Disclaimer: Characters contained within do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: Thanks so much to everyone for all the reviews and all the love. Enjoy!

Being Mrs. Grissom

by Kristen Elizabeth

Nick watched Hodges stumble and squeeze his way through the crowded bar on his way towards their table. "I really hope this is a lesson to you, G."

"Yeah, yeah," Greg muttered. "Think before I speak."

Sara smirked as she sipped her beer. "C'mon, you two. The man's had his heart broken. The least we can do is buy him a drink."

"Were you this romantical and humanitarian before you got hitched?" Nick wondered.

She didn't have time to deliver a sharp retort; she had to settle for a swift kick to Nick's shin under the table. He jerked in pain, but managed to cover it with a cough just as Hodges reached their table.

"I couldn't find a parking space!" Clearly unaccustomed to being in a bar, Hodges shouted one or two decibels louder than what was necessary to be heard. "You started without me!"

"My fault," Sara took the bullet. "I needed a beer."

Hodges nodded as he climbed up onto the empty stool beside her. "I completely understand. I'm no stranger to the comforting numbness of alcohol, especially these days." A waitress passed by and he flagged her down. "Scotch on the rocks."

Greg and Nick exchanged a look. "Sara, does Grissom still like a good scotch?" Nick asked.

"Actually he's more into wine these days." She shrugged. "It's a French thing."

Hodges sat up a bit straighter. "I love a good chardonnay. I could email him some vintage suggestions."

"I think he leans more towards the merlots. Red wine is better for the heart," Sara continued when Hodges' smile drooped.

Greg bumped her shoulder with his. "Look at you being all wifely. Taking care of your hubby. Worrying about his hearty."

Sara reached for his bottle. "Well, you're cut off."

"Come on, Sara," Nick jumped in. "We've been really good about not talking about Grissom too much, but inquiring minds want to know..." He leaned in closer; Hodges copied his movement. "Are you two ever gonna make me an uncle?"

"Nick!" she protested.

He held up his hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just always think that really smart people have a duty to have smart kids, because God knows the idiots of the world are spreading their genes all around."

Greg raised his beer to this. "Amen."

Sara pursed her lips to stifle a smile. "Don't you think he and I should be living on the same continent before we decide to have a baby?"

"Fine then." Nick smacked his fist on the table. "Tell him to get back here."

Hodges nodded with great enthusiasm. "It's not like you two are getting any younger!"

A few seconds ticked by. The waitress delivered Hodges' drink which he sipped, unaware. Greg sighed, Nick shook his head and Sara murmured, "Whatever will be, will be." After another second, she cleared her throat. "All right. Get it all out now. Your Grissom questions," she clarified. "Last chance."

Greg was the first to seize the opportunity. "Are you ever changing your name?"

"Too much paperwork," she replied. "But feel free to call me Mrs. Grissom."

"Did you go with traditional vows or did you write your own?" Nick asked.

"Traditional. Except for the obeying part."

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, I kinda figured."

Greg started ripping off pieces of his beer's label. "Why didn't you trust us enough to tell us you two were together before Natalie Davis?"

Sara frowned. "It wasn't a matter of trust. We wanted to tell you."

"But you didn't."

"Greg." She put her hand over his, stilling his fingers. "We did what we thought was best for the team." He snorted softly. "I'm serious," she reiterated. "To keep the team together, we kept our relationship a secret."

Greg started to reply, but Nick cut him off. "Water under the bridge, man," he reminded Greg. It took a second, but Greg lowered his chin in acknowledgement, although he resumed his attack on the label until it was a soggy heap of shredded paper.

Hodges, who had been hanging onto every delicious word, filing each of them away for future reference, nodded again. "All's well that ends well!"

"Sure," Sara said with great diplomacy. She glanced around at the boys. "Last chance, going once...twice..."

"Did you and Grissom ever do it in the lab?" Hodges blurted out.

Sara's eyes widened, but Nick came to her rescue. "You so don't have to answer that, Sar." He shot Hodges a look.

"No, it's okay." She drained her beer and leveled Hodges with a look of her own. "Did you know that the work table in Trace is the perfect height to...well...I don't need to spell it out, do I?"

It gave her enormous pleasure to see the color drain from his face, but she only got to enjoy it for one sweet second before her phone rang.

"Speak of the devil," Sara said after checking the screen. "Are you sneezing, Gilbert?" she answered the call.

"Why?" Grissom didn't miss a beat. "Am I being discussed?"

Sara winked at Nick. "Maybe a little."

"Sara, where are you?" Grissom asked. "I can barely hear you, honey."

"Hang on." Lowering the phone from her ear, Sara slipped off her bar stool. "Boys, thanks for letting me crash your man-date, but I have a date of my own with my husband." After tossing down a few bills to cover her beer, Sara took off, laughing at whatever Grissom said on the other side of the world.

Greg watched until she was swallowed up by the crowd. "Do you think that if I'd ever worked up the balls to ask her out, she'd be with me now instead of him?"

Nick gave Greg a comforting slap on the back. "Nope."

"All the balls in the world couldn't have stopped those ships from passing in the night," Hodges mused. The waitress passed by just then and he waved her over. "Can I get a glass of merlot?"

Fin