Grissom switched the light on as they entered the room. Sara let out a groan as she took in their accommodations. The room was modest and furnished with a small table with two chairs, a dresser with an ancient television sitting on top of it and a bed with nightstands on both sides. To the left of the door were the bathroom and a small closet. Sara turned on the light and entered the bathroom. She looked around and quickly left the small area with a disgusted look on her face. Their lodging was a far cry from the fancy hotels of Las Vegas but was still clean enough to not be classified as a roach motel. She made her way to the bed and fell backwards onto the lumpy mattress. Grissom wanted nothing more than to join her on that mattress, lumpy or not.
Sara was laying on her back with her eyes closed when she realized, "We forgot to grab our bags."
"I'll go get them," Grissom offered.
Without looking his way or opening her eyes she added, "Hey, get the first aid kit while you're at the truck. We need to take care of your face."
"Okay. I'll be right back. Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone."
"I can't make any promises." She replied with a grin.
Grissom left and quickly returned with their bags and the first aid kit. He set the bags down on the foot of the bed, which caused Sara to open her eyes. She sat up and watched him set the first aid kit on the table and sit heavily in one of the chairs. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair and then looked at Sara. She got up and walked over to the table, picking up the kit. She opened it up, checked the contents and said, "We should get you cleaned up. You don't want to get an infection or anything."
"Okay, Mom." Grissom sighed.
"We should probably do this in the bathroom. The light's better in there."
"I don't need your help. I can do it myself." He stated.
"I know you can do it yourself, but you're not going to…I am. You saved me from that asshole and then you did your best to take care of me after. So, now I'm going to take care of you. Now get your ass in there before I get violent." She smiled pointing towards the bathroom.
He did as told and made his way to the bathroom. As he passed her he said, "You wouldn't hurt me."
"You think?" A wicked grin appeared on her face.
The bathroom was small and very basic, but there was a lot of counter space on both sides of the sink, so Grissom hoisted himself up to sit on the right side of the sink. Sara set the first aid kit down on the other side. She took out a few bandages and some antiseptic. Grissom watched her, feeling a little awkward with the current situation. She grabbed a washcloth off the rack and wet it. She wrung out the excess water and moved to stand in front of Grissom. He let out a sigh and placed his hands on his knees, bracing himself for whatever she was going to do to him.
Sara let a small smile form on her lips and moved closer to Grissom, holding the rag up in the space between them. "This is going to hurt me a lot more than it hurts you," she teased.
"Be gentle," he pleaded.
"I thought you liked it rough," she joked. His eyes grew wide and she let out a laugh. "Relax, Griss, I was only joking."
"Sara Sidle, someday your humor is going to kill me." He tried to smile but winced as he felt a little twinge of pain at the corner of his mouth.
She just smiled and began wiping away the dried blood from the cut above his eye. She cleaned up the wound and applied some ointment to the bandage before putting it over the gash. She was busy concentrating on the task at hand, while Grissom was busy concentrating on her. They were only a few inches apart and that gave him the perfect opportunity to look at her. It was a rare occasion to be able to watch her without worrying about someone seeing him do so.
She finished with the cut above his eye and rinsed the washcloth. She went back to work clearing the blood off of his cheek, slowly working her way to his swollen lip. The closer she got to the sensitive area, the more the tension rose. They were both fighting that charge that had formed in the air between them. It would be so easy to close the distance between them.
Sara washed out the cloth again before finally attempting to clean the blood from the corner of his mouth and bottom lip. She gently dabbed the area trying not to cause him any pain. Grissom was not feeling any pain at the moment. It took all he had to not touch her, to not just give in and kiss her. She took her time, not wanting this closeness to come to an end. There was enough electricity between them to light up half of Las Vegas.
She was becoming distracted by the tension and accidentally applied too much pressure to the wound. He winced and quickly reached up and grabbed her hand, pulling it away. He didn't let go of her hand. He kept a loose hold on it, his thumb absently stroking the skin on her wrist. She looked in his eyes, her mouth hanging slightly open and her heart beating faster. They stayed frozen in that position for a minute. Grissom let go of Sara's hand and reached both of his hands out to lightly grasp Sara's waist. He slowly pulled her closer, never breaking eye contact. Their faces were so close now, noses almost touching, eyes still locked on each other.
