Disclaimer – Not mine... although like many before me I would love to own them!
Archiving – I'd be honoured ...Just tell me where.
Spoilers - Set post Bloodlines but there aren't any glaring spoilers, it's only hinted at.
Rating – Uh... wouldn't know PG-13 just to be safe, I don't think it's bad though.
A/N – My response to PwF's "American Geeks in London" Challenge.
The Required Elements:
1) The Geeks pay a visit to Madame Tussaud's famous Wax Museum. Sara is especially eager to have Grissom take her picture taken with one of the wax figures. Which one? Surprise us G
2) In honor of their host country's culinary traditions, Grissom and Sara must eat (or drink) something both curious and quintessentially English. You choose the item. Suggestions: fish and chips, Pimm's, bubble and squeak, marmite, ploughman's lunch, traditional English high tea, kippers, kedgeree, and other dishes mentioned on sites like these – http:www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/food.html and
3) In honor of Grissom's very well documented love of the Bard, our two Geeks will take in a Shakespearean play of your choosing in the historic venue that the Bard himself often used—The Globe Theater. Have fun deciding among the Shakespearean canon!
4) Finally, what trip to Britain would be complete without a nod to their rich tradition of whodunits?
A/N - Reviews are always appreciated. Mistakes are my pets; I like to let them roam free. I have no beta they are all mine!
"I can't Believe you forced me into this." Sara muttered promptly sitting on the suitcase
behind her and staring unblinking at the floor. It appeared that the pattern of brown flecks had suddenly became highly interesting.
"I didn't so much force you ..." He trailed off slightly towards the end of his sentence watching her response carefully.
"It was either this or suspending me on a week-long vacation, I call that corrupt. Its blackmail" She argued . "I don't have a problem, so I don't need a holiday to cure me"
"It's not a holiday, it's a business trip. I knew I wouldn't get you to take a vacation unless there was some professional reason behind it." Grissom's eyes were boring into her head and she continued to avoid his eyes fiddling quietly with the zip on her bag. "You needed a break away, this was the only way around it I could find."
"So there isn't really a conference in London? And you weren't really considering talking to Carvallo about me?"
"Of course there is a conference, but its only in the mornings for the week. The rest of the free time is for scouting the tourist spots of London." He paused slightly for a couple of moments. "...A vacation"
Sara looked up at this point and Glared at him. The heat of her stare almost made him
regret his decision, it was one of those "if looks could kill" situations. His avoidance of the her question was driving her crazy. Sara quietly sighed and her eyes lost the sense of intensity they had held seconds before. "I've never been to England, its an experience I guess."
"It'll take your mind of whatever's bothering you."
"Like Hell it will." Sara murmured sighing despairingly. She was following the source of all her problems halfway across the world. Not the worlds best "Get over him" Plan. It probably would have been better to just put up with an enforced vacation. She was broken out of her reverie as the voice on the loudspeakers announced their flight's immanent departure.
"Boarding the 10:30 flight to London Heathrow, last call."
The mechanical sounding voice echoed through the waiting room.
"Come on, we'll miss the flight if we don't get moving"
Sara's resigned herself. There was no turning back now. She stood and gripped the handle of her suitcase determinedly striding towards the gate. He watched her as the walked away from him. This would be a long week if they couldn't regain some kind of comfort in their relationship. At the moment it was still strained and awkward, not a relaxing atmosphere. And was about to spend the next 8 hours sat next to her in a confined space.
Their seats turned out not to be as bad as they had expected. They were in two out of three seats on their own next to the emergency exit. The third seat had already been claimed by a quiet businessman, who greeted them politely and immediately turned back to his laptop and effectively ignoring everything else. It seemed it would be a very quiet flight so Sara's question came rather out of the blue. "Have you been to England before"
"Yes" He replied "But it was a long time ago. It was a trip in college. More like an expedition actually we were trekking around the Malvern Hills and the Cotswolds. It's a Beautiful area." He waited for her to respond and when she didn't he continued, if nothing to fill the slightly awkward silence.
