Love and Maple Syrup
It had started out like any other shift to the untrained eye, but to the highly inquisitive members of the graveyard shift of the Las Vegas CSI unit, things weren't like they normally were….and this got imaginations working overtime. It was a new year and already the rumor mills were spinning at full speed.
Warrick realized something was off first, he had been loping towards the break room behind them when he noticed that they were actually joking with each other and laughing out loud. Granted it wasn't loud belly buster laughs but for those two, it was a strange sight to hear the quiet chuckles that were coming out of their mouths. He just stood there, frozen with his mouth open wide and wondering who those two people were and where were the real Grissom and Sara. This was too much to wonder and figure out by himself, so off he went in search of reinforcements….namely Catherine. Yeah, Cath would know what was up or she would definitely get to the bottom of it. Nothing stood in her way when she was trying to find out something, and Cat wouldn't quit until she knew everything.
"Hey Cath, have you noticed anything strange around here lately?"
"Nothing more than usual for this place, no, why do you ask?" Catherine asked as she put her belongings into her locker.
"Well two certain people are acting a little weirder than they normally are, and I was just wondering if you knew any reason why."
"Who's acting weirder than usual?" Nick asked as he plopped down on the bench beside Warrick and Catherine. "Greggo can't help being weird, its just his nature, so we must be talking about Griss and Sara, right?"
"Yeah, I was walking behind them down the hall before shift started and they were joking and laughing with each other. Actual laughter was coming from their mouths. It was like they were in their own little world instead of here at work."
"Hmmm, that is odd for our two little workaholics. Now that you mention it, it has been a lot nicer work environment lately. The tension between those two was thicker than Greg's hair gel. Now it's like all the pent-up frustration is suddenly gone….ohmygod, ohmygod, those two sneaky little….." Catherine couldn't finish her sentence as the wheels in her head started to turn furiously. "Where's Brass, he'll know for sure, or at least will help us ambush those two."
Rounding the corner near the locker room, Sara overheard the tail-end of the conversation between the three and couldn't help but smirk over their sneaky plans to discover the "truth" behind the sudden changes around herself and Grissom. Oh if they only knew how close and far off they really were. Yes things were better between them, a whole lot better, she thought blushing slightly, for a lot longer than any one of their colleagues could have ever imagined. It made her smile just to think about it, but then almost everything about Gil Grissom made her smile anyway and she walked off with a silly little grin on her face.
"Why are you smiling and all happy like?" Greg asked as he passed Sara in the hallway. "Not that that's wrong or anything, or did you finally realize that you love me and it made your head spin?"
"Dream on Greg, dream on." Sara told him with a laugh and a twinkle in her eyes.
"Come on Sara, why the good mood lately? What's that stuff on your cheek? It's shiny and hey you smell like maple syrup. Do you have some weird obsession or use for maple syrup? Come on, you can tell me, I'm extremely open minded. I may even help you find a better use as well. You know you wanna!!!" Greg looked at her with big pleading eyes, that might have worked on somebody else, but not Sara, and not when he was wiggling his eyebrows in a lewd manner as well.
"Sorry, that just isn't going to happen, at least not in this shift or lifetime, but hey keep your hopes up." Sara patted him on the head and made her way to the women's restroom to investigate the spot of syrup on her cheek. "What a way to start a new year, sticky and propositioned by Greg, ewwww!!!"
Jim Brass was really trying hard to keep his New Year's resolution; hey he even managed to last two whole days, but after two days on decaf, that promise went right out the window. "What's the point?" he muttered as he stared at the pot of decaf on the left and filled his mug up to the brim from the pot of regular on the right. "Damn health freaks, where's the doughnuts?"
"Brass, what's up with Grissom and Sara?"
"Why hello Catherine, nice to see you too, how's your day?"
"Sorry, but there is something strange going on with those two, and I just thought you might know about Grissom at least. How are you, how is your day going?"
"Better now that I have some caffeine in my system. I honestly don't know what's going on with Gil and or Sara. I thought you knew everyone's business."
