Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, so please don't sue.

This is my first fan fiction, so be gentle. I wrote this long before the season finale and this was how I imagined the surgery would turn out. The title is taken partly from the idea that he is having surgery and also the episode titled "The Execution of Catherine Willows". So read, enjoy, tell me what you think. Should I keep writing?

"The Dissection of Gil Grissom"

Chapter One

Sara Sidle walked into the Las Vegas Crime Scene Investigation Unit on a Saturday afternoon after she and Warrick Brown had just wrapped up a Jane Doe case in the desert. It had been an all-nighter and Sara yawned as Catherine Willows handed her a cup of coffee. "Long night, huh?"

"Yeah, Warrick and I just finished a Jane Doe." Sara replied as she took a small sip of her coffee. "What are you doing here? Aren't you working on that Doppler case?"

"I am. Just waiting on some results from trace." Catherine replied.

"Well, thanks for the coffee. Let me know if you guys need any help." Sara yawned again.

"You should just be going home now. We'll call you if there's anything you can do…" Catherine was interrupted by Greg Sanders.

"Hey, you better come look at this." Sara threw her finished coffee cup into the trash as they followed Greg in to the common room.

"What is it?" Catherine asked, "A break in my case?"

"Not exactly. You see, my aunt is celebrating her seventieth birthday next month and I received an invitation to attend but the only problem is that it is in San Francisco. So I went to go put the dates on the board so I can get the time off…" Greg chattered on.

"Is this the important news you came to tell us then?" Sara asked, looking disappointed.

"No." Greg replied.

"Then GET ON WITH IT." Catherine and Sara exclaimed exasperatedly.

"I am getting there. I'm getting there. So I look on the calendar and I see that Grissom has three weeks blocked off, starting next week."

Surprised, Greg stepped aside and said, "Go ahead and see for yourself." The girls looked and sure enough there was three full weeks with Grissom's name running through them in red pen. And in small letters next to his name were the words medical leave. Catherine looked somewhat surprised, but it was Sara who had the most puzzled look on her face. Greg said, "I told you this was important. Well, I better get back to your DNA that you wanted." Greg whistled as he walked down the hall into his office. Sara was still startled and distracted but managed to rattle off a "Thanks Greg." Stunned, she sat down in her chair. It felt like the room was spinning. She closed her eyes for a second and Catherine walked over to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Catherine asked her friend.

Sara opened her eyes and began rubbing her forehead; she could feel a migraine coming on. "How long have you known?"

Catherine sat down next to her on the couch and sighed. "A month or so." Sara was stilling attempting to process this information when she asked, "What is it for?" Catherine replied, "That, kiddo, is what you will have to ask him yourself." Sara sighed. "Do you know where I can find him?" Catherine pushed back a lock of her hair behind her ear. "He was in his office about fifteen minutes ago. I should get back to the case, but if there is anything I can do for you, honey, just let me…" Catherine didn't have time to finish as Sara had gotten up from the couch and left the room. Catherine shook her head and smiled.

Sara looked inside Grissom's office and saw him sitting at his desk, feeding one of his several bug "pets" that he had extracted from several bodies. Grissom was proud of these bugs because he claimed that they cracked the case. In many instances they did, but the idea of keeping them in his refrigerator after they too had expired grossed most people out, including Sara. Sara attempted to take a deep breath but it came out short and shallow. 'What is wrong with me?' she thought. 'It is just Grissom.' She attempted to take another deep breath and could feel her heart pounding in her ribcage as she walked inside his office.

Surprised to see Sara, Gil Grissom looked up from his work and took off his glasses. "Weren't you supposed to be off tonight, Sara?" he asked. Sara nodded. Grissom could see that she was uncomfortable but he did not know why. "So what can I do for you, Sara?" Grissom asked, attempting to break the ice. Sara was surprised at how direct his question was. She answered nervously, "Greg brought it to our attention that you are going to be leaving us for about a month starting next week. I was just wondering what you were up to." Grissom responded, "It's a medical forum. I needed to brush up on some of the latest forensic techniques." Sara was shocked that Grissom would flat out lie to her about his absence. Disappointed, Sara said quietly, "Okay, then. I guess I'll be going now. Bye." With that, Sara walked out of Grissom's office. He stood up to stop her but he was too late. Confused and not knowing whether he should tell her the truth or not, he sighed and attempted to return to work.

Sara needed answers and she needed them now. She frantically searched the office building for Catherine. 'Damn it. Where is she?' she thought. Sara called Catherine's cell and barely let Catherine answer hello before exclaiming, "He lied. He lied to me. He told me that he was going to a medical forum to 'brush up' on forensic techniques." Sara was getting angrier and more worked up as she continued to talk.

Finally Catherine managed to get a word in and she said, "Sara, if he needed to tell you, then he would. It can't come from me, not this kind of news, not this time. Just try to be patient. I have to go pick up Linds so can we continue this conversation later?" There was a pause for a couple seconds and Catherine had thought for a moment that Sara had hung up. Sara answered finally, "Okay. Thanks." She hung up the phone and sighed again. Sara didn't know why, but she started to cry. It was a silent cry but one that shook her body and hurt her chest. She couldn't stop so she sat inside her office crying at her desk. She didn't notice that it was past midnight or that most of the other staff members had gone home, and she definitely didn't notice that Grissom was standing outside her door. He knocked and she looked up at him with blood-shot eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Alarmed, Grissom said, "Sara, what's wrong?" She sniffed and wiped away the freshest tears with the back of her hand. She cleared her throat and said, "I didn't think that anyone is still here." He could tell that something was bothering her, but what he noticed most of all was the fact that she refused to look him in the eyes. He tried to change his position so he could see her face, but she shielded it by standing up. She began gathering her things and said, "I should be going home now. Good night, Grissom."

Determined not to make the same mistake he had made earlier that night, Grissom blurted out, "Sara, I'm having surgery." Sara dropped her things and turned towards him. "What did you say?" This time she looked at him straight in the eyes. "I'm having surgery. On my ears, for my hearing. I can't tell anyone, it would jeopardize my work, my job, everything I have worked so hard for."

Sara walked up to him and touched his cheek. "But you told me." He touched her hand and he wiped away another tear with his finger. He looked at the tear sitting on his finger and then he did something amazing, something very unlike Grissom. He kissed it. He kissed her tear. He held it to her again and asked, "Is that why you were crying, Sara? Did I cause you pain?" Sara tried to shake her head no, but it came out a feeble yes. He took her face in his hands and she noticed for the first time that there were tears in his eyes, too. As a solitary tear ran down his face, Sara took her finger, wiped away his tear and kissed it.

Grissom was so moved by the simple act of kindness that he started to cry. Big heaving sobs that wracked his body. Sara held him as he cried to her, "I'm scared, Sara. I've never been so scared before. I've never been so alone." Sara interrupted him. "Grissom, you are not alone. This profession cares about you, the people you save care about you, the office cares about you…." Grissom stopped crying, took her wrists gently in his hands and asked her, "Sara, do you care about me?" Sara was shocked by his boldness and she nodded. Grissom took her hands and turned them over and kissed them. He had stopped crying and so he left her. And yet again, Sara was left alone, feeling more confused and mixed up than ever before.