Chapter 9

Femme Fatale

A/N: Thanks again to Mel for the fast beta! This chapter may make some people worried, but no fear! My stories always work out in the end with GSR and always things happen for a reason.

"Mom can we play another game today?" Sarah asked hopefully. Her wide eyes looked up at her mother as she finished baking warm, chocolate chip cookies. It was never really made from scratch, always baked with pre-made dough. But to Sarah, it was homemade. Her mother was never really a good cook, but she always ate everything she baked. She was too nice to say somethings were really 'yucky'.

"I suppose so. You're not planning to beat your mother again are you?" She laughed as she placed a cookie on a plate and gave it to her daughter.

"No. I just love playing it." She stuck out her tongue playfully and giggled when her mother did the same. Her mother searched through out the living room for the Scrabble box and laughed when she found it under a pile of magazines.

Her mother wasn't a good house keeper either. But none of her shortcomings as a chef or a housekeeper could ever take away Sarah's love.

"Ok you setup the board. And no cheating. I don't want to find extra letters hidden in your lap like last time." Her mother grinned as she shut off the oven.

As Sarah sat alone she took some of the letters out of the box and hid them in her pocket. It was a habit.

"Ok! Lets get started."

XxxX

Sara's hands shook as she made breakfast. It had been nearly five days now since Grissom went missing. Hope was as small as a grain of salt. Greg had practically moved into her apartment through the ordeal and Sara was beginning to feel guilty. She didn't want him to think it was his obligation to be there, she knew he had a life.

"You can go home whenever you want Greg. Go see your girlfriend." Sara tried to smile, but all she was able to muster was an upside down grin.

"What girlfriend? You're not holding me here Sara I know that. But I don't want to leave you alone. It's my decision. Once we find Grissom then I'll leave you two alone. Until then, I'm not going anywhere." Greg took the knife from Sara's hand and took over the chopping of peppers for their omelet.

Sara felt almost relieved. She didn't want to be alone, she was afraid that her mind may drift too far into the darkness. Grissom is her entire life, and she felt helpless not being able to do something.

"I think I should help with the investigation." Sara muttered, as she looked down at the hardwood floor beneath her feet.

"No...Sara...Ecklie has made it clear he doesn't want you anywhere near this case. He thinks you're too close now." Greg continued to chop the peppers in a fashion that resembled waves drifting in on an empty shore. The sound his chops made were far more rhythmical than an ocean, it now resembled an off key song in the first stages of production.

Somehow the chopping of food comforted Sara. It took her mind off of what she should really be thinking of.

"Don't worry I'm hands off... It was just a suggestion." She managed to grin finally at Greg's raised eyebrow.

"You just miss the team."

"Yeah I do." Sara flatly remarked.

"Alright. How about I invite them over for dinner. I'll cook." Greg smiled widely at the prospect of cheering Sara up.

Unfortunately, Sara had other intentions. She wanted to see all the crime scene photos from every murder. She could be hands off and still look at crime scene photographs. She just couldn't stand by and do nothing while Grissom could be dying or already dead.

XxxX

"You're looking better." Sarah said, as she mustered a smile. She never smiled... What was wrong with her?

"I feel better." He walked over to Sarah and looked her straight in the eye once more.

"So...Have you figured out what you would like to do." She broke the contact, as she sat down on the couch. Grissom soon followed. Sarah had been there for him through his entire recovery, she had held his hand through out all of his pain. And now, he was starting to see what he must have missed in her eyes. Love...

"Yes. I want to stay with you." His hand now rested on hers, with the promise of something more. She couldn't bear it. These past few days they had shared a lot. Grissom had no memory about his former life, but he did try and tell about his feelings. He still found it strange that he couldn't remember anything, She always felt her heart sink when she remembered what she had done to him.

She caused his pain and his memory loss. She had ruined his entire life in one night. Sarah knew a force possessed her that night. The same force that possessed her during all of the other attacks. All the voices she usually heard were dissipating and now she didn't want them to return. She feared what would happen when they did. Maybe Grissom was here to protect her from doing anything to anyone again.

"I uh... I wanted to thank you for all your help. Even though I didn't deserve it." He smiled. His boyish features making her guilt turn into something else. She could see it in his eyes too. He had feelings for her. What could she say?

Pure attraction brought her head closer to his, and he didn't back away. As their lips met in awkwardness, she let him guide her. She hadn't truly kissed a man...ever. Sarah had kissed a lot of men in her lifetime, however all of those were against a man's will.

As their tongues started to dance, Sarah couldn't help but break it off. It was wrong. Since when did she ever care about what was right?

"We can't..." She whispered.

"Why not?" Grissom searched her once more for answers and was left even more confused by her reply.

"Because... I don't deserve you." She kissed him on his forehead before retreating outside for the rest of the afternoon.

XxxX

"Thanks guys for coming. Sara really needed it." Greg announced quietly as he let the team in.

"How's she holding up?" Nick asked, holding onto a bag protectively.

"Good...I think. She still feels guilty for his disappearance." Greg led them into her kitchen as he prepared to set the table. Catherine helped Greg, giving him a pat on the back.

"It's nice that you're there for her Greg. She wouldn't be doing to good without you." Catherine smiled.

"You guys find anything?" Greg asked; hope still shining in his eyes.

"Nothing probative. This broad leaves nothing behind. Goes against one of our motto's that "everybody leaves something behind." Warrick's hollow eyes failed to reassure Greg that they would eventually find his boss. A realization that Sara hopefully wouldn't find out.

"Where is she?" Nick asked.

"She's in her room, been in there all day."

"I'll be back. I'll tell her dinner is ready." Nick left the room as quickly as he could and hoped attention wouldn't be drawn to his bag. No one had asked on the ride over why he had brought a knapsack and he was thankful for the lack in questions. Perhaps everyone was so engrossed with finding Grissom that they hadn't noticed.

A knock, broke the silence of Sara's room and she instinctively knew who it was.

She opened the door and smiled at the sight in front of her.

"Thanks for bringing them." Sara smiled.

"You know I could get fired for this, so hurry up and make your copies. I hope you find something we didn't though. I love the guy too you know..." Nick gave Sara one last hug before leaving Sara to her work.

"Hey, just make sure you come to dinner or everyone will start to worry." Nick warned her.

"Don't worry, this won't take long. And Nick... Thanks again." She gave him one last smile before rushing to make copies on her computer.

A photograph fell out of the file and made tears instantly come to her eyes. Grissom's blood lined his floors. She could see the blood trail leading into his bedroom; even through the glare on the photo was pretty intense from her lights above. She was going to set the picture down when something caught her eye.

She quickly made a note of what she found before going back to her task at hand. Her sighting could be nothing...Or it could be something that would lead her back to Grissom.

XxxX

"I was thinking we should go out..."Sarah couldn't believe her statement either. How could she think of going out at a time like this? The police would be searching every square inch of Vegas and she wanted to leave the cabin.

"Where?" Grissom hoped with more time together she would open up and tell him what had bothered her earlier.

"A know a place...Where we could be completely alone and free of the trivialities of the outside world. Interested?" She flashed Grissom a smile she hadn't shown anyone in years.

A simple nod gave Sarah permission to take him by the hand and lead him out to her car. She had cleaned it a while ago and was thankful she had.

"Where are we going?" Grissom asked once more, enjoying the guessing game. He seemed to enjoy puzzles.

"Lake Meade." She couldn't hide anything from him; she had already lied to him enough. She wished she just inflicted lies on him...At least then it wouldn't have caused him as much pain.

TBC

Please let me know what you think so far. ;)