Title: Repayment
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: No, I still have nothing whatsoever to do with CSI – what do you mean they're glad about that??!!
Spoilers: None that I know of
Summary: An incident at a lake leaves Greg scared and Grissom and Sara out for revenge… and wet.
Thanks: A HUGE thank you to Sharon for allowing me to borrow her evil mind ;)
Notes: This is a total fluff piece and I have no idea where it came from.

Part 1 of 3

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"Greg!" shrieked Sara as her body made contact with the cold water of Lake Mead. The younger man's eyes grew wide with fear and he cautiously backed away. He didn't get far before another voice bellowed at him.

"Sanders! What the hell were you doing?" Gil Grissom stood up in the water, droplets trickling down his face, his clothes completely soaked.

"Crap. I'm sorry," apologized Greg immediately. "I just… I didn't mean it."

The whole incident was like something out of a comedy. Greg had been over-excited ever since they arrived at the scene, as Sara was giving him a lot of responsibility in regard to evidence collection. In his haste, he hadn't noticed Grissom and Sara standing at the edge of the lake, trying to figure out if any of the ground had been disturbed – luckily for him, they had just established that it hadn't been. Greg needed to retrieve something from his kit and whirled around in his usual manner, at such speed that, when he collided with Grissom, the momentum caused the nightshift supervisor to lose his footing and stumble into Sara. In turn, she lost her footing and fell into the lake, grabbing onto Grissom's arm with such force that he followed her into the wet abyss.

Greg was so scared he didn't even have to suppress a chuckle at the sight of his supervisor who epitomized the phrase 'drowned rat' at that moment in time. He started backing away again and then, when Grissom turned to check on Sara, he broke into a run and headed to the safety of the officers posted at the crime scene.

"That boy is going to be the death of me!" grumbled Grissom as he ran a hand through his wet hair, trying to keep drips out of his eyes. "You okay?"

Sara was still submerged in the water, only her head above the surface. Her teeth were chattering, showing how cold the water was, but she wasn't making any attempt to move.

"You going to stay in here all night?" teased Grissom, looking at her curiously. A blush crept up her cheeks and his expression turned to that of confusion. "Sara? Are you okay?" She nodded. "Well, come on, let's go."

"Uh, I…" she stammered, partly because she was too cold to speak clearly and partly because of embarrassment.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you remember what I was wearing tonight, Grissom?" she finally managed to say. He didn't reply, just looked at her like she'd grown two heads and shrugged. "Here's a hint." Sara moved slightly so that her shoulders were now visible above the water and Grissom's eyes mimicked Greg's earlier alarmed expression. Sara was wearing a white t-shirt. She was mentally kicking herself. She very rarely wore anything other than dark colors to work, but she hadn't had time to do laundry lately and had grabbed one of the only clean items in her dresser that evening.

"Oh, uh… Hang on." Grissom started to unzip his jacket, but then shook his head, realizing it would not be the easiest thing to remove when it was waterlogged. "Where's your vest?" he asked her, suddenly remembering she hadn't been wearing it when she arrived at the scene. Neither had he, so he couldn't exactly reprimand her about it, but she also hadn't been wearing a jacket.

"In the car," she replied. "And before you ask, no, I don't have a jacket with me, I left it in my locker." The night air had actually been fairly warm when she left for the scene, though it was now an hour later and the temperature had dropped considerably.

Nodding, he turned away from her and looked back out at the shore. He considered leaving the lake but, for some reason, he didn't want to leave Sara alone. "Greg!" he yelled, startling Sara and making her mutter a curse about her ears.

Greg slowly walked back to them, puzzled that they hadn't gotten out of the water. As Grissom yelled again, he increased his pace and came to a stop at the water's edge.

"Go to the car and get Sara's equipment vest," ordered Grissom. He then thought to check who had the keys and Sara held them above the water. Taking them from her, he passed them to Greg and told him to be quick. Greg ran to the SUV, retrieved the vest and was back in record time.

Grissom took the vest from Greg and passed it back to Sara. Taking it gratefully, she slipped it on under the water and fastened it to preserve her modesty. Grissom told Greg return to his task of packing up evidence and waited until he had left before turning to Sara.

"You ready?" She nodded and he walked out of the water with her right behind him. Sara was rather surprised that he had stayed in the water for so long, but she was glad he had. As soon as they were both on dry land, Grissom turned around to make sure she was okay. "Do you have a change of clothes at the lab?"

Sara started to nod her head and then stopped. "Actually, my stuff is in my bag in the car, I forgot to put it in my locker earlier. I had to change during shift yesterday and was gonna replace everything today," she babbled.

Something seemed to spark in Grissom's mind, if the look in his eyes was anything to go by, and he nodded before saying, "Get your bag and then get into my Denali." He passed her the keys, ignoring her confused look and made a shooing motion. Wordlessly, Sara followed his instructions, wondering why she wasn't going to be driving back to the lab with Greg.

