I do not own CSI. I borrow the characters, mutilate them, humiliate them and abuse them. But, I always buy ice cream when I am done and bring them home by 9 :) (NOTE: I was having severe formatting issues with this chapter. All mistakes are mine and this darn document editor)

Catherine was at her desk, completing some last minute notes on her case files when there was a knock at the door. She looked up to see Conrad Ecklie waiting on the other side of the door. She waved him in with a sigh, closing up the top file on her desk as he came in, a file of his own tucked under his arm.

"What can I do for you, Conrad?" She asked as he came in to sit across from her

"It's about Sidle." He said as he waved the file at her

She felt a slight shock of alarm go through her. After what she had found out, she knew that Grissom's job could be on the line over the whole mess. "Okay" She said, leaning back "Shoot"

"She's coming up to her 5th month of this pregnancy" He said, handing her the file "We need to reassign her prior to her third trimester"

She nodded as she opened Sara's medical file, scanning the information. "I have her on partial shifts right now" She told him, closing the file "There's a note in here..."

"I understand that" He replied. "But partial shifts out in the field is still not departmental policy on third trimester pregnancies. I can't risk sending Sidle out on assignments much longer"

She nodded "Understood...besides, Sara and I have discussed this already and she will be going into trace for the last few months, starting next month"

"Great" He said, picking up the medical file "You, uhm...you haven't heard how things are going for her...personally...have you?"

She busied herself with the piles on her desk "I don't know that that is really any of our business"

"Right" He said as he stood up, stopping to turn back as he tapped the file on the back of the chair he'd been sitting in "No problems? I mean, there was that little mishap between her and Grissom..."

"They just had some differences..." She replied with a little shrug "Nothing major..."

"Well," he kind of laughed "These differences have nothing to do with her current physical state, do they?"

She looked at him, incredulous. "What are you implying, Conrad?"

"Nothing" He said "Just seems to me the timing of her transfer to your supervision is a little...convenient... don't you think?"

"I really wouldn't know anything about that" She replied.

"Look, I am not the brightest guy when it comes to relationships" He said with a scoff "Just look at my marriage. But, I can tell you, Catherine that my powers of observation are pretty good and I think there is much more to this whole thing than meets the eye" He opened her door, looking her in the eye. "If there is anything out of line here, any 'inappropriate supervisor activity'...heads will roll. I just want to make sure that yours is not one of them...let Grissom hang himself, Catherine, don't put his noose around your neck as well"

As he left, Catherine sighed putting her head down in her hands. This was going to be a lot harder than she had thought

Gil sat next to Sara in the waiting area of her doctor's clinic, his hands clasped between his legs in front of him. He had wanted desperately to take her hand, to sit together in anticipation as a real couple would do, but he was afraid to touch her. He kept telling himself he had to remain stable, secure...her friend.

When she had pulled up to his town house, he had eagerly met her out front, taken aback by her appearance. She had wore a red wrap around maternity top, the color enunciating all of her features and making him again pause at the site of her. She was beautiful in every sense of the word and he found himself wanting to pull her to him to tell her just that. Instead, he had smiled at her telling her she looked "lovely" and left it at that.

They had filled the time with small talk, Sara telling him about the new 3D ultrasound machine her doctor had gotten in and how it would really show what the baby looked like. His nervous anticipation had grown steadily until the door opened and they were whisked off to the examination room.

He was given a chair next to Sara, who lay on the exam table, her abdomen exposed. He found himself gazing at it before looking up at Sara to give her a little wink. Relief washed through him as she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"I'm glad you're here" She whispered to him, her eyes glowing

"Me too" He replied with a smile

Before the scan began, the technician told them what they would be seeing. She put some gel on Sara's abdomen, placing the wand against her skin as she flicked a button on the screen. As they watched, an image played across the screen in an orange hue and Gil held his breath as a tiny little face appeared on the screen

"And there it is" The technician said as little eyes and a nose, along with what Gil considered an absolute perfect mouth, displayed before them.

Gil did not realize he had leaned forward, his mouth slightly open, as he stared at the image. As the baby within Sara moved, he felt an emotion he had never felt before go through him. For the first time in Gil's life, he found himself completely in love with someone he had never even met.

As they watched, the baby yawned and Sara giggled a little, making the image shake before them. Gil looked up at her, seeing the tears in her eyes and without thinking he sat up, kissing her softly as he stared in her eyes. No words were spoken, but the slight squinting of his eyes told Sara everything he was feeling as a million unspoken words passed between them.

Sitting back down, he nodded at the screen "She's got your nose..." He said

Sara was beaming "She?"

"Well," He shrugged. "He?"

