AN: Some more Sam/Sara interaction coming up, and the rest of the team finding out about Sam. Thanks to WalkerTRngr for the beta help

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to CSI

Chapter 8

As Sara suspected, Sam can barely keep her eyes open after she's finished her sandwich, and after a little bit of coaxing – she wants to stay up to make sure her dad's OK when he comes to get her – she curls up on the couch under Sara's knit coat, and soon, light snores fill the room.

Letting out a long breath, Sara quietly moves her chair so she has the girl in her line of sight and opens the first of the case files.

She doesn't make much progress, but it's not because she's distracted – these are cold cases, and it's not very often a simple readthrough of the case file leads anywhere. She does make notes of a few avenues of investigation that might be worth exploring, and when Warrick joins her, they talk them through in low voices.

Around four in the morning, there's a bit of commotion in the corridor, signaling the return of Catherine, Greg, and Riley who went out on a double murder at the start of shift. Sara hurries out of the room, gesturing at them to be quiet.

"Is something wrong?" Catherine asks with a frown when they reach her.

Sara nods at the couch in the break room where Sam is, thankfully, still asleep. "I just didn't want you to wake her," she explains.

The three exchange looks and then Greg asks the question she assumes they're all thinking. "Um, Sara? Why is there a child asleep in the break room?"

Before she can open her mouth, Warrick joins them, closing the door behind him. "That's Grissom's kid, Sam."

If the situation had been different, it would have been amusing to watch the emotions flicker across Greg's and Catherine's faces – shock, confusion, irritation, realization.

After a long moment, Catherine opens her mouth, but Sara holds up a hand. "Look, you can ask all the questions you want on Sunday – that was the whole purpose of the dinner, even before today. But it's not my place to explain. Grissom's mom had a heart attack last night, he's with her at the hospital, Sam was supposed to stay with a neighbor, but, well, she showed up here a couple of hours ago. Took a cab across town on her own."

Catherine closes her mouth reluctantly, crossing her arms over her chest. Sara does not want to be on the receiving end of her anger.

"That sucks," Riley, the only one who hasn't just had a shock, says. "How's he doing?"

"OK, I talked to him after Sam got here. They're keeping his mom at the hospital over the weekend, running some tests to determine the best course of action, I suppose. He wanted to stay until she's settled into her room but wasn't sure how long that would be."

"Well, it's a slow night," Catherine says, shaking herself out of her daze. "Maybe it would be better if you took the kid home?"

Sara hesitates. "I don't want to wake her up," she finally decides. "But yeah, we'll head out when she wakes up."

As she suspected, word spreads through the halls of the lab at lightning speed, and during the next few hours, it seems like everyone from the janitorial staff to the dayshift supervisor (she has no idea what the woman is already doing at the lab at five in the morning) has an errand to this part of the building.

She counts Hodges passing at least a dozen times, but apparently, he at least knows better than to come into the room and start asking questions.

When the end of shift approaches and Grissom still hasn't shown up she decides that she needs to wake Sam up and get her home – the night shift personnel, as curious as they obviously are, have at least been considerate and tried to keep things down to avoid waking the sleeping child in the break room, but day shift is coming in soon, and she can't expect the same courtesy from them.

Grissom texted around five saying they were still waiting for a room, so she sends a text letting him know that they're leaving the lab soon and to just go straight home when he leaves the hospital, and then gets her things together before going back to the break room. She crouches down by the couch and shakes Sam's shoulder gently.

"Sam? Sammie? Time to wake up." The girl groans and rolls away from her, burying her face against the back of the couch, and Sara has to smile. "Come on, kiddo, just wake up long enough to get to the car and then you can go back to sleep."

It takes another moment, but then Sam pushes herself up into a sitting position and rubs her eyes. "Did Dad come yet?"

"I'm sorry, no, he's still at the hospital with your grandmother," Sara tells her with an apologetic smile. "But I texted him to let him know we're leaving now, so he'll just head straight home when he can, OK?"

For a moment, Sam looks like she might start crying again, but then she just sniffs a little and nods, and when she gets to her feet, Sara puts an arm around her shoulders to guide her out of the building.

She's silent until they pull out of the parking lot. "Can we get Hank on the way?" she then asks quietly.

