Disclaimer: I'm taking donations to actually raise enough money to buy the rights from CBS. If I succeed I will be more than willing to share… Until then, they aren't mine.

SPOILER WARNING : This is meant to be my version of the ending of Way to Go. Therefore it does contain spoilers. THIS IS A GSR!

Rating: M for inferences.

Pillow Talk

They were satiated and exhausted both emotionally and physically. Pressed against him she could still feel the heat and dampness of the sweat that their lovemaking had forced to the surface. Between her legs she could feel a warm slickness, a tell-tale sign of their earlier passion.

She should get up; clean herself, before returning to his arms. But he was clutching her to him like it was a matter of life or death and she was unwilling to leave him, as torn as he was, for even a moment.

Their coupling this time had been different than the previous nights, or days, depending on their schedules and how they matched. There had been something so desperate and needy in it. Both of them were in search of comfort, and shelter from the last 48 hours.

Jim Brass was still in the hospital, hopefully, recovering from a long and complicated surgery. But his survival was still tentative.

Between working their last case, camping out in the hospital, and being forced to make a choice that no human being should ever have to make for a friend or a loved one, Sara knew that he was destroyed. What she hadn't been sure of was whether he would want to be with her that night.

Their relationship so far had been casual. He had come to her one night some time previous and it had happened. They had become lovers. But knowing Grissom the way she did, she had made it clear up front, that she expected nothing from him. She knew him well enough to realize that a label; relationship, lover, boyfriend, would terrify him into withdrawing, and possibly putting even more distance between them than already existed. So she had allowed him to drift into and out of her life, and bedroom as needed, and things had been good.

After the surgery was over and Jim had been moved to ICU, they had all been told to go home. The hospital would notify them of any change. Typical of Grissom he had returned to the lab, to finish up the report on the case they had just closed.

She had gone to him there, and found him in pieces in his office. He wasn't crying, in fact he had been quite calm, but the look of utter hysteria in his eyes had said it all.

She wanted to help rebuild him and try to make him whole. But with their relationship as indefinable as it was, she wasn't sure firstly, if she could, actually, be the one to do this, and secondly, if she would even be allowed to. His emotions were never easily drawn from him and this was the one thing that had made her so very insecure in everything that had already happened between them.

He had never once told her how he felt about her, which meant that there was still a gap, a certain distance between them, that kept them both emotionally at arms length. Basically, in her eyes this expanse had reduced their "relationship" to merely sexual. Something that she was willing to accept, because he was comfortable with it, but also left her faltering in terms of his reaction to any support she though she could provide.

When she'd touched his shoulder, and reached down to grip his hand he'd acquiesced; slipping his fingers through hers and allowing himself to be taken back to his place.

What had ensued from that point on had been cathartic in the basest sense of the word; the trail of the clothing from the door to the bedroom spoke of their need for physical release, and the present state they found themselves in was evidence of it.

Two deep blue eyes absorbed her, as a thick hand reached up, brushed aside the errant strand of hair that had fallen across her eyes, and slid down to cup one smooth cheek. "You looked unsure today when you came into the office, why?"

She stared at him for a pregnant moment and swallowed back the tension that his words had generated in the pit of her stomach. "Uh…" She smiled nervously. "It's a really emotional time, right now. I just thought that you might want to be alone, that's all."

His thumb moved slowly across her chin, rubbing it gently. "Why would you think that?"

Sucking in a shuddering breath she studied him a moment and then blinked thoughtfully; trying to form the words that would cause the least amount of damage. "I… uh… It's just that in the past you've not been really big on sharing how you feel. Knowing how upset you were, I wasn't sure that you'd want to see me tonight."

Stunned, he opened his mouth, closed it and then considered her a minute. "God Sara, have I made you that unsure of our relationship that you would think I wouldn't want you around at a time like this?"

Shocked she stared at him uncertainly for a moment. "Until now I didn't even realize that you considered this a relationship." She said softly.

Pain filled disbelief was evident in his eyes. "Did you think it was only about sex, Sara? Is that all what you want from this, from us?" His hand slipped from its place on her cheek, but she caught it before it withdrew completely.

