Child's Play

Chapter 8

By Dany

Summary: What happens when the others are about to find out?

A/N: Sorry, for the wait. This is the last chapter of Child's Play. I really hope you liked it. I don't know if I will write a sequel, because there's just so much stuff I have to take care of right now.
Thanks to Ace for Betaing this piece. You helped me a lot.

xxxxx

Sara strolled into work the next night, humming to herself, and for once on time, meaning not an hour or two early as usual.

The other CSIs were already waiting and looked surprised when Sara entered. They had assumed she and Grissom had already been working on a case, but the way she walked in – way too relaxed – told them otherwise.

"Hey girl, spill!" Catherine was the first one to call her on her mood, setting her coffee cup down and leaning forward in an inquisitive move.

Nick looked up from his magazine while Warrick did the opposite. With one glance over the top of his magazine, he lowered his head, clearly signaling that he didn't want to be part of this. He did not want to be the one to put Sara out of her good mood. But Catherine and Nick didn't seem to possess the same foresight.

"What should I spill?" Sara tried her best to sound innocent, but for an acting master like Catherine, it was easy to see through the obvious disinterest.

"You walk in here only five minutes before shift starts, and you're in a sickeningly good mood, so…"

Sara walked to the coffee pot, trying to appear calmer than she felt.

This was not good. If they could already see it after their first official date…

She knew she had to blame herself for that. She had slept like a baby, and when she woke up at her usual time, she didn't want to lose that warm, cozy feeling that originated from the wonderful dream she'd had. For once she had taken her sweet time, lounging in bed some more before taking a long hot shower. She had even taken the time to eat something. The result was that she had not been there early, but on time, and even facing this inquisition couldn't sour her day.

"I took a run before coming in. After my night off, I needed to get some of that 'hyperactivity' out of my system," she lied boldly.

With her coffee in hand, she picked up one of the bagels that was sitting on the counter. She walked over to where Warrick sat on the couch and sunk back down next to him.

"Come on Sara, you can tell us. You had a hot date last night." Unfortunately, Nick didn't know when to stop.

Catherine had just been about to switch tracks and postpone the questioning, but Nick didn't posses the intuition to know that this would not get anything out of her but a rise.

Sara's coffee cup never reached her lips. She stopped in mid-move and glared at Nick.

A swift kick in the shin by Catherine had alerted him to his mistake, but it was already too late.

"Hot date?" Sara's tone was dangerously low. "Even if I had a 'hot date', what makes you think I would tell you?"

That hurt, she knew that, but she didn't want any discussion about her and Grissom. Their coworkers would probably mean well, but gossip was gossip. It was hard enough, just between the two of them.

Nick looked every bit as hurt as he probably was, but at least it prevented him from saying something else, because not one minute later, Grissom entered with their assignments.

As he handed them their cases for the night, Sara was barely listening. She was already planning ahead, thinking about how she should approach the topic of their relationship in their next conversation, so she would know how to react when somebody else asked her. Her answer to Nick had shut them up for a while, but it would not last for long.

She had to talk to Grissom.

xxxxx

Grissom was unaware as to what had just happened, and he handed out the assignments as usual.

He had taken his extra time today, debating who should work what case and with whom. In the end, he couldn't help himself and partnered Sara with him.

Her presence always comforted him, and although he knew he was being unreasonable, he wanted to be sure she was safe, just for tonight.

As he looked up from the assignment slips, he was glad that he had not chosen to work with Catherine. She had that glint in her eyes that meant nothing good. He ignored her, but he was not stupid enough to believe she would be so easily discouraged. There would be an unannounced visit to his office at some point.

When everyone filed out of the break room, he saw Catherine open her mouth to start grilling him – that was faster than he thought – but he turned and hurried back to his office to grab some equipment before she could even utter his name.

Catherine would get back at him, of that he was sure.

xxxxx

When Grissom walked to his car, he was relieved to notice that Catherine's car was already gone - more time to come up with some answers to the unasked questions.

Sara was casually leaning against his car, waiting for him to come out of his hiding. When she smiled at him, he returned the smile and opened the car for them to get in.

He started the car, feeling secure in their silence, but only until Sara spoke, "Grissom, can we talk?"

His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter, and his knuckles turned white. This was the sentence he never wanted to hear. Sweat began to appear above his brows, and he swallowed hard.

Sara noticed his tension and tried to explain, "I know this is work, and I shouldn't bring something private up, but this can't wait."

Instead of reassuring him, it made him even more uncomfortable, and he was about to object when Sara went on, "The guys noticed something, and they were asking me if I had a hot date last night. I didn't say anything, don't worry."

