DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!
RATING: T for Teen
SPOILERS: Post Season 11
WORD COUNT: 1638
PAIRING: GSR
SUMMARY: Nick finds a notebook filled with things he doesn't understand...at first.

A/N: This is a VERY late answer to the Fandom Aid auction for Japan Relief, but the muse and Darth Real-Life have not been terribly cooperative as of late.

REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

Spying an open composition notebook on the break room table, Nick couldn't help but pick it up. He wanted to know who in the world was still using one of those relics of academia. However, what he found left him with an even bigger mystery to solve.

Scribbled out in a barely decipherable hand, Nick found a list of chemicals, which immediately triggered his spider-sense.

C12H22O11

NaCl

NaHCO3

Potassium Hydrogen Tartrate

Sodium Bicarbonate

Carbonic Acid

Acetic Acid

The other pages of the composition book were filled with complex, completely unrecognizable equations and diagrams showing temperature and time variables. All of it gave him a very uneasy feeling.

Nick flipped the notebook closed in an attempt to find evidence of its ownership when Mandy came into the break room with Dr. Ray. His focus never left the notebook, which caused Mandy to ask over her shoulder, "What'cha got there, cowboy…your Freshman Comp homework?"

He rolled his eyes at her playful jibe and then flipped the notebook back open to the peculiar list. "Not hardly… No, I found this on the table, but it doesn't say whose it is." He turned to another page and discovered a series of very complex equations. "And what I can make out makes me nervous. Looks to me like somebody's making a bomb."

Before either newcomer had a chance to respond to his wildly loaded statement, Catherine came into the room, with Sara following directly after her. The relaxed smile on Sara's face immediately morphed into an expression of relief the moment she saw Nick. "There it is! I've been looking all over for that thing." She took the composition book from his grasp, never recognizing his bewildered look of concern.

Sitting down with his coffee, Ray said, "I didn't think anyone still used those books."

Sara simply smiled as Catherine handed her the other steaming mug in her hand. "I ah, got back in the habit when I was in Costa Rica, since we couldn't always count on power in the field." Sara casually took the seat opposite Ray at the table

Mandy raised an eyebrow as she peered over her mug of hot chocolate. "Inquiring minds want to know…just what are you writing in that little notebook, Madame Grissom." Sara turned back to stick her tongue out at Mandy for the obvious barb. "Very adult," Mandy said, before returning the gesture, but also adding a cross-eyed glare to up the ante.

They both laughed at the ridiculousness of their actions, as did everyone else. But Mandy pulled up a chair next to Sara and reached for the notebook. Sara shrugged it off and waited for Mandy to figure it out on her own. "It's nothing, really. Just some notes for a project."

"HA!" They were all a little taken aback by Mandy's outburst. "Well, it looks to me like a certain C.S.I. in this room needs to go back to chem class." She turned the notebook around to show the page containing the list and asked, "Is this your bomb list, hot shot?"

Nick shrugged and nodded, "Well, yeah… it's a list of chemicals."

Sara peeked around to see what page Mandy was displaying and then laughed. "That's my shopping list."

"You go chemical shopping?" Nick was completely confused by that point.

"Jeez, Nick! Maybe you need to re-take high school chemistry." Mandy turned the notebook back around for her to be able to read the list. "Sugar, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar…"

"For the cookies," Sara interjected.

Mandy continued without formality, "Baking soda…"

"To absorb the weird smell in the fridge." Sara's nose turned up as she answered.

"Club soda…"

Nodding, Sara added, "For making my waffles fluffier, or in case I spill something."

"And vinegar…" Mandy looked to her for the last answer.

Sara shrugged, and asked, "Because I ran out?"

Mandy chuckled at her question and then turned back to Nick. "This is the list you're referring to?"

He felt about two inches tall by the time the two women finished their combined recitation. Nick tried the only defense he could muster when he asked, "Well, who the heck writes NaCl instead of salt on a grocery list?"

Just then, Greg walked into the room. "I do." He chuckled as he reached for a cup from the strainer in the sink. "Used to drive my Mom nuts when I'd add stuff to the list she kept on the fridge. 'Greg, what in the world is C12H22O11? Can I even get that at the Von's?'" He was still shaking his head as he poured the coffee into his cup. "Even had her ask me if I was making bombs once. Cracked me up."

