Disclaimer: CBS is just being stingy now. They won't even answer my asking if I can have CSI except to laugh at me. Okay, so I made that up. I never wrote them a letter. But you can imagine they would react that way if I did. At any rate, I don't own CSI and recieve no profit from producing this story.
Help Me
Chapter 10
Sara was driving up the winding mountain road that led to the cabin. It was a dirt road and there were a lot of twists and turns, with a sharp drop-off on one side the whole way up.
"I'd hate to be driving on this road in the snow, I don't think I even know how to drive in the snow," Sara noted.
"It is a very twisty road," Grissom looked out over the cliff next to his window, "and a long way down if you make a mistake."
"There sure a lot of trees here," Sara eyed the pine tree branches that nearly hit their car as they drove past.
"Lots of pine trees. It's the aspen trees that are supposed to be spectacular in the fall. I only saw a few a little ways back and they were still pretty green. I hope we didn't come too early," Grissom said.
"I hope not, I was really looking forward to the leaves turning," Sara agreed.
"We'll find out when we go on our hike. We can ask when we check in at the main office," Grissom suggested, "they might know if the trees here are turning."
"Look, we're almost there," Sara exclaimed, "I saw the sign, we just have one more turn and we should be there."
"Good, I for one am tired of sitting in this car," Grissom said.
"I can't wait to get out and walk around," Sara smiled.
Sara guided the car into one of the parking spots in front of the building marked as "Crystal Lake Cabins Main Office". They got out of the car only to discover that the air here was much colder than it had been in Denver. They hadn't stopped the car for a while and hadn't realized just how much they'd gone up in altitude. The air had a definite chill to it as they went inside, to find no one at the desk. Grissom hit the little bell sitting on the desk and an elderly woman hobbled into view a minute later.
"Hello, you must be those folks from Vegas?" she looked between the two people in front of her.
"Yes, I'm Gil Grissom," Grissom stated.
"You look like a nice couple," the woman adjusted her reading glasses.
Sara blushed at this comment.
"Ah, here we are, cabin 10, that's about halfway around the lake, just follow the road," the woman handed Grissom a set of keys and Sara a little welcome basket filled with fruits, "you two enjoy your stay at Crystal Lake, come on over here if you need anything. The refrigerator should be stocked, I sent my husband, Harold, down to town yesterday to get supplies for you."
"Thanks," Sara smiled at the woman as she followed Grissom back to the car. This time Grissom got into the driver's seat to drive the short distance to their cabin.
"We forgot to ask if the leaves turned yet," Sara said suddenly as they drove down the road.
"Oh well, it doesn't really matter, we can find out for ourselves," Grissom parked the car in front of the small cabin with number ten on it, "kind of away from all the other cabins, close to the lake and looks like the hiking trail runs right behind it."
"It's definitely got a kind of rustic charm to it," Sara noted, "let's go see what it's like inside."
Grissom pulled their suitcases out of the trunk and handed the keys to Sara so she could go open the door for him. He put their luggage just inside the door as Sara found the light switch. She sat their fruit basket on the coffee table. There was a small living room with a loveseat and two chairs. The floors were wooden and there was a fireplace across from the couch. There was a small kitchen with a table, two chairs, a small fridge and a small stove. To the right were the two bedrooms with the bathroom in between. There was a small television in the living room and each bedroom was equipped with an alarm clock radio. Grissom and Sara met in the living room.
"Not too bad," Grissom observed.
"I think this place will be great to spend a week in," Sara agreed, "let's see what the left us as far as food."
Upon finding some basics: milk, cereal, items for making sandwiches, potato chips, eggs, cheese, and some cans of soup, they decided they didn't need to make a trip to the store until the next day.
"Ready to go for a little hike?" Grissom asked.
"You know it," Sara smiled at him.
"Let me just grab us a few bottles of water and the map and we should be good to go," Grissom said.
"A map?" Sara questioned.
"Just in case we get lost, there's one spot where the trail splits off and if you go the wrong way it's a five mile detour down a rough trail," Grissom explained.
"Oh, I didn't bring a camera," Sara smacked her forehead.
"I didn't think to," Grissom shook his head, "I never go on vacations."
