Bear Witness
Summary: Yet another children's story gets the perverted treatment. My entry to the Unbound Improv Challenge; first and last lines are provided, with 1,000 words to fill in the rest.
A/N: Thanks to Ann for the beta.
Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Chapter 11

"That feels good."

From his vantage point on the bed, Grissom admired Sara's lithe form as she stretched slowly. Recalling the way her skin felt under his hands, he smiled and propped himself up on his elbow. Since she was only wearing her tank top and underwear, there was plenty of her exposed for his viewing pleasure.

When he asked her to attend the conference, he'd hoped she'd still be receptive to his advances, but this trip turned out better than he'd dared dream. So entranced by the memories, he didn't immediately recognize her grimace, but the loud 'pops' her stretching created caught his attention.

Hopping out of the bed, he walked behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He frowned, feeling the knotted muscles. "You're tense," he said softly, a small spark of concern growing.

"That damn 'bed'," Sara muttered, leaning back into his hands. "It definitely wasn't designed for sleeping."

Grissom didn't answer; he'd actually napped well, but that was because Sara had let him settle into the bottom of the dip while she took the uncomfortable sloped side of the mattress. He began to move his hands, trying to work out the tension from her shoulders.

"From the sounds of it, cars started leaving about an hour ago," he noted, continuing his gentle massage. "How about if we leave in another hour? That should give traffic some time to start to thin out."

"Yes!"

He chuckled at her enthusiastic response. "Getting tired of my company already?"

"No. I want out of this place. I feel like we've been stuck in here for months."

"It has been an eventful day."

"Oh, yeah. Ouch."

Grissom stopped kneading her muscles when she winced after he hit a particularly sore one. "Sorry. Why don't you take a hot bath? That'll help you relax."

Sara looked over her shoulder, her eyes opened wide and shaking her head softly. "No, thanks. Did you see the inside of that tub?"

"No. Is it dirty?" he asked, recalling her aversion to germs.

"Oh, yeah. Just like the rest of this place!" She let out a grunt and turned around to face him, resting her hands softly on his chest.

He continued to frown; this place wasn't nice, but a hot bath would be beneficial for her. "How bad can it be?"

"There's a mural of Ursula that incorporates the fixtures. The hot and cold water knobs even have tassels," she said. Seeing his confused expression, Sara grimaced, moving her hands in front of her own chest area. Grissom blushed slightly when she began to twist her hands around.

"Oh!"

"And the spigot into the tub? That goes with one of Ursula's friends. Male friends," she added with a disgusted look.

He blinked several times, trying not to picture that mentally. Giving his head a shake to clear the image that formed anyway, an idea came to him. Taking her hand in his, he led her to the bathroom, ignoring the glare directed at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I am your bear protector, remember?" Grissom teased. Seeing the mural, he tilted his head to the side, slightly disturbed at how closely his visualization matched the actual thing.

After verifying the opposite wall was free of carnal children's toys, he pushed her gently onto the side of the tub, with her back towards the mural. Kneeling beside her, he rested a hand on her knee. "The hot water will do you good. I'll fill the tub for you. You don't have to look at the bad bears."

Sara rolled her eyes, but Grissom just took her hand again and held it under the water. "How's that."

"Too hot."

He nodded and adjusted the water. "Now?"

"Too cold."

"Okay, how about now?"

"That's just right."

Both of them started at the same time. Sara gave him a pointed look, and he nodded, silently agreeing never to mention that snippet of conversation ever again.

"So, do you want me to wash your back for you?" Grissom asked after an awkward silence.

She grinned evilly at him. "You sure that's a good idea? Don't want to get your hopes up."

"Or other things."

"Again," she answered, reminding him of what happened during their last make-out session.

"You had to bring that up … had to mention that."

Seeing the red showing through his beard, she gave him a contrite shrug. "I keep telling you – you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Trust me on that count," she insisted, noting the slight chest puff her words garnered.

"It was a natural reaction, especially when you consider how long I've wanted to be with you."

"Really?"

Grissom nodded, and Sara licked her lips cautiously.

"So … how come you never acted on it before?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "Lots of reasons. No reason."

"How about work?"

"That's part of it."

It was her turn to nod, dropping her head. That was one of the main reasons she'd be adamant that they not consummate their relationship in this motel. The hideous décor and questionable sanitation were others, but she knew as bad as this place was, it wasn't as bad as the reaction they would get from their coworkers. She seriously wondered how he'd hold up to the teasing.

"We're never going to hear the end of this when we get back."

"I don't know about that," Grissom said, with more than a trace of hope. "Luckily, I sound sick."

"You are sick. You're still running a fever."

"It's not bad. It sounds worse than it really is. But that'll work in our favor. We'll tell them the truth – I tried to sleep this off. They may rib us about being stuck here, but no one will believe we actually did anything."

"You do know who we work with, don't you? Ecklie already thinks you asked me to come with you to the expo so we could stop here on the way home."

He picked up her hand in his. "Don't worry. We'll make it work."

Sara smiled at his earnest tone, leaning forward to kiss him lightly. Pulling back, she looked at the water level in the tub and then stood up. "My tub's almost ready."

"What? I can't stay and watch?" he asked, standing up and wrapping his arms around waist.

"I thought we already established that wasn't a good idea. Wah!"

"You don't like that?" he asked, removing his lips from her ear.

"Uh, it surprised me."

"I'll remember that."

"Why? Are you conducting a survey?"

He shrugged, pulling her closer against his body and moving his tongue down her neck before answering. "I'm a scientist. I'm experimenting."

Sara let out a purr of pleasure when he found an especially sensitive area, closing her eyes and leaning back into his chest. His natural curiosity and methodical nature led him to carefully explore the newfound spot, paying attention to all her reactions. She loved it when he did that.