The Retreat

Thanks, Quote and Cordelia! I appreciate your comments :). And yeah, it would have just been easier for him to say it, Ann, but... he's kind of, uh.. not the best with words sometimes!
 
I think for all Grissom is, I can forgive him for hiding behind words sometimes. They always seem to say just the right thing, anyway! :)

Please continue!
 
*looks down and realizes that she has newflame's box of tissues* hehe... hi :D

lol... sorry. I got the idea in my head and decided to post it.
 
( I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for taking this mini fan fic journey with me. I had no clue where The Retreat was going to end up when I first started writing it, and… I appreciate all of your comments along the way! This is the final chapter, and I hope that you all enjoyed reading the entire story as much as I enjoyed writing it!)

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS. The ant fact came from this amazing school website in Illinois. The website is: http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/ant.html.


Title: Onward and Upwards


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The Beach

Sara sighed, once again watching an ant crawl across the sand. “It’s so… tiny…” she pointed out to Grissom.

Grissom held back a small smile. “Did you know that there are thirty-five thousand different types of ants in the world…?”

Sara chuckled, looking up at him. “Well that’s good to know. I can now die happy, knowing that there are thirty-five thousand different types of ants in the world, rather than thirty-four thousand, or even thirty-six thousand.”

“Are you making fun of me?” Grissom jokingly asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Me…?” Sara smiled. “Never…”

“So… where… does this leave us, then…?” Grissom quietly asked her, trying to bring the conversation back to its original focus.

Sara bit her lip, thinking. “Honestly? I… don’t know… I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment to occur for years, and…now that it has, I don’t… know what to do, or what to say.”

“I don’t, either,” Grissom admitted. “And I had all night to think about what I was going to say to you, too.” Pausing for a moment to rub his beard, and getting off of the rock that he had been perched on, he sighed. “How about this, Sara?”

Sara bit her lip, still staring at the ground. “What…?”

“What if we just started off slowly….? Maybe… we can…get some dinner together, once we return to Vegas…?”

“Dinner is… good…” Sara told him, flashing him a small smile as she stood up, brushing the sand off of her legs.

“Maybe… at a restaurant on the strip…? Where we can just… talk…?” Grissom suggested, running a nervous hand through his hair.

“Talking is… nice…” Sara smiled, finally lifting up her eyes to meet his.

“You need to understand, though…” Grissom cleared his throat. “I’m not one to… rush into things…”

Sara raised an eyebrow, holding in a laugh. “I gathered that much, Grissom… it’s taken us six years just to get to this point… slow is fine. Seriously.”

“Good,” he nodded, glancing down the beach at Warrick, Greg, Nick, and Catherine. “They’re at it again…”

“They actually never stopped,” Sara told him. “Warrick and Nick have been splashing Greg non-stop. I almost feel bad for the guy!” she laughed.

“Well…should we head back…?” Grissom sighed, looking over at Sara.

“Yes… but you don’t actually swim, do you…?” she asked, as they started walking back towards the rest of the team, side by side.

“No, not really,” Grissom replied, giving her a slight shrug. “But enough people have left their comfort zones over the past couple of days… I’m pretty sure that I can handle a little splashing…” he smiled, as he slowly moved his hand closer to Sara’s hand, so that their fingers were just barely touching.

“I see…” she replied, with the smallest hint of a smile. “But be warned, Grissom. I have a feeling that the guys will gang up on you…”

“On me…?” Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow. “They wouldn’t dare!”

“I think they would,” she grinned, slowly sliding her hand into his. “I think they would.”


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The Ride Home

“Grissom…I can’t believe that you did that,” Nick laughed from the back seat of the vehicle. “I didn’t think that you had it in you…”

“Will wonders never cease…?” Catherine asked the group, raising an eyebrow. “I have to admit, Grissom, I was a little bit surprised at you, too…” she added, turning her head to glance in his direction. “You really don’t strike me as the ‘dunk and run’ kind of guy…”

Grissom just chuckled.

Yeah… not so surprised, Sara smiled, staring out the window. And…Greg did have it coming to him.

“I thought ‘pick-on Greg’ day ended last night?” Greg mumbled, unable to erase the grin from his face.

Nick gently poked him in the ribs, laughing. “I think it restarted, when you pretended to be a shark…”

“That’s for sure,” Warrick added with a smile. “Only…” he glanced at his watch, “Twelve more hours left of ‘pick-on Greg’ day!”

