AN: This chapter and several following overlap with the 4th season episode "Coming of Rage." Some minor liberties have been taken with the episode to fit the needs of the story.
Monday, December 15th
Rubbing his hands tiredly over his face in an attempt to gain a little energy to finish his paperwork, the night shift supervisor glanced at the clock. He was very thankful that this first long shift was nearly over, as he mulled over the events of the day.
Earlier, Same Day
With Graveyard working a shift and a half to help cover Day's week of vacation, Grissom had encouraged everyone to avoid coming in early for once, knowing they'd all be tired with the change in hours. And he'd tried to set the example, arriving at work only fifteen minutes before start of shift himself. As he'd made his way to his office to check what new cases had come in, he could hear the bustle of staff change over in the locker room and the various labs.
From the delighted sounds and laughter he heard as he made his way down the hall, Grissom guessed that Secret Santa's had been busy already, planting their surprises about the lab. A quick glance into the breakroom saw more gifts tucked under the tree there, waiting for their owner's to find them. His hand drifted to his inner breast pocket, confirming that his first present for Sara was safely tucked there, waiting for an opportunity to slip it into her locker later that day.
But as he reached his office door he couldn't help bursting out in laughter himself, the rarely heard sound rolling through the corridors and drawing folks out to see what was going on. Soon a small crowd of lab techs and CSIs were gathered around the chortling supervisor, gazing at the unusual wreath on his door that was causing his laughter.
Made of woven grape vines, red and white silk flowers and interspersed with twinkling green lights, the wreath was liberally decorated with some insect in a pale brown with delicately veined light green wings. A buzz of voices and laughter surrounded Grissom before he felt a hand on his arm and turned to look at the amused face of Catherine Willows.
"All right, Gil, what are they?" she asked, pointing at the wreath.
"Tibicen lyricen I do believe," Grissom chuckled, ducking away from her exasperated thwap. "Lyric Cicadas, Cath, or their shed carapaces. Mostly females by the coloration." Turning to look at his staff, his blue eyes twinkling with merriment, he nodded. "Thank you, whoever is my Secret Santa, this is a very nice way to start the week."
It was fun watching various folks find and open their gifts throughout the hours before new cases came in, Grissom thought.
Judie was now sporting a pair of rather realistic mistletoe dangle earrings that seemed to have caused her to gain the giggles whenever a male staff member came up to reception. The music coming out of the DNA lab was of a decidedly different nature as Grissom paused to listen in amusement to Greg warbling along with "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" off one of his new CDs. Hodges was trying to rope anyone that came by Trace to join him at lunch break playing his copy of a boardgame made about the old television series "Emergency!" And Catherine had left the morning briefing to rush off to the locker room to change into the new blouse she'd received in her package from under the tree.
But the frivolity couldn't continue uninterrupted by reality, and, shortly after dawn, he'd been summoned to a construction site for a 419 that had quickly become a 420. Calling in Warrick and Sara to back him up, they had spent most of the morning collecting evidence and running down leads. Literally running in one case, he smirked, recalling the smile Sara had shot him before she took off after the scent dogs when he'd told the handler that she does all his running.
He could also still feel the glare Sara had given him before she went to collect all the hammers – the potential murder weapons – from the construction crew. But there had been a different feel to the look, that made him think of years past rather than the animosity that had been there just a month prior. In fact, the whole crew had seemed to be keeping an eye on him and Catherine since the excitement of the car bomb and the bullets cooking off at the scene the prior week.
Once the three of them had returned to the lab, they'd been so busy following up their leads that Grissom had barely had time to slip the fat envelope that was Sara's first gift into her locker without getting caught by someone. He'd just stepped away, in fact, when Catherine had come bustling into the room, nearly knocking him over in her hurry, and fumbling the wrapped gift in her hands behind her back to hide the name on the tag from his gaze.
His thoughts were interrupted when Warrick knocked on the door. "Here's the notes on Gregory Curtwell's interview, Gris, and Sara's interviewing his sister, Ashley, now."
Quickly glancing over the notes, Grissom's eyes twinkled as he spotted a green envelope peaking out of the lanky man's jacket pocket. "Received your first Secret Santa gift there, Warrick?" he queried, recalling seeing a similarly colored envelope in the hands of a certain receptionist earlier that day.
"What? Oh, yeah, tickets to a jazz concert after the New Year. I found it tucked in my box just a bit ago, but Judie says she didn't see who put it there." The green-eyed man shrugged good naturedly. "There's been some pretty good gifts that I've seen so far, though someone really pegged you, I'd say," he grinned, nodding at the twinkling wreath hanging on the door.
"Just be glad it doesn't have sound, not everyone appreciates the song of the cicada," Grissom rejoined with a sideways smirk. Then turning his mind back to business, he added his initials to the report and slid the pages into the casefile. "Well, until we get results back from DNA and Trace, I think we've done all we can for now on the Haddick case." Seeing Warrick nod, he leaned back in his chair. "I'll wait for Sara's report of her interview, and we'll see where we are at and hit it fresh at start of shift tomorrow."
