A/N: Thanks to all who've reviewed and/or added this story to their alerts. Please, R&R. This is chapter 2 of 3.

Nick and Sara were still chatting as they continued down the hallway. They were about to turn a corner when suddenly Grissom came around it with his nose buried in some files. He almost ran into them when he glanced up and then stopped in shock. "Wha . . .Sara, what are you doing here? I just talked to you this morning. I thought you were still in Cambridge!"

"Surprise!"

"Geez, Gris," Nick teased, "I'm not even married yet and even I know that's no way to greet your wife especially when you haven't seen her for six weeks."

Grissom just glared at Nick over the top of his glasses before he leaned in to peck Sara on the cheek. "Sorry, dear," he whispered in her ear so only she could hear his endearment.

Sara just smirked. In the three and a half years that they had been married, he had yet to kiss her on the lips in front of any of their friends and rarely called her any nicknames in front of them. It was kind of cute, though, because in private, he was so passionate and they couldn't keep their hands off each other. They were constantly touching when at home. Sara did recall one time when Brass had accidently caught them kissing. They had been in Grissom's office saying goodbye before she flew back east when Brass had walked in on them. They had all been pretty embarrassed and Brass quickly retreated. After that, they made sure the door was always latched and locked when they wanted to say goodbye.

Sara's musings were interrupted when Nick mumbled, "I'll leave you two alone" and took off.

Once Nick was gone, Grissom looked around and not seeing anyone, he pulled Sara into his arms and kissed her passionately. "Hello, Mrs. Grissom," he murmured against her lips.

"Hello, Mr. Grissom" she whispered back as a small smile flitted across her lips.

"Shall we continue this in my office?"

"Mmmm, let's".

Gris released her but slipped her hand in his which surprised her. Out in public away from the lab, they usually held hands but never at the lab. Guess he must've really missed me, Sara thought. She'd have to stay away longer more often. But then, recalling the last two and half years while she was away studying and teaching at Harvard, she quickly decided against it. So, they walked hand-in-hand to his office. When they stepped into his office, Grissom closed the door and flicked the blinds closed.

"Why, Mr. Grissom, I don't know if I feel safe in this big office all alone with you," she teased.

"Good, you shouldn't," he growled as he reached out and snatched her around the waist bringing her in close. The gift bag in her hand slipped unnoticed to the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck running her fingers through the curls at his nape while he brushed his lips against hers. As their passion ignited, his kiss became more forceful. The hand at her waist brought her in closer while the other ran up her back and neck to cup her head. His tongue darted out and licked at her lower lip. Sara moaned allowing his tongue to slip between her lips. One of her hands slipped around down to his chest and then his abs. Through the haze of passion, she realized his muscles were firmer, more defined which only turned her on more. She moaned deep in her throat and let her hand come to rest at the side of his tight waist. Meanwhile the hand that had been holding her head slid down her back, around her side and cupped her breast. His thumb lightly grazed the nipple sending tingles up and down Sara's spine.

"Oh, God, Gil," she gasped. She pulled back, resting her forehead against his while they both struggled to catch their breath. "Don't start something you can't finish," she whispered in short, sweet puffs as her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Oh, I can finish, honey . . . "

She placed a finger against his lips. "Don't start what you can't finish here . . . now . . ."

He placed a light kiss on her finger then pulled her into a gentle hug as their passion slowly ebbed. "It's been six long weeks since I've seen you," he groaned. "You realize that's the longest we have gone without seeing each other since you first moved here to Vegas?"

Sara smiled secretively to herself. It had been a long six weeks but a very special time. "Yeah, I know. I've been counting the days, too." She had had more than one reason to count the days. "It just couldn't be helped. First you had a couple high-profile cases back-to-back and then I had to finish my dissertation and couldn't afford the distraction that is one sexy Gil Grissom."

"So you think I'm sexy?"

"Of course." She pulled out of his arms and winked at him. "Why do you think I married you if not for your body? I see you've been working out lately," as she poked him in the abs. She then bent down to retrieve the gift bag. "And while you've been busy in the gym, I've also had a very productive six weeks."

"Yes, you'll soon have your degree. You're finally home for good. Not to mention your new job back . . . "

Sara shook her head and interrupted Grissom. "That's not what I meant. Here," she said as she handed him the gift bag.

He glanced at the gift bag then back to her. "Huh?"

"Just open it." She smiled coyly as she offered him the bag a second time.

