DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from 'CSI'. They're not my property.

Going through the various pieces of clothing which they had gathered earlier from a suspects house, Sara picked up a red blouse for a closer examination.

At the other side of the table, Grissom picked up a black t-shirt.

"Thank you for the chocolate pigs and tea," she said and flipped the blouse.

Grissom glanced at her. "You're welcome. You had a nice evening?"

"Yeah, I did. And if I didn't know better, I could've sworn that evening could be described as a…" she deliberately stopped there, wanting Grissom to finish that sentence for her.

"A what?" With the magnifying glass in his hand, Grissom looked at her.

It did not work. "A date," she responded, looking back at him.

Grissom kept her gaze for a second there before he snorted and shook his head, leaving her with a bewildered stare.

"Didn't think it could be that amusing," she said and smirked. "You don't agree?"

Leaning on the table, he said: "Sara, that wasn't a date. A date would imply an invitation from my part along the lines of: Care to have dinner with me; which in this case did not happen."

"I see… so, what would you call our evening then?" Sara asked him.

"A night of tea between friends," he replied and returned to his work.

"Hmm… and just… how long did it take you to prepare that night of tea between friends?" she asked, realizing that it had sounded more like a discussion between an already established couple of a previous date.

"Well… I met Catherine in the lab, and she gave me this box of chocolate pigs she had bought for Lindsay earlier. She had two of them so she asked me if I wanted the other one. So, then I asked myself: What am I going to do with a box of chocolate pigs? I thought of you, and how you must've been barely surviving at Charlie's party. I couldn't bring the box back there of course, so I took some blankets, the tea… called you and …" he shrugged. "There you go."

One eyebrow went up as she heard his reply. "And you happened to drive to a secluded location, with a gorgeous view of the city… half an hour's drive from here, to share the box of chocolate pigs."

"Yeah," Grissom nodded and straightened the sleeve of a yellow sweater he had taken.

Sara narrowed her eyes and shook her head. She leaned closer to her blouse to expect it. "That's one hell of an excuse, Griss…." She replied quietly.

Grissom only glanced at her. He knew she didn't believe his reluctance to describe their mutual evening as a date.

"Hey, Sara," Nick smiled at his colleague when he met her in the parking lot.

"Hey." Sara chuckled and took out her keys.

"Congratulations on the case."

"Thanks."

"I thought it would've taken you longer to solve it… well, we pretty much believed it was the daughter who killed her stepfather."

"No, it was her mother."

Nick smirked. "Still, great work. You and Grissom are usually a good team."

"Uh… thanks, I guess."

Nick smiled. Her awkward reaction was the kind he expected. "So, how was Charlie's party?"

"Oh, um… well, it was okay, but it could've been better organized."

"Good thing I didn't go then," he responded.

Sara unlocked the door of her car. In a way she felt relieved no one else from nightshift had showed up. "Why didn't you come anyway? I know Charlie invited you."

"Y-eah, but to be honest… it sounded boring in the first place."

"And that's the excuse you gave him for not going?"

"No… I told him I had to work."

"Smooth," she said and shook her head.

"I know," he chuckled at her reaction. "I heard you wore a nice evening dress though."

Damn. News does travel fast after all. "Yeah. It was a formal party anyway."

"Now that I'm sad I missed." He pointed at her.

"Trust me, Nick, you didn't miss anything. I look better like this than I do in a dress!"

"Still…" he shrugged. "Get some sleep, okay?"

"You can count on that. Bye," Sara said and entered her car.

When the cell phone rang, Grissom smiled at the recognition of the caller's number. "Hello, Jack."

"Evening, Gil. Or morning in your case," Jack said and chuckled.

"Looks like it."

"I'm going to ask right away. What are you doing this weekend?"

"Work."

"Still on a case?"

"Well, no but –"

"Great. Stop by the ranch, huh?"

"I don't know –"

"Hey, you're not backing out again. Come on. It's been five years since you've last been here. Five! Even the horses have started to miss you," Jack joked.

Grissom smirked. "Well, if the horses miss me then…."

"Wonderful! Oh, and before I forget. We invited Sara to come as well."

Grissom's eyebrow shot up. "Sara?"

"Yeah, she said she had some time this weekend so we figured why not? Besides, you already know where we are, and she could use your help."

"Aha… How did you get her number?" Grissom asked, as he certainly hadn't given it to Jack or Cynthia.

"Gil, haven't you learned by now how sneaky I can be?"

Grissom could tell there was a grin there. "How naïve of me. Alright, Jack. I'll…" he paused and sighed. "We'll come on Friday at around 11. That okay?"

"Sounds perfect. Have a safe trip, Gil. Both of you," Jack said.

Grissom smiled. "Thanks, Jack. See you then," he replied and closed the connection.

