DISCLAIMER: CSI belongs to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. No
infringement intended.

RATING: K

FEEDBACK: Love it, but no flames please I'm fragile!

SUMMARY: A tender moment between Grissom and Sara. GSR

SPOILERS: fanny smacking

A/N: I found this on my computer while I was going through to trash some files. I'd forgotten all about this. It's pretty short but I hope you like it anyway.

Thanks again for everyone's support, it means a lot to me, thank you. All mistakes are my own. I'm in need of a new beta if anyone's interested.

Revelations

Sara sat down wearily onto the bench outside of the lab and stared down at the lunch bag in her hand. Her stomach growled with hunger but she couldn't seem to face any food. Only this morning she had laid in Grissom's arms and wrapped herself up in his love, nothing or no one could have hurt her, and she'd been so happy.

Greg's beating at a crime scene changed everything, knocking her into a nightmare. A million 'what ifs' started to float around in her head. What if Grissom had sent her instead of Greg out to the crime scene? What if he'd gone himself? How would she cope if it meant choosing between doing her job and needing to love him?

Tears blurred her vision and she desperately tried to blink them away. In the last few months she had managed to fall completely in love with Gil Grissom, more than she ever thought possible. They were becoming experts in deception, both of them managing to speak to each other without words when others were in the room. She could handle the secrecy, because without it she couldn't have him in her life. She could even handle the silent look but not touch rule while they were at work, but this thing with Greg had thrown her off balance and made her question everything.

Grissom had already been to see Greg in the hospital and had been pretty elusive ever since he got back. She'd started to wonder if this irrational need she had to be near him had anything to do with his absence. Yes, they had agreed that work was work, no messy personal stuff. But since she'd seen Greg lying bloodied and beaten, all of that rationality had all but disappeared. And she started to wonder if she could ever remain detached and professional if it were Grissom who had been injured. What if it had been him laying there instead of Greg? How could she have hidden how she felt from everyone then when she would have gone to pieces?

Her heart pounded inside her chest and her breath hitched in her throat. She needed to feel his arms around her so badly right now. She needed to feel his warmth against her skin and reassure herself that he was real and whole and still hers.

She had always loved him without question, but loving him from afar was nothing compared to loving him completely. She'd been unprepared for the intensity that having his love brought her, and at the same time it scared her more than anything she'd ever felt before. No man had ever stirred these deep feelings inside her like he did, and at times the strength of the love she carried for him was so overwhelming that she had to pinch herself to believe that he was really with her.

She wanted to be able to go to him and fall into his waiting embrace and for him to kiss away her fears. She wanted to hear him whisper words of love and chase the shadows away, and not have to wait until they were behind closed doors. She needed to feel him, to touch him and feel his warmth beneath her fingers. She needed him to rid the fears that invaded her heart whenever she thought of losing him.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she started to berate herself for worrying. No relationship came with any sort of guarantee, but she wished she could have one anyway.

"Hey," a soft voice brought her out of her musings and she looked up to find the source of her thoughts standing before her.

"Hey," she whispered, smiling up at him with a mixture of love and relief. "I didn't see you there."

"I noticed," he told her with a smile as he sat down beside her. He regarded her silently, his eyes scanning over her tired face and he suddenly had the overpowering urge to protect her. Leaning in towards her shoulder he kept his voice soft as he spoke, "Why are you sitting out here?"

Sara closed her eyes briefly before opening them again to look up into his eyes, her heart hammering in her chest so loudly that she was sure he could hear it. "I couldn't bear to be in there anymore, not without…"

"Without what?" he asked when her voice trailed away. When she didn't answer he reached down for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before releasing it just as quickly. Even though they were shielded by the growing darkness, he was still acutely aware that eyes were everywhere. Even though all this secrecy annoyed him in more ways than he could think of, he knew they needed to keep their relationship to themselves. When she remained silent he nudged her gently. "Sara."

Sara lifted her head and slowly sought out his eyes with her own. She knew he could read her thoughts no matter what she was thinking, and when he leant closer to her so that their arms and shoulders were pressed together; she was comforted to know that he knew what she needed.

"After what happened to Greg…I…" she wiped away the beginnings of a tear that had started to break free to roll down her cheek "…it could have been either one of us in there…and if it was you…"

"Honey, please don't do this to yourself. We're both here. We're both alive." Her eyes called out to him and he so desperately wanted to hold her. He found himself fighting an inner battle, one fraught between his heart and his mind, and right now his heart was winning.

Sara smiled despite her sadness. She loved his soft endearments whether it was honey, sweetheart or dear, she loved the security they brought her. "I really want to kiss you right now," she told him, her voice all but a whisper.

His eyes lingered over hers before focussing on her lips. He wanted nothing more than to grant her what she asked for. He wanted to linger over her lips and let her warmth rush through him, but he knew he couldn't.

"As good as that sounds," he agreed with a seductive smile, "I'm afraid we'll just have to wait until we get home for any of… that…"

"Yeah," she whispered as she granted him another soft smile. Moving quickly she stood up to stand in front of him, needing to gather her strength before she broke down completely. Thrusting her hand out to him, she pleaded silently for him to take it.

He stared at her offered hand for a few moments, he too needing to feel skin on skin, if only for a moment. He gave her another smile before slowly wrapping his fingers around hers. When he stood up to stand beside her his fingers laced with hers for a few heavenly seconds before he reluctantly released her hand. He realised as he watched her that these simple touches were becoming far more frequent and lasting a little more each time. Even now he fought the urge to curl an arm around her shoulders. He was drawn to her in every possible way.

She had given him everything he ever wanted and more over the past few months, and he was finding it harder to remember what his life was like without her at his side. He watched her worriedly as she looked down at the bag in her hand and promptly threw it in the trash. She'd been doing that a lot lately, and he'd started to worry about her.

"Not hungry?" He asked.

"Not so much," she sighed. "I'll eat something when we get home."

"Come on," he told her as his fingers spread across her shoulders briefly before he pulled away again. "Let's get back inside."

End