-1The Visit

As Grissom drove to the airport he was surprised at the butterflies in his stomach. Flying didn't usually bother him. It must be nerves about going to see Sara.

It had hurt him deeply to read her goodbye note a fortnight previously. He new she was having troubles adjusting to work after her abduction, but when she left he was blindsided. After reading her note a dozen times, the pain receded to a dull ache. She said she loved him, and that he was her one and only. That she would miss him with every beat of her heart.

When she called him a few days later he was enormously relieved. He had been working doubles ever since she has left to try & fill the emptiness he felt, to occupy his mind. Whenever he let his mind wander it returned to Sara and he wasn't yet ready to think about what might happen. Talking to her, however briefly, reinforced that she hadn't left him. This was only temporary.

They had started a conversation by emails, and she was leaving him an occasional message on their answering machine so he could hear her voice. The townhouse was unnaturally quite without her presence and Grissom could hardly bear to be there alone. When she had asked him to visit her in San Francisco he was so relieved he had cried.

Looking out the window of the airplane he realized they must be nearly there. He glanced at his crossword puzzle and chuckled when he realized he had not filled in one square. He finished his now cold coffee and handed the cup and the newspaper to the stewardess who was preparing the cabin for landing. Grissom's butterflies returned.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sara had an incredible knot in her stomach while she waited for Grissom just outside the security gate at the San Francisco airport. Even though she had talked to Grissom several times on the phone & shot a few emails back and forth, Sara was still very nervous. She was worried that in leaving without talking to Grissom first, she had shaken his trust in her beyond repair. Sara wasn't sure which would be worse, a past she couldn't shake or a future without the man she had wanted for nearly a decade.

When Grissom saw how vulnerable Sara looked standing on the far side of airport security he felt a huge lump rise from his stomach into his throat. He quickly strode up to her, dropped his carry-on bag and hugged her tightly to his chest. Grissom could feel Sara trembling and was dismayed to feel her tears seeping into his shirt. He drew Sara over near the wall and slowly rocked her back and forth until she stopped crying.

Sara pulled back and offered Grissom a crooked smile. Grissom kissed her forehead and silently picked up his bag with one hand and laced the fingers of his other hand with Sara's. As they walked towards the parking lot Grissom finally spoke.

"Sara, I'm so glad you asked me to come see you. I really want to help you with this as much as I can. I was going crazy in Las Vegas not knowing what was happening." he said.

" Gil, I'm so sorry that I left the way I did. I just had to get away from all the death. And the desert, too, for that matter. Every time I tried to talk to you that day I just couldn't make the words come out. I was getting closer and closer to going over the edge, and I didn't want you to see it happen. Now I realize that I can't do this without you helping me a little. These ghosts have nothing to do with you, I don't want you to think that you've had any hand in this. But I'm going to need your support now and then until I can work this out."

"Sara, I'd do anything for you. You just have to let me know what you need." Grissom answered.

The two had reached the car, and Grissom gave Sara a slow soft kiss on the lips before climbing into the car. They held hands in silence on the way to Sara's hotel, Sara concentrating on traffic and Grissom trying to not be obvious about glancing at her.

When they arrived at Sara's suite, Sara went into the kitchenette to make coffee while Grissom went into the bathroom to wash his face.

Sara was standing barefoot at the kitchen counter nervously fidgeting with the sugar, mugs, and spoons when Grissom walked up behind her. He swept the hair from the back of Sara's neck and slowly kissed her from her shoulder to her earlobe. Moaning, Sara leaned back into the solid warmth of the man she loved more than any other. She could feel his arousal and ground her ass into his crotch, feeling him throb. Twisting around to face him Sara kissed Grissom deeply. Growling slightly, Grissom slid his warm hands under Sara's shirt and cupped her breasts. Grissom lifted Sara's shirt over her head and buried his face in the crook of her neck, kissing more insistently now. Grabbing Sara by the waist he lifted her onto the kitchen counter and began to kiss first one breast and then the other. When Sara's moans became more insistent Grissom dropped his mouth to the waist of her jeans and began to unbutton the fly. Sara lifted her hips from the counter to accommodate the swift removal of her jeans and panties. Grissom's deep blue eyes looked into Sara' brown ones briefly to see the matching passion of her gaze, then he dipped his mouth between her thighs. He drew in a deep breath of her musky scent before plunging his tongue into her. Sara's hands gripped Grissom's hair as she pulled his face closer towards her center. Grissom could tell after just a few minutes that Sara was very close to coming and he redirected his soft lips and insistent tongue to her clit. As he sucked Sara's clit into his mouth Sara came hard, moaning his name over and over. After a few moments to catch his breath, Grissom stood up, and gathering Sara to his chest carried her into the bedroom.