Title: When Sara Met Lady Heather

Summary: What kind of man wants his girlfriend to meet the dominatrix he's spent more than one night with? None other than Gil Grissom. He wants Sara to meet her, but she isn't so keen on the idea...

Spoilers: "Slaves of Las Vegas"; "Lady Heather's Box"; "Pirates of the Third Reich"; "The Good The Bad and The Dominatrix"

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. If I did, Sara and Lady Heather would have gone at it and made Grissom watch. That didn't happen. So I don't get to own anything.

A/N: Post-TGTBTD fic. Watch the episode before you read the story! Just a warning. Read and enjoy!


When Sara Met Lady Heather

"I want to introduce you to someone."

"And who might that be, Gil?"

"Someone who is very close to me; someone I care a lot about."

"Is she the one who was on your mind the night we spent together?"

"Yeah, she is. Could you not… mention our night?"

"Does she not know of it?"

"She's heard… rumors. I would prefer for her thoughts not to become realities, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Gil. I respect your wishes, as you do mine. I am eternally grateful to you and your team, including the woman you speak of. I will not say anything you do not want her to know."

"Thank you."

"When would you like to stop by?"

"Anytime would be good. I just need to let her know we're coming to see you."

"Gil! You have not told her that you're stopping by?"

"No… I don't want her to reject you right off the bat."

"Gil, my feelings are not important. Her feelings are much more important. But please, bring her by. I'd love to meet her on better circumstances than in the hospital."

"Thank you Heather, this means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Gil," she answered, and hung up.

OoOoOoO

Grissom stared at the phone, not entirely sure that he had done the right thing. He put the phone back into its cradle and slowly made his way back to bed.

Slipping in beside the sleeping brunette in his bed, he draped an arm over her waist and pulled her closer. She shifted slightly and turned under his arm, so she was facing him.

Though her eyes were still closed, Grissom knew that she was awake. Smiling slightly he bent down to place a kiss on her lips. Pressing his to hers, he felt her eyes flutter open against his cheek and pulled back.

"Good morning honey," he said lightly.

"Hey," she answered. "What an amazing way to wake up… your lips on mine…"

"Well I'm glad you like the way I wake you up."

"I love the way you do everything, Grissom."

"Really? I don't know if you'll love me after today…"

"What? Why?" she asked sleepily. "What are we doing?"

"I want you to meet someone."

"Who?" she asked, pulling herself up in bed. She let her head drop onto his shoulder and snuggled in closer to him.

"Uh… Lady Heather."

Sara's eyes grew wide with disbelief and horror. They were then quickly replaced by anger and hate. "You want me to meet who!?"

"Heather," he answered meekly. "I want you to meet her under…"

"No. I won't do it," she said defiantly, moving away from him. "I will not go meet some fucked up dominatrix who had a one night stand with my boyfriend."

"Sara…"

"No, Grissom. I won't go meet her." She let her feet drop to the floor and she made her way to the bathroom. "I'm having a shower."

"Okay honey. I'll start the coffee."

Grissom walked out into the kitchen, afraid that he had angered Sara with his suggestion of meeting Heather. He put in the filters and listened to the gentle sound of coffee brewing and the running shower water.

Sara emerged a few minutes later, towel drying her hair and letting it curl naturally. She wore a tank top and shorts, barely covering her long and lean frame.

He placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her and gave her a small smile. She smiled back at him, albeit a small and cold one.

He felt her bitterness in his heart, and knew that he had made a mistake in inviting her to meet Heather. He needed to explain to her his reasons, that they were legitimate and not something to hurt her with.

Waiting until she had finished her coffee, he took the mug from her hands and gently pulled her up into his arms. There they stood, wrapped in each other for what seemed like an eternity. Finally pulling back, he stroked her cheek and led her back to their room.

"What are we doing?" she asked, confused.

"Sara, we need to talk about this. And I want to do it properly with neither of us only paying half attention. It needs to be in an intimate setting."

