Dare to Dream Pt II –
"If it's not a dream, then why are you here?" GSR.
Disclaimer – The PTB didn't take my birthday wish seriously pout. They still aren't mine.
Spoilers – Same as Pt. 1.
A/N – For everyone who reviewed wanting more. Thank you to all of you for all the encouragement. More Fluff… do we need it at the moment or what!
(Most is in Sara's POV but I do tend to skip into Grissom's from time to time. Hope it isn't too confusing.)
It took a long couple of seconds for Sara to realise exactly where she was. The apartment was silent and for a moment she thought he must have left her there and gone back to work. She twisted around to look for a bedside clock. It was nearly 3pm. She muttered a curse under her breath and sat up quickly.
How could she sleep that long at a time like this? She groaned quietly taking in her rumpled clothes and found herself wishing she had told him she was awake before, and made him let her go back to work. She ran her fingers through her hair in a nervous gesture and tried to figure out exactly what she should do. Now fully awake the magical, sleepy quality of the night before had dissolved. All she wanted now was to hide. She rubbed her fingers across her eyes and scanned the room. She had always wondered what his room would be like. Although she had been in the rest of his house, this was one room she had not had the pleasure of visiting. It was large and comfortable as it turned out. A little different from the rest of his house which was rather clinical and seemed largely unlived in. It was mainly in fairly neutral grey-blue tones, but the fact there was a carpet and bedding warmed it up considerably. There was a couple of bedside tables one of which had a pile of books on it, by which she identified it as his "side". She could picture him sitting in bed at night reading forensic journals, it was something she did herself and was therefore quite familiar with.
It was at this point she began to think where on earth Grissom had got to. He couldn't be at work, shift was over long ago and everyone needs to sleep sometime. It was at that point her rational mind pointed out that it would be a bit difficult for him, with her in his bed. He certainly wasn't in it with her that was for sure. Why had he even put her in his bed? Did the man not have a spare room? Maybe not, he wasn't known to be particularly sociable; perhaps he just never had visitors and didn't see the need.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood slightly unsteadily before considering what she was intending to do. Could she really just walk out of there and pretend nothing had happened? Then a thought hit her. A slow smile spread over her face. Grissom had revealed far more to her about his feelings than he thought she knew about. She had the upper hand in their little game for the time being. Now it was time to play.
She turned to the door and grasped the handle, faltering for a second before gathering her senses and leaving the room.
She found Grissom Sat at his breakfast bar reading the newspaper and sipping a mug of coffee. He was looking slightly sleepy, a look Sara found adorable. His hair was slightly ruffled and his T-shirt and jeans gave him a more comfortable appearance than she was used to. She gave a slight sideways smile at the scene in front of her and began to walk quietly towards the kitchen before her nerve gave out.
"Evening."
Grissom turned slightly surprised by her quiet greeting. "How are you?"
"A little disorientated. But I'll get over it." Sara looked at him but he had immediately looked back down to the paper he was reading. "It's definitely not where I went to sleep. It's a bit like waking up and not being sure whether you're still dreaming. Speaking of…" She paused for a moment before continuing.
"…Why was I in your bed?"
Grissom looked up his expression slightly worried. He got up slowly and walked towards the cupboards removing a mug from the shelf nearby.
"I didn't think you would appreciate waking up next to a red-kneed tarantula and several cockroaches." Sara gave a wry smile.
"Uh… yeah, not first thing that's for sure. Not really used to waking up next to bugs. Then again, not really used to waking up in someone else's bed."
Grissom's head jerked up from where he was watching the coffee at her comment and Sara met his eyes with a barely contained smile.
Grissom was still slightly nervous, what was she hinting at with that comment? He had had a fairly sleepless night trying to figure out his next move. It seemed he could never quite recover quickly enough to formulate comprehensive answers to her questions. It was rather like preparing for an exam, in the best, but most nerve wracking way possible. It was strange how simply being alone with her could turn him into a stammering wreck, from his normally fairly self-assured personality. He tried very hard not to question the reasons behind it, but failed miserably. He knew exactly how he felt and he had the distinct feeling that she knew too, and as she had told him already, she knew what to do about it. Evidently it was just his issues causing the apparent communication blockage between them.
He made his way back towards her warily, holding a mug of coffee out towards her as if a peace offering. She wrapped her hands around the heat of the mug and tried to ignore the way he nearly dropped it as their fingers touched. Sara wasn't entirely sure whether to be insulted or not at his hasty retreat. She chose not to comment on it, but her previous smile turned a little pensive. The only thing that kept her hopes alive was the fact that he evidently felt the same rush of desire as she did. She could observe the withdrawal in his eyes, as well as physically, by now he was halfway across the room.
