to her mouth. Her middle finger dipped into her wetness, touching, circling her clit. She wanted to feel his weight on her, to push into her; umm, there, push harder. Her right hand began tugging at her nipple, longing for his mouth; oh, kiss me, just there. "Grisssoommm..."

As her breath slowed, she realized the door to the bedroom stood open and she wasn't alone in the house. Her Uncle Tommy and his girlfriend, Diane were sleeping in the next room. Oh gawd, I hope they didn't hear me. Suddenly, there was an additional weight on the bed as Bruno's bad breath greeted her. He started to lick her in the face, but she turned her head in the opposite direction to avoid his onslaught. "Bruno I know you're jealous, but Grissom is the only one I really want to kiss," she said. Bruno took her at her word and curled to her side and promptly lapsed into unconsciousness.

Sara missed Gil so much, she almost wanted to cry from the frustration. It had been a week since he'd had left with Nick. They still didn't have power, gas prices were drastically inflated. There were terrible lines for gas that no one could really afford, that stretched for maybe a mile from each gas station that still had gas. Although there was no power, people were ingenious enough to reopen stores. Each store that opened had an employee escort a shopper through the store with a calculator, the employee added the purchases, then at the register, tax was added, items were bagged, and cash was paid. Sara had deemed it necessary to stand in line at the grocery store for four hours to purchase some fruit juices and sports drinks to replenish the delicate balance of her electrolytes.

Suddenly, the phone was ringing beside her bed. Bruno barked at the offending object. "Sidle," she automatically said.

"I finally got through."

"Grissom? Is that really you?" She was excited beyond belief, as Tommy and Diane framed the doorway to her room.

"It's Gil. The phone works." She shouted to them.

"Tell Gil, he needs to get his butt back down here, funny, but some folks seem to miss him around here." Tommy said sleepily as he took Diane's hand and pulled her back to their room. Her face deeply and completely reddened. They had heard her earlier.

"Did you hear that?"

"Loud and clear." Grissom's voice dropped an octave. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. And so does Bruno." Sara could picture him smirking, "Are you at work?"

"Yes, I'm trying to make some sense of Conrad's case notes, but the thought of you overwhelmed me. I felt I needed to talk to you."

"How did you know the phone was working?" she asked.

"I didn't. I've been dialing the number so much since I left, hoping that the damned thing would just work. And it finally did. How are things going down there?" he said.

"Honestly, things are about the same. There is just so much…" she tapered off.

Silence for a few moments as they listened to the other breath into the phone.

"I'm coming to get you," he blurted.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"I can't take being away from you anymore." He stated simply.

There were several seconds of silence. She didn't know if it was her imagination or not, but swore she could hear Hodges speaking to someone in the hallway outside Gil's office.

"Hold on." She heard the phone hit the desk and the door slam. "I’m back," he said.

"Good. Are you coming for Bruno, too or does he have to stay here?" she asked.

Grissom smiled. "I do miss that mutt. Listen Sara, I'll be there tomorrow okay?"

"Okay."

"Sara, I didn't think I could miss someone so badly."

"I'm so ready to get back to work. I might get some decent rest. My muscles are screaming and I would kill for a shower."

"I love you. I'll be there tomarrow."

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September 11th, 2005 6:30 am

Gil Grissom sat buckled into his seat on the flight to Jackson. He was thinking of what he could possibly say to Sara when he reached her again.

"Honey, let's get married."

"Move in with me when we get back."

"When we get back to work, nobody can know we're together."

"I want to shout from all the rooftops, 'I love Sara Sidle' and risk Mayer's roofdust staining my clothes forever."

"Sara, it was fun and we have to stop."

"Sara, we can't be in a relationship."

"It was wrong, but I want to go back to the way things were before."

"I never want to go back to the way things were before."

Grissom knew he had pushed her away for years, but he felt he had perfectly reasonable explanations for his actions: the age difference, the student/teacher factor, the supervisory requirements he had over her. As he sat on the plane, he knew their ages meant nothing anymore, she wasn't his student anymore, she was his equal, in all ways and somehow he would circumnavigate his supervisory requirements. He just wasn't sure how everyone else on his team would take the news. All he knew at this moment was: he had to be with Sara.

