Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

Part 5

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There were a few veiled comments made in Sara and Grissom's presence after the incident with Greg, confirming their suspicions that the rest of the team suspected they were a couple but were respecting their privacy and staying silent on the matter.

As Sara drove to Grissom's home a few days later, she reflected on the incidents that had probably given them away, knowing that the one with Greg was not the only factor. She smiled as she thought about the rest of the team – little did they know that one other person had figured the whole thing out, and confronted Grissom, long before they did.

Sara and Grissom had been called to a DB out in Henderson and had been met by Brass upon arrival. Explaining the situation to them, he led them to some bushes at the side of a park and chuckled a little as Sara recoiled at the sight before her – the body was infested with bugs.

"Now I know why Grissom was called," she muttered to herself.

"Yeah, and isn't it great that he chose you to share in his fun?" teased Brass. She rolled her eyes and he laughed, his laugh growing as he realized that Grissom was totally oblivious to the fact that she was actually complaining.

Stepping away from the body, Sara started snapping photos of the surroundings, visually cataloguing as much information as possible. Grissom was poring over the body, identifying all the different types of bug and mentally working out a rough timeline for the victim's death. He eventually looked up and called Sara over to take some photos. She approached cautiously and kneeled down on the opposite side of the body from him.

"Get some close ups of that, would you?" he requested, pointing at something near the victim's right ear. Sara nodded, but didn't immediately perform the task. Instead, she put down the camera and started searching her pockets and then her kit. "Problem?" asked Grissom.

"Uh, do you have any elastic bands? I forgot my cap and need to tie my hair back before I get too close," she said. Her hair wasn't particularly long, but she knew she was going to have to hover very close to the body once the photo was taken, as Grissom would require assistance to remove a few of the bugs carefully. Although she didn't think her hair would contaminate the scene, she didn't relish the possibility of it brushing against a dead body or any bugs.

Grissom started to shake his head, remembering that he had been en-route to restock his kit when he had been called to the scene. However, he suddenly reached into his jacket pocket and removed something, passing it to her wordlessly. Looking at the item now in her hands, Sara smiled and looked back up, meeting his gaze for a fleeting second too long.

Brass watched with some amusement as he saw the look pass between Gil and Sara. His smirk grew into a smug smile as he noticed her use the item Gil had given her – it was an actual hair scrunchie. Silently stepping closer to the pair, he heard Sara's quiet words of thanks, followed by Grissom's murmured confession that he had lifted it from his bedpost the night before and forgotten to return it to her.

The snap of a twig under Brass's foot alerted the two to his presence and they quickly turned their heads in his direction. Plastering an innocent expression on his face, Brass said, "Find anything?"

"Evidence collection like this will take a while," replied Grissom somewhat sharply. "I'll let you know when we're done."

Nodding, Brass walked away, but not before giving Gil a surreptitious wink that left the CSI Supervisor more than a little worried.

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"So, you and Sara, huh?" grinned Brass as Gil finally joined him to discuss his findings.

"What?"

"Oh, don't look like that, Gil, I saw you give her the thing for her hair –"

"That doesn't mean anything."

"And I also heard you tell her where you'd found it and who it belonged to," continued Jim unabashed. Raising his hand defensively, he added, "I just wanted to say good on you, you deserve to be happy. Of course, I am curious as to how long this has been going on."

"You're the detective, Jim, shouldn't you be able to figure it out for yourself?" commented Gil.

"Normally, yes, but you're an enigma, Gil. I can never figure you out. And, as for Sara, well, she's like a female version of you. So, no, I can't figure it out. Care to clue me in?"

Looking over at Sara, who was loading the evidence into the back of her SUV, Grissom smiled a little and Jim smiled as he saw how much his friend's face lit up.

"Okay, it's none of my business," said Brass eventually, knowing that Gil was not going to tell him anything. "Just… look after her, okay, she's nowhere near as strong as she makes out."

"I know," agreed Gil seriously. "Jim, we don't… We want to keep this quiet. There are a lot of reasons that -- We would appreciate it if you could respect our privacy."

"You've got it, my friend," stated Jim, patting Gil on the back and then patting him a little harder to regain his attention after he had locked eyes with Sara for a moment. "You know that no-one will have a problem with it though, don't you?" Gil started to reply, but Jim cut him off and amended his statement. "No-one that matters will have a problem with it." Following Gil's eyes to Sara once more, the two men watched as she finished loading the SUV and waved them goodbye before driving away. "You might wanna watch what you say and do around your CSIs though, they're smart people and will pick up on the slightest clue."

Walking away, Grissom cryptically said, "That might not be such a bad thing."

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Sara broke out of her reverie as she drew into a parking spot near Grissom's townhouse and found him sitting on his stoop.

"Waiting for someone?" she smiled as she approached him.

"Yes, someone is supposed to be bringing breakfast," he deadpanned, staring pointedly at her empty hands.

"Ah, I have another way to sate your hunger," she teased seductively, stepping past him and stopping just outside his partially open door. "Care to try?" His hesitation in moving worried her and she moved back down the steps, taking a seat beside him. "You okay?" she asked, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking."

"Well, I have ways of making you stop doing that as well," she grinned. "In fact, I believe you might like them."

"It's time," he announced suddenly and she looked at him in confusion. Twisting around, he took both of her hands in his and clarified, "I think it's time to drop the biggest clue, make them realize we're not trying to hide this—us, anymore."

She knew, of course, what and who he was talking about and she smiled encouragingly. "What's the biggest clue?" she queried, genuinely unaware of his thought process.

"We go out to breakfast as a team, off the clock."

"That's it?" she said, furrowing her brow. "How is that going to tell them anything? That's not exactly a new event. Okay, we haven't done that in a while, but still…"

"Yeah, but I think that, when I arrive late and greet you with a kiss, they'll get the message," he smirked.

"You'll greet me with a kiss?" she repeated, slightly stunned by what he was saying.

"Sure, it's what I do every morning when we meet up off the clock, isn't it?"

Pulling her hands from his and clasping them together on her lap, she fixed him with a look. "Well, I'd like to say I concur with that statement, but I can't." He looked thoroughly confused and she smiled, but it faltered a little as she saw the worry in his eyes before he dipped his head. "After all," she continued in a low voice, "I haven't had any evidence of that this morning, have I?"

His eyes flew to meet hers once more and he reached for her hands again. Standing, he pulled her up with him and then dropped his hands to her waist. "You're right, that's a shocking oversight on my part. May I be allowed to rectify the situation now?"

"Of course," she smiled. "But, since your greetings are always followed by us eating breakfast, I think we need to move inside. I don't think your neighbors would appreciate the breakfast treat I have for you this morning."

Emitting a low chuckle that turned into a hearty laugh, Grissom grabbed her hand and pulled her inside his house. Closing the door firmly behind them, he asked, "Tomorrow okay for breakfast with the team?"

"Sure," she smiled, "but only if I get my fill of you today."

"Oh, you will," he stated, walking towards his bedroom. At the door, he stopped and turned back to her. "You have no idea how hungry I am." She laughed as he gave her a devilish wink and disappeared into his room.

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The End

And, that's definitely the end this time. Hope this part was worth the wait. :-)

Thank you for all the reviews I've received for this fic, they are very much appreciated. It's not often that I allow myself to be persuaded to add to a fic I've written, but I'm happy I caved on this occasion.