Disclaimer: I don't own CSI and recieve no profit from producing this story.

Help Me

Chapter 12

Sara and Grissom found the picnic table in a clearing surrounded by golden aspen trees. They had a beautiful view of some distant snow-capped peaks. They side-by-side and ate their lunch slowly, enjoying the view in silence. They hadn't seen anyone else on the trail because they were the only ones staying at the resort during this part of the year. It was busy during the summer months and the ski season. It was still too early in the year for the ski resorts to be open. It was a nice, quiet, calming place to be staying, just what they both needed.

"Do you think they're surviving at the crime lab without you?" Sara asked when they had finished their meal.

"Catherine is fully capable of doing my job," Grissom replied.

"I know she is," Sara agreed, "maybe one of these days she'll get Ecklie's job because we know you're not quitting for a while."

"Actually, if you promise not to tell, Ecklie will be getting a promotion soon and I'm recommending Catherine for the job. She has the most experience and seniority of all the current CSIs," Grissom said.

"Wow, I bet Catherine will be happy when she finds that out. I think she has been wanting to move to days for a while now," Sara said.

"So, how about this view?" Grissom asked.

"It's great, I've never seen anything so pretty," Sara looked out over the golden and red trees and snow capped peaks.

"I like it too," Grissom smiled and put an arm around Sara, "and I'm glad I can share it with someone I love."

"Me too," Sara laid her head on Grissom's shoulder.

"I don't want to leave, but I know at some point we're going to have to move," Grissom sighed.

"We can stay for a while longer though," Sara grabbed his free hand and kissed it gently.

Grissom smiled at Sara's gesture. He was so happy to have her here in his arms. He was glad that he'd finally been able to admit his feelings to her. His life had felt empty, like it was missing something and he had the feeling Sara would quickly fill that void. As they sat, the wind began to pick up and Grissom could feel Sara shivering.

"Shall we head back?" Grissom asked.

"I think so, it's getting colder," Sara let go of his hand and gathered their gear.

"If it wasn't so cold, I'd give you my coat," Grissom winked.

"I wouldn't take it from you," Sara smiled, "but I am flattered that you would even consider it."

"Make sure you don't fall on the way back this time," Grissom teased as they headed back onto the trail, hand in hand.

"Very funny," Sara elbowed him in the side.

"I bet you didn't know I was a comedian," Grissom laughed.

Sara burst out laughing, "I'm sorry Gil, but you're pretty much the most serious person I know."

"It's true, I am very serious about my job, but I can have fun too," Grissom assured, "for instance I love riding roller coasters."

"I was never wild about roller coasters," Sara shook her head, "I guess I just never got the point of scaring yourself half to death to have fun."

"The thrill is the point," Grissom said, "we should ride one together some time. There's a Six Flags theme park in Denver, but we'd have to leave here if we wanted to go."

"Is it even open at this time of year?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure they stay open through Halloween," he answered.

"If you really want to go, I will," she offered.

"I don't want to go if you don't want to," Grissom stopped.

"No, I want to go," Sara assured him, "I haven't been to an amusement park in a long time."

"We can just leave here Friday night, find a hotel in Denver, and go to Six Flags on Saturday. Then it's only about an hour to the airport from Denver," Grissom said excitedly.

Sara had agreed to go because she could tell Grissom wanted to. She wasn't entirely wild about amusement parks, but if Grissom wanted to go, she wouldn't mind going with him. It wasn't so much that she was afraid of rides or anything, she just never got terribly into amusement park rides. Roller coasters were Grissom's thing though, and she was sure it would further help with the relaxation part of the trip for him.

"Not to see Elitch's is not to see Denver, see Sara, we almost missed seeing Denver," Grissom pointed at the sign on the 100-year-old Ferris wheel.

"I don't know what I would have done if we had missed Denver," Sara rolled her eyes.

"You realize that sign is probably as old as the Ferris wheel itself," Grissom noted.

"I wouldn't want to go on a ride that's more than a hundred years old," Sara eyed the giant wheel, "didn't the ticket lady say it was 102 years old?"

"Yeah. Let's go on a roller coaster," Grissom pulled Sara in the direction of the roller coasters.

The park was relatively empty, it was ten in the morning on a Saturday in October. They found the first roller coaster, the Sidewinder. It was a simple coaster, but it was a loop-de-loop and Grissom loved the feeling of going upside-down. They climbed the ten flights of stairs to the top and found no one else was in line, so they got to sit in the front car and go twice in a row.

