Wendy handed the results sheet to Sara with a smile.
"It was the son," she confirmed. Sara read the DNA report with a sigh; another life wasted.
"Thanks," she sighed, "I'll let Brass know." A bizarre murder at the local ice rink had turned out to be a simple case of an angry son left out of the inheritance. With a tired yawn she pulled out her phone and dialled Brass so he could arrest their murderer; then went to write up her report. Today was going to be one day she actually left on time. At precisely eight am she dropped her report on Catherine's desk and then headed for the locker room. She was just putting her coat on when the guys burst in, laughing.
"Sara, Mrs Marks said we could use the ice rink free of charge this morning," grinned Greg. "Get your stuff, let's go," he laughed, as giddy as a school child.
"Sorry Greg," she apologised, "I have plans this morning."
"Yeah right," taunted Nick, "you're just afraid of getting creamed by us."
"Uh, no!" retorted Sara. "Sorry Nick, but I really have somewhere to be." Nick rolled his eyes as Hodges, Archie and Bobby all laughed.
"Fifty bucks says I could beat you in a race around the rink!" pushed Nick. Wendy and Mandy were stood in the doorway, casually observing the conversation.
"I'll take that bet," said Catherine, walking out from the shower room at the end of the row of lockers. "But I'll raise you to a hundred that Sara can't beat you."
"Fine," shrugged Sara. "You have a wager. I will meet you on the ice in two hours. Don't be late." With that she gathered her bag and left.
"Ten on Nick," said Hodges.
"Fifty on Sara," disagreed Mandy.
"One hundred on Sara," raised Wendy. Greg snorted with laughter.
"No way, Nick's a jock and Sara's just a science nerd." Shaking his head in amusement he grabbed his stuff. "See you there."
...
Walking into the house Sara kicked off her shoes and dumped her stuff on the kitchen counter before heading for the bedroom. Gil put aside the book he had been perusing while waiting for her as she crawled onto the bed next to him.
"How was shift?" he asked, pulling her close.
"Long. Did you have a nice day?"
"Yes, but I missed you." He kissed her tenderly, his fingers gently playing with her hair.
"Mmmm," she hummed with pleasure. "I missed you too." He carefully rolled her onto her stomach and helped her out of her jacket, then began massaging her back.
"Did you tell them I'm back yet?" he asked.
"No," she sighed with pleasure as his fingers worked their magic on her tired muscles. "I have to go skating later with the team though. Do you want to come with me?"
"Sure. It sounds like fun." Sara snorted disdainfully.
"It's Nick's fault," she grumbled. "He challenged me to race him around the rink in front of everyone. I could hardly turn him down when they were all taking his bets."
"What was his wager?"
"Fifty dollars." Grissom laughed.
"I'm definitely coming with you honey. I want to see the smug look wiped off his face when he gets his ass kicked."
"I heard Greg say that there was no way I could beat him because he's a jock, and I'm just a science nerd."
"I beg to differ," he whispered in her ear as she rolled under him. "You are so, so much more than a science nerd." Sara laughed with him, then reached up and gently stroked his cheek before pulling him down to her lips. They kissed, caressed and cuddled, forgetting everything but themselves until Hank skittered into the room, intent on getting his share of attention. "How long until we have to be there?" he asked, getting to his feet. Sara craned her neck to look at the clock.
"About an hour and fifteen minutes," she replied, sitting up and stretching leisurely.
"Are you hungry yet?"
"A little," she said and she stood and began stripping off her work clothes.
"I made spicy tomato and rice soup earlier, do you want a cup?" he paused in the doorway, his gaze lingering lovingly over her body as she disrobed.
"Have I mentioned yet today that I love you?" she grinned, blowing him a kiss across the room.
...
Dressed in leggings and a long-sleeved fitted top that came down to mid-thigh under a warm Harvard zip up sweatshirt, Sara walked into the ice rink hand in hand with her grinning husband. They found the team trying on skates rink side, hunting for the appropriate size and fit.
"Gil," squealed Catherine, abandoning her shoes and rushing forward to hug him. Very quickly the team crowded around to welcome home their fearless leader and accuse Sara of hiding him away from them.
"She hasn't been hiding me," he protested, wrapping an arm protectively around his wife and kissing her temple. "I've been hiding myself; jetlag is exhausting."
"You skating with us Gris?" asked Greg as he worked his feet into a pair of skates.
"Absolutely," agreed Gil, walking over to the counter to trade his street shoes. He joined Sara on a bench as the rest of the team continued getting ready.
"You are so going down Harvard; it's not too late to duck out you know. I totally understand if you're afraid," taunted Nick.
"Dream on cowboy," Sara yelled over her shoulder.
"You ready for this?" Gil asked her quietly as she unzipped her sports bag and pulled out her own blades.
"He's not going to know what hit him," she smirked as she laced up and pulled leg warmers into place over the top of her boots, her pony tail falling over her shoulder and into her face. Gil smoothed it back for her, once again mesmerised by the alluring style.
