A/N: Thanks again for your wonderful response, and for reading this story thus far. I really do appreciate all your reviews, and I hope I can keep each chapter up to your expectations!

I don't own CSI. Some situational inspiration for this chapter came from episode 103, "Crate and Burial."

Making Friends

"So, have you met everyone?"

"I think so," Sara replied. "You, Nick, Catherine, Warrick, Greg …"

"Judy?" Grissom asked.

"Yes."

"Jackie?"

"Yes."

"Bobby?"

"Yes."

"Brass?"

Sara frowned. "Who's that?"

Grissom nodded. "Come on. We're going on a field trip."

"Where?" Sara asked, falling into step beside him.

"PD."

The trip to the police department didn't take long; it took longer to find Brass once they got there. In the end, Grissom paged him back to his own office.

"He's not usually in his office," Grissom explained as they sat down to wait. "He's always running somewhere."

"Now, he's a homicide detective, right?"

"Right."

"Is he the one who …?"

A pained expression surfaced for a moment in Grissom's eyes. "Yes."

Sara nodded, and fell silent.

"Well, well," Brass grinned as he entered his office, "the mad scientist comes to visit us over in homicide. To what do I owe the honor?"

Grissom returned his smile. "I brought someone over for you to meet."

"Oh, yeah?" Brass said, looking fully at Sara for the first time.

Grissom nodded. "Sara Sidle, Jim Brass."

"Hi," Sara said.

"Sara Sidle," Brass said, shaking her hand. "Gil's star student from the Berkley seminar."

Sara felt the heat rush to her face. "Oh, he …" She trailed off and looked at Grissom. "You told people that?"

Grissom smiled. "Intelligence is not something to be ashamed of, Sara."

"Not at all," Brass said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sara."

"And you," she replied.

"You handled the internal investigation in the Holly case, right?"

"Right," Sara affirmed.

Brass nodded. "You did a great job."

"Thanks."

"She's going to stay with us," Grissom said. "She just accepted my offer of a job on graveyard."

"Well, then, you have my sincerest wishes for good luck," Brass grinned. "Have you met the crew you'll be working with?"

"I have," Sara replied.

Jim smiled. "They're good people, Sara. You'll like them."

"I already do," she smiled.

"Good. Well, welcome aboard. We'll take good care of you."

"Thanks," she said. She generally hated the implication that she needed someone to take care of her – she had been taking care of herself for most of her life, in her estimation. Yet, for some reason, she wasn't at all offended by Brass's comment. Strangely, it did just what it was supposed to do – it made her feel better.

"We should probably get back to CSI," Grissom said. "I just wanted you to meet Sara."

"I'm glad you came over," Brass smiled. "You are allowed to visit just because you feel like it, you know."

"We'll keep that in mind," Grissom said, leading Sara toward the door. "You can always swing by CSI for a visit, too."

"I'm there far too much already," Brass smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Sara."

"You, too," she replied with a smile of her own.

"I'm sure I'll remember someone else you haven't met yet later on," Grissom said as they walked down the hall. "But, I think you've met quite a few people at this point."

"It's going to take some time for me to learn their names," Sara said.

"I think they'll be very understanding."

"So, I hear you're going to stay with us in Vegas."

Sara looked up from her paper as Nick walked into the conference room. "So it would appear," she said, returning his grin.

"I'm glad," he said, sitting down next to her. He glanced at the newspaper she held. "Keeping up on current events?"

"Looking for an apartment," she replied. "I can't live in a hotel forever."

"Plenty of people in this town do."

"Yeah, well, I'm not a millionaire."

Nick grinned. "Want me to help you find the safe areas?"

"That would be great," Sara said with a smile.

"Hey, guys."

Sara and Nick smiled their greetings at Catherine and Warrick as they entered the room. Sara looked at Warrick a bit warily, but he barely acknowledged her. She sighed. She truly wanted to make an effort to befriend her new coworkers, but she knew that she had gotten off to a bad start with Warrick. Her suggestion that he should be fired for leaving a colleague alone at a scene had caused more than a little tension between them.

"Okay, everyone, let's get started," Grissom said as he walked through the door. "Nick, you and Sara are with me on a kidnapping case. We're going to have to move quickly on this one – the kidnapper left a ransom message with a short fuse."

"Right," Nick said as he and Sara looked at one another.

"Catherine, you and Warrick are taking a hit and run," Grissom said, giving Catherine an assignment slip.

"Got it," Catherine said. She smiled at Warrick. "Ready to go?"

"Yup," Warrick said. He gave Sara a pointed look as he followed Catherine out into the hallway.

Nick shifted in his seat. "Don't let it bother you," he said to Sara.

"Bother me? Why would it bother me?" she asked.

