A/N: Thank you so much for the positive response to the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

I don't own CSI.


The Teacher

"Oh, man. That is just wrong."

Gil Grissom looked up from the mutilated dead body in front of him to make eye contact with the CSI behind him.

"Are you all right, Warrick?"

Warrick Brown, who had only worked with the lab for a month, nodded. He looked a little green.

"Are you sure?" Grissom looked beyond the pallor of the younger man's face to the determination in his eyes. He saw the clear fire burning there and knew that his newest teammate would be fine.

"Yeah, I'm good," Warrick said. He swallowed. "What do you need me to do?"

"Nicky's already working the perimeter," Grissom replied. "Why don't you start fingerprinting in here?"

"All right." Warrick opened his kit, ready to get to work.

"I'm going to go check on Nick," Grissom said, standing to his feet. "Will you be all right in here?"

"Griss, I'm fingerprinting," Warrick said, giving him a look of disbelief. "How exactly am I going to run into problems?"

Grissom smiled. "I'll be outside if you need anything."

"Right," Warrick agreed, already studying the doorframe.

Grissom watched him for a moment, then went outside in search of Nick Stokes.

A CSI for nearly a year, Nick was fairly capable of handling most tasks on his own. He was crouched down in a flowerbed when Grissom found him.

"How's everything going, Nicky?"

"I've got some footprints," Nick replied. "Definitely a man's shoe … maybe size eleven?"

"Take photographs and molds," Grissom advised.

"I'm on it," Nick said, already reaching for his camera.

"Did you check that window?" Grissom asked, indicating the window above Nick's head.

"I was going to, but I found the footprints first."

Grissom nodded. "I'd say the window probably warrants a look."

"Right."

Grissom nodded. "I'm going to go check on Warrick. I'll be inside if you need me."

"Thanks, Grissom."

Grissom went back inside, where Warrick was still busy with his assigned task. He looked up when Grissom walked in.

"Find anything?"

"Plenty of prints," Warrick replied. "We'll be processing them forever."

"Let's just hope they get us somewhere," Grissom said.

As he worked with the two newest members of the team, Grissom felt a bit of relief. Both young men were already showing an aptitude for their work; he was sure they would both become invaluable in the near future. But, perhaps what relieved him the most was the fact that both were already so capable. It made what he had to do when they returned to the lab that much easier.


"Jim? Do you have a minute?"

"Sure," Jim Brass said, looking up from his paperwork. "What's on your mind?"

Grissom stepped into Brass's office, taking a seat across the desk from his supervisor. "I need to talk to you about some time off."

Brass's eyebrows shot up. "Don't tell me you're planning to take your first vacation in five years?"

"Don't be silly. I take a week off every year."

"I'm going to need to see actual records of that," Jim replied.

"Can I just make my point?" Grissom asked.

Jim smiled. "Sure. Let's hear it. What does my most dedicated CSI need time off to do?"

"I've been offered the chance to teach a seminar at Berkeley."

"A seminar?" Brass repeated. "Exactly how long will you be gone?"

"It's a six-week seminar."

"Six weeks … I suppose you've waited until the last possible moment to tell me, too."

Grissom's face turned a faint shade of pink. "I need to leave by the end of the week. Tomorrow, if I can."

"Which means that you agreed to go without talking to me."

"I didn't really think it would be a problem," Grissom said. "You've let me teach seminars before."

I know, Gil, but this is a bit different. We've got a lot going on right now, with Nick and Warrick being so new …"

"I know the timing is terrible," Grissom agreed. "I know that I've been training Nick and Warrick, and I know that leaving them is probably the worst decision I've ever made, but …"

"But, you want to go."

"Yes," Grissom said quietly.

"Why?"

Grissom looked at him in surprise. He had not expected that question. "I beg your pardon?"

"Why do you want to go? What is there to be gained from this experience?"

"I'm a teacher," he said simply with a slight shrug. "It's the same reason I volunteered to take care of everything with Nick and Warrick when they were hired. I want …" He trailed off, pausing to think.

"You want?" Brass prompted.

When Grissom spoke again, a fire was blazing in his eyes. "I've said it before, Jim. This isn't a career to me. It's far more. It's my passion. What is the point of having a passion if you can't share it? Nick and Warrick will always be here. And, once they're trained, there will be two new recruits to take their places in our department. But, to do this, to teach a seminar … I'll have the chance to touch so many minds. I'll be able to speak to them, to tell them what we do, to share my experiences with them … I hope that I'll be able to touch one of them enough to make him or her consider doing this same thing in the future.

"Don't you see? Everyday, we touch lives. That's what this is all about. This is just one other way for me to touch lives."

Jim looked at him closely. "You will be back from this seminar, right?"

