A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Enjoy this chapter.

I don't own CSI. Some inspiration and minimal dialogue are taken from episode 601, "Bodies in Motion." The line that Grissom quotes while in his office was originally penned by Benjamin Franklin.

Unions

"Can we work together tonight?" Sara asked as she picked up her purse.

Grissom smiled sadly and shook his head. "Not until the team is back together and it's less obvious."

She smiled and hugged him. "I'm good at covering my tracks."

"I know you are," he smiled, hugging her back. "But, Greg figured it out…

"Greg is too smart for his own good."

"I know."

Sara smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "I'll see you after shift?"

"Well, you'll see me at the start of shift."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." Smiling, he kissed her again. "Drive safely."

"You, too."

Sara finally pulled herself away from her boyfriend and left his townhouse, pausing to pet Hank goodbye at the door. She climbed into her car and drove to the lab with a grin on her face.

The first thing she heard as she walked into the lab was a shriek. Alarmed, she followed the sound to the DNA lab, where she saw Mandy hugging Mia. Frowning, she entered the room.

"Hey, guys," she said. "Is everything all right?"

"Better than all right," Mandy grinned. "Tell her, Mia."

Mia smiled, looking a bit embarrassed. "I'm engaged!"

"Mia!" Sara exclaimed. "I had no idea you even had a boyfriend!"

Mia laughed. "Well, unlike some of the people who work here, I try to keep my business to myself."

Cold fear filled Sara, but Mandy and Mia were both laughing.

"Hodges," Mandy explained, smiling at the frown on Sara's face. "If we have to hear about one more girl that he's dating…"

"I'll bet none of them actually exist," Mia said. "I think he makes them all up so he'll sound interesting."

Sara finally managed to coax forth a smile again. "I think he's easier for me to deal with because I just don't see him as much as you two do."

"Yeah, small doses are the way to go," Mandy agreed with a grin. "Mia, show her your ring!"

Beaming, Mia held out her hand so that Sara could admire the rather impressive solitaire.

"Very nice," Sara grinned. "When's the wedding?"

"Well…"

Sara frowned.

"Look, don't say anything because I haven't told Grissom yet, but I'm actually moving."

"To where?" Sara asked.

Mia bit her lip. "Minneapolis."

"Minneapolis!" Sara and Mandy exclaimed together.

"That's where Jason lives," she explained. "He got a job there a few months ago and moved. We've been doing the long distance thing, but … well, now that we're getting married, I'm moving up there."

"When?" Mandy asked, her face falling.

"I'm going to turn in my two weeks' notice tonight."

"Oh, Mia, I'm really going to miss you," Mandy sighed.

"I'll miss all of you, too," Mia said. "That's the only bad thing about all of this." She looked at Sara. "Do you know if Grissom's here yet? I sort of want to get this over with."

Sara glanced out into the hall just in time to see him walk into his office. "Yeah, there he is. He just walked into his office."

Mia drew a deep breath. "Wish me luck."

Mandy hugged her again. "I really am happy for you, Mia."

Mia smiled. "Thank you."

She walked out of the DNA lab, leaving Sara and Mandy staring at each other.

"Would you do it?" Mandy asked.

"Would I do what?"

"Would you move to another state for a man?"

Sara smiled, thinking of the man who had asked her to leave California for Nevada. "Yes."

Mandy looked shocked. "You didn't even hesitate!"

Sara repeated Sofia's words, "Sometimes, you have to follow your heart."

Grissom stretched across his couch, enjoying a few minutes of solitude. He only had about a quarter of an hour before Sara would arrive, and he wanted to make the most of his time alone. Clearly, that meant taking up the entire couch on his own.

It wasn't that he didn't want Sara to visit him. It wasn't that he didn't want to curl up in bed with her, and to know that she was beside him as he fell asleep. It wasn't that he didn't want to wake up next to her. He truly did love spending time with her.

But, he had been a loner for quite a few years. It was tough to give up some of his freedom.