As bad as Sara wanted to kiss Grissom, she made no move to do so. He had to be the one to initiate it, but waiting for the inevitable kiss was sweet agony. Grissom could no longer wait and slowly closed the distance. Their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss. Grissom pulled back, he brought his right hand up and tucked a lock of hair behind Sara's ear. He lightly ran his fingertips across her cheek then to her lips. He traced her bottom lip with his index finger, eliciting a small gasp from her. He dropped his hand back to her waist and went in for another kiss. A small peck turned into longer more sensual kisses. Grissom moved his hands to Sara's back to pull her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair.
Both were enjoying the moment and neither wanted it to end, but knowing that it was too soon for this to lead anywhere, both knew that they would soon have to stop. Sara was the one to pull away, albeit hesitantly. Grissom licked his lips and gave her a small smile. He let brought his hands up to cup her face and she gave him a shy smile.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said, a little out of breath.
"Oh…I think I have a pretty good idea," she responded.
He forced his hands to let go of their hold on her face and brought them down to rest on his knees. He took a deep breath and letting it out said, "We should go to bed."
"Damn, Griss, you don't waste any time." She let out a little chuckle.
He gave her a disapproving look and said, "To sleep, my dear, to sleep. Nothing more."
"You're no fun," she teased.
"I'm exhausted. I'll be a whole lot more fun once I get some rest."
"Well, then, let's hit the hay." She turned on her heels and exited the bathroom. He jumped down off the counter and followed her out.
They quickly changed into their sleeping attire, taking turns in the bathroom. Grissom, being a gentleman, let Sara change first. By the time he was done changing clothes she was already in the bed. He approached the bed and noticed that she was lying in the middle. He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. When she didn't acknowledge him, he cleared his throat. She looked at him and noticed the questioning look on his face. She flashed him her 'Grissom smile' and sat up.
"I figured I'd let you pick which side you wanted so I laid down in the middle. When you choose I'll move to my side. So, what's it going to be? Right or left?"
He carefully looked at both sides of the bed and then at her and answered, "Right."
Sara moved over to the left side of the bed. Grissom turned off the lights before joining her under the covers. He let out a sigh as he rested his head on the pillow. The mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable, but he really didn't care. All he wanted to do right now was sleep. The last thing he remembered before drifting off was Sara saying, "If we happen to accidentally wind up touching, don't freak out." She received no response except the sound of his breathing. She let her eyelids close and was asleep within minutes.
8:05 a.m.
Sara awoke feeling more rested and content than she had in years. She tried to roll over, but found that the arm wrapped around her waist stalled her movements. She moved her head a little so that she could see Grissom. He was lying spooned up behind her, deep in sleep. She figured he would freak out if he woke up in that position, so she gently extracted herself from his hold and got out of bed. She grabbed her bag and quietly headed for the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, took a quick shower and got dressed. Grissom was still asleep when she came out of the bathroom. He was so exhausted last night, she didn't have the heart to wake him. She tried to kill some time by reading the forensics magazine she had brought with her.
Sara's reading took no time at all, since the magazine held no new and interesting information for her. She sighed and threw the magazine into her bag. She drummed her fingers on her knee as she looked around the room. The television finally caught her attention and she decided some TV might not be such a bad idea. Making as little noise as possible, she moved the chair in front of the dresser and reached up and turned the TV on. She kept the volume very low and turned through the channels. For all of her tuning and fidgeting with the antennae, she could only get one channel. Well, I guess this is as good as it gets. She leaned back in the chair, propped her feet up on the dresser and focused her attention on 'I Love Lucy'.
Grissom woke up feeling the emptiness on the other side of the bed. He remembered waking up in the middle of the night with Sara in his arms. It had been an odd, but good feeling, so he had wrapped his arm around her a little tighter and drifted back to sleep. He lay there for a second, eyes still closed, trying to become fully awake. The curiosity of where Sara was soon caused him to sit up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and saw her sitting in front of the TV, legs propped up on the dresser, looking totally relaxed. He smiled inwardly, thinking he wouldn't mind waking up every day with Sara around.
Sara hadn't noticed that he had woken up, so she was a little startled when he spoke. "What are you watching?" He asked, his voice rough from sleep.
"I Love Lucy." She replied, glancing at him for a second before turning back to the TV.
"I didn't know you liked those old shows."
"Well, this thing only gets one channel. But I do love Lucy." She said with a smile.
"We all do." He got out of bed and walked around to sit at the foot of the bed. "Let me guess, this is the one where Lucy wants to be in Ricky's show and she's doing all kinds of crazy things trying to be in it."
"Well, that wasn't hard to surmise considering every episode was like that." She flashed him the smile that he loved.
He nodded and looked at the floor, still a little groggy. "How long have you been up?"
