A/N: Ok so it's not so much a sequel to California here we come - more like a similar story...the idea came to me when I was thinking of plausable ways the team could end up on vacation together but since it didn't fit with my pre-cannon story I left it! It's set after Kiss-kiss, Bye bye...cannon GSR and knowing me there'll be some YoBling and Sofia/Brass in there too...let me know if I should continue!
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Greg ran into the break room, waving his arms wildly and screaming excitedly. After a long, tiring shift all he got in response was four not-very-amused faces staring back at him. Greg stood at the head of the table willing one of them to ask him what was going on. Knowing it was killing him, the guys refrained from asking. Letting out a heavy sigh Greg gave an exasperated "Come on!"
"Alright what is it Greg?" Sara asked half-heartedly; she was much too tired for Greg right now. Standing up tall Greg tried to control himself.
"Well I'm glad you asked Sara!" He said smoothly. "Because I have some big news!" He grinned.
"Wait!" Greg looked around the room and sighed heavily. "Where's Grissom?"
"In his office, doing paperwork." Sara answered without looking up.
"Go get him!" Instructed Greg. "He needs to be here for this!" Sara glared at him for a second then trudged off to get Grissom, figuring that she would be a more welcomed distraction than the hyperactive Greg. She didn't want Greg being killed before they heard what he had to say.
"Nick! You need to go get Brass and Sofia. They should be here too." Greg now gave orders to Nick who looked at him in disbelief. Sighing again Greg cursed them all for not complying to his plan. "Just do it Nicky! It'll be worth it I promise." Nick gave one last questioning look and then went off in search of the detectives.
-
"Hey."
Grissom looked up from his paperwork to the owner of that soft voice that had distracted him.
"Hi." He smiled. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She smiled back at him.
"Greg has some uh...big news, apparently." She chuckled softly remembering his entrance to the break room. "You have to come down there so we can hear what it is." His face screwed up at the thought. He was making good progress in the paperwork, if he stopped now he might not get back on track and he really wanted to have it finished by the end of shift. Knowing he was about to try and back out of coming with her she pre-empted him.
"Come on Griss. It'll only take a minute I'm sure. Please." She gave him the puppy dog eyes she knew he couldn't resist and added in a small, quiet voice. "For me." He sighed; there was no way he could have said no to her. He gave her a glare; she was using his weaknesses against him.
"Oh alright." He sighed and got up from his desk and followed her to the break room. When they got there everyone, including Brass and Sofia, was gathered around the table waiting patiently for Greg, who was standing at the head of the table, to fill them in on his 'Big News' Once Sara and Grissom had taken their seats and impatient Catherine spoke up.
"Okay Greg, we're all here now. So enlighten us, what's the big news?"
"Well Catherine, I will tell you." Greg started. A large grin spreading across his face as he fought hard to control his excitement. "Do you remember the Lois O'Neill case from a few weeks ago? When Sara and I found all that money hidden under the floor of her bedroom?" He asked and they all nodded. Lois O'Neill was a bit of a celebrity and quite a character so it had been a fairly memorable case. "Well then you will also know that the money was loot from when Tony C pulled off the famous Pan Am heist back in '65." Greg informed them, he had clearly rehearsed his speech. They stared back blankly trying to figure out where he was going with this.
"Well! I just got a call from the sheriff and he said that as a reward for finding the money they're going to send us all on a 2 week, all expenses paid vacation to a destination of our choice." He finished excitedly. Everyone around the table looked confused as they tried to register what he was saying.
"Are you serious?" Catherine was the first to ask the question running through all their minds.
"Totally!" Greg sat down triumphantly.
"This is unbelievable." Grissom said in shock.
"This is frickin' awesome!" Nick cried out, his excitement level growing parallel to Greg's. Greg nodded in agreement.
"So where do you wanna go?" He asked the group.
"Somewhere with sun, sea and sand." Catherine said dreamily.
"We live in the desert Cath; you don't get enough sun and sand?" Warrick teased her.
"Alright then tropical sun and sand." She retorted.
"Ok so a beach was pretty much given." Sara mediated. "But what else, we can't lie on the beach all day for 2 weeks."
"So somewhere with nightlife!" Greg raised his eyebrows and smiled and Nick nodded along with him. Sara rolled her eyes.
