A/N: Special thanks to Mel (AKA: Unspoken) for all her help with the subplot! Without you I would still be stuck in the brainstorming stage. Thanks as well to Lost November for all your encouragement! Alas, a BIG bow goes down to my beta Cybrokat, you're the best! As well I would like to just mention that this story was written before I have viewed Season 6. (For future reference)

False Pretenses

Chapter One

The Assignment

"Thanks for coming in so soon Gil…I wouldn't have dragged you out of bed for this one but I knew you'd come quick once you heard about the condition of the DB…" Brass stared at Grissom, and both men exchanged no more then several glances before the Captain ushered the supervisor into the home. The house was a typical, well maintained family home in the suburbs of Las Vegas. Several family portraits clung to the walls of the living room; all must be painting a false picture of their lives.

"The husband, Tony Merchant, along with his two kids, Ronnie and Sandra, are MIA…The body is that of Marie Merchant who has been hospitalized in the past two years for signs of abuse. No charges have ever been filed against the husband. I don't know about you Gil, but I really want to get my hands on this dead beat dad to ask him a few questions of my own…" Brass' voice began to drift off as Grissom continued to stare at the body lying on the floor. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. Her long blonde hair strung across her face, hiding her almost perfect complexion which was tainted by several gashes on her forehead. Her slender figure seemed to be twisted on the floor in a position which looked both painful and inhuman.

Grissom struggled to remain focused on processing the body; however his suppressed memories were starting to seep out of his carefully guarded mind.

"Stop it Walter! Gil is right here, you could hurt him…" Grissom's mother fought to move away from her husband's grasp, but his grip grew tighter with his rage.

"Tell me now where you were last night! You were cheating on me huh? I thought you knew better then to mess with me." His statement was punctuated with several rough punches to his wife's face, leaving her lifeless on the ground. "Why am I with you anyways? You're going deaf…Soon you won't even be able to hear me call you a bitch."

"Stop it…" Grissom spoke up, although he shouldn't have bothered. He was only five and could not even begin to fight his large, muscular father no more than his mother could.

"What? Stop what? You think I'm doin' something wrong by hitting your mother?" His laughter started to make tears form in the young boy's eyes. "You just wait and see kid, you're gonna end up just like me. Women are bitches and the only way to tame a bitch is to hit them, just like a bad dog…Get me a beer."

His father was right.

Grissom tried to forget about his past, to move on and stay away from getting too close to anyone. Never did he want his demons to be unleashed once more, hurting another one he had loved. Marie Merchant was subjected to the same monster which lived inside his abusive father and ultimately hidden within Grissom's soul. Never would he open up to another again, he needed to stay a ghost, to stay hidden forever.

All he could do was walk away. He needed to be off of this case, God knows it's open and shut. The husband did it. In this rare occasion, he didn't need any evidence to speak for him, he had his own sources.

Catherine was careful not to enter Grissom's office too fast; she didn't want to disturb him as he had his signature look of "deep thought" painted across his face. A light tap on the doorframe was all it took for Grissom to snap out of his dangerous thoughts.

"Umm… I thought you'd like to know that it was indeed Tony Merchant who was responsible for Marie's death. We found him at a downtown Vegas hotel hitting on one of the Keno girls while his children were locked in the closet of his hotel. He confessed to everything, including several other instances of abuse on numerous girlfriends he had in the past. He told us way more then we needed to know." Catherine brushed back a golden strand of hair which threatened to fall into her eye. She knew something was troubling her former boss and could only speculate as to what the matter could be surrounding it.

"You alright?" she carefully queried while taking a seat in front of the troubled CSI.

"I'm fine…" Grissom was a poor liar; his emotions could never be hidden in his navy blue eyes. After all, the eyes are the window to one's soul. Grissom should know better.

"You know if you ever need to talk about anything I'm right here…Just because I'm not under your command doesn't mean I still can't play therapist you know."

Grissom let a faint smile cross on his lips.

"Really, I'm fine…And I'm glad to hear that he was caught."

"You wanna go out for a drink…Or dinner? Anything to get your mind off of this?"

The thought of going out to dinner made Grissom chuckle. It seemed as if he had gone to dinner with every member of the CSI staff. Except Sara. There was a reason for his distance. There was a reason for his expressionless stares. She couldn't get close, he wouldn't let her. Before he could attempt to answer Catherine's request, Judy knocked on the door letting herself in.

"Um, Dr. Grissom, a Mr. Culpepper is here to speak with you…He says it's urgent and for 'your ears only'…"

The roll of Grissom's eyes was enough to tell Catherine that Grissom was indeed not happy to reunite with the arrogant, self centered FBI agent. Reluctantly, the supervisor lifted himself up from his seat and followed Judy down the hall to the staff room. Grissom immediately noted that the blinds were down and the door was locked. Judy tapped on the door and quickly walked away before the Special Agent could answer. Grissom loathed Culpepper with a passion since their first and only meeting four years ago during the "Strip Strangler Case". Culpepper first annoyed Grissom by taking charge of his investigation, trying to leave the lead CSI out of the loop. Second and most important, he put Sara in danger by using her as bait in trying to catch a vicious serial killer.

This meeting is not going to be a pleasant one that's for sure.

The grin on Culpepper's face was enough to make him cringe. Never had a man's smile produced such annoyance for Grissom. He had hoped to forget the agent in time. It seemed like every time he tried to forget an event of his past, something occurred to force his memories back up to the surface of his mind.

