Feasibility Study
Written by: Ms Maggs / Edited by: KJT

"Heard It through the Grapevine"

July 28, 2005 (Day 97)
Las Vegas Crime Lab
9:54 p.m.

As Brass accompanied Grissom to the break room where Catherine, Warrick and Greg were pumping caffeine into their blood streams prior to shift, he imparted a final reminder. "Now remember, keep your left hand in your pocket when you're breaking the news."

"I won't let you down." Grissom rolled his eyes not particularly wanting to play this game but sensing it was important to the boss.

Brass put his game face on and opened the door. "We're uh…glad you're all here." Somberly, he shut the door and proceeded into the room next to Grissom.

"What's up?" Warrick asked while filling his mug. "Ugly case?"

"No." Brass shook his head. "We have…well Grissom really…this is kind of awkward for me. Gil, you should tell them."

With his left had firmly planted in his pocket, he cleared his throat. "Effective earlier today, Sara moved to Days. As uncomfortable as it is for me to admit this, I trust you enough to tell you…due to personal reasons; Sara won't be working for me any longer."

Brass placed a supportive hand on Grissom's shoulder. "I know how hard that was for you."

Warrick was the first to speak. "Are you sure you guys can't…"

"No." Grissom lowered his head. "I'm afraid what happened is irrevocable."

"Damn." Warrick, depressed by the thought, headed for the couch.

Greg, however, felt conflicted, wondering if he should rush to console Sara, but at the same time worried he'd be her transitional man and their relationship doomed to fail. "That's really too bad, Boss." Greg said while trying to mean it and knowing he was wrong for thinking about Sara in this manner, since he had just told everyone a few weeks ago he thought of her as a sister. Ruminating the twisted-ness, he decided, maybe I only think of her as a sister when she's with Grissom so I don't feel bad about her dissing me for him but, when she's not with Grissom I crush on her because she's available. Yeah…that sounds normal…at least for me.

Catherine, silent thus far, sauntered over to Grissom and stood at his side, releasing a labored sigh. "Nice try." Wrapping her fingers around his forearm, she yanked his hand out of his pocket. "I knew it."

"Stokes told you!" Brass barked.

"No."

"Then how did you know?" Brass wasn't pleased she spoiled the fun so soon.

"Jim, this is what I do for living." Catherine clarified her answer. "First clue…his standing with his left hand in his pocket, which he never does. Second clue…the words, won't be working for me anymore, not with me. Lastly, and really this is the most critical, if Gil separated from Sara, he wouldn't be here calmly telling us, he'd be home in the fetal position losing his mind."

"Astute observations." Brass nodded. "Glad we pay you the big bucks."

Grissom laughed. "She knows me too well."

Now that she was done spoiling the fun, Catherine displayed her true feelings in a sunny smile. "Congratulations. I'm very happy for the both of you."

"Thank you," Grissom quietly acknowledged. "We're very happy about it."

"Well, you had me fooled," Warrick returned from the corner of the room.

Catherine shot her partner a teasing glance. "That's because you wanted to believe a guy could get dumped and still be coherent." Changing her voice to a demure growl, she added, "Not that you'll ever have to find out."

"Got that right," he replied while coming up behind her and standing a little too close.

Brass filled in the few blanks he knew. "Little Chapel of the Flowers earlier today, there's no video and Sara vows we'll never see the photos."

Warrick groaned, "I can understand you guys wanting some privacy for the ceremony but Gris, you could have let the guys take you out for a night…or a morning actually, on the town."

"Before you guys take him anywhere, he's mine," Catherine informed them. Pointing at Grissom she made her demands. "While your wife…oh that sounds a little odd out loud…is working today, you're having lunch with me and filling in a few blanks. It's the least I deserve, because we all know who's really responsible for this union."

Knowing she was right, he didn't hesitate. "Pick the place."

Warrick noticed Greg quietly sipping coffee at the sink. "You haven't said a word, Sanders."

Brass offered an explanation. "I think he was all set to bat clean up when he thought Sara was back on the market, then he found out the truth and now he feels guilty."

"What? That's just…" Greg's tone was indignant. "If you must know, I was thinking about the Woodward case."

"Easy there, Sport," Brass chuckled, "I was just yanking your chain."

Their attention was suddenly focused on the door opening.

Theresa from Ballistics waltzed in with a file. "There you are, Greg." She breezed by everyone and presented the paperwork. "Your results from the Woodward case."

