Rating: PG (just to be safe)
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, except when they are. The settings and locations are not mine, except when they are. The plots, conflicts, and resolutions ARE mine, except when they're not.
Reviews/Feedback: CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is always welcome. Any suggestions you may have on how to make my story better will be greatly appreciated.
Author's Note: If you are a Grissom/Catherine 'shipper, I would strongly suggest that you find an alternate story to read.
Gil Grissom and his wife, Sara Sidle, lived in one of the many tract housing developments on the outskirts of Las Vegas. It so happened that on this particular evening, a minor stand off was taking place in the Grissom/Sidle household. Sara waited impatiently outside the bathroom door, her arms folded across her chest, a towel draped over her elbow. She was wearing a pair of Halloween boxers made from tarantula print fabric (a gag gift from a coworker that her husband had flatly refused to wear) as well as a worn, faded t-shirt. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the bathroom door opened. "All yours," Grissom said, drying his damp hair with a small hand towel. He was already dressed. "About time," Sara muttered. She turned on her heel, walked into the bathroom, and slammed the door. Grissom responded with, "And a good evening to you too, Ms. Sidle," before heading off down the hallway.
It had been decided, during the course of the wedding preparations, that Sara would retain her maiden name, for professional reasons. The Las Vegas crime lab, where Sara and her husband worked, operated very closely with traditional law enforcement and officers frequently referred to their colleagues on a last name basis. Having two people running around with the same surname would've been sure to cause confusion.
Grissom had emptied the contents of his pockets onto the nightstand in the master bedroom after he and his wife had returned home from their last shift, just after sunup that morning. The couple worked nights, and after a long and unusually difficult case load they'd decided to sleep in that morning. When they did manage to rouse themselves that afternoon both of them were still too drained physically and mentally to even think about leaving the house before work. They hadn't even bothered to change out of the clothes they'd slept in.
Grissom retrieved his personal items from the nightstand, following his usual routine. His wedding ring came first. This was quickly followed by his reading glasses, wallet, keys, etcetera. He was just reaching for his cell phone when it rang, disturbing the peaceful quiet of the room like an alarm clock, signaling the start of the daily grind. He answered it. "Grissom," he said, identifying himself.
"Hey, it's Nick," said the voice on the other end of the line. "Listen, we've got something down here we need you to see."
"Can you be a little more specific?" Grissom asked. He was walking while he spoke, and had now reached the doorway to the kitchen. "We think it's a bug cocoon." Nick answered. Grissom, meanwhile, had retrieved some rather dubious looking containers from the stainless steel refrigerator and was now headed towards the end of the counter, where a number of miniature bug habitats were set up.
Sara entered the kitchen to find Grissom hard at work feeding his collection of insects, a cell phone pressed to his ear. "Gil," she called. There was no response. "GIL!" she yelled, rapping on the doorframe to get her husband's attention. "Hang on a second Nick," Grissom said into the phone. He then turned to face Sara, giving her a look of forced patience. She was still dressed in the t-shirt and boxers. "There's a spider in the bathroom," she said flatly. Grissom raised an eyebrow. "And?" he asked.
"Could you please get rid of it?" Sara asked, clearly irritated. Grissom stared at her incredulously, but Sara held her ground. "You KNOW what happened last time," she said. Last time Sara had attempted to remove the intruder herself, receiving a spider bite on the hand for her efforts. The swelling had eventually gone down, but still. Grissom exhaled, a look of exasperation on his face. He reached up and opened the doors to a cabinet, located just above the counter. It was packed with empty jars and clean specimen bottles. Grissom selected one before turning and tossing the phone to Sara. "Talk to Nick," he said, as he walked out of the room. Sara pressed the receiver to her ear. "Nick?" she asked. "Hey, Sara," Nick replied. Sara assumed from Nick's tone that the call was work related. "What's up?" she asked. There was a distinct pause on the other end of the line before Nick asked, "Have you ever seen The Silence Of The Lambs?"
Grissom chose that moment to reappear, proudly bearing their arachnid visitor, who was now housed inside protective glass. Sara hoped it would stay that way. As it happened, luck was only partially on her side. Beaming like a five year old, Grissom eagerly held both the container and its passenger up to Sara's face, showing off his prize. "Would you mind getting that thing away from me?" Sara asked. "It's harmless," Grissom assured her. "Try telling him that," said Sara. "Her," Grissom corrected. Sara gave a sigh of exasperation. "Whichever," she said in a tone that signaled she was ending the conversation. Sara then handed back Grissom's cell phone. He placed it up to his ear. "Nick, you still there?" he asked, setting the jar with spider down on the counter top. "Yeah, I'm here," Nick responded.
"Ok listen, I'm on my way over now. Keep it on ice till I get there," Grissom said.
"Gotcha, boss," Nick replied before hanging up. Grissom did the same, and tucked the phone away. He then turned to Sara, his hands coming to rest gently on her shoulders. "I have to take this," he said, staring directly into his wife's eyes, his tone apologetic. Grissom didn't like having work come between he and his wife at the best of times. The fact that they'd been on the outs moments before just made the situation worse. Grissom knew from experience that things would've smoothed over given time. But now they didn't have the time, and he didn't want to leave Sara with the idea that he liked having an excuse to bail on her.
Whenever Grissom looked at her that way, as if she was the most important thing in his life, Sara was reminded why she'd married him in the first place. Despite the fact that they both had quirks that drove each other crazy, they really did care deeply for one another. Sara nodded in response to Grissom's statement. "I'll see you there," she said. The couple shared a brief kiss and then Grissom was out the door, leaving Sara alone, with the spider.