Last Chance

Disclaimer: C.S.I. is a trademarked property and I am borrowing the characters for none profit entertainment.

Title: Last Chance Chapter 6

Author: hazeleyes57

Rating: R

Spoilers: None too many, only mild and up to season 4.

Summary: Plan B! Grissom tries to get Sara to relax.

A/N: Many and sincere thanks to those who take the trouble to review. Without you I'd think that no one was reading this, and we know that's not true!
As previously mentioned, the subject matter (infertility) may be upsetting,in which case, feel free to back away now!! This is also NOT meant to be a guide to AI, although my sources assure me that the basic facts are correct. Any mistakes are my own.


Last Chance (6)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sara stood in the middle of Grissom's living area with her hands on her hips. Her angry scowl had reduced lesser men to tears but passed over Grissom almost unnoticed.

Grissom took a last look around the townhouse to make sure that he had not forgotten anything. The trash was out, air con off. Fridge emptied. Cases packed and loaded, provisions ready -

"Are you listening to me?"

Oh yeah, and one pissed off CSI.

"Yes."

" ' Yes' What?"

Grissom turned to look at Sara with what she always thought of as his 'spare me' look.

"Yes, I am listening to you."

Sara was bone weary and hanging on by the merest thread to what was left of her temper.

"Then will you please tell me what is going on."

"We are leaving here and going out to my Denali."

Grissom's tone of voice was one of bafflement. Wasn't it obvious?

Sara closed her eyes for a long second. Maybe she was dreaming and when she opened her eyes she would be lying in her bed with the bedding all over the place as usual.

"Sara?"

Or not.

She opened her eyes.

"Yes?"

"You look exhausted. You need to get some rest. I'm just going to make sure that you do."

"I can manage some rest just fine Grissom."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Grissom walked past Sara to his front door. He turned back to her in time to see her posture slump in either defeat or weariness, he wasn't sure which.

She turned around to follow him but every step she took screamed her reluctance.

Grissom locked up and allowed Sara to precede him to the Denali. He unlocked it with the remote and she climbed in before he got to the drivers side.

Sara silently buckled up and turned her head to the right to look out of the window.

With his right arm braced across the back of Sara's seat, Grissom turned around to look out of the back of the Denali while he reversed the big vehicle out of his parking space. He ignored the soft brush of Sara's hair against his forearm as best as he could.

Moments later they were out on the main road and Grissom turned on the radio. Classical music played softly as he turned down the air conditioning slightly, allowing the vehicle to warm up a little.

Sara stirred, but continued to look out of the passenger window.

"If you're trying to get me to sleep on the journey you're wasting your time."

Grissom hid a smile that was half chagrin and half genuine amusement.

He raised one eyebrow as he glanced in her direction.

"I was merely getting comfortable for the drive. I presumed that you would tell me if there was anything wrong with your comfort zone."

Sara 'harrumphed' to indicate her disbelief but didn't comment further.

Something else occurred to him.

"Speaking of comfort, did you 'go' before you left?"

Sara's head whipped around to face Grissom in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

Grissom kept his eyes on the road ahead.

"I said, did -?"

"I HEARD you!" Sara folded her arms to prevent herself from offering bodily damage to him. " What? Now I'm a five year old?"

If privately Grissom thought that she was acting like one, he wisely kept it to himself.

"In that case, I'll assume that you will let me know when you need to stop."

Sara smirked as she turned to face forward again.

"Women have bigger bladders. You'll need to stop before I do."

Grissom let her have the point. If she thought that she'd won, she might relax enough to doze. However, if he knew Sara...

One...two...three...four...

She sighed with irritation.

"Jeez, now I know that I'm ill. You're either humouring me or going soft, and that I wouldn't believe in a million."

Grissom smirked.

That's my gal.

By the time Grissom turned off the I-15 going North on to the 93 Sara was nodding off and jerking herself awake. The intervals between jerks got longer until finally she dozed off before they passed the 168 to Mesquite.

Now that he had stopped his 'discussion' with Sara, Grissom realised how tired he was. With hindsight he thought that he should have got some sleep before tackling a two hundred-mile trip.

It's her fault; she makes me crazy.

Now who sounded like a five-year-old?

Grissom huffed quietly in amusement. She'd even got him talking to himself.

He glanced over to his slumbering companion then back to the road. He grinned.

It was the second time that she had slept with him.
. . . . . . . . . . . .

A hundred miles later Grissom could tell that he was getting too drowsy to drive with safety, so he pulled over on highway 375 in a place called Rachel, in order to stretch his legs and have some coffee.

The sudden quiet and lack of motion made Sara wake up and she looked around as if to ask where she was. She saw Grissom getting out of the Denali.

"Grissom?"

He looked back at her with apology.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

Sara shook her head and stretched as best as she could in the vehicle.

"Naw. Where are we?"

"Rachel, off Extraterrestrial highway."

Sara stopped mid stretch.

"You're kidding me."

Grissom shook his head.

"You coming?"

Sara scrabbled to get out of the Denali and follow Grissom to the diner.

Once inside the diner the sight and smell of home-made pie made them both feel hungry so they had some food as well as the coffee.

They didn't talk very much while they ate although it was more in tribute to the pie than a lack of conversation subjects.

Half an hour later they were back on the road.

"So where are we headed?"

Sara looked around for a map, but Grissom appeared to be working without one.

