Feasibility Study
Written by: Ms Maggs / Edited by: KJT
Bugged – Part 2
July 27, 2005 (Day 96)
Colorado Springs Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center
Banquet Room
10:05 a.m. MST
After downing an entire bottle of water and chewing the six peppermints that Grissom snagged for her from the podium, Sara was finally able to get rid of the chocolate ant taste dominating her mouth. She loved the irony of eating meat for the first time in years when Grissom was minutes away from presenting the Shelton case, the very case which swayed her to become a vegetarian. Are ants really meat? She pondered. I eat fish. So ants could be…what am I saying. Who cares if ants are meat? They are bugs. I ate bugs! Ugh that really bugs me!
And speaking of being bugged, what the hell is going on up front? Could we drag the start of this presentation any further? The projector wasn't working and some hotel employee was scrambling to fix it while the conference coordinator, Kim Trang, tried not to have an aneurysm because her perfect schedule was thrown off. Perfectionists…they're so funny. If Grissom could read her mind, Sara knew he'd be saying, 'Hey, Pot!'. Yes, Honey, I have been known to dabble in perfectionism from time to time. Isn't that why I'm hell bent on getting pregnant on the first try? Well actually, that's not the reason, but I know we don't want to discuss the real reason, so we'll chalk it up to perfectionism and call it a day.
Regarding Grissom, she wondered why he wasn't pacing the floor instead of leaning against the podium looking happy as a clam. Why is that? She followed his line of vision. Ahh…he's watching a table of guys watching me. Very cute. He's so happy to have me as his wife. As happy as I am to have him as my husband. Only three months into our spiritual union, we're still in that blissful honeymoon stage.
The sound of a briefcase dropping on the floor next to her startled Sara.
"Sorry." The frazzled woman announced as she dropped into the seat next to Sara. "I need to hide back here in the corner." She sniffled under her long blonde hair hiding her face.
"Are you okay?" Sara gently prodded, not wanting to pry, but feeling the need to be polite and not ignore the obviously distraught woman.
"No." The woman flipped back her hair to reveal blue eyes reddened by freshly cried tears. "My whole life is falling apart. My husband is being a total jerk about the stupidest thing and he's been calling every day and arguing with me. We've only been married three months and the honeymoon is definitely over. I can't focus at this conference because of him. I'm here with my boss and she's already told me she felt she wasted money sending me here. She expects me to ask a brilliant question this morning to prove I'm paying attention but as luck would have it, Dr. Grissom is speaking and I can barely keep up with him on a good day. Ugh!" She dropped her head in her hands. "I want to disappear."
"Um…well." Hmm…I'm not sure what to do about this? Hey, I sound like Grissom.
"Do you have any Tylenol?" The woman asked. "I'm Patty by the way."
"I'm Sara." She grabbed her purse. "I only have Advil."
"Thanks, but I can't take Advil, I'm pregnant."
"Oh." Sara returned her purse to the chair next to her while reminding herself to toss her Advil and buy a bottle of Tylenol.
"That's probably why I'm so emotional. I'm not usually one to share stuff with strangers but I'm at my wits end." Patty raked her hands through her hair. "We weren't planning on getting pregnant right away and it's causing so much stress on our new marriage. I mean, they say the first year of marriage is rough anyway because you're working out so much stuff but…I never expected it to be this hard." Noting the ring on her tablemate's finger she asked, "How long have you been married?"
"Uh…" Sara paused to analyze the answer. Okay, actually I never intended for anyone at this conference to think Grissom and I were married. However, when Ron accused me of being a hooker, I blurted it out and consequently; we had to go with it.
The truth is, we're not legally married, but about two months ago we made a commitment and he gave me this ring, which symbolizes our union not ownership and the two of us are married in spirit. So what's the answer to the question? The answer is, we are strange people who are frightened at the prospect of a legal commitment because we witnessed the tragedy of good marriage gone bad first hand….but that's not something I should delve into because you're already an emotional wreck and I don't share that information with anyone except Grissom and my therapist. So, moving on...
