Birthday Boy
Monday, August 14
"Oh oh. You have that look on your face", Warrick said knowingly as Catherine ambled into the break room with a slightly mischievous smirk plastered on her visage.
"What?"
She expertly feigned innocence.
"Just fess up. You don't fool me. Or any of us", Warrick gestured towards Sara and Nick who sat at the center table discussing a recent article from the International Journal of Forensic Science. The twosome remained oblivious to what was transpiring.
"Alright."
Catherine glanced back into the hallway and then closed the break room door.
"Guys, can I have your attention for a sec ?", the blonde CSI asked.
Nick and Sara looked up, not quite sure they wanted to be part of this conversation.
"Here's the deal. Grissom's birthday is coming up in a few days. See, it's his fiftieth and I thought it would be nice to do something special for him."
"Catherine", Warrick interrupted with a warning tone.
"No, War. Let me finfish. I know Grissom. He won't even mention it. If we don't do anything, he's just gonna forget about it. Or at least pretend. And come on, how long has it been since we've done something fun together? Might be good for the team spirit."
"That is, if he doesn't kill us", Nick offered comically.
"Yeah, Cath. He's not exactly a party-hearty kinda guy", Sara added.
"Come on, guys. I'll bake a cake, we put up some banners at the lab, sing happy birthday, that kinda stuff. Don't have to go overboard here", Catherine pleaded.
"Warrick?"
She looked at him with her best pouting facial expression, while trying to be equally seductive. There was no arguing with Catherine Willows when she had her mind set on something.
"Might be fun", he conceded, "You know, where's the harm in some good old fun? The man could use some, that's for sure."
"Alright! So?"
Catherine looked expectantly at the two remaining CSIs.
"He's going to be embarrassed about the whole thing", Sara objected.
"Yeah. Catherine, you don't even know how he feels about turning fifty. I know I wouldn't be in my best mood on that day. I mean, how did you feel?", Nick teased.
"Oh that's funny, Nicky-boy."
Catherine gave him her death glare as Nick smugly grinned, not quite daring to break into laughter like Warrick and Sara.
"Alright, Catherine. Count me in. As long as it doesn't involve any baking."
Nick didn't see any option other than agreeing if he wanted to save his ass from the bloody vengeance of Catherine.
"Sara?"
The youngest CSI wasn't too sure. She knew her supervisor all too well. He didn't like parties and he enjoyed them even less if he was forced to be the center of attention. Gil Grissom felt most comfortable in the hiding space of his dimly lit office or hermetically sealed town house. He didn't need the complication of relationships or much human contact and merely withstood them at a moderate frequency. Social situations made him uneasy. He wasn't big on that aspect of his job and tried to get out of most of the public appearances that his position required. In short, he was a social hermit. Even with all of that in the back of her mind, Sara couldn't quite say no to her colleague. Maybe she wanted to get back at Grissom. They'd slowly but surely regressed from a very comfortable friendship to a very strained personal and professional relationship. Part of that was due to her own unequivocal bad timing. She'd acted on her feelings and asked him out at the worst possible time. He'd been dealing with the diagnosis of his hearing loss. She hadn't known that of course. But to top off the embarrassment, he hadn't even gracefully declined. He'd flat out denied her request. He said he didn't know how to handle their attraction to each other. From that point on, their relationship had gone south. And now - for very dubious reasons - he'd side-stepped Sara and recommended Nick for a promotion. Oh yeah, Sara was ready to get back at him. Profoundly childish. Yes. Gratifying. Even more so.
"Put me in charge of the banners", Sara replied.
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Tuesday, August 14"So it its true!"
Four heads snapped around to find Greg standing in the doorway of the break room. A collective sigh resounded in the room.
"Christ, we thought you were Grissom", Catherine explained. She sat with the three other graveyard CSIs at the far end of the table.
"You're planning a coup. You're conspiring against Grissom."
Greg muffled the supervisor's name between dramatic coughs.
"We're not planning a coup, Greggo", Nick said.
"The hallways are buzzing with rumours. You're up to something. I can smell it."
"And who are we to question your olfactory capabilities?", Sara stated sardonically.
Greg simply gave her an impish smile.
"So?", he queried, "I want in."
