A/N: Thank you so much to bookworm for the excellent ideas. Sorry it took so long for the update, I am a terrible procrastinator. I'm working my butt off to fix it though. Though I do apologize for any errors, I am still lacking in a beta and so it's entirely my fault. Will anyone interested in helping me out please let me know? Is everyone else as excited that Lady Heather is coming back? I'm counting down the days. Now… on with the show (or story as the case may be).

Losing Balance: Chapter 2

They were seated on the familiar patio, sipping their tea in silence, as they had been for quite some time. Grissom didn't offer an explanation, and Heather did not demand one of him. She knew that he would open up in his own time. She fully understood that pushing him to open up to her would only cause him to retreat further back into his shell. Vulnerability was not something that came easy to either of them.

Gil had opened and closed his mouth several times in the last few minutes. He was completely aware that he looked like a fish, but had stopped caring some time ago. It wasn't that he was unsure of his feelings for her. He knew how he felt. He just wasn't sure how to formulate the words to make her truly understand the depth of what he felt for her. I love you, while it was true and simple enough, was always being tossed around too commonly. It no longer displayed the intensity of the emotion. She, of all people was exceptionally appreciative of the power of words, and the meaning behind them; so he knew he had to choose his next words carefully to get the message across.

"Heather, I…well, what I mean to say is…" he had thought about it and thought about it, but when it all came down to it, there was no words that could accurately describe the way he felt.

She just looked at him intently, smiling slightly at his stammering. He looked so uncomfortable as she just stared at him, but she was determined to wait him out this time. If she allowed herself to be completely honest, she had come to love this mysterious man who hid behind his experiments and his bugs. She had spent too long pushing him away because she knew he wasn't ready to hand himself over to her, but she was done waiting. He had made the choice to come here, and now he was going to say his piece. Then, together, they would make a decision on how this would work out.

At first glance, it would always seem like she was the one in control, because he appeared to be reclusive to the outside world. However the hidden truth was, they would always be equal to each other. Heather had once told him about a woman who wanted "the dominant male to choose her, so she could stop being dominant." That was exactly how things had turned out between them. He was the first man in a long time that she viewed as her equal. And for Grissom, he trusted her enough to relinquish control to her every once and a while. He had no problem giving her the chance to run the show, as long as he also had his moments to be the one to drive things. He decided to try again, telling her how he felt directly, without any fancy words that would stray from the directness of his love for this woman.

"Heather, I was immediately interested in you and your lifestyle from the moment we first met. Then, in that same day, it changed from intrigue to infatuation when you and I discussed the dynamics behind the world of fetishes. You invited me for tea, and shocked me with your ability to read people, especially myself. I found myself falling for you very quickly. And then I managed to push, no…shove you away. The reality that I've realized in the last few days is that when I fell for you, I fell deeply in love with you."

The last sentence he rushed out on a breath. He looked almost afraid of how she would react to this, but only for a moment, because he realized that no matter what her reaction, he could not change how he felt, and so he shouldn't be ashamed. For a few seconds he thought that he'd managed to render her speechless, but, taking a second look at the expression on her face, he found that she was simply contemplating how to respond. She looked across the table at him, and she didn't have to say anything. She had always been one of those people whose eyes conveyed their every emotion. Usually she considered this to be a curse, but today it had proven to be to her benefit. So, she did as she would always do in this situation, she let things go back to the way they had been between them, a quiet trust that forever linked them. She stood up to head into the kitchen, looking over her shoulder to signal for him to follow. She was due to check her glucose levels, and then they could talk more.

He stepped in closer to her as she reached the kitchen counter, almost flush against her back but still not touching her. He was fully aware that she would notice him standing as close as he was, but also knew that she would end up stepping right into him as she turned around. Of course, just as he'd thought, as she turned from the counter, she placed herself right up against him. He hadn't counted on the fact that he'd startle her. Apparently, she had not realized just how close he was.

She looked up at him; her gazes flicking from his eyes, to his lips and back again. She knew exactly what she wanted, but didn't want to give him the false hope that he was completely forgiven, just like that. In the second that she'd taken to debate the decision, he had made it for her. He leaned down to her, lightly brushing his lips against her own. He slipped his hands around her waist as she braced herself against his chest. It wasn't demanding, and it wasn't asking anything more, it was just a tender kiss, offering even more apology for betraying her trust. He began to deepen the kiss, running his tongue over her lower lip as she broke the kiss and pushed him away.

"I love you too, and I appreciate how hard it was for you to come here. But we are not okay just yet. You have a lot of things that you need to work out before this is going to work. We can't continue this unless you understand that it isn't going to be a one night thing between us."

He told her that he understood and agreed with her that they had quite a few kinks to work out in the grand scheme of things. They had now come to an impasse, they could move forward with this, even though it could complicate their relationship severely; or, they could stop and hold out, waiting for a more opportune time.

So, what should they do? Should they or shouldn't they? As per usual, feed my hungry review hippos. I want to know what people think about my portrayal of the characters. Let me know how you feel about where the story should go. Thank you.