Sara grinned as she felt an arm go around her waist and a kiss laid at her neck. Wrapping her arm over Grissom's, she felt as their fingers threaded together and rings brushed against each other. Their marriage opened a new period of giddiness and intimacy between them. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Grissom watching her and despite trying to control her expression, the grin remained.
"Are you going to let me finish making our lunches?"
"Are you going to help me with my tour on Tuesday?"
Turning in his arms, she ran her hands from his upper arms to his hands, taking them in her own. "You give the UNLV Forensics program a tour every year and never have you asked me to help you."
"Turning over a new leaf." He reached up and grasped a strand of hair with his thumb and forefinger to brush behind her ear. "No, I have a meeting at the usual time I give the tours and unfortunately since the tour is set in stone, I can't change it. The supervisor meeting can't be changed either. I can do the morgue if you can do the lab."
"You're leaving me alone with students with trust I won't corrupt them."
Chuckling under his breath, Grissom kissed her. "I left you to train Greg a good percent of the time so a few UNLV students will be a breeze."
"Okay, but only because I love you so much." Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
As they pulled apart, he reached into his shirt pocket. "I have something for you." Pulling out a strip of black, Grissom turned it over to show a name patch for her vest.
Sidle-Grissom
"You managed to make the whole thing fit?" Sara asked while accepting the strip of velcro.
"I called the company and requested the font be lowered and they managed to fit the whole name on the strip."
Sara looked down at the name and smiled. "I still have to go to HR to get my new badge. Thankfully I got the marriage certificate in the mail today so I can head over to HR in the morning. I also have to contact Social Security and the DMV. The last of which I don't want to do."
"No one likes the DMV, my darling."
"You know," she looked up at him. "We've never had a death at the DMV and that's shocking given all the wait times and angry people."
"Anomaly at best."
The shift was light and halfway through the shift, the boys and Sara stood in front of the Night Shift Board and looked at all the 'SOLVED' magnets placed on active cases. Joe, a retired CSI that once was on night shift, had never been removed from the board. Greg had just taken over his space despite the name staying the same. So Sara took it upon herself during the night to replace the name with Greg's own. The board was also uneven and scaled differently. The boys and Catherine had a lot of cases on their list but Sara and Greg had only one or two. It seemed like favoritism until you looked at solve rate. Sara had a massive solve rate compared to the boys, she was even ahead of Catherine. The reason she had so few on the board was because she solved them quicker. Catherine found them seconds before Grissom did.
"Okay, we have a full house starting as of now." Grissom came around the corner with assignments. "We're going to mix this up this morning. Follow me."
They followed Grissom to the break room and saw he laid out the assignment sheets and had two of the kitchen bowls on the table with four pieces of folded paper. "Our lead CSIs first. Nick, reach in and pick a number."
Nick reached in and grabbed a piece of paper, unfurling it to see the number three. "Three."
"401 with PD vehicle." Grissom handed him the slip, "now pick out of the second bowl."
Picking out a piece of paper, he opened it to see it blank. "It's blank."
"You're working solo."
Nick pumped his arm, "yeah man. I'll see you guys later." He pointed at the team as he left the breakroom.
Catherine shook her head, "he is way too excited for that."
"My dear." Grissom held out the bowl to Sara and she took a piece, opening it to see a number four.
"Four. So that means, 419 times two." She grabbed the slip off the table and read it while reaching into the second bowl to remove a slip, looking down to open it to see a name. "You it seems."
Warrick chuckled and reached into the bowl next. "I have number one." He grabbed the info sheet off the table. "401-419 off a cliff, interesting." He reached into the second bowl to remove a sheet of paper. "Greg."
"Really?" Greg asked and Sara rubbed his arm.
"Just remember to play nice with the other kids, okay?"
Greg tapped her hand. "Yeah, yeah. I know the drill."
Catherine looked at the table and grabbed the remaining info sheet. "419 at Tangiers. At least we know I'll hit no walls." Reaching into the second bowl and removed a piece of paper. "Blank, solo."
"Enjoy. Say hello to Sam for me."
She motioned to the set-up he had. "What's with all the games?"