She looked at her watch and answered, "Well, it's 8:51, so I've been up for about 45 minutes."
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were so exhausted last night and you seemed to be sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you."
"I haven't slept that well in a while." He admitted.
"Me either."
He put his index finger on his lips in thought and looked up at the ceiling. "Hmm. I wonder why we slept so well."
"Yeah, I thought you wouldn't be able to sleep if I was in bed with you?" She said, teasing him with his earlier words.
"After what happened in the bathroom, I was sure I wouldn't be able to sleep, especially with you right next to me."
"Life is full of surprises." She said dryly.
"Yeah, it is." He quietly agreed.
Changing the subject, Sara asked, "How's your eye? You've got quite the shiner."
"It's a little sore. My mouth feels about the same."
"Do you want me to go get you some ice?"
"No, thank you. I think I'm just gonna hop in the shower and then hopefully we can get the hell out of this town."
"All right. Get a move on."
He shook his head at her comment as he grabbed his things and headed for the bathroom. He took a cool shower, the tepid water feeling good on his bruised face. He quickly washed himself and was out of the shower in minutes. He dressed, brushed his teeth and rejoined Sara in the room. He exited the bathroom to find her making the bed. He chuckled to himself and said, "You know, they pay people to do that."
She looked up at him sheepishly. "I got bored. I needed to do something."
"Don't you ever stop?"
"Stop, what?" she asked perplexed.
"Thinking, moving, doing things."
"I do stop moving and doing things. However, I never stop thinking. I can't help it, my mind's always going."
"I know how you feel, but I can be still for more than five minutes at a time."
"Hey, I was still all night while I was asleep."
"No, you weren't. I had to put my arm around you to stop you from rolling all over the bed." I didn't just say that out loud, did I?
"Oh, really?" Sara raised her brows, an amused expression on her face.
"Uh…yeah…I…um."
"And here I was thinking that it was an innocent accident." Her smirk grew bigger with the deer caught in the headlights look Grissom was now sporting.
"Are you hungry? I'm starved. Let's go get some breakfast." He said, trying to derail the conversation.
"Way to change the subject, Griss. All right, let's go get something to eat."
They gathered up their things and left the room. After throwing their stuff in the Tahoe, they made their way to the restaurant.
As Grissom and Sara walked in the door they saw the FBI agents sitting at a table. Mulder noticed their entrance and waved them over. Grissom walked Sara to the table with his hand on the small of her back. He even pulled her chair out for her. She gave him an odd look and sat down. Her earlier alien abduction theory was starting to seem more plausible. Grissom was acting a lot different these past couple days. She had to admit to herself that she liked it, but it did feel a bit strange. The waitress appeared at the table to leave some menus and ask if anyone wanted coffee. She left and quickly returned with four steaming cups of the much-needed caffeine.
Mulder took a sip of his coffee and cheerfully asked, "So, Grissom and Sidle, did you two sleep well?"
Sara cast a shy glance at Grissom and answered, "I haven't slept so well in years. I was exhausted."
"Ditto." Grissom added.
"So, there was no hanky panky going on?" Mulder inquired, a huge grin on his face.
"Mulder, shut up and leave them alone." Scully cut in.
"Hey, I was just trying to…"
"Be nosy." Scully interrupted.
Mulder shot Scully a dirty look, which made her smile. He picked up his menu and began to look it over. "What's for breakfast?" He asked himself.
The other three picked up their menus and examined their breakfast choices. The waitress returned a few minutes later to take their orders. "Well, aren't y'all becoming regulars. My name is Wanda, by the way. So, what can I get ya?"
"I'll have the Flying Saucer Pancake Plate." Scully said, laying her menu on the table.
"Oh, tough choice," Mulder commented, still looking at the menu. "I guess I'll have the UFO Platter."
"I'll have the Area 51 Omelet." Grissom made his order, slightly shaking his head in disbelief.
"And what about you, Miss?" Wanda asked, picking up the menus.
"I'll just have some toast." Sara answered.
"All right, coming right up." Wanda left the table, but not before winking at the two men.
Sara rolled her eyes and glared at her retreating form. "I can't wait to get out of this town and get far away from Winking Wanda."
"She's not that bad." Grissom realized he shouldn't have said that when Sara turned to him and raised her brows, with a look that scared him a little.
"Well, we can always leave you here. The two of you can get married and have a bunch of blue eyed winking children." Sara said.
Grissom smiled at Sara and said, "Nah…she's not my type."
"What is your type?" Mulder asked, butting into the conversation.
