Too many shout-outs for such a short piece but as I haven't written much GSR lately... thanks to Lori, for threatening me with bodily harm; thanks to Jessikuh for betaing this; thanks to Lauren for the drunk dial; thanks to Michelle for letting me bitch.

Playing in the rain was worth catching cold.

Three shifts on, and they'd finally gotten off. Walking to their vehicles with dragging bodies, the sky opened. Big, fat, nearly-painful drops fell from the sky, 9.8 pulling them down hard. They splashed off of the pavement, thunked out a strange rhythm on the aluminum railings in front of the building, and splattered strangely on windshields.

Greg was the first to act, dropping his bag under the small awning of the lab, and stepping quickly into the downpour. A slight chuckle bubbled from his throat as he turned his overworked palms up to the rain. For a moment he just stood, but then shifted forward into the middle of the parking lot and turned around to look at those still standing, dry, beneath the awning. He blinked and looked up to the sky, squinting at the onslaught of water.

"I think I'm delirious..." he slurred, and even as Catherine nodded to him, she was grinning stupidly, stripping off her suede jacket to jump out into the downpour as well. Greg smiled briefly and turned back to the sky. Catherine's obscenely high heels clicked on the pavement as she skipped over next to him, the perfectly coiffed curls plastering themselves to her cheeks and forehead.

Catherine sighed and grinned like a fool, kicking an expensive shoe through a substantial puddle. The water splashed up onto Greg's pant leg and he jumped away as if he'd been burned, though he was entirely soaked through already.

Nick was chuckling and Sara was smiling and Grissom... well he was nowhere to be seen. Not that anyone seemed to notice. "Hey, Sara!" Greg called, dodging another splash from Catherine, "You look kinda delirious too!"

Sara shook her head and laughed, looking to Nick. "You do look kinda out of it Sara, no one would hold it against you if you danced in the rain..."

But she was too quick, and had dodged behind him, pressing her palms flat on his back, shoving him out into the deluge with the other two. Nick stood frozen stock still, mouth wide open, towards Catherine and Greg, who had begun laughing hysterically. Sara too was laughing, bending at the middle to achieve the fullness of her laughter.

Suddenly, Nick spun and grabbed her arm, spinning her into the middle of the lot as well. Gasping, she swore and quickly stripped off her coat and tossed it back on top of Greg's bag. "Hate you Stokes," she muttered through a syrupy smile and moved to shove him.

No one noticed, no one cared when Grissom pressed through the front door of the lab to witness the spectacle before him. His mouth was slightly agape as the strange scene filtered fully into his retinas. He didn't notice when Warrick slid up beside him and gave a deep chuckle. "It was a rough case," he reasoned and he too stripped off his jacket and joined the four who were standing, trying in vain to learn to stare at the rain.

Five CSIs in the parking lot, acting insane, getting wet, probably getting sick too... and Grissom just stood and watched it all and thought of the reasons he shouldn't be out there. Catherine was ruining her shoes and Greg's hair gel just had to be getting into his eyes and those jeans simply couldn't be comfortable to Warrick wet...

Warrick grabbed Catherine and spun her around to silent music, as Greg did the same to Sara and she giggled.

Grissom took a step forward, a drop of rain clipping his nose. He stood back. Though he hadn't seen it, he was sure they'd just thrown themselves into the deluge, responsibility, maturity be damned.

And they were dancing, dancing in the rain. The insanity of the moment made his head spin. But then again, he'd never seen his team in the rain, underneath the delicate veil of angry rainclouds. Nick had taken possession of Sara and Greg had grabbed Catherine and spun her right into a puddle.

It was when she was stepping out of the water that she saw Grissom, standing on the edge looking out at them, looking in. "Gil!" she squeaked as Nick grabbed her around the waist and spun her around. "Ahhhah, Gil, come on!"

Grissom took another step back, but the right side of his mouth twitched up, a semi smile capturing a morsel of mirth from the moment. Catherine tilted her head at them and Warrick and Sara spun around to look at him too. Nick and Greg were mock fighting, and Catherine, Warrick and Sara were staring at him, but mostly Sara.

And he was twelve, being dared to kiss a girl, and he was balancing on the edge of a bridge ready to bungee, and he was poised with a pencil in hand, taking his first university exam. A thick veil of rain separated him from his friends...from her.

And Sara just stared...and smiled, just a little.

The first step into the rain had it pitter-pattering off of his new shoes. It soaked the cuff of his leg, and when the harsh coolness of the moisture seeped through the wool and onto his leg... Now or never. Grissom stepped into the rain to the dull applause of his coworkers. A quiet laugh escaped him as he hung his head for a moment before raising it to the sky, feeling the droplets cascade over his cheeks to drip from his beard.

And then Catherine was grabbing his hands and dancing, and Nick was mock-waltzing with Warrick. Nick and Greg were passing Sara back and forth, all three cackling with laughter. Grissom found it rather strange that he was an active participant, sloppily dipping Catherine.

And then there was Sara, her mascara pooling beneath her eyes, hair sloppily matted around her face, laughing like a maniac, someone who was intensely off balance. It was the most intense sight he'd ever seen. She didn't care, didn't care how crazy she looked, how erratic she was acting. Embracing life, right in front of him, taking it all in.

Catherine slipped from his embrace with a laugh and was caught by Warrick who wrapped an arm around her waist and one around her neck and just stared. Grissom watched, and Greg shoved Nick, and Sara looked back at Grissom. The rain continued to fall as he grabbed her arm and spun her around. Mouth agape as his had been at the onset, she was shocked but the warmth of his hand on her skin made her forget about the shock and concentrate on the quivering in her bones.

When he pulled her back he passed a quick hand over head cheek and winked before she was whisked away by Greg.

And he was living, living, living in the rain, catching a cold.