A/N: Sorry about the massive delay! Between my friend's wedding and the beginning of the school year, things were a little hectic. I think we're back on schedule now!

We hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing.

I don't own CSI. Some inspiration and dialogue are taken from episode 410, "Eleven Angry Jurors."

December 2015

"Hello?"

"Hi, Grissom. It's Nick."

"Hi, Nick," Grissom replies. "What can I do for you?"

"I … need your opinion on something here at the lab. Can you come in for a bit?"

Grissom glances at the clock. Sara is out for breakfast with Catherine; knowing their breakfasts, it will be past lunchtime before she's home. Both Anna and Jake are at school, and will be for hours. He doesn't teach or hold office hours on Wednesdays; he's free for the day.

"Sure," he agrees. "I'll be there in half an hour."

"Perfect."

December 2003

Grissom sat at his desk with a pensive look. His elbows were resting on the flat surface; his fingers were templed in front of his face. He was looking at the point where the fingertips of his left hand met those of his right without really seeing them at all.

He had received yet another email reminding him that he needed to submit his recommendation for the promotion to Lead CSI. The email also contained the helpful reminder that both Sara Sidle and Nick Stokes had applied for the position; without his input, a decision could not be made.

The trouble, in Grissom's opinion, was that both Nick and Sara were excellent candidates for the promotion. Both were incredible CSIs. Both were exceptionally intelligent, with similar educational backgrounds. To be sure, Sara's Ivy League schooling was more impressive, but that was easily overlooked in cases such as these. Both had the potential to be good leaders, in very different ways. Both wanted to advance their careers.

The greatest difference was in his feelings toward them. Nick was a vital member of his team. He was an asset to the shift and to the lab. He was someone Grissom counted on, and someone he could trust with his life.

Sara was one of the few women he had met with whom he had considered building a life.

Grissom shook his head slightly. He would never be able to make this decision.

"Hey."

He looked up to see Catherine standing in his office doorway. "Hi," he replied.

"Brass just called. A juror in a high-profile murder case died while sequestered. Potential juror-tampering. You want in?"

"Yeah," Grissom replied. "Get everyone else, too."

"Nick's maxed out on overtime," Catherine said. "Do you want him in the field?"

"No," Grissom said at once. "He can stay here. But, Sara and Warrick are coming with us."

"You've got it."

December 2015

Catherine smiles a tentative smile. "And, you're feeling …?"

"Stunned," is all Sara can say. She sits down on Catherine's bed.

"So, I take it this wasn't planned," Catherine says, sitting down next to her.

"No," Sara says with a shaky laugh. "Not at all."

Catherine waits.

"I'm too old to have a baby," Sara says.

Catherine smiles. "I'd say the test disagrees."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Catherine says quietly. "And, I know that you had Anna right away because you didn't want to wait until it was too late." She smiles. "Maybe this is a wonderful reminder that you don't always need to rush into things."

"I'm not sure that Grissom and I have ever rushed into anything," Sara says with a wry smile. "Having Anna was one of the few times we both simultaneously felt pressure for something relationship-related." She exhales. "I don't know how to tell him. I don't know what he's going to say. What he's going to think."

"I think … you need to know what you think first."

Sara nods, subconsciously dropping her hand to cover her abdomen. "I think …" She smiles a small smile. "I love being Anna's mommy. I know I'll love being this baby's mommy, too."

Catherine grabs her free hand. "You're an incredible mother, Sara, and Grissom is an incredible father. This baby is lucky to have the two of you for parents."

"Grissom …" Sara's smile widens. "I need to get home to tell him."

"But … two seconds ago you said …"

"I know," Sara says, now grinning. "And, I still don't know how I'm going to tell him. I have no idea how he'll react. But … the sooner the better, right?"

Catherine squeezes her hand. "Right."

"Wish me luck."

Catherine smiles. "You won't need it."

December 2003

The autopsy revealed that the juror – the lone holdout on what the others considered to be an obvious guilty verdict – had died of an allergic reaction. Another juror spoke of the victim's reaction to having peanut shells in his vicinity; Sara and Warrick were going through the trash and food in the room, searching for peanuts that may have found their way into the victim.

Grissom walked past the layout room, where Sara was shifting through a container of chili. He paused to watch as she chatted with Warrick as she worked.

She could do it, he mused. She'd make an excellent leader. And, I know the others respect her; they'd be willing to do as she asked.