"How about somewhere with culture?" Of course it would be Grissom to make this suggestion.
"I'm sure we can find somewhere that covers all those things." Warrick thought hard.
"Actually..." Grissom's eyebrows drew together, as they did when he got an idea, and he got up from his seat and walked out of the room. The others looked around at each other, none of them quite certain what had just happened.
"Where'd he go?" Greg asked looking around confused.
"Who knows?" Sara smiled softly.
Minutes later Grissom returned with some pages in hand and finished his sentence.
"I think I know just the place." He announced, dropping the pages onto the table. Everyone picked one up and examined it. "Cape Town." He smiled. As did everyone else when the read what it said.
'A sophisticated town where new and old converge harmoniously with its immense natural beauty and the fast pace and bright lights of a great urban centre meld effortlessly here.'
"Sun, sea and sand." Sara smiled.
"And shopping! Well I'm sold!" Catherine said setting the piece of paper back down on the table.
"Me too!" Agreed Sofia.
"This place sounds perfect!" Nick also agreed.
"Great! So we're all agreed then?" Greg asked and everyone nodded. "Cape Town it is! I'm going to go call the sheriff!" He added excitedly before running out of the break room in the same fashion as he had entered.
"Strange boy!" Brass shook his head and laughed at the sight.
"Strange boy, who landed us all a free vacation." Catherine corrected him. Not long after he left Greg returned to the break room, breathless, telling them that the plans were being made. The rest of the shift was quiet on the crime front, which was perfect as it allowed the team to discuss their upcoming holiday.
Grissom excused himself from the group, wishing he could stay in the break room and discuss Cape Town with the rest of the group but knowing he had paper work to finish. Everyone else read and re-read the summary page of Cape Town that Grissom had printed for them and talked about all the things they could do while on holiday.
"Look at this beach." Sara said pointing out the photograph of the picturesque turquoise ocean and white sand beach.
"I know!" Cooed Catherine beside her. "And they have amazing shopping complexes." She added happily.
"Oh my God! They have elephants!" Greg cried out with the excitement of a small child. "Elephants!" He repeated. Everyone else just looked at him questioning his sanity.
-
Before the last hour of shift ended Greg received another phone call from the sheriff telling him that their vacation had been booked and giving him the details. He could barely compose himself to give the rest of them the details he was so giddy.
"We leave on Thursday morning, two days from now. Isn't that great! Two days! Oh! And we have Wednesday off to pack and stuff." He relayed the information while bouncing on the spot. "And...We're staying in a 5 star hotel, right on the beach. This is going to be great!" His excitement proved to be contagious as soon everyone was buzzing about going away. When shift finally ended they said their goodbyes and went home to make personal arrangements for the holiday. Once she was sure everyone had left Sara headed towards Grissom's office.
"Hey." She called softly from the door. She noticed that the paperwork pile was considerably smaller than the last time she had been in his office and felt proud of him.
"Hey." He answered, signing the last piece of paperwork he was going to do tonight. She walked further into his office and sat in the chair facing him.
"So the department is really going all out with this vacation, we're staying in a five star hotel and everything." She smiled filling him in on what he had missed. "We leave on Thursday and we have Wednesday off to prepare ourselves." She smiled. "I'm actually looking forward to this."
"Me too." He smiled stacking the paperwork up and moved it across the room. "Two weeks in an African paradise with you, how could I not be looking forward to it?" He smirked and she did likewise.
"Yeah, two weeks with me...and the rest of the team." She reminded him, getting up and standing beside him. Her proximity was killing him. Checking that the door was closed he snaked his arms around her waist.
"A small hitch in my plan." He joked. "Just means we'll have to be extra careful around them."
She nodded in agreement. "Although we've made it over a year without them suspecting, who knows if they'll ever figure it out."
"I know." Grissom frowned slightly. "I'm starting to think they're not very good at their jobs." She laughed slightly.
"No they're good." She stretched up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "We're just better."
Her breath was hot in his ear and she pressed herself against his body; it was driving him crazy. A low growl escaped his lips and all thoughts of the lab disappeared as he leant in and stole a kiss from her lips.
"Come on." He said after pulling away and leaving her breathless. "Let's go home."