Lacing her fingers through his, she licked her lips and then gazed at him intently. "Although it's been wonderful, it was never about the sex." She drew his palm up to her mouth and kissed it softly. "It was always about what you were willing and able to give, and whether I was capable of accepting that as being enough."

He digested this a moment, and took in the unshed tears in her eyes. "I know I'm not the most expressive person when it comes to telling you how I feel, but I thought that you knew."

A twisted smile decorated her face, and she squeezed her eyelids shut. "I could have made a dysfunctional guess, but I've tried that before and the problem with doing it is you run the chance of having the rug pulled out from under you at any time. It was just safer not to go there."

Gil Grissom untangled his fingers from hers and slipped his hand behind her head. Pulling her face to his he drew her into a warm languid kiss. Their tongues met and a jolt of passion shifted between them.

"I'm sorry." He whispered after they surfaced for air. "I should have made it clear to you long before now." His focus was intense, as he took in her dark eyed gaze.

It felt as though he was trying to decipher her thoughts and feelings with a mere glance. It was daunting in that she knew she was generally poor at hiding them.

"Sara, I lov…"

Slender fingers came up and covered his mouth stopping him mid-sentence. "Don't, please." She whispered, her words almost a plea. "It's not that I don't want to hear you say it. I do. But now, it's a bad time. We are all a mess emotionally, and it is natural for people to reach out when faced with the reality of their own mortality. Just look at Warrick after Nick was kidnapped."

"Sara…"

"No, wait. Just wait." She averted her eyes, a tell tale sign of her trying to think of how to explain what was going through her head. "I just don't want you to regret this. Feel trapped by something you said because you were distraught. This, what we have right now is good. Everything else can wait. I would rather build a relationship on a solid foundation of real emotion, than on the quicksand of words uttered in haste."

Gil Grissom turned away then, leaving her cold and wondering if she had finally spoken the words that would drive him away, permanently. But he didn't actually get up, instead he fiddled around with something on or in his bedside table, which she couldn't see beyond the bulk of his shoulders, and then turned back to her, a silver object clutched in his hand.

"A month ago I bought this for you. I've wanted to give it to you since then, but things have been so crazy that it never seemed the right time." He unfurled his fist to reveal a stunning silver case, with a jeweled dragonfly adorning its top. It was the size of a pill box and looked extremely fragile."

Sara's face lit up into a brilliant smile. "It's amazing." She studied the intricate jewels set into the back of the insect.

He placed it in her hand. "Dragon flies are one of the most beautiful insects in nature, and although they appear to be very delicate, they are really very strong." His hand moved to cover the case. "Like you…"

A blush crept over her Sara Sidle's face. "It's incredible. Thank you." She leaned in and tasted his lips. A current, almost electrical, drifted between the two naked bodies pressed against each other. "Mmmm…" A moan of arousal escaped her mouth.

He kissed her back his hand still covering the object and then pulled away for a moment. "Please trust me when I tell you, that I'm well aware of what I'm saying and what I'm doing." His hand released hers and moved to caress her face. "I love you."

The slender brunette's heart skipped a beat, as the words sunk in and carved out a safe place in her heart. She searched his eyes for any sign of uncertainty and found none existed. "I love you, too…" She whispered.

"Good." He grinned nervously at her. "Just remember that." His lips found hers again as his hand reached for the small box she was holding. With little or no ceremony, he twisted the top and tugged it off. Inside tucked in between folds of black velvet sat a clear and sparkling diamond solitaire ring. "Sara, will you marry me?"

Supposition: In an interview Jorja Fox stated that there were two cliff hangers at the end of this season. One we all know will probably have to do with the survival of Jim Brass. The other one I believe (nay hope) has to do with GG's relationship with SS. I think that they have been involved for some time, and since the last few shows have had marriage connotations, Rashomama in particular, and the first part of the finale, it appears that there is a running theme here; Al Robbins conversation with Grissom about being married, Sara's conversation with Warrick about his marriage, and the reference to Grissom being a single boy and the only smart one, his comment about married people taking things too personally. It all kind of smacks of foreshadowing, I thought I would give you my take on it. Who knows maybe they have been secretly married all season. At the very least an ending with Grissom popping the question would definitely be a cliff hanger.