"Haven't you been listening to me? This is my passion – not teaching seminars. That's just a way for me to express myself."

Jim looked at him for a long minute, then nodded. "Catherine can take care of the boys for a few weeks. It won't be a problem."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. You can leave tomorrow."

Grissom's eyes widened. "You're really sure?"

"Just make sure I get your leave request in writing by the end of the day."

"Right." Grissom stood to leave the office.

"And, Grissom?"

He turned around with his hand on the doorframe. "Yes?"

"Next time, just ask me when you get the letter."

He nodded with a smile. "I will," he promised.


"Is this for real?"

Grissom looked up from his locker to see Catherine Willows coming toward him. After years of working together, he could usually tell what she was thinking and feeling just by her stance. The way she was rapidly walking toward him told him exactly how irritated she was.

"Is what for real?" he asked.

"I just talked to Brass, who informed me that you are planning to leave us for six weeks, effective tomorrow, to go teach some seminar."

"Yes, that's true."

"And I'm in charge of training both Nick and Warrick while you're gone."

"That's up to Brass," Grissom replied, holding up his hands as if to fend off her argument.

She gave him a look of complete disgust. "You do realize that they're both Level I, right?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I noticed that during the time that I've been training them. But, Nicky's almost ready to go to Level II."

"Oh, well, doesn't that make my job so much easier," Catherine replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Catherine, what's wrong? I've never seen you upset about training the new CSIs before today."

She shook her head. "Nothing."

To anyone else, her tone would have been enough to make it painfully obvious that something was bothering her and that she wanted desperately to be asked about it. Grissom, however, would never pry into a friend's personal life. If Catherine said it was nothing, it was nothing.

He realized she was staring at him, waiting for a response. He shrugged. "If nothing's wrong, then it shouldn't be a problem."

She sat down flatly on the bench. She knew Grissom. She knew he would never ask again what was wrong. She also knew that she had to tell someone or risk exploding under the weight of it all. "Eddie and I are having problems."

Grissom sat down next to her. "Oh." Marriage was far outside his realm of understanding; he had no idea how to help his friend.

"He thinks that I spend too much time at work … that I spend too much time with you."

"We work together," Grissom said simply. "Of course, we spend a lot of time together."

Catherine rolled her eyes, amazed that he had failed to pick up on her suggestion. "Gil, he thinks that we're having an affair."

"What?" Grissom's eyes looked ready to pop out of his head. "How could he think that?"

"The whole thing is stupid," she said. "He won't believe that I'm away from home because I'm working; he thinks that I must be sleeping around. And, because you're the one I'm with the most, he thinks that I must be sleeping with you."

"I hope that you told him the truth."

"Yes, dear, I told him that you're far too socially backward to even consider sleeping with someone who's not married, let alone someone who is."

Grissom raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, all right, I'll admit it was a bit harsh, but I didn't really think it would ever get back to you. Look, the point is, working with Nick and Warrick will take a lot of extra hours. Those are hours that I'd rather spend with my family. I'm trying to cut back on the amount of time I'm here. Aside from wanting to make things work with Eddie, I want to be home with Lindsey more. I feel like I'm missing out on watching her grow up."

"Catherine, she's a toddler."

"Exactly! This is when they grow and change the most!"

Grissom shook his head, knowing that there was very little that would stop Catherine once she was on a roll. "Do you want me to talk to Eddie? I can tell him that we've never …"

Catherine shook her head. "No, I think I've got him convinced." She rolled her eyes again. "I don't know why he's so suspicious."

"But, you're sure he's okay with it? That he doesn't mind us working together?"

"I know that he knows enough not to accuse me of having an affair with you again. As for the rest … I was hoping that spending less time here and more time with him and the baby would fix that."

"Let me talk to Brass, then. He can have someone else work with Nick and Warrick while I'm gone."

Again, Catherine shook her head. "If they're going to be working with us, I want one of us to train them."

"Anything to keep them away from Ecklie, right?" Grissom grinned.

She laughed. "I don't want that man messing with our team."

"Is there anything that I can do, then? How can I help you?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. I think I have to just … I don't know." She paused. "There is one favor."

"Name it."

"Next time you decide to go away, let me know a bit ahead of time."

"I'll do my best."

"Your best? That's what I was afraid of." She smiled as she said it, taking the sting out of her words.

Knowing that their sharing time was nearly over, Grissom rose from his seat and looked down at her. "Catherine … are we all right?"

"We're fine," she smiled, standing to her feet. "We weren't ever really not fine, I guess. I just panicked when Brass told me about everything. Which reminds me – why didn't you tell me yourself?"

Grissom shrugged. "Brass is the supervisor. He hands out the assignments."

