A/N – So this is the Sara/Grissom chapter, a chapter that gave me many many headaches during the writing process. If you've read my other stories, you know I don't usually write this so any comments or suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated (even if it's 'stick to your day job'). Oh, and please please note the rating had to be changed…

Happy (belated) Birthday Amorith!

Friday - Day 6, 02.27

Sara refused to look Grissom in the eye. She didn't really understand why, but suddenly she was extremely nervous. She could feel Grissom's unwavering gaze on her as she continued to stare into the fire, glad that there was something that she could pretend was interesting to look at.

The ground was damp from the rain they'd had the previous couple of days, but the sky was clear and the stars were bright with the occasional cottony cloud sweeping over the heavens. Grissom sighed audibly before clearing his throat, but Sara continued to find the campfire fascinating.

Mildly amused at her determination to not look at him, Grissom gave a small smile to himself before rising slowly and setting himself down again directly next to Sara.

By reflex she turned to look at him and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"So," she croaked out, looking at him expectantly. When his only response was to raise his eyebrows at her she sighed through her grin, "This is interesting."

Grissom hummed his agreement and finally turned his attention to the fire, Sara following suit.

"Sara," he said after a moment. Sara glanced at him and noticed a hint of anguish across his features as he searched for the words he wanted to say.

"Yes?" she tried not to sound too eager, but couldn't help the feeling of excitement and anticipation that ran through her.

Grissom sighed, "You really are okay aren't you?"

Sara didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She felt like doing both and didn't even realise that a small hiccup had escaped from within. She didn't know what she had wanted him to say, but she was disappointed he'd asked her that.

Pulling her blanket tightly around her she said, "I'm fine, really."

The silence that followed displayed to Sara just how much he didn't believe her, but Grissom wasn't the type of person to push someone into talking about something they didn't want to. It was one of the things she liked most about him; his unquestioning acceptance.

Her nervousness had dissolved into a small ball of annoyance in the centre of her stomach. How much more of this dancing could she take?

When she'd kissed him the first time, all those years ago, it had been desperate. They'd spent an entire semester building a friendship out of mutual respect and a not so secretly hidden desire for each other. She'd felt sure she'd never see him again once he stepped on that plane, or if she did it wouldn't be the same. She was right about that; it hadn't been the same. He'd come back a couple of times to take a few seminars and help the local criminalists with some bug-related emergencies and yeah, they'd gone out for coffee a couple of times but it had been obvious that since she lived in San Francisco and he in Vegas that it would only hurt more for them to start something.

When he asked her to help him in Vegas, she was excited. She knew that working for him would create a small obstacle for them, but was convinced that they'd find a way around it. After all, no one else had to know did they? She had anticipated the change she would see in him even less than the change she would feel in herself.

In San Francisco, everything had been innocent and fun and simple. When she got to Vegas, things were automatically complicated. She knew Grissom would never admit it, but when he became shift supervisor he'd become even more obsessed in his work and reserved from society. Gradually, and for no particular reason he could pinpoint, he'd come to loathe himself. Sara could relate to that. The same thing had happened to her. The only difference was that she would readily admit to herself that the reason they hated themselves so much was because of the mess they'd gotten themselves into regarding each other. He'd turned to his work and revelled in his own ignorance while she'd become emotionally involved with cases and fell into a depression. They'd been through so much in the past couple of years, wasn't it time for things to become simple and fun and innocent again?

Sara closed her eyes and cleared her mind, exhaling calmly. She turned to Grissom, who was staring at the fire intently, and studied him for a moment. Then she reached out a hand and found one of his. He jerked to look at her but she was looking at their hands; contrasted not only in size and shape, but also in colour and coarseness. She ran her thumb down his middle finger before interlocking her fingers with his. Heart pumping, she turned her face towards him and looked at him seriously.

He leaned in and kissed her, capturing her lips in his – unwavering and decidedly. Now was the time for a different kind of dance. Sara could only just hear the crackling sound of the fire and heaviness of their breathing over the pounding of her heart as Grissom slid off the small log, using it as a backrest and the ground as a seat. Leaning over, Sara placed her knees on opposite sides of his hip, breaking the heated kiss by straightening up and looking down at him. She studied his face, in shadow now that she was shielding it from the fire, and traced her thumb along the under side of his bearded jaw.

"Are you ready?" she asked almost warningly.

Her blanket was still around her shoulders, but the ends of it had found their way open and had come to rest on his own, giving him an open (albeit dark) invitation to her partially naked body. His eyes travelled down from her face as he took in the position they were in. It registered suddenly that the warm and silky feeling he was experiencing on his hips was actually Sara's inner thighs pressed firmly against his own body. Almost involuntarily, his right hand came to rest on her hip as his left found the back of her lower thigh. He looked back up at Sara and felt his heart lurch and breath catch as he recognised the emotion in her eyes. He knew what it was, because he felt it too. Fear. Hope. Determination. Desire. Lust. Love.

"Sara," he breathed before she descended towards him again. She pressed her body against his, revelling in the freedom to do exactly as she wanted. There were no promises made, but the thoughts and feelings of uncertainty about each other and the future began to ebb quickly away as they continued to explore each other's mouths and bodies.

It wasn't long before Grissom had breached the small barrier of clothing, slipping his fingers inside Sara's panties and making her groan into his mouth. She moved against him, bringing him deeper and more firmly into her as she reached down and touched him through his boxers. Sara was aware that they were entering dangerous territory, she wasn't on the pill and unless Grissom had a condom hidden away somewhere (which she highly doubted) they were going to have to stop soon. It just felt so good!

She let out another gurgled moan as he began to stroke her harder and quicker. Rational thought was tossed quickly away as Sara began to move against him, deciding in a moment of madness that she'd be able to stop before things got out of control. She heard Grissom's groans and realised she'd begun to match the pace he'd set (or was he matching the pace she'd set?) and that she was now stroking him without the confines of material. The blanket had long since slid off her shoulders and she could feel the warmth of the fire on her back as she began to shiver uncontrollably.

"Yes, oh God," she managed to choke out before her body erupted into spasms. She pulled her face from his and sighed as she looked up at the night sky, relaxed and happy. Grissom nuzzled her neck and pulled her closer, she could feel his length nudging her and groaned at the thought of him inside her. She began to lower herself onto him, grinning slightly when she heard him groan and hiss with pleasure. Their eyes met and Grissom leaned in to kiss her –

"OUCH!" a voice echoed through the surrounding trees, not too far away.

TBC