It had been a hard case, Sara wearily thought as she and Greg trudged out of the investigation room. They had gotten it wrong at the start-the woman they had found was not the wife and mother of the family, but rather the daughter. And it was the wife that had murdered them all with arsenic disguised as sugar-coated cookies. Like in the movie Flowers in the Attic, except there was no happy ending of sorts.

She knew it was entirely coincidental, but Grissom sure had a knack for giving her and Greg the emotional cases. Even when he knew the last emotional case she was on had nearly gotten her fired from her job.

However, she was more worried about Greg than herself. The spiky-haired lab rat may have looked like some rock-star wannabe, but he was the most happy-go-lucky of the whole team. Everyone may not have admitted it, but his childish quirks and jokes gave them something to look forward to on a difficult shift.

She didn't want that optimistic, carefree Greg to go away, but she was afraid it already had.

"How could somebody do that?"

Turning around to face an incredulous Greg, Sara gave him her forlorn half-smile. "That's the way the world runs, Greggo." It had been over five years now since she had met him, but he didn't know what only Grissom and Nick knew.

It was pathetic, but it gave hope that a piece of innocence in him still existed.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Just this one favor, Griss," Warrick implored, hoping that the older man would accept. He, Nick, and Catherine were all in the break room, fully aware that there was probably only a few minutes left until Greg and Sara's interrogation was over. In truth, it was a risky place to hold this conversation.

Once more, the supervisor shook his head. Running a hand through his salt and pepper hair, he frowned. "I don't think it's a good idea."

Raising a sculpted eyebrow, Catherine gave him a knowing look, one that he hated because it said that she knew what he really meant. And giving himself away was one of the things he feared most.

"Bullshit, Gil, and you know it," she replied. Maybe the others couldn't read his emotions, but she could see jealousy and envy as clear as if it was written on his face. "Greggy absolutely adores her. They're good for each other, and we've all seen it."

"Seen what?" Grabbing a cup of coffee, Sara stood in the doorway patiently awaiting her answer. Cath and Grissom exchanged glances, unnoticed by the brunette.

Grissom said the first thing that came to mind. "The Body Farm," he answered, pulling his award-winning poker face. To his side he heard his long-time friend snort at his creativeness.

"Oh. Greg took me last week," Sara nodded at his reply.

Lukewarm brown fluid spewed from Grissom's mouth, spattering all over the newspaper that Warrick was reading. With disgust, the CSI looked over the top of the paper cautiously while everyone else looked on in amusement.

"You're supposed to drink that, man," the dark-skinned man protested, tossing the newspaper and giving Grissom some napkins to wipe the mess.

"Since when did you and Greg meet outside of the lab?" Grissom demanded, his eyes flashing behind his spectacles.

Sara was quite taken aback at his rough tone. Fury took over when she recognized the flash of envy in his dark pools. "None of your business," she fumed, getting a mug of steaming liquid for Greg before storming out. Out in the hallway, Nick saw that his best friend had nearly bowled down a confused Judy in her rush to escape.

Catherine shook her head, her shoulder-length tresses, tumbling about. "Smooth, Gil. You made her mad now." From experience, she knew that an annoyed Sara meant some bruised egos and many harsh tiffs.

He shrugged nonchalantly, but the way he pinched his nose between his dark eyes gave away what he truly felt.

"So how about it? You in, Grissom?" Nick drawled, lifting up the magazine he had been holding.

A pause passed by, before Grissom sighed heavily. Reluctantly, he nodded, and handed a triumphant Texan the phone.

-------------------------------------------------------