DISCLAIMER:Don't Own it. No Money Made... Just for fun and enjoyment.

A/N: I think I told someone that the character development was done... I guess I forgot which chapters had been posted :O Last one, I swear :p

REVIEWS: Thanks to all who have reviewed.


Chapter 30

The reception area was as busy as usual, with officers, and techs and witnesses and suspects, and visitors flowing in and out of the area at totally random intervals. The only thing that seemed uncharacteristically out of place was the sedate and classy looking older woman sitting patiently in the chairs. She had her silver hair pulled back from her face with a large, but simple leather barrette behind her head. A stray curl had fallen from it and framed her delicate features nicely.

She was paying no attention to the sea of people ebbing and flowing around her, but instead she remained focused on the book in her lap. The only indications to prove she was animated at all was the occasional reach up to reposition the half glasses resting on her nose as they gradually slid down to the edge, or the turning of the page. She was completely at peace in her book and did not notice the arrival of anyone else to the reception area.

As Grissom was checking his final messages at the front desk, he looked up from the slips of paper momentarily and made a slight glance towards the chairs. He removed the glasses from his face when he had the faintest notion that he recognized someone over there, so he took a better look. Upon finding the suspect person, a sly grin began to form on the left side of his mouth. He thanked the receptionist and put his messages with the folder he had been carrying, and began walking over to the chairs to greet the mysterious arrival.

He was standing directly in front of her, but the woman did not appear to notice his presence at all, so he decided to make it known to her. "Elizabeth?"

The woman made not a sound or a move until she reached the end of her page. She then placed her bookmark gently between the pages, closed the book, removed her glasses and looked up. "I was wondering just how long you were going to stand there like a ghost, Gil." The older woman smiled and it lit up her face, taking twenty years away from her appearance.

That time Grissom did not hold back and he smiled fully, "Elizabeth, I had no idea you were in town. When did you get in?"

After putting her book away in her bag, she pulled the strap onto her shoulder and stood up. Grissom was quick to offer his arm for her to steady herself, and she smiled at his gentility. "Ever the gentleman, Gil?" He demurred at her question and she smiled as she took his arm. "Unlike some of your traits, it is a comfort to learn it hasn't changed."

Grissom nodded his head and then asked, "Are you avoiding my question, Beth?"

She smiled and then answered, "Avoiding, no. Just stalling." Her response puzzled Grissom, but he decided to take her at her word and they began to walk towards the reception desk.

When they reached the desk , Grissom got the attention of the young woman behind the desk, "Ah Cindy."

She turned to find Grissom standing in front of her with an older, but still attractive woman on his arm. "Yes, Dr. Grissom."

"Can I get a visitor's badge for Dr. MacInnerney, please?" He smiled at Elizabeth when he spoke.

The receptionist's face was a testament to her state of confusion, "But, I don't understand. I thought she was down-."

"No, this would be Dr. Elizabeth MacInnerney."

The girl's face immediately registered her error and she turned to the small printing machine behind her, "OH! Well, then just a sec…" She typed on the keyboard of the machine for a moment and then it kicked into high gear with a whirring sound. Soon, it was spitting out a small visitor's badge. "Here you are; one visitor's badge." She smiled broadly and handed the badge and a clip to Grissom.

Elizabeth took the badge from him and attached it to her lapel. Grissom turned back to the receptionist, "When Dr. MacInnerney comes out, would you please direct her to my office, Cindy?"

"Sure thing, Dr. Grissom."

The two then walked through the doors to the lab and made their way down the hallway. "Seems there are a few people here who respect you, Gil,"

He shrugged her off, "She's still new." They both chuckled at his joke. "Are you planning to stall the question forever, or is there a specific point of reference I should be aware of, Beth?"

She gave him an enigmatic smile, "No great secret… I came out early when I learned of Stephanie's plan to speed up the wedding." Grissom nodded his understanding as they walked, "I thought she would need the help, since she is not much for planning big parties. However, I was unaware of the existence of her newest conspirator."

Grissom cocked his eyebrow, "Conspirator? You must mean Catherine… And what exactly are they conspiring about?"

Elizabeth laughed as his suspicion, "Oh, you know Stephie, she keeps those cards very close to her vest. I just know that Catherine has done quite a bit of work helping to get this wedding to happen properly." Grissom nodded again and was content with her explanation.

