A/N: This chapter contains F/F situations - but nothing graphic. Turn back now if that 'squicks' you out. Borrowed that from Ms. Maggs' Feasibility Study and I can't stop saying it. Don't own CSI and all that. All errors are mine - need a beta.
My Best Enemy
Chapter Five
Sara's Apartment…
Can't a person get any sleep around here? Sara grumbled as she donned on her favorite navy Harvard sweat suit to answer the door.
"Somebody's grumpy." Dana smirked at the scowl that greeted her. "Snap out of it Sidle. I brought breakfast." Holding up a six pack of beer and a steaming pizza.
"It's nine o'clock in the morning." The CSI whined.
"So? It's called sustenance."
Sara grunted, despite feeling her initial irritation dwindle. Who was she kidding? She wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway. "Get your ass in here and where the hell did you find a pizza shop open this early?"
"I've got connections."
Grissom's home…
"Catherine Willows!" Grissom bellowed after hearing his friend's sketchy version of her morning with Sara.
Catherine flinched, subconsciously taking a step backwards. She'd seen Grissom upset but right now, he was livid!
Grissom noticed her withdrawal and lowered his tone. "Catherine, I know you think you're helping but my personal life is not yours to figure out."
"Gil, I don't understand what the problem is." Catherine complained, refusing to acknowledge his point. "You and Sara are perfect for one another. Why do you keep pushing her away?"
"I can't get into this with you, right now." Grissom's anger quickly shifted to uneasiness.
"Look, I can't tell you exactly what we discussed, but I'm warning you Gil, you have to act now. This could be your last chance." Catherine wasn't sure what would be worse. Sara leaving Vegas or starting a relationship with another man. Grissom would be devastated either way.
Something about the way her furious co-worker declared that she was done waiting, struck a chord in Catherine. She didn't know what Sara had in mind but she knew that something had changed, something was different. Grissom's time was up.
"I still don't know what to do, Cath." He admitted sadly, before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Sara's Apartment…
"What was it like, being a Senator's daughter?" Sara queried, already on her fourth beer.
"Crowded."
"Crowded?" She repeated, urging Dana to continue.
"First, I was the Mayor's daughter, then the daughter of a State Representative and finally the Senator's daughter. I was an only child and I swear there was never a moment when I was completely alone.
My father was neurotic when it came to protecting me. Of course, I rebelled in every way possible. Skipped school, gave my security the slip every chance possible. I was a nightmare." Dana laughed at the memories of her childhood antics.
"Why'd you choose the military?"
"Because, I knew it was the only place my father's bodyguards couldn't follow me." She replied in honesty. "And, I had finished at Stanford and still did not have a clue as to what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I just knew it was never going to involve politics."
"Why'd you leave the military?"
"That's classified." The answer was curt and apparently not up for further discussion.
"Okay. Next stop, FBI?"
"Uh- hmmm."
"What division did you work in?"
"Intelligence."
"Field agent?"
"Sometimes."
Sara sighed impatiently with Dana's cryptic answers. "You left the FBI to be a cop?"
"Something like that. Trust me, my life has been uneventful. Nothing as dramatic as falling in love with my professor and following him across the country."
The alcohol provided a wonderful buffer for Sara's usually sensitive feelings and decided to allow the barb to pass. "What did your father think about your being bi-sexual?"
"It never came up."
"Really?" Sara found this hard to believe. Dana was anything but discrete with her pursuit of the male and female species. She was quickly establishing a questionable reputation in the Department and was drawing Sara into her shadow. However, Sara wasn't as freaked as she thought she should be. Wonder why?
Grissom's Home…
Catherine rolled her eyes in frustration and leaned back on the cool leather couch. For a brilliant man, he was absolutely clueless. She had wondered for years, why her dear friend could not commit to a relationship. He wasn't gay. She would have picked up on that right away. Besides, Catherine had seen him on many occasions get just as hot and bothered as any other man in the presence of a beautiful woman.
What she realized eventually, was that there was someone else in Grissom's life. In the past, he had made only vague references to a former student of his attending Harvard. Who flies roundtrip to Boston for a day, to attend a graduation of a student that is not related to you? Then, he would slip away to visit a 'good friend' that lived in San Francisco. However, it wasn't until Holly's murder that Catherine figured it out.
Grissom would never admit it, but Catherine knew right away. Sara Sidle was the mystery woman he had been pining for these years.
The evidence could not be denied.
He summoned a stranger in to investigate Warrick when she could have easily run the investigation. Grissom was adamant that it be this CSI from San Francisco - someone he trusted. Ouch. Also, there were plenty of CSI wannabes right there in Vegas including Greg, but he reached all the way to California - and hired Harvard alumni Sara. What a stretch.
Catherine willingly admits that she was slightly jealous - at first. She had been his sole female friend and was not ready to share the title with the younger, beautiful woman whose intelligence was off the charts. Granted, Catherine could hold her own in forensics, but Sara was a damn sponge, ticking off ridiculous facts and quotes that only their boss could rival. Apparently, she was also an Entomologist in training.
Not only did they have the genius thing going on, but she had never seen him respond this way to a woman - any woman. Sure, Grissom used to get flustered around Terri Miller, but he would drop interest in her at the mere sight of a bug.
This was different. When she first arrived, he and Sara had a non verbal, weird vibe element in effect and evidently worked within some type of geek magnetic field because the two never stayed more than three centimeters from one another at work. Where they both basically lived, by the way.