She had roused his curiosity so he took the bag, walked over to his desk and set it down. He shuffled through the tissue paper to find and pull out a bundle of black cloth. As he shook it out, it revealed itself to be a black T-shirt with bold, white lettering on front. At first, Grissom just held it up looking baffled. Then, slowly, as its meaning sunk in, he gasped and then swallowed loudly. "Sara?" Then he turned and looked at her as if to confirm the meaning of his gift. "Does this mean . . . Are you . . . Are we . . . ?"

Sara just nodded excitedly. Grissom dropped the T-shirt and rushed over grabbing Sara around her waist and swinging her around. His shouts and woo-hoos were loud enough to be heard up and down the hall. He set her down and started kissing her all over her face and neck. "Gil, stop it," she giggled but he just continued. "Gris!" she said more sharply this time. "I didn't expect you to be this excited!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he questioned as he placed one final kiss on her lips. Then he walked back over to his desk stripping off his polo shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting on my new T-shirt," he stated matter-of-factly like there was no question he would wear it right away.

"If you put it on, then everyone will know!"

"Yeah?"

"Well, you just found out yourself. And it's kind of early yet. You know, don't want to jinx it. That kind of thing."

"Honey, it's not going to jinx it. And I don't care if the whole world knows! I want the whole world to know!"

Sara just shook her head and chuckled in astonishment. She really couldn't believe this was her normally reserved-in-public, keep-everything-a-secret husband. Granted, he was not as private as he used to be but she really didn't think he would want everyone to know so soon. Even though they had planned on it, she figured he would need some time to adjust to the idea before they started telling everyone. But then again, with all their friends being investigators, it probably wouldn't remain a secret for very long especially with how sick she got some days. She was just lucky that today had been a good day. Of course, their friends had been pretty clueless for the first couple years of their relationship so maybe they would need a few clues this time around to help them out.

As Grissom stripped the T-shirt over his head, he caught a glimpse of the wall clock and groaned. Shift would start in another twenty minutes. "I'm sorry, Sara. I have to check if any new assignments have come in before shift starts and there are some lab results I have to check on. I'll see you at home? "

"That's OK. I'm going to hang out here for a little bit anyways. Hopefully get to visit with a few people. Figured I would sit in on assignments, as well, so I can start getting a feel for things again."

"Then I'll see you in the break room in a few minutes." He grabbed a lab coat off the coat rack, slipped it on and started buttoning it up. "What?" he asked when Sara stared at him with a confused look upon her face.

She gestured at his lab coat. "I thought you wanted the whole world to know. No one's going to know if you cover it up."

He opened the door and placed a hand in the small of Sara's back to guide her out of the office. "Oh, I'll reveal it. Just in my own way and own time," he said with a scheming grin as they started walking down the hall.

As they came to the dayshift supervisor's office, the door swung open and a harried Catherine rushed out almost bumping into Sara.

"Sara! What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to be here for another couple days." As Catherine continued to babble she pulled Sara into a welcoming embrace that Sara returned warmly. After Sara had left the lab, Catherine had become her closest friend, except for Gris. She certainly was the best girlfriend she had ever had. She figured that was because they both knew they could be completely honest with each other. It also helped that they didn't feel the need to compete anymore to establish their position as the top female on the team. Looking back now, Sara realized it was silly but that was simply the way it was. They were both strong, opinionated women who had learned to fight to survive.

"Hey, Cath, good to see you, too," Sara said as she stepped out of Catherine's hug.

Catherine peered over Sara's shoulder and then back at Sara. "So that explains that."

"Explains what?"

"What all that hollering was coming from Gil's office."

"Oh, uh, yeah, that's why" stuttered Sara as pink tinged her cheeks and Grissom smirked. "What are you still doing here?" Sara continued quickly. "Dayshift ended hours ago."

"Had to pull a double. There was a triple at the Bellagio. And, of course, being supervisor, I get to be the last one to leave."

"Yeah, Archie was telling me about that. How is the new job as dayshift supervisor?"

"Tough. It's been five months already but there are times yet when I feel like a first-day rookie. I don't know how you did it all these years, Gil. I swear sometimes it's like trying to deal with a bunch of two-year-olds. This one wants that, that one wants this. Then they get on the outs and don't want to work together anymore . . . " She trailed off shaking her head in clear frustration.

"You take each day and each situation as it comes. You learn from it and you move on," Grissom replied.