Nick shook his head. "He's just …"

"This is my fault," Sara said. "I'm the one who –"

"Did her job," Nick interrupted. "You did what was asked of you, Sara, and you shouldn't have to suffer for it."

She smiled. "You're a good guy, Nick."

He flushed slightly. "Thanks."

"Are you two ready to go?" Grissom asked from the doorway.

"Yeah," Nick said, standing up.

"Can I drive?" Sara asked.

Grissom shook his head with a smile. "If it makes you happy."

"You need to lay off."

Warrick looked at Nick with a frown. "What are you talking about?"

"Sara," Nick said, sitting down next to Warrick in the break room. "You need to give her a break."

"Sara," Warrick said slowly.

"She just did her job," Nick said. "Grissom told us before she even got here that she was doing the internal investigation. It's not her fault that he asked her to do that. You can't be mad her forever over it."

"Nick …"

"No, listen," Nick said, cutting him off. "She's here to stay now, and we all need to be able to work together. How can you solve a case with her if you can't even say hello to her? You need –"

"Nick!" Warrick exclaimed, stopping the flow of words. "I get it! Please, just let me talk for a minute!"

Nick stopped trying to continue and looked at him expectantly.

"I needed to hear everything that you've said when she first got here. But, I get it now. I know that she was just doing her job." He sighed. "The problem is, I didn't do mine. I left Holly alone at that scene, and because of that, she's dead."

"You don't know that for sure," Nick said. "If you had been there, you could both be dead right now. We can't ever know how things would have gone if we had done something differently."

"I know," Warrick said. He ran his hand over his eyes. "I don't blame Sara for this, and I'm not going to hate her forever over it. I just … Right now, she reminds me of what I did wrong. That's what makes it hard."

"Well, you'd better get over it," Nick said. "You know how Grissom is. Give him a few days, and he'll have the two of you working together."

"I know, right?" Warrick said. "He just doesn't care, does he?"

Nick shrugged. "He's oblivious to all personal relationships."

Warrick grinned. "I don't know about that. He said that Sara's an old friend … how close do you think they were?"

Nick made a face. "Please. Don't ever put a thought like that in my head again."

Warrick laughed. "I'm just saying …"

"Don't," Nick said again. "She's a nice girl, and he's …"

"Grissom," Warrick supplied.

"Great guy," Nick added. "Just …"

"Yeah," Warrick said. "I know."

"Look, I've got to get back to audio," Nick said, standing to his feet. "What time is Lindsey coming in?"

"Sometime this afternoon."

Nick grinned. "I got her the coolest birthday present. I can't wait to give it to her."

"Is it loud?'

Nick's grin widened. "Don't worry – Catherine will approve."

Warrick laughed. "You're the uncle who gives the fun toys, aren't you?"

Nick laughed with him. "Let's put it this way – I have quite a few sisters who are threatening what will happen when I have children."

"Thought so," Warrick smiled. "All right – let's get back to work."

"Okay, let's take a break," Grissom said.

"A break?" Sara asked. "We just started processing the car!"

"I know," Grissom replied. "But, Lindsey should be here any minute."

"Lindsey?"

"Catherine's daughter," Grissom explained. "Today is her sixth birthday, and she's coming in for a party."

Sara's eyes widened. "I didn't know we did things like that here."

"We've always celebrated Lindsey's birthday," Grissom said. He shrugged. "She's Catherine's daughter. She's always been something of a niece to all of us."

"I didn't get her anything," Sara said.

"Don't worry about it," Grissom said. "Just come to the party. It'll be fun."

Sara was sure that there were plenty of things that would be more fun than a six-year-old's birthday party, but went along. She couldn't make friends with her coworkers if she avoided them.

Sara's fears over a lack of gifts and lack of fun turned out to be for not. Lindsey, in a rather uncharacteristic move, elected not to have a birthday party. Catherine was a mess, convinced that her strange hours and lack of social life were turning her daughter into a hermit. After snapping at Sara and blowing up at Grissom and Nick, she stalked off to process the car in her hit and run.

"What was that all about?" Sara asked as she and Grissom left the break room.

He shrugged. "I'll talk to her later."

"Hey, Griss, where did you buy this chem set?" Nick asked, following them out of the break room, carrying the duplicate presents he and Grissom had bought for Lindsey.

"Some toy store in the mall," Grissom replied. "Why?"

"I'm going to take mine back after shift. If you have the receipt, I'll take yours, too."

Grissom shook his head and grinned. "Nicky, I was serious. We're going to play with those later."

Nick raised his eyebrows. "Griss …"

"Really. Promise. Go put them somewhere safe."

Sara quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked defensively. "I'm not allowed to have fun?"

"It's not that, it's just …"

"Hey," he said quietly. "I'm not 'Gruesome Grissom' all the time."

