Chapter Twenty One:

After a few hours' sleep back at Grissom's condo, the quickest shower Sara has ever had and a change of clothes they are back on shift. Officer Bell's family notified and the case thrumming along quicker than the CSI's can work it. On the drive back to their scene, Grissom behind the wheel, Sara playing with the coffee cup in her hands, she looks up from her lap to the road ahead and back to Grissom in the driver's seat. The run in with Sofia in his office, still playing on her mind. They haven't had chance to talk about it before now, and she knows he won't want to entertain it for too long so sucking in a breath she mulls over her approach in her head downing the last of her coffee.

'What is it, Sara?' He looks across to her, almost hearing the cogs turning in her head. Tilting her head in his direction, then shifting her body to face him more in her seat.

'She shouldn't have even been in the building, and talking to you of all people, I don't know where her head was at.'

'Sara, Sofia thinks she is the one that shot Bell. Maybe cut her some slack, for a moment? I know you two have never really seen eye to eye but.' Leaning forward cutting him off.

'I am cutting her slack Gil. I recommended a departmental psychologist; I sent her the details after she left your office.' The truck falls silent again, he can tell she is pissed. Her eyes focused on him behind her sunglasses. He dares a look at her, noting the anger twisted on her face. Turning back to the road, her voice startles him a little.

'And we see eye to eye. Well, I mean I can't speak for her but.' Her voice trails off. Grissom looks over again, whilst navigating the midday traffic, well into what feels like a quadruple shift.

'Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.' He leans back in the driver's seat and smiles, an attempt at diffusing the situation.

'I just don't get it.' She brings her right leg up and crosses it over her left and straightens her sunglasses with one hand. Risking a fallout, he changes the subject.

'What do you want for dinner tonight?'

'Stop trying to distract me, I'm still mad at you.' She drops the empty coffee cup in the cup holder between them, it did little at keeping her hands busy anyway.

'Sara, how could I have known she was going to be there. Be reasonable.'

'I am being reasonable Gil. You should have sent her home straight away.' Whipping the sunglasses off her face, she folds them down into her lap, tucking her hair behind her ear.

'You know contrary to popular belief I am human; I can care about people.' Looking over to him, she purses her lips and turns to look out of her window.

'That lasagne you did last week was nice.'

'Lasagne is it.' He reaches over and squeezes her thigh quickly, pulling his hand back before she has chance to swat him away.

12 Hours Later.

The case is closed. The paperwork filed. Evidence locked away ready for storage. Sara leans against his doorframe, seeing him swamped behind stacks of folders and paperwork from cases somewhat neglected the past week.

'More paperwork huh?' She says, he sighs into his desk and looks up slowly to see her slender frame draped across his doorway.

'Yeah I'm swamped.' Dropping his pen and taking his glasses off he rubs his eyes.

'Do you wanna leave it? I could go back to mine.' She slinks into the room quietly, resting her hands on the back of one of the chairs in front of his desk. He knows she means their arrangement, this new life they have been living in secret.

'No!' His head snaps up so quickly it almost hurt. She chuckles, chin down to her chest.

'Ok, only if, you are sure. It's been.' She shakes her head, trying to get a grip on it all. 'Crazy to say the least and if you just want to be alone and rest, I get that.' He shakes his head, so violently she worries he has given himself whiplash.

'I shouldn't be too long. An hour, maybe two max.' Balancing his glasses on the end of his nose, he picks up his pen, continuing his scribbles along the pages.

'Ok… I might run a bath…... if that's ok?' His pen skids to a stop. Suddenly images of a naked and wet Sara Sidle flash across his eye sight. Realising he's been sat there mouth open for a while he shakes his head ever so slightly as if the action will erase the temptation and responds.

'Yeah. Yeah of course, you don't need to ask Sara.'

'Ok. See you soon.' She lingers for a beat longer than necessary before heading to the parking lot. She races back to his place and begins to draw a bath, adding way too much bubble bath and lighting way too many candles. Just as she is about to settle down into the hot suds, she hears the front door slam shut. Glancing through the open door into the bedroom she can just about make out the red numbers on the alarm clock on his bedside table. It's only been 35 minutes since she left the lab, he shouldn't be home yet.

'Gil?' she shouts. No answer. Balancing her weight on the edge of the tub with both hands, racking her brain as to where her cell and gun are in the condo, she leans over to reach for the towel on the rack when he appears in the doorway.

'I thought?'

'I couldn't stop thinking about you in my bath…' he smiles shyly.

'Oh…. ?' She drops herself down gracefully into the water, it laps up at the sides threatening to spill over. Pulling her knees up she knocks the bubbles off of her skin and rests her hands on her shins. 'When did you leave the lab?'

'About 30 seconds after you left my office.' He slides down to kneel on the floor next to the tub, peeking in the water to look at her, dipping his hand into the hot water swirling it around. Leaning forward he drops a kiss to her wet shoulder.

'Oh…... paperwork was that important huh?' She mocks him slightly, leaning back, lowering her legs and letting the water settle around her breasts.

'Not anymore.'