Aside from the mentally inhibiting reasons, there is also the problem of Grissom being my boss so we can't get married until one of us takes a different job. Which we don't want to do because we love working together. Yeah…he's my boss too. Kind of complicated, huh?
Actually, this whole situation gets more complicated by the day and well…I think something is wrong. Hmm…that's a new revelation.
"We've been married eight months." Sara finally blurted. It was the answer she had given to Brian and Miranda Anderson and for simplicity's sake, she decided to use it again.
"Has it been difficult for you?" Patty delicately inquired.
Again Sara thought through her response. Hard? Are you kidding me? The years leading up to the relationship were the ones that almost killed me! And I mean that literally and figuratively since right before Grissom and I finally got it together. I almost died from ingesting GHB, which I received from a bastard I went to Tahoe with as friends in an effort to get away from Grissom and reprioritize my life. I digress. Back to the original question…
Our 'marriage' has been great. We rarely argue. Well there was the time when I found out he slept with a dominatrix, but I'm so over that now. We rarely disagree because we don't have issues…well except for the ones we're avoiding. Like this morning, we kind of started debating this whole marriage thing that I just lied to you about.
Yeah, about the Mrs. Grissom thing…we kind of swept that under the rug. We've been known to do that sort of thing in the past. Not that the Mrs. Grissom issue is bugging me. Well that's not entirely true either. That's called avoidance. I'm really good at it. Unfortunately so is he.
Suddenly she answered the question. "Oh, like any couple, we have our problems." Good. Nice vague answer. You validated her; you validated your own concerns. Dr. Myers would be proud. Actually Dr. Myers would be saying, Don't you think you and Gil have something to discuss? To which I'm certain I'd reply, yes, but I don't know what to do about it, so I'll just wait for him to figure it out. That's a guarantee that it won't come up for a while.
Finally Kim Trang's voice boomed into the room. "I am profoundly sorry for the delay. Dr. Grissom the equipment is ready so if would you please start your presentation. Thank you."
Hallelujah! Sara relaxed back in her chair, ready to watch her man captivate the room with beautiful mind.
While the conference participants sat jotting notes and reviewing data, Sara's head filled with other thoughts. Of bringing Grissom a blanket and a thermos of coffee. Of spending the night under the stars and secretly loving each other's company while not admitting one damn feeling or intimate thought. We were so good at avoidance back then. Good thing we're not like that now. Well except for this morning. But back to the Shelton case…
Internally she laughed remembering her cornering him in his office and asking the infamous, do you want to sleep with me question. Now when I ask Grissom to sleep with me, he doesn't hesitate. Not that I have to ask, we kind of have this little system of signals so he knows when I'm needy. I know when he's needy. On the flip side, he knows when I'm exhausted. I know when he's exhausted. But no matter what, he's always willing to slip under the blankets and…blanket!
Grabbing one of the provided ask the presenter note cards, Sara quickly jotted down a question for Patty to pose to the intellectually intimidating Dr. Grissom. Yeah, let's see how he handles this one, Patty. I bet you'll get some credit for asking it and better yet, you'll make him stammer. That should bring you points with your boss.
Tapping Patty on the shoulder, she handed her the card. "Trust me," She whispered, before pointing to her nametag.
Patty, who had been mentally drifting in and out during the presentation, was thrilled for the help from the presenter's wife.
When Kim Trang opened up the floor for questions, Patty was the first to raise her hand and when she was selected, she read what Sara had written. "Dr. Grissom, as I understand it, you initially believed Kaye Shelton was dead for three days but after you conducted the experiment with the pig, you realized she was dead for five because of the tightness of the blanket delaying insect maturation. What was it exactly that made you consider the tightness of the blanket as a contributing factor?"
Grinning wildly, Sara watched Grissom stumble.
