Sara's turning down the bed as Grissom walks in from the bathroom "Hey. Thanks for pairing me with Greg. I could practically see the gears turning in Warrick and Nick's heads as they tried to figure it out."

Grissom begins helping her and they both slip into the bed before he finally responds "No problem" He settles down and lifts an arm to allow Sara to snuggle into his side as Hank jumps on the bed and spins in circles before curling up in the spot he always does. "I can try and keep you away from the boys for as long as possible…"

"No it's ok. I said I was ready to stop hiding and I meant it." She leans up and turns his chin towards her as she places a kiss on his lips. The kiss quickly becomes several kisses and instead of snuggled into his side she ends up straddling his lap. Grissom finally manages to detach himself from his wife long enough to give the dog a nudge with his foot and tell him to get down, which Hank does, leaping from the bed with an indignant huff and landing heavily on the bedroom floor. "You should be nicer to him when…" The rest of Sara's reprimand is cut off by Grissom capturing her mouth in a searing kiss as his hands go to slide off the t-shirt (another one of his, he notices) that she's wearing.

… … … … … …

"I can't believe I let you talk me into getting to work this early." Warrick slips into Nick's passenger seat and is greeted with a warm Starbucks cup. "This is super early man, it's not even Grissom and Sara early."

"I know but if we're going to catch them…" Nick tells him.

"Catch them?" Warrick shakes his head "We could just ask them."

"I went to Sara's place earlier and some dude answered and was like 'whose Sara?' when I asked if she was there." Nick whined and Warrick just shook his head and said he'd have had better luck going to Grissom's place.

"She's not going to tell us she moved in with Grissom if she's not even told us they're together." Warrick reasoned. "Come on. Let's get something to eat before the start of shift and we'll just ask them and if they don't answer the questions I'll let you go back to Operation Creepy Dude" Nick grumbles but agrees when Warrick offers to let him pick where they'll eat. They come back in and find everyone, including Grissom, already in the breakroom for assignments.

"Sara, Jim needs you down at PD. When you're done there, Warrick's going to need some help at his multi-car pile-up." He hands Warrick his slip and smiles and shrugs as a response to Sara's raised eyebrow on her way out. "Catherine and Greg two separate bodies at a motel near McCarran, likely OD's so if there's a bad batch out there we need to know." He hands them their slips. "And finally Nicky, you and I are going golfing."

Nick goes and gathers his kit before meeting Grissom at their Denali and he climbs into the passenger seat and the silence is deafening as he occasionally glances over at Grissom. "What's on your mind Nick?" Grissom finally asks.

"What's going on with you and Sara?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you together?"

"Yes." Grissom keeps his eyes on the road as he answers Nick's questions.

"Are you and Sara married?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

Grissom finally looks over at him "How long what?"

"How long have you been together?"

Grissom smiles "We've always had a relationship."

Nick laughs mirthlessly "Man what does that even mean?" Grissom just shrugs in response.

… … … … … …

Sara heads down to PD and is met at the door by Brass. "Hey Sara."

"Jim, what's up?"

"Does the name Laura Sidle mean anything to you?" He says nervously.

"Why?" She knows she's sounding harsh but that's not a name she wanted anyone in Vegas knowing.

Jim holds his hands up in defeat "Hey! Don't shoot the messenger. She was picked up in a liquor store near to the bus station, tried to steal a bottle of wine. The store owner isn't pressing charges but she told the booking in officer, who ran her prints, she was looking for her daughter. Mac owes me a favour and called me."

"Where is she?"

"In my office." Jim holds an arm out to let Sara pass and follows her as she goes straight to the office.

"Hi Mom." Sara says as she walks into Jim's office.

Laura just smiles "Look at you, you're all grown."

"What are you doing here Mom?" Sara glances back as Jim shuts the door on his way out.

"I got your letter so I thought I'd come and visit." The door clicks open again and the Jim comes in with a hot mug.

"Hey Laura I got your tea." He hands her the mug and then looks at Sara "If you need me cookie, I'll be right outside this door."

"Are you the man my Sara married?" Laura looks at the captain and smiles.

"No, no I'm not." Jim looks at Laura. "I know him though."

"Is he good?"

"Yeah he's a good guy."

"Not like Frank."

"No he's nothing like Frank." Jim reassures her. He'd read a brief summary as to why Laura Sidle's prints were in the system.

"Fuckin' Frank. Piece of shit waste of oxygen." Brass frowns, the nice happy woman he'd been talking to had disappeared. "I took care of that though. For my Sara." He can feel the tension radiating off Sara. He places a hand on her shoulder and offers her a reassuring squeeze as Laura continues to throw out insults about her dead husband.

"Sara I'm gonna make some calls. You need anything holler for me ok."

"Thanks Jim, could you uh call…"

"Yeah I'll call him."

Sara turns her attention back to her mother "How did you get here Mom?"

"I was telling them I needed to visit with my daughter but they wouldn't listen. They didn't think I needed to come but I needed to come, I needed to check. Make sure he didn't hurt you."

"Make sure who didn't hurt me Mom?"

"Your husband. I don't want you to turn out like me and then all the lights went off at home and it was a sign from god so I went to the bus station and I came to see you."

"Thanks Mom." Sara doesn't know what to say.

"I'm tired Sara." Laura looks at her and for the first time Sara takes in the vacant look in her mothers eyes.

"You can lay down on the couch Mom. Jim won't mind." Sara watches as her mother sleeps.

… … … … … …

"Grissom." He says as he flips open his cell.

"Hey Gil. What scene are you at?"

"Buried treasure in the sand trap on hole nine." Grissom answers blithely

"Oh, the severed arm still attached to the briefcase?"

"Yeah. What's up Jim?"

"Any chance you can get away?"

"It's just me and Nicky out here."

"He'll be ok on his own right? He's worked solo since…" Jim cuts off he doesn't want to bring up Nick's last solo case involving random body parts "I can get an extra officer sent out there"

"What's wrong Jim? Is it Sara?" The sound of panic in imperceptible to most but both Brass and Nick pick up on it.

"Sara's mom ran away from the place she lives out in Frisco and is currently on my office couch drinking tea."

"Hey Nick, you ok to finish up here? I'll send someone out to pick you up."

"Yeah Grissom, everything ok?"

"Jim I'll be there as soon as I can." He looks over at the officer by the tape "Hey Matthews?"

"Yes sir?" The cop looks over?

"Think you can drop Nick back over to the lab when he's done here.

"No problem Dr Grissom." The cop calls over.

Grissom rings his hands together and looks at Nick "I've got to go." Nick just nods and frowns as Grissom walks over to the Denali and leaves with no further explanation.

… … … … … …

Grissom arrives at PD and like Sara finds Brass waiting for him by reception. "Gil."

"Jim, Sara…"

"Is fine." Brass holds a hand up to stop Grissom's advance into PD and then nods towards one of the interrogation rooms. Once they're inside Grissom glances around wondering where Sara is. "She's in my office. Look Gil…" Brass pauses, whilst normally confident, it's always different with friends "What do you know about Sara's mom?"

"Why?" It's the same sharp answer that Sara gave him when he asked.

"She's here. Gil, I uh read the case summary."

Grissom clasps his hands together and stares at Brass before eventually opening his mouth "She would prefer that people didn't know anything."

"Sure, sure." Brass gets it.

"How did she end up in Vegas?"

"I called the group home she lives in. Seems there was power cut. Took out 5 city blocks, the electronic locks on the building went off and it took 15 minutes for the generator to kick in. Just enough time for Laura Sidle to leave and hop a bus to Vegas." Grissom nods. "They searched her room. Looks like she's been cheeking her meds as well." Brass takes a moment to look Grissom's face and still his friend is giving nothing away. "The only people who know she's here are me, you, Sara and Mac Kirk on the booking in desk. Now Mac's got a daughter attending Columbia. He's always looking for overtime. He's going to drive Laura halfway to meet staff from her group home."

"Sara?"

"In my office with her mom." This time he makes no attempt to block Grissom's path.

Grissom goes straight to Jim's office and Sara looks up and sees him hovering in the door pressing his hands together with a furrowed brow. "Hey" She smiles weakly at him.

"Are you ok?" He responds and Sara just shrugs in response. "Your Mom?"

"She's ok I think."

"Jim spoke to the care facility she's in." He pauses and tries to gage his wife's mood. "She's off her medication."

"Figured." Sara looks over at her Mom and sighs. "Did Jim?"

He doesn't need her to finish the sentence to know that she's asking if Jim read her mother's file "Only briefly. Mac on the desk read the summary as well."

Sara snorts "Great."

Grissom crosses the room and leans against Jim's desk looking at his wife and his mother-in-law "They're the only two. Jim won't share and Mac won't either, Jim's bought his silence with authorised overtime."

"Bunny?" Two heads spin over towards the woman on the couch, Grissom glances sideways to see if Sara's worried about this outburst, she isn't. "Who is this? Is he a doctor?" Laura looks at Grissom with an air of suspicion.

"This is Gil Grissom." She turns and looks at Grissom and smiles "This is my husband. He's a bug doctor."

"Bug doctor? He fixes bugs?" Laura's confused.

"I study bugs." Gil steps forward to shake Laura's hand but she frowns and keeps her hands clasped tightly in her lap so he takes a step back. "It's nice to finally meet you Laura."

"He's old." Laura looks at her daughter angrily.

"He's older mom. He's not old." Sara defends.

"Old men beat their wives." Laura responds indignantly.

"Mom." Sara says firmly. "Gil has never laid a hand on me. I promise. He's nothing like dad."

"Your father was a good man." She says firmly. "Until the government got him. The government got him and they put the anger in him." She then mumbles "I had to get the anger out. They sent him away and the anger got him. It controlled his mind."

"I know Mom." Sara walks over and sits on the couch next to her mother. "I know. But Gil isn't like that. I promise you he's a good man."

"Your friend said that. The man in the suit." Laura looks back over at Grissom "If he hurts you Bunny I'll make him go away. Like I made the anger in daddy go away."

"I know you will Mom." Sara takes her mothers hand and squeezes it reassuringly. "But Gil loves me. He looks after me, we have a nice house and a dog…"

"You always wanted a dog."

"He's called Hank. After Hammerin' Hank. Gil likes baseball."

"I like baseball. San Francisco Giants greatest team in California." Laura says proudly.

"Apart from the LA Dodgers." Grissom responds with a smirk.

"No no no no no no no no no no." Laura shakes her head and laughs. It seems that it was this easy to get Laura on side. "I used to take Sara to baseball games."

"Really?" Grissom's genuinely shocked, whenever he suggests going to a 51's game she normally responds with an eyeroll and a suggestion they do anything else. "I try to get Sara to come to games with me, she pretends she doesn't like it."

"Oh Bunny, why would you do that?!"

"Laura, why do you call Sara Bunny?" Grissom can't help but ask.

"Oh it's simple, she always has these big bunny teeth." She holds her index fingers in front of her teeth to simulate big teeth.

Grissom can't help but smile "She does like to snack on carrots."

Laura cackles "I like you Gil Grissom." Grissom smiles.

"Knock knock." Jim announces as he walks back in the room. "Mac's just pulling the car around." He tells Grissom and Sara "Hey Laura you ready to go home?" Laura just nods in response and stands up.

"Good bye Bunny." Sara hugs her daughter and then laughs. "Good bye Gil Grissom."

"Bye Mom."

"Good bye Laura." Grissom says as Laura walks happily off with Jim on her way back to California.

Grissom sits on the couch and gives Sara's arm a tug and pulls her onto the couch next to him. "So that was my mom." Sara tells him nervously. "My parents met in 1967, the Summer of Love in San Francisco. He'd hitchhiked from Iowa and then when everyone left to get a job my parents went to Tomales Bay and decided to settle there. Dad fell in love with the ocean and then in 1968 my brother Jefferson was born and in 1971 I was born after Dad's draft number came up at the end of 1970 and Mom threw him a going away party. I don't know what happened in Vietnam but I think that's when the drinking started."

"Jefferson?"

Sara laughed "After Jefferson Airplane. Dad proposed to my mom during their set at the Magic Mountain Music Fest and I guess around nine months later baby Jeff turned up."

"What happened to your brother?"

"He was in juvie when it happened and then we ended up in different group homes before he joined the Marines. He tracked me down my senior year of college, we're on Christmas card terms. I have a couple of nephews I've met them a few times. They're in Georgia at the moment."

"What about the baseball?"

"We couldn't afford tickets so we'd go and sit in the lot and listen to the game on the radio. We never actually went to any of the games."

"I think I've learned more about you in the last 20 minutes than I have in the last couple of months." Grissom looks at his watch "I've got to get back and help Nick. You need to leave?"

"I've been dealing with my mom's moods for my whole life. I'll head out and help Warrick."

… … … … … …

"Nicky. What have we got?"

"Hey Grissom. Everything ok? You shot out of that scene like your pants were on fire." Nick looks up from where's he booking in the evidence with the clerk.

"Family emergency."

"Right. Family." Nick shakes his head. Grissom frowns.