Chapter Twelve:

Sara is sat in bed, her book gripped fiercely in her hand. Her other, stroking the back of the man sat next to her, huddled over his laptop.

'Why don't you just ask Archie to look at it? I mean, this is one of the reasons you hired him isn't it?'

'I can do it Sara, I just don't know how.' He sits up straight and cricks his neck. 'I'm too old for this.' He pushes the laptop away and flips the comforter back away from his legs. 'I'm hungry, do you want anything?'

'No thank you.' He pats her leg and gets up, heading into the kitchen.

Since that night at Sara's apartment hours after the attack, they have slipped into a new intimacy neither of them imagined ever possible with anyone never mind each other. Their relationship has catapulted into new territory which equally scares and excites them. This is the first time at Grissom's condo, Sara, armed with an overnight bag with extra pjs, clean underwear and work clothes, is ready to mark this new milestone.

Walking back into the room with a bag of chips and cookies hanging from his mouth, Sara looks up just as he carefully places something on the floor out of her view and then slides down to the floor next to his side of the bed, dropping the bags of goodies into his lap facing her.

'What are you doing?'

'I'm not eating in bed, it's not sanitary. But I also don't want to be too far from you.' He lifts the food above his head. 'Best of both worlds.' Folding down the bag of chips he shakes the bag and peers in as if contemplating which chip should suffer first.

'And you are just going to sit there. On the floor. With a big bag of chips. And a bag of cookies and eat them…. All.'

'No.' He raises an eyebrow. 'I figured when you said no, you actually meant yes. So, these are for us both. Care to join me?' He withdraws two glasses of milk from their hiding place and holds them both up. She closes her book slowly and crawls over the bed, keeping eye contact, stopping at the edge of the bed, she sits legs hanging over the edge. Smiling at him and his boyish charm with unruly bed hair and a cookie half hanging out his mouth, a glass of milk in each hand.

'You really are something Gilbert Grissom, you know that. If anyone at the lab could see you now. Gruesome Grissom, on his bedroom floor, with cookies and milk. I think they would deem you mad, that you have lost your mind and have you locked up.' He pulls the rest of the cookie into his mouth crunching down on the chocolate goodness. He swallows quickly and turns on the charm.

'The only thing I am mad about my dear…. Is you.' Not expecting the admission himself, he just smiles at her. She must know. After a beat Sara slides down off the side of the bed and onto his lap, Grissom manages to put the glasses down out of danger just in time. Bringing his hands up her back, around her shoulders and into her hair, tilting her head slightly he lowers his lips down onto hers. Crushing any air out between them. Leaning back whilst holding onto his shoulders she looks at his face for a beat. 'What?'

'Nothing. I'm just looking.' She brushes a hand down the side of his face and around the shell of his ear. He leans in closer towards her but she pushes him back a touch. 'No, let me just look at you for a minute... Please?' He scrunches up his face, not enjoying the glare from her brown eyes. He begins to move his hands from around her back to up her sides and under her arms. Lifting her slightly, he moves his legs so she is sat balanced on his thighs now, his legs spread out wide. Moving cautiously he trails his fingers up her neck and down, flirting with the edge of her tank top. Skirting around the neckline, he dips a finger down under the material to inbetween her breasts. Dragging his finger back up and out he catches the cotton and pulls the top away from her skin, leaning forward in a flash to peek down behind the material. 'What do you think you are doing?'

'Nothing. I'm just looking.' He repeats back to her. Throwing a sideways smirk in for good measure.

'Oh, and for a minute there I thought you were trying to make a move on me and so soon too.' She jests. It's only been a few days since their first kiss and certainly not their last but in their minds intimacy isn't just sex. They are content with taking things steadily. They've been sharing a bed for months now, they don't want to rush this. To push it too far too soon. Seven years is a long time to wait for someone, something so right, it's easy for things to go sour quickly, to fizzle out before its had chance to burn its brightest. So they agree to just let nature takes it course, what happens will happen, when it happens.

'Sara..' He warns.

'Anyway, I wouldn't want you to see them for the first time, like this.' She smoothes down her tank top and slides off of his legs to land on the floor. Bringing her legs up towards her chest, hiding from his view. He leans forward, palms resting on her knees with a comforting weight.

'And how, may I ask, do you want me to see them... For the first time?' She purses her lips at him, then quickly gets up, running to her bag by the door to the ensuite, rummaging through she finds what she is looking for and retreats to the bathroom. A few minutes and two more cookies later, she emerges. In a black lace bralette and matching underwear underneath his robe from the back of his ensuite door. The tie is holding the material together but leaving enough of a view that he can see the black lace and her milky skin.

'Like... This.' He looks up from his seat on the floor to the sound of her voice, twisting his body to take in her form from behind him. He puts down his glass of milk on the bedside table and slowly begins to rise. Walking over towards her, his hands flexing by his sides. He comes to stop infront of her. A shy smile and reddening cheeks light up her face. 'Is this ok?' She rubs a hand on his chest.

'Ok Sidle. You win, this time.' He runs his fingers through her hair and pulls her close. Her head coming to rest on his shoulder. She smells like honey and chocolate, and all the things tempting in life. All of a sudden, she stiffens.

'Did you eat the last two cookies?' She pushes him to the side and marches over to the empty discarded packet on the floor. Turning to follow her he shrugs apologetically.

'Gilbert! I literally had one!' He shrugs again, glowing inside at the notion she just called him by his full name, moving to her side, her laces his fingers through hers and tugs on her hand, pulling her away from his room, down the hallway and into his spacious kitchen. Leaving her stood by the fridge, he yanks open a cupboard door where he reveals packets upon packets of cookies. All of her favourites, stacked neatly in rows. She stands, mouth open in surprise. Walking over slowly, past him, stood with his arms crossed, leaning back on the sink, pleased with himself being an understatement. She gently lifts each packet, examining the contents. 'These are all my favourites, from that whole foods store by my apartment?' She turns to look at him. He raises his shoulders in defeat and walks back over to her.

'On my way home from your apartment, after I finished court the day after the... you know. I swung into the store and bought every packet I could.'

'For me?'

'Yeah, well me too.' He licks his lips jokingly.

She looks up at the cupboard then back to his smug face and laughs, really laughs for the first time in a while. They sit for hours on the kitchen worktop, kissing, eating, and laughing.

And so they begin, taking turns staying at each other's places. Sleeping even better than before. Overtime slowly becoming a chore than a reward, waiting til the latest possible moment to leave for work and of course each other, leaving the lab at the earliest convenience just to steal more time together. Make out sessions on the sofa, in the kitchen, bathroom when brushing their teeth, in his car parked in his garage after a late-night drive, and once on the way back from a crime scene. Things are going from strength to strength, friends to lovers, and beyond.