"Hey, Sara. Would you waddle on over here and come take a look at this?", Nick asked with a big grin on his face.

Sara looked gravely at him.

"You know, I had a number of hypotheses about how you guys would react when I told you I was pregnant. Your incessant mockery of my expanding form wasn't one of them."

Nick started to stammer an apology until he saw her trademark gaptoothed smile directed at him. He grinned back at her as she approached his side of the lay out table. Her eight month pregnant belly was indeed causing her to walk a little less elegantly, she noticed. The mere thought of it made her smile, however.

"What do you make of this?", Nick inquired as he held up a pink fiber with his tweezers.

Sara took the sample from him and looked at it under the magnifying glass with a furrowed brow.

"It looks like hair, but I bet it isn't. A strand of faux hair from a wig, maybe?" She looked back up at him.

"A bright pink wig? That's just a little weird to me."

"Mind if I interject?"

Warrick's voice drifted in from the doorway. He eyed Sara with a mix of worry and curiosity as he walked over to the twosome. Sara stood with both her hands on her lower back, looking a little flustered.

"You ok, girl?"

"Yeah. I'm just…heavy", she said, "and she, or he", Sara quickly corrected, "kicks like soccer player."

Warrick put his hand over her belly and looked up surprised as he felt the baby move.

"Wow, I think he just threw a punch at me. Can't even begin to fathom how that must feel with the baby inside, you know."

"It's lovely", Sara replied simply.

Both men smiled at her. She was radiant and in a wonderful mood most of the time. The whole team had suffered through her early pregnancy morning sickness with her. Or in Sara's case, evening sickness. But after the rocky first few months, things had settled down and a peacefulness had come over her.

"So, I saw that fiber you found", Warrick went on, "I think Sara's right. Do you remember that show we went to, a couple of weeks ago"

He looked at Nick.

"The one at the MGM Grand?"

"Yep. The dancers were wearing these pink wigs, remember? Could be something like that."

"Yeah, I wasn't really looking at the wigs though, man."

"You guys went to a show?", Sara asked.

"Yeah, this friend of mine, she's a dancer. Got her first big starring role in the new production at the MGM. She gave me tickets to go see it. Couldn't pass up on that, right?"

"Topless", Nick said.

Sara gave him a funny look.

"It was a topless show."

"Yeah", Warrick nodded.

Both men seemed to stare vacantly for a while.

"Okay", Sara said with mock disgust, "you can wipe the saliva from your faces and get on with your jobs now."

The men smiled conspiratorially at each other and burst out lauging.

"You didn't invite Grissom, or did you?"

"It was a strictly no bugs show, didn't think he'd be interested, Sar", Warrick joked.

Sara couldn't help but laugh.

~~~

"Something funny?"

Another voice resounded from the doorway.

The threesome burst into more laughter as they saw Grissom standing there, looking very confused. 

"No man", Warrick chuckled.

Sara wiped the happy tears from her eyes.

"We've identified the fiber we found on the sleeve of the victim's shirt. We think it's from a wig", Sara managed to get out.

Grissom, still looking a little bewildered, nodded.

"Great. Brass has a suspect in custody. There seems to have been a long lasting feud between her and the victim."

"Is, uhm, she a showgirl by any chance?", Nick inquired.

"Yes. She's in the new show at the MGM. Why?"

"We were at the show. So was that fiber. If we could match it to the suspects wig, we can nail her", Nick explained.

"Okay, great work. Go tell Brass, he's interviewing the suspect right now."

"Alrighty."

"Warrick, why don't you go help Catherine with processing the B&E? And Sara, I want to have a word with you, meet me in my office."

Warrick gave Sara a reassuring smile as he quietly filed out of the room with Nick.

~~~

"Hey", Sara said as she closed Grissom's office door behind her.

Grissom looked up from his desk with a big smile on his face.

"Hi."

He walked from behind his desk and pulled out a chair for her to sit.

Sara sunk down on it with a sigh.

"How are you?", he asked leaning back against his desk.

"A little tired but otherwise fine."

Grissom let out a sigh.

"You look beautiful. Have I told you that today?"

"Only about fifteen times since this morning", Sara said grinningly.

"I wasn't counting."

He crouched down in front of her and tentatively placed a hand on her swollen belly. Sara reached for his hand with her own and placed it on the spot were the baby had kicked before. The baby didn't move this time.

"Maybe he's tired", Grissom said.

"He usually feels it when I am tired. He keeps quiet then."

"Thoughtful."

"Like his dad."

Grissom smiled at her.

"You consider me to be thoughtful?"

"You've only complimented my radiant beauty a gazillion times today."

"It used to be different. I…used to be different", he said slightly sadly.

"That's all in the past, Gil. It's okay."

"I still can't believe you've given me another chance. You've given me so much."

"Can't help it. I kind of have a thing for you. For some strange reason", Sara said with a smirk.

"Come here."

Grissom pulled her up by her hands. He couldn't help but stare at her lovingly as she stood there before him, with her big belly and a glowing smile.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. Sara 's belly bumped his as their lips met. They slowly pulled away from each other with contented sighs.

"I love you, Sara."

"I know. I love you too."

"Do they know?"

"Nick, Warrick and Catherine?"

"Yeah."

"You'd think they would have figured it out by now, right. Being criminalists and all. But no, I don't think so."

"I might have to demote them, their analytical skills seem to falter."

"On the other hand, nothing criminal is going on here, so it's nothing that should arouse their suspicion, is it?"

"Good point. So that justifies putting one of them in charge when we take time of."

"Maybe they still won't have figured it out."

"Until he starts playing with bugs."

"And learns all the Latin names for them."

He silenced her laughter with a kiss.

~Fin~