Title: After the Fire
Author: IrishDachsie

Pairing: Grissom/Sara
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
A/N: Special thanks to Ann for the idea.

Sara stood outside of her apartment complex, staring at the unit directly above hers. She shook her head sadly as the firefighters loaded up their gear. She felt his presence and answered his question before he even spoke.

"It was the one above mine…"

He followed her gaze upwards and sighed. "Fire damage to yours?"

She pursed her lips as she shook her head. "No…but…water damage, yes. I’m not sure of the extent…they wouldn’t let me go in. I have to wait until tomorrow."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his heart filling with sadness for her. He cleared his throat softly. "Where are you staying tonight?"

She shrugged her shoulders in indifference. "Don’t know…I suppose the motel down the street. I’ll have to go shopping for some clothes tomorrow…"

"Sara…"

She turned to look at him for the first time. He inhaled sharply when he looked into her eyes. Dark eyes that reflected the same emotionless blind stare that he had seen after the explosion.

"I need to go, Grissom…"

He grasped her arm quickly as she started to move past him. "You…shouldn’t be alone tonight…"

"I’m fine. Really. It wasn’t my apartment that was destroyed by fire…"

"Water damage can be just as destructive…and…just as shocking."

"Grissom…"

Her voice trailed off as Grissom gently pulled her into the direction of his Tahoe parked on the opposite side of the street. "You can stay with me…"

She shook her head quickly. "No…I’ll be fine in a motel…"

"Sara…we’re both off tonight. Your apartment is pretty much demolished. You’re upset. You shouldn’t be alone." He stood in front of her and offered her a small smile. "We can talk…play a few games of poker…anything to take your mind off of tonight’s events…"

"I know better than to play poker with you…"

He chuckled lightly as she allowed him to usher her into the passenger seat of the vehicle.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She entered his home for the first time in almost six months. She glanced around, noticing that absolutely nothing had changed. Turning around quickly, she literally walked right into Grissom’s chest. His hand landed on her hip in an attempt to steady her. His hand dropped quickly when he realized where it was.

His eyes darted around the room nervously as he tried to focus his attention on anything else other than the woman standing in front of him. "Uh…I’m sorry. I…didn’t expect you to…uh…turn around. I was just going to put this…um…are you hungry?"

She stared at him and took a couple of steps backwards, desperately trying to move from his personal space as gracefully as possible. "I…I’m not really hungry…"

He resisted the urge to close the distance between them and wrap his arms around her. Instead, he stood frozen to that spot on the hardwood floor between the coffee table and television set. His thumb rubbed against the underside of his ring finger, a nervous gesture that was simply Grissom.

"You…really should eat something…"

She shifted her eyes from him quickly and focused on a glass display case hanging on the wall. "Those are nice…"

He glanced at the wall and smiled, relaxing somewhat as he went into glorious detail of each butterfly carefully pinned down inside of the case. She looked around the room, scanning each glass enclosure carefully.

"Sara?"

"Which one is your favorite?"

A hint of a smile was seen on his lips. "Agyris subterrbstris petrina…the Arid Bronze Azure. I found it at an Entomological conference a couple of years ago. It’s the rarest butterfly in Australia. And…it’s beautiful…"

A smile matching his played at her lips. "Which one is it?"

He lightly touched her wrist and smiled brightly. "Come on, I’ll show you…"

She couldn’t help but grin at his boyish exuberance as she followed him down the hall and into the second room on the left. Her grin quickly faded as she realized he had just led her into his bedroom.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room as he had his back to her. He carefully pulled the butterfly display in question from the wall. Without thinking, he turned and sat on the edge of the bed and placed the case on top of the bedspread as he motioned for her to join him.

With a heavy sigh she moved to the opposite side of the bed and nervously sat down. In his excitement, he hadn’t realized that they were sitting on his bed. He grinned as he pointed to the specimen.

"Isn’t it beautiful?"

She stifled a yawn as she nodded in agreement.

"This species has only been seen in the Lake Douglas area recently…it’s on the endangered butterfly species list in Australia…"

Despite her best efforts to keep them open, her eyes slowly slid shut as she listened to his voice. His scent on the pillow enveloped her as she sank deeper into relaxation and crossed the border into sleep.

"…they think that this species will be extinct within five years…" Her soft breathing caught his attention. "Sara?"

He watched her sleep for a moment, before his eyes surveyed the room quickly before refocusing on her relaxed form. "Shit…"

Now what am I going to do? I certainly didn’t intend to bring her in here…not like this. She’s going to think I lured her…dammit.