"Thank you." He couldn't believe his luck. Turning to the naysayers, he snipped, "I told you I was worried about this case."

"Shocking!" Brass exclaimed.

Theresa, realizing she had barged in, apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting."

"Oh, we weren't meeting," Greg informed her. "We were just celebrating the news about Grissom's marriage."

Somewhere in the break room a pin dropped and everyone heard it.

Theresa finally broke the silence when she asked in an incredulous tone, "Did you just say Grissom got married?" In the three years she had been working at the lab, there hadn't been a trace of personal information about him in the rumor mill.

Greg felt compelled to cover his ass. "What? No one said it was a secret. Gris, you're wearing a ring. People are going to figure it out."

"It's okay, Greg." The boss held up his hands. "It's not a secret."

Feeling relieved he didn't blow it, Greg smiled. "If Sara was my wife I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret either."

"Sara?" Theresa glanced at Grissom. "Does he mean…"

Brass, in his official capacity, took over. "Yes, he means Sara Sidle, but she's no longer working for Grissom, she's working for Stokes, so there's no policy violation. I know how everyone gets crazy if there's even a chance someone is getting away with something. So please, remember to include that tidbit when you plug into the vine."

"Okay then." Theresa struggled to contain her excitement before bolting for the door. "I…uh…need to get back to my job."

Catherine translated for her boss. "That's code for, I've got the hottest piece of gossip since the Ecklie bust and I can't wait to start spreading the news."

Warrick backed her up. "Theresa is so plugged into the grapevine she pisses Merlot."

Brass patted Grissom on the back. "By the time Sara shows up for work in the morning, she'll be famous."

"Or infamous." Catherine snickered. "What time is it? Ten." She checked her watch. "I got twenty bucks that says by midnight we'll hear someone say Sara got knocked up by the boss so he had to marry her. Who's in?"

"Suckers bet." Warrick walked away. "Theresa walked out of here thinking that."

Greg made an astute observation of his own. "Grissom looks squicked out."

"You see, Greg." Catherine explained, "While the marriage is no secret, the relationship was and now people are going to fill in their own blanks. The boss man realizes this and hence…the squickiness."

Grissom's pager beeped and when he looked at the display, he said, "We got a 419."

"Saved by a DB." Warrick set his mug on the counter. "I know you're going to want to get the hell out of here, boss so, the question is who is going with you?"

"You." Grissom hurried for the door with Warrick following. When they stepped into the hallway, chatty passersby instantly hushed.

"It's just like High School," Warrick mused as they walked down the hall.

Grissom felt like a zoo animal being watched by the curious. "People didn't talk about me in High School, Warrick."

"They would have if you suddenly showed up at the prom with a cheerleader on your arm." He laughed. "You just went from ghost to scandal. Embrace the moment."

11:47 p.m.

On the way to Trace, Greg reviewed his progress on the Woodward case with Catherine. "With the latest report from Ballistics, we know the bullet found in Mr. Woodward was fired from the gun we found in the dumpster. A gun registered to Mrs. Woodward."

"And where was Mrs. Woodward when her gun was fired?"

"She says she was out walking the dog but, Rover isn't backing up her statement."

Catherine laughed, "Mrs. Woodward forgot that dogs are man's best friend."

Opening the door to the Trace lab, Catherine stepped inside and immediately noted the huddle occurring in the corner of the room between Hodges and Mabel. "Hey guys."

"What are you guys doing here?" Hodges asked while trying to contain his devious grin. "Shouldn't you be at a wedding reception?"

Never one to waste time, Catherine folded her arms across her chest and said, "Give it to me straight. What's the latest?"

Hodges was more than happy to relay the news. "After she almost got killed in the desert a few weeks ago, Grissom took her out to give her a pep talk, she got drunk and needy, he pounced on the opportunity, they woke up the next morning at some motel off the strip and yesterday, when she told him the rabbit died, he insisted on marrying her."

Catherine turned to Greg. "How we doing on time?"

"11:51 p.m." He shook his head. "Damn, you're good, Catherine."

July 29, 2005 (Day 98)
Grissom's Office
5:14 a.m.

Safely stowed away in his office, Grissom sat tackling the pile of paperwork that had built up while he was away at the convention. It was a nice distraction from the hoopla about his marrying Sara.

