Chapter Seven:

Ho Ho Ho Let It Snow

Sara stretched and smiled when her foot met his.

She rolled over to find him staring at her.

"Sorry, I fell asleep," she purred.

"I didn't mind," he said staring at her bare back.

She self- consciously tucked the sheet around her.

He responded by yanking up the sheet causing a flurry of hands and legs to fly about as she tried to cover herself.

In one grasp, he pulled her naked body against his.

It seemed cool in the room, and she snuggled against his warmth.

"It'll be shift soon," she whispered.

"A few more minutes," he replied.

"This has been good," she said sadly.

"Yes…it has," he said.

"Guys will be back tomorrow," she stated.

"Sara…"

Her fingers made circular motions on his chest.

"You…uhm don't owe me anything," she said. "This was enough."

He tensed. "Is this all you wanted?"

"I uhm know…you'd be risking your job…I don't want that," she said. She rolled so that she faced him. "I know you love me…that's enough."

His hand cupped her face as he kissed her tenderly. "It's not enough for me."

He pulled her down as she rested her head on his chest. "Maybe we could go away…a vacation together," she offered.

"Our vacations are not until June," he pointed out.

She bit her lower lip.

"Well, everyone knows you're keeping Bruno for me, so there won't be any question as to why I'm here…everyday."

He smiled. "I'm glad Jim told me you wanted a dog when you were growing up."

"I really like Bruno," replied Sara as she petted the dog who sat beside the bed.

Grissom glanced at the clock and sighed.

"Let's…work together," she offered. "I know you said you didn't want me to work this holiday but…"

"You want to come into work tonight?" he asked.

"We'd be together…without the others watching and…"

"I think your boss wouldn't mind," he teased.

They drove separately to the office. It was unusually cold that night as Grissom stepped into the lab. There was a spring in his step as he walked through the halls. He felt different and wondered if anyone would notice.

"Hey, Grissom," called Hodges.

"Hey, David," replied Grissom.

Hodges practically fell out of his chair as he scrambled to the entrance before Grissom got away.

"You uhm, you uhm called me by my name," said Hodges.

"Oh sorry. Would you prefer…"

"No! No…no…no...David is great," beamed Hodges.

Grissom turned and headed down the hall.

"Later, Gil," Hodges called.

"Call me…Grissom," said Grissom.

"Right! No problem!" Hodges said as he danced from foot to foot.

"He called me by my first name," he whispered to himself. "There is a Santa Claus!"

Sara arrived a few minutes after Grissom. She made her usual rounds as she walked about not bothering to remove her coat and scarf.

"Hey, it's freezing outside," whined Mandy.

"Yeah…unusual weather," said Sara.

"I thought you were off this holiday," frowned Mandy.

"I was. I mean I had Christmas Eve off," hurried Sara.

"Hey, I want to meet him!" called Mandy.

Sara stopped dead in her tracks.

"Him?" asked Sara.

"Yeah. I heard you got a dog," smiled Mandy. "I love dogs."

"Sure!" replied Sara. "Let me warn you. He licks…a lot."

Sara turned and practically ran into Grissom.

"Oh, sorry," she blurted out as she stepped back quickly taking notice of the others around them.

"You still have your jacket on," he said.

"It's cold," she answered as she glanced and smiled when she noticed his Ipod was in his front pocket.

He grinned as he stepped to the side to let her pass.

She grabbed her messages and then stopped in the door as she listened to Hodges humming a a line or two of Jingle Bells.

He turned and cleared his throat when he noticed her standing there.

"Sorry…did you need something?" he asked.

"Not yet. Nice voice," she said as she grinned from ear to ear.

"Well, what can I say? It's the Christmas spirit," he said.

"See you…later," said Sara.

The first few hours were spent catching up on casework.

Grissom plowed his way through some paperwork while Sara popped in and out as she dropped one file after another into his in- basket.

When the fourth case file hit the stack, his eyes shot up over his glasses.

"Trying to keep me here after hours?" he asked.

Her lips curved into a smile. "You called Hodges by his first name, didn't you?"

Grissom smiled. "You were right. It made his day."

"You know, he craves acceptance from you. He practically worships you," said Sara.

"I'll try to be…more accepting," agreed Grissom.

Sara sauntered out.

Grissom stood there and watched her disappear.

He felt giddy.

Gone was the frustration and tension that had engulfed them for months.

He clicked on the Ipod and smiled. He had fiddled with the Ipod for the past hour and chuckled when he noticed she had downloaded some of Greg's music.

Knows me better than I thought…

They were not surprised when they got the call from Brass about a case.

They did not expect to get away that night without at least one call.

They grabbed their kits and headed out the door.

Once they were in his vehicle and away from the office, his hand crept across the seat and found hers.

