How many CSIs does it take to change a light bulb?
Author's note- This is set during season 5, post-"Nesting Dolls."
Warnings- Fluff… and one bad word.
Disclaimer- I only own the idea, nothing more.
Sara Sidle wandered down the hallways of the lab, stack of papers in hand. It was a slow night at lab, and she was just looking for a place to sit and sort out files that had been neglected for the last few weeks.
Seeing one of the small offices was not in use, she entered the room and flipped on the light switch.
The light flickered on briefly before going out.
"Great…" She muttered under her breath. Setting down the papers, she walked back out into the hallway and saw that all the other offices were in use. Unsure of what to do, she merely stood in the middle of the hallway.
"Hey, Sara." Greg greeted her cheerfully as he came around the corner. "What are you doing?"
"The light in the office just died." She pointed to the dark doorway.
"Suspicious circumstances?"
"No, it was one of those rare, natural, deaths we so often hear about." She gave him a small smile.
"Do you want me to fix it for you?"
"Sure, if you don't mind."
"For you, I don't mind." He grinned boyishly. "Let me go find a ladder." He turned around and disappeared back in the direction he'd come from.
Sara returned to the dimly lit room and waited for her coworker's return.
She didn't have to wait long for him to appear in the room.
"I thought you were getting a ladder? This certainly doesn't look like a ladder."
"Funny." Nick replied, carrying the ladder as he followed Greg into the room. "I thought you might need some help."
"Changing a light bulb isn't rocket science." Sara replied. "But if you want to be helpful, be my guest."
"I will." He set the ladder up next to the desk and climbed up to remove the old bulb.
Greg watched the older man and he walked over to Sara's side. He noticed that she was also watching Nick, but more profoundly. "You're looking at his butt." He whispered.
"What?" She turned to him. "I am not."
"Yes, you are."
"I just happened to be looking in that direction… and besides, why do you care?"
Greg shrugged. "You should just be more careful when you gawk at your male coworkers."
She glared at him. "I don't gawk."
"Gawk at what?" Nick wandered over to the pair.
"Nothing." Sara smiled sweetly.
"Okay…" He glared suspiciously at her. "I'll go get a new light bulb for you."
"Thanks, Nicky."
"No problem." He walked toward the door.
"I'll go with you." Greg suggested, starting to follow, but paused briefly in front of Sara. "You've got be subtle." He whispered.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've never caught me in the act, have you?" He raised an eyebrow before hurrying after Nick.
Sara stood in the semi-darkness, puzzled and somewhat embarrassed by the younger CSIs comment. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone was standing in the doorway to the room.
"Is there a reason you're standing in the dark?"
She spun around to find Warrick leaning in the doorway- an amused smile on his face. "Yes."
He waited a moment for her to explain, but she didn't elaborate. "Okay… have you seen Nick?"
"He and Greg are getting a new light bulb."
"Which explains why you're standing in the dark." He nodded understandingly.
"Nothing gets past you." She grinned teasingly.
"That's why I'm making the big bucks as a CSI." He matched her smile.
"Hey, Warrick." Nick nodded to the other man as he and Greg wandered back into the room. "Need something?"
"Naw… just wondering where you disappeared off to."
"I'm helping Sara with her light."
"I see that."
"It'll be easier to see when the light is fixed." Sara added.
"Assuming Nick can manage this difficult task." Greg replied, standing next to her.
"Hey… I can change a light bulb. I'm capable of doing simple household jobs." He glared at the young CSI. "I was able to repair the ceiling in my house…"
"So, impress us." Sara challenged, leaning back against the wall. "Enlighten us." She added with a smile.
"Okay, I will." He climbed back up on the ladder, light bulb in hand. It only took a few seconds for him to make the installation and step down off the latter. "Alright, that should fix it."
"Let's find out." Warrick reached over and flipped the light switch to the 'on' position.
The light flickered a couple times before making a popping noise and showering the room with bits of glass. Once again, the room was left in darkness.
When the initial 'pop' had gone off, Sara instinctively turned away from the light, closing her eyes. After the sound of falling glass finally stopped, she cautiously opened her eyes and turned back around- finding herself face-to-face with Greg.
