Title: Just Once

By: Manigault

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. I'm just prodding a couple of them in the direction I would like for them to go.

Chapter One

"Pull in here." Sara Sidle told him with an urgency that made him comply without question. Gil Grissom raised his eyebrows in his characteristic manner as he pulled into the crowded parking lot before turning inquisitive eyes on Sara, who was halfway out of the Tahoe.

"Sara! Where are..." His question was lost in the air as she slammed the door and headed into the building. Grissom stared hard at what was a combination country western bar/motel. Narrowing his eyes in contemplation he decided that she must have needed to relieve her bladder or take care of some other personal matter and that she would be back soon.

Ten minutes slipped by, then twenty-five minutes before he made a decision. With a grimace he pulled his keys from the ignition, reluctantly left the safety of his car and set his mind on finding, then reasoning with Sara. When he considered the past hour, he recalled that she had been edgy since leaving the body farm, refusing to discuss whatever was raging through her keen mind as she usually did after what had become their off day practice.

Loud music blasted his ponderings as he entered the bar, his eyes scanning the room, never expecting to find Sara as he did. She was on the dance floor, laughing into some strangers face, the man's arms wrapped in a overly friendly manner around her slim waist.

Grissom scowled.

Irritation made him take a few steps towards the dance floor when a hand touched his chest. His startled glance flew to the smiling face of a pretty brunette.

"Like to dance with me?" She smiled with a coyness that mystified him. He was on the verge of replying when another hand gripped his arm and this time a familiar face scowled at the woman.

"He is with me."

The woman pouted, giving Sara a glowering look before turning away.

"I'm with you?" Grissom quizzed. He followed Sara to a small table in the back of the room. "What's with you, Sara? Why are we here?"

Ignoring his question, Sara motioned for the waiter. "A Long Island Iced Tea, please."

The waiter nodded then looked questioningly at Grissom.

"Gin and Tonic," he replied, his irritation back in place.

A small smile flitted over Sara's face. Tapping her fingers on the wooden table she glanced around the room before turning back to Grissom.

"This place is kinda neat, don't you think Gris?"

Without taking his eyes from her face he replied with a dryness that made her laugh. "No."

Pushing a strand of light brown hair behind her ear while avoiding those way too knowing eyes, Sara hedged. "I remember when I was in college I would come dancing with my friends in places like this. We would drink and dance for hours and then stumble back to our room."

"Fascinating," Grissom glanced at his watch. "Can we go now?"

"I thought that you wanted to talk."

"Not about college antics." Grissom cocked his head to one side. "Talk to me, Sara, about what is bothering you."

She wrapped both hands around the glass the waiter set down and stared into the liquid as if the answers were waiting for her to ingest. She took a long swallow, then waited a minute before admitting her troubling thoughts.

"That story your friend told us was disturbing," she said.

Confusion clouded between Grissom's brows. "Marcus?"

Sara shot him a frustrated look that he dodged carefully.

"He gave us the history for the couple we were studying." Grissom said at last.

"The personal history, Gil," she implored him to understand. "They were only twenty-five years old! Didn't it bother you?"

"It is sad, but they made their choices."

"It bothered me," she insisted.

"I can see that."

"Can you?" Sara took a long sip of her drink before leaning towards Grissom. "Can you see that it bothers me?"

"I said that I could." Grissom did not understand what she expected him to say. Marcus had told them the young couple had overdosed leaving a note asking to be donated to science but kept together. He had not realized that it had bothered Sara so much until now.

Frowning, he recalled that she had been eager to leave after Marcus's statement, and she had been incredibly quiet on the way back.

"What are we doing here, Sara?" He asked her for the second time.

"Living." The answer was simple enough and Sara thought that maybe the drink did reveal some truth. She took another sip, then smiled in the direction of a man walking past their table. The man invited her to dance and without looking at Grissom she took the man's hand and allowed him to pull her to the dance floor.

Grissom watched them for a few seconds then took a sip of his own drink. Shaking his head in wonder, he decided that if Sara needed to blow off steam with a few dances he could wait it out. It was better than the silence. He polished off his gin and tonic and did not turn the waiter away when he brought him a second.

Sara returned to the table and continued sipping on her drink, her face flushed with the combination of activity and alcohol.

"Wanna dance with me?" she asked.

Grissom shook his head. "I don't dance."

"No? You don't know what you're missing." Sara finished her drink and waved for the waiter.

"Don't you think that you've had enough?"

"No." Sara grinned. She rarely drank and it was going straight to her head. It did not help that she had not eaten all day. She was in a bar with Grissom and she intended to take advantage of it.

Picking out a particularly macho looking man she smiled his way then took a long sip, licking her lips suggestively. The man took the bait. He asked her to dance and she glanced once at Grissom before following the man to the dance floor. She did not want this man's arms around her, she wanted someone else to hold her tightly in his arms as they swayed to the beat.

Grissom watched the man's hands trail over Sara's back, then watched as they traveled lower. Without thinking it through he left the table and strode with angry steps towards the couple. Sara saw him approach and her heart skipped quickly. Was he going to demand that they leave immediately?

Should she allow him to take her home where he would drop her off then forget this had happened? She would return to work on Monday and that would be that.

"Excuse me," Grissom said to the man, thinly veiled anger lining his voice.

"Find someone else, pal." The man jabbed a finger into Grissom's chest. "This is my date."

The man was clearly drunk and ready for a fight. Several men jumped between them and one pulled on the man's arm.

"Relax, Jake," the man said. "The woman is with that man and trying to make him jealous."

Sara started to protest when Grissom pulled her into his arms. "Forget, Sara." He nodded towards the furious man. "I don't want to fight that man."

"Then why did you break up our dance?"

"Where you dancing? It looked more like a gropping session."

His teasing was too much for her so she pushed him away. She did not want him to make fun of her. Not him. She left the dance floor and headed for the door. Grissom found the waiter, paid for their drinks, then left to find Sara. He found her leaning against the driver's side of a blue SUV.

"That's not my car." He felt compelled to point out.

Sara ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Why don't you see me as a woman, Gil?"

Taken aback, Grissom stood facing her, his body closer than it should have been. "I'm your supervisor. It wouldn't benefit either of us for me to think of you any other way."

"Just once."

"What?"

"Just once. Kiss me."

Grissom stared at her, then involuntarily his eyes trailed to her lips. Danger spoke to his mind but he felt an urge that he could not resist. He leaned over and let his lips graze hers. The kiss turned deeper as she leaned into him, her fingers trailing behind his head to catch in his hair. Reasoning fled as the one kiss became desperate and when he finally pulled back, their eyes locked.

"Just once," she repeated.

No strings. He heard the promise and saw it in her eyes. Without listening to those inner voices, he led her back to the motel. he paid for a room with cash, then gave into his body as they forgot everthing but the unspoken promise.

TBC