"Help."
The quiet voice rang through the silent lab like a pebble dropped into an empty metal container, causing Henry Andrews to look up from the microscope. Mia Dickerson, her hair pulled back and her face neutral, was standing at the door. It was the slight panic in her voice, mirrored only in her eyes that caught Henry's attention. She just stood there, licking her lips, her eyebrow lifting slightly as if she expected a response.
"Er, what? What's wrong?" Henry glanced around, and then looked back to Mia, utterly perplexed. Did she expect him to read her mind? He could try, but the few times he'd attempted it, it had only landed him in hot water. Just like so many other men, the old 'does my ass look fat in these pants' line and so many like them tended to catch him off guard. Especially with a woman whose wit was as sharp as this one's. You could never tell, even if you could tell. Do they want honesty? You can never guess!
"I need. Your help," She said, breaking Henry out of his reverie. Biting her bottom lip, afraid of the admission she was about to make, she shut her eyes against it. Mia Anderson was a tough lady. She took guff from no one, not 'Rick Brown, not Grissom, not Hodges, sometimes not even Ecklie. There was an attempt there to be a classy, pulled together lady who kept her cool. Therefore, she was mortified that she was even standing in the doorway of the toxicology lab, much less saying what she was about to say. It was unsurprising to her, therefore, when it came blurting out.
"There'saspiderinmylabandyouhavetocatchitHenry."
…
"What?"
"A spider. There's a huge, huge spider. In my lab. He's dangling right over the damn centrifuge. Grissom is at a conference, the other CSIs are on call, and Jacqui's in the middle of some intricate testing."
"So you came to me?" Henry didn't know whether to be hurt that he wasn't her first choice, or upset that she didn't ask someone else first.
"Well, Bobby's not here today, and I have a feeling both Hodges and Archie would scream. Like little schoolgirls." There was both dead certainty and amusement in that statement.
Henry could agree wholeheartedly with that, so he nodded, stuffing his hands in his lab coat jacket. He definitely knew for a fact that when Hodges did scream, he sounded like a girl. No one wanted that. "Oh. Alright, then … " It took him a moment of thought, then he began looking around, opening and shutting a few cupboards in obvious search for something.
"What are you doing? It's going to get away!"
"What do you expect me to do, Mia? Catch it with my hands?"
"That's what Bogey would do," She grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Much as I might aspire to be, I am not Humphrey Bogart. I am merely Henry Andrews. And made of flesh and blood, not silver nitrate," He mused as she watched him produce a large plastic collector's cup, looking like something someone had bought at the theatre and used for a long time, so that the decals were wearing off. When Mia grimaced at the sight of it, Henry chuckled.
"It's Roderick's, from days. It's the only thing he ever drinks out of. I can't wait to see his face when I tell him I had to catch one of Grissom's beasts in it." Snatching up an empty file folder, he moved past her out of the lab, grinning broadly. Turning quickly on her heel, she caught up with him as they walked quickly towards the DNA lab.
"Grissom's beasts?"
"Sure. Has to be, right?"
"I don't know, it could be from around here … "
"You said it was huge," Henry chided, stopping in his tracks.
"Well … yeah. Like, not-quite-fist-sized-but-could-still-beat-you-up-for-lunch-money big."
"Mia, I have a feeling it's definitely one of Griss'. Someone's taking care of them while he's away, so they must've … accidentally left the top off one of the tanks or something … What?" They came to a halt in the doorway of the DNA lab, Mia's arm stopping him from going in. She was looking around frantically, that panicked look had finally overtaken the rest of her face.
"It's not there, Henry! It was hanging from the ceiling. I don't see it there anymore!"
"Oh c'mon, Mia," Henry sighed, gently pushing her hand down and cautiously walking into the lab. He was looking about as he went, hardly foolish enough not to be wary. He didn't want to step on it, after all. Not if he could save the poor thing. Grissom wouldn't like it if one of his eight-legged friends got away.
