Disclaimer: Well, I'm a 16 year old girl, I obviously still live at home with my parents, I have a bedroom full of geeky posters and models, and I'm writing a CSI fan fiction story - Do I own CSI or the characters?...What do you think?

Well here's my second CSI story, this is more serious than the other one (which I think would be safer not to mention lol) and is about the lovely ballistics expert, Bobby Dawson. The fic is from Bobby's point of view, and is kind of like a long drabble about his friends, the CSI's, his job,etc... and of couse the cliches of it all - Yes I made him gay but it's not a major part of the drabble, and yes I made it a TINY bit Bobby/Hodges, but only because I thought it would be cute if Bobby had a crush on one of the other techs. Anyway, read on and review if you want...

(ps - I've not got a beta or anything so I apologies if I missed any mistakes when I read i over)

Clichés

I suppose this would be expected to begin with a "My name is Bobby Dawson, a Texan ballistics expert, and I'm gay."…Or something like that – A bit like a confession at an AA meeting. But things aren't always as cliché or clear cut as that.

Sure I've had things for guys, but I've definitely had my share of women, though to be honest –What man hasn't?

In a way clichés are a big part of my life, yet at the same time they don't seem to be – Take my workmates for example; The other lab techs are about the only friends I've got, a bit like in glossy crime shows you see on TV – But when you work the graveyard shift at a crime lab and find breakfast being about the only other regular meal you have apart from stolen coffee from Greg Sander's stash – Who else are you going to hang out with?

First there's Archie Johnson – The more than geeky A/V tech that had a love for Star Trek and will often spend his time watching episodes in the lab on a slow night – When Ecklie isn't around of course. Which in a way is yet another cliché. But Archie hasn't always being the lab's A/V tech. He started off just as the lab's security tech but got promoted to the graveyard's A/V tech after helping with a case…Many years ago now.

Next is Ronnie, the Questioned Documents Tech – A bit on the round side and most definitely a geek – Though of course all of us are. But Ronnie's happily married so doesn't have as much time to hang out outside of work as he used to. But at least he's able to hang onto a strong relationship – More than the rest of us seem able to.

Jacqui Franco is the Prints Tech and often acts as mothering figure to the rest of us. But in the end it's like she's just one of the guys. She's very different to the other female techs around – Like Mia, Wendy and Mandy. She doesn't seem as bothered with her appearance as the others – Who always act as though they want to appear sexy as well as smart. Jacqui never wears makeup or less than comfy clothes. But she is still quite pretty.

I sometimes wonder if she's given up on relationships – It is difficult with the work shifts being as they are. Plus there's not just competition from the other women techs for any 'good catches' in the lab, there's also the more than stunning CSI's – Sara Sidle isn't what you'd call a flirter though…Not with the male techs anyway, besides – It's pretty obvious she has a torch for Grissom.

Sophia Curtis, the dayshift CSI turned graveyard CSI turned detective is more than beautiful as well, but she's not around as much as she used to be of course now she's joined Brass's team.

Then there's Catherine Willows, the ex-exotic dancer with the flirty disposition and the stunning looks.

I hope she hasn't given up; it would be a waste if she never did find love.

David Hodges is the snarky Trace Tech. He moved here a few years ago from LA, got a bit of an attitude problem but he's ok once you get to know him. But of course none of the CSI's have ever really bothered to – Well why would they? As far as they see, he's just the grumpy tech who tries to suck up to Grissom, Ecklie and the other senior members of the lab.

Though he doesn't do that much now – What's the point? He's never going to move from his job, and I think he likes working on the graveyard shift anyway – After all, most of the dayshift techs are cocky bastards who think they are better than us on the graveyard shift as they actually get to have a life once in a while.

Personally I think he's more vulnerable than people would give him credit for. He's never being that confident with women, and at least his working hours can be used as an excuse for never having a girlfriend – Not that many others would care if he did or not.

He's tried a few times but more often than not he ends up just being thought of as a friend than anything else.

One time when we were having breakfast together after shift, he was feeling pretty depressed and began questioning his looks after going for a meal with a girl he was so sure liked him, and she'd just spent the entire time chattering about her ex, and then wanting Dave's advice on how to get him back.

I don't think it's fair for Dave to be insecure though – Sure he's not got poster boy good looks like Greg, or a strong masculine thing going on like Nick. But he's certainly not bad looking. His hair is starting to show the odd grey streak, and he looks more tired than he used to, but this job isn't exactly without stress. And he does have really nice blue eyes.

Which I suppose brings me to another cliché – Office relationships never work, especially ones with a gay guy and a 100 straight (as far as I know) colleague and friend.

But things happen I guess…Or don't.

If a prize was going to go for clichés though – It would probably be me. I'm from Texas, and I'm a ballistics expert. But I like guns – So what? If I didn't get paid to test them out and work with guns all day what am I going to do? Become some small time hick criminal who threatens little old ladies and cashiers in a badly thought through bank heist? Or maybe the kind of guy who fires at targets in the back yard, not thinking I could accidentally miss and shoot someone streets away. Or I could have become a cop, but that would include trying to purposely shoot people sometimes.

Or maybe even I could move back to Texas and work on a ranch…Yuck! Never going to happen; besides I like guns, not shooting at live people or animals… Some people say I'm not a true Texan though as I hate country music, but it's just so…corny.

…I guess I'm lucky in a way – I may not be a member of the true close nit group of CSI's, but I've got my own group of friends and even though to an outsider it does seem kind of mismatched, I like it, and I know what they are like away from the lab –

Archie may be a geek of huge proportions, but when we're in a café or bar, it always seems to be him getting all the girl's phone numbers and free drinks.

David may be an asshole, but he cares – He was so indignant after the lab explosion when he was accused of causing it, not because of being picked on as the new guy, but because the CSI's really thought he would be careless enough to endanger Greg, Jacqui or anyone else in the lab – He does care about us, and even the CSI's, that much is more than obvious from the way he tackled the courier for the package about Nick.

Ronnie is one of the most doting father and husband the world has ever seen, and it's quite often that if he is with the rest of us hanging out after shift on a star trek or gaming marathon at Archie's or a Dukes of Hazard fest at David's, that he brings his toddlers with him, while his wife's at work – Not that we mind, he has great kids.

Jacqui is probably the most normal a person of any of us, but she can still play video games as well of the rest of us. She especially rocks at the Tekken games – Much to Archie' annoyance, I can't even remember the last time he beat her at it.

And me? I dunno, I just like hanging out with my friends, because as nice as Nicky and the other CSI's act towards me at work, I'm still a sort of outsider, but I'm happy with my little tech group of friends, and I'm happy about who I am, and I don't think I'd have it any other way.

…In the end my sexuality doesn't really play a big part of my life, though I'm not totally sure if that's because I don't have time for it to, or because I just don't see a point in trying to make a move on David, or anyone else I like. Maybe one day I will be sure, but for now I'm more than happy to just spend my spare time either catching up on sleep or hanging out with Archie, Jacqui, Ronnie and David, just having a laugh and winding down after work…