Title: King of the Conference
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Alas, I have no affiliation with CSI ::sob::
Notes: Response to this week's Unbound Challenge, where the first and last lines are provided and there's a 1000 word limit, which I made, yay! This is set pre-season 5, with Greg still in the lab. It's got a little GSR in there though ;-)

"No no, I need a bubble wrapped cushion envelope."

"Greg, you're packing a tacky 'I love Duluth' keychain to send to your mom, not a priceless antique," Sara stated dryly, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at his antics. They had been in the unoccupied Layout Room for twenty minutes, trying to wrap the keychain in tissue paper. She had only agreed to help Greg because he had pleaded and then bribed her with the 'good stuff' coffee, but she was now regretting selling out for so little.

"It's a memento from the first conference where I've been one of the speakers," he protested. "It's important!"

Sighing loudly, Sara ducked out of the room and re-appeared a few minutes later with an envelope in hand. Tossing it at him, she watched in amusement as Greg opened it out carefully and then gently placed the tissue-wrapped keychain inside. He then quickly removed it again and scrabbled around for a marker pen. Sara's laugh escaped her lips as he wrote his mom's address and then marked 'Fragile – Handle with Care' in huge letters at the top of the envelope.

"Yeah, that'll make the US Postal Service sit up and take notice," she said sarcastically, a smirk playing on her face.

Greg looked up and pointed at her. "You will not bring me down from my euphoria, Sidle, not today."

"It was a conference, Greg, people attend them and speak at them every day."

Before Greg could respond, Grissom entered the room and looked at them both over the rim of his glasses.

"Did the purpose of this room change?" he asked evenly, tilting his head to the side and pinning his gaze on Greg.

"No, it's still a layout room, I've been laying stuff out," Greg replied, his head obviously still in the clouds, as he would never have dared make a comment like that to Grissom otherwise.

Grissom's brow furrowed and Sara decided to help him out before Greg dug himself a deeper hole.

"He thinks he's King of the DNA Conference," she laughed. "Just ignore him, that's what I usually do."

Blinking, Grissom replied, "Okay," then he turned his full attention to Sara. "Can I see you in my office, please?"

His tone was flat and Sara shared a look with Greg before she followed her supervisor out of the room. Once they reached his office, he ushered her inside and closed the door before taking a seat behind his desk.

"Greg thinks he did that well?" Grissom asked, throwing Sara for a loop – she hadn't expected Greg to figure into whatever conversation he had planned, but then she realized it was probably a stalling tactic.

"Yeah, he says he was swamped with job offers, I don't think he's going to come back down to Planet Earth for quite a while."

"He wants to be a CSI, he's not interested in job offers from other labs," Grissom said confidently. "Though, he does have a right to be happy; from all reports, he did extremely well. His paper was very well received."

"You should tell him that," she smiled. "Although, your praise will probably make him even worse. Anyway, I'm thinking you didn't call me in here to talk about Greg so, what's up?" she asked as she dropped into a seat.

"Greg may have to relinquish his conference crown soon," he started and Sara stared at him incredulously, silently urging him to get to the point, rather than perpetuating the Greg discussion. Sensing her annoyance, he clarified further. "We've been asked to present our findings on the Stewart case at the National Forensics Conference in a couple of months, I thought I should let you know now so you can prepare. I'll give the entomological information; everything else will be presented by you."

Sara's jaw dropped open. The Stewart case had involved a decomposed body, but it was the work Sara had done deciphering the victim's lifestyle that had led to a suspect and resulted in a conviction a month previously.

"You want me to present? I'm sure it's just you they really want to hear from, Grissom," she said nervously.

"I told them we're a package deal," he replied calmly, giving her a small smile. "Three nights away from here, just the two of us… will it really be so bad?"

Her incredulity grew – Grissom was the one initiating her attendance? And the way he had just spoken, his tone of voice, suggested he was planning for it to be more than just a professional engagement.

"It's terrifying," she slowly admitted. Grissom's hurt expression caused her to quickly amend her statement. "The presenting part, I've never presented at that level before. As for the rest of it… it's terrifying too, but in a good way, and I've never been one to back down from a challenge." Giving him her best smile, she stood up and started to retreat from the room before she started over-talking.

"Oh, Sara?" he called. When she turned around, he said, "If you want to see Greg brought down from his high, head for the Break Room." She looked at him quizzically. "I believe Nick and Warrick are planning to bring him back down to Earth with a bump."

"Ah," she nodded.

Walking to the Break Room, she felt Grissom behind her and then heard him yelling, "Sanders, get in here, now!" She stifled her laughter at the sound of Greg running down the hall and allowed Grissom to quicken her pace with a hand on her back.

Sara opened the Break Room door to find a small cake with candles, and smiling mischievous co-workers.

Fin