Sara's heart skipped at least three beats. "Did you just ask.?" He

smiled, his cheeks flushing slightly, something very charming that

Sara rarely saw. She gently stroked his cheek with the back of her

hand. He felt lost in her eyes, lost in the moment. Finally, he

explained himself. "Sara, I don't want you to think that I'm asking

you to...do something you're not ready to do. We're just starting

this..." He lovingly ran his hands along her arms, examining her body

up and down, his eyes hungry and full of adoration. She could feel

the heat of his body, and knew his need matched her own. Her heart

seemed to beat even faster than it had all evening, if that was

possible.

Grissom forced himself to control his breathing. He had been

intimate with relatively few women in his life for a man his age-

hell, he reasoned, Nick and Warrick had probably slept with more

women than he had, and he definitely had a few years on them. It

wasn't that he had less testosterone or thought about sex less than

any other men, it was simply that somewhere deep inside, he longed

for the old romance in the Shakespearean plays he knew by heart.

Grissom lived for seeing the worst sides of humanity, and he wanted

to believe that there was a side of life, a place buried in time,

where two people could get away from the gritty, painful world on the

streets and escape in each other. And that was why he had always

ignored the meaningless relationships and one-night stands his peers

crowed about in locker-rooms and during coffee break. Up till now,

though, the scientist had hoped such a thing existed, but hadn't

expected to find it himself. But as much as he wanted Sara, he wanted

her to know that he respected and treasured her. He didn't want to

frighten her, and wanted to wait as long as it took, wanted to put

her needs before his own wants. And his body definatley knew what it

wanted.

Sara's fingers ruffled gently though his curly hair, her eyes

watching him, her face peaceful, happy. He was relieved that she

hadn't slapped him. Pulling her closer, Grissom said, "Don't think

I'm asking you to sleep with me for any...un-noble reason, Sara. I

just don't want to spend the night knowing that you're a wall away

from me. I want to watch you sleep, and know that you're safe with

me." For what seemed like the thousandth time that evening, Sara's

heart melted with his words. "Grissom...Yes." It was all she could

think of to say, her thoughts lost in a sea of emotion. He smiled,

relief washing over his handsome features. He pulled her as tight

against him as he could, thrilling at the sensation of her breasts

against his chest, her cheek pressed to his. "Let's stay for one more

song..." he whispered into her ear. She smiled against his

neck. "Yeah."

A group of twenty-something's had come into the restaurant and had

spent several dollars on the jukebox, ensuring they had enough music

to last all evening. They sat at one of the round, noisy, metal

tables enjoying their beers and waiting for their pizza, curiously

watching the couple swaying to the music in the middle of the floor.

As the next song started, one of the young men stood, pulling his

girlfriend with him, and leading her to a spot beside Grissom and

Sara. One of the other guys noticed the wistful look on his own

girlfriend's face, and took his cue to play Don Juan, leading her up

to dance, as well.

Sara noticed none of this, lost in the world of Grissom. She beamed

up at his face, running her palms along his chest, making him gasp,

loving the feeling of his muscles beneath his shirt. She wrapped her arms

around his wide chest, which she'd always found incredibly sexy.

Laying against him, feeling the beating of his heart, she lost

herself in his eyes and listened to the lyrics of the song. "How can

you see into my eyes like open doors/leading you down into my

core/where I've become so numb/without a soul/my spirit sleeping

somewhere cold /until you find it there and lead it back home/(Wake

me up)/Wake me up inside/(I can't wake up)/Wake me up inside/(Save

me)/call my name and save me from the dark

(Wake me up)/bid my blood to run/(I can't wake up)/before I come

undone

(Save me)/save me from the nothing I've become..." Grissom titled his

head down, brushing his lips against Sara's, barely making contact,

enjoying the electricity it sent down his spine. Not moving his lips

away from hers, he whispered, "I'm so glad you came to Colorado with

me. I'm so glad you confronted me. God, Sara, I don't know what I'd

be without you." She responded by pushing her head up so their lips

met full-on, her nails digging into his back through his shirt,

kissing him so hard he moaned into her throat. The urgency of the song seemed to match the urgency of their kiss. "Now that I know what

I'm without/you can't just leave me/breathe into me and make me

real/bring me to life/(Wake me up)/Wake me up inside/(I can't wake

up)/Wake me up inside/(Save me)/call my name and save me from the

dark/(Wake me up)

bid my blood to run/(I can't wake up)/before I come undone/(Save

me)/save me from the nothing I've become/frozen inside without your

touch without your love darling only you are the life among the

dead/all this time I can't believe I couldn't see/kept in the dark

but you were there in front of me/I've been sleeping a thousand years

it seems/got to open my eyes to everything

without a thought without a voice without a soul/don't let me die

here/there must be something more/bring me to life/(Wake me up)/Wake

me up inside/(I can't wake up)/Wake me up inside/(Save me)/call my

name and save me from the dark/(Wake me up)/bid my blood to run/(I

can't wake up)/before I come undone/(Save me)/save me from the

nothing I've become/(Bring me to life)

I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside /(Bring me to life)"

Sara and Grissom came up from air as the song ended. "Let's go,"

Sara whispered, her body tense with passion, holding Gil's shirt in

crumpled handfuls behind his back. He couldn't speak, only nod. In a

daze, they untangled from each other and retrieved their things from

the booth. Grissom wrote a quick check with a tip and left it on the

table. They left the warm, hazy Italian place and stepped into the

cool night air, Grissom's arm fiercely around Sara's shoulder, her

hip molded to his. Sara stopped walking. "Griss..." One of Sara's

arms was behind Grissom's back, the other hand rested on his chest.

She gently traced his bicep with her index finger, making his head

reel for a brief moment. It was all he could do not to lean her

against the restaurant and take her in the middle of the Colorado

street. No woman had ever had this effect on him; for the first time,

he'd lost control of his emotions and his body--and he never wanted

it to stop. "Yes?" His voice was hoarse as he looked down into her

brown eyes, flaming and vulnerable. "I'm glad I came, too. So glad."

He turned and grabbed her, hugging her so close and with so much

emotion that it touched her heart. He pulled back, and held her face

in his hands. "I can't apolagize enough.I'm sorry I'm the way I am, Sara. I'm sorry I waited

so long. If I could go back, I would have asked you to be with me

when I first saw you, when you were my student. I wouldn't have

second-guessed everything, I wouldn't have pushed you, and the idea

of being with you aside...I'm so sorry. And I almost did it again,

last night, and before...If I'd brought Catherine, or Nick, I might

have never"-She pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh. No. You know

what? Tonight, Grissom, let's you and I just not think. We spend so

much time thinking, thinking too much...All we do is think. For this

one night, let's not be scientists. Let's just be you and me, in

Colorado Springs; let's just live for the moment, and for what we

feel, even though it's scary...scary as hell. I know it is. But I

just want to be with you, and forget about my brain. One night. Can

you do that with me? Can you try, for me?" Grissom ran his hands down

off her face, along her shoulders, down her arms, his wrists brushing

her breasts, and she gasped. Yes, it was scary. For two people who

lived for thoughts, who lived there days ruled by the brain...But

there was no doubt in Grissom's mind. There was nothing else, no

other way he could spend this evening.

Hand in hand, Grissom and Sara walked to the hotel.