"Ok, I'll let that one slide, but there is definitely something happening and I don't have a clue, which makes me very suspicious and determined to get to the bottom of it. Now don't you go and warn Grissom about me, or you'll be missing more than caffeine."
"What are they doing that's got your knickers in a knot?"
"Well, Warrick saw them before shift and they were laughing and joking with each other."
"That's it? Geez, Catherine, maybe you should investigate Nicky and Greg too. They were having a grand old time yesterday. Nick even fell off his chair, better alert the media."
"No, its not just the laughing and joking, it's the absence of the tension and the whole buddy thing, we're not used to them being so NICE to each other, its thrown me off guard."
"Maybe it's their new years' resolutions, to be friendlier to each other and to annoy Catherine Willows."
"All right Jim, that's two, I wouldn't suggest a third. But you may be right about the resolution thing, although I've never known Grissom to make any resolutions in the years I've known him. It's so unlike him."
Gil Grissom was sitting behind his desk shuffling through a stack of papers and files to get ready for beginning the night's shift. Mentally cursing Ecklie to a lifetime of smelling like a thousand decomps, he was a little amused and bewildered about why his fingers were sticking to the pages. Was that maple he smelled? Where would….oh now he remembered where he got into the maple syrup and was soon sitting there with a smile on his face and an instant urge for waffles. Suddenly he urgently hoped that no one else noticed where there might be similar spots of sticky syrup. Where did he put his hands? On that note he went off in search of the only other person who would smell sweetly of maple, and hoping that she wasn't sticking to things as well.
Catherine was trying to follow Grissom as discreetly as possible, but as he turned the corner out of his office, he called back to her "What do you need Catherine, or are you just going to be my shadow all night?"
"Damn, how does he do that?" she muttered under her breath. "No, I'm good. I was just wondering how you were, how's things, life, you know stuff? Make any resolutions this year?"
"Sounds like you're fishing Catherine, and I'm not biting. You know I never make resolutions, so just admit you are curious about something and let it drop, ok?, he replied with a smirk on his face.
"I am not fishing for anything and I thought being inquisitive was an important part of being an investigator. Do you smell that? It smells sweet, like pancakes or waffles…maple syrup. Can't you smell that? It's coming from….from you! Why do you smell like an IHOP?"
"What I smell like or don't smell like is not important. Shift is about to begin, so unless you want to make us both late, I suggest we meet with the others and get started."
"Fine", she mumbled as they made their way towards the break room where the others were waiting for their assignments. "But if he thinks that that stops me, then he's sorely mistaken. I'll get to the bottom of this 'sticky' situation yet."
Everyone was seated around the large table as Grissom started to hand out assignments for the night. He was handing out the slips of paper to them when they became stuck to his fingers. As he stood there and tried to shake them off, Catherine let out a little snort, while Sara's eyes grew a little wider, but not enough for the others to see. Greg, in the meantime, was sitting there staring at Grissom and then staring at Sara, then this look of wonder mixed with horror crossed his face as he tried to banish the mental images that were infiltrating his brain.
"Nick and Warrick, you have a hit and run out on the strip. Sara, you're with me tonight on a DB with suspicious circs out in Henderson, and Greg, you're with Catherine tonight on a home invasion with a... Greg, Greg…..GREG!!! Are you ready to work or do I need to put you back in the lab for awhile?"
"No, boss, I'm ok really, No need for the lab, c'mon Cath, lets get going."
"Ok, just give me a sec. I need to get something from my locker."
As Greg and Catherine made their way down the corridor, they saw Sara stand up to follow Grissom out the door. As she passed them, they saw a piece of the night's newspaper sticking to the seat of Sara's pants. Gasping for air and trying not to laugh, Catherine called out to Sara, "Um, Sara, you have the newspaper stuck to your butt."
"What, how did that get there? Thanks Cath, I must have sat on something sticky earlier. I'll see you guys later."