"Gloves," he said, pulling two pairs from his jeans pocket as they shed their jackets. Sara smiled at him and slipped hers on. Gil looped his arm through hers and they walked over to the gate, waiting for Nick. Greg and Catherine came over to wait for them, both wobbling as they tried to become accustomed to their new footwear.
"Hey dude," Greg called out to Nick, "Sara has her own skates. Still want to hold that bet?"
"Definitely," assured Nick as he joined them. "I was into sports well before I got into science. Sara's been a science nerd her entire life." Grissom started laughing as Nick stepped carefully onto the ice, testing his balance; Gil's eyes met Sara's and he saw the stifled giggles in her face at Nick's Texas sized confidence. Greg grabbed the wall and slithered onto the ice, battling to stay upright. Catherine joined him, keeping her legs locked as she slid forward, grimly working on her balance. Winking at her husband, Sara stripped off the plastic guards from her blades and stepped out onto the ice, gliding slowly along the wall, holding on with one hand.
"Having trouble there sugar," smirked Nick as Ray and a handful of lab rats gathered on the dry side of the wall. Mandy slid effortlessly out onto the ice, pulling Wendy along behind her.
"Let's get this over with," retorted Sara. Stopping by the second blue line she let go of the wall and waited. Gil was putting the last of four cones in the corners before skating over to them. "You want time to warm up?" she asked. Nick laughed.
"I'm good to go; you trying to put this off?" he wanted to know. Sara shook her head and took a deep breath, centring herself.
"I'm fine," she told him, glad she had stretched and loosened her muscles before arriving.
"Three laps, you must pass behind each cone and then cross the blue line. Archie is going to time you, I will be watching for any cheating. Get ready, and good luck Nick," he smirked, skating over to Sara.
"Kick his ass honey," he encouraged, kissing her cheek.
"You got it," she returned, giving him a smile that made his heart warm.
"Ok, on three," he called, skating over to the middle of the rink with the rest of the skaters, out of the way. "Three, two, one, GO." Sara pushed out with her right leg, letting Nick get ahead of her as they moved into the curve; he laughed, teasing her as he pulled out of the curve ahead of her. Grinning, Sara put effort into her skating, quickly catching up to Nick and pulling level.
"You were saying?" she asked, before pulling away and leaving him behind. Her team mates erupted into cheers as Sara blasted around the second bend like a pro. Scrabbling to catch up, Nick began wildly chasing her down.
"He's going to lose his balance if he doesn't even out his strides," commented Mandy, as the pair moved into the final lap.
"You're right," nodded Greg, "he's going doowwwnnn," the former lab rat flinched in pain as Nick tripped and flew forward as the pair pulled out of the first bend. Seeing him careening toward her Sara swerved to the left to avoid him, then realized she was about to go out of bounds. Twisting to face the wall she jammed her skates sideways into the ice and let them skid to a stop, throwing up a spray of icy snow. A bevy of whistles and cheers of admiration assaulted her ears and she turned to check on Nick.
"Are you ok?" she asked him, concerned. His response was to lunge to his feet unsteadily and try and sweep her out of the way. Eyes wide, Sara used her skates to glide backwards and out of harm's way. She began to skate backwards faster as Nick struggled to get his feet under him. Seeing Sara's grin at his stumbling Nick scowled at her and lurched forward, finally settling into a smoother stride. Sara turned and concentrated on pulling out of the last bend then gasped as she felt Nick grab onto the back of her sweater and try to bush her aside.
"Cheat," bellowed Grissom.
Lunging to the right she managed to shake Nick loose and with a burst of speed she flew down the ice and across the finish line. Just to add insult to Nick's loss injury she added a double axel jump before curving gently back to the centre of the ice and bowing gracefully to her challenger, amid applause from the onlookers. There was a flurry of activity as people began to trade money and pay up their bets. Grissom slid over next to her and pulled her into a hug.
"Well done," he whispered in her ear.
"He plays dirty," grumbled Sara.
"Never mind," grinned Gil, before pulling her into a warm kiss. Hearing a dirty whistle come from Greg they broke apart as Nick skated over.
"Never assume Nick," grinned Grissom with unholy amusement in his eyes at the ass kicking his wife had just delivered to his former employee.
"I leaned to skate in college; my roommate was a brilliant athlete, but dreadful at math."
"Whatever," Nick rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet. "Can you play hockey too?" he asked as the team began to flood onto the ice clutching sticks, pucks and padding. As they split up into teams and began a very ragged game of ice hockey Sara found herself laughing more than actually playing as most of her co-workers wobbled across the ice battling to stay upright as they attempted to chase down the puck.
Looking up she saw her husband laughing at Greg as the younger man slid unceremoniously into the goal on his back, head first. Gil's eyes met hers and she smiled; this had been a good idea after all. It was nice to be out with the team, wonderful to be in the company of her husband and, she thought as she watched Nick crash into the barrier, she was now fifty dollars richer.