Tuesday couldn't come fast enough to suit Gil Grissom. He had been irritable at work the last two nights and everyone had felt it. He wasn't intentionally trying to be difficult, he just was. It didn't help that he hadn't slept well either. He gone home on Saturday, after dropping Catherine and Lindsey at their house, and proceeded to unravel. He couldn't understand what was bothering him so much; he just knew he was bothered.

At 3:30 on Tuesday, he stood on the front porch of the Mueller home, foster family for Sara Morris. A warm, friendly face smiled at him from inside the door. "Mr. Grissom? I'm Lara Mueller. Come in, please."

He stepped into the entry and waited for her to show him further into the house. "Before I introduce you to Sara, Mr. Grissom, I want to warn you. She is very withdrawn. Don't be surprised if she doesn't speak to you, or even look at you. She rarely interacts with any of us. I'm not sure why you are here, but please don't do anything that will upset her. I feel like she just can't handle much more."

"I understand, Mrs. Mueller. I'm not really sure why I am here either. But something about her case compelled me to meet her. I promise I'll be very careful."

"Well, she's in what we call the playroom. It's at the back of the house, just off the kitchen. I've got some chores in the kitchen so I'll stay close, if you or she needs me. I just hope you aren't expecting too much." she was talking as she led him through the house to the back.

They stepped into the room. Sara Morris was sitting at a child's table in the corner. Her attention was on the coloring book in front of her. Her eyes never left her work as the two adults entered her space.

"Sara, this is Mr. Grissom. He has come to visit. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, okay?"

The child didn't look up as her crayon continued with her task. Gil edged closer to the table, his head tilting to get a better look at her picture. "May I sit down?" he asked.

Her hand kept its coloring motion. He wasn't sure that she had heard him and was about to ask again when her eyes glanced slightly toward the other chair. Gil took that as a positive sign and tried to carefully ease himself into the child sized chair. After finding a reasonable perch on it, he looked again at her handiwork. "That's a very nice picture that you are coloring."

Still no response from her. He sat quietly for a few minutes. He noticed that she liked to use dark blue a lot. "Blue my favorite color too," he tried again.

Her eyes fluttered to his face, briefly. As they settled again on her work, her head tilted. Then very slowly she slid the blue crayon across the table toward him. Then she picked up another shade of blue to continue her task. He wondered what he was supposed to do with the crayon. Then he remembered the coloring book in his pocket. As he pulled it out he spoke again, "Mrs. Mueller told me on the phone that you like to color. I brought a new book for you to color. It has butterflies. I wasn't sure what you like, but I like butterflies so I bought it for you." He put it in the middle of the table, not wanting to invade her space.

The crayon in her hand stopped moving. He could see her eyes travel to the book and rest there. No expression registered in her face. She studied the book for a minute and then slowly reached for it. Brown eyes were slyly looking in his direction, gauging his response. He sat very still. Both of her hands took hold and she pulled it to her, opening it to see the inside. Each page was turned carefully as she considered each picture. Finding one that she liked, she put the book down. Picking up her blue crayon, she began to color the butterfly. Grissom fought his temptation to explain that the butterfly should be yellow with black markings but he realized the importance of her actions and simply watched as she colored.

He took the opportunity to explore her face. She did indeed have big brown eyes, almost chocolate, he thought. They were too big for her face and had a very somber expression. She had the cute little nose that he supposed was normal for small children. Her mouth had a childlike quality…..cherub mouth he thought he remembered someone calling it. Her skin was pale, as much from grief and sadness as from lack of sunlight, he suspected.

His butt was beginning to go to sleep and he was considering that perhaps he should go when she pushed the book in his direction….just a little. Her eyes made their way up to his briefly, touching his, before quickly looking away. "You can color too," she whispered.

He wasn't entirely sure he had heard her. The voice had been so small and frightened. "What color should I use?" he asked.

Again her eyes glanced up briefly. "Blue, like your eyes."

He carefully picked up the crayon and began to color where she pointed. He had colored many, many times as part of his labs. As a student he had been required to illustrate his findings. But he had never colored just to be coloring. As a child, no one had ever told him it might be fun. Sitting at the table with this small fragile being, he still didn't see the fun in it, but he did appreciate the connection that it created between the two of them.

After they finished the picture, he decided that it really was time to leave. "I have to leave now, Sara. But I would like to come back and visit another time. Would that be okay with you?'

She carefully tore the page from the book and handed it to him. Her eyes looked into his and this time she didn't look away. "You can have our picture. We'll make another one when you come back."

