Disclaimer: not my characters. They are those of CBS.

Spoiler: No Humans Involved

All right. Last chapter was something of a letdown. So here is chapter 15, a little early. Tomorrow morning I post the last chapter, and then I am out of town for a few days. It has been so much fun that I wonder if I won't be ready to try another story in a couple of weeks. Who knows? But you have all been wonderful. I wish I had time to post all the names of my supporters, but I am always just running to and from work as is the case now.

Sheila

Chapter 15

Sara opened the door and there he stood. Before she could speak, he had walked past her into the apartment.

"Grissom?"

"It turns out I wasn't ready to leave." He reached out his hand. "Come here." She took it tentatively, and he led her over to the couch. She sat down next to him.

"I don't understand. What's going on?"

"I couldn't think out there."

"You have been sitting in the car this whole time, thinking?"

"I thought I could think better in here."

"Okay." Sara looked puzzled.

"You have to understand that sitting this close to you fills me with a fear unmatched by anything I have felt since I saw a man trying to kill you."

"It's--"

He put a finger to his lips. "Shhhhhhhhh!!! I'm trying to concentrate here."

She realized that he hadn't let go of her hand. He reached up with his other hand, and pushed her hair away from her face, gently pulling it behind her ear. She shivered, but endeavored to stay still for him.

"I have been bewitched by you for so long. I don't think you have any idea." His voice was soft and cool, sensation in itself.

He sighed and took his glasses off, carefully placing them on her coffee table. He returned his hand to her face and began stroking her cheek. Sara leaned into his touch, staring unabashed back at him.

"Reason isn't getting me anywhere, Sara. Everything I can think to do is not as risky as doing nothing at all. It confounds me, and leaves me frustrated."

"Grissom--"

He moved his hand down and gently put his fingers on her lips. "You have to let me finish saying this." He took a breath and continued. "It's amazing how a man can live a lonely and frustrated life for so long, and convince himself the whole time that this is the best of all options."

Sara held her breath.

"I don't know what this is, and, this is hard for a scientist, as you know. I only know what I want, and I am learning that, sometimes, that has to be enough."

She nodded and waited. For a long time, he did nothing but stare at her, his breathing falling into a rhythm with hers. His hand dropped to the back of her neck, and he began to stroke it softly, up and down. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. He pulled her face to his, and kissed her softly, his lips connecting between hers. His kisses began light and soft, then became increasingly insistent. She opened her mouth and invited him in. Patient and thorough, he took time to explore her mouth. He moved to her ear and then her neck. Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and let him wander. His hand went to her waist and began traveling up under her shirt. His eyes opened and his hand stopped. He broke contact with Sara's mouth, slowly caressing an area on her ribs.

Sara reached down and placed her hand over his. "It's my scar." Then she pulled up her shirt. She shifted over so that he could get a better look. He moved his hand, and studied the pink line snaking up her side. She leaned over and whispered into his ear. "It saved my life, Griss."

He leaned over and kissed it lightly. "Thank you," he whispered to her skin. Sara whimpered when he did that, and he reached over and pulled her into him. For a long time, he held her tightly while she cried into his chest. He whispered to her words about her strength and beauty and courage while stroking her hair. After awhile, Sara calmed. Then she reached up and pulled his face down to hers.

They shifted so Grissom could return his attention to her neck. The delicate hairs of his beard sent tingles through her. He leaned over her, and she settled back into the couch drawing him in on top of her. For a time, they carefully explored one another; kissing, soft, curious touching, making discoveries about each other's pleasures. Grissom found her breasts, and kneaded them gently. Sara reached down and began to pull her shirt over her head. Grissom stopped her hands, and pulled her back up into a sitting position.

"What?"

"All in good time, Sara. All in good time." He whispered into her ear as he put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her into him. Her head again came to rest on his chest. For awhile, they sat together in a companionable silence; her hand stroking his thigh.

Finally he spoke. "This is an important thing that is happening here. I want to give it the respect it deserves."

She grinned. "In other words, you're freaked out, and you need to take it slow."

"That too."

"How are you doing?"

"I feel very alive, Sara."

"So what's next?"