Grumbling but not protesting, Sara let him slowly push her back onto the bed, and watched as he slipped in behind her.

Wrapping his arms around her small waist, he maneuvered her onto his lap. He leaned back against the headboard, and inhaled her scent.

"Sara, honey, can we please talk about this?"

"Talk about what? You want me to meet a dominatrix, one who not only does what she does, but slept with… you," she said, letting the last sentence hang in the air as she held back tears.

"Sweetheart…" he started, but for the first time in a while, he was at a loss for words. He'd gotten better during the course of their relationship, trying harder and harder to get his feelings and thoughts across to her.

Sara let her head drop onto her chest, and tears started to fall. "Look, Grissom, I've already met her. In the hospital, remember? After she was attacked."

Grissom nodded numbly. "I remember, Sara. I know that you met her, in the –"

"I don't ever want to see her again, Grissom. Even now, you went and spent the night with her. You didn't even tell me where you were going. I woke up and you weren't there. You didn't even leave a note. Do you have any idea how scary that was for me? I didn't even think for a second that you'd be there, until I heard it from Catherine."

Grissom flinched. "Sara, I'm sorry. I didn't know that it would bother you so much. I didn't –"

"That is so un-freaking-believable. You didn't know that spending a night with a dominatrix would bother your girlfriend of two years, one who waited for you for over five years? Yeah, Grissom, I can see why you wouldn't know that it would bother me."

"Sara, I want you to meet her because it's important to me. I can't really explain my reasoning to you, but you have to know, I want this for us, and not for Heather. I think that if you meet her, our relationship will become stronger. Is that something you don't want?"

Sara shook her head sadly. "Gil," she said softly, using his given name to catch and hold his attention, "I am willing to do everything in my power to make this relationship as strong as it can be. But I don't see how meeting Heather would enhance that. Do you understand?"

"I do, Sara, believe me honey, I do. But I also believe that this will help us. So will you please, please, come meet her?"

Sara could see that he was not giving up, and she loved him too much to continue arguing against him. Nodding her head slightly, she admitted defeat.

OoOoOoO

The couple sat outside the castle-like house, staring at the tall black gates surrounding the property.

"This is where she lives?" Sara whispered, stunned. "It looks like Dracula's castle or something."

Grissom threw her a look. "Dracula's castle, Sara?"

"Well it does," she said, defending herself. "It's not my fault she's a vampire."

"Sara, are you going to handle this like the mature and smart woman I love or was it just a stupid idea to bring you here?"

"It was a stupid idea," she mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing, Grissom," she said, getting out of the car. "Can we get this over with?"

"Of course, my dear. Let's go."

They made their way to the tall gates, passing by the security camera, one who recognized Grissom and they were on the property with no problems.

Walking to the front door, Grissom stopped and looked at the brunette beside him. "Are you sure you want to do this, Sara?"

"No," she answered, burying her face in his shoulder. His arm automatically came around her waist, pulling her closer. "I hate you for this, you know."

"You what?" Grissom asked, alarmed.

"I hate you for this."

"You don't really hate me, do you?" he asked, panic settling in his heart.

"No, I don't. I could never hate you. But for making me come meet her – again – I don't like you too much right now."

"Oh…"

"I'll get over it and we'll move on, Grissom. Just ring the doorbell or whatever you do to get noticed in this place."

Just as he raised his hand, the door swung open, revealing the dominatrix.

"Mr. Grissom."

"Lady Heather," he returned, his hands not leaving Sara's body.

Sara turned from his shoulder, and looked the woman in the eye. "Hello."

"Welcome to Lady Heather's Dominion," she said in a sultry voice, stepping back to usher them into the dimly lit house with a sweeping motion of her arm. "Please, come in, don't stand in the sun," she continued, not breaking eye contact with Sara.

Grissom ushered Sara in, and walked towards the living room. The house was oddly quiet to him, and he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was until Sara spoke. "No customers today?"

