Disclaimer: I don't own CSI, or any of its characters. However, it is Christmas. I'm just saying, I wouldn't turn down such a gift.
A/n: I hope everyone enjoys this. This is my Christams/Hanukkah present to you. Please read and review. That will be my Chritmas present from you.
Eggnog Confessions
Grissom was in his office going over some files when Sara walked in. He looked up as she closed the door with a quiet click. He watched as she went to the blinds and closed them, making it impossible for anyone to see inside. Through this entire process she had kept one hand hidden. As she walked towards his desk, he watched, intrigued. She skirted the desk and came up beside him. Bringing up the hand that she had hidden behind her back, she smiled and dangled a sprig of mistletoe over his head. "Merry Christmas darling." She said as she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his. He brought up a hand and put it to the back of her head, holding her in place, just in case she got the idea to pull back too soon.
After several long moments they separated, and he smiled. "Merry Christmas, Dear." He would have gone in for another kiss, but there was a knock at the door. They both looked towards it, holding their breath.
"Grissom? Are you in there? Hey man, I need your opinion on a case I'm working on." Nick shouted through the door. Grissom and Sara looked at each other, eyes twinkling with barely concealed mirth. They listened as Nick started muttering to himself, hearing the occasional word, but otherwise hearing a whole lot of nothing. After a few seconds, his voice was joined by another.
"Hey Nick, why are you hanging around Grissom's door?" They heard Greg question.
Nick replied. "I wanted to talk to Grissom about something, but he's not answering his door."
"Huh, well Nick, maybe he's not in there. Grissom's door is always open if he's in there." Greg pointed out. "Just in case, did you try the door?"
Nick rolled his eyes. "Of course I did, it's locked."
"Well than Nick, keen investigator that you are, wouldn't that indicate that he's not in there? I'm just saying. You know, I think I heard Grissom mention that he would be over at P.D. questioning that suspect from his arson case. Now, maybe I can give you a hand, you know I'm currently without case. You could benefit from my vast knowledge of...whatever your case is about."
"Oh, you think you could help..." There voices faded away as they walked down the hall. Inside the office, Grissom and Sara shared a smile.
"Well, I guess I'd better get back to work." Sara said, caressing his cheek. She leaned down and gave his one last kiss. "There, that will have to last you until tonight. What time is the party?"
Grissom straightened up in his chair as she walked back around the desk. "Hmm. Oh, Seven, but I have to be there early to get things set up.
"Oh yeah. And how exactly did Eckley manage to corner you?" Sara grinned.
Fiddling with some papers on his desk, he kept his eyes averted. "He just… you know, caught up with me."
"What? Was your Eckley radar on the blink? You're usually so good at avoiding him." Sara teased. "C'mon, where'd he catch you?"
Sighing, Grissom finally looked up. "If you must know, he followed me into the Men's room. You know how shy my bladder is, he practically held me hostage. It became a choice between agreeing to help organize the party or my bladder bursting. I chose the less physically damaging of the two.
Sara tried to hold back the laugh, but it just wasn't possible. Giggling she walked back over to him. "Oh Baby, I'm so sorry." She stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do you at least have some help?
"Catherine was roped into planning it also, so she helped. Well actually, she did most of the work. All I have to do is pick up the raffle tickets for the door prizes. Plus, I have to help set up the decorations. I just didn't like the way Eckley went about getting me to do it, a simple phone call would have done it." He said, chagrined.
"Well, let's just hope he didn't use the same method of persuasion with Catherine." Patting his shoulder, she turned and walked to the windows. "He must not have, or else we would have noticed something, a limp or a high pitched voice." Turning to unlock and open the door, she turned back. "Come to think of it, have you seen Eckley lately? I mean since he cornered you? Hmm… maybe you should give him a call just to make sure he's okay." Grinning, she turned and walked down the hall.
