Grissom gathered his thoughts and summoned up the energy to perform his job. A quick glance at the clock had told him the team would be in the break room, awaiting their assignments for the evening. He couldn't allow his personal distress to interfere with the smooth operation of the lab. The supervisor scanned the assignment slips, made his decisions and prepared to deliver them.
The CSIs were indeed gathered in the break room, engaging in casual friendly conversation. Sara was quieter than usual. She sat a short distance from the others and maintained what Grissom could only interpret as a closed posture. She participated only peripherally in the conversation. When Grissom entered the room, Sara did not make eye contact with him, preferring instead to focus on the various announcements tacked to the bulletin board next to her boss. Grissom briefly toyed with the idea of allowing Nick to make the assignments; after all, as Lead CSI, this responsibility would fall to him in Grissom's absence. Once he thought it over, however, and realized that Nick would be likely to pair his supervisor with Sara on the warehouse homicide, he opted to make the assignments himself.
"Nick, Sara," he began. "Home invasion in Summerlin. Be thorough—looks like an inside job. Catherine, you've got a B and E at the Monaco. Someone busted into a room and got away with about ten grand in jewelry."
"When are people going to learn that hotels have safe deposit boxes?" Catherine muttered.
"Warrick, you're with me. DB in a warehouse, probably homeless."
As his crew filed out of the room, Grissom spoke up again, "Sara…uh, can I speak with you for a moment?"
Sara had known this was coming, but was still somewhat surprised he didn't wait until later in the shift, "Um, yeah. I'll meet you at the truck, Nick."
When the room cleared, Grissom had difficulty finding his voice. "You're leaving?"
Sara merely nodded.
"Where are you going?"
"Sacramento…I've been offered the Assistant Supervisor position."
"You deserve it," he said flatly, his voice was now barely audible.
"Do I?" Now you think I deserve a promotion? Too little, too late, Grissom.
"Why, um, why didn't you tell me yourself?"
"I…" she cursed her voice as it began to break. "I don't need another plant." Grissom didn't speak, but the hurt in his eyes spoke volumes to Sara. She hadn't meant to hurt him. The truth hurts sometimes, I suppose. She sighed deeply. "I'd better get going. Nick is waiting for me."
*^*^*^*^*^*
Concentration came with great difficulty for Sara. It was rare for her to have this much trouble keeping her mind on the task at hand. She worked methodically, with painstaking care, unable to allow the possibility of missing key evidence due to inattention. "What's up with you, girl? You haven't said two words all night?" The Texan's friendly concern pulled her away from her thoughts.
"Well," she sighed, offering Nick a sad smile. "I might as well tell you. I handed in my two weeks notice today."
"What? Oh my God, that's what Grissom had the panties in a wad about."
Sara shrugged, "I guess."
"Why? I mean, is something wrong? Or do you just want to get out of Vegas?"
"Lots of reasons. I couldn't pass up the offer I got from Sacramento. Could you hand me some bindles, please?"
"Hmm," Nick nodded.
"I'm just…ready for a change, you know? A fresh start."
"Uh huh," Nick had that tone to his voice that indicates that someone knows more than the other party thinks he knows.
"What?"
"A change? I think you have three reasons for this: Grissom, Grissom and Grissom. Come on, Sara. We all know you've got a thing for him, and he's got a thing for you. So what's the deal? Why don't you two just get together already?"
"You'll have to ask him about that."
"That's not an answer."
Though Sara smiled, her voice and manner made it clear that the matter was not open to negotiation. "It's the only answer you're going to get out of me. And you know what? We really have a lot of work to do here."
"Anything I can do to talk you out of going?"
"Flattering, but no. The problem's not you, Nick. Or Warrick."
"Got it," Nick Stokes knew Sara well enough to know that this was definitely the end of the conversation.
*^*^*^*^*^*
Warrick had known Grissom for many years now, and thought that he had observed every possible mood. Now he knew better. The man was still a complete mystery to him. This mood was difficult to decipher. He was exceptionally engaging tonight, and far more talkative than usual. It seemed almost as though he were trying to distract himself from something. Philosophy was academically interesting to Warrick, but definitely not interesting enough to be able to hold up his end of the conversation. A change of topic was in order.
"You okay tonight, Griss?"
"Hmm? Yeah."
Warrick had never been one to pry into other people's business, a trait Grissom prized in him. He knew he shouldn't force the issue.
"You seem a little…off, that's all."
"I was just thinking that we should have brought Greg."
"I thought he was doing one day a week in the field. Didn't Nick take him out Tuesday?"
"Yeah, well, we may need to accelerate his learning curve. Unless Cavallo can find a replacement for Sara pretty quick."
"Whoa, replacement for Sara? What don't I know?"
"She turned in her resignation today."
Warrick studied Grissom's face carefully. He knew the older man harbored some deep feelings for his colleague. This had to be very disturbing for him. And yet his face was stony, his tone matter-of-fact.
"Did she say why?"
"She's taking a supervisory position in Sacramento."
"Wow. This is big."
*^*^*^*^*^*
Catherine sipped her coffee gingerly, quickly determining that it needed more sugar. She scooped in a little more, stirred and sipped. This time it was perfect. She removed her lunch from the microwave and rummaged around for a magazine to read while she dined. Chuckling, she noted the date on the issue of Entertainment Weekly she found. November 2000. Seeing that the only other option was the current edition of Science Digest, she chose the outdated entertainment magazine.
"Have you heard the news?" Warrick asked, retrieving his lunch from the refrigerator. He never reached in there any more without scrutinizing the shelves cautiously, always wary of discovering another one of Grissom's experiments.
"About Sara?"
"How did you know?"
"I have my sources," Catherine teased.
"You don't seem too shaken up about it."
"Maybe it's for the best," the blonde shrugged. "Sara and I have had our ups and downs, but I don't have anything against her. She's all right. It's obvious she's not happy here."
"Uh huh. And what about Grissom? You must know how he feels about her."
"Does he seem happy to you lately?"
"No, but in all honesty, he's never seemed happy to me. I was always hoping someday they'd get together and make each other happy."
"Me too, Warrick. But after this long it's gotten pretty obvious that it's not going to happen. They just bring out the worst in each other any more. I think it's better for everyone this way."
"I don't know, Cat," Warrick shook his head. "I get the feeling this thing isn't over yet."
TBC