Obviously, the feeling was mutual, Grissom wasn't the only one walking around like a lovesick teenager. For years, Catherine had never seen Sara show a remote interest in any other man. Which was why she practically stroked out when she heard that Sara was dating the paramedic. When in the world did they have time to see one another when she was constantly under Grissom's radar?
Grissom was a bear during what she coined as the 'dark period,' walking around like Sara had cheated on him. Catherine thanked the high heavens when Sara ended it with that two-timing jerk and things had gone back to there tension filled, hair pulling normalcy until the Debbie Marlin case. She still got chills thinking about Sara's twin and Grissom's reaction to the case. It was a good thing Grissom did not notice the distinct parallels of his and Dr. Lurie's lives. Probably would have gone of the deep end.
Still, Catherine didn't understand why the two couldn't see what anyone with half a brain could. Sara was a female version of Grissom and they were perfect for one another. She had figured this out five years ago and her conversation with Sara today confirmed what she already knew - what in the hell was taking Grissom so long?
Catherine needed a plan and she needed reinforcements.
Several hours later…
"Well, what do you think I should do now?" Sara wanted to know.
The two women had polished off Dana's 'sustenance' and was now well into a third six pack of beer. All the while, Sara had shared the details of the conversation she overheard between Brass and Grissom and her 'talk' with Catherine.
"I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know? You said I should be more aggressive if I wanted to get laid. What's the next step?"
"You want me to give you pointers on how to get your boss in bed? No thanks, Sidle." Not bothering to hide her irritation.
"You can't back out now. I'm ready."
Dana tried to decipher the woman's ambiguous statement. Sara had once complained that Grissom was always throwing double entendres, obviously, she was learning by example as well. "What are you ready for, Sara?"
Sara cocked her head to one side in answer.
"Is that all you want Sara? To get laid? 'Cause you don't have to chase Grissom for that."
"Is that an offer?" She shot back with a flirtatious smile.
"Be careful what you ask for, Sara." Dana warned. They had played this game many times before - flirting openly. However, today, Dana wasn't in the mood. Sara's earlier line of questioning left her anxious and more than a little edgy. She didn't appreciate people prying into her past.
"You know I'm always up for a good challenge." The words were out of Sara's mouth before she could stop them.
Dana took moment to study Sara. Her eyes making a slow perusal, taking in every detail from head to toe.
Trying not to fidget under the scrutiny, Sara leaned back into the couch. There was something terrifying as well as exciting about the way Dana was inspecting her. It also made her feel alive and wanted - something that she hadn't experienced in a long while.
Danger Will Robinson! Warning bells rang loudly in Sara's head as Dana moved closer to remove the almost empty log neck from her hand and with a slight tilt of the head, she slowly drained the remainder of the warm liquid.
Sara felt the first twinges of desire, deep within, as Dana's lips pulled into a devious smile. She'd wondered a time or two, what it must be like to be on the receiving end of this officer's attention. She wondered why the many men and women she dated kept coming back for more when they knew she played the field - now she knew.
Sara was being seduced by Dana - and she liked it.
Unable to find her voice, Sara's eyes widened as Dana inched forward, giving her all the time in the world to move.
"What's the matter Sara? Cat got your tongue?" A soft chuckle escaped when she got no response.
She knew she should have stopped it. They had already crossed the 'just friends' line, but she didn't, couldn't and did not want to. Maybe, it was the beer or her mounting frustration with Grissom or just frustration in general. She couldn't remember the last time she had sex - with another person.
"Sara?"
She must have been lost in thought because now Dana was thisclose. Her tongue automatically licked her lips in anticipation of a kiss. Just once…
…And it was nice. Sara groaned as Dana's soft lips brushed against her own. Her eyes drifted closed when the pressure increased, created a delicious tingle. Very nice.
. Sara groaned as Dana's soft lips brushed against her own. Her eyes drifted closed when the pressure increased, created a delicious tingle. .It should have ended there. One kiss should have been enough to steep the long ignored fire burning deep within and to satisfy her unexpected sexual curiosity.
It should not have felt so good when Dana's fingers threaded through thick brown tresses to steady her head while the other hand slipped beneath her sweatshirt and cupped a bare breast. She gasped out loud from the touch, her nipples hardening immediately from their long dormant state. Dana's tongue prodded experimentally around the outline of her lips, mimicking the circular actions of her fingers, waiting for the opportunity to explore further.
Somewhere, in the far recess of Sara's mind, she knew that this was not a good idea. But her beer drenched and overtaxed brain could not come up with a single reason.
Her arousal built quickly as the were kisses deepened and her breast were skillfully manipulated making her writhe in pleasure. Her back arched on it's own accord, encouraging more contact. She was so close. Lost and nearing sensory overload, the caresses moved lower, skimming along her ribs, dipping beneath the elastic of the sweat pants to rest, finally, against her flat belly. One touch there and she knew it would be over. It had been too long. She needed him so much.
"Sara…Sara, open your eyes." Dana coaxed.
Sara opened her eyes and the reality of the situation sunk in. Huh? What was she doing? "Dana, wait." But her traitorous body continued to respond to the expert ministrations as Dana's body pressed flush with her own.
She was making love with Dana, thinking about Grissom. This wasn't her. She didn't use people this way. And what about Grissom? "Dana, Stop."
Dana's hands retracted and she rolled to her side.