He raised his hand to gently shake her awake.

Don’t wake her…you know how little sleep she gets.

But…she’s asleep in my bed…when she wakes up…

When she wakes up, she’ll be rested. Now…put the butterflies back where you found them…take her shoes off and cover her up…and let her sleep.

He nodded lightly as his hand lowered. After he placed the display back on the wall, he walked around the bed and pulled her shoes from her feet. He stood there and watched her quietly as he pulled the blanket up over her body.

As he watched her, he felt his tired body trying to give out.

I need to go into the living room.

Why?

I’m tired…we had a long night. I need to sleep.

So…sleep…but, you know you won’t get any sleep on that piece of furniture you like to call a couch.

I’ll sleep on the floor…

Yeah…that would be almost as comfortable…

Well, what do you expect me to do? Sleep in the bed with her?

Why not? It’s your bed…and you know it’s the only place you can sleep comfortably.

No…

Gil…you’re both fully dressed. You’ll just be sharing a bed. It’s not like you undressed her and plan on…attacking her…

That’s not funny…

So, quit being an irrational man and go to sleep…

What if she thinks…

She’ll think you were tired and, being the gentlemen you are, refused to wake her up when she fell asleep. And…considering this is your bed, you chose to lie on the other side…far from her…and get a few winks yourself.

He stared at the queen-sized bed and nodded to no one in particular.

I normally sleep on my side…that gives us quite a bit of room between us…we won’t be…touching…

With a heavy sigh, he kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed. After making sure there was adequate space between them, he closed his eyes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Somehow, in the time that they had slept, they had both gravitated towards the middle of the bed. They slept peacefully, her back against his chest, his right arm resting across her waist. His fingers were lightly touching the bare skin of her abdomen where her shirt had been pulled up a couple of inches during sleep.

She snuggled back against him as he moved his arm, his hand innocently coming to a rest on her breast. His fingers flexed slowly, the tips gliding over her quickly hardening nipples. She moaned lightly as she shifted her body, moving her hand up to cover his.

He inhaled deeply as his hand took on a mind of its own, gently kneading the firm mound of flesh underneath his palm. Her back arched lightly as she tightened her hold on his hand, effectively pushing his warm flesh against her aroused nub.

"Sara…"

The sound of his own voice startled him out of the dream-like sleep he had entered. His eyes opened slowly as he felt her inhale sharply, as she suddenly became aware that she was pressing his hand against her breast.

"Grissom? Are...uh…are you awake?"

Quickly gaining his bearings, he forced his hand to release its grip on her breast as she moved her own hand back to the mattress. "I…I just…I am now…"

He pushed himself up and off of the bed and ran a trembling hand through his hair. "I…Sara, I’m sorry…I…"

She slid out of the bed as quickly as he had and reached for her shoes. "It’s okay…you…uh…we were asleep. I…didn’t mean to fall asleep here…I’ll go…"

He stared after her as she left the room. We were asleep? She wasn’t awake either?

"Sara!" He ran out of the room and down the hall to find her staring out of the living room window.

"I…forgot. Can you give me a ride?" She refused to look at him. After a few moments, he hadn’t answered. "I’ll call a cab…"

He stood in the middle of the living room, his heart racing. "No…"

Turning to look at him, she diverted her eyes quickly from his. He took a couple of steps forward and stopped. "Sara…I didn’t realize what I…it was an accident…"

She shook her head softly. "I shouldn’t have let you…talk me into staying here…I…didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…"

"You didn’t…"

She shifted her eyes back to his. "I don’t know what happened in there, Grissom."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "We…uh…we should talk…"

She bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. "Now?"

He nodded slowly and motioned towards the couch. "I think we should…"

Hesitantly, she walked towards the sofa and sat down on the edge of the cushion. Her hands trembled nervously as she watched him sit down beside of her.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he turned to look at her. "I…I was dreaming…I didn’t realize that I was touching…you…"

She fought to hold back the tears successfully. "Who did you think…" She cut off her own question and stood up abruptly.

Reaching out, he quickly grabbed her arm as he jumped up. "You…"

She stared at him, her eyes glistening. Her voice was soft and low, almost a whisper. "What?"

His thumb rubbed the inside of her wrist gently as he inhaled deeply. "Who did I think I was touching?"

Silently she nodded slowly, her heart thudding in her chest.

"You…"

The tear slipped from her eye as he moved closer. "Sara…"

His thumb traced the wet streak on her face. His eyes closed as the phone began to ring.

