Hodges sat in the middle of the lab blissfully unaware of the completely unprovoked attack about to be launched on him. Had he not been wearing the headphones Greg had given him he might have heard the sound of knees scuffling across the floor towards him. The trace tech leaned forward looking at the results that blurred under his tired eyes, ‘five minutes shuteye wouldn’t hurt anyone,’ he told himself before leaning back in his chair, yawning. It was mere seconds before his breathing steadied and deepened as he slept’ making him a lamb to the slaughter.

A grinning Sara Sidle popped up in front of him like a demented jack in the box swaying slightly, armed with a spray can she waved at him making sure he was out before crawling behind him and letting the pink spray cover the back of his head waking him from his slumber.

“Damn!” shouted Catherine as she, Nick, and Greg dropped out of sight again. Sara fell backwards colliding with a stack of paper knocking the offending can out of her hand sending it rolling out of sight.

“Sidle!” shouted Hodges slightly afraid she saw him asleep until he noticed the large grin on her face.

“Morning,” smiled Sara getting to her unsteady feet.

“Are you drunk?” asked Hodges his eyebrows nearly colliding with his pink hair.

“I’m not working,” replied Sara. If Hodges could have he would have run to Ecklie right there and then but he was out so instead he glared at Sara picking up the files she had knocked over up.

“Well go somewhere else,” said Hodges angrily. “Can’t wait until Grissom sees you in this state,” he added under his breath as Sara exited the room and burst into laughter running back to the break room with Greg, Nick and Catherine like naughty school children.

As the four burst back into the room Warrick and Grissom were giving a whole hearted rendition of ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ swaying surprisingly in time.

“Have you heard that song that’s making it’s rounds on the internet?” asked Catherine wondering if it was just her who got sent it.

“No,” replied Grissom looking left out as everyone else nodded. “What song?”

“This one,” smiled Sara. “Jingle bells Ecklie smells his suspect ran away.

The DNA got lost anyway, so the sheriff docked his pay. Yah!” sang Sara astonishingly in tune.

Nick and Greg then chimed in, “Jingle bells Hodges smells, The lab techs ran away, The microscope lost its wheel, and Hodges was sent away. Yah!” A round of applause broke out as the pair finished.

“Did you by any chance write it?” asked Warrick.

“We were bored waiting for trace results,” answered Sara.

“Naughty children,” grinned Catherine wagging her finger in front of Sara’s face who quickly attempted to bite it off.

“Hey!” shouted Catherine. “I’ll….” She paused trying to think what she could do to Sara. “I’ll saliva you,” she retorted.

“Now children, lets settle this sensibly,” slurred Warrick standing between them. “You’re it,” he finished hitting Sara on the arm and running full pelt out the room quickly followed by Catherine, Greg, and Nick.

“Gil,” said Sara in her best angry tone as he backed away from her.

“Sorry,” he smiled running from the room.

More fool anyone who got in the way of the drunken CSI’s as they ran around the lab playing tag. The few lab techs that were there, luckily, were not in the vicinity. It was by accident while on a beer run Archie saw Nick chasing Greg down the corridor, smiling he simple carried on, though, not before stopping to get his camera.

Half an hour later Greg was grinning madly while holding in his hand a piece of mistletoe.

“Come on Cath? Sara? Who’s first?” he asked licking his lips

“Not even in your dreams!” shouted Catherine.

“Quick.” With an unexpected amount of coordination Sara grabbed Catherine’s arm and pulled it around her neck forcing the blonde behind the brunette. With that Sara grabbed her other arm pulling Catherine up. Catching on Catherine jumped on top of Sara’s back, almost sending her head first to the floor but Sara caught herself staying upright.

“Run,” shouted Catherine kicking Sara in the side. Sara started off at a fast pace, considering she was weaving from side to side, and had to keep pulling Catherine back on. Archie watched in disbelief as Sara and Catherine ran by the audio lab. Catherine was on Sara’s back, Sara’s arms wrapped under her legs jiggling her up every so often while the blonde’s arms were wrapped around Sara’s neck in danger of strangling her.

“Quick!” shouted Greg jumping on Nick’s back and sliding off before Nick got ready and the next time grabbed Greg’s legs wrapping his arms under his knees.