Sara considers for a moment, but figures it can't hurt. If Sam can find some comfort in cuddling with Hank, who is she to stand in the way? And the dog will be absolutely over the moon to get to hang out with the girl – he absolutely adores her.

"Of course."

So, they stop by the dog sitter's place to pick up Hank, who is of course excited to see Sam, and then head back to the Grissom house. As soon as they get there, Sam goes upstairs, Hank trailing behind her. Sara gives her a moment, then follows, finding girl and dog in a big pile on the bed – Sam is hugging a large stuffed panda, and Hank is curled into a ball next to her, his head on her stomach.

"You hungry?" Sara asks gently. "I could make some pancakes."

Sam shrugs. "Not really. But Dad might be hungry when he gets home."

"He might, yeah." And if there's food on the table, Sam might eat as well. "I'll get the batter ready and then I can start making them when he gets home, OK?"

"Mm-hmm."

Part of her aches to offer more comfort, to wrap herself around the girl and hold her until she falls asleep again. But Sam's body language is a little closed off, and she has to respect that.

"You'll let me know if you need anything?" she just says instead, and to her relief, Sam smiles a little.

"I'm OK."

"OK. I'll be right downstairs, though. Just… yell if you need me."

Sam nods, and Sara reluctantly leaves the room, leaving the door open so she can hear if the girl calls for her. Making sure her phone is in her pocket and the volume on high, she gets started on the pancake batter in the kitchen.

She's just put the bowl in the fridge to keep cool until she can start frying the pancakes when she hears a key in the lock, and when she reaches the hallway, Grissom is closing the front door behind him.

"Hey," she greets him gently, and he turns, putting on a smile.

"Hi. Thanks for… all of this."

"Stop," she chides, hesitating for a moment but then stepping closer and pulling him into an embrace. He's frozen for a brief moment, but then he sighs, his entire body relaxing, and his arms wrap around her waist in an almost too tight grip. "How are you doing?"

"OK," he replies, the words mumbled into her shoulder. "They finally got her a room and she fell asleep as soon as she was in bed. The hospital found an interpreter too, they should be there when she wakes up."

"Good, that's good."

He lets out another breath, pulling her impossibly closer, and she tightens her arms around him in return. She's not sure how long they stand there in the hallway, just holding each other.

"Daddy?" Sam's small voice makes them break apart, and in an instance, Grissom is kneeling in front of her and pulling her close.

"It's OK, sweetie, everything's OK," he sooths as she bursts into tears again. "Grandma's doing just fine, OK?"

The comforting words do nothing to calm the girl, though, and Sara quietly retreats to the kitchen to give them a moment.

She sets the table and then gets started on their breakfast, and by the time Grissom comes into the kitchen a little later, there's a stack of finished pancakes on a plate next to the stove.

"How's Sam?" she asks, putting the final pancake on top of the pile.

"Better, I think. She went upstairs to get cleaned up a little," he replies, frowning. "Are you making pancakes?"

She shrugs. "I was hungry, and I figured you probably would be too, and it's been hours since Sam ate, so… pancakes."

A smile spreads on his face as she talks. "Thank you," he then says, and she rolls her eyes.

"You already said that, and I already told you to stop. So… stop."

He holds up his hands in surrender. "OK, I'll stop thanking you for making this easier on both Sam and me, and for making sure she was taken care of when I couldn't, and for taking her home, and for bringing Hank over to make her feel better, and for making breakfast."

"Well, as long as you'll stop," Sara says exasperatedly, making him chuckle.

"OK, OK, I'm done. Let's eat, shall we?"

She grabs the pancakes and he gets juice and syrup from the fridge, and they meet at the kitchen table.

"So I assume I'm the talk of the lab?" he asks, pouring juice into their glasses.

"Basically, yeah," she confirms with a grimace. "Sorry about that. I think every single person employed in the building came by the break room at least twice in the hours we were in there. Hodges managed twelve."

He sighs. "Why am I not surprised? What did you tell them?"

"I told Warrick, then he told Catherine and Greg, and when they looked like they were about to start asking questions, I told them to save them for tomorrow. So get pumped for that."

He chuckles a little. "I already was, but this'll make it even more interesting. Sam asked if she could go to Maddie's for a while tomorrow, I told her no since we're having dinner with you and the guys, but maybe it's better if she's out of the house for the first hour or so."