It was time to turn a little pro-active. "So you never really graced my question with a sensible answer." She paused for a moment for the unspoken question to settle in before continuing. "You could have just left me in the break room, taken me home, put me in your spare room… among a million other things…but you didn't. Why?"
Her tone left little room for argument. Getting Sara angry was one of the things he had been hoping to avoid. He had on several occasions had front row seats when something got to Sara, and he had always been relieved that her temper had never been entirely directed at him.
"It seemed the best idea at the time." He murmured, he then studiously avoided her eyes after this comment and his gaze settled on her mouth instead. It was said without any qualms, but Sara had her doubts about the honesty of the statement.
She huffed a quiet laugh at this point, and shook her head slightly. He really wasn't very good at explaining his actions sometimes. In fact, make that most of the time. Sometimes it was endearing, other times agonizingly frustrating. This was one of those times when she wasn't entirely sure how to categorise it.
She moved slowly towards him. It felt a bit like approaching an animal, one you are trying very hard not to frighten away before you have a good hold on it and she chuckled inwardly at the analogy. He was leaning against the counter on the other side of the kitchen clutching his coffee like a lifeline. He didn't seem nervous per se but he was definitely uncomfortable with the situation.
Grissom was starting to think that perhaps Sara knew a little more than she was letting on. She hadn't been this confident around him in quite a while. He forced himself to put his coffee down and turned back to meet her eyes. For a long moment nothing was said. By this point they were standing less than a metre apart. They had barely touched and already his skin was tingling. He knew there was a reason he had never allowed their relationship to develop, he wasn't sure just how much control he really had, over anything, himself included. Grissom had always liked to keep a tight control on things in his life, it was one of the reasons his hearing loss had affected him as it did. He could no more control it than the weather. Trying to ignore it had been a subtle way of denying he had a problem and, what good had it done him in the end? It was a way he chose of dealing with various problems, had it ever really worked? The answer was a resounding no. Sara was another of these situations that he had not handled particularly well, for precisely these reasons. He had since learnt that this ignoring the problem never came off as planned. It didn't just go away.
That moment lost in each others eyes seemed to last forever. It took Sara several seconds to realise that she had not said anything in reply to his comment. She decided in the end that the best policy would simply be to not to say anything. The best quote as far as she was concerned was the one that said "actions speak louder than words." As far as their non-relationship went that was entirely true, or at least she hoped so. None of it had ever been expressed in words and Sara honestly had very little faith in their efficacy. You could say anything; it didn't necessarily mean you meant it.
She continued moving towards him, all the while expecting him to back away. When he didn't move she stopped, still watching the apprehension in his deep blue eyes. His hands carefully moved to rest on her hips, the hesitation still showed that he expected her to stop him, she had no such thoughts. It didn't mean that she was going to initiate anything; it would be entirely in his control. It had been all her up to this point, time for someone else to take the lead while she sat back and enjoyed where it took her. She could feel the warmth from his hands, his fingers stroking the skin. It was all she could do not to melt into a heap at his feet. Sara could feel herself shaking slightly, and fervently hoped that Grissom was oblivious. Her senses were in overload, even the gentle touch of his hands making her jittery. In her mind she chided herself slightly for letting herself fall for him so far, and for having absolutely no self control at this point. His hands had migrated up her back, now running delicately over her collarbone and neck.
When his lips eventually touched hers it was tentative, his lips were soft and Sara couldn't help but return the kiss.
She gasped slightly as his fingers trailed down her spine to the small of her back. Her hands involuntarily moved to the back of his neck, wrapping her arms round his shoulders, and pulling herself further into the heat of his body. She tipped her head back and deepened the kiss, willing herself to fuse into his essence. Sara commenced raking her fingers through his hair, her breathing shallow. Grissom suddenly seemed to make a choice; he grasped her hips again, lifting her onto the surface which had been behind him. She wrapped her legs around his waist pulling him closer. "Sara". His harsh whisper pulled her out of her desire laden reverie. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"I've waited for this longer than you know. There is no way I'd back out now." She was surprised to find a similar timbre in her own voice. "I always told you I knew what to do, didn't I?" He shook his head slightly with a guarded smile and quietly replied.
"Yes… you did."
A/N:
"Love is when
you look into someone's eyes,
and see everything you
need." –
(Just because I love that quote, makes me feel all tingly. I'm such a romantic. G )