Sara stopped outside the entrance to the ballroom, reaching up to make sure that her hair was still in the sleek chignon that she had finally managed. She'd left a few curly tendrils to frame her face. Luckily, it seemed to have held. Smoothing her hand down the front of her dress, she took a deep breath. She hadn't been this nervous in a long time. She'd brought the dress a few weeks ago, spending more money than she had ever spent on a dress, but it had caught her eye, and all she had been able to think of is the look on Grissom's face when he saw her in it. Wanting him to see the full picture, he hadn't been allowed him to see it. It was cranberry red, fitting for the season, with long sleeves that accentuated the slimness of her arms. The vee neck dipped to the bottom of her sternum in front, and mid-back, in back. Everywhere else it clung like a second skin, until it reached her knees where it loosened up and the front ended at the top of her feet and the back trailed off in a small train. Around her neck, she wore a choker of small pearls. She knew she looked good, and she couldn't wait to see the look on her co-workers faces. But there was one face she wanted to see most of all. As she walked through the door, here eyes scanned the room. In the center was a large dance floor, surrounded by round tables that seated anywhere from four to ten people. Many members of the department were milling around, and some were seated at the tables. She finally found the table where most of the night shift was sitting. Taking a deep breath she began walking towards the table. As she neared the table Greg looked up and gave a low whistle. This caught everyone else's attention. Heads turned in unison and there was a collective gasp. Warrick was the first to gather his wits and greet her.
"Wow Sara, you look great!" He got up, took her hand and twirled her around. "Girl, you and I have got to dance later; the world can not be denied the view of the two of us together." And indeed, he looked very GQ in his classic black tux.
"Well who am I to deny the world, but won't Tina mind me stealing her man away?" She said looking around for Warrick's wife.
"Huh…well she'd have to be here to have a problem with it, and as she isn't here, I think I'll dance with anyone I want to." At this he turned to Catherine and gave a little bow. "That includes you, My Lady. I do hope you'll give me the honor."
Catherine, who was wearing a floor length sleeveless ice blue beaded dress, winked and gave a flirtatious smile. "It would give me great pleasure, just a long as it's after my dance with Greg; I'll need something to look forward to while he's dancing on my toes."
Greg jumped up. "Hey! I'll have you know that I've been taking lessons, and I can smoke all you guys on the dance floor." At this he did a fancy dance move, and tipped the fedora that he was wearing with his vintage tux, he was sporting a seventies rock band tee-shirt in place of the traditional tux shirt.
Sara laughed and patted his arm. "I'd be delighted to dance with you Greg, might I say you look great. You've really taken to the Old Vegas look, haven't you?"
"Well what can I say? When it works, it works. Everyone has there own style, it just so happens that mine is vintage, while Nick here works the Texas boy image." He put his arm around Nick and gestured to his Wrangler jeans, teamed with a black tuxedo jacket with a mandarin collar, over a pleated black shirt. Topping the look was a bolo tie instead of a bow tie.
"Well the ladies seem to like it." He said, exaggerating his drawl. "Hey Sar, I'll be wanting a dance also. I'll bet I can out dance both these clods."
"I say, that sounds like a mighty fine idea," Sara said with a bob of her head. "I'll make sure to add you to my dance card." She laughed and ran her eyes around the table, looking for the one person who she really wanted to see. He didn't seem to be around. "Hey, where's Grissom? Don't tell me he got out of coming this year." She hoped she didn't sound too curious, or nervous.
"Oh, he's around somewhere. He and I were here early to get everything set up, and last I saw him, he was talking to the band, but than he was going to change, he didn't want to get his tux dirty…Ah, here he is." Catherine finished looking over Sara's shoulder.
Sara turned and could barely keep her mouth from dropping open. In fact, it took every molecule she possessed not to run and throw her arms around him, begging to be taken home so that they could be alone.