"It might be," she agrees. Not that she thinks Catherine would lay into him with Sam present, but it might still be better if she's not there for the initial explanation.

As if summoned by her name, Sam appears in the doorway, Hank on her heels.

"Come on, sweetie," Grissom says. "Come eat a little, and then you can go on up to bed for a while, OK?"

The girl practically falls into the chair by the empty plate, leaning her head in her hand and just generally looking half asleep. Sara puts a pancake on her plate and holds up the syrup. Sam nods, and she pours a generous amount over the pancake.

"You want OJ or something else?"

Sam considers for a moment. "Can I have hot chocolate?"

"Of course," Grissom agrees, getting to his feet to move into the kitchen.

"Can I have some too?" Sara calls over. "Your dad makes the absolute best hot chocolate I have ever had," she confides in Sam.

The girl smiles. "It is really good."

Soon enough, the pancakes and hot chocolate are gone, and Sam is flagging even more in her chair.

"OK, you need some more sleep," Grissom announces. "Bed."

"And I should get home to my own bed," Sara says.

"Do you have to?" Sam asks, eyes pleading.

"I do, sorry kiddo. I have a bunch of errands I need to run today." Technically, she could stay – there is a guest room plus the huge couch in the den – but it's probably not a good idea.

"Can Hank stay?"

Now there are two puppy eyes looking up at her, as if Hank understood what Sam asked and agrees.

She glances at Grissom, who just shrugs, which she assumes means it's up to her.

"Sure, if you want, Hank can stay here today," she agrees. "I bet he'd love to cuddle with you all day."

A smile spreads on Sam's face as she slides down from the chair. "Thank you. Come on, Hank."

The duo disappears into the hallway and Sara leans back in her chair for a moment. "I assume you still remember he needs a walk now and then?" she asks amusedly.

Grissom is mirroring her position across the table and snorts at the question. "I haven't managed to forget how to take care of a dog, no. What about food?"

"Right. Actually, I have a bag in the trunk, I stopped by the pet store yesterday morning and forgot to bring it in when I got home."

"Perfect. I'll walk you to your car and grab it."

She considers offering to clean up after their breakfast, but he looks about ready to keel over – it can wait. So, she just puts the dishes in the dishwasher and follows him out of the house and to her car.

"You need some bags too, hang on…" She rummages around in the pocket on the back of the driver's seat and finds a new roll of poop bags. "Just call me when you need me to come get him, I'm getting some sleep and then I'm going to the grocery store and a few other things."

He frowns. "Why don't you just come over for dinner tonight? I'm sure Sam would be thrilled, and that way I can cook for you as a thank you."

It makes Sara roll her eyes. "You can stop thanking me. But it's better than the takeout or ready meal I probably would have eaten otherwise, so… seven?"

"Perfect," he agrees with a smile.

Catherine's the first to arrive the next day. "How's your mom?" Sara hears her ask when Grissom opens the door.

"She's doing OK," he replies. "She's getting discharged tomorrow."

"That's good. I love what you've done with the place," she changes topics, eyes scanning the room as she descends the stairs to the kitchen. "If I didn't remember the address, I would barely recognize it. It actually feels like a home."

"Thanks, I think. But I didn't do anything with it," Grissom replies. "And it's not my place anymore."

"It's mine," Sara pipes in from the kitchen island. "But thanks. My goal was basically to make it look nothing like it did before, so, mission accomplished, I guess."

Grissom has rounded the island by now and stops close enough to her she can feel the heat radiate off him, looking for – or maybe offering – support. She gives him a smile to assure him she's fine. She's expecting the look through narrowed eyes from Catherine when she turns her attention back to her boss.

"What exactly's going on here?" she asks suspiciously, gesturing between them.

"I thought you were an investigator, Catherine?" Grissom replies with a placid smile, and Sara has to bite back a laugh.

"I am. I knew you two were… getting along better, but I didn't think it had gone this far already."

It takes Sara a moment to realize what she means, apparently as long as it takes Grissom, because he speaks just as she opens her mouth.

"No, Cath, we're… just friends."

Catherine scrutinizes them both for a long moment, then sighs. "Of course you are. Not like I haven't heard that one before… though that would explain why Greg's actually gotten more hostile lately."