"I wouldn't want to climb all those stairs again," Sara when they were heading down, "the altitude here isn't as bad, but I'm still slow to catch my breath."

"We're a mile above sea-level, you know Denver is the 'Mile High City'. It's okay though, I got pretty winded on the way up too," Grissom gave Sara a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"So, what next?" Sara asked.

"The Mind Eraser," Grissom smiled.

"That sounds fun," Sara said sarcastically, "the Mind Eraser?"

"It's a steel coaster, your legs dangle in the air, it should be fun," Grissom grinned.

"You really are crazy when it comes to roller coasters, it's like you're a teenager," Sara couldn't help but smile too.

"It's the one thing I never outgrew," Grissom pulled her into the queue line. There were a handful of other people in line, but they got on the first train.

When they arrived back in the station Sara leaned forward and said, "I don't think my mind was erased."

"I think if you went several times in a row, your mind would start to erase," Grissom said.

"Let's not do that," Sara shook her head, "there are other rides here to try."

"They have a couple of more unique roller coasters here. I've never tried either kind," Grissom explained, "there's the Flying Coaster where you lay down on your stomach and it's like you're flying, Superman-style. Then there's the newest addition to the park, the Half Pipe."

"Where did you get all this information about the park?" Sara asked incredulous, "we've been here maybe twenty minutes and you're an expert."

"I got online last night, I was bored and I looked into all the roller coasters," Grissom smiled.

Sara shook her head, a smile on her face, "You are too funny."

"How about the Tower of Doom, while we're here," Grissom pointed to the tower in front of them.

Sara's eyes grew wide, "That thing looks insane."

"They take you up to the top, then let you free fall back down," Grissom explained.

"Are you sure?" Sara asked.

"Are you afraid of heights, Sara?" Grissom swung around to look at her.

"Maybe a little," Sara blushed.

"It's okay, it will be fun, I'll hold your hand if you want," Grissom offered.

"Okay, I'll do it for you," Sara took his hand and they got in line. Her nerves started to get to her as they waited. Before she knew it, it was their turn to go. Grissom sat directly next to her and grabbed her hand. As they started the ascent, Sara closed her eyes, hoping that would make things better.

"Wow, you can see for miles up here," Grissom breathed.

Sara opened her eyes just in time for the operator to let the cars go. She let out a scream as they fell 220 feet. She felt herself float up against the shoulder restraint, momentarily weightless. Seconds later she was on the ground again and Grissom was helping her remove her restraints. She stood up shakily and leaned on Grissom as they walked away.

"So, what'd you think?" Grissom asked.

"It was…it was…just, wow!" Sara managed to spit out.

Grissom laughed, "Is that good or bad?"

"Good," Sara grinned, "that was definitely thrilling."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now how about the wooden coaster? That should be a nice transition from falling over 200 feet," Grissom suggested.

"Works for me," Sara said, "just lead the way."

They were able to ride every single roller coaster by noon. They stopped to have lunch, then hit most of the coasters again, stopping to try some of the other rides on their way this time. It was nearly time for them to go, but they had about twenty minutes before they had to leave.

"How about a ride on the Ferris wheel?" Grissom asked.

"That old thing? I suppose, we've ridden just about everything else but the kiddy rides," Sara shrugged her shoulders.

"All right then, ladies first," Grissom gestured for Sara to enter the line first. There was a couple ahead of them and as soon as Grissom and Sara boarded their gondola, they were whisked to the top of the ride and stopped as some other cars unloaded.

"Wow, there's a great view of the rest of the park from up here," Sara commented, "and pretty much all of Denver for that matter."

"I'm looking at the prettiest thing here," Grissom said, looking at Sara's beautiful face.

Sara's cheeks flushed cherry red, "Thanks."

"I mean it, Sara, you are beautiful. I'm glad we could take this trip together. I feel so much more calm and relaxed," Grissom smiled and stroked a stray strand of hair behind Sara's ear.

"I'm glad you came with me," Sara agreed with a smile.

"You have no idea how much I love to see you smile," Grissom placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

A/N: Since I talked about some of the coasters at Six Flags Elitch Gardens, here's a link to their rides if you want to see what they look like and read a brief description of them: Personally, I am freaked out by the Ferris wheel, I can do all the roller coasters just fine, but put me on the Ferris wheel and I start getting all nervous, go figure!

This chapter was a lot longer than I had intended for it to be, I hope it's not too boring. And since the site was down, it's now Thanksgiving, so Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US.