"I didn't fly into Heathrow last time though. Stansted is better placed for that area, less Central."
Sara Nodded and smiled slightly. "I really wouldn't know, my geography of England is abysmal. I never really thought I would need it."
"The strangest information often comes in useful." He replied quietly as he pulled out the in flight magazine examined the headlines, with a muted sigh he folded it up and returned it finding nothing of interest.
"Don't worry you can work it all out when we arrive. I don't know London at all so we will be lost together."
"That's comforting." Sara chuckled quietly. "Is the weather really that bad? I've heard it rains a lot."
"Not much worse than San Francisco as far as I know. I think they just like to complain about it."
After several minutes of small talk they both decided that the best course of action to avoid serious Jet-lag at the other end would be to get some sleep before they arrived. Luckily Nightshift teaches the art of sleeping when its needed and both could sleep just about anywhere.
Sara woke several hours later feeling rather more comfortable than when she had dozed off. She seemed to have gained a pillow. It took her several seconds until her comfort rapidly evaporated as she realised that it was not actually a pillow and in-fact her boss' arm. She was torn between staying put and pretending she had no idea and was still asleep and moving very quickly in the opposite direction.
The stay put part of her brain won in the end and she decided to enjoy the feeling while it lasted. It wasn't often she got that kind of chance.
She almost jumped a mile when a quiet and very awake voice in her ear reminded her that they landed in just a few moments. Grissom smiled guiltily at her surprise. "You looked so peaceful. I thought you probably needed the rest.". Once Sara had regained her composure she slowly smiled back at him.
The journey back to the hotel was uneventful and the hotel less than spectacular, department budget evidently didn't stretch to anywhere with 5 stars. It was still quite early and so both set off for UCL University College London – for non locals. The seminars of the morning were vaguely interesting but by the afternoon both were getting impatient to see some of their host country. "How do you feel about Madame Tussauds?" Grissom asked. "I've always wanted to visit just out of sheer curiosity."
"I don't know, it always seemed kinda creepy."
"You work with dead bodies 365 days a year and you find wax figures creepy? You're supposed to find serial killers creepy." Grissom chuckled quietly, partly at the look she gave him. They seemed to have regained some semblance of ease, being away from the lab made the previously tense atmosphere between them seem to evaporate.
"Fine I'll put up with the weird-ness on one condition, and one only." She smiled cryptically and Grissom began to get a little worried.
"That really depends what it is" His teasing tone didn't quite dispel the worry he now felt. If he agreed he didn't know what he was in for.
"It nothing terrible I promise." He gave her a disbelieving glance and her grin simply grew. "Just take my picture with the wax queen. We can see if the rest of the team believe me when I tell them we 'really' met her." His face gave away the relief he felt. "What on earth did you think I would make you do? You looked like I was about to announce a death sentence."
"You're full of surprises. I didn't quite know what to expect." He held out his hand towards her smiling slightly "I'm going to hold you to that deal."
Sara grasped his hand tightly and felt the tingle that seemed to only originate from his touch. His hold was firm and it took far longer than was necessary for her to let go.
"Well come on then. Lets not waste time."
"Lots of wax people just waiting for us I'm sure." Sara smiled as they left, perhaps this wouldn't be quite as bad as she had imagined.
On their return to the hotel it seemed there wasn't much to do. The entertainment there consisted of the restaurant downstairs and not much else. Sara's search of the British Television for the evening wasn't as bad as she had feared. If nothing else there was the BBC and a program that peaked her interest, it gave her at least some understanding of the English justice system, if only fictional.
She sat and bit back her giggles as Frankie, their single forensic scientist tormented the agitated older supervisor about the bomb she was about to defuse.