She laughed "Your mouth though." She commented "Look at that pout...no one I know can pout like that other than you, Gilbert"

Sara watched Gil's face as he watched the screen, noting the look on his face. She had seen that look before; it was the same look he had when he gotten back from Sabbatical and met Sara in the hallway of the lab; one of wondrous anticipation. Squeezing his hand again, she felt overwhelmed by the fact that she still loved him desperately as she, too, looked back at the screen showing them the first real glimpse of their child.

The technician smiled at them as she measured the baby's head, clicking buttons as she did so. As they watched, the baby placed a thumb in its mouth, kicking wildly at the pressure of the wand on its mother's stomach. Gil chuckled, squeezing Sara's hand again. The technician began measuring the baby, explaining as she went along what she was doing and what she was checking. They got to see the feet, the hands, and the hair on the baby's head.

"This is amazing" Gil breathed as he counted toes and fingers, feeling as Sara again squeezed his hand. "She has more hair than I do..."

Sara couldn't help but smile at his continual reference to the baby as "she"

Finally, the technician turned to them "Would you like to know the sex?"

They paused, looking at each other. "I never thought..." She began, seeing a look on Gil's face. As his eyes met hers, she nodded at him

With that, the technician set to work in revealing to the anxious parents whether they would soon be welcoming a son or a daughter into the world. After what seemed like an eternity, filled with occasional laughter as the baby struggled to keep its identity secret, the technician found what she was looking for

"Congratulations," She said with a smile "It's a girl"

Gil sucked his breath in, feeling as though he had just won the million-dollar jackpot. He remembered his mother, when he was only 30 years old, telling him that he would have a daughter; a little girl with dark eyes. She saw it, she said, in a dream. He had, of course, laughed her off considering it just babble of a mother trying to encourage her son to "get married and settle down" But for the remainder of her life, his mother had reminded him of that dream often

Now, 20-years later he was having a daughter.

Looking up at Sara, he saw the tear slide down her cheek as she smiled at the screen. As the technician busied herself cleaning Sara of all the gel, Gil stood up again and kissed Sara's forehead. "She's going to be so beautiful" He said as he gazed into her eyes "Just like her mother..."

To his pleasant surprise, Sara reached up and cupped his face in her hands, pulling him to her softly to kiss him tenderly on the lips. She did not say a word, rubbing her thumbs along his lips as they parted, lingering only momentarily until she was ready to sit up.

They left the clinic, this time hand in hand, photos of their unborn child firmly within Sara's grasp. As they reached Sara's car she looked at him. "I'm hungry." She said with affirmation. "Let's have lunch"

And with those simple words, Gil and Sara had taken the first step towards their new life together.

Gil sat at his desk at the end of a particularly long shift, pouring over Greg's notes from a case he'd just closed up. Gil had to admit that Greg was turning out to be a damn good CSI for someone who started out so giddy. But, Gil had known from the day he'd met the wiry, energetic laboratory technician that he would someday make a great investigative forensic scientist; and he had

Movement at his doorway caught his eye and before he looked up, a slip of paper was placed on his desk, sliding easily in front of the case file he'd been looking at. Without looking up, he picked up the paper, scanning the 'Request for Transfer' heading before quickly looking up, catching the man about to exit his office just in time.

"Nick?" he said with puzzlement, looking at him over the rim of his glasses. "What is this?"

Nick stopped as if he'd been caught sneaking out of the house late at night and turned around slowly. "It's a request for transfer form, Sir" He said with tight curtness

"I see that" Gil replied, looking over the paper one more time before setting it down "Come in, Nick"

He stood, his mouth pursed somewhat as he took just one step inside. Gil noted his discomfort, removing his glasses. "What is this all about?"

He shrugged. "I'd just like to transfer"

Gil scanned the paper quickly "To swing shift?"

"Yep" He said it through nearly gritted teeth and Gil could tell he was struggling to maintain a professional demeanor.

"Do you have a reason?" Gil asked

Now, his jaws were clenched. "Just please sign the form, Sir."

Gil spread his hands slightly "I need you on this shift"

Nick nodded his lips tight as he looked down momentarily. "If you don't sign the form, Grissom, I'll just give my notice"

Gil looked down at the form, then back to Nick "What's going on, Nick?"

Nick looked up; rolling his eyes before shaking his head "You're a piece of work" He chuckled sarcastically. "Did you ever think about everything she went through while you were out finding yourself?"

Gil furrowed eyebrows "So, this is about Sara?"

