The map sat on Sara's lap. She kept picking it up and putting it back down, searching for clues she might previously have missed. She turned to her companion and found him stealing glances at the piece of paper.
"Let me see it again," he said, his arm outstretched.
Sara reluctantly relinquished the map. "Gil, I hate to be the one to state the obvious, but we're lost."
He balanced the paper on the steering wheel, trying to decipher the rudimentary map Jim Brass had sketched. "No, we're fine." His tone suggested otherwise.
"If you can't keep your eyes on the road, can you at least stop the car? You'll get us killed!"
He sighed loudly as he pulled over. "The road is deserted; we haven't seen any sign of life for miles."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" She let out a sigh of her own. "I just don't want to get stranded here, nobody knows where we are. We obviously took a wrong turn somewhere."
They both leaned over the drawing that was supposed to lead them to a cabin owned by some friends of Brass.
"Maybe this is some kind of joke." She mused mostly to herself. "Get the Grissoms out of the lab under the false pretense of a weekend getaway and have a good laugh at their expense while you send them off on a wild goose chase."
"Usually, I wouldn't put it past Brass' odd sense of humor but I've actually seen pictures of the place. He showed me photos of Ellie that were taken there." Grissom examined the outlined route they had been following since the last signs of civilization. His gaze lingered on a curve where Jim had scribbled iTake first right/i.
"This is barely a dirt trail, maybe we weren't meant to turn until the next road." He looked around at the scenery, searching for any helpful landmark. "Try our cell phones again."
Sara took both phones out of her bag, turning them on simultaneously. "Nope, still nothing."
Grissom slumped in his seat. The map landed unceremoniously at his feet and he kicked it.
Stifling a laugh, Sara settled in the crook of his arm and allowed her eyes to close for a moment. They rested quietly, taking in the silence.
"Gil?" She breathed against his skin.
"Hmm?"
"Where the hell are we?" The slight giggle had him laughing in turn.
"Must be some kind of shortcut-"
"Shortcut to nowhere." Sara snickered.
Grissom grinned as he shifted, bringing her into a full embrace. "Come here, Ms. Smarty Pants. Or should I say Mrs.?" She melted willingly into him and he kissed her. His hands lingered in her hair, tucking unruly strands behind her ear. She felt the warmth of his right hand slide to her shoulder; then it caressed a path down her spine before coming to rest under her shirt.
"Hum-mm, I see where this is going." She mumbled in between kisses.
He brushed his thumb against the swell of her bottom lip. "This is nice, just you and me. No interruptions, no cell phones, no dog." He traced her mouth, the distinctive curve of her chin and placed a kiss below the line of her jaw. "While we're here, I might as well check something off my bucket list. Make love to my wife while lost in the middle of the woods."
"I see you have great life aspiratio-"
The last word was muffled by another assault of his mouth on hers.
"At least you finally admit that we're lost," she managed to say.
He put a finger to her lips, an arched brow daring her to utter another word. Before she could retort, he lowered the zipper of her jeans in a deliberate movement and that successfully muted her.
He wiggled her pants off as she lifted her hips. A well placed hand at the edge of her underwear made her lose her train of thought and she indulged in the moment.
A finger snaked under the lacy band, venturing further and soon the deafening silence was replaced by something more primal.
Grissom's last conscious thought was that although they might have been lost, they were exactly where they were meant to be.