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: Still on a serious high from last night's finale, but I did manage to work through a very heavy chapter (not this one), so I should be back on track for posting. So, after last night, I've decided that all of GSR fandom is now armed and dangerous... Because our 'ship now has canon :D

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 20

It only managed to take one phone call before Gil was able make some headway in acquiring Professor Adler's journals and pertinent papers. Fortunately, he still had some clout at the university and they took his personal word that the papers would be protected while in his custody. They had sent them over by messenger service first thing that same morning and he wanted to deliver them to Stephanie himself before leaving for the day. He hoped that it would be the one thing that went right with his last shift of the week. He was already going to be catching hell for getting home late, but he hoped that the reason would get him off the hook.

Gil had been surprised when Sara told him that she and Stephanie were having dinner together, but at the same time, it was immensely satisfying to know the two main women in his life were making an honest effort at creating a personal relationship outside of their connection to him. Having Stephanie living so close to him again had given Gil the courage to take an honest look at his life again. So, in many ways, she was infinitely responsible for his new relationship with Sara. That was why he had gone so far out on the limb to get those papers, because he knew it meant something to Stephanie to give Professor Adler's death some closure.

At first, he had trouble understanding why she would be so adamant about his case, but after talking to her mother about it, he learned that he had been one of her professors in her first year of college. Elizabeth explained that Adler had been a source of great understanding for Stephanie, as he had also been considered a prodigy. That information both relieved and worried Gil. Stephanie was taking the case personally, and he knew that was never a good idea.

Before he had a chance to dwell on it too much, the elevator doors opened and he found Catherine standing there. She held the doors for him as he pushed the hand truck out of the elevator, but instead of getting on the elevator, she stood there with a serious look on her face. "Was there something you needed, Catherine?"

She gestured at the boxes he was pushing and asked, "So, what's all that?"

"Papers from the professor's research. I was able to pull a few strings to get them released." He was pleased with himself, but he was afraid it had shown on his face, so he was certain to keep his tone serious.

Catherine actually looked somewhat relieved, and Gil deduced that she too had been concerned about Stephanie's interest in the case. "Good… Maybe we can get that one off her plate now." Catherine regarded him with a look he had seen before; sympathy. However, in the past he had seen it when she was talking to him about getting his head out of the microscope. This time, he thought it had another meaning. "Gil, is everything okay with her? I mean, she's taking this one pretty hard, don't you think?"

There it was. He tilted his head to the side and shrugged, "Yes, I had those same concerns. But it would appear that she knew the man. He was her advisor at Berkeley when she first started there."

Understanding played across Catherine's face and she nodded as she spoke, "That makes so much more sense." Then her face took a pensive expression and Gil knew she was working something else out in her head. "But there has to be more than that. Are you sure she's doing alright?"

He thought about that question for a moment, and he was starting to understand where Catherine's concern was coming from. "Well, I suppose she's just got a lot going on. What with the case, helping Warrick, the hours she's putting in because of another staffing problem and then Thomas having to go away, she's probably just feeling the pressure."

"How long is Thomas gone?" He was glad that she had skipped over the issues with Warrick. He had not meant to mention it, but he knew it was weighing heavy on Stephanie, because of how involved she had been in helping Warrick as he dealt with his crumbling marriage. And Catherine was the last person he wanted to talk to about that topic.

"Sunday night." Gil understood the pain she was feeling. They may not have been together as long as Stephanie and Thomas had, but he could not imagine spending even a day away from Sara anymore. The thought alone gave him a pain and an emptiness he never wanted to experience.

"Well, I'll see if I can't get her to come over for dinner or something Saturday night." Gil smiled at her suggestion and knew that he had been given the "Lindsay Treatment" on several occasions in the past. The girl was good at helping you take your mind off of your troubles. Much like her mother, in that respect.

"Sounds like a good idea to me… I can remember being availed of that technique a few times, myself." A smile cracked Catherine's face and her eyes lit up with the memory as well.

Catherine looked at her watch and sighed, "Well, I need to be getting some sleep… I'm having dinner with the parents tonight." Gil nodded at her admission. He knew that things had been progressing with Catherine and her new family dynamic through Stephanie. He also knew that it took a serious effort on Catherine's part. Catherine had felt betrayed by her parents, and if there was one thing Gil knew about his friend, it was that she had an overdeveloped sense of betrayal. It was going to take her a long time to get past those feelings, and Gil only wished her the best.

He knew what it was to grow up without a father and he hoped that she would recognize the golden opportunity she had been given, but he had not yet been able to bring himself to tell her that. She's doing fine on her own… She doesn't need the guilt that would bring to make her see this opportunity.

