The Odyssey Revisited

Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Grissom/Sara
Category: General/Romance
Spoilers: Extremely vague references to Homebodies and Invisible Evidence, but nothing prominent.
Archive: FF.net and here. Anywhere else ask first, I might say yes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Blah blah blah. Just having fun. WAY too much fun.

Summary: The Greek gods are playing with our favorite geeks. Will they make any progress or will they give up and deem our science nerds a lost cause in the romance department?

---

Chapter 4

Grissom noticed the more than half empty bottle. "We probably shouldn't drink anymore," he warned. They had easily consumed two to three glasses each.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Grissom, our mouths are dry. There's tasty liquid in your hands. Why would you deny yourself something that's right here in front of you?"

Seeing his eyes widen and the expression fall from his face, she realized what she said. She cleared her throat nervously, before resting her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. Maybe she could wish herself out of here.

"I guess I'm used to it," Grissom said a few minutes later, making her think she missed something.

"Used to what?"

"I've been denying myself things for a long time, things that regular people have and deserve." He talked slowly and sounded very serious. Sara was silent, taking in his words and applying them directly to his treatment of her, whether he meant it that way or not.

"I think it made my job easier, less... complicated. In a sense, it made my life easier." There was such sadness in his voice. Sara had never heard him talk like this. "But--" he stopped, sighed, and took a drink.

"But what?" Sara asked, for the first time feeling that relaxed sense of fuzziness that comes from drinking wine. She cursed her empty stomach and held out her hand for the bottle. He passed it willingly.

"It makes you lonely." They both just stared out at nothing, letting his words sink in. Suddenly it was all being pushed out in the open. The veil had been lifted, or maybe just the opposite-perhaps they were protected by a veil. Either way, they were headed for trouble. Though they both sensed it, neither felt capable or compelled to stop it.

"And it makes you crazy," he continued softly. "It makes you start to see things that aren't there, want things that aren't yours to have."

"Maybe those things could have been yours all along."

Her use of past tense did not go unnoticed. Grissom huffed a breath and shook his head sadly. He felt the initial buzz from the wine, but still believed he could shake it off.

Sara gulped a few more sips and added gravely, "Maybe they were yours, but you just didn't notice." She sounded quite emotional all of a sudden. Unable to sit next to him any longer, she got up and walked, gazing blankly at the wine bottles. She kept her back to him, sending him a message that the conversation was over.

"I can't do anything about the past, Sara." The conversation was not over; it was just beginning. "I can't excuse the way I am." He stood up, feeling temporarily dizzy. He took a deep breath and tried his best to explain himself, making his way toward her. "Do you know what it's like to realize that what you want and what you can have are two different things? And deep down you know that reconciling the two would turn your world so upside down you wouldn't be able to function? Yet you've actually convinced yourself that you're willing to take that risk?"

"Jeepers, Grissom! Do you even know who you're talking to?" she shouted, spinning around at him angrily.

To say he was confused would not begin to scratch the surface. He cocked his head and pursed his lips. He had no idea what to say.

"I moved here for you! I stayed here in this God forsaken city to be near you!" She became more animated with every word, arms and hands flailing about as she inadvertently moved closer to him. "I did everything I could to reach you. I asked you out!" She could not stop the tears that formed in her eyes. "Maybe you think women do that all the time nowadays, but not me buster! That was humiliating!" Grissom's confused face contorted even further while she ranted. "Then I had to show up here, everyday, working beside you like nothing happened! Do you have any idea what that was like?"

{Eros turned to Dionysus. "Oh, this is going very well."

"Shut up. They're talking it out," he argued, watching the humans intently.

"Screaming it out is more like it!" Aphrodite chimed.

"That's more than they were doing on your watch!" Dionysus snapped. Suddenly the man's words made them focus their attentions back to Earth.}

"I'm sorry." Grissom didn't know what else to say. He didn't realize it had been so hard for her.

Sara was still shouting. "Don't come whining to me about how what you want and what you can have are two different things, 'cause I wrote the book!"

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Stop apologizing! What are you sorry for?" She couldn't seem to stop yelling at him.

"I'm sorry I hurt you." His voice was the complete antithesis of hers, perhaps softer and calmer than he had ever spoken.

Sara paced steadily in the cramped room, trying hard to calm down and trying even harder not to cry. "Ugh..." she sniffled. "I can't do this anymore. Please don't take this the wrong way, Grissom, but I have to leave CSI."

