Summary: Grissom comes to Lady Heather's Dominion for some penance.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or the characters.

Rating: T+ for slight violence.

Pairing: Grissom and Lady Heather.

A/N: I borrowed Mistress Sapphire and Lady Irena from the Castle episode THE MISTRESS ALWAYS SPANKS TWICE.

PENANCE:

LADY HEATHER'S DOMINION:

Catherine pulled her Tahoe up outside the large house that served as the Dominion. Killing the engine she sat there with Sara looking at her. The urge to just get the interview over with was so strong that Catherin nearly hopped right out of her vehicle and went right up to the porch, but what if she interrupted something between Grissom and Heather? Could she handle that? Of course this was Grissom. He was more professional than anyone she knew. Why was Catherine worried? Taking the keys from the ignition she pushed open her door and went right up to the door with Sara following her. Catherine was surprised Sara had kept quiet.

Sara had sat quietly in the passenger seat of Catherine's Tahoe, though she didn't know why. Catherine was deep in thought and Sara had something to think about as well. As they were pulling in Sara spied Grissom's SUV parked in the driveway. Though, she explained it away as Grissom had beaten them there. Getting out of the car with Catherine both of them walked up the steps that were lined with candles. "What sort of place is this really?" Sara asked as Catherine rang the doorbell. She had heard the rumors that Grissom had been involved with a woman named Heather but other than that she hadn't really paid attention. All she had done was process the evidence and solve the crime.

The door opened slowly to reveal a woman in knee high boots, velvet black skirt with thigh high slits, a form fitting corset embroidered with blood red and emerald beads. Sara tracked her gaze up slowly until she reached the woman's face. Knowing green eyes stared back at her. They unnerved her, made her want to step behind Catherine. But Sara didn't she stood where was.

"CSI Willows, it's good to see you again." Heather held out her hand in greeting to the brunette that she did not know. "Seeing as my usual greeting is oddly inadequate, I will simply say Welcome." In the background loud music pounded against the walls, cries of pleasure could be heard, as well as cries of pain.

"Lady Heather this is my colleague Sara Sidle. She works at the Crime Lab as well." Catherine introduced Sara.

"What is this place?" Sara asked craning her neck to try and get a better look before they were invited it. She didn't exactly understand why Catherine had called her Lady Heather.

"This is my Dominion." Another cry of pleasure/pain sounded over the din of loud music. Heather moved aside to allow the two women to enter. "Please." She closed the door, and then turned to them both. "I assume you're here to talk about a murder."

"Why would you think that?" Sara asked the accusation barely hidden in her voice.

"The only time a CSI would darken my door is only because of murder." Heather replied, the ice in her words barely contained. She was sensing hostility from the brunette and was responding to it. Granted it wasn't the way to go, but Heather couldn't help herself. "If you please, we can talk in the sitting room."

"No clients in there?" Catherine joked trying to diffuse the sudden tension flying around them.

Heather chuckled lightly, "No, I don't allow them on the ground floor. The basement and the Upper floors are where most of the sessions take place, and of course the pool house."

"Sessions?" Sara asked looking around at the décor.

"Sara, this place is a fetish club." Grissom stood from the sofa he was sitting on and made his presence known.

"Mr. Grissom, you should know better than that." Heather lightly teased.

"What? You mean like chains and whips and dog collars?" Sara stood there floored at what she had just walked into. She had an open mind, but this was even beyond her. There had been no mistaking the way Grissom seemed at ease with all of this. Just another layer to him.

"Those are the more commonly known tools of the trade." Heather answered sitting down gracefully in a plush chair. It was comforting to observe Grissom walking over to stand next to her under the guise of studying the painting she had on the wall. "But you came to ask about murder, so please if we can get this done."

"You don't seem to care that a girl, another girl that worked for you was murdered." Sara accused.

Heather looked at the last name on the brunettes vest and then replied, "Ms. Sidle what you see and what I feel are two different things. I assume you want to know which of my girls didn't show for work."

"Please," Catherine said making sure to speak before Sara as she sat down across from Heather. It wasn't lost on Catherine the way Grissom was standing. To anyone else it would appear that he was merely taking in the scene, but Catherine knew better. He was standing by her side. Grissom had made his choice. He was going to stay hands off.

"Shortly before you arrived one of my girls informed me that Mistress Sapphire had not shown up." Heather spoke, her tone calm, but inside she was shaking. Death wasn't easy for her.