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Sara packed what few belongings she had along with the few of Grissom had left. She wasn't sure she really wanted to be on the road back to Vegas. He said he missed her and he would be here today to get her. She was scared though, she knew him too well. Her fear was they would get back to Las Vegas and he would withdraw from her. Sure, they would work together, but never alone. He would speak to her about cases, nothing else and when she went home at night, all she could do was remember their times together, both in Lincoln County and in Mississippi. And that would be that. Game over. He wouldn't touch her again, there would be no kissing, no somersaults in her stomach when his fingers did wonderful things to her body, she would never again feel him inside her. She knew it. ‘Sara Sidle, get a hold of yourself. You are strong. You are going to be okay. At least you can still see him.’ Oh, shit, this was going to be horrible.

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September 12th, 2005 4:30 pm

Grissom arrived without fanfare in the gray Ford Tauras he'd rented in Jackson. No one was home. He thought about driving back up to Purvis to the Sheriff's department, but he was tired from the two hour drive from Jackson, the two hour plane ride and working a full shift, he hadn't been to sleep in over 24 hours. He decided to catch a nap in the bedroom he and Sara had shared previously. Looking at his watch, toeing off his shoes and socks before going to sleep, his last thought was of Sara.

When he woke up, Sara was looking down at him in the dusk. It was so hot, there was still no power in the area, but he could see her plainly. She stood bare to him, the night, the world. Her whole body flushed slightly red either from the outside temperture, the heat of the moment, or from his look of pure lust, he wasn't sure which if not all where valid. She reached her hand to his trousers, quickly unbuttoning and unzipping them. Without a word, she pulled him to the edge of the bed into a sitting position, then into standing as the pants fell to the floor. Both her hands pulled the deep blue polio shirt over his head. They stood wordlessly together for what seemed like hours, lost in an almost worship of the other. His blue eyes stared into the brown, the moment was too precious for words, only emotions.

He longed to touch the vastness of her skin. Her lips desired the contact of his, but still neither moved for what could have been hours, mere minutes or simply seconds. He finally opened his mouth to speak, but her index finger quickly covered his lips to stop whatever words may have spilled forth. She eased her hand slightly away from his lips, and caressed the side of his face, feeling the silkiness of his beard, loving the feel of it beneath her hand. He closed his eyes to her touch, leaning in to recieve her promise of more. He turned his face into her hand, licking the saltiness of her palm. She groaned involuntarily, as his tongue made circles in her skin.

Grissom's hands slide to her sides, pulling her toward him, needing her body ever closer to his. Sara's tongue darts out spearing his earlobe. Grissom's whole being reacts to the touch by pushing his full erection into her rounded stomach. He wanted to ravage the woman standing in his arms more than he had wanted anything in his life, but knew somehow, she needed him more. He stepped back, felt the bed in the popliteal space behind his knee, pulled Sara closer. They fell together in a 'whoosh'. Their lips met with contact of the bed and the delicate moments of before were now a memory. The kisses were hard, demanding, requiring more passion than either knew they possessed. Sara's fingernails were raking over the skin of his upper back, down along the spine, sending firey signals to his brain. She wanted more than kisses, she needed him to fill her emptiness.

Grissom was only happy to accommadate his wishes. He reached down to slightly spread Sara's already widened legs a bit, grabbed his cock and inch by inch, felt himself being overcome with sense of true homecoming. Sara's warmth was so tight, so wet for him, there was no real need for his slowness upon entry, other than it just felt so right. Her moans mingled with him as their bodies began to find their rhythm. They moved together for the rest of the night, orgasm after orgasm, never losing bodily contact with the other. He stayed in her, unwilling to break their connection even for sleep. No words were ever spoken. There had been no need.

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The next morning the smell of coffee brought the two lovers back to the land of the living. Sara attempted to leave their tangled in body parts embrace.

"Don't leave. Please." A new pleading quality had entered his voice.

"Griss, I have to go to the bathroom or would you rather I go on you?" She placed a kiss on his mouth.

"No, go on, but come right back." Pleading wasn't actually the term she use now, more like whining. This was a new Gil Grissom and she wondered where the old one was hiding.

When she came back into the room, he was completely dressed, pulling on his socks. "I thought we were going to have sex again, ahh, I mean go back to sleep."

"Seven times is five times more than I have ever, ah, you know, in one night." He looked into her eyes, startled now at his confession.

"I'm that good, huh?" She said slipping into pants.

His cell phone was ringing. "Grissom."

"Yes, Sheriff." Sara looked at him with eye brows raised high.

"No actually I'm in Mississippi." He smiled up at her.

"Yes, I am with CSI Sidle as a matter of fact." A vague look of discomfort passed over his features.