"You…should get that…it could be important…"

He opened his eyes as he felt her start to pull away from him. Their gazes met and locked. He pulled her back and shook his head slowly. "This…" His eyes darted between her dark orbs and her inviting lips. "This is important…"

Her eyelids fell shut as he brushed his lips against hers in experimentation. His hand tightened on her wrist as he raised his other hand, raking his fingers through her silky hair. His lips descended on hers again, this time parting slightly allowing his tongue to taste her.

He took a step backwards, breaking the kiss and offering her an embarrassed smile. She stood there, her face flushed, hesitant to move forward. Seeing her indecision, he tugged lightly on her arm as he tilted his head to the right.

"Sara…if you don’t want…this…then I owe you an apology…"

She shook her head gently to clear her thoughts. "I…" She took a step forward and narrowed her eyes in confusion as he sat back down on the couch, his hand still around her wrist. "You…kissed me…"

He chuckled nervously, tugging on her arm again in a silent request for her to sit down beside of him. "Um…yeah…I did."

She lowered herself onto the soft leather cushion beside of him, her mouth dropping open as she stared at him. "Grissom…"

"I’m sor…"

"Don’t say you’re sorry…please…don’t say it was a mistake…" Her eyes frantically searched his face for any sign of regret. Seeing none, she moved closer to him. "Do it again?"

He licked his lips as he stared into her eyes. "Are you…"

She placed a shaky hand on his face, her thumb rubbing over his cheekbone. She leaned into him and pressed a timid kiss on his lips. She pulled back for a brief moment and gazed into his eyes. "Yes…I’m sure…"

She quickly moved back in, afraid that if she gave him a second to think about it, he’d change his mind. The chaste kiss was quickly replaced with a mutual hunger.

He groaned into her mouth as she pushed his back into the cushions and straddled his thighs. She moved forward a bit, grinding her pelvis into his as her tongue dove into his mouth again. His hands held her denim-covered hips to still her movement as he licked the underside of her tongue.

Feeling his rapidly growing erection straining underneath her, she began to unbutton his shirt. His fingers glided underneath her blouse and up her back, pushing the cotton material up her torso. She broke the kiss and leaned back, raising her arms as he slid the shirt off and dropped it to the floor.

"Grissom?"

"Hm?" He mumbled lightly as his mouth closed over her satin-covered nipple.

"Oh…God…mm…Griss…" She felt his hands slide to the clasp and unhook her bra, sliding the material from her body. "Are we…moving too fast?"

He smiled against her warm flesh, his tongue flicking against her nipple. Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes. "Probably…" He raised his hand and caressed her flushed cheek. "Do you…want me to…stop?"

Twisting her body on his lap, she lowered herself to the couch, her back pushing into the cushion as her head rested on the armrest. She grinned at him as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her, trapping his body between her legs. "No…"

Feeling his groin being pressed against her core, he inhaled sharply as she removed his shirt. Her nails scraped against his nipples lightly as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He leaned back and stared at her half-naked form. "You’re beautiful…"

Her eyes closed as her legs tightened around his waist in an attempt to pull his body down over hers. He fell forward, catching himself with his left arm before he collapsed on top of her. His right hand rested on her abdomen as she lifted her head and licked his shoulder.

Moving his hand to the couch beside of her hip, he pushed himself back up quickly. Staring into her darkened eyes, he reached for the button on her jeans. He maintained eye contact as he pulled the button free and then slid the zipper down. She reluctantly allowed her legs to fall from his waist as he moved back towards the opposite armrest.

His heart began to race as he pulled the denim down her legs. He broke contact with her gaze as he tossed her jeans and underwear onto the floor. His eyes took in her nude body with an intensity she had never seen before. His hands began a slow journey up her shapely legs, stopping at her thighs as she raised her knees and parted them slightly.

"Grissom?"

He lifted his eyes from the thatch of dark, slightly glistening hair. "Yes?"

"I…want to…see you…"

His eyes clouded with confusion for a moment before she motioned to his pants. He chuckled nervously and pulled his jeans open quickly. He stood beside of the couch and rid himself of his Levi’s. He blushed lightly as her eyes travelled over his now naked body.

"Come here…" Her voice was low and sultry as she beckoned him.

He chewed his bottom lip and swallowed before he whispered three quick words. "Be right back…"

He hurried out of the room as Sara stared after him. True to his word, he came right back…with a foil packet in his hand. She fought back the urge to ask him why he kept a supply of condoms in his home, instead offering him a smile as he clambered back to the couch.

