Growing Period.

Part XI

Summary: Sooner or later they had to face him…

A/N: Back from my vacation and all I can say is that I wish it had been longer. Going back to work this week sucked. Anyway, here's the next part of my story. Enjoy.

xxxxx

"Sara, can I talk to you?" Jim Brass came up behind her, stopping her on the way to Grissom's office.

She took a quick look at her watch and shook her head when she realized she didn't have enough time.

"Not here, I would like to talk to you in private."

One eyebrow went up as she wondered what had gotten into Brass. He was being too secretive for it to be anything positive.

"I'm really short on time. I'm sorry; I can't." She looked back in the direction of Grissom's office, wondering if he was already waiting for her.

"Shift is long over. Come on; I'll buy you breakfast." He really seemed intent on getting to talk to her in private but it was impossible for her to cancel her plans.

"Really, I am sorry, but I can't. Why don't we meet before shift starts tonight?"

His face turned slightly sour, but he must have realized that he didn't have another choice because he agreed. "Alright. Ten - at the diner?"

"See you there."

Before he could delay her further, Sara turned and continued her way to Grissom's office.

The door was closed, but she knew he must have been within waiting for her. She entered without knocking and found him poring over his papers, still consumed by work.

Only when she cleared her throat, did he look up. To Sara, he was most adorable when he looked like that: hair a mess, reading glasses on, tongue peeking out, his clothes a bit crumpled after a long shift.

"Hey, did you forget our appointment? Or did you just not want to remember?"

She could not resist the tease, hoping to make him smile. She succeeded, and he smiled back at her. "Actually, I thought I should use this opportunity to reduce the mountain of files on my desk. You know, make a good impression."

She groaned in response, but he didn't mind. No amount of reduced paperwork would help them with what they were about to do.

"Let's go."

Grissom put everything away and got up to follow her out.

The hallways seemed twice as long, and she knew it was because she dreaded what was about to happen. The next minutes would decide their future.

They reached their destination, but neither actually wanted to take the last step. It was Grissom who acted first and knocked on the door to the sheriff's office.

They were called into the assistant's office and had to wait for a few more minutes.

Sara could swear the clock on the wall was ticking that loud on purpose. She diligently tried to concentrate on something else, but it was no use. The tension that must have been rolling off of her in waves made her want to pace, but a look from Grissom kept her from getting up.

Suddenly, the door to the inner office opened and they were face to face with Rory Atwater.

He looked surprised at Sara's presence and turned to Grissom. "I thought we had a meeting."

Grissom stood up and ignored the implication that the sheriff was not pleased to see Sara accompanying Grissom.

"I requested this meeting so we could discuss something with you. Would you mind if we took this inside?"

Atwater seemed to have forgotten that they were still in his assistant's room, but when Grissom reminded him, he shot him a scolding look, turning on his heel, not even waiting for them to follow.

Sara's look told Grissom to tread carefully. They needed that man's support.

Grissom nodded and let her pass into the inner office. She sent a quick prayer that they would make it out of this with both of their jobs intact and waited for Grissom to follow her into the lion's den.

xxxxx

She felt as if she was only seeing a remote version of the world. Everything seemed so far away, so unreal. Dimly, she realized she was still a bit in shock.

They were on their way home, not exactly in the mood to join the outside world.

While Grissom drove, seemingly unaffected by the events that had taken place in the sheriff's office, Sara couldn't quite wrap her mind around everything that had happened.

Normally, she never took a backseat, not letting others do the work and make decisions in her life, but as she watched the drama unfold, she was glad that she didn't have to be in the middle of it.

She had never seen Grissom like that, and at first, it had scared her a bit. Soon, she realized that Grissom didn't want it to be like that, but he didn't have another choice if he wanted to help them. That was how the big boys played, and that's why he usually chose to play elsewhere.

Once Grissom had told him that they were living together and expecting a baby, Atwater had turned beet red and had started yelling at them. His outburst had shocked her into silence. She had expected his anger, but not like that.