Greg was confused when everyone in the room burst into laughter. Nick was forced to endure the humiliation once more as Mandy explained everything to Greg, who chuckled and added, "Well, I wouldn't imagine that the guy who still nukes his convenience store burritos for lunch to understand anything about molecular gastronomy, but I can't say I'm surprised that Sara does."

"It's that whole science of cooking movement that's all the rage in the avant-garde restaurants. All technique and presentation, and people are ready to drop some serious change for the experience." Catherine shuddered at the notion, but then shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes with her conclusion. "It's nuts, but it works."

"Yeah, well, I'm not someone who drops a couple bills on dinner to walk away feeling like I just ate a single Cheeto. I'm gonna drop that kind of coin, then I want a fat juicy steak, some wine and a nice big dessert, along with the same for my date." Nick crossed his arms over his chest and set his chiseled jaw with his conclusion.

Ray decided to enter the conversation by offering another perspective. "I suspect Sara is more interested in the Sous-vide style of cooking, which is quite heavily based on mathematical equations for preparing foods at low temperatures to preserve flavors and textures, also relying on the applied use of physics."

"Thank you, Dr. Ray." Sara tilted her mug in his direction as a toast. "Yes, I became curious about Sous-vide after Gil and I had dinner at this amazing restaurant in Girona. I fell in love with all of Catalan culture when we were in Spain, but the food was just amazing."

"Would that be 'El Celler de Can Roca'?" Ray asked, as though he already knew the answer.

"That's exactly it… I didn't know you'd been to Spain?" Sara seemed surprised by his revelation.

"It was a few years ago, before they moved to the new location, but I also fell in love with the Sous-vide techniques. I just never had the patience to employ them myself." Ray tilted his mug in Sara's direction, returning the gesture of a toast. "So, I have great respect for anyone who does."

"I'm just shocked to find out that Sara cooks at all." Greg spoke from beneath his lowered gaze, showing that boyish trait which was his trademark.

"I've always had the ability… I just never had the desire or inclination before." The raise of Sara's brow told everyone that she didn't appreciate Greg's jibe.

"What's changed?" Nick was sincere with his question.

Sara smiled as she tried to give him an adequate answer. "I don't know. I guess, mostly it's something that challenges my abilities. Using physics and chemistry to create in the kitchen is like this incredible adventure for a science nerd like me. And it's one area where Grissom doesn't already have all the answers, so it's something we can explore and discover together."

"Okay, you've taken up baseball and you're cooking, albeit as a math geek, and you've been learning sign language, as well as putting up with his mother, so what's Grissom picked up in this deal?" Greg had been struggling with Sara and Grissom's relationship for some time, but even Nick thought that question may have been a little obvious.

"He's learning French, he's almost completely a vegetarian, he's done a lot of environmental work with me, and he spent an entire weekend throwing pots with my mother. Not to mention, he has to share his dog with me." Catherine was the only one who laughed that time. Sara smiled at her, and then continued, "It's not about who gives up what, or who makes which concessions, Greg. It's about sharing the things we're passionate about and finding common ground. Sometimes that means I need to figure out baseball, and sometimes it means Grissom has to endure a concert he'd never have gone to on his own."

"And sometimes it means giving each other the space to do the things that make them happy, even when that space is thousands of miles away." The smooth, rich tone of Grissom's voice spoke from the doorway, causing everyone to turn in surprise.

Sara sat in her seat, a mile-wide smile plastered on her face. "You got an earlier flight?"

"Something like that." The downturned gaze he shot her way needed no interpretation for anyone in the room.

Sara got up from her seat and gathered her things. "Ah, Catherine, would you mind-"

"Get out of here… I'll cover you tonight." Catherine slipped her glasses on to hide the knowing smirk on her face as Sara quickly left the room.

Nick was the first to speak and break the spell Grissom's arrival had placed on them. "Wow, not even a nod or a wave. That's a fine how-do-you-do."

Mandy swatted him as she got up from the table. "Oh please… You spend a couple months in the Peruvian mountains with nothing but bugs and human remains to keep you company, and we'll see how fast you forget your manners in favor of some hot monkey lovin'."