"I wasn't talking about Nick and Warrick, I was … oh, never mind."

"Hey, Grissom, I've been looking for you."

Both Grissom and Catherine looked up as Nick walked into the locker room.

"What do you need, Nick?" Grissom asked.

"I checked out that window, like you told me to, and I found hair and some fibers. I sent the fibers to trace, who found blood on them."

"Have they been sent to DNA?"

"Yeah. Once they have a profile, we're going to cross-reference it with the fingerprints Warrick found."

"You're hoping for a lot there, Nicky," Catherine commented.

"Yeah, but I think we've gotten more from less before," Nick said.

"You have to exhaust every avenue," Grissom said.

"Right," Nick smiled, looking rather proud of all that he and Warrick had managed to accomplish.

Grissom nodded. "Listen, Nicky, you're going to have to report to Catherine on this case from now on."

"What?" Nick asked, his eyes widening both at the words and the abrupt change of subject. "Brass took you off the case?"

"I took myself off," Grissom corrected. "I'm going to be out of town for the next six weeks."

"What?" Nick asked again, his jaw dropping. "Why?"

"Seminar," Grissom replied. "I'll be back in six weeks, but, until then, you will report to Catherine."

Nick's eyes swung to Catherine, looking for confirmation.

"Yup," she nodded. "I'm your new Grissom for the time being."

"All right," Nick said. "When do you leave, Grissom?"

"Tomorrow," Grissom replied.

"Well, I feel loved," Nick teased. "Nothing like being the last to know."

"Warrick doesn't know yet," Grissom said, "so you're not the last."

"I've known for about twenty minutes," Catherine said.

Nick shook his head. "Well … um … all right, then. I'm going to go see if DNA got anything on my blood and hair …"

"See you, Nicky," Grissom said. He winked at Catherine. "You be good for Cath, okay?"

Nick laughed, shaking his head again. "You got it."

"Well, that went well," Grissom said to Catherine as they watched Nick walk away.

"Socially backward," she said with a shake of her head.

"What?"

"Nothing," she sighed. "Have a good trip, Grissom."

"Thank you," he said. "I'll write."

"No, you won't," she grinned.

"All right, you're right," he agreed. "I'll tell you about it when I get back."

"That I somewhat believe."

He grinned. "Good bye, Catherine."

"Bye," she replied with a smile and yet another shake of her head. "I'll see you in six weeks."

"See you then."


In many ways, the plane ride from Nevada to California was therapeutic. Grissom found himself using the time to let his thoughts completely unwind and reorganize. A new role awaited him; he was eager to fill it.

All too soon, yet not soon enough, they arrived. Grissom stepped out of the jet way and took a deep breath. He smiled at the familiar smells that assaulted his senses. As much as Las Vegas was home, he had missed California.

He looked around for the small woman that he knew would be bouncing on the balls of her feet, trying to find him in the line of passengers who were deplaning. Finally seeing her waving frantically, he shouldered his carry-on bag and crossed the waiting area to sweep her into his arms.

His mother patted his cheeks when he released her, then kissed them. He grinned, kissing her cheek in reply. Her hands began to move rapidly, but he grabbed them, silencing her.

I need to get my luggage, he signed. Can we talk once we get to baggage claim?

His mother nodded, still beaming. She looped her arm through his, and walked him to the baggage claim area.


Grissom spent two days with his mother before taking up residence in the small apartment the university had provided for him. That only gave him one day to settle in before his seminar began, but he wasn't too concerned. He would be there for six weeks; there was no need to have everything unpacked by the end of the first day. After unpacking the books that he would need for his lectures, he knew that he could not spend another moment inside.

Stepping outside was like stepping into another world. As close as the two places were, there were so many differences between his native California and Nevada. Knowing that the grocery store should be his first stop, he decided to postpone his shopping trip and take a walk around the Berkeley campus.

The students scurried from one place to another, carrying bags full of books and notebooks. They chatted and called out to friends, most with cheery smiles on their faces. Grissom couldn't help but smile as he watched them. For some reason, they made him think of Nick and Warrick.

He loved teaching the new CSIs. His one regret in leaving to teach the seminar was that he would miss out on time spent teaching Warrick and Nick. Even so, there was something about teaching seminars that called to him. He loved speaking to students who had almost no knowledge of his subject area. Awakening them to forensics and entomology was one of his greatest joys.

After taking the longest way possible, he managed to find the grocery store. He picked up the essentials for the next few days, then trudged back to his temporary home. Arranging his kitchen took some time; once it was in order, he looked at his waiting luggage.

He had planned to unpack once he got home. However, he knew that he had to prepare for his lecture the next day. He sat down at his desk to go over his notes again.

The unpacking could wait.