AN- Sorry for the long waits between chapters, but I have about 5 active stories that I'm working on now, and my muse does not always like to split up my time evenly between them. I'll be doing my best to update quicker!

Chapter 11: The Quest

Sara leaned back into Grissom's arms as they lounged in the back of the theatre, watching the pre-dinner show. They had wandered the areas surrounding the clock tower, sharing in the intellectual allure of the historic aspects and reveling in the romantic landscape as the sun set over the azure waters. Hand in hand they'd wandered back to the ship as a pure, black night started to settle in.

As the lights came up they wandered back to the dining room in their own little world, though there were people milling about all around them. They reluctantly parted. Though to any casual observer it would have seemed a cool goodbye, their subtle body language and eye contact spoke volumes to those who best knew the two.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"Look at that!" Mary Beth laughed as Sara walked towards them, conspiring with the other two girls around the table.

"What?" Sara asked as she sat herself, smoothing the sun dress she wore for the casual dinner and picking up her menu.

"Awful chummy with him there..." Erika led, a huge smile on her face.

"So?" Sara asked, trying to hide behind her menu as she felt a blush moving up her face.

"Good for you hun," Mary Beth said, whispering into Sara's ear as the waiter walked up to their table, "you needed to get laid!"

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"You lucky dog!" Roger laughed and patted Grissom on the back as he took his seat. "Where did you find that one?" Gris smiled a bit, unsure of what to say. Roger had always had a reputation for trying to rob the cradle, his appreciation of younger women apparent and consistent.

"She's..." Grissom slowly chose his words as he perused the menu, "She's an old friend."

"One of those..." Roger laughed.

"No, Roger. Not one of those." Grissom smiled a bit as he watched her joke with her college friends, quickly turning serious. "She's the one."

Roger stopped and smiled at him. "Well, it's about damn time, Gil."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"So we'll see you tonight then?" Erika asked as she held up her shot, waiting for the rest of the girls to do the same. When it was apparent Sara was looking across the room Erika reached a hand out to snap her fingers in Sara's face. "Sassy, you with us?"

"Yeah, sorry," She smiled at them, tearing her eyes from Grissom across the room. She picked up the souvenir shot glass in front of her, mirroring her friends. Every night they'd taken the 'shot of the night' after dinner, collecting the souvenir glasses in the process. While Sara wasn't much for drinking, her good mood prompted her to join in the fun. Tonight's shot: a "blue eyed blonde."

"Ok, before we lose Sara again, let's meet in the lounge tonight, ok?" They all nodded.

Keri smiled and pushed her shot higher, "To getting laid tonight, ladies!" After a few laughs they threw the shots back and smiled at each other, but Sara's gaze was again directed at Grissom, who had fallen back into his dinner conversation. Keri rolled her eyes at the other two while standing up and pulling Sara with her. "You two go mingle, " She winked at Erika and Mary Beth. "C'mon, Sara, let's go claim our men."

Two pairs of hungry eyes watched the girls saunter over. Sara stood next to Grissom at his position at the end of the table, resting a hand on his shoulder, while Keri practically fell into Danny's lap. Grissom lifted Sara's hand into his, bringing it quickly to his lips in a show of gentlemanly class, as opposed to the blatant make-out session the other two were engaged in.

After a quick introduction, Grissom excused himself from the table to lead Sara out of the dining room. "C'mon," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the elevator.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she molded her body to his, reveling in the feel of his arms around her. It was still so new and novel that she relished every moment.

"On deck." He said nothing more, but his eyes twinkled. They made their way up the two flights and out onto the sunset bathed observation deck silently. Grissom led her around until he found a fairly secluded spot, and then gathered her in his arms to watch as the tropical island fell into twilight.

"So," he whispered in her ear before dropping a tiny kiss there, "What were you girls talking about at dinner that made you blush so much?"

Sara smiled as she turned her head to whisper in his ear, "Getting laid."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

As soon as Sara and Grissom walked into the theatre, Keri shoved drinks in their hands. She led them over to the alcove by the front of the stage where the other three girls, as well as Danny, were seated.

"You two! You were almost late, you know!" Erica tried scolding them, but couldn't in her intoxicated happiness.

"We know," Sara said, taking a big gulp of her drink. Though Grissom tried to give Sara the only open seat in the little alcove where the six were trying to sit, she laughed as she shoved him down and dropped in his lap.

Before the girls could even talk, the lights dimmed and the so-happy-he-had-to-be-on-drugs cruise director came out. "Hey everyone, and welcome to 'The Quest,' our adults-only game show!" Shouts and applause filled the room as the entertainment staff went to each group giving out numbers. "So here's how it works: Your teams, no more than six, please, each get a number. I'm going to start to ask for things. The first ten teams up here with the thing I ask for and the table number gets a point. At the end of the game the team with the most points gets a fabulous prize!"

While the director went over the finer points of the game and Erika and Keri rejoiced at their group number of 21, Sara was trying to ignore the fact that Grissom was placing tiny kisses up her collarbone. She was also trying to forget that they'd been in the middle of a very adult game of their own when she'd realized they were going to be late for her promised rendezvous.

"Ok, let's get this game started!" The director shouted to another round of whoops and applause. "I'm looking for red lipstick. Someone bring me your number and a tube of red lipstick!"

All at once a stampede of women rushed to the stage, holding out their lipstick and their numbers. As he promised, he called out the first ten numbers to his assistant and sent them all back. Erika returned triumphantly holding up her tube of lipstick to the girls' cheers. As everyone settled down again the director asked for a sock with a hole in it.

All the girls looked at their feet, then stared at the two males. Grissom lifted a heel out of his loafers: no socks to even have a hole. All eyes turned to Danny, who quickly toed off both his shoes to show no holes in his black socks. Keri simply huffed, pulled the sock from his foot, and tore at the thin material with a sharp nail as she ran it up to the stage. She returned with a smug huff as she tossed the sock back to Danny.

"Now this is where the adult part comes into this game," teased the director. "I want to see..." everyone leaned a little closer, "a false tooth!" Everyone groaned and watched as a few geriatrics rushed up and popped out their dentures and one woman tried to pass off a tictac as a tooth. The small group looked at each other and they all shrugged. Not a false tooth among them. Grissom gave a tiny sigh of relief when he wasn't singled out in the search for the false teeth. He didn't even have so much as a filling, but he was the oldest in this group.

"Ok," Laughed the director, "let's get to the racy stuff. I want to see a bra! And let's not see anything else, please... Just a bra!"

In a flash Mary Beth was up and wriggling around to the cheers of the other girls as she pulled her bra out from under her tank top with a flourish. Erika pulled it from her hands and was off and running. Somewhere between the atmosphere and the alcohol it became imperative to everyone in the room to win this silly game.

"And the next thing I want to see is a lady bring me a pair of men's pants, sans the man!" The director announced.

Before anyone else could react Danny was up and stripping, tossing his pants at an eager Keri to run up to the stage. When Grissom looked at him he simply shrugged: he was going to impress her even if it meant taking off his pants in public.

Keri returned triumphant, and winked at Danny as she gave him back his pants. The next series of items sent them rooting through their purses and pockets, coming up empty most of the time. They had the compact, Chap stick, floss, and daily itinerary. They did not have the wedding ring, the sunglasses, the movie ticket stub, or the sticker. They were laughing, though.

Grissom sat back and watched most of the time, having brought nothing with him except his room key, reveling in how Sara was laughing and smiling around her friends in this silly game. It made him feel incredibly happy and lucky to be with her like this.

"Ok, ladies and gentleman. I have a serious question!" the director yelled over everyone. "How many people here tonight are with someone?"

Loud cheers went up from the audience as well Keri and Sara. At Sara's enthusiasm Grissom let out a loud whistle, joining in. While he never was one to join in, something about all of this made him feel like he couldn't help but be a part of all of this.

"Great, then you'll have no problem showing me a condom!" The director shouted.

Sara dug in her purse and held her hand high, the tiny foil packet grasped in it. She tossed it over to Erika, who ran to the front. She sauntered back, waving the packet.