"Fair picks considering you complained last week about how I kept choosing Sara."
"I was only yanking your chain." Catherine told him. "No one here cares, except for maybe Greg. He gets upset when Dad and Mom don't include him." She chuckled as she left and both shook their heads knowing Catherine was playing with them. It had become a running joke that they were Greg's lab mom and dad. However, given how protective Sara could be, it wasn't far from the truth.
Getting to the neighborhood, Grissom parked the vehicle and got out as Sara did. Meeting her at the back of the SUV, she smirked at him while grabbing her vest. He saw her shake her head as he grabbed his own vest. "What's got you in a laughing fit?"
"You managed to hit the break late so the crime scene tape got hooked around the push bumper."
"Like you could have done any better." He stated as he watched her pull a black strip from her back pocket and rip off the patch that held her maiden name. Keeping the old in hand, Grissom saw as she smoothed out the new name patch.
Sara glanced at him as she pulled the vest on and zipped it. "Actually I could. Why do you think I drive all the time."
"Because you like to be in control." He told her while watching her open her kit and slip the old name patch inside of it before locking the kit back.
"Not always." Sara reminded him as they both grabbed the kits and he shut the trunk. "I seem to remember you ordering me around yesterday."
Grissom saw her smirk. "Now isn't the time for such talk."
"If you say so, Dear."
Brass walked up to them as they walked across the street. "The hot weather, the full moon, too many people moving to Vegas. Whatever the reason, the natives are restless. Scene's in the garage." He paused afterwards and pointed to Sara. "Nice vest, that new?"
Smiling, she just looked ahead and then down at seeing vomit. "Well, that's not a good sign."
"Bacon and eggs?" Grissom inquired.
Brass waved them off. "Yeah, no, you know, don't bother with that." He waved them on, "that's the water delivery boy. He lost his breakfast," and motioned to the delivery bottle, "and his bottle." They continued towards the garage so he kept talking. "He said the house belonged to a guy named Lou Beltran."
Grissom glanced to the side. "Is he one of the victims?"
"He couldn't tell." They arrived at the door and saw shoe print. "Door's been forced."
Sara pushed open the door with the very tip of her fingers. Immediately she saw the scene and removed her sunglasses. Beside her she knew Grissom was too. "I thought this only happened in the movies."
"Life imitates art."
After a moment, she turned to him. "We're going to need overalls and booties and possibly more collection items than we have at the moment."
"We'll divide and conquer." He glanced at her, "for the moment, I shoot and you dust."
Sara looked at him confused. "We usually do the opposite."
"I know. You need to keep up your skills though so I'm changing it up."
Ten minutes later Sara stood at the back of the SUV pulling on coveralls, pausing momentarily to pull off her purple top to leave the white tank top underneath. Once she was devested of the shirt, she pulled on the coveralls completely. Grissom watched her the entire time, coveralls going over his clothes.
"I love it when you dress up." Grissom told her as he shut the trunk once again.
Sara turned to him while trying to contain a smirk. "What happened to this not being the right time for such talk?"
As they got to work, he watched her dust for a few moments before returning to the photographs of the scene. Eventually he paused and waited till she was halfway done with the doorknob to speak. "Okay, you first." He asked her to run him through her thoughts of the crime.
"Kicked-in door, one bloody chainsaw, two dead bodies." Pausing in her dusting, she looked around. "Someone broke in, cut up the two guys, left the murder weapon, and split."
"What about all this mess, the furniture and appliances?" He looked to the furniture that was half broken, sawed in two, or was blasted with high velocity blood splatter.
Sara put her brush in her powder as she spoke. "Some of furniture looks new. Some of it's cut up, some of its not." She put down the powder and grabbed her clipboard. "Maybe they were cutting it up when the assailant came in."
He glanced at her then at the camera. "That's a workable theory for now."
Kneeling down, Sara smiled as a memory crossed her mind. "You know what this reminds me of?" Sara brushed back a piece of hair that fell across her face. "The first time we met. San Francisco. Your lecture. Double murder in a garage." She winced as she spoke the next words as he was watching her. "I'd heard you were a little dull as a speaker, but you can't rely on your first blush." When he turned away a fraction, she continued. "That was the subject of your talk."