"I like intelligent, beautiful, stubborn women." Grissom admitted.
Sara was a bit stunned that he actually answered the question. She was more surprised when Mulder asked her the same question. "What's my type? Well…my perfect man would have to be honest, intelligent, trustworthy, funny, good looking and a little mysterious." Sara answered. She looked at Mulder for a moment and asked, "Do you meet my criteria?"
Mulder was a little taken aback by her question and looked at Scully for some form of help. She found the situation amusing and answered Sara's question for him. "Well, he is honest, he's intelligent, very trustworthy, he thinks he's funny, and he's obviously somewhat good looking, but he's not mysterious…he's an open book."
"Damn. You missed out by one." Sara tried to look serious, but a smile forced its way onto her face.
Grissom, who normally would have been bothered by Sara feigning interest in another man, let out a little chuckle. Winking Wanda arrived at that moment carrying their orders. She placed their plates on the table and asked if she could get them anything else, before attending to the other customers. They ate their meal in silence. All four acted like they hadn't eaten in days, quickly consuming their food. They finished their coffee and Mulder, again, offered to pay the tab. Grissom tried to argue with him about it, but Mulder convinced him to let the FBI foot the bill.
They walked out of the restaurant and squinted in the bright morning sunlight. Mulder slipped on a pair of sunglasses, looked to the others and asked, "Is everyone ready to hit the trail?"
The three nodded and Mulder added, "Okay, then. I guess we'll see you two at the gas station."
Mulder checked the truck once more before hopping in and starting it up. Scully climbed in the passenger side and was suddenly hit with a thought. "Mulder, what about the rental car? We left it out in the middle of nowhere."
"We'll just call the company and say it broke down. They'll have to come out and get it."
"Okay, but if there are any excess charges you're paying them."
"Fair enough." Mulder said, as he pulled the truck onto the highway and headed for the gas station.
Grissom and Sara didn't say a word to each other as they got in the Tahoe and followed the agents down the road.
They soon arrived at the station and pulled up to one of the old gas pumps. Mulder and Grissom made their way inside to pay for the fuel. Mulder came out and began pumping the gas into the old truck. Sara watched the door, wondering why Grissom was taking so long. She was about to go inside and check on him when he came out carrying a brown paper sack. He set it on top of the pump while he put in the gas.
Sara watched him through the mirror. She took pleasure in seeing him do something that was just a simple everyday task. She rarely got to see that side of him. She, mostly, only knew 'Work Grissom'. She saw Mulder walk over to Grissom and tell him something, to which he nodded. He finished filling up the truck, grabbed the bag and took his seat behind the wheel. He looked over at Sara, who had a curious look on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her and she raised one back.
"What's in the bag, Griss?"
"Just some stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Stuff I bought inside the store."
"What did you buy?"
"A few things."
"Grissom! What the hell is in that bag?"
He gave her a smirk and reached inside the bag. He shuffled a few things around and then pulled out a bottle of ice tea. He looked at it for a second and handed it over to Sara. "Just in case you get thirsty."
"Thanks. How thoughtful of you."
"Oh…I also have something else for you." He reached inside the bag and searched around. "Close your eyes, Sara."
"Why?"
"It's a surprise. Please, close your eyes."
She closed her eyes. He pulled out a beautiful, but fake red rose. "Put your hand out." He ordered. She put her hand out and he set the rose in her hand. "You can open your eyes now."
Sara opened her eyes and looked at her gift. "A fake rose. Grissom, you shouldn't have."
"Well, I could have gotten you a real one, but they die. This one you can keep forever to remind you of me." He said, a shy smile forming on his lips.
"It's very sweet, Grissom. Thank you." She flashed him that huge smile of hers.
His smile grew bigger. "You're welcome."
Grissom looked at her a moment longer, before starting the engine. He put the truck in gear and pulled out onto the road, Mulder and Scully following closely behind in the old box-truck.
They rode along in silence for a while, but Sara's curiosity was killing her. She couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "What else is in the bag, Grissom?"
"Just a few things, Sara."
"Come on, what did you buy in the store?"
"Souvenirs."
"What kind of souvenirs?" She asked.
"I'll let you see what's in the bag if you tell me how you know about UFOs and all that other stuff."
Sara smirked. "If I told you, you'd be off the hook and I wouldn't get my dinner."
"Well, I guess you'll find out what's in the bag when I find out how you know all those things. So, I guess it's a quiet dinner for two when we get back to Vegas."
"I can wait." She said, turning her attention to the road ahead of them.