Title: It's How You Play the Game
Author: Rory
Rating: PG
Archival: Please don't!
Disclaimers: The characters in this story belong to their respected owners and not to me. ~Sighs~ I make no profit from this.
Author's Note: First of all, I am not a video game girl. If 'Grand Turismo' is not a racing game for PS2, please forgive me. G Also, this story hasn't been edited. Any mistakes are to be blamed upon me and 'The Beast' (my computer).
Nick dropped the controller in defeat. He was alone in the break room, attempting to play a video game by himself. It was a slow night, and surprisingly the crime lab had only been assigned a simple suicide that Warrick and Catherine had covered. The case was obvious, but the two CSIs still managed to keep Greg tied up in the lab.
Nick sighed. Grand Turismo just wasn't the same without Warrick's taunting or Greg's teasing.
The lonely man looked up as Sara entered the room. The tall brunette tossed a manila file folder bursting with papers on the table and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Hey Sara," addressed Nick. "You busy?"
"Who isn't? I swear we've killed half a forest just for all this damn paper work."
"You wanna take a break?"
Sara studied her friend and asked with a raised eyebrow, "What exactly did you have in mind?"
Nick chuckled. "Keep your mind out of the gutter, Sidle. I just wanted to know if you're up for a racing game."
Sara looked stunned. "You're kidding, right? I don't know about you, Nick, but I get paid to do my job." She spoke slowly, as if she were talking to a small child.
"Your job's to solve crimes, and there aren't any of those right now, are there? So what so you say, Sidle? Are you too scared?"
Nick was the brother Sara never had. The fact that he was trying to intimidate her caused her to laugh.
"Alright, Stokes. You're on!"
Sara pulled up a chair and sat beside her friend. She waited for him to start the game, but he simply looked at her.
"What do you want to play for?" asked Nick.
"What do you mean?" questioned Sara.
"I don't want to cream you just for the fun of it, Sidle. It has to be worthwhile. If you lose, you have to flirt with Grissom until he notices."
Sara's jaw dropped and some of the color drained from her face.
"What?" she gasped.
Nick grinned deviously. "You thought I haven't noticed? You've mastered the casual workplace flirting, but I could use some entertainment."
Sara felt the heat radiating from her face. Even for a makeshift sibling, Nick was way out of line.
"What will you do?" she asked once she found her voice.
Nick thought for a moment. "I'll sing the next time the whole nightshift is together."
"Singing? That's it?" questioned Sara with disbelief.
"I am tone-deaf," replied Nick sheepishly.
Sara sighed. She'd gotten herself into a mess. If she backed out now, she'd never hear the end of it. The worst thing that could happen would be that she'd make a fool of herself, but Nick would get over it. She decided that the latter was the lesser of the two evils.
She glared at Nick. His toothy grin had gone from Mischievous to innocent in record time.
"I get to pick the song and who you sing it to," announced Sara with fake confidence.
"Done," stated Nick. He was positive he couldn't lose.
"And I get to practise before the game. Unlike you, I have more important things to do than sit around playing video games."
"Of course you do! You have to try seducing Grissom while spending enough time with Hank to ease your conscience."
Sara was at a loss for words. "Just teach me how to play the damn game."
For the next fifteen minutes, Nick instructed Sara. Like everything else she'd ever tried, she mastered it to the point where Nick wasn't as cocky as he had been.
The game was intense. Curses arose from the two professionals as they competed against each other. The game was close, but Nick's animated car crossed the finish line with Sara's right behind it. This was rewarded with a final curse from the female CSI.
"Jeez, Sara, with a mouth like yours, you could've been a sailor," stated Nick who was grinning from ear to ear. "Let's go find Grissom."
"Find me for what?" asked the newcomer.
Sara was shocked. Of all the times Grissom could've entered, it had to be now.
Nick nudged her with his elbow and she rose from the chair. She might as well get it over with.
"I, um." started Sara as she spotted the folder she'd abandoned on the table. "I don't understand some of this paper work."
With that she picked up the folder and frantically searched for something that she could seem clueless about, without making herself seem stupider than she'd feel. She finally pulled out a computer printout. It was rather lengthy -which was fine with her, as she'd have more time to complete her mission.
Grissom sat at the table once Sara handed him the paper. Sara moved another chair beside her boss and sat down.
"Now what?" she thought. "I'd better do something before he finishes reading."
"Are you wearing cologne, Griss?"