Grissom winces at her words and it's Sara's turn to reassure him. "Greg's just… he doesn't understand, because he doesn't know everything that happened back then," she explains, making Catherine frown.

"And you do?"

"Yeah, I do."

Catherine opens her mouth to say something else, but Grissom beats her to it. "Look, I'll explain everything and answer almost any questions you have, but I would prefer just having to do it once, so can we wait until everyone else gets here?"

As if on cue, the doorbell rings again and he goes to let the next arrival in. Catherine fixes Sara with a stern look. "I still want to know about the whole you living here thing."

"We'll explain that too, I promise."

"Good."

Nick's voice precedes him, Warrick, and Brass down the stairs, and apparently, Greg and Riley were right on their heels, because they come through the door a moment later, after which Grissom closes it and follows the rest of their team down the stairs.

"OK, everyone's here, can we get on with the explanations now, please?" Catherine asks impatiently as soon as everyone's gathered around the kitchen island. "Where'd the kid come from?"

Grissom gives her an amused look. "Do I need to explain the birds and the bees to you, Catherine?"

That earns a chuckle from Nick and Warrick, and Catherine glares at him. "Funny, Gil, really funny."

"I thought you wanted to know about the whole… me living here thing," Sara pipes in, which turns most of the eyes in the room her way.

"You live here? With Grissom?" Nick asks with a frown.

"No, no," she hurries to continue. "Just me."

"Yeah, I want to hear that part of the story first," Warrick says.

Catherine sighs, but nods.

Sara gives Grissom a look to tell him to handle the talking, and he sighs. "I guess I'm doing the explaining. I'm not sure who knows what, so some of this will be old news to some of you."

"I think we all figured out at least some of it," Warrick offers. "If not back then, then after you took off or, well, now."

"I didn't figure anything out," Riley pipes in, raising a hand. "Obviously. But I've been… picking up bits and pieces here and there, so I'll catch up."

"I know everything," Greg says, voice hard.

"Greg…" Sara starts, but he shakes his head.

"No, Sara. You keep saying that I don't know everything that happened, and obviously, I don't, if there's a kid involved, but I do know that he treated you like crap! And maybe you can forgive him, but I'm going to need more than that. I'm not just going to sit back and watch him…"

"You're right." Grissom's simple words interrupt him, and to Sara's surprise, Greg actually stops talking. "I was… God, I hate even thinking about it. I did treat Sara horribly back then, and I…" He pauses, turning his head to seek her out, and she reaches for his hand. He squeezes back, takes a breath, and continues. "There were… extenuating circumstances, but I honestly wasn't expecting her to even listen to me, let alone forgive me. But she's trying, we're trying to work through it. And for that, I am going to be eternally grateful."

"So, you two were a thing before Grissom left Vegas," Riley surmises.

"We were living together," Sara corrects her. "Here."

The shocked looks on Nick's and Catherine's faces tell her they had no idea, at least not that it had been as serious as that.

"How long had that been going on?" Catherine asks incredulously.

"Almost two years," Sara replies. "Since a while before Nick's kidnapping."

Brass chuckles. "And you guys call yourselves investigators. Didn't even see what was going on right under your noses."

"Anyway," Grissom says, pulling the attention back. "When I… decided to stay in Williamstown, I basically forced Sara to take over the house. I just… it was the least I could do, considering."

"And the reason you left was this kid I've heard about who had the whole lab in a jumble yesterday?" Brass asks, his voice having lost all the amusement of a moment ago, and Sara knows there's going to be some more work needed on that end.

Grissom sighs, probably picking up on the same thing she did. "Basically, yeah."

"Again, I ask – where did she come from?" Catherine repeats.

"I assume you remember Andrea?" he replies, giving her a look with raised eyebrows.

She frowns at the name. "The lawyer you dated for, like, a second the summer before Sara came to Vegas?"

"Grissom dated a lawyer?" Warrick sounds like he just found out the Earth is flat.

"It was a few months, but that's beside the point," Grissom says. "As you might remember, she got a new job in Boston and left in… August, I think."

"I remember," Catherine confirms. "I tried to give you the post-breakup treatment, and you basically glared at me and said you were fine. She's Sam's mother?"