Grissom was having the same reaction. Never did a night stretch so far in front of him. Tearing his eyes away from Sara, he turned to the rest of the team. "You guys all look great. You'd never know that we were all used to dealing with blood spatter and brain matter. It was a good idea to make this years party a formal one. Though, I for one can't wait to get out of this tux and into something more comfortable." He couldn't help his eyes shifting back to Sara as he said the last.
"Well Gil, you look very handsome, very classic. I see you even managed to tie your own tie." Catherine said, looking him up and down. He was wearing a cream colored tuxedo, paired with a cream pleated shirt, and cummerbund, and bow tie.
"Yes well, I made sure that it would be done properly." He said with a small smile.
Sara hid her own smile. She had been there the many nights when he practiced tying that tie, determined to do it himself. "Yes, you do look nice. As does this place, you and Catherine did a bang up job with the decorating."
Grissom smiled. "Well, it was mostly Catherine, I just leant my hands. Oh, you look very nice as well."
Catherine rolled her eyes. "You guys might want to pull back on the compliments. You might actually give the impression that you're human." She smirked at them. The rest of the team laughed. Grissom and Sara avoided each other's eyes.
Thankfully, Doc Robins came up just than. He too was dressed in a classic tux, his in black. "Hey guys, I hope this party warms up soon, I've had people on the table with more life in them. Hey, looks like the band is warming up. You guys ready to party?"
Two hours later they were seated around the table, glumly contemplating their dinner plates. "Well, I can't be positive, but I think that chicken was the driest chicken I've ever eaten...well, tried to eat." Brass remarked laconically. He had come in about a half hour after everybody else, having been finishing up some paperwork in anticipation of his vacation, which was starting tomorrow. "And what was that green gunk? I tell ya, whoever hired that caterer should be shot. I'll be surprised if half the department doesn't go down with food poisoning"
"Hey!" Exclaimed Catherine. " We had NOTHING to do with the food."
"Yeah, that was Eckley's department." Grissom seconded. "In fact, he insisted on being in charge of the food."
"In that case," Doc piped in." remind me next year to lock him in the morgue cooler. I could hardly eat a bite. You know, when I heard that we were having steak I didn't know it would be Eckley's old shoes." Everyone laughed.
"You guys think you have it bad? There was not one edible vegetable dish on the buffet." Sara groaned. " God, I'm starving!"
"Hey!" Grissom exclaimed. " I have an idea, why don't we all go back to my place for pizza and eggnog?" This was met my shocked stares all around, but none more shocked than Sara. She could not believe he had just done that. Her things were scattered all over their apartment.
With her eyes fixed on him she asked, "Grissom, are you sure? It's getting kind of late."
"Of course I'm sure, and it's only nine o'clock. Plus, we're all starving." He looked around the table, and everyone nodded, agreeing that they were indeed still starving.
"Goodness, I couldn't just invite people over at a moments notice. Why just tonight I left my apartment in a shambles. Clothes thrown everywhere, and the rest of the place is also a big mess." She widened her eyes at him meaningfully, and he finally caught on.
"Uh, well, that may be the case, and in fact, I just remembered that I did leave the place in a bit of a dishabille. Umm, okay, I have an idea, why don't we all go home and change, and meet back at my place in say... an hour." Grissom thought he'd handled that pretty well. "Let's decide what kind of pizza we want to order now, and I'll go ahead and call when I get home, that way they should be delivered soon after you guys get there." Everyone agreed, and after deciding on the pizza to get, they went their separate ways.
Grissom and Sara arrived home, and Sara ran around collecting anything that wouldn't look like Grissom owned it. "What in the world possessed you! Since when do you invite everyone over to your house. In all the years I've knownyou, you've never done that." Sara said as she considered the livingroom, checking to see if there was anything that didn't fit. Her eyes landed on the book shelves. "Uh Gil, do you think that they'll go through the books? Both of ours are all mixed up. This is what you get for wanting them in alphabetical order. If we'd gone with my suggestion, all of mine would be at the end."
Grissom came up behind her and put his arms around her. "Will you relax, no one will look through my book selections..." He was cut off by Sara's laugh.
