A/N - this came to me last night because, well, my power went out in the middle of the night and I just bought groceries a few hours before. I couldn't go back to sleep so I thought of a fic to write instead. And when I did eventually go back to sleep, I had this amazing dream about Grissom. So, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed that dream.

July 2005

The mid-summer thunderstorm, complete with crackling thunder and neon lightning, didn't wake Sara up from her blissful sleep. What did wake her up was the air conditioner snapping off, causing her to kick her covers off the bed and wonder why the midday heat of the Vegas sun was penetrating her sleep so thoroughly.

She found the answer in her blinking alarm clock. Looking at her cell phone, which she obviously kept on her night stand at all times, she realized the power had been off for almost 3 hours. She groaned, thinking about all the groceries she had bought just the day before and how her warm refrigerator was going to turn it all to mush. Action needed to be taken on this situation, but for now, she just wanted to listen to the storm. In a few years, thunderstorms would absolutely terrify her. She wouldn't be able to sit through one without thinking about red Mustangs in the desert, crazy foster children-slash-serial killers, and broken arms. But for now, she still loved to listen to the rain tap on the glass. It made her think of what she wanted; of what could be, and what should be. As usual, her thoughts turned to Gil Grissom and their ever-changing relationship.

Ever since the night Nick was abducted, things were changing. People were being a little nicer to each other. Cases were getting done faster, with more care than usual. The crimes were still happening, murders were still occurring with the same frequency, but everyone tried to work together instead of focusing on their own problems. Even though Nick couldn't be there to see it, and even if it wasn't acknowledged, they were doing it for him.

And then there was Gil. He and Sara were getting closer with each passing minute, and they both sensed it. Sara was starting to feel like this was a junior high crush again, which is how she felt when he first asked her to come to Vegas. The last 5 years; their ups and downs and heartbreaks and longings...it all happened for a reason. They were back where they started, only much wiser, much more careful, and much more willing to take the risk. There was something in him that changed in the most interesting of ways. He was always finding little ways to touch her at work when he never had a reason to before. Sometimes, he looked at her so intensely with those soulful eyes of his that she'd have to excuse herself just to get a breath of fresh air. Something was going to happen. It was in the air, permeating the atmosphere. Their long, excruciating tango was about to pay off. All it needed was someone to make a move--the perfect moment where the stars all culminated in the sky to ensure that 2 soul mates finally found what they'd always been looking for.

Sara thought again of her spoiling groceries. She thought about Grissom. And then she thought of a plan.

She opened and closed her cell phone, and then did it again. The glowing screen taunted her, knowing what she wanted to do, ready to carry it out for her. So she called him. What was the harm, really? Sara just wanted to talk, that was all. Her conscience wasn't buying it, and neither would Grissom. She knew this, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

"Grissom," he answered on the first rang. He almost sounded like he expected her call.

"Are you asleep?" She asked, skipping the formalities. They'd been beyond formalities for many years at this point, but only just recently allowed themselves to skip them altogether.

"No, the thunder woke Hank up from his deep sleep. He jumped on my head to make sure I knew he was scared. The drool woke me up. Why are you awake? You don't have a 40 pound puppy to wake up from your deep sleep."

Sara chuckled. Grissom had shown her pictures of the Boxer puppy he had acquired from the side of the road recently. He explained Hank's name--something about baseball, of course--when Sara looked confused. Now she knew 2 dogs named Hank. At least one of them was cuddly.

"I lost power. My air-conditioner isn't on and it's too hot to sleep. Plus I'm obsessing over the groceries I bought earlier today."

"Hmm. I have power. My groceries are cold and delicious."

Sara enjoyed this teasing side of Grissom. It was coming out much more often, and while she wasn't sure what to do with it, she was glad he was finally lightening up. If she didn't know him any better, she'd think it was even out of character for him. But when they first met in 1998, he was the same way--happy, jovial, excited about the small things. It was a relief to see he was finally getting that back.

"I'm jealous of your air conditioning and non-blinking clocks on your appliances," she said, grinning. She hoped he would say it. She wished he would say it.

"Well, I have plenty of freezer space if you want to store some here until your power comes back on. The sheer amount of tofu and soy might be a shock to its system, but I think it'll get used to it."

He said it.

"Well, I don't want to overwhelm your freezer. Are you sure it's okay?"

He considered this for a moment, as did she. Of course they weren't going to acknowledge the fact that if she came over, things were going to inevitably happen that would change the course of their friendship and hopefully their relationship.

"I'm sure," Grissom finally said. She tried not to let him hear her sigh of relief. "My freezer is not the boss of me. Come when you're ready, and promise me you'll be careful on the way over. It's a mess out there."

"I promise. I'll see you soon."

Sara took the shortest shower in history, and then put her tangly, curly hair in a ponytail. She threw on a tank top and jeans, and wondered if she should at least try to put some effort into her appearance. She decided he'd seen worse, grabbed her keys and made a mad dash for her Prius. It was then that she realized her groceries were still spoiling in the refrigerator. Even though she realized she was at the point of not giving a shit about the groceries anymore, she dashed back inside to collect them.

20 minutes and 3 near-accidents later, she found herself in front of his townhouse. She gave herself a little pep talk before allowing herself to walk up those steps into a new life.

Do not fuck this up. Do not say anything you'll regret. Do not make him feel uncomfortable. DON'T FUCK THIS UP.

