A couple of weeks had passed since Grissom and Sara's relationship had come to light. Things had definitely changed around the workplace. The family-type feeling that the team had for each other seemed to evaporate.

Even the atmosphere while doing paperwork together in the same room was awkward, as a team member would occasionally glance up and notice Grissom and Sara exchange smiles or a brush of the hand.

Catherine coped with the situation internally, refusing to let others see how badly it was affecting her. She avoided talking to Grissom or Sara unless it was strictly work related, and spent more time with the other CSIs and lab techs. It was becoming easier to get Grissom off her mind as she was trying to get to sleep after work. But she still couldn't look at the two without that sinking feeling in her stomach.

There were only a few minutes of shift left that night, and Catherine was wrapping up some paperwork in her office when Warrick popped his head in.

"Hey, Catherine," he said.

She looked up. "Oh, hey War. What's up?"

"Nick, Greg and I were going to go grab a bite to eat. I wanted to see if you were interested in coming with us."

"Oh, well-"

She was cut off as the spiky haired DNA tech-turned-CSI squeezed through the doorway next to Warrick. "Hi guys!" Greg grinned. "Grissom gave the okay and said we could all get off shift early. We ready to get some food? I'm starving."

Warrick turned to Catherine and looked at her expectantly for an answer.

"Sure." Catherine replied, gathering all her papers together and slipping them into the folder. "I'll meet you guys by the car."

Catherine locked her office door shut and began walking down the hall towards the main entrance when she heard fast footsteps behind her.

"Cath- wait up!"

She stopped and turned around. It was Sara.

"Sara. Hi."

"I heard you guys were going out to breakfast. Think you can squeeze in one more?" Sara asked, slightly out of breath.

One more? Where's Grissom? Catherine thought. She decided it was probably better if he wasn't coming anyway, since she was getting so good with getting rid of her Lack-of-Gil-Anxiety.

"Uh.. Yeah, you can come. Let's go, the guys are waiting for us." Catherine finally said.

"Thanks." Sara grinned, taking off down the hall.

Catherine hesitated before following, scanning the doorways for any sign of Grissom. She saw the light on through the window blinds in his office and her eyebrow automatically arched. Then without a second though, she swerved and headed out.

"Yeah, I know, baby. I'm taking the day off tomorrow, so I'll see you, and maybe then we can continue our little..."

Catherine walked around the Denali to find Greg leaning on it, his cell phone pressed to his ear. "Greg?" she said, snapping him out of his conversation.

He looked up. "Oh, hi, Cath." Quickly, he turned his attention back to his call. "Look, baby, I gotta go. I'll see you soon. I love you. No, I love you more. No, I-"

"Greg!" Catherine barked, giving him a glare.

"I-love-you-more-see-you-tomorrow-bye." Greg hung up.

"Hell," Catherine sighed, shaking her head. "Where are Warrick, Nick, and Sara?"

"Sara's coming?"

"Yeah. Last minute thing."

"Well, Warrick and Nick disappeared into the locker room as I was heading out. They said they'd meet us here right away and-"

"Hey, sorry for the hold up!" Warrick called, walking out the crime lab entrance with Nick on his heels. Sara was with them.

"Hodges managed to tip over and break our coffee pot." Nick grumbled.

"We had to help clean up." Sara explained.

"And ream him a new one," Nick added.

Catherine and Greg nodded, and they began to pile into the Denali. Warrick drove, Catherine sat in shotgun, and Nick, Sara, and Greg squeezed together in the back.

"So, where's Gris, Sara?" Greg asked after they had been driving for awhile. He needed to take his mind off his empty stomach.

"Oh, he had a lot of paperwork to finish up with," Sara replied flippantly. "He would have come if he could."

Warrick glanced at the rear-view mirror at Nick. The look said, they usually stay late together doing that stuff. Something must be going on.

"Huh," Nick said. "I asked Grissom if I could help out, and he told me that there wasn't anything to help out with."

Sara shrugged. "Well, you know how Grissom likes to be a…"

"Work whore." Catherine filled in. After a moment of

silence, she suddenly turned to Warrick. "War, I'm sorry, but can we go back? I'm just not feeling up to it tonight."

Warrick nodded. They had only been driving for about five minutes anyway. After being dropped back off at the crime lab, she went back inside and made her way to Grissom's office.

Just as she had expected, the door was still shut and the lights were still on. Softly, Catherine knocked on the door and let herself in.

"Sara, I told you, I want to be left alone!" Grissom barked without looking up from his paperwork.

"It's not Sara," Catherine told him, shutting the door behind her. "It's me."

Hearing the sound of her voice, Grissom looked up. "Oh. Catherine. Sorry. I've actually got a lot to do tonight, so I can't really talk right now."

"Sure you can." Catherine insisted, making herself comfortable in the visitor's chair. "Tell me what's going on with you and Sara."

Although she'd rather die than currently admit it, there was a rush of adrenaline flowing through her, hoping that their relationship was coming to a quick end. When it did, the guilt would most likely flood her over for awhile, but she pushed the thought of it aside to focus on the present.

Grissom looked up and removed his glasses, setting them aside on his desk. "It's… complicated." He mumbled.

"I've heard that one before," Catherine smirked.

Grissom shrugged. "Yeah, well…"

Catherine took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to do. A little voice in her head was screaming, don't do it, don't do it, don't…

"Gil, do you want to go out and get some breakfast? We haven't done that in forever, and maybe we could talk about things. Like we used to."

"I don't know, Cath…"

"You're right. Sara would probably freak out. Well, I'll see you later, then."

Grissom watched silently as Catherine got up from the chair and headed toward the door. He rested his head in his hands as the door swung shut.