The lobby was quiet as Gerri and Sara returned to the lab. Gerri had just about made it past the front desk when the receptionist called her name. Gerri stifled a sigh and turned around to face the receptionist. Sara paused by the door into the lab and watched intently. Gerri trotted over to her holding a pink message slip.
"What's that?" Sara asked, pointing a finger at the message.
"Erin called, Jamie's having nightmares." she shook her head, "And Gil wants to have a chat with me."
Sara grinned. "You're in trouble now."
"Don't I know it. Hey, can you take care of the Fathers when they come in? I'm going to ask Gil if I can dash out of here to get Jamie settled down. After he has his chat, of course."
"Sure. Don't have too much fun." Sara smiled and went off down the opposite hall to the trace lab. Gerri headed to Grissom's office and paused outside the door. She really shouldn't have kissed him earlier. Too late for regrets now. She pushed the half closed door open and stepped into the office, closing it gently behind her. Gil sat at his desk, slightly slumped in his chair letting his orange-kneed tarantula explore his hands. Something told Gerri that he'd been doing this for a while. He looked up at her and offered the spider out to her as she came to the desk. A memory from long ago flashed before Gerri's eyes.
Gil offered the tarantula to her and she took it from him as she sat. She avoided looking at him, instead focusing all her attention on the spider. She didn't like insects, or arachnids, but the tarantula didn't really bother her for some reason. She sat in silence, hoping Gil would know why she was here. She carefully passed the spider back to Gil and watched as he placed her back in the cage. He stood and carried it over to a shelf and set it down. He returned to the chair and settled into it, meeting Gerri's eyes.
"I'm leaving, Gil." she told him, not really hearing her words.
"Why?"
"It doesn't work anymore, Gil. You and I, we're too much into our work." he opened his mouth to protest. "I received a post in Cheyenne. I'm leaving on Friday."
He was upset by this, she saw it in his eyes even thought he kept his face carefully controlled. "Wyoming? What do they have that we don't?"
She felt the tears slip from her eyes, it was tearing her heart to pieces to do this. "They don't have you, Gil." she half whispered. "It's not your fault, Gil." she placed her ID, badge, and gun on his desk and rose form her chair. She was gone from the office before he could say anything to convince her to stay. If she listened to him, she'd never leave.
Coming back to the present, Gerri took the tarantula from him and let her crawl across her hands. Grissom watched her intently. Gerri met his eyes, feeling the spider's barely-there touch on her skin.
"I'm not leaving this time, Gil." she told him, knowing that he was remembering the last conversation that had included a tarantula.
"I know." he reached out for the spider and Gerri passed her back. Gil carefully placed her in the cage, closing the lid and leaving it on the desk. "I have to ask, Gerri."
"I know. It was a passing whimsy. An urge that I followed through on. I shouldn't have, really." she offered her explanation before he asked the question. Same as always, it had been happening for thirteen years.
"I didn't say anything, Gerri, but thank you for your explanation." he looked at her, catching her slight blush. Teacher and student again, that's how it had begun. Kid in the neighborhood who had developed an interest in forensics. He had taken her under his wing, rescued her from an abusive father. If he had known how the future would turn out when she came back form college, he wouldn't have changed a thing. "How did your trip to the church go?"
"Fine, Fathers Dominick and Thomas are coming down in a bit to give us blood samples. Sara's going to handle that. I needed to ask you something too."
"That is?" he asked, slightly fearful of what she had to ask.
"I need to get home, Jamie's having nightmares again."
A nod. "Go ahead. It's quiet tonight anyway. I'll have Sara and Cath in the lab if I need anyone."
"Thanks, Gil." he stood at the same time she did, and she hesitated.
"You're not going to kiss me again are you?" he asked, seeing her hesitation.
Her eyes lit up and a grin spread across her face. "Why, Grissom, afraid you'd like it?" she turned and headed out the door. She looked back as she opened the door, Gil was standing behind his desk shaking his head. "Oh, and by the way, be nicer to Sara. She really likes you, you know." and with that, she was gone from the office. Grissom sank back into his chair and pulled an old file from the stack that sat on his desk. Wonders never ceased, especially Gerri.
*****
Gerri pulled into her driveway and noted that all the lights were on the upper level of her home. She walked up the front steps and inserted her key in the lock. She was greeted by two bouncy beagles, who were tumbling over each other in competition for her attention. She closed the door and shook her head. Jamie hadn't put them up before she went to bed. The entryway was flooded with light and Gerri saw Erin standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"I just got her to sleep, Mrs. Simms." Erin said, her voice a near whisper, not that it would've bothered anyone if she yelled down here. Jamie couldn't be awakened by anything less then an air horn three feet away. Erin often forgot that Jamie was hearing impaired, at least when the little girl was asleep. Gerri nodded and shed her jacket, hanging it in the closet.
"Okay, you can go home if you want, Erin. I'm home."
The college girl nodded and grinned. "Thanks Mrs. Simms. Do you need me tomorrow night?"
"No, Jamie's spending the night at her father's."
"Oh, okay. Goodnight then." the girl slipped through the front door, throwing a wave over her shoulder at Gerri. Gerri sighed, closing the door and wishing she were that young again. Life was so much easier then. She locked the deadbolt and headed up the stairs, with Daisy and Frank following at her heels. She looked in on Jamie and saw that the six year old was indeed asleep. She brushed a kiss against her forehead and tucked the comforter back around her. Frank stayed in the room, jumping onto the bed to curl up next to the sleeping child. Daisy trotted alongside Gerri as she headed to the master bedroom. Gerri slipped out of the black pantsuit she was wearing and removed her bra. She slipped into the warmth of her bed and patted the pillow next to her. Daisy jumped onto the bed none too gracefully and settled on the pillow. Gerri was surprised at how tired she was, and was soon asleep. She never heard the back door open and the footsteps that wandered the main level.
*****