Gil lingered in her personal space after their lips reluctantly separated. He elaborately gazed at her slightly flushed visage, as if mentally storing every detail and characteristic of the face he loved. A little uncomfortable under his endearing scrutiny, Sara wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest. Gil kissed the top of her head.

"Eat," he said as they let go of each other.

Sara grabbed a fork and went to work on her very scrumptious breakfast. They ate in silence, testing their newfound intimacy, stealing glances at the other and blushing when getting caught, like two love struck high school kids.

"That was really good!", Sara said as she picked the last crumbs from her plate.

"Thank you."

Grissom looked at her triumphantly.

"I'm not just placating you, I think you missed your calling, chef."

"It's pancakes, Sara, not haute cuisine."

She grinned at his show of self depreciation.

"Nevertheless."

"It's my mom's recipe."

"Oh. So I should thank her, then."

"She passed away a couple of months ago", Grissom said, eyes cast down. He pushed the last remains of his breakfast around on his plate.

Sara stared at him, wide-eyed. She'd had no idea. If there ever was a mysterious man, a true enigma, it would be Grissom. Somewhere down the line, Sara had figured out that he'd been raised by his mother, apparently a single mom, and that his mother had been deaf. Private as Grissom was, he never spoke of his family. But Sara could relate to that, family was a tender subject for her as well.

"I'm so sorry", she uttered quietly.

"Thank you. I just wish…"

"Yes", Sara encouraged and tentatively reached for his hand across the breakfast bar. He let her take it.

"I think you would have liked her. She was such a strong woman. Despite…everything. Despite life, I guess. And she would have liked you. She was always worried about me. Kept telling me that everyone needed a companion. Well, she'd long given up on grandchildren, I can tell you that. But still, she supported me. And I know that she was proud of me, no matter what."

Sara swallowed, trying to process all that information. It was more than he'd shared with her in the past four years.

"She'd have been happy for me, knowing that I'd found someone."

He smiled at her brightly, but a certain sadness covered his graceful features and softened the light in his eyes.

"You didn't find me. I threw myself at you, remember ?", Sara quipped.

Grissom chuckled at her odd choice of words.

"You didn't throw yourself at me. Although I wouldn't have minded", he answered equally comically, mischief obvious in his baby blue eyes.

"Oh really? You would have run for the hills, and you know it."

"Granted. I'm a bit of a coward, I fear."

"Well, at least you came to your senses eventually."

"And how."

They stared at each other for a long moment, revelling in the sense of satisfaction that each exuded and in the anxious anticipation of what was to come.

"I mean it, you know. About being glad that I have you."

"I'm glad I have you too", but then Sara hesitated, "Do I have you?"

Grissom pulled her from her bar stool and into his embrace in a quick and almost desperate gesture. Pressing his face against hers, he whispered in her ear.

"You have me. All of me. I promise."

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Standing there in his kitchen, entangled, they were vaguely aware of a beeping sound, coming from the back of the house. Sara looked at Gil, questioning.

"The washer. Your shirt's done."

"Oh."

"We better go put it in the dryer, or you'll have to walk out of here in my shirt."

Sara tried to hide her disappointment at his mention of her leaving. She had no intention of leaving his house any time soon.

"But you can stay as long as you want, you know", Gil quickly said, sensing her discomfort.

"No rush."

She smiled. "'Kay."

Sara followed him to the wash room and watched from the door as he transferred her fresh smelling shirt to the dryer. She liked watching him, especially when he was working a scene. Grissom appeared always so intensely focussed, like the world around him ceased to exist when his mind went to work. Closed off from everything else, he seemed most comfortable. Grissom in his world. Alone. Sara guessed people were just a distraction to Grissom. Not a necessary part of life, just one of those things that had to be dealt with. Except, he seemed to want to let her into his existence, wanting her to become a vital part of his life.

"Impressive", Grissom said, shaking Sara out of her musings.

"I've never seen that, sleeping with your eyes open, standing up. Very good."

Sara give him her death glare.

"I wasn't sleeping."

"Come on."

He grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway. Sara wholly expected them to go back to the living room, but Grissom halted at his bedroom door. He pushed it open and tugged on her hand, urging her to come in with him.

"Uhm, Grissom?", Sara said, completely bewildered at the turn of events.

Grissom looked at her uncomprehending, apparently oblivious to the fact that he'd just dragged her into his bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"Get some rest, honey. You look like you need it."

"Grissom", Sara said, irked.

"Gil."

"Fine. Gil", she replied with equal vexation.

"When's the last time you had a good night's sleep?"

Sara pondered his question, irritated that she couldn't give him an answer that would satisfy him.

"Come on."

"But…"

"Sara. Please."

"You don't have to worry about me."

"I can't help it."

He smiled at her so sweetly, she was afraid her heart would implode from happiness. So she sighed and gave in to his request.

Grissom leaned over and kissed her with abandon. Both gasped as they broke apart.

"Gil", Sara uttered breathlessly.

"Shhh."

He led her to the bed, sat her down and started to remove her shoes and dress socks. Sara let him, feeling sudden fatigue creep over her body, worn and tired from a hard night's work and still burning with shame from being pulled over by the cops.

"There."

Sara nodded her thanks and crawled up on the bed, allowing her tiredness to sweep over her and letting herself drift off into blissful oblivion.

Grissom watched as she slowly dozed off, then kissed her head and he covered her body with a light blanket. He lingered in the doorway a little while longer, observing her sleeping form. A contented sigh escaped his lips as he turned and walked back to the living room, where he himself plopped his exhausted body down on the couch.

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Sara awoke disoriented. She didn't recognize the bed she was lying in, or the powerful manly scent emanating from the sheets. Bright yellow hued light filtered through Venetian blinds, casting stripes of illumination over the charcoal colored blanket covering her. She turned on her back and pushed herself up against the headboard. Her head felt woozy. Slowly, images – only hours old – emerged from the confines of her tired mind, eliciting a smile on her face. Grissom. But, where'd he go? Sara stretched elaborately and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. 11:08. She'd only been asleep for three hours or so, which seemed a viable explanation for the fatigue in her bones and the cottony feeling in her brain that hadn't dissipated completely. Sara padded down Grissom's dark hallway and into his living room, where large blinds kept the glaring Las Vegas midday sun out. Through the duskiness she could make out Grissom's sleeping body on the couch. Sara quietly approached him, but about three feet away, she saw him open one eye.

"Why are you sneaking up on me?", he said, his voice a sultry baritone and slightly hoarse from sleep. His body didn't move an inch. Other than the sound of his voice and the blue eyes gazing up at her, he could have been asleep.

"I'm not…"

"Sneaking up on me? Than what were you doing?", Grissom said from his comfortable position on the sofa. Sara stood, as if rooted on the spot. She hadn't been thinking, had no idea what she was doing. She just had to see him, maybe to convince her that this was real.

"I woke up", she said, pointlessly.

"I can see that."

"You weren't there."

Grissom stared at her, amazed and slightly amused.

"Technically, breakfast was our first date. I'm an honorable man, Sara. I wasn't going to drag you off to my bed, caveman style."

Her startled expression made him laugh out loud.

"I didn't mean…", Sara stuttered.

"Grissom!", she exclaimed, flushing as he winked at her.

"Come here", he said, his voice dropping an octave as he looked into her eyes and held out both his arms.

Sara sighed and stepped up to Grissom's side, folding into his embrace and snuggling close to his warm body. Grissom wrapped one arm around her thin waist and kept the other under her neck. He gently stroked her auburn locks.

"This is nice", he mumbled.

"Mmmm."

Sara closed her eyes and nuzzled his neck, placing a light kiss on the sensitive spot beneath his earlobe. Grissom grunted in response.

"That was even nicer."

Sara smiled against the pulsating vein in his neck, content with the effect their closeness was having on his body. Grissom pulled her even closer and drew her face up to his, kissing her long and lazily.

"Now, that was nice", Sara said in turn.

Her eyes fluttered closed.

"Glad you liked it. There's much more where that came from", Grissom said, smirking uncontrollably.

Without opening her eyes, Sara sighed.

"Good."

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