He couldn't tell her, though. It would ruin everything they were building together. No, he'd keep his silence. He'd get used to sharing his time and his space with her.

After all, wasn't that what relationships were all about? Compromise?

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and Grissom got up off the couch to admit Sara. She smiled as he opened the door. Once inside, she leaned in to kiss him.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hi," he replied, closing the door behind her.

"Mia told you her news?"

He smiled. "She did. I'm happy for her."

"Me, too," Sara said. She sighed. "Minneapolis, though? I'm going to miss her."

"We all will," Grissom replied. "I promised her a recommendation for the lab there. I'm sure she'll do well."

"She will," Sara said as they settled themselves on the couch together. "She'd do well anywhere."

Grissom nodded his agreement. "I don't know how Greg's going to take her leaving."

Sara frowned. "I know they've always been friendly, but I didn't think they were that close."

Grissom smiled. "That wasn't what I meant. If we can't find a replacement by the time she leaves, he'll end up putting in some time in the DNA lab."

Sara laughed. "Oh, yeah. He'll love that."

Grissom laughed with her. "Well, at least we have some time before he finds out. Mia hasn't told the group at large yet."

"Maybe there won't be anything for him to find out. Maybe you'll find a replacement in time."

"Well, I'll do my best."

Mia didn't announce her engagement to the rest of the lab until their unit meeting the following week. Catherine was thrilled for her, jumping out of her seat to hug her as Mandy and Sara had done. Warrick and Greg, too, were quick to offer their congratulations. The rest of the unit waited until after the meeting to hug her and exclaim over her ring. Grissom wondered in a vague sort of way if they were afraid of feeling his wrath if they tried something so bold as to congratulate Mia during his meeting.

"Okay, everyone, I think that about does it," he said at last. "I know we all have a lot of work to do, so …"

With those words, the members of the team started to leave the room. Catherine and Warrick were the first to depart. Even though they were still technically swing shift for this one last day, they and Grissom had agreed that it made sense for them to attend the meeting with their once and future team.

Sara and Greg left right behind Catherine and Warrick. They had an open homicide investigation that they were hoping to have finished by the end of the night. The lab techs followed them, leaving Grissom alone in the break room.

Thankful that no new calls had come in yet, he made his way to his office and shut himself inside. As excited as he was about the team coming back together, he was less than thrilled about the amount of paperwork it had provided. He was sure that he'd have to spend over the eight hours he was scheduled to be at the lab working on it. Barring any new cases that he would have to take, he hoped to be able to leave the lab within ten hours.

Grissom's phone began ringing, breaking him out of the trance that hour upon hour of paperwork had brought about. He shook his head slightly and glanced at the clock. He had been working for nearly eleven hours.

"'He that lives upon hope will die fasting,'" he quoted quietly. He picked up his phone and brought it to his ear. "Grissom."

"Hey," Sara said. "I'm on my way home now. When will you get to my place?"

Grissom bit back a sigh. He glanced at his closed office door, reassuring himself that no one was listening. "Listen, Sara, I'm in paperwork hell right now. Merging the team back together takes some sorting."

"Oh," Sara said. "Well, come over whenever you're done, then."

"No, Sara, you're not understanding," Grissom said, a bit of frustration seeping into his voice. "It's going to be hours before I can leave. I don't want to wake you. I'm just going home today."

"Oh."

Grissom mentally kicked himself for the disappointment he heard in her voice. He had no right to take his frustration over the paperwork out on her. "Sweetheart, don't get upset. I didn't mean …"

"It's fine," Sara said quickly. "I'll just … I'll see you at work later."

"Right. And, as of next shift, we can start working together again."

"That's right," she said cheerfully. "Well, look, have fun with your paperwork. I'll see you at work."

"Sleep well."

"You, too."

Grissom hung up his phone and stared at it for a minute. As much as he hated that he had upset her, and hated the thought of the hours of work that stretched before him, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved. The thought of sleeping in his own bed was … nice.

Sometimes, he just needed some time to himself.