"Yes, sir." Nodding his head, which Sara found amusing.

A rather loud silence, as Grissom held the phone to his ear, listening to his boss.

"But the Undersheriff has nothing to base those facts on."

"No, sir."

"No, sir." He said again rather forcifully this time.

"But Brian..." Gil's whole body slumped in dejection.

"Yes, of course. We'll be there day after tomarrow."

"We're taking the long road back to Vegas."

"Goodbye Brian." He hit the 'end' button and closed the phone.

Sara was beside herself. "What?"

Grissom's features took on an almost pained expression. He looked like he sometimes did when the evidence was taking him somewhere other than he'd expected."

"Grissom?" Sara shouted.

"Our fine Sheriff has deemed it necessary to have a ceremony to honor the two of us, before the press, for the work we've done down here after the storm."

Sara sensed there was more. "What else?"

"He said we may be fired after a reasonable time after that."

The breath seemed to go out of Sara's body. "Fired? Oh my God, for what?"

"It seems that Jeffery McKeen has been informed that we are now a couple. And has shared that information with him. I may be fired on grounds of breaching professional conduct, sexual harassment, and breaching professional duties, by not calling in to work when I was otherwise scheduled to work." Grissom laughed slightly at that. "You may be fired on breach of professionl conduct and duties." He laughed again, it was in pure amusement. Sara looked at him like he was crazy. "Wonder why you weren't up for sexual harassment? I mean, you are the one who has been chasing me for years?"

"Grissom, how can you think that's funny?" She pointedly looked at him with daggers.

"It's not, it's just funny."

"You said the word 'may' three times."

"If by the time we return to Las Vegas, we have 'broken up', his phrase, not mine, and he sees no signs of a relationship, other than a purely professional one, he is willing to overlook the whole incidence."

"I don't want to lose my job. I love my job, but I love you too." Sara's eyes breamed over with tears. "But if I have to, I can give 'this' up. I will still get to be around you, even if we're not meant to be together."

"Sara..." Pulling her into his embrace for a several moments, before breaking away.


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The road stretched seemingly endless before them, the last sign had Amarillo at 75 miles. Grissom pushed the rental car's gas pedal to the floor. Sara was sleeping with her head slightly downcast, as she leaned toward the passenger door. Bruno was lying quietly between them. They had decided to call it quits. It was the perfectly logical thing to do. They both understood the gravity of the situation at work and knew both could lose their jobs if they were involved, the evidence they collected could come into question in court, because of their relationship, giving the criminals they put away, reasonable doubt in the gathering or processing of evidence. It wasn't fair, both knew, but they knew it was best. He had tried to kiss her on more than one occasion and each time, she turned away from those attempts. She had put her hand on his thigh as he'd driven somewhere in eastern Oklahoma in the middle of the night as they watched a shooting star off in the distance, but he'd just picked up her hand and placed it on Bruno. The closer they got to Las Vegas, the faster Grissom pushed the car. The blue lights behind him reminded him of his speed. He took a deep breath and pulled over. The Texas Highway Patrol cruiser flew past them without sounding the siren. Grissom slowly let his heart rate return to normal and get his breathing under control. Bruno whined.

"I have to go, too, Bruno."

Grissom grabbed the leash, opened the car door and walked the dog into the brush along the side of the road. Bruno immediately hiked his back leg, and Grissom was fumbling with his zipper. He had picked up the habit of not wearing underwear since the hurricane. He had held his urine for far too long and as the stream hit the ground, it hissed. He adjusted himself back into his jeans and let Bruno sniff around for a little while, walking mostly in circles, never letting the car out of sight. Grissom was hoping Sara wouldn't wake up in their absence and as they returned to the car, he saw that his fears had been unfounded, as Sara's body had slumped to her left taking up almost most of the front seat. Her head was very near the steering wheel. There was now no room for Bruno in the front seat.

After opening the back door for the dog, Grissom slid into the driver's seat and pulled the car back onto the highway.

He kept the radio off, and he wished he had Sara's ipod, so he could listen to some music, and not disturb Sara as she slept, but the little piece of technology had needed a charge since before the storm. He remembered her voice singing 'Take a bow', but it seemed a lifetime ago. Sara shifted again in her sleep and her hand snaked onto his thigh. Grissom was instantly hard. God, how he wanted this woman and how he hated himself for still wanting her. ‘I love her and Goddamn me.’ He knew he was paraphrasing Frank Sinatra, but had no one to catch him in his quote.

