Chapter Seventeen:
Watching the ambulance drive away, Sara turns to Grissom, touching his arm pulling him back into the moment.
'Can you drive?' He turns his head towards her, she nods slowly, reaching into his jacket pocket taking the Denali keys. She squeezes his shoulder and links arms with Greg walking away towards the truck.
'It goes without saying that graveyard have the next few nights off. We will need to get everyone together to go through a debrief at some point but for now, just try and get some rest.' Ecklie speaks at him rather than to him. Grissom nods and without saying a word slinks away to the silence of the truck with Sara and Greg. Greg automatically taking refuge in the back, leaving the passenger seat for Grissom. Sara has started the heaters on high to warm them up from the gruelling desert chill. Once Grissom settles and buckles up, she starts the truck and pulls out of the nursery behind a cop car. They sit in silence the whole drive, navigating the slow night traffic as they turn onto the strip. 15 minutes later and they are sat, idling in the carpark to the lab.
'Thanks.' Greg mumbles before finally unbuckling his seatbelt, just before he opens the door to leave, he places a hand on Sara's shoulder. 'Make sure he's ok, yeah?' He cocks his head to the side gesturing to Grissom, seeing his head slumped on the window, sleeping.
'Yeah, take care. Call me if you need anything ok?' She grabs his hand, it's still cold and squeezes tight. Greg pulls back reluctantly and leaves the truck, the slam of the door jolts Grissom awake.
'Hey. We're at the lab, do you wanna…'
'Let's go home.' He cuts in, she knows he means his place, but the loose term of home warms her. She puts the truck in drive and merges onto the main road and heads for his condo. When they get there, she unbuckles her seat belt and gets out the car, Grissom remains frozen in his seat. She moves round to his side, opens the door slowly and leans in to unbuckle his seat belt.
'Ready?' She asks gently. He nods and slips out the car and takes her hand following her up the stairs to his front door. She enters the condo using the key on his car keys and pulls him in, slipping the door closed behind them. Moving to stand in front of him, she lifts his head, unzips his jacket and pushes it from his shoulders onto the floor.
'Why don't you go take a shower. I'll make us some tea and bring it in, ok?' She sweeps his hair from his forehead. They are caked in dirt, sweat and tears and it feels like a hundred hot showers will never get the dirt out from under her nails or from her skin. He nods in response, slips off his shoes and drags himself across the room towards the bedroom. Sara fills the kettle, placing it on the stove to boil, reaching into the cupboard next to the oven she pulls the two biggest mugs he owns, dropping a tea bag into each and strips down to her underwear. Picking up Grissom's discarded jacket, she treads lightly into the laundry closet, dumping her clothes into the washing machine she quietly slips into his bedroom and the bathroom, picking his discarding clothes up from the floor and returns to the washing machine. Dumping the rest of their stained, dusty, and muddy clothes into the drum she pours a heavy amount of fabric soap and sets the wash machine ready for her underwear before turning back to the sound of the kettle purring on the stove. As she closes the door on the laundry closet, Grissom appears in the doorway to his room. With a towel around his waist. She turns and smiles at his sodden appearance.
'You, ok?'
'Come shower with me?' She smiles again and walks over to the stove, turning the gas off, stripping out of her black bra and knickers, she walks past him naked back to the washing machine, opening the lid she drops her garments in, presses start and turns to him. His eyes never leaving her body as he takes her hand and pulls her towards the bathroom.
After their shower, they dress in their pjs and move around one another in the kitchen quietly, returning to the abandoned kettle, Grissom pours the hot water into their mugs, Sara wiping down the counter tops, leaning into the fridge for the milk, placing it on the side ready for him. Once their drinks are made and the lights turned off in the kitchen, the kettle empty on the draining board, they retreat to his bedroom and slip between the sheets. Turning on their bedside lamps, Sara picks up her book, cup of tea in one hand, the book balanced on her knees with the other. Grissom sits up sipping his tea slowly staring off into the distance, blowing the steam away every so often. After what seems like hours but is only minutes, Grissom finishes his tea and turns to drop the mug on the bedside table.
'Tired?' She asks, he nods and moves closer to her, his head coming to rest on her chest. She places book down and carefully places her half drunk mug of tea on top. Moving down the bed with him, she wraps her arms around his solid body and strokes his hair till he falls asleep. She soon follows and they sleep for 10 hours straight.
She wakes up to him kissing her shoulder, they separated in the night but only to re-join and wake in their usual spooning fashion. His hand wrapped around her chest, his other under his head on his pillow. Their legs tangled in a comforting fashion.
'Morning.' He says roughly against her skin, inhaling her scent. 'You sleep ok?' Sara nods and rubs at her eyes. Turning to face him.
'Did you?' She smooths down his t shirt from his neck.
'I did…Thank you.'
'For what?' Thrown by the gesture.
'For just letting me be... For not pushing me to talk or….'
'It's ok. It's been a rough couple of days.' He smiles at her basic but honest response. He leans down and kisses her. 'What would you like to do today? I heard a rumour graveyard is off for a few nights.' She smiles and her eyes sparkle slightly. He rolls them over, him ontop of her, she gasps at his sudden movements and then relaxes instantly.
'Live.'