"You don't even know what this is about."
"So tell me."
Catherine glanced around the table at her colleagues, silently probing their approval. In the end she decided it was probably for the best that they'd let him in on their little exploit. It would save them a whole lot of nagging from the eccentric DNA tech.
"Sit and be quiet. We're planning Grissom's birthday party."
Greg grinned widely and sat down next to Sara, wiggling his eyebrows in barely contained excitement. Catherine resumed her position as president of the Birthday Boy Task Force.
"So. We've covered the banners and the birthday card. That's up to you, Sara."
"I'm taking care of it."
"And the cake's my responsibility. For those of you who actually thought I'd bake one, relax. I'm going to order one at the Greek pastry shop. Does anyone know what kind of cake Grissom likes?"
Shrugs all around the table.
"Something with strawberries and whipped cream, maybe?"
"Sounds more like you, Catherine", Warrick said as he winked at her.
Catherine stole a glance at the mocha man.
"I'll just get their best sold item. Can't go wrong with that. Any objections?"
When no one spoke, Catherine continued.
"That brings us to what should be the pièce de résistance. The gift. Any bright ideas?"
"A book?", Nick tried.
"I think he has all of them, Nick."
"Nobody has all of the books in the world, Sara."
"You've never been to his place have you?"
"Have you?"
That comment made Sara blush. Sure enough, she'd been to his place once. On the job, not in a personal capacity. As a matter of fact, the rest of the crew had been there too. But she'd thought about it more than once. What it would be like to be with him, spend time in his home? What it would be like to have that easy closeness again? She shook her head to get rid of the images that flooded her brain. Nick glanced at her worriedly, but decided not to press the issue.
"Okay, guys. Seriously, this has got to be something special."
Catherine eyed Greg with curiosity. He had that eager look in his eye and was practically bouncing in his seat.
"You got something to say, Greg? Or do you just have to go to the bathroom?"
"Well, yeah. The first one."
"Alright, want to share?"
"See, I have this friend. She's an artist. She used to live in San Francisco, but she moved here a couple of months ago. She just opened a gallery here in Las Vegas. She's really good. Really hot, too."
He cast a meaningful glance at the two other men.
"Greg", Catherine warned.
"Right. Right. I have a point. See, she does these nifty brass sculptures of animals. But not like cats and dogs and stuff, you know. Funky animals. Last thing she made was an emu and before that an octopus. One of the first ones she made was a dung beetle. Didn't sell very well. So she hung on to it. It's big. Like three by five feet. Real cool to put in your living room. If you're Grissom, that is."
"I'm feeling better about recruiting you in our task force. What do you guys think?"
"I'm game", Warrick said.
"Count me in", Nick agreed.
Sara just nodded her approval.
"Alright. This is going great. Greg, could you contact your friend about the sculpture, see how much she's asking?"
"No sweat. I could do that now."
He fished out his cell phone from his lab coat and pressed speed dial.
Several minutes and much innuendo later, Greg put down the phone.
"It's ours for two hundred. I had to throw in some benefits, but consider that done", Greg announced happily.
"I'll talk to doc Robbins and David. Maybe we can get them to pitch in. But let's just go ahead with the gift", Catherine proposed.
"Nick and Warrick, can you guys go pick it up?"
"Sure, we're game", Warrick said.
"Alright. Now, Greg, I don't have to tell you to keep your mouth shut, right?"
"My lips are sealed."
Catherine glared at him for good measure.
He only cringed a little.
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Wednesday, August 15
Grissom was missing something. Something was going on, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. This evening when he walked into ballistics, Bobby had looked at him in a funny way. And when he went to collect the results from the fingerprint analysis for the Tucker case, Jacqui had been surprisingly quiet around him. Until he left the fingerprint lab. Everywhere he went, people seemed to stop midsentence and start to whisper conspiratorially. He'd checked his appearance in the restroom mirror twice. His beard was nicely groomed and he hadn't spilled ink on his face. His fly was buttoned and he wore matching socks and shoes. So what in the world? Or maybe he was just losing his mind. After all, he would turn fifty this week. He'd thought about it, but come to the conclusion that his brain was still at full speed. As the years came and went he'd noticed his body had started sagging a little. He wasn't quite as fast and athletic as he used to be and a slight paunch had started to form. He didn't care much. His mind was still just as sharp as twenty years ago and it wasn't like there was a woman in his life to look good for. Or was there? No, he'd made the choice to forget about the tall brunette who worked for him. However tantalizing she was to him. It wasn't a good idea. If only he kept repeating that a thousand times a day, he might actually start to believe it.
