Disclaimer: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me. The characters are full of inspiration, intelligence, and intrigue that I can't help but borrow them a short while. I heartily enjoy the show and its premise. The events of this story are mine, but the characters are definitely not.
Author's Note: This is for b8kworm. Thank you for watching CSI in the first place. Thank you for getting me hooked. You know that I'll make you sorry for it.
Archives: ShipperworldCSI, Working Love, mine. Anybody else, email me. I like to go visiting.
Pairing(s): Gil/Catherine
Spoiler: "Revenge Is Best Served Cold"
***** ***** *****Title: To Lose Control
Author: Laeta
E-mail: ladylaeta@yahoo.com
Chapter 3: Tse X2
"Take your time. We're in no rush." With a nod, Grissom dismissed the mechanic to do his job.
Turning, he was about three meters away from Catherine who sat on a bench with her face titled to the mid-morning sun. The desert surrounding them was beginning to heat the air above the ground and he briefly wondered if her beauty was only an illusion caused by those heat waves. Dismissing the thought quickly, he crossed the track to her; the time was to help Catherine, not to make her feel uncomfortable with his emotions.
The smile on her face was genuine when she realized Grissom was sitting next to her. "It's been so long since I've been here."
"Yeah, the pit guys missed you, too." Her laughter was contagious, but her eyes remained haunted.
"You know, I'd nearly forgotten how beautiful she was."
He gazed across the track to the "she" Catherine was referring to. "Tse X2" was sitting amongst five mechanics who were in the midst of various checks on the engine, tires, and other safe guards. She looked a Honda Civic with all the trappings that made her into a passable race car. In actuality, she was a custom-built car. Her body was close to the ground and aerodynamic to reduce the wind's friction; the windows tinted to reduce the sun's glare off the track. Inside were harnesses to strap her passengers in and a steel skeleton was hidden beneath the sleek black paint. Her engine was kept in peak condition by the care of the same five mechanics since she had been designed and built.
"I'm glad you talked me into getting her."
"Well, I'm sure somebody would have eventually gotten annoyed when you kept borrowing the track's cars. You do have a tendency to wear tires."
"Not me, you."
"I know. It's been ages since I've driven her." She paused and looked Grissom straight in the eye. "When was the last time you took her out?"
He was unable to look away since her question demanded a completely honest answer. "Probably after the Haviland evidence hearing."
"No rollercoaster?"
"No. I needed more speed."
"Yeah. What I would have given to have been here with you."
"You could have just asked."
"I know. I miss this place."
They sat in silence as Tse X2's engine revved to life. Grissom was calculating the amount of years that had passed since Catherine last sat in the driver's seat of Tse X2. He could not remember; it had been so long, but he did remember the first time coming to the racetrack.
After that initial drive along Route 66 where they had ended up in Ohio, she knew life was fleeting. So, she looked for places around Vegas where people could come and drive at high speeds. This racetrack was the only place where they had cars for rent. Neither she nor Grissom had a suitable car, at the time, so the track was perfect. Thereafter, whenever Grissom needed the rush of loosing control, they came here.
She would drive around and around the track; he never knew how fast she went but she would not stop until he gave the signal. It was never as hard to lose control after the first time. In time, he actually enjoyed being subjected to Catherine's will. One week, they had been to the track three consecutive days; the following night, he brought the design plans for Tse X2. A few months later, they were back and every time, she was in control and he was giving it up to her.
Eventually, they knew it had to stop. She had a life to live and so did he. Due to some unspoken agreement when she got married, he stopped asking her for help. However, he still needed the rush so sometimes he would drive around alone. He never trusted anybody else enough to sit in Tse X2's driver's seat. Then, he discovered rollercoasters; it would never quite be the same, but it was a far distant substitute. Catherine was probably the only person who knew why he rode them; Warrick and Brass only knew he did.
Tse X2 was pushed onto the track and Grissom and Catherine walked over to greet her. It felt like the day they gave her her maiden trip around the track. In a way, it was. This would be the first time Grissom would be driving and Catherine was the passenger.
Strapping in was routine. He adjusted his seat and fidgeted with the mirrors. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Catherine extract a tape from her pocket and place it in the tape deck. She did not push it in, the time for that would be later.
He started the engine and gave the ok signal to the mechanics. Glancing briefly over to his passenger, he shifted gears and started off slowly down the long stretch of the track. The vibration of the car was relaxing both of them.
It took a few trips around the track with ever increasing speed before the leather gloves he had put on were barely necessary. Increasing to higher speeds at smaller increments made him acknowledge gratefully the nearly vertical curved banks. Without them, he would have to be sure to slow down to navigate the turn correctly; with them, he was free to keep increasing his speed. He did not bother to check his speed since experience told him he just entered the hundred miles per hour range. His leather gloves were functioning nicely to keep his hands from slipping off the wheel, thereby preventing the car from careening off the track.
A quick glance at Catherine along the long stretch showed him a full grin. Her eyes were bright as she let the speed influence her mind. The whole situation was a little mind-numbing; just the thing they both needed. Bringing his eyes back to the track as they entered the turn, he heard Catherine push the tape into the player. The present volume blasted Steppenwolf out of the speakers. There was the signal; ten more laps around the track slowed them down enough for Grissom to stop the car.
Catherine stopped and ejected the tape so he could hear her. "God, I feel almost as good as when Nick and I raced to prove Tony Del Negro killed Jace Felder in that street car race."
"Almost as good?" They un-strapped themselves and exited the car.
An amazing grin adorned her face. "Yeah! I feel better, if that's even possible."
His matching smile told her exactly how he felt. Though - on another day, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week - she would still have to deal with some of the more traumatizing elements of the experience, to avert the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder, at that very moment, she was back in control. His goal was accomplished.
All in all, that morning, an eternity passed in seven minutes.
BTW, if anybody is curious, "Tse X2" can be construed as Tsetse, which is the common name for a genus of flies from Africa. In crossword puzzles, "half a fly" is typically used when they want "tse" as the answer. For more information, http://www.tulane.edu/~wiser/protozoology/notes/vector.html. This is something Grissom would know, both as an entomologist and a crossword puzzle fanatic. I also figured that he would be quirky enough to name his car something like Tse X2. Can't you just imagine driving down a street and seeing a car with "TSE X2" on the license plate?
TBC - Chapter 4: Vain Imaginings
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© RK 11.Nov.2002