Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: Sooo, once again, if you're a stickler for canon, feel free to replace Ecklie's name with any generic assistant lab director for season one. Although, I have to say that in writing this, I found it deeply satisfying to imagine it as Ecklie. :)

As always, thank you so much for the reviews. They brighten my day, each and every day. I can't tell you how much they mean! Thank you!

Hammer, you can come out of the corner now. :) Hehe.

Also, fair warning, we're winding down a bit. I mean, we're not a chapter or two from the end or anything, but we're getting closer. Just so you guys know.

Enjoy!

Chapter Eighty Eight:

I didn't have much food in the fridge and when I suggested we could just make lunch meat sandwiches and some soup for lunch, Sara didn't seem to like that idea very much—she hadn't been eating much since Ayla had been kidnapped and I figured that she wanted good food now that her appetite was returning. We decided to take Ayla to see the aquarium at Mandalay Bay and grab lunch in one of the restaurants there.

…I can't even begin to describe how it felt, watching Ayla watch the giant sharks and the tiny little fish with wide eyes, an open mouth, and utter, disbelieving amazement. I vowed to myself that I would never stop finding things to show her that would give her that look of awe and wonder of the world around her.

We spent so long with the fish that by the time we'd finished eating, I had to hurry over to the lab or risk missing Ecklie before he left for the day, unless of course Catherine had given him some indication that I would be coming in tonight. …I was fairly certain she wouldn't have. So instead of dropping Ayla and Sara at home, I drove them right over to the Crime Lab and settled them into the break room while I set off to find Ecklie.

He was in his office, packing up his briefcase, getting ready to leave for the day. I was surprised he hadn't looked up yet—the sound of hushed murmurings had followed me from the moment I entered the lab. I took a deep breath, bracing myself, before knocking on the door frame. He looked up in surprise and I watched his face flicker from inquiring to anger in a half second flat. I couldn't help the small smile that twisted my lips—the man was just so humorous sometimes. "Conrad."

He looked back down to what he was doing, but the scowl remained firmly in place. "Gil… Nice of you to show up."

"I had a family emergency come up… Catherine was covering my cases for me."

"You didn't tell anyone, including Catherine, where you were going and you refused to answer your phone."

This wasn't true—Catherine had known exactly where I was. She must have feigned ignorance to protect my privacy. I reminded myself to thank her for it later, and sighed. "I flew to Boston an hour after I received the phone call at the end of shift… I didn't even have time to stop at home. Why on earth would I have my phone charger with me?"

He rolled his eyes, snapping his briefcase closed with too much force and then moving it to rest on the floor beside his chair. He sat down, looking at me in exasperation. "…Let's just be straight with each other, Gil. I know that your phone didn't die for the first forty or fifty of my calls, because it rang before it sent me to voicemail, and I have it on very good authority that they have phones in Boston. You were avoiding talking to me."

"I was dealing with a kidnapping case," I said, moderately impressed—the phones comment was the closest I'd ever heard Conrad come to having a sense of humor.

He raised an eyebrow. "You said it was a family emergency."

"It was."

"…Sit down." He directed, gesturing to the chair. The look on his face told me that he thought he was being quite generous, giving me a chance to sit and explain myself. I closed the door behind me, but stood behind the chair he'd offered, my hands clasping the back of it.

"My… fiancé's daughter was kidnapped. She wanted me to go help with the investigation… if I hadn't gone, her daughter probably wouldn't have been found in time."

He pursed his lips, his hands clutching a pen between them in agitation. "But… she was found? She's safe now?"

I nodded, wondering why he hadn't questioned the existence of a fiancé, but apparently that was the least of his worries. He sighed heavily, now tapping the pen against his desk with one hand. "Well… I wish you would have called and explained, but I understand the extreme nature of the circumstances. You're back now, let's just put it behind us… Now, I don't know if you've heard about Brass but—"

"Wait." I said, catching up with him a moment later, still in shock that it had ended that easily and he wasn't making a power play. "I… I'm not actually back, yet."

The pen stopped tapping. "…Excuse me?"

"Ayla—the daughter—her father… was killed trying to save her. We got there in time to rescue her, but he… His funeral is tomorrow, in San Francisco. We're flying out early tomorrow morning for it."

He practically threw the pen down. "You… you disappear for almost a week, don't answer your phone, and now you tell me that you're leaving again? No notice, minimal explanation… and I'm just supposed to go with that? The unit doesn't have a supervisor right now!"

I raised an eyebrow. "…Well, with all due respect, Conrad, that's not really my responsibility. I have a right to take bereavement days."

"For your fiancé's ex? Really?"

I swallowed. "For the man who died to save my little girl."

"Oh hell, Gil." He stood up, running a hand over his shiny bald head. "…You know what? You're right. I haven't made you a supervisor yet, so it isn't your responsibility to deal with the lack of leadership on grave. But it is your responsibility to inform your superiors when you need to take time off for family emergencies, which you failed to do. It is your responsibility to answer your phone and explain if you do take off without informing them. And, if you leave for half a week without notice, and without answering your phone, and without any common courtesy or even apology that you put us through that—that a girl died because of your negligence—then it is your damned responsibility to accept the consequences of your actions and realize you can't take any more time off right now without some advance notice!"

