A/N: This idea just sort of popped into my head when I was reading through other vacation based fics on the site...they seemed like a lot of fun to write so I thought I'd give it a try. It might seem a little far fetched at first, but give it a chance.
Summary: Grissom drunkenly books the team a holiday that he can't back out of, but maybe it won't be so bad after all. It is pre-cannon and most definately a GSR based story, however there will mor than likely be some YoBling (WCR) and maybe even some Nick/Greg hinting as well. It's set after Who Shot Sherlock? and Greggo's graduation to CSI. So spoilers for that ep, but not really many others, however it has been found that a few quotes from season 7 have worked their way into the dialogue in later chapters...instead of complaining why not try and recognise them. It'll be a fun game! ... Or you could just read the story.
"Congratulations Greggo, you are now a CSI level 1!" Grissom beamed at the young man, a strange feeling of paternal pride sweeping over him.
"Woohoo!" The rest of the team cheered and a bottle of champagne was popped open. Greg blushed slightly at all the attention he was receiving. To say he was elated would have been an understatement; he was convinced he was going back to the labs for good.
"Hey we should go out to celebrate properly!" Catherine suggested as shift drew nearer to a close. The rest of the team unanimously agreed and turned, in unison, to give Grissom a questioning look.
"You in?" Enquired Nick. Grissom considered for a moment.
"Oh come on! This is Greg's graduation celebration, you can't miss it!" Sara looked at him, her brown eyes pleading with him to come; not for her sake, because she had pretty much given up on that front, but she knew it would mean a lot to Greg. He couldn't say no to those eyes; as much as he'd like to pretend otherwise.
"Alright then." He agreed to go, resulting in another celebration from the team. Grissom grimaced, what had he just gotten himself into?
After shift they went home and freshened up then met up at the Lucky Star bar that they usually frequented. Given the unusual hours that they worked, the bar was rarely busy when they got there and usually only started to fill up when they were leaving, so it suited them perfectly. They chose a booth against the back wall and they all squeezed in.
It wasn't long before the waitress arrived with the first round of drinks. The team took it in turns to make speeches congratulating Greg and welcoming as the newest member of the team. By the time everyone had finished their speeches everyone had had enough to drink that they felt relaxed and more comfortable around each other. The conversation flowed effortlessly through the group and so did the drinks and before long everyone was slurring their words and sharing stories they ordinarily wouldn't. By the end of the night Greg professed his undying love for everyone at least twice.
"You know what?" Grissom spoke up from his seat at the head of the table. "This has actually been...fun." He smiled the smile of a drunken man.
"See I told you, we're not so bad. You should come out with us more often." Catherine gloated with glazed over eyes.
"Yeah!" The rest of the team agreed.
"You're right Catherine. We should all spend more time together. You know what we should do?" Grissom's eyes widened as an idea came into his mind.
"What?" Everyone leaned in, listening intently, waiting to hear what Grissom had to say.
"We should take a vacation together!"
"Yeah!" Everyone shouted excitedly.
"Seriously!" Grissom nodded his head violently to emphasise his point, not entirely convinced the team understood his brilliant and intricate plan. "Let's go on a vacation!"
"Alright then boss man!" Sara smirked at him. It made him feel dizzier than all the alcohol in his system. "Where are we going to go?"
"I don't know? Where would you like to go?" He asked.
"Somewhere warm!" Catherine yelled.
"Somewhere with a beach!" Sara added.
"Somewhere with clubs!" Greg shouted excitedly.
"Miami?" Suggested Nick.
"No! Too orange!" Catherine quickly put a stop to the idea.
"I've got it!" Greg cried out. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before." He chastised himself.
"What you mean all 2 minutes ago Greggo?" Sara said sarcastically.
"Yeah!" Greg was oblivious to sarcasm. "My parents!" He said as though it were some great revelation.
"Uhh...What about them Greg?" Warrick asked on behalf of the team who were all eagerly awaiting the end of Greg's sentence.
"Oh...they have a beach house in California! It's warm with a beach and I know for a fact they have some awesome clubs there!" He smiled at his genius.
"You know Greg that's not a bad idea." Grissom smiled; a Californian beach holiday sounded great.
"Not bad?" Catherine faked indignation. "That idea is nothing short of brilliant Greggo! Are you sure your parents won't mind us using it though?" She asked.
"No they hardly ever go there. And they're always telling me that I should use it, so...let's!"
"Alright!" Said Grissom, producing his cell phone and wallet from his pocket and walking out into the hallway.
The team looked at each other in great confusion and awaited his return. When he came back Grissom sat back down in his chair with an accomplished smile on his face. "Well that's that sorted." He informed them, getting five confused looks in return.
"I booked flights leaving next Monday and coming back the Monday after. Oh and I left a message for the sheriff requesting a week's vacation for the team." The looks of confusion morphed into those of disbelief; who was this man and what had he done with their boss? In any case they all left the bar deciding that Grissom should get drunk more often.