"Well, I want to talk to you about your attire. First, could you put your legs up here?" He gestured to his lap. She giggled and swung her bare legs across his lap. He smiled and began stroking their length. "Sara, I like these legs very, very much. And it seems to me that you hide them entirely too much. So here is what I think we should do. First, I go to Ecklie, and I tell him you have a…condition, a rash or something. Okay? And that you need to have fresh air on your legs at all times, and that means at work as well. I'll tell him that essentially you should wear nothing but shorts. Then you bring in a note from a doctor. I'm sure that between us we know a medical professional who can help you out--"

Sara put a hand over his mouth. "We'll work on that plan later. Let's go back to exploring…this slow thing." She moved her hand down to his chest, and started rubbing circles. She nuzzled her face into his neck, and began to nibble at his ear. He sighed deeply and leaned back, giving her space to explore.

……………………………….........................................................................................................................

"Hey Grissom! Come on in. How's my bug guy?"

Grissom merely raised an eyebrow at the effusive sheriff as Atwater waved him into the conference room. At the end of the long table sat Ecklie, a thick file on the table in front of him.

"We're going to have a sit down, Grissom: you, me, and Ecklie. Gonna put the issues on the table and iron this thing out. Grab a seat." Atwater steered himself around to the end of the table. He gave Ecklie a look, and the man quickly got up and shifted himself to one of the chairs to the side. Grissom sat down across from Ecklie.

"First off, we start with the shooting. Ecklie has the final report. Kick it off, Conrad."

Ecklie opened the file in front of him. Then he cleared his throat, and looked at Grissom. "After much exhaustive work, we were able to determine that it was a clean shooting. Our recommendation is that no charges be filed, and that Grissom be reinstated to his duties as soon as possible."

"Good work. Sorry to put you through all that, Grissom. It's procedure. No way around it. It's a good conclusion." Atwater smiled at Grissom.

"Contrary to popular belief, I was not willing to fake a report just to exact some sort of revenge." Ecklie's voice betrayed the anger of his words.

Grissom nodded at him. "I didn't think you would, Conrad."

"All these good vibes have got me feeling all warm and fuzzy." Atwater said. "But Conrad, I understand that you have other concerns and recommendations, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Ecklie lifted another report. "Issues that strike at the integrity of the unit."

Grissom stared back at Ecklie, his face stoic.

"The week is a prime example of these concerns. A troubled member of Grissom's team had a breakdown. This was despite warnings by other supervisors about her instability. Grissom chose to ignore her symptoms. During the course of this breakdown, she put herself in a dangerous situation requiring three days of exhaustive work by the narcotics squad as well as a significant portion of lab resources. To date, we are still 36 hours behind on evidentiary collection and processing in other cases. Despite the chaos she has caused, it is my understanding that Grissom fully intends to put her back in the field as early as next week."

"Recommendations, Conrad?"

"Ecklie took a deep breath. "I believe that CSI Sidle should be fired from the unit citing mental health concerns. We can extend her medical a few months as a way of supporting her emotional recovery. I think she deserves that from us. In addition, I think that, while Grissom is a good investigator, I think he falls short as a supervisor. My recommendation is that Grissom is demoted to chief investigator, and another night shift supervisor is chosen."

Atwater raised his eyebrows as if this was the first time he had heard this. "Well, those are some serious charges. Grissom, how do you respond?"

Grissom sat quietly for a moment, his eyes never leaving Ecklie. Then he reached up and removed his glasses. He leaned forward slightly. "I care about my people. That's no secret. I don't try to control them. I give them room to grow, make choices. Sara Sidle is one of my best. She is brilliant and hardworking and efficient. It's too bad, Conrad didn't bring in some of her casework, you would then have to see what an exemplary employee she--"

"She's unstable." Ecklie hissed.

"Conrad!" Atwater put a hand up. "You had your chance. Let Grissom say his piece."

"She has done so much good work for this department." Grissom shook his head slowly. "But she does have weaknesses. She gets very emotionally involved, she exhausts herself, and she is dealing with some unresolved trauma."

Atwater nodded. "She does not sound that stable, Grissom."

