A.N.: My response to Mossley's improv challenge on Unbound. The first and last lines were provided, and the task was to fill in the scene in 1,000 words or less. Many thanks to Alison for the idea of how Grissom was injured and for pulling beta duty.
"So, how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" Brass asked.
"Who washed Washington's white woolen underwear when Washington's washer woman went west?" Grissom countered.
"You're fine." Jim Brass handed Grissom the baggie of ice he'd taken from the freezer.
"Told you."
Examining the egg-sized, rapidly bruising knot on the entomologist's forehead, Brass shook his own noggin in disbelief. "Gil, what on earth possessed you to pull a stunt like that?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures."
"There had to have been a less…reckless way to handle the situation."
"I didn't have a choice, Jim. She was getting ready to bolt, and you know it."
"It was breaking and entering, and you know it."
"Only of she presses charges, which she won't."
"How do you know that's not why I'm here?"
A moment of panic chased Grissom's breath away until it dawned on him. "Because you're in homicide."
Brass smiled, "Yeah, you're definitely okay."
"Besides, I had a key." Grissom mumbled, the reality of the situation finally sinking in.
"Which you 'acquired' from a secure area of the lab and used without consent." When his friend looked down in embarrassment, Brass continued, "I have to say it Gil; I expect better of you. She was armed, man! What if she was the type to shoot first and ask questions later?"
"Well she wasn't supposed to show up while I was there! Who knew she'd come home in the middle of her shift?"
"So let me get this straight. You sneak in here to 'plant' evidence of--"
"Stop making it sound so sordid." He didn't appreciate Brass' attempt at humor.
"Well, you have to admit it is a bit…" At a warning look from Grissom, Brass reconsidered his words, "out of character."
"That was the point. The way I had been going about things obviously wasn't effective."
"Be that as it may, you were in here when she returned. Then what happened?"
"When I heard the door being unlocked, I collected all my belongings and hid out on the patio."
"The patio? As in, with sliding glass doors?" The cop in him couldn't help but wonder at the wisdom of his friend's actions.
"I closed the blinds part way so she wouldn't see me."
"You didn't think she would notice?"
"I hoped she wouldn't."
"But she did."
Grissom blushed as he slowly nodded. "And the next thing I know I'm staring down the barrel of her gun."
"What did she do, hit you upside the head with it instead of shooting you?"
"No, then we talked it out."
"You talked? She finds you lurking in her apartment, pulls a gun on you, and then is willing to talk to you."
"That's right."
"Then how'd you get the lump on your head?"
"After we…settled things, she came back inside to get what she'd come home for in the first place and I, um…"
"What was that? I couldn't hear you with all the marbles in your mouth."
"I walked into the sliding glass door!" Grissom's voice was louder than he had intended. He knew Brass would never let him live this down, particularly if the volume and length of his howling laughter was any indication.
"And then she called me to come get you," Brass said as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Not to arrest me. She just didn't want me to drive like this."
"Yeah well, I have to get back to work too, so why don't I take you home now? Where's your jacket?"
Grissom looked around the small but tidy apartment. "I think it might still be on the patio."
As he watched Brass head out of the room, Grissom breathed a sigh of relief that the cop didn't press for more information. It was bad enough he knew Grissom had swiped the spare key from Sara's locker and snuck into her apartment to surprise her with a beautiful peace lily plant.
Grissom may have his head in a microscope, but he wasn't an idiot. He was very aware of the fact that Sara was pulling further away from him, and he sensed it was only a matter of time before she left a letter of resignation on his desk and left him behind forever. That was the motivation behind the sentiment on the card accompanying the plant: I want to see what happens too.
What Brass did not know was that conversation Grissom and Sara had on her patio had ended with a passionate kiss and the promise of more after her shift. The truth was, Grissom had been so staggered by the event he promptly and gracelessly walked smack into the glass door.
Coming back in, Brass glanced at the scientist and noticed a deep flush on his face. He could just imagine what part of the story Grissom wasn't sharing. "You might want to have someone spend the night with you," he commented suggestively, "you know, to make sure you don't have a concussion or anything. And of course, to kiss it and make it better."
Offering a small wink in return as he stood, Grissom replied, "I'll certainly take that under advisement." He winced as he put the ice pack against his head.
~fin