"We need to talk."

Once again, it was Catherine's voice that broke into Grissom's thoughts. She grabbed his arm and led him to his office.

"What's going on?" he asked as she shut the door behind them. "You're being awful secretive, even for you."

"Nick's not working this case with us."

"I've noticed," Grissom said. "But, he's doing something with Vartann, right?" He shrugged slightly. "There are plenty of cases to be solved, Cath. I don't expect my entire team to work the same case all the time."

"Do you know what case he's working with Vartann?"

"No." Grissom smiled slightly. "And, don't be upset with me for that. It's not that I'm not supervising him, it's that I trust him enough to handle a case on his own. I'll check in with him when I have a chance."

"Grissom, he's investigating Rita Westonson's disappearance."

"Rita Westonson …" Grissom frowned. "Nick and I worked that case …"

"Four years ago," Catherine supplied. "Her sister now suddenly claims she was murdered; Vartann asked Nick to reopen it."

"Well, if new evidence has come to light, it has to be reopened."

Catherine frowned. "You don't want to jump in with him?"

"Nick's a big boy, Catherine. He can handle it on his own."

She gave him a look of disbelief. "But …"

Grissom shook his head. "I trust him. Besides, right now, I'm needed where I am."

"Okay," Catherine said slowly. "But, if you change your mind, Sara, Warrick and I can handle this one."

Grissom shook his head again. "Nick will be fine."

December 2015

The house is empty when Sara arrives home. She frowns slightly; although she had not expected to see the children, Grissom is generally home on Wednesdays. After walking through the entire house and finding no one but the dog ready to greet her, she sends him a text.

Where are you?

She only waits a moment before she receives a reply.

At the lab with Nick. Will be home before the kids.

Sara sighs. "So much for sharing my news right away." She looks down at Hank, who has settled at her feet. "I doubt you'd care. Well … not at this point." She leans down to pet him with a smile. "As I recall, you're not much of fan of babies. Sorry, buddy. I guess we weren't thinking about you." She straightens up again, her cheeks turning a faint pink. "We weren't thinking at all."

December 2003

"Want to come for a drive?"

Sara looked up from her report to see Grissom in the layout room doorway. "A drive to … where?"

"The courthouse."

"Again?" she nearly groaned. "Warrick and I spent forever on that trash! I can't believe it didn't give us anything useful."

"It did," Grissom replied. "It told us that the vic's reaction to the peanut butter that had been slipped into his chili didn't kill him."

"Well," Sara said as she hopped off her stool and joined him in the hallway, "I'm assuming that you've got something new that we need to find this time."

"Doc Robbins just told me that the vic was stung by a bee."

"A bee sting?" Sara repeated in shock. "That's what did him in?"

"Likely," Grissom replied. "Greg's testing our theory as we speak." He smiled and winked at her. "So, assuming we're right, and it was the bee that killed him … let's go see if we can find the culprit."

Sara smiled at his jovial attitude. "Indeed."

"Back again, huh?" the security guard greeted Grissom and Sara as they ducked under the crime scene tape.

"Yeah, we can't get enough of this place," Sara replied.

Grissom smiled. "We'll be in the jury room for a little while."

"Enjoy," he replied. "Holler if you need anything."

"Will do," Sara replied.

They walked into the room; Grissom immediately clicked on his flashlight. Sara put her kit down and turned on her own flashlight. They both dropped to their knees and began crawling across the floor, searching for the dead bee.

"If we can find the bee, that proves that his reaction to the sting caused his collapse," Grissom said.

Sara nodded. "Greg ran the assay test for bee venom on Chris Gibbons. IG levels were spiked."

"Was Gibbons even aware that he had a bee allergy?" Grissom mused.

"Brass finally tracked down his allergist," Sara said. She glanced over at Grissom. "Gibbons was allergic to a lot of things."

Grissom nodded. He had had a feeling that might be the case.

Sara came to the end of the table, and rounded the corner. As she moved, she illuminated an arc around her, capturing the table's legs with her flashlight. Her eyes lit up as her beam landed on the tiny bee's body, lodged in the foot of the table.

"The killer, I presume," she said.

Grissom's attention was captured; he made his way to her as she picked up the bee with a pair of tweezers.

"Or what's left of him," Grissom said, studying the bee Sara was holding up.

