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: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up... I was having a little writer's block on the next chapter, so I somehow managed to get behind. I didn't want to post this chapter until I got the next one written and then I got hung up writing the one after that and totally spaced posting this chapter :O But, the block is gone and I think I only have two more chapters left to write... And then the Epilogue, of course :D

Okay, enough groveling... How about some GSR fluff and some more scheming: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 read & review this story.


Chapter 57

It had become part of his daily ritual; a trip to the green grocer's. He never wanted anything to spoil in the fridge, should they not have a chance to eat together before shift, so he went to the store each day. Sara told him it was not necessary, but he did it anyway. He reveled in her enjoyment of the meals he prepared for them, and he liked using fresh ingredients.

He had been experimenting with new vegetables, of late, and the grocer would light up every time he walked through the doors. Mr. Kim told Gil that he was his favorite anglo customer, because he was always trying new things. And, as much as Sara had protested his ritual, she did enjoy everything he made with such enthusiasm, he could not help but continue his daily task.

He looked down in the bag and made sure that the Thai Eggplant had remained unbruised on the journey from the store. Mr. Kim had assured him it would work wonderfully as the base for a sauce to toss with some rice noodles. Gil thought that it would work well with some edamame, water chestnuts and a little bok choy for good measure to accompany the simple veggie burger that Sara had insisted was all she wanted for dinner. Nothing so plain as a "just a veggie burger" for my girl.

His last thought brought a smile to his lips as he hoisted the bag into his arm and walked to the front door of their townhouse. His life had changed immeasurably in just a few short months. He found himself constantly thinking about his life in terms of "before Sara" and "after Sara." And that thought also brought a smile to his face.

Before Sara, he spent so little time at home, going to the green grocer's seemed like insanity, and he made do with mostly non-perishables from the supermarket, along with some cheese and eggs. After Sara, he kept the staples stocked in abundance and made frequent trips to stores he had not even known existed before.

Before Sara, he had no idea just how many types of vegetarians existed in the world. After Sara, he understood that people choose vegetarianism for a variety of reasons, and not all of them were about the cute and fuzzy creatures of the world.

Before Sara, he had not known what it was to want anything but his work to fill his thoughts. After Sara, he sometimes had to remind himself to keep thinking about work in order to make it through the night, and he could not wait to get home and be with her without restriction.

Before Sara, he never questioned his commitment to his job or his work. After Sara, he sometimes wondered why he was still at the lab, and his focus for the work seemed to be shifting all the time.

As he pulled out his keys to open the door, he remembered he still had not gone through the fellowship offer from the Jeffersonian. With everything that had happened since its arrival, it remained lost in the shuffle of papers on his desk. He would have to remind himself to go through it in the morning, while Sara was checking on Stephanie, and he still owed his colleague a phone call about the offer.

When he entered the cool and dark hallway of the townhouse, he could hear Sara's voice talking to someone. As he walked toward the kitchen, he quickly realized that she was on the phone. "Right… No, I understand, but that doesn't ch-… No, I am not being unreas-…" When she saw him round the corner, she flashed him an exasperated expression which told him exactly who was on the phone. As he passed her on the way to the kitchen, he smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Hold on… He just walked in the door, so I'm gonna put you on speaker." Sara motioned for his approval and he nodded. When she pressed the speakerphone button on the landline he waited for the fun to begin. "Okay, you're on speaker now."

"Hey Uncle Gil… Can you bring me some case files or something?" Sara came up behind him as he put the bag down on the counter and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaned into his back and laid her head down on his shoulder, obviously in need of some comfort.

"No." His answer was short and to the point.

"Why not?"

"Because you are supposed to be recuperating; not working." He turned his head back and laid it on Sara's, to show his understanding of her pain.

"But I'm fine… Really… I can totally do case reviews." Her voice had gone beyond pleading and was seriously bordering on begging.

"No, you can't, because you are not working until the doctors say you are back at one hundred percent." He started to pull all the items from the bag, and Sara finally let go of him to try to figuring out what he had bought at the store; her curiosity obviously winning out over her frustration with Stephanie.

"That's just silly… I'm fin-…" Her objection was cut short by the fact that she was coughing a little bit.

"Right… You're fine, all right."

"That's not fair… It's just a little coughing… No big deal." He could tell she was working to stifle her coughs at that point, and he shared a knowing smirk with Sara at the sound.

"I'm confused… Aren't you supposed to be pestering Catherine about this time?" He moved to the sink with his vegetable selection of the day, as he tried to change the subject.

"Actually, it's Warrick's turn, but the guys took him out to celebrate."

Gil's face morphed into confusion and he had to ask, "Celebrate what?"

