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 lovely reviews, everyone has been so encouraging :) i hope you enjoy this final chapter...
New Home
Chapter Six
Pretty soon all six colleagues were settled into a comfortable quiet, too busy thinking of their plans to really say much at all. Remembering his manners, Greg complimented the chef's on a lovely meal, missing the opportunity to tease them about cooking together. Gaining an annoyed look from Catherine for the mistake, Greg decided to be the one to point out the photograph.
"So Grissom, I noticed the photograph of you and Sara over on the side table."
Greg's casual comment threw Grissom completely, who fully expected it to be followed by an awkward question or accusation. The total silence that followed was in fact a lot worse. The photograph in question showed Grissom with his arm around Sara's waist and both were clearly laughing about something. Fortunately it was also very possible to interpret the interaction between them as friends-only, which gave Grissom an escape from further questioning, he hoped.
"It's a nice photograph isn't it? It was taken at the entomology seminar we attended last year."
Satisfied with his honest answer, Grissom went back to eating his lasagne. That was until he noticed that the casual conversation had not resumed. Alarmed, Grissom looked towards Sara, who indicated with a smirk that perhaps it was time to start their plane.
Unfortunately that was put on hold when Nick picked up where Greg had left off. "I remember that, Sara got to go to LA while the rest of us were stuck here on decomp duty."
"Yeh what's up with that Sara?" Warrick teased. "You two were off having fun while we were stuck at home doing all the work."
Feeling unnerved by the shift in focus to her end of the table, Sara became suddenly very interested in her food and simply shrugged. This granted Grissom the opportunity to begin the plan. He stood up and audibly cleared his throat before speaking to the entire group.
"I would like to make a little speech guys." Once all eyes were on him Grissom continued. "I just wanted to thank everyone for today and tell you all how lucky I feel to have you as my friends and colleagues."
This uncharacteristic behaviour from Grissom diverted everyone's attention from Sara, as was the plan, allowing her time to slip the engagement ring from her pocket and onto her finger.
Sitting back down, Grissom received a small round of applause from his amused co-workers, and a comment from Catherine. "Great speech Gil, at least it was longer than the one you wrote about Ecklie when he was made AD." She teased.
Before the others had a chance to continue with their awkward questions, Sara began phase two of the plan. She stood up and in a similar fashion to Grissom, audibly cleared her throat before giving a little speech of her own.
"Hey guys. I just wanted to say thank you to Gil for today, and for making everyone feel so welcome in this house." Taking a moment to check she'd phrased everything right so far, Sara continued. "I also feel very lucky to be able to call you all my friends, and I hope that we can get together like this more often in the future."
Taking her seat, Sara was pleased to see their plan had worked perfectly. Four stunned faces were turned towards her, and one smiling one. It was clear to both Grissom and Sara that not only had their colleagues picked up on her use of Grissom's first name, but that they had also noticed the delicate diamond engagement ring now situated on Sara's finger.
Pleased at successfully ruining any further plans the others may have had and noting that the majority of plates were now empty, Grissom decided it was time for dessert. "Would anyone like some dessert? I have apple pie warming in the oven. Sara, would you mind giving me a hand?"
The others still didn't move or speak, even when Grissom and Sara collected their plates and headed for the kitchen. Once they had left Catherine finally found her voice. "Okay. What the hell just happened in here?"
"I think they beat us at our own game Cath." A now smiling Warrick suggested.
"Yeh, I'm thinking maybe we should admit defeat." Greg added, also smiling. "If that photo is any indication, they've been together for at least a year without any of us figuring it out."
"Greg's right. Let's just let them be and eventually they'll get bored and tell us."
Grissom and Sara came back moments later, three bowls each of apple pie balancing in their arms. Whilst in the kitchen they'd both agreed they'd had enough fun for one day and it was time to come clean to their friends.
There was an uneasy silence whilst dessert was eaten, no one knowing quite what to say now that they'd all given up on the teasing and games. Once everyone's bowls were empty Grissom announced the washing up could wait and they should all relax on the sofas while he made the coffee.
A little conversation resumed, but it was now strictly about work, everybody carefully avoiding anything remotely personal. It came as a relief when Grissom returned with a tray full of six mugs of coffee. Sara had ensured there was space for Grissom to sit beside her, so that they could make their announcement together. Once he was seated and everyone seemed settled, Grissom cleared his throat and prepared to make another little speech, this time choosing complete honesty.
"Well I think it's time we stop pretending no one knows what's going on and I make an official announcement. Before I do I want to say again how much you all mean to me, and I also want to admit I enjoyed the fact you guys managed to have as much fun teasing us as we did teasing you." He paused to make sure everyone really did know what was going on, before lacing his fingers with Sara's and standing them both up to face their friends.
"I know you all worked this out yourselves today, but let's make it official." Stopping to smile at his fiancé, Grissom let out a deep breath and continued. "Sara and I have been dating for almost two years now, we got engaged almost six months ago and we bought this house together."
Actually hearing Grissom say the words seemed to once again stun everyone into silence. Then, moments later, the room erupted into a mass of congratulations and cheering. Catherine pulled Grissom into a hug, and then insisted on seeing the ring on Sara's hand. Warrick shock hands with Grissom and gave Sara a light hug. Greg and Nick both hugged Grissom and Sara.
Once everyone had settled back into their seats Grissom and Sara were inundated with questions about their relationship; the when's, why's, how's and wedding plans. No one could quite believe how the couple had managed to keep their relationship a secret for so long, and were even more ashamed of their investigative skills when they heard that Ecklie had figured it out about eight months previously.
The group continued talking through two more cups of coffee each, and were amazed when Nick pointed out it was almost time for their shift at the lab. It was nine o'clock when the four finally headed out the door; once again congratulating the happy couple and telling them they'd see them at work the next evening, as both Grissom and Sara had the night off.
Sara closed the door and turned to face her husband-to-be. "Well, that was extremely fun and went extremely well." She said with a large grin on her face.
"Indeed it was Miss Sidle." Grissom responded as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"I'm going to miss you calling me that you know." Sara whispered as she rested her head against Grissom's chest, his arms moving to pull her into a loving embrace.
They held each other for a while, just enjoying the happiness of the moment and the realisation that finally they had told their closest friends the truth. Both felt much lighter in the knowledge that no one had been upset about not being told sooner, and that everyone was so happy for them.
"So when should we tell them about the baby?" Grissom asked Sara as they lay together on the couch later that night, with Thomas curled up on the rug beside them.
Sara turned to look into Grissom's eyes, a wicked smile playing on her lips. "Oh I have a great plan for that…"
The End (maybe…)
A/N: Thank you again to everyone who has stuck with this story to the end, i hope you enjoyed the final chapter! Did you notice i ended it on a cliffhanger? Well don't worry, there's a sequel to follow, that's even fluffier and sillier than the original, because i think everyone needs to read something lighthearted after the season finale!
