Chapter 2

Grissom flew into South Lake Tahoe, California before taking a cab to Stateline Nevada and finally a shuttle bus to Zephyr Cove. The cabin he booked was located half way between Zephyr Cove and Round Hill Village. After checking in and paying, Grissom was driven the rest of the way to the cabin. After dropping him off, the owner turned around and left Grissom to explore.

The cabin was a single level, two bedroom, two bath little log beauty. A stone walkway led up to the front veranda where two wicker chairs sat. The entrance to the cabin led to a medium sized kitchen with modern appliances and a small island in the center. Beside the kitchen, through a small doorway, was the dining room. It was located in the corner of the house, and the two outside walls housed large windows. While dining, guests could enjoy looking out at the mountains in the distance. Adjacent to the kitchen and dining room was the living room. Large windows lit the room and offered a spectacular view of the lake. The room had hard wood floors and the floor plan was split in half. The far end, against the wall, sat a wood burning fire place. In front of the fire place was a large burgundy and navy rug. A love seat, flanked by two chairs faced the fire place. The other half of the living room housed two sofas facing a large television. The television was mounted to the wall and was accompanied by a DVD player. Sliding doors led out to the back patio.

The rest of the house was located down the hall. Beside the kitchen was the main bathroom, complete with a shower. Next to it was the smaller bedroom. Across from those, and next to the living room, was the main bedroom. It held a large king sized bed. Adjoining the room was the master bath. Inside the master bath was a large, deep, two person Jacuzzi. Sliding doors also led from the master bedroom to the back deck. The back deck was lit by gas lamps that surrounded the perimeter. On the far side of the deck was a hot tub, while the near side held a BBQ. Just beyond the deck was the lake.

Grissom entered the cabin and sat down on one of the chairs in the living room. He had no idea what time Sara would arrive at, so he tried to occupy himself by reading. He had barely begun when he heard a car pull up. He opened the front door and stepped out onto the veranda. Sara was taking her bags out of the trunk. Holding her bags, she turned and spotted him.

Sara's heart stopped beating as she saw Grissom standing only 10 feet away from her. He was gazing at her intensely. Sara gazed back. Neither could move, so they both stood frozen to their spots, stating at each other. Sara noticed Grissom swallow. He took a tentative step towards her. She ran up and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. Slowly, Grissom lifted his arms up and wrapped them around her, pulling her tighter into his embrace.

"I'm so sorry," Sara mumbled against his shoulder. Her tears soaked through his shirt.

"It's okay," he whispered softly, raising one hand to stroke the back of her head.

Sara grew tired of holding her arms around Grissom's neck. After twenty minutes of holding each other, she reluctantly broke the embrace. She stepped back and let her eyes wander over Grissom's for. Her voice was soft. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." He raised his hand and his thumb gently wiped the tears from her cheek. Sara gave him a faint smile. He dipped his head and brushed a delicate kiss on her lips. "Can we take this inside?" Sara nodded. He took her hand and led her into the cabin.

"My bags."

Grissom turned to look at her. "What?"

"I left my bags out by the car."

"Oh, right. I'll get them." He exited the cabin, leaving Sara inside to explore. When he returned, Sara was frowning.

"What is it?"

"This place Gil, it's too much. We could have stayed in a hotel."

Gil dropped Sara's bags in the entrance. He took her hand and squeezed it. "I thought this might be a little more private." He paused under Sara's scrutiny. He gulped, continuing, "Um, it has two bedrooms, so I don't know what you are comfortable with…"

Sara pulled her hand from his and crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't want to sleep with me."

Grissom's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that reaction. He placed his hands on her upper arms. "No, Sara. The choice is yours. I didn't know, I don't know what you want. I…I'm not sure why you called me here…" He stroked her arms and pulled her form into an embrace. Releasing her, he tilted her head and looked into her eyes. "Part of me is afraid you're about to say goodbye for good."

Sara uncrossed her arms and enfolded them around his back. "What? Griss, no." Her arms came down and gripped the sides of his shirt. His arms moved back around her. "I was afraid you would want to end it with me."

"Sara…"

"Wait. Let me explain why I called. I guess I wanted to see you to see if you'd be willing to work through this with me." Sara leaned forward and rested her head on his chest. "It's your call."

Grissom tilted her head up, noticing her red rimmed eyes. He smiled warmly. "That's what I want too." His arm came back around her body. He held her tightly. "So we'll spend some time working through everything?" Sara nodded in his arms.

Grissom took Sara's hand and pulled her over to the sofa. Sitting down, he wrapped her in his arms and softly stroked her hair. The looked out over the lake at the snow peaked mountains. The sun was beginning to fall behind them. Grissom looked up at the clock. "Are you hungry? Do you want to go out for dinner, or do you want me to cook for you here?"

Sara looked up at him. "Do we have anything to cook?"

Grissom frowned. He shook his head before kissing her part. "No."

"Then out I guess." Sara pushed herself up and out of Grissom's arms. "Do you want to walk to Round Hill Village for dinner? It's a nice night out." She stood up and held her hand out to Grissom.

Grissom took Sara's hand and allowed her to help him up. He smiled and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "That would be great. I'll get our coats." He walked to the closet and pulled out their parkas, hats and gloves. They bundled themselves up. Grissom offered Sara his elbow. She linked her arm through his and he led her out the door.

The walk to the village was quiet. Grissom and Sara alternated looks between each other and the sunset above them. Sara leaned against Grissom's side as they walked and neared the village. The village was lit up as they entered. They walked down the street, arms still linked, until they came upon a quaint little Italian restaurant. Grissom led Sara inside by the elbow and waited to be seated.