"Thank you, Sara. I'll keep this in a special place to remind me of my new friend. And I will come back soon, I promise."

He stepped into the kitchen to thank Mrs. Mueller and arrange another visit. She seemed pleased that the girl had interacted with him, if only a little. They agreed that he would come again on Thursday.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Catherine noticed at work that night that he was a little more settled, not so cranky. The team was working three different cases, all pretty routine, but it kept them busy anyway. As the shift was ending she slid into the chair in front of his desk. "So, it's good to see you got the burr out from under your saddle." She barbed.

"Excuse me," he said as he looked up, taking his glasses off and putting them on his desk.

"You heard me….you've had a burr under your saddle for the last couple of days and tonight, you seem better." She was smiling now.

'You've been spending way to much time with Nick" He smiled too.

"I thought you had a really good time Saturday. I know Lindsey and I did. But then you came into work Sunday night all piss and vinegar. So what's been going on?"

"I did have a good time. And not much."

"Give it up, Gil. Something's been bothering you and I'm not leaving until you tell me."

He studied her expression and knew he was defeated. "Sara Morris."

"The little girl from Glyn's case?"

'Yeah, I went to see her today."

"And?"

"It's very sad. She's so tiny and so sad. She barely talks to anyone or even looks at them."

"Gil, why did you go visit her? I thought you had a meeting with the caseworker?"

"No, my meeting was with her. And I don't know why. Something just…..compelled me to do it. And I'm going back on Thursday."

Catherine could see that he was determined. She couldn't understand why he was doing this but she knew that nothing she said would change his mind. "Gil, please….just be very careful. For both your sakes."

"I will, Cath. And thanks." Dismay was apparent on his face.

"Nothing to thank me for and I'm not sure why you are doing this, but if you need a friend…."

"I know….therefore the thanks." A small smile crept into his countenance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Glyn headed home on Wednesday morning. She wasn't scheduled to work that night and Jim didn't have to work again until the swing shift on Thursday afternoon. They had planned to spend the day and, she hoped, the night together.

Her cell rang as she let herself into her house. "Hello?"

"Hey…it's me. I got stuck on a case and I'm running late. I should be there in about an hour."

"Late, huh? Stuck on a case? You expect me to believe that oldie, do ya? Well, if you're expecting any sympathy from me, well…."

"Honestly, I did get stuck….be nice to me I'm serving the public."

"Question is….what are you serving? You know I don't share well and you'd better be saving your best service for me." She could picture the grin on his face and the color rising in his ears. She loved the way his ears blushed.

"Protect and Serve…..that's my motto," he chuckled.

Well, I guess I'll just have to be patient until room service gets here then. Look for me in the back, I have a few yard chores to do."

"What will the neighbors think….I mean when your service provider arrives and takes care of business in the back yard?

"Guess we'll find out in about an hour."

A very sinister laugh erupted on the other end of her line before the call went dead.

She changed into some old clothes and headed out back to tend to her small flower garden and put the sprinkler on her little square of grass. One thing led to another and before long she had an impressive pile of weeds that had been pulled from the bed. She'd raked some mulch around to cover the disturbed areas and had sprayed the lawn furniture with the hose to clean some of the grime off of it.

Jim's car pulled into her drive and he headed to the backyard. He found her bent over the flower bed, investigating some new shoots. "Oh wow," as he ogled her rear end high in the air, "I'll service that anytime."

She turned to look up at him. She loved to see him smiling like that. His whole face was lit up and he looked so cute she wanted to jump him right there. "Dare you," she teased.

He kneeled beside her and leaned in to kiss her. While their lips discovered each other, she felt for the hose that was on the ground on her other side and put her hand on the nozzle. Just as he began to pull away, she brought the hose around and hit him in the chest with the spray. He fell backwards, yelping at the sudden cold burst of water. "That's what you get for being late," she giggled.

He lunged forward and tackled her to the ground, the hose spewing between them, soaking them both. Somehow he managed to get the nozzle in his hand and laid it to the side. Then he leaned in and kissed her again. His lips traced her mouth and teased her lips to be let inside. She opened her lips, allowing him access. As his tongue found its way in, it was met by hers. They taunted each other and teased with their tongues. She tasted so good to him; he was reveling in her flavor and warmth. Her head was swirling. He could send shockwaves of desire through her with just a kiss….well, not exactly just a kiss. At times, it felt he could make her come by kissing her. Nothing else would be required. This was one of those times. She felt herself being carried away on a cloud of passion that was being created by his tongue and lips. Jim sensed her arousal; his wasn't far behind. "Maybe we should go in…and get out of these wet clothes," he said heavily.