When he and Warrick returned from the field at three-fifteen this morning, Greg promptly informed him of the latest word in the corridors. A drunken one-night stand resulted in a surprise pregnancy. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, a fevered debate between lab gossips ensued regarding motivation. Half of the shift was certain that Sara, someone who always appeared needy and was rumored to have had a drinking problem at one time, had trapped Grissom into marrying her, while the other half believed she's mortified but went through with the shotgun marriage just to keep her job at the lab because she is a workaholic and has no life.

It was a lot to handle for such a private person but, in every version of the story, he realized he looked a hell of a lot better than Sara. In one scenario he was a victim, in the other a stand up guy…albeit sexually irresponsible in both cases. She was so happy about the marriage, he hated for it to be tainted by such randy gossip.

The ring of his cell phone caught his ear and when he saw it was his house phone number, he smiled. "Good morning, wife."

"Good morning, husband."

"How was your honeymoon night?" He relaxed in his chair. "I spent mine with Warrick, scooping up dirt around a DB. "

"Hey, at least you didn't spend your honeymoon night alone." She groaned then asked, "How did the team take the news?"

"Catherine is making me take her to lunch to fill in some blanks, Warrick was happy and Greg broke down in tears when he realized he was never going to have you."

"Aren't you full of yourself this morning?"

"It's not my fault." He chuckled. "It's the gossip mill pumping my ego. Which reminds me…remember how you wanted to be able to go public with our marriage?"

"Yes…"

"Well you know the saying…be careful what you wish for because you may get it. This whole place knows we're married and they've been speculating the details all night. Greg keeps me posted on the latest."

"Are the stories romantic?" She asked with a lilt in her voice. "A tale of two lab rats who one day, after years of working together, fell in love and married?"

"Ah…I haven't heard that one yet." While he was debating how he should break the news, Greg darted in the office yelling, "Here's a new one…Sara got you drunk and used you for your seed, because her biological clock was ticking and she needed someone who was desperate and had a high IQ. But even though they believe you were hard up and a victim of a shameless ploy, you get points for being a stud!"

Through the phone, Grissom heard Sara shriek, "What did Sanders just say?"

"Um…" Grissom pointed to his cell phone. "Greg, can't you see I'm on the phone?"

"Sorry." He scooted out of the office.

"Honey…that's what I was trying to tell you. The stories…they aren't that romantic. But it shouldn't be a surprise, we knew how things work around here, that's why we kept our relationship a secret for so long." Cringing he dropped the bomb. "They think we spent one drunken night together and you got pregnant so we had a shotgun wedding." There really wasn't any need to tell her the other minor details.

"What!"

"Well it must look a little odd to…"

"I'm not pregnant!"

He quickly reminded her, "Well, you could be, and if you are, as long as you don't deliver early everyone will think it's a honeymoon baby." He puffed up. "You know…first time's a charm."

"I have to prove I'm not pregnant!"

Feeling bad for her, he dropped his ego-driven tone. "What are you going to do, pull blood, do a test and hang the results on the communication board?"

"You'll see! I'm on my way in right now."

Before he could reply, the call ended. "Hopefully something else scandalous will happen soon and we'll be yesterday's news."

McCarran Airport
5:37 a.m.

The day of the mystery trip had finally arrived and Carrie, a Mexican Jumping Bean disguised as a girl, could barely contain herself. "We're at the airport!"

"What gave that away? The jets flying overhead, or the armed guards?" Nick, playing it cool, pulled their bags out of the trunk. "You still don't know where we're flying."

"You said bring a swim suit so I'm guessing an island."

"You said 'should I bring a swim suit' and I said, 'sure'. " Slinging their bags over his shoulders he grinned. "We're going to New York."

"New York!" She gushed with excitement. "What are we going to do there?"

"You'll find out when we get there," He mysteriously replied. Little did she know they would be switching airlines and heading off to Paris.

She simultaneously wanted to kiss him and kill him. "The game continues."

"Yes, ma'am."

Las Vegas Crime Lab
5:42 a.m.

She wasn't three steps from her parked car when Sara heard, "Hey look, it's Mrs. Grissom," coming from a gaggle of smokers hanging out on the patio.

Happy with her new title, Sara held her head high and walked over to the nicotine bingers….Mabel, Theresa and Kevin. "Good morning." Coyly wrapping her hands around the patio railing, she displayed her wedding band on her left hand and her diamond ring on her right. Yes…while the wedding band could be the product of a shotgun wedding, a diamond ring was another story. The women at the table, Mabel and Theresa instantly caught the glint. "So, I take it you heard the news."

