Thanks to Laura Katharine for the beta ;) Yes, I'm still using the challenge lines from YTDAW. I think it's quite obvious that I don't own them.
"Who ordered this?" Grissom asked irately and closed his eyes. After coming in late due to a flat tire, this was not what he needed to hear tonight.
Nick stood before him and shrugged apologetically. "Don't look at me, you need to talk to Ecklie."
"You'd think he'd talk to me before lending my staff to other shifts." He knew that dayshift needed help, but it always seemed as though his team couldn't stay together for two minutes. Dayshift was already short because one of their CSIs got put on bed rest halfway through her pregnancy. The unexpected bout of food poisoning that knocked out two others surely didn't help. No, this lab never did anything halfway - when it rains, it pours.
"I know, man. The last thing I wanted to do was have my schedule shifted again, and I doubt she's looking forward to this, either."
"Who is she?" Grissom asked with a sigh, knowing deep down that it had to be Sara. Catherine would have already come in and pitched a fit over the disruption. Even if she didn't, he knew that Ecklie had no problem giving Sara the short end of the stick.
"Sara. He paged us ten minutes ago, told us what was what, and sent us home so we'll be fresh first thing in the morning. My burglary is in the process of being wrapped up, and Ecklie said something about Sara being here all the time anyway …"
Actually, Sara had been cutting back on her overtime - they both had - in order to have time to work on her signing. Trust Ecklie not to notice. As Grissom looked down towards his desk at the timesheets and evaluations that were awaiting his completion, he knew cutting back was no longer an option. He was going to be in the field tonight.
This new development pained Grissom on more than a professional level. This was the last week before Sara's mini-vacation. The last week before Jason was home. With him working nights and dayshift borrowing Sara, he realized their time together was over.
"Dammit," he whispered in defeat. "Do you know when I can expect to have you guys back?"
"Not a clue. I guess I should get going." Nick shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to leave.
"Hold on a second." Nick paused at the door, heeding Grissom's request. "Has Sara left yet?"
"I don't think so. She muttered something about this being complete bullshit and headed over to see Archie. They were analyzing a video that came in on her and Warrick's case when we got paged." Nick pointed his finger and smirked. "But you didn't hear that from me."
When Nick left, Grissom restacked the pile of work in front of him and placed it in the 'in' box. He wondered if Catherine would be willing to take care of the timesheets after shift so that he could work on the evaluations. Grissom flipped through the list of active cases and mentally shifted things around. Catherine and Greg had an assault case that they were still working on. He could remove Greg and give him the B and E. He could also take Sara's place on her and Warrick's homicide. That still left the two smash and grabs and anything else that may come up tonight.
Grissom leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands over his face. Even though he had in the past, he hated to prioritize cases. The smash and grabs that now sat on the back-burner were important to the store owners, just as the other cases were important to the other victims. It was a no brainer that a homicide should take precedence over theft, but …. Maybe he could see how far along Sara and Warrick were on their case, he may be able to break away from Warrick for a bit to work on the other cases - or see if Greg was ready to juggle a multiple case load. It was doable, but the last thing Grissom wanted was to have a backlog of cases right before one of his own CSIs went on vacation. The nightshift was going to be stretched thin over the next two weeks.
It was just as well, he needed something to keep him from thinking about Sara and her time off with Jason. Not for the first time, Grissom wondered about Jason's dedication to his relationship with Sara. He seemed like a good man, but Grissom avoided him at all costs once he started dating Sara. Sara had mentioned that she and Jason had a standing date for when he came back, to talk things through and see where they stood. Surely that meant Jason wanted to make the relationship work as well. He always trusted Sara's judgment, even when he didn't show it, but he would have to admit that her choice of men had been less than stellar. After all, she did choose Hank … and himself. As much as it would pain him to see them together, having Jason hurt her would be even more excruciating.
Grissom shook his head and sighed - he didn't have time for this at the moment. He grabbed the assignment slips and headed out to find the rest of his team
"Gil, I was just about to come see you." Ecklie joined him just as he rounded the corner.
Grissom suppressed an eye roll in favor of his glare. "I find that hard to believe, Conrad."
"I take it you heard about the change, then?"
"I don't have a problem lending out my people, but I do have a problem with not being involved in deciding who. Nick was done with his case, but Sara is in the middle of a homicide."
"Was in the middle of a homicide."
Grissom stopped walking and took in the man before him. Ecklie had always wavered between hot and cold, but when it came to Sara, he was on permanent freeze mode.
"She's going on leave next week," he warned.
"And she still will. This wasn't a negotiation. I put people where I need them." Ecklie looked across the hall toward the A/V lab, where Sara and Warrick were hunched over Archie, reviewing video footage. He nodded in Sara's direction and turned to leave. "Tell her to go home, Gil."
"Easier said than done," Grissom muttered once Ecklie was out of earshot.
Leaning against the doorframe, Grissom observed the trio until Sara straightened and made eye contact. Her look was one he knew well, and he could tell she was steeling herself for the inevitable.
He looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "How's your case going?"