"I was fine," he grumbles. "We got along well and had fun for a while, but it wasn't a love connection or anything. But yes, she was Sam's mother."

"And she didn't tell you, about the baby?" Nick concludes.

Grissom shakes his head. "No. I don't know why, but…"

"So, you found out you had a kid and decided to pull a vanishing act?" Brass cuts in. "I'm having a little trouble connecting the dots here."

"No, I… I found out about her while I was at Williams, obviously. Andrea was in a serious car accident and ended up in a coma, and her brother called me since he wasn't able to take care of Sam, and Andrea had made me her legal guardian if anything happened to her," Grissom continues. "At first, the doctors thought she'd wake up, so I figured it would be temporary, which is why I initially extended my sabbatical. Unfortunately, she passed away a few months later, and, well… Sam was devastated, obviously, and it was… overwhelming, for a long time. And I know that I handled everything else about as badly as I could have, I know that. If I could go back, I would change basically everything, but I can't so…"

"So, we're going to focus on the future," Sara takes over when he trails off. "Sam's a great kid, you're going to love her."

"You know her?" Greg asks, looking like Sara just kicked his puppy. She's not sure how he didn't realize that, considering Sam's sudden appearance at the lab yesterday, but apparently, he didn't.

"I do, yeah," she confirms, giving him a look that she hopes he understands as she'll tell him later.

She's not sure if it comes across the way she wants – he turns away from her, making her stomach drop.

"So, when are the rest of us going to get to meet her?" Catherine asks, giving Grissom a questioning look. "I mean, I guess we kind of already did, but really meet her."

"Well, I was thinking, now," he replies with a shrug. "She's at a friend's place, but I told her we were having dinner with Sara and some other friends, so she's expecting me to call her."

Sara snorts at the memory of the conversation the other night and he shoots her a withering look.

"What's so funny?" Warrick asks.

"Nothing, just… when he told her about that, she looked at me and asked 'Dad has friends?'."

Catherine absolutely cackles at that, and Grissom rolls his eyes good naturedly.

"So, I take it your social life didn't pick up back east?" Brass asks, and Grissom glares at him.

"If I'm terrible at socializing when I'm on my own, do you really think having a six-year-old would improve that?"

Brass shrugs. "I assume the kid has friends, which would mean interacting with their parents."

"True, but most of them were in their thirties or forties, we didn't really have much in common apart from the kids," he explains. "And even the ones who were closer to my age, I never really… connected with anyone."

"Good thing you came to your senses and came back here then," Nick announces. "We wouldn't want you to end up some hermit over there in Massachusetts."

"I'm glad to be back too, Nicky," Grissom agrees, eyes seeking Sara's for a moment, and they exchange a smile. "I'll call her, then, see if I can go pick her up."

He moves to the back of the house for some privacy, leaving the curious eyes of their friends focused on Sara.

"So, what's she like?" Warrick asks the first question. "A mini-Grissom?"

Sara frowns. "Honestly, no. I mean, I obviously have no idea what he was like as a kid, but from what he's told me, he was pretty much a loner who loved bugs…"

"So, pretty much like now," Brass pipes in.

"Basically. Sam's… definitely not a loner. She can just go up to a kid at the playground and five minutes later, they're best friends. She's like a fish, practically lives in the pool on the weekends when the weather's nice. She loves reading, and you can always tell when she loves a book because she barely puts it down until she's finished it."

"You've been spending a lot of time together, huh?" Catherine's voice is full of insinuation, but luckily, Sara's saved from answering by Grissom's return.

"You heading out?" she asks.

"No, Maddie and her parents are going to her grandparents' house in a little while, so they're dropping Sam off on the way," he reports.

"Good, then we can interrogate you until she gets here," Catherine announces.

Hank picks that moment to come loping into the room, nudging Sara's hand and whining. "You have fun with that," she says, ignoring Grissom's pleading look. "I'll take this guy out for a quick walk."

"I'll go with you," Greg immediately offers.

"Sure."

AN: I originally had the whole reveal before Sam's middle-of-the-night visit to the lab, but reading through that scene again, I just felt it was too close to how Shelby was introduced to the team in Buddyflies, so I did a little rearranging. It messed a little with the chapter splits, hence why this one's a little long, but hopefully nobody minds that