Winter games

By Dany

Summary: Greg and Nick are playing a game which only adds to Grissom's bad mood, but Sara knows a way to cheer him up.

Rating: T

A/N: This is a response to an elemental challenge by firstdonoharm on YTDaW. Elements:
"GSR? How about Grissom and Sara...romance"
"Hello Dana and Fox, it's nice to meet you"
Greg doing the splits
Snow ball fight
Chocolate sauce
A kiss in the rain

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.

xxxxx

Grissom walked through the lab, irritated by the laughter that rang trough the halls.

It was Greg, that much he could tell, but that didn't lighten his spirits at all. On the contrary, it made him want to strangle someone.

His day had gone from bad to worse when he tried to get out of bed and stepped in a large puddle of water. He felt a headache brewing, realizing the water was coming from above. This was not good at all.

While getting up to call someone to check for the source of the leak, he slipped and hit his elbow on the dresser next to the bed as he tried to catch himself. Howling at the pain that shot up his arm and cursing at the same time, Grissom left his bedroom to start the day properly.

Of course the handy man had been late and had only been able to work on a temporary solution. He would have to return with more men to fix the leak.

All of this had made Grissom grumpy and late for work. The others had wisely avoided him for most of the night and had kept a low profile, but now, well into the shift, Greg seemed to have forgotten.

It had been a fairly quiet shift, and Grissom could only guess that 'hyper Greg' was bored. As he neared the break room he could hear Nick challenging the younger CSI. "Next one, and if you don't come up with something better than 'Greg's Cool Master Split,' you're going to have to prove exactly how cool and masterful it is."

"Try and beat me." The conviction of Greg's words could only be explained by youthful arrogance, and Grissom hoped it would be cut down a notch. He knew it was mostly his bad mood talking, but he was too tired to care.

"GSR."

Greg took his time to think about it, but then he appeared to have come with an answer. "GSR? How about Grissom and Sara…romance."

In his shock, Grissom dropped his cell phone, which he had out to call Sara to see how her case was going. The crash alerted Greg and Nick to his presence. They stuck their heads out the door to see who it was and were both shocked to find Grissom standing outside the door.

Greg's mouth opened and closed silently while Nick looked a little bit smug after the first shock had worn off.

All the while thoughts were reeling in Grissom's head – why had Greg said that?

Without another word, Grissom turned around and walked away, leaving the other two men behind in a state of confusion. They couldn't understand what had just happened.

Nick was the first to regain full function over his body and he gave Greg a light whack on the head. "Well done, Greggo!"

Guiltily, Greg turned around to face Nick.

"I have to admit the idea wasn't bad, but the execution was seriously lacking. Get down."

Greg was still too shocked and scared of the consequences, to protest and did the splits.

xxxxx

"Grissom?" Sara called for the second time.

She had been looking for him and finally found him in his office. His head was down and the lights were dimmed so low that she knew he wasn't working. She entered his office and closed the door behind her. The second time she called his name he looked up.

Grissom seemed surprised that she was standing so close to him. His gaze was clouded and Sara wondered what it was that had soured his whole day. When he looked down again without talking to her, she knew it was time to take the initiative.

Sara closed the files in front of him and held out her hand. "Shift's over."

At first, he looked like he was about to object, but then he gave in with a resigned nod. They gathered his things and left the building. Grissom trotted after Sara, not really caring where they were going. He couldn't go home anyway; the handy man would be working on his ceiling. She led him to her car, even opening the door for him.

Sara drove through town while Grissom stared out of the window. Not that he actually saw anything. He was still lost in his own world, mulling over Greg's words and wondering when the leak would be fixed.

When it started to rain, Grissom didn't notice. He trusted Sara enough to not even look up when she pulled into a parking lot.

Only when he felt her fingers trail over his cheek, did he look up. First, his eyes settled on her, studying her, before he took a look at his surroundings. It was still raining and with surprise he noticed that they were neither at his nor at her home. "Why are we here?"

"Because you had a crappy day and this is something I think we need. You said you missed this," she said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Nothing is impossible is in Vegas."

Her bright smile was so contagious that Grissom felt the muscles moving without conscious thought. Nowadays it was hard not to smile back when she rewarded him with one of her own.

"Come on."

