TITLE: Incomprehensible Moon
AUTHOR: Devanie Maxwell
RATING: PG-13
CATEGORY: VH; G/S UST
SPOILERS: None
SUMMARY: When Sara goes to Grissom for help on a case the two have a rather improbable conversation.
DISCLAIMER: CSI belongs to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis. I'm borrowing them because everyone needs a good board game once in awhile.
NOTES: This is the result of a challenge given to me by Amber/Minttown1. The elements included:
1. An answering machine message, either incoming or outgoing. | 2. A wood chipper and/or meteor/meteor shower. | 3. Star Trek or Star Wars or Dungeons and Dragons. | 4. The word "acetaminophen" in a simile or metaphor in narration or dialogue.
BONUS: Try to sneak in relevant pop lyrics.
Definitely a challenge. The title itself is as random as the story. Shepard Smith used the phrase during his newscast on FNC; somehow it became the title of this exercise in free-writing. :o)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been a long day.
It had been an even longer week.
Grissom had closed three cases in three days. He had worked two homicides and a burglary with Nick and -- despite that-- they had been solved in rather short order. While normally that would provide him with the sense of efficency that he thrived on, now he just wanted to relax in the sanctity of his townhouse. He threw his keys on the counter before visiting the spiders in their habitat next to the breakfast nook. He dropped some pellets into the cage; the arachnids seemed to look up accusingly and made short work of their dinner.
Slipping his shoes off neatly next to the couch, he sat down with a heavy sigh. He wasn't on call, so he silenced his cell phone and pager. There was a dull pounding in his head, but nothing that a nap wouldn't cure. Before closing his eyes he grabbed the stereo remote. Soft classical music wafted out of the stereo's speakers. Grissom sighed. There was peace, There was ambience, And there was someone knocking at the door. Rolling his eyes up at the ceiling he sat a few moments, hoping that whomever had chosen to interrupt his solitude might go away. His hopes were dashed when not only did the knocking continue, but at a much louder and more rapid pace.
He grimaced at the door and rose to answer it. As he got closer the knocking only got louder. "Okay, okay." He raised his voice above the din. He looked through the peephole, surprised by who he saw at the other end. He unchained the door.
"Sara."
"Hey, Grissom." She said, much too brightly for Grissom's mood. She apparently hadn't come straight from work; she was clad in jeans and a black Harvard t-shirt. She was also holding a small box. Between her surprise appearance and her atypical attire Grissom wore the expression he generally reserved for one of his experiments gone awry. Regardless, Sara must have taken that as some kind of acknowledgment. "I brought over my notes on the 419."
Grissom's face remained blank.
"The 419 you said you would help me go over the chain of custody with?"
Still blank.
"I told you I'd bring them by so you could look them over..." Sara trailed off.
"Ah. Yes. I'd forgotten. It's been a long day." He rewarded her with a smile for her efforts and gestured down the hall outside. "Thanks for bringing these by. I'm glad..."
"Is that a Papilio Lepidoptera?" Sara was now craning her neck to see the wall farthest from the door.
Grissom looked behind him. "Yes. How did you know that?"
Sara just smiled, this time with teeth. "Can I see?"
"I don't know..." He started to respond with a quick excuse, but Sara was already halfway across the living room."...why not."
He followed and stood next to her as she looked at his butterfly wall mountings. "That's a really cool one." She pointed to a brightly colored specimen near the ceiling.
Trying to temper Sara's enthusiasm was like taking acetaminophen for a migraine. Neither was was really effective and both still resulted in headaches. "That's a Danaus plexippus."
"I've never seen one of those."
Grissom was feeling more alert now. "It's a species predominantly found on the east coast. It feeds on milkweed."
Sara nodded; she seemed genuinely curious. He smiled in spite of his earlier bad mood. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"What do you have?"
"Water, juice, iced tea. I'm going for wine myself. Long day."
"That sounds good."
He was afraid of that.