"Sara, stop." He begged her while she continued to sleep and caress him and against his better judgement, he allowed her hand to remain.

By the time the car pulled into a gas station just outside Amarillo, Grissom was a mess. He shook Sara awake. "Sara, we have to get gas and I have to stretch for a while and take Bruno to the bathroom. Wake up. Sara?"

"Ummmhuh?"

"Bruno and I are going for a walk, can you pump the gas while we're gone? It's your turn," he said.

"Yes." Slowly she tore her eyes open, as soon as the light hit them, she closed them again. "Griss?"

"Yeah?"

"Get me some coffee, please." Grissom nodded, then led the dog off to the grassy area that was deemed 'pet friendly'.

Sara fumbled with her purse getting her credit card from her wallet, got out of the car, put her card into the reader, opened the gas tank, and plunged the nozzle into the car. She watched Grissom and the dog in the grassy area. He was so handsome, just standing there, slightly stretching his back with the dog doing his business, it was hard to look at Grissom, but she did. She realized she was staring, quickly looking toward the gas pump.

He was now walking back to her with a smirk on his face. He knew Sara had been watching them, but was now pretending not to notice. Bruno bounded happily toward her. He jumped into the back of the car and curled up on the seat. Grissom slammed the door shut behind him and looked at Sara. She was so beautiful, just standing there pumping gas, it was almost hard for him to look at her. "You want anything else?" he asked pointing toward the store.

"No thank you," she said. He started to walk to the store, but Sara stopped him. "I have to use the bathroom when you get back, okay? Then we can hit the road again."

He nodded, walked into the store, got two cups of coffee, paid for them and returned to the car. Sara was finished pumping the gas when he reached the car.

"I'll be right back. You want me to drive?" she asked.

"Sure," he answered.

He watched wistfully as she vanished into the store. The way she walked turned him on. He knew now that whatever pact they'd made about the future was useless. He couldn't live without that woman in his life. He climbed into the passenger side.

When Sara returned a short time later, both man and dog were asleep and snoring. She started the car, sipped her coffee and pulled back onto Interstate 40, heading toward Las Vegas.

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An hour outside Las Vegas, she pulled the car off the side of the road. Sara shook Grissom awake. "Griss, wake up. I need to ask you something."

"Yes, dear." he responded groggily.

"Who is Bruno going to live with? I mean he is your dog, you found him, you saved him, but I've kept him all this time,” she said. “What are we going to do? I don't have enough room at my apartment and I'm not entirely sure if pets are even allowed. But if he stays with you, will you have room for a dog, especially as big as he's going to get. I mean, he weighs almost 30 pounds now, and getting bigger everyday. He's going to be a huge dog. I don't want him to go to an animal shelter because we couldn't keep him. I mean, we didn't bring him back with us to have him wind up in a shelter..."

He cut her off with an unexpected kiss. He took his time and kissed her, lightly at first, almost chastely. He took his hand and caressed her face. She responded deepening the kiss, pressing their lips harder together, both tongues slipping toward the other. Grissom pulled back and smiled at her. "I still remember how to stop you from over talking."

She hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Griss, don't do that, we can't. Remember?"

Their eyes spoke volumes; no further words were needed as they slipped again into each other's arms, kissing again.

Bruno whined in the back seat of the car. The couple pulled apart and Grissom opened his door and reached for Bruno's leash. He walked him into the emptiness. After several minutes, Sara joined them, slipping her arm around Grissom's waist.

"What are we going to do with Bruno?"

"He's coming home with me."

"Am I allowed to visit from time to time?" She looked up into his blue eyes.

"No."

Surprise widened her irises as he watched her response. "What do you mean?"

"We're not going to have visitations and joint custody. He's living with me and that's final."

Sara loosened her hold of his waist, pulling away from him. Eyes downcast, arms slack at her side, Sara just looked at him, speechless. She was almost pouting, but not quite.

"Why?"

"There's no need for you to visit if you are living there too." He pulled her back to him. "I can't take care of the mutt by myself, I need you. He needs you."

"But what about the sheriff?"

"If we can keep up appearences, a good amount of tension, and keep our affection away from the office. I think what the sheriff doesn't know, can't hurt him."

"But what you just said, me moving in with you. How will that work?" She was unconvinced.

"That will work out just fine, if we play our cards close to our chests. And I am a fine poker player. I will teach you what you need to know."

THE END of this story. No sequals in the works.