"Place near Warm Springs. There's a cabin up in the Hot Creek range that I use occasionally."

Sara looked at his profile. She could look at him all day. And night.

"Lucky that it was free at such short notice."

"I know the owner."

Grissom didn't elaborate.

"Oh. Cool." She had a sudden thought. "Er, just how big is this cabin?"

"Two bedrooms, if that's what you meant."

It was exactly what Sara meant but she wouldn't admit it to him.

"No, I meant things like electricity and proper...facilities."

Sure you did, Sara.

"All mod. cons. Including proper facilities. I want you to rest, not suffer, Sara."

"I know. It's just..."

Sara waved her hand vaguely, at a loss to describe her exact feelings on the matter.

"All a little much to take in?"

"I guess. Having spent so much time thinking about ...stuff...it's a change of pace that makes me think of the time that I'm wasting."

Grissom flicked a quick look at her.

"It's not time wasted. I think the reason you're having difficulty is because you're not able to relax sufficiently."

Privately Sara thought that the last place she was likely to feel relaxed would be cooped up together with Grissom in a small cabin in the mountains.

"Great. Not only are my eggs lazy but they're uptight too."

"I think that you're taking it a little personally. That wasn't my intention."

Sara eyed him.

"What was it then?"

Grissom looked out at the road ahead as he tried to explain.

"How often have you heard or read about ostensibly infertile women adopting children and then find themselves pregnant naturally?"

Sara gave it some thought and agreed that she had heard of these cases.

"A few times, yeah. Okay, I take your point. The women relaxed after they got a child."

"Yes."

Sara turned in her seat to face him, slackening off her seatbelt a little.

Her mischievous grin automatically made Grissom a little wary.

"So, how are you gonna help me relax Grissom?"

Six months ago he would have got a little hot under the collar about the suggestive tone implicit in Sara's question and avoided any kind of rational answer.

People can and do change.

Grissom gave a half shrug, just a casual lift of one shoulder and a raised eyebrow as he glanced at Sara and then back to the road again.

"I'm sure I'll think of something."

His lips twitched in that not-quite-a-smirk thing he had.

Sara didn't bother to hide her delighted surprise at the return of the flirty Grissom, who she hadn't seen for some time.

She looked at him for a long moment before replying softly.

"I'll hold you to that."

Sara shivered in anticipation.

She could hardly wait.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


With only one stop for fuel it took Grissom ninety minutes to reach the beginning of the Hot Creek range.

Although Sara had napped in the car, both she and Grissom were very tired by the time he drove up the long winding drive to the cabin.

Grissom turned the last bend and slowed down so that Sara could appreciate the first sight of the cabin. He never tired of the view.

Sara looked at Grissom and then back to the cabin.

And finally back to Grissom.

"Is that the 'cabin'?"

Sara's tone indicated that she expected him to say that it wasn't.

Grissom grinned.

"Yes."

Sara's jaw dropped as she gaped at the 'little' cabin.

It was not what Grissom had implied with his description.

Although it was a single story wooden building it was not what Sara thought of as a 'cabin in the mountains'. The original structure was probably thirty years old, but bits had been added on over the years and now it was a large house that still managed to compliment the surrounding landscape.

Sara craned her head to look past Grissom and imagine what vista would be seen from the cabin.

"It's lovely and bet it has great views."

Grissom nodded and smiled.

"Yes, it does. Sitting on the front porch looking out there puts things into perspective. Makes things I'm concerned about seem smaller."

Sara looked at him thoughtfully. It surprised her that he had admitted that he even had concerns. He always seemed on top of everything.

Grissom sped up slightly, drove around to the side of the cabin and parked the Denali. He got out and fished his keys out of his pocket.

Sara opened her door and immediately inhaled the fresh resin smell of the trees and the cool dry air, which seemed much less oppressive than that of Vegas. It was also much quieter, though why that surprised her she didn't know. She went around the back of the vehicle to help with the bags.

While Sara had been taking in her surroundings Grissom had opened up the cabin's back door and carried in the boxes containing the food. He came back out now and took two of the cases, leaving Sara the smaller of her two to carry. She followed him into a large kitchen but didn't get more than a quick look at the glass fronted wooden cabinets and beech work surfaces as Grissom carried on straight through to the main living room with its stunning full length window view of the mountains. Sara involuntarily slowed down to look.

Grissom paused on his way through so that Sara could take it all in. He was glad to see that she appeared to like the place too.

When she finally turned back to look at him he continued through the living room to a corridor with two doors on the left and two on the right. As he passed the first two he nodded left then right and said 'study' and 'bathroom'. He stopped in front of the far door on the right.

He pushed open the door and carried his case over to the blanket box and left it there unopened. He turned to find Sara standing hesitantly in the doorway. She seemed captivated by the bed until she saw that he was looking at her.

"Nice...room."

Grissom looked around the room at the wooden furniture. A large double wardrobe took up half of the right hand wall and the drawers and blanket box took up space on the door wall. The left-hand wall was mostly taken up with another big window with a beautiful view which could be seen whilst lying in the huge double bed that dominated the room. As per his instructions the bed had been made up. He turned back to Sara.

"I like it."

Sara gave a small smile. She liked it too.

She stood back out of the doorway when Grissom came out of the room with her other case.

He opened the door of the room opposite his and allowed Sara to enter the room first.