"No," Heather said, a small smile forming. "I haven't been working since the attack… and it's Sunday. I do have normal work hours like anyone else, Sara."

She gave her a small nod and turned to get tea from the kitchen.

"How does she know my name?" Sara hissed at Grissom as she watched the other woman's retreating form. "That goes beyond creepy."

"You told her at the hospital, I would assume. And I've spoken to her about you. Frequently."

"Frequently!? What does that mean?"

"That I talk to her, like I talk to other friends, Sara," he answered, more than a hint of warning in his voice. "She likes hearing about you."

"Why?"

"Because you're a very interesting person to hear about, Sara," Heather answered, returning with the tray of tea. She sat down, her dark skirt revealing a long stretch of legs.

Sara sat down opposite her, pulling Grissom down with her. Heather was suddenly very captivating, and she let her gaze roam over her form, taking in her attire.

It consisted of a black floor-length skirt, a black tank top underneath a lacy back cover-up. Black seemed to be her choice of color.

Black was the color vampires wore. Vampires lived in castles. A woman dressed in black, living in a castle (sort of). Vampire. It fit.

"So…" Sara said, turning to Grissom. "This was your idea, so are you going to introduce us properly? Like a friend would?"

Grissom flinched slightly and turned his gaze to Sara, silently asking her to just go along with this. "Of course."

Lady Heather watched the two interact, wondering why Sara seemed to have such trust issues with Grissom. He was a very nice man, and in her opinion, any woman was lucky to catch him and hold him down.

"Sara, this is Lady Heather. She is a dominatrix and a very good friend of mine."

Sara nodded slightly at Heather, idly wondering how Grissom would introduce her.

"And Heather, this is my girlfriend, Sara Sidle."

Sara jerked forward, not entirely sure she had heard properly. Slowly turning her head, she whispered, "What did you just call me?"

"My girlfriend," he answered in a normal tone. "Why?"

"I thought – we – you – I thought you didn't want anyone to know, I mean…"

Heather stood and silently swept from the room, leaving the squabbling couple to talk alone.

"Sara," Grissom said, his voice sounded scolding. "Why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"I'm not. I was just surprised, that's all. I wasn't expecting you to introduce me as your girlfriend. You never do that."

"I haven't had to introduce you to anyone," he replied, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Griss! That's not what I meant."

"I know. But that's what you are, on simple terms and much more politically correct terms as well. Heather knows about us, we spoke about you… when I was here after she was attacked."

He winced internally as Sara's eyes hardened again into pieces of steel at his mention of his midnight house call.

"Honey, I love you so much," he whispered, running his hands up her arms and into her hair. It was his way of doing damage control. "Heather is only a friend, and I would just like for you to understand that, and see it for yourself."

Either the woman had impeccable timing or she had been eavesdropping, but Lady Heather returned to the living room, finding it was a safe place again, and resumed her seat. "Gil, I was wondering if I could speak to Sara alone for a moment?"

Sara's head shot up, first to stare at Lady Heather and then slowly rotating on her neck to stare at Grissom. He shrugged his shoulders slightly, as if to say, "Well?"

Glaring at him, she stood and turned back to Heather. "Grissom is not the boss of me Heather. And yes, I'll speak with you a moment."

Lady Heather knew that Grissom understood the basic rules of a relationship (the dominant/submissive part of it anyway) and was beginning to wonder if it was Sara who had helped him through that.

She stood as well and strode gracefully to her office which was off to the right of the living room. With one last look in his direction, both brunettes went in and shut the door behind them.

Grissom watched them go with a sense of growing panic. Both Sara and Lady Heather were intense, and he was scared that one of them wouldn't come out alive.

He was seriously beginning to regret asking Sara to come meet Heather, and was wondering if he should just barge into the office and take Sara and kiss her with as much passion as he had, to show her that he was in love with her and showing Heather just what Sara meant to him.

