Inappropriate

Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Grissom/Sara
Category: General/Romance
Archive: FF.net and here. Anywhere else ask first, I might say yes.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Don't let that bother you, though. I don't let it bother me.

Author's Note: I very, very loosely based the waterpark accident in this fic on an actual accident that happened in 1997 in Concord, CA. Similar circumstances, but only one fatality occurred, with thirty-two injuries. I just didn't want people thinking I came up with that on my own-I stole it! ;) Thank you Marlou, Niff, Mandy, and Anansay for being such great, supportive friends.

Summary: Grissom takes a trip down memory lane while working a tragic accident scene with Sara. Meanwhile, Sara isn't sure what to make of his new attitude.

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Chapter 3

~*~Las Vegas, 2004

Grissom was surprised to find Sara still working at 2p.m. that afternoon. He was about to leave for the day. "You're still at this?" he asked, eying the screen of her computer. She had all the variables entered into the mock up of the scene-slide angles, distance measurements, and victim placements. The actual broken section of the slide was on the large layout table behind her, already released from trace.

"Yeah. I just talked to the owner of the company that installed the slide. It's only two years old. They've never had an accident on any of their slides. He offered their complete support, and he's willing to help in any way he can."

"Hm. That's good." He was about to insist she stop for the day when his cell phone rang. "Grissom." Sara kept working and went to the slide company's website, downloading a PDF version of the weight limits for all their slides. "How many did you talk to?" Grissom asked into his phone. Sara glanced up at him briefly.

"Really? No, that's great actually. Um, no, I was just heading out. I'll uh... swing by and pick them up on my way home. Thanks a lot." He hung up and watched Sara for a moment, printing out her documents and greedily snatching them from the printer. She had to get away from this-she must be getting tired. He wished he could just get her to relax... around him. The closest he could come lately was just working with her. His wheels were already turning, plotting to use Sara's weakness for his own benefit.

"That was the detective," he said. Sara perked up immediately. "He was able to interview twelve of the injured kids this morning. I'm going to pick up their statements and head home. You need to go home, too. Get some rest, Sara."

"Wait a minute, you're getting their statements and going home?"

"Yeah, I'll take look at them there. We can't do much more today; we're exhausted."

"Why don't you just let me go get them?"

"Because, then you'll just come back here and keep working. I know you, Sara." There was something so odd about his tone of voice, like he was teasing her, yet... not. And she had the darndest time reading his expression. What was he up to?

"So, what, you're going to hold them hostage from me?" He slowly started for the door, ignoring her. "Grissom, I want to see those statements!"

"Well, they'll be at my house in half an hour."

"What?"

"I have a feeling I'll see you later," he muttered, as he stepped into the hall.

He did see her later, standing outside his front door within the hour. "This was a rotten way to get me out of CSI," she informed him, barging past him into his house.

"It worked," he said, a faint smile appearing on his face and then disappearing just as quickly. "Here." He handed her the files.

"I just want to see what they had to say," Sara argued, "Why the hell would they all go down at once?" She stood in his kitchen, already opening the first one.

"Why don't you go sit down," Grissom offered, lightly directing her toward his living room. "I'll fix us something to eat."

Sara's head snapped in his direction, shock and disbelief coloring her face.

"What?" he asked, feeling himself blush. "I'm hungry. You probably are, too." Sara just stood there, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "Go sit," he ordered, turning away from her to look in his refrigerator.

Sara was dumbfounded, but at the same time, a little excited. Something weird was definitely going on here. First he tricked her into coming to his house, and then he wanted to feed her? She settled into his couch and tried to focus on reading the statements.

It wasn't long before he joined her in the living room, handing her a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich and a very basic fruit salad. "Grilled cheese, huh?" she smiled at him for the first time since she got there.

"There's a tomato in it," he said, the words sounding ridiculous to him. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Water's fine. Thank you." She watched him head back to the kitchen, and couldn't help thinking he seemed... nervous. She sighed and popped a grape in her mouth, not willing to speculate what the hell was going on in his mind.

He came back with her water and sat down beside her, eating a meal identical to hers. It was awkwardly silent for a few minutes.

"You're being awfully nice to me," Sara said finally, in between bites of her sandwich.

He glanced at her. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, just... out of character." Grissom wasn't sure how to take that, and his face showed his befuddlement. "Lately, I mean. Well, I mean, um, never mind."

"No, you're right. I'm... trying to--" Unable to explain exactly what he was feeling, Grissom gave up and sighed. He was so flustered, frightened, and nervous. Yet, he was proud of himself for getting this far. Sara was sitting on his couch, in his home, eating with him. And she seemed... well, almost relaxed.

This was definitely the right thing to do-it was a start. It may have thrown her off a bit, but he had to start somewhere. He didn't realize how long he was lost in his thoughts. When he turned to look at Sara, he noticed she had picked up more of the files and was reading again.

"Good Lord," she said suddenly, "Did you read this girl's statement?" She leaned closer to him so he could see it too as she read from it, "It was our senior stunt. We all wanted to go down the Pipeline linked together. All of us." Her mouth hung open slightly in disbelief.

