Bear Witness
Summary: The story that won't die is back for another chapter. 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: Would I do this to something I owned? Don't answer that.

Chapter 12

"She's a wimp." Nick chuckled when Catherine's only response was to flip him off and continue swearing down the hallway. She'd been grumpy ever since she found out Grissom and Sara were both going to a demonstration, and swing shift had to pull a double to cover for them.

But for some reason, she'd be especially irritable since she returned from her DB. She'd suddenly stop and stare into the distance like she was in shock. It wasn't the case; that hadn't been so bad. And every time he tried to ask Warrick about it, he'd break out in a raunchy laugh.

Finally, she'd gone to check on Greg's case, but after a few moments in the room, she'd let out a screech, ranting at something he'd shown her. Nick's attempt to tease her about it only resulted in more yelling. Snickering behind his coffee mug, he strolled into the lab to see what Greg had done to set her off this time. He cocked his head in confusion when he saw a picture of a motel displayed in the web browser.

"The Mountainside Rendezvous? Never heard of it before. One of your favorite vacation spots?"

"No. Hodges told me about it. Ecklie told him."

Nick frowned. "And you are taking advice from them about where to stay. Something seems wrong with that picture."

"Not that picture," Greg groaned. With a hesitant hand, he moved the mouse and clicked. Immediately, a photo gallery listing the available rooms appeared. Nick nearly dropped his coffee mug.

"Ecklie goes here? Oh, man. I didn't need to know that."

"This isn't so bad, is it?" Greg asked anxiously. "It's advertising. Ads always exaggerate. Probably not the least bit … interesting. I mean it's not anything … sexy."

"You feeling okay, boy? Look at that. Whoa, go back. Click on that one."

"No!"

"What's wrong with you? Wow," Nick whistled, staring at a painting of a well-endowed blonde bombshell. "'Prurient Pansy's Pad' looks … wow. What's prurient anyway?"

"You don't want to know. And I don't want any DNA samples in here."

Nick immediately closed his mouth.

"Yeah, like drool was what I was worried about," Greg muttered, going back to the motel's main page.

Nick laughed. "Which of those pissed Cath off?"

"All of them."

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion. She was probably the last person in the lab who could be insulted by anything in these pictures. Sara he could understand having a strong reaction. As smart and tough as she was, she was still pretty reserved when it came to sexual matters. The various lifestyles portrayed by the pictures wouldn't interest her, and some of them would probably offend her.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's not true. There isn't anything about this place."

"Greggo, there's a warning on every page that you have to be at least eighteen to visit this website."

"I was trying to ignore that!" he groaned. With a miserable look, he turned to Nick. "Grissom took Sara there. That's where they are right now."

Nick suddenly broke out in a loud, uncontrollable laugh. He held his ribs as he bent over, his face flushing with mirth. "Oh, that's a good one. Tease the guy on his first night back. Good one."

"I'm serious."

"No!"

Greg nodded his head while Nick continued to swing his from side to side. "They're staying at the motel. Together. In the same motel room. That motel! One of these rooms. Together."

"Yeah, I get the idea." Nick's head continued swaying. "No way. Not Sara. She wouldn't be caught dead in a place like that."

"The road washed out. There's no other place to stay." Greg leaned his head on his hands and sighed pathetically.

"Well, why didn't you say that to begin with? They had to share a room. No big deal."

"You, you really think there's nothing to it?" Greg asked, seizing on a stray filament of hope. "I called her, and Grissom answered her phone. They were sleeping together."

"Come on. Sara in a place like that? She probably rigged up some sort barrier in the middle of the bed. Nothing happened," Nick assured him.

"Thanks. I knew I was right."

After Greg left, he eased his way to the computer, and pulled the web site back up. Looking around cautiously, he quickly printed out the page. He grabbed the sheets of paper and quickly folded them up. Nick's lips slowly pulled back in a lewd grin. "Grissom, you dawg!"

Meanwhile, back at the motel, the conjectural carnal canine squirmed uncomfortably. In an attempt to dry his jeans, he'd resorted to using the hair dryer supplied with the room. That had been unnerving in itself; someone had modified the device to look like a bear's head, so it was literally 'blowing' you.

While it helped rid his pants of the excess moisture, it created another problem: the heat caused them to shrink slightly. And despite all that had happened, it still disconcerted him that every time he turned around, Sara would suddenly dart her eyes back upwards with an appreciative grin.

"Keep those pants," she said, smiling wickedly. When he raised an annoyed eyebrow, she frowned and made her way to his side. Her hand slipped into his, squeezing softly. "Please tell me the truth."

"About what?"

"Do you regret this? Don't worry if you do. I know how hard it'll be for you when we get back. Everyone in the lab knows we were here, and they're going to think we … I just want to know now."

Grissom stared at her for a moment. He slowly turned around and pulled her body close to his. "I don't regret this."

"But what about work?"

"Do you have your digital camera with you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Grissom kissed her deeply, gently caressing her until she relaxed in his arms. His tongue darted into her mouth, drawing a throaty moan. Pulling back, his chest swelled with self-satisfaction. Her eyes were half-closed and her breathing was heavy. "I want you to take pictures of everything in here."

Sara gave her head a shake. "Are you insane?"

"No. We're going to show everyone at the lab what this place is like."

"Brain damage caused by your fever. You're delusional."

Grissom pulled her back into his arms and smiled. "No, I'm not. Think about it. If you go back to the lab, and show everyone pictures of this room and make jokes about it, how do you think they'll react?"

"Reverse psychology? If we make a joke about this place, they won't believe anything happened between us."

"Exactly."

"Or they'll think we're a couple of pervs, and that stuff did happen," she countered.

"Stuff did happen. We're not pervs."

"But not the stuff they'll think happened between a pair of pervs like us." Sara let out a sigh, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Her hands began to make small motions over his back. "I don't know. I liked this. Being with you, finally being able to hold you. To kiss you."

"Will you like it more when we can do it in the privacy of our bedroom?"

"You're serious."

"Yes, I am. I can't promise everything will go perfectly. I've lived alone for a very long time. It's going to take some time to get use to sharing my life with someone. If you can have patience with me, I'll try."

"Promise me you'll keep these jeans," Sara growled sensuously as her hands slid downwards, and she captured his lips with her own.

When she finally pulled back, he blinked several times. Her mouth moved over his with more passion and promise than any of her earlier kisses. He'd already been staggered by her earlier acceptance; this was unbelievably good. And they still hadn't actually done anything. Thoughts of how good that would be made him swallow nervously.

Grinning salaciously, Sara grabbed her camera and photographed the room with the speed that came from years of practice. After gathering their few belongings, she saw him still standing there in stunned silence. She sauntered out of the room, trying not to laugh as she moved her hips in an exaggerated manner.

"Keep the pants," she directed.

Grissom gave his head a nod as he shut the door.