"I'll need that back," Sara challenged her friend.

"Oh, I'm sure you will..." Erika laughed as she tossed the packet back.

"We will?" Grissom whispered before nibbling her ear a bit. Sara only raised an eyebrow as she packed the tiny package away in her purse.

"Remember that bra from before?" The director announced cheerily. Mary Beth pulled it out of her purse and tossed it over to Erika, who caught it and picked up the number, ready to run. "Well, I want a man to bring me two of them!"

Erika tossed the lingerie to Danny as Sara jumped off of Grissom's lap and wriggled around to pull her bra out from under her top as well. She tossed it to Danny who ran it to the stage, successfully getting their group a point. It was only as he was walking back that he noticed the lacy and satiny composure of the lingerie in his hands. When he got back he held the two garments out to Sara and Mary Beth, deeply blushing.

Sara took hers; mauve satin and lace designed to give just a little extra lift, and stuffed it into her purse despite Grissom's best attempts to take it from her.

"Ok, so, just to make this fair, I want a woman to bring me two pairs of men's pants!"

Sara stood up, a hand on either side of Grissom's chair and her eyes twinkling as they bored into his. "Pants. Off. Now."

Grissom raised his eyebrows as he stood up. He had no choice but to comply. As he started to undo his belt he saw poor Danny being practically stripped by Keri. His head shot to his belt buckle when he felt another pair of hands there, however.

"Too damn slow!" Sara laughed as she quickly removed his pants and tossed them out to the aisle. Grissom suddenly pulled Sara's back to him, winding his arms around her so she could stay in front of him. "Embarrassed?" she laughed.

"Mmm, not yet," he said as he pulled her toward him so that she could feel him stiffen against her rear. "But I will be if you don't stay put." He kissed below her ear as they watched Erika get the point for the pants. "I like you ordering me around, it's very sexy," Grissom purred in her ear.

Sara shifted her hips back in a little circle, a smile on her face. "I'll have to remember that."

Sara caught the khakis and handed them back, still standing in front of him as he pulled them on. He pulled her down in his lap as he sat back down and they shared an amused look. "You move, and you'll pay," he jokingly threatened.

Sara's eyes danced as she bit her bottom lip. "Oh, I don't know about that..."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we've come to our final thing, and it's a doozie!" With the director's booming announcement everyone fell silent. "Now, this last one is worth five big points, and it has several parts, so no one move until I say go!" The director stopped and looked around the room. The girls were all poised to make their move, Danny looked terrified, and Grissom was charting blow fly stages in his head. "We need the first ten men, shirtless, wearing a bra, red lipstick, and a woman's purse up here. Go!"

Mary Beth, Erika, and Keri stood. Their eyes darted to Grissom, who was happily body blocked by Sara and a death glare before they turned to Danny. In minutes he was on his way up to the stage, the seventh man standing up there with three very proud ladies and an amused couple staring at him.

"Thank you," Grissom whispered with a kiss on her shoulder blade.

"You owe me," she laughed.

"Oh, don't I know it!"

"Now that we've got our 10 men up here, we're ready to tabulate the scores. But while we're doing that, we could use some entertainment. Gentlemen, we neglected to add that to get the five points, you are the entertainment. Let's see some dancing!" And with the point of his hand, Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy' was pumping through the theatre.

The intoxicated men started dancing around, most without rhythm, to the cheers of the ladies around them.

"Oh, you owe me big time," Sara laughed.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Grissom pinned Sara up against the outside of her cabin door, their mouths fiercely meshing. She moaned as he made his way down her neck, slipping his hands around her back.

"Lost to a bunch of geriatrics...." Sara sighed as he kept kissing her.

"One point," he said as he made his way back up to her lips, "must have been the false teeth."

Sara felt one of his warm hands leave her as his mouth found hers again. Suddenly he produced his room key between the two of them and pulled her across the hall to his door.

"C'mon," he said huskily.

"An adult game of our own?" she asked coyly, a smirk failing to mask her blatant desire.

Grissom nodded and pulled her into his room.

(TBC)