"No."

"I have to resign. There's no way I can work like this anymore. It's too hard." Her voice quivered and her cheeks flinched as she fought her tears.

"Sara, no," he pleaded. He moved toward her, visibly agitated.

{Eros could not keep quiet. "Oh, VERY nice-now look what you've done!"

"Well, crap," was all Dionysus could say. He followed that with, "Guess I'll see you guys around..." He wandered off, swinging his carafe as he went.

"Oh for crying out loud. We have to fix this!" Aphrodite shouted, watching closely as the female continued yelling.}

"WHY, Grissom?" she shouted, stepping directly in front of him and raising her hands. "Why would I stay?"

He reached out for her arm, tugging her closer. He could hear his own voice, but it was as if someone else was talking. "Because, I need you. I know I need you. Please, Sara, you... I don't know what to do about it." His voice was oddly emotional, wavering even-not like him at all. "I've never needed anyone." He laid his hand on her cheek. It shocked him how easy it was to just reach out and touch her. "I don't just want to go out with you. You're..." His other hand moved from her arm to her hip. In seconds, he was holding her, desperately pressing his lips to her hair. "I need you in my life."

Sara was full on crying now. "Then why do you keep pushing me away?" She cursed her own arms for touching him. Her hands rested on his upper arm and chest.

His guilt overtook him, and his eyes filled with tears. "Sara, please don't leave. I'm trying. I'll try harder. I just... I... don't know how to do it. I don't know how to let someone be as close as I want you to be."

Her eyebrows wrinkled just slightly.

"Please," he whispered.

His look of absolute fear stunned her. He looked utterly tormented. She had nothing else left to lose. She reached up with both hands and touched his face, forcing the intimate eye contact even more.

"Grissom, are you done?" she asked seriously.

Their faces were so close. Hot breath swirled between them, seeping into their faces and heightening the moment.

"Done?" He asked, unsure what she meant.

Sara swallowed and took a deep breath. "Are you done pushing me away? Have you really decided to take the risk and turn your world upside down?"

"Sara," he whimpered, stroking her face so tenderly.

"Have you?" she asked vehemently, swearing she would not allow herself to be swayed by her attraction to him.

He blinked a few times and nodded. "I think so."

"Not good enough. Have you?" she asked again, demanding not just a definite answer, but the definite answer she wanted. The answer that would finally put her heart at ease.

"Yes." Though more frightened than he had ever been, he also felt stronger than ever before. He was capable of this. He deserved this.

"Grissom, I'm not going to hurt you." She caressed his face and continued staring into his eyes, searching for some tiny indication that she was getting through to him. "I love you."

{Aphrodite began bouncing around the sky. "Happy dance! Happy dance! Yes! Yes!"

Eros dropped to his knees and pleaded from the heavens. "Just kiss her now. That's all you have to do and we can move on!"

Aphrodite immediately stopped her happy dance. "Are you kidding?" she asked sarcastically. "These two will need constant supervi--"

"Shh... He's doing it!"}

His eyes looked right into hers. Sara couldn't remember the last time he looked directly at her, instead of past her or through her, like he was on autopilot. He was here-experiencing this moment with her. For the longest time, he was content just staring at her, free to look at her as a lover would, instead of a mentor or colleague.

He ran his hand along her face, and he found her cheeks and neck to be smoother and softer than anything he had ever touched. He silently thanked God for inventing women in the first place. Leaning forward slightly, he pressed his lips to the slight rise of her cheekbone. His nose brushed against her face, and he moved his mouth to the skin next to her lips. "Sara," he choked out. It was too emotional for him. His mind was so clouded by her proximity and his desire. "I--"

"Shh..." Sara soothed, nuzzling his neck with her face. She wrapped her arms around him, caressing his back sensually, and pressing her body against him. "Just--" She let her mouth brush over his face and then dragged her lips over his ear erotically. "Kiss me," she instructed gently, moving her face to assure him with her eyes.

Her look of unconditional love completely annihilated his doubt and fears.

He found a renewed sense of vigor for the task at hand. His lips trailed over her cheeks, paving a warm, moist path to her lips. Once there, they both gave in to the moment-the confined location, the wine, the heated argument, the emotional confessions, the years of unrequited love. All of it combined to make their passions surface, almost to the point of chaos.