"I disagree. I think she puts her whole heart into her work, and it exacts a price. I think she needs to learn how to handle that more effectively, but I don't see her as unstable. This is a woman who goes through missing persons' files one by one until she get a match. She won't stop until she finds justice for her victims. She sees them as people when the rest of us only see corpses. She's relentless. She should be admired not vilified."

"She turned an entire department on its ear for three days." Ecklie said.

"She got in too deep. It's true. And she's getting help. Professional help. She's embarrassed by what happened, but I think it helped her turn a corner. I think she's going to be even better than she was before."

"Really, Gil. Did you ever read her social services file?"

"No, Conrad, I didn't. That would have an unethical, illegal thing to do. And if she chooses to file charges against you, I will back her 100."

"Ecklie, did you steal the woman's social service file?" Atwater wore a sour look.

"Of course not. I have connections and a few favors were owed me. I did it to protect the unit."

"Yeah, but that's creepy, Ecklie. For God's sakes. I have a file like that. And if you decide to steal that one, I swear to God, I'm going to pull your lungs up through your throat with a salad fork. If Sidle decides to sue, you've made the whole department liable."

Eckllie let this last threat sink in for a moment before he continued. "Sheriff, there is all kinds of liability in this situation. The fact that Grissom here has carried on some clandestine relationship with her for who knows how long is an example."

Atwater raised his eyebrows at Grissom.

"He should be fired for that alone." Ecklie continued.

"Careful, Conrad. You know I like hypocrisy just as much as the next politician, but please remember that I married my secretary only two years ago."

"Completely different, Sir."

"Really." Atwater chuckled. "You have ass kissing down to an art form, you know that?"

He turned to Grissom. "So, you dating this girl?"

"Not really anybody's business, is it, Sheriff?"

"Not one damn bit, bug man."

"Sheriff, you don't seem to understand the seriousness of this situation." Ecklie's voice had become a whine.

"Oh, I think I do. You can't stand the man. He can do things you can't."

"Sir!"

"Stop it, Ecklie." He frowned at the man, and then turned his attention to Grissom. "You know, you are an odd man. Smart as hell and no social skills to speak of. Eager to shoot yourself in the foot every political opportunity you get. Not much for power. But hell, bugs tell you their secrets. Somebody dies, and all you got to do is torture some poor maggot, and he spills his guts for you. Literally!" he laughed for a moment at his own wit. "You make me look good. Other sheriffs want a Grissom too, you know."

"This is getting ridiculous, sir." Ecklie's face was getting red.

"Not really. The bug man does good work. So he can get away with a little something now and then. Hell, he can start wearing dresses to work if he wants. Hear that, Grissom?"

Grissom just winced a little in his direction.

"Oh, and let me give you a little advice. I do not mean to be graphic, but, do not, I repeat, do not screw her on the premises. Sally and I went through a world of hurt when one of the office staff walked in . Meetings and meetings and meetings on that one. You got that, Grissom?"

Grissom looked like he had swallowed a small, hairy rodent. He could barely manage a nod. Ecklie was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Sheriff, I'm sure that your circumstances were less…complicated."

"I was married at the time. You wouldn't believe the heartache with the divorce lawyers. I would say my circumstances were damned dicey, Ecklie." Atwater glared at him.

"But sir, I am just trying--"

Sheriff Atwater put his hands up in an effort to calm Ecklie. "Conrad, my man. I like you. You do great paperwork. You do paperwork that I never knew existed. And for this, I am grateful. Other sheriffs are maybe jealous that I have you too. It's just that they never mention it. So I think it would be best if you went back to what you do best, and let the bug man get back to what he does best."

"What about Sara Sidle?" Grissom asked.

"You really think she's going to make it?"

"Yes, she is amazing."

"Okay, but the next time we have to send the entire department out to rescue her, I am going to take Ecklie off his chain, and let him work you over real good. Hear?"

"Terribly descriptive, Sheriff."

"All right. We all good now?"

Grissom nodded. Ecklie's face was a mottled red. Sheriff got up, smiling wide. "Gotta go, gents." With that, he exited, leaving the two rivals still facing one another.

Grissom leaned forward a little and said, "Want to see my butterfly collection?"

"Shut up, Grissom." Ecklie snatched up his files, and stormed out of the room. Grissom leaned back and watched him leave, a smile growing on his face.

TBC