But today, weirdness was all around. It made him uneasy. He felt like the whole lab was watching his every move. Yep, he was definitely out of the loop. He'd always sort of been on the outside, looking in. But this was unnerving. And he never thought the day would come, but he wanted in. Suddenly he felt a little alone. Even Catherine hadn't said more then three words to him in the last two days. That meant something was definitely wrong. Very wrong.
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Thursday, August 16"Hey, Sara." Catherine greeted the younger woman as she entered the break room.
"Hi Cath."
"So?"
Sara raised an eyebrow in question.
"You got the card?"
"Oh. Yeah."
"So. Give. Let me see."
Sara fished the thing out of her purse.
'Have a very Hippie Birthday!' it said. On the front was a mouse in tye-dye shirt, smoking pot, looking very relaxed and happy.
Catherine grinned.
"It's cute. Very you."
Sara sighed.
"They didn't have anything with bugs on it. I asked. Apparently bugs aren't birthday animals."
"It's fine, Sara. It's great. How 'bout the banners?"
Sara retrieved a plastic bag from the corner of the room.
"I had Archie make them on the computer. We have three. They all say 'Have a blissful birthday, bug-boy!'. Archie thought an alliteration would be fun."
"It's great", Catherine said, failing an attempt at concealing her glee. The anticipation of seeing Grissom's face was killing her. This was going to be good.
"You know. I think you're having way more fun with this than Grissom ever will", Sara noted.
"Oh, Sara. Girls just want to have fun, don't they?"
"So I've heard."
"Lighten up. He's going to like it too. And if he doesn't, more cake for us."
Sara shook her head in exasperation.
"So, have you written anything on the card, yet?"
"Uhm. No."
"Give it a go. Then I can hand it off to the rest of the guys. It'll pass through the lab, so everyone can sign it."
"I can't just…"
"Come on, Sara. Just write something nice."
"Nice?"
"There's gotta be something left."
"What's that supposed to mean?", Sara asked acidly.
"Hey, I'm not deaf, dumb and blind. You guys have had your troubles. But think about all the good things. Deep down inside there's some good feeling left. For both of you. I know it."
Catherine was right. Off all the thing that woman was, stupid wasn't one of them. She'd read Grissom and Sara like a book. Sara had to hand it to her. There was something left. In Sara's case a lot. She wondered if Catherine was right about Grissom too. That man still made her heart skip a beat when his gorgeous blue eyes locked with hers. And the sight of his salt and pepper curls, now streaked with grey, made her want to tousle his hear and caress his scruffy face. When they worked a case together, she still felt the need to pick his brain. His intelligence and vast knowledge never ceased to dumbfound her.
Then she remembered. She knew what to write. It all made sense.
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Friday, August 17It was the day of reckoning. Or something like it. The night shift was preparing for a cathartic moment, ready to release the merry tension that had steadily been building up during the week. Catherine was eager for her moment of glory, forgetting momentarily that this was all about Grissom. She was a take charge kinda gal and had thoroughly enjoyed bossing the guys around, telling them what to do and when to do it. She didn't get that chance very often and would take advantage of it while she could. Warrick had earlier that week given up the inclination to question her on her orders and now simply complied to whatever she yelled at him. Nick had put up a more ardent fight against Catherine's well-meant dictatorship, but had eventually succumbed as well. Sara on the other hand had finished her end of the deal soon and had carefully removed herself from the epicentre of the hurricane known as Catherine Willows.
The two men started working on the decorations in the break room as soon as Grissom retreated to his office to tackle the stack of paper work that had accumulated on his desk during their shift. The yellow and pink banners that Archie and Sara had made, were put up and cups and plates were placed on the table. The brass dung beetle stood in a corner of the room, wrapped in almost neon pink gift paper, with green ribbons. The last time she'd put Greg in charge of wrapping the present, Catherine thought to herself. She started the tedious task of placing fifty candles on the oversized birthday cake, when Greg stormed into the break room, yelling, "he's coming! He's on his way to get coffee!"
