This story is based on characters created by Anthony E. Zuiker for the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Remuneration, Part 4
by Cheers

Two hours after they had arrived, Catherine and Sara were convinced that nothing and no one had been in the storage unit other than the body for weeks. Grissom had pointed out that a uniform layer of dust had been blown into the unit around the door and covered the floor wall to wall. There were no voids in the dust pattern except where it had been disturbed by the team in its examination of the body. A brief look revealed that the dust even extended under the chair, a brown and yellow plaid fabric recliner that was in the non-reclined position when discovered. The amount of dust under the chair was not as heavy as in the rest of the unit. There was a very good chance that this was the primary crime scene.

David, the assistant coroner, finished loading the body bag clad corpse onto the gurney for transportation back to the morgue. "We're a little backed up tonight after a multiple fatality car accident on I-15. I'll page you guys as soon as the post is scheduled," he informed the criminalists.

"Thank you, David," Grissom said to the younger man as he removed his latex gloves with a snap and dropped them into a plastic bag already labeled for receipt of his used gloves in this investigation. Gil had collected dozens of specimens for use in the entomological analysis. Truth be told, he was looking forward to the project. It had been a while since he had a case like this to work on.

Catherine was finishing her first inspection of the seat and back of the chair since the removal of the body when she looked up at her boss. "Why don't you go home and enjoy the rest of your night off. Sara and I can handle the rest of this."

"I'm fine," Grissom said, reflexively.

Sara stepped up beside Catherine and removed the colored goggles she had been wearing for contrast with the alternate light source. She nodded her agreement with Catherine. "You know what they say. All work and no play..."

"Makes the boss a very grumpy boy," Catherine finished the thought.

Grissom was not by nature a grumpy person but he had been a bit short with everyone lately. He seemed to concentrate so hard at times that it took a bomb to get his attention, and more than one lab technician had complained that he simply ignored them altogether. Grissom had a dedication to the job that surpassed just about everyone - even Sara - but he seemed to be isolating himself of late and Catherine had figured this was a warning sign of something. Just what, she didn't know. But, one thing was certain - Gil Grissom was tired. The dark circles under his eyes and the increasing time spent alone in the lab was evidence, she believed, of that fact. No one could really remember the last time he had taken any serious time off from work.

"I've got to get these specimens back to my office and start the analysis," Gil told the women.

Catherine shook her head. "You need to take your days off as days off," she said firmly. "The bugs will still be there tomorrow when you get in and maybe we'll have something more concrete on an ID by then. You heard what David said - the odds