"Yeah, too many clothes," she gasped.

The clothes started coming off as soon as they hit the inside of the house. By the time they made it to the bedroom, both were naked. His hands were all over her body, touching everywhere. He couldn't get enough of touching her. Her hands were not quiet either. They explored his chest and ran up behind his head, down his neck, then his back. Her right hand made its way around to his teddy bear fuzz chest and her fingers worked their way through the fuzz. His hand had found her breast by then, her arousal evident in her nipples' hardness. His fingers teased and massaged all around the brown circle before he took the tip between his thumb and forefinger, teasing it into an even harder state. Next his mouth was there, his tongue circling, his lips nibbling. Wave after wave of pure desire flushed through her body causing her to squirm beneath him. Each wave caused her hips to rise off the mattress, her wet mound grinding into him, sending shock waves through him. His hand moved down and positioned itself to meet each of her grinds. He let his fingers slide into the luscious wetness there. She began to move against his fingers, further stimulating herself. Suddenly she flipped him over on his back and before that even registered, her hand was around his shaft and her tongue was circling the tip of his cock. Now he was the one squirming and rising to meet her. "God, baby….I can't take much of this….." he moaned. Her mouth opened and she slowly sucked him into it. "Oh Baby…." He was fighting for control. Her mouth slid very slowly off of his cock and then she was over him, sliding down on him. He thought he would shoot as the warmth and wetness of her eased down on his rod. He could feel her response as her inner muscles squeezed him. She was fighting for control too. Then she began to stroke him, sliding all the way up his shaft until his tip was at her opening. Then she slid back down, hard and fast, eliciting moans from both of them. She leaned over and they were kissing again. His hands found her breasts and he began kneading and caressing. Her strokes continued gaining fervor. He watched as she lifted her head, eyes closed and her nostrils flared with the increased breathing. He could tell she was about to over the edge. Then her eyes opened and were boring in on his, her lust like a current between them. And then she lost it, "Auugh….." she moaned as her hips went wild and she began pounding him. Her release sent him over the edge and his hips began to rise to meet her. Her heated frenzy was met with his as they exploded almost simultaneously. She collapsed beside him on the bed. Their sexual desires were satisfied but their need to touch wasn't. Each continued to touch and rub the other as their heat subsided and their breathing returned to normal. Content, they stayed there for a long time, simply touching and caressing.

Finally, he spoke. "I'm kind of hungry. Do we have anything to grill?"

Laughing, she looked at him. "Just like a man….next thing, you'll be smoking a cigarette."

"No, but I do have these really great cigars that I save for special occasions."

"Well, this isn't a special occasion."

"Honey, if that wasn't special, then I don't know what is…." He said as he pulled her closer.

Finally they got dressed. She'd had to run out to his car to get his change of clothes since his were still wet on the kitchen floor. While he started the grill, she threw his clothes in the dryer to tumble and then hung them to dry.

Later, after finishing a rather satisfying steak and potatoes lunch, they sat on his couch Contentment had overtaken them both. Jim's mind was contemplating the current state of affairs when suddenly a disconcerting thought crossed his mind. "Glyn….'

"Hmmmmm?"

"I didn't think old guys like me were supposed to be able to do this…."

"What?'

"Well, you know….this..I mean, we've been humping like rabbits the last few days. I didn't think….."

"Well, I don't know, Thumper…..you seem to be keeping up." She was chuckling at him now.

"Thumper?'

"Yeah, from Bambi?"

"I know the story….but why Thumper?'

"You started it with the rabbit comment."

Laughter erupted from deep within him. "Thumper, huh?"

"Yeah, and I haven't seen any signs that Thumper is getting old."

"But I am quite a few years older than you and sooner or later….."

"Then we'll sit here like this and cuddle and I'll run my fingers through your fuzzy chest and whatever other hair you have left. And if things get too frustrating, I'll go find some young stud puppy that can keep me satisfied," she said flirtatiously.

"But…"

"Jim, while I would certainly miss Thumper, I don't love you because you are great in the sack. And I will still love you when Thumper begins to wear out. We women have our own issues in the department too, you know. Most couples who love each other seem to find a way…."

He was feeling a little more relaxed but the thought that he might not be able to please her made him anxious. "I just want you to be happy," he said quietly.

"Then all you have to do is hold me like this. Let me feel your warmth and your love. That's all I really need, Jim. The rest is just….well, something special that we'll remember when we are old and the memories will warm us."

Jim liked the sound of growing old with her. He liked the images her words invoked. But that was all in the future. Right now, he was very content with his present.