I was gripping the back of the chair so hard that my knuckles were white. "…Holly didn't die because of my negligence. Why did the officer who was supposed to be guarding her leave the scene?"

His eyes shot to his desk and he scoffed. "PD is looking into it. That still doesn't change the fact—"

"That I should have called you. Right. …Because when I was working on trying to find my little girl or on consoling her over the loss of her father or helping my fiancé deal with the constant fear that she would wake up and Ayla would be missing again, I also should have been worried about the lab falling apart without me, when I'm not even the graveyard supervisor."

"Be snide all you like, Gil. The fact of that matter is that we can't afford to give you any more unexpected time off with the night shift so short."

I shook my head. "I'm not trying to be snide, Conrad, but I'm going to this funeral."

There was a long moment in which he watched me, and then he buttoned his jacket and picked up his briefcase. "Fine. As long as you're back in time for shift tomorrow night, it's none of my business what you do in your free time."

He made to walk out but I stepped in front of him. "No, Conrad. Lab policy is a week for immediate family—you can give me a few days."

"For a man whose only relation to you is that you've fucked the same woman? I don't think so."

My hands were shaking with the effort it required not to hit the man for his disrespectful words. I balled them into fists, willing myself to exert some control. "And if I'm not back in time for shift tomorrow night?"

"…Then I imagine you'll be facing some serious disciplinary action. Suspension, maybe even firing… I will not be disrespected or manipulated, even by the great Gil Grissom…"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't make bluffs if you can't pull them off—we both know that you wouldn't fire me. You could pay me to do nothing eighty hours a week and with the grant money I bring in, the lab would still come out ahead. …I know we've never gotten along, but my request is not unreasonable—if we could just take a moment an—"

"Grissom!" He positively roared. I blinked in surprise and even took a step back I was so startled, much to my chagrin. I knew he must be angry—he didn't even seem to register any satisfaction at me backing away from him. "No matter what you bring to this lab, you are not in charge. Publishing a few respected papers doesn't mean you get to throw your weight around. You will be here tomorrow night, or you won't have a job. Do I make myself clear?"

I was absolutely surprised, and for a moment I simply stared at him in shock while he smiled that smug smile at me… and then my brain caught up with the events that had taken place and the options I was being given. I surprised even myself when I self-satisfied kind of smile slid across my face. He frowned, uncertainly, and I felt it spread into a grin. "…But at this moment, I'm not fired?"

His frown deepened and he tilted his head. "Well… No, I…" he trailed off, uncertain, and the grin became a beam.

"In that case… consider this my resignation, Conrad. Now, as per the contract I signed when I was recruited to this lab, any remaining vacation time I should possess at the time of my resignation shall be paid in full within two weeks of said resignation. …Since I haven't been fired, I'm entitled to… I think it's roughly twelve weeks pay, isn't it? That's a ballpark… Human Resources would know for certain."

"Now wait a second, Gil."

"I believe you have my home address… I'll expect the check with two weeks, or I will be calling my lawyer. Oh, and I believe you're also required to inform the organizations who've given us grants of any major changes in employment? …Tell you what—I'm feeling generous. Don't worry about telling them now—just, when you apply for the grant again, do be sure to let them know. You wouldn't want to be guilty of falsely representing yourselves or using my name to financial gain without my permission. …You know, I wonder what the lab director or the sheriff will say when they find out…"

With a smile that was nothing short of vindictive, I turned on my heel, heading out, and then the little weasel was scrambling after me. "Gil! Wait! …Listen, it… it's been an awful week. Holly and all of that… I was overreacting. Really, it could happen to anyone… I… take all the bereavement time you need. When's the wedding? You know the lab has great benefits for families… dental and vision included!"

I stopped, and he ran into me, bouncing off my back with an "Oof!"

I turned back to him. "You know, the thing is that I just really don't need this job… I'm a saver, you know? I've got enough money put away to support myself for over a year without any of that vacation money… which makes me think that I would be much better served by collecting, taking my fiancé on a dream honeymoon vacation, and leaving you to suffer the consequences of your own inflated ego… Yes, I think that sounds far more satisfying. …Have a good night, Conrad."

I gave him a cheery smile and moved alone towards the break room, scooping Ayla up in my arms and delighting that she smiled and squealed, obviously wanting my attention. I put the girl up on my shoulders, wrapping one arm behind me to hold her tightly and let the other arm snake around Sara's waist. "You ready, honey? What do you think of seeing some of the strip tonight?"

I crouched low to get Ayla and I through the doorway at her nod, and we moved through the lab and out into the early Vegas twilight. I glanced around, the lights of the strip clearly visible in the distance, despite the distance between them and the lab, for the first time really appreciating the beauty of all that light. I mean, it might be gaudy, but if you didn't think about then as dens of iniquity... they were really quite nice. I smiled over at Sara, feeling strangely light and free. I mean, sure, I was going to miss my team, but I also had faith that I would keep in touch with them… And in the time I'd spent away from Sara, just dreaming of the places we would go and the things we would do if we could be together the way we wanted to be, I had come up with no shortage of plans… one in particular prominent among them.

I wouldn't bring it up tonight, the night before Jace's funeral. …It wasn't the right time. But in a few days… maybe once we were back in Boston… I had an intimate proposal for my Sara.