Title: Wounded by the Dragon
Author: IrishDachsie
Pairing:
Grissom/Sara
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Same as always…nothing is mine.
He walked into the breakroom,
barely giving her a glance as he walked to the coffeepot. She looked up from her
magazine as he walked past, shaking her head softly. She watched him as he
lifted the glass carafe and sniffed the contents before pouring the black
liquid into his mug.
After taking a quick sip, he picked up a
packet of sugar. Tearing off the edge, he dumped the contents into his mug and
sighed.
"Sara?"
Even though his back was to her, she quickly
diverted her gaze back to the magazine in her hand. "Hm?"
He turned around and leaned against the
counter as he stared into his mug. "Want to go out to lunch with me?"
She glanced up from the magazine and stared at
him curiously. "What kind of lunch?"
He chuckled as he lifted his eyes and met
hers. "The kind where you sit down, order your food…and then when the food
arrives, you eat it. Sometimes, while you’re eating…you talk with one another.
And…then after you eat, you pay your bill…and leave…"
"Why?"
He offered her a grin as he took a couple of
steps forward and pulled a chair out from under the table. "Because…if you
don’t pay, they’ll call the police and charge you with theft…"
She shook her head quickly as he sat down in
front of her. "No…why do you want to have lunch with me?"
"Well…" He took another sip of his
coffee and placed the mug on the table. "Neither one of us really sleep in
the mornings…and…well, I just thought…maybe we could talk…"
"How do you know that I don’t sleep in
the mornings?"
With a small smile on his face, he shrugged
his shoulders. "When do you ever sleep?"
"When I’m tired…"
He tilted his head as he looked into her eyes.
"You…don’t look very tired right now…"
She chuckled lightly. "I’m not…"
"So…lunch today? Around…11:30
or so? I’ll pick you up…I mean…if you’d like to go…"
She shifted her eyes from his and sighed as
she considered his request. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at him and
offered him a small smile. "Okay…"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"This is…nice…" She looked up from
her plate and into his eyes.
He smiled, quickly chewing a bite of chicken
and swallowing. "Are you…not hungry?"
She tilted her head slightly, resting the
prongs of her fork on the dish. "Huh?"
He pointed towards her meal with the knife he
held in his right hand. "You seem to be pushing your food around…not
really eating…"
She stabbed her fork into a cherry tomato and
smiled. "I’m eating…"
"What are you thinking about?"
She chewed the tomato and took a sip of her
water. "The void on
He narrowed his eyes slightly as he nodded
slowly. "Oh…well, it could basically be anything cylindrical…"
"But…why was it there?"
Clearing his throat softly, he placed his fork
on his plate and sighed. "Sara…why are you
here?"
"You…uh…you asked me to lunch…"
He lifted his eyes slowly. "I asked you
to a personal lunch…not professional…"
"You mean…like a…"
His eyes dropped quickly as her voice trailed
off. "I’m trying, Sara…"
"I…never know what to say around you
anymore. And…work is safe for me…I guess…"
He chewed the inside of his cheek as he cut
another bite of chicken. "Ten years ago, I met a very beautiful young
woman…we hit it off pretty quickly. We became very good friends…and then…I let
my emotions get in the way, and…fell for her when she kissed me…"
He looked up to find her staring at him. He
took a deep breath and continued. "And…today, I’m having lunch…with this
same beautiful young woman. And I find myself wondering how this rift between
us occurred. And then I realize…I let my emotions get in the way…again."
"Grissom…"
He placed his fork on his plate and folded his
hands together as he stared into her eyes. "Jealousy,
the dragon which slays love under the pretence of keeping it alive."
She tilted her head in confusion, her eyes
locked with his. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "
She nodded slowly as she attempted to process
the quote. "Studies in the Psychology of Sex…"
His eyes widened slightly. "You know
Ellis…why am I not surprised…"
"Well, I don’t know him. I mean…I’ve read his books. He was an…interesting…man.
The Erotic Rights of Women was…very interesting."
Grissom blushed lightly and lowered his eyes.