"He had an immediate reaction to a bee sting," Sara said.

"Lost consciousness, fell forward, and hit his head on the table," Grissom added.

"You know," Sara began slowly, "how Jervis was complaining it was too hot … he said he opened a window."

"Well, that explains it," Grissom said, glancing at Sara. "It was an outside job."

Sara smiled. "Punny, Griss. Very punny."

He smiled back, feeling a brief sense of elation at being the one to make her smile. It had been a long time since he had done that. He cleared his throat before he could say something he would regret later.

"Well, we've found our evidence. Back to the lab?"

Sara nodded slowly, suddenly wishing she hadn't found the bee so quickly. She would have liked to have spent more time alone with Grissom. "Back to the lab."

December 2015

"Hi, Grissom. Thanks for coming in to meet with me."

"No problem, Nick," Grissom replies. "How can I help?"

As Grissom sits down across from him at his desk, Nick cannot help but see the irony of the situation. For years, he came to this same office to ask Grissom for advice, sitting across this same desk from this same man. Now, although there are no longer cases full of mounted insects on the walls, and he and his mentor have reversed their positions across the desk from one another, Nick finds himself in the same role. He needs advice, and Grissom is willing and able to dispense it.

"I'm … in an awkward position," Nick says.

"Okay," Grissom replies, prompting further explanation.

"I've been asked to promote a member of my team," Nick says. "I have two excellent candidate s for the position. Both are equally qualified. Both show leadership potential. Both want to advance in the department." He gives Grissom a tortured look. "How can I decide?"

"There's no magic formula, Nick," Grissom says slowly. "You have to consider –"

"Please don't do that," Nick interrupts. "Please don't tell me to consider their strengths and weaknesses, and what's best for the lab. I've heard all that before. I want to know what you would do in my position."

Grissom smiles slightly. "Nick, I was in your position. Remember when you and Sara both applied for that Lead CSI position?"

Nick smiles. "The one that was cut before I could even accept it?"

"Yes, that one. You both were – are – exceptional CSIs. You both are excellent leaders. And, you both wanted to advance. Believe me, it was not an easy decision."

"I still can't believe you chose me," Nick says. "I had heard …"

"What?"

"Lab gossip," he says dismissively. "Everyone kept telling me that you had picked Sara. And, knowing how Sara was, it made sense."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, you know Sara. Back then, she would have given anything to run the lab."

"I suppose …" Grissom sighs. "You both wanted it, though. You wouldn't have applied for it if you didn't want it."

"That's true. So, how did you decide on me instead of her?"

Grissom smiles. "Rita Westonson …"

December 2003

"Hey, Griss. I wanted to talk to you about the Rita Westonson case."

"Okay," Grissom replied, already moving around his office to a filing cabinet. "How did it all turn out? Was she actually murdered, like her sister suddenly remembered?"

"Yes and no," Nick said with a slight smile.

Grissom looked up at him. "Go on."

"She was murdered – but, not like Faye described. Faye said that Aaron killed Rita and made her help dispose of the body. As it turns out, Faye killed Rita to be with Aaron. Then, a couple of weeks ago, hears he's getting engaged to her younger sister, Terry. Faye couldn't handle it, man. She just freaked. So, she tried to pin Rita's murder on Aaron."

"Four years ago, when I decided to close the case, did you agree with my decision?" Grissom selected the file he needed and went back to his desk.

"You were following protocol," Nick replied.

That's a "no" hidden in a "yes." "And, now?"

"Now I'd fight you on it, yeah," Nick said with conviction.

"Why?" Grissom asked.

"Rita Westonson was a dependable, predictable girl. We never answered the question why she just woke up one morning and walked away from the rest of her life."

"It happens," Grissom said. "And, that's what the evidence was telling us."

"Well, that's what the physical evidence was telling us. We should have dug deeper. You can't just ignore the human element, Grissom."

"I agree, Nick. But, when you start to have feelings for the people involved, you risk your objectivity."

"So, what? You know, I'm always getting criticized for empathizing with the victims and their families, but that's who I am. That's how I do my job."

Grissom turned to face Nick.

"And, as far as the promotion goes, it's all good, man. I can live without it. I'm not you."

Grissom held his eyes for a moment as though sizing him up. "Good," he said at last. "We certainly don't need another me around here."