The team on the screen seemed to have just discovered an old car in a run down garage with a skeletonised body in the front seat. A young brunette woman in forensic coveralls is examining the Car and drops her fingerprinting brush underneath, she is being subtly observed by her older supervisor who is stood by the doorway. In an attempt to find her brush she lies down on her front on the ground and peers under the car.
"Ok Boyd... I'd rather like it if you would get out of here. Clear the area and tell everyone to turn off all their radio equipment and mobiles and then move away." Frankie was eyeing the metal box attached to the underside of the car with wide eyes.
The older man did exactly the opposite, entering the dilapidated garage and laying flat on the ground to peer under the car at the bomb. "I think it's a bomb" She muttered.
"Well don't you think we should call the bomb squad?" He replied tersely.
"No, because if we call the bomb squad we wont have a crime scene left. Just a gaping crater." Her exasperation was already beginning to show.
"Are you sure this is a crime scene?" He responded catching the younger woman's eye.
"Well I don't think he fixed a bomb under his car and died of boredom did he?" She retorted. Boyd Jumped up from his position on the ground and addresses a police officer just outside the door. Frankie immediately following at his heels.
"Right Spence.. call the bomb squ..."
"I can handle it I took a course!" The woman argued cutting off his words. "I can do it"
"Clear the area" he commanded the other officer. "But Keep it low key for gods sake" He turned back to the brunette.
"I can make it safe "She continued.
"It's a huge risk"
"Risk To what, my life. I'm willing to...." She argued but was cut off by Boyd.
"Well my career. I'm the one responsible for this if..."
"Aww... I think I just found your caring and sharing side" She responds with a sarcastic smirk. He ran his hands over his grey hair and gave her an exasperated look groaning slightly at her words.
Another woman approached to question their argument and is told. "Its alright she's done a course" To which Frankie mutters
"You know I never said I passed" just low enough that her supervisor who is walking away doesn't hear, before sharing a look with the blonde woman by her side.
Sara leaned back against the headboard of he bed and considered calling Grissom to tell him about her discovery. You never know, he might learn something. She smiled slightly to herself at the thought and continued to watch, slightly intrigued by their Propensity not to turn the lights on in their office and managed to get herself surprisingly caught up in the plot. It was just the relaxation she needed before bed.
The Next morning she was woken unreasonably early by a phone call from Catherine. "Morning". She sounded way too awake and cheery for Sara's liking.
"Cath, Its like 5am here. That's a bizarre time for a phone call."
"Hey, its transatlantic. Anyway I wanted to catch you before shift started. I figured you were normally up and about anyway."
"Yeah but I'm not normally catching up on jet-lag." She argued, knowing that it was a losing battle.
"Coming from the one person I know who stays up three days straight. Don't even try." Catherine chucked quietly. "Maybe something else tired you out? Meet anyone on your travels?"
"Cath, Don't go there." The warning in Sara's voice did nothing to deter her train of thought.
"I just thought there has to be a reason is all. I'm not going to say anything to anyone if you tell me something."
"Anyway..." Sara muttered trying desperately to change the subject. "I found something you guys would like on TV last night. Its like the us of England. They even have all the glass walls in their lab."
"I cant believe you get to be over there without us."
"Yeah, well. No picnic. But it's a nice change I guess. This must be a really expensive call for you. Was there anything you wanted?"
"Nah, just to check up. But you're right I should probably go. Have Fun."
"I will. Say Hi to everyone at the Lab for us."
The Pair said their goodbyes and immediately she hung up Sara jumped from the bed deciding that if she wasn't going to get any more sleep she might as well get some work done and headed for a shower.
Walking into the Restaurant downstairs she was met by the sight of Grissom sat at a table in the corner with a Huge plate of food and a Teapot in front of him. She smiled and made her way towards him.
"You get a wake up call from Cath too huh?"
"What made her think we'd actually be awake that early on holiday?"
"You've got to remember this is not a holiday. It's a business trip." She replied echoing his earlier words.