It was the same size as the main bedroom with similar furniture, but in a lighter coloured wood. The main bedroom had been unashamedly masculine, but this had a lighter neutral feel. The yellow and white colour scheme made it fresh and welcoming, and it was more than complimented by a vase of fresh flowers.

"Nice."

Sara looked at him as he stood at the end of the bed.

"Glad you like it."

She went over to smell the blooms.

Grissom moved to put Sara's case down on the blanket box and looked at her.

"There's a woman who comes in to keep the house clean when it's not in use. I expect she put the flowers there."

Sara nodded, having suspected as much.

She looked out of her window to avoid looking at Grissom just in case he saw her disappointment at being in separate rooms. Not that she was expecting anything else. After all, this was Grissom she was thinking about. As usual.

Grissom looked at the back of Sara as she looked out of the window.

"I'll leave you to unpack and settle in. When you're ready I'll be in the kitchen. I don't know about you, but I just want a light meal and to go to b - get some sleep, we've been up too long."

He paused but Sara didn't add anything, seemingly lost in the view outside.

"How hungry are you?"

Sara shrugged, and looked back at him over her left shoulder.

"Not very. Just some soup and bread or something?"

"Can do."

Grissom retreated and closed the door behind him.

He smiled to himself as he headed back to the kitchen, feeling lighter despite his weariness.

Stage one complete.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Sara turned away from the window as soon as Grissom had left. She still didn't know exactly what was going on with him and didn't know what he had in mind by bringing the two of them to this place. Apart from the 'relaxation' angle.

It very much depended on what you considered to be relaxation.

She wondered what Grissom had said to Catherine that had enabled the two of them to have a week off. Ten days, actually, if today was included. Had he even told Catherine that they were together? In the non biblical sense, of course.

Both she and Grissom had a lot of leave available to take, so in that respect it would be okay, but he was the night shift Supervisor and Catherine would have to make short notice cover arrangements and/or act up herself.

As Sara mused she unpacked her cases and hung up the few things that needed it. She had probably brought too much, but she hadn't known what to expect in terms of the social life, so she had tried to cover more than one base.

In a last moment act of insanity she had included the dress from her college days. The style had come back in again, and the colour suited her. The V necked top and the fitted waist gave her figure a well-defined shape. She probably wouldn't wear it ever again, but the impulse had been too strong to ignore.

Sara looked at her watch and decided that she ought to go and find Grissom.

She opened the bedroom door and realised with a grin that she could follow her nose to the kitchen. The delicious smell of whatever Grissom was cooking made her feel very hungry.

Sara had taken her shoes off and her socks made no sound on the wooden floors, so she found herself standing undetected in the doorway of the kitchen.

Grissom had his back to her and was stirring something in a saucepan. He had a tea cloth over his right shoulder and as Sara watched he lifted the wooden spoon out of the pan, dipped a finger into its bowl and then put the finger in his mouth, presumably to check the seasoning.

As Sara watched he half turned to put the spoon down on the work surface and she suddenly became focused solely on the finger in his mouth. It was only in there a matter of seconds but time seemed to stretch as her feverish brain imagined her finger in his mouth or his finger in her mouth, or both or -

Grissom turned around, the pan in one hand, ready to pour it into the bowls placed ready on the table. He looked slightly taken aback to see her standing there.

"Sara. I was just going to call you."

Sara snapped back to reality and quickly made the soup bowls the focus of her attention.

"That soup called me. It smells delicious."

Grissom wondered how long she had been standing in the doorway. She looked flushed and the expression on her face when he had first seen her had been...intense.

"I thought we'd eat in here if you don't mind?"

Sara shrugged and tucked her hands in her pants pockets - mostly so that she'd keep them off Grissom.

"Fine with me."

She took her hands out of her pockets to sit down on her side of the table at the place setting opposite Grissom's as he poured out the soup.

"It's a vegetable broth. Help yourself to bread."

There was a basket in the middle of the table between them and Sara discovered that the rolls had been warmed through.

Grissom put the pan back on the stove and joined Sara at the table.

They ate in appreciative silence for a few minutes.

Grissom's gaze alternated between the soup and Sara.

Sara kept her eyes down on the soup after catching Grissom's eye a couple of times.

The setting felt intimate to Sara, just the two of them together at the table, sharing a meal. Alone in the house together, with all this interesting tension in the air, which only she seemed to be feeling.

She had no idea what Grissom's plans were, but she sure as hell knew what she wanted to do.

And it didn't involve separate bedrooms.

Sara ate her soup.

Grissom barely tasted the soup. It had seemed fine when he was cooking it, but then Sara hadn't been in the room. He was eating on automatic pilot while his brain was otherwise occupied. Sara appeared to be unaware of the thickening atmosphere around the table, but he felt an extra awareness of every move she made, the way she broke up her bread roll, the way her spoon moved, the movement of her lips on the spoon - God, those lips! - he looked quickly down at his soup before he embarrassed himself, but then just as quickly was drawn to look back up.

Just in time to see the tip of Sara's tongue peek out to chase a breadcrumb.

Grissom felt himself throb in response.

Ooh, now he was in trouble. Within seconds he was fully aroused.

Sara suddenly looked up and their eyes clashed.

She could have sworn that she had just heard a groan come from Grissom.

All at once the tension in the room seemed to expand and intensify.