"The security camera was conveniently out of order at the time of the shooting," Warrick supplied, turning his head towards his boss. Grissom finally broke eye contact with Sara and turned his attention toward the screen as Warrick continued. "However, everything points to this being premeditated. They knew what schedule she worked, when she ate lunch, the layout of the store …"
"We've collected the tapes for the past three weeks to see if they had many repeat customers," Sara stated, taking over where Warrick left off. "There were a handful of people that stopped by the store everyday, but only one that made Susan Winters visibly nervous." She pointed at the paused video showing one of Clark County's latest victims.
"Do we know who he is?"
"No, but he wears the same outfit every day. Just a plain dark polo and light slacks. There are a lot of delivery companies with similar uniforms."
"Well, did you check what delivery company they use?" If Grissom didn't know that was the wrong thing to ask two seasoned investigators, their incredulous looks would have clued him in.
"Yes, unfortunately the store's warehouse is local, so they arrange their own pickups."
Archie looked up from the screen and spoke for the first time. "I'm trying to see if I can find a clear shot of this guy from the front. We're hoping that maybe there will be a logo or something on his shirt. Looks like he did a good job keeping his back to the camera, though."
"I'm sure that wasn't an accident," Sara said sarcastically, crossing her arms.
"Hmm. Warrick, when you finish up here, meet me in my office. And bring the notes on this case, you have a new partner. Sara?" Grissom gestured towards the doorway and waited for her to follow.
Three, two, one …
"This is a load of -"
He raised his hand and grinned at how predictable she could be. "I know. Nothing we can do about it, though."
"I hate not seeing a case through." She followed him back into his office and plopped down in the chair with a groan.
"You have to go home, Sara," he said, settling on the edge of his desk and flipping through the assignments that he didn't get around to giving out. This was definitely going to be a long night if he didn't get his head on straight. "Get some rest, your schedule is going to turn you upside down."
When he didn't get a response, he looked up to see her staring at him. This time her look was unfamiliar and, he would have to admit, a little scary.
"What is it?"
"I go on vacation next week," she responded quietly.
"Ecklie assured me that your shift change isn't going to affect that."
Sara shook her head sadly. "It's not that. It's …" She closed her eyes and a quiet sigh escaped her. Suddenly they found themselves teetering on the edge of discomfort, but before Grissom could address it, Sara redirected the conversation. "Where's your Trigger certificate?"
"I, uh, decided to take it home."
"Why?"
How could he answer that? Truth was, after he told her the story about the certificate, he put it in his briefcase to take home. Not because of embarrassment, but because he wanted to keep that secret of his past between them. He had so much more he wanted to share. "It just didn't have a place here."
"If you'd get your paperwork done, you'd have plenty of room. But that's not what you meant, is it?" He knew she didn't expect an answer, but that didn't stop him from feeling like a fool because he couldn't.
"We aren't going to have any time together next week, Grissom."
"I know." He paused to clear his throat - and his mind. This couldn't be the way it was supposed to be. "Um, you've come a long way, though. You're not fluent, but that's something that will take more than an extra week can give, and knowing your persistence, I don't think it'll be a problem in the future. He'll appreciate your progress."
"That … sounded very clinical. You sound like your giving me my evaluation. What's my score, boss?" Her tone was light, but the crease between her brows gave her away. His detachment hurt.
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's … it's okay."
This was the point where she would try to laugh this off and leave and Grissom waited anxiously for that to happen. Instead, she remained in front of him; head bent, fingers toying with her sleeve. What was he supposed to say? That she signed beautifully? That her hands were strong, and even though a lot of her signs were still choppy, there was a sense of natural grace to them? If anyone should have a problem interpreting, all they would need to do is look into her eyes and her expressions would say it all. No one could insinuate that her communication skills weren't up to par. Her ability to focus her attention on the person she was conversing with was nothing short of breathtaking. How could he say all that and remain unbroken? He was barely holding on as it is.
"Grissom, what you said the other day -"
"Is not up for discussion," he all but barked.
She looked at him unbelievingly. "I can't pretend that it didn't happen - that you didn't say what you did."
"I apologize. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Why?"
"Sara, if you care for me at all, you'll let it go. This whole situation isn't easy for me."
"If I care?" she repeated and laughed mirthlessly. "Griss … I can't help but feel as though there's a choice in front of me."
And that was when the bottom fell out of his stomach. Or maybe his heart. He couldn't tell which, but he did know that the simple act of breathing was difficult at the moment. That was not the reason he told her he loved her. He just wanted to be honest for once. As much as he wanted her in his arms, his sole motivation was her and her pain, not an opportunity to throw his hat in the ring.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt," Warrick said, poking his head in the door. If he noticed any tension, he hid it well. "We have the company the driver worked for, I'm about to head over there now."
Seeing that Warrick was waiting for him, Grissom gave himself a mental shake and nodded. "Okay, I'm coming."
"I'll meet you outside."
"Sara …." he trailed off, not able to look her in the face. He looked down at his hands and noticed that they were spread out in front of him in a helpless gesture. What was going on? Was he apologizing?
"I know."
Grissom looked up just in time to see the last remnants of a sad smile. He honestly didn't understand what just happened here.
"Um … you should hurry and catch up with Warrick." She smirked then, but it came nowhere close to reaching her eyes. "Last one there is a rotten egg."
TBC