Jack had been right, perhaps a weekend would be alright. He always enjoyed his stay on the Clearcanes' ranch. It would feel better to return again…. Even if that happened to be with Sara.

The sun was in full shine by the time they reached the ranch. The main house, from what Sara could tell when she stepped away from the car, seemed well-built. Two stories, modest, mainly made of wood. She smiled. "Sweet."

Grissom was a little hesitant to this. He was more likely to come by himself, but having Jack mention Sara's presence as well made it somewhat less than easy. He had to be reminded by his friend that five years had passes since his last visit here. Grissom took out both bags from the car and handed the black one to Sara.

"When you said morning, you meant morning. Good to see your punctuality hasn't faltered!" Cynthia greeted the arrivals as she opened the door of the house.

"Nice to see you again, Cynthia," Grissom smiled.

"For a moment there we were worried Gil wouldn't bring you here," Cynthia laughed and gave Sara a brief but warm hug.

Sara chuckled. "Well, I've been told Jack could be very persuasive," she replied and glanced at Grissom, indicating the source of her discovery.

"Something he's very proud of!" Cynthia nodded and grinned. She noticed their bags. "Is that all?" she asked with surprise in her voice. The bags they carried appeared quite small.

"Um, yeah…. It's not enough?" Sara looked down at her bag

"Unless you're carrying the baggage of a squirrel, I'd say 'no, it's not'."

"Actually, it was my suggestion that she should pack light," Grissom said.

"You didn't tell her about the horses?" Cynthia asked.

"Horses?" Sara's face beamed.

"Yes! Three of them! Do you like horses?"

"Are you kidding? I love them!"

"That's a relief," Cynthia giggled. "Come. Let's go inside."

The interior of the house appeared just as beautiful as the exterior - simple and yet elegant. This told Sara that the Clearcanes had definitely taste when it came to decorating, surprisingly enough.

"Where's Jack?" Grissom asked as he and Sara placed their bags next to the wall in the main hallway.

"He went out to get a few more things for dinner," Cynthia replied and took their coats. "Gil tells us you went to your brother's wedding, Sara."

Sara looked at Grissom. "Didn't know you were that close," she whispered to him. "Yeah, a while ago," she told Cynthia.

"You're meeting family members already, huh?" Cynthia seemed pleased by this.

"It was all by chance," Grissom responded.

"Have you meet Gil's mom?" she asked Sara.

"No, actually –"

At that moment someone hurried down the stairs. A young woman with braided brown hair ran over to the table next to the stairs where a small bag had been placed. She took the bag and hurried up the stairs again.

"Wait… was that, Roberta?" Grissom asked, not entirely certain of the person.

"That's her." Cynthia smiled.

"But if she's here then –"

They heard footsteps again and saw the young woman again. This time however, she was accompanied by an elderly lady, helping her reach the floor without trouble.

Grissom's eyebrows shot up. "Mom?" he spoke and hurried towards them.

The older woman grinned from ear to ear when she noticed him. She embraced him tightly in her long blue dress.

"That's Grissom's mother?" Sara asked as she watched the small reunion.

"Yes. She had a small accident some weeks ago with her leg. So, we invited her to spend some time here. Rest," Cynthia said.

"That's quite nice of you," Sara smiled.

"Well, she and Gil are both good friends of ours. Vera has been a big help to us in the past. She even babysat Maeve in the past for us a couple of times."

"Maeve?"

"Our daughter. You'll like Vera. She's a sweet person," Cynthia said and both she and Sara approached the older woman.

Vera's face changed little when she saw Sara. She signed her reaction to Grissom who smiled softly to it.

"What?" Sara was curious.

"She said you are prettier in person," Grissom said that with slight embarrassment.

"Thank you," Sara nodded, feeling flattered. She was surprised seeing the brown eyes on Vera's face; her nose and lips identical to Grissom's. Her gray hair was held tightly together in a single braid; the wrinkles on her face showed a woman who had smiled and laughed a great deal in her life.

"I'm Roberta, Vera's aid," the brown-haired woman introduced herself to Sara.

"Nice to meet you."

"You're leaving today?" Grissom asked his mother in signs.

"It's the gallery. Although Lou is doing a great job with it with my absence, if I don't stop by to supervise, the whole place would most likely collapse!" Vera responded.

"I've overstayed here anyway, Cynthia," Roberta translated for Vera.

"That's not true and you know it!"

Vera chuckled. "My dear, I wish you were right. Okay, we'll have some breakfast and then we'll head off."

"It's ready, Vera," Cynthia replied.

Vera smiled. She then hooked her arm around Sara's while supporting her healing leg with the wooden cane she held in her right hand.

Sara smiled back and glanced over at Grissom who was surprised as much as she was. Usually Vera would lean on Roberta or Grissom, but this had been the first time she had taken another's hand.

Author's Note: Again, thank you for your reviews! They're much appreciated.