Catherine pulled out the photo of Alyna Montague and showed it to Heather "Is this Mistress Sapphire?" she could see the confirmation in her eyes.

"Yes, this is her." Heather gripped the arm of the chair trying to hold back the pain of anguish as it coursed through her. "She was one of my most requested Dom's."

"Her records say she was from New York. Why did she come her to you?" Sara inquired.

"In New York Alyna worked in Dungeon ally, at a fetish club owned and run by Lady Irena. She and I have worked together before and we swapped our best Dom's for two months. Alyna's second month was almost up. She was preparing to head back to New York. If all worked well, then Alyna was considering moving out here to work for me." Heather stopped talking. To her right she looked up and into Grissom's eyes. He wasn't going to be involved in this case. He couldn't remain objective. At least she would have him on her side and that was what she needed right now.

"Did you have a personal relationship with Ms. Montague?" Catherine asked slipping to the edge of the sofa.

"She was a friend." Heather answered.

"Do you know if she had any next of kin?"

"I believe she had a brother in New York. Give me a minute and I'll get his contact information for you." Heather rose from her chair and moved out of the room with long strides leaving them all where they were. She would have wanted Grissom to follow her, but he couldn't.

Grissom watched Heather leave wanting to go with her. He felt her pain that she was keeping bottled up. Catherine and Sara were there watching his every move. Grissom had to force himself to remain where he was. It was difficult. The feeling of serenity vanished the moment Sara entered the Dominion. How could he reconcile the feelings he had when he was with Heather and the feelings he knew had no place in his work. He was a scientist. He relied on logical thinking, but nothing about the way he felt about Heather was logical. She tuned his world around.

Catherine got off the couch going to stand by Grissom. She reached out and put her hand on his back lightly. Grissom flinched under her light touch. She could see he controlled his facial features but the rest of his body went ramrod stiff. "Grissom…"

"Here is the contact information for her brother in New York." Lady Heather came back into the room composed and in control of her emotions. Idly she held the information out which Sara Sidle took from her. Heather tracked her gaze to Gil where she saw Catherine's hand on his back. She wasn't threatened by Catherine because she could see that friendship lay between them and nothing more. Heather wasn't sure if he was ready for his friend to find out that hours ago he had submitted to a Dominatrix and her whip. Still, she remained in control and gave nothing away.

"We'll be in touch if we have other questions." Sara spoke quickly heading to the door. She wanted to get out of the Dominion as fast as she could. It gave e a bad feeling.

"Oh, I'm sure of that." Heather called after Sara while keeping her eyes on Catherine. Slowly she walked back to them seeing all the questions in Catherine's eyes.

"Sara, I'll meet you outside." Catherine spoke without looking at her partner on the case. Her eyes were fixed on Grissom.

"Catherine…" Sara started to protest.

"I have to talk to Grissom."

"Fine, whatever," Sara headed to the door and went outside.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

Catherine climbed in the driver's seat of the Tahoe outing the key in the ignition. She brought the SUV to life and pulled away from the Dominion. It wasn't anger that had her speeding away. It was the knowledge of what Grissom had engaged in last night. How could he do that? What was he thinking? Was that the penance he had to pay?

"Everything ok?" Sara asked looking over the information that Lady Heather had given her.

"Things are fine. Grissom's going to stay off the case and let us handle it." Catherine took a turn sharper than she meant to. She really had to slow down or risk being pulled over.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Catherine pulled onto the road that would lead back to the Crime Lab. Grissom had really done it this time. At least he had the good sense to keep out of the case. She didn't know if he was going to be at the lab tonight. Who knows; Grissom might actually take the night off. It would be a change.

THE DOMINION:

Heather watched Catherine leave after Gil had explained what happen between them last night. "Are you sure you should have told her?" Reaching out to him Heather ran her hand down his arm. By her side Grissom was more relaxed than he had been when Catherine and Sara walked into to her Dominion. Or maybe it was Sara Sidle who put him on edge. When she walked in Heather had felt him completely shut down, but now he was the man he had been last night. Grissom freely took her hand.