"Actually I…you know…I um…I often say confusion is the best place for a scientist to be. In this particular scenario, one moment I was confused and the next moment I thought of the tightness of the blanket. I guess what I'm saying is that the mind works in mysterious ways and you should embrace inspiration whenever it appears. Excellent question, thank you. Next?"
Patty saw her boss give her a thumbs-up and plunked back in her seat smiling for the first time today. "Thanks, Sara."
"It was my pleasure."
Las Vegas Crime Lab
Nick Stokes's Office
11:30 a.m. PST
His approved vacation request form in hand, Nick sat on the edge of his desk and called Carrie on her cell phone. "Hey, Baby, guess what?"
"You got Friday and Monday off?"
"Yes, I did. Did you?"
"I did, but I still feel so irresponsible for taking days off after only being at my new job for a month! This better be worth it, Stokes!"
Her chuckle signaled she was teasing and he replied, "Are you saying you'd rather me take someone else?"
"Very funny. So now are you going to tell me where we're going?"
"Nope." He knew the mysteriousness surrounding the trip was driving her insane. "Can you just give up a little control and go with the flow for once? Remember, I was supposed to help you with that. When we first met you told me how you always put work before your personal life and you hoped it wasn't too late. I said I would make sure you found balance…this is me balancing you."
"How will I know what to pack? Will it be hot or cold?"
Laughing, he replied, "Inside it will be hot but outside it could get a little chilly at night I suppose."
"It will get chilly inside if we get wherever we're going and I'm not prepared!"
"Control freak."
"Tease." She huffed.
"Don't you have a job to do?"
"Yes, so stop bugging me at work!"
Glancing over his shoulder he made sure the coast was clear. "I love you."
"I'll have to get back to you on that due to crowd control issues in my office. Bye."
"Bye, Honey." He hung up the phone grinning wider than when he started. "Oh yeah…the trip is on."
Colorado Springs Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center
Outdoor Courtyard
12:35 p.m. MST
The tables on the patio were all set for lunch when the group filed out of the banquet room.
Walking next to Sara, Grissom said, "Sorry I can't have lunch with you but I agreed to meet with Paul and Ken on this body farm stuff before I knew you were coming to see me."
"It's no problem." She informed him. "It will give me more time to mingle and charm everyone with my knowledge of corpses covered in Fungus beetles. Or, maybe I'll gather everyone around and truthfully answer the blanket question."
"Thank you for that, by the way." Tilting his head he gave her a disapproving look. "I didn't see that one coming."
"It's good to keep you on your toes." She needled. "You could do these lectures in your sleep. I'm trying to keep it fresh for you by adding an element of surprise."
"Speaking of sleep and surprises, since you have the night off and I'm in no hurry to return home to see you, I extended our stay here for a night and changed our flight reservations. I hope you don't mind that I did it without asking you."
"Wow." Very spontaneous of him she mused. "I think it's an excellent idea." Now they could go out and be normal people for a night and have fun like they did when out of town in San Francisco. They were so good together in San Francisco and not only in the back of the limo. Why was that? Was it the clothes? The locale? Or was there a deeper reason?
After giving her arm a squeeze, Grissom said, "I'll see you after lunch."
"Have fun discussing the body farm over grasshopper au gratin." He didn't turn around but she knew he was smiling.
As Grissom walked across the courtyard to meet his lunch mates at their table, Sara assessed the crowd. Definitely staying away from Misty's table, Marge's table and Cathy's table, hmmm…
"Why don't you join us?" Don Pratt said, as he motioned to an empty seat at the table full of guys. "Since your husband abandoned you for two crusty old men."
"Um…" Truly it was the last place she wanted to sit, but then she remembered her side job…charm them with knowledge. "Thank you." She took a seat and glanced around the table. "So I've met you, Don." Yes, I distinctly remember you shamelessly checking out my bare thighs, you perv. "And Pete, I saw you in the hallway." As I recall, you were making fun of my husband and invading our privacy. "Who else do I have the honor of dining with today?"
