So... here's the fic I've been working on... I figured I should post it before they work out the MCSK case... lol... anyways, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue...
Spoilers: pretty much everything thats happened in this season... and important stuff from previous seasons...
Pairings: I guess you can interpret it as Grillows or Sandle, but I originally wrote it as mild GSR... I don't focus on the Romance in this... that's why it says Action/adventure/angst...
Please forgive any typos... I just went through and proofread chapter one, so I'm not sure if I caught everything...
Chapter 1
The crime lab buzzed with activity, just as it did every day before shift. Day shift was excited to be going home, night was full of energy and ready to work and the lab rats went about their own business with varying amounts of enthusiasm. Grissom found he liked this time of day the best. There was no tension, no stress, just a frank feeling of momentary peace. He knew that the moment he handed out assignments, however, that atmosphere would shatter and be replaced by serious focus and purpose.
The rest of his team was lounging in the break room, talking idly and nursing cups of mediocre work coffee that would sustain them through the night. They all looked up as he walked in, the chatter dying out. "Nick, Warrick, you've got a 419 in Henderson, Greg, Sara, you guys have a db on the strip. Cath, you and I are on another 419," he said without preamble, silently resigning himself to another night of work.
"Aw boss, we were relaxing," Nick whined jokingly as he threw away his empty Styrofoam cup.
Grissom smiled thinly at him. "And now you're not."
Nick grinned. "Gee thanks. Coming, Rick?"
Grissom watched his team file out of the room before turning to Catherine, who looked at him expectantly. "Where are we off to?" she asked as they followed the others out.
"Small apartment complex about a block from here," Grissom answered, waving at Archie as they passed.
Archie, however, did not wave back. Instead, he got out of his chair hurriedly and hailed them from his doorway. "Hey Gris'," he called.
Grissom turned around and looked at the A/V tech questioningly. "Yeah?"
"A package came for you; reception asked me to let you know if I saw you. They seemed to think it was odd." Archie explained.
Grissom frowned. "Odd?"
"'Big' would be a better word,"
Grissom hesitated before turning to Catherine. "I ordered some entomology books the other day, but I should probably check it out anyways. I guess I'll meet you there."
She shrugged. "It's all good; your office is on the way anyways."
He thanked Archie and turned into his own office, Catherine trailing along behind patiently. The cardboard box was indeed 'big'. It certainly did not hold three books. Grissom sighed and exchanged a glance with Catherine. "Another miniature?" she guessed as he slit open the tape with a pocketknife.
"I hope not," he answered, but as he dug the Styrofoam out, it was indeed revealed to be a miniature. "God, Catherine, there's three of them."
"What?" She moved to stand next to him.
Nestled snugly inside the cardboard box were three little miniature rooms. He glanced at her quickly before carefully lifting one of them out. The other two also came up, apparently connected to the same bottom panel. Hesitantly, afraid of what he would find inside, he lifted off the roof of all three rooms.
He heard Catherine gasp, and he immediately knew why. "Gil! That's this room!" she exclaimed with revulsion.
Grissom looked down at the little rooms, shocked. The one on the left of the panel was unmistakably his office, complete with all his shelves of books, bugs and keepsakes. Even his desk looked identical to the one he stood before. In the miniature, there was no cardboard box, but the three little miniatures were laid out on his table as if he'd been examining them, and the cases for the other three miniatures were empty and unlocked.
The room on the top right corner was an exact replica of one of the evidence rooms in the building. Grissom thought he could even tell exactly which one it was. On the evidence table sat a box full of what Grissom assumed was evidence, and a manila folder lay beside it while samples littered the table. On the walls were pinned the pictures of the dolls from the different cases, along with pictures from previous crime scenes and pictures from a crime scene he didn't recognize.
In the room on the bottom right was a little doll of a clearly lifeless body. The room looked like a small storage room for cleaning supplies and the door was closed, making the room dismally dark. The little body had its hands tied behind its back, and there was a pool of blood beneath it and blood drops that led out the door. The body appeared to have been posed, and its face was maimed beyond recognition, as if it had been badly burned.
"Gil," Catherine whispered, horrified. "Who is that?"
Grissom stared at the little body, mind racing. "I don't know," he answered.
It was wearing what looked like jeans and a plain t-shirt that were ripped, tattered and blood-soaked, and it was obviously male, but aside from that, there was nothing identifying about it.
"You think it's happened yet?" Catherine inquired in a hushed voice.
Grissom shook his head. "No," he replied. "Look at my office. The miniatures aren't here, and neither is the box. And look at the evidence room. There are pictures from something I don't recognize. Unless it's a case you guys had, then it hasn't happened yet."
She nodded. "I don't recognize them either," she confirmed. "Gris'?"
He looked at her. "Yeah?"
"I get the feeling this is the last one," she replied. "The climax; he was building up to this all along."
Grissom nodded. "Yes, one last chance. It's become a contest of wills: we win, or he wins, and this is the final decision."
Reviews are most definitely welcome, and they'll most definitely make me update faster... (I've got the whole thing written already)