Sara was further surprised when she saw Grissom and Greg load all the evidence into the back of her SUV, as Grissom would normally take the majority of it back to the lab himself. Grissom soon walked over to the Denali, with Greg close behind, and got into the driver's seat. Greg tapped on Sara's window and she lowered it so she could talk to him.

"Sara, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it, I just –"

"It's okay, Greg," she interrupted with a smile. "If I thought for even a second that you planned this, you wouldn't be breathing right now."

The look of panic on Greg's face brought a smile to Grissom's lips as he watched the exchange.

"Greg, take the evidence back to the lab and get started processing. If there's anything you're not sure of how to handle, either ask someone for help, or wait until we get back. Understand?" said Grissom. The younger man nodded.

"Wait, what do you mean 'wait until you get back'? You're not heading back now?" asked Greg worriedly.

Grissom looked down at his wet clothes and then regarded Greg sternly. "Believe me, Greg, you don't want to be around me right now." With that, he pressed the button to raise Sara's window and then drove away.

"Where are we going?" asked Sara as she looked in the mirror and saw Greg staring after them.

"I don't know about you, but I have to change."

"Yes, but –" The rest of Sara's comment died on her lips as Grissom turned on the stereo, increasing the volume and indicating he wasn't in the mood for talking.

---

"You're not coming?" asked Grissom as he started to get out of the SUV. Sara looked at him, wrinkling her brow in confusion. She recognized where they were, but it was the last place she expected.

"We're at your house," she stated bluntly.

"100 on observation," he said dryly. "Get your bag." He closed the door behind him and walked towards his front door, fully expecting Sara to follow. When he didn't hear any movement, he turned around and stared at her until she finally exited the vehicle.

"What are we doing here?"

"I'm in the same situation as you," he explained. "I used up my spare set of clothes at the lab yesterday, but I forgot to take a new set today."

"Okay," said Sara slowly, "but why am I here? Why couldn't I go back to the lab with Greg?"

Opening the door, he ushered Sara inside, only answering her question when the door was closed behind them. "It's a long drive back from the lake to the lab, this place is closer." Sara still looked dubious. "I'm trying to stop you catching pneumonia; do you have any idea the paperwork I'd have to fill out if that happened?"

The smirk adorning his face proved that he was teasing her, but that just made her wonder even more why she was there.

"Seriously, Grissom, I could have just gone back to the lab."

"And you wouldn't have felt the need to make sure Greg delivered all the evidence to the correct place first? Or felt you had to show him how to process certain items?" His raised eyebrows, daring her to challenge his words and she lowered her gaze in defeat. "The main bathroom is this way," he said, walking towards the back of his house and opening a door for her. She stepped past him and he closed the door, leaving her inside the bathroom and him outside.

Sara opened her bag and carefully removed her spare set of clothes, but quickly let out a curse and started rummaging. A minute later, she opened the bathroom door again and walked back into the living room. Grissom was still there, getting a drink of water from the kitchen.

"Something wrong?"

"Uh, no," she replied unconvincingly. "I just… I forgot to pack something, that's all."

"Anything I can do?"

She flushed with embarrassment, but still managed to keep enough composure to embarrass him as well. "Not unless you have some women's underwear around here somewhere."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so…" she trailed off. She was trying to decide whether she was up to going 'commando' for the rest of the shift, especially when Grissom would now know that's what she was doing. She also figured it wouldn't be long until Greg realized it as well, in relation to the upper half of her body at least, as her spare t-shirt was also white.

"You can put your stuff in the dryer," said Grissom, pointing to a closet. "Hang on for a minute." He walked away and returned a few minutes later with a robe in his hand. "You can use this. Just put your stuff in the dryer while you shower. I'll be in my room." As soon as Sara took the robe from him, he disappeared again and she walked back into the bathroom to change.

After stripping off her clothes and dressing in the robe, Sara carefully opened the bathroom door and checked for any signs of Grissom before crossing to the closet containing the dryer. Tossing in her underwear, she set the machine to dry for ten minutes and then went to take her shower, smiling when she found that Grissom had placed unopened bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel on the toilet seat, obviously retrieved from his own bathroom. The shampoo and conditioner were surprisingly the make she used at home and she smiled a little at how similar their tastes were.

Dressed in the robe again, Sara crept out of the bathroom after her shower and checked on the status of her underwear. The machine was finished the drying cycle, but the stuff wasn't yet dry. She set it for another ten minutes and walked back into the bathroom with the intention of toweling dry her hair while she waited.

---

Ten minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom once more, still wearing the robe. This time her underwear was dry and she had just grabbed the garments and closed the closet door when she heard a noise behind her. Whirling around, she found Grissom standing in front of her, his eyes drawn to the scraps of material she was holding in her hands. Embarrassed, she quickly put her hands behind her back and then stared back at him, unsure of what to do next.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were out here," said Grissom quietly. "I thought you would have been finished by now."

"Your dryer took longer than expected," she explained. "I, uh… I'll go get dressed."

As she walked past him, Grissom turned around and called to her. She stopped and looked back. "Are you hungry?" he asked. She shrugged. "I didn't take anything to the lab, so I'm going to make myself a sandwich. Do you want one?"

