Work Text:
It was one of those lucky days where they could actually go home at the end of the shift. Nick, Warrick and Greg had already left, and Catherine arrived in the locker room last. Unexpectedly, she found Grissom there.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him as a greeting, a little shocked, a little amused.
"I'm going home," he replied.
Catherine was about to retort that he didn't usually go home at the end of the shift, but she quickly had the epiphany: Sara is at home.
"Oh, right," was her only comment.
For the first time since he had known her, Grissom saw Catherine become hesitant in her gaze. Her own voice came out as a gentle sweetness, with a tone similar to the one he had heard her use with her daughter when Lindsey was still a child. He wavered. It was the first time since Sara had been found that their relationship had come up so blatantly - though not openly said. Catherine had certainly sensed that new obligations could now keep him away from work in a way and with an urgency that none of his colleagues would have ever imagined possible. Sara is at home. He felt naked at Catherine's simple comment, Oh, right, but she seemed not to notice his fragility - or perhaps she considered it in bad taste to point it out. Instead, she opened her locker door and pushed her hair back with one hand, with a slightly tired sigh, typical of the end of a shift.
Grissom resumed his preparations and Catherine began hers. A few moments passed and he headed for the exit.
"Have a nice day, Catherine," he took his leave, his voice a little more shy than a normal farewell.
Catherine's response remained as if suspended, so much so that Grissom stopped at the door.
"Give Sara a hug for me," Catherine finally said.