His memory of her walking up to him asking him question after question regarding anthropology was always fresh in his mind. "I believe I said first opinions are crucial, but if the evidence changes, so must the theory."
"Exactly." She told him and looked down at the clipboard. "Men and women hear different things, my love. I believe I told you that before."
Grissom turned to her. "That's new."
"What?" Sara didn't bother looking up as she filled in an evidence log.
"You said 'my love' and I haven't heard that from you before."
Smirking, she looked up. "Well you are 'my love' and I believe a cornerstone of relationships and marriage is the ability to healthily keep each other on our toes."
"Just so you know." He saw her looking up at him. "I thought about that lecture too when we walked in. Except there's more blood."
"And less instars." Sara chuckled as she added to his statement. "Bugs and blood. Two of your favorite things."
"Two of three of my favorite things. You're my favorite thing."
Sara looked up once again. "You can be so romantic sometimes."
"Romance over dead bodies." They turned to see Brass in the doorway. "Only you two would be able to achieve that level of morbidity." He sighed. "Any ID on them yet?"
Grissom turned to him. "We're still working our way in."
"Well you know I'm kind of stuck until I know who they are, so, uh," he looked at Sara. "Sara, do me a favor, will you? Reach into that barbeque and hand me his wallet."
"Sure." Sara put the clipboard down and reached for the wallet on the closest victim.
Brass accepted the wallet from her. "Thank you." Glancing at it, he sighed again. "This guy doesn't live here. This is Ray Gaynor, he lives a few houses down."
Lifting his head from the camera, Grissom's attention went to Brass. Sara beat him to a comment, however. "Maybe the other one is Lou."
"I don't know but I'd bet my right arm that's his left arm." He laughed but Grissom and Sara shared a look that was amusing only to them. "I'm going to see if the one arm man has a wife who knows how to operate a chainsaw." Turning slightly, he spoke again. "Word on the street is there was a nasty divorce in process.
Once Brass left, Grissom glance at Sara. "You don't think we'd get divorced, do you?"
"No." She smiled at him. "I don't ever plan on divorcing you." Shrugging, Sara thought about something. "Murder you, possibly. Just not divorce."
Grissom glance at his camera as it went dark. "I find that comforting. Morbid but comforting."
"That's why you love me." Sara stated and reached into her kit to grab the battery pack for the camera. "Here, I heard the click." She stood and handed him the battery, waiting patiently for him to change them out and hand her the dead one.
"Always ahead of me."
Sara chuckled. "Just means your wife knows you is all." His brow furrowed in confusion. "I noticed only my camera battery was on the charger yesterday so I grabbed the spare battery pack before we left the lab."
Leading the students out of the morgue, he proceeded to transition them to the lab. "Now, I know you all paid to be on this tour but like all things life, plans change." He paused as he approached the doors that lead to the lab. "Since I'm required in a meeting…"
The taller male from before asked the question. "Is this being cut short? If so, do we get a refund from the university?"
Grissom chuckled. "The tour isn't be cut short. Instead I'm handing you over to the only person I trust can give you the knowledge I would."
"Respectfully speaking Dr. Grissom, you're one of the reasons we paid for this tour. Your name is a legend in the forensic field."
"That maybe so Miss Wright but I'm handing you over to my former student. She has already assisted in training a DNA technician to become a CSI I."
Without his hearing, one of the boys turned to the other as they stood waiting. "Nerd alert. Two to one she wears glasses and looks like Dr. Baxter from Chem 101."
"I'll take that bet." He slapped the man's hand. "Lena and Carla are the only normal looking nerds I've seen in the forensics or science field."
One of the girls, the redhead, leaned in. "You guys are disgusting sometimes."
They pulled apart from their whispering as the door opened and several people walked through. Grissom was checking his watch so they knew none of them were the student he was talking about. The two way door swung open a couple of times and again, he didn't respond so they stood waiting and waiting. Eventually they took notice as a brunette walked in with several files in her arms.
"Sorry I'm late. I was under the car from the Lincoln murder."
