AN: OK, so I'm on yet another rewatch, and while watching this episode, I realized that Grissom's not even in it – I don't know how I never noticed before. So I came up with a reason, and a little post-ep interaction between our two favorite geeks. Don't worry, I'm still working on my Buddyflies sequel!

Thanks to WalkerTRngr for the beta help!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to CSI

The Unusual Suspect

The house is quiet when Grissom opens the door, and he sighs with relief at being home. He used to enjoy conferences and out-of-town lectures, getting away from Sin City if only for a day or two, but now… now that he has someone to come home to, it's different.

He knows Sara must be here because her car was in the garage, but it's half past noon, so she's probably asleep. He toes off his shoes and leaves his overnight bag in the hallway to deal with later and goes in search of her.

When he finds the bedroom empty, he frowns. "Honey?" No response.

The bathroom is just as empty as the bedroom, and she's not in the office across the hall either, so he retraces his steps to the living area. Maybe she went for a run…

But then he spots her, outside on the back deck. She doesn't notice when he slides the glass door open. "Hey."

She jumps a little at his voice and turns. "Hey, sorry, I didn't realize it was so late."

"Are you OK?"

One side of her mouth twists up in a half-smile and she shrugs, which tells him everything he needs to know. He sits down in the chair next to her and waits.

"I thought I was pretty good at reading people," she starts a few minutes later, eyes staring unseeing straight ahead. "I guess not…"

"The West case?" he asks quietly. He's heard about it, of course, but not since they talked yesterday morning. "Did the verdict come in?"

"Not guilty."

Grissom considers for a moment. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"Me neither," she agrees. "And that's not…"

"What else happened?" he pushes when she trails off.

And she tells him. She talks about the interrogations and the theories, the evidence and the lies.

"She had me completely fooled," she finishes. "I really thought she did it."

He doesn't respond immediately, unsure of what to say that won't make her feel even worse. "I don't think anyone would expect a twelve-year-old to come up with such an elaborate story, no matter her IQ," he finally says.

"I guess," Sara sighs.

"Was she right?"

"About what?" she asks with a frown.

"That you… identified with her," he clarifies.

To his surprise, she really thinks about it. "Maybe a little," she finally admits. "I mean, not the part where she confessed to a murder her brother committed to keep him out of prison, but… I guess I could see it, you know? I know what it's like to be the outsider, the one all the popular kids pick on… I know how… evil high school girls can be, and it's not like the age of the internet and cell phones everywhere has improved that whole situation…"

"Yeah, I can only imagine," he muses.

"Luckily, we don't have to." She focuses on him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I'll be OK. She threw me, sure, but… it's done. I'm not the one who will have to live with what she did."

He narrows his eyes, scrutinizing her for a moment, and she raises an eyebrow. "Come on," he then says, rising to his feet and extending a hand to her. When she takes it, he gently tugs her to her feet, pulling her close for a quick kiss. "I don't sleep very well without you, so I barely got any rest yesterday."

"Bed?" she suggests.

"Bed."