Acting on Instinct

WARNING THIS FIC IS CREATED FROM SPOILERS FOR THE LAST 3 EPISODES OF SEASON 6

A/N – I based this story on the assumption that Catherine's daughter survived the crash and was doing well enough that Catherine could be in this story (basically, I needed her.) Characters do not belong to me, if they did, I would be rich.

Catherine was making coffee. Greg was intently eyeing Grissom's bug collection that hung on the wall. This was the first time Greg had been inside Grissom's apartment. Unfortunately it was for the wrong reason. The night shift crew was all there, waiting patiently for some news about Brass. Nick was leaning against the wall looking down at the hardwood floor, his arms crossed in front of him, thinking how close he came to death once. Warrick and Sara sat quietly at opposite ends of the couch not talking. The sound of water hitting the bottom of the coffee pot seemed endless. Grissom sat on the bar stool rotating his cell phone from one hand to another.

"It's been 6 hours already," Warrick said standing to his feet. "Shouldn't we have had and update?"

Catherine flipped the switch to turn the coffee on, "The doctor's said it could be 12-14 hours to complete the procedure, I'm sure they will call when they can".

Sara took advantage of the vacancy Warrick left on the other end of the couch and stretched out her legs. Just a few minutes of sleep will do me she thought. The sounds of coffee cups clanking together and low murmured discussions put Sara right to sleep.

Grissom rose to speak to the others, "I appreciate all of you coming over, but you need to get some sleep yourself. I promise, as soon as I hear anything, I will let everyone know. I want all of you to go home and try to get some sleep."

Nick looked at Warrick and nodded, "Need a ride man?" Warrick walked toward the door, "Yeah."

Greg spoke up, "can you drop me by the lab to get my car?"

"No problem, come on". Nick replied. Nick approached Grissom and put his right hand on Grissom's shoulder, "call me as soon as you hear something, all right?"

"I promise Nick, I'll call everyone." Grissom said looking over to Catherine.

The boys ambled out the door as Catherine walked over to Grissom. "Are you sure you'll be ok?" she said.

"Yes, I'm fine Catherine. I may try to get some sleep myself."

"What do you want me to do about Sara?" Catherine peered over to the couch.

Grissom lowered his head, "It's ok, she's fine right there. I'll throw a blanket over her."

Catherine set her cup down on the counter and picked up her purse. As she headed to the door, she turned, "call me right away." Grissom nodded in acknowledgement.

The apartment was empty of all people, save Sara. Grissom pulled a throw out of the hall closet and gently laid it over the sleeping Sara. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep but he walked back to his bedroom and sat on the edge of his bed putting his head into his hands. His mind racing, his body could no longer sit, he began to pace back and forth. He could feel a rush of emotions move from his heart to his head back to his heart again. Tears welled up in his eyes. He moved to the entrance of his living room looking quietly at Sara. A single tear rolled down his cheek. He thought, where is all this emotion coming from? His heart hurt, not the physical kind of pain, but an emotional kind. He slowly approached Sara, being ever so quite as not to disturb her. She's beautiful he thought.

More tears began to flow from his eyes. Grissom bent down on both knees next to her, watching her sleep. He reached to pull the blanket up over her shoulder and instinctively laid his hand on her arm. "Sara?"

"Humm? What…sorry…I", her eyes opened and she lifted her head slightly.

"I….." Grissom said, his lower lip quivering.

Sara's eyes focused immediately on Grissom's. More tears were flowing from them. She reached out to wipe his tears away. He leaned into her touch and held her hand to his face. "I…" he swallowed heavily, "I need you."

Sara lifted the throw inviting him to join her. Face to face, bodies pressed firmly against each other, Grissom spoke, "This is my place in life, and this is where I want to be."

They kiss.

The End