DISCLAIMER:Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it.
RATING: T – Teen (language and adult issues)
PAIRINGS: GSR & Yo!Bling pre-established in previous fics of this timeline.
SPOILERS: Sequel to "Displacement" and "Transitions"
SUMMARY: Everything is changing around Nick Stokes. Can he deal with it, and how it will affect him in the end?

A/N: With a little help from a pinch-hitting beta, I managed to get this one ready to post.

REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

Chapter 30
21:00 – 2006.12.13
CSI Lab: Break Room

Sara and Nick were having something of a silent war as they sat at the Break Room table. She was trying to look busy as she read a forensic journal and he was paying far too much attention to that microwave burrito in front of him. Periodically, they would each look up and over at the other, but then quickly look away if they thought the other might have noticed. It was obvious that neither was willing to make the first move. Sara was more accustomed to this particular battle, and she knew the only way to solve the impasse.

Slamming her journal down onto the tabletop, she looked over at him and asked, "How much longer are we going to keep this up?"

Nick shrugged and poked at his burrito again before answering, "I'm not the one who started it."

"ME?" Sara threw herself back in her chair and her face showed her shock. "How did I start this?"

"You're the one telling Brass about my-"

"Our case."

Nick nodded his head and continued, "Our case… Gangin' up on me with Stretch Armstrong downstairs… And you're also the one who didn't even give me a clue about that little bomb you and Grissom dropped on my head last weekend."

"Okay, first, Brass asked, and I was too worn out to even consider that he had an ulterior motive."

"It's Brass, he always has an ulterior motive, Sara."

"Whatever… Second, you don't ask for opinions from people if you don't want them to be honest, especially me and Steph."

Nick smirked at that one and acquiesced. "Okay, you gotta point there. But the last one?"

"Right…" Sara bit the corner of her lip as she searched for the answer. "That was out of my hands. Grissom was serious about not telling anyone beforehand. He wanted to make sure none of it got out an-"

"Sara, you know if you tell me something, you can trust me. I'd never betray anything you gave me, you know that…"

"That's got nothing to do with it, Nicky. Grissom specifically asked me not to talk to anyone. I couldn't be-"

"Betray his confidence… I get it." Nick hung his head once he understood the full situation. "So, basically, what you're saying is I gotta stop making rush judgments, again." Nick looked up at Sara with a shy smile.

"You said it, not me." Her sideways grin told him they were done with their little tiff.

"Alright… Next time, could ya at least warn me?"

Sara bit down on her lip again, but Nick was turned away and could not see her nervous actions. "Well, there is-" Before she could actually get it out, Warrick and Greg came blustering into the Break Room.

"Sara! You have got to hear this!" Greg was filled with his normal high impact energy. "The whole place is buzzin' about your transfer to days!"

"Greg! You didn't?" Sara was instantly on her feet, but Nick reached out and took her by the forearm to restrain her from braining the younger man.

Greg immediately threw his hands into the air and exclaimed, "NO! I swear, Sara, it wasn't me!"

Warrick took a seat at the table and reluctantly explained, "Nah, it was that busy body secretary of Ecklie's, I'm sure… Probably under the direction of the weasel, himself."

Dropping to her seat, Sara sighed, "Great… That's exactly what Grissom needs to hear today… Not like he wasn't already in a bad mood."

"Aw man, what now?" Warrick shook his head in disgust as he asked.

"I'll give you three guesses, and unless they all involve Ecklie, you'll be wrong." Sara was joining in on the level of distaste being displayed as everyone else groaned at her answer.

Greg held up the coffee pot and said, "Well, at least we know they kept it out of the Break Room this time." They all laughed at his joke and that gave him the confidence he needed to continue with his original story. "So, Sara, you wanna guess what stories are flying around here about why you're going to days?"

"God… I can only imagine. I bet half are going to say it's because I'm either pregnant or I'm dumping Grissom."

Greg looked positively despondent at her admission. "How'd you know?"

Nick shook his head and chuckled, "Please Greggo… This place is awful predictable, little man. And besides, it's Sara and Grissom, what else are they gonna yammer on about?"

Greg dejectedly took his seat at the table and said, "Well, there is one rumor that sounds a lot more believable."

Leaning back in his seat and stretching, Warrick asked, "What's that, junior?"

"I overheard a couple of the day-shift techs saying Blake Reynolds was the CSI coming to nights." Greg watched Sara cringe at his news, so he continued, in the hopes she would confirm it. "They said something about him getting a divorce and wanting to switch to nights so he could spend the days with his little boy." Greg saw that Sara was completely tense and asked, "Hey Sara, is there any truth in that one?"

Sara immediately felt all eyes on her, and she dreaded doing it, but she did tell Grissom she was not going to lie to anyone on the team. "Yeah, look, Blake still hasn't told the people in his team… Yes, he's the one I'm switching with at the first of the year." She suddenly forced a stern expression to form on her face when she said, "But you can't tell anyone you know about it, got it?" Everyone nodded, but Sara knew the damage had been done when she looked on as Nick sat there clenching his jaw.

The mood in the room was intensely somber when Catherine entered with the assignment slips for the night. "Well, who kicked the puppy tonight?" Several sets of eyes glanced quickly from Sara to Nick and Catherine had her answer, the news had leaked. She decided to cut the woman some slack, "Whatever, look we have a full board tonight, so let's cut the chatter and get out on the streets people."

Catherine proceeded to hand out the assignments, sending each person out as she passed them off. When she was done, Nick was still seated at the table and she could instantly tell he was not happy about it. "Nick?"

He looked up and saw that she was completely out of assignment slips, "What's goin' on, Cath?"

"Well, I was late coming in tonight because I had to deal with Ecklie about overtime. You're getting the Sara treatment for the rest of the week. You're already maxxed out on overtime for the month, Nick. The only reason we're not sending you home is because the case you were working is high profile and the sheriff is salivating over outdoing the feds on a major drug ring."

"So, what am I supposed to do, sit around here and twiddle my thumbs?" Catherine was growing concerned with his level of anger.

"Nick, I don't make the rules, but they are there for a reason."

"That's crap, Catherine, and you know it!" Nick went storming out of the room, leaving Catherine standing there in shock at his display.