"Pretty much"

"I don't think I need to explain myself to you, Nick" Gil lectured

"Then just sign the form and you won't have to"

Lips pursed, Gil looked from Nick to the form, setting it aside blatantly. "Whether I sign this or not, my personal life is not a negotiative factor in your employment"

"You know, it's all good and sunny for you right now isn't it?" He replied, his voice cool and bitter. "You getta walk right back in there and start this wonderful life with a woman you don't deserve and a baby you didn't give a damn about…but, y'know what Grissom? You weren't there when she needed someone to hold her hair out of her face while she puked or when she needed crackers and 7-Up at three AM in the morning 'cause she couldn't keep anything else down." He glared at him "You weren't the one she called the first time she felt that baby move and you sure as hell aren't the one who sat up all night and held her while she cried 'cause her scumbag boyfriend ripped her heart out of her chest...again." He nodded, jaws clenched. "Yeah, you go ahead and enjoy this right now 'cause someday she's gonna wake up and realize that you were never really ever there for her…that the only time you were ever around is when it was convenient for you"

They were silent, eyes locked. "I used to respect you" Nick continued, his voice still layered in bitterness. "I admired you, Grissom. Hell, I almost wanted to be you. Now?" He scoffed, shaking his head "Well, now I just think you aren't really worth the spit I shine my boots with" He shrugged "Now, if you want to discipline me for that, you go right ahead. But just make sure you sign that form before I have to ask Ecklie to do it"

With that he turned, striding from the office and down the hallway, leaving Gil sitting dumbstruck in the silence of his office.

Two weeks after the ultrasound, Sara pulled into the lab, parking the Denali in the designated slot. She had been called out to assist Warrick with a John Doe case on the south end of the strip and found it a welcome relief to work with him again. He of course, knew nothing of her and Gil's relationship, and she found herself grateful that he did not bring up the subject of her "relationship with the baby's father".

Warrick was, if anything, not a man to dwell in other people's affairs.

She grabbed the case with the evidence, heaving the rear door of the Denali closed with what she felt was more effort than usual. Looking down at her ever-growing abdomen, she shook her head as she headed into the building.

Heading into the log room, she set the case down and went to work sorting the myriad of contents within. She was just cataloging when Ecklie walked in, coming up next to her. "What have you got?" He asked

"John Doe" she said in her familiar slow drawl "No sign of external trauma, although he was naked, witnesses said he lingered around the Strat every Friday"

He nodded, looking over the items. "Sidle, when you are done here could you come into my office?"

She looked at him "I was kind of hoping to head home..."

"It won't take long" He said firmly.

She finished up the cataloging, making sure to take a little extra time. She really did not want to talk to Ecklie, somehow the guy just got on her nerves no matter what he said. Turning everything in, she clicked the light off and headed to his office.

He looked up momentarily, waving her in as he held a pen in his hand. "Have a seat, Sara"

She sat across from him, waiting patiently as he finished whatever he was doing to lay his pen aside, leaning back in his chair and crossing his hands at the fingers. "Is there anything you want to tell me, Sidle?"

She shrugged slightly "Nothing that I can think of"

"Well," He said surreptitiously "It just seems like Grissom's crew is fleeing like rats on a sinking ship...I was hoping you could shed some light on the reason why"

She gave him a puzzled look "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about" She lied

"First you, then Nick" He said, rocking slightly in his chair. "I just want to make sure there isn't anything going on that I need to be aware of"

"Like what?" She asked

He shrugged, fingers still together. "I don't know, Sidle. But two of his staff leaving in the span of a few months is somewhat curious, don't you think?"

She gave another shrug "Doesn't make me very curious"

He sighed; he knew this would be difficult. "Both you and CSI Stokes left Grissom's team to work under other leadership. Obviously, this points to a defect in his supervisory capabilities"

She gave him one of her 'I'm not telling you anything' smiles "Well…Ecklie…all things being fair; I was moved to other leadership, I did not leave voluntarily and Nick…" She stopped, making sure she enunciated "…well, you'll just have to ask him yourself what his reasons were. I cannot speak for him"

He uncrossed his fingers, leaning forward "Personally Sidle, I think that the timing of your transfer to Supervisor Willows's team was more a matter of convenience, don't you?"

"Okay, look" She said holding up a hand "If you have something to ask me, Ecklie, just ask me. Don't dance around it and hope I catch the beat"

"What is your relationship with Supervisor Grissom?"

"Strained"

He was getting agitated; this woman was impossible. "Answer the question"

Smiling again "I can't answer a loaded question."

"What does that mean?"

"Just that no matter what I say, the answer will always be the same"

Now, he was agitated "I have tried to be kind to you, Sara, on account of your condition" He said "But you have to know that if there is something going on here that is against departmental policy, you will be treated the same as everyone else"

"Great" She replied with a smile "I wouldn't have it any other way"

He gave in. "Have it your way, then…just consider yourself warned"

She nodded at him, standing up to head out the door. "And, Sidle?" He called, making her turn around. This time, he gave her a 'I know exactly what you're doing smile' "You can only hide this..." He searched for a word "...charade until the baby comes. And unless the father is going to hide from that as well, I'm afraid it is pretty much all over then"

She said nothing, turning to walk out of his office as the start of a thundering headache hit behind her eyes. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought