A/N: The Swedhis alias fan, thank you so much for your kind comment! We'll see. It's a scary endeavor! WitchxHunterxRobin, thank you for your nice words, as well! They made me very happy, and hopefully, this chapter won't disappoint you. anneruhland, thank you for reading, and I hope that you like this chapter! somebody101, again, I appreciate the in character comment. I struggle with that, and I appreciate you thinking that I'm close to being on target! Cherrydrops and odeepblue, as always, thank you for your support! wraiths-angel, you went to Rome? I'm very jealous (and thanks for reading  )! dark-girl-faith-sidle, I'm in a lovey-dovey mood, because, well, you'll see! But thank you for reading! The Lovely Desdemona… vacation? Wow… have fun! Hopefully I'll have one or two interesting chapters up for you when you come back. And Abbeecadabra, thank you for your kind words and comments. I'm glad that you've enjoyed The Retreat thus far, and I hope that you continue to do so!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS. All of the butterfly facts come from www. Thebuterflysite. Com / facts . shtml (without the spaces—I can't get my links to load with spaces!).

Title: Butterflies

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High Ropes, the present

"Whoa!" Greg grinned, once he reached the top of the rope ladder. "This is unbelievable!" he shouted down to his colleagues still on the ground. "I mean, I can see everything! I can see Lake Mead, I can see the mountains, I can see a lot!" he enthused, as he nervously pulled on his harness, making sure that it fit snuggly against his body. I know, I know. I'm lucky to be going first. I think.

"Well, you're pretty high up there, man," Nick pointed out with a smile, shielding his eyes against the glare of the sun so that he could watch Greg try to traverse the tightrope suspended between the two trees. "But be careful!"

"This is safe, right?" Catherine, still on the ground, anxiously asked Max. "I mean, should he happen to fall, the bungee cord will save him?"

"In theory, yes," Max grinned at her.

"In… theory?" Sara whispered, her face suddenly going pale, as she glanced up at Greg. Don't do it, Greg! It isn't safe, she wanted to scream at him. Just climb back down!

"'In theory?' What the hell does that mean?" Catherine asked him, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice. Are you saying that you don't know if these cords will actually hold us, in case we slip up there?

"I was just joking," Max smiled. "You'll be safe, seriously. I promise."

"Damn," Warrick muttered. "After everything that you've observed with us, I would think that you would know better than to joke about our safety."

Grissom just furrowed an eyebrow, not amused.

"Sorry," Max frowned, returning his gaze to Greg. Shrugging, he cupped his hands over his mouth in order to amplify his voice, and took a deep breath. "Go ahead and take that first step, Greg!" he instructed the younger man.

Greg nodded, although he knew that no one on the ground could see him well enough to catch the small gesture. "Okay!" he yelled back, taking a tentative step out onto the tightrope. Sliding his hands along the two guide ropes suspended by his waist, he almost smiled… until he stopped cold. "Holy cow!"

"Greg?" Grissom raised his voice so that he could hear him. "Are you okay up there?"

"Uh-huh! But a whole bunch of butterflies just flew by my head! That was so cool!"

Butterflies…? Sara thought to herself, grinning. Grissom and I went to the butterfly observatory on our second date.

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Butterfly Exhibit, eleven and a half months ago

"Are you sure about this, Grissom?" Sara asked, nervously wringing her hands the moment that she saw him standing at her door. "I mean, we don't have to go, if you don't want to." Their relationship was still fairly new, and Sara was having a difficult time understanding the fact that Grissom actually wanted to get to know her better; after six years of pursuing him, she was now in new territory.

"Sara, I want to go," Grissom firmly told her, as she locked her apartment door, and they headed toward his car. "Seriously. You like butterflies, I like butterflies, this will be fun." I hope. Because right now, I feel as nervous as… no, it's best not to complete that thought.

Holding open the door to his car for her, Grissom tried not to stare. But clad in a light blue shirt and a pair of khakis, Sara was certainly noticeable. You're absolutely beautiful, Grissom thought to himself, watching her get into the car, and buckle up. How have I never noticed you? Closing the door behind her, he shuffled off to his side of the car, quickly getting in.

I'm still pretty nervous about this. He really does want to go to the butterfly exhibit with me, right? He's not just saying that? Because I can see him just telling me what I want to hear, so that I feel better about myself, Sara frowned. Staring out of her window for a moment, however, she slowly shook her head from side to side. No, actually, that's not true; I can't see Grissom telling me what he thinks I want to hear. He's too straight-forward for that sort of thing… assuming, of course, that he can even determine what it is that I'd like to hear from him.

"Did you know," Grissom's voice drew Sara out of her reverie. "That every winter, the Danaus plexippus migrates from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, only to return again once the spring hits? That's something like a two thousand mile flight," he commented, turning his gaze toward her for a moment. I may not be the youngest criminalist in the lab, or the most athletic, but I can still dazzle you with my brain!

Sara raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that, as a matter-of-fact," she flashed him a smile wide enough to show the gap in her teeth. "But did you know that there are around 24,000 different species of butterflies?" Thank God for the internet! I need to show him how intelligent I really am, although he's seen my work; he knows my capabilities. So why did I spend all of that time last night researching butterflies? I know it had nothing to do with proving myself to Grissom… I don't need to. I guess I just actually like butterflies! And I was nervous, and couldn't sleep.

Grissom stared at Sara for a moment, letting one corner of his mouth slowly pull up into a smile. Smart and beautiful, although I knew that she was smart; I guess that's not really a surprise. And I should have picked up on the beautiful part much sooner. "Where'd you learn that?" he asked, before returning his gaze to the road.

Sara shrugged. "I'm an avid reader, Grissom. I must have just picked it up somewhere," she again smiled. Yeah, like my computer, last night, when I was trying to cram my brain full of butterfly facts. "I've also heard that some butterflies taste with their feet, so that they can determine whether or not a particular leaf is a good place to lay eggs," she told him. "I'm not entirely sure why the taste of a leaf would matter, but I thought that that was pretty interesting."

"It's because some adult moths don't have mouths," Grissom informed her. "Which means that they live off of whatever energy they managed to store as caterpillars." I love butterflies. They are some of the most peaceful creatures in the world. I can't wait until we get to the exhibit, so that together, we can explore our mutual interest.

Sara slowly nodded. "Well… that makes sense, I suppose," she mused, trying to hide her frown from Grissom. That was an obvious oversight! Now he's going to think that you're unenlightened about one of his greatest passions. And you're not! You're just new at admiring butterflies.

Grissom cast a sideways glance at Sara, clearing his throat. "Are you… okay?" he cautiously asked. Did I just say something wrong? You're not very good at this small talk thing. If you've made her upset twenty minutes into the drive there, how are you going to last the entire day?

"What?" Sara asked, swallowing. Trying to smile, she looked over at Grissom for a split second. "I'm fine! I was just thinking about… butterflies," she nervously admitted. "How they are so peaceful, and soothing. I'm looking forward to checking out this new exhibit. We should be there at pretty soon, right?" she asked, once again glancing out of her window at the flat expanse of desert surrounding the car.

Grissom nodded. "It's the next exit, actually," he told her, as he began to decelerate the car. "And hopefully, we'll both like this place. I've heard some great things about it, so it should be interesting to see."

Sara simply nodded, watching as Grissom pulled off of the expressway, and made a right toward the town. Ten minutes later, they were safely sitting in the parking lot of the Butterfly Observatory, staring at the large building in front of them. "It's big," Sara commented, squinting up at it, before unbuckling her seatbelt.

"It sure is," Grissom nodded his agreement, as he also unbuckled himself, and carefully climbed out of the car. My legs feel a little bit stiff. Maybe I AM too old for her, he sadly thought to himself, not letting his expression betray his emotions."Shall we go in?"

Sara chuckled. "We shall," she replied, starting to head toward the main entrance.

As they approached the ticket window, Sara started to reach for her wallet, before Grissom stopped her. "This one is on me, Sara," he tilted his head a little bit to the side in order to look at her.

"Are you sure?" Sara quietly asked, swallowing in nervousness. If he's paying, then this is definitely a date. I'm definitely going on a date with Gil Grissom. What if I screw this up? What if I don't meet his expectations? I should leave right now. I can just hitchhike back to Vegas. I'll just tell him that I have to use the restroom, and then I'll just leave. He won't even notice that I'm gone! Although, he IS a criminalist, so I suppose he's fairly observant about people going missing.

Clearing his throat, Grissom tried to keep his voice calm and steady. "Yes, I'm sure. I'd like to pay, really." Unobtrusively studying Sara's expression, he tried not to frown. Why do you look so uncomfortable all of a sudden? Did I say something wrong again? Was I not supposed to offer to pay? Warrick and Nick pay for their dates. And then Grissom's eyes widened in understanding, as it dawned on him. This isn't a date in your mind, is it? It's just two co-workers getting together to discuss a common interest. Well this is certainly awkward.

Sara broke out in a small smile, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. "Well… thank you, then," she told him. "I appreciate it."

Grissom simply nodded, as he handed the cashier a fistful of bills in order to pay for their entrance tickets to the observatory. Picking up a glossy red and green colored map from the counter, he handed it to Sara, immediately studying it over her shoulder. Am I standing too close to her? Maybe I should take a step backward?