{The heavens erupted in celebration, unbeknownst to the humans. Even Dionysus, taking full credit in the company of several sirens, raised his glass to them.}

Their lips pressed and sucked hungrily to one another, both of them desperate to taste the one they had been denied for so long. Everything was unleashed; there were no rules, no restrictions. Tongues mingled; hands caressed. Noses bumped; bodies ached. Sara leaned against him in their pursuits, causing him to stumble back against the wine rack.

{"That's right! You go girl!" Eros, cheered.}

"Sorry," she gasped, glancing up at him with an embarrassed smile.

He returned her smile and gripped her waist tighter. "It's okay." He pressed against her, rocking them both back over toward the desk, still kissing passionately. He could not stop touching her and wondered how he managed to go so long without her. They were both groaning from the contact.

{Aphrodite wiped at her eyes. "It's so beautiful. It gets me every time."

"Oh, you," Eros said, rolling his tear filled eyes. "We better get them out of there. I consider this enough progress for today."

"Wait, give them a few more minutes. It's taken them years to come this far. A couple more minutes won't hurt anybody..."}

Neither of them remembered how they ended up on the floor; but they did, holding each other and fumbling with their newfound intimacy. Every kiss seemed to soothe the anguish of the past years. Coming together physically momentarily erased the frustration between them. They couldn't remember what they had fought about. They just needed to touch and more importantly, be touched.

The sense of urgency seemed to subside, allowing for slower, more deliberate explorations. Grissom leisurely kissed down her neck, continuing toward her chest. He stopped, leaving her breathless, and picked up the square silver pendant on her necklace. Sara looked at him curiously, wondering why he stopped.

"I've always wanted to get a closer look at this. Is this a rune?" he asked. He was completely focused on it, and appeared to have forgotten what they were just doing.

She almost laughed at his sudden enthusiasm over her necklace. "Yes." She kissed him, but he was still distracted.

"Which one?"

Sara's eyebrows crinkled while she smiled broadly. "You want to know about this right now?"

"Why not?" he shrugged, offering her a soft kiss in exchange for an answer. "Talk to me... I can multi task," he added, returning to her neck.

She laughed lightly. "It's Eihwaz."

"Refresh my memory. What does that one mean?" he asked, his lips and breath tickling her.

Sara began slowly rattling off the esoteric meaning used in divination. "Strength, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness..." It was becoming increasingly difficult to think, much less talk, with his tongue trailing further up her neck toward her ear. Sighing and closing her eyes, she tried nonetheless. "Enlightenment, endurance... mmm... defense, protection..." When his mouth wandered to her chin, she dipped her head and captured his lips again.

"Go on," he said, moving to the other side of her neck.

Sara gave an exasperated, but amused sigh and continued describing what her rune represented. "The driving force to acquire, providing motivation and a sense of... purpose." His mouth on her ear rendered her virtually dumb. Sara struggled to keep her wits about her. Her fingers on one hand weaved into his hair, while the others stroked the course hair on his face. "It also indicates that you have set your sights on... a reasonable target and... can... achieve your... goals... mmm."

"Reasonable target?" he teased, pulling back with a raised eyebrow. "Are you making this up?" He picked up the pendant again.

A glorious blush crept up her face while she smiled and shrugged coyly. She pushed him over onto the floor. "No! I'll get you a printout." Her face hovered over his seductively.

"I don't need one. I have--"

She silenced him before he could quote himself.

A few moments later, Grissom reluctantly pushed her off of him, and sat up against the wall for a much needed break. His breath did not return easily. Holding her hand, he stared off in space, stunned by the day's developments. He actually told her he needed her. Even now, it seemed like an understatement. He had taken for granted the fact that she would still be there when he finally decided he was ready. Glancing at her, he felt so bolstered by her affections. He still couldn't believe she wanted him; she said she loved him. It couldn't be true.

Sara slid closer to him, picking up the bottle of wine as she did. She offered it to him.

"I'm fine," he said, holding up his hand and declining politely. He looked at the practically empty bottle again, and his eyes widened. 'It couldn't be true," he thought to himself again. Turning to Sara, he stared at her eyes, trying to read as much as he could from them. He let his hand run down her face tenderly. "Please tell me you're not so drunk you won't remember this."

Sara paused a moment, taking inventory of her senses. Wrinkling her eyebrow she responded seriously, "I don't think I'm drunk at all." She felt very weird, very tired, a little fuzzy, but not drunk. She eyed him suspiciously, her jaw shifting as she panicked internally. "Are YOU?"

