"Ok, guys," Grissom said as the group took their seats at the table for assignments, "enough about the stupid handprint. Let's focus on science tonight, shall we?"

Nick cast a surprised look at the group. Handprint? "Uh, Grissom? What handprint? Is it evidence or something?" Sara glared at him, scribbled something on a post-it note, and shoved it in his direction.

He opened it warily, wondering if Sara could curse as well in writing as she could out loud. To his surprise, the note contained not one profanity. "Grissom had/has a hand-shaped bruise on his face from where I slapped him last night. Cath and I covered it with makeup. End of story. Don't you dare start laughing when you read this, 'cause if you do, either Grissom or I will come after you when you least expect it." Nick ran a finger under his collar and swallowed hard. Revenge from the geeks was a bad thing. He'd keep his face straight if it was the last thing he did.

"So," Grissom's continuing voice interrupted Nick's contemplation, "there's the unconscious man found in suspicious circs – that's going to be me and Sara – and sexual assault with an MO that's suspiciously like last night's attempted. Catherine, take Nick and Warrick with you to do that one."

Sara's hand shot up when he had finished talking. Feeling like a preschool teacher, Grissom said, "Yes, Sara?"

"I want the assault."

"I just told you you're with me tonight," he told her patiently.

"Too bad. I want the assault."

"Sara . . ."

"Assault, Grissom. Don't argue with me about this. Take Catherine with you to the suspicious circs." She gave him a look that dared him to try to stop her from taking the case she wanted.

Grissom, as she'd expected, decided it was easier to acquiesce than to argue with her. "Fine, Sara. You two," he said, pointing two fingers at Nick and Warrick, "come talk to me when we're done here." The two younger men exchanged looks, knowing that whatever Grissom had to say would probably get them in trouble with Sara, somehow.

"Gris . . ."  began Sara with an annoyed look on her face.

Grissom cut her off before she could say any more. "I'm speaking to Nick and Warrick, Sara, not you." He was rewarded with an even darker look from the woman across the table.

"Oh, for god's sake you two!" exclaimed Catherine into the uneasy silence. "Stop with the ego wars and let's just go do our work, ok?"

"Fine."

As the five CSIs filed out of the room, Sara crossed her arms and leaned against the corridor wall, waiting for the male powwow to finish. She glared at each of the men as they entered Grissom's office. Nick and Warrick had the grace to flush, but Grissom simply looked at her calmly.

Grissom motioned the two men to chairs and spoke. "I just want you two to be aware that Sara has . . . some issues with abused women. Be careful what you do and say around the scene tonight."

"Dude," asked Nick in amazement, "are you aware that we've both been working with Sara for years and though we may be just dumb guys, we've noticed that she gets worked up about these cases?" He leaned forward and waved a hand in front of Grissom's face. "Hellooo, Grissom. You do realize that Sara will kick your ass when she finds out you're talking to us like she can't do it herself?"

Warrick jumped in, agreeing with Nick. "Yeah man, whether you two are dating or not, this is her business, not yours. We know you mean well," he said quickly, holding up a quelling hand, "but it's just not your place to be telling us Sara's secrets or whatever. If she wants us to know, she'll tell us herself." He shook his head. "Just not right, man."

Grissom was speechless for a moment. Had he really been acting so . . . paternally? Not that there was anything paternal about his feelings for Sara, he thought with a small smile. Had this been what she had been so angry about this week? He was just trying to protect a woman who was precious to him. He was also used to being the boss, too, he reminded himself. Was he playing "Grissom knows best"?

Grissom snapped back to reality when a large brown hand waved in front of his face. "Earth to Grissom," called Warrick's amused voice. "I'll take your silence to mean that you get our point. Can we go work now?"

Grissom nodded. "Yes, yes, go." As they left, he caught sight of Sara, who was still standing quite still outside his office. He gave her a tentative smile, but was answered with a pointedly blank look as she turned to smile at Nick.

Just as Grissom was rising to make his own exit, Catherine sidled into his office. Before he could speak, Catherine said, "Yeah, I know, work. Just give me two minutes." Grissom sighed and sat back in his chair, waiting for the inevitable lecture.

"You can't keep her with you all the time, you know," Catherine began. "I know you're infatuated with her – and vice versa – but try to remember that you're two people, not one. You may not feel it, but I speak from experience that the tighter you try to hold someone, the more they squirm."

Grissom frowned. "I'm not trying to hold her tightly, Catherine. I'm fully aware that Sara is her own person." He rubbed his forehead. "Can we just get out of here? We have a case to see."

Grissom was surprised when his friend nodded amiably, but he soon found the reason. In the Tahoe, he was a captive audience to her lecture. "We both know Sara's her own person, Gris. That's not in question. The part in question is whether you're allowing yourself to be your own person."

"Catherine," he said tiredly, "can you please try speaking in English for once, rather than in Female-ese? Obviously I'm my own person!"

Catherine sighed. "Never mind, Gil. Just keep my advice in mind. Don't hold so tight. Did you ever have a puppy or a kitten when you were little?"

Grissom nodded apprehensively. "I had a puppy. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Remember when you first got it and you just wanted to hug it constantly like a teddy bear? Er," she corrected herself, "I somehow doubt you had teddy bears. But did you ever hug the dog really hard – purely from affection – and get nipped? Or have the dog jump away from you and avoid you for a week?"

"I get the point, Cath. You're belaboring your analogy."

"Ok, ok. Just letting you know that Sara's fully capable of biting, so to speak. And not in a good way." Having imparted this wisdom, she turned in her seat and began to watch the buildings fly by, leaving Grissom to restrain himself from tossing the dead cricket he'd found on the dashboard at her.