"Sara didn't tell you?"

"How could I? I just found out myself." Sara spoke up quickly to defend herself.

"Oh yeah."

"Is someone going to tell me, or do I have to play twenty questions?" Gil stopped what he was doing and actually found himself standing at the sink with his hand on his hip.

"You're no fun at twenty questions… Since you always have it at five…" He could tell she enjoyed the joke at his expense, but she did continue to explain. "Anyway, they filed the settlement papers for Warrick's divorce this afternoon. So, the guys took him out to celebrate, which is the other reason why I am sooooo bored. They wouldn't let me go, because, one, I'm a girl, and two, they were going to some place that guys go to smoke those nasty cigars, and I wasn't allowed to go."

"So, wait… She actually agreed to the settlement terms?" He was still confused, even though he had the answer.

"Yeah, I guess it was a good thing we sent you to tag along… According to Steph, you scared the piss out of her attorney's over those pictures." There was a pause, and Gil used it to wrap his brain around her explanation. "Hey, what were in those pictures anyway? Steph wouldn't tell me… Something about confidentiality, but that doesn't apply to you." His face went white when he realized she was expecting an answer from him, but he was saved when they heard a beep from her side of the conversation. "Oh crap… I gotta take that call… I finished that other journal article and the publisher wants to talk pictures and junk… Later." They both heard the click, and then the dial tone blasted over the speaker. Sara quickly shut it off, but never once took her eyes off of him.

"So, what pictures?" There it was. He was caught, and there was no way out of it.

He lowered his gaze to the floor and tried to shy away from the question, but she was not buying the act. And, as she cocked an eyebrow at him, he figured he might as well spill it all before things got ugly. "Ah, well, there were some inappropriate pictures taken, and the lawyers tried to use them to get more from the settlement agreement."

"What kind of pictures?" He should have known she would never back down from something that easy, but it had been worth a shot.

"Of Warrick… With someone." He turned back to the sink, hoping to avoid the angry gaze that he knew would fall over her face.

"WHAT? With who?"

"From the hospital."

"When?"

"Last week." He turned again to watch as she worked out exactly what that meant and when he saw the understanding fall over her countenance he answered her suspicions, "Yeah, with Catherine."

Sara shook her head in disbelief, "Damn… Now, that's low… I mean, I knew she didn't like Cath, but… Wow."

Gil's face betrayed his confusion, and he felt compelled to ask, "Why didn't she like Catherine?"

"Beyond the obvious reasons?" Gil gave her a disapproving glare with her sarcastic response. "Sorry… Jealousy, I guess… I mean, what with the attraction and all, I guess she thought Cath was a threat." Sara simply rambled off those words like he had understood what she was talking about. However, when she looked up into his face, she realized the error of that assumption. "What, you can't tell me you didn't know?"

"Well, I just didn't think Catherine would have told you about it." He was shocked they had progressed in healing their relationship that far. Gil thought that he was the only one she had confided in about her attraction to the younger man.

"Catherine? No, Warrick… Wait, you mean Cath is attracted to him, too?" That was when Gil realized he had betrayed a confidence.

He was trying to find some way to cure the situation, when it suddenly dawned on him what Sara had said. "Wait, Warrick told you he was attracted to Catherine?"

"Well, duh!" She shook her head and chuckled at the notion that not everyone knew how Warrick felt about the outspoken, grand dame of the Investigative Department. "I mean really, Gil… I thought everyone knew about that."

The more Gil thought about it, the more humorous the situation became in his mind. He chuckled as he said, "Well, there are at least two people who hadn't… Me, and Catherine."

Sara leaned back against the breakfast bar and had a good laugh. The whole situation was just too funny not to enjoy the irony of it. "So, you think we're the only ones who know both sides of this equation?"

"Well, since she hasn't started scheming yet, I'd say yes." They both laughed, because they knew who he was referring to. "What should we do about it?"

"I don't know… Do you think we should interfere like that?" Sara bit her lower lip in a gesture that always showed Gil she was battling with something, but he had always found it incredibly endearing.

"Well, they did it for us." He shrugged his answer. Sara stood and went straight for the phone. "Who are you calling?"

"Stephanie… This is not the kind of thing to leave to amateurs, so I'm calling in the master." He let loose a hearty laugh at her answer, knowing they were getting into dangerous territory.

"I guess if it worked for us, it's bound to work for them… After all, they haven't spent six years fighting the inevitable. But I do feel a little sorry for them."

She turned back to face him as she brought the phone to her ear, and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I was at least looking for you… They don't even have a clue what's coming." His smile said everything to her, and she returned it gladly.

"Hey, Steph… I think I have a cure for your boredom."