SPOILERS: Yes! 10x1 spoilers based on clips that are out there.
DISCLAIMER: I made no money from the writing of this fic.
SUMMARY: Looking at the empty shelves, it felt like the first day of school.
NOTES: Beta'd by the always lovely mingsmommy. Inspired from the clip that was on the People site the other day as well as the LiveJournal group 1hour2write September picture challenge.
The cool metal of the locker door warmed her heart, even if it made her physically shiver. Sara had forgotten how cold the lab could get and she spared a moment to be grateful she had remembered to grab a jacket.
When she left the Las Vegas Crime Lab, the last thing she had done was clean out her locker. Empty shelves and a too crowded mind, and when she shut the door all those months ago, coming back was not something she thought would ever happen.
Her locker had still been empty when she walked back into the quiet room. No new nametag had attached itself to the door or anyone's stuff cluttering the shelves. If she knew her friends, and she felt she did, they'd probably fought off everyone who had even had the stray thought of attempting to take over her former space.
The time away had been freeing, healing. She had seen the world, reacquainting herself with the beauty of nature instead of the ugliness of mankind. And, after a time, a time filled with equal parts doubt and determination, reacquainting herself with the man she loved. The two of them had rediscovered each other. The overwhelming heat of the jungle or the desert had nothing on the heat of their love.
And now she was back. Back in the desert, and back in her job, with a renewed desire to help people; her ghosts no longer haunting her thoughts. Back to the nightshift, and bad coffee, and having to get up in the middle of the afternoon to walk Hank.
But the last part wasn't such a chore really. She'd missed the slobber monster.
And this evening, while she was walking out the door, she had picked up the plastic rectangle her husband (a thought which thrilled her every time she said it or thought it) had pressed into her hand when they had parted.
"Don't say anything, just surprise them with it." His twinkling blue eyes and mischievous smile had convinced her it was a good idea.
She was early, almost an hour early for her first shift back, but nerves had to be settled somehow, and so she started unloading her bag like it was the first day of school. Bottles of water and a lovingly stocked lunch-kit. Magnets, some kitschy souvenir ones along with some that were practical, stuck to the door then quickly used to hang pictures and notes. A photo from their wedding, one of the team from a few years ago, a few from some of the places they'd been, including one from atop the Eiffel Tower, some ticket stubs from the Cubs game they went to earlier this summer, and a note from her husband wishing her luck. The last thing was the magnetic nameplate he'd pressed on her. She closed the door and attached it to the outside.
Grissom
It looked nice. It was a good name, one that she was slowly getting used to being her own. Though she still had a heck of a time signing it. Nearly forty years of being a Sidle was a tough habit to break.
She could hear Greg laughing and Nick's voice was muffled by the lab noise, but she knew they were close, so she ducked down to the end of the lockers wondering how long it would take her fellow CSIs to notice the change.
"I'm telling you Greggo, we're going to be pulling doubles until we retire. We'll have nice homes from all the OT, but we'll be too old to enjoy them." Sara could see Nick's back from her vantage point, and could tell he had his locker open.
"What makes you think Riley's quitting? I know she and Cath have had some rough patches, but enough for her to leave?" Greg voice was echoing down to her, so he must have opened his locker as well.
"I'm telling you. If she's still here by the end of shift, I'll..."
"Yes?" Greg sounded like Greg. Always enthusiastic.
"I'll play 'The Beatles: Rock Band' with you and Mandy after shift," Nick said, though he didn't really sound like it was going to be too much of a burden. "But you two have to lay off Yellow Submarine. Brass caught me humming it at the scene last night."
"You know you want to play it. If only so you can sing I Want to Hold Your Hand to Mandy." Sara could practically hear Greg rolling his eyes. Wait, Nick and Mandy? She definitely had questions for them.
"Yeah, well, that's probably all I'll ever get to do with her unless we get some new people hired." Nick closed his locker and Sara saw him turn towards Greg. The nametag should be right in his line of sight. His gasp and step back into her line of sight again was a sure sign he had.
"What?" Greg asked.
Nick raised his arm to point at her locker. "Grissom's back?"
"But, that's Sara's locker," Greg said with more than a hint of pout in his voice.
"Well," Sara said stepping out of her hiding place, "maybe not the Grissom you're thinking, but it's definitely still my locker."
Twin cries of "Oh my God!" and "Sara!" erupted from both of them as they rushed over to hug her. Her head was swimming from their questions, and she actually found it easier to open up her locker and share the pictures with them rather than retelling the whole story without the visual references. She was smiling and laughing, telling the guys stories of her adventures when Catherine came in, looking relieved and more than happy to see her. The other woman even hugged her and thanked her for coming to help out.
All in all, Sara was glad to be back. Back among her friends. Back where she could make a difference in someone's life, to bring some closure for what was usually the worst day in a person's life. She was even a little glad to be back amongst the nocturnal dwellers of the crime lab.
It had been hard to leave, harder to stay away, but the time away and the time alone with Gil had cleansed her soul and helped her find something that had been missing for too long.
Her smile.