Author's Note: Don't blame me for the attire – I only went where the lines and my muse led me. As always, I don't own these characters or make any money off them. I'm too poor to sue, so don't bother. Oh, and all mistakes are mine.
"It was an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polkadot bikini . . ." Nick started singing when Sara entered the break room.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" she asked as she made her way toward the coffee pot. She looked around at the rest of the team who had come in for their nightly assignments. Nick was casually draped over a chair, still humming under his breath while flipping through the paper. Warrick was at the table sipping his coffee and managing to avoid looking in Sara's direction at all. Only Catherine seemed at ease as she mumbled a quick "Hi" while digging through her purse. Something was definitely up.
"Nothing much. I'm just enjoying my Sunday paper," he replied with a mischievous grin. "And how was your weekend? You look positively glowing."
At the barely concealed snicker from Warrick, Sara hesitated, her instincts telling her that there was more going on with this conversation than she was aware of. Warily, she responded "Yeah, I decided to reacquaint myself with the sun. I actually went outside and enjoyed the nice weather yesterday."
She knew that she had unwittingly walked into whatever verbal trap Nick had laid when both he and Warrick exchanged knowing looks, but she still had no clue what they were going on about. Irritation broke through her good mood and she opened her mouth to begin interrogating the duo. Before the words could leave her mouth, Greg rushed through the break room door with a stricken look on his face.
"Sara, how could you? You could have at least let me down easy instead of doing this!"
Thoroughly incensed by now, Sara slammed her mug down and demanded "What is wrong with you people? What are you all talking about?"
Greg looked around hastily and snatched the paper from Nick's hands. Almost without looking, he plucked the Metro section open and laid it in front of her, obviously familiar with what he was looking for.
Glancing down at the paper, Sara drew in a quick breath and her eyes widened. By now curious, Catherine leaned over to take a peak. "Nice picture, Sara," she said appraisingly.
Indeed, it was a nice picture. Above some inane dribble about locals enjoying the weather at Lake Mead was a full color photo of Sara in a red bikini. Though modest by Las Vegas standards, it still served to show her body to full advantage. Lying on her side and propped up on one elbow, the photo showed the full length of her legs, the curve of her hip, and the flat expanse of her belly only broken by a perfectly round navel. Lush breasts that her work attire only hinted at were prominently displayed beneath the tiny red triangles of her bathing suit top. What was most striking about the picture, however, was the radiant smile directed to a man standing behind her as she handed him the bottle of suntan lotion. All that showed of him was a pair of rather pasty legs and a single hand reaching down for the bottle.
Sara gaped, her mouth opening and closing as she mentally absorbed her picture. Finally, she managed "Don't they have to get a release or something before they print your picture?"
Greg shook his head. "Nope. No paperwork necessary before they crushed my dreams. I would have gladly spent my day slathering lotion on your back, but you go and let some guy we don't even know have that pleasure. I'm crushed!"
"Calm down, Greggo," Nick offered sympathetically. "Look at it this way. At least now you have a picture of Sara in a swim suit."
The lab tech perked up considerably at the thought. "Yeah, I already bought out the paper machine by my apartment."
Noting Sara's look of horror, Nick chuckled under his breath. "Who is the mystery guy, anyway? You were definitely looking friendly with someone. Why haven't we heard about this lucky fellow?" he teased.
Sara was saved from answering as Grissom entered with the night's assignment sheets. Her relief was short-lived, though, as the group took in the dark red sunburn that covered his face and neck.
In a strangled voice, Greg finally managed to choke out "Grissom?"