"No," he answered without diverting his gaze from the paper. "Maybe it's Nick."
"Well you smell good nonetheless."
Grissom was slightly taken aback by this, but did not show it. She smelled him? To his knowledge, no one had ever done that before. What did he smell like? He pretended to be immersed in the document and hoped that Sara would get to her point.
Sara glanced over her shoulder at Nick who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
The female scientist turned her attention back to Grissom. She moved closer to him and placed her hand on his biceps.
Grissom didn't seem to notice and was still reading.
"Good God, how long is this going to last?" wondered Sara.
"Shift's almost over, do you want to get breakfast?" asked Sara who hopped he'd say 'no', as she planned on murdering Nick after the potential witness left the room.
"Sure," stated Grissom without looking up.
Sara looked at Nick again. He was smiling and winked at Sara.
Sara moved even closer, and rested her head on Grissom's shoulder. She then crossed her legs; intentionally brushing Grissom's while she tightened her grip on his upper arm.
For this she received his attention. It took all Nick's discipline to keep from laughing.
"Are you alright?" questioned Grissom as he studied the woman.
"I'm fine," answered Sara as she raised her head, and let go of Grissom's arm.
Sara pretended to listen while Grissom explained the paper to her. She could feel Nick's eyes boring into the back of her cranium.
"Oh thanks, Griss," said Sara with a smile. "I understand now."
The man returned Sara's smile with one that he reserved just for her. Something was definitely up with her. Not only had she smelled, kicked, and leaned on him, the paper explained itself. "I'll see you for breakfast."
"I'll get my coat."
Once Grissom had left the room, Nick burst into applause. "That was great, Sara! You chased the boredom right out of the lab!"
Sara did her best not to smile. The bet had been worth it, as she now had plans with Grissom. "I'm glad I could entertain you."
Sara reorganized the papers from when she ruffled through them, and turned to Nick. " The cliché is true, Nicky. It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. See you tomorrow."
"Bye, Sara."
Nick waited until Sara was at the doorway before saying, "Have fun at breakfast!"
Sara ignored Nick and left him alone in the break room.
~*The End*~
AN: If you're reading this, that means you made it to the end of my fic! Well what did you think? Please review!
Author: Rory
Rating: PG
Archival: Please don't!
Disclaimers: The characters in this story belong to their respected owners and not to me. ~Sighs~ I make no profit from this.
Author's Note: First of all, I am not a video game girl. If 'Grand Turismo' is not a racing game for PS2, please forgive me. G Also, this story hasn't been edited. Any mistakes are to be blamed upon me and 'The Beast' (my computer).
Nick dropped the controller in defeat. He was alone in the break room, attempting to play a video game by himself. It was a slow night, and surprisingly the crime lab had only been assigned a simple suicide that Warrick and Catherine had covered. The case was obvious, but the two CSIs still managed to keep Greg tied up in the lab.
Nick sighed. Grand Turismo just wasn't the same without Warrick's taunting or Greg's teasing.
The lonely man looked up as Sara entered the room. The tall brunette tossed a manila file folder bursting with papers on the table and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Hey Sara," addressed Nick. "You busy?"
"Who isn't? I swear we've killed half a forest just for all this damn paper work."
"You wanna take a break?"
Sara studied her friend and asked with a raised eyebrow, "What exactly did you have in mind?"
Nick chuckled. "Keep your mind out of the gutter, Sidle. I just wanted to know if you're up for a racing game."
Sara looked stunned. "You're kidding, right? I don't know about you, Nick, but I get paid to do my job." She spoke slowly, as if she were talking to a small child.
"Your job's to solve crimes, and there aren't any of those right now, are there? So what so you say, Sidle? Are you too scared?"
Nick was the brother Sara never had. The fact that he was trying to intimidate her caused her to laugh.
"Alright, Stokes. You're on!"
Sara pulled up a chair and sat beside her friend. She waited for him to start the game, but he simply looked at her.
"What do you want to play for?" asked Nick.
"What do you mean?" questioned Sara.
"I don't want to cream you just for the fun of it, Sidle. It has to be worthwhile. If you lose, you have to flirt with Grissom until he notices."
Sara's jaw dropped and some of the color drained from her face.
"What?" she gasped.
Nick grinned deviously. "You thought I haven't noticed? You've mastered the casual workplace flirting, but I could use some entertainment."
