Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of the characters in this story...except Thomas who is in fact a real cat.

Spoilers: None.

New Home

Chapter One

"Welcome to your new home Thomas." Sara said as she placed the pet carrier on the warm wooden flooring of her new house.

"Welcome to your new home Miss Sidle." Grissom whispered in her ear as he moved towards her and drew her into a hug.

"And welcome to your new home Mr Grissom." Smirked Sara in response as she turned in his arms to stare into his deep blue eyes.

They stood for a while in each other's arms, enjoying the feeling of just being together, until a soft mewing sound brought them back to reality. Reluctantly Sara moved from Grissom's embrace to let the cat out of his temporary accommodation so that he could explore the new house. Grissom went outside to bring in some boxes and furniture, and after she was confident Thomas was happy, Sara went to help.

They had been together for almost two years now, ever since Nick's ordeal made them realise how much time they had already wasted dancing around their mutual attraction for so many years. The decision to move into a new home, their home, together had happened only last month. Once Grissom had brought the idea into conversation it was all they could talk about until the offer on the house was accepted and the realtor assured them it was theirs. Since then they had existed in a state of complete bliss, knowing that their relationship was finally and completely solid.

It was this new found sense of completion that made them decide the time was right to tell the rest of their team, their adopted family, about their relationship. Once all the boxes and furniture were inside the house, Sara looked around and felt something she thought would never be possible, she felt like she finally had a home and she was content.

"You know, if we had told the guys about us before we moved in, they could have helped carry the boxes and all the heavy stuff for us." Grissom's teasing voice broke her from her musings and she turned to glance at the man she loved.

"But this way we can have some fun with them. You can invite them over to your new house and I can come out of the bedroom and shout surprise!" Grissom knew Sara was joking but the thought of her jumping out on the team like that and announcing she lived there too made him laugh. He crossed their new living room and pulled her into his arms.

"I'm so glad we finally got here Sara. I haven't felt this content my whole life." His words brought tears to Sara's eyes and she finally felt able to let go of any apprehensions she had left that their partnership wouldn't work. She knew in her heart that this was the man she was meant to be with and finally she was complete.

They decided to wait until they were completely settled and unpacked before telling the team the whole truth. Everyone was aware that Grissom had moved house and there were a couple of rumours about a possible woman in his life, but these were neither confirmed nor denied by Grissom himself. Catherine hadn't come over for breakfast with Grissom for a long while and the other team members only occasional saw him outside of work for a drink at a local bar. There was no danger of anyone seeing the new house before they were ready.

Sara often had Greg or nick over for breakfast or to watch a movie on their days off. She had kept the lease to her apartment for the time being, mostly to keep up the charade, as for several months she had affectively been living with Grissom in his apartment anyway. It was somewhat troubling that two people who worked for one of the countries top crime labs didn't notice the way her apartment looked less and less lived in, or the odd piece of furniture that had disappeared over time.

"So, tomorrow at start of shift you're going to invite everyone over next Wednesday for a house warming?" Sara asked Grissom as they placed the last few books in their already full library.

"Yes. Then we can tell them about us once everyone's here. I just hope no one gets annoyed at us for not telling them sooner."

"You know Gris, they really should have figured it out by now. I guess even the top investigators can be blind about certain things. Or maybe we're just better at hiding things than they are at figuring them out."

"Definitely me dear, we're too good." Grissom joked as he squeezed the last book onto the top shelf. He then stood back to admire their now complete home.

"Perfect." Sara smiled as she took in the wonderful sight before her. "Now we just have to find space for the last of my things from my apartment. I can finally give up the lease now we're actually telling everyone."

"One more week and we'll be totally settled." Grissom confirmed as he pulled her into another warm embrace. He would never tire of that luxury, to be able to hold her whenever he wanted; to finally be able to tell her how much she meant to him.

The next night, after Grissom had handed out everyone's assignments, he smiled at Sara before turning to face everyone and make his announcement.

"While everyone's here, I wanted to invite you all over next week to my new house. Kind of a house-warming gathering."

"Wow Gil, you're being voluntarily social, what's wrong with you?" Catherine teased and gave him a warm smile.

"Yeh Gris, what's up with that? First you loose the beard and now you're being all normal." Nick joined in the teasing of his supervisor.

Their little jokes gave Grissom an idea, and he decided to do a little teasing of his own. "I thought I would make the effort, plus it will give me the chance to introduce you all to someone special in my life."

Sara raised her eyebrows at this and smirked, but luckily everyone was only paying attention to Grissom at the time. Before anyone could respond to his latest statement, Grissom turned to leave. As he reached the corridor he called back to his team.

"My house, next Wednesday, midday. You can get the address from Judy at reception. Now I believe you all have cases to attend to."

With that Grissom was gone, leaving four bewildered CSI's and one smirking Sara in the break room. The conversation immediately turned to rumours and speculation over Grissom's 'someone special' and Sara had to excuse herself to stop from laughing. She headed to his office to share with Grissom what she'd just seen; four adult professionals acting like teenagers gossiping in the playground.

After they'd both stopped laughing, Sara looked at Grissom from her seat in front of his desk and an idea began to form in her mind.

"You know Gil, we could use what you said to have some fun with the guys."

Grissom got up to close his office door then turned to Sara with a devious smile forming on his lips, matching her own. "I'm listening…"

"Well, I was thinking, what if your 'special someone' turned out to be a four-legged ginger ball of fluff named Thomas? You could drop little hints all week, then when they get to the house you can introduce him!" She just managed to finish her sentence before bursting out laughing at the thought.

"You know, Miss Sidle, that's a very brilliant idea." Grissom smiled as he looked at the amazing woman before him. "Although it's only going to work if we can keep from laughing every time I drop a hint."

"We just have to make it through five days. After nearly two years of keeping us a secret I think we can pull this off." A now composed Sara responded.

TBC

A/N: This is my first story, I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Please review and let me know what you thought. Chapter two to follow shortly.