Grissom let him vent before calmly stating that they had only told him because it was the polite thing to do and nothing more. That lead to another tirade, mostly about the reputation of the lab, but Grissom remained unimpressed. Again, he waited until Atwater had blown his cork, but this time he only stared at him.

It had the same effect as if he had spoken because Atwater seemed to realize that Grissom was far more dangerous than he let on. The sheriff sat back in his seat, thinking about the situation while observing them.

When he had deemed the time was right, Grissom spoke. He made it clear that he didn't want there to be any sanctions against Sara or any damaging effect on her career. He would hand over her supervision, but would not accept a change of shift for either of them.

Atwater continued to listen and Grissom used the attention to make more demands. He wanted their workload to be reduced, which meant nothing more than they would start working normal hours, and he wanted discretion, but no secrecy.

All the while, Sara had only one – very stupid – thought: Catherine would have been proud.

The silence after Grissom presented his demands gave her time to think again. She wondered if Grissom was bluffing. She was guessing as to why he believed the sheriff would see them as more important than the others.

Although nothing Grissom asked for was out of the ordinary, Atwater felt as if he was being pressured and exploded again, making it clear that he did not want to make exceptions for anyone – especially Grissom. This time, Grissom cut him off. "If you don't like it, fine. I will find someone else who can use some expertise and a little bit of funding."

Her head whipped around, and she stared at him. Funds? This was about money?

She met his eyes and they told her that he would explain later.

"You are aware that this is…"

"Blackmail? No," Grissom cut him off, making Atwater look even more surprised.

"What I'm asking for is not outside of what I'm entitled to. I am well within my rights." That seemed to be the final argument because Grissom, as well as Atwater, fell silent.

Sara felt a bit left out, but on the other hand, she was glad that she was not directly involved in that. Like Grissom, she didn't like to play politics - her temper was too short for that. She didn't handle those undercurrent threats very well, but she didn't need to.

When Grissom decided to play with the big boys, he went all the way.

Atwater seemed to be completely in his hand. "What if Miss Sidle is further along in her pregnancy? How will you deal with her then?"

It was one last attempt to regain the upper hand, while it also was a sign that he had begun to crumble.

Grissom looked at her again, leaving the answer up to her, and for the first time since they entered the sheriff's office, she spoke. "I want the same treatment that this lab extends to every pregnant woman - nothing more and nothing less. I'm sure that Dr. Grissom is more than capable of handling the situation with the utmost professionalism. Everything else will be dealt with outside of the lab. We've already proven that it's possible."

After that, Atwater had nothing more to say than to add that one mistake would leave them to deal with the repercussions.

They had gambled with high stakes and won.

Grissom had won.

From her seat on the passenger's side, she glanced over at him.

On first glance, everything seemed normal, but when she looked closer, she saw that he was just as affected as she was.

His hands had a tight grip on the steering wheel, appearing fixed to the spot. His eyes were drawn together, the wrinkles more pronounced. He was in deep thought. The last giveaway was his whole posture - his back was practically pressed into the seat, possessing the same rigidity as his arms.

Grissom was tense, pondering the things that had happened.

Sara turned back and stared out the window. She could wait.

He had promised her that he would explain things later, and he would, even if she had to make him.

When he pulled the car into their driveway, he didn't get out. He kept staring straight ahead. Sara waited until he suddenly began to talk.

"Since I started working for this lab, the solve rate has gone up. It's not me directly, but my team - you. However, better solve rate, improved reputation. Reputation equals money. Each sheriff pretended that money was tight when in truth, we have enough to have the best equipment and stay up-to-date. You can't get that just because of some sweet talk."

Sara remembered the times when Warrick, Nick, or Greg or other lab techs had come forward to ask Grissom for a new 'toy,' and although he had grumbled and denied them at first, these 'toys' had always appeared some time later. Their lab was definitely well-equipped, but she had never bothered to ask herself how that was possible when Ecklie was always bitching about the tight budget.

"The offers for new equipment land on my desk for my shift for a reason."

Sara was speechless. They had all underestimated Grissom – herself included.

"But, you know, I was still bluffing. They don't like me and never will. They could find someone else."

"You are not replaceable!" she insisted and leaned over and kissed him.

TBC