A/N-Thanks for all the review! Im glad you like this. I am trying to think of original things, but its hard sometimes. This chapter is a lead in to the next chapter, which will be better, I hope. So, please read and review and any ideas/comments are welcome! The timeline might be a bit off, but I tried to keep this as during Season 6, so I apologize for any goof ups to those who take note of that. ENJOY! :O) wendy

Chapter Six

Thanksgiving was fast approaching. Catherine was feeling a little down about her life. Her relationship with her father, Sam Braun, seemed to be constantly hanging in the balance. Then there was Lindsey's constant bickering about everything from clothing to Music choices. Then there was her love life. Well, lack thereof anyway. So, she made a decision. This year, she was going to show her fellow Night Shift family members that they all deserved to have a little fun. So, she sat down at her computer and put together an invitation for the team, plus a few others.

Greg bounced into the break room and plopped into a seat next to Sara. He shoved a piece of paper in front of her face, wiggling it around.

"So, did you get your invitation?" Greg was all smiles and little over eager.

"Yes, Greg. I think we all got one." Sara just smiled at him and continued to read her magazine.

"Well, I hope you go! KARAOKE!! We gotta do a song together!"

"Greg, I dunno..." Sara was looking apologetically at him.

"No! NO! NO!" He got serious. "You, Ms. Sidle have an excellent voice. And what better way to celebrate than to blend the two best voices on the night shift?"

"Greg, its one thing to sing with the radio and another to perform in front of people."

"Sara, I have heard you sing..." Just then Nick entered the room, invitation in hand. "Back me up here, Nick!"

"Well, what am I agreeing to?" He smirked at Sara.

"Greg here seems to think I have the ability to perform a duet with him for an audience."

"YEAH! You two should do that. I mean, Sara, I have told you before, you have a nice singing voice! Besides, it's just Karaoke, not American Idol."

"Yeah, see? Nick agrees with me!" Greg got down on his knees next to Sara and spun her around in her chair so she was facing him. "PLEASE!! I am on my knees begging you!"

"ALL RIGHT! GOD! I will sing a song with you, Greg!" She rolled her eyes as Greg stood up.

"YES!" Greg proclaimed as he held his hands up in triumph. Nick just laughed and shrugged his shoulders when Sara glared at him.

"You know, Nick, you really shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior."

"I know, but it's fun to watch!" Nick took a seat at the table and sipped his coffee.

Grissom entered, case assignments in hand. He took a seat next to Sara at the table. He inconspicuously ran his hand along her thigh under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. Sara looked up from her magazine and flashed him a pursed lip grin. Catherine strolled in and went to pour herself some coffee.

"Hey, Cath!" Greg leaned against the counter next to her. "Can't wait for your party! Sara has agreed to sing a song with me." He smiled wide and winked at Sara.

"What's he talking about?" Grissom directed his question to Sara, but it was Nick who slid his invitation towards Grissom. "Didn't you get yours? It should be in your locker."

"Oh, well, I haven't checked it yet." Grissom put his glasses on and read the invitation. "You are invited to the First Annual Night Shift Blast" Grissom looked over the top of his glasses at all the faces waiting eagerly for his response. He continued to read. "Come for a night of food, fun, Spirits and Karoake?"

"YEAH! That's the best part, right?" Greg said enthusiastically.

Catherine smiled at Greg and took a seat across from Gil and Sara next to Nick. "I just wanted us all to have a little fun. It always seems that the Holiday Season is the worst time of year in the crime lab, so why not kick it off with a little fun?"

"I think it's a great idea!" Greg proclaimed as he took a seat at the end of the table.

"Yeah, I think we gathered that was your opinion, Greggo." Nick just chuckled at him. "You can count me in. Can we bring a date?"

"Well, I think it's a good idea too." Sara chimed in. "And, yes, Greg talked me into doing a duet with him, so I'm hoping there will be plenty of liquid courage on hand?" Sara looked to Catherine.

"Well, of course!" She smiled wickedly. "How else are we gonna get Grissom to dance?" Everyone laughed, except Grissom, who just rolled his eyes. "And, well, yeah, I suppose you can bring a date, Nick."

"Excellent." He smiled. "Wait! How are we all going to be able to go? Someone's going to have to be in on shift." Everyone looked at Grissom.

"Uh, well, I will figure something out. A couple of us will probably have to be on call, but we can find subs from swing for us probably. They are always complaining we hog the overtime. I will talk to Ecklie."

"GREAT!" Greg exclaimed. "I can't wait!"

"It should be fun." Sara commented as she gently ran her hand along Gil's thigh and shot him a grin. "Oh, and Greg?"

"Yeah, Sara?"

"I get to pick the song." He just smiled at her, content with the thought that he would finally get to sing with Sara.