Nick stared at him for a moment, feeling the bitterness of the lost promotion. Then, taking Grissom's words for dismissal, turned and walked out of the office.

Grissom watched him go with a smile. He sat down at his desk, and began typing his email to the lab's assistant director. He finally knew who to promote.

December 2015

"That's it? Because I fought you? Because I proved you wrong?"

"Yes," Grissom says. "You took a risk. That showed leadership potential."

"Hm."

"And, Nick, because you told me you didn't care about the promotion. You said you could live without it. And, that, Nick, is what makes a good leader – at least in our business. If you want it too much, you become like Ecklie, caught up in the administration and the politics, ignoring the science and the victims. But, if you aren't in it for the position … that's when you're doing it for the right reasons. That's when you're going to do a good job." He smiles. "Like you are now."

"It about killed Sara to lose that promotion."

"I know. I knew it would when I sent that email. But, sometimes, Ecklie's right. Sometimes, you have to do what's best for the lab, not what's best for the individuals in the lab."

Nick nods. "Thanks, Griss. I think I know what I need to do."

Grissom smiles. "Good. If you need to talk … call me."

"I will."

When Grissom walks into his house, he sees Sara sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of milk. He smiles and walks up behind her, leaning down to hug her and kiss her cheek.

"Hi," he says. "I didn't expect to see you home so soon. I figured you'd be chatting with Catherine for hours."

She grins. "Well, I wanted to chat with you, too. Will you sit with me for a minute?"

"Of course." Grissom sits down across from her, and is a bit surprised when she leans across to grab his hands.

"I … have some news."

"Okay," Grissom says slowly. "Let's hear it."

Sara smiles widely. "We're going to have a baby. I'm pregnant."

Grissom's mouth drops open. "What?"

Sara giggles at his expression. "I know, right? It's unbelievable. It's shocking. It's not something we planned. But, Gil, the more I think about it … It's incredibly, perfectly right."

"A baby … another baby …" He shakes his head slightly. "When did you find out?"

"Just this morning. After I turned down pancakes, Catherine suggested I take a test."

"A baby," Grissom says again, this time his tone full of wonder. He raises Sara hands to his lips and kisses them. "We have to tell the kids. Anna's going to be so excited."

"Yeah," Sara agrees, "she will be."

Grissom looks at the clock. "We've still got plenty of time before we have to pick them up. What do you say to a little … celebration?"

Sara's eyes darken and her smile morphs from excited to seductive. "Yes," she purrs.

Grissom pulls her to her feet and leads her to their bedroom.

"What homework do you have tonight?" Anna asks as she and Jake enter the house.

"Math, English and biology," he replies.

Anna makes a face. "I have reading and math."

"You're both going to have to wait a minute before you start your homework," Grissom says. "Come into the living room with me and Mom. We want to talk to you."

Anna and Jake exchange a confused glance, but follow Grissom into the living room, where Sara is already sitting on the couch. She is smiling, which is enough to convince Anna and Jake that they aren't in trouble. They both relax.

"Mom and I got some news today," Grissom says, sitting down next to her and taking her hand. He nods to her.

Sara looks at the children with a bright smile and twinkling eyes. "You're going to have a new brother or sister," she announces. "We're having a baby."

Anna shrieks. "Do you mean it? Really? I'm going to have a baby sister?"

"Or brother," Grissom says.

"A little sister, a little sister!" she exclaims, dancing around the room. "I can't wait! She'll play with my dolls and my kitchen and –"

"She'll be too little for that for awhile," Sara interjects with a laugh.

"Can we go see her room right now? Daddy, how will we paint it?"

Laughing, Grissom gets up and lets Anna take his hand and drag him to the guest room for a closer inspection. Left alone with him, Sara turns to Jake.

"Well, I guess I'll go pack my stuff …" he says, trailing off into silence.

Sara looks at him in confusion. "Why? I know your room is bigger than the spare room, but the baby won't even be able to walk for quite some time. You stay where you are. You're older; you deserve more space."

Jake stares at her in shock. "But … I thought …"

"You thought what?"

He draws a deep breath. "With the new baby, you'll have two kids of your own. You won't need me hanging around."

Sara shakes her head, smiling at him. "No, Jake. With the new baby, I'll have three kids."

Jake stares at her for a long moment, blinking rapidly. "I've got to go finish my homework," he mumbles.

He all but runs out of the room before she can see his tears.