"Quiet down! He'll hear you", Warrick warned.
"I'm not ready", Catherine said as she hurriedly and crookedly pushed the candles into the cream.
"Why couldn't he turn fifteen? I'd be done by now."
"Sara, stall him", Nick pleaded.
"Why me?"
"Cause I'm hanging up banners!"
"I…"
"Just bring him his coffee", Warrick suggested as he pushed Grissom's favorite mug of steaming java into her grasp.
"Go."
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
Sara stumbled out into the hallway and ran into Grissom just before he would round the corner.
"Grissom!"
"Careful, you'll spill your coffee."
"It's yours."
"Huh?"
"I was just bringing you coffee."
"What are you? Clairvoyant?"
Sara gave him a lop-sided grin and handed him the cup.
"Thanks."
"Welcome."
Grissom turned back towards his office with Sara on his tail. At his door he turned around.
"Are you following me?"
"Uhm…Yes."
"Why?", he asked as he sauntered deeper into the dark crypt that he called his office and put down his coffee on the two square inches of his desk that weren't cluttered.
"Uhm, I have to…"
"Yes?"
Grissom was getting increasingly agitated at this turn of events. So the lab was acting weird, Catherine wasn't talking to him and now Sara stood in his office stammering like an idiot. Where they trying to tell him he had B.O. or something? He involuntarily sniffed the air.
"It's just…There's something I need to ask."
Her tone wasn't quite right. All that acting she did in high school. Shakespeare even. Lot of good it did her now.
"Okay. You'll have to wait a minute. Cause I was actually on my way to the restroom when you seduced me with coffee. I'll be right back."
"No", Sara quickly said. The lavatory was on the other end of the hall, but he could head back to the break room without her knowing. And she was supposed to keep an eye on him, right? Can't track him into the bathroom. Although? No. Try to shake that mental image!
"No?" he queried, not quite believing his ears. This week was getting weirder by the minute.
"I'm sorry. Nature calls. But, you'll have my full attention in a couple of minutes", Grissom explained patiently as he made his way across his office. Sara caught his arm at the door. He spun around in surprise.
"Sara", pleaded in a hoarse whisper, almost paralysed by the scintillating sensation of her hand on his bare arm.
"Griss,…", Sara started, internally cursing Catherine for putting her in this predicament.
Fortunately, Catherine chose that moment to appear in Grissom's doorway. Sara released her firm grasp on his arm as Grissom tore his gaze away from where their skin had met.
"I need you to take a look at something, Gil, in the break room."
"Both of you are going to have to wait. I'll be there in a few", Grissom replied, eyes wide with astonishment. He pinched his arm on the way to the restroom. Nope, not dreaming.
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
Grissom spotted them halfway down the hall. Virtue of having glass walls. You could see what was going on in the lab at any time.
Why is everyone in the break room?He pinched himself harder this time.
Still not dreaming.
He turned the door knob slowly and waveringly stepped inside. The crowd broke out in a stentorian Happy Birthday. They sang louder and louder as Grissom's face moved through various shades of crimson.
As the initial shock wore off, Grissom put on his stern face and tried to look as annoyed as possible. Greg, in response, threw confetti in his face.
"Happy Birthday, Gil", Catherine shouted and threw herself into his embrace. She kissed each cheek elaborately and hugged him tightly and slightly longer than was comfortable for Grissom.
Warrick was a little more demure and half hugged his boss. The younger man patted him on the back affectionately. Nick repeated the gesture as Grissom grew increasingly soft-hearted. These people did care about him. In a way they replaced the family he never had.
Several other lab employees congratulated him on his fiftieth. A couple of female lab techs assuring him he didn't look a day over forty. Grissom gracefully accepted the compliments and smiled at the gathered crowd. One person was missing. One hug he'd missed. She stood at the far end of the room, looking more than a little uncomfortable. She was well aware that at some point she'd have to bite the bullet. Now's as good a time as any, she thought to herself, gathering strength. She worked her way through the crowd.
"Hi."
"Sara."
"Happy birthday."
"Thanks."
