a/n: thanks for all the feedback guys! you rock. anyway, heres chapter ten...not much is going on. this is mostly a filler chapter. but read on anyway!
Grissom couldn't remember waking up so happy. So happy, in fact, that even the Christmas morning that he'd received his "genuine Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle" couldn't contend. Who said a boy couldn't have some fun without shooting his eye out...Which he did – thank god for glasses – and that explained his hesitance to use a gun.

Anyway, to the point, Grissom woke up happy forty-two years later next to the only woman Grissom had ever been completely serious about; Sara Sidle. He woke up in her white painted room, along with its white sheets and duvet cover and contrasting dark furniture…which obviously reminded him of her pale skin with her dark hair and eyes.

A winning ensemble, he thought. He breathed in deep, stretching his toes and tightening his fingers over her smooth stomach. Remembering that happenings of the previous night, Grissom deduced that at least because they hadn't done anything, not much could go wrong.

Her back was pressed intimately against his chest, and he was struck by wonderment at the fact that in this whole chain of events that lead to this moment, there had been minimum awkwardness. In fact, the only complications that had been standing in the way were ones made by himself.

Old news, he thought with a wry smile. He'd been doing just that for seven years.

In his warm embrace, Sara was waking to the pleasant, deep smell of her companion. However, wishing that she had that smell all over her, she knew that he had been right; taking things too fast would have been wrong.

Hell, I've waited seven years; I can wait a little longer. At least I have something to look forward to; she thought, fluttering her eyelids open and turning to find she was staring right into Grissom's sweet blue eyes. She found it mildly funny how innocent they looked compared to the fiery concentration she'd seen the previous night.

She kissed him in the morning light filtering form her fourth floor apartment, basking in the warm, invisible male glow only a man such as Grissom could produce. His hands sweetly and innocently found their way to her hips like they belonged there, even though they'd only been there briefly for a moment once before. He noticed the way their bodies fit so well together and the way it seemed they were -- dare he say a cliché -- made for each other.

He had an unfamiliar flutter in his chest, and he could feel the words forming on his lips of the immortal words, but he would not bring himself to say them. Not yet at least. He wanted to tell her at the perfect moment, and then he would take her as he had promised. Sighing at the fact of having to wait for more time to pass, he slowly pulled away from her.

Smiling shyly, he kissed her forehead and slid out of her bed, wearing only a pair of cotton boxers, having discarded his pants in the middle of the night in discomfort. After arguing with her for a moment, he won out and told her he'd bring her breakfast in bed. While he was in the kitchen, Sara lay in bed, in awe of her luck.

I'm finally with Grissom!

She couldn't believe it herself. Grissom had come into her apartment a whole different person. He was impulsive, strong, and sweet. It seemed that he really was trying his best to make things go right. She couldn't explain how odd it was to see Grissom walk into her bedroom, clad only in boxers, with a giant plate of toast, coffee, and oranges. He sat down next to her, handing her a coffee and making her heart pause with a caring gaze.

"How funny do you think it would be if we went into work together?" Sara laughed. Grissom picked up his coffee.

"I think Catherine would go on gossip overload and Ecklie might loose what's left of his hair…"

Sara smiled and placed a kiss on his lips. She couldn't resist. She'd dreamed about kissing those lips for years, and now that she'd tasted him, she found she couldn't stop herself. She loved the feeling of his tongue dancing with hers, the way he was strong but gentle…

How the heck am I going to contain myself at work? Was her next thought.


That night Catherine Willows walked the halls of the Vegas PD Crime Lab with her head held high, as usual. She'd spent the night talking and watching movies with Lindsey, the regular girl stuff, and she was feeling pretty happy. Waving hi to the cute AV tech, Archie, she rounded the corner to find Grissom walking towards her. There was something not right about him, but she couldn't exactly place what.

"Morning, Gil," She said almost cheerfully as she fell into step with him and they walked towards the break room. He smiled at -- Wait, he smiled! Since when does Grissom smile first thing in the workday without a justified reason? And since when does he forget to remind her that technically it should be 'good-night'?

Something's not right…Catherine thought slyly. Maybe he has a new lady? Nah. He probably just got asked to do some article for one of his bug magazines. Although it would be nice if he did have a woman in his life because as far as Catherine was concerned, Grissom's sex life was heading for six feet under.

Little did she know what went on last night…

"What are you so chipper about?" She asked coyly. If she'd caught him off guard as intended, he made no evidence to secure that thought.

"Me? Chipper? Catherine, since when am I 'chipper'?" He asked with a look that said 'what the hell are you on about'.

"Oh I don't know. You look…different today," His mouth curled into another smile.

"Thanks for noticing Cath, but if you're trying to get me to let you buy me a new wardrobe, the answer is still no."

"Don't mind me asking, but you look tired...any reason you weren't sleeping right last night?" She lied, a hint of suggestion in the way her eyebrows subtely raised. He shot her a look.

"Hm. And what if i do mind you asking?"

"Grissom, you know I'm just looking out for you. Anyways, I'm glad for you," Catherine smiled sweetly at him. Grissom looked confused. She thought he was sleeping with someone?

How the hell does she know these things! Grissom wondered. Although she wasn't 100 right, she'd caught on.Damn, this is gonna be hard...

"Catherine," He stared fiercly , dropping his voice out of earshot, "My sex life--"

"So! This is about your sex life!" Catherine accused, proud of her skills of confrontation. Grissom resisted the urge to roll his eyes and snapped at her.

"How come a goodchunk of our conversations always involve this? I've told you a million times. My sex life is just fine with you intervening!"

"Don't be such a prude, Gil. Anyways, I'm happy for you..." She said slyly as they made their way to the break room.

"I thought I was gonna have to do a little more than intervene..." She said with a wink. Grissom's mouth dropped open and he stared at her.

"Joking!" She reassured, slipping by him.

They entered the break room to find the team already assembled. They were all early for some reason, so they sat down to chat for a bit. Catherine, still trying to figure out the mysterious Grissom, was watching him closely as he sat in his chair, sifting through assignment slips his fingers absent mindedly playing with the edge of his scruff.

Grissom was one of her closest friends, and she was definitely interesting in his well being. Suuure she was.

He's playing with his face…Catherine thought. Men do that when they have a woman on the brain…one of those sub-conscious things. She watched his eyes flicker up and look around the room, fixing on something behind her for a moment, then back down, a tiny hint of a smile playing on his lips. Boys are so cute when they do that.

Funny that she didn't notice Sara behind her, her fingers idly playing with her mug, trying vainly -- and unsucceeding – not to stare at Grissom's lips. And they call themselves investigators…


a/n: I figured the whole sex life thing wouldn't be too out of place becasue Grissom and Cath have talked about it at least twice before. please tell me what you think!