Chapter Sixteen: Endings
Sara glanced up at the clock on the wall, letting out a low sigh as she tapped her pencil against the table. Where in the world could he be? He was already ten minutes late. She looked up front again, where Grissom was reviewing their latest case, a rapist that was on the loose. He had killed only three of his ten known victims, but still, no one had come up with a good enough description of him yet.
She glanced at the clock again, fifteen minutes now. Of all the days, why did he have to be late today? As if on cue, the door behind them opened and closed quietly, a few people turning around to look to see who it was before looking back up front. Sara didn't need to look to see, she already knew that it was him. Greg slid in the seat next to her, thankful she had chosen the table closet to the door.
"You're late," Sara mumbled quietly, not even looking at him.
"I know," Greg nodded, "I forgot to set my alarm."
"You forgot to set your alarm?" Sara wondered, raising an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that?"
Greg nodded again. "Yes, I haven't had my alarm set for several weeks now. Give me a break."
"Oh I'll give you a break," Sara whispered back, "Maybe a few fractures too. You have any idea how embarrassing it is to tell everyone that you'd be back today, and then you don't show up?"
"Hey, you two lovebirds, keep it down," Warrick whispered over his shoulder, barely even turning his head.
Both Greg and Sara grew quiet, realizing that over half the room was staring at them even though Grissom was still talking. The meeting finished off in another few minutes, as everyone departed roughly at the same time. A few people stopped to say a quick hi to Greg, but no one stayed too long.
Greg and Sara went their separate ways, not saying anything else to each other as Greg made his way into the DNA lab, stopping at the door. It had been a long time since he had been in here, and for a while, he had thought he'd never see it again. But that wasn't he only reason he stopped. The counter was piled high with envelopes, some even sitting on the floor. Greg let out a long sigh, today was going to be a very long day.
It was several hours later that Sara finally managed to drop by the DNA lab. She had offered to take some samples there, although there was no chance they would be ran today. That wasn't the only reason she wanted to go, she wanted to see how Greg was handling things. What she didn't expect was the mess.
"Wow," she stated softly, stepping over an empty bin that sat right inside the door. "What happened here?"
Greg poked his head around the counter; he was sitting on the floor, putting things away on the shelf. "That's what I'd like to know," Greg muttered, shaking his head. "Who in the hell did you have cover me while I was gone?"
"Someone named Mace, I believe. I wasn't here all that much. Why?"
"I can't find anything," Greg grumbled, "Half this stuff hasn't even been cleaned, and there are samples sitting up there that are nearly a month old. Did this person do any work at all?"
Sara shrugged, dropping the samples on the first free counter space that she saw. "She was a slow worker, but it's all we could find on such short notice. Hodges helped where he could; he ran the high priority stuff."
"Wait," Greg looked up at her, "Mace was a she?"
Sara nodded, smiling at his expression.
"Did anyone even check this gal's background out?"
"I did," Grissom said, shaking his head as he came in. "What is going on in here."
"This lab is very unorthodox," Greg pointed out, glancing up at him.
Grissom nodded slowly, "So I can see," he mused.
"I'm cleaning," Greg pointed out, "I can't work in a dirty lab, over half this stuff needs to be washed."
"Well, at least DNA won't be slow for a while," Grissom pointed out, smiling at Greg's reaction.
Greg frowned at him, tossing a wad of paper into the garbage. "Thanks, I guess."
"One more thing," Grissom caught his attention again. "What is this?" he asked holding up several bills.
"Hmm," Greg studied it a bit, "It looks like twelve dollars," he answered, going back to his organizing.
"I can see that Greg," Grissom frowned, leaning against the counter. "What was it doing on my desk?"
"Well," Greg answered, his head in the cabinet, "If I remember right, that was our agreement, twelve dollars a month, right?"
Sara hadn't said anything during this time, but she had enough of an idea what it was about.
"I'm not going to make you pay me back Greg," Grissom told him sternly.
"And I'm not going to let you just give me all that money."
"Greg, you still need to get on back on your feet, you're going to have a hard time budgeting your money for a while, you can't be giving me this."
"I can afford twelve dollars a month," Greg argued, still putting stuff away. "I'm not giving in on this, so you might as well accept it."
"Fine," Grissom answered, straightening up. "I'll put it in for your bonus."
Greg looked back up at him. "Bonus? What bonus?"
"The one I'll be giving you."
"That's your money," Greg pointed out.
"Exactly," Grissom answered with a nod, "So I can do what I want with it." He left after that, leaving a bewildered Greg still sitting on the floor.
"He's just stubborn," Greg finally said, closing the cabinet as he stood up.
"And you're not?" Sara asked lightly as he circled the counter, coming to a stop next to her.
"Of course not," he said with a grin, "I'm just annoying."
Sara smiled back at him, shaking her head. "It's good to have you back, lab rat."
"It's good to be back," Greg answered with a small smile. "It really is."
The End
wdbydoglvr:
Thanks for all your comments, I'm glad you are enjoying the stories. Always looking forward to hearing from you
Puddleduck:
Ah, no kiss in this fic, I thought about it, but wasn't able to really work one in. Sorry, maybe on another ficlet though.
Jenny70529:
Glad you like the story. I'm loving yours so far. Always looking for an update. I'm really interested in seeing what happens, esp between Greg and Sara, and what Nick's reaction will be!
witchazel
Thank you for the comments, I'm glad you took your time to read all fifteen chapters in one day. That can be a lot to read at one time.
witchbsword
Yes, Greg is all better now, after all, I can't hurt him for too long…just for a little bit. Glad you like the story!
Caroline:
I'm very honored that you think that. And no, nothing more is going to happen to poor Greg in this story. This story, at the least. But I do have several other stories going on if you want to check them out.
Destiny Dreamer2:
No more angst in the story, no. The story must come to an end sometime. But I'm glad you like it still!
Mellaithwen:
Greggo is all better…for now. Yeah, the raccoons fighting, that was interesting. We forgot to take our garbage in and they got in a fight over it. Unfortunately is was right under my parent's bed, so it was sort of a major wake up call. Although the next day there were some raccoons somewhere running around on a major sugar high, all they got was ice cream.
LuvinNickyStokes:
When I said doctors there, that is what I mean by physical therapists. I wasn't too detailed on it because I wasn't sure how everything worked. I hope that clears up some confusion. Love reading all your comments!
And of course, thank you to everyone who reviewed, this is just some general feedback. I love reading everyone's reviews, and I thank you for sticking with me through the story!