She turned and smiled.

"I'm enjoying the music…on the Ipod," he announced.

"Listen, I…"

"Even Greg's music," he said with a grin.

She chuckled.

They stepped out of the vehicle, and Brass waved at them.

"Going to ask him about the gifts?" asked Grissom.

"Gifts?" she asked. "Those were from Santa…not Brass."

"Right," replied Grissom.

Sara stopped. "You mean you don't believe?"

"I didn't say that," he said with a grin.

"Hey, you guys want to grab a bite to eat after shift?" asked Brass.

"How about you come over to the house…still lots of food…we could…"

"Brass took his toy home," teased Sara.

"I have it in the car," piped up Brass.

Sara laughed.

The guys stood there as she began working.

"Good to hear her laugh again," whispered Brass.

"Yes…it is."

"Got any idea how you're going to pull this off?" asked Brass.

"No."

"Better start thinking," said Brass.

They worked side by side, stopping from time to time to glance at one another.

"We could um keep it a secret," whispered Sara. "Not let anyone know."

"I'm sure we could pull that off," replied Grissom.

"We could try," she said.

He was quiet for a moment and then stopped.

"Maybe Ecklie…wouldn't mind...letting us continue to work together," he said.

Sara smirked. "That is as likely to happen as it is to snow in Vegas."

"You never know," he said softly.

"The words hell and freeze come to mind where Ecklie is concerned," muttered Sara.

Grissom chuckled.

"I uhm don't want this to hurt you professionally," she said.

"I appreciate that…but you mean more to me than the lab," he admitted.

She stopped suddenly.

He winked at her.

Her arm went up as she swiped at her eyes with her sleeve.

He pretended not to notice.

They finished inside the hotel a few hours later. Brass stepped inside with a huge grin on his face.

"You guys finished?" asked Brass.

"All done," replied Sara.

"Good, be cause you have to see this to believe it," chuckled Brass.

They stepped outside and stopped suddenly.

The ground was covered with snow.

Grissom and Sara stared at each other.

"That's snow," announced Sara.

"What did you say about Hell?" teased Grissom.

They loaded up the evidence and then turned to look around.

"Snow makes it look so beautiful…hides all the dirt," said Sara.

She turned to look at Grissom.

Splat!

She blinked.

Splat!

Her brain then recognized the cold substance on her face.

Splat!

"Stop!" she warned.

Splat!

Brass chuckled but his demeanor changed when he wiped his own face.

Splat!

Sara and Brass looked at one another.

Grissom stepped back.

"Get him!" yelled Brass as he grabbed a handful of snow and packed it into a ball.

He hurled it at Grissom and chuckled when it hit Grissom in the back.

There was a flurry of snowballs.

Grissom finally retaliated inside the Denali, locking the door.

The two stood outside in triumph.

Their victory was followed by a high five.

They dropped off the evidence at the lab.

Sara grabbed some coffee as she smirked when Grissom stepped into the room.

"Two against one," chided Grissom.

"Ever played in the snow?" asked Sara.

"A few times," replied Grissom.

"First time for me," admitted Sara.

"You've never made a snowman?" asked Grissom.

Sara shook her head.

She took a sip and was surprised when he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

She quickly jerked her hand back.

"Come with me," he said urgently.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Dinner break," he said.

She stared at him when they pulled up to the welcome sign to Vegas.

"Griss…"

Grissom handed her a pair of gloves.

"Let's go!" he said excitedly.

She scrambled out of the Denali.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We're here. We're going to make a snowman," announced Grissom.

She stood there watching him.

"Are you going to help or just stand there?" asked Grissom.

Sara grabbed a handful of snow and smiled at Grissom.

"Snowman…no snowball fights…yet," he warned.

They worked diligently together rolling and patting the snow.

They smiled in satisfaction at their accomplishment when the body was formed followed by the midsection and then the head.

They stepped back and stared at their creation.

They turned and smiled at one another.

"Thanks, Grissom," whispered Sara.

He looked into her deep brown eyes as his blue eyes twinkled. "You're welcome," he whispered just as he delivered the blow.

Splat!

She stood there with snow in her face.

He waited for her to retaliate, but she did not budge.

"Sara?"

She wiped the snow from her face.

"Sara…"

With one shove, he found himself on the ground. Before he could scramble to his feet, she delivered a huge snowball smacking him square in the face.

He had no sooner wiped his face than was plummeted by another one.

He could hear her hysterics as she continued the assault.

She was not prepared to be tripped.

She landed on her butt.

Before her brain could register what had happened, she felt the cool wet stuff in her face again.

Splat!

Splat!

Splat!

"Gilbert!" She yelled.

The snowballs ceased.

She scrambled to her feet.

They stared at each other.