Pete did the intros. "That's Raj, Tyler and Bryce. Don and I are Forensic Entomologists while these other three bozos are Criminalists hoping to scam some good bug info."
"Nice to meet you." Sara batted her eyes at each one while the guys nodded. "I'm a Criminalist myself, not a buggie."
The men laughed. "What level?" Raj asked.
"I'm a three." Thanks to my boss who held me back. Of course he made me a better offer down the road. "So what's for lunch today guys? Slug stew and blowfly pie for dessert?" As predicted, that one got a lot of laughs. Yeah…this was going to be one long lunch hour of none stop wittiness. Grissom will metaphorically dance for me later. "You guys want to hear about my last trip to the body farm?"
About twenty minutes into lunch, Grissom finally had a chance to glance around and when he did, he saw Sara seated at a table with Pete and Don and some CSIs from Houston. The men were laughing and Sara was too. Tuning out of his own lunch conversation for a moment he lost himself in thought. Look at her over there…she's perfect. The guys are enjoying her company and why wouldn't they? They're young and single or middle-aged and divorced and she's fantastic. Look at all of them….their body language is clear. They all want her. Sorry guys, she's taken. Then it dawned on him…they all want her. They all want her, like all the guys wanted Debbie Marlin.
Where did that come from! Grissom panicked. Talk about a blast from the past. That insecurity had been dormant for nearly a year. Why surface now? Now when everything is perfect? Now, after the most intimate night of my life? Suddenly it made sense…because everything is perfect and it was the most wonderful night. What better time is there for a jolt of insecurity, than when you least expect it or want it? When you're most vulnerable, the jolt is most effective. Isn't that what caused Dr. Lurie to snap…an unexpected jolt of reality?
The crazy thing is I provoked it. I joked with Sara and told her to mingle with the guys. Why did I ask her to do that? Did I want to see if this would happen? Did I want to see if this wouldn't happen? What was I trying to prove? No. It's a silly game, just like the one we played in San Francisco. But why was it fun that time and not now? What was it about San Francisco that made me feel so impervious to this kind of vulnerability? Why was everything so right in San Francisco?
"Gil, are you still with us?" Ken prodded.
"Huh?"
Paul took pleasure in teasing his long-time colleague because he was thrilled to see Gil, whom he considered a great guy, finally having a personal life. "Exactly how long have you been married? Because it seems to me that you can't stop staring at your wife, which tells me it hasn't been too long. As much as I love my wife of twenty-two years, I can't recall staring at her like that in public for a while. I'll have to remember to do that when I get home."
"Um…how long have we been…" Here was that question again. It came up in San Francisco with Brian and Miranda and now it was coming up here. Both times the issue was forced due to Sara blurting they were married. Why does she keep telling strangers? It's a private thing. It's not even something they've openly discussed with the team. Now what am I supposed to say? I can't say how long we've been married because we're not married. Well not to the outside world, but we are to each other and that's what matters to us, right? Or is she unhappy with the arrangement? Does she want more? Why does she need more?
"Uh oh." Ken shook his head. "He's forgotten his anniversary already. Don't you know wives hate that? That's one of the many reasons mine cited when she asked for a divorce ten years ago."
Paul glanced toward Sara. "If you want to keep her, I suggest you remember things like anniversary dates and birthdays. Or she'll leave you for a Radiologist like Ken's wife. Considering the way you're gaping at Mrs. Grissom, I'm assuming you want to keep her."
Do I want to keep her? Grissom shuddered. The opposite of keeping is losing. Why would they think…
"If you can't remember the date, then just tell us how long," Ken said as he put down his fork. "Or are you being secretive like you always are? How many decades have we been in this Entomology circle together and what we know about you personally couldn't fill a lecture note card."
"Eight months." Grissom finally replied. It was the lie Sara gave to Brian and Miranda and since he didn't have any other answer, he went with hers while thinking, this is way too complicated. Now I'm lying. I'm lying to people who respect me for my credibility.