"I'll bet Grissom knows how that syrup got there. Those two think they're fooling everybody but they can't fool me. I'm getting to the bottom of this." mumbled Catherine as she herded a still slightly dazed Greg out to the SUV for the nights work.
"Catherine, did Grissom smell like maple syrup tonight? Were his hands sticky? When I ran into Sara earlier, she smelled like syrup too and she had this sticky spot on her cheek by her mouth. Since when do they share breakfast before a shift?"
"I'll bet that syrup wasn't the only fluid shared this evening." Catherine said with an evil glint in her eye.
"Blah, blech, too much info for me thank you very much. No more, I don't think my poor brain can take any more mental images of Sara and Grissom sharing things….ugh, go to a safe place, nice happy thoughts.", Greg said as he squirmed around in his seat.
Oh the wheels were turning all right, and Catherine was steering with full power.
"Griss, I think we may have a sticky situation on our, well your, hands.", Sara told him in low tones so no one else could hear them. "Greg spotted the syrup on my face before shift."
"Well, Catherine figured out that I had syrup on my hands when I was shifting through the papers and some of them got stuck on my fingers. So they know we both had something with syrup today. What can they possibly surmise from that?"
"Well, they wouldn't have had much to speculate on if my cheek was the only place the syrup was located at. As I was leaving the break room both Catherine and Greg let me know that I had a newspaper stuck to my bottom. Judging from Catherine's smirky little look and Greg's green color, I think they are both suspicious and you know how Cath is, she's a bloodhound in heels."
"Oh, umm ok oh boy, you're right about Catherine. Once she's on the trail of something …." he trailed off as he tried to focus on the crime scene that lay in front of them.
"Hey you two, what are you doing that is setting off Catherine's alarms? She was after you like a shark after a nosebleed. Something about her and Warrick noticing how you two are oh so much friendlier and actually laughing in each others' company. All the niceness is unsettling to them; they're not used to it. I'm all for niceness, but hey that's just me. Do you smell that? Where is maple syrup coming from? Is that you Sidle?"
"Oh man, this is a joke right? What did Catherine or Greg tell you?"
"Nothing, why? Were they supposed to tell me something? When did Sanders get involved? When Catherine talked to me, she said her and Warrick were noticing strange behavior from the two of you. Now Sanders is in on it, and I bet that Nicky isn't far behind."
"Great, now everyone is suspicious. Who's next, Archie, Ronnie, Mandy, or Bobby?" Sara muttered darkly as she bent to snap a few more photographs of the crime scene.
"Jim, there's nothing strange going on, so let Catherine and her minions know that when they corner you next.", Grissom told his friend with an arched eyebrow and a slightly annoyed look.
"Sure, sure, just remember that quote about 'doth protests too much'. Think about it Gil, and please give me a heads up when Catherine heads my way, you know, give a guy a little help. Anyway, why do you smell like maple syrup?"
Receiving nothing but glares that would turn pudding into stone, Jim Brass shrugged and chuckled to himself as he thought that there was something definitely going on there and maybe Catherine wasn't nuts after all.
"This is all your fault, you know. If you hadn't been so curious with that bottle of syrup, we wouldn't be in Cath's line of fire right now." Sara fumed. They were driving back to the crime lab discussing just how much Catherine could know and what she could possibly be imagining inside that evil brain of hers.
"I didn't hear you complain as you licked the syrup off of my chin. Do you know how hard it is to get syrup out of a beard?"
"You're not the one with the sticky handprints on your butt."
"Well that was just me being appreciative."
"Appreciate this, bugman, I'll bet they try to dust me for prints somehow tonight or shine every ALS at me that they can find. Then what?"
"Like they'd dare try, they're scared of you my dear."
"Oh, and you're not?"
"Well sure I am, but I have an inside edge, and besides if you get too scary all I have to do is picture you in your underwear, and voila you are too adorable to be feared."
"Not fair, Grissom. So the next time you get all edgy and crabby at work I can picture you in your undies? Hmm nice stress buster, you do have good ideas." she said as she was trying to stifle the giggles that were threatening to overcome her.