Sara saw the heat in his eyes, but knew that he would never allow himself to act on it.

"You okay?"

Grissom responded without thinking.

"I was thinking about doughnuts."

Sara looked puzzled for a moment but then smiled.

"Me too, but I don't think we brought any with us. I didn't realise you'd developed a sweet tooth."

Grissom looked startled for a split second and then grinned for no reason that Sara could see.

"I haven't, it's okay. Forget it." He looked at his bowl, almost as if surprised that it was empty. "I'm more tired than I realised."

Sara smiled sweetly as she placed her spoon in her empty bowl.

"Then I guess it's time for bed."

Grissom's head jerked up and their eyes met again, hers full of mischief, his wary until he saw the amusement in hers.

One side of his mouth lifted.

"Did you just say what I think you said?"

Sara smiled in remembrance as she stood up and carried her bowl to the sink.

"Nothing wrong with your hearing."

"Apparently not."

Grissom remained seated while Sara walked back past the table from the sink. She gave Grissom an odd look when she noticed that he was still sitting. Did he expect her to carry his bowl too?

He'd be in for a long wait.

"You coming?"

Grissom mused upon the choice of expression. He held his tongue with effort. If he stood now, she would know exactly how he felt about her.

"No, not just yet. I'll just lock up and wash these few things. I'll see you later, sleep as long as you like, there's no set time to anything."

Sara didn't quite shrug as she turned away from him, heading for the door.

"Okay, see you whenever."

After Sara had left the kitchen Grissom waited for a couple of minutes to make sure that she wasn't going to come straight back for some reason and catch him still 'interested'.

He washed the few things that they had used and locked the outside door. He absently noted that Mrs. Weston had been doing a good job of looking after the place and there was little in the way of shopping that needed doing.

Grissom walked out of the kitchen and stood for a while looking out of the living room window. Being floor to ceiling in height it almost felt like standing outside.

This had been the view that had persuaded him to buy the property.

After a few minutes Grissom looked across the room in the direction of Sara's room, almost as if he could see her through the walls. He was pleased that she liked the house. He had from time to time imagined her here.

Just not in that bedroom.

Grissom sighed and walked towards his room. He stopped outside Sara's door, wanting to go in but knowing that now was the wrong time. She must be tired, he knew that he was. The fact that he was standing here at all spoke for his impaired judgement. He had to keep plan B in mind.

Grissom turned abruptly and entered his own room. He shut the door behind him firmly though whether it was to keep her out or him in, he wasn't sure.

He stripped off quickly and changed in to an old white T-shirt and boxer shorts. He didn't think it prudent to sleep naked in the mood he was in.

Across the corridor Sara slumped in disappointment.

She had heard Grissom's soft footsteps on the wooden floor, heard him stop outside her room. Her heart had leapt at even the vague possibility that he would come to her.

She sank back against the soft pillows and pulled the quilt up to her chin, wrapping her arms around the thick bedding.

Sara was exhausted but she would not have turned him away, any more than she could cease to breathe by an act of will.

As her eyes closed a small smile appeared on her face.

At least Grissom had been tempted - it was a step in the right direction.

It did not occur to her that she hadn't thought about a baby since that morning.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Grissom surfaced naturally from a very pleasant - if a little bizarre - dream involving Sara, doughnuts and the table in the kitchen.

For a moment he wondered where he was, but everything fell quickly into place. He glanced at his bedside clock and realised that he had woken up about the time he usually did when going to work. He felt well rested and immediately upon that thought he wondered how Sara had slept.

Grissom propped himself up with a couple of pillows so that he could look out of the window. His quilt fell to his waist but the ambient temperature in the room was quite comfortable.

Usually when he came to this retreat he came alone and amused himself with a little rambling, studying the local insect life, reading books and journals - catching up and chilling out. This visit wasn't about him though, and he was ashamed to admit that the little he knew about Sara's life outside of work was patchy at best. From observation and conversations that he had overheard he had gleaned a few things.

She was now a vegetarian. She listened to a police scanner for interesting potential cases. She liked Chinese food. She tended to shop on line and part of the reason was she hated clothes shopping. She read a lot on a wide range of subjects. For all the hard scientific training she had she also kept an open mind about the more exotic interpretations of evidence. That made him think of the 'spontaneous combustion' case and the smouldering pig, leading to the discovery that she wore pj's not a night-dress. She shared his love of the works of Vettriano - her favourite painting was his too. Although it had not been released as a poster or a print, he had a colour copy printed of 'Game On'. He wondered if Sara had noticed it on the wall behind the door when she had been standing in the doorway earlier. Probably not or she would have mentioned it.

Grissom looked at the picture on the opposite wall. How often he had thought of the two of them like that.

'Game On' indeed.

Grissom threw back the covers and got out of bed. If he stayed there much longer Sara might come looking for him, and then they'd never get out.

He put on his robe over his nightwear just in case Sara was already up and about.

His door opened silently and he made his way to the kitchen to put on some coffee.

Grissom decided to have his shower later so that the noise of the water pump didn't wake Sara. Which was why he was standing in the kitchen thinking about what to make for the evening meal when there came a tap on the back door.

Surprised, Grissom looked at the half paned door and although his face remained pleasant he inwardly groaned. It was Mrs. Weston's daughter.

Her forty-something divorced and looking-for-husband-number-two daughter who occasionally turned up unannounced. Usually with food. For two.

