This series is a challenge between myself and my brother, Shadow Starkweather. We each give eachother a list of requirements and we have 30 minutes to write a story that includes all of them. The hard part is...It has to make sense. And, as crazy as Shadow and I are, these aren't exactly easy. He's writing Final Fantasy VIII Challenges and I'm writing CSI Challenges for the time being. Go check his out. Give this a try, it's great. Now...onward...
Protection
Requirements:
Someone has to get caught masturbating
Someone has to get beat up
Grissom has to kiss somebody
Someone has to throw up
There has to be a murder
It must be revealed that someone on the CSI team used to be a porn star
And now on with the story…
"My God…" Catherine said, looking at the box Greg had just pulled from under the bed.
"What's wrong??"
"N-Nothing…" She replied slowly, "Why don't you go process the dining room, and I'll take care of this."
Greg's eyes lowered to the contents of the overflowing box. He laughed lightly.
"And miss all this??" He said, "Not on your life, Cath."
"But I really think—"
"What's with you anyway??" He asked, looking back up at her. "You've been acting weird ever since we got the case for this guy."
"I'm sorry, I just…I guess it's all the stuff with Lindsey and I haven't been sleeping well, and…I guess it's just catching up with me."
"Well, just take it easy, okay??"
He started sorting through the tapes of pornography, looking for a clue, any clue, as to who murdered the owner of them.
"These look amateur." He deduced, "Maybe the star of one of them didn't want it getting out??"
"That's one theory."
"Yea, but, as Grissom says, we shouldn't jump to conclusions yet. I mean, we knew this guy was sleazy, but…What the Hell?!"
He lifted a tape, revealing a scantily clad redhead lying on a pink bed, beckoning to the camera.
"Kinky Kathy?!" He screeched, looking up at the redhead beside him as she closed her eyes.
"Look, Greg. I needed the money, okay?? Dancing's one thing, I'm not ashamed of that, but…This is something different. I just…I never wanted anyone to know."
"Did you know this guy, Catherine??" Greg asked referring to the DB that had been found only hours before, shot between the eyes in his dining room.
"He's the producer."
"This is a clear conflict of interest." Greg said, falling back upon his training, "Grissom would have a fit…I can't hide evidence for you, Cath."
"I know, Greg."
With that, Catherine left the room.
When no one knew where she slipped off to, Nick was called in to take her place.
Instead of being shocked by the tape, Nick was oddly silent and brooding, as though his world had been shaken.
"I knew she danced, but…" He got quiet.
"I know…" Greg said, "And she slipped out because she was so ashamed. What if Warrick finds out, man??"
"Well, he's gonna. He's out interrogating with Curtis right now. He's on the case, Greggo...The best thing she could do right now is to tell him herself."
"Yea…I mean, put yourself in Warrick's position…What would you do if you found out your girlfriend used to be a porn star."
Nick chuckled slightly.
"I dunno, man…Especially with how protective Warrick is of her…Everywhere they go, ya know?? He's already threatened guys for just checking her out when they go out together."
"Well, he loves her, ya know??"
"Yea, but…He's all confrontational when he's with her…"
"Hey, love makes us crazy, doesn't it??" Greg pondered aloud, thinking of Sara.
Sara was in a strange relationship of her own.
Grissom would bring her into his office under the false ruse of new evidence or reprimanding and the second they were out of everyone's sight, they claimed each other's mouth in the name of forbidden love.
Nothing was the same back at the lab these days.
Greg decided to do Catherine a favor and pocket the tape, so no one in the lab would find out about Catherine's past.
That night, his curiosity got the better of him and he popped the tape into his bedroom VCR to find Catherine writhing on the bed with a no-named man.
All the close-ups were on Catherine.
And why wouldn't they be??
She's was stunning…
She was sexy…
She was…
Without quite realizing it, Greg's hand slid down the waistband of his pajama pants.
Within minutes, the pants were off and he sat, pleasuring himself while watching a younger Catherine have the time of her life…
…Or what appeared to be the time of her life.
Suddenly, someone appeared in the doorway and Greg froze as he remembered the key his ex-roommate still had.
"What the Hell, Greg?!" he heard Warrick yell.
He grabbed Greg by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall.
A brisk look at the television coaxed a punch in the stomach.
Greg's dinner came up easily, all over the front of his shirt.
At least that made Warrick let go of him.
"What the Hell are you doing here??" He choked out through retches.
"I know everything, Greg. I can't believe you're sitting here…looking at my Catherine…"
His rage seemed to be building again.
"How did you know??" Greg asked, hoping to distract him with questions, so his anger didn't come out physically again.
Nick was right.
Warrick Brown was a different person when it came to Catherine Willows.
"The vic's name was Donnie Jackson." He said, as if it was supposed to mean something.
"So??" Greg asked, gathering himself up from the floor and struggling his pajama pants back over his hips.
He switched off the television and Warrick smirked.
"DJ didn't just dabble in porn, Greg. Guess what else he specialized in."
"Gambling…" Greg said.
Warrick's old addiction.
"Bingo. Anything that goes on in that world, I know. Just like I knew that DJ was about to go public with his stash of porn."
"Warrick, you didn't…"
"Do you know what that would've done to Lindsey?? To the lab?? To Cat?? I couldn't let that happen."
"What'd you do??" Greg asked, afraid of the answer.
Warrick raised the hem of his shirt to reveal a revolver tucked in the waistband of his jeans.
"What I had to."