She was a bit hurt that he was taking this so hard, and she started wondering if he was having doubts. "I just want to know what I should do when they ask me again. And they will."

He nodded at that, realizing the truth behind her words. Grissom was somewhat relieved that she didn't want to talk about them per se, but about how they would handle it in public. "I don't know. What do you want to tell them?"

That was a cop out, and he knew it. However, he was too afraid to make a mistake.

"Grissom," she groaned, giving him a death glare although his eyes were focused on the street, and he probably wasn't able to catch it.

"Alright," with a sigh he gave in, "I would have liked to keep this between the two of us. It doesn't feel right that they know about it when we are not exactly sure how we're going to do this. How suspicious were they?"

Sara was glad he was willing to discuss the issue, re-evaluating the decree of secrecy placed on their relationship. She didn't want anyone to know, but the way they had looked at her, she knew she didn't stand much of a chance to keep them in the dark.

"Very. I'm afraid it's my fault. I…" She looked down on her lap, not wanting to face a possible disappointment. "I was late, well on time, and I think my usually grumpy self was on vacation." The sarcasm was audible in her voice, telling him that she berated herself for her slip up.

"Sara, you're allowed to be in a good mood. Hell, I caught myself whistling when I got up. I never whistle. That's just…wrong."

She snickered at the mental picture that popped up in her head, but let him continue when she noticed that he wasn't finished.

"I didn't like it that you were always so glum. I'm sorry." They were really two peas in a pod. Now he was blaming himself again, wondering why he had let it go that far.

"Not your fault. On the contrary, you told me to get a distraction, and I didn't listen. But that's not the point here." She wanted to get away from this topic. She was not ready to go there, yet.

"So…"

"So?"

Grissom glanced over at her and saw her worrying her lower lip. "Look, if they ask, stall them and call for me. I think that if we have to come forward and tell them the truth we should both be there. One shouldn't catch the brunt alone."

Sara nodded silently, mulling over his words. He was right, but that didn't make it easier.

"Or would you want us to beat them to it and tell them right away?"

She wasn't sure what she wanted. Before, she had been the pushy one, and now she had the feeling that she couldn't go one step without him holding her hand. She didn't like that; dammit, she was too independent for that.

Time to take control again. "I'll try to cut them off," her voice got stronger with every word, "I don't feel like telling them yet. If there is really no other way, it would be nice if we could support each other." She felt better at having made a decision. Neither of them was ready to let anyone else intrude into their little world, but if there was no other way, she didn't want to lie to them.

When Grissom didn't reply immediately, her lip had to suffer again as she bit down on it.

"Okay, then that's it. Just remember that you're not alone." So he had also made up his mind about them being together – come what may.

He turned the ignition off, and Sara realized that they were at the crime scene. Brass was waiting for them at the curb. "Thanks. Now…let's get this show on the road."

xxxxx

When they returned to the lab, Sara could see them circling the breakroom like sharks, waiting for her to step into the basin.

Grissom had noticed it too, and was looking at her, silently asking her if he should join her to face the predators. She nodded, his presence calming her.

After they had dropped off their evidence, they entered the breakroom together. While Grissom fished for a bottle of water in the back of the fridge, Sara put on a fresh pot of coffee.

It wasn't long until the rest of the team settled in. Catherine and Nick didn't look like they were about to drop the subject.

"You ready to get out of here and meet your date?" Nick just had to put his foot into his mouth again, and received a swift kick from Catherine under the table.

"Okay, you guys are my friends, but first of all, this is work, and second, you all know how private I am and how uncomfortable that makes me. And still, you can't leave it alone." Her words were tinged with a hint of anger, but it was the sadness that made them all look away in shame. She had stuck the right chord.

"I'm sorry, Sar," Nick was the first to apologize, but Catherine nodded to show she was with Nick on this.

Grissom, who had stood behind Sara as she confronted their colleagues, figured that this was the time to break this little party up. "I think we've all got some cases, so let's earn our money for once," he tried to joke and wandered out of the room.

Warrick and Nick left to check with Hodges for their evidence, but Catherine remained behind, still studying Sara, not daring to say anything.

They sat in silence until the shrill sound of Sara's beeper filled the air. She quickly scanned the display. A smile flickered over her face, but she caught herself again and muttered, "Evidence."

Catherine nodded, buying her little lie.

Sara hurried out of the room. Although her control over the visible emotions was fast in place this time, her step was a bit lighter as she walked down the hallway, quickly typing her answer. "Yes!"

It was her reaction to Grissom's simple question, "Dinner?"

The End