Disclaimer: Not mine. Goons at CBS own them.

Spoiler: No Humans Involved

Short chapter. Sorry. I am finished though. Next three days will be the rest of the chapters. And I hope, quite desperately, that it is up to your GSR standards. I have had nothing but the best time with this whole thing.

Sheila

Chapter 14

He suggested a walk and it turned into a safari. She jumped on the idea immediately as she hadn't been outdoors in four days. The idea of going to and from the park quickly became a hike in Valley of Fire State Park. Grissom argued that she wasn't ready for such strenuous activity, but Sara's natural energy was back. She disappeared into the bedroom, and returned wearing hiking boots, t-shirts, and shorts. He figured the shorts were what put him over the top. Again, she was bringing those legs out to play. He was definitely going to bring up the dress code when he got back to work.

While she dug out water bottles, maps, and other kinds of gear, Grissom rifled his bag for some sort of appropriate attire. For this first time he could remember, he felt self-conscious about what he wore. He put together his lightest weight shirt with a pair of khaki's. When she was ready, she literally grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

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Sara looked back, and found Grissom gamely following her up the bluff. She knew he would have preferred a more leisurely pace. The bug man was already distracted on several occasions by beetles and ants. She let him stop every once in a while, but was eager to get him to the top of the bluff.

Once she slipped on gravel, and fell backward. Grissom was there in an instant, breaking her fall. She relaxed into his arms for a moment, and let him support her. She felt his beard brush her cheek, and sensation traveled down her spine. He didn't move, letting her choreograph the next movement. Reluctantly, she eased out of his arms, and continued.

The last 50 feet required active climbing. She took it slow, offering a hand for leverage to Grissom every once in a while. After two hours of climbing, she pulled him up to the top of the bluff. There was a flat, rocky top that looked over a significant portion of the park. She wanted to dance around the top against the backdrop of the beautiful rock formations and rainbow vistas of colored sandstone. The majesty of it always swelled her heart, and she was so happy to share it with him. He stepped up on the top, and stopped, in awe with the world around him. There was nothing monotone about this desert spot. Subtle shades of pink, orange, purple, and yellow blended together in ways that could not yet be duplicated synthetically. The formations, random and sculpted, dotted the landscape in amazing patterns. Grissom took some time, and studied the view from all directions.

Sara found a boulder and settled onto it. She tucked one leg underneath the other and reached for her water bottle. It was here that larger, deeper ideas grew for her. There was no room for the trivial among this majesty. A shadow that grew over her, and then Grissom settled down beside her.

"It's beautiful, Sara."

"Yes, it is."

"You doing okay? Not too tired?"

She grinned. "Have any ideas on how to get me off this rock if I say I am?"

He smiled and turned his attention back to the amazing vistas. The afternoon sun hit bluffs and buttes at an angle, and long thin shadows jutted out everywhere. In the distance, two hikers climbed Devil's Bluff, one after the another, moving infinitesimally slow in the distance.

"I'm going to be okay, Grissom."

"I believe that."

"I'm glad I talked to you earlier. I feel better."

"Please value your life, your contribution. You're very important. We…I can't lose you like that."

"You're important to me." She leaned against him, intertwining her arm with his.

"I get confused about this."

She wrinkled her nose at his shoulder. "It's not so confusing, Grissom."

"I'm older, and not very socially skilled. I pick up on someone's emotional needs about the moment they are ready to beat me with a stick. And it would make for a very complicated work situation."

"Anything else?"

"You would lose interest in a middle aged bug man like myself with no other interests."

She snuggled in closer as if there was a chill somewhere in the 90 plus degree desert. "I don't have words to describe it. Perhaps, it defies description. Your buddy, Shakespeare, probably has something to say about this."

"'To say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays.' A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"Will you ever forgive me?"

He folded his hand into hers. "How can I not?"

"If we wait until the sun sets, it will be stunning. I guarantee it."

"And then we break our legs walking down in the dark."

She laughed at him and laid her head on his shoulder. "I brought flashlights, Grissom."

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Driving home was electric. Every fiber of his being was in tune with her presence. She sat facing him slightly, and he felt like her gaze never left his face. He knew his only escape would be in announcing that she seemed ready to be by herself, and he was ready to go home. Only problem was that he was not ready. Far from it. He enjoyed taking care of her. He enjoyed her energy and even her irascibility. And a part of him still feared the demons within her.

He entered her home awkwardly, standing there in the living room as for the first time. She grinned at him, and offered to make coffee. He nodded and settled into a chair.

With the coffee, she brought pasta salad he made for yesterday's lunch. He had forgotten that they missed a meal. He should have been hungry, but he barely picked at the food. He felt her eyes on him as he ate. Finished, Sara sat back on the couch, her arms folded across her chest.

"Grissom, I hereby release you from your babysitting responsibilities. You are free to go home."

Grissom furled his brow at her.

"Before you say anything, I am feeling good, I feel valued, and I will never risk myself like that again. Also, I called my counselor earlier. We start meeting next week. Ongoing, weekly sessions. You can sleep easy."

"I haven't been babysitting." Grissom said with a tinge of frustration.

"Whatever you were doing, you are released from that obligation."

"I don't understand."

"I don't want you feeling trapped."

"Oh."

"I think you should go home, stretch out on the couch, and turn on the discovery channel. Get some real rest. My expectation is that you too will be seeing your PEAP counselor, and processing the shooting. It is important that you set a good example for me. Okay?"

Grissom wondered if relief was the feeling that was filling his gut.

"I appreciate you so much. You have been patient and kind. I trusted you with my nightmares, and you didn't disappoint. I owe you a lot."

Grissom looked down at the floor for a moment trying to process this new chain of events. Finally, he got up and smiled at her. "I was happy to help. You are important to the team. We'll be glad to have you back."

She nodded and he noticed that her eyes seemed large and soft. He almost stepped forward and thought better of it. So he left her in the living room while he pulled his things together. She was still in the same spot when he returned. He wanted to say something but he couldn't find the right words. He smiled, told her to take care, and walked out the door, his duffle slung over his shoulder. He got into his truck and sat there staring out the windshield unable to turn the key in the ignition.

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TBC