A/N - I am in a very GSR place these days, please R&R, my first story and while a little fluffy, I heart feedback!
I may own my own car and home, but I do not own CSI.
He sat in the dimly lit hallway, staring at his feet. His mind was going a mile a minute, it hadn't stopped racing since the moment he'd discovered the miniature on his Desk.
He thought about her, all alone in the desert. He thought about the pain she had suffered. He thought about how pale her lips had been when they found her. He thought about the sick feeling he had as the EMTs loaded her into the helicopter.
"What if it's too late?" He thought. "What if she doesn't make it?"
He thought about being alone again. No one beside him as he slept, no one to talk to in the evening, walking the dog alone in the park...
"Bruno!" He suddenly remembered out loud... "Oh Bruno..." He whispered.
He closed his eyes and thought back to the day he brought Bruno home. He walked along the concrete hallway, each dog reacting differently to his presence. Why he had even stopped at the shelter that day was a mystery, in fact, he still couldn't think of a logical reason for stopping there that day.
A tiny terrier yipped and bounced at the kennel door. "Not a chance bud, sorry..." He muttered to the dog.
A poodle mix of some sort growled as he passed by. "With that attitude, no one will ever take you home."
A Springer spaniel chased his tail incessantly in circles." You'd break everything I own in a week"
A litter of little yellow puppies barked and jumped as he bent down to take a closer look at the bouncing fluffs of fur. "With our hours, housebreaking would be a nightmare." He sighed and stood up. He wondered why he was making excuses for every dog, was he seriously thinking about a dog?
He and Sara had casually talked about a pet, but a dog? They both worked long, unpredictable hours, and he hadn't had a pet with less than 8 legs or without scales since he was a small child. Was their life really conducive for a dog?
That's when his eyes settled on Bruno. The dog sat at the front of his kennel, not barking, not whining, not growling. His nub of a tail wagged softly as he looked up at Gil.
His eyes were a soft brown, and something about them just pulled Gil in. Bruno lowered his head as Gil reached his hands in to scratch behind his ears, and Gil was reminded of the night he melted into another pair of brown eyes. While he wasn't a big believer in fate, something told him this was his dog. "Maybe I just have a thing for brown eyes" He chuckled to the dog. He stood up at called to the lady down the hall..."This one just got a home"
Catherine snapped him into the present. "Gil? Is there anything we can do?"
"Actually there is" he said, passing her a set of keys. "Can someone walk my dog? He's been alone for too long, and he is accustomed to a daily walk."
Catherine stared at him for a moment. "You have a dog?!?"
He looked at her and nodded.
"Gil Grissom has a DOG? Seriously?"
"Yeah. Sara and I have a dog. Bruno. He will also need more kibble, and fresh water. Sara keeps the kibble under the kitchen sink."
He sighed as he thought about Sara frolicking in the backyard with the dog. "Oh and you'll need the address, when we merged households, we needed more space..." He trailed off.
Catherine sat gob smacked as Gil wrote the address out for her. "It had been less than 24 hours since the team had found out about them and they had 'merged households??' AND have a dog?" Now it was Catherine's brain that was going a mile a minute.
Nick wandered over, and Catherine decided to send him to the house. Nick loved animals and would give Bruno the attention he needed.
"Nick? Would you be willing to go to Grissom and Sara's house and take their dog Bruno for a walk? The kibble is under the sink and he will need fresh water as well. Here is the address." She handed him the slip of paper.
Nick stared at her for a moment; trying to process the information he's been given. "Sure thing. Bruno right?" Catherine nodded and he was on his way.
Catherine took the empty seat next to her friend, and gently put her hand on top of his.
"The whole ride home, Bruno sat in the front seat, and looked out the window as the world buzzed by, he didn't make a peep. He was such a good dog, and I just couldn't wait to surprise Sara. I just knew she'd love him..."
Catherine smiled, and let him continue to talk, she didn't see the warm side of her colleague often.
"When we came in, she was asleep, it was perfect. I found some old Christmas ribbon in the garage and made a giant bow and stuck it on his collar. He looked so damn cute Cath, I knew I had made the right decision in adopting him." He stopped, to keep himself from shedding the tears that were forming, and he felt her grip his hand tighter.
"So how did Sara react?" Catherine asked, hoping it wouldn't be too hard for him to finish the story.
"Oh" Gil smiled "I brought him upstairs and he hopped right ON the bed! Sara rolled over and opened her eyes...and she just shot up and started crying!" He laughed. "She was crying and hugging the dog and then he was hugging me, and thanking me over and over again." He stopped and choked back the tears again. "She loves that damn dog" He finally let a tear fall. "When we get home from shift, we talk him on a walk; we can decompress and just relax." He paused for a moment, as if he'd had a revelation. "Having her in my life has changed me." He whispered as he put his head in his hands and sobbed.
Catherine gripped his knee to let him know she was there for him if he needed her...and she herself shed a few tears, he had let her in, and she felt privileged to be invited in.
He wiped his eyes a few moments later, and thought again of Sara in their backyard in her shorts and tank top, her hair in a messy ponytail, as she tried to get the dog in the kiddie pool for a bath. As the images of her laughing, covered in soap suds, faded into the reality of the waiting room, all he could mutter, without breaking down again, was, "She Loves that Damn Dog... she just loves that damn dog."