That idea was thrown out the window when he heard the lock click on the door, effectively shutting him out.

If Heather laid a hand on Sara, that would be it. Their friendship would be over faster than a thirty-second radio commercial.

If, on the other hand, Sara laid a hand on Heather, there would be serious consequences coming from him on her part.

All in all, he wanted them to get along, at the very least like two women who have both been with the same man.

OoOoOoO

Sara watched as Lady Heather sank down onto the leather couch beside her desk, and invited her with her eyes to join her.

Sitting stiffly, Sara turned to the dominatrix and asked bluntly, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

The mask that was 'Lady Heather, Dominatrix' came down and Sara got her first real look at Heather Kessler, the woman who had lost her daughter to a crazed Nazi-fanatic and who wasn't allowed to see her granddaughter.

She gasped as she realized that Heather was just like herself, Catherine, Sofia, Wendy, Mia… and every other woman in the world when she was away from her profession.

She saw that Heather was just another victim of crime, and instantly felt bad about judging her based on her career. The fact that she'd probably slept with Grissom still left a wall between them, but that was natural.

"I wanted to talk to you about two things, actually," she said, her voice not like the sexy sultry one she had been using earlier. It was normal, and almost… girly.

"Oh?" Sara said, intrigued. "What two things?"

"First of all Sara, I wanted to thank you. For being so incredible to me while I was in the hospital and you took your evidence. I thought you handled it extremely well."

Sara was taken aback. "Um, thank you, I think."

Lady Heather gave her a smile. "All I'm saying is, if I had been in your shoes, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Sara laughed a little, breaking some of the tension. "Believe me, I wanted to kill you. I knew who you were, and I was quite aware of the rumors surrounding you and Grissom."

The smile fell from her face. "Ah. That would be the second thing I wanted to talk to you about."

Coolness settled over Sara's heart and her easy banter with the dominatrix came to a screeching halt. "Grissom, huh? Why?"

"Because I know that you have heard rumors of what transpired between the two of us during that night many years ago."

"I'm not interested in what happened years ago, Heather. I had no actual claim on him then, so I had no right to be jealous. You did what you did and I don't want to hear about it. I am a little interested in what happened between you just a few short weeks ago, though."

"Gil was right about you," she mused.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You're straight to the point, no skirting around issues. Kind of like… me. I can see why he was drawn to you and not me, however. You've got a spunk about you... an inner beauty I could never have... I'm sure he admires that about you more than you know."

"Okay…"

"Sara, I don't mean to insult you in any way. I know that Gil is incredibly in love with you and I would hazard a guess that you feel the same."

She nodded, secretly happy that someone outside of her and Grissom could see that the love that they shared was real.

"I just wanted you to know that I have no intentions of coming in between you two. It's against my protocol to date emotional entomologists."

She smirked widely and Sara caught the fact that she was completely joking. She let out a small laugh, electing a small one to come from Lady Heather's lips as well.

Sara stood, feeling the weight of 'Meeting Lady Heather' fall off of her shoulders. Heather stood as well, feeling that this small meeting had garnered a positive response.

They both walked to the door, but before leaving, Lady Heather lightly placed a hand on her arm. "Sara, there's one more thing."

Fear gripped Sara's heart as she considered that the dominatrix would end this meeting on a bad note.

"Gil is an amazing man. You're lucky to be the woman who holds his heart. I'm sure you've beaten out many women, myself included. I'm happy for you, that you found each other and I hope you have a happy life together."

"I – wow. Thanks, Heather. That means a lot to me."

"Of course."

She unlocked the door, and stepped back into the dimly lit living room, her mask reapplied. "Gil, here's your girlfriend," she called out in a husky and low voice. "And she's still alive."

She looked over her shoulder at Sara and gave her a quick wink as Grissom approached the two women, checking Lady Heather over very briefly for any signs of a struggle. There weren't any.

