"Did you guys hear the rumor?" Greg sauntered into the layout room where Warrick, and Nick were in the midst of processing some evidence from a case they'd been working on all night; it had been a couple of weeks since the funeral and things had fallen back into a rhythm of normalcy around the lab.
"What rumor is that?" Warrick sounded skeptical; sharing little tidbits of information making its way around the lab grapevine was something Greg had been doing since he'd started there as a DNA technician. Usually by the time it passed through someone like Hodges things had ballooned well out of proportion. "This isn't about that extra week of vacation we're all not getting again this year is it?"
"No." Greg measured his words, while the information that he'd picked up was certainly of monumental proportions the person he'd heard it from didn't tend to exaggerate things and so he was inclined to believe that there was at least some measure of truth to it.
Nick didn't even bother to glance up as he continued to process evidence. "Who's your source?" He didn't want to have to pull a double, but if they didn't get through this mound of stuff they'd pulled from their vic's car it was going to be a sure bet that he wouldn't be going home at least until the sun was headed back down. Greg's interruption for something that had no bearing on their case didn't feel particularly welcome at the moment.
"I can't reveal my sources." The truth was, he didn't want to reveal his source.
"Greg man, get to the point; we have a lot of work to do here." Nick probably sounded a bit harsh, but time spent alone with Sara had become a preciously scarce commodity of late, partly because they hadn't worked a case together since the funeral and partly because of the number of hours they'd both been putting in lately had been a little excessive. Sara had promised him that if neither one of them had to pull a double that she'd make them a little breakfast in bed and he was definitely looking forward to being there.
"Sorry," Greg's tone was clipped; he could tell that both Nick and Warrick had a lot on their plate, something he had become all too familiar with since he'd become a CSI, "I heard that Grissom is leaving the lab."
Warrick looked up at the younger CSI with a furrowed brow and a jaw askew and didn't say a word.
Nick's head snapped up and a sinking feeling went straight to the pit of his stomach. He knew that Grissom was serious now about getting Sara back; he just hadn't thought he would actually leave the lab to do it. "What did you say?"
"I said, rumor has it that Grissom's quitting, leaving the lab maybe for good." The reaction that both Nick and Warrick had to his news was on par with how he had reacted to the news. He wasn't completely sure it was true, but he wasn't about to march into Grissom's office to verify it, that was something he thought one of the more veteran CSIs could do.
Warrick narrowed his gaze at Greg and finally found his words, "Who told you, Greg?" His tone was stern and he meant business; it was one thing to spread rumors about extra vacation time or why the receptionist suddenly had green hair; it was completely another to spread rumors about the man that was his mentor and really one of the few men he looked up to.
"Well I didn't really hear it firsthand...I overheard it," and if that person ever found out that he had, he might just find his days on this earth numbered.
Nick narrowed his eyes and his tone echoed Warrick's, "Who said it?" The source of the rumor in his mind could be the difference of he and Sara living happily ever after or him turning into a lonely old bastard; probably a bit of a leap, but at the moment he was feeling an emotional turmoil that was like a swinging pendulum.
Greg stammered slightly, "Well, I overheard Catherine saying something to Brass. I didn't mean to, I was looking for Catherine to fill her in on something regarding the case we're working and when I got to her office the door was ajar and she was talking to Brass about it." He didn't want to mention the part he'd overheard about Sara being part of the reason that Grissom might be leaving.
Warrick's expression softened and he nodded; if Catherine was the source of the rumor than it was no rumor at all, it was the truth. "Did you happen to hear when he might be leaving?"
"No," Greg let out a sigh, "I left; I didn't want them to know that I'd been standing there."
Nick stood there with his hands on his hips trying to stifle his own building frustration, "That was probably a good idea, Greg." In the back of his mind he was wondering if Sara had any idea that Grissom had indeed gone through with his plan to try and get her back. He didn't want to be scared, but the truth was until he knew for sure that Sara's feeling for Grissom were gone, there would always be a hint of fear inside of him that she would go back to him.
Greg looked as if he might be sick, "You won't tell them that I told you, will you?" It occurred to him that Catherine might not be so thrilled to find out that something she'd been discussing in what she assumed was the privacy of her office was now on its way to being public knowledge.
"You haven't told anyone else have you?" Warrick raised a single brow Greg's direction; this was not something that needed to be fed through the rumor mills. This was Grissom's news and he needed to have the opportunity to make it public when he was ready.
"Uh, no, I mean, just Sara, no one else though." Greg hoped that was the right answer; he was quickly beginning to realize that he should have kept the information to himself; but the reality was that it was too big to keep contained and he thought that it was only fair that the rest of the nightshift CSIs knew; maybe they could help talk Grissom out of leaving.
As soon as the words registered in Nick's ears he felt a surge of panic rising up like bile in the back of his throat.
Sara had a deeply troubled expression on her face as she made her way to Grissom's office; she could hardly believe that what Greg had told her was true, but in the back of her mind she knew that it was. She had never imagined that Grissom would give it all up for her and she honestly had no idea how to respond to that. She paused in the doorway to his office and as he glanced up at her from where he sat at his desk, she looked at him expectantly, "Hey, Gris."
There was something about her demeanor that told him that this was not about work and he gestured for her to close the door and come in. He let out a deep sigh as the door clicked shut and Sara sank into the chair across from him, "Sara." He really wasn't sure how to start this conversation; he'd been thinking about it for weeks, but now that it was here, he didn't know how to start.
"So you're leaving then," there wasn't a question in Sara's tone, just a confirmation of what she'd already guessed from what Greg had told her. She was just surprised that he'd actually gone through with it. Part of her was really, really angry with him for throwing away his career for her and part of her was ecstatic that he'd finally done something to show her how much he really cared for her.
"I was going to tell you," he wasn't really sure how she'd found out anyway, but he'd learned long ago that the walls had ears and nothing around here was really all that private. He let out a deep sigh and looked at her longingly, "I just can't do this anymore; I'm burnt out, I need a change." What he really wanted was to get lost in her and forget about crime and justice for a little while, but he wasn't sure if that would ever be a reality for him again.
"The lab needs you," it was ironic really that Sara should chose those four words; the four words that he'd so often used to remind her just why she should stay; four words when all she'd longed for from him for years was to hear three words that indicated he needed her.
"The lab will be fine," Grissom searched her eyes as he considered if he really could do what he'd planned to do and he realized that if he didn't, he would regret it for the rest of his life and he'd already had enough regret for things he hadn't done to fill up two lifetimes. "I'm leaving for Peru on Tuesday, I'm not really sure how long I'll be gone; a couple of months at least. I've always wanted to see Machu Picchu and to travel down the Amazon," he took a deep breath as he continued, studying her expression carefully, "I've made a lot of mistakes with you and I know that I don't deserve another chance, but I love you; I need you." He paused for a long moment watching the conflicted emotions swimming across her face, "I want you to come with me, Sara."
Sara had been so unsure for so long about what to do about her inner turmoil regarding her feelings for both Grissom and Nick and in that moment everything came to her in crystal clarity and suddenly she knew exactly who she wanted to be with.