He moved to the kitchen, taking two glasses from the rack on the island. He watched her move about his living room, looking at the books lining the shelves. He found himself staring and nearly dropped one of the glasses. He didn't know why her presence there suddenly made him nervous. Catherine came over on a semi-regular basis and he felt at ease then. Of course, Catherine was an old friend. Sara was Sara. He didn't know how to classify her.
Sara had moved on to the videos. "Grissom, I can't believe you have a copy of Star Trek four."
"I like whales." He crossed the room and handed her the wine. "What did you think I would have?"
"That Discovery Channel series on nomadic bug swarms, or something."
"Nomadic bug swarms?"
"I made that up."
She walked to the other wall now, looking at the only sign of life in the room outside the tarantulas off the kitchen. "Nice plant."
"Look familiar?"
"A little." She tossed him a quick grin.
"Orchids are hard to care for. How is yours holding up?"
"Gregor is well. He sends his regards."
Grissom couldn't tell if Sara was just being flippant or if the wine had gone straight to her head. "Gregor?"
"I named my plant Gregor, from Metamorphosis. The human bug." Sara looked genuinely amused with herself.
"That's very funny, Sara." Grissom said drily. "Never would have taken you for a Kafka fan."
Sara's smile got bigger. Grissom couldn't help but smile back. They stood in silence for a few moments.
"I'm glad the plant worked."
She looked at him, then at the floor. "It wasn't the plant, really. It was the meaning behind the plant. I was acting impetuously and...at that particular moment it helped me to be patient."
He nodded. He opened his mouth to respond, but she had already moved back towards the kitchen. She stopped at the tarantula enclosure. She bent and looked through the glass. "Who are these little guys?"
"Nick and Warrick."
Sara burst out with a short laugh. "You're kidding."
Grissom merely shook his head. He gestured to the wine bottle. "More?"
"I'm good, thanks. I will admit that I'm rather offended I don't warrant my own spider, though."
He motioned her to follow him into the hallway towards the back of the room. There she saw a small aquarium casting a glow against the wall. He hovered his hand around her back and steered her closer to the tank. "Sara, meet Catherine and...Sara."
She up at him, truly surprised. "I can't believe you name pets after your staff."
He shrugged. "I can't believe you name plants after surrealistic dead authors."
"I named it after a surrealistic dead author's character." She focused her attention back at the fish. "Which one is me?"
He pointed to a black fish with silver stripes; its fins were long and delicate. "That's you. It's called a silver angelfish."
"I'm touched."
"Don't be. It's the most hard to care for, sensitive fish I've ever had." He said, deadpan.
"Oh, you're hilarious." She looked closer. "Why am I missing a fin?"
"That brings us to Catherine." Grissom directed her gaze to the corner of the tank. "She's the red-tailed shark."
"Catherine ripped my fin off?"
"Catherine can get tempermental. You generally get along though. She's just a tad agressive at feeding time."
Sara laughed and bit her lip to restrain her almost instinctive comeback. She straightened and walked back into the living room. She caught motion out of the corner of her eye. "What's that?" She asked, moving to the window.
Grissom slid open the door to the balcony and stepped outside into the cool desert night. "It's a meteor shower."
"Wow. I'm surprised we can see it with all the lights in this area."
They watched in silence for a long time; the only sound was the traffic noise from the street below. Sara was the first to speak. "That's beautiful." She looked at Grissom to see that his eyes were already on her.
"Yes." Their close proximity to each other was charging the moment, but neither looked away. With their faces just inches apart Sara made an impulsive decision to close the distance. She could feel Grissom's breath on her lips just as the phone rang. The moment broken, Grissom took a step towards the door, looking somewhat chagrined. Sara swept her hair from where it had fallen into her face. She followed him back in.
Grissom had barely reached the phone when the machine picked up. He decided to let the recorded greeting play. After the tone he was both relieved and disappointed to hear Brass' voice.