"If you think Catherine's going to see books entitled "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul", and "Knitting for Beginners", and not question it, well you're not the Gil Grissom I know." Sara Scoffed. "She may buy the mysteries, and maybe even the couple of romances, but she's not a dunce."
"Look, if she asks, I'll tell her that they belonged to my mother, and when she died I kept them around as reminders. After all, some of those books were my mother's. Reading was a great joy of her's." He turned her around and kissed her. "As for why I invited everyone here, I'm opening myself up, which YOU Miss Sidle are responsible for. Loving you makes my want to... I don't know, get to know other's better. And I got everyone a gift, and this would be the perfect time to give them out. Now, why don't you get changed, and I'll go order the pizza and mix up the eggnog." Kissing her on the nose, he turned her around and gave her a nudge towards the bedroom. " Anyway, if I were you, I'd worry more about the lingerie spread from the bedroom to the bathroom, rather then the books."
Gasping, Sara took off to pick up the lacy garments. "I couldn't decide what to where tonight, so I tried on several options. I was in such a hurry, that I just scattered them wherever I happened to be, figuring that I pick them up when I got home."
Deciding to wait a few minutes on the pizza, he followed her into the bedroom. Leaning in the doorway, he watched as she returned the scanty objects to their correct drawers. "Sara ?" He whispered. "Did I tell you how... phenomenal you looked tonight." Walking over, he put his arms around her.
"Oh, phenomenal am I?" Sara put her arms around him.
"Oh yes, phenomenal, beautiful, fabulous, sexy, whatever adjective you want, that's what you are." Leaning over her nuzzled her neck.
"Well, you don't look half bad yourself, Handsome." She pushed her fingers into his hair and brought his head up, leaving a mere inch of space between their lips. "Far sexier than was good for me." She whispered. "You had be squirming every time I looked at you." She brought their lips together, and slowly slid her tongue across his lips. Then she started nibbling. Finally he grabbed her close, and took charge of the kiss. Minutes passed, and it wasn't until a car horn sounded outside that they pulled apart. Groaning, he kissed her once more than backed away.
"You sure do pick your moments, Sweetheart. But...we don't have time right now. We'll just have to...wait until later. Now, you get dressed, and I'll go order the pizza." He backed out of the room. He turned and made his way to the kitchen. Putting his hands on the counter, he hung his head down. Taking a few deep breaths, he slowly counted to ten. Finally he walked over to the phone and called the pizza place. A few minutes later when she came into the kitchen, he was mixing up the eggnog. She had changed into jeans and a tee-shirt.
"You know I was thinking, it might be a good idea if I'm not here when they get here. Why don't I run to the store and pick up some chips and a few soft drinks. Just in case someone doesn't want the eggnog." She walked over beside him and watched as he stirred.
"Sure, if that's what you want to do. They should be here in about thirty minutes." He stopped stirring and looked at her. "You want me to call when they get here."
"Why don't you call after the first one gets here." She turned around and walked towards the door. "That way maybe I won't be the last to arrive. Oh, and look around, make sure that I took care of everything. A few things look a little more out of place for a single man, but I didn't see anything too feminine and out of place. Oh, and don't forget to change. It might seem a little odd if you're the only one formally dressed, and it's your apartment." When he turned around to comment, she was gone.
He was just taking a last look around when the doorbell rang. It was Catherine. "Hey, make yourself comfortable, the pizza is on its way, do you want a drink now, of will you wait until everyone gets here?" She just looked at him. "Right. Eggnog coming right up." He turned and went into the kitchen. He called out, "Oh, Sara called and she's going to bring some soft drinks for those that may not want to imbibe." He brought back her cup of nog, and gestured toward the entertainment center. "There's some Christmas CD's sitting on top of there, why don't you pick something out. I have to run to the little boys room." When he got the bathroom he took at his phone and called Sara. He let her know what he'd told Catherine, and that it was okay to come back.
