Chapter Twenty Five

Sara walked into the locker room to find Nick sitting on the bench, shoulders slumped down and eyes closed. She walked up and stood beside him, but he didn't respond. She sat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He slowly looked up, hurt evident in his eyes.

"Hey, Nicky, what's wrong?"

"It's uh, my mom. My sister called and uh, she was in a car accident. She's in ICU." He sniffed to fight back tears. Sara wrapped her arm around his shoulders and he began to cry. He turned so he was crying into her shoulder. Sara took him into her arms as he cried silently. She felt bad for Nick. He was so close to his family. She saw it when he was buried alive by that bastard. His parents were right there every horrible step of the way. They had a bond that Sara had never experienced.

"Oh, uh, sorry to interrupt." David Hodges declared and spun on his heal and off down the hallway. Sara rolled her eyes. Great. I'm sure the misinterpretation of this scene will be thrown out and around within minutes.

Nick pulled himself away from Sara and wiped at his eyes. He smiled at her. "Thanks."

"No problem, Nick." She gave him a smile in return and patted him on the shoulder. She got up and went to her locker, deciding not to tell him about Hodges.

Grissom sat at his desk going over assignments for the night. Nick was taking several days off to see his mom and Sara had a few days off by order of Ecklie due to her surplus of vacation time. Grissom walked down the hall to the break room to find his team. As he passed by Trace, he heard Hodges rattling on to Henry and Archie. He heard the mention of Nick and Sara, so he stopped to listen in on the conversation. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but he couldn't help himself.

"What, you don't think its coincidence that Nick and Sara have time off the same days?"

"I think you're reaching man." Archie shook his head at Hodges. "Besides, we all KNOW she's Grissom's girl, right?"

"Yeah." They agreed in unison.

"So, would she do that to him?" Archie asked of the lab techs.

"I don't think so." Henry decided.

"I don't know. I'm not sure. I mean. It's probably just an affair. We are not the settling down type." Hodges got a smug look on his face.

"Who is WE?" Archie asked.

"Gil and I.. I'm sure Sara has to go to someone who can give her the emotional connection that Gris can't give to her." Hodges stated matter of fact. Grissom had enough and decided to interrupt this ridiculous conversation. He cleared his throat and walked in.

"Did I hear my name?" He peered over the top of his glasses at the lab techs.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Hodges was just saying how he's a lot like you." Henry offered and then smiled. "I got work to do." He made his exit.

"Yeah, uh, me too." Archie practically ran down the hall to A/V.

"David?" Grissom asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, uh. It's nothing new. I was just telling them how we aren't the marrying kind. We had this conversation before."

"David, YOU had that conversation. I was just there." He threw a fake smile at him. "Get back to work. I need the results on the Johnson case ASAP!"

"Yes, sir." David threw a salute at him and turned to get to work.

Gil found Catherine, Greg and Warrick in the break room and handed out assignments. Catherine and Warrick had a 419 from a B&E and He and Greg were going to get to work on the Johnson case evidence.

"So, uh, Nick and Sara have vacation at the same time." Greg commented in the layout room to Grissom. "Kinda convenient, huh?" Greg chuckled.

"What?" Grissom looked up at Greg suddenly. "Why does everyone assume that because a male and a female have vacation at the same time that it automatically means they are on it together?"

"Uh, ummm." Greg stood with his mouth open for a moment. "I have no idea, Gris."

Grissom turned back to his work. They processed the clothes and were scheduled to meet with Doc Robbins on his autopsy findings of the two victims. They were walking down the hallway when Grissom's phone went off.

"Grissom."

"Hey, Babe! How's work going?" He smiled at her endearment. Greg noticed how Grissom's face seemed to light up when whomever was on the other end of the line called. He looked at Grissom in question.

"Uh, hold on a second." He held the phone to his chest. "Greg, I'll meet you in a few minutes."

"Oh, ok." Greg smiled and continued down the hallway to the morgue, but not before hearing Grissom saying "Hey, Honey, did you get your stuff packed?"

Greg parked his car in Sara's apartment complex parking lot. No sign of her car. The blinds were open in her window and no sign of movement. He frowned and dialed her cell. He had gotten voice mail the past few tries, but he decided to give it a go once again. Maybe she really WAS on vacation with Nick.

"Hey! Where are you? Didn't shift end like an hour ago?" Sara's voice was full of energy and happiness.