"Jealous…" The word came out softly,
as though it was a thought that had escaped his mind.
She leaned forward, resting her arms on the
table. "What?"
He cleared his throat as he met her eyes
again. "I was jealous…"
"Over what?" She watched the myriad of emotions flood through
his eyes. "Oh…Hank?"
He cringed visibly and glanced out the window.
"I was jealous…and…I pushed you away…thinking I was preserving what I
had…"
"What did you have, Grissom?"
"Love…your love…" He closed his eyes
briefly before he turned back to her. "I thought…"
She offered him a gentle smile. "Luckily
for you…your dragon isn’t very deadly." Her smile widened as he raised an
eyebrow in a silent request for her to continue. "He may have wounded
it…but, he didn’t ‘slay’ it. Wounds heal…eventually."
"And…then they scar…"
She chuckled lightly and held her hand out to
him, palm up. "As you can see…I don’t scar very badly."
His trembling finger lightly traced the faint
scar. "That’s…good…"
"Yeah…it is…"
She offered him a bright smile as he gazed
into her eyes. Letting his fingers wrap around her hand, he returned her smile
as he exhaled slowly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He pulled into the parking spot beside of her
car and smiled at her as he killed the engine. Taking the keys from the
ignition, he opened his door and stepped onto the hot asphalt.
She watched him as he walked around to her door
and pulled it open. She smiled shyly at him. "What are you doing?"
He shrugged his shoulders lightly and tugged
her arm, prompting her to exit the vehicle. "A gentleman always walks his
date to the door after a nice evening…" He glanced at the sky and shook
his head in amusement. "Or…a nice afternoon lunch."
Her smile grew as they climbed the stairs. She
moved her hand down his arm, entwining her fingers with his. He glanced at her
quickly as they walked down the hallway to her door.
His heart thudded in his chest as she slid the
key into the lock and pushed the door open. He followed her into the apartment
and closed the door behind him. He stood still as she began to walk towards the
living room. Their hands still linked together, she stopped as she felt the
resistance.
She turned to look at him, gasping lightly as
she met his darkened eyes. "Grissom?"
He gently tugged on her hand, bringing her
back to stand in front of him. He lifted his free hand to her face, his fingers
lightly caressing her cheek. "I’m…not too late?"
She leaned into him, smiling as she violated
his personal space. "I don’t think you’ve ever been too late…for
anything."
Tilting his head, he brushed his lips against
hers. The kiss deepened quickly as she ran her tongue across his bottom lip.
Groaning lightly, his lips parted and granted the lithe muscle access.
She attempted to take a step backwards,
stopping when his hand landed on the small of her back and pulled her closer to
his body. Breaking the kiss slowly, he looked into her eyes.
"I…should go…"
"You don’t have to…"
He smiled as he brushed a lock of hair behind
her ear. "I…want to see where this goes. I don’t want to rush
anything." He leaned in and kissed her again. He pulled back slowly and
sighed. "And…if I stay here right now…I’ll definitely rush things…"
She returned his smile, nodding in
understanding. "Good things come to those who wait…"
He blushed lightly as he reached behind him
and turned the doorknob. "Can…I call you later?"
Her fingers gently stroked his beard as he pulled
the door open. "I’ll be very upset if you don’t…"
He winked at her and stepped outside,
reluctantly letting go of her hand. "Well…I can’t have that…"
He stared at her for a few moments before
taking a deep breath. "I’m taking tonight off…"
She narrowed her eyes slightly at the sudden
statement. "Why?"
"Because…you have
tonight off. And…I’d like to have
dinner with you."
"Two meals in one day? What did I do to deserve that?"
He grinned as he took another step backwards.
"You didn’t give up on me…"
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and
walked down the hall. She watched him round the corner before closing the door.
She exhaled deeply as her smile grew.
"Like I could ever give up on you…"
With a peaceful sigh, she pushed herself from
the door and picked up her daily routine where she had left off earlier. As
usual, Grissom invaded her thoughts…but, this time it was different.
This time, she realized that her thoughts were
becoming reality and not just figments of her imagination.
~ End