A/N: Hey guys. Are we ready for a little more GSR happy time? Best to enjoy it while it lasts, huh? Lol. Grissom is going to teach Sara to shoot, so this should be fun. Ha! Thank you for your great reviews and as always to Calim for the super beta. Please keep your thoughts coming.

Aaaaaannnnnd….. DUCK! :P

Chapter 148

Sara watched as her husband set up numerous glass bottles upon rocks and in tree branches, carefully balancing them in the snow. Taking a moment to look up, she sighed happily. For once the sun was out, the birds were singing and the wind was light and refreshing. It was a glorious morning.

She was so very happy when the sun came up. The previous night's antics had set her on edge through the night even though she knew the shooting had been harmless. Still, it didn't stop the dread she had felt for her husband when he'd vanished into the misty night. She didn't know how she would cope if he got hurt again. Thankfully, he had taken her mind off things and in the best way possible.

Grinning at the remembrance of his strong and determined body working lovingly against her own, she returned her gaze to him as he placed the final bottle in position. Her grin turned into a smile as he approached.

"Ready?" he asked, clapping his hands together.

"As I'll ever be, I suppose," she replied.

He smiled, crooking a finger at her. "Come with me. First, I'm going to show you how to load your weapon."

"Oh, yeah?" she sniggered. "I thought your weapon was always loaded…"

His right eyebrow reached for the sky and he cleared his throat. "Quite…" he replied, attempting to hold in his smirk. "However…," he continued as Sara grinned, "…I'm trying to be serious."

"Sorry," she said with a pout, holding out her hand. "Lead the way…"

His eyes narrowed but he wasn't able to hide his smile as he took her hand and led her back to the porch where he'd placed his gun and ammunition upon a table.

"We're going to concentrate on using the rifle today, all right?" he told her picking up the weapon. "It's easier to learn because you have more control. Once I'm happy with your ability then we can think about moving onto a handgun."

"Are you planning on sending me to war?" she joked.

He frowned at her. "Are you going to be serious about this or shall we just stop now? Protecting yourself isn't a laughing matter, Sara. I need to know you will be safe."

She held up a hand. "Sorry," she apologized, clearing her throat. "I'll listen, you teach, okay?" His eyes narrowed and she leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. "No more joking around," she promised.

With a nod he held out the rifle with two hands so Sara could see it properly. "This is a Colt Carbine rifle. It has a five chamber revolving action barrel…" He twisted the barrel around so she could see it and she nodded. "It takes .44 caliber cartridges consisting of powder and a lead ball. Or in layman's terms, a bullet." He pointed to the powder and ammunition. "All right so far?"

She nodded again. "Yes."

"Good." He picked up a bullet. "We load it like this…" She watched as he dropped ammunition into each of the chambers, twisting the barrel after each one and then he unclipped a small plunger from the bottom of the barrel and compressed the bullets down. "We now take percussion caps and place them over the vent nipples at the rear of the cylinder like so..." Sara avoided laughing at the word 'nipples' and watched on eagerly as he placed the caps in place. "And we're ready to go..." he finished, laying the rifle against his shoulder. "Any questions?"

"I don't think so," she answered. "Seems pretty simple enough but I hope to never have to fire more than five shots. Reloading must be pretty hectic if you're being shot at."

"Well, hopefully, you'll never have to find out but, yes, I'm sure it would be pretty scary. Thankfully, I've never been in that situation."

"And hopefully you never will," she shot back.

He smiled. "One thing of great importance is you must take your gun apart and clean it regularly. I'll show you how to do that at some point if not later today."

She gave a shrug. "Well, I don't own a gun, so cleaning it might not be on my to do list."

Holding the gun out to her, she stared at him. "You do now."

"What?" she laughed. "But that's yours."

He shook his head. "Now it's yours. I have the rifle from your father and because I've had this for several years, I trust it and know it's a good weapon. So, I want you to have it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he replied softly.

"Aren't you going to show me how to use it?" she asked.

"I will. Just get the feel of it and we'll get to shooting in a minute but..." He pulled the rifle back just as she reached for it, "...keep the barrel aimed at the ground and away from you, all right? Sometimes, guns can discharge themselves, so be careful."

Her eyes widened and she swallowed then reached out. Taking the rifle she did as she was told and kept the barrel pointing toward the ground.

"So how does it feel?" he asked.

"It's actually lighter than I was expecting," she admitted.

"That's because you're not holding it up. It will feel a little heavier when you're aiming it." He nodded to the steps. "Come…let's go teach you how to shoot."

She snickered, a slight pang of excitement running through her. After all, she'd never shot a gun before. "All right…lets…"

They headed down the steps and back towards where the targets had been set up.

"Let's go over here," Grissom said, pointing to the left. "We want to aim for about fifty feet away. That's a good starting point."

Once they were at the right distance, Grissom held out his hand. "Pass me the gun and I'll show you how we hold and fire." Sara handed him the rifle and she watched. It was weird really because she'd seen him hold the rifle before but never really paid that much attention as to how.

