Problems
Body parts must be found in a backyard
Grissom must fight someone
Hodges must go out into the field
Greg must admit to having homosexual feelings for Grissom
Nick must have a sex change
Sara must have a "Single White Female" thing for Catherine
Grissom stuck his head into the lab.
"Hodges." He said, making the blue-eyed lab rat look up from his microscope.
"Y-yea??" He asked, moving towards the door.
"Look," The supervisor started, "Nicky's still on leave. I'm a man short. How do you feel about fieldwork??"
"Wow…Really??"
"Yea, if you get a kit and hurry up. Catherine and Sara are already down there. They'll help you out."
"Willows and Sidle can't handle it on their own??"
"No, you'll know why when you get there."
"Where??"
"Just follow Brass."
With that, Grissom retreated from the lab and went back to his office.
Hodges arrived on the scene about half an hour later, with an irritated captain.
"Stop asking questions and get over there." Brass said, finally giving Hodges a final push, "I've got neighbors to talk to…"
The lab rat watched Brass walk away, still unsure of where to go.
"Hodges??" He heard Sara's voice and turned around quickly, trying to extinguish his nervousness with his usual dryly humorous demeanor.
"Yea, S—Woah, did you do something to your hair??"
"Yea, died it and had it curled. Thought I'd go for something different…Anyway, the problem's the backyard."
She led him into the backyard, where six or seven men assisted Catherine in digging up the remains of several body parts.
"My God…" Hodges said. He never saw any part of remains unless it was small pieces brought in for him to analyze. This is completely new.
He could handle it, but it was hard for him to imagine these women doing this every day.
"Hey, Hodges. I guess you're the one Grissom was looking for. Well, grab a shovel…" Catherine said, pulling her sunglasses down to shield herself from the persistent sun.
That's when Hodges realized where he'd seen Sara's haircut before. It was exactly like Catherine's.
"Probably just a coincidence…" He thought to himself as he grabbed a shovel and got down to work.
"Griss, can I talk to you??"
Grissom heard the words. They were muffled, but he could still hear them. He looked up to see Greg standing awkwardly at the door of his office.
"Make it quick, Sanders, I'm kinda busy." He pushed away the files in front of him, removed his glasses, and put them down on the desk.
"Okay…It won't take but a minute…" Greg stepped across the threshold, closed the door, and sat down across from his supervisor.
"Go ahead, Greg…" Grissom said, already eager to get back to the cell phone records that he was previously analyzing.
"Grissom, well…Okay. I've always looked up to you, right??"
"I suppose so…"
"Well, I realized that it may be a bit more that just…respect I feel for you."
Grissom cocked his head in the way he always did when he was a bit perplexed. He looked at him sideways, waiting for him to continue, but almost wishing that he wouldn't.
"I think I…ya know, like you Grissom." He said.
Grissom was physically shaken by the words.
"No, Greg. I don't think so." He said, standing and crossing the room to open the door and let the young blonde back out.
"Well, I do." Sanders replied, standing and walking over to the door himself.
They stood there awkwardly, Gil not wanting to make a move that could be misinterpreted.
He saw Greg when he had a thing for Sara Sidle.
Any move could be misinterpreted as reciprocity.
He didn't want that.
That's when he felt the younger man's hands on his face and the thin lips pressed against his.
Reacting purely on instinct, the supervisor pulled back and hit the former lab rat with a punch in the jaw.
Grissom had thought these old habits were behind him, but…
I guess one never really gets over things like that, do they??
Greg stood, nodded and left the room, leaving Grissom to ponder more than just cell phone records.
Sara sat in her living room, unwinding from the shocking day that had just befallen her.
She couldn't get the images of those body parts out of her mind…
…Until she thought of Catherine.
Catherine was beautiful, intelligent, street-smart, responsible, and experienced.
She was everything that Sara had ever hoped to be.
There was a knock at the door.
She rose quickly, thinking it might be her self-appointed redheaded mentor and rushed to the door.
Warrick stood there with panic etched into his face.
"Nicky's a chick…" He said, breathless.
Apparently, he didn't wait for the elevator and instead ran all the flights up to Sara's apartment.
"What??" Sara asked.
"That's why he's taken all this leave…He had a sex change, Sara. I'm supposed to be his best friend and he didn't even tell me."
"Why'd he do that?!" Sara asked, turned over a picture frame containing a picture of her in front of a casino…
…With Catherine's face pasted over hers.
"I dunno, ask Nicole." He said, obviously bitter.
"How'd you find out??"
"He called. He wants us to go see him down in the hospital…"
"Are you serious??" Sara asked, wide-eyed.
"Yea, come on. Let's go." He coaxed.
"Let me get my coat." Sara said, turning her back on the ebony Adonis in her doorway.
She suppressed a smile.
Catherine might be there…