"Just as I suspected," Ken remarked as he crumpled his napkin and put it on his plate. "Newlyweds. It will change."
"Don't listen to Mr. Bitter," Paul advised while stirring his Iced Tea. "My wife and I are looking at our twenty third anniversary on October 24th and the romance is alive and well." Like a guilty school boy he laughed. "Especially now that the kids are away at college, if you get my drift."
Staring at Grissom's young bride, Ken asked, "Are you and the lovely Sara Grissom going to start a family? Because you better start soon or you'll be seventy by the time your kid goes off to college."
Grissom reeled from the reality. No wonder Sara wants it to work on the first try and is trying to will it to happen! She's afraid I'll be seventy when our kid goes to college. This is crazy. Paul is a year younger than me, has been married for twenty-three years and has kids in college. I'm just starting down this path. Technically I haven't even started down the path because I'm not technically married.
Unbelievable. I'm almost forty-nine years old and my life still isn't anywhere close to normal and it's not because I'm a scientist and an intellectual and somehow above convention, because this guy sitting right next to me has similar credentials and he has a regular life. No, it's because I'm not…normal.
Deciding all he needed to get grounded in reality was a moment with Sara, he excused himself to head across the room. But when he stood up, he realized she was no longer sitting at the table where he had last seen her.
Colorado Springs Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center
12:50 p.m. MST
"Why are you calling me?" Sara snipped into her cell phone as she tossed her paper towel into the trash can. "After your little singing performance this morning, why should I even talk to you?" She took a seat on the couch in the lounge area of the plush ladies room. "And you have the worst singing voice."
"We can't all have a great voice like you." Nick laughed. "Sorry. I got carried away being with the gang again, so I participated in the song. Trust me…I don't want to think about why you got that name. It's like thinking about my parents doing it. Not that my parents ever played 'show me the money' in the back of limo."
Not a parental reference again, she cringed. But then she took comfort in the fact that Nick saw her as one of the parents, that was a lot better than Misty's misperception! "Um…changing the subject back to the original question." Sara noted Marge Andrews entering the Ladies Room with a polite nod. "Why did you call me here? Huh mister? Cut to the chase."
"I need your advice on something for Carrie."
"My advice?" She laughed. "Where is Catherine? Trapped under Warrick?"
"Good one, Sara. No, this is an anal-retentive perfectionist question so I'm directing it to you."
"Okay, that makes more sense. What's your question?"
"I'm taking Carrie away for a very special weekend and I want everything about it to be a surprise, even the location, but I'm afraid she's not handling the loss of control very well. Will it kill the mood if she's not in the know? Or should I just keep up the mystery? If it were you would you be able to handle it?"
"It would drive me crazy, but I think you should keep up the mystery if it's playing an important role in the weekend." She smiled. "Grissom just surprised me that we're staying here an extra night and I'm still breathing."
"Okay, so I'm going to let it ride and hope her head doesn't explode before we get on the plane."
"A plane…I'm intrigued." Sara glanced at her watch to get the time. Deciding she could chat for a while longer, she kept prying. "A plane to where? Tell me more."
"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Not even Grissom, because if this gets ruined…"
"I won't tell Grissom."
Marge, done washing her hands, waved at Sara on the way out and Sara returned the gesture.
When Marge emerged from the Ladies Room, she saw Grissom standing outside the door. "Is Sara in there?"
"Yes."
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"She's on the couch speaking with some man on the phone, about a trip you can't know about."
Grissom froze. What man? What trip? I can't know?
And, while he was pondering the possibilities, Ron Grant slithered over next to Marge. "So Gris, where did you find Sara? She's a keeper." A used-car-salesman laugh followed. "You old dog. Hey tell me, does she have a twin sister?"
Luckily Sara emerged from the Ladies Room before Grissom had a chance to ruminate over Ron's comments. "Hey, Sara." He walked over and scooted her down the hall. "Let's go away from the crowd for a minute. Okay?" He didn't wait for her answer.