He went straight to Sara, enveloping her in his arms. "Hey honey," he said softly. "You alright?"

She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips.

He pulled away from her without breaking contact with her skin and held her at arms length to check for any injuries on her signaling a sign of a struggle. Again, nothing.

Both Sara and Heather noticed him looking back and forth between the two of them, obviously surprised to find them both whole and uninjured.

"Gil, we're both alright," Lady Heather said, standing off to the side, giving the couple some privacy.

"I can see that, I'm just…"

Sara grinned. "How about we talk about this at home?" she asked, wanting to get out of the dominion.

"Alright honey. We'll go."

Grissom turned to Lady Heather and gave her a huge smile. "Heather, I'm glad that you could finally meet Sara on better circumstances than you originally did, and not shrouded in secrecy."

"And I as well," she replied, looking at Sara.

Sara broke away from Grissom's protective arms and walked toward Heather. Sticking a hand out, she said quietly, "Thanks for everything. You've made my life a hell of a lot easier."

Lady Heather only smiled slyly and nodded, shaking the offered hand. She knew what Sara meant, and accepted it with grace.

In her normal tone, Sara said, "Well, it was interesting to meet you, Lady Heather. Thank you for having us over."

"My pleasure, Miss Sidle. Have a nice day."

"Oh, we will," Sara answered with a smile.

Grissom watched this odd exchange happen before him and wondered what exactly had been said in that locked office. Deciding he would find out later, he took Sara's hips in his hands and gently guided her to the front door, away from the presence of Heather.

"Goodbye," Lady Heather called from the front door as the couple got into Grissom's standard-issue CSI Denali.

"Bye," they chorused together, leaving the property behind them.

OoOoOoO

After a long and tiring shift behind them both, Sara and Grissom were both able to finally spend some quality intimate time together.

Sitting in front of the TV in the townhouse, the Discovery Channel flashed behind Sara's head on low as Grissom finally gathered up the courage to ask what had happened in Lady Heather's locked office the previous day.

She looked up from the unfinished crossword puzzle he'd left on the coffee table and smiled sweetly up at him.

"Now why would you want to know that?" she asked innocently.

"Because you both came out of there unscathed and I want to know how that's even remotely possible," he answered, sliding the crossword from her hands and pulling her closer.

"Well, we talked about her case a bit, and she said that she was quite surprised that I didn't kill her in the hospital room after I knew who she was."

Grissom flinched slightly. "Okay…"

"And she told me that you were incredibly in love with me and she was happy that you've found someone to hold your heart properly, even if it wasn't her."

"Well, Heather's not a liar, that's for sure."

"About what?" Sara teased. "The holding your heart part or the how much you love me part?"

"I'd like to think both, but probably more about me being in love with you," he answered, pulling her mouth to his for a kiss that left them both wanting more.

"She also said that she was happy for us, and glad that we'd found each other. And that she hoped we'd have a happy life together."

"Our life is already happy together, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes it is Gil, yes it is."

"Then we should celebrate, don't you think?" He inclined his head to the bedroom, gently pulling her from the couch.

"Griss?" she asked as they walked.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"You were right, I have to admit. Going to meet Lady Heather will strengthen our relationship. And I also have to say, she's a very interesting woman."

"Yeah. Bit of an understatement there."

"She's like a puzzle, just waiting to be figured out and put together."

"You're like that too Sara. You're a puzzle, and you're all mine. I'd willingly spend a lifetime trying to figure you out."

"And just to piss you off," she mock threatened, undoing the buttons of his shirt as they slipped into their room, "I'll keep moving the pieces around so it'll take you that much longer to put it back together."

"I don't doubt it," he told her, his hands working on her clothes.

As all coherent thought left their passion-filled minds, Grissom knew as he held her tightly to him that this pure, unadulterated bliss was just one more piece to fit into the multi-layered puzzle that was Sara Sidle.

And he couldn't wait to figure the whole picture out, in time.


-End-