When he came back out, "A Holly Jolly Christmas" was playing. Catherine was sitting on the sofa. "Hey, when you'd get the new sofa? This is mighty comfortable." She stretched out and propped her feet up on the coffee table. He smiled remembering the uh, comfortable times he and Sara had spent on that sofa.
"I bought it about a year ago." Laughing he went to make get himself some 'nog. " I found that in my old age I needed something with a little more...give." Just than the door bell rang. Warrick had arrived. "Hey, why don't you join Catherine in the livingroom, and I'll get you some 'nog." When he came back out, Warrick was seated next to her on the couch. They were discussing the case they had been working on. "Hey. No shop talk you two." He handed Warrick his drink and went to sit in the chair across from the couch.
Looking around, Catherine noted that a lot of things had changed. "You sure have changed a lot around here. Did you..." She stopped and looked around. "Did you repaint?
Looking around he saw all the changes that he and had made in the last couple of years. Some by himself, some that Sara had, had a hand in. Where the walls had once been a stark white, they were now a deep burgundy. The rugs on the hardwood floors picked up this color scheme and incorporated some of the other colors around the room, burgundies, wines, deep chocolate browns, and a few lighter colors. The rooms look was still masculine, just not so sterile looking. " Yeah, well I'm discovering that change can be a good thing." He smiled and took a sip of his drink. The doorbell rang, so he put his drink down to go and answer it. It was Sara.
"Hi, here's the soft drinks, and I also picked up a cherry cheesecake." In an aside she whispered. " I decided against the chips." Than in her regular tone, "Sorry, my sweet tooth got the better of me." He took the bags with the drinks in them, and headed toward the kitchen, she followed with the cheesecake. When she saw Catherine and Warrick she waved. "Hey guys, I brought some soft drinks and something sweet." Than to Grissom. "Wow Grissom," she said looking around. "I love what you've done with the place.
Grissom smiled. "Well thank you, but I can't take all the credit."
"Oh really, you had help than?" she glanced back at Warrick and Catherine, and teased. " Well, I guess I should have known. Was it professional help? Or Someone with a more personal stake."
Grissom thought two could play this game. " Actually, a little of both. I had known her for years, we dated a few times, and she helped decorate the place. Now, as to whether or not she thought she'd eventually share it with me..." they entered the kitchen where the other two couldn't hear them. He continued in a whisper. " I can't think of anyone else I'd rather live with." She laughed and they put away the drinks and the cheesecake. They finished just as the doorbell rang. Leaving the kitchen, he called."Make yourself a drink, while I get the door."
She walked back into the livingroom carrying her glass, and went over to the chair Grissom had vacated earlier. It was her favorite place to sit when Grissom wasn't there to cuddle up with. After she'd sat, she noticed that Warrick and Cath were looking at her curiously. Looking between them she asked, "What?"
"So," Cath prompted. "What'd Grissom say about the woman who helped decorate this place?"
"Oh! Um, he said she got a job offer she couldn't refuse. That's as far as he got before the bell rang." Just than, Grissom came back into the room with Nick and Greg trailing him. Soon everyone was happily drinking eggnog and reminiscing about there favorite Christmas memories. Brass had joined them a few minutes after Nick and Greg, and Doc had called to say that due to a pile up on I-19, he'd had to go back into work. This had kick started a rather macabre discussion of all the people who died on, or near Christmas. They discussed how every year it was actually forecast how many people were expected to die over the holidays. This being Vegas, of course there were betting pools on the actual number. That's when, in order to lighten the mood, they'd switched to better times. Before they new it, it had been an hour, and the pizza's hadn't yet arrived. They were however, on their second bowl of eggnog. Most of it had been consumed by Catherine and Greg, but the rest of them were pretty sauced also. No food, plus alcohol equals some very tipsy criminalists. Still, things were going fine until Greg shared with them the time one Christmas when he'd lost his virginity. He'd already shared this with Sara, but he let the rest of the team know how one of his collage professors had offered a little more than help with his grades. Turned out that due to him testing at genius level, she'd decided that he'd make the perfect father, genetically. They'd get together one weekend a month, and he thought it was great fun, until he'd found the basil thermometer, and prenatal vitamins in her medicine cabinet. He'd left right then and dropped her class. Who needed to know about animal husbandry anyway?