“Speaking of sharks,” Grissom interrupted Warrick, glancing at Greg through the rearview mirror. “As your supervisor, I think that it is important for me to point out that there are no sharks in Lake Tahoe….” he grinned.

“Yes, I know, thank you very much,” Greg replied with a slight smile. “I did graduate from college with an actual degree….”

“We’re just teasing you, Greg,” Warrick laughed, turning around to look at him.

“Because you care,” Greg chuckled. “I know, I know. But you know what? For all of my complaining about this trip before we left, Grissom, the retreat really was a great idea…I’m glad that we took the time to come here.”

“I am, too,” Catherine quietly spoke up. “I certainly learned a lot about myself… and a lot about all of you…”

“That goes triple for me, man,” Warrick added.

“I’m just glad that I got the chance to learn a little bit more about all of you…” Nick said, looking towards the front of the vehicle. “Because although I have always considered you to be friends, this weekend really gave me the chance to get to know each and every one of you, on an entirely different level.” Although for you, Sara, I wish that the outcome had been slightly different. At least we’re still friends…

“And for that, I am truly thankful,” Sara smiled, glancing up at the rearview mirror. After all, if not for this retreat, I wouldn’t be having dinner with Grissom this week, she thought to herself, eventually returning her gaze to the outside scenery.

“I, for one, am just glad that you all embraced this idea the way that you did,” Grissom told everyone. “Because in all honesty, I think that this weekend will help us become a much stronger team… and ultimately, a much stronger family,” he added with a smile. “So where do we go from here…? Onward and upwards… onward and upwards.”


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Finis
 
(A lot of people asked for it, so here it is… a continuation of The Retreat!)

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

Title: One Year Later


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The Break Room

“I don’t know about this…” Greg grumbled, his hands clasped tightly around a piping-hot cup of coffee. “I really don’t…” he added, just in case everyone hadn’t heard him.

“Of course it’s a great idea, Greggo!” Nick smiled. “Remember how much…uh…fun we all had the last time that we went away?” he chuckled.

“No… can’t say that I do…” Greg mumbled, staring down at the table.

“‘C’mon, Greg…” Warrick laughed. “The surf, the sand, the fresh air…”

“The rappelling, the bugs, Grissom’s snoring…” Greg trailed off.

Catherine flipped her hair out of her eyes, staring over at her younger, very unhappy, colleague. “The outdoor cooking, the relaxation, the ‘getting to know you better…’ conversations…” she chimed in.

“The difficult discussions, the sweaty armpits, the lack of good showers…” Greg immediately retorted.

“I think it might be good for all of us to get away…” Sara quietly spoke up. “It will give us a chance to talk some more… to see what’s changed in our lives over the past year…”

Grissom raised an eyebrow, glancing around the table at his team. Nodding, he made eye contact with each individual criminalist. “We will go back to Lake Mead for the entire weekend, and… we will talk, and we will share, and we will complete some new team-building exercises…” he announced. “And hopefully, we will continue to grow, and become stronger, as a family unit…” he added.

Greg frowned, looking up at his supervisor. Raising his hand, and opening his mouth as if to say something, he took a deep breath. “Can we b—“ he started to ask.

“No, Greg,” Grissom interrupted him, flashing him a smile, wry smile. “No batteries, no walkmans, no CD players, no hand-held DVD players, and no Gameboys...basically, nothing electronic what-so-ever….”

Greg slowly put his hand down, pursing his lips, and biting back a comment.

Sara chuckled, glancing over at him. “Sorry, Greg,” she smiled. “I guess you’ll just have to focus on the team this weekend…”

“But a lot can be said for two-player video games…” Greg trailed off, standing up, and stretching. “So when are we leaving, Grissom?” he asked. Although it didn’t seem like it, Greg was really looking forward to the Retreat, and… he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“Next Friday at noon…” Grissom replied, also standing up.

The assembled criminalists all nodded, heading toward the door. “This will be great, Rick!” Nick grinned, as he exited the break room.

“Yeah, you’re telling me,” Warrick replied with a smile.

“Just as long as we get to swim…” Greg mumbled, following his two friends out the door.

“Are you sure about this, Gil?” Catherine quietly asked him, standing up, and gazing over at him.

