"Come on, man. Our bags are packed and if we leave now we might have some time to wander around before it gets too dark."
Jumping in the passenger seat, he buckled himself in and lowered the seat back so he could catch some shut eye. He had no idea where they were going, but given the efficiency with which Sara had put everything together, it had to be something good. As he crossed his arms across his chest, he turned his head to look at the way the sunlight came through the driver's window and played on Sara's features, adding shadow and light; she was beautiful.
"How long is the drive?" he asked "Just over nine hours"
"Wake me if you get tired"
"Ok, maybe at the halfway point at Tonopah"
"Sounds good."
And he closed his eyes, covering them with his shades. During the drive, Sara would periodically look over at Jim in his sleeping state and smile. For herself, she didn't need much sleep and would often go days without, but to be able to watch Jim sleep, his slight snore and his lips somewhat puckered and his brow line looking as though he were dreaming something serious, all she could do was smile.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
It was everything she hoped it would be. As they pulled up to the lodge to check in, Sara gently nudged Jim awake and watched as his eyes fluttered open and he tried to focus on his surroundings. He knew they were far from Vegas, of that he was certain, but where exactly? Letting out a great yawn, he rubbed his head and looked over at Sara who was still smiling.
"Well, the air is clean and the trees are big and very green, so I'd have to say...Tahoe?" he said, still yawning
"That's why you're the detective and I'm the analyst. Come on, let's check in."
They climbed form the truck, and stretching their stiff limbs, meandered up the front steps of the lodge, Jim holding the door open for her. Within minutes they had checked in and were on their way to their little getaway cabin, which, by the way, wasn't so little; it was the largest, most secluded one that was available. Inside the floor plan was fairly open, having a small kitchen to the right of the front door, a living area to the left of the door, two open doors, one being the bathroom and the other being the second bedroom and a flight of stairs against the outside wall that led to the loft upstairs and a king sized bed. Everything was done in Earth tones and very tastefully decorated.
Dropping their bags by the front door, Sara made a bee-line for the bathroom while Jim carried the bags upstairs. He just assumed that since they'd been sharing the same bed in Vegas that the situation wouldn't change just because they were on holiday. He carefully unpacked everything and put it in it's proper place and by the time he'd finished Sara was calling to him from downstairs.
"So, what do we want to do for supper?" she asked
"To tell you the truth, I'm not all that hungry, but if you are, we can see what's open."
Sara wasn't all that hungry either, so as Jim descended the stairs from the loft, she dropped down on the couch in the living area and flipped on the tellie. Going through the channels, she found an ice hockey game and just as she was about to change the channel Jim sat beside her and let out a sigh.
"Ahh, good old hockey. Do you mind?"
"Not at all. You get the game and I get your lap. Deal?" she asked knowingly
"Deal."
She lay on her side and rest her head in Jim's lap and as he watched the game she slowly fell asleep. As Jim had been asleep during the entire ride up to Tahoe, he was up most of the night. He tried to keep the volume and his cheers as quiet as he could and when Sara rolled over, her face to his belly, he reached behind him on the back rest of the couch and pulled down a throw, covering her with it. During commercials of whatever he was watching he'd look down and watch her sleeping soundly and wondered to himself what it might be like to see her like this on a daily basis…..permanently.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
When she woke, Sara was upstairs in the very big bed with Jim next to her on his stomach, his left arm around her abdomen. Lifting the covers so she could get up and use the bathroom, she noticed that he was sans clothes...No shirt and NO boxers. She wondered what had prompted this, but didn't wonder for too long, as she really had to go. When she returned he was on his right side and as she spooned up in front of him she could feel his morning wood. Laughing silently, to herself, Sara just went back to sleep. It had been some time since she had had any nightmares, but for the sake of familiarity and developed sleeping comfort, Jim and Sara had continued their sleeping arrangements. When sleeping alone, neither of them got a good night's rest and it was shortly after both of them realized this that they went back to sharing a bed and each other's companionship while asleep.
