I rewatched Early Rollout the other night and I realized that we had been given a glimpse of Brass that we hadn't seen before. Mr. Guilfoyle graced us with a wonderful smile. It wasn't a Jim the detective smile or a sarcastic smirk; it was a 'here's who I really am' kind of smile. Sent my brain into overdrive...as well as a few other parts...LOL. Hope you enjoy.
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She was intrigued. He had sat before her, smiling. It was a warm, comforting smile; one she had never seen before. His whole face became a part of it as years fell away and the let his affection for her show through. It was the kind of smile that wins one's heart.
She thought she had seen all of his expressions over the years. The man had so many...if Lon Chaney was the 'Man of a Thousand Faces' then he was 'the Man of a Thousand Expressions.' His repertoire included so many and then variations on each one. He could have been a very successful actor, probably would have been one of the best character actors around. Instead, he was a detective...a police captain, that used his talents daily in his work. Suspects and witnesses were victims of his finely honed skills. She had seen him start an interview as one's best friend and end it as their worst nightmare, or vice versa. He could switch back and forth between understanding and accusing, ridiculing and praising, funny and threatening; all in a blink. Most of his victims never knew what hit them.
But here he had been, with this new smile. She wondered why she had never seen it before. And then she realized...this was him, the man. Not the detective, but the real deal, Jim Brass. And he was worried about her. The concern was great enough that he had exposed himself, revealed a bit of his private self to her in an effort to get through to her. She was still denying that there was a problem. And he didn't argue. From what he had told her about his own descent into hell, he knew that the denials would have to come first, then the truth, and then healing would begin. He'd simply smiled that smile and told her that he was just looking out for her. And then he'd walked away, leaving her to make the next move.
Why was she so hung up on a man that wouldn't...couldn't open himself to her like that? Actually, as she thought about it, the two men weren't that different in a lot of ways. Both were very private, although the one more than the other. Both were dedicated to their jobs, the one because it was his life and the other because it seemed to be all that he had. Both were lonlier than they cared to admit, the one by choice and the other...well, he seemed to have just given up. They were about the same age, probably no more than a handful of years seperating them. Yet the one had a boyish quality about him while a lifetime of trouble and regret was etched into the features of the other. So, yes...alike but very different also.
So why was she so hung up on the one when, as she sat there she realized, the other might be open to her? Why did she have to do everything the hard way? He would be so much easier...he was warm, funny, and available. Not hard on the eyes, either, she mused. He wasn't what you'd traditionally think of as handsome, but everything about him said solid. And his eyes...she could get lost in his eyes; especially if he smiled that smile. It had lit those eyes until they were radiant. Maybe she should work harder at getting to know the man behind the smile...Genuine Jim.
Glancing up, she saw him leave Grissom's office and walk back down the hall."Hey, Jim...wait up," called Sara as she headed toward him. "Can we talk some more?"
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Whatcha think?