Disclaimer: I do not own in any capacity any part of CSI or the characters much to my dismay. If I did, Grissom would be shacking up with Sara every night. I do admit to having an active imagination…

The Real Estate Giveaway

Chapter 19

Grissom surveyed the room and breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone invited had managed to let their curiosity get the better of them and had wandered, somewhat reluctantly for some, to the dinner. Cocktail hour was overflowing and those who had come in tense appeared to have relaxed after a glass of wine or bottle of beer.

He checked his watch and realized that Sara would be arriving late as planned. She had no clue why he had asked her to show up 25 minutes after the invitation stated the party began, but she had followed his request.

Investigating and detecting, the attendees had spotted name plates arranged neatly on the small round tables that were scattered on one side of the room. He and Sara were paired with the Carvellos, Catherine and Brass. Catherine had placed her handbag at her seat and Brass had draped his jacket across the back of his chair. Other tables had been littered with purses, jackets, and keys too.

Still, no one person stood out as hosting the party. Catherine wandered around making small-talk with the Carvellos, the Robbins, and even the Sheriff, who asked if she was throwing the party and quickly ruled himself out as the host.

A waiter appeared and signaled that dinner would be served in ten minutes.

Sara fidgeted in the foyer of the restaurant. She wore a simple crepe dress of black, sleeveless and falling just below her knees. Her feet were sporting strappy black sandals with a modest heel. A strand of pearls encircled her neck and a matching pair decorated her ears. As requested by Grissom, she had her wedding band ready on her right hand to be transferred at the moment to her left. He assured her that she'd know when it was time.

She stood in the doorway and Nick caught a glimpse of her and grinned. "Hey sugar," he said as he walked towards her, "We thought you weren't coming."

"Um… I couldn't find the place."

She caught Grissom's glance from across the room. He had that mischievous look on his face again, and she tried her best to focus Nick as he offered to fetch a drink for her.

After saying a few hellos and taking her wine spritzer from Nick, she asked what was going on. Gregg and Warrick had joined the group and filled her in as to who was there and dinner speculations.

Eventually the crowd began occupying tables and Sara wandered around to find her name between Brass and Grissom. Brass came up behind her and pulled out her chair and she sat. She looked around and noticed that Catherine was joining them and that Nick had taken a chair beside the sheriff.

And then the salad arrived. Carvello stood and surveyed the room and finally garnered attention by gently rapping his knife against his water glass. The room hushed and eyes focused on him.

"Though I am not the host of this lovely evening, I thought it would only be appropriate for someone to say a few words. I'd like to start by saying that it is good to see all of you relaxed and enjoying yourselves. I've now had the opportunity to actually talk to a few of you about things outside of work and for me it has been most enjoyable. I never knew we had such a diverse group of folks."

He continued, "Strange things are celebrated by my staff – proving who murdered someone, how someone was killed, why someone had motive. It's a stressful job and I appreciate all of the effort and knowledge that each of you put into your jobs. But it is nice once in a while to find that in all of this murk, blood and sweat something wonderful emerging. Friendship, companionship, and love are something to be celebrated."

Carvello paused and picked up his glass of merlot, taking a small sip.

"Allow me to toast our hosts."

As glasses were picked up, Sara felt a nudge on her leg. Grissom stole a quick glance and whispered, "Now." She pulled the diamond encrusted band from her right hand and quickly slid it on the correct finger on her left, then picked up her glass. Grissom's left hand placed his napkin on the table and she noted that he'd already made the move as well. She took a deep breath and smiled.

"To Sara and Gil Grissom."