Sara was awake before her alarm went off to signal the time when she had to start getting ready for work. She practically jumped out of bed, grinning from ear to ear. Despite the fact that she had spent her first night in nearly a month without Grissom, she was incredibly happy and excited.

Catherine and Warrick were coming back to grave. Nick was coming back to work. In a few short hours, their team would be reunited.

Humming softly, Sara went into the bathroom to take a shower. She couldn't wait to get to the lab.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was excited to get to work. She walked into the locker room to see Nick standing there, clipping his ID onto his belt. Sara gave a squeal, and launched herself across the room and into his open arms.

"Hey, darlin'," Nick grinned, hugging her tightly. "Miss me?"

"Oh, so much," she sighed. "It's so great to have you back."

"It's great to be back," Nick replied with a smile, releasing her. "I can't believe Grissom got the team back together."

"I know," Sara grinned. "Isn't it awesome?"

Nick shook his head. "How he talked Ecklie into it, I'll never know, but, I'm glad he did. This was the best 'welcome back' present I've ever gotten!"

"Hey, Nicky!"

Nick and Sara both turned to see Warrick enter the locker room, his wide grin firmly in place.

"Hi, Warrick," Nick grinned.

Warrick slapped Nick on the back. "It's good to have you back, man."

"It's good to be back," Nick replied. "Man, I can't believe how much I missed this place – and, how much I missed you guys."

"We've missed you, too," Sara said, hugging Nick again. She smiled at Warrick. "Both of you. Grave hasn't been the same since you left."

"Since we were forced out, you mean," Warrick laughed. "I don't think that any of us had much choice in the matter. Our diabolical Assistant Director took care of that for us."

Sara shook her head. "Ecklie sucks."

"Basically," Warrick agreed, laughing again.

"Hey, guys, Ecklie just walked past," Greg said as he walked into the locker room. "He looks pissed."

Sara and Warrick looked at each other in horror.

"Oh, no," Sara said, the color draining from her face. "We just –"

"We are so screwed," Warrick muttered.

Greg began to laugh. "Gotcha! I heard what you were saying as I walked in."

"Greg, that wasn't funny!" Sara exclaimed, smacking his arm. "I think my heart literally stopped beating!"

"Man, you just took five years off my life." Warrick ran his hands over his face and shook his head. "Well played, though. You definitely had us."

Nick chuckled. "You two had better be more careful about what you say at work."

"Yeah," Sara said, swallowing thickly. "I thought I was getting better at that …"

Shaking her head as she thought of all the reasons Ecklie could have found to fire her on the spot, she glanced at her watch.

"We'd better go, guys. We don't want to be late for the start of our first shift with the whole team back together."

Still laughing, the men followed her to the break room.

"Oh, hey, have you heard the good news?" Greg asked.

"What good news?" Sara asked.

Greg grinned. "Guess who's back?"

"Nick?" Warrick asked, giving Sara a wink.

Greg rolled his eyes. "Sofia!"

"Sofia?" Sara and Warrick repeated in shock.

"Sofia?" Nick asked, genuinely confused. "Where did she go?"

"Colorado," Sara replied. "What do you mean, she's back?"

"She just transferred back to PD," Greg said. "She's working as a detective now."

"Really?" Warrick asked. "Well, good for her. I'm sure she'll have fun with Brass."

"I can't believe she's back," Sara said.

"I can't believe she left," Nick stated.

"Hey, you miss work, you miss out," Warrick grinned. He glanced at Sara. "You don't seem all that excited about Sofia's return."

She coaxed forth a smile. "Sofia and I had our moments, but we were getting to be friends when she left. Of course, I'm glad she's back."

"You don't seem very glad," Nick teased. "What do you have against Sofia?"

"Nothing," Sara exclaimed. "Why would I have something against her?"

"Eh, you just don't like to see Grissom working with another woman," Warrick teased. "That's why you don't like her."

Sara tried to look unaffected, but she was sure her face was slowly turning red.

