DISCLAIMER: Don't own it... No money made... Just for fun and enjoyment.

SUMMARY: Sequel to Displacement. The CSI team and their recently hired coroner Stephanie are back to work solving cases, sharing companionship and generally making their way through the dire world of criminal investigation with humor and friendship... This one will show the development of the relationship between Grissom and Sara and there should be some other surprises down the road as well. Romance/Drama/Angst/Mature Situations

RATING: M for Mature - I'm starting this one out at "M", since we won't be waiting quite so long for the smut this time out ;) Also, there is a sprinkling of language throughout the story.

A/N: I just about have the scene set for the rest of the story. Just a little more development before we start hitting the serious meat of the story. I am still very surprised by the response this story is getting, so I am continuing to work very hard to live up to your expectations. However, I doubt this fic will be quite as long as the first one. The next one, on the other hand, might end up being longer. Which of course means that I am writing 2 fics (I started another NCIS onelast night)and outlining a third, all at the same time. I think fan fiction should be a registered addiction with the American Psychiatric Association. ;)

REVIEWS: I am always looking for ways to improve my writing, and your reviews let me know if I am hitting my mark. Thank you in advance for the time you take to review this story.


Chapter 10

Two nights without any new cases should have delighted everyone, because it meant the city was behaving itself. However, everyone was on edge, and they were actually hopeful there was at least something for them to process. When Grissom and Catherine walked into the Break Room to start the shift, the anticipation was palpable.

"Okay, I've got a suspicious circs at the UNLV Botany Lab, and Nick, I want you to take this one." Grissom did not wait on formalities that night, but went right to work. Nick was happy to be able to get out of the lab, so it did not matter what kind of case it was at all. "Sara, you and Catherine are with Brass tonight. He has a possible poisoning at the Stratosphere, but he'll give you the rest of the details when you get to the scene."

Catherine handed Sara the assignment sheet, "Brass promises we won't have a chance to get bored." The catlike smile on her face drew a crooked smile from Sara.

"Why does that scare me?"

"Because it should." Grissom did not miss a beat and did not stop, "Warrick, I need you to run Greg through his last proficiency tonight. If it doesn't happen now, he's got six more months of babysitting." With the chorus of groans going through the room, Grissom felt his point had been made.

"C'mon, guys… I'm not that bad. Am I?" Greg put on his best hurt puppy look and spread it across the room.

They all looked at each other, nodded and said, in unison, "Worse."

Greg sat back in his chair and crossed his arms in a defensive and sullen posture, "Gee thanks, guys."

Grissom cleared his throat to get their attention, "If I can finish?" When everyone turned their focus back to him, he continued, "Fine, Warrick there is a mock case set up over at the body farm. They know you're coming, so just take their cues and run him through the paces, please?"

"No problem, Gris… I'll make sure junior is ready for the bigs." Warrick tousled Greg's hair to show the younger man that there were no hard feelings.

"Okay, that's it." He got ready to turn and leave the room and then thought of one last thing to say, "Oh, and Nick?... If you run into any trouble over at UNLV, feel free to call me."

"What for, Boss?" Nick was curious about his comment.

"Well, I do know a few things about Botany… And most of the professors in the science department." Grissom's look gave Nick his answer as well and he blushed. "If you need me."

"Right… I know where to find you." Nick shied away from further attention.

They all took that as an opportunity to escape and started gathering up their things to get going on their cases. Sara nudged Catherine as she got up from the table. When Catherine winked at her, they both shared their realization. They walked out of the room with a knowing look between them, and once they were well out of hearing distance to anyone, Catherine spoke their suspicions, "Sounds to me like someone is missing the field a little bit."

"You have no idea." Sara shook her head with her observation, "The man is driving me crazy. I have to go through every scene with him after every shift. But do you know what he was doing the other night?" She did not wait for Catherine to ask before answering her own question, "He was looking through the fellowship database."

That was too much for Catherine to leave unanswered, "You have GOT to be kidding me? Can you imagine him in a purely academic environment… He'd be a wreck."

"Don't I know it." The two women laughed at the idea of Gil Grissom as an academic, but they also held on to the knowledge that they were both concerned for the man and his state of mind. The rest of their conversation, as they loaded up the Tahoe, would have been considered small talk by most standards.

After getting into the SUV, and they had pulled out of the parking lot, Catherine had finally worked up the nerve to ask the questions that had been plaguing her lately. "So, how are you guys doing anyway?"

Sara did not seem surprised by her question, nor was she concerned. "Who, me and Grissom? We're fine." She shrugged her shoulders, knowing that Catherine was just being the typical concerned friend. "We both work too much and we're being careful to make sure we both have enough space, but the friction has been minimal. Especially considering our history."

"I'm sorry." It was Catherine's turn to shrug with her answer, "I don't mean to pry, it's just he made a comment last week that got me thinking."

Sara turned to her briefly in surprise, "What did he say?"

"Something about you not talking to him." Catherine played it off as nothing, as she hoped to find out what the trouble was between them.

"What day was that?" Sara thought she had a line on the day, but she wanted to confirm her suspicions.

"Ah… Friday morning? Kind of late in the day as I recall."

"Figures." Sara kept her answer cryptic, and that only served to feed Catherine's curiosity.

"Oh, don't leave me hanging like that." Catherine was more than intrigued.

"Sorry… That was the start of our day off together." Sara had to hide the smile that was playing across her face and a blush rose on her cheeks. "I, um, well… I had plans for the day."

Then it was Catherine who was blushing. "Enough said." Catherine needed something else to change the subject, because the last thing she wanted was to be thinking about Grissom's sex life. That was when she remembered the other thing that was bothering her. "So, how's Warrick doing? I mean, he seems to be pretty on edge, but he's trying to keep it under wraps."

Sara shrugged off the question. She knew that Warrick was struggling to keep everything under control, and after his meeting with the lawyer, she was surprised at how well he was doing. "Yeah, well he's got a lot on his plate right now."

The only answer Catherine could come up with was, "Yeah." She let it drop, but that was something of a bombshell. Only Sara didn't seem to think so. Catherine had not heard anything about Warrick having any trouble, so she had to assume that Sara had heard something. And it was obvious from her tone that she also assumed that Catherine knew about it. That lead her to believe it was probably trouble at home, and after her reaction to his marriage, she was the last person Warrick would talk to about that kind of thing. She was worried, because Sara had seemed fairly resigned to his plight. Just how long has it been going on?