Several hours later, Grissom and Sara found themselves driving out of the desert alone and back to the lab. Nick had gone with them, but caught a ride back with Brass to question a suspect. They loaded up the evidence bags and their kits into the back of the SUV. Sara climbed into the passenger seat and took a deep breath of the cool air conditioned interior and smiled. She heard a laugh coming from the driver's seat.

"What's so funny, Gil?" She leaned her head back, eyes closed.

"Oh, nothing. Just you."

"What?" She sat up and faced him.

"Well, I was just thinking about what song you were going to pick to sing with Greg, and I got this vision of Sonny and Cher and "I got you, Babe" in my head."

"Ha, ha, Gil. I am NOT going to sing that horrible song. Especially not with GREG!" She leaned her head back again. It was just a couple hours after sunrise, but the desert heat was intense and she was tired.

"So, when we get this logged in, wanna grab some breakfast?"

"Sure, Gil. Sounds good. But it might be lunchtime by the time we get done."

Gil smiled at her. "Well, I happen to know of a place that serves pancakes at all times of the day."

"Oh, yeah? IHOP, right?" Sara grinned at him. She loved teasing him.

"Nooo. You know what I'm talking about, Ms. Sidle."

"I hate it when you call me that, Dr. Grissom." He smiled at her.

"So, what song are you going to sing with Greg?"

"It's a surprise. You, Mister, will have to wait and find out with the rest of the team."

"Hmmph."

"But just know, that no matter what the song choice, I an NOT singing it about Greg."

"Well, that is good news." He joked and reached over to take her hand in his as he pulled out onto the highway. She smiled at him and snuggled into the seat, never letting go of his hand.

Grissom looked over at Sara. She was sleeping, probably not too soundly, but at least she was resting. He loved moments like this the best, when they could just be Gil and Sara. When they could drive and hold hands and not worry about who might be lurking around a corner or pass judgement on their relationship. They themselves still weren't very clear on what their relationship entailed, but he knew one thing for certain. He loved spending time with Sara. He could never be tired of her company or her passion, in and out of the bedroom. He found it harder and harder to keep his hands away from her at work, so he soaked up the contact whenever he could grab it.

The party coming up at Catherine's could present some issues. It was going to be hard to keep his distance from her. He would be on call that night, so staying away from alcohol would be one problem solved, for him anyway. He looked over at Sara when she gently snored. He smiled and pulled over at a roadside station, parking away from the main building near their dumpster.

"We back already?" Sara sat up and looked around. "Gil? Where are we?"

Grissom unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over and unbuckled Sara's. He placed his hand on her cheek and smiled lovingly as he pulled her in for a kiss. Sara, still groggy and confused, sat still as he assaulted her lips, begging her to open up to him with his tongue. Sara moaned and kissed him back, tongues dueling and hands winding in his hair. When she felt as if Gil had sucked all the air out of her, she pulled back to breath. Placing her forehead against Gil's.

"What's gotten into you?" Sara was breathing heavily.

"I just had to kiss you." Gil smiled at her and began his passionate assault again. He placed kisses up and down her neck, sliding his hands up and under the back of her shirt, unhooking her bra.

"Gil" Sara protested, but he continued to kiss his way across her shoulder as his hand slid under her bra and massaged her breast. "GOD! I don't know what's gotten into you, but...damn!"

Gil chuckled as her brought his lips back to hers and delved his tongue into her mouth. Sara had managed to pull the hem of Gil's shirt from his pants and was currently running her fingers just under the waste band of his Khakis when a loud pounding came from the passenger window. Sara jumped back as Gil sat up.

"Whoo hoo!! Look at the lovebirds!" A blonde teenage boy whooped at them from beside the passenger door.

"Eww, Gross, Todd! They're old!" This from a teenage boy on a bike just behind him.

Grissom just glared at the two teens. When Sara turned and looked Todd in the eye, he got a horrified look on his face and took off running. His buddy on the bike had a hard time catching up. Sara laughed and turned to look at Gil. He had a blank look on his face.

"Oh, come on, Gil. It's funny!" Sara took his hand in hers.

"I hate this, Sara." He tucked in his shirt and buckled his seatbelt.

"What. So, those two kids suddenly got you out of the mood? They are halfway to Vegas by now" She reached over to unbuckle his seatbelt, but he put his hand on top of hers. "No, Sara. You were right. I don't know what came over me. We shouldn't be making out on the side of the road on company time. Let's get back to the lab." With that said, he put the vehicle in gear and headed towards Vegas.

Sara sat staring out the window, trying to figure out what had just happened. Sometimes he could run so hot and cold, that she wanted to scream in frustration. But that was Gil Grissom, and she would put up with his quirks no matter what. She reached over and took his hand in hers, and smiled. He smiled back at her and gently gave her hand a squeeze. She loved moments like this the best, when they could just be Gil and Sara.