"I don't think we can get lost," Sara suddenly twisted her head to the side in order to look up at Grissom. "It looks like one circuitous path." Why are you standing so far behind me? Sara wanted to ask him. I did take a shower this morning. "So… should we get started?" she finally asked him with a smile.

Grissom simply nodded, as he walked toward the front door to the actual observatory, holding it open for her.

"Thank you," she smiled, walking past him, and stopping as a wave of heat instantly hit her face. "Why is it so warm in here?" she asked him, knowing that he would know the answer.

"Butterflies actually like more humid climates," Grissom replied. "In fact, butterflies can't fly, if their internal body temperatures are lower than eighty-six degrees. So the warmer the climate," he shrugged.

"The warmer their bodies are," Sara completed his thought for him, glancing up at the domed observatory. Looking around the spacious room, Sara was excited to see that the butterflies had a lot of flying and living room. The room itself was supposed to be the length of two foot ball fields, while the ceiling was set three stories above their heads. In addition to the sheer size of the facility, the room contained large plants, trees, man-made ponds, and other nesting locations, so that the tiny inhabitants had the freedom to do as they pleased. Freedom to choose is always a good thing. I just wish that I could focus more on the butterflies, and less on Grissom.

"Exactly," Grissom glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"This place is nice," Sara mused, as she began to walk down the path just to her right. "It smells warm, but for all intents and purposes, there are a lot of butterflies here," she whispered, almost as if she was afraid to disturb the flying insects.

Grissom nodded, completely enthralled by the Monarchs that were flitting around him and Sara. "Look," he pointed to a tropical tree. "Do you see what I see?"

Sara squinted, trying to find something peculiar about the tree. "Not… really," she hesitated. "I just see a bunch of buds on the branches."

"Those aren't buds, Sara," Grissom grinned, taking another step forward. "They are little tiny butterflies," he enthusiastically added, before swinging his arm outward in excitement, and accidentally brushing his fingers against Sara's hand. Freezing in place, Grissom swallowed, unsure of what to do with his hand's minor betrayal. I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry! he wanted to tell her, although truth be told, he rather enjoyed the slight contact.

Sara bit the inside of her lip, resisting the urge to look over at Grissom. You can just hold my hand, you know. I won't hurt you, Grissom, she thought to herself, as she flexed her right pinky finger in his general direction, so that it "accidentally" touched his hand.

Grissom cleared his voice, calmly pointing out another tree. "And see the butterflies over there?" he asked Sara, as the pinky on his left hand twitched toward her. "All of the butterflies are just resting," he added, as he felt his finger momentarily brush against her finger.

"Yeah, I see that," Sara whispered, trying her hardest to pay attention to the butterflies. Starting to walk down the path again, she swallowed in nervousness, as her right hand gently swung by her side, every once in awhile grazing Grissom's hand. "They're very beautiful," she mumbled.

"Yes, they are," he replied, as they walked side by side, and shoulder to shoulder, down the path. Grissom again cleared his throat, as his hand swung toward her hand, stopping, just as both hands touched one another.

Just hold my hand! Sara wanted to shout at him, before just deciding to take the plunge, and doing it herself. Quietly slipping her hand into his, she stopped, waiting to see what his reaction would be.

"So… should we check out the butterflies by the pond?" he finally asked her with a slight smile, gently holding her hand in his, and continuing to walk. This just feels so natural. I mean, aside from the sweatiness of my palms right now, this is really enjoyable!

And to Sara, a very seasoned criminalist, the smile and the sweaty palms were very good signs. They meant that although she and Grissom were both excited and nervous about being out on a date together, they were not going to let their uneasiness get in the way of whatever it was that they were trying to build with one another.

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High Ropes, the present

"Hey, girl, you're up," Warrick grinned at Sara, raising an eyebrow as he noticed her dazed expression. "But you look like you're a million miles away right now. Are you okay? What's goin' on?"

Grissom just carefully studied Sara, wondering if she had been thinking about the same thing that he had been thinking about: the butterfly observatory.

"I'm okay," Sara returned his smile, sparing a quick glance at Grissom. "Very okay, as a matter-of-fact. I'm assuming that Greg made it safely across?"

"Damn straight," Warrick chuckled.

"Hell, yeah!" Greg shouted, hearing her question. "That was amazing, Sara! You're going to love it!"

"I think that Greggo might actually be right for once," Nick laughed, slapping the young CSI on the back. "You'll love it. Just take some time while you're up there to look around!"

"Uh, no," Sara replied. Looking down would probably be a bad idea. And why am I going second again? I don't know, and I don't like this idea.

Catherine just chuckled, as she picked up a harness and handed it over to Sara. "Go show these boys how it's done, Sara!"

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TO BE CONTINUED 