"When I leave CSI there won't be any cake in the break room. I'll just be gone."
Gil Grissom walked reluctantly toward the break room where he knew his team was sitting, waiting for their evening assignments. That was the routine for every night on the job. His team would sit in the break room before the beginning of shift and wait for him to hand out that night's assignments. That was the way if was for nine years. Tonight was different.
He knew he had to tell them. He had already waited too long as it was, hell he was leaving in only a few days, and his team deserved to know. Grissom knew they deserved a lot more from him, but he also knew that he couldn't give it to them. He knew they deserved for him to stay, to not abandon them in what had to be one of the hardest years of their lives. But he wasn't than man. He wasn't that strong, and after all the years on the job with him, his team could come to expect such an action of him. They knew his behavior, sometimes he believed they knew him more than he himself did. He was completely predictable to those who knew him well, yet somehow he still had know idea who he was himself. Was that even possible?
"Hey Griss" Nick acknowledged his boss with a nod as he entered the room. Nick took a sip of his coffee and placed the cup down on the table in front of him before turning to face Grissom once again. "What's up for tonight?"
Grissom cleared his throat before speaking, yet his voice remained raspy with the anxiety of what he was about to reveal to his team. The guilt. "Nick and Greg you guys are working a possible arson in Henderson," Grissom said as cool and calm as ever, any traces of anxiety cleared from his voice. " . . . and Catherine, you have a 419 on the strip" Grissom handed Catherine the half sheet of paper containing the details of her case, and stopped directly beside her. Frozen by the anticipation of his next move.
"Alright" Catherine glanced toward her boss, eyes laced with skeptisim. Grissom could tell she knew something was going on with him. Hell, she always could. "Is that it?" She continued; eyes still asking Grissom what was going on. He picked up on her concerned glances.
"No" Grissom shook his head and pursed his lips. His mid was becoming overwhelmed by a million different thoughts, and somehow he couldn't manage to find the perfect way to say what he was going to say next. He was nervous and fretful. He didn't want to hurt his guys, but he knew if he didn't blurt something out now, he probably never would. No. It was the least he could do for them. Atleast tell them he was leaving.
He settled for, " I know this has been a tough year for all of us. And I've been thinking . . . I mean more than usual. I made a decision. I'm gunna leave CSI."
A blast of emotion ran through each of his guys' eyes, and as much as he tried to not let it affect him, he knew the moment he stepped into the room it would. Hell, he knew the moment he met these three people it would. He had gotten so close to all of them over the years, and he knew it was going to hurt when they parted their separate ways, but nothing like this. Well, then again, he hadn't expected to leave so soon either. I guess life just got in the way. H etold himself.
Nobody said anything. They didn't have to. Their eyes said it all. Their body language. Grissom felt this, knew this, saw this. And for a second he reconsidered his decision. But this was the right thing to do. This was his time, and he had to do what would be best for everyone even if it hurt. Even if it wasn't easy. He had to do this. He had to go.
"Don't worry" Grissom began after a second or two. "Catherine will become your new supervisior . . . so you'll be in good hands." Catherine couldn't help but smirk at this.
"Ecklie is going to hire a new level one, so you won't be short handed." Grissom nodded.
This is ridiculous, Greg thought to himself. 'Wont be short handed.' Wont be short handed? Any team without Grissom will be short handed. It's inevitable.
"Alright?" Grissom more stated than asked, and before anyone could say anything, Grissom had turned around and left. Walking down the hallway all by himself. He walked into his office and closed the door softly.
The three remaining members of the team that was quickly eroding looked at each other with a glance that said it all. A glance, an understanding between friends that could only be derived from years of intense friendship and of all the experiences they had gone through together. Now this.
"Is he serious?" Nick asked to no one in particular as he rubbed his hand over the stubble on the lower part of his face.
A single tear slid down Catherine's cheek. She knew.