Disclaimers: Not mine
Spoilers: Nope
+++++
SACRIFICES
(Chapter 6 - More Talk of the Sacrifice Fly)
"Hey Griss, what took you so long?"
"Yeah, we thought you bailed on us!"
"But now that you're here, we can order as much as we want, right?"
Grissom simply smiled at the barrage of questions and comments as he took his seat at the end of the table. He wasn't about to share with the others what, or more correctly, *who* was on his mind.
"You know, now that Catherine's in charge of day shift, I'm thinking maybe we should start softball practice a little earlier next year. You know, so we're prepared and everything." Nick suggested, handing Grissom a menu.
Just as Grissom opened the menu, Warrick whistled, "Speaking of Catherine..."
Putting down his menu, Grissom turned his head to find, to his disappointment, Catherine and Alex at the door of the diner. Praying desperately for them to leave before they saw him and the team, he gave a warning look to Greg, who began waving to the two.
Greg, who had missed the look, kept waving, "Catherine! Over here!"
Catherine, who had turned at the sound of her name, smiled and walked over to the table with Alex in tow. Glancing ever so slightly at Grissom first, she then turned to the others, "Hey, I didn't know you guys were gonna be here."
"Yeah, Grissom's treating." Greg grinned, still oblivious to Grissom's uncomfortable state.
"You guys here for lunch too? Why don't you..." Nick stopped short when Sara jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
Grissom, who felt all eyes on him now, put up a brave front, "Why don't you join us?"
"Oh no, we were just gonna grab some sandwiches and then head back to the lab. But you guys enjoy. I'll see you later." Catherine nodded and walked away, dragging Alex away with her again.
"Was that Smithson from day shift with Catherine?" Nick asked with a confused look on his face.
"Alex Smithson." Sara nodded, "All the girls back at the lab are crazy about him."
"I heard he was a cop in New York before he became a CSI. He was invited by the Director himself to transfer here." Nick shared with a half-fascinated, half-disgusted tone.
"Good at work and good at softball. He's the guy who hit that sacrifice fly for day shift for the winning run today."
"You guys don't think something's going on between him and Cath..." Greg trailed off, his head slowly turning to Grissom.
"Let's order, shall we?" Grissom said casually, pretending to be captivated by the lists of food in front of him.
Warrick, who had stayed quiet throughout the conversation, observed Grissom with interest. What the others didn't notice in talking, he did in silence.
*To be continued*