Catherine snorted. "If only it were that simple! And if I ever accuse of being socially inept again," she said as she pointed a finger at Grissom, "just remind me of these last few months. Someone who's socially inept could not possibly deal with all the egos and conflicts and crap that comes up. At least with the old team, I knew everyone's personality and their quirks. If someone new joined the team, then it was just one person to get to know. This is a whole team of people who already knew each other and whose team dynamics were already set in place long before I came along. Now I'm the new kid on the block. And don't even mention the paperwork. I am so sick of paperwork already!"

Grissom chuckled. "You're doing fine, Cath. I've heard nothing but good things about dayshift since you've taken over. I've heard you're making it into a real, close-knit team."

"Yeah?" Catherine seemed a little surprised but genuinely pleased. Praise from Grissom was like water to a person dying of thirst especially to someone like Catherine who greatly admired Grissom.

"Yeah. Almost as good as the nightshift," he teased as he winked at her. Catherine glared at him. "Stop worrying, you're doing just fine. And my door is always open if you need to talk." He glanced at his watch. "Time stands still for no man. I have to go. Shift starts in a few minutes." He quickly pecked Sara on the cheek and took off down the hall.

"Cath, you know Grissom. He wouldn't lie or sugarcoat it. If he's hearing good things, then you must be doing a good job," Sara told her friend. "And if he tells you that he thinks you're doing a good job, then you really must be doing a very good job." Then, lowering her voice, Sara confided, "Gil has told me a couple times that he admires the job you've been doing." Sara had been hearing good things about Catherine's supervisory skills from others as well, mainly Nick and Warrick. Unlike the first time when she was swing supervisor after the nightshift had been broken up, she didn't let the power go to her head. Instead, this time, she was taking the time to gain the trust of her subordinates and to lead them rather than to control them.

Catherine glowed at Sara's compliments.

"Are you heading home?" inquired Sara as Catherine continued to contemplate the praise. "Suppose you need to grab some sleep before your next shift begins."

"Actually, I'm supposed to be off tomorrow which is one of the reasons I stayed so late today. But, yeah, I'm heading home."

"Must be quite a change with Lindsey out of the house now." Catherine's daughter had just completed her freshman year of college and had moved into an apartment with a couple of her girlfriends.

"It's so quiet now. No more running after school events, no blaring music or constant chattering. Even with Ted in the house, it seems so dead after having lived with a hyperactive teenager for the last several years. And right now Ted's out of town at a restaurateurs' convention so it's absolutely dead at home. I can't wait until he gets back. It's only been two days and it already feels like forever. I miss having a warm body to snuggle up to at night." Catherine positively glowed as she talked about her new husband of only nine months.

Sara giggled as Catherine carried on.

"What?"

"Nothing," Sara replied while trying to suppress a smirk. Ted had been good for Catherine. They met while Catherine was investigating an armed robbery at a casino where one of Ted's restaurants was located. Even before Sara had known there was a new man in Catherine's life, she could tell a difference in Catherine. Ted had mellowed her slightly. She was still the same Cath everyone knew and loved but she wasn't as defensive or abrasive anymore and less of a control-freak.

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me that you don't miss snuggling with Gil. Not that I'm thinking about that!"

"That's good to know," retorted Sara.

Catherine just frowned at her. "I just don't know how you did it. I can't spend two days apart from Ted and you two have spent nearly three years apart!"

"We weren't apart the whole time. There were holiday breaks and summer breaks not to mention several weekends back and forth. We have so many airline miles built up that I think we could fly around the world half a dozen times all for free."

"That's not the same."

"No, it's not the same. I'm thrilled to finally be done and back in town on a permanent basis so we can get back to a normal life. Or as normal life as we can have." She knew that with Grissom and their careers, nothing would ever be normal but she preferred it that way. She had never had a normal life and she didn't know if she could handle 'normal'. "If Ted's not waiting for you at home and you don't have to be back in tomorrow, why don't you hang out in the break room with me for a little while? I want to say 'hi' to the guys but then maybe we can go grab a bite to eat afterwards."

"Sounds like fun. We could maybe even get a couple drinks afterwards."

"Yeah, sure," Sara replied hesitantly. She sure hoped that Catherine would just forget about the drinks or she would have to come up with some believable excuse that Catherine wouldn't see right through. Or else she'd have to spill her guts about one of her secrets and she wasn't quite ready for that.

TBC