Finally, around 10:00hrs, Sara woke to the sound of rustling in the kitchen. Climbing from bed, she threw on the shirt Jim had been wearing the previous day and went down to see what was going on. She found Jim in the kitchen making a breakfast of scrambled eggs, home fried potatoes, fakin' bacon and wheat toast, with a fresh pot of coffee on the counter behind him. With a combination yawn/smile, Sara took one of the mugs and poured herself a cup, leaning against the counter, watching Jim cook. Without hesitation, she asked about his nakedness during the night, to which Jim only laughed.
"I swear, it was like "Night of the Killer Wedgie." No matter how many times I adjusted...um...things, it wouldn't go away. You weren't uncomfortable with me all naked and stuff, were you?"
"Not at all. I was just wondering. If I'd've known you were a commando sleeper I wouldn't have endured all those nights of binding undies and lopsided tank tops.. I usually sleep with nothing, but given our relationship thus far, I didn't think it wise to go naked just yet." she said, smiling
He looking at her and she seeing that glint in his eye, she just sort of stood there, thoughtfully sipping her hot coffee.
"Well, don't let me stop you sleeping the way you normally do. I'm a grown man and I do believe I can keep my hands...and other parts of me to myself." he replied
Thinking back to Jim's very large piece of morning wood, she just smiled, laughed a little and went back to her coffee. Turning the potatoes in the pan, Jim asked the question that had been weighing most heavily on his mind since they'd left the lab the previous day.
"So, what prompted this little getaway? Not that I'm complaining, far from it, but I was just wondering is all."
"I thought that after all the crap I'd been through and you taking care of me, that we deserved it. Besides, where would you rather be, here on holiday or back in Vegas clearing a scene?" she replied
"Touché." he said while masterfully lifting the pan from the range top and flipping the potatoes
Setting her mug down, Sara turned and began to open the cabinets looking for plates and utensils and other food eating implements. When they finally sat down to eat, Sara didn't eat much but Jim ate like a horse, devouring everything on his plate, save for the fakin' bacon, which he thought tasted like cardboard.
Later in the day, closer to early afternoon, they set out from their cabin for a little stroll in the woods and along the lake. Again, hand in hand, as had become the norm for these two, they chatted about little things as Jim tried to stop himself asking some more serious questions he'd been thinking as of late. As they continued along the shore and Sara prattled on about how she could live in a place like this, in his mind, Jim was working out the details, questions and responses to what he really wanted to talk about, which was about as far from what Sara talking about as one could get. Seeing a downed tree in the distance, Jim guided them over to it and patted it to make sure it wasn't wet before they sat on it. A little damp, Jim removed his jacket, set it on the bark and gestured for Sara to have a seat. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Jim turned to see Sara staring out over the water, looking, he assumed, at the reflection of the sun on the slight ripples. For a few moments he just gazed at her until he summoned up the courage to speak his mind. Turning to face her, he took her hand between his hands and began, looking into her eyes.
"Sara, hun. There's something I've been thinking about a lot as of late...something I wanted to run by you and see what your thoughts are on it."
Looking down at their hands joined, she had an idea as to what he was referring, and she knew this would be a big step for him, opening himself up like this, so she simply looked at him and smiled.
"Yes?"
"This was good", he thought to himself as he took a deep breath and continued
"We've been spending a lot of time together these past weeks, time which I have enjoyed immensely, and I was wondering if you'd be amenable to making things between us a bit more official. I've heard the rumours flying around the lab, rumours that we're together, and I was wondering if you'd like to turn those rumours into truth."
She liked Jim, of this there was no doubt, but she didn't quite think she was ready for a relationship yet. But as she thought more and more on it, she realized that they were already in a relationship, maybe not romantic, but damn near. Let's look at the facts, shall we? They spent time at each other's places, they, more often than not, were together during off work hours, they were sharing the same bed and so on. Would it not be for the lack of sex, they'd already be together.
Taking her free hand and placing it on his cheek, she rubbed with her thumb and smiled. Leaning in, she placed a kiss on his cheek, and seeing the reaction in his eyes, she moved to his lips, delivering a nice open mouthed kiss on his wonderfully luscious lips. Pulling back after a moment, she said three words.
"Sure, why not?"