"You keep telling yourself that" he muttered smiling down at the newspaper in front of him. "I'm doing a little research. We are going out tonight. There's nothing much going on round here and they have "Midsummer Nights Dream" on at the Globe. How do you feel about Shakespeare?" He raised his eyes to meet her slightly shocked gaze. "If you don't like it we can find something else?"
"No, No Shakespeare sounds good to me. Might as well indulge while we're in the right country."
He looked up at her again grinning broadly. "Tea?"
"Do they not have coffee?"
"You cant drink coffee in England, well you can but ...This is tea country. Its much better over here anyway. I also managed to get myself a full English Breakfast. I'm sure we can order you one as well, barring the bacon and black pudding which looks repulsive anyway. I think its made of blood."
Sara raised an eyebrow and made a face which essentially said "yuk". Fortunately she wasn't left with much time to think to deeply into it. A young waitress approached with a notepad and pen to take an order. The girl smiled warmly and wished them a good morning.
Sara looked at Grissom and finally gave in. "I think I'll have tea and the Crumpets."
"Sure, you want jam or honey on that?" The girl replied scribbling down their order.
"Honey sounds good to me." She turned to Grissom. "See, I'm being traditionally English without having to eat that lot of grease." She smiled triumphantly. The waitress giggled quietly at their conversation.
"I've gotta agree with you on that one. I've never eaten black pudding and I don't intend to. I should be back with you order in just a moment." She then turned and headed back towards what they assumed was the kitchen.
The girl returned a few minutes later with a plate of crumpets drizzled with butter and honey. Sara smiled knowingly. "This looks so much better than yours." Grissom just looked at her his expression was unreadable. Sara turned back to the girl stood beside her. "Hey, Uh, We have a free afternoon. Where would you suggest as a place to go?"
The girl thought for a moment before replying. "On an afternoon like today when It looks to be warm, head for Covent Garden. Its outdoors, occasionally you can catch a free concert if your there on the right day and there is always some kind of entertainment going on. The atmosphere's wonderful." She smiled shyly and turned to leave again.
The morning of seminars passed with as little excitement as the day before. They were good but just not spectacular. Sara was just waiting for the next day when Grissom would be giving his, now that could be fun.
The afternoon was spent as suggested perusing the stalls and entertainment of Covent Garden. On the lower level they found a small group of musicians playing their fiddles and a flute with gusto, dancing and leaping in between the scattered tables of a Café. The upper level consisted of what seemed like hundreds of colourful stalls selling everything from clothes, to food, clocks and decorations. There was a caricature artist sat in one corner and mimes, clowns and stilt artists scattered throughout the large covered area and the square beyond. There was an almost Mediterranean feel to the atmosphere.
"She wasn't kidding when she said there was a lot going on." Grissom said as he weaved through the crowds. Sara shook her head and smiled as she watched as a slightly drunken topless man tottered past her in the opposite direction. There was certainly a high concentration of interesting characters here.
In the Taxi on the way to the Globe in the evening Grissom pulled out a small book he had bought about 'England, its traditions and culture' from one of the book stands in Covent Garden. It would be a good idea to learn something about their host country while they were there. He Chuckled quietly as he read.
"I found a fun English tradition. It says here that people in Gloucestershire have a cheese rolling competition. You take a traditional round Gloucester cheese throw it down the steepest hill you can find and about 20 or more men run, roll and fall down chasing it down to the bottom, if they get it....They win the cheese at the end."
He paused for a second to read on. "Apparently there are usually several casualties consisting mostly of broken bones and internal bleeding, but people have been known to die."
Sara snatched the book from his hands. "Seriously? People do that? Why?" She raised her eyebrows slightly and turned the page. "Ooh look another one. This is where people swim along a long thin channel in 2 foot deep cold muddy water from one pole to another. They see who can swim it the fastest. Its like snorkelling in Mud.... Nice."