"Take it with your left hand and hold it firmly just below your right shoulder…" He demonstrated as he spoke. "Support your left hand with your right, like so…" She watched as he slipped his right hand over his left. "You must never, ever put your supporting hand in front of the cylinders okay? If you do the discharge will take your fingers off…" His eyes flicked to her and she looked a little shocked at his words. "Do you understand?" he asked and she knew he was serious. There was certainly nothing to joke about losing fingers.

"Yes," she said quickly now feeling a little more afraid than she had to start with.

Nodding, he returned his attention to his aim. "Now all we have left to do is cock the hammer, aim and fire. Watch…"

With his right eye narrowing, Grissom cocked the hammer, took careful aim at one of the bottles in the tree and fired. Sara jumped as a puff of smoke hit the air and her head shot around to the tree as the bottle shattered into numerous pieces and fell to the ground.

With a smile, he lowered the rifle, his eyes falling in her direction. "And it's as simple as that."

"That's easy for you to say, Mister. How much experience do you have?" she argued.

"Ummm…your father taught me to shoot when I was twelve."

"Exactly," she snorted, rolling her eyes but then did a double take realizing what he'd just said. "Did you just say when you we're twelve?"

"Ugh huh…" Grissom mumbled, holding out the rifle. "Your turn…"

She shook her head in disbelief. "A little young for shooting don't you think?" she questioned, taking the rifle from him.

He gave a shrug. "Not really. Think of how many families run farms and such. Boys much younger than that will be taught how to hunt. It's what they do."

"That's just…scary…" She shook her head again, stepping closer to him and raising the rifle to her shoulder.

"Wait…wait…wait…" he said swiftly, noticing she was already holding it wrong and quickly moved behind her. She instantly felt the press of his body against hers and a small smile found her lips as she took a quick look over her shoulder.

"Cozy," she told him.

Pursing his lips, he took her right hand and placed it over her left. "Pay attention…" he warned and she faced front with a smirk. "Pull the butt a little tighter against your shoulder otherwise you'll end up flying backwards." She did so and suddenly felt a surge of authority run through her as she realized she was actually aiming a fully loaded weapon. "Now, cock the hammer, aim and shoot when you're happy to do so."

"Are you going to let go?" she asked him because his hand was still covering hers.

"Maybe next time," he answered. "I just want to make sure you're all right with your first attempt. Just make sure you don't move your hand."

She snorted, her eyes narrowing down the barrel of the gun. "That's a bit difficult to do while you're holding me."

"I like holding you," he whispered in her ear and she shuddered as his warm breath tickled her skin.

"You're not helping my concentration," she complained.

Smirking, he lifted his head to see where she was aiming. "In your own time…" he guided, his hand clasping hers just a little harder.

Sara gritted her teeth, aiming at one of the bottles sitting on the rocks. Her finger tightened around the trigger as she counted to three in her head then fired, her eyes closing just before the shot rang out.

Grissom held her firmly as she bounced back into him and to her dismay, she missed and the bullet hit a tree to the right.

"Damn it," she grumbled as her eyes opened. "I missed…"

"Did you close your eyes by any chance?" he asked and when she looked over her shoulder at him he was grinning.

"How did you know that?" she questioned with a frown, lowering the rifle.

"Because you tensed up just before you fired and your aim moved. Generally, with a good line of sight, that doesn't happen."

"Oh…" Her chin worked from side to side and she looked away from him feeling embarrassed.

Taking her shoulders, he turned her around, being careful to ensure the rifle remained pointing away from them. Her head lowered and she averted his gaze.

"Hey…," he began, placing a finger under her chin and lifting, "…don't feel bad. You've never fired a gun before. I would have been amazed if you'd hit the first time. And it's natural to be a little afraid of the weapon."

"What makes you think I'm afraid?"

"Because you closed your eyes…" Her stare narrowed but all he did was smile. "It's not as easy as it looks, honey. It took me months and maybe even years of practice to become as good as I am. Don't expect to be a crack shot right away. That just won't happen." Puffing out her cheeks she exhaled a long sigh, her right foot digging into the wet defrosting ground beneath her. "Would you like to give it another try?" has asked softly.

Her lips puckered and she raised her head. "You bet your ass I do," she actually growled.

Blinking, he took a step back but then grinned at her enthusiasm. "Well…" He nodded towards the targets, "…in your own time then…"

"You're not helping me this time?"

His head shook. "I think you've got the feel for it. Just be careful with those hands and this time, keep your eyes on the target and your aim straight."

He watched as she nodded and took a breath before raising the rifle again. The look of concentration upon her face was immense and he had to fight the urge not to smirk because she really was trying. However, he still didn't expect her to be on target and presumed it would take a while before she got her aim and balance totally right.

"Pull it a little tighter against you, honey," he guided. "Remember…you don't have me behind you to steady you this time."