"All right, Griss, see ya in twelve hours or so," the younger man grinned before heading out of the office. "Hey, Sara," could be heard in the hallway as he passed his coworker on his way out.
"See ya, Warrick," the brunette called over her shoulder before turning to knock lightly on her boss' open door.
"Come in, Sara," Grissom called softly, clasping his hands over the file on his desk, and hoping his poker face was firmly in place. "So, tell me what we know."
They discussed the case for a short time, going over Ashley Curtwell's statements, before finally agreeing it was time to head out, and pick up the case when the next shift started. Picking up his briefcase, Grissom followed Sara out, locking up his office and smiling once more at his wreath, before heading to the locker room in the brunette's wake.
Thankfully for him, Nick and Catherine were there as well, gathering their things, though Grissom noticed there was no sign of the wrapped box he'd spied sitting in front of Nick's locker, the same one that he'd seen in Catherine's hands earlier. He moved slowly at his own locker, wanting to hear and see Sara's reaction when she opened her own gift.
"Whoops!" came from the young woman's lips as the thick envelope fell out onto the floor as she opened up her locker.
Nick grinned, and nudged Catherine before moving to peer over the brunette's shoulder. "Soooo . . . going to show us what you got, Sara?" he teased.
"I don't recall you showing off whatever you got today, Nicky," she retorted, throwing a playful glower at the Texan. Noting, however, that the redhead was also watching with interest, Sara took her time studying the handwriting on the front, trying to place it with those that she worked with. Her fingers gentle palpated the thick missive, trying to guess what might be inside.
"Oh, for God's sake, just open it!" Catherine huffed, almost tempted to reach out and do the job for her colleague.
With a roll of her eyes as Nick laughed at the two women, Sara popped open the flap and drew out a beautiful snowscape card, instantly reminding her of Boston and her winters at Harvard. Opening the card revealed more of the unknown handwriting, and a second, smaller envelope. As her eyes traveled down the words, a soft "oh" escaped her lips, and she hurriedly opened the second envelope, her eyes going wide in shock.
Grissom smiled to himself and quickly slipped out of the room as Nick and Catherine crowded close to Sara, eager to see what had surprised her so. The Texan whistled as he saw the six tickets peeking out of the second envelope, while the redhead plucked the original card from the brunette's nerveless fingers, reading it aloud for Nick's benefit.
"'My dearest Sara,
"'Tradition states that gifts should be given over the twelve days of Christmas. Alas, I only have six to treat you as you should be treated, as you should have always been treated. I recently learned that you have never had a chance to see the Cirque du Soleil. So, for your first day, please accept this token of my affection:
"'On the first day of Gift Exchange, Secret Santa gives to thee . . . twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, and nine ladies dancing.
"'As each of Vegas' resident shows reminds me in some way of you, I could not choose just one to gift you with. Mystere attempts to capture the mystery, the complexity that we call life, just as you strive every day to solve the mysteries and complexities of the lives around you. You are endlessly mysterious to me, Sweet Sara.
"'O emphasizes that anything is possible and the realization that the drama of life plays itself out right before our very eyes . . . something that you seem to so easily grasp, to understand. This is a lesson I am still learning.
"'Zumanity tells us that we should never forget that our bodies and our lives are meant for pure pleasure and sheer joy – and that joy is meant to be shared. I truly hope to share more with you, perhaps even escorting you to these shows if I am so lucky.
"'Until tomorrow, my dearest Sara, Merry Christmas.
"Signed 'Your Secret Santa.'"
Wide blue eyes looked up from the card to find a rosy cheeked Sara staring back in astonishment. In a sudden flurry of motion, the brunette snatched her card back from Catherine and hurriedly stuffed it and the tickets into her purse. Slamming her locker shut, she bolted from the locker room, leaving her two stunned colleagues behind.
"Wow, I think this might be a very Merry Christmas for Sara," Nick remarked softly, then groaning as he saw the speculative look on Catherine's face. "No, Cath, just no. We are not going to share this with anyone . . . or go poking around trying to figure out who it is. This is Sara's surprise," he sternly warned, fighting a grin at the sudden pout that appeared on the redhead's face. He held her gaze until she finally, reluctantly, nodded.
"All right, all right. I won't question, I won't pry, and I won't tell," she promised, before giving him a wink. "But that doesn't mean I won't be looking!" she added with a laugh before flouncing out of the locker room.
Shaking his head in resignation, Nick followed, muttering, "Yeah, and I just hope you don't explode before Saturday!"
AN2: For those who want to see what I based Grissom's wreath on, check out this site: www dot cicadamania dot com slash cicadas and find the link for the wreath :)