-
'Oh my head!' Grissom winced in pain as the light hit his just opened eyes and sent a sharp pain all the way to the back of his brain. Groaning he cursed his team as he sat up in his bed.
"Never again." He muttered groggily to himself as he swallowed two aspirin and downed a pint of water. Realising he had to be at work in an hour he forced himself to shower as he tried to recall the events of the previous night. His memory was sketchy at best. He could remember drinking. Drinking a lot judging by the throbbing pain in his head. He could remember Catherine talking about going on vacation and something about Greg and California, but he couldn't remember what. He could remember that Sara smiled at him. He chose to dwell on that memory as he drove to work rather than his lack of any other memory.
"Hey Gil!" Catherine greeted him brightly when he entered the lab. From the pained expression on his face at the loud sound of her voice she guessed he was feeling much the same as Nick and Greg were right now. "Rough night, huh?" She asked, unable to keep the gloating smile from her face.
"You could say that." He answered, collecting the assignment slips from his office and heading towards the break room to give them out to the rest of the team. Catherine followed him every step of the way, continuing to talk to him as he tried to ignore her. He managed to brush her off by handing out assignments and sending everyone to work. He paired himself with Sara, in a combined effort to make his shift a lot easier and to find out if he had embarrassed himself in front of her in his drunken state last night.
Back in the lab Grissom locked himself in his office and swallowed down another two aspirin, hoping these two would do the trick and end his pain. Sitting down at his desk he noticed a piece of paper sitting on it that hadn't been there when he left. It was a letter from the sheriff.
RE: VACATION REQUEST
Grissom blinked after reading the subject of the letter. He skimmed through it. 'Dear Mr Grissom...I am pleased to grant your requested vacation time for you and your team...excellent idea...excess vacation time collected...week beginning Monday 10th of May...ending Wednesday 19th of May.'
What? Wondering what the letter was all about Grissom picked up his phone and dialled the sheriff, hoping to get find the origin of this letter. He suspected a rat, a rat named Ecklie, might have some involvement in it.
"Hello." The sheriff answered.
"Hello Sherriff. It's Gil Grissom here, from the Crime Lab."
"Oh Dr Grissom hello, is this about your vacation request?"
"Yes...about that..." Grissom began but was cut off.
"Yes I think it's a wonderful idea, you and the team going away. You all have so much built up vacation time I thought I was going to have to force you to take it." He said with a small laugh.
"Yes, but..."
"And no it's not a problem the entire team taking the same week off. To be honest with you I think it will be a great team building experience, a wonderful idea you had. I hope you all enjoy yourselves." He finished. Grissom didn't know what was going on and rather than risk the sheriff finding that out he decided to end the call.
"Ok then...uhh...Thank you." He hung up the phone more confused than ever.
'Oh shit! What have I done?' He dropped his head to the table and closed his eyes. Maybe if he shut them tight enough the whole thing would be erased from his mind.
-
There was only a half hour left in the shift when Catherine appeared in his doorway. He was studying the letter from the sheriff, in the dim hope that it might offer him some information about what had happened last night. From the other side of his desk Catherine could make out the subject of the letter.
"You don't remember what happened last night do you?" She laughed. He stared at her for a second then shook his head.
"You got drunk." She started.
"I knew that!" He interrupted, she shot him a look.
"You got very drunk and decided that you actually liked spending time with us outside work. Then you came up with the idea that we should all go on vacation together and you booked us flights to California and called the sheriff." She filled him in.
"Oh...Well...I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Grissom began. He wasn't exactly sure how this vacation would go. And a week of seeing Sara in a bikini being ogled by young Californian men sounded nothing short of hellish to him.
"Look the rest of you guys can go! I don't really feel like taking a vacation."
"No way!" Catherine shouted, her raised voice hitting a sore spot in his headache. "You are not backing out of this Gil. Come on! Everyone is so excited." She pleaded with him. He still looked doubtful.
"Sara's really looking forward to it." Yes, she was willing to stoop that low to get him to go.
"So?" Grissom said defensively. Why would he care if Sara was looking forward to her vacation any more than her cared about his other team members?
"So..." Catherine rolled her eyes; this man was so dense. "So don't you think a relaxing beach holiday would be the perfect opportunity to get to know Sara better, reform your friendship? Get a little closer? Maybe even start things up between you guys?" She made it blatantly obvious to him. He opened his mouth to say something.
"Oh don't even try to deny it." She cut him off. "I've seen the way you look at her and the way you two interact. A woman knows these things Gil. And a woman who is also a trained investigator notices them even more." She raised her eyebrows at him. He knew she was right. He sighed and gave in.
"We leave next Monday." He relented. Catherine smiled victoriously and left the office in search of the guys to fill them in. Grissom sighed again in his empty office and dropped his head back to the desk.
'You know,' He thought to himself. 'Cath may have a point. This holiday could be good for me and Sara. Maybe even give me the push I need to ask her out.' He sat up and smiled. Suddenly this vacation didn't seem so bad after all.