"You could put on a pair of coveralls or do you have an extra set of clothes in your locker to change into? Personally, the coveralls are my favorite, but that's just me."
"Why, Dr. Grissom, if people only knew how filthy your mind really was, they would just simply fall over in shock!!" Sara said in a mock southern belle impersonation.
"Frankly, my dear, that's just for you and your equally filthy little mind.", and in saying that last statement, he jumped out of the SUV and headed into the building, giving her a roguish wink of an eye and an arch of an eyebrow.
"Wait until he gets home, I'll show him a thing or two about filthy minds….hmmm wonder if I could "borrow' a pair of coveralls for awhile…..", Sara mused and walked in after him with a smirk on her face.
By some weird stroke of luck, it was a relatively calm night for Las Vegas; maybe people really were trying to stick to their resolutions, maybe even the criminals. Since it was such a slow night, it gave everyone time to write up their reports and wait for the results of whatever samples they had collected. Trying to find a quiet place to finish her reports, Sara walked down the hall to find an empty room, and instantly felt four pairs of eyes watching her walk out the door.
"All right, quit staring at my butt you guys!!! I swear, if anyone tries to dust me for prints, they will draw back a stump!!!"
"Sorry, Sar, hey what are your plans for breakfast?" Nick asked as he ducked for cover while laughing like a loon.
"Ok cowboy, you're going down!!" Sara growled as she marched towards the cowering figure of Nick Stokes on the floor. As she leaned over him to give him a well deserved pinch, she heard the unmistakable sound of a camera snapping images of her behind. "Oh, no…come on guys, this is soo not nice. You know I will get you later on, retribution will be severe."
"Look at it this way, Sara, we needed to try out this new camera, and you have mysterious syrup stains on your pants, so we're just being good investigators and killing two birds with one stone per se", Warrick offered this explanation as if it happened everyday.
"It's ok, you know you can't get an image of prints from that camera anyway, so it's all for nothing…hahaha."
"With an ordinary camera yes, but this is a new special camera that can pick up a lot of things that couldn't be done before.", Catherine purred as she ejected the memory disk and lobbed it at Greg who ran out before Sara could even react.
"New camera, when did we get a new camera?" Nick blurted out before getting kicked in the shins with a well aimed heel. Warrick simply rolled his eyes and smacked his friend on the back of the head.
Grabbing Sara by the shoulders, Catherine pulled her in for a semi-private talk, "Hey, Sara, if the prints belong to who I think they belong to, then I am really happy for you both, and it's about time, but see what happens when I'm out of the loop? I tend to do crazy things."
"There is no loop to be in on, and you can't tell those are his prints anyway. Oops, I mean, uhmmm, oh man, you know how gossip spreads around this place."
"Aha, so you admit those are HIS prints!!"
"Catherine, I admit nothing. This is under physical duress, you guys need to find other ways to occupy your time.", Sara tried to say in all seriousness, but the usually formidable Sidle tone and look were lacking in ferocity and she could see that everyone knew it.
"Sit, have a cup of coffee, relax." Warrick said as he placed a sup in front of her.
"Can't, couldn't you do this without running prints? Didn't you think of any other way? Why am I even talking about this, I am so screwed. I knew I should've skipped that damn meal. Did you try the new camera out on everyone?"
"Hmm good point. Sit tight, I'll be right back, I've got an experiment to conduct.", and with these words Catherine sailed out of the room to gather evidence from the only other player in this syrupy little comedy.
"Grissom, I need your hands!" Catherine yelled as she barged into his office without knocking as usual.
"Catherine, do come in, sit down, oh wait you're already in, so what is so important about my hands that you barge in yelling at me for them. Can't you see that they're a little busy at the moment; they're doing actual work right now. Why aren't you? And besides, they're no longer sticky, so that should foil any of your nefarious schemes. I washed them thoroughly."
"Gil, we got a new camera, I'm taking pictures of various peoples hands, not just yours, now quit being stubborn and self-important and give me your damn hands."
