Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of the characters in this story...except Thomas who is in fact a real cat.
Spoilers: None.
A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews. I hope you enjoy chapter two. Please let me know what you think.
New Home
Chapter Two
Throughout the five days at work Grissom casually mentioned the housewarming on occasion, and responded cryptically to any questions about his 'special someone', being careful not to give anything away of the gender or species of the 'someone' in question. Whilst at home, he and Sara devised the other side of their plan, how they were actually going to tell the team about their relationship.
It was decided that Sara would turn up after everyone else. She could use the morning to pack the last of her things and drive over from her apartment half an hour after they were all due to arrive. Grissom suggested he introduce Thomas before she got there, fearing she would almost certainly burst out laughing and give the whole thing away. But Sara refused to miss out on seeing the looks on everyone's faces when they met her little feline friend.
Luckily for them, although officially it was Sara who had adopted Thomas, he had been living at Grissom's apartment because it was where she herself had spent most of her time. This meant none of the guys had seen him or were even aware she owned a cat. Throughout the five days, every time a cat or Grissom's 'special someone' was mentioned she had had to leave the room, before her giggling gave the game away.
Eventually Wednesday arrived and as Sara sat waiting in her apartment for her time to leave, she thought about all the clues they had emphasised at the house, clues that Las Vegas criminalists really should find and be able to use to work out what was going on. It made her smile to realise it was possible they could get through the entire housewarming without any of their friends working it out at all. Although that would mean they would have to actually tell them, and that wouldn't be half as fun as someone working it out.
Meanwhile, at the house, Catherine had just arrived with Warrick. On his own Grissom would never had spotted the chemistry between those two, but once Sara had pointed it out to him he could see it really clearly. It made Grissom smile to see Catherine finally had the chance to be with someone who would treat her well, and that Warrick seemed to be dealing with his failed marriage to Tina healthily. Cath was desperate to wander the entire house, but Grissom managed to keep them in the living room, saying they would get a grand tour once everyone had arrived. He watched from the adjacent kitchen as they took in the details of the house, wondering if either would spot the clues as to Sara's presence in his, their, home.
"This place is a lot more comfortable than the cave you used to call an apartment Gil." Cath called to him from the sofa. "I like the feminine touches." She teased.
"You have a lot of plants in here man, must take ages to water them all." Warrick added.
This gave Grissom a chance to tease Cath back. "I guess I like vegetation." He stated matter-of-factly, and glanced at Catherine to see if she picked up on his clue. It seemed she hadn't, and he began to wonder exactly how they were one of the best teams in the country.
As Grissom returned to the living room with their drinks the doorbell rang and he moved to answer the door to Greg and Nick, who were both carrying a bottle of wine each as a housewarming present. Everyone was sat discussing work related topics when the doorbell rang for the final time. With his back to the others Grissom mouthed to Sara "are you ready for some fun?" as she walked into the house. She winked in response when she was sure no one was paying attention to them, then purposely ran her fingers along Grissom's arm as she passed by him.
After everyone had said their hello's to Sara and Grissom had played the good host and provided drinks and snacks for all, he decided it was time to introduce his 'special someone'. Cath's earlier comment about feminine touches had gotten him thinking and he now had an even greater plan to mess with his friends. He was worried Sara would burst out laughing once she caught on to what he was doing, but it was too good an idea to let go.
"Now that everyone's here, and before I give you a tour, there is someone I would like you to meet." He tried to suppress the grin that was spreading over his face as he quickly said his next words. "I have been living with him for quite some time at my old apartment and now we live together here. His name is Thomas. Please excuse me while I see if he's ready to meet you all."
With that Grissom left to collect Thomas from the bedroom and give himself time to stop the laughter that was threatening to escape. The living room fell into complete silence as everyone absorbed Grissom's words. Before she could ruin the whole thing Sara excused herself by saying she was going to "try to find the bathroom" then snuck into the bedroom to join Grissom once she was out of eyesight of the others.
Their four stunned co-workers barely noticed her exit as the implications of Grissom's words hit them. Eventually it was Greg who broke the silence, needing to make sure he was making the same conclusions as everyone else.
"Did Grissom mean…um…did he mean what I think he meant?!"
"I…um…I…think…" Nick managed to find his voice next, though couldn't form a coherent sentence.
It was left to Catherine to be blunt and finally say what everyone was thinking. "Grissom just admitted to us all that he is gay and living with a man named Thomas."
This just served to stun everyone into silence once again, until Warrick noticed Sara's absence. "Hey, you think Sara's okay? I mean, we all know she had this thing for Gris, this has to be more shocking for her than any of us."
Meanwhile, Sara was still trying to compose herself, which wasn't an easy task when Grissom was lying on their bed laughing hysterically. Eventually they both calmed down and it was decided Sara should go and join the others so that Grissom could bring out Thomas, who was happily purring at the foot of the bed, totally unaware of the hilarity his presence was about to cause.
When she returned to the living room all eyes were on Sara. She knew they were expecting her to look upset or in shock but no matter how hard she tried she wasn't that great an actress. Seeing as Grissom had deviated from the original plan, she decided she could too.
"Um…Sara? Are you okay? You know, about Grissom's announcement and everything?" Nick asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"Yes. In fact, I have a confession to make to you guys. I've already met Thomas. He's great; you'll all love him. Him and Grissom are really cute together."
Before anyone had a chance to react to what Sara had said, Grissom walked into the living room, Thomas settled comfortably in his arms.
"Everyone, this is Thomas."
Warrick was the first to react, though not audibly laughing you could see it in his eyes as he realised the mistake. Nick soon followed, his laughter filling the room, followed soon after by Catherine. Greg laughed so hard he ended up falling off the sofa and onto the floor.
Feigning their best looks of innocence, Grissom and Sara both said at once, "what's so funny guys?" causing the other four in the room to laugh even harder.
TBC
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for sticking with my story. The next chapter is written and should be posted soon.