"Wait a sec," Sara opened the fruit basket, "they thought of everything, there's a couple disposable cameras in here."
"They really did think of everything," Grissom smiled as Sara held up a pair of cameras.
"Did you bring a jacket of any sort?" Sara asked.
"Yes I did, mother, did you?" Grissom smirked.
"Yep, let me dig it out of my suitcase and we can go," Sara ruffled through her clothes.
About a half mile down the trail, Grissom and Sara stopped to sit on a fallen log.
"Man, I thought I was in good shape," Sara puffed.
"It's the altitude. We better take it slowly," Grissom returned out of breath himself.
"There's less oxygen up there, I never thought about that until now," Sara tried to slow down her breathing.
"It hit me a little when we landed at the airport, but now that we're up, well above a mile over sea-level, now it's hitting me hard," Grissom agreed.
"Maybe we should go back, save this for when we're a little more acclimated to the altitude," Sara suggested.
"That may not be such a bad idea," Grissom stood, offering Sara a hand.
Sara took the offered hand and Grissom pulled her to her feet. He wrapped an arm casually around her waist as they headed slowly back to the cabin. At first, it felt a bit awkward, but then Sara leaned closer to him as they walked. It actually felt quite good to have his arm around her waist.
As the trail got a little steeper and skinnier, they had to separate, Grissom allowing Sara to climb up the incline ahead of him. He was glad he had a second later, as her a rock slid out from under her feet, sending her tumbling backwards. Grissom caught her, but she hit him hard enough to knock him over too. They landed hard on the ground, with Sara on top of Grissom. She rolled off quickly to make sure she hadn't hurt him.
"Watch your step," Grissom wheezed, having had the breath knocked out of him.
Sara got up on her knees and burst into laughter at his comment, "You're a little late."
Grissom sat up, smiling, "Well, it's a warning for next time then. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I nearly crushed you though, are you okay?" Sara asked seriously.
"I'm all right Sara, you're not that heavy, really, I just wasn't expecting you to come flying at me like that," Grissom said.
"And I wasn't expecting that rock to slide out form under me," Sara grinned.
"Rocks can be tricky," Grissom winked, as Sara helped pull him to his feet again.
"I found that out the hard way," Sara shook her head.
On the second attempt, Grissom stayed close behind Sara, with his hands on her lower back guiding her up the incline. They both made it successfully and the cabin was in view. They headed inside and decided it was time for dinner. Sara made them sandwiches while Grissom started a fire.
"Oh, that fire already feels good," Sara sat next to Grissom on the loveseat.
"Let's watch the local news and see what we're in for as far as the weather," Grissom turned on the television.
"...and we might be seeing a little bit of snow in the high country overnight," the weatherman said.
"Snow?" Sara's eyes grew wide, "I don't think I am prepared for snow, my jacket's too light for snow."
"If it does snow, we'll just stick to indoor activities," Grissom decided.
"There's not much to do here, Gris," Sara glanced around the room.
"Sara, sweetie, I think it's okay for you to call my by first name now," Grissom looked into her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm not used to calling you Gil. It seems strange," Sara smiled, "I've known you for so long and I've never called you by your first name."
"Don't think I didn't wonder about that for years, I thought maybe you didn't know it," Grissom teased.
"Ha ha, you are so funny," Sara rolled her eyes at him.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I am pretty tired after the early flight and the long drive from the airport. I know it's still somewhat early, but I am tired," Grissom yawned, as if to prove his point.
Sara cocked her head, "That's right, you didn't really sleep today, except for the flight."
"If it doesn't snow too much, we can try that hike again tomorrow," Grissom offered with a tired smile.
"Sounds good to me," Sara watched him head for the bedroom he was staying in. The idea of him sleeping in the room next to hers was a little nerve-wracking. She was still trying to get used to the idea that they had actually admitted their feelings to one another. After all the years of playing games, they both realized that they were being silly. It felt good to finally know she had Grissom for herself. It hurt her to even watch him interact with other women, he wasn't exactly the flirting type, but something about anyone other than herself getting his attention upset her. Now she would have plenty of his attention.
A/N: I had a mild case of writer's block for this chapter. I'm still not sure if I like it, but I can always come back later and change it. Oh well, thanks for your patience. I hope to get the next chapter out soon.