When he finally found an empty conference room, he released her arm and shut the door. Then he noticed something was missing. "Why aren't you wearing your nametag? You had it on before lunch and now suddenly after lunch you don't have it on. Why is that?"
"Excuse me?" The question stunned her. "I took it off so you wouldn't flip out, which is ironic now that you're flipping out because I don't have it on!"
"I'm not flipping out," he heatedly huffed.
"If you think that, then you don't understand the definition of flipping out."
Gripping the side of his forehead he tried to make sense of his reaction.
Sara decided to give him more evidence. "All morning you didn't want me talking about the name or wearing the nametag, but suddenly you're dragging me down the hall to ask me why I'm not wearing it? Make up your mind! Do you want me to wear it or not? Do you want people to know who I am or not?" An air of sarcasm floated in her voice. "Not that I actually am that person on the nametag, which really makes this whole issue truly bizarre. Can you see why you're confusing me!" Not that it would be the first time.
"I…" Shaking his head, he did the only thing he could think to do. "I'm sorry."
"For what in particular?" It wasn't the first time he had given her a vague apology.
"For confusing you."
"Don't apologize for confusing me, just un-confuse me." Staring into his eyes she knew it wasn't going to happen.
"I…"
"You know what…this isn't the time or the place for this discussion." Releasing her tension with a deep breath, she made a suggestion. "We'll talk after the conference ends in a couple of hours, okay?"
"Okay."
She started to walk towards the door but was stopped by his hand grabbing hers. "What?" She whispered.
"Nothing, I…I just needed to touch you." His voice was riddled with emotion. "Sara…" He fought the urge to ask the question but in the end he gave up the battle. "Who were you talking to on the phone in the Ladies Room? When I was looking for you, Marge told me you were in there on the phone."
"Nick." She answered without hesitation and even though he didn't ask why, she instinctively told him. "He wanted my advice on something regarding Carrie."
Of course it was Nick, you idiot. Of course it was harmless. "Advice on what?"
"He's surprising her with a trip and he wanted my opinion on the way he was planning it."
He clutched her hand a little tighter. "Where are they going?"
"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone where or why."
"But I'm your…" Letting go of her hand, he forced a smile. "A promise is a promise." How could he expect her to break this one while wanting her to keep others?
"You should know I always keep my promises." She returned his tense smile. "So um…I'll see you back in there."
"Yes." He shoved his hands in his pockets.
At the door, she turned around. "Grissom…I realize I'm confusing you too."
"Will you un-confuse me?"
"As soon as I know how."
Standing alone in the middle of the room he watched her walk out the door while wondering, what the hell just happened?
1:55 p.m.
Once again trying to blend like a moth, Sara sat in the banquet room in her corner seat next to Patty.
But she wasn't a moth, with the ability to camouflage herself to the point of invisibility, and from across the room she could feel his eyes on her. What the hell just happened? Is this what Patty was referring to when she said the first year of marriage is rough? Does it work that way for faux-marriages too?
Marriage. Suddenly it was surrounding her. Patty on her right, in the throes of it and Nick on the phone getting ready for it…
"A plane…I'm intrigued." Sara glanced at her watch to get the time. Deciding she could chat for a while longer, she kept prying. "A plane to where? Tell me more."
"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Not even Grissom, because if this gets ruined…"
"I won't tell Grissom."
Marge, done washing her hands, waved at Sara on the way out and Sara returned the gesture.
Once Marge was out of the room, Sara said, "Nick, wait, if I can't tell Grissom, then don't tell me, because I don't keep secrets from him."
"Okay fine, you can tell Grissom, but only him!"
Excited for the inside information, she tapped her hand on her knee. "Go ahead and tell me!"
"You know how the first day I met Carrie, I took her out to see the sights of The Strip?"
"Yeah."
"That night when we were standing in the glow of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel I knew she was the one."
