Thanks to Nessa and laura27md for the beta and to niff and Laura Katharine who also read this over. And to those who read and review– thank you– you're awesome!

"Hmph."

She was quick and skillful and she took his breath away – quite literally. In the past his fantasies consisted of him no longer being able to reserve his attraction and attacking Sara; on the bed, over a desk, in the front seat of the Denali. Not once did he entertain the idea that the opposite was a fantasy of hers and that she would ever act upon it. The fact that she was waiting for him at home with the intent of pinning him up against the wall and performing wonderful acts with her mouth, left him speechless and highly aroused. His keys and the file to Sara's old case dropped to the ground – there would be time to discuss that later.

Regretfully pulling his mouth away, he rested his forehead against hers and took a few deep breaths. "Not that I'm complaining, but I thought that we were going to have a quick breakfast and then head out to question the neighbors."

"Brass couldn't reach you so he called my cell." Sara slid his jacket off his shoulders. Stopping at his elbows, she pulled him to her, effectively trapping his arms. "Apparently, they won't have an officer available for us until this afternoon."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So unless you still want 'quick', I would rather do this slowly," she whispered against the skin of his neck as she navigated him over to sit on their couch.

"Slow is very good. You … are in a better mood." Grissom winced, worried that his comment would break this wonderful spell but one look at her understanding smile put him at ease.

"I ended up having a good night."

Flashing an amused grin, he helped her discard his jacket. "Going over bank statements does something for you, huh?"

"Nah, I just had a good lunch break."

"The lunch break I had to bail out on?"

Sara slowly unbuttoned his shirt, her lips following the path her hand created. "Yep."

"Should I be worried that you had such a good time without me?" he asked breathlessly, his fingers twisting and twining through her tresses.

"Not at all. I shared my lunch with Catherine."

"You did?"

"Yeah. And not one snide comment escaped our lips." She slowly slid up his body and Grissom let out an involuntary groan as she straddled his lap, her crotch putting pressure against his own arousal.

"Mmm. Impressed."

They spent long moments exploring each other with their experienced hands and mouths and loving how even though their bodies weren't foreign to this, their hearts still fluttered like it was the first time.

Sara abruptly pulled away with a soft gasp and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "There is one thing, though."

"That doesn't sound good."

"Well that depends on you, actually." His mind soared though the possibilities as he watched her avert her eyes and then absently play with his beard - he knew he wouldn't like what she was about to say. "She knows about us."

This was something that he wasn't prepared for. The fact that she and Catherine seemed to be mending fences pleased him more than she would ever know but picturing them discussing his relationship with Sara made his stomach drop. "You told her?"

Her eyes snapped up at his question and for a moment their expressions were mirrors of hurt. "No, no. She, uh, overheard us in the hall. Are you okay with that?"

"I don't have a choice but to be okay with it," he sighed, resting his head against the back of the couch.

"She's not going to say anything."

"I can only hope. I'm sure she had plenty to say about it." The disdain in his voice was undeniable and the first thing that came to mind was his answer to Catherine's question if it was a crime to want human contact. He'd told her that is why he doesn't go out and he could almost picture her right now with her face twisted in accusation rather than amusement. "No Gil, you just stay in."

"She didn't say it, but I think that she's happy for us. I also think that she may be a little hurt that she didn't find out from you."

"We weren't telling people, Sara."

She sat up straighter then and cocked her brow, giving him a doubtful smirk. "But if we were, would you tell her?"

"Sara … things have happened. Out of fairness to Catherine, I'm not going into it, but it wasn't just the Granger case. Things have been adding up and … after awhile it felt as though my friendship was betrayed."

"Okay. It's just that I know it upsets you."

"You're right, it does. Things have gotten better but I miss her friendship." While most of the sadness that weighed on his heart lifted the moment his lips first touched Sara's, the loss of his friend still left him incomplete. He wondered if there would ever be a moment when he could say that he was happy with every aspect of his life. That thought was quickly banished as he knew life could never be that perfect.

"How do you think you could get it back?"

"Listen, I'm glad that the two of you were able to set your differences aside but … I'm just not in that place. There will be a time for that – just not right now."

"I'm not asking you to be someone you're not; I just want you to know that she's hurting too. Sometimes it's hard to see someone else's pain through your own."

The truth of that statement rocked him to his core. Many times he'd witnessed Sara's pain, but how much of that did he turn a blind eye to in the effort of sparing his own heart?