He dropped the packet onto the sofa beside of her body as he leaned down to kiss her passionately. As she pulled his tongue into her mouth, she gasped as she felt his hand cover her soft mound. His finger slipped between her swollen lips and dipped into her wet folds. His thumb grazed her clit as his finger gently penetrated her.

He began thrusting his finger into her, breaking the kiss and moving his mouth to her breast. He slipped a second finger inside as he pulled her nipple into his mouth, sucking hungrily on the taut nub. She bucked her hips against him, her fingers winding in his hair as she held him to her.

Feeling her inner walls begin to tighten, he withdrew his fingers and released her nipple. Smiling gently at her whimper, he knelt between her legs and picked up the condom from beside her. He cursed lightly as his slippery fingers were unable to tear the packet open. She offered him a shy grin as she took the package from his hand.

"Let me…"

She ripped the foil open and pulled out the latex sheath. His eyes slammed shut as her fingers wrapped around the base of his throbbing erection, stroking slowly a few times before releasing him. He groaned as he felt her roll the condom down his hardened flesh.

Her hands slid up his forearms and over his shoulders as her legs found themselves around his waist once more. He stared into her eyes as he slid into her slick channel. She wrapped her arms around his back, her hands gripping his shoulder blades.

"This is…real?"

She tilted her head in a silent question.

"I’m…not dreaming this time?"

She smiled up at him and shook her head gently. "It’s real…"

He returned her smile and pulled his hips back. He began thrusting gently into her, his mouth finding the sensitive flesh of her neck. Her hips moved with him, matching his rhythm with her own. Her nails scratched his back lightly as his teeth nipped at her neck.

"Griss…oh, God…so good…"

Her hands slid over the thin coat of sweat covering his back as he plunged deeper into her. Releasing her skin from his lips, he lifted his head and gazed at her face.

"Sara…"

She bit her lip and tightened her legs around him, eliciting a moan from his throat. He grunted her name again, prompting her to open her eyes. She met the intense slate-gray eyes of the man she loved and gasped at the emotions she saw there.

"Oh…Gil…I…you…oh, God…"

He smiled as her voice trailed off into nonsensical ramblings. His smile faded quickly as he felt her shudder violently beneath him. Her inner walls clenched down on him as she tried desperately to grasp onto his sweaty shoulder blades.

Even through the barrier covering his member, he felt her hot juices flooding over him. They groaned in unison, their thrusts becoming haphazard as their orgasms crashed over them.

He collapsed on top of her, his tired arms finally giving out. Her hands went from clawing at his back to softly gliding over the slick flesh. He nuzzled her neck, placing tender kisses on her skin. She whimpered lightly as his softening member slid from her. Reaching between their bodies, he carefully removed the condom and tossed it into the wastebasket that was housed under the end table.

Her hand caressed his damp penis as it rested against her thigh. His body shivered from her touch. His hand trembled lightly as he brushed her sweaty hair from her face. Lowering his face to hers, he placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Grissom?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think…well…uh…"

He raised himself up and looked into her eyes. "What is it, Sara?"

Seeing the concerned look in his eyes, she reached up and ran her fingers through his wet curls. "Can we…go to bed?"

He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at her.

"It’s just…I was comfortable while we were…uh…"

"Making love?" He offered warily. He exhaled in relief as she blushed, offering him a soft smile.

"Yeah…I was comfortable then…but…"

He pushed himself up quickly and stood beside the couch. Reaching down, he took hold of her hand and pulled her up beside of him. "It’s not a very comfortable couch…"

She pressed her body against his chest and wrapped her arms around her neck. As he tilted his head down to look at her, he sighed as her lips captured his. She offered him a smile as she broke the kiss.

"Your bed, on the other hand…is extremely comfortable…"

He grinned as he allowed her to lead him down the hall and into the bedroom.

As they fell onto the bed, she snuggled up against him and stifled a yawn. As he traced imaginary patterns on her back, he exhaled deeply.

"Sara?"

She draped an arm over his waist and nuzzled his chest sleepily. "Hm?"

"You…uh…you can stay here as long as you need to…or…want to…"

She smiled against his skin. "Think you can take me to buy some clothes and…things…tomorrow?"

"Will you stay?"

She chuckled lightly. "If you take me shopping…"

He tightened his hold on her, closing his eyes as he yawned through his smile. "Just tell me where to go…"

She closed her eyes, her smile following her into sleep as they melted into each other’s embrace.

~ End

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