Beginnings

A prequel to 'From Greg'.

In FG, Gil & Greg faced life after Gil's retirement. This is the story of how they got together in the first place.

Gil Grissom took a deep, satisfied breath.

It was only seven in the morning, and the air was cool and relatively clean, completely different from the air he was used to breath at this time of the day. But then, he was usually in the city at this time of the day.

Bemused, Grissom considered his current situation.

He was on a cliff, one of the many that surrounded the city. He was sitting at the very edge of it, with his legs practically dangling in the air. Every time he looked down, a surreal scene met his eyes: hundreds of toy-like cars and trucks moving at a distance, their roar eerily muted by other, more immediate sounds -the sounds of nature. All around him, birds were awakening; insects were already buzzing about. Even small mammals were likely to appear, especially if they noticed the scent of his breakfast.

Breakfast today was a burger –not the bowl of cereal or the poached egg he usually favored at this time of the day; a burger. And instead of a secluded table at his favorite restaurant, he was sitting out in the open, at what used to be a park. Nothing much remained from it; just a few pieces of rotten wood from the picnic tables, and some scraggly bushes that survived thanks to the occasional showers that fell on the area.

Still, the place had a certain beauty to it. Grissom pictured it looking its best at night, with its view of the city and the sky above.

'A beautiful place to watch the stars', he thought, looking up at the blue, cloudless sky.

He took a bite from his burger, a tiny mouthful this time, because he wanted to make it last. It was really a great burger, better than he would have expected from a diner/gas station -what was the name? Idly, he looked at the logo on the waxed-paper wrapper: 'Mac's Old-Fashioned Burgers' it said, and the name was appropriate, since the place had a certain 50's feel to it. The prices weren't as old-fashioned, but that was ok, because the food was worth it.

Besides, he didn't pay for it. Greg did.

Again.

Grissom threw a covert glance at the young man sitting next to him. Greg had finished his burger and was munching on French fries now, but perfunctorily, as if it were only a chore.

Greg looked… tense. Worried.

Or did he?

Gil frowned. Before they started working side by side in the field, he thought he had a pretty good idea of who Greg Sanders was: fun-loving and brilliant, but essentially shallow. Lately, however, he'd found himself revising that opinion. Greg was fun-loving, yes; he was brilliant -definitely yes. But there were layers to his character too. There was so much about Greg he didn't know -which was hardly surprising; you can never hope to know everything about the people you work with.

What was surprising was the fact that he, Grissom, wanted to know more about Greg.

Gil caught himself openly staring at Greg, and to cover for it, he turned his attention to the coffee cup he'd set between them.

It was still hot.

His burger combo came with a Coke, but Gil had baulked at that. A burger for breakfast was ok, he said, but not a Coke.

Greg had complied and got him a cup of coffee –the best in the house- and by doing so, he'd missed a chance to get a commemorative glass bottle, one of ten he was trying to collect, one combo meal at a time. And it was the fact that Greg had complied so easily that made Gil pause then and now. Greg had been inordinately nice to him lately. Today's impromptu breakfast was only the latest in a series of invitations and small kindnesses that had started a couple of weeks ago.

Mostly, Greg had been buying him food. Nothing fancy, thank God: breakfast, a couple of burgers, a fruit basket…Nothing that would deem him a brown-noser, but enough to make Gil wonder. He suspected it was Greg's way of saying 'thank you' for his appointment as a new CSI, but if it was, then the gifts were unnecessary. Greg had worked hard for the job; he deserved it, and Gil had already told him so.

And yet, here they were.

Gil looked around again. He knew most of Las Vegas like the palm of his hand, but this was his first time here. He'd seen it from the highway, of course; he knew the park was now one of Vegas most popular lovers' lanes too... Which explained why he'd never come before: he wasn't a lover and never had been.

And since no crime had ever been reported here, there'd never been a legitimate reason for him to come.

Gil grinned at that last thought.

"What?" Greg asked. He'd noticed the grin.

Gil shook his head. "Nothing."

"So," Greg said, "What do you think?"

"About?"

"The place… the food…"

"I liked the burger," Gil said with his usual restraint. Actually, he'd loved the burger, and he'd already made a mental note to add 'Mac's Diner' to his list of places to visit for a quick bite. He just didn't want to make too much of it.

"Great place, huh?" Greg smiled.

"I suppose." He ate the last of his burger and crumpled the paper wrapper with something close to regret. He picked his coffee cup again. "Coffee's good, too," he added dutifully.

Greg chuckled, "No, I mean this place. I mean, just look at that," and he waved his arm to encompass the landscape below.

Grissom looked. It was impressive, but he only shrugged.

"Oh, come on," Greg said, "Doesn't it make you want to come every night to watch the stars?"

"I guess," Gil said. Actually, he'd love to come here for a little stargazing, but he didn't think the couples in the lovers' lane would appreciate having a single guy sneaking around with a telescope. Still, he liked the place, and he was grateful to Greg for bringing him here. He wished he could say so, but he was afraid that if he did, it would only encourage more of these outings.

As it was, he'd already dodged an invitation to the movies twice.

Frankly, it was too much just to say 'thank you' for a promotion. Greg was good at the job, plain and simple. If he weren't so good at everything he did, he wouldn't be at the lab.

Nor would Gil be in love with him.

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TBC