"No." He started to smile, wrapping his arms around her tighter. "No, I'm not drunk."

He really wasn't drunk, but he did feel strange. He felt... carefree. For the first time in his life, he just didn't care. He didn't care about the rules, he didn't care what it looked like, he didn't care what people thought, he didn't care what troubles they might face. A deeply buried part of him knew he might care about those things again some day, but not right now. Holding her close, he studied the intricate details of her face. He was so damned attracted to her.

"In fact," he paused, kissing her intimately, "I feel downright sober." They stared at each other, both seeing their own desires and passion mirrored in the other. They kissed again, this time immediately plunging into frenzied foreplay. They slowly fell back to the floor, hands sliding under clothes, their passion beginning to boil.

{Eros' mouth dropped open in shock. "You better slow this down, or he will freak out later. In fact, the woman may even freak out! They are in someone's home, remember. Drunk or not drunk, they're not thinking clearly."

Aphrodite nodded. "I know, I know. I'll fix it now..."}

When the owners arrived in town, they immediately went straight to the police department to meet with Captain Brass. He explained the facts of the burglary to them. The house had been processed after the maid first noticed the art was missing. Even though the case was still labeled unsolved with few leads, they were allowed to re-enter their home. The homeowners insisted he accompany them. Upon arriving at the home, Brass noticed Gil's Tahoe parked in the driveway and assumed he was inside working on the investigation. Staying in the car, he dialed Gil's cell phone, only to get his voice mail. He asked the owners to wait outside while he went in and made sure it was all right for them to enter.

"Gil!" he shouted, looking around the entryway. He moved to a few other rooms, calling him louder each time. When he got no response, he drew his weapon and began looking for him.

As Brass stood in the kitchen, he called out again. Grissom and Sara broke apart immediately, gasping as they separated. "Someone's here!" he said, moving around the desk in a hurry and running up the stairs. Sara quickly followed. "Hey!" Grissom shouted out, banging on the cellar door. "We're stuck in here!"

Jim moved closer to the door. "Gil, is that you?" he asked, putting his weapon back in its holster and reaching for the door.

"Jim?"

Brass opened the door, finding a very relieved Grissom and Sara standing on the other side. They all exchanged puzzled glances a moment.

"What the hell were you two doing?" Brass' eyes scanned them both accusingly.

Grissom suddenly noticed Sara's disheveled hair, her flushed face. Sara looked at his wrinkled, untucked shirt and messy hair. Sara swallowed and raised an eyebrow at Grissom in panic.

"Sleeping," Grissom answered convincingly. "What do you think we were doing?" he huffed as he pushed past him into the kitchen. "We've been stuck in there all day."

Sara was quietly impressed. She would have to compliment him later on his acting abilities.

"Where are the owners?" Grissom asked, tucking in his shirt.

Brass stared at Sara while she smoothed her hair.

"Jim?" Grissom asked impatiently.

"Oh. In the car," he answered, flashing him a knowing smirk.

Grissom glared at him. It was starting already.

Though Grissom and Sara believed the day couldn't get any stranger, the next thirty minutes proved them wrong. After talking with the owners briefly, almost all their questions were answered, including how they came to be locked in the wine cellar. Apparently the husband's nineteen year old nephew stayed with them last summer and took a fancy to stealing their wine for his friends' parties. They installed the silent alarm and programmed it to lock automatically to teach him a lesson. They never took the system off-it just became a habit for them to enter the code every time they exited the cellar.

They were quite apologetic about the whole incident, and ironically, offered them a bottle of wine for their inconvenience. Looking at Grissom, Sara was unable to stifle her smirk. Thank God he took the initiative and explained that they already helped themselves to a bottle of wine. The owners laughed it off and completely understood. Brass, on the other hand, was making all kinds of leaps, barely hiding his amusement. The homeowners also apologized for the condition of the bathroom; they were indeed in the middle of a remodel. Sara decided these people were truly the nicest rich people she had ever encountered.

When their kits were gathered and they were about to leave, Grissom remembered the blood Sara found. That too was explained away as well. Apparently the wife cut herself during a dinner party a few weeks ago and didn't notice she was bleeding right away. She claimed she could have gotten blood anywhere that night. Sara and Grissom both nodded blankly and assured them they would do everything they could to recover their stolen art. They headed for their car, leaving behind the owners, the house, and the oddities of the day.

---

---

Author's Note: Thank you for reviewing! :)