"I wont be trying that. At least not in this suit anyway." He brushed his hands over his suit and looked towards Sara who still had her nose in the book. His eyes appraised her figure and he smiled. She was wearing the traditional "little black dress". It was a little above knee length and accentuated her slender legs perfectly. He was finding it particularly hard to concentrate on the next silly fact she had found about some man who travelled Britain and Leap-frogged over every post-box. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat trying to think of something other than her.
The recently renovated Globe seemed the perfect place to be seeing Shakespeare. Their seats were quite reasonable and although in the stalls they could still see quite well. The place seemed to be packed and Sara wasn't quite sure how they had managed to get seats so last minute. The production was wonderful, as was expected really. What else in the home of Shakespeare. She was in metaphorical heaven, at the theatre, in England with the man of her dreams. The open air feel gave a wonderful romantic ambience to the whole evening. The end seemed to come around far quicker than was natural.
As they were walking back along the corridor to their rooms later that evening, Sara gave a defeated sigh and started to fumble for her keys. She stopped when she felt a hand graze over the skin on her back. She turned fast, not realising just how close he had been standing and lost her balance a little. She found herself steadied by his hands on her sides. Her eyes met his and that one moment seemed to last for minutes. The intensity in his gaze was such that she found it difficult to break away. One of his hands had moved from her side and was softly caressing the skin on her shoulder. Her heart swelled at the contact and the realisation that he was about to kiss her. They were standing so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body. When his lips finally brushed hers the contact was like electricity. What started as a tender kiss soon had intense undertones. Sara soon found herself sandwiched between his body and her door. His hands exploring the skin of her lower back hers wrapped around the back of his head, entwined in his hair. Removing one hand to find her room keys once more she groped for the lock and opened the door, she was rather proud of herself for managing it one handed behind her back. She pulled back from Grissom as the door swung open . As it closed behind them she couldn't help but feel that the rest of this business trip would be far better than she could ever have dreamed.
A/N – Well there we go, an end to my first fic. challenge. Really quite fun.
As far as the British Crime fighting duo went, Ok so they aren't from a book but they seemed the right choice. Frankie and Boyd are characters from the English equivalent of CSI, called "Waking the Dead", set in London. They aren't so much a pair as two people from a team but, I figured it worked quite well. You can practically draw the parallels with each character to one in CSI. Boyd is The leader of their little unit and has slight anger management issues, is politically stone-deaf and highly antisocial. Frankie is the forensics expert who when held at gunpoint didn't tell Boyd because it would mean she would be forced to take time off work and be taken off her case. Remind you of anyone? They have this great rapport and their conversations always make me laugh. I could give you many examples but you would just get bored, so just one. You just have to see it to love it.
(Then there is grace who is the only one with any control over Boyd, sort of second in command.
Spence who had Boyd's recommendation for a promotion when he got passed over and Mel the youngest who had Boyd as a kind of mentor. Are you seeing the connections?)
The team had just had a hearing threatening to close their unit as it was a "luxury", a meeting to which only their supervisor had been requested attendance. This is part of the short meeting of their team just after.
Frankie: Tell us that you were tactful and conciliatory.. humble...(she trails of slightly)
Boyd:(smiling subtly) You know me.
Frankie: Yeah...we do strongly hinting that that might just be the problem
Grace: Don't worry I'm sure he was charm itself! the sarcasm in her voice just cant be conveyed
(I was tempted to use Frost as he is actually from a book but he doesn't have a partner so I nixed that one. I also thought about "Dalziel and Pascoe"(another UK crime show), but I haven't watched it in years as its on the same night as CSI (I know which I'd rather watch!) and so have forgotten the two characters, and they weren't as fitting anyway.
Also the weird customs I mentioned, all true. I worry about the state of sanity of some of the people in my country. It is quite fun though, watching hundreds of grown men run down a practically vertical slope after a round cheese... its an experience not to be missed that's for sure!