This has been lingering in my mind for months now, probably since about a couple weeks after Committed; I finally decided to post it. It starts off basically immediately after Committed. Please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: CSI and all of its characters are not mine.
8
She knew that she had come within a hairsbreadth of being killed; she could still feel the clay shard pressed against her jugular. She could feel the rapist's arms locked, almost too tight for breath, around her.
There was a knock at her door; she peered out the peep hole; then opened the door.
He stood there, gazing levelly at her and she easily met his gaze, wordlessly letting him in before closing the door behind him.
She didn't question his appearance in her apartment.
She didn't question when he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair; her own arms twined around his back.
Neither of them said anything as she led him to her bedroom and onto her bed.
They lay on their sides, his front curved around her back; on of his arms wrapped across her shoulders in an almost identical manner to the insane convict's, except that where that hold had been threatening and hateful this was protective and comforting. They both knew the reason for him holding her this particular way without any words. Her need to have the feeling of Adam's grip washed from her. His need to erase the image of her in the rapist's grasp from his mind. Both knew that they could never fully succeed, but taking what they could.
He remained with her the entire day in bed, holding each other and sleeping. They got up before work that evening; each showering separately in her bathroom. They then made dinner and headed off to work.
They didn't talk about what happened, but while they didn't allow it to be reflected at work, there had been a shift in their relationship.
8
He stood in his kitchen, a few days later, pouring himself a scotch. It had been a particularly hard night. They had had a case where a group of five ten year-olds had O.D.ed on ecstasy that had been laced with coke. Two had died; one was in a coma, expected to wake but to have brain damage; a fourth had "gotten lucky" and "only" had to have their stomach pumped; the fifth had had extensive brain damage, and while their heart and lungs still worked without aid that was about all they did.
He raised the glass to his lips.
There was a knock on his door, he lowered his glass and went to answer it. She stood on the other side; he let her in.
He didn't question her presences; he closed the door and came to stand face to face with her, inches away.
He didn't question when she leant forward, her face coming to rest on his shoulder and her hands coming up to grip the front of his shirt, as if trying to anchor herself; his arms wound around her, one gripping her shoulders and the other her waist, and buried his face in her hair, seeking his own anchor.
He brought her to his bedroom and his bed where they lay in the same manner as they had in her own, the glass of untouched scotch forgotten on the counter in his kitchen.
That morning brought an unspoken agreement between them.
8
They began alternating going back and forth between each others' homes to sleep and it began to show. He left his glasses and the book he was currently reading on the bedside table at her apartment and continued to do so. She forgot her favorite sweatshirt resting on the back of his couch in his townhouse and never brought it back. A couple of his shirts and pants took up residence in their own part of her closet. Her makeup began to intermingle with his things on his dresser. She allowed meat into her kitchen fridge, while he kept the bugs and blood out of his.
They never allowed this entwining of their lives to be seen by their friends or, more importantly, at their work. However they did find themselves better able to once again tease each other and joke, something that they had sorely missed in their relationship the past couple of years.
They never stopped to really think about it but all of these changes occurred over only a few weeks.
8
They dragged themselves up the steps to her apartment, each trying to deal with the images of their friend while he was buried and later being eaten alive by ants, the hours of searching and worry, having to dig him up and then not being able to immediately let him out because of the explosives. They entered her apartment; his keys clacked onto the kitchen counter; her purse followed. She hung her coat on a hook by the door; he tossed his over the back of a chair.
She entered the kitchen and pulled out two bottles of beer, giving the second to him; they drank in silence. They had each only taken a few deep draws of the liquid when his mouth met hers for the first time.
At first she was too stunned to react, but she quickly recovered and returned the kiss with as much intensity. Her fingers wound through his hair; his hands ran under the hem of her shirt and up her back. They had to finally break apart for air; he made the comment that they should probably take it somewhere other than the kitchen to which she nodded before their mouths met again. They eventually made it to her bedroom, a trail of clothing left along the way. They gave and they took, each knowing that the other wanted, needed. They finally collapsed, their breathing ragged, and their bodies covered with the sheen of sweat. He rolled onto his back and held her against his chest. Neither could remember when something felt so natural, when they had last felt so alive.
And they didn't question it.
8
I hope you enjoyed it! This idea came to me of how it would be so like the writers, directors and producers to have Grissom and Sara start a relationship and no one knows, not even the audience and then this came to me. I don't know exactly why or when I decided not to mention any names but that is how it worked out. I really loved writing this story. It is just a one part, but I may write a semi-sequel that I am forming in my mind later on (though if I do the sequel will most likely end up being more of a humorous story than this one.) (I did make up the case with the five ten year-olds, I'm not completely sure how I came up with it but there it is.) Please let me know what you think!