"Brilliant stunt," Grissom groaned.

"I can't believe this," Sara muttered, turning the page in the file.

Though he picked up one of the files intending to read it, Grissom began to feel the effects of working nineteen hours straight. His eyes were tired.

"Oh, wait a second." Sara reached for her bag and pulled out the sheets she had printed just before leaving work and skimmed them a moment. "So, here's what we know," she said, grabbing a pen from his end table and using the back of her papers for scratch paper. "Five kids got through before the slide collapsed. Seven died at the scene and eighteen were injured. That's thirty kids." She pulled out the original casefile to double check the male to female ratio. She was frantically making calculations while Grissom looked on intently. "Estimating the weight for the girls at 120 pounds... and the boys at 150..." He was always amazed by her knack for speedy math. "... The combined weight of the students exceeded the weight limit of the slide by... three and a half-no, almost four times!"

They looked at each other, sitting in silence for a moment. Sara seemed utterly sad. After a while, she yawned and mumbled, "It was safe." She shook her head disappointedly. "That slide was totally safe."

"I know it was," he replied. Her yawn was contagious. Grissom leaned back on the couch and stretched his legs out under his coffee table.

Sara unconsciously mimicked him, relaxing back as well. "The park clearly posted the rules for the slide, and the ride attendant did his best to protect the students. It just... shouldn't have happened. They didn't deserve to die." She turned her head to Grissom and whined, "Why are kids so stupid?"

"They didn't know, Sara." She sighed miserably, rolling her face away from him. "When's the last time you slept?" he asked, shyly tapping her thigh with his knuckles.

"I don't know." As if on cue, she yawned again. "You haven't slept either," she reminded, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Hm. I could fix that in about two seconds," he mumbled, closing his own eyes in exhaustion.

They sat like that, with their eyes closed, for quite a while, neither realizing how close they were to actually falling asleep. The last thing Sara remembered was rolling toward the warm body next to her.

~*~Berkeley, 1995

"What's the matter? Didn't you two get enough sleep?" Grissom asked, a little too cheerily for his two top students.

Sara was still yawning, but Daniel had stopped. "Tell me again why we had to leave so early?"

"Because, Daniel, you're spending the entire day at the San Francisco Lab. I don't want you to miss a thing. Get in." With that, the three were on their way.

There was definitely a different feel to the field trip, having Daniel along with them. He talked incessantly about himself, boring Sara to tears and generally getting on Grissom's nerves.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before they arrived at the lab, and Grissom introduced them to the director, who personally led them on an extensive tour of his facility. They saw the DNA lab, trace lab, ballistics lab, layout rooms, evidence vault, and garage. They watched lab techs and CSI's process evidence using technically specialized equipment. Sara was fascinated, feeling unusually comfortable and right at home around the focused and trained scientists.

They rounded out the tour with a visit to the Coroner's office, including the chance to witness an autopsy of a gun shot victim. Daniel may have held a slightly higher GPA than Sara, but he certainly couldn't hold a candle to her strong stomach. She didn't even flinch when the coroner measured the wound tract and removed the bullet. Daniel, on the other hand, excused himself to the restroom in the nick of time. Grissom and Sara exchanged discreet smirks.

The ride home was substantially quieter than the ride there, Daniel's less-than-macho wretch session knocking him down a few pegs. With the resident braniac still embarrassed in the back seat, Grissom was able to talk to Sara about the tour. He was eager to get her impressions of the lab and relieved to hear she was still interested in pursuing a career in forensics. With only a few days left of his seminar, he really wanted to encourage her as much as he could.

It was on the final day of class that Sara dropped a pleasant little bombshell. The classroom had emptied, but she lingered behind to talk to him and say good-bye.

"So," she began shyly, "guess who got a job in the San Francisco Coroner's office?"

A proud smile spread across his face. "Did you really?" Sara blushed and nodded. "Why didn't you tell me about it?-Not that you needed me to put in a good word for you!" he teased.

"I don't know. I didn't want to jinx it."

"Well, good for you, Sara. You'll have access to a very advanced lab. It'll be a great step for forensics training." She just smiled and watched him pack up his things. They walked out together.

"So does this mean you're done learning?"

"Oh, no, I don't think I'll ever be done," she laughed.

"There are certainly worse habits to have," he reassured with a charming wink as he held the door open for her. They stopped walking when they got outside and just stood there in front of the building, a palpable awkwardness settling between them. "Listen, if you ever need anything, or... want to talk shop, call me." He fished a business card out of his wallet and asked her for a pen, scribbling his home number and e-mail address on the back.

"I will," Sara promised, smiling broadly. "I think... you're a very interesting person. I'm glad I know you."

He blushed and stared at her, sensing the moment was an important one. "Likewise, Miss Sidle. I expect to hear good things about you from San Francisco." He offered her his hand.

"Thank you," she said, shaking his hand. In a spontaneous and rare show of affection, Sara lunged at him, wrapping her other arm around him in an improvised hug. "For everything."