Elizabeth kept her hand looped into the crook of his arm for the duration of their journey. Gil had always been a gentleman, and she hated to admit it, but his traditional ways were something she had always admired. That was quite an admission for a woman who came up as a single, professional woman during the sixties and seventies. She had fought for everything she gained, and her reward came from the life it had provided to her daughter and every other girl of that generation. None of them knew of a world where sexual discrimination was something that was not merely tolerated, but that could now be considered a punishable offense.

However, as much as she valued her freedom, Elizabeth MacInnerney also treasured her femininity, and as such, she had spent a lifetime treading a very fine line. What she admired in Gil most was his intimate understanding of that fine line, and he seemed to always be surrounded by strong women, who were just as in touch with their feminine side. She imagined that his mother (yet another strong woman) had a great deal to do with that aspect of his personality. "So, do you enjoy working in such a modern facility, Gil?" She said, while she looked around as they walked.

"I enjoy the work, and the technology does aide that work. However, I will admit, the stark lines can sometimes give the whole place a very overwhelming effect. And I'm not terribly fond of the lighting most of the time." Elizabeth noticed that it appeared quite dark most of the time, though she imagined it was due in part to the work they were doing. But looking around, she could understand why Stephanie had described her godfather as being desperately out of touch with the state of his life.

Elizabeth realized that Gil had done what he always did; lost himself in his own mind, with his work as the primary distraction. And though she was not happy about Stephanie being so far away, she was glad that she was near Gil, where he could be there for her, if she needed someone, and where she could be there to remind him of his own humanity. Stephanie had been that force in the lives of Elizabeth and her husband, and when Gil was in San Francisco, she had seen that same light in his eyes as well. She was simply one of those people who reminded you, merely with her presence, that life was worth living.

Elizabeth was about to make a remark to Grissom, when another voice intruded on their polite conversation, "Dr. Mac? Is that really you?" The voice belonged to Greg Sanders, as he hung his whole body out of the layout room when the two passed him.

"Gregory, I see your affection for hair gel has not worn off." She instantly recognized her former student. Elizabeth was quite certain the boy had a negative sense of fashion, and seeing him again only confirmed that it had not been a passing phase.

"Wow! I can't believe you remembered me. It's great to see you, Dr. Mac. I almost couldn't believe it when Wendy told me your daughter was our new coroner." Greg took the hand she had offered him and held it gently, instead of shaking it, "Man, she is some piece of work, ya know. Of course you know, she's your daughter. I mean, she's fantastic. We've all been really glad to have her aboard." Greg was talking a mile a minute, which was not unusual, but he did seem somewhat nervous to be in the presence of this woman.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to let her know that she is appreciated. What are you doing with yourself, Gregory?" Grissom made notice that she was using his full name, and he stored that away to ask about later.

"Well, I used to work in DNA as a tech, but I was looking for something meatier, so I finally convinced Grissom to let me become a CSI, so that's what I'm doing. I'm only a CSI-1 right now, but I'm getting the hang of things, and I'm really liking the full spectrum of the job. And I really should thank you." Greg was still rambling on, but when he paused, Elizabeth replayed the last phrase in her mind to find the appropriate response.

"Why is that, Gregory?"

"Well, to be honest… It was you and Inspector Mac that first gave me the idea I could do this stuff. Those lectures he'd give about applying science to criminology; I went every year. You gave me the knowledge I needed to get into DNA when I went to grad school, and all, and the way you made us write analysis in the lab. Between the both of you, you got me here, eventually." He finally drew a breath again, "Thank you. I just wanted to take the opportunity to say that."

Elizabeth bowed her head and laid her other hand over the top of the one he was holding, "You are very welcome, Gregory, and I am certain that my husband would have been pleased to know that those lectures were not wasted. But, you should also thank your supervisor here… He was the inspiration behind my husband giving those lectures." She looked over at Gil who was attempting to appear smaller in that moment.

"Seriously? Wow, that's awesome, Grissom. So, that means you worked with Inspector Mac? Color me impressed." Grissom gave Greg a dissenting raise of his eyebrow and Greg's tone immediately changed, "Well, you know what I mean… But I guess I should get back to work and leave you to it, huh?" Greg had actually shrunk in those brief moments.

