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Chapter 14 Not a Secret Anymore
Almost a week later, Sara received a phone call from one of her least favorite people. Conrad Eckley informed her that Cavallo wanted her to come to the lab for a meeting. Immediately. She tried to explain that she couldn't come right away, but Eckley cut her off and hung up, leaving Sara with a thirty-pound conundrum. Not knowing what else she could do, she quickly changed into something presentable and took a sleeping Hannah, nightgown, stuffed animal and all, to the lab. Greg was the unfortunate soul who Sara saw first. After being told that Grissom was out in the field, she pretty much ordered Greg to follow her. Entering Grissom's office, she laid Hannah on the sofa and covered her with a blanket from the closet. The little girl snuggled closer to her stuffed dog and changed her position a bit but didn't wake up despite the ruckus.
Dragging a chair so that it faced the sofa, Sara indicated that Greg should sit. "I shouldn't be long."
"Sara, I'm supposed to be in the lab—"
"DNA won't move while you're away. Kids will," Sara offered helpfully. "Stay here while I'm gone. Don't let her out of your sight. And if she wakes up, tell her I'll be back any minute." Without allowing Greg to argue or ask questions, she practically ran through the various buildings until she reached Cavallo's office. She stood outside for a moment to catch her breath before knocking. Upon entering, Sara was stunned to see that Grissom was sitting before the man's desk, waiting patiently. Cavallo was on the phone while Eckley was sitting nearby, a disgustingly snide smile on his face.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know," Grissom whispered. "Hannah?"
"With Greg," Sara said, almost under her breath. "I didn't know what else to do."
"You did good," he answered softly. As soon as Cavallo set the phone down, he turned toward Sara and Grissom, his expression somewhat glum.
"I'm sorry to bring you both in. You're valuable people and I know your time would be spent better elsewhere. But something has come to my attention and I feel it's my duty to address the issue before it inflates any further."
"I don't quite follow," Grissom said simply. Sara avoided Cavallo's gaze; she knew what he was going to bring up and she did not want to discuss it.
"Dr. Grissom, Ms. Sidle, I'm sure you're quite aware of the department's policy on inter-office romances. It's entirely inappropriate for a supervisor to be involved with a subordinate—"
"As you'll note, Sara has not been under my direct supervision for over a year," Grissom commented. "And earlier today, the papers were filed to move her to the swing shift, under the supervision of Catherine Willows."
"This won't look good to the public," Cavallo said, obviously still concerned. "Any cases that you've worked together may be called into question."
"We've done nothing wrong," Sara said, trying to keep her temper in check.
"Actually, Ms. Sidle has missed quite a bit of work. Over 20 days in the past month," Eckley said snidely.
"Vacation time that was requested and approved," Grissom snapped quickly.
"By the man she's sleeping with," Eckley shot back, allowing his temper to get the better of him for a moment.
"Uncalled for," Cavallo said as Grissom stood up, glaring at his colleague. "This is not personal, I'm simply thinking about what will be in the best interest of the lab. And a scandal is not what we need. I think we're done here. You know my concerns, I'm aware of yours. Tread carefully. I'd hate to lose either one of you. You're certainly some of my best criminalists."
Sara was livid; actually turning red by the time they reached the hallway. She was pacing up and down, her hands clasped together in front of her lips a she stalked back and forth down the hall. Grissom was trying to calm her, but he still wasn't quite sure what had happened. Just then, Brass came out of his office and saw them both. The first thing he noticed was the ring on Sara's left hand; she didn't normally wear jewelry on her hands as a result of the work she normally did.
"Gil, Sara."
"Hey Jim," Grissom returned absently.
"Hey, is there something you two should be sharing?"
"What?"
"Sara, that's a beautiful ring." Sara blushed and moved to take it off but Brass stopped her. "Please, don't take it off on my account. I couldn't be happier for you two. Don't worry about Eckley and Cavallo. They know what percentage of cases you two solve. Your jobs are safe. And I think this is the best thing that could have happened."
"Thanks Jim," Sara said with a sad smile.
"Well, I won't tell the rest of the lab. But you might want to. I think they'll be happy."
"We'll keep it in mind," Grissom told his friend. He put his arm around Sara's waist and they began walking back through the corridors toward their lab; as far away from the politics as they could get. As they neared his office, it was Sara who first picked up the sound of Hannah's cries. Both breaking into a run, they arrived at his office in record time to find Hannah, having a tantrum while Catherine, Nick, Jackie, and Greg looked on helplessly. Sara went straight to the little girl and picked her up, firmly embracing her so that she wasn't able to flail any more; it was a side effect of temper tantrums that could cause the little girl a lot of harm. Once she was no longer given free reign, Hannah calmed down enough to realize that Sara and Gil were in the room. Her sobs slowed, but didn't stop as Sara tried to question her.
"What happened, baby?" She whispered the words softly, smoothing Hannah's hair as she rocked her gently. Hannah continued to cry softly, her face buried in Sara's silky blouse.
"Greg, what happened?" It was Grissom who finally addressed the small crowd of coworkers who had gathered in the office.
"She just started screaming," he said innocently. "I didn't do anything."
"She saw that you and Sara were gone and flipped," Nick added helpfully.
"She was just scared," Catherine said, correcting his word usage.
"Well, thank you," Grissom said calmly. "We'll take it from here." They started to file out of the office, but Catherine stopped in her tracks when she saw something glitter from the corner of her eye. She turned and watched with wide eyes as Sara stroked Hannah's brown curls again; prominently displaying the diamond perched upon her left ring finger.
"Sara?" She asked, her voice thick with surprise. Sara looked up and saw Catherine's face and immediately knew that the older woman had seen her ring.
"Hey," Nick said, suddenly catching on, "are you two engaged?"
"Yeah," Grissom said matter-of-factly, "we are." His tone challenged someone to question it but they all declined, simply walking out while trying to hide their smiles. Sara smiled at Grissom over Hannah's head; they were both relieved to have their secret out in the open. After Hannah's sobs had slowed and she seemed to have calmed down a bit, Sara decided to try and talk to her.
"Hannah, what happened?"
"I thought you left," she said after a bit of silence.
"Sweetie, we promised you that wouldn't happen. We had to talk to our boss. And Greg was here the whole time. You're safe with him."
"I didn't know," Hannah said, sniffling.
"No, I guess you didn't," Sara said as the realization struck her. "How about this, we'll make a list. A list of people that you'll always be safe with. That way, you'll know. And you won't have to be afraid. How does that sound?"
"Okay," Hannah relented suspiciously. Grissom, thinking that the idea was ingenious, was smiling as he handed Sara and notebook and a pen. After much discussion, Hannah had a small but quality list of people she would be safe with. Catherine, Greg, Brass, Nick, and Warrick topped the list with Jackie and several other trusted coworkers filling in the short roster. To an adult, it seemed like a simple and almost silly exercise. But to Hannah, a little girl who was still very unsure of her surroundings, it made life just a tiny bit more secure.