"Ok, Catherine, here are my hands, what are you trying to determine with these photos?"
"Oh you know, hand width, finger placement, you know, the usual stuff. Thanks"
"What's so new about that?"
"Well, it also can accentuate prints on hard to dust materials, like oh say various fabrics." Leaving Grissom gaping like the fish above his door, Catherine chuckled to herself at the wonder of her two little geeks in love. They were growing up so fast, she sighed as she made her way down the hall.
Fed up with everyone staring at her backside, Sara finally decided to change her clothes, which would have been a snap if she had remembered to bring in a fresh set since she used the spare pair last week. "Well looks like it's the old coveralls for me", she thought, as she made her way towards the locker room. She wondered if she should just hand over her pants to Catherine or wait til they actually steal them from her locker. Deciding to make them work for it, she threw them into the locker and closed it with a bang.
Passing by Grissom's office, Sara stopped in the doorway, like she usually did, only this time she glanced around and sauntered over to the desk and stood as close as she dared while pretending to read from the file in front of him. "You know they haven't given up.", she said low just for him.
"I know. Catherine was just in here with a new type of camera that can bring to light prints off of any type of fabric or surface. Please tell me she's bluffing and that there isn't such a thing. Sara,……you're wearing coveralls.", he mumbled almost incoherently as he fought an urge to grab Sara's arm and start kissing it ala Gomez Addams style, whenever he heard Morticia speak French. Oh what those coveralls do to a man, and made a mental note to get her home in them any way he could.
"Yes, I got tired of them staring at my backside so I changed into these, why? Am I creating a problem of ….sorts?" she smiled that wonderful smile and winked mischievously at him. She knew what these coveralls did to him and also knew that she would be going home in them at the end of shift.
"Shall we save them the trouble and tell them or make them work for it? I think for being sneaky and underhanded we should make them suffer a bit more, but hey that's just me."
"Well, they've probably stolen your pants from your locker by now, and you know Warrick can lift a print from air, so I'll leave it up to you my dear. Prolong the torture or give in."
"They really are having too much fun with this, but I sure hate to see such prime investigators shot down before they solve anything. Although they should have figured things out before this, I will let them play their little games for a while longer. But the minute they try to fingerprint me, the gloves are off.", Sara muttered darkly giving Grissom a quick pinch as she left his office.
"Hey Sara….will you, uh, I mean, uh …."He was turning a deep red at being rendered inarticulate over an article of clothing.
"Hey Grissom, I need to borrow these coveralls to get home in, since my clothes got dirty today. Is that ok?" she asked him loudly from the doorway while giving him a quick flash of skin before sauntering down the hallway. Gil Grissom suddenly couldn't wait for work to be over.
With only an hour and a half left to go, before shift was over, Sara was amazed at the quietness of the night. Maybe all the criminals did make resolutions this year, yeah and I'm gonna eat a double cheeseburger for breakfast. Ewww. Just the thought of it made her skin crawl, and she went to get another cup of coffee. As she passed by one of the empty labs she noticed Warrick and Catherine hunched over something with a jar of Grissom's Red Creeper. Hmm, serious powder for serious prints; must be important. Then she saw the unmistakable fabric of her pants with a layer of bright red powder covering the back. "How did you get into my locker?" she yelled as Catherine jumped about a foot off the ground.
"Way to go Nicky, you were supposed to be on watch for her!" Catherine hissed at Nick as he looked at them sheepishly.
"Aw, c'mon, Greg was supposed to alert me when she passed him by, so yell at him too."
"Alright, fine just get it over with and dust for whatever you think you will find, but know this, I will get you back, all of you." With a glare that rivaled Medusa's, Sara turned and stomped out of the room to find Greg and make him hand over his special stash of coffee. He owed her and she was gonna collect. "Wow, this stuff really works great, look at those handprints." Warrick muttered to himself as Cath snickered and thought "both hands Gil? My, my, my, I never would've guessed."
