This is a new collection of stories, all about break-ups or near-break-ups. (Not that I intend to keep them apart; I just want to make them suffer a little!)
Story # 1 (title pending)
Grissom rejects Greg's help in a case...
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Part one
Greg drove down a dusty road, constantly peering out his side window. He was looking for The Rancho Chico Park and he didn't want to miss the entrance. The growing darkness was making it difficult for him to read the faded road signs, however; frankly, he wasn't sure if even taken the right road.
He needn't have worried, though. There were faint lights just ahead, and soon he was confronted by a couple of cops shining their flashlights on his face.
"The park is closed, sir. You'll have to drive back."
Squinting under the light, Greg showed them his ID. One of the cops recognized him and waved him through, while the second was careful to give him some instructions first.
"You're gonna have to leave your vehicle there, sir," he said, pointing to an area already occupied by police cars and ambulances. "Mr. Grissom had an emergency path cleared for all rescue personnel. Please, stick to it."
Greg nodded, although he hardly needed the instructions; he'd been in searches before.
He understood the cop's caution, though. Important evidence could be lost by people trampling around on the grounds.
Two teenagers -a boy and a girl- had disappeared the day before. Witnesses placed them at the entrance of the Rancho Chico Park, where they'd done some climbing and hiking before. According to a friend, the kids had returned to the park with the intention of making a video of their exploits. Unfortunately, they'd talked about filming in areas that were specifically closed to the public.
Rancho Chico wasn't exactly the safest place in Clark County; part of the city's sewage system ran underneath. If people stuck to the public paths, however, little trouble followed.
If people didn't stick to the rules, then anything could happen.
Greg grabbed his CSI vest and his kit before leaving his car. He dutifully took the emergency path, helped by his Maglite and the emergency lights held my rescue personnel. There were cops and EMT walking around, shouting instructions. The search was about to begin.
Greg looked around for a familiar face. He waved at Sara, who was talking to detective Vartan. A few feet away, he saw Grissom standing all alone, reading something from a clipboard, a serious expression on his face.
Greg walked up to him.
"Hey," he said.
Grissom looked up and frowned.
"What are you doing here?"
"I got the call," Greg said. "'All personnel available…'" his voice trailed off.
"The call was for personnel on duty," Gil replied in a slightly patronizing tone, "You're not on duty tonight."
"I know that, Grissom -"
"In fact, didn't I tell you to go home after Court?"
"Yes, you did, " Greg said patiently. He put his kit on the ground and started putting on his CSI vest. He kept talking all the while. "I had to go to the lab." He said, "There was all the evidence I used in Court –I couldn't very well take it home with me, right? And besides, you know how it is, if you don't immediately file documents -They start piling up."
With his vest on, he picked up his kit again and looked at Gil in the eye.
"I did good in court today by the way," he said, "Thanks for asking," and he actually paused in case Gil wanted to ask.
Grissom simply turned to his notes again. After a moment, he started checking items off a list.
"Anyway," Greg continued, "I was just leaving when I heard the call. I thought you and Sara would need an extra hand, so -"
Grissom shook his head.
"You've been up for two days now."
"I'm not tired," Greg said good-naturedly, "Besides, I've never been in this park before. I thought it would be nice to stroll down the woods under the moonlight; you know, just like in a date. After all, what am I gonna do all by myself in that big bed of mine?"
"I'm sure you can find something to do," Grissom muttered distractedly, "Sleep, for instance."
Greg frowned over this last remark.
"You're serious," he said, suddenly hit by the realization. "You really don't want me to stay."
Grissom looked up.
"No," he said simply. He kept his gaze on Greg, and it looked like he was simply waiting for the young man to turn and go.
Greg didn't move. He only stared back, his smile gradually fading.
When he spoke, it wasn't with a playful tone anymore.
"You know," he said, "I used to see you more often when I was still a lab rat."
"That's not true," Grissom said, looking down at his list again. "You come to my place all the time."
"And yet, I used to see you more often when I was still a lab rat." Greg repeated. He lowered his voice. "I come to your place but you're never there. And, in case you haven't noticed, we haven't worked together in weeks. You've been assigning me to Catherine or to Sara, or making me work solo -"
"I thought you liked working alone."
"That's Nick, not me!" Greg retorted, his temper raising, "And that's not the issue here, anyway. I'm offering you my help and you're not taking it."