"Supervisor Grissom, I trust you remember who I am?" Culpepper held out a hand which Grissom slowly met with his. A handshake was as far as he would go to be humble.

"Yes, how could I forget?" Grissom exclaimed, not trying to hide his sarcasm. "May I ask what has transpired to bring you back to our lab, Agent Culpepper?"

"Uh, that's Special Agent Culpepper...Well Mr. Grissom, I have to admit, the Bureau was impressed with the way the lab participated in my investigation in catching the strangler. We need your assistance once more and our team has two of your CSI's ready to jump on a plane to Miami. I just wanted to give you the heads up before you started to wonder where some of your lab rats wandered off to…" Culpepper gave Grissom another one of his signature smiles before lying out several photos on the table in front of him. "Before you say anything Grissom, this case is huge. A serial killer living in the suburbs of Miami has stalked, tortured, raped and eventually killed twenty women all living within a twenty mile radius. Here's the sick part. All of his victims are killed by hanging them from the ceiling, execution style." The agent let the CSI look over the photos, allowing for his information to sink in.

"I can understand the urgency to catch the assailant, but why take two of my CSI's? Doesn't Miami have an established crime lab already?"

"Yeah, in a matter of speaking. They're just too swamped right now and I just can't stand Horatio Caine. Besides, you guys are more accredited. And… You're not as busy as they are at the moment." Culpepper let out another laugh as Grissom's familiar worried expression crossed his face. "I hope you don't mind but I have taken the liberty of clearing CSI Sanders' and CSI Sara Sidle's schedule for the next two weeks."

Grissom couldn't contain his annoyance any longer.

"Excuse me?" He couldn't believe his ears. Not only did Grissom specifically not want Sara to be involved in any undercover operation, but Greg was just too inexperienced to provide any valuable insight to the case.

"Yes, we need them to pose as a married couple living in the Miami suburbs. They're a perfect fit, they're chemistry is wonderful as they have been working together on several cases and my team feels that they have a strong bond. But hey, after having to shower with one another in such frantic circumstances, they could have a strong bond with Marylyn Manson if he was present." The agent's attempt at humor failed as Grissom tried to keep his anger in check. Was it anger or was it jealous? Grissom couldn't tell and didn't want to contemplate long enough to find out.

"Absolutely not…" It was all that he could mutter under the depths of his green rage. The thought of Greg and Sara having to act as a married couple made Grissom's stomach turn. That's all he needed was for Sara to live with the one guy who couldn't wait to jump into bed with her.

"And why is that?" Culpepper's grin quickly faded when he realized that the CSI had not changed over the years.

"First, Greg Sanders is a level one CSI with a minute amount of experience within the field, let alone within undercover operations of this complexity. Secondly, he has an array of feelings for Sara which are far from a professional nature." Grissom ended his statement with an arched eyebrow, hoping that his observations would help change the agent's mind. In the long run, he didn't care who Culpepper wanted in the field as long as it was not Greg.

"Fine then Supervisor Grissom, who may you suggest to accompany Ms. Sidle on this mission?" Culpepper patiently waited for Grissom's response.

Grissom's heart felt as if it were to burst from his chest. Although, on the surface he appeared to be as cool as a cucumber, inside he was trying to hold back the urge to run away. He had definitely painted himself into a corner and it was his own fault.

"Me…" Grissom noted the amused expression on Culpepper's face which added to his annoyance.

"I don't mean to insult you, but aren't you a little old to pose as young Sidle's husband? I mean sure she's a catch and hell, I'd love to go 'undercover' with her too if you know what I mean…But, this operation has to be believable, not a charade."

That's all it took. Grissom had lost his patience.

"Listen here Culpepper; you don't know anything about Sara or myself so I would not make assumptions without knowing the facts. We have an established relationship which goes beyond just friendship..." His face began to turn a bright red when he realized that Sara was leaning against the doorframe looking about as shocked as he was.

Before Culpepper could comment Sara saved Grissom from utter humiliation.

"You know what he's talking about…After working a few years together we know each other fairly well. And, he's a more suitable choice. I have no objections, do you Special Agent Culpepper?" Sara had to try to bite back a giggle when she saw Grissom's face. His mouth was wide open and eyes were huge. It looked as if he had seen a ghost fly across the room, not believing his eyes enough to close them, to relish in the moment of obscurity.

"That's fine Ms. Sidle, you two will pack immediately and stay at the Kumata Inn, the closest facility next to the airport. As soon as you settle in you will be briefed on your mission and you will board a plane at eight A.M. sharp the next morning. Any questions?" Without a sound from either CSI, Culpepper abruptly left the room leaving the two co-workers in a rather awkward situation.

"I guess we better pack then huh?" Sara noted, still waiting for Grissom's tomato red face to fade down.

"Uh…Yeah…Right." Without saying another word Grissom left the staffroom, leaving Sara wondering if he would ever get over his embarrassment.

He just always knows when to leave an awkward situation…Or maybe it's me…Am I that repulsive?

Sara tried to shrug off any negative thoughts before shutting the door and walking away, nervously thinking about the mission she agreed to take on. The thought of pretending to be married to Grissom gave the young CSI shivers. For more then five years she had been attracted to her boss, and for more then five years he had lead her on to believe that a relationship may be possible. She was starting to wonder if her adolescent-like crush could even become a reality with the rate Grissom was going.

Why can't he just let it out? His feelings are always so closely guarded...What is he hiding from?

Sara unlocked her car and twisted her keys into the ignition. The further she drove away from the lab, the more she began to wonder if the mission was a mistake.