“Follow them,” shouted Greg still gripping his mistletoe.

“Wait for me,” shouted Grissom the paper crown that, Sara had retrieved from a cracker falling over his eyes, a bottle of beer in one hand running after the others, his feet seemingly working independently from his body.

“I’ve got more mistletoe,” shouted Warrick grabbing a handful and running after Grissom following his exact path that wasn’t precisely straight.

Ecklie chose this moment to walk back into the lab. He froze mid-step as Sara Sidle ran at him with Catherine Willow’s head bobbing up and down on her shoulder, her legs wrapped around her waist in a piggyback.

“Stop!” shouted Catherine as Sara came within inches of mowing Ecklie down. She dropped Catherine who somehow kept her balance. Nick and Greg were just behind them and didn’t stop in time crashing into Sara and Catherine knocking them to the floor. Grissom caught up with the group as they were picking themselves up off the floor followed by Warrick who dropped his mistletoe in a pile on the floor.

“Run!” shouted Nick. Ecklie just stood in shock as the group ran by him and out the lab. He was speechless at what had just happened, asides from the fact he expected them to have left an hour ago, seeing what he just had sent him in to shock. He was also fairly sure the majority of the group had pink or blue hair.

“What the hell is going on?” shouted Ecklie as the lab techs suddenly busied themselves. Hodges sauntered into the corridor about to give Ecklie the entire story to find Ecklie giving him a death glare.

“Hodges what the hell is that?” asked Ecklie staring at Hodges head of pink hair. “This is work,” he began shouting at a completely confused Hodges.

Two days later

Grissom was walking down the corridor finding an unusual number of people staring at him, although that was expected given the earlier antics of the night shift. They had managed to live it down and get away from Ecklie because he had torn such a strip off Hodges he didn’t tell Ecklie about their activates and no one else seemed to have told him either.

“Grissom,” Catherine almost screamed at him as he walked into the break room. The group assembled were looking like they did the morning after their party when he found himself waking up to Lindsey’s shouting, in Catherine’s bathtub with Sara lying across him.

“What?” asked Grissom as the lab news magazine was held up in front of him.

He sighed taking in the front page. There was Greg kissing a window with the title ‘proof of long term effects of superglue fumes’. On the next page Sara sat on Grissom’s knee placing a paper hat on his head, opposite Nick sat on counter riding it like cowboy. On the next page was Catherine, with her face pressed up against a window, tongue out, nose squashed up and Warrick’s check pressed against it then an assortment of drunken posses taking up the rest of the pages.

“Ecklie has a different version,” announced Archie going by. “You won’t get fired,” he added.

“I suppose we should be glad they didn’t see what happened after we left,” sighed Catherine

“How exactly did I end up with Sara’s clothes on and her wearing mine?” asked Greg.

“You said her top would look better on you and she wanted yours so you both stripped in my front room. Grissom fell off his chair and chocked on his biscuit and Nick and Warrick had to perform the Heimlich Manoeuvre,” answered Catherine as Sara covered her face with her hands.

“And I woke up wrapped up under your Christmas tree because?” asked Warrick

“Nick thought you’d make a good present after you fell asleep,” answered Catherine

“Well at least I didn’t go to sleep in the cats basket and get scratched to death,” muttered Nick looking at Catherine

“Lindsey took photos. She keeps threatening me with them” sighed Catherine. “They’ve got her to six parties.”

“Blackmail; she takes after her mother,” smiled Sara.

“I wasn’t the one asleep in the bath with Grissom.”

“I still don’t know how I got there,” said Sara screwing her face up as if trying to remember.

“No? Me either.” said Grissom a bit too quickly. “Come on we have work,” he added going out the break room to applause and cheers.

“Okay, I’m sure you all have work to do,” said Grissom as Hodges glared at the group as they walked by.

“Do you think he knows it was me?” Sara hissed at Catherine.

“He wouldn’t dare say anything,” replied the older woman.

Ecklie stood staring at the group as they left. “Not carrying each other this time?” he asked eyeing them.

“Nope. Walking today,” answered Sara.

“So, who’s up for a New Years party?” asked Greg hopefully The end-Thank you if you have reviewed : )