A/N: The general consensus seems to be that Greg's antics were a hoot. I'm so glad you liked his little scene. I know I enjoyed writing it.


Headliner

Chapter 22

Greg Sanders was a man who liked to know his butt was covered. This is why as soon as he finished with Nick and Sara he headed out to talk to Catherine. He knew that if she found out about his story from someone else, she'd be mad. And nothing was worse than an angry Catherine. Nothing.

By the end of the day, less people knew than Sara had expected. Of course the rest of the shift knew—minus Grissom, but no one else seemed to have any idea. Still, this did not calm her nerves. No, she knew that Greg had something under his sleeve. That's just who he was.

Nick found Sara in the locker room. He sauntered over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Aww, you two really look nice together," Catherine said.

They spun around to look at their colleague. "Thanks Cath. We didn't really want it out this soon, but Alexis and Greg had other plans," Sara mentioned.

"I figured he had an accomplice in all this. Well, congratulations guys. I've got to get home to my kid. She's been especially good lately and I think she wants something."

They said good-bye and followed her out the door not two minutes later. It was seven in the morning. They knew Lexi would still be sleeping and decided to pick something up for breakfast.


The house was quiet as they made their way in and placed their keys into the dish. Nick set out the meal while Sara showered. It hit him, when she walked back into the kitchen smelling like lavender, just how much he really liked her. It was becoming love fast. Down the hall they could hear Lexi stirring. Sara kissed him just before she came out.

"So Nick," Sara said as she passed Lexi a plate of pancakes, "how long do you think we should ground Alexis for the little stunt she pulled with the picture?"

Lexi opened her mouth to protest, but Nick cut her off. "I don't know, Sara, I'm leaning towards a month, but maybe two would be better."

"Two months?" Lexi gaped.

"Yeah, Lexi's right. I was thinking more like three," Sara said.

"Now wait a minute," Lexi whined, "All I did was take a picture. That is no reason to punish someone."

"Yeah, you took a picture and sent it to Greg, knowing full well what he was going to do with it," Nick pointed out.

"No I didn't. I just sent it to him because it was a cute picture. How was I supposed to know you hadn't already told them? I guess I should've known," she said to Sara, "you like to keep everything secret."

"She has a point there," Nick said through a bite of bacon.

"Oh she does, does she?" Sara picked up a piece of bacon and chucked it at his head.

Lexi watched the whole thing as if it was in slow motion. The bacon hit the bridge of his nose and then fell to his plate. The room was still for a second before Nick slowly rose. He put his palm underneath the plate of pancakes. Grasping the plate with his other hand as well, he pushed it Sara's direction and twelve pancakes flew at her. Lexi's hands flew to her mouth as Sara poised herself for retaliation. In a blink of an eye, the atmosphere turned from breakfast to war. The pitcher of orange juice glided across the table and landed in Nick's lap. He tossed the cup of maple syrup her direction. Soon Sara's hair was filled with goop. Lexi backed away from the table wide-eyed. Sara reached for the bowl of scrambled eggs and Alexis ran to her room, screaming. Sara grinned and thrust the bowl at Nick. He tried to duck, but was too slow. The bowl ricocheted off his shoulder and hit the wall, splattering eggs everywhere. Nick stood up and walked to the kitchen leaving Sara quite smug. She planned on telling everyone at the lab how she had beat him in a food fight. It was then that she felt it.

A long stream of cold liquid ran down her back. She jumped up and knocked the milk jug out of his hand. It crashed onto the floor and she dashed into the kitchen. She turned the faucet on and grabbed the sprayer. Water showered him. Nick reached down and picked up the jug that had a little milk left in it. He ran over and threw it. She turned the sprayer towards him. He tried to leap at her, but slipped on the liquid and slid right into her. They fell onto the floor with their legs in the air.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Sara screamed, "Would you mind getting off my shoulder?"

Nick lifted his elbow and grabbed the sprayer, shooting her in the face. He tried to stand but she got a hold of his pant leg and yanked him back to the ground. They erupted into fits of laughter. Nick leaned over her and wiped the sticky hair from her eyes. Their gazes met and the laughter ceased. Lexi, who had snuck back in after the ruckus stopped, peered over the counter, grinning madly.

"You know, Sara, you really are beautiful," Nick said.

"I'm covered in breakfast food; how can you say that?"

"Because it's true." He leaned in closer and kissed her.

Lexi couldn't help but squeal.

"Now she chooses to show up," Sara complained and sent a stream of water at Lexi who ran back to her room.

Nick stood up and held out his hand to Sara. She took it and he pulled her up. "Come on," he said, "let's get this cleaned up."


Sara was on her hands and knees scrubbing at the tile floor. Her hair was plastered to the side of her face from the syrup. Nick was still wet from the water and orange juice. He picked up egg pieces from the floor and wall.

"Next time I decide to throw bacon at someone, remind me of this," Sara said, pulling a strand of sticky hair from her mouth.

"You got it. And next time I joke with you, remind me to make sure there's no food around. You're dangerous."

She had an urge to repeat their earlier scene, but thought better of it. Instead, she just stuck out her tongue.


Sara climbed into bed at noon clearly worn down. Her hair was sopping wet from her shower; she'd had no strength to dry it off. She fell into a deep dream-filled sleep.
She was in a crowded room dressed in a white gown. She had a bouquet of red flowers in her hands. She smiled as she walked down a red carpet with her arm linked with Grissom's. She was ecstatic that he felt like giving her away. He was so caring, so understanding. She reached the altar and turned to the man she was meant to marry. Nick lifted up her veil and frowned. Sara looked at him, confounded. Nick turned to face the preacher as he began to speak. When the preacher asked Nick if he would take her to be his wife, he looked back at her once more, squinted his eyes and said, "Nope, sorry, I can't. She's just too gross. You want her, Grissom? I love someone else. Catherine, come here please!"

Grissom grimaced and turned away. He didn't want her either. She felt tears welling in her eyes as Nick and Catherine engaged in a passionate kiss. The crowd applauded and left Sara feeling miserable. She held her head in her hands. The cheering stopped and she looked up. She was no longer in the church.

She was ten years old, her brother fifteen. They stood atop a cliff next to their mother. Their father was in the background smiling. Her mother encouraged them to scoot closer to the cliff, to prove they weren't scared. Little Sara was trembling. She didn't want to take another step, but at a wave from her smiling father, she moved forward. Now she and her brother stood at the edge of the cliff with their toes less than an inch from the edge. She looked up at her mother hoping for a sign that it was okay for them to step back onto sturdier ground. It never came. Instead, her mother inched forward as well. She held out her hand and Sara reached to take it. Just as her hand wrapped around her mother's finger, another hand shoved her hard. As she fell downward she heard her mother yell from above, "We like him better!"


Sara woke up drenched in a cold sweat, panting hard. She stared at the clock; she had only been asleep forty-five minutes. She closed her eyes, but her mind once again filled with visions of her mother's face as she fell down the cliff and Catherine and Nick kissing. She pulled herself out of bed, thinking that a drink of water might help her calm down. She could still smell the Clorox she had been using to clean the floors. It almost made her sick to her stomach. She poured a glass of water and walked slowly back to her room; the terror of the dream still resided within her soul. Suddenly she became overrun with emotion and collapsed onto her bed. She shuddered through her sobs.

She felt a warm arm cover her side. It was Nick and his voice was soothing. "Shh," he whispered, "it's alright, honey; I'm here."


A/N2: Poor Sara, yes? Well, this was another long one. Hope you liked it. Tell me, please.