"I'm not far behind you… I just wanted to get this taken care of before heading home." He smiled at her as she stepped into the elevator and she tapped at her watch with a sly grin on her face.

"Better not keep her waiting this time… She does have a temper, you know." The doors closed on her last word and left Gil chuckling to himself as he started pushing the hand truck toward the Autopsy Room doors.

As he entered the room and looked in the direction of her office, Gil found Stephanie doing pull-ups on the bar she had gotten installed in the door frame. He admired her athleticism, but he also recognized her natural response to stress. Fortunately for her, Stephanie's parents were able to cope with her astoundingly active nature as a child, lest she have been classified as a hyperactive child and shelved away without further regard for her amazing intelligence.

He had once asked Elizabeth how Stephanie was able to concentrate at school, and not become disruptive to the other students given the frenetic pace with which she seemed to approach every task. Her mother had explained that Stephanie was given a puzzle before leaving for school everyday, and when she found that she had a free moment, or she was bored with something the class was struggling with, she was to work on the puzzle. Stephanie was more of a puzzle fanatic than Gil ever was, and the amazing amount of attention she would devote to solving puzzles had always excited him, so he knew it had to have been the perfect tool for helping her to maintain her focus.

However, when something was truly bothering Stephanie, she needed more than an intellectual distraction; she needed to have a physical release. She began playing basketball at age five, when she ended up accompanying her father to a crime scene at a local high school. The other officers were trying to keep her distracted and so they had taken her to the gym. Mac told him that by the time he had finished organizing the personnel at the scene, and had gone looking for her so they could continue to their afternoon, she was so engrossed the in the game of basketball, he was told that she wanted five more minutes to finish her game. Apparently, one of the officers had taught her how to play "Horse." Stephanie, however, felt that was a baby word and so they had changed it to "Elephant." While Mac watched his little girl shooting the ball from atop another officer's shoulders, he realized that she was actually winning. He signed her up for the team at the Boys and Girls Club the next day.

When Mac had first relayed the story to both Gil and his wife, he remarked that Stephanie had been sullen when they arrived, but by the time he had returned to her, she was smiling and giggling like she had not a care in the world. They all had agreed that basketball would be an excellent outlet for her energy and would help her to learn the value of teamwork, but as was always the case, she ended up with the kids a few years older than her. However, this time it was because of her height and physical ability, instead of her intellect.

Gil cleared his throat, letting her know that he was standing there and she stopped as she hung from the bar with her knees still pulled up. She simply dangled there for a moment, clearing her head of the thoughts that must have been troubling her as he entered, and then smiled at him. "Hey Gil. Whatcha got there?"

He cocked his head to the side a moment and tried to play down what he had brought to her, "Oh nothing… Just something that might work a little better than pull-ups."

Stephanie finally dropped her legs to the floor and stood up. She walked over to him to get a closer look at the boxes on his hand truck. "What is it?"

The left corner of his mouth turned up and he said, "Just the journals, invoices, bills of lading, lab notes and itineraries from the last six months of Adler's research."

"Are you serious?" Her eyes immediately lit up with her excitement, and it was exactly what Gil needed to see.

"I cashed in a couple favors, and they were just delivered to my office a few minutes ago." His smile had broadened across his whole face when he could feel the relief pouring off of her.

"I could kiss you right now, but I just ate some pickled garlic, and no one needs that." He shook his head and chuckled at the face she had made when she spoke.

"Yes, that would be hard to explain to Sara, I think."

She looked down at her watch and then gave him a startled expression, "You need to get the hell out of here or she's gonna kill me!"

Gil was shocked at her exclamation, "Why would she do that?"

She did not stop to explain, instead, she got behind him and started shoving him out the door. "Just get out of here!"

He laughed at her insistence and when they got to the door she stopped pushing and he turned around to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. When his lips touched the skin there, he thought that it felt a little warm. "Steph?"

"No stalling. Just move." She was smiling, but he was a little concerned.

"Are you feeling okay?" He laid the back of his hand on her cheek and continued, "You're a little warm."

She took his hand from her face and shrugged, "That happens when you do about a hundred pull-ups, Uncle Gil… Now get out of here."

He relented and shrugged before turning back away, "Okay, but you go home and get some sleep as soon as Doc gets in. I don't want you getting sick because you've pushed yourself too hard."

"Roger that… Now scram!" She was smiling when he turned to see her as he backed into the elevator, so he returned the smile. He decided that she must have been right, and that he was simply being the over-protective uncle again. It was a role he was well rehearsed in, so he often fell back into it quite naturally.

Gil was glad that Catherine was going to be occupying her on Saturday. And he was going to suggest that he and Sara look in on her that night as well. He looked down at his own watch as he exited the elevator; If I'm still alive that is.