Rolling her eyes, Sara began to feel a little annoyed at his constant advice. She wasn't a child and didn't need telling more than once. Pulling the butt tighter against her she shifted her aim, instead going for one of the more difficult targets in the tree and that surprised him. Before he even had the opportunity to suggest she rethought, she fired, hitting the bottle with a clean and crisp shot and it exploded.

He took a step back and his brow rose in amazement just as she slowly turned to him with the biggest grin on her face.

"Are you hustling me?" he accused.

"Oh, would I ever do such a thing?" she laughed.

His lips pursed. "Yes…" he stepped toward her, "…you would."

She shrugged, holding out the gun to him. "I guess I just got lucky or maybe I'm just a natural. Your turn…"

Now his eyes narrowed but held a vibrant sparkle. "No," he answered roughly. "Do that again." The unexpected confidence she showed stirred something within him. That and the fact that she was a crack shot all of a sudden really aroused him. There was nothing better than a woman, his woman, handling a weapon so perfectly.

Her eyes narrowed back at him, her right eye twitching. Licking her lips at his sudden hungry stare, she gave a coy smile. "All right," she agreed. "But what do I get if I make the shot again?"

His right eyebrow reached for the sky. "You want to make a wager?"

"Sure," she replied with a grin.

"Are you that confident?" he asked, his eyes working up and down her body as the burn in his groin got hotter. He loved it when she teased him.

"I'm confident," she told him, wriggling her eyebrows. "Are you man enough to accept my bet?"

Shaking his head, he slipped his hands into his pockets. "What do you want?" he asked innocently.

Raising her free hand, she crooked a finger at him and he curiously stepped forward. Leaning into him, she whispered in his ear and his eyes widened at her proposal.

Blinking dumbly as she leaned back, he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry? You want what?" he questioned astounded.

"You heard me, Gilbert Grissom. I said, if I win I get full control of and over you for the entire day. I have some nice stockings that would look lovely around your wrists, lover…"

He swallowed hard. Yes, he knew Sara had let go of her demons but he didn't quite expect such audaciousness so soon. Her offer did scare him a little, after all, he usually had full control over what he was doing because it was just the kind of man he was and if she won… But, he was intrigued as to what might happen if the shoe was on the other foot and he had full control over her.

His pants grew a little larger and tighter at that thought. Tying Sara down, taking her deep and hard like he'd craved to do for so very long. But could she handle that?

Yes, they'd made love but at no point had he been completely dominating and controlling. In fact, thus far in their relationship, they hadn't gone in that direction at all.

Pulling a hand from his pocket he rubbed his chin as their eyes locked. Would she make the shot? Did he want her to? "All right," he agreed. "But on the condition that if you miss, I get full control over you."

Oh, that struck a chord and her grin faltered. "I…" she began but then paused, looking off towards the bottles again deep in thought.

Suddenly, Grissom realized that his words, meant to arouse, brought back something else entirely to Sara. "Honey, you don't have to ..."

"You're on…" she said, her head snapping back around, her darkening eyes catching his.

Relaxing, the right side of his mouth curled and he gave a single nod back. "Then the bet is on, Mrs. Grissom. You hit, you win, you miss, I win. Deal?"

Nodding, she took a slow, deep breath before raising the rifle and Grissom watched on anxiously as she took aim.

Time seemed to stand still as Sara cocked the hammer and tightened her finger upon the trigger. But then, to Grissom's total amazement, she shifted her aim off to the left and fired into another tree, completely missing each and every bottle by some distance and sending several leaves floating through the air.

Lowering her arm, she turned to face him and he was stunned. She'd missed on purpose.

"Oh dear…" she mumbled. "Looks like I'm not that good after all."

Slowly, she walked towards him but passed him by to lean the rifle up against the base of the porch. He watched her every move, their eyes feverishly clashing when she turned to face him.

"Looks like you won," she said with a mixture of nerves and excitement.

"Sara…" He swallowed as her hand reached to his cheek. Was she really ready to go this far?

"A deal is a deal, Gil," she breathed, swiping her hand down his beard. "And I will live up to my side of the bet and I damn well know you want to live up to yours…" Her hand passed down his chest and his breathing quickened as her fingers trailed over the firm bulge in his pants. "Show me what you hide deep inside…"

His pupils dilated as she squeezed his bulge and the fingers on each of his hands clenched tightly into a ball. "Do you realize what you are asking, Sara? Can you handle this? Are you ready?"

"I can handle anything you can dish out, baby. You just have to be man enough to give it…"

She squeezed him again and that was it. Her bragging and teasing had breached his hesitancy and, with lightning speed, he lunged forward. Sara didn't know what hit her and she squealed. Before she knew it, his arms were around her and the next thing, her feet left the ground and she found herself unceremoniously plonked over his shoulder.

"I'll show you exactly how much of a man I am…"

*** - "The words were still in his hearing as just spoken- distinctly in his hearing as ever spoken words had been in his life- when the weary passenger started to the consciousness of daylight, and found that the shadows of the night were gone."

A/N: Ooooh...Caveman Grissom? LMAO. Has Sara bitten off more than she can chew? We will see :P Thoughts please...