DISCLAIMER: CSI belongs to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. No
infringement intended

SPOILERS: None really

SUMMERY: There's more than one way to say I love you

A/N: This is fluffy, well sort of. This is actually how my husband and me say those three words without actually saying them! Read and you'll know what I mean.

Thank you as always to the people who review my stories, I really do appreciate it.

Huge thanks also to Mingsmommy and jtbwriter for the beta, and to Julie for providing the title. Also thanks to TDCSI for being a great friend.

This story is dedicated to Dee, she knows why.

Spell It Out

Sara was the first to enter the break room before shift that night. She had left the town house a few minutes before Grissom, revelling in his kisses as he backed her up against the door. Neither of them had wanted to leave the house, and she would have gladly agreed to play hooky with him if he'd have asked her to.

Pulling open the cupboard doors to grab a mug, she noticed the large amount of new novelty mugs that Greg had brought in the night before. He'd claimed that one of the elderly women in his apartment complex had donated them, telling him that she hoped they would be more useful to him.

Moving the mugs around to read the messages on them she laughed aloud when one read, 'when you get to forty your mind has a body of it's own.' Oh yeah, these were really nestling in the back of some elderly woman's cupboard.

Sara continued to move the mugs around until she came across one that caught her eye. Pulling it out to get a closer look she couldn't help but smile when she placed it onto the counter beside the one she'd already chosen for herself.

Grissom watched her from the doorway as she poured hot coffee into the mugs on the counter. Moving into the room he caught her eyes the second he entered, his unspoken desires spilling from his gaze. He allowed his eyes to linger over her body for a few moments before he took a seat at the table and looked down at the crossword.

Sara smiled as she picked up both mugs and took a seat next to him before handing him the coffee she'd made for him.

"Thank you," he smiled, catching her eyes as he lifted the mug to his lips.

"Okay, what did we get up to this morning?" she asked innocently as she looked down at the unfinished crossword on the table.

"Excuse me?" he asked in a soft whisper as he leant in a little closer to her shoulder. "Maybe you should rephrase that question."

Sara glanced into his sparkling eyes and couldn't help smiling. He had a way of making her laugh that no one else seemed to possess. Leaning closer to him, she returned his mischievous smile and pointed to his mug. "Drink your coffee."

Smiling, he turned his attention to the mug on the table before whipping his head back around to look at her in wonder. His eyes drifted over her face, noticing the rosy blush that was creeping up her cheeks.

"What?" she asked knowingly, without taking her eyes off of the crossword.

"Nothing," he told her with a smile. "Just looking."

"Okay," she grinned. "While you're just looking, why don't you help me with 9 across…hmmm…endearment, seven letters."

"Beloved," he whispered softly against her ear.

Sara shivered when his warm breath sent tingles down her spine. "…Doesn't fit…"

"My darling," he whispered softly, his breath fanning her hair.

"I…um…" Sara closed her eyes tightly when his closeness sent shards of desire to course through her body. "No…um…"

"My sweetheart," his voiced lowered even more and she could have sworn he was doing this on purpose.

"Griss…" she turned her head to berate him softly but instead found herself dangerously close to his lips.

"My lover," he said softly, his voice lowering to a mere whisper.

"Uh…" Sara swallowed hard and tore her eyes away from his before she fell into the depths of his gaze. "Maybe, we should go on to another clue."

Grissom's eyes lingered over her face for a few more moments before he leant in closer to her to get a better look at the crossword puzzle. He could feel her warmth through her shirt and he couldn't help but move a little closer until he was pressed tightly against her arm.

"I think that the clues are already there for us to find," he whispered as he lifted his mug to his lips again before offering another flirtatious smile. "Take this mug for example."

Sara knew what he was trying to tell her because it was the same message she'd been trying to convey to him for months. She hadn't chosen his mug randomly; she knew that he'd read the message on the front of it, it was no more than she'd have expected from him.

"Oh?" she asked softly, her voice lowering into a seductive whisper. "Care to explain it to me, Doctor Grissom?"

Grissom's eyes lingered over her soft features, trailing a burning path over every inch of her face before coming back up again to look into her eyes.

"If someone else had made me coffee and handed me this mug, then I wouldn't have noticed."

"Uh huh," she nodded with a smile. "Go on."

"See, I think people cryptically search out these novelty mugs to say something to the person holding it without actually saying the words."

"Really?" she grinned as she propped her chin onto her hand. "Fascinating."

"It is," he told her with a small smile. "So, as I was saying. If say, Greg were to make me coffee, I'd know that he would have just picked the first mug he'd come to. The same goes for everyone else in the lab."

"What about Brass?" she smiled innocently.

"Yes, and Brass." He opened his mouth to speak again but stopped when her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Hmmm…what about Hodges? Sara couldn't help it, she knew he was becoming flustered but he was so adorable. "I'm sure he'd pick you out a special mug."

Grissom shook his head to remove the mental image and scowled at her when he saw the laughter in her eyes.

"That's not funny," he told her, even though his lips were curling into a smile. "So, as I was saying before you interrupted…I wouldn't think anything of anyone else giving me this particular mug."

"Except me?" she grinned.

"Except you," he told her with an affectionate smile. "And, if I were to make you a coffee later on tonight, I'd make it for you in this particular mug."

"You would?" Her asked in a soft whisper as her eyes suddenly pooled with tears.

Grissom placed the mug on the table and turned it so that the words were facing them. He glanced down at the picture of the cute little teddy bear on the mug, it's hands holding a big white flag with the words I love you written on it in big red letters.

"Oh yeah," he told her as he pressed a soft kiss to her ear before he pushed the chair away from the table to stand up and walk towards the door, turning to smile at her. "I would."

End