Title: Notable Conversations
Author: Lady Kes
Rating: PG, if that
A/N: I should have been paying attention to the rather pedantic PowerPoint presentation occurring in front of me instead of writing this. Oh well.
Disclaimer: Not remotely mine.
The first note landed on his lap in the middle of a thoroughly useless and utterly boring seminar on properly documenting a crime scene.
Think they'll document my crime scene after I die of boredom?
He ignored it, sending her a quelling look. Ten minutes later, another note arrived.
Is it justifiable homicide if it's merciful to the audience?
He smiled slightly at that, but still shook his head and turned towards the rather pedantic PowerPoint presentation currently in progress. He understood her frustration. Now that Ecklie was assistant lab director, he was obsessed with "continuing education," usually at the expense of actual crime investigation. The continuing education looked good on paper, though, that's what Ecklie and Cavallo cared about.
Grissom sighed and shifted in his chair. If Sara was as bored as she appeared to be, he had a feeling notes would be appearing in his lap at fairly regular intervals. He was not disappointed.
How long have we been CSIs? We know this stuff already.
He personally agreed, but did not want to give Ecklie any reason to think that Grissom had been uncooperative about his continuing education. The man was far too good at inventing ammunition to risk giving him actual reasons for reprisals. Just look at the way he'd split the shifts!
You look so serious. Don't tell me you're actually paying attention!
She had a slightly impish smile on her face and he shook his head. Her smile widened and she started scribbling again.
Didn't think so.
The notes stopped for a few minutes, but he knew it was a temporary respite. Sara had far too much energy to tolerate forced inactivity for very long. He only wondered what the contents of the next note would be.
I haven't passed notes in class since fifth grade. That's how boring this is.
He tried not to think about the fact that when she was in fifth grade, he'd already gotten his Ph.D. It was too depressing.
You look sad. Don't worry, only fourmorehours.
Four hours? He could think of multiple things he'd rather spend four hours doing – and only ninety percent of them involved the fidgeting woman next to him. He considered again her earlier comment about passing notes in class, then quickly wrote on the back of his lecture notes.
If you feel like you're in fifth grade, I have an idea.
A "?" was her response, so he wrote below it:
Do you remember a country song about notes?
Now he had her totally confused. He took pity on her and, deliberately using childish terms, wrote below her second question mark:
Do you wanna go out?
Check yes or no.
He passed the note to her and watched as she smiled, finally realizing what he was talking about. She did not, however, respond immediately, which made him nervous. He turned back to the presenter, his mind whirling. Was he too late? Was he too old? The what-ifs swirled through his head, but his spiral into self-doubt was halted by another note. She had scribbled out "go" and written "make" above it, then checked yes. He looked at her in disbelief, but she had an encouraging smile on her face, confirming the note. He smiled back and then wrote
Coffee afterwards?
Check yes or no
She checked yes, and, having settled that, they turned back to watch the presentation, which was just as boring as before, but at least now he had something to look forward to. Besides, who knew what kind of notes he'd get now?