Sara felt the heat radiating from her face. Even for a makeshift sibling, Nick was way out of line.
"What will you do?" she asked once she found her voice.
Nick thought for a moment. "I'll sing the next time the whole nightshift is together."
"Singing? That's it?" questioned Sara with disbelief.
"I am tone-deaf," replied Nick sheepishly.
Sara sighed. She'd gotten herself into a mess. If she backed out now, she'd never hear the end of it. The worst thing that could happen would be that she'd make a fool of herself, but Nick would get over it. She decided that the latter was the lesser of the two evils.
She glared at Nick. His toothy grin had gone from Mischievous to innocent in record time.
"I get to pick the song and who you sing it to," announced Sara with fake confidence.
"Done," stated Nick. He was positive he couldn't lose.
"And I get to practise before the game. Unlike you, I have more important things to do than sit around playing video games."
"Of course you do! You have to try seducing Grissom while spending enough time with Hank to ease your conscience."
Sara was at a loss for words. "Just teach me how to play the damn game."
For the next fifteen minutes, Nick instructed Sara. Like everything else she'd ever tried, she mastered it to the point where Nick wasn't as cocky as he had been.
The game was intense. Curses arose from the two professionals as they competed against each other. The game was close, but Nick's animated car crossed the finish line with Sara's right behind it. This was rewarded with a final curse from the female CSI.
"Jeez, Sara, with a mouth like yours, you could've been a sailor," stated Nick who was grinning from ear to ear. "Let's go find Grissom."
"Find me for what?" asked the newcomer.
Sara was shocked. Of all the times Grissom could've entered, it had to be now.
Nick nudged her with his elbow and she rose from the chair. She might as well get it over with.
"I, um." started Sara as she spotted the folder she'd abandoned on the table. "I don't understand some of this paper work."
With that she picked up the folder and frantically searched for something that she could seem clueless about, without making herself seem stupider than she'd feel. She finally pulled out a computer printout. It was rather lengthy -which was fine with her, as she'd have more time to complete her mission.
Grissom sat at the table once Sara handed him the paper. Sara moved another chair beside her boss and sat down.
"Now what?" she thought. "I'd better do something before he finishes reading."
"Are you wearing cologne, Griss?"
"No," he answered without diverting his gaze from the paper. "Maybe it's Nick."
"Well you smell good nonetheless."
Grissom was slightly taken aback by this, but did not show it. She smelled him? To his knowledge, no one had ever done that before. What did he smell like? He pretended to be immersed in the document and hoped that Sara would get to her point.
Sara glanced over her shoulder at Nick who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
The female scientist turned her attention back to Grissom. She moved closer to him and placed her hand on his biceps.
Grissom didn't seem to notice and was still reading.
"Good God, how long is this going to last?" wondered Sara.
"Shift's almost over, do you want to get breakfast?" asked Sara who hopped he'd say 'no', as she planned on murdering Nick after the potential witness left the room.
"Sure," stated Grissom without looking up.
Sara looked at Nick again. He was smiling and winked at Sara.
Sara moved even closer, and rested her head on Grissom's shoulder. She then crossed her legs; intentionally brushing Grissom's while she tightened her grip on his upper arm.
For this she received his attention. It took all Nick's discipline to keep from laughing.
"Are you alright?" questioned Grissom as he studied the woman.
"I'm fine," answered Sara as she raised her head, and let go of Grissom's arm.
Sara pretended to listen while Grissom explained the paper to her. She could feel Nick's eyes boring into the back of her cranium.
"Oh thanks, Griss," said Sara with a smile. "I understand now."
The man returned Sara's smile with one that he reserved just for her. Something was definitely up with her. Not only had she smelled, kicked, and leaned on him, the paper explained itself. "I'll see you for breakfast."
"I'll get my coat."
Once Grissom had left the room, Nick burst into applause. "That was great, Sara! You chased the boredom right out of the lab!"
Sara did her best not to smile. The bet had been worth it, as she now had plans with Grissom. "I'm glad I could entertain you."
Sara reorganized the papers from when she ruffled through them, and turned to Nick. " The cliché is true, Nicky. It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. See you tomorrow."
"Bye, Sara."
Nick waited until Sara was at the doorway before saying, "Have fun at breakfast!"
Sara ignored Nick and left him alone in the break room.
~*The End*~
AN: If you're reading this, that means you made it to the end of my fic! Well what did you think? Please review!