"Smartest thing I've heard you say in the last few minutes." And with that Grissom and Elizabeth watched Greg disappear into the room he had come from. "Sorry about that… He's a little excitable."

Elizabeth simply shook her head, "Always was, I'm afraid… Looks like his fashion sense isn't the only thing he hasn't outgrown yet." Grissom chuckled a bit and gestured for the two of them to continue their walk to his office.

"So, I noticed you called him Gregory… Why is that?" Grissom was certainly curious to hear her explanation.

"Oh, well… He was a bit younger than the other students, and that face, believe it or not, looked even younger then. Anyway, I told him that I would not use a nickname for him because he needed all the help he could get in gaining respect. Until he could grow up and look like an adult, he was at least going to have an adult moniker." When he looked over at her expression, Grissom was unable to completely contain the laughter which hit him with her statement.

"By that standard, he'll be collecting Social Security long before you'd call him Greg?"

His raised eyebrow punctuating that question was all Elizabeth needed, before she too was laughing at the humor of the whole thing. "Indeed."

When she entered his office, she was not at all surprised or shocked by the walls lined with his various specimens and experiments. After all, she had seen his apartment when he lived in San Francisco. She was just relieved that he had chosen to keep these things at his office instead of his home now.

He pulled out one of the chairs in front of his desk and offered it to her, "Is there anything I can get you while we wait for that daughter of yours?"

"No, I'm quite fine." She gestured around the room as he took the chair opposite her in front of his desk, "I see you finally moved these out of your home, and I must say it is a far more fitting place for them." Her eye glanced the walls with a bit more precision now, "But whatever did you do with the rest of your insect collection? I cannot even fathom your giving up that magnificent butterfly collection you've amassed."

He shook his head and chuckled, but before he could answer, he found there was someone leaning over him with her arms wrapped around him, "Are you kidding, Mom? He's still got those over at his place. And he easily has twice as many as when he left the Bay Area." Stephanie craned her head around to look him in the eye, "Isn't that right?" Gil nodded his head and she kissed him on the cheek before she stood up to give her mother the same treatment. "So what's the big idea of stealing my mother away to the freak show? The poor woman is about to have breakfast and you bring her in here to spoil her appetite." She winked at both of them before plopping down on the edge of Gil's desk, positioned equally between them.

"Stephie, I lived with your father's crime scene photos at the breakfast table for far too many years to lose my appetite over a bunch of specimens and experiments."

"She's got a point," Stephanie winked at Gil again. "So, what say you join us for breakfast? I'm sure Mom would enjoy catching up with you, seeing as I KNOW you haven't seen her since the funeral." Stephanie was full of energy, as usual, even for this late in the day for them.

"Well, I may not have seen your mother, but we talk at least once a month. Like clockwork." Gil gave her his famous glare before continuing, after she had given him a gesture of acquiescence. "However, I would be delighted to join you ladies for breakfast."

"Sweet! Then let's go!" Stephanie jumped to her feet, and held her hand out to assist her mother in rising from her seat.

Grissom led them out the door, closed and locked it, before offering his arm to both women for their journey through the hallways of the lab.

When she thought she heard Grissom walking by, Sara Sidle leaned her head out of the processing room to ask him a question, when she was greeted with the site of Grissom walking arm in arm with Stephanie and an older woman, as they headed down the hallway. She would have continued to watch the display if Greg had not nearly taken her head off as he rushed through the hall. "Whoa! Sorry Sar. You okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

She was about to return to her task, when Greg spoke again as he noticed her watching Grissom leave. "Talk about a small world, huh?"

Sara was not sure what he was talking about, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, Stephanie's Mom… She was my professor at Stanford… Wendy's, too." Greg turned and was about to continue his path when Sara spoke again.

"That was her mother?"

"Yeah, Stephanie said she was in town to help plan something and was meeting her for breakfast." Greg was laughing at something he remembered, "Told me she was gonna get Grissom for stealing her from reception before she could get there." Greg walked away shaking his head and chuckling.

Sara returned to finishing up her work for the night, her shoulders visibly lower, and the air in the room had grown decidedly stagnant.