"Grissom, I hate to interrupt your night off, but Ecklie just called in an all hands. We have a shooting with multiple vics near the Bellagio fountain. Don't stop by the lab; Cat, Nick, and Warrick are already en route. I haven't been able to reach Sara. Maybe you'll have better luck." Grissom looked at Sara, who just smirked. "Thanks, Gris." Brass had hung up.
"I guess we'd better go." Sara was having trouble making eye contact now.
"I'll drive. You can pick up your car here later." Grissom watched her as she headed to the door. "And Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"Angelfish can be sensitive and difficult to understand, but they are also the most beautiful."
She met his eyes briefly and smiled, then turned and walked out the door. Grissom grabbed his keys off the counter and followed right behind her. No matter how improbably this night had started, he was glad he had answered the door.
FIN
Thanks for reading this. I did manage to fulfill the challenge. Where's my cookie? I'm sorry if Gris and Sara seem a bit out of character, but what's the point of a fic challenge if it's not challenging? :o) Also a great big shoutout to the people in the "Sara the Science Geek" thread at Televisionwithoutpity.com with the Gregor. I just put my own twisted spin on it. Also, I did answer the bonus in a round about way. A line from Alanis' That Particular Time makes an appearance in this story. Here's an excerpt:
my foundation was rocked my tried and true way to deal was to vanish
my departures were old I stood in the room shaking in my boots
at that particular time love had challenged me to stay
at that particular moment I knew not run away again
that particular month I was ready to investigate with you
at that particular time
we thought a break would be good for four months we sat and vacillated
we thought a small time apart would clear up the doubts that were abounding
at that particular time love encouraged me to wait
at that particular moment it helped me to be patient
that particular month we needed time to marinate in what "us" meant
I just find that a really fitting song for the events of Burden of Proof. I wanted to pay homage to it somehow, but I have never been able to write a songfic effectively.
Thanks again-- hope this wasn't too off.
And Amber, there's a gift for you in the first paragraph. ;o)
AUTHOR: Devanie Maxwell
RATING: PG-13
CATEGORY: VH; G/S UST
SPOILERS: None
SUMMARY: When Sara goes to Grissom for help on a case the two have a rather improbable conversation.
DISCLAIMER: CSI belongs to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis. I'm borrowing them because everyone needs a good board game once in awhile.
NOTES: This is the result of a challenge given to me by Amber/Minttown1. The elements included:
1. An answering machine message, either incoming or outgoing. | 2. A wood chipper and/or meteor/meteor shower. | 3. Star Trek or Star Wars or Dungeons and Dragons. | 4. The word "acetaminophen" in a simile or metaphor in narration or dialogue.
BONUS: Try to sneak in relevant pop lyrics.
Definitely a challenge. The title itself is as random as the story. Shepard Smith used the phrase during his newscast on FNC; somehow it became the title of this exercise in free-writing. :o)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been a long day.
It had been an even longer week.
Grissom had closed three cases in three days. He had worked two homicides and a burglary with Nick and -- despite that-- they had been solved in rather short order. While normally that would provide him with the sense of efficency that he thrived on, now he just wanted to relax in the sanctity of his townhouse. He threw his keys on the counter before visiting the spiders in their habitat next to the breakfast nook. He dropped some pellets into the cage; the arachnids seemed to look up accusingly and made short work of their dinner.
Slipping his shoes off neatly next to the couch, he sat down with a heavy sigh. He wasn't on call, so he silenced his cell phone and pager. There was a dull pounding in his head, but nothing that a nap wouldn't cure. Before closing his eyes he grabbed the stereo remote. Soft classical music wafted out of the stereo's speakers. Grissom sighed. There was peace, There was ambience, And there was someone knocking at the door. Rolling his eyes up at the ceiling he sat a few moments, hoping that whomever had chosen to interrupt his solitude might go away. His hopes were dashed when not only did the knocking continue, but at a much louder and more rapid pace.
