Title: It's My Birthday And I'll Smirk if I Want To
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If you don't know by now that I have nothing to do with CSI, you really should
Notes: Unbound Challenge response, first and last lines provided and 1000 word limit – I came in just under, yay!
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She walked down the corridor, humming "Happy Birthday" under her breath.
"Sara!" Greg rushed to catch up with her. "I've been looking for you all shift."
"I've been out at a scene, just got back," she informed him, raising her eyebrows in curiosity. When he wasn't forthcoming she prodded, "What did you need?"
"Oh, you owe me twenty bucks."
"I do?" she said in disbelief, amusement lacing her tone.
Bobbing his head and lengthening his stride to keep up with her, Greg happily replied, "Yeah, for Grissom's birthday present. Catherine asked me to pick it up before shift and everyone gave me their contributions when I got in, yours is the only one I've still to collect." Sara started to object, but then nodded and started patting her pockets. "You know, if you don't have any cash on you, you can pay me in kind," said Greg with a leer, waggling his eyebrows and puckering his lips.
"Nice try, Greggo, but it's not your birthday," she smiled. "I need to go to an ATM, I'll give you the money next shift, okay?"
Greg nodded, despite his mock-disappointment and took off towards the Layout Room. "Oh, hey, Grissom," he said as he passed his supervisor, receiving a brief nod in response.
As Grissom approached her, Sara realized that she didn't know if the team had already given him his birthday present, but then she figured that, since she didn't even know what they'd bought, she didn't really want to know. When the idea of a 'team gift' had first been broached, Sara had been non-committal and had therefore assumed they would just leave her out of it; she was quickly remembering why she should never assume anything and also how forceful Catherine could be when she wanted. The card had been passed around during the previous shift and she had quickly scrawled her name, but that was about as much participation as she had planned.
"Sara," nodded Grissom as he passed.
"Hey, Grissom," she smiled in reply, continuing to walk to the locker room.
-
As end of shift approached, Sara was dragged into the Break Room by a gleeful Greg, so that she could stand idly by while the team presented Grissom with his birthday present. Catherine had chosen a beautiful large crystal ladybug figure and Grissom was obviously touched by the gesture, despite his attempts to remain aloof. Once the gift exchange and thank yous were complete, the team trickled out of the room one by one, leaving only Grissom and Sara, who were both still drinking their coffee.
Sara drained her mug and crossed to the sink to rinse it out. Seconds later, she felt an arm come around her and saw Grissom's mug dropped into the sink.
"You think I'm going to wash your mug for you?" she asked, turning her head around and arching an eyebrow.
"Well, it is my birthday," he replied playfully, a smirk twitching his lips.
Making a show of washing her own mug and putting it aside to dry, Sara dried her hands and then turned around fully to mock-glare at him.
"I might settle for something else though," he mused, "I believe you told Greg you wouldn't kiss him today because it wasn't his birthday. It is mine though, so…" His eyes twinkling, he looked to the open door and out into the empty hallway before taking a step forward and trapping her against the counter.
"How did you - You were listening!" she accused.
"If a conversation takes place in a hallway, it's fair game," he said, holding his hands up in defense but quickly lowering them as she tried to duck under his arms.
"If you were listening, that means you already knew about your gift."
His smirk growing wider, Grissom confirmed, "I knew about it long before today, Sara. Do you really think I don't notice what goes on around here? Now, about my birthday –"
"Uh uh, you already had your gift from me," she stated, poking him in the chest to emphasize her point. "I chipped in with everyone else."
"The way I heard it, you haven't paid Greg yet so, until you do, you still owe me a gift, and I plan to collect."
"Didn't I give you enough of a gift before shift?" she smiled, her tone seductive.
"That was before midnight, so it wasn't actually my birthday."
"I didn't hear you complaining when I was performing to the 'Happy Birthday' song." Their eyes locked as the memory played through their heads and Sara smiled as she remembered humming the song to herself for most of her shift.
"I might let you off if you give me a repeat performance, say over breakfast?"
The sound of footsteps in the hallway caused Grissom to step back and put some distance between them and Sara returned her attention to the sink. When the noise passed she turned back to him. "I've washed your mug, don't push your luck," she warned, though her smile betrayed her threat.
"I'll see you in thirty minutes?" he laughed as he walked away, stopping only to hear Sara's grunt of agreement.
-
"You're late," said Grissom as he opened the door to allow Sara to enter.
Pushing past him she said, "I don't think you'll complain when you see why." As she removed her coat, Grissom took a moment to admire her attire, letting out a low whistle of appreciation. "You know, everyone was totally confused by you today, you're usually such a grump on your birthday."
"I know, Catherine already commented on that," he smiled.
Dropping onto the couch provocatively, Sara enquired, "What did you tell her?" His answer caused her mouth to fall open in shock.
"I told her, as Karl Menninger once said, 'Love cures people, both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.'"
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Fin