"You want my what?" the wide eyed strawberry blonde asked him in a tone of voice that seemed to that challenge his sanity.
"A pint of your blood," he answered in his most reasonable voice. At least he hoped he sounded reasonable. Ever since he had been introduced to the rookie CSI at the beginning of the shift, Gil Grissom had felt anything but reasonable. He'd worked with plenty of female CSIs, but never one this beautiful or this genuinely sexy. The young woman just oozed sex appeal. Rarely did he find himself so attracted to a woman that he lost his ability to focus, but standing in his office with her, his mind was in a fog.
"What, are you a vampire or something? Why do you need my blood?" the feisty rookie shot back at him.
Gil Grissom was stunned. He stood there, his mouth slightly open, his eyes wide and, to her at least, looking all the world like an innocent little boy. She saw his shock at her verbal spar and made a mental note to herself. Easy Catherine, this isn't The Palace. You don't need to protect yourself form him….not like that anyway."
Struggling for mental clarity, he finally was able to clear the fog from his brain and reply. "So many reasons." A small smile worked at the corners of his mouth and there was a note of triumph in his eyes, she saw.
"Oh," she said meekly. Tone it down sister or you're gonna get your ass tossed out the door before you ever collect your first paycheck. "All your new hires give you blood?" she asked.
"Yes, they do." His smile grew. Need to remember that line for when they ask. It seems to work well….
"Okay then, I suppose it won't kill me."
"I promise to be gentle." His voice was quiet and reassuring as he went about the task of drawing blood. "Did you request graveyard or were you just assigned to it. Because I know there was also an opening on Swing."
"I requested it," she said as she watched him. He was being very gentle. "I, um…I'm used to the hours."
"Oh? You worked nights at your previous job?"
"Yeah…so what do I do now? I mean, do we sit around and wait for a call or what?"
"Well, for tonight you just watch. You'll be with me. As the senior CSI on this shift, I usually get the toughest calls, so not all nights will be as challenging as this one. Our case," he said as he picked up a folder from his desk, "is a multiple homicide. The vics are in the morgue and the coroner is waiting for us."
"The coroner is waiting?"
"Yeah…you know, the autopsy."
Catherine Willows swallowed and followed him out of his office. Great, dead people first thing….
The night passed quickly for Catherine. The morgue had been tough but she had at least managed to keep her dinner down. She noticed that when they had finished and were leaving, he seemed to look at her with an expression of approval. For some reason that she didn't understand, his approval meant a lot to her.
She had gone with him to the crime scene and shadowed him as he moved through the house. At first he seemed deep in thought but after a few minutes, he began to talk to her, asking questions. Asking her what she saw or what she thought. Wow, nobody at The Palace gave a rat's ass what you thought or saw. All they cared is that you danced. As the night wore on, his questions and his approving looks meant more and more to her. For the first time in her life, someone cared what she thought. It was new territory and she found the experience quite heady.
As the shift concluded, he looked across the layout table at her. "So what did you think of your first night?"
She looked into his lively blue eyes and saw his excitement. He loved his job and he loved sharing it. "It was awesome," she exclaimed.
He looked down at the table and then back up to her face. In contrast to her excitement, he spoke with a subdued tone. "I, um…usually take a rookie to breakfast after their first night, but I imagine you want to get home to your husband?"
She contemplated his shy gaze and realized she was being offered a gift. And Eddie is probably still asleep anyway, if he is at home at all. "Breakfast would be wonderful," she replied. "Eddie, my husband, is in the music business and is out very late with his clients. I imagine he's still asleep."
Gil swallowed as he watched her expression. She was telling half truths about her husband. The guy's fool. A man would have to be,not be to be waiting for her to come home to him. "Great. I'll meet you in the reception area in ten minutes, then." He smiled and abruptly left the room. Catherine shook her head. She'd never seen anyone just disappear like that before.
They went down the street to a breakfast house. After ordering, they settled into conversation. Catherine began because it had become obvious to her through the night that he could go for hours without talking to anyone.
"So, how long have you been at the lab?" she asked him. Should be safe territory…
"A few years," he answered with the mystery of a woman that had just been asked her age.
"And before the lab? It seemed to me in the morgue that you could have done the coroner's job, and probably better."
"Oh," he looked a little surprised. "I thought I was being careful about that." His brows furrowed and his gaze went to someplace inside his mind.
"Careful about what?" She asked.
"I was a corner in L.A. County before I got decided to become a criminalist. Sometimes I get a little too involved in the autopsies for the coroner's comfort."
"You were? Weren't you awfully young for that job?"
He seemed to shrug but she didn't see any body parts move. "I suppose I was…." He had that far away look again. Then suddenly he was back at the table with her.
"So why the change?" She asked with genuine curiosity.
His eyes warmed to her sincere interest. "I did get into the morgue early. I was an unofficial intern as a teenager and worked there all through college. As soon as I had the academic credentials, I applied for a slot that had opened and got it. But after a few years, the puzzle of what killed them just wasn't enough anymore. I wanted to know the how and sometimes even the why of it. For me, forensics is like a puzzle….and I like puzzles."
"That's kind of the way I see it," she said enthusiastically. "A big puzzle and now I get to be the kid that puts the pieces together to form the picture."
He saw the animation in her expression and knew that she wasn't just talking to impress the boss. She meant what she said. "You made some intelligent observations tonight, Catherine. You still have much to learn but I have no doubt that you will…as Francis Bacon said, 'Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.' And you seem to have a mind full of questions."
She looked at him in astonishment. He thinks I'm intelligent…and he believes I can learn all of this. I mean, I know I can but no one else ever thought so. And most people don't like all my questions. He sees them as an asset. Having always been admired for her body but never her mind, Catherine's self-confidence always depended on her physical appearance. She had seen him glance at her a few times during the night with a look that told her he did indeed appreciate her physical attributes, but now he was sitting across from her and admiring her mental ones.
"I know I'm going to be good at this job," she said with a new found confidence.
He smiled at her. My god, she is so fiery and full of life. She'll be a challenge. "Good. I'm looking forward to watching you grow into a good forensic scientist."
It was a pat response, she realized. Probably says that to all the new hires. "Oh, I'll be better than good," she smirked. "I'll be as good as you one day, maybe even do your job."
She was smiling at him but in her smile he saw daring. "Of that, I have no doubt," he replied assuredly.
Their conversation continued around things at the lab. She did manage to ask if he had a family and received a cryptic answer that she thought meant no. He asked a question about Eddie and she changed the subject.
Gil Grissom observed everything. That's what made him good at his job. Her avoidance of her husband as a topic of conversation wasn't lost on him. Filing it away for future consideration, he followed her into the new avenue of conversation.
As they were walking out of the door into the sunlight, she thanked him for breakfast. "Oh, it's a tradition," he responded. Need to be sure it becomes one…. "See you tonight."
"Yeah…you will," she smiled and waved as she walked to her car.
---------------------------------------------------
"Happy the man who has been able to learn the causes of things." Virgil
Reviews cause more writing:-) (Hint, hint.)