He continued down the hall, leaving Sara where she stood. She hadn't realized that he was bothered by the nickname the lab techs had given him. Somehow, the fact that he didn't like it was a bit … comforting.

"Catherine? Do you have a minute?"

Catherine looked up to see Sara standing uncertainly in the locker room doorway. "Yeah. What can I do for you?"

"I just … wanted to talk to you," Sara said slowly.

"All right," Catherine said cautiously.

Sara drew a deep breath. "I just wanted to make sure that … God, I feel stupid doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Okay, I'm not trying to be strange or to make our working relationship awkward, but I wanted to make sure that you're not mad at me. I didn't know that Lindsey's birthday was today, or I would have brought something for her, and –"

"Sara, stop," Catherine said, holding up her hands. "I'm not mad."

"Oh."

"I'm a little freaked out because Lindsey didn't want a party, that's all," Catherine said. "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself." She paused. "Look, we've known each other for less than two weeks, so there's no need for me to drag you into my personal drama. Let's just say that we're good to work together, all right?"

"All right," Sara agreed. "That's all that I needed to know."

"Good," Catherine said, swinging her purse over her shoulder and slamming her locker shut. "I need to go pick up Linds. I'll see you tomorrow, Sara."

"See you," Sara echoed as Catherine left the room.

"She doesn't play well with other girls."

Sara nearly jumped out of her skin as Greg rounded the corner. "What are you doing? Listening in on other people's conversations?"

"When they happen right in front of me, yes," Greg said. "And, in this case, I'm trying to help you out."

"All right," Sara said reluctantly. "What help do you have to offer?"

"Just an observation," Greg said. "For as long as I've worked in this lab, Catherine's been the only woman on the graveyard shift … except for the one day that Holly worked here. She can hold her own with all these men without batting an eye, but I've never seen her deal with a woman before." He paused. "Honestly? I think she's a bit threatened by you."

"Threatened? By me?"

"Yup."

Sara pressed her hand against her eyes. "Everything always has to be such a challenge."

"Look, you two are the only women on this shift. My advice? Bond together – otherwise, it's going to be hell for everyone involved."

Sara smiled. "Thanks, Dear Abby."

Greg grinned. "I just call them like I see them."

"Any other advice for me?"

His grin widened. "Be careful when Grissom offers you candy. You never know what's actual candy and what's … entomologist candy."

Sara grimaced. "Duly noted."

"Okay, what if we mix these two?"

"Oh, man, that's going to –"

Warrick's words were cut off as Nick's chemical compound exploded. The four scientists burst into laughter.

"Why would you do that?" Sara laughed.

"It suggests it on the box!" Nick said.

"It does not," Grissom laughed. "You need to be more careful how you read things, Nicky."

"It does so," Nick said, grabbing the box. "It's right here …" He trailed off flushing slightly. "Okay, so maybe it was a bad idea …"

Everyone laughed again, Nick included.

"What's going on in here?"

They all looked up as Greg poked his head in the break room door.

"We're playing with Lindsey's birthday presents," Warrick replied.

"Oh," Greg said. He glanced around the room. "Where's Linds?"

"She didn't want to celebrate her birthday," Grissom said.

"So, instead of giving her the toys at a later time, you decided to play with them for her?"

"Pretty much," Nick said.

"Ri-ight."

Sara looked at him for a moment. "Greg, do you want to play with us?"

"Oh, I don't know …"

"Come on," Warrick said. "We won't make you do anything weird." He grinned. "This is Sara's CSI initiation, not yours."

"Though, come to think of it, he never did have one …" Nick said thoughtfully.

"Well, his induction can be dyeing his hair three different colors," Warrick said. He glanced at Greg's highlighted locks. "Oh, wait …"

"Greg, just come in so they'll stop," Grissom finally said.

Laughing, Greg entered the room fully. "All right. What are we playing?"

"We're trying to see what happens when we mix the chemicals that came with these chem sets."

Greg's eyes grew round. "I loved playing with these when I was little!"

Sara and Warrick exchanged a glance and laughed.

"Well, you're in good company," Sara said.

"Did you have one of these, too?" Greg asked.

"Nope," Sara replied. "These two did."

Greg followed the jerk of her head to Grissom and Nick, his eyes growing wide.

"What?" Grissom asked defensively. "Believe it or not, Greg, I was allowed to play with toys."

"I'm just surprised you chose to," Greg said.

Realizing how serious he was, the other four all burst into laughter again.

"Well," Warrick said at last, "I hope Catherine's having as much fun with Lindsey as we are with her toys."

Seated on a park bench with her daughter, eating ice cream, Catherine had no idea what she was missing at the lab. Truthfully, she didn't care. There was nowhere in the world she'd rather be than with her little girl, celebrating the day she turned six.