Author's Note: Just a quick post-ep one-shot of a series of conversations that wouldn't leave my head and were interrupting my WIP Tortured Mind. They didn't fit the tone of that piece, so...
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Conversations
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"You know, Gil, I was thinking ..."
"Mmmm, 'bout what, honey?"
"What, exactly, did Ecklie ask you about our relationship?"
"He said, and I quote, 'So, when did you two... you know?' Why?"
"Well, he initially asked me when we began our relationship, and I told him we'd always had a relationship... He didn't like that much, so he asked when we became 'intimate.' I figured, for Ecklie at least, that was his way of asking about a more physical intimacy..."
"Mmm, two years ago. Sunday, I think it was..."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too... Anyway, guess it just boils down to Ecklie being Ecklie... Did he even pass 'Conducting an Interview 101'?"
"Ah, Conrad. I'm not that shocked, really... You know, honey, I've been thinking too..."
"Surprise, surprise..."
"Mmm, well, I think we need to find some less stressful ways of celebrating the anniversary of our 'intimacy.' Last year Jim bravely goes and gets himself shot, and ends up in the hospital. This year it's you... Let's not have any hospitals next year, 'kay?"
"Well, it is kind of ironic considering it all started after leaving Nick in the hospital... Hopefully we can break the jinx... or maybe next year we'll be in the maternity ward."
"Hmm, maybe we can discuss that possibility later... We should probably get up. The gang will be here soon."
"I'm glad you invited them over, but it sure feels strange not needing to hide..."
"'For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.' I'm glad they know the truth..."
"Byron... figures."
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"So, Jim, was this the juicy gossip you were bragging about during the Lady Heather thing?"
"Yeah, guess it's not so juicy anymore."
"How'd you find out?"
"Well, it goes like this... The morning after we solved that case with the dead show girls, I thought I'd go see how Sara was doin' and if she might need a friend who's seen it, ya know? Anyway, I go to her apartment, but no Sara. Try calling her cell, no answer. So I'm gettin' a bit worried, and think I might drop in on Gil, let him know, see if he's heard from her since the case ended. As I'm driving up his street, what do I see but Gil and Sara, HOLDING HANDS, and walking this great big boxer. I figured she was gonna be just fine, and took off..."
"Wait, wait! Not only are they together, but they've got a dog?!"
"Yep, looked like it... We'll probably get to meet the brute today."
"God, where have I been?"
"Well, Cath, they are trained investigators. They know how cover their tracks."
"Ah, but I should know how to uncover them."
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"Hey Warrick, Greggo here seems to think he knew about the whole Grissom/Sara thing before the rest of us. What do you think?"
"Well, Nick, I think Greg's a bit full of himself... but maybe we should give him a chance to explain how he figured it out before we did, cause I'm sure neither Sara nor Grissom told him."
"C'mon guys! Didn't you notice how they changed? Going home on time, actually taking their days off... You had to know!"
"Yeah, Cath and I were discussing that, actually, right before Griss left for his sabbatical. I figured he had a girlfriend, but Sara... No way, I figured she would have told me. I mean, if they were together then, doesn't that mean he just took off on her, disappeared for four weeks?"
"What about how much more comfortable she was around him? She totally stood up to him for me during the whole coroner's inquest thing. And he's been a lot nicer to me too..."
"Greg, Greg, Greg... I still think you're full of it. You looked just as dumbfounded as the rest of us back there when Griss spilled the beans. Come on, Warrick, back me up here."
"Sounds like you've come to a little 'after the fact' realization, Greg, just like the rest of us."
"You just don't want to admit to my superior investigative skills."
"Pfft... yeah, that's it, right..."
"Keep on deluding yourself, Greg, man."
"Maybe we should ask Griss and Sara when we get there, huh Greg?"
"I didn't tell them I knew! Do you think I'm crazy?!"
"Uh... was that a rhetorical question?"
"Come to think of it, that veggie burger seemed a little suspicious to me at the time, but I shrugged it off... Maybe we should all get reverse-vision like Greg, here."
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"Did you know about this, Doc?"
"No David. Not exactly... I suspected that something was up with Gil, but couldn't quite put my finger on it. He just seemed a little more upbeat recently, but I believed that was because his sabbatical had done him some good. Actually, they both seemed a bit happier last year than they had in a while, but I thought it was just because the team was back together. I wonder when it happened..."
"I wonder if they were already together during the Cutler case. You know when Brass claimed that 'single boy' was the only smart one."
"You know, I thought Gil might be trying to mislead me a little when spun that story of the time he had been close to marriage, back in the second grade... Then again, for him, it definitely seemed plausible."
"After the Diane Chase homicide, I heard rumours that Sara was against marriage, or weddings at least. Maybe he's not that close to marriage, even now."
"Mmm. Maybe not. You know, you're probably the best informed man I've ever worked with, considering that I never see you gossip. I'm surprised you didn't know about Gil and Sara before they knew themselves."
"I'm happy for them."
"Yeah, I am too, I am too. They both deserve this."
"So, Missus Robbins couldn't make it tonight?"
"No, she already had something else scheduled. What about your wife?"
"She's working tonight. I heard Warrick is getting a divorce... Guess it'll be just the night gang today."
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A/N: Feedback greatly appreciated. Nitpicks Welcome!