“I think it will be good for us,” he shrugged, nodding at Catherine as she left the room. “Besides,” he smiled at Sara, “You know what happened the last time that we went away…”

Sara smiled. “My whole life changed…”

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In the van: one week later

“Oh camping we will go, oh camping we will go…” Greg’s voice rang out from the backseat of the van.

“We should have just let him bring his Gameboy,” Sara frowned, looking over at Grissom.

Grissom raised an eyebrow, grinning. “True, but… that would have defeated the purpose of a retreat, wouldn’t it have…?” he quietly asked her.

“I suppose so…” Sara smiled, returning her attention to the scenery outside of the van.

“Yo, man,” Warrick lightly punched Nick in the arm. “Want to share a tent with me again this year?”

“You bet!” Nick smiled. “I don’t want any part of Grissom’s snoring…” he trailed off.

“Oh camping we will go,” Greg started over, chuckling to himself. “Oh camping we will g—wait, what did you just say?” he asked Nick, stopping in mid-verse.

“Nothing…” Nick shrugged.

“No, really… what did you just say?” he repeated his question.

“Did you remember to pack your earplugs, Greggo?” Warrick asked his colleague, grinning from ear to ear.

“No, why…?” he hesitantly asked.

Catherine turned to look at Greg, waiting for the realization to set in.

“Wait for it…” Nick whispered to Catherine and Warrick. “Wait for it, wait for it… here it comes!”

Greg’s smile suddenly faded. “Did you ask him to share a tent with you…?”

Nick simply nodded, biting his lip.

Swallowing, Greg stared at Sara, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, next to Grissom, who was driving. “Uh, Sara?” he cautiously asked. When Sara turned around to look at him, he flashed her a disarming smile. “Are you, uh…sleeping in Grissom’s tent…?”

Sara raised an eyebrow, choking back a laugh. “Catherine, we’re sharing a tent, right?” she asked, glancing at the other woman.

“That’s what I figured,” Catherine replied, biting back her own laugh.

“So, Greg,” Grissom loudly said. “That makes you and I tent-mates!”

“Again, Greggo,” Nick chuckled. “Did you remember to pack your earplugs…?”

“No…” Greg mumbled. “I didn’t…” he sighed.

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Campsite

“What’s for dinner?” Nick asked Grissom, standing underneath the food tent.

“Shish-ka-bobs!” Grissom announced, pointing to the skewers, the vegetables, the pork, and the chicken. “Come help yourselves, everyone! And then once your skewers are all set, we’ll do some talking…”

“Oh, boy… food!” Greg smiled, quickly walking over to the tent, and taking a look at the spread.

Warrick and Nick just laughed, as they started to get their skewers together.

“Nice idea, Grissom,” Catherine complimented her supervisor, as she glanced down at the chicken, and shoved it onto the skewer.

“And very easy to make…” Sara added, grabbing the vegetables, and spearing them.

Grissom just smiled, as he got to work.

Thirty minutes later, the criminalists all sat around the fire, staring at the ground. “Okay…” Grissom cleared his throat. “Well… first of all, I am glad that you were all so receptive to the idea of coming back to Lake Mead this year. I think that last year’s outing enabled us all to better get to know one another, and I am hoping that this year’s trip will help us all continue to get closer to one another…”

Nick glanced up at his supervisor, before returning his gaze to the roaring fire. “So… what are we going to be talking about, Grissom…?” he quietly asked, holding his hands up to the flame.

“I’d like to start off…easy…” Grissom replied, a small smile appearing on his lips. “So…tell me something that you all like about yourselves…”

“Oh, is that all…?” Warrick sarcastically asked. “Gee… that’s an easy one…”

Catherine raised an eyebrow, thinking about Grissom’s question. Something that I like about myself? Something that I’m good at…? Uh…

Nick continued to gaze at the fire, deep in thought.

“Can I say that I like how good I am at video games…?” Greg asked, trying to hide a laugh.

“No…” Grissom simply replied, flashing the younger man a small smile.

Even Sara, the person most comfortable with Grissom’s line of thinking, felt a little bit uncomfortable. “What if… what if I don’t like anything about myself…?” she finally squeaked out.


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TO BE CONTINUED
 
QTR, first of all, I'm TOTALLY not surprised that you knew what Sara would say... We could finish each other's sentences, when it comes to writing a fic! And MarieMonroe, thank you for your comment :). The Retreat is different...and... I'm glad that people are enjoying it!
 
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