"But … it … it could be poisonous. It might be a jumping spider! It might … "
"Shh. Mia. Please. It's more afraid of me, I promise. And I'll have a big cup in between … Oh!"
Mia almost jumped out of her skin, clutching her heart and leaning against the doorframe as Henry's cry almost scared her senseless. Of course, it was a cry of delight, not fear, but she was so on edge it could've been anything and she would've jumped. "Don't do that!" She hissed.
"Sorry, but he's right here, by the centrifuge! Aw, and he's not nearly as big as you said. It's probably a mini tarantula or something. He's a little fuzzy … "
"Stop talking about it and catch it!" The nervousness was making her antsy, and she watched him like a hawk. In case she had to go running to dial 911, or something. They lived in the desert, so Desert Palms had to carry antivenoms, right?
"Shhh. Watch," He said softly, waving a hand at her even when his eyes were intent on the fuzzy desk spider. Suddenly Henry knew what big game hunters must have felt like. Slowly, stealthily, he raised the cup, file at the ready. The spider was frozen in place, in that way of spiders when they know they're being watched.
Suddenly, with a swift motion, Henry clamped the cup down over the spider. Mia let out a gasp behind him, and he could hear rustling from under the cup, but he knew he had got it, and hadn't hurt it. After a moment, he let out a triumphant crow, laughing.
"Oh, thank god," Mia's voice was full of relief.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Henry said quietly, readying the file folder. With practiced ease, he slid it under the cup and then, the tough part, lifted it up without letting the spider escape. When he had it in hand, he let out a breath, not even realizing he had been holding it in for a few moments. "Got him."
"My hero!" She rushed in, ready to hug him but he turned, flourishing the cup by accident and she flailed, backing up suddenly. "Not near me! Whoa! Run away!"
"Okay, okay," He laughed, motioning with broad arm movement towards Grissom's office. "Let's go find his home."
It took little effort to find the tank that was missing its inmate, the lid a bit ajar. Henry was certain the little guy had wiggled it to gain freedom, but Mia doubted it. Someone had undoubtedly just been slacking on the job. They returned him, Henry shaking him gently free. Closing the lid fast, Henry made sure it was secure. Then Mia checked the lid of every single container and tank in the office. Just in case. There was a note left on the tank to let whoever was caring for the creature in on what had happened. Then they returned, a little wearier, to the tox lab.
"Thanks," Mia sighed gratefully, leaning against the doorframe, stopping as she let him pass inside.
He raised an eyebrow at her, suddenly smirking. "Are you allergic or something?"
"To spiders?" She said, raising an eyebrow.
"To me," The smirk dissolved into a bashful, boyish grin. "You keep hanging around the door. You don't come in. I promise, no spiders in here." He glanced around at the desk and ceilings, just to make sure he was right.
"Oh," Mia replied, shaking her head and stepping inside the room, taking the few steps to close the gap between her and Henry. She let out a low chuckle, her eyes dropping, "No, Henry. I'm not allergic to you. In fact, I'm really grateful!"
"Er, yeah?" Henry Andrews could be eloquent, but not when a pretty lady stood too close … Especially one who had just looked back up at him with a bright smile on her face.
"Absolutely," Nodding, she suddenly slid her arms around him, hugging him. "I was going to hug you before, but you had your hands full." She smirked wryly, then sighed, her tone heavy with gratitude, "Thanks so much, Henry!"
"No problem," He mumbled, blushing brightly. His ears colored a nice ruby, which Mia giggled at when she pulled back to look at him. Releasing finally, she took a step back, slipping her hands into her lab coat and ducking her head.
"Well, I should get back. That spider kept me from work, you know."
"Yeah," Henry replied reluctantly. As Mia turned to go, he suddenly added, "Hey, Mia? You want to go dancing?"
"Dancing?" She said, spinning to look at him suddenly. There was a pause that made his heart catch in his throat, but then she continued, "Um, okay. Sure. Send me an email about when. See you later!" And with a wave, she was gone.
Henry went back to work, humming happily as he wondered what you could buy as a thank you present to a spider.