"What about Catherine?" Greg asked quickly, glancing at Sara. "Doesn't she count as a woman? She works with Grissom, and Sara's friends with her."

"Look, you're not trying to get me in trouble with Catherine, are you?" Warrick asked.

"Why would I do that?" Greg asked airily.

"I don't know. You already tried to convince Sara and me that we were about to be fired. How should I know what other lows you'd sink to?"

Nick laughed. "Come on, that was funny!"

"To you," Sara replied, wrinkling her nose.

They finally entered the break room, where Grissom and Catherine were waiting for them. They were chatting, and looked as happy as the rest of them to be back together.

"Well, if it isn't the rest of our team," Grissom smiled as they sat down. "Thanks for joining us for the start of shift."

"Sorry," Sara said for all of them. "We didn't realize how long we were standing around chatting."

"What do you have for us, Griss?" Nick asked.

"You're going to love it," he assured them. "We're all together tonight."

"Really?" Sara asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, really," Grissom said, smiling at her. "We have a fire in a trailer park. Apparently, a trailer and a gas main blew. Two victims that we know of."

Greg winced. "Burn victims?"

Sara looked at him, remembering his last encounter with a burn victim.

"Both died at the scene," Grissom said quickly, knowing what Greg was thinking.

Greg merely nodded, but he couldn't hide the relief in his eyes.

"Okay," Grissom said. "We need to leave; Brass is waiting for us. So, let's take three cars and get to the scene."

Sara couldn't disguise the pride she felt as she and the team crossed the parking lot to the crime scene together. Looking around at the others, she knew that she wasn't the only one who was more than happy to be back together as a team.

As soon as they had surveyed the damage, Catherine volunteered herself and Warrick to start working the perimeter. Warrick asked Greg to join them; the three of them stepped away from the trailer. Sara, Nick and Grissom headed toward the mobile home.

"Would you like inside or out?" Sara asked Nick as they followed Grissom.

"I'll take in," he replied.

Sara nodded and smiled. She began surveying the area immediately outside what had been the trailer's front door, while Grissom and Nick climbed inside.

They had only been working for a few minutes when Grissom's phone began to ring. Sara made a face.

"No good can come of that."

Nick laughed. "Yeah. Maybe it's Ecklie, calling to bitch Grissom out over what you and Warrick said.

Sara pursed her lips. "You know, maybe we should have sent you off to the perimeter with Greg. I think you two have the same sense of humor. You're a couple of regular comedians."

Nick laughed as Grissom disconnected his call.

"Trouble?" Sara asked lightly.

"We've got another homicide," Grissom replied.

Sara's face fell. "You're going to make us leave?"

"I'll send Catherine," Grissom said. "I'm sure she'll love me for it." With that, he pressed the button on his phone to radio Catherine.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Catherine, we have a 419 off Industrial," he said. "Would you like to handle it?"

"So, you get the team back together only to break us apart again?" she asked. "What kind of a perverse game are you playing here, Gil?"

"I'm not a pervert," Grissom replied staunchly.

Sara and Nick looked at each other, then quickly turned away, both biting their lips to keep from laughing.

"Yeah, I'll cover it," Catherine said with a resigned sigh. "I'm taking Warrick."

"Thank you," Grissom said, closing his phone.

Sara and Nick looked at each other again, this time actually bursting into laughter. Grissom gave them a slightly confused frown.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," they said as one.

Shaking his head, Grissom went back into what had been the trailer's kitchen. After exchanging one last grin, Sara and Nick went back to work.

Between them, Sara, Nick and Grissom managed to piece together what must have happened to the trailer. Based on all they had discovered at the scene, Grissom came to the conclusion that a car had come barreling down the road, launched off the gas main and literally slammed through the trailer in midair, landing on the other side and leaving a massive fire in its wake. Nick looked at him in shock as he calmly explained "the vehicular equivalent of a through and through."

"Flying car?" Nick asked as Grissom wound up his theory. "That's what we're gonna go with?"

"Mm-hm," Grissom replied as though it were the only viable theory.