Grissom chuckled and took the folders that Sara handed him. "Find anything of interest?"
"Puncture holes in the fluid line and abnormal paint scrapings." She pushed back a piece of hair. "Before you ask, I have Archie running a simulation that could tell us how the paint scrapings got there."
Nodding, he turned to the group waiting. "This is where I leave you but I promise, you'll be in very capable hands. I hope you've learned something that can help you decide if a future in forensics is for you."
Various goodbyes were given and Sara smiled as she turned to them. One of the girls raised her hand so Sara pointed to her. "You were once Dr. Grissom's student?"
"I was. He taught a seminar at the Forensic Academy Conference in San Francisco in 1998. Entomological Applications. For a whole week I attended classes and took part in physical activities regarding the course. I also took the final assessment he gave out and was the only one to achieve a hundred percent."
One of the guys asked her a question without raising a hand. "What's your name? What do we call you?"
"My name is Sara Sidle-Grissom, but you can call me Sara." She put her hand on the door. "We should begin."
The same girl who rose her hand asked a second question. "So you're his former student and his wife?"
"I am." She smiled at the girl as they all walked around the corner towards the front desk.
"Weird." The girl stated but all Sara could do was shake her head a fraction.
"This lab is the second busiest after Quantico. Meaning we are the busiest civilian lab in the country. We maintain three shifts of both analysts and techs. Almost all tests are carried out in house with very rare exceptions. We have subsections of audio-visual, DNA, trace, mechanic, ballistics, and handwriting analysis." Sara stated as she turned towards them as they rounded the front desk. "Any questions regarding what I've just explained to you?"
Several hands went up so she pointed to the tallest guy. "How many people are on a team?"
"Six usually. One supervisor, one lead CSI, and four CSIs." Sara told them as they made their way towards A/V.
"You said 'usually', does that mean that this lab is different?" The redheaded girl asked her.
Sara nodded. "As Dr. Grissom and me both work on the same shift, ours has a different system in place. It's called a cross-supervision system. Two supervisors, two lead CSIs, and two regular CSIs. It works, as previously seen in Seattle and is currently also in place in Shreveport." Sara paused at the assignment boards. "Here are all our assignment boards. It lets us known who is doing what. Court, cases, loaned out to other labs, etc. As you can see there are differences. Anyone what to guess why CSIs Morgan, Chan, Sanders, and myself all have only one or two cases while others have multiple?"
"Favoritism." One of the guys suggested.
"Good guess. Anyone else want to give a guess?"
A girl raised her hand. "Solve rate?"
"Very good. CSIs Morgan, Chan, and I have fast solve rates. We rarely have open cases so we only have one or two cases on the board. CSI Sanders is new, just made CSI Level I so he doesn't have as many cases. Solo cases don't occur till CSI Level III. By that time, you've learned all skills needed to not require assistance. The bigger the case, the more likely we are to assist one another though. In large cases we'll work together but we'll branch out as leads do."
She waved them on and had them pause at the A/V lab. Archie turned as she brought the students into the room. "Grissom's yearly tour?"
"Yeah, time conflict has me doing the lab portion." She smirked, "what you have today?"
Archie turned back around. "Williams case. Searching for bags among bags."
"Archie is our audio-visual technician. Right now he's been sifting through hotel footage to find a person of interest in our case." Sara watched the students look at the screens. "Any questions?"
"How long does it take to look through footage for a case?"
Sara chuckled, "hours if not days. Archie here has a habit of sitting down so long his butt falls asleep." She reached forward and squeezed Archie's shoulder.
"Three days." He told her, "three days."
"What do you do besides watch video?" A girl asked.
"Simulations. Recreations. Even sound analysis." Archie stood up and walked over to a computer, turning the screen so they could see. "Sara is right now working on a simulation regarding her case. Of course, she's always running simulations or recreations." He shook his head as he returned to his computer, "physics nerds."
"Alright. Who wants to see the trace analysis lab?" Hands were raised so she lead them out of the A/V lab.
Okay guys, the next one is rough because if you've seen 7x04 Fannysmackin', you know why it's rough.
Let me know what you think of this chapter if you so wish.