She stared at the floor, disdained by the fact that she couldn't muster up the courage to just hug him.
"I think I should get a hug, at least."
What? Did he just say that?
She chuckled nervously.
"Right."
He held out his arms and she leaned in to him, kissing his wonderfully scruffy cheeks. She could feel the heat rise up her own cheeks as his arms circled her waist for a second. His heart pounded in his chest and he was sure she could feel it. She did.
"Okay, Gil", Catherine said, effectively breaking the moment between a flustered Grissom and Sara.
"We have a bit of a gift. Warrick and Nick are taking care of that now. So you can read the card first."
Grissom grinned at the hippie mouse and quickly scanned the writings on the back. He smiled shyly at everyone and no one in particular.
"Thanks", he managed.
"Don't thank us yet. You still have to open your gift. As a matter of fact…"
Warrick and Nick dumped the large package on the table.
"Watch out for the cake!", Catherine chided.
Grissom glanced back at Greg.
"Did you wrap this?"
"Nick did!", he lied with a straight face, which earned him a slap around the ears from Nick.
"Open it!"
"Yeah, Grissom. Open it", others agreed.
He tore at the paper until the stately brass beetle artwork appeared. Grissom chuckled.
"I didn't have that yet."
"It's a dung beetle!", Greg unnecessarily explained.
"I know it's a dung beetle, Greg. I'm an entomologist. That's what I do. I know beetles. From the looks of it, it's a rendition of a very rare species, indigenous to northern parts of Africa. Fascinating, really. It's very lifelike."
"You like?"
Grissom nodded, all of a sudden a little overcome by his emotions. He hadn't expected this at all. Usually he'd be jumping to shirk this kind of an ordeal, but today, he just felt wanted and appreciated. So that's how normal people deal with this kind of thing.
Catherine pulled him into another hug. He squeezed her right back.
"Not mad?"
"No. Not yet."
She swatted at him.
"Cut the cake, birthday boy!"
Warrick handed him a knife.
"But first, blow out the candles! There's fifty of them."
"As if I needed a reminder!"
It took him five minutes to blow them all out. Catherine had used those quirky re-igniting ones, causing everyone to laugh as yet another dormant candle lit up again.
Grissom took it all in, kind-heartedly.
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
As everyone munched on cake and feasted on champagne, Grissom sought out Sara. She was chewing her last bite of cake when he found her.
"Hi."
"Happy fiftieth."
"Thanks again."
"You're not too embarrassed", Sara noted.
"It's fine, I'll live."
"Like your beetle?"
"Love it."
"Greg's idea."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He's got a couple of tricks up his sleeve that we haven't seen yet, I think."
"Undoubtedly."
They were silent for a few heartbeats.
"I remember when I said that to you."
"Huh?"
"The quote that you wrote on the card today. 'It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.'"
"I thought you would."
"Back then, you were trying to find your own path. You chose well."
"Did I?", she replied bitterly.
"Only you can know for sure."
She sighed.
"Why'd you write it down for me?"
"I thought maybe you were a little lost yourself. I wanted to remind you that it's all in your own hands."
She met his piercing gaze.
"Tempt not a desperate man!", he said.
"Another Shakespeare?"
"Yes. Very well."
"It's not a game, Grissom."
"I know. I'm painfully aware of that."
"I also wanted to remind you of that night, a lot of years ago, at Harvard. When you said it to me, when I was lost. You gave me focus again. Encouraged me pursue my dreams, to become a forensic scientist. But…"
She faltered.
"Yes?"
"Things are very different now. The way we were back then…I'd like to get it back."
"I can't turn back time, Sara."
"Right."
"But we could try to move on."
She looked up at him, not trusting her ears. She did trust his eyes though. Grissom stared at her with affection and a tinge of bitterness.
"Do you want to move on?"
"I want to try. I think I should try to get to know you again. And let you know me."
"Is this your midlife crisis speaking?", she joked.
"I'm way past that, honey."
He put an arm around her waist, drew her closer and kissed the top of her head, before releasing her again.
"Grissom", sara sighed.
"You want to come over to my place and check out my giant dung beetle sometime?"
He wiggled his eyebrows obscenely.
"If you let me pet him."
Grissom turned tomato red.
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Fin
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