"Hey Grissom." Nick said, his hand hanging on Grissom's doorjamb, only half of his body visible. A smirk, a very visible smirk just painted on his face.
His eyes looked up over his glasses, annoyed.
"Yes?" He asked, his head tilted to the side, the file in his hand slid out of his hand onto the desk.
"You been home boss?" Nick asked, the smirk not wavering. He pulled his body fully into the room and narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
"You need to shave Griss." Nick said and used his arm to propel him from the room.
-
"And, I need a time off request sheet." Catherine said, her heels clicking sharply on the floor as she hustled into the dimly lit office.
"For?" Grissom asked, the files again slipping out of his hand to splay open on the desk. His head didn't tilt to the side but he looked up over his glasses.
"Lindsey. Parent/child seminar. I'm ready to try anything." Catherine smoothed the hair from her face, and licked her lips, studying her boss's face.
"You look like you haven't slept in days." She said, her eyebrows furrowed as she leaned closer and examined his face more precisely.
"I assure you... I have." He said, head lowering, hands moving to pick up the discarded work. Her eyes moved back over the words he had been previously studying.
"Well, the uh-"
His hand shot out to her and she took the request form from him and moved to the door.
"You're uh, looking a little grizzly around the chin." She said, rubbing her own and moving from the office.
-
"And the print's weren't Corely's. In fact, they're not even in the uh, computer."
Grissom's eyes pulled away from the microscope to look over at Warrick. "That leaves us at a dead end then. The fire burned most... I hate fires." Grissom said irritably. He pushed back from the microscope and ran his hands over his eyes.
"I'm gonna check trace for... hey man? Are you okay?" Warrick asked, eyes darkening, pressing against the lab bench and moving toward him slightly.
"Yeah. Why is everyone asking me that?" Grissom asked, a note of annoyance slipping into his voice, his back becoming rigid.
"You're... you've got major stubble." He replied, laughing lightly, making the conversation lighter.
"My, my electric razor broke. Haven't had a chance to pick up a new one." Grissom replied, passing his hand over the hair growing at his chin.
"Okay." Warrick finalized, throwing his hands up and walking out of the lab.
-
"And my first DB, my first real DB, my own." Greg swooned, clutching his heart. "Be still my beating heart. Really. I think it stopped." He said, passing into the office, just enough so that if Grissom was in a mood, he could retreat.
"Congratulations." His boss replied not caring to turn around from his bookcase.
"And I thank you for that and-"
Grissom turned and opened a book, not bothering to take a seat behind his desk.
"You... okay." Greg left, wondering if his boss was in the middle of something deep, knowing that he wasn't, but wondering why he was ignoring his personal hygiene.
If there was one thing that Grissom was, he was always clean cut.
-
Two days earlier
She moved by his office quickly until her insomnia numbed brain registered that she had been on her way to his office in the first place.
"Tox screen got it. Insulin. Was just doing what he thought he had to, but with all the alcohol in his system..." Sarah trailed off, smiling faintly, feeling relieved that another case was over.
"Great." He said, taking the file that she had just placed on his desk and opening it.
She looked down at him for a brief moment.
"Looks like you're growing a beard there Griss. I like it."
And she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving her boss sitting in the dark.