He grimaced at the door and rose to answer it. As he got closer the knocking only got louder. "Okay, okay." He raised his voice above the din. He looked through the peephole, surprised by who he saw at the other end. He unchained the door.
"Sara."
"Hey, Grissom." She said, much too brightly for Grissom's mood. She apparently hadn't come straight from work; she was clad in jeans and a black Harvard t-shirt. She was also holding a small box. Between her surprise appearance and her atypical attire Grissom wore the expression he generally reserved for one of his experiments gone awry. Regardless, Sara must have taken that as some kind of acknowledgment. "I brought over my notes on the 419."
Grissom's face remained blank.
"The 419 you said you would help me go over the chain of custody with?"
Still blank.
"I told you I'd bring them by so you could look them over..." Sara trailed off.
"Ah. Yes. I'd forgotten. It's been a long day." He rewarded her with a smile for her efforts and gestured down the hall outside. "Thanks for bringing these by. I'm glad..."
"Is that a Papilio Lepidoptera?" Sara was now craning her neck to see the wall farthest from the door.
Grissom looked behind him. "Yes. How did you know that?"
Sara just smiled, this time with teeth. "Can I see?"
"I don't know..." He started to respond with a quick excuse, but Sara was already halfway across the living room."...why not."
He followed and stood next to her as she looked at his butterfly wall mountings. "That's a really cool one." She pointed to a brightly colored specimen near the ceiling.
Trying to temper Sara's enthusiasm was like taking acetaminophen for a migraine. Neither was was really effective and both still resulted in headaches. "That's a Danaus plexippus."
"I've never seen one of those."
Grissom was feeling more alert now. "It's a species predominantly found on the east coast. It feeds on milkweed."
Sara nodded; she seemed genuinely curious. He smiled in spite of his earlier bad mood. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"What do you have?"
"Water, juice, iced tea. I'm going for wine myself. Long day."
"That sounds good."
He was afraid of that.
He moved to the kitchen, taking two glasses from the rack on the island. He watched her move about his living room, looking at the books lining the shelves. He found himself staring and nearly dropped one of the glasses. He didn't know why her presence there suddenly made him nervous. Catherine came over on a semi-regular basis and he felt at ease then. Of course, Catherine was an old friend. Sara was Sara. He didn't know how to classify her.
Sara had moved on to the videos. "Grissom, I can't believe you have a copy of Star Trek four."
"I like whales." He crossed the room and handed her the wine. "What did you think I would have?"
"That Discovery Channel series on nomadic bug swarms, or something."
"Nomadic bug swarms?"
"I made that up."
She walked to the other wall now, looking at the only sign of life in the room outside the tarantulas off the kitchen. "Nice plant."
"Look familiar?"
"A little." She tossed him a quick grin.
"Orchids are hard to care for. How is yours holding up?"
"Gregor is well. He sends his regards."
Grissom couldn't tell if Sara was just being flippant or if the wine had gone straight to her head. "Gregor?"
"I named my plant Gregor, from Metamorphosis. The human bug." Sara looked genuinely amused with herself.
"That's very funny, Sara." Grissom said drily. "Never would have taken you for a Kafka fan."
Sara's smile got bigger. Grissom couldn't help but smile back. They stood in silence for a few moments.
"I'm glad the plant worked."
She looked at him, then at the floor. "It wasn't the plant, really. It was the meaning behind the plant. I was acting impetuously and...at that particular moment it helped me to be patient."
He nodded. He opened his mouth to respond, but she had already moved back towards the kitchen. She stopped at the tarantula enclosure. She bent and looked through the glass. "Who are these little guys?"
"Nick and Warrick."
Sara burst out with a short laugh. "You're kidding."
Grissom merely shook his head. He gestured to the wine bottle. "More?"
"I'm good, thanks. I will admit that I'm rather offended I don't warrant my own spider, though."