Enjoying a well deserved cup of Greg's personal best, Sara looked up as Grissom entered the break room and headed towards the coffeepot. "How's the coffee?" he asked her as she took another sip. "It's Greg's, so pour yourself an extra big cup as I now own him and his coffee. You know that they have my pants and are printing them as we speak, right? I caught them when Greg failed to warn Nick that I was getting close. Isn't there any decomp's you can send them on? Preferably the liquid variety, but hey I'm not picky any kind will suffice. Oh and why would you give them your Red Creeper powder?"
"I didn't, Catherine must have some squirreled away somewhere."
"What are you going to say when they identify your prints?"
"I think I'll go talk to them now, excuse me."
Catherine was leaning over the photos of the prints of Grissom's hands with a magnifying glass when Greg skidded into the room with the freshly made photos of Sara's pants. "Here they are, hot off the pants!" he grinned as he handed them to Catherine with a flourish.
"Great job Greg, did anyone else see either of these sets of photos?"
"Nope, Nick or I did it all and nobody else knows what's going on."
"Oh I wouldn't say that Greg, I know what's going on." Grissom said in a calm voice in Greg's ear.
Feeling the hand of his supervisor clamp down on his shoulder made him wince and turn pale. With wide eyes and a trembling voice, he started to stammer. "Grissom, uh I'm sorry, its not just me, the rest of the gang is in on it too. Cath started it all. Please don't kill me."
"Like a rat deserting a sinking ship." Catherine thought as she glared across at the sniveling creature that used to be Greg. "What? Nothing is going on, Grissom; I'm just conducting an experiment. You know, all in the name of science, science is our friend.", she said in her best innocent tone as she handed Warrick the photos under the table and kicked Nick in the shins.
"Well I like a good experiment as well as anyone, why didn't you come get me?" Grissom asked with an arch of an eyebrow.
"Oh it was just a minor thing, and there weren't any bugs or stuff so I didn't think you'd be too interested."
"Are you sure that's the only reason?"
"Yeah, and besides you have all that paperwork to do, so I didn't feel it was that big of a thing to stop your progress."
"How considerate of you to think of me, well I'll expect your results on my desk at the end of shift, unless you have any reason why I shouldn't see them?"
"No, no reason, see you later," she said as she plopped on a chair.
"Oh, and Catherine, bring my Red Creeper back when you're done with it."
"How does he do that?" Catherine thought as she wondered at what she could pass off as an experiment to put on Grissom's desk. The man was impossible to fool and figure out, but this was just too much fun to start worrying about Grissom and his forthcoming revenge. Gil she could handle but Sara was another matter. To dodge that bullet she may have to sacrifice Nick, Warrick or Greg. Who was she kidding, it will probably be all three of them, but her curiosity was something that demanded to be appeased.
Scurrying down the hall like runaway vermin, Warrick and Nick were searching for Catherine while Greg was looking around in order to not bump into the one person who could reduce him to a babbling lump of jell-o and assign him to nothing but decomps and dumpster dives for the rest of his life. Shuddering at the mental image of his possible future, he hurried to catch up with the others and find Catherine with their results from the prints and the pants. As they turned the corner by the secretary's desk, they collided with Brass who, thanks to Sara, had finally scored a great cup of coffee that night. "Hey, watch my coffee. Spill it and I may have to hurt you." he told them as nicely as he could. This decaf thing was not cutting it and the regular he had earlier was brown and warm, but he wasn't sure if it could be called coffee. "I just got this from Sara and I wasn't planning on sharing it with the floor."
"What, she's giving my coffee away to anyone who wants a cup?" squeaked Greg as he leaned in to smell the steaming liquid in Brass's mug.
"I'm not just anybody, Sanders, and since when do you slap claim to the coffeepot?"
"Only when its holding my special blend in it and well Sara took my stash away from me all because….owww", he grimaced as Nick elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
"You got Sidle mad at you? Not too smart are you kid? She's got ways to make you pay, almost as good as Grissom. Wait, are you working on something with Catherine and got caught by Sara? Did Grissom catch you yet? Oh man this I have to see."
