Hair
Part 3
"So, Greg," Grissom said suddenly, "What can you tell me about the body?"
For a confusing second, Greg didn't know whose body Grissom was talking about. But Grissom was looking at the dead man, and so did he.
"He doesn't have beard," Greg blurted out, then winced. It wasn't the right thing to say, but Grissom merely nodded.
"Uh, huh," he said, "What else?"
Greg studied the dead man and for the next five minutes he made a pretty accurate description of the body and the crime scene in general.
Grissom nodded now and then.
"Very good," he said. He looked up and gave the morgue attendants the go-ahead to remove the body. After they were gone, he hunched down to study the ground.
"It still stinks," Greg muttered.
Grissom nodded.
"See this?" he asked, pointing at the dark stain left by the victim, "Fluids from a decomposing body leak into the ground," he explained. He looked up at Greg. "We're gonna have to take some samples. If there was poison involved in the death of this man, there's a strong possibility that we'll find traces of it in the soil."
Greg immediately set out to scoop out small amounts of dirt.
"What about the ants?" Greg asked, as the tiny insects crawled all over his hand.
"We'll take a few," Gil nodded, "Insects who live underground can provide us with clues even if they never come into direct contact with a body."
Greg finished taking the samples and when he looked up, he found that Grissom was looking at him.
"We're finished here," Grissom said. "You drive," he added, tossing him the car keys.
Greg caught the keys in mid-air and then smiled to himself. He felt that by letting him drive, Grissom was somehow approving his work so far.
-----
The drive back to the lab was a quiet one. The minute he got behind the wheel, Greg had decided to keep his mouth shut and his eyes on the road. Considering his current problems, he believed it was the safest course to take.
The safest... but not easiest, he thought ruefully. Driving like this went against his own nature. Even when traffic was difficult, he liked to look around and talk -and talk.
If Grissom only knew the effort he was putting in this... Thinking of Grissom made him involuntarily glance in his boss' direction.
Grissom was reading a book, apparently oblivious to his surroundings.
It suddenly dawned on Greg that Grissom was too quiet this morning. He wasn't exactly the talkative type, but it wasn't like him to be this silent, either. By this time, he should have at least made some comment about their case.
As if on cue, Grissom looked up and stared at the road ahead.
"There," he said, pointing at a large sign looming in the distance. It was a Loving Bear Donuts coffee shop sign. "Let's grab a cup of coffee," he said, then added ominously, "We need to talk."
----
A while later, they settled in a corner booth with cups of coffee and donuts (Greg) and fruit salad, (Grissom).
Aware that Grissom was looking at him, Greg poured all three packets of sugar into his coffee and then looked up. He was expecting Grissom to make some sort of comment about the sugar but Grissom merely raised an eyebrow, then turned his attention back to his fruit salad. He poked at it with a fork but didn't seem too eager to eat it. The fruit had been dyed with bright colors; it looked pretty, but completely unappetizing.
Greg glanced at the salad, then at Grissom.
"I bet there are less chemicals in a donut than in that salad."
"Probably," Grissom nodded ruefully.
"You want one?" Greg asked cordially, pushing his plate towards Grissom.
They ate in companionable silence for a while. Then Grissom cleared his throat.
"Greg," he started, "A couple of months ago you told me you wanted to become a CSI." He waited until he got a casual nod from Greg, "Has anything changed since then?"
Greg shook his head no, but to his surprise, Grissom didn't seem convinced.
"I haven't changed my mind," Greg said slowly. "I still want to be a CSI."
"Good," Grissom said simply. "Then maybe it's time for me to tell you a few things about this job." He leant on the table, "Being a CSI isn't easy Greg. Wanting it isn't enough; you've got to be willing to make some sacrifices too."
"I know that," Greg started but Grissom raised a hand.
"I'm not talking about the pay-cut or even about the overtime," he said, "This is a stressful occupation, Greg. When a CSI is on call, he was to put aside friends and family. And it's harder for those in the night shift, " he added, "Did you know that the average crime scene investigator lasts only ten years on the job? Some end up applying for desk jobs, others leave the field altogether -"
"You've lasted longer than ten years."
"Yes, but let's face it, I don't have a family or friends demanding my attention."
Greg raised his eyebrows. Grissom rarely spoke about himself so candidly.
"My point is," Grissom continued, "If you don't think you can handle the added responsibilities of a field job… Then it's all right. You do a great job at the lab and I'd rather have you there than on the field, doing a half-assed job."
"What are you talking about?" Greg asked indignantly, "I've never done a half-assed job -"
"And I don't want you to start now," Gil said quietly. He paused for a moment, then added, "You've been distracted, lately,"
Greg's first impulse was to deny it, but under Grissom's blue stare, he found himself nodding.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I have. It's just -" he looked down just in time.
He had to think fast. He knew Grissom would not leave this alone till he got an answer.
"There's something I need to sort out," he said slowly, "Something personal," he added deliberately, knowing how much Grissom disliked getting involved in his coworkers' personal lives.
"Personal," Grissom repeated slowly. He hesitated, then picked up his cup and rose to get a refill.
'Bingo,' Greg thought with some amusement as his boss walked away. He watched Grissom turn on the charm for the girl behind the counter, then return with more coffee.
Before he could stop himself, Greg blurted out, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Why did you grow the beard?"
Grissom raised one eyebrow. Clearly, that wasn't the question he was expecting. He scratched his cheek in a distracted gesture.
"It wasn't a conscious decision," he said. "I just stopped shaving one day."
"So, it wasn't because somebody asked you to?"
Grissom frowned almost imperceptibly.
"Somebody?"
"Yeah. You know. A girlfriend...?"
Gil stared blankly at him.
"- Or a boyfriend," Greg added bravely. He held his breath while he waited for a reply.
Gil's expression didn't change. He didn't answer either.
Greg smiled faintly.
"See, that's what I like about you. Anyone else would have smashed my face for asking that kind of question. But not you."
"I don't mind people asking me questions," Gil shrugged. "It's up to me to answer, anyway." He looked at Greg in the eye. "Now let me ask you a question. Why didn't you want to come to the desert?"
"I told you," Greg said uncomfortably, "There were some DNA samples I wanted to-"
Grissom shook his head.
"I don't believe that," he said quietly. "There's got to be some other reason." When Greg didn't reply, he added, "Look. I know how it is. Back in the lab, you set your own pace and you get to choose which case you'll be working on first. You can choose Sara's case over Nick's if you want. But when you're a CSI, you don't get to choose; you do the case you're assigned to -"
"I know that," Greg replied but Gil ignored him.
"- and those cases are always messy," he said, "We can't always work in nice neighborhoods, Greg; sometimes we have to work in dumpsters, or in the desert," he added pointedly. "That's the job and we all have to do our fair share. You've been putting all sort of excuses not to work on these cases lately, so I need to know if it's going to be a problem -"
"That's not true," Greg interrupted, "I worked at a dumpster with Warrick last week-"
"But you didn't want to work the Trenton case," Grissom countered, "And then today -" he paused, as if a sudden thought had occurred to him.
His brow furrowed for a couple of seconds, then cleared.
"It's not the cases you've been avoiding," he said slowly, "It's me."
---
TBC