"I'll keep that in mind." And he would, because he owed it to her and to himself - and maybe even to Catherine. He chuckled as he took in their appearance. Her hair was wild and beautiful and her lips were swollen from the kisses they'd shared just a few minutes ago. As much as he loved her, he would have to talk with Sara about her version of pillow talk. Catherine – or anyone else for that matter – should never be brought up in times like this.

Grissom pulled her closer to his chest and furrowed his brow. "You know what I don't understand?"

"What?"

"Why we're both still dressed. And on top of that, I find it quite disturbing that we got sidetracked."

She stood, ignoring Grissom's grunt of disappointment and swiftly pulled her shirt over her head. "Did you get sidetracked?" Cocking her head to the side, she offered him an amused smirk. "I didn't get sidetracked."

"You are the one who sidetracked us," Grissom whispered, watching in awe as she shimmied out of her jeans – the slight wiggle of her hips was nearly his undoing.

"Nah, I was just pacing us." The salacious wink and the manner in which she removed her bra left him wide-eyed and anxious.

"Huh. We need p-pacing?" Did he just stutter? How in the world does she manage to turn him into a puddle of goo with so little effort?

Chuckling, she flung her lacy thongs into his face. "Today we do."

She took over as their bodies joined in a hungry, frantic dance. There was excitement and need and want and so much love poured into every touch – every thrust. When their eyes met they knew exactly what they were doing. They were making love.

Sleep was hard to come by for Sara that morning and she cursed the fact she wouldn't have time for a nap later. She snuggled up to Grissom's sleepy form, hoping that just by sheer will alone she could fall asleep. After another twenty minutes of tossing and turning she gave up and retreated to the living room to watch television.

The sight that greeted her brought a proud smile to her face. Her clothes – and his – were recklessly scattered about the living room and she could almost see the morning's events play out right before her eyes. She always wondered about his passion – what he would be like once he finally let go. Sharing herself with him and receiving what he had to give in return exceeded every expectation.

His reaction to Catherine knowing about them was what she'd expected. He was upset but he would have to get over it – it was their fault anyway. They were careless about their conversation last night and their flirting was just a little too comfortable and telling. He should be happy that it was Catherine and not Ecklie or someone else who would take pleasure in having the upper hand. They would come clean eventually – when Grissom was comfortable with it. She just hoped that he knew the longer they waited, the less likely the chance their 'outing' would be on their terms.

She turned on the television, settling on CNN for background noise and began to clean up their mess. Following the trail of clothing, she spotted his keys and a file in front of the door. Sara tucked the file under her arm and deposited the dirty laundry and the keys in their respective places and was about the place the file on his desk when something caught her eye.

The printout attached to the file was the AFIS results from their current case. "He was in the system after all and … apparently more than that," she said to herself, noticing his print came up as an unidentified match from a cold case. Flipping the file open, Sara recognized the old case immediately – she hated not being able to solve a case but this one was a sore subject with her.

Case # 001254SS Smart, Ryan. Status: UNSOLVED

"Uh, listen, I recognize the importance of this, but I'm in the middle of my own homicide investigation."

"I'll talk to your detective. Explain the deal."

"Well, it's not about the detective. It's about my own responsibility."

"I'm handing out assignments, Sara. It's not a negotiation."

Case closed due to insufficient and inconclusive evidence.

"You know what pisses me off?"

"Lots of things."

"Victims aren't equal. High profile cases get priority."

"A ticking clock gets priority."

"Every case is a ticking clock. The only difference between a cold case and a hot case is time."

"I don't care if you're working on the hottest case of your career. If your supervisor tells you to leave a scene to go wash his car, you do it. You don't have a career without a job."

Sara sat back and rubbed her hands over her face. They had worked as a team and solved Warrick's case. That type of group effort always gave her a rush, but this one was different. She would never know if that time away from her case had been detrimental or not but what she did find out was that her respect for Grissom, and Nick, at that time had its limits. It was a hard lesson and she spent the majority of that year learning it. Shaking her head to rid herself of the memories of the past, Sara closed the file and placed it on his desk. She knew she wasn't going to sleep now.

Grissom woke up to an empty bed and an empty home. The living room was clean and all signs of their morning tryst had been cleared away. She was allowed to come and go as she pleased – it was her home, too – but she never left without saying something. It was then that he saw it; a sticky note placed atop the case file he brought home.

Gone for a run.

S.

To Be Continued ...