In the end, it was the accurate theory. A neighbor in the trailer park had fallen asleep at the wheel; he awoke to find himself sailing through the air on a collision course with the trailer.

It was in the process of tracking down the car, however, that Grissom, Sara and Sofia uncovered a new case. Their broadcast for a blue Sunfire, the car used to destroy the trailer, led them to a blue Grand Am that had been collecting parking tickets for nearly a week while two bodies decomposed in the trunk.

Despite Sofia's assertion that they should process the car in place, Sara wanted to transport it back to the lab to ensure that no evidence would be lost or contaminated. Grissom agreed with Sara; they sealed the car shut and wrapped cellophane around the trunk, then had it towed to the lab's garage.

"You and Greg are on this one," Grissom told Sara as they drove back to the lab. "Nick and I still have a few things left to do with the trailer."

"I love a good decomp," Sara said sarcastically.

Grissom smiled at her. "Well, I think I'm the one who should be upset about you working a decomp."

Sara felt her face flush and smiled at him. "Don't worry. My boss taught me that lemons get rid of the smell."

He smiled. "In that case, I might still let you come over tonight."

"It's been nearly a week since we've seen each other outside of work, Griss," Sara sighed. "I know we've been working together every day, but it's just not the same."

"I know," he replied, reaching across to touch her hand. "I'll make it up to you."

"Oh, really?" she said playfully. "How?"

"First, you'll come over after shift, and I'll make you din… well, whatever meal is appropriate."

Sara giggled. "Go on."

"Then, we'll have a movie night," he continued. "We'll snuggle up on the couch and watch … you can pick."

"Okay," Sara said, already trying to decide what they could watch.

"Then, we'll probably miss the last twenty minutes of the movie because we'll end up making out."

Sara laughed outright. "I'm so glad you're spontaneous about these things."

"Finally, we'll go to bed," Grissom concluded. "We'll fall asleep all cuddled up together, then we'll wake up on opposite sides of the bed."

Sara smiled, knowing that they often ended up that way. "Or, I'll be using you as my personal pillow," she added.

Grissom smiled, conceding her point. That was the other way they woke up.

Once they arrived at the lab, Sara made a beeline for the break room, where Greg was sitting to finish a report on his last case. He looked up when she walked in.

"Hey," he said. "How did your blue car pan out?"

"It opened a new case for us," she replied. "Grab some coveralls and meet me in the garage."

"Whoa, now," Greg said. "What exactly am I walking into?"

Sara grinned. "Two bodies that have been in the trunk of a Grand Am for about six days."

Greg screwed up his face. "Lovely."

Sara laughed. "I'll see you in the garage."

Twenty minutes later, Sara and Greg were staring into the trunk of the car. Greg turned his head away from the smell that was smacking them in the face.

"Well, they've definitely been there awhile."

"I told you," Sara said. "Look, I think the best way to do this will be to drain the trunk."

Greg nodded. "We just have to pull the drain plug."

"Correction: You have to pull the drain plug."

"Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Can't we flip a coin?" Greg whined.

"Nope," Sara said. "This is your punishment for scaring years off my life with that Ecklie thing."

"Oh, come on," Greg moaned. "That was days ago! These two might have still been alive then!"

"Yeah," Sara agreed, "and I can hold a grudge. Go get some gloves. I'll set up the buckets."

Muttering Norwegian curses under his breath, Greg went to suit up for his experience. He returned with gloves firmly in place, and pulled plastic covers over his sleeves.

"For the record, I really hate you right now."

"For the record, these two have families who will love you forever for what you're about to do," Sara said.

Greg made a face. "I suppose that helps … a little."

"Good. Now, get to work."

Sara sat next to the trunk to keep watch over the buckets while Greg fished through the decomposing bodies, searching for the knob that would release their liquefied victims into Sara's buckets.

"Drain plug's probably under the carpet," Sara said helpfully.

"I think I've found it," Greg said as his fingers closed around it.

He pulled up on it gently, but it didn't move. He began to pull harder, thinking that the faster he got the plug out, the faster he could get his hand out of the human soup.

