Author's note: This is the PG-13/R version of an NC-17 chapter. Please notice that I've raised the rating of Innocence and Beauty to reflect this. The following G/S interaction has been carefully crafted such that the essential information, as well as a good amount of G/S fluff, were in both versions of the chapter. If you do not want to read either, please feel free to e-mail me and I can give you a synopsis of the chapter. If you are 17 OR OVER ONLY, PLEASE you can find the Adult version of the chapter here: http://www.geocities.com/dsuophelia/ch27nc17.html

Chapter 27: Unquantifiable

I never knew what those simple words could mean until he uttered them, and I am blown away.

Breathe Sara. In...out... good.

"Say it again," I whisper, lost in his eyes.

"I love you, Sara." He says quietly.

"And I love you too, Gil," slips from my lips, quietly. I press my lips to his softly, though I still feel an urgent pull to be with him. The kiss is soft, quick, and sweet, despite our rapid pulses and heavy breathing. "Let's go inside."

He nods, then steps back and instead of fixing his own wrinkled clothing, smooths down mine with a reverence I've never experienced before. I reach out my hand to do the same for him, but he captures my hand in his own, planting a kiss on the back of my hand. I feel the smile creep up from the corners of my mouth all the way up to my eyes. He pulls my hand, leading me toward my building, smiling back.

~~~~~~~~~~

I mold myself to her back and run my fingers over the back of her collar bone while I wrap my other arm around her stomach as she adorably fumbles with the lock. I replace my hand on her neck with my lips, taking the key from her hands and gently sliding it into the lock and deftly twisting it until I hear the tumbler click over. I gently prod her to move forward as I pull the keys out and push the door open, and swiftly throwing it shut and leaning back against it once we're inside. The keys fall from my hand and land on the floor with a clatter, forgotten.

I love the taste of her, it's salty and fresh and beautiful. I wrap my other arm around her, slightly higher so that it grazes her skin as it moves across her body, and she moans, pressing her chest out and grinding her hips into mine. My own groan reverberates in my throat as I pull her soft earlobe into my mouth and wrap my arms further around her.

She's writhing now, and she's making sounds low in her throat that I can feel in my chest. I am doing this to her, I realize. I am making her feel like this. Her right hand moves up to tangle in my hair, her short nails playing deliciously over my scalp as she whispers my name. "Yes?" I whisper as I kiss up the side of her neck.

She pulls her arm away and almost forcefully pulls out of my grip, turning and moving back to meld her body to mine. We're both breathing heavy through open mouths, and I can feel her breath mingling with mine as I breathe it in. Slowly she licks her lips, her tongue slowly wetting them, as she brings her face closer to mine until we're resting against each other. She captures my lips in a series of tiny, loose lipped kisses as she brings her hands up to tangle in my hair again.

My hands roam downward over her sides and up her back, sliding under the soft material of her shirt to feel the soft skin of her back. She shudders, and suddenly the gentleness of the last few minutes is gone. I roughly pull her closer, and push my tongue into her mouth. Sara grabs on just as tightly and returns the kiss with passion. Her hands pull my shirt out from my pants and I feel them gliding up my skin like silk as she begins her own assault on my neck.

"You make me feel young again," I proclaim as I move a hand to the top of her skirt.

"Age is just a number, Gil," She whispers as she plants kisses under my ear and starts unbuttoning my shirt. "One that I've never been concerned with." Her fingers continue to work the buttons as she brings her face up to mine, sucking my bottom lip in between her lips, then whispers to me, "You make me feel alive. You make me feel whole. You make me feel beautiful."

I push us away from the door as I kiss her slowly and deeply, "Let me make love to you," I say against her mouth. It comes out as more of a plea than a question as we dance further into her apartment.

"Yes, oh God, Gil, yes," She answers, pulling the shirt from my body and wrapping her arms around my naked torso. Her breathy answer has fueled my passion even more, and our lips crash together roughly again, kissing with the unbridled passion we had shared only minutes before outside. I want to envelop her into my body, pull her as close to me as possible, and never let go.

We both jump when it happens, backing away from each other a few inches in surprise and I watch Sara's face contort in confusion. I feel it again; a vibration at my hip. Her gaze follows mine and grimaces form as we see the name flashing back at us on the display, "Catherine."

She shrugs, but I just move back to her, kissing her again. She pulls back in surprise.

"Gil, answer it." She says plainly. I shake my head "no" and pull her to me, keeping her slightly to the side so I'm the only one bothered by the phone on my belt. "It's work, I'm sure it's important."

"No," I say as I kiss any flesh I can find, my hands taking up their former exploration as I try to ignore the phone on my hip.

"Damn it," She says pulling away, a smile on her face though her tone is harsh. She pulls the phone of my belt and flips it open, handing it to me. My face falls, but she takes a deep breath and motions for me to talk.

"Grissom," I bark into the phone, trying to hide the fact that I'm breathing heavy.

"Well, hello to you too," I hear Catherine say sarcastically, though my eyes never leave Sara. She moves to sit on the arm of the couch, her hands running over her body as she tries to compose herself as well.

"What do you want? I'm kinda busy," I say, moving to close the few feet between me and Sara. I miss her in my arms, already.

"DB in a shallow grave, Brass called me in because swing shift's swamped. I've got some creepy crawlies for ya," She says, sounding mildly disgusted as she always does when talking about insects. Her act is grinding on my nerves, though. I kneel on the couch behind Sara, watching as her eyes become wide as my free hand starts to trace her shoulder.

"Can't you take care of it?" I ask as I push Sara's head forward, placing a silent kiss at the base of her neck before moving my hand under the flimsy fabric of her shirt and lifting it off of her body to reveal a strapless red lace bra. I gulp audibly.

"But, Gil, there are bugs here," She sounds confused.

"I said I was busy, Catherine." I prop the phone between the ear and my shoulder, freeing my hands to play on Sara's back. She takes a deep breath when I let the entire palms of my hands rest on her back, her whole body shuddering as she lets it out. I kneed her back with my hands slowly, and glance around to see that her eyes are closed, her bottom lip held tightly in between her teeth.

"What are we supposed to do with the bugs?" She asks, lost.

"What every other lab in the country that doesn't have a forensic entomologist on staff does. Goodbye, Catherine." I hang up on her stammering objection and toss the phone away.