"Uh, sure," she replied, shrugging again. "Just no –"

"Meat," he finished. "I know."

Sara entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her, her mind trying to figure out what was happening. Never in a million years would she have expected to be offered the use of a shower in Grissom's home, and the use of his robe would never have entered her imagination, except maybe in her fantasies.

In the kitchen, Grissom was reveling in the fact his own fantasies come partially true by seeing Sara wearing his robe and he busied himself making food to try and get himself under control. He didn't know why he had brought her to his home; it was as though some sort of natural instinct had taken over him, controlling his actions. He actually felt more comfortable about the whole thing than he thought he would and surmised that being in his own home contributed to that. But still, he wasn't the sort of person who shared easily and having Sara in his home made him a little wary. Seeing her clothed in only his robe increased that wariness.

It was only a few minutes later when Sara returned, fully dressed and carrying her bag in one hand and Grissom's robe in the other. "Thanks," she said as she held out the robe.

"Just toss it on my bed," he instructed, continuing to slice tomatoes. Sara looked at him curiously, having expected him to want to wash the robe after she'd worn it, but she did as he asked, passing the bathroom and noticing a door ajar, behind which lay his bedroom. She found herself nervous when stepping inside, but shook herself and threw the robe on the bed before quickly retreating.

Stepping back into the living room, she found Grissom pouring them some juice at the breakfast bar. He held out a glass and a plate of sandwiches for her, which she quickly took. After looking around for somewhere to sit, she eventually followed Grissom to the couch.

They had just started eating when Grissom's cellphone rang. He stood up and retrieved it from his jacket, holding it to his ear as he answered.

"Grissom…"

"Catherine…"

Sara smiled a little when Grissom rolled his eyes at whatever Catherine was saying. He motioned to her to keep eating and she slowly took another bite of her sandwich, washing it down with some juice.

"Just help him out if you can," said Grissom into the phone, emitting a sigh as he spoke. "What? Didn't Greg tell you? We had an incident at the scene and had to go home to change…"

Sara dipped her head and smiled when she realized he hadn't said that both he and Sara were changing at his house.

"I'll be back before the end of shift. Bye." He hung up the phone and retook his seat beside Sara.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Greg has been wandering around the lab looking pitiful apparently," he replied, taking a sip of juice. "Catherine was wondering where we were."

"Greg didn't tell her what happened?"

"No, though I'm sure Catherine will now ask."

"Huh. He must be afraid everyone will help us plot revenge against him," she grinned.

"We have the two best minds in the lab, why would we need help?" he asked, genuinely interested in her reason.

Smiling at the inadvertent compliment, she replied, "We usually use our minds for good instead of evil."

"Consider it as an experiment."

"So, we are going to exact revenge then?" she queried in surprise.

"One way or another, yes. For one thing, Greg needs to learn to take more care at crime scenes; what if there had been evidence at the shoreline?"

"I think he's learned that lesson now," she smiled. "But, I'm up for a little revenge if you are."

They lapsed into silence as they finished their food. Once they had both finished, Grissom stacked Sara's plate onto his own and took them and their glasses into the kitchen. Sara stood up, thinking they were about to leave, but then noticed him start the coffee maker and sat back down.

"What kind of revenge are you thinking about for Greg?" she asked, standing up again and moving to the breakfast bar, facing Grissom who was getting mugs ready.

"He hasn't been to a decomp yet, right?" he smirked in reply.

"That's it?" There was a tone of mild incredulity mixed with disappointment in her voice.

"Not enough?" he queried, wondering what she had in mind.

"Well, you're the one who said we had the two best minds in the lab. If all we can come up with is putting him on a case that'll make him smell, but one which he'll probably learn a lot on, I think we should be glad we're not criminals. Besides, it could be a while before there's another decomp on our shift."

Grissom nodded his agreement to her words and proceeded to pour their coffee, making it just the way Sara liked it, much to her delight. Taking his mug, he walked back over to the couch and Sara followed, sitting down beside him.

"Wow, it's pretty late," she noted, looking at the time on Grissom's VCR. "Nearly end of shift."

"Yeah. I can drop you at home if you want, you can get your car next shift."

"No, it's okay," she replied, shaking her head but smiling at his offer, "I want to check on Greg's progress anyway."

Even though time was passing them by, neither were in any hurry to finish their coffee. Grissom planned to be in the lab for most of the day anyway and he knew Sara would do the same, even though she did not need to be there.

Finally draining her coffee mug, Sara gave a little cough as the coffee went down the wrong way. Grissom immediately asked if she was okay and, once assured she was, he brought a hand up to his chain and appeared to be deep in contemplation. He had finished his own coffee and it was Sara reaching for his mug to take it into the kitchen with hers that broke him from his reverie.

"I think I've thought of a revenge plan," he announced, standing up and moving to the kitchen to take the mugs from her and put them into the dishwasher.

"You didn't need my mind after all then," said Sara, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"No, but I need you," he commented, "and you gave me the idea. Come on, I'll tell you on the way."

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TBC…