They'd been waiting for it for months, his return. They'd been perplexed with Catherine had told them he was taking some much needed time off. The investigators in them knew something was up; he wouldn't have just taken the time off out of the blue. It was too uncharacteristic. None of them were surprised when Catherine called a meeting a few weeks later to fill them in. She'd explained it all and answered their questions as best she could, they'd asked to see him but she'd talked them out of it, he had a lot to deal with and needed some time, she neglected to tell them he was spending his days with Lindsey watching cartoons and reading Harry Potter.
Now he was on his way back. Nick and Sara got there early, anxious to have things back to normal. They were sitting in the break room drinking coffee when Warrick came in smiling. "You ready for Grissom to be back?" Sara asked as he poured himself some coffee. He nodded, "I just saw him on the way to his office, he should be here in a few."
He joined them at the table and waited. Catherine walked in a few minutes later, no one taking much notice as she joined them at the table, but Warrick smiled at her knowingly. Sara and Nick were absently playing with their cups when he walked in.
All eyes went to the door as he walked in, folders in one hand the other in his pocket. "Welcome Back!" Nick said, the first one to speak a smile spreading across his face. Warrick and Sara joined in welcoming him, they knew this was the best they were going to get none of them were going to risk an actual party. Grissom smiled at them, "Thanks guys, now we've already got 3 dead bodies, let's get to work." He passed out the cases and was back to work with little fanfare, which suited him fine.
Hours later the cases were wrapped up and paperwork completed they were all heading out when he surprised them all. "Why don't we all go to breakfast?" They looked at each other surprised, but all quickly agreed to go.
They were all a little confused as they sat at the table in the diner waiting on Grissom and Catherine. "This is a little uncharacteristic for Grissom. I wonder what's up." Nick wondered as the waitress poured the three of them some coffee. No one had a chance to answer, Grissom and Catherine walked in as the waitress stepped away.
"Guys, have you ordered yet?" Catherine asked as Grissom pulled out a chair for her and took a seat in the one next to her. Sara shook her head, "Nah, we were waiting for you guys." The waitress came back, poured two more cups of coffee, and took their orders. Minutes later they all sat quietly. "Okay, I'll bite, why isn't anyone talking?" Asked Catherine as they sat around looking at their coffee cups, Nick shrugged and Warrick smiled knowingly, neither offered any information. Sara was looking at Grissom as she spoke, "I guess we're all a little curious about this, it's not typical Grissom behavior."
Grissom nodded as she spoke, "So to get you guys talking I should do it first?" Nick and Sara nodded eagerly as Warrick's smile grew. Grissom looked at Catherine, who said nothing but scratched absently at her turtleneck-covered neck. He paused as the waitress brought their food and waited until she was gone to begin.
"As you know I had surgery on my ears to prevent permanent hearing loss. As a result of the surgery I had a lot of time to think about things and I've made some changes that may impact how I work." He paused and watched them all eat, doing the same before he continued.
"I had a lot of time to think while I recuperated, my only distractions were crossword puzzles and Disney movies." He looked pointedly at Catherine, the team did too, and she smiled at them all.
"I guess the time gave me a chance to realize what I was missing by staying in my 'hermetically' sealed townhouse. So I've decided not to do that anymore and I've made the changes necessary. So here we are at breakfast, I've revealed my motives, feel better?" Nick and Sara nodded and continued eating. Warrick turned to Catherine, "That's it?" She smirked in response, "Wait"
With Grissom's speech over the team began to talk and joke as normal. Grissom and Catherine watched them both as they drank their coffee. Soon they were all done and Grissom looked at his watch, "It's almost time to get Lindsey to school and I promised her pancakes." Catherine nods and they order a to-go order and pay their bill before they all head home. They're walking out to their cars when Catherine and Grissom stop at his.
"Guys?" They all turn back to the duo, "One more thing." He reaches over and takes Catherine's hand, "We got married." With that they climb into the SUV leaving Nick and Sara standing with their mouths open as Warrick chuckled to himself.
The SUV pulls up next to them and Catherine rolls her window down, "You guys call yourselves investigators, I've been wearing this ring for three months and no one noticed it-I mean come on." With that she gave them a trademark smile and drove home to Lindsey, leaving Warrick in the parking lot explaining things to his confused co-workers.