Sara's POV:

I knew her eyes were on me when that memory card came up missing. I knew Eckley wasn't thrilled that only Greg could provide an alibi. We had been processing the backyard; we didn't find anything, but it needed to be done all the same. I knew they all secretly wondered if I stole the memory card to get back at Catherine, but no one asked me directly.

It was a crazy case. It was almost too bizarre for me to handle. God knows Greg and I had a field day laughing about the size of the diapers that were brought back to the lab. Greg had joked that both he and I could easily fit in one together; we could probably get Sophia in there with us if we tried hard enough. For that, Grissom had started referring to us as the three musketeers. Grissom had commented that he couldn't remember the last time he worked on a team that was this colorful.

Life had settled down; it was the first time in years that I didn't feel inner turmoil that threatened to cause me to self-destruct. It was the first time in a long time that everyone in the lab had gotten along; some of us got along better than others, but it was still better than the preceding months.

I sat in the break room sipping the coffee that I had just made. Greg had clued me in on where he kept his stash of Blue Hawaiian. He swore both Sophia and I to secrecy. I closed my eyes as I sipped the hot liquid. It was a brief moment of sanity amongst a completely insane night. I really began to wonder who the hell found crapping in a diaper and breast-feeding a turn on. I knew I was screwed up, but I was thankful that I wasn't down right strange.

"Rough night?" Grissom asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Weird night. I heard you and Sophia got into it with Catherine tonight. Are you two okay?" I asked as I opened my eyes. Grissom smiled; he had commented yesterday that I was a very thoughtful person . . . a great addition to his team. I had waited for years to get that kind of praise out of him.

"It was just a misunderstanding. Things get crazy around here when the legends of Vegas are murdered. I heard you were questioned in regards to the missing memory card," Grissom commented.

"It's no biggie," I replied with a smile. It actually was a 'biggie,' but I knew better than to engage Eckley in another fight so soon.

"Conrad is an ass," Grissom replied.

"I'm not going to argue with that," I replied with a small laugh, "I don't know how to say this, but I'm happy that Sophia makes you happy."

"Thank you, Sara," Grissom replied as a blush spread across his face, "I'm glad that you are doing better."

"You have Greg to thank for that. So I heard something about you being Nick's 'Daddy,'" I joked. Grissom blushed a million shades of red.

"Who told you?" he said as he looked down into the bottom of his coffee cup.

"I heard it from Greg who heard it from Hodges. You know how 'good' news travels fast around here," I replied. Grissom rubbed his forehead.

"Sar, Griss," Nick said as he walked into the break room. Just the sight of him made me start to laugh. He looked at me funny, but immediately knew what I was laughing about. He flung a wadded up paper towel at me and preceded to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Who told you?" Nick asked accusingly.

"Don't tell things to Hodges if you don't want the entire lab to know, little one," I teased. My relationship with Nick had dramatically changed; it had almost reverted back to what we had the first day I came to Vegas. We teased each other unmercifully. It had gone back to that comfortable-friendly that I missed so much. The same thing had happened with Warrick. I had spent more time with them in the last week than I think I had in over a year.

"I'm going to kill him," Nick growled.

"Good thing you know how to hide a body," I replied. Grissom looked up at me and only shook his head.

"I didn't think we would see father and son together tonight," Sophia said as she walked into the room with Greg.

"Does that mean I get to call you Mommy?" Nick quipped. Grissom blushed, and Greg and I nearly fell over because we had started laughing so hard. Two weeks ago, this banter probably would have resulted in fist fights, suspensions, or screaming matches. Today, it was seemingly all in the nature of a much lighter-hearted lab.

"Whatever turns you on, kiddo," Sophia replied as she ruffled Nick's hair, "Greg, you call me Mommy and I'll kick your ass."

"Yes, ma'am," Greg replied as he poured cups of coffee for him and Sophia.

"I don't like ma'am either," Sophia replied as she took a seat next to Grissom.

"I heard Grissom call her 'princess' this morning," I offered. My comment caused Sophia to blush. Grissom only silently continued to drink his coffee.

"No, she's more of a 'queen bee,' Sar," Greg teased. Grissom looked up and smiled like he might actually consider calling Sophia that in the privacy of somewhere other than the lab.

"Hey," Catherine said as she came into the break room. I could feel the atmosphere changing the instant she walked through the door. I hadn't talked to her since the incident three weeks ago. I wasn't ready to talk to her yet. There was part of me that was still angry with her, but another part was ready to put this issue to rest.

"Hey, Nicky, is your daddy going to let you out of his sight, so you can finish signing off on the evidence you collected?" Catherine asked. She had obviously talked to Hodges . . . well, maybe almost anyone in the lab. Catherine smiled. After a long night, I hadn't expected her to be in a jovial mood. After long cases with the normal and abnormal problems, Catherine was usually nothing less than exhausted, spiteful, and angry.

"You'll have to ask his parents," Greg teased as he filled up my cup of coffee without asking me if I wanted more. Sophia laughed more than Grissom did, but I'm sure that there was some part of Grissom's overly scientific brain that was getting a kick of this.

"God," Catherine said with a smile as she shook her head, "I'll try not to send him home from work cranky. People are weird . . . weirder than you guys."

"Grissom, you buying breakfast?" I asked as I began to sip my coffee.

"If I have to," Grissom replied, "Let's go. Catherine, you should come with us. Nick, go find Warrick."

"I bet I know where to find him," Greg said.

"Mia," Nick and I replied at the same time.

"I should really get some paperwork done," Catherine said.

"It will be there tomorrow," Grissom said as he all but pulled Catherine out of her chair.

It was the first time that swing and nights were all together. It was something reminiscent of days that had faded away a little too quickly. The banter was the same; God knows everyone always ordered the same things for breakfast. It was like time reversed itself. It was something that I had missed. It was something that I needed. When I was alone with my own devices too long, I began to dwell on the childhood that I would never in a million years go back to. I needed them to keep me sane. I rarely admitted to needing people, but when Greg, Warrick, Mia, and I piled into Nick's SUV, I realized just how much I needed them. I hoped that maybe they needed me just as much.

FIN