"Speaking of Catherine, have you seen her? We have something to show her."
"There you guys are, I was wondering where you went to. I had to make up an experiment to throw Grissom off of us for a bit. Hey Jim, how's your night going?"
"Oh not as interesting as yours it seems. Do I dare ask what the four of you are up to? How badly are Gil and Sara gonna get you after this?"
"Stick around and find out. It should be a doozy. How'd we do on the prints?"
"Perfect match, told you I could lift a print from air." Warrick said as he smiled. He was happy that they got to match prints for something nice for once. He was even happier that the two who belonged together finally found their way to each other, sticky or not.
"Perfect match for what? Fill me in here guys, I wasn't in on this big scheme, although Grissom and Sara think I am." As he was informed of the night's sticky little scenarios, Jim Brass's brain caught on about the maple syrup from earlier and couldn't help but chuckle at the handprints on Sara and the fact that he would get to see a flustered Gil Grissom and a happy Sara Sidle. Not even Greg's green color at the mention of the placement of Grissom's hands was lost on him, for everyone knew of Greg's little crush on Sara, but he knew her heart had always belonged to the enigmatic bugman. "No wonder I got the death stare from Grissom when I asked them why I kept smelling maple syrup. Oh boy this is going to be good. How do we corner them and make them confess?"
"Let's get them right at the end of shift, that way we can corner them before they leave. But first we need to get some supplies. Just follow my lead and we'll be fine." said an excited Catherine with a devilish grin on her face.
"It's almost the end of shift and nothing has happened. Have we lucked out or are we really sitting ducks?
"Never underestimate Catherine. She's a very determined person, so I'd say we're sunk. Still want to make them guess?"
"Let's just leave right now and avoid them til next shift." Sara said hopefully.
"Where would we hide, you know Cath would barge in my place and she'd send Nick and Warrick or Greg over to your place, so where can we go?"
"We could hide out on the rollercoaster's all day but we'd get no rest and I'm not as big a fan of the coasters as you are, so I guess we'd better get this over with. Do we tell them here or somewhere else?"
"Well, we could all meet for breakfast and tell them there. I promise not to pour syrup on you this time, perhaps later, but I'll forgo it for now.", Gil said with a wink and a smile.
"Wait til I get my hands on some honey. funny man, then we'll see who's laughing last, but that's a fine idea. I'll ask the guys and you take care of Cath and Brass?"
"Ms. Sidle is that a threat or a challenge? I can do amazing things with whipped cream you know, are you sure you want to take me on?"
"Bring it on Bugman, bring it on. I'll bring the chocolate syrup." she said as they exited his office to find the rest of their friends.
"Gil, you ready to see my results on that experiment?" Catherine asked with a grin that rivaled the canary eating cats.
"Sure, I've been wondering about the results. Do we need to go back in my office?"
"Naw, the break room will be fine. See you there in a minute?"
"Well, I guess I'll go get my things from my locker. Meet you at home?" she asked quietly as she scanned the hallway for anyone who might overhear.
"No, we're in this together; we'll face this together, even if it is the twisted mind of Catherine Willows."
"Thanks, that means a lot."
"Hey, Sar, come and help me beat Greg out of the last cup of his coffee. He won't share and is being a general pain in the butt. I figured you'd want one last go at him this morning." Nick said as he draped his arm around her shoulders. Sara looked at Grissom and smiled as she was led along to the break room as well. "Stokes, if you want to keep that arm, you'd better not get too comfortable." Gil thought with a hint of malice towards the tall man leading his Sara down the hall.
"Well we're all here, now what are the results?" Gil said with a hint of exasperation.
After making sure everyone was seated, Catherine gathered up her 'evidence' and told them how a certain sticky residue was analyzed and prints were thoroughly checked and matched and "you two are so busted."
Sara was swallowing a mouthful of coffee at the same time, and managed to sputter half of it on Nick, much to Grissom's inner delight. "Sorry, Nick, I'm really sorry. Excuse me Catherine, what are you talking about?"