When she opened the door and stepped out of the car into the rain, taking a bag from the backseat with her, Grissom followed her quickly.

He caught up with her and she smiled again when he placed his hand on the small of her back. Despite the rain, he could have sworn that her eyes sparkled at the touch and suddenly he couldn't resist. His head dipped and his lips captured hers. Sara leaned into him, deepening the kiss, but soon they had to break apart again. The rain was soaking them.

Sara gripped his hand and led him over to a tall building.

xxxxx

Grissom had taken in his new surroundings with astonishment, wondering how she had managed this. There was snow everywhere.

Sara had taken him to an indoor ski range. This early in the morning the whole range was still empty and a few snow machines were spraying fresh snow everywhere. It was like it was really snowing…in Las Vegas.

"You told me you wished we could go somewhere were it snowed." Sara wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"I brought some warmer clothes. Let's get changed."

It had been a good idea to bring new clothes, because the rain had soaked them and the cold air in the building heightened the risk of catching a cold. Sara hurriedly changed from the wet things into some thick winter gear. She couldn't wait to get into the snow. Grissom wasn't the only who had missed the colder weather; and snow in particular always had something magical to it. This was the perfect opportunity for them to get away from everything.

When she emerged from the women's dressing room, Grissom was already waiting. He had his back to her, staring up the slope. For a brief moment, Sara wondered if Grissom liked to ski, but somehow she couldn't imagine it. There were far more fun things to do in the snow, and when Grissom remained blissfully unaware of her presence, she scooped up some snow and formed it into a ball.

He didn't know what hit him when the snowball connected with his broad back. Only when he turned around and saw the look of mischief on her face, did he realize what had hit him. He took a step towards her, stumbling a bit, but catching himself with his hands. When he straightened again, she knew that this was only pretend.

Sara tried to get away, but she wasn't fast enough and the snow hit her in the back. "That was a dirty trick," she complained, but it lacked any conviction.

She was having fun; and so was he.

To gain the upper hand, Sara rushed forward to Grissom, tackling him and pushing him down into the snow. She caught him by surprise his reaction was slow enough for her to get away. On her way up, she grabbed some snow to form another snowball. As soon as Grissom had recovered his bearings, he was up and after her, also forming new ammunition. Soon they were flinging the snow back and forth, their cheeks glowing from the cold and the exertion.

Sara was ahead of Grissom, turning to fire another round, when she felt herself being gripped around the waist and lifted up into the air. "No, Gil! Please, put me down."

She made a show of struggling, but in truth she didn't mind. She was in his arms and they were having fun. She expected him to throw her into a pile of snow and was more than surprised when he called an end to their fight by falling backwards to sit on a wooden sleigh.

This placed her squarely on his lap, but since that brought her close to him, she didn't see the need to complain.

"Thank you," Grissom whispered into her ear, nuzzling it lightly.

Sara didn't know if he was thanking her for making his wish come true or for bringing him out of his bad mood. In the end, it didn't really matter. "You're welcome."

For a few minutes they just sat there, looking around the still deserted hall. "I know what we really need is a nice long vacation, but right now that's not possible."

No one knew about the changed status of their relationship and if both of them took time off at the same time, it would raise suspicions. Plus, neither of them really wanted to leave work that long.

"Let's make the most of this." She turned a bit to get a better look at his face. "And if you're good. I have another surprise for you."

Grissom's breathing sped up, as his grip on her waist tightened. She could bet his pulse was racing too – and not because he was mad.

Maybe she could kick things up another notch. "I'll give you a hint: It involves you and me and lots of chocolate sauce…"

xxxxx

"I'm telling you it's true!" Greg was still arguing with Nick about Grissom's reaction when the next shift started.

"Grissom's reaction doesn't' prove anything. I wouldn't like hearing you gossip about me either. Forget it man. I'd sooner believe in little green men than that." Nick leaned back in his seat, challenging Greg to take this further.

"Grey."

"Huh?"

"It's little 'grey' men." Greg pouted a bit. Neither he nor Nick had noticed the person standing outside the door who was desperately trying not to laugh.

Waiting for the right moment, which came when Nick threw Greg an incredulous look, Sara entered the room, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

"Hello Dana and Fox, it's nice to meet you."

The End