Bubbled
By Dany
Summary: Bubble wrap brings some geeks to their knees.
A/N: I think this makes absolutely no sense, but I just went with the idea. It was fun to write, and I really hope it's fun to read too.
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI and its characters.
xxxxx
"Okay, I may be missing something, but…what's with the bubble wrap?"
Sara strode into Grissom's office, finding the floor covered in the airy material. However, the funniest thing was that Grissom was sitting on the floor, surrounded by the bubble wrap.
She pressed her lips tightly together, hoping to suppress the laugh that 'bubbled' up, at the sight in front of her.
"Wait, don't tell me…experiment," she teased him, really curious about his explanation.
The corner of his mouth turned up, but it only made him look funnier. "I wish."
His arms were flailing around helplessly, obviously not knowing where he should turn to first, waving a magnifying glass.
"Then what are you doing?" Sara moved away from her spot in the doorway, entering the office, careful not to step on the bubble wrap, but it was impossible.
She swallowed a giggle as the air filled cavities popped beneath her feet, and Grissom cringed.
"Stop that, Sara." She relaxed a bit at his voice, which sounded not so much angry, but rather amused.
"You want me to stop moving?" It was so much fun to tease him, and she didn't think she should stop yet. He was too cute in his confused state.
"Yes, no…just…stay there for a minute."
She smiled at his desperation, but decided to abide to his wishes. "So, are you ever gonna tell me?"
"I have no idea." His statement stumped her. No idea about what? When he was going to tell her, or no idea what was going on?
"Oh-kay, so why am I not supposed to move?" She crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow in question, waiting for an explanation.
"When I entered my office at the beginning of shift there was some of this here. Prank, probably Greg. I left, handed out assignments and went to talk to 'Greggo', but he swears that it wasn't him. And when I came back, it had tripled in quantity. Since inert material does not spontaneously multiply by itself…" He looked up and let out an exasperated sigh.
"You're not really trying to tell me that you're searching for prints, fibers or DNA?" Now she started laughing out loud, not caring what kind of impression she made.
His face told her he was serious, which made her laugh harder, moving her arms to her stomach, holding it while she bent down, gasping for air.
"Griss," she could barely get the words out between laughing and trying not to suffocate. "This is… not… a crime…scene."
He frowned at her behavior, but then he got a strange glint in his eyes that she couldn't place. Before she could even grasp what he had planned, she felt herself tumbling as Grissom pulled on the mat of bubble wrap she was standing on.
She shrieked and when she landed on her butt there was a crackle of little explosions as more of the cavities gave away to her weight.
It was Grissom now who couldn't stop his mirth, while Sara looked shocked that Grissom of all people would do something like that.
"Grissom?" Her cheeks reddened when she followed his gaze towards the door where the whole night shift stood, eyes wide and mouths agape at the sight before them.
"What the…" It was Catherine who broke the stunned silence, but she couldn't get past those words.
Sara shot Grissom a dirty look before trying to get up, but Grissom tugged on the mat again – this time accidentally as he tried to stand up too – and send her to her knees again.
"Hey!" Sara heard a snicker from the door and whipped her head around to stare the others down.
"Well, that wasn't how we planned it, but…" Catherine sighed and hurried away, only to return a minute later with a cake complete with burning candles.
She nodded at the others, and they all called, "Happy Anniversary!"
Grissom looked confused, but as he calculated the date and the years in his head, he groaned when he realized what they were getting at. Twenty years in Vegas.
He looked at Sara who had a big smile on her face, her indignation gone.
"This was your idea?" He looked at Catherine, finding her affirming his suspicion with a nod.
"Why this?"
"To make sure, you would stay in your office. And of course, for fun."
He groaned, but the smile tugged at his lips. "There must have been an easier way. And why the bubble wrap?"
He heard Sara giggle again and narrowed his eyes. "You…"
"I know you hate that sound," Sara admitted, knowing he was just remembering the moment a couple of weeks ago when he had told her while unpacking a couple of framed insects. "I knew you wouldn't be able to let it go."
Catherine stepped deliberately forward onto one of the mats, grinning at the crackling sound. "You ever gonna blow the candles out, or should I drop the cake, cause my arms are falling asleep?"
Grissom began to pout and crossed his arms in front of his chest as a defensive gesture. "No!"
"Party Pooper," Nick called, making the others laugh again.
"You're all working decomps until not even lemons will help anymore," Grissom ground out, knowing he was fighting a losing battle.
"Well, good thing this is a lemon cake then," Catherine threw back and with Grissom's look of defeat they knew they had him.
"All right," he grumbled, moving to stand up.
When Sara turned away to get enough leverage to pull herself up, she felt the tug on the mat again, but this time she was prepared. She kept her balance, turned around and pulled on the mat Grissom was crouching on, making him fall down.
His befuddled expression cracked everyone up and for the fun of it, she laughed as she threw herself to the floor again.
The end