~~~~~~~~~~

I turn to him, my eyes wide. He just gave up bugs for me. Bugs and the lab, to be precise. I never would have fathomed that he could ever do that; they always came first to him. I feel my breath coming faster and in stunted shudders, my eyes blazing into his. His hands have fallen to mine, and I see worry in his eyes.

"You didn't go," I say, the three words seeming so inadequate.

"No, I didn't." He says, pulling my whole body around so I'm sitting on the arm of the couch as he kneels on the cushion in front of me.

"Why?" For some reason I have to know, though I'm almost afraid of the answer.

"Because I'm with you," he says simply. "This is my time with you, now." He reaches a hand to caress my face. "They don't need me at that scene. And I need to be here with you."

"You gave up a scene for me," I say, turning my head to kiss his palm. I want him here with me. I want him to never leave again. I feel the hunger flow over me and I push off of the arm of the couch, landing on Grissom and pushing him onto his back. "God, that's sexy. Make love to me," I beg. "Make me forget my own name."

He groans as I mold my body to his. He claims my mouth hungrily and we duel, fighting for dominance in this passionate dance. His hands pull me to him, and I wish we could melt into each other. His hand rubs up and down my bare thigh, creeping up under my skirt higher each time.

I bury my head in his neck, relishing in being held and caressed. It feels so safe, so amazing, so euphoric to finally have all my fantasies come true. Every nerve in my body is alive at his touch, his kiss and his caress. He rolls so that I'm trapped between him and the back of the couch.

I let out a cry as he assaults my neck. I'm surrounded by him; every sense is overloaded with this man and I swear I could stay happy like this forever. His lips come back up to mine and he speaks between fevered kisses as a hand caresses me.

"Bedroom, Sara," he blurts out, driving me wild with his passion.

"Huh?" I say, lost in sensation, my cognitive abilities lost to his touch.

"I can't make love to you on a couch, Sara." He says before he lets his tongue graze along the crest of my ear. "Bedroom?" He asks again, tugging and sucking on my earlobe.

