A/N: What a great response to my first chapter! It's nice to know I'm not the only one frustrated by the current state of affairs with our favorite couple….thanks for the reviews and support, I will try not to disappoint.
After downing the Kona treat, the team went about their processing, documenting, evidence logging; all without any drama. Progress was made, and everyone left on time. The shift was completely uneventful; a rare, but welcome circumstance.
Sara went home to a quick shower, breakfast, and straight to bed. She laid there, her eyes were closed but her mind clicked a thousand miles an hour running through what she would divulge to Catherine. She kept going through the conversation in her mind, debating with herself what was safe to share, and what needed to stay private. After all, this concerned Grissom's privacy as well, so she felt pressure to do the right thing by him, more than anything.
An hour or two went by while Sara held mock conversations in her head, ultimately, and mercifully, succumbing to a deep slumber. Too deep to hear the tumblers turn on the front door lock. Too deep to hear someone stubbing their toe on a stray box of stored who knows what. And, definitely too deep to sense her love staring at her sleeping form by the side of their bed.
Grissom could only cock his head, inhale deeply, and absorb the sight of Sara before him. He wanted to slide in bed beside her, but she was squarely on his side. He knelt down, stroked her hair, and whispered, "You're in my spot."
Without waking, she instinctively moved toward him. "No," he stifled a laugh, "Dear, you need to go the other way." He gently nudged her, nothing. He pushed a bit firmer; a groan, and she turned over to her side. He shrugged, stripped down, and spooned in behind her. She sighed in her sleep, and pressed closer to him.
Out of nowhere, just like a bolt of lightning shot through her body, she leapt out of bed, nearly knocking over the lamp while trying to turn it on. They both stared at each other in shocked catatonia, hyperventilating with adrenaline.
"Oh, Thank God," Sara held her chest, "It's you."
A smile spreading across his face, "Surprise!"
"Gil," she slid back in bed, "I know you love to surprise me, but…"
Somewhat dejected, "But, I thought you like to be surprised."
"The surprise in Costa Rica was the thrill of a lifetime, I'll never have a greater moment; I'll grant you that." Sara struggled with how to phrase her next sentence and not burst her lover's bubble. "I love surprises." She kissed him, "But, I also love the anticipation of reuniting with you."
He looked confused.
"I want to get time off at the lab, find little things to surprise you with, buy a new outfit to show off, find a new restaurant to wow you, and," she sighed, "mostly, I want to have you to look forward to." Cocking her head, "Do you understand?"
Grissom frowned, "But, I love to see your reaction when I appear out of the blue."
With mock rebellion Sara replied, "I should be the one appearing out of the blue, you're in Paris after all, the city of Luuuuv."
"You've seen the people I hang with in Paris; you were bored to tears there."
Sara laughed, "Oh, yeah, the food was great, but the conversation might have been Greek."
"I think one of the guys does slip into Greek after a few glasses of wine," Grissom chuckled.
"Figures," Sara shrugged, "Anyway, you are better off without me butting into all that."
"You mean I'm better off not having to glance over and make sure you haven't nodded off?"
A playful punch on the arm, "That only happened once."
"Well, anyway, I think they call Vegas 'sin city' and that trumps the 'city of love'." Grissom grinned that 'I've got ya' look, "It is clearly you who needs to be spot checked."
The humor in the conversation was inescapable with the irony that they each trusted each other beyond comprehension; they harbored not an ounce of suspicion despite the long time and distance of their intermittent separation. Sara grinned, "But, a healthy marriage needs some compromise, right?"
"Ah, sure," Grissom responded, with all the hesitation of a man knowing he's heading for a trap.
"…give and take?"
"Uh, huh."
"….some tradeoffs?"
"Sure," came the shaky response.
"So," she moved closer, "How about we agree…." Sara was now hovering over Gil's lips, he was taking her essence in, waiting for what was surely a passionate, mind blowing kiss, "So why don't we compromise on this?" she whispered.
Grissom was slack jawed, eyes shut, "Huh?" he uttered.
"Did you hear any of that?"
"Ah," eyes open, head shaking, "Um, you were saying?"
Sara had to laugh, "I just thought you could throw in a planned visit along with the surprises."
Grissom smiled, "I love you so much; you have no idea."
"Mmmm," she purred, "You're right," planting a kiss, "I have no idea; you better show me."
Grissom and Sara made love, slept, made love again, slept again, and awoke together with her alarm.
"Ugh," she moaned, turning off the infernal device. "This is awful!"
"What," Grissom replied sleepily.
"Well, there's no way I can call in tonight, and to top it off, I made a dinner date with Catherine."
"You and Cat?" he guffawed, "What's up with that?"
"She wants to know what's going on with me; like how long I'll be here."
A serious expression overtook his face, "So, what are you going to tell her?"
Now it was Sara's turn to laugh, "I haven't really figured that out yet."
"You can tell her the truth."
"The truth doesn't give her what she wants to know."
"I guess not," he shook his head.
He smiled and looked down, taking her hand, "How is it you are so patient with me?"
"You were patient with me, and," she tilted her head down to make eye contact, "When I left Vegas," she sighed, "and I left you, it was hardly comprehensible to me. How it was something you could ever begin to forgive me for," she paused, "I can easily let you take all the time you need to find your way away from the lab."
He smiled knowingly and nodded. "Ya know, lately I've made amazing contacts in Paris." Excitedly he continued, "I was only known in the forensic community, but now, well, it took some time, but, I'm back in the game!"
Sara beamed, "You just needed a few more at bats!"
