Title: Ingenuity
Author: ScarlettMithruiel
Classification: I have no earthly idea.
Rating: PG-13?
Summary: Greg's exploits in dating. Part I.
Author's Note: Response to Morgan's challenge, as reiterated below.
A pocket knife
A lamp shade of any color
Someone falling asleep on the couch in Grissom's office
A chain of paper clips
The sentence, "I told him not to wear that!"
Sorry for any mischaracterizations. This is my first real Greg-centric fic thing. Um…not really sure if pocketknives can pick door locks, but it's worth a shot. Oh, and Greg is still definitely a lab rat.
And mad props to Leslie, who gave me Amanda's surname.
Gil Grissom was a calm and patient man, usually. He had come into work, expecting a fairly usual day, with its share of fairly unusual corpses, with very usual causes of death. Of course, the ingenuity of the human mind could not be forgotten. And so, he was somewhat surprised, though not shocked, when he stumbled into his office to find a brunette asleep on the couch on his office, alongside Greg. Greg had woken later by the infiltration of noise from the halls and began to explain calmly, albeit groggily, who she was and what they were doing on the sofa together. Grissom just folded his arms, and with a look, silently asked how she arrived in his office in the first place.
Greg Sanders had been somewhat condemned to sleeping-on-the-couch-hood that night because he had to work on their six-month anniversary. It had not been his decision, and he had tried to appeal it, but alas!—to no avail. Therefore, he had compromised with Amanda, his significant other, and it was decided that she would visit him at work to celebrate their anniversary. She would bring all the necessary refreshments and he would just…clear a nook in the lab or something. If any such nook existed.
He had enlisted the fashion help of one Catherine Willows, CSI Level Three, who had agreed, albeit reluctantly, to aid him in his crisis. She had taken his house key, driven to his apartment, and grabbed several outfits and his only jacket. She returned with the ties he asked for, as well as formal articles of clothing. He grabbed them and shuffled off to the bathroom, quickly changing. He returned, and began to tie his alien necktie. She hit his hand gently and admonished him, frowning. "You can't wear an alien tie with that," she protested.
"Why not?" He shrugged and removed the tie, agreeing to don a different one when the time came. Earlier that day, he had glanced around the lab and realized, perhaps an area where blood and semen were constantly analyzed was not a good place to discuss a relationship over veal. It was his mission to stake out better territory, to revamp for his date, at least. After numerous seconds and minutes of observation, he had selected Grissom's office. He could hear the dramatic music playing now.
He crept silently to Grissom's office and whipped out his pocketknife. Swiss Army, don't fail me now. He stuck the knife in the lock and began to fiddle with it. He tried the doorknob. Success! On his break, he had gone to the dollar store and picked up a cheap, rose-colored lampshade, as well as various outdated Christmas decorations. He had strung the tinsel garlands around the insect jars, hopefully obstructing them from view. He had stuck the lampshade over the lamp, and tested the lamp, watching it cast a pink glow against the pale wall.
Amanda had arrived, on time and with Chinese takeout in hand, and he had ushered her to Grissom's office, after he had appropriately changed, of course. They had eaten practically all the take-out and were resting on the couch after the obligatory gifting, her head had fallen onto his shoulder. He had originally assumed this was another romantic gesture on her part until he heard her soft snores. He had laughed softly and stretched her out gently, her head still against his shoulder, but her legs dangling off the side. Eventually, he had drifted to sleep also.
Grissom had recounted the story to Catherine when they were waiting on lab results. Suffice it to say, he was remotely surprised when her only response was, "Goddamn it, I told him not to wear that!"