"You called me Gilbert," he said incredulously.

"I did…sorry," she said.

"I didn't think you knew my full name," he said.

"It's not so bad…Gilbert," she smirked.

He brushed off the snow.

"That's enough…Sara Jane," he shot back.

"Truce?" she asked.

"Truce," he agreed.

She held out her hand in a hand shake.

He grabbed her bringing her up tightly against him.

Sara struggled.

"Someone might…"

"There's no one around," whispered Grissom as he leaned down and kissed her.

"We should get back," she said as she headed toward the vehicle, but his hand held hers firmly.

"What?" she asked.

"One more thing," he said. "And then we can go back."

He walked up further from the welcome sign where the snow was undisturbed.

"Okay, on the count of three, fall back," he said.

"Fall back?" she asked.

"Yes…it will be worth it…just trust me," he assured her.

She followed him into the snow.

They lay there on the ground.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Spread you arms and legs out…like this," he said.

She watched him and then did the same.

"Now get up carefully," he said.

They stood there and stared.

"Angels," he announced.

She smiled.

His hand held hers.

"You're shivering," he said. "We better go."

The guys returned the next day.

Catherine was full of stories about the snow.

"Have you tried cleaning off your windshield without gloves? I lost two finger nails because of this stuff! The kids are jumping for joy while we adults are scraping it off with our bare hands to trudge into work. I mean don't even think about stopping to inquire about buying a scraper! Not in Vegas!"

Warrick added a few things as well.

"My grandmother made me shovel off the steps and the sidewalk with a broom! I mean if that wasn't enough, she had me doing it for every lady on the block. I've aches on top of aches."

"Hey, did you guys get a chance to play in the snow?" asked Greg.

"Not much," replied Sara.

"Well, if I'd been here, you and I…." Greg stopped when they heard the news reporter.

It began with a shot of a snowman built under the welcome sign. Grissom winked at Sara as he sipped on his coffee.

"Wow!" exclaimed Greg. "Wonder who did that?"

The reported continued. "Our roving reporter got this footage of the snow makers."

Grissom almost spewed his coffee.

All eyes were glued to the TV as Sara and Grissom sat there nervously.

"As the snowman was finished, the two shared a snowball fight followed by a kiss. The snow play ended with the making of snow angels."

Eyes turned to Grissom and Sara.

Grissom and Sara exchanged looks.

"We were on our dinner break," said Grissom.

"A kiss on national TV," smirked Catherine.

Sara's face reddened.

The couple scrambled to find the right words.

The others beat them.

"There is a Santa Claus!" they yelled. "It's about time!"

Catherine slapped Grissom on the back as the guys chatted away with Sara.

"It was Grissom, wasn't it?" asked Nick.

There was a silence as the others wanted to hear the answer to that question.

"I believe," announced Sara.

The room erupted again in chatter.

"I'm glad you two finally decided to do something about this," said Nick with arms folded.

The others chimed in.

"Got any ideas how Ecklie is going to react to…" Catherine was interrupted by Greg.

"Maybe he won't notice the two people in the footage are…"Greg was interrupted by Ecklie who popped his head into the break room.

"Nice snowman," Ecklie announced.

Sara's eyes shot to Grissom.

Ecklie waited a moment, "Liked the snow angels."

Grissom's hand sought Sara's under the table.

He squeezed it as if assuring her that it didn't matter that their secret was short lived.

"Heard about the Santa thing. Just glad that you two worked out your differences…the tension around here was killing us. By the way, hell is nice and warm."

Ecklie stepped away from the door.

"That's IT?" asked Sara.

She looked shocked.

"His reaction shocked you?" asked Grissom.

"Well uhm, he's referred to me as a loose cannon and well, you know the policy about…"

"You forgot something very important," chided Grissom.

"I did?" asked Sara.

"Yes. This is Penny's fanfic and she never lets us down, grinned Grissom.

"You mean…no repercussion…no splitting up the unit…no angst…she didn't write any angst," said Sara.

"She's saving that for the next story so let's enjoy this while we can," smiled Grissom.

The others looked at one another.

"There's still some snow on the ground," challenged Greg.

They hurried outside, calling out team players.

"Guys versus girls," called Nick.

"Funny, Nicky! There are only two of us against four of you," whined Catherine.

"Greg throws like a girl," smirked Nick.

"Just for that, I'm not on your team!" sneered Greg.

Grissom and Sara took the lead as they stepped outside and turned toward the others.

Splat!

The End.

Note from author:

Thanks to Peggy who insisted I write one more chapter since it did actually snow in Vegas and someone did make a snowman under the welcome to Vegas sign. Merry Christmas! Enjoy, I am buried here at home so the next story has been delayed until after the holidays!

Take care,

Penny