"Catherine is my best friend. I had to tell her or she would have cornered me later on." Grissom smiled taking her hand in his lacing their fingers. He felt free enough to do that while they were together; there was the freedom to reach out and touch her. Last night had brought them to another level. It was a level that he could express with Catherine around, especially with Sara watching. Sara lived her life in a narrow field of vision that only allowed Science to reign. The life that Heather lived, that Grissom had been drawn to, was too far out of the realm of science for Sara to understand.

"What was between you and Sara?" Heather inquired raising her eyebrow when Grissom looked at her.

"You saw that?" Grissom asked. He hadn't missed the way Sara was staring at him as he stood beside Heather.

"She looked hurt as you stood beside me." Heather said. "There was tension." It wasn't hard to see. Heather could see that Sara held deep emotions where Grissom was concerned. It was that emotional attachment that immediately set Heather on edge; teetering her on the edge of her control. She was not a jealous woman, after all Grissom had come to her.

"A few weeks ago she asked me to sleep with her, to hold her in the night when she heard the screams of the victims we spoke for." Remembering it Grissom dissected the scene, analyzed the look in Sara's eyes. In her eyes he saw a deeper emotion lying in her brown depths. It was that emotion she was trying to convey to him that had him shutting down around.

"What did you say to her?" Heather inquired as she pulled him back out of the sitting room and up the stairs to her private set of rooms. Grissom followed behind her willingly.

"I told her that she gets to close to cases. The possibility that she was wanting more didn't occur to me." Grissom took each step behind Heather steadily; he knew where they were going.

"I could see that about her, and I could see how she would be drawn to you." Heather stopped on the landing to turn to him. "She see's in you all the qualities that wants to possess. It's about attaining what is just out of reach." Heather cupped his face.

"Am I out of reach for you?' He didn't know why he asked that, but he had to know. To him, Heather felt as if she were on another level just out of his reach.

"You're here with me," she responded. It was the only answer that she could give. There would always be a voice between them, the lingering pain of the warrant he asked for in regards to her. It was defeatist of her, but Heather was waiting for something to happen for Grissom to break her heart and retreat into his safety zone.

"It's where I want to be." Grissom spoke. "This is…"

"Hard for you; the trust." Heather moved back from the edge allowing him to step up close to her.

"Yes," Like he had this afternoon he leaned his forehead against hers and continued, "There are few people in this world that I trust; Catherine and Brass. I'm learning to let go, to let you in." Grissom had been like a ghost inside for months after that case. All he could think about when he was alone was Heather, the hurt look, the anger she projected. It wounded him more so than he thought it would. He honestly thought she understood what he had to do. And she had been right on some level; she had committed that one unforgiveable act. Lady Heather had known him from the first time she saw him.

"It still bothers you that I know you." Heather lightly accused, but she knew it did. How could it not? Grissom was a closed man, hidden away from the world and only ever comfortable in the world of science. His lover was the cruel rigid mistress of scientific reasoning. It demanded logic and total devotion. How could Heather compete with that?

"Not as much now. You see me in ways that I never wanted to see myself. Last night I needed the physical pain to release the emotional, and what better mistress to have than you to guide me through it. You knew I needed this which is why you didn't try to talk me out of it." Putting his hands on her waist Grissom maneuvered her so her back was to the wall and he was leaning into her, keeping his lips just a hair's breath away from hers.

Heather felt her breathing hitch, "How could I talk you out of it when you were shackled to my mantle?" She asked playfully. Heather rested her hands, palms down, over his chest feeling the wild beat of his heart.

"That's just it, you didn't try and I thank you for that." Grissom kissed her lightly, another gentle thank you in actions rather than words. Words meant nothing to Heather, only the actions behind them. "Deep down you knew you needed to do this too."

"You and I are more a like than I originally thought." Heather chuckled fisting her hands in the waist band of his work slacks. She was consumed with the emotions Grissom inspired in her. Heather felt so much but generally kept them hidden as a means of control; she was ever the creature of control in her world, her Dominion. This was her place. This was her world.

Grissom placed his lips so close to hers that they were sharing the same air, "Is that a bad thing?" He teased lightly. Heather was so enticing, a perfect puzzle for him to put together. She was so calm and collected around others giving nothing away. When they were alone she was open with him; easy with a smile. Grissom found he had grown too used to that too quickly. He would live to see her smile; he would live to make her smile at him.

"No," Heather sighed. She had now found her equal, she had found a man that she wanted to stop being dominant with. Gil Grissom was such a man and Lady Heather had known it from the first moment they met.