"Oh give it up Sidle, we matched those handprints on your pants to one certain doctor we know and we know it's the same syrup from both your cheek and his hands." Warrick said in a very pleased tone.
"Oh, Doc Robbins?" Grissom asked with fake naivety as Catherine snorted a "yeah right," towards him. "Since when do you leave sticky handprints on Sara's backside, or anyone's backside for that matter? How long have you two been together? Why am I only finding out now?"
"Catherine, before your head spins off, I'll let you know, but not here. There are too many ears for Ecklie hanging around. Shall we meet at the diner in a few?"
"Fine, but if you don't show, I will hunt you down."
"Have I said I was scared of you lately?" he told his friend with a smile.
"You should be." she replied winking at the two of them as they left the break room.
When Gil and Sara finally arrive at the diner everyone was already seated in their usual spot and waved them over. "Glad you finally arrived, I was tempted to go and haul you here myself." Catherine said tersely.
"All right we're here, now since you have such concrete evidence on us, I suppose it is time to come clean so to speak. Yes, Sara and I are seeing each other and we have been for some time now, seven months actually. It took you seven months to figure us out, and I thought I taught you better than that. Especially you Catherine, I thought for sure you would have been the first to know months ago?"
"But, but you two were still being all angsty and acting like you couldn't stand to be in the same room. How was I supposed to figure that out when it seems like nothing changed?"
"Oh, there were subtle changes, here and there. Doc Robbins guessed it after three weeks. Well to be fair, he caught us in the parking lot, but he did a great job in keeping our secret."
"I'm happy for you two, really I am but it took you long enough though." Brass said as he patted Grissom on the shoulder and smiled a caring smile towards Sara.
"Yeah, Sara congratulations, it is great to see you so happy and in looooovvvveeee" Nick teased her with rolling eyes and smooching lips.
"Grow up Nicky, and let's celebrate the happy couple finally getting their act together. Also for no longer making us as miserable as they were when they weren't together. Cheers." Cath said raising her juice cup high.
"Oops we almost forgot; we got you a few gifts."
Warrick went first and gave them the print of Grissom's handprints dusted in Red Creeper on the back of Sara's pants inside a frame. Nick handed them the photo of Grissom's hands and Greg handed them a box of wet wipes. "For future incidents or whatever." Catherine laughed as she pulled out a grocery bag with an assortment of items in it. "Here is a new bottle of maple syrup, some peanut butter, chocolate syrup, honey, whipped cream and the best for last….a jar of maraschino cherries. Have fun you two."
"Catherine I don't need any groceries, I just went shopping a day ago….." Gil trailed off as Sara whispered in his ear that they weren't necessarily for meals. "Oh." He said as his eyes widened and a saucy little grin appeared on his face. "You know, we should get this stuff home, shouldn't let the whipped cream melt or anything, right Sara?"
"Yes, it would be a shame if anything got spoiled or melted or…." She blinked and stood when Grissom grabbed her hand to leave.
"Thanks for the food, sorry to leave before breakfast but um…"
"Just go and try not to scar us with explaining your sudden urge to get home. And Gil?" Catherine said as she smiled at the two before her.
"Yes?"
"I really am happy for you both, honestly. You both deserve this happiness. And we deserve having no more grouchy, crabby, frustrated people on shift."
"Thanks, Cath. See you all later ok?"
As they were pulling out of the parking lot, Grissom turned towards the bewitching beauty on the passenger side looking at him with a mile wide grin, he couldn't help but grab her hand and say "Sara, you're still wearing those coveralls" Yes he was a slave to those coveralls but a happy slave he was as he steered the vehicle towards home as a song called "Love and Maple Syrup" began to play on the radio. Hearing it they both broke out in laughter and amazement over the fortuitous title and the way their night had gone. "Remind me to write a thank you letter to the singer of this song" he said as he kissed her hand. "Let's just go home, Gil" she said in her caring, husky voice, "let's just go home."
END.