"Ugh, yeah," I say, pointing in the general direction of my bedroom. I hit his back a couple of times and point again to get his attention. He stops and laughs a little, turning his head to see where I'm pointing as I catch shallow breaths.

He pulls back and helps me up from the couch, stopping to kiss me deeply, then pulls back and caresses my face before leading me back to my bedroom. The sunset is shining through the window, so he leaves the lights off, and instead brings me around to the edge of the bed where the golden light is filtering in and stands me there.

He's in half shadow, his mysteriousness come to life. I reach out and let my hands slide down his chest. There's more muscle than I had expected in his torso, and it arouses me more than I thought it would. My hands drift lower to his belt, and I start to undo it, my eyes never straying form his own hungry gaze. I pull the leather out from the belt loops and toss it to the side.

I watch as he moves around me, sitting on the edge of the bed behind me. I crane my neck and watch as he places soft kisses on my lower back, turning back and closing my eyes to enjoy the sensation. His hands are strangely absent, and I know why when I hear his shoes hit the floor. I smile a little, but am jolted back to the feel of his hands on my hips.

He turns me around gently, placing a kiss just below my belly button. Then, he takes a hand, placing a kiss on my inner wrist before putting it on his shoulder. I watch as he reaches out and circles one thigh with both arms, trailing his fingers down the back of it and lifting my leg to his lap. He places a kiss on my knee before taking my sandal off and tossing it aside. He gently places this leg down and repeats the same action on the other.

When he places my other foot on the floor, devoid of its sandal, I pull him up to stand as well. I trail tiny kisses down his now slick torso, and move my hands to undo his pants, moving down with them as I slide them off, coming back up slowly.

I claim his mouth as I push him back onto the bed then pull away and roll over, scooting up to the pillows and watching as he crawls toward me like a lion on the prowl. His hands roam up my back as he buries his head in my chest. There is nothing in this world now but the two of us flying higher and higher into ecstacy.

I can't endure this sweet torture any longer. He kisses me again as his hands slide down and grasp the side of my lace panties. Suddenly he pulls back.

"Sara?" He asks, his hands sliding up my body. My eyes are closed and all I know is that he's not touching me anymore. They fly open to see him hovering above me. My eyes question, because my voice won't work. "Do we need...?" The question trails off, and I know what he's asking.

"Taken care of," I blurt out, praying he accepts the answer without question and comes back to my body. That Michelangelo mind of his is not short circuited by the passion as mine is, he is concerned, and I see it.

"Yes?" He asks, hopeful.

"Yes," I nod. Within milliseconds his lips are on mine, his body weight crushing me blissfully into the mattress as he slides the lace panties off of me. My breaths come in pants when he settles between my thighs and I can't breathe as he fills me. It's never felt this perfect before, this whole, this amazing. I look up into his eyes and we stare for a second, unmoving.

"Perfect," He whispers as he kisses me, still not moving, but relishing in this feeling, "Whole... beautiful," He kisses me as I wrap my legs around him. I see the emotions flutter through his irises as he raises a hand to caress my face and says a final word to me, "home."

I pull him down to me, needing to feel his lips on mine. We move together with the fluidity that we've established over the years at crime scenes and again in our personal relationship. Our skin yearns for the contact of the other, and we move together as the pace quickens, the uncontrollable passion taking over. I'm aware of everything, yet not as I am so lost in him. I am saying his name over and over as if in prayer. I feel the sweat gather on his back under my hands and I feel the rough yet loving caresses of his hands.

"Love you," He whispers as he kisses my face. "God, I love you," he says again, laying his lips on mine gently even as we keep up a frantic rhythm. Together we move past the confines of being separate people and merge into one whole being, exploding in our perfection.

We lay entwined, panting, and reluctant to move. His weight on me feels wonderful, and I just wrap myself up in his arms. His hands caress as we come down from our high, his lips planting occasional kisses wherever they land.

"I love you, Gil Grissom," I say, my hands framing his face as I press a chaste kiss to his lips. I stammer as I try to get the next words out, inexplicably shy after our encounter, "I've never... that was..."

"Unquantifiable," he finishes for me with a smile. His hand comes up and caresses my face before pulling me in closer to him, cradling me in the crook of his neck. "I love you, Sara," he whispers.