Stalemate in a Sandbox

Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Grissom/Sara
Category: Romance/angstyness...or is it angstiness? Know what? Neither of them are real words.
Archive: Please ask first I might say yes.
Disclaimer: I own the park, I created it in my head.

Author's Note: Yes, I just finished with biology stuff and my brain accidentally slipped that bit of science in there. Sad thing is, I don't even remember if that's correct, guess I'll know what I'll be getting.

Now, on another matter. People thought that the last chapter was it, and I'm thinking that maybe I should have kept it that way, but I wanna address issues at work, maybe make this into a series. Oh loyal followers, tell me your thoughts!

Summary: She reached out and traced random designs in the grainy surface, wiping them away when her arm had reached its extent, and starting over.

---

Chapter 6

She would have liked to look back on the day with a smile, but she woke up alone, the bed cold next to her, the sheets relieved of the disarray their bodies had caused. Regardless of the hopeless feeling in the pit of her stomach she stretched and turned, finding her body felt sticky with dried sweat.

Part of her wanted to look for a note, something to tell her that he hadn't just left when he awoke, finding that he had done the inevitable, and that he hated her for it. Despair pooled in her mind as she pushed herself up with her palms and wondered how to go about beginning her day. She pondered making breakfast but found that she wasn't really hungry.

Sara couldn't remember when she had felt so plainly and simply abandoned. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she recalled all of the things that he had said to her the night before, all the kisses he'd rained upon her body, how welcoming his thrusts felt. And Sara let out a sob, somewhere deep inside knowing that once they had crossed the line they-

"Honey? What's wrong?" he asked from the doorway, two coffee mugs in hand, pants haphazardly buttoned at his waist. His face was a blatant mask of alarm, he thinking that she regretted what they had done and she thinking that he had left her.

"Oh god, Griss, I thought you left me." She said plainly, not really bothering to hide any of her emotions. It was funny, the way one thing could trigger a whole series of emotions to surface, like dominos; like signaling proteins in cells.

Grissom stood still, momentarily horrified that she would ever think he was capable about a thing. he toyed with the idea of becoming indignant, but the idea quickly vanished. This was Sara Sidle, and Sara Sidle had deep-seeded abandonment issues that he was sure he would never understand.

He moved to the bed and sat down beside her, placing the mugs on the bedside table. He was stunned with her nakedness, the sheer glory of her sitting amongst the sheets nude for him to look at. His lips came down and lovingly stroked her collarbone and she sighed shakily, letting out the last remnants of the sobbing fit she had been about to begin.

"I wouldn't... I couldn't leave without... I wouldn't." he said emphatically, being sure to look into her eyes as he said it. "I can't." And he grasped her hands for emphasis.

She wasn't sure that her heart could take everything that was being thrown at it -it was beating at such an erratic pace. The look in his eyes, the feeling of his hands...

"What's wrong?"

"I just need to, to catch my breath." Sara said, holding out a steadying hand in front of her. "You... Gil Grissom, have successfully rendered me... breathless."

"Soon to be speechless." He said mischievously and kissed her firmly on the lips, pushing her once more down to the mattress. She felt extremely light-headed but returned the kiss none-the-less.

When he was through, he let his lips just rest on hers for a moment, his mind committing the exact sensation to memory. His eyes fluttered open and he sat up, pulling her up with him, depositing a cup of coffee into her hand.

"How I wouldn't like to get woken up like that every morning." She said, meaning for it to be in jest.

Grissom gazed at her perplexed and took a sip of his coffee, cringing when he realized that in his haste to get back to the bedroom, he hadn't added enough sugar. "What makes you think you won't?" He asked in all seriousness and Sara paused, her lips halfway to her cup.

She had never been given that level of commitment by anyone before, even if it was slightly unclear and ambiguous.

"I-I...guess that answers my question then. The big obligatory, uncomfortable one that you have to ask sometimes." She smiled, content, but slightly off kilter.

"And what would that be?" He asked, making himself more comfortable on the bed.

"If that was a one time thing." She stated, raising her eyebrow and taking a long gulp from the hot cup. The caffeine seared through her veins and the heat penetrated her in a soothing way, forcing her to recline against the headboard of her bed, the sheet tangled messily around her waist.

"Oh, now you think you can throw me away that easily? Think again Sidle, you have so many things to learn." He said evilly, raking his eyes over her skin mock-lewdly. "And I'm sure you'll be a more than eager student."

---