"Someone mentioned something," Mabel nonchalantly replied. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Sara relaxed her shoulders. Grissom was exaggerating. These people weren't malicious. "Okay, well, I need to get inside and prepare for shift. I'll see you around."

"Bye, Sara." The threesome sang in an innocent chorus.

Walking away, Sara smiled…until she turned the corner and heard the loud lab rats speculating. Did you see those diamonds? Uh huh. He's her sugar daddy! Explains the age thing. Bet she takes him for a ride. I think taking him for a ride is what got her the ring. And a bun in the oven. Do you think her squeezing out a puppy is part of the arrangement? She's over thirty; why not go for someone younger? Come on, he doesn't want to look like a letch with some chippy young enough to be his daughter. Sara's under the radar…old enough not to raise suspicion but young enough to get the job done. Think they ever got it on in the lab? Brown and Willows have. Really? When? Oooh, does anyone have details of Warrick's fine bod? Really Kevin, give it up, how many times do we have to tell you, Warrick is straight.

Aghast at the viciousness of the gossipmongers, she fought the urge to correct their misperceptions. Well, except for the comments about Warrick, which were all true. Realizing direct confrontation wasn't a viable option, she chose instead to stick to her plan and headed into the building.

She wasn't three steps inside when she heard, "Hey look, it's Mrs. Grissom," coming from Vartann's mouth.

"You too, huh?" Sara readied herself for the next round. "Go ahead, take your best shot."

"What?" He smiled. "I'm really happy for the two of you. I've suspected for years there was something going on there, but when we were out at Dales Trail I knew for sure. Grissom seemed so worried about you that day…and that was before you were attacked. I knew for sure the two of you were a couple." Playfully, he tapped her on the shoulder. "So, did the near death experience make him realize how good he had it, and he finally popped the question?"

Finally, a decent story! "Yes." A bright smile dawned on her face. "Are you by any chance going outside to smoke?"

"Yeah."

"Feel free to talk about Grissom and me while you're out there. You know…as someone who knows the true story."

"Gossip mill's pretty nasty, huh?"

"I'm not pregnant!" Sara blurted to Vartann as several cops with big ears strolled by. On the way out the door she heard them mumbling. Whoa…Isn't Vartann married? Yeah, but not to that CSI chick. I thought she was a lesbian. Nah, she slept with Greg Sanders. Isn't Sanders gay? Can one of you spot me a cigarette?

Vartann posited, "Sara, if you're a lesbian and Greg is gay, and the two of you slept together, does that make you a straight couple?"

"Please help me." She pleaded.

"Okay, okay." Vartann tried not to laugh. "I'll help clear up you and Grissom, but Sanders is on his own concerning his sexuality."

"Thank you." Certain she would finally have a friend on the smokers' patio, Sara proceeded to the lab.

She made the journey quickly while mentally blocking out everyone in her path and when she reached Grissom's office she slipped inside and shut the door. "I had no idea it was this bad!"

"I tried to warn you." Sitting at his desk, he enjoyed the view. "You look beautiful this morning."

"Haven't you heard?" She plopped into a side chair. "I'm glowing from being pregnant with your baby. A baby I owe you in return for you being my Sugar Daddy! They think I'm a uterus for hire!"

"I hadn't heard that one yet." Seeing her so vexed tore at his heart. "Are you sorry we got…"

"Of course not." She took a deep breath and really looked at him for the first time. "Nothing anyone could say would make me regret our marriage." Suddenly everything was right in the world again. "We're married."

"I know." He grinned and for a minute they only spoke with their eyes and then he needed to change the subject. "So uh…one hour until your supervisory debut. Are you ready?"

"After sharing your shadow, for years I know every procedure by heart. Yesterday Nick briefed me on everyone and last night I studied all the pending cases …twice." She changed to a sultry tone. "I had to do something while I was home missing you. Studying case files seemed like an innocent way to pass the time while I was in bed…alone…wanting you."

Trying not to fall for her charms, he replied, "I'll be staying until ten if you need to consult with me."

Leaning forward, she whispered, "My shift ends at four. I figure I'll need to put in at least a couple of extra hours…"

"Seven thirty?" He raised a brow.

She raised one of hers. "Happy hour?"

"You can't drink." He replied, knowing her reference had nothing to do with alcohol.