He had to roll his eyes at her attempt at a baseball analogy. "It's a shame those at bats aren't paying better Euros."
"No worries, with you over there and the lab so short, I'm pulling OT like there's no tomorrow."
His eyebrows went up, "So we're getting in the red?"
"You bet," I've paid off everything and starting to stash it away.
Grissom smiled wide pulling Sara into a very tight embrace, "How did I get so blessed to have you in my life?"
Sara giggled despite his tight hold, "It goes both ways my dear."
His eyes closed knowingly. He had endured heartbreak he never imagined when she left, but in spite of that, respected her wish to be left to go off and find herself, out of pure love. He had no clue at the time what she was going through, but now he knew first hand. Fortunately for the couple, letting Sara do just that allowed them to ultimately unite. And now, she was the only soul alive who could understand what he needed to do in leaving CSI and Vegas. She had just done it all. She could let him go off and find himself, and she'd be waiting for him, no questions asked. You do what you need to do; I'll be waiting for you when you're done.
He squeezed her impossibly tighter, not wanting to let go of her loving energy. They savored the closeness for several minutes. Finally Sara broke the news that she needed to get ready for dinner and then a shift, the alarm had signaled the end of this bliss.
"This is just what I mean about these surprises," Sara spit out as she exited the bed, "I mean, I have dinner plans, I'm scheduled to work every night," she shook her head, "all these nights I could be with you!"
Grissom smiled, "And now my ulterior motive." He rose to embrace her once again, "I need time here, alone, to go through my old studies. I have a lot of references to get organized, and if you were here with me," he chuckled, "I wouldn't get anything done."
Sara rolled her eyes. She completely understood. Not many women would, but that's what made them so perfect. "I love you more than I can say," and she kissed him passionately. She reluctantly broke away to dress for dinner and work. Meanwhile, Grissom started poking around boxes of files. His attention was momentarily hijacked by a stray picture of the couple Sara had propped up haphazardly, without even a frame. He savored the memory, but quickly refocused. "Besides, I met someone who had some input on how to get our grant up the approval ladder a bit faster."
Sara's eyes lit up, "What! How?"
"Well, I need to amend the protocol, and drop in some references from my old work," he called out from a sea of boxes in what used to be their living room. "I think once this semester is done; I'll be ready to move on."
By now Sara was standing beside him, "I thought by now, the grant would have been funded, and I would be getting set up until the end of your commitment in Paris, but here we are."
"Yes," he nodded somewhat dejectedly. "I never thought it would take this long, and I'm not sure what I'll do if it's not funded before I'm finished lecturing at the Sorbonne."
"You could come here, with me," Sara offered with considerable hesitation, "I mean, not work at the lab, of course, just…."
He cut her off, "You know I can't do that." His tone was emphatic.
"You're right," she shook her head, "I know better than anyone that you can't do that; you shouldn't do that."
"How about a trip?" he offered.
"It's gotta be a cheap one," she laughed.
He grabbed her up for one last kiss before she left, "I think this is what they mean by going 'full circle.' Think about it" he grinned, "once upon a time, in this very townhouse, I was suggesting you to just come back here, and you were suggesting a trip."
They embraced, savoring the closeness. Sara's face was buried in Grissom's chest when she spoke, "Did you ever think you would not know from one month to the next what the heck you would be doing; what continent you would be on?"
"Not only could I not imagine that, but I couldn't have achieved that freedom without your guidance." His drew back with a stare that bore through to her soul, "I owe you my life. I was dead when you rescued me."
Sara drew a shaky breath. "Wow."
"Now, you go explain all that to Catherine," and he returned to his boxes.
"What?"
He laughed heartily, "I know about making out schedules, all she needs to know is you may only have a week's notice. She's much more organized than I was; she wants to make out a schedule for months in advance. The bottom line is that you have to be able to accommodate losing someone at any time. I lost Warrick; I lost you," he became emotional and had to pause; "she can handle knowing you are week to week. That's not a burden," he said with his supervisor voice.
"So that's what you think I should tell her and leave it at that?"
He threw down the files he was thumbing through, clearly angry, "They already got more from you than they deserve. You took a huge risk coming back!"
"No," Sara pleaded, "No, I wanted to come back."
Grissom was seething, and silent. Sara responded, "I invested too much in beating these demons. I beat back the ghosts from my past. I found another way of life. I dealt with my memories. I needed to prove that I shored up my emotions." She cupped his face, and looked deep into his eyes, "I needed this."
"What if I lost you again?" he whispered.
"That couldn't happen. I knew the signs. I could leave this time. But," she shook her head for emphasis, "but, if I could do it," smiling, "then I beat it! I'm whole again." Her smile spoke volumes, "It feels great. I've never been so comfortable with being a CSI." She winked, "It feels great."
"It was still a risk," he countered.
She smiled, "I wouldn't take a risk that would take me away from you again."
They shared a smile, "The grant should come in before I'm done at the Sorbonne, and we need to get organized down there right away, it will fall to you in the meantime."
"And if it doesn't come in until after you're done there?" Sara asked with a wry smile.
"Once, I'm done there, we need to be together, somewhere," his expression was one of contentment, "and somewhere means NOT here."
Sara left to meet Catherine; still unsure of how she would handle the inevitable questions, but understanding all too well Grissom's aversion to Vegas at this point in his journey. She knew the pain first hand, and knew that she would be gone when he was free, or when the grant came in, but no one knew when any of that was going to happen.
tbc……
a/n: Please stay tuned; I have a few more insight to share.... thank you in advance for r & r.....