Bear Witness
Summary: I'm bearly able to keep this story going!
A/N: A tenth chapter, once again using the weekly Improv Challenge. First and last lines are provided, with 1,000 words to fill in the rest. Thanks to Ann and Burked for looking this over.
Disclaimer: Go read one of the earlier ones!

Chapter 10

"Did you know that there is a butterfly called Sara?"

Sitting at the lab bench, a harried Greg paused long enough to lift his head up. He had a ton of work to do, but that comment caught his attention. Looking to his side, he found Hodges leaning against the table with his arms folded in a matter-of-fact manner.

"You're supposed to turn on the fume hood when you're working with those chemicals," Greg told him. "Brain cells don't grow back. But I guess someone should have told you that years ago."

"Like you should talk. How much did it cost to rebuild the lab?"

"This coming from the guy that spent fifty dollars for a copy of the Starsky and Hutch board game."

"I know! Wasn't that a bargain?" Hodges asked gleefully.

"Oh, yeah," Greg said, his sarcasm either lost or ignored by his companion. "Why are you naming butterflies?"

"I'm not, genius. That's the scientific name. There's the Anthocharis sara in California – that's the Sara Orangetip. And then there's the Heliconius sara, AKA the Sara Longwing. Found from Mexico to the Amazon Basin."

"If you want to butter up Grissom, you need to do it while he's here. Or do you think you can impress Sara?"

"Right! Everyone knows that's a lost cause. Well, anyone that's aware of what's going on around here," Hodges added, giving Greg a pointed look.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, please! Everyone knows Sara and Grissom are a thing. They have a 'past' – that's pretty up-to-date."

"In what universe?" Greg squeaked. "No way!"

"Yeah, and you're just ignoring the fact that they're off. Together. Out of town."

Greg shook his head. His earlier irritation of being short-handed at the lab fell to other emotions. This wasn't happening. "Grissom had to give a demonstration. He took Sara with him."

"Right. And staying at the motel was just a coincidence, I suppose."

"Motel?"

"Didn't you hear?" Hodges asked evilly. "Catherine tried to page Grissom, but he didn't get back to her. When they called him, Sara answered, since he was asleep."

"No!" Greg whispered in horror.

"Oh, yes. That motel is quite a romantic getaway. Conrad told me all about it."

"You talked to Ecklie about that? Eww!"

"Of course. We're like this," he said, holding his fingers together. "Very classy place, perfect spot for some … bed rest. Sara claimed they're staying there because the road was washed out, but no one believes that."

"Why not? It sounds good to me. I believe it."

"Because they didn't bother to tell anyone about it," Hodges replied silkily, thoroughly enjoying his torture of Greg. "It made for a convenient excuse for not coming to the scene, but that's all."

"You're full of it," Greg insisted, glaring at Hodges until he left the room. After staring at the wall disbelievingly for a long time, he decided to dispel his misgivings.

When the phone started ringing, Grissom yawned and picked it up quickly. While Sara had already answered it twice by mistake, his motives were less self-serving. He wanted her to sleep some more. On the rare occasions he got sick, Grissom knew he was a bear, and today had been no exception. Sara had put up with him patiently, and he wanted to do something nice for her.

"Grissom."

"Gah!"

"What can I do for you, Greg?" he asked with a deep yawn.

"Can I speak to Sara?"

"She's still asleep."

"Gah!"

Rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes, Grissom stared at his phone – still sitting on the nightstand. Resisting a groan, he sat up completely. What could possibly make this day any worse?

"We're stuck here, until the road is cleared, Greg," he explained, employing his best I'm-the-boss tone of voice. The heavy nasal quality made it more comical, though. "We'll probably wait for an hour or two after it's opened before we leave. Give traffic a chance to thin out. We'll see you next shift."

He hung up the phone before any more questions came his way. In actuality, they planned to delay heading out to give his body a chance to recover some more. His stomach finally settled down, without any embarrassing emissions, but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Whatsgoingon?"

Grissom turned at the sound, a smile forming despite his unease. Sara looked adorable with her hair tousled. He brushed a strand out of her eyes before tenderly kissing her forehead. "Go back to sleep, honey."

Any illusion that she was asleep left when her eye snapped open and her eyebrow shot up. Leaning against him, she reached her hand down to pat his resting on her hip. "No offense, Grissom, but that's not something I want to be called here. Sounds like a proposition."

He chuckled and brushed his lips against hers softly. "Actually, bears don't like honey."

"They don't?"

"No. They break into beehives to devour the larvae."

Sara gave him a bemused look before finally grinning. "So, you're saying Pooh was really a serial killer of baby bees. You're such a romantic."

"Not really. I think you know that by now," he answered slowly.

"I don't have any complaints."

"You don't?" Grissom asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah, actually I do. But not about this."

"And the rest of it?"

"We have some things we need to talk through," Sara told him. She rolled over, bringing her hands to rest on his chest as she nestled close. "How do you feel?"

"Better."

She smiled, nodding her head slightly. "Don't get me wrong. I want you, uh, us, to get together. But not here. And not under these circumstances."

"You're saying I shouldn't get my hopes up."

"Among other things," Sara said with a wide grin.

Grissom let out an embarrassed groan, but Sara's kiss cut it short. After a moment's confusion, he responded in kind, savoring the feel of her skin against his. When she eventually pulled back, he eyed her quizzically, his head tilted to the side.

"There's a lot of ground between where we are now, and where we have to stop," she explained, her fingers reaching up to trace patterns over his neck. Finding a tiny scar, Sara stopped her exploration and regarded the injury closely.

"I have several of them," he said. "Not all bugs are so nice as to come to the body. I had to get into some interesting places when I was in grad school."

"I never noticed them before."

"They're usually covered by clothing. Not that it should matter. You've seen all there is to see," he said with a slight blush.

"Yeah, well, the scars aren't what caught my attention," she replied huskily, her fingers moving around to the back of his neck. Grissom moaned deeply when her lips began to move around the tiny scar. His hands began their own quest after her tongue started to lick over the marred skin in slow, sensuous strokes.

She broke off the kiss and looked at him almost shyly, trying to judge his reaction to her ministrations. "Was that okay?" Sara asked.

"More than okay," he answered, already missing the feel of her lips on the scar. When Grissom sat up and reached for the hem of his t-shirt, she frowned lightly, prompting him to give her a reassuring wink.

"Would you like to see my collection?"