This touched off the discussion of everyone's first time. Catherine's was when she was seventeen, with a blackjack dealer at the casino her mom worked at. It had been terrible, and the guy had bothered her for a week after, than he had suddenly disappeared. At the time, she'd figured that he'd just gotten a better job, and moved on to some other girl, but now she couldn't help but wonder.
Warrick's had been with a girl in his senior class, they'd dated for a while, but when she'd left to go to college in New York, they decided that it would be best if they stopped seeing each other, that if it were meant to be, they'd meet again, and know that it was right. He'd actually seen her not long ago. She was married with four kids, and very happy. He didn't admit this out loud, but he envied her.
Nick, having drunk quite a bit, actually admitted that his babysitter had seduced him when he was a kid. He said that he felt like he was cheated out of his first time.
Brass, well Brass wouldn't admit too his age. He just said that she was worth every penny of his allowance.
Sara admitted that she was a freshmen in collage, having graduated from highschool early, she felt out of place until she'd met a guy who was a sophomore. It turned out though, that it had all been a dare. So in a way, she too had felt cheated. However, she got him back. When he'd dumped her rather publically, and had revealed that it had all been a dare, she'd cried for about a week, then she'd decided to take action. She was young and there wasn't much she could do to affect him, so she went for something that might a least effect his ego. She snuck into all the men's bathrooms and wrote, "For a good time, call Danny," with his phone number, on the stall walls. She'd heard he'd got tons of calls. Of course, as with most revenge plans, it didn't go quite as planned. It had backfired a little when it had turned out he was actually gay. Well, she should have guessed, but she forgave herself due to her lack of experience.
Grissom's happened when he was a senior in collage, and they all figured he must have drank quite a bit if he was actually sharing this with them. Anyway, he'd been tutoring this girl for a botany exam, when she started flirting with him. He'd been shy and retiring, and she'd been a social butterfly. They'd made love for the first time after a study session, and he hadn't felt right about charging her for the session. Thereafter, every time she'd come over, they'd make love. Turned out though that she'd only been doing it so that she wouldn't have to pay. She'd broke it off after she'd passed her exam. To top it all off, she'd had a boyfriend who'd actually come to his apartment and thanked him. Turned out, it had been his idea that she sleep with him, If she hadn't passed the test, her parents weren't going to let her go on a ski vacation with him. Then the guy actually gave him the money that he hadn't been paid, said he didn't want him to think that she owed him anything, and that she wouldn't need anymore tutoring. Grissom had taken this with aplomb, and used the money to help fund his body farm. Later, he'd run into the guy at one of his poker games. The girl had dumped him, for a girl she'd met on the ski trip, and he was feeling low. Grissom however, felt no compunction about cleaning him out. After all, the bodies at the farm wouldn't fund themselves.
Everyone shared a good laugh over this. Finally the pizza arrived, and they converged on them like wolves to the slaughter.Grissom gave out his gifts, which everyone was quite suprised by, to say the least, but they were touched none the less. Warrick asked Grissom if he had any holiday movies, and without thinking Sara piped up. "Yeah, you have "A Wonderful life"."
Right after she said it, she cringed, but it seemed that no one had noticed her slip. The movie was put on, and everyone had passed out before George jumped off the bridge. The lights from the tree played over them as they slept, and the story of a man who thought his loved ones would be better off without him played on. As the clock struck one, and an Angel got his wings, the criminalists of the Las Vegas crime lab, had visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads.
The End.
Merry Christmas, Everyone. Oh, and Happy Hanukkah too.