"Uh. What? Since when do you care if I work overtime or not?" Obviously she wasn't waiting on Nick.

"Greg?"

"Yeah. Who did you think it was? Don't you have caller ID?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, but I didn't look to see who it was I just assumed it was..." She stopped talking abruptly.

"Thought is was who, Sara? Who do you have plans with? Catherine? Warrick? Grissom?" He was practically laughing at the last suggestion. But his smile diminished when he saw his supervisor pulling up into the parking lot. He got an idea.

"So, uh, who?" He prodded.

"Greg. Does it really matter?"

"Yes, it does. When I'm the one left out of the plans." He sounded a bit hurt.

"Look. It's not like that, Greg." She let out a loud sigh. "Grissom is coming over to help me move some stuff to my storage unit. He overheard me complaining and offered to help. Otherwise, I would have called you, Greg."

"Oh, ok. So, uh, you're at home right now?" He watched as Grissom got out of his SUV and went to the back and pulled out several empty boxes.

"Yeah. Where else would I be?" He saw Sara appear in her front window and wave at Grissom. He smiled and waved back at her.

"Yeah, uh. Well, there's this rumor going around that you and Nick are on vacation together."

"What? I am NOT on vacation with Nick. His mom is in the hospital in Texas!"

By now Grissom was making his way to Sara's building. "What's going on Sara? Really?" He watched as Sara opened the door, her phone in her left hand. She smiled at Grissom and pointed to her phone, saying something to him. He couldn't make out the words but heard her whispering. Grissom nodded and followed her inside.

"Greg, nothing is going on. Hodges just saw something and misinterpreted it."

"Oh. Sounds like Hodges." Greg was silent for a moment. "What about Grissom?"

"I just have a lot of stuff and a small apartment. He's been trying to be nicer to me lately. Haven't you noticed the death glares have eased off?"

"Yeah. I did notice that. And you seem happier lately."

"Why don't you go get some sleep and come over later for pizza and a movie."

"Well, I suppose I can do that. For you. I have the night off anyway." Greg smiled and hung up his phone. He was satisfied. Sara had been honest and told her about Grissom. Obviously the lab rumors were just rumors, and he had the evidence that proved she was NOT on vacation with Nick. He smiled and drove the 10 minutes to his own apartment. He lazily climbed the two flights to his door when he suddenly stopped and yelled out loud, "Why did Grissom call her Honey?"

Sara hung up her phone and smiled at Gil. She walked over to him and placed a kiss on his lips. Gil smiled and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a much more thorough kiss.

"Hmmm. That was nice." Sara smiled at him. "Greg was on the phone. He heard I was on vacation with Nick."

Grissom sighed and hugged Sara closer. She lay her head on his shoulder and snuggles into his warmth. "Im sorry about lab gossip, Sweetie."

"Well, at least it's a rumor. Better than the truth." She chuckled. Grissom held her closer. "Gil. Is everything ok?" Sara pushed away from him so she could see his face.

Gil wandered over to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. He sat down on a stool at her counter and took a swig. Sara knew something was up. He didn't usually just grab a beer. He was too quiet.

"Gil, you gotta talk to me, Babe. Don't bottle up your emotions." He eyed her from behind his beer bottle as he took anther swig.

"I don't think this is going to work."

"What's not going to work? Moving? Us? Gil, you're kinda freaking me out here!" Sara was pacing frantically.

"NO! No, no. Not any of that." He sighed. "I hate the lies Sara. I don't think the lies are going to last much longer. People are beginning to question things. Rumors are going around the lab."

"Gil. There are ALWAYS rumors in that lab. You would think the lab was manned by a bunch of old women and not trained scientists! I mean, last week, Mandy told me that Catherine and Jim were having an affair."

"What?"

"Yeah. Apparently they came in together after David's reception."

"So?"

"Exactly. That was all it took! They have overactive minds and no social lives. They can't help but imagine things that aren't real."

"But what happens when they do figure it out, Sara?"

Sara walked over to Gil and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. She smiled and kissed him gently. "I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! I love the lab rats and Greg. They are the smartest in the lab, aside from Gil and Sara. Hehehe. Please leave a review! Beware some drama coming along soon, but don't worry. My own weird humor will be in there somehow! TWO DAYS!! TWO DAYS!! Be sure to watch the premiere all!! Wendy