He pulled a little too hard.

His hand and the drain plug came flying out, bringing decomp along with them. It flew back at Greg, splattering all over his face and into his open mouth. Sara jumped back and stared at him in shock, watching as he gasped. She leaned backwards to grab a tissue for him.

"Technically, that makes you a cannibal," she said, passing him a tissue, which he immediately shoved into his mouth. "Grissom would be proud," she added.

Greg pulled the tissue out of his mouth. "Grissom would have tasted it on purpose."

Looking a bit disgusted at that thought, Sara turned from Greg to check on the progress of their slow drain. She shifted one of the buckets to make sure it wasn't too full.

"It's working."

Greg gave her a look that clearly said that he wasn't impressed. "Yeah. Fan-freakin'-tastic."

"Oh, come on, Greg," Sara said encouragingly. "You'll live."

"Right," he said. "This whole experience has been just great. Um … do you mind if I go …"

"Go where?"

"I don't know," he said, standing up. "It's either to puke, to brush my teeth, or to puke then brush my teeth."

Sara giggled. "Yeah. Go. I'll keep an eye on this. But, just so you know, you're on body duty when you get back."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, horrified.

"I'm processing the car."

Greg made a disgusted sound and walked toward the door. "You know, what we need is someone brand new on this team," he said. "I'm talking 'just out of college' new. Someone I can kick around."

"Hey, now you know not to mess with me," Sara called after him as he walked away.

He paused in the doorway to throw his hand up with one finger extended, then continued out of the garage. The sound of Sara's laughter followed him down the hall.

Sara and Greg's case was very fast-paced and provided them with one hot lead after another. They stayed at work for hours, only going home when they both knew they were too exhausted to continue.

As much as Sara wanted to spend time with Grissom as they had promised, she knew it wasn't going to happen. She called him on her way home to tell him that she just needed to sleep, and that she'd see him at the lab for their next shift.

Ten hours later, she was back at work. She and Greg immediately jumped back into their case. Working with Sofia, they identified both of their victims and the man who had shot them. The problem they faced was that their murderer had apparently dropped off the face of the earth.

Grissom was pleased with their findings, although he understood their frustration at not being able to charge the man who had shot two people and thrown them in the trunk of a car. As he pointed out to them, the man now had two counts of murder on his record; as soon as he could be found, he would be charged with the crimes.

After their conference with Grissom, Sara made her way to the locker room. She had to admit that she was happy to leave work at the end of her shift for the first time in weeks.

She walked into the locker room to hear the voices of Nick and Warrick.

"So, does Sara know?" Nick asked.

"Does Sara know what?" she asked as she entered the room.

Nick looked at Warrick, who looked back at him. Sara glanced between them, then started to open her locker.

"Fine, don't tell me. Why would I want to know, anyway?"

"It's your news, Warrick," Nick said. "I'm not going to tell it for you."

Sara turned to look at Warrick with raised eyebrows. He grinned at her rather abashedly.

"I got married," he said.

Sara's jaw dropped. "What?" she exclaimed. "When?"

"Over the weekend," Warrick said, looking even more like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Sara smacked his chest. "Why didn't you tell us? We would have come to your wedding!"

"Well, it was sort of spur of the moment …"

Sara finally shook her head and grinned at him. "Congratulations, Warrick," she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "I'm sure you and Tina will be very happy." She pulled back and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "You did marry Tina, right?"

Warrick laughed. "Yes, I married Tina."

"Just checking."

Warrick laughed again. "You're killing me, girl."

"Are you up for a little celebration, Sara?" Nick asked. "I think that breakfast at the Peppermill is in order. We need to take this man out to celebrate his marriage!"

"Yeah, definitely!" Sara agreed. "Have you told the others?"

"Not yet."

She nodded. "I just left Greg. He was talking to Sofia, but I'm sure he'll want to come with us."

"Good. We'll find Grissom and Catherine."

Sara grinned. "This is going to be so much fun."