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: And I wish I could say this is the last of the strife... But you know I love to torture people into submission. ;)

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 31
21:16 – 2006.12.13
CSI Lab: Grissom's Office

Staring out over at least a month's worth of paperwork that needed to be sorted through in less than two weeks, Grissom blew out a breath as he settled in to hack away at the first stack. He decided the first things he would finish were the all the employee evaluations, commendations, recommendations, certifications and general personnel notes. It was partially self-serving, because he knew Warrick would be calling him repeatedly to understand what even half of it was, so this would save him a major headache down the road. The other part was that he wanted to leave the people who had worked so hard for him over the years with one last thing; his acknowledgment and approval of everything they had done for him and the department.

He was busy tallying all of Greg Sanders' hours in the field and the specific cases he worked on with great joy. The young man had made such an amazing leap in maturity since leaving the lab and becoming a C.S.I. and it made him proud to be a part of that transformation, if only because he had placed the bulk of his early training under the careful watch of one Sara Sidle.

Grissom was completely unaware of the tempest that was about to blow into his office.

CRASH!

His door was thrown open so hard he cringed as he waited for the glass to shatter. When the sound of breaking glass remained absent, he hazarded a glance up, expecting to see Conrad Ecklie standing in his doorway. He was absolutely flabbergasted to find instead, a steaming mad Nick Stokes.

"What the hell is goin' on around here, Grissom!"

Grissom deliberately removed his glasses and sat back in his seat, as he dropped his pen on the desk. When his eyebrow lifted, he could see that Nick was far too angry to understand any subtleties at that point. "First of all, would you like to carefully close my office door…" Grissom gestured for the door and then brought his hands together in a pensive pose. "And then you can explain why you felt the need to bust into my office like a lunatic."

Nick clenched his jaw and ground his teeth as he turned to shut the door. When he turned back to stare at Grissom, he tried to control his anger, but it was boiling hotter with each passing moment. "What's with being banned from the field?"

"You're way over hours… And before you say anything, I understand why, but it doesn't change the fact that HR is coming down on Ecklie about the overage, and that sort of thing rolls downhill, Nick." Grissom tried to lessen the blow with the praise he had heard from the sheriff. "Fortunately for you, McKeen went to bat for you, so you can still work the lab this week, if you like."

"What does THAT mean? If I like?" Nick's anger was not dissipating.

"According to my records… You haven't taken any time off since-… Well, since your medical leave. Maybe you should consider-"

"Are you trying to handle me, Grissom? You had Sara go almost two years without a single freakin' PTO, and you don't say anything to her… Why me?" Nick was ramping up even more.

Grissom bit back what he was going to say, and then carefully mentioned, "This isn't about Sara… This is about you, and for the record, everyone is required to take PTO after so many hours on the job, as a direct result of certain oversights in that area of my administration."

"Fine…" Nick was trying to get the next part out without blowing his top, but it was getting harder and harder the more he talked to Grissom. "So, tell me why you not only didn't consider me for the promotion, but you replace Sara with a second lead, leaving me in limbo indefinitely?"

Grissom finally understood what the real issue was with Nick's question. "Is that what this is about? You thought you should've been shift supervisor?"

"You should've at least considered me… And then you buried me!" Nick was screaming again and he bashed his fist into the filing cabinet beside him to release more of his anger. With the pain coursing through his body to combat the rage, he started to shake his head as he lowered his gaze and said, "I just don't get it, Grissom. I never knew you could do me this low."

Grissom shook his head in disbelief at Nick's assessment of the situation. "I've never hidden the fact that Warrick was being groomed for something else, something bigger. Plus, he has more experience and more time in the field than you do. He's also been trading the weekend supervisor duties with Sara for over a year. You've never once stepped up in that capacity, and have never indicated an interest in it either." Grissom noticed that much of the steam in Nick's anger was finally waning, so he gestured for Nick to take a chair. "The fact is Nick, you have some fine qualities, and a great future as a C.S.I., but you haven't ever expressed an interest in a supervisory role. I recommended you for that key position, because I thought you had finally understood what it took to go the extra mile without getting too wrapped up in the case to lose your edge, and that was what that particular position required."

Nick was confused with Grissom's analysis and had to ask, "I thought it was a promotion, that I'd be doing more high profile cases, and working with training new staff, and-"

"It was a status promotion only, and it was more political than merit based, at the time, you were the better C.S.I. for the position."

"What do you mean, 'at the time'?"

Grissom shrugged, and reluctantly said, "A lot has changed in the last couple years, Nick. You've changed, some for the better, but not all."

"Look, I went through the counseling, I passed all the psych tests and-" Nick stopped himself when he realized the whole thing was nothing but a massive rationalization. "But you don't think I'm ready for any of this, do you?"

Shaking his head, Grissom asked, "Ready for what? I don't think I understand the question."

"Supervisor, second lead, any of it. You don't think I could handle it, do you?"

"Right now?" Grissom saw how his words dug into Nick, and changed his mind about what he was going to say. "Nick, you're maxxed out on overtime, you've just been dealt a huge blow, and then with Sara and I dropping that bomb last weekend, it's just been a lot to process. Before I answer any more life altering questions, why don't you take some of that time off… Go see the family, rent a cabin, visit the beach, something, just get away from here for a few days, clear your head, put your house in order." He watched as Nick seemed to be receiving the suggestions with some interest. "And when you get back, I promise, we'll sit down and talk about this, at length."

Nick's shoulders slumped with the weight that rested there, but Grissom could tell his words had gotten through. "Can I think about it?"

"Of course." Grissom rose from his seat and moved around the desk as Nick also rose from his seat. "With the holidays coming up, this might be the perfect time for a little Stokes family reunion."

Nick actually chuckled at that thought, seeing as he had just cleared another message from his mother telling him how much she missed him and hoping they would get to see him very soon. "Yeah, and it might help my parent's phone bill a little, too."

"Ah yes, the persistent nature of the worried mother… I believe I am familiar with that phenomenon." Grissom smirked at the memories of his own mother's incessant messages requesting his presence over the years. Leading him out to the hall, Grissom gave Nick a friendly pat on the shoulder and sent him on his way. He only hoped his words could help the younger man, because he had a great deal of baggage to work out on his own. Grissom had been in that same place at one time; adrift in the sea of life with no sail and no rudder with which to guide his life beyond his work.

As Grissom gingerly closed to the door to his office, he made one final comment, sending it out into the cosmos, since there were no other ears to hear it. "I hope you find it faster than I did, Nicky." Then he turned and went back to his desk to finish slogging through the paperwork that awaited him.