Grissom unlocked and opened the door and before he could say anything the blond woman brushed past him carrying a casserole dish covered with a glass lid.

She coyly batted her eyes at Grissom as she put the dish down on the work surface.

"Mom told me that you'd be here today so I thought to myself the last thing you'd want to do after that long drive would be to cook, so I thought I'd -"

Grissom interrupted with as much patience as he could muster.

"Mrs. Hutchinson, it wasn't - "

The blond tutted, waving her scarlet tipped fingers at him.

"Now, honey, haven't I told you to call me Monica? After all we've known each other a while now, haven't we?"

Grissom didn't actually think that four visits similar to this one in five years constituted such a close friendship, but nothing he'd said or done had managed to put her off in all that time. He had certainly done nothing to encourage her.

Grissom managed to sidle around the kitchen table, putting it between the blond and himself, without making it look too obvious.

Mrs. Hutchinson's smile slipped a little when she realised that her quarry had put some distance between them. She moved towards one end of the table with a view to joining her Mom's attractive employer.

Grissom started to sweat.

Sara was up, dressed and outside the kitchen door when she realised that Grissom had company in the kitchen. She automatically froze, intending to leave him alone with Mrs. Weston - she thought - when she heard him refer to the female voice as Mrs. Hutchinson. Within seconds the naturally intuitive Sara had seen which way the wind was blowing. She stifled a giggle at sligslightly panicked quality to Grissom's voice.

Sara backed quietly away from the door and quickly returned to her room.

Grissom moved to the end of the kitchen table and resisted the urge to clutch his lapels together when Monica's gaze slipped to his chest. This situation was ridiculous. It was his house and all he had to do was show her the door.

"Gil, honey, what's taking you so long?"

Grissom thought his ears were playing tricks on him until the astonished expression on Monica's face showed that she too had heard the sultry voice coming from the living room.

"That big old bed is way too big without you in it lover."

Without appearing to notice the other woman, Sara padded barefoot into the kitchen wearing, as far as Grissom could tell, nothing but a short silk robe. Her hair was seriously mussed at the back and she looked tousled and sexy.

To Grissom's astonishment she walked straight into his arms and planted a smacker on his parted lips.

His arms had reflexively closed around Sara and the instant her lips touched his he forgot about anything else.

Grissom's brain was being seriously overloaded. He tried to capture every second of this amazing moment. Sara's warm soft lips on his. Her arms around his neck. His hands feeling the warmth of her body through the thin silk of her robe. She had a hand in his hair, her fingers massaging his scalp. The kiss was so much more amazing than he had ever imagined it would be. He was instantly and solidly aroused, and he couldn't even bring himself to mind that she must know it too.

Sara had only intended to give Grissom a quick kiss and then 'notice' his uninvited guest, but her traitorous body took over. Grissom's parted lips just begged her to deepen the kiss, and before she could breathe Grissom had responded with an invasion of his own.

One of Grissom's hands slid down to cup one of Sara's buttocks and he pulled her hard against him. It was only then that the shock of her bare flesh under his fingers made him break off the kiss.

Sara and Grissom stared at each other with mutual astonishment.

The sound of a throat being cleared penetrated Grissom's fogged brain. He suddenly remembered Mrs. Hutchinson. His eyes widened with the realisation that he had been perfectly ready to carry Sara off to bed straight past the other woman.

"I guess I'll be going."

Grissom tore his gaze away from Sara's upturned face and looked apologetically at the blond woman.

"I'm sorry, it's just that..." he looked back to Sara, his eyes incredibly blue, "...every kiss seems like the first one."

Monica Hutchinson moved towards the back door. Although her hopes had been dashed here, you didn't see passion like that every day and she couldn't bring herself to be resentful.

"Mr. Grissom, I've seen and had first kisses, and believe me that was nothing like one. That was the kind that doesn't come every day. I'll tell Mom to knock."

She let herself out of the house, leaving the couple in each other's arms.

They hardly noticed her go.

Sara was deeply moved by the kiss. How could such a small word possibly convey the tumultuous feelings running riot around her body at this moment?

Her hands now rested on the upper part of Grissom's arms and without his support she was quite certain that she would be in a heap on the floor. She always suspected that they would be good together, but she just had no idea of the magnitude.

Grissom could not think of a single thing to say. He did not think that any other part of his life had prepared him for this moment. After what seemed an age he managed to find his voice.

"I have no idea what to say to you."

Sara smiled gently.

"Well, that's a good start."

It did not appear to occur to either of them to let go of each other.

Sara shifted from one foot to the other, and Grissom sucked in a shocked breath as she rubbed against his almost painful arousal. He wondered briefly if she had done it deliberately. He quickly decided that it didn't matter.

He still had his hand on her backside and he felt her muscles shift as she moved.

They were looking into each other's eyes and suddenly Sara was no longer uncertain. All the evidence she needed was magnificently impressive against her belly.

"But why say anything? Talking is overrated."

Grissom closed his eyes in exasperation. She just did not understand how wrong he was for her. He rested his forehead on hers and breathed in the luscious scent of her. His arousal pulsed between them and made a mockery of any argument he could come up with about stepping back from this brink.

"Sara, I can't give -"

Sara slipped a finger over his lips and shushed him gently.

Grissom's eyes opened and met her steadfast brown ones.

"I'm not asking for guarantees Gil. All I'm asking is that you take a chance. There are two certainties in life; death and taxes. Everything else is up for grabs."

She smiled sweetly and ground her hips against him. This time he knew that it had been deliberate.

"So grab already."

Grissom hung poised on a knife-edge of indecision, trying so hard to do the right thing by Sara.

But wanting to do the wrong thing that would be so gloriously right for him.

Without warning he remembered the nightmares that he had been having about Sara dying in the explosion in the lab. His bitter regret that he had never told her how he felt.

Sara felt that she was on the cusp of a tremendous moment in her life. She would one day look back at this day and say to herself, 'that was the instant my life changed'.

She willed herself to remain still and let Grissom make his mind up. She sensed his indecision, but was not afraid of it. If she used the distraction of her body in his arms to seduce him now, neither of them would ever know for certain what his choice would have been.

They looked in to each other's eyes for an eternity of a moment.

Sara knew the instant that Grissom made his decision and her heart leapt in her breast. She felt him relax against her and tighten his arms around her. His smile was a joy to see both in his eyes and on his lips.

Sara's answering smile dazzled Grissom and he knew that whatever happened in the future there was not one ounce of regret in him now.

His head lowered towards hers and just as their lips were about to meet, Sara said cheekily,

"What? No witty comment?"

Grissom wo clo close to her that she could feel his breath on her damp lips.

"Someone very wise once told me that talking is overrated."

His lips finally completed their journey to hers and Sara found herself in complete agreement with him.

Her arms wound around Grissom's neck as she tried to get even closer to him. She wanted to crawl inside and take up residence, never to leave him again.

Having made his choice, Grissom finally allowed the banked fire of his passion free reign. As he had always suspected, Sara's passion more than matched his own.

Grissom's mouth moved possessively over Sara's. He had wanted her for so long that now she was finally here with him, he found himself trembling.

Sara felt something inside unwind and loosen as an unacknowledged fear that Gil would leave her at the last minute finally eased.

To have come this far and have him stop did not bear thinking about.

Tendrils of desire spread throughout Sara's body, seeking every last cell.

Grissom's lips moulded themselves to hers as if made solely for them. Every second that they kissed built fire upon fire until there was such a conflagration that Sara thought she would pass out from the heat of it.

Just when she thought her heart couldn't survive another moment, Grissom slid a hand into her hair and gently pulled her head back, exposing her throat to his gaze. His mouth dropped to the pale skin there and he could feel her rapid pulse under his lips. He kissed the base of her throat, sliding his tongue lower and Sara felt another thrill of hot sensation rush through her.

Sara's earlier tension was replaced by a different one as coils of liquid desire moved along her nerves, lighting more fires as they spread.

Sara's arms slipped from Grissom's neck and she ran her hands down his warm skin, sliding them under the lapels of his robe to touch his smooth chest.

Grissom's arms tightened his hold on her as she leaned forward to touch her lips to the heated flesh visible between her palms.

Sara felt him shudder at the contact.

The scent of him, warm and male rose up and pushed her arousal up another notch. She felt him lean back and it made her fall against him, much to her delight.

Grissom felt the hard edge of the table behind him and it made him realise that they were still in the kitchen. While he definitely wanted to take Sara on the table at some point, he wanted this first time to be more comfortable for her.

It was difficult to articulate this thought while Sara was driving him wild with her mouth. He felt her tongue slide across his chest and then it and her lips closed over one of his nipples. It put paid to his thought that men's nipples weren't as sensitive as women's. His body went in to spasm and his hand clenched on Sara's bare ass.

Grissom's other hand moved down Sara's back to grasp the other cheek. Both hands slipped upwards under the short silk robe to see for themselves is she really was bare - assed naked.

To his surprise he encountered an impossibly tiny pair of panties - hardly warranting the name - a small scrap of what felt like lace, suspended from delicate elastic. It was even better than naked; it was a complete and utter tease.

When Sara felt Grissom's warm hands on her she couldn't help but press forward against the impressive length of him in reaction. The heat pooling between her legs created a yearning that only he could ease.

She quickly tugged the ties of both robes undone, parting her silk one and freeing her bra-less breasts. The only thing separating them now was Grissom's boxers and a tiny piece of lace.

Sara lifted on her toes, instinctively trying to mould herself to fit him any what hat she could. She nibbled his neck, tasting and soothing with her tongue. She squirmed against Grissom, her breasts tingling as they made contact with his chest.

Grissom gave up trying to verbalise his desire for the big bed. He bent his knees slightly and picked Sara up by the ass.

Quick as a flash Sara grinned and held on around his neck, wrapping her long legs around his waist.

A delightful consequence of this for Grissom was to find his face nestled between Sara's breasts.

He wasn't complaining.

He heard her sigh happily.

"Ooh, your hair is so much softer than it looks."

She rubbed her cheek against the top of his head and practically purred.

Grissom started to move in the direction of the kitchen door. It required a lot more concenton ton than he remembered. He moved his head slightly and caught a glimpse of doorway. He was on the right track.

Sara kept up a steady flow of compliments and observations, which so distracted him - well, that and her breasts - that he kept bumping into bits of furniture. Some harder than others, he thought as he barked a shin, but they eventually made it through the doorway of the master bedroom.

Grissom backed Sara against the side of the bed and she lowered one leg to the floor, but kept the other one wrapped around his thigh to prevent him going anywhere.

Not that he planned to.

Grissom was spoilt for choice and didn't know where to start. For a long moment he just looked at Sara, drinking in her features simply because he could.

Sara wiggled a little and pulled Grissom closer with her raised heel.

The less than subtle reminder that he was not alone made his lips twitch.

Sara's hands slid up under Grissom's open robe and moved across to his shoulders, pushing the towelling material until it slid down his arms and stopped at his elbows.

He briefly let go of Sara to allow the robe to fall to the floor, but his hands were soon back on her.

Anticipation shot through him, making his fingers ache as they moved over her skin.

Grissom sucked in a shaky breath.

"God, Sara, you make me believe in miracles."

His head dipped to hers and her lips parted in a smile as she leaned in for the kiss.

Sara's mouth opened further in surprise when a warm hand cupped her breast, and she moaned hungrily into his mouth.

When Grissom's fingers sought out the nipple and tweaked gently, Sara broke of the kiss with a startled gasp. The jolt of heat that had sparked between her breast and the juncture of her thighs released a flood of liquid.

"Oh, that's so - OH!"

Grissom had replaced his fingers with his mouth and Sara was catapulted up to a whole new level.

Between his hand and his mouth Sara was bombarded with a barrage of sensation that swept all sense before it, building and coiling within her, drenching her panties with a fresh flood of arousal.

Her head rocked back and her legs trembled so much that she had to put her other foot back on the floor.

Grissom's mouth swapped to her other breast. He was desperately trying not to think about his own arousal in the hope that he would stay the distance.

He slid his free hand slowly up one silky thigh until he reached lace, then he cupped her heat. He was staggered at the level of her arousal.

"God, Sara, you're so wet -!"

Grissom broke off as Sara's dazed voice reached him.

"I can't - God, I'm gonna fall -!"

Grissom lifted his lips a fraction.

"Then 'fall', it's okay, there will be more..."

Sara huffed with desire-laden amusement at his misunderstanding.

"No, I'm really gonna fall - on the floor - I can't stay standing - ohoh - ahh - Ohmigod - that's so - "

Sara inhaled sharply as Grissom's fingers slid under her panties and into her heat.

As she had warned, her legs gave way and she slumped backward onto the bed, breaking away from Grissom's mouth but not his hand.

Sara gathered what little sense she had left and moved further on to the bed and his hand followed.

She looked up at Grissom standing poised between her knees, one hand still stroking her so intimately.

He took her breath away.

He was a primed Alpha male. He was breathing rapidly, his chest heaving. His boxers were tented impressively, even more than her fingers had remembered.

But it was his eyes that captured her the most.

They had darkened to the deepest of sapphire blue and stared at her possessively.

Sara felt stamped, branded as his woman for as long as he chose.

She reached weakly for his boxers, but he brushed her hand away without explanation and shucked them off quickly himself.

Sara gasped again and licked suddenly dry lips as she was faced with a fully aroused Grissom for the first time.

God, he was huge.

Not only long, but an impressive girth too.

Just for an absurd instant Sara panicked that he wouldn't fit.

Grissom moved one of Sara's legs apart with his free hand and he knelt on the bed between her knees, keeping his other hand where it was.

He was still amazed that he had lasted this long - it was the reason he had stopped Sara from touching him a moment ago, it would have ended things there and then.

He bent forward and kissed Sara's belly. He kissed a moist trail down towards the damp curls besides his working fingers. Sara's arousal was stronger than ever and the scent of her made him pulse and throb.

He felt Sara's hand in his hair, tugging gently but insistently.

"No, Gil, don't!"

Grissom looked at her in surprise.

"Don't you like it?"

Sara looked frantic.

"God, yes, but not this time, it's too late, I can't wait - just...Oh, God, just hurry!"

She pleaded urgently, parting her thighs in supplication.

Relieved that he hadn't upset her, Grissom removed his hand from her and knelt closer, lining himself up.

He looked at her face as he touched her for the first time and reminded himself to give her time to adjust to him.

Sara stared back at him, her hunger obvious. At the first touch of his arousal she couldn't help writhing under him, her arms trying to pull him down on to her body, desperate to feel the weight of him over her and in her.

More sweat popped out on Grissom's forehead as he tried desperately not to thrust hard into Sara. His teeth were gritted and he looked like what he was, a man in exquisite agony.

Sara lifted and rolled her hips and Grissom was done for. With a groan he thrust involuntarily and was buried to the hilt in an instant.

Sara lay stunned with pleasure for a long moment, her arms around his broad shoulders.

"Oh, Gil, that is so...you are - ah! God, that's gorgeous, it's - mmfmfh."

Sara was astonished when Grissom quickly put his hand over her mouth.

"FortheloveofGod,don'tspeak!"

Both of them froze, Sara in amazement, Grissom in desperation.

Sara looked at the agony on his face and stayed quiet.

After a tense twenty seconds, Grissom removed his hand from her mouth and opened his eyes to look into Sara's. His were full of apology, Sara's were worried.

"What's the matter?"

She whispered as if speaking aloud would be dangerous.

"This...it's very...intense."

Sara had no trouble believing him. He did look desperate.

"This? This how?"

She looked up at him, puzzled.

"Bareback."

"Bareb...you mean, no condom?"

Grissom nodded once, feeling a little more in control.

Sara looked stunned. Protection hadn't even crossed her mind.

"But, surely you've done it in the past...?"

Grissom shook his head.

"Never."

"Nev...?"

"No."

Sara didn't know what to think. She was his first like this. It was awesome.

Grissom had pulled himself back from the brink. Cautiously he withdrew partway from Sara's body and rocked gently back.

Sara inhaled sharply and lost all interest in conversation.

For Grissom there was no comparison to any previous sexual encounter and he was overwhelmed with new sensations. Sara's heat held him, caressed him like a tailor -made glove. Her body clung to him, reluctant to part with him even for a moment.

Within seconds the delicious friction and Sara's obvious and audible delight had him on the edge again.

Sara was quite unaware of the reaction that her responsiveness was causing in Grissom. She was completely taken just with trying to keep up with the stunning waves of pleasure pulsing through her. Her eyes were closed, her head thrown back and her hands clutched frantically at Grissom's shoulders and back, her short nails digging into his flesh.

Sara's mouth gasped for air and her brain just kept repeating 'OhGodOhGodOhGod'.

She knew that she would come soon and she revelled in the fact that it was Gil that was making her feel so much more than she ever had before.

Some remote part of Grissom knew that he would not be able to stop this time. Savage joy ripped through him and he felt like a wild animal rutting with his mate. Sara's body fit so perfectly with his and she was so clearly in tune with him that he felt exultant.

He relaxed his iron control and rammed into her tight sheath with all that he was. The feel of her nails in his back was a pleasure/pain spur and without thought he bit her shoulder.

Sara's eyes flew open and she stared hungrily into the eyes of a Grissom that she didn't recognise, one consumed by the passion she had always known simmered beneath the urbane exterior. She bared her teeth without mirth and savagely hitched her hips to his.

Instantly the waves of pleasure concentrated between Sara's legs and burst forth in an explosion of sensation that staggered her. She froze as Grissom continued to pound into her, making her ride the cresting wave of ecstasy onward and upward until she thought that she would burst.

Grissom felt the convulsive squeezing deep within Sara and it took away any choice that he had. He plunged into her and an electric snap of sensation shot through his body, concentrating low in his belly. The waves became bigger and brighter until it was impossible to hold them back.

Clutching Sara to him, he cried out as he came hard, pulsing deep within her, shuddering his release on the tail end of hers. He hung suspended for an endless moment until he collapsed onto Sara's body, boneless with satiation. Sara held him and he held her, as if they were the last two people on Earth.

Grissom didn't think he could speak if his life depended on it. He could feel both his and Sara's thundering heartbeats in his chest. He moved over on to his side, taking Sara with him, staying joined for the moment. Their breath whooshed in and out of their lungs rapidly and all they could do for a long while was wait.

Eventually Grissom turned on to his back and Sara shifted to face him, so that she lay against and half over his right side. Her right hand rested on his chest over his heart, her right leg between both of his. Grissom used his left hand to pull a couple of pillows from the top of the bed and put them under their heads.

Grissom looked at Sara and she looked back at him. Both were trying not to smirk.

Grissom spoke first.

"Wow."

"Very profound Dr Grissom."

He smiled at Sara's pert observation. He ran his right hand soothingly across her back.

"Who knew?"

Sara sobered and moved her hand across his chest to rest her chin on it.

"I did." She looked at him. "I knew that it would be...memorable."

Grissom looked at her and heard the underlying sadness in her voice.

"It was more than memorable...are you okay?"

Sara smiled gently.

"More than okay. Wonderfully, blissfully, marvellously okay."

"I don't mean physically. Perhaps what I should have asked is 'are we okay?'"

Sara didn't answer for several seconds. Grissom started to frown in confusion.

Finally Sara spoke.

"I think we are. But I don't know what your take on it is. What do you think?"

"I've a good mind to let you stew like you did to me just then." He paused. " I think that I have just enjoyed the best sexual experience of my entire life, bar none."

"You 'think'?"

Grissom tapped her on her back for her sass.

"Okay, I 'know'."

"Yeah. Me too."

"In answer to your question, I also think that we're going to be okay."

Sara looked at Grissom in surprise.

"But nothing has changed."

Grissom stirred, running his left hand over his short beard.

"I know. But everything has changed, and I knew that it would. It was one of the reasons that I didn't want to get involved."

"Are you sorry now?"

"No. Like Katharine Hepburn said, 'If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun'. She had a point."

Sara settled back against Grissom's body and smiled. Maybe they would be okay, maybe they would not. But if nothing else she had this day to remember. For now it had to be enough.

Grissom kept his eyes open, not willing to miss a moment of seeing Sara in his arms and on his bed, the way he had imagined so often.

They would have to talk later; there was so much to sort out. What they had was worth fighting for, perhaps there might be some way to compromise. For the first time since the journey up Grissom thought about Sara's baby plans. By now that might be a moot point. He honestly hadn't given it a thought until this moment. Plan B was a bust. He hadn't intended to take her to bed, he had planned to get her to relax by not letting her worry about times and dates and the calendar. By literally giving her the week off, away from all that.

Grissom sighed softly and felt Sara stir against him, her lips on his bearded cheek.

Although he had quoted Katharine Hepburn to Sara, it was G.K.Chesterton he thought of now as he reached for Sara again.

'The way to love anything is to realise that it may be lost.'

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TBC