They were seated at a quiet corner table and given menus. Peeking above the menu, they stole nervous glances with each other. After ordering, Grissom reached across the table and covered Sara's hand with his. His thumb began stroking the back of her hand. She looked across the table and stared into his eyes. "Sara, thank you for calling me and asking me here."

Sara nodded and brought her free hand up to grip Grissom's forearm. "Thank you for coming."

They grew silent as their food arrived. Grissom stared down at his plate, taking slow bites of his lasagna. Sara twirled her pasta primavera around with her fork before each bite. Midway through the meal, Sara pushed her plate to the center of the table. Grissom noticed the move and looked up at her. When he saw tears begin to form in his eyes, he leapt from his chair and kneeled down in front of her. Slowly, he tilted her head to his and took her hands in his. "Sara, what's wrong?"

She sniffled and turned her head away. "It shouldn't be this hard."

"But it is." She nodded.

Grissom reached up and brushed Sara's hair from her face. "We'll work through this. We're just on edge right now."

Sara turned her head back towards Grissom. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. "I know."

Grissom stood and pulled his wallet from his pocket. He threw cash down on the table, forgetting about finishing his meal. He grasped Sara's hand and pulled her up. "Come on. Let's go."

The sun had fully descended and stars began to appear as they walked out of the restaurant. Still grasping Sara's hand, Grissom looked up at the sky. He pulled Sara into a hug. He released her and they walked hand in hand back to the cabin. The breeze off the lake picked up and Sara shivered. Grissom dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He pulled her body into his and walked the remainder of the way holding her.

Grissom started a fire as soon as they entered the cabin. After the wood began burning, he pulled Sara from her chair and led her to the love seat. He sat down and pulled her onto him. His arms held her tightly. As she leaned into his chest, he placed a light kiss on her temple. Sara shifted her body to look up at him. "Can we talk?"

Grissom nodded as he took his finger and pulled a lock of her hair in behind her ear.

"I don't know if I can come back to Vegas." His chest tightened. He looked down at her and gulped. His hands stopped moving as he waited for her to continue.

"I'm trying, I am." Sara sighed. "I want to. I…I just don't know if I can." She turned her head away and looked down at her curled up body, the body that was curled in his embrace. "I guess I won't know until I go back there. It's just that the desert…"

"Sara, stop!"

She looked back up at him. "I'm sorry."

Grissom shook his head. His hold on her tightened. "Sara, how are you doing, honestly?"

Sara took her hand and reached up to brush his cheek. "I'm doing okay…better. I've worked through a lot of things in the past four months."

"And?"

"And I still have more to work through. I can't go back to Vegas…yet…it might take awhile. If you can't wait, then…"

"I'll wait." He looked down at her and placed a kiss on her temple. "I can wait. I will wait."

Sara snuggled deeper into his chest. He shifted down and pulled her shoulder under him so her back lay to him. "Sara, why didn't you tell me you were leaving? All you left was a note."

"Part of me knew that if I told you, and you asked me to stay, I would."

"I would have let you go."

"I know, I do, but if you asked, just once, I would have stayed. I was also afraid that I'd lose my nerve and stay, or worse, you wouldn't ask me to stay, but bid me fare thee well instead. At any rate, I don't think I would have been able to leave and I needed to. I needed to exorcise those ghosts."

"I thought we were fighting them together. I don't understand why you felt you had to do this by yourself."

Sara turned herself so that she was facing him. "You don't understand? You Grissom? You left to exorcise some of your own ghosts you know."

"When I went to teach at Williams?"

"Yeah Griss. I know you wanted to teach again, but I also know it wasn't only about teaching. I know you had to get away. I get it."

"I know."

"Some things we need to do alone." Sara's voice grew very quiet as she made the statement.

Grissom leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. "When I was in Concord, I realized I couldn't do it alone. I needed you."

Sara brought her hand up and rested it lightly on Grissom's cheek. "Gil, I need you too, but you have the lab to think about and I really didn't want you seeing me break down. I felt like I was drowning and I needed to save myself." She took a deep breath. "When you left, you needed to deal with the horrible things you saw. When I left, I needed to deal with the horrible things I experienced."

"Sara, I…"

"It's okay."

"If you need help, you'll let me know?"

Sara nodded. She pulled herself into sitting position on the edge of the loveseat. Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I need you. I called you because I need you." She ran her hand through his hair. "I know you aren't ready to leave the lab and I'm not ready to return to Vegas, but one day our timing will work out. Until then, if you're willing, we'll make long distance work."

Running his hand up and down her arm, Grissom nodded. He sat up next to her and she leaned against his chest. A soft yawn escaped her mouth. "Tired?"

Sara closed her eyes and nodded. "Yeah."

"Have you gotten used to sleeping nights?"

"Yep. I think I'll head to bed. I know you'll be up for a few more hours yet, so…goodnight." She stood up.

Grissom followed Sara up off the sofa. "I'll come with you. I've been working odd hours lately and behind on sleep, so I could easily join you now." He took Sara's hand and led her to the bedroom. After donning their pajamas and brushing their teeth, Grissom laid down and pulled Sara's back to him. He held her in his arms, spooning her and placing tender kisses on the back of her neck. "Goodnight Sara."

"Goodnight." Sara closed her eyes and drifted into sleep. Grissom continued to gaze at her, running his finger along her arm. She snuggled further into his chest. Closing his eyes, he pulled Sara tight to him and let sleep find him.