ROUND ROBIN: CHAPTER ONE

By RainbowsnStars

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here it is - - the first chapter of the GSAF Round Robin. Hope this is a good first chapter. It was originally a WIP idea that I had, but I think the idea is better used here.

DISCLAIMER: No one in GSAF owns anything affiliated with CSI or CBS. We are merely borrowing the characters to use as our puppets in sick, twisted, angsty stories, such as this one.

Warrick was pacing around Grissom, who was trying to reach Catherine for the sixth time. Their plane had landed just under an hour ago and Catherine was supposed to come and pick them up. Yet, neither of the CSIs was able to reach Catherine, nonetheless anyone else on nightshift.

Grissom let out a sigh as he snapped his phone shut. "No one is picking up in my office either. Let's just hail a cab. The crime lab isn't far from here."

"Sure everything is okay?" Warrick asked, gripping his suitcase and following Grissom through the mass of people at the airport.

Grissom and Warrick had gone out of state for a two-day seminar Grissom was partially teaching - - "How Bugs Can Create A Timeline For T.O.D." - - and Grissom had left Catherine in charge of shift. It was supposed to be an easy two days - - this time of the year was Nevada's lowest crime rate.

Grissom hadn't heard from neither Nick, Sara, Catherine nor Greg so he assumed the lab hadn't been blown up again - - once was enough - - no one was in the hospital and Greg's first few weeks out in the field were going smoothly.

"I never want to see another bug in my life," Warrick grumbled. "I don't get how you do it Gris. Maybe I should start calling you 'Gruesome Grissom' from now on."

Grissom grinned and climbed into the yellow cab that smelled faintly of cat pee and cigarette smoke.

- - -

Neither Grissom nor Warrick remembered the last time Catherine cried, if ever. Yet here she was, racing down the hall towards the two of them. For a second Warrick denied that anything was wrong and she was crying in joy, but her body hitched as another sob escaped her throat, his wishes were shattered.

"He's g-g-gone Gris! Greg is missing a-a-and no one can f-f-find him." Catherine collapsed into Grissom while Warrick went wide-eyed and raced to find Nick and Sara.

Warrick didn't have to go very far. Nick was consoling Sara in the break room. Warrick pushed through the doors and raced to their sides. "What's going on? Cath told me - -"

"G-G-Greg's..." Sara couldn't finish her sentence as she started into a new fit of tears.

Nick didn't even look up when Warrick laid a hand on his wet shoulder. "Will someone please explain?" Nick just shrugged and glanced up at Warrick.

Warrick could see that he too had been crying at one time. His eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed, dark bags forming under his eyes. "One day he was just...gone."

Warrick threw his hands up in the air and went back to find Grissom and Catherine who had managed to get to Grissom's office. Catherine wasn't crying anymore; used tissues were scattered around her chair.

Grissom signaled for Warrick to shut the door and take a seat. "Now Catherine," Grissom began calmly. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

She nodded and sniffled a few times, tearing the tissue in her hands. "About an hour after you and Warrick left on Tuesday, Nick found Greg outside, yelling at someone on the phone. He didn't eavesdrop that much, but what he did hear made it sound like Greg was arguing with a sibling, or family member."

"Do you know what they arguing about?" Warrick interjected.

Catherine stopped to think about it. "Not specifics, no. Nick claimed it sounded like family business."

"After that?" Grissom inquired.

"So after that phone call, Greg got really defensive, like he was scared someone was going to beat him up. But Gris, I have to tell you - - ever since the accident in the lab, Greg has been like that on and off. One moment he'll be really happy. The next...it's like you've suddenly become his enemy."

Warrick placed his hand over Catherine's shaking one. "When's the last time you saw him?"

She answered immediately. "Right after he stormed out of the break room after our fight. He clocked out and hasn't been back."

"Your fight?" Grissom said, astonished. He shot a skeptical glance at Warrick, who only nodded. "Care to elaborate?"

A few stray tears began to drip down Catherine's face. "He was in his scared mood when I told him about out latest case - - an explosion in a gym at the nearby high school. I saw Greg flinch pretty badly when I said 'explosion' so I asked him if he could handle it. He didn't answer and I told him that is he was too scared to, he didn't have to. One second later he was on his feet and in my face..."

"I shouldn't have to be scared! If someone has followed mandatory procedure and just checked the hotplate, I wouldn't be so freaked about fires and explosions."

"Greg, I am not going to get into this with you right now. I said I was sorry and tried to make up for it by bringing you out in the field - -"

"Greg shoved his hands in my face, and boy, were they shaking bad."

"Is you apology going to make my hands stop shaking whenever I get scared or nervous? And you bringing me out in the field isn't making up for anything - - that's just pity and I don't need your fucking pity."

"Boy do you have shitty timing Greg. Isn't this stuff you are supposed to bring up with your therapist? I don't have the time or energy to argue with you. You don't have to forgive me, but I am you superior so you have to treat me with respect."

"You want respect? Don't blow people up in the place they feel safest."

"Greg stormed out after that. Nick went to go check on him after shift and that was when we first noticed he was missing. His car and wallet were gone, but his cell phone was still charging on the counter and the front door wasn't locked."

Warrick nodded. "Greg says that he always locks his doors, even when he is home. Any sign of a struggle inside?"

"We found a pool of his blood beside his phone, but that's it." Catherine dropped her head into her hands and started crying. Grissom silently signaled for Warrick to follow him out. But just before the two men left, Catherine spoke one last time.

"Nick, on a whim, checked with Desert Palms to see if Greg had been admitted. About forty-five minutes after shift, Greg, with a non-identified couple, was treated as an outpatient with a gunshot wound to the upper arm. No one has seen or heard from him since."

Next Up: Krazy