He motioned her to follow him into the hallway towards the back of the room. There she saw a small aquarium casting a glow against the wall. He hovered his hand around her back and steered her closer to the tank. "Sara, meet Catherine and...Sara."
She up at him, truly surprised. "I can't believe you name pets after your staff."
He shrugged. "I can't believe you name plants after surrealistic dead authors."
"I named it after a surrealistic dead author's character." She focused her attention back at the fish. "Which one is me?"
He pointed to a black fish with silver stripes; its fins were long and delicate. "That's you. It's called a silver angelfish."
"I'm touched."
"Don't be. It's the most hard to care for, sensitive fish I've ever had." He said, deadpan.
"Oh, you're hilarious." She looked closer. "Why am I missing a fin?"
"That brings us to Catherine." Grissom directed her gaze to the corner of the tank. "She's the red-tailed shark."
"Catherine ripped my fin off?"
"Catherine can get tempermental. You generally get along though. She's just a tad agressive at feeding time."
Sara laughed and bit her lip to restrain her almost instinctive comeback. She straightened and walked back into the living room. She caught motion out of the corner of her eye. "What's that?" She asked, moving to the window.
Grissom slid open the door to the balcony and stepped outside into the cool desert night. "It's a meteor shower."
"Wow. I'm surprised we can see it with all the lights in this area."
They watched in silence for a long time; the only sound was the traffic noise from the street below. Sara was the first to speak. "That's beautiful." She looked at Grissom to see that his eyes were already on her.
"Yes." Their close proximity to each other was charging the moment, but neither looked away. With their faces just inches apart Sara made an impulsive decision to close the distance. She could feel Grissom's breath on her lips just as the phone rang. The moment broken, Grissom took a step towards the door, looking somewhat chagrined. Sara swept her hair from where it had fallen into her face. She followed him back in.
Grissom had barely reached the phone when the machine picked up. He decided to let the recorded greeting play. After the tone he was both relieved and disappointed to hear Brass' voice.
"Grissom, I hate to interrupt your night off, but Ecklie just called in an all hands. We have a shooting with multiple vics near the Bellagio fountain. Don't stop by the lab; Cat, Nick, and Warrick are already en route. I haven't been able to reach Sara. Maybe you'll have better luck." Grissom looked at Sara, who just smirked. "Thanks, Gris." Brass had hung up.
"I guess we'd better go." Sara was having trouble making eye contact now.
"I'll drive. You can pick up your car here later." Grissom watched her as she headed to the door. "And Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"Angelfish can be sensitive and difficult to understand, but they are also the most beautiful."
She met his eyes briefly and smiled, then turned and walked out the door. Grissom grabbed his keys off the counter and followed right behind her. No matter how improbably this night had started, he was glad he had answered the door.
FIN
Thanks for reading this. I did manage to fulfill the challenge. Where's my cookie? I'm sorry if Gris and Sara seem a bit out of character, but what's the point of a fic challenge if it's not challenging? :o) Also a great big shoutout to the people in the "Sara the Science Geek" thread at Televisionwithoutpity.com with the Gregor. I just put my own twisted spin on it. Also, I did answer the bonus in a round about way. A line from Alanis' That Particular Time makes an appearance in this story. Here's an excerpt:
my foundation was rocked my tried and true way to deal was to vanish
my departures were old I stood in the room shaking in my boots
at that particular time love had challenged me to stay
at that particular moment I knew not run away again
that particular month I was ready to investigate with you
at that particular time
we thought a break would be good for four months we sat and vacillated
we thought a small time apart would clear up the doubts that were abounding
at that particular time love encouraged me to wait
at that particular moment it helped me to be patient
that particular month we needed time to marinate in what "us" meant
I just find that a really fitting song for the events of Burden of Proof. I wanted to pay homage to it somehow, but I have never been able to write a songfic effectively.
Thanks again-- hope this wasn't too off.
And Amber, there's a gift for you in the first paragraph. ;o)