Title: Lady Fingers

By: TriplePirouette

Category: Vignette, GSR

Spoilers: none

Disclaimer: They're not mine- I'm a poor college student having fun... take pity...

Distribution: please ask first :)

Summary: Griss loves bugs, and he loves Sara.

An- I guess they're together. I don't really have any back story for this- it's just a short scene. Please don't ask me to write more, because there's nothing else to write about this particular scene. Also, thanks to Ladybug Lore at www . geocities . com/Athens/Atrium/5924/ladybuglore . htm

Feedback PLEASE at: I love anything constructive! Blatant flames, however, will be disregarded and used to roast s'mores....

C S I

The morning sun peaked over the horizon, illuminating Vegas in a way that the neon never could. The neon could almost cover the flaws of the city, which in turn, turned it into a gaudy beacon in the middle of the desert. But the sun illuminated every nook and alleyway, whisking away the seedy memories of hookers and mobsters and brought with it the daily lives of everyone in the city: from casino pit boss to child.

Grissom and Sara walked out of the court house in the early morning, defeat permeating their every move. He watched cautiously as she moved past their cars to the chain link fence lining the parking lot, dropping her briefcase and shedding her jacket on the pavement to reveal a cream tank top before leaning into the metal fence, her long fingers supporting her in the diamond patterns.

"I hate this," She whispered.

"I know," he said, dropping his case by hers and leaning into the fence with his shoulder.

"He's going to do it again." Her statement was so simple, so profound, and so defeated he didn't even know where to start.

"I know." He whispered. "But that's not your fault. We do what we can, Sara."

"It never seems like enough, though," Sara sighed, dropping her head into the fence.

Grissom's hand quietly found her shoulder, his fingers gently kneading the muscles there. "It's more than most can do, though, Sara. We're a big part of keeping dangerous people locked up and innocent people safe."

"I know,"she whispers, and turns her face to him, a tiny smile growing. "Can't you just let me be irrationally upset this one time?" Sara's deadpan monotone was marred with a smile.

"Nope," Grissom smiled at her, moving his right hand to cup her cheek. "I don't like to see you upset."

"Fine." Sara rolled her eyes and tried to pout, but found she couldn't. His touch gave her strength, and his presence was so reassuring that she didn't need to be upset. Her left hand moved up to cover his right as a soft smile lit up her face. "Take me home."

Grissom's eyes flickered off of her face and to her hand holding his. "Don't move," he said, staring intensely at her hand, his tongue poking out of his lips. Sara's face contorted in fear, but she almost laughed as she watched him slowly pull their hands down and point at the tiny red ladybug there.

They watched it crawl across Sara's hand, up and down her elegant fingers until it seemed to stop and rest at the crease of her left ring finger. Sara looked up to see Grissom's face simply sparkling, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he watched the ladybug fly away.

"You're like a little boy in a candy store with your bugs," she said with a laugh as she picked up her things. Grissom grabbed his briefcase and led her to their car.

"It was a ladybug," Gris said simply, as if it should be obvious why he was so happy now. They got into the car and shut the doors, the engine roaring to life.

"Yes, Sweetheart," in the confines of the car Sara relaxed a bit, "it was a ladybug and it had two black spots and it crawled all over my hand." She smiled and shook her head as they pulled out into traffic; maybe she'd never understand.

After a few quiet moments Grissom spoke. "Did you know that almost every insect has some kind of ancient lore built around it?"

"Hum, no, I don't think I did." Sara said sleepily, leaning back into her seat.

"For example, if you find a ladybug in your house in the winter, it's supposed to bring good luck."

Sara listened to what he was saying very closely, though she gave the appearance of being nonchalant.

"If you find a ladybug in your house in the winter it means it's too cold for them outside."

Grissom smiled as he pulled into their driveway.

C S I

Sara stared at the search results and thought for a second; quietly turning toward their bedroom door to make sure that Grissom was still sleeping. She refined her search with a new term and hit enter again.

Scrolling through her choices she tried the first few, but found nothing interesting, only facts about harvests. She tried one last page, and smiled at its cute ladybug decor. She navigated the page's menu, and in a few short clicks was exactly where she wanted to be. The first few were about harvests again; there was one about money... Sara stopped dead and stared at the last two Ladybug Legends, reading them over and over to herself.

"According to the Swedes, if a ladybug landed on a lady's hand, she would be getting married soon."

"It is widely believed that the number of spots on a ladybug will indicate the number of children you will have."

Sara thought back to the car: Yes, Sweetheart, it was a ladybug and it had two black spots and it crawled all over my hand.

Sara closed the web page and smiled as she heard Grissom stir.

The End