Sublime

(Prompt: Louisa May Alcott) "And I don't want to hear another word about it!" Catherine closed her cell phone with a huff, marching into the lab.

"Rough day?" Nick asked, falling into step beside her.

"It's Lindsey," she replied, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "She's driving me insane, and Eddie's not helping."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"You got thirty limes?"

They walked into the break room, where Warrick nodded at them from behind his book.

"Limes?" Nick asked, grabbing a coffee cup. "What do you need with thirty limes?"

"Apparently it's all the rage in Lindsey's class. The girls are bringing in limes to hand out to their classmates. And you give two limes to any boys you like." Catherine sat down at the table, sighing dramatically. "Since when do third graders even like boys?"

"They grow up fast," Nick nodded. "Not sure I get the limes part, though."

"Limes are helpful in preventing scurvy," Grissom called out from the couch. "That's where the term 'limey' comes from. British sailors used to drink lime juice to-"

"Fascinating, Gil," Catherine broke in. "But I don't think Lindsey's class has a high incidence of scurvy."

Grissom cocked his head, considering. "Probably not. Anyone seen Sara?"

"The new girl?" Catherine rolled her eyes. "She's wandering around here somewhere. Probably trying to catch Warrick in some illicit-"

"Hey everyone!" Sara bounded in, a bright smile on her face. "What'd I miss?"

Grissom smiled back at her. "Nothing, I was just about to hand out assignments."

They all straightened up in anticipation.

"Warrick, Nick, you've got a double homicide at the Bellagio. Cath, you're on a smash-and-grab off the Strip. And Sara, you and I have a DB at UNLV, though I may have to leave you there early." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I'm trying to get funding for a new mass spectrometer, but we're still short some cash. So I'm applying for a last-ditch grant."

"Good luck," Warrick murmured, taking his assignment slip. "We could definitely use a new spectrometer."

The team left the room, scattering towards their respective Denalis. Grissom let Sara drive, and while he buckled his seatbelt she stole an appreciative glance at him.

o-o-o-o-o

They arrived at UNLV just after eleven. Most of the students were off at frat parties or studying in their dorm rooms, so the campus was nearly empty. Grissom steered Sara toward the physics building, where Jim Brass was waiting outside.

"Vic's name is Florence Carrol," he greeted them. "Adjunct physics professor. Two gunshots to the stomach, and one to the chest."

Nodding, they followed him into the building, heading for a large seminar room.

"Got a witness over there," Brass said, jutting his chin toward the corner, where a tall man was speaking with a police officer. "Said he heard shots fired, but by the time he got in here the perp was gone. His name's-"

"Theodore Laurence," Sara said, clearly startled. "Wow, I haven't seen him since we were at Berkeley. He was on the physics track with me." She waved her arm high in the air. "Laurie! Hey, Laurie!"

The man glanced over at them, his eyes lighting up when he caught sight of Sara. He ambled over toward them. "Sara Sidle. I don't believe it."

"How've you been?" she grinned.

"Not bad." His eyes raked over her form briefly. "Not too bad at all."

"Mr. Laurence," Grissom said, clearing his throat loudly. "Can we ask you some questions about Ms. Carrol's murder?"

"Sure," Laurie nodded at Sara. "Let's, uh, let's talk about it over dinner."

Grissom's eyes swung over to Sara, and he was disturbed to see she was blushing. "No," he blurted out. "No, let's talk about it right here."

"I heard a few shots," Laurie said, still looking at Sara. "And then I ran in here, and saw that Professor Carrol was dead. And then this vision in tight black pants walked in the door-"

"Okay," Grissom interrupted, closing his eyes briefly. "Sara, I'm going to catch a ride back to the lab with Brass. Need to work on that proposal. You'll finish up here?"

"Sure," she said, watching him go with a wistful expression.

Laurie chuckled. "So predictable."

"What?"

"Here you are with a gorgeous display of manhood before you, and you're hung up on the old professor."

"That is so not-" She sighed, knowing it was useless to argue. "Let's go through it again, shall we? And this time, leave out the vision in tight pants."

o-o-o-o-o

Sara finished after a couple of hours, and called Grissom to update him. His voice was somber, and she asked what was wrong.

"My contact at the foundation called to say they ended up giving the grant to another lab yesterday," he sighed. "No new mass spectrometer for us."

"Bummer," she said sympathetically.

"Yeah."

"There's definitely no other source of funding?"

"No." He sighed again. "I'm going to go break the news to Greg."

o-o-o-o-o

The team met up in the break room just before dawn. Catherine was on her cell again, snapping at Eddie that he could buy the goddamned thirty limes if they were so important. Meanwhile Nick and Warrick were talking about getting tickets to a football game, while Grissom was checking his watch again.

"Anyone heard from Sara?"

"Nope," Nick replied.

"She should've been here by now." Grissom shuffled some papers, trying not to picture Sara straddling Theodore Laurence's lap.

"Maybe she got stuck in traffic."

"Maybe." Maybe they got a hotel room together.

"Oh, go shove the limes up your ass!" Catherine yelled, snapping the phone shut and throwing it on the table.

The three men blinked at her.

"Hey guys," came an anxious voice from the doorway. "Sorry I'm late." Sara stood there, a skull cap on her head.

"That's okay," Grissom said, stifling a breath of relief. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I, um... I got the money for the mass spectrometer." She pulled off her cap, revealing a new buzz-cut.

The team gasped in unison.

"You sold your hair?" Nick cried.

"Oh, Sara, how could you?" Catherine shrieked. "Your one beauty!"

"Here," Sara said, handing a wad of cash to Grissom. "I hope this will be enough."

Grissom stared at her, speechless. He wondered whether anyone else would ever make a sacrifice so great for the lab. He wondered how fast her hair would grow back. He wondered whether she was wearing a bra. "Thank you, Sara."

She nodded shyly, handed him her completed case file, and disappeared down the hallway.

Grissom watched her go.

Those pants really were tight.

Damn.

He made a mental note to ask her out sometime in the next six years.

o-o-o-o-o

The next day, Sara arrived at work with a purple scarf wrapped around her head. She avoided the stares of various lab techs as she made her way toward the locker room.

It had been a silly idea, she decided. And now she looked like G.I. Jane, and Grissom would never find her attractive. She sighed, shrugging off her jacket and opening her locker door.

There were two limes sitting on her shelf.