A/N – Yep, another short one. I have only managed to find small pockets of time to write, so it's about the best I can get out until after the holiday season.
Disclaimer – (Insert Disclaimer Here If You Care)
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There's a twisted kind of irony that within months of Sara leaving, the crime rate drops dramatically. It had been a week and a half since they'd closed the murder case of the couple from Idaho. Grissom let Wendy go into the field again with Greg, and she seemed to be flourishing. In general, the violent crimes had gone way down, with non-violent crimes going up slightly. For the first time in years, the graveyard shift felt at odds with themselves – extended periods of boredom could do that.
When Grissom caught Nick and Warrick playing field hockey in the hallway the first time, he'd given them that look. The second time, the look hadn't worked, so he'd sent them to handle a decomp, and the third time had caused a major incident with the under-sheriff. For that reason, Nick was told to go on vacation, and Warrick was reminded on a daily basis that once Nick returned in a few days, it was his turn to take time off.
Catherine seemed to be handling the down time well, but then again, she didn't mind playing politics. She used the slow time to catch up on paperwork, spend time with her daughter, and rally for new equipment. His colleague had always been able to maneuver people to where she wanted them to be. The exception to the rule, of course, was Gil Grissom.
"Come on, Griss," she wheedled a bit, "take a chance. Things are amazingly slow here, so taking a day or two off won't be that big of a deal. God knows, you've got enough vacation time built up." She'd been sitting across from Grissom in his office, while he worked on paperwork, and saying the same thing for nearly ten minutes. When Catherine got bored, this is what she would do – give advice.
Giving up, Grissom raised his head, and sighed. Finally dropping the paperwork, he opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope that he dropped in front of her. "Go ahead and open it," he said, resigned.
"Next week, huh?" she asked, her grin going sly. Out of the envelope, she pulled out the flight information for his trip to San Francisco scheduled for the following week.
"Five days, actually," he replied, mentally counting down the time.
Catherine's grin turned to an irritation from when she said, "This is only an overnight trip."
"Actually, the electronic update is for two nights," Grissom informed her.
"I really don't understand the two of you," she sighed, "We missed a lot of signs, although it's easy to see how – you've always had a connection of sorts with her. You rarely show what you're feeling, but we've seen some glimpses, especially when you talk about Sara. It's obvious you love her."
When she watched his face soften the slightest fraction and a smile play on his lips, she had the answer – Grissom might not say the words, but when it came to his wife, he had a terrible poker face. Chuckling, Catherine rose.
"I really do hope things work out for you, Gil," she said, making her way to the door. Stopping for a moment, she turned and added, "You told me after she left that you wanted her to be happy. Don't forget to be happy yourself, either."
Alone with his thoughts, Grissom put the tickets back in his drawer, and pulled up his email. He smiled when he saw it.
To: GGrissom
From: SGrissom
Gil, I'm sorry I missed your call last night. I forgot to plug in my cell and the battery went dead. I've spent the last couple of weeks talking to my mother about that night, and about our lives before. It's getting harder. The nightmares are back. Can you come sooner?
Love, Sara
P.S. – Remind Warrick that if he gets too bored without Nick there, you have a whole hive of bees that you'd like babysat. Tell Greg I'm so proud he's doing such a good job as a mentor.
The next time Catherine saw Grissom, he was walking out of Ecklie's office.
"Catherine, good. I'm going out of town for potentially a couple of weeks," Grissom informed her. Walking to his office, and expecting her to follow, he turned his head and added, "You are going to be in charge."
"What's going on?" Catherine asked.
Crossing the doorway into his office, Grissom grabbed his jacket and reached into the top drawer, pulling out the familiar envelope. "I'm heading out to California a little early," he said, "and I may be there more than a couple of days."
"Ecklie okayed this?" Catherine asked, surprised.
His face turned hard when he replied, "I didn't give him much choice."
At her surprised look, Grissom stopped for a moment. He knew Catherine would just go ask, and it would end up spreading through the lab if he didn't tell her something, so he said, "I told him I needed up to a couple of weeks off. When he started to argue, I told him either give me the time or find my replacement."
The most telling words he ever said were uttered as Catherine escorted him out the front door to his car.
"You told me to be happy. There's only one person who has ever made me truly happy," Grissom said, his lips turned up in a boyish grin. For the briefest moment of time, Catherine glimpsed something rare and beautiful, as responsibility fell away and his eyes sparked. In that moment, she saw behind the perpetual mask.
Smiling, she walked back into the building.
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A/N – Okay, still have a cold. Woke me up in the wee hours of the morning. I'm not a morning person. Please review, since I'm writing this in the morning, and I'm a tad cranky right now. It'll make me feel better.