Suitably pep talked, she made a third mad dash from her car to his front door. He answered the door before she even took her finger off the doorbell. This made her smile for some reason.

"Come in," Grissom told her. "You're just in time for a fascinating documentary on the Brown Recluse."

God, he was adorable. He was in sweatpants and a t-shirt, and his hair was disheveled. He had his glasses on. She loved his glasses. She loved a lot of things.

"Thank you so much for letting me do this," she said. "I just couldn't bear the thought of all this stuff going to waste."

"It's no problem," he said somewhat awkwardly. "My refrigerator is your refrigerator."

She unloaded her groceries while they made small talk about the weather. She was slowly losing the hope that something else was going to happen. She was going to put her cucumbers and avocados in his refrigerator, and then she'd leave. This was not the way she imagined it at all.

When she put the last bean burrito in the freezer, he came up behind her and said, "Would you like to stay for the documentary? Maybe we could have one of those beers you just brought me."

She smiled. This was more like it.

They sat closer than necessary on his suede sofa. For 45 minutes, she actually found herself captivated by the world of the Brown Recluse spider. Well, that and her present company. She could smell him. She could feel the heat that was surrounding them like a summer blanket. It was so uncomfortable, yet so arousing at the same time. If something didn't happen before they were supposed to be back at work in 6 hours, she'd have to go home and find her long lost vibrator to alleviate the tension.

Right before the documentary came back from commercial, a loud clap of thunder boomed across the desert, a bolt of lightning exploded from the sky, and Grissom's power went out. They both groaned, and then chuckled. Grissom's townhouse was instantly pitch black. Even though it was still only 6:00 in the evening, his townhouse was made to be as dark as possible during the day. Shades on every window closed out the sun. Even though he could easily pull the shade back and enjoy the evening dusk, he didn't move. She didn't ask him why.

"Well, there goes that idea," Sara said.

"Indeed," Grissom added. "Hold on, I'll get a flashlight. We'll figure something out here."

But he didn't get up. Instead, he scooted closer to her. It was pitch black now in his townhouse and Sara couldn't see a thing, but she felt his movement. She felt the static in the air. And she felt the feelings he was trying desperately to hide from her.

He was close to her now, so close. She scooted closer. They met in the middle. Grissom put his hand on her face, and she leaned into it. There were so many things to say, and yet none of them were important. It was not time to talk, it was only time to feel.

The moment he kissed her, time stopped. She stopped counting in seconds and minutes and hours, and only felt in light touches, kisses, moans. He was a great kisser, not that she ever thought he wouldn't be. She knew he would. He took her hair out of the ponytail so he could run his fingers through it. Her scalp tingled. And so did other things.

And then in the darkness that was caused by a power outage, a power struggle began. In the darkness, Sara tried to be in control. She tried to control the force of the kisses. She tried to touch him before he could touch her. She wanted him to feel just like she did, and did her best to make sure of that. This was how it always had been in her relationships, and none of the men she'd been with (all four of them) had ever complained. Sara liked to be in control, and started to panic when she wasn't.

Sensing this, Grissom grabbed her hands when she started to take his shirt off.

"Sara," he whispered in her ear. She moaned in spite of herself. "Relax. I know you want to be in control, but let me take over. Let me be the one who gives you pleasure. Let me make it up to you."

"Make what up to me?" She whispered back.

"Everything," he said. His breath was tickling her ear, causing every cell and every membrane in her body to dance with joy. "The past 5 years. Give me the chance to show you what you've given me, what I've never allowed myself to give back."

"I can't. I can't...let go. I can't let you..." He silenced her with a kiss.

"Trust me," he said simply. "Please."

So she did. She relaxed in his arms and let him show her unending pleasures; feelings she never allowed herself to feel before. Lips on a nipple, fingers inside of her, his tongue on her earlobe...she was his, and she wanted to be.

Eventually, he led her to his bedroom. She held onto him, enjoying her dependence on him. She knew in the light of the day something like that would embarrass her; make her feel powerless. But in the power outage, in the darkness, in his arms...it just made her feel amazing.

Before they got to his bed, they undressed each other. Then he laid her down and touched her with alternating amounts of pressure. Once he figured out she liked it with just enough roughness to make it interesting, he went to work. While he gently licked an earlobe, he also slightly pinched her nipple. Sara's loud moan indicated that she was enjoying the combination of touches. Soon, he had 2 fingers inside her, in and out, up and down, in and out again. She bucked against his fingers, having an intense orgasm that shook her entire body. Eventually the power came back on, but his power never shifted from Sara.

"That's just the beginning," he said. And he was right.

By the time his tongue met her clitoris, she lost count of all the orgasms that coursed through her. And when he finally entered her, hard and ready to give her something no one ever bothered to give her, he whispered to her, "I mean it. This is the beginning. Every day is going to be like this. We've both waited so long for it, and now we never have to wait again."

Sara smiled as he took her, and gasped at the amazing way her body was reacting to his. If this was what giving up power felt like, she wished the power in her apartment had gone off long before this night.

They'd always have their ups and downs, and years later she'd go away for a little while to get her head together. But what she never stopped appreciating about Gil Grissom was that by taking power away from her, he was giving it to her more than she'd ever experienced before. She let go, and he gave it back. By giving her something she never knew she needed, he gave her what she needed all along.