Grissom was surprised, but returned the casual embrace. He knew immediately that this was not the end of Sara Sidle. He wanted to see her again, wanted to mentor her more and watch her work. "You're welcome." Though it only lasted a few seconds, the warmth that passed between them was momentous.

Sara abruptly pulled away when some other students walked by. Even though she didn't recognize them, she knew it was... inappropriate for her to be hugging Grissom.

~*~Las Vegas, 2004

The first thing she became vaguely aware of was warmth-not from warm air or a warm blanket, but from a warm body spooned against her back. Sara remembered where she was before her eyes opened. What she couldn't quite understand was her position-or, more importantly, Grissom's position. They were both stretched out on the couch horizontally, with him wedged between the back of the couch and her body.

Sara's eyes finally fluttered open, and realization set in. She was so tired, but she forced herself to stay awake and savor this incredibly surreal moment. Not only was his arm wrapped around her snugly, holding her to him, but his hand was very lightly cupping her right breast. She was shocked and unable to move. However improper this situation might be, a deeply buried part of her had never felt happier, or so at home.

She. Was. Not. Over. Him.

Was he trying to torture her? She'd never felt so confused. He had made her wait for so long and been such an ass... only to lure her to his house and do this? How was she supposed to respond to this? Part of her wanted to beat him upside the head, but another part wanted to roll over and nibble on him.

Before her thoughts could wander any further, she felt Grissom stirring behind her, and she immediately stiffened-frightened of his reaction.

He began ever so lightly nuzzling the back of her neck, making her crazy. Sara decided he was definitely still asleep, until she heard him softly clear his throat next to her ear. "Sara?" he whispered.

She didn't answer. She felt his hand slide down to her stomach and knew he must be panicking. At the same time though, she didn't want this to closeness to end. Her body was tingling from his gentle touch.

"Sara," he said again, only this time it came out more as a desperate sigh. "This is..."

She gingerly rolled herself over, and her nose brushed his chin. "Inappropriate?" she whispered, glancing up at him, and trying her best not to look hopeful.

He nuzzled her face again and touched his lips to her ear. "I was going to say nice."

Sara froze while he continued pecking along her ear-slowly and deliberately. She turned her face even more, hovering next to him in shock. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't quite catch her breath. "Say that again?" she asked sleepily. They stared at each other, both too scared to move.

"This is nice," he repeated, licking his lips and swallowing hard.

Sara's face twitched from bewilderment. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps. "I... um... wha?" Her own nose seemed to seek out his cheek in a sensual nestle. "What are you talking about?" she asked, boldly resting her hand on his waist.

She flinched just a smidge when his fingers touched her face, and then she seemed to welcome the touch. "I don't want to wake up and regret this anymore." He closed his eyes and exhaled like it was painful for him to utter the words. "Regret what I... thought I couldn't do..." He trailed off, whispering her name against her temple, his lips just barely brushing over her skin.

Sara was hit with a wave of intense sympathy, yet she was at a total loss for words. She doubted she'd ever truly understand why this was so difficult for him, but he clearly seemed ready to do something about it now. Without thinking, she leaned forward and gave him a soft, reassuring kiss.

When the shock of the initial contact wore off, Grissom kissed her back, timidly at first, small, sweet pecks that eventually led to sweeter, more sensual kisses. His arm snuck around her, gently tugging her closer. He cautiously slipped his tongue into her mouth and sighed when he heard Sara quietly whimper.

She was so dazed and sleepy; she realized finally what was must be happening. "Am I dreaming?" she asked, so seriously that Grissom had to stop and think before answering her.

"I don't think so." He glanced around his living room. "But I might be..."

She slid her hand down to his rear end, bravely meeting his gaze. "Want me to pinch you?" The snorting giggle that escaped her caused him to laugh into her neck. They hugged and sighed into each other, exhausted both physically and emotionally.

"You should go to bed," Sara said, patting his shoulder and sitting up.

"Come with me." He ran a finger down her back, making her shiver.

She leaned over, kissed his cheek, and whispered into his ear, "I'm not that easy." He gave her a playful glare, hoping she knew he wasn't implying anything more than sleeping. "You have some... ahem... courting to do," she said, nervously avoiding his eyes. She stood up and put the papers back in her bag, and then straightened a few of the files on his coffee table.

When she looked back at him, he was sitting up, appearing deep in thought. "Okay. I can do that," he said finally, sounding as if he were trying to convince not only Sara, but also himself. He got up off the couch and faced her, ready for her doubts.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Even if it's... inappropriate?" She looked terrified of his reply.

He considered it a brief moment, and then nodded silently, his expression solemn.

Sara's heart skipped a beat. He was serious.

He hugged her for a long time, relief flooding his heart. When he spoke, he pressed his mouth to her ear, his voice barely a whisper. "Thank you. For everything."

Sara just smiled. "You're welcome." She released him and picked up her bag. "I guess I'll... see you later."

He walked her out and kissed her good-bye. Now, he could go to bed.

- The End -