Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As they finished their meal, Sara's hand touched his arm; his hand dropped to her thigh. From that touch, the two could not move fast enough to leave the dining room and return to the cabin. He stopped on the porch and pulled her into his arms. The passionate kiss was not for other's eyes, broken only when one of them had to breathe.

He held her close and sighed. "What have I done? All these years…"

Her fingers covered his mouth. "Shhh. It's ok. I won't have regrets." She smiled and, again, she had known what to say.

Inside, instead of the frantic frenzy of earlier, they moved slowly. Hands carefully removed clothing, kisses were slow and lingered, their movements synchronized to an unheard symphony. His hands and lips covered her, unable to get enough of her physical body. Few words were spoken. Once his words of "not yet" provoked a swear word from her lips, then a deep giggle. At the end of their passion, they lay entangled in arms and legs, touching as much as possible. Complete exhaustion finally brought sleep to both.

She woke quickly, aware that she was alone, raising her head, trying to see in the darkness of the room.

"I'm here," his voice came from near the window.

"Come back to bed," she whispered, trying to quiet her misplaced panic of seconds before. She could see him now, sitting by the window. She thought, 'in the movies he would be smoking.'

He remained in the chair. She sat up in bed wrapping the sheet and blanket around her. Nothing was said for several minutes. Then he began quietly speaking. "This is much more than I imagined. I can not get enough of you. I left our bed to keep from waking you—to keep from—what are we to do?"

Sara had loved him for so long that her words came easily. She knew what to do. She what to say to him.

"Gil, come back to bed. It's too cold to be sitting there." When he did not move, she continued. "I want the part of you no one else has. If I can have that part of Gil, then everyone else can have the Grissom part." She stopped talking and pushed the covers back. "If we tell anyone about us, then this—what we do away from work—becomes public. It's no longer mine. Come back to me."

He walked to the bed and crawled in beside her. His cool skin sent a shiver along her body. "We need to warm you up," she whispered.

"I don't feel cold," he said "and you feel wonderful," as he touched her neck with light, quick kisses.

A faint ray of light peaked over the eastern horizon to begin a new day.

Grissom slipped out of bed while Sara slept. All he could see was dark hair and a form underneath blankets. The sun was up making a bright clear day for the few other tourists around. He made his way to the restaurant, picked up food, and returned to find Sara deep under covers sleeping soundly. Placing food beside her bed, he showered, dressed, and found her still sleeping.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead." He said as he felt for her beneath the blankets. He heard a groan and felt movement. In a minute two brown eyes appeared. "Food, coffee."

She reached a hand toward the coffee. "I think I've lost my shirt." She grinned as a bare shoulder followed her arm.

Grissom gave her a raised eyebrow look before responding, "Lady, I think you've lost all your clothes." He bent to retrieve a shirt and tossed it to her.

She pulled the shirt over her head. "I'm starved. What's to eat?" She took a muffin he offered and proceeded to eat it in four bites.

"Another muffin? Fruit?" He passed her the muffin. He actually enjoyed watching her wake up. He pulled a chair near the bed. "Orange?" he asked.

Suddenly, her dark eyes grew serious. She quietly asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yes. Better than ok." He passed her the peeled orange. "You?"

She smiled again, relief in her eyes. "Yes, yes. I need a shower. I'll be quick." Covers flipped back and two long legs appeared clad in those panties he briefly remembered from earlier. His thoughts went in dizzying speed from the shower, to the bed, to her body, forgetting everything else for a few seconds. He remained in the chair as she moved around the room, gathering clothes. She grinned as she shut the bathroom door.

Later, they walked trails with other tourists. Words that came easily for her had slowed, then stopped as altitude, the walk, and the view made her catch her breath.

"We are flat-landers, Sara." Grissom remarked as he leaned against a large rock. "We can't breathe at this level."

She leaned beside him. Both had been carefully avoiding physical contact since leaving the cabin. He sighed and with hesitant hand reached for her.

"I hardly know where to begin, Sara." His fingers intertwined with hers. "We are so much alike, yet so different. You are so compassionate, so much more than I am. I question my own ability to care as you do. I am too old. A dozen other reasons why I—we should not…" He stopped when she turned to face him.

"Stop, Grissom—Gil. We have begun. From almost the first day I saw you those years ago, I knew. I knew as sure as the stars are in the sky, I knew you were the man I could search for the rest of my life. It would have been so easy for either of us to miss the other. It would have been so easy not to come to Las Vegas when you called." She moved her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I have always known you are my one and only."

His arms wrapped around her slim body. His lips touched her hair, then her face turned to his and he found her mouth.

The quietness of their world was suddenly broken by sounds of high pitched giggles and footsteps along the path as a line of young girls appeared. Dressed in similar clothes, carrying small day packs, the group descended on Sara and Grissom like a flock of birds. The first to see them stopped abruptly which caused a brief body pile-up and reversing. Quickly, amidst continued giggles and waves, the girls moved on; adults smiling and speaking to the couple as they passed. Two girls looked back and waved.

"We've been exposed." Sara said with a giggle, sounding much like the little girls.

"I can see you as a Girl Scout." He said.

She shook her head. "No, not likely. My childhood was never that normal."

He held her regretting his comment. They started back up the trail, yet this walk kept them together, his arm firmly around Sara's back.

She spoke softly. "We have so little time."

Grissom looked at her, seeing a pink blush rising on her face. He pulled her closer. "Sara, what am I to do with you?" He knew as he watched her face break into a broad smile.

Later, they sat together on the porch of the cabin, smiling, talking about nothing, and touching each other.

"Why can't I keep my hands off you?" He asked.

"Because there will be times when you can not touch me." She touched his face. "Nor I you." Her fist covered her mouth as her words choked. Silent tears welled in her eyes.

"Hey, what's this?" He asked gently taking her face in his hands. "No regrets, remember. This is a little over-whelming, in a good way." He pulled her close.

She nodded but could not stop tears from falling. "I'm happy, I am." She wiped tears away. "I can't remember when I've been this happy."

This was going to be interesting, thought Grissom. "We will work this out. Isn't it time we were both happy?" She nodded again.

"Gil, I can't work for someone else."

He knew she would eventually bring this up. This time he knew what to say. "I have no intention of that happening. Until you decide to tell the others, you and I will work together, same as we've been doing." He stood pulling her into an embrace. "I can not believe it took me so long to decide to do this. I'm sorry."

She kissed him, a long deep kiss as her hands wove through his hair, gently pulling him into the cabin. Some time later, she suggested "Let's find food." Grissom knew she could eat.

Salad, soup, fruit, potatoes, bread—she ate all of it and asked for the dessert menu. He laughed, surprised that she could eat that much. She blamed her appetite on altitude; he said it was fresh air and something else she had been doing.

A flyer on their table announced entertainment later that night. Grissom took the flyer and held it up. "Do you dance, Miss Sidle?"

"Not much."

"We will tonight."

Sara laughed. Everyone in the lab knew Grissom did not dance—Catherine said so.

A/N: Thanks for reading our fluff! More to come!