Reclining in her chair, she purred, "Then I guess I'll have to find another way to relax." Penetrating his eyes with hers, she added, "I'm thinking of a few enjoyable alternatives right now." Running her fingertip over her lip she sighed, "Mmm…yeah…that would feel so good…and that too, and…mmm definitely."

"You're killing me right here in my office." He covered his face with a hand. "We've never talked like this in my office."

"Well…I don't work for you anymore and I'm not the same woman I was the last time I was in here." A delicious grin consumed her mouth. "Besides…I'm not doing anything unprofessional. I'm only speaking to my co-worker. Now if my co-worker is taking my words and attributing certain salacious feelings or visual images to them, why should I be responsible? I was thinking about a bubble bath, some herbal tea and nice read. Now…what were you thinking?"

"Aren't you feisty today?" He inhaled deeply, hoping to calm down. "I think marriage agrees with you, Mrs. Grissom."

"I think it does." She beamed. "I feel great…even though people are talking crap about me in every corner of this building." Suddenly she stood up. "Which reminds me, it's time to put this pregnancy rumor to an end."

"What are you…"

"You'll hear about it through the grapevine."

Before he knew it, she was out the door, and since he was in no condition to follow her, he stayed put in his chair.

Heading down the hall, Sara searched for Greg and was relieved to find him in a lab with none other than Hodges…a perfect audience. "Hey, Greg, she greeted as if nothing had changed."

"Sara…congratulations." Greg jumped up. "You look great."

"She's glowing," Hodges snickered in the corner.

"Thank you, Greg." She ignored Hodges. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I need to present at the community college next week…you know how I do those mini lectures. This time I'm presenting proper lab procedure, so I need to document a simple lab test from start to finish and was wondering if you could help me. I cleared it with Grissom so…"

"Yeah, I bet you had a real hard time getting the boss to say yes to you." Hodges choked on his own laughter. "Did you have to get on your knees and beg?"

Ignoring him once more, Sara walked over and grabbed the necessary supplies.

Greg, always willing to help Sara, followed her. "What test do you want to run?"

Placing all the supplies on the table, she explained, "I wanted something real simple so I thought why not do a blood draw and test for hCG?" She knew even if she and Grissom were successful in Colorado Springs, it was much too early to get a positive result because you needed eight days and it had only been two.

"Um…okay." He couldn't believe Sara was doing this test with Hodges in the room. He also wondered why she wasn't doing it with Grissom? Most of all, he was shocked she was wasting lab resources. Everyone did from time to time, but not Sara, she was far too responsible. Then again she did play hooky and get married….

"Glove up, Greg." Sara grabbed a notebook and started jotting the pertinent information. "Next step…draw a sample from the victim." She glared at Hodges. "I am feeling a little victimized today so I can't think of a better candidate." Surprised by Greg's gentle blood draw technique she praised him. "You're great, Greg."

Hodges burst out laughing. "I bet that's the first time he's heard that coming from a woman's mouth other than his mama's."

Greg snapped, "Don't you have someplace to be, Hodges!"

"No!" Sara countered. "I mean…can't we all get along?" The gossipy witness was critical to the plan.

Greg capped the vial. "You want me to run it?"

"Please. I'm busy writing notes." Placing a cotton ball in the crook of her arm, she watched Hodges gravitate toward Greg.

"Need any help with that?" Hodges graciously offered. "I mean now that you're in the field you're probably not half the man you were in the lab." He snorted. "What does that make you now? One sixteenth of a man?"

Rolling his eyes, Greg performed the test while Sara sat at the table calmly writing, and Hodges salivated for the juicy tidbit he was about to receive.

When Greg completed the test, he printed off the results and handed it to Sara. "Minimum requirement for a positive result is 5 IU/L. Your blood has zero hCG."

"What!" Hodges gasped.

Sara stared him down. "The evidence doesn't lie."

Determined to get something out of the set-up, Hodges snipped, "Using County resources to end gossip?"

"Using County time to spread gossip?" Sara countered before returning to her notes. "Besides, I'm not wasting resources, because I'm not lying. I am presenting at the Community College. Catherine and I take turns every other month." Returning her gaze to Hodges, she nonchalantly said, "Maybe when it's my turn to present on Narcissistic Personality Disorder you can accompany me as Exhibit A."

"I'm out of here." Hodges fled the lab.

"Yes!" Greg celebrated. "You gave rat boy the smack down just like you did Lady Heather. Boom Boom may be married but she's still spunky!"

Next Episode: Night and Day – Part 1

Teaser: Shift happens…