"So when do I get to hear something I don't know!" She chuckled.
"I'm taking Carrie to France to propose to her under the real Eiffel Tower. Wendy lifted her passport for me and I've got the ring in pocket."
Stunned, she stared blankly into the mirror on the wall in front of her. "So soon? I mean it's only been a few months, Nick."
"Why wait when you know with 100 certainty what you want for the rest of your life? Assuming she says yes…and if she doesn't, I plan on climbing up the tower and jumping, so if I don't return it's up to you to call my family. Anyway, assuming she says yes, I don't know how long of an engagement she'll want but if it's up to me it will be quick because I can't wait to stand up in front of my family and friends and say those vows and become husband and wife."
"Right."
"Aren't you going to wish me luck, Boom Boom?"
"Um…of course." In the mirror she caught her expression. What is that emotion reflected in the glass? "I was waiting to see you in person before you go."
"Oh okay. Well you have fun at the bug show, and I'll show you the ring before I leave. Talk to you later."
"Bye."
As she disconnected the call, she couldn't help but think…why is this bugging me so much?
Sitting in the banquet room, she knew she wasn't a moth, because if she were, by now she would have used her wings to fly up and out of the room. She needed to leave because she had something to do, something that might help, but to get up and walk out would raise suspicion, and flip out Grissom…not that he'd admit it.
Then she realized she could escape without wings. Grabbing a note card, she wrote a message to her new pal Patty.
Return of favor? On the sly, call my cell: 702-555-1482
Without hesitation, Patty slipped her cell phone out off her clip, and surreptitiously did as instructed.
A moment later, Sara made a very obvious play for her ringing cell phone while mouthing 'so sorry' to Pete who was presenting. With the cell phone in hand she flew out the door. She knew he wouldn't follow her because it would look unprofessional. Thank goodness for professionalism. Now she could do what needed to be done.
When Grissom saw Sara flee the room, every fiber of his being wanted to follow her out the door but it wasn't possible. It would be extremely unprofessional. Who called? Was it Nick again about the surprise trip? How did Nick get time off for a trip?
Grissom sent a quick text message to Brass.
Nick. Time off? Why?
A few minutes later he got a reply.
Guessing time for ring or ball and chain? Sucker!
Grissom grabbed a bottle of water to wash down the lump in his throat. So, on top of Sara feeling suddenly vulnerable about marriage, Nick called and told her he was either proposing or getting married. Perfect timing. Story of their life.
For a while he sat there listening to Pete drone on about Gunshot Residue Detection in Calliphorids and when he glanced at his watch the next time, he saw over an hour had passed since Sara left the banquet room. She didn't take her things with her, so she had to be coming back…coming back to the room because she wasn't really gone. She'd never really be gone. You know that. She always keeps promises and what did she promise? She promised to stay. You promised to trust her, remember? She's just scared about something, just like she was about taking the pregnancy test. You know this.
And just when he was certain he couldn't sit in the room waiting a second longer, she reappeared through the door and returned to her chair. Once sitting, she looked his way and he saw the one thing he needed most…her smile. She was back. He was back. But where had she gone? Then he remembered he could text her and he typed a special message.
The course of true love never did run smooth.
After sending the message he watched to see her retrieve it, but she didn't move, which was really odd since his phone was silently signaling an incoming message.
Thanks for the information Love Muffin.
That's when Grissom realized he had sent it to Brass instead of Sara. Before he could type a message he was receiving another.
Screwed up again?
Reading the latest message didn't help matters. Yes, I screwed up something but I'm not exactly sure what it is or how to fix it. As you would say, if you were here, Jim…shocking. The vibration of his phone cued him to look at the display.
Shocking!
Turning off his phone, he decided, since the conference was ending soon, it was best to wait and talk to Sara when they were alone.
Next Episode: Bugged Part 3 of 3
Teaser: For once and for all, it's time them to get un-confused! This has been years in the making.