At the sound of exploding glass, he had positioned himself in front of her, shielding her from the dangerous shards. However, now that the danger was over, Greg realized how close to her he was.
"You okay?" He asked quietly. There was no reason to speak any louder, since she was only inches away.
"Yeah." She stared at him, admiringly and completely transfixed. Her mind swirled in confusion and panic. She was trapped between the wall and Greg- his right hand pressed against the wall next to her, blocking her from escaping.
He wasn't purposely cornering her, but he made no move to back off. He liked being this close to her- and besides; she didn't seem to be very eager leave.
For Sara and Greg it seemed impossible to tell how long they stood there staring at each other, but was only few seconds in the real world.
"What the hell happened?" Nick muttered, snapping everyone back to reality.
"You got an exploding light bulb." Warrick replied dryly.
"Damn…" Nick looked around. "You two okay?"
"Yeah." Greg replied, taking a step back from Sara. "We're fine."
"What's going on? It sounded like glass exploded in here." Archie poked his head into the room and glanced between the CSIs.
"Nick installed an exploding light bulb." Warrick explained.
"Any reason for that?"
"I didn't do it on purpose." Nick answered indignantly. "Greg's just as much to blame… he was with me when I picked up the light bulb."
"But I'm not the one who installed it, Mr. I'm-capable-of-simple-household-jobs." Greg pointed out.
"While you guys argue over who's fault this is, I still don't have working light." Sara motioned to the ceiling. "Would someone please fix the light?"
"I'll do it." Warrick sighed. "Come on, Archie. Nick and Greg had their shot, now we've got to fix their mess." He wandered out into the hallway- lab tech in toe.
Once they were gone, Nick, Greg and Sara started cleaning up the shards of glass that had fallen all over the desk.
"This is turning out to be more of an ordeal then it should be." Sara sighed, brushing several pieces of glass into the trashcan.
"Do worry, we'll get you a working light bulb. If we work together, we should be able to outsmart it." Greg gave her a charming smile.
"You'd hope so, but at the rate we're going…" Nick replied darkly.
The trio fell silent again, until Greg began swearing under his breath.
"What's wrong?" Sara looked over him with worry.
"I got a piece of glass in my finger." He shook his hand as if he was trying to dislodge the offending shard.
"Let me see." She took his hand, giving him a quick smile. "Which finger?"
"This one." He held up his index finger, smiling back at her.
Nick shook his head seeing their exchange, then focused his attention on the broken glass until Warrick and Archie returned.
"Alright, let's get it right this time." Warrick walked past Nick and over to the ladder.
"Everyone stay back, just in case." Nick suggested, moving to the side of the room.
Sara led Greg to the other side of the room, still holding onto his hand. Archie hovered in the doorway.
As Warrick, once again, replaced the problematic light bulb, Greg took advantage of his situation to slid his free arm around Sara's waist.
Surprised by his action, she turned toward him. "I think I got the glass out." She said meekly.
"It feels much better." He smiled slyly.
With a laugh, she leaned back against him and watched Warrick climb down from the ladder.
"Let there be light." Archie remarked, flipping the light switch on.
Unlike the first attempt, the light immediate came on and stayed on with a problem.
"See, Nick. It wasn't that hard." Warrick smiled smugly.
"It would have worked earlier, but I got a defective light bulb."
"Sure, blame everything on the light bulb. We all know who the dim bulb is."
"Come on, man. You should be nicer to Greg."
The mention of the young CSI caused the three men to glance over at Greg and Sara, both of who were oblivious to their comments.
Archie sighed, and then laughed. "The lights should go out more often. Things seem to develop in the dark."
Warrick and Nick just shook their heads. "It's about time something developed…"
"So this is where everyone is hiding." Grissom's voice turned everyone's attention to the doorway.
"Sara needed to use this room, but the light wasn't working." Nick explained, glancing over at the brunette.
Sara and Greg both looked away from Grissom's stare, guilt written on their faces. However, the stares did not make Greg remove his arm from around her waist.
"We were helping change the bulb." Warrick continued, trying to draw the supervisor's attention away from the guilty-looking couple.
"I see." Grissom finally looked away from Sara and glanced at the other men in the room. "And how many CSIs does it take to change a light bulb?"