Grissom look up sharply. He didn't say anything, though. Whenever somebody lost their temper, Gil was careful about what to say next.
"I appreciate your coming down here, Greg." He said evenly, "But you need the time off. I can't use a tired CSI in this type of operation."
"I'm not tired -"
"You've been up since Wednesday night -"
"So have you!"
"- and you can't work three shifts in a row."
"And you can?"
"This isn't up for debate," Gil replied testily. "You just can't stay here."
"Oh, so you're giving me an order?"
"I'm your boss, so yeah, I'm giving you an order!"
They'd kept their voices alow all along, but their body language spoke of confrontation. They were face to face, their bodies tense. Greg realized, to his surprise, that his own hands were closed in fists.
He made a conscious effort to back off, and so did Grissom.
"Look. I know you want to help," Gil said gently, "But I can't let you stay." Before Greg could reply, he added, "I just don't want you to spend every waking hour on the job, Greg. You have a life outside the lab, too."
For a moment, Greg only stared at him.
He, too, chose his next words with care.
"You're supposed to be a part of that life now, Grissom."
Grissom's gaze dropped for a few seconds.
"Maybe it's time for you to start rethinking your options," he said quietly. He looked up. "Otherwise you'll wake up one of these days and find that your world has gotten smaller."
Greg was stunned. Clearly, he couldn't believe Grissom had just said that. He started to say something but stopped when he noticed someone approaching. To his surprise, it was David Hodges, making a big show of putting on rubber gloves and protective gear. He ignored Greg.
"I'm here, boss," said Hodges, adding in that unctuous manner of his, "Ecklie asked me to leave my lab in order to assist you in this moment of need. What can I do for you?"
"Go to Sara," Gil said curtly, "She'll explain it to you."
"With pleasure," Hodges replied, and he intentionally bumped against Greg as he walked away.
Greg looked incredulously at Grissom.
"You're letting him help?"
"Him and a dozen interns," Grissom replied matter-of-factly.
"Interns?" Greg repeated in disbelief, "You're using interns for this?"
"Yeah." And it was obvious that he didn't see anything wrong with any of this. He simply stared back, as if he couldn't understand what the big deal was.
As if he truly didn't know he was hurting Greg.
And maybe he truly didn't know.
But while Grissom might inadvertently hurt Greg, Greg knew how to push Grissom's buttons on purpose. He often did, though only to tease Gil. Pushing Gil's buttons in order to hurt him was something he'd never done.
Until tonight.
"You know what?" Greg said with barely repressed anger, "Maybe you're right. Maybe I need to spend more time away from the job -and from you. I mean, there's a dozen parties I could have gone to and didn't. Who knows? Maybe there's one on right now."
His words brought an immediate reaction from Gil. It was subtle, but Greg didn't miss it: Gil was clearly uneasy.
'Bull's eye,' Greg thought.
Of course, Gil didn't want him to go to a party; he wanted Greg to go home and sleep and then maybe go to some nice museum to unwind. Parties were places roamed by ex-boyfriends, and Gil didn't like the idea of his meeting an ex…
'Well, too bad,' Greg thought spitefully.
But his moment of triumph didn't last long. Deep down, he didn't want to go to a party and he didn't want to meet any ex-boyfriends. He just wanted to stay and help Grissom.
He gazed hopefully at Gil, who looked like he was debating with himself.
But before Gil could make a decision, they got interrupted yet again. A half-dozen fresh-faced boys and girls wearing PD sweat suits suddenly surrounded them, edging Greg out.
The kids were looking at Grissom with something close to worship. They had obviously heard a lot about Gil.
"Dr. Grissom?" said a perky young girl, "Captain Brass said you were going to tell us what to do."
Grissom glanced at Greg for one last time before he turned to the kids.
"We need your help tonight, guys," he said gravely, "We're looking for two kids who entered the park yesterday morning. We can't wait for daylight to begin our search; we need to start tonight. Now, I know you were chosen because you already had an introductory class on how to handle evidence," he paused, and the kids nodded eagerly.
"That's great," Gil said. "Let me remind you, however, that tonight you're here merely to observe," He glanced sternly at each one of them, "Remember: You are not to touch anything. Whatever you find, just place an evidence marker next to it -"
Greg took a step back, and his place was immediately taken by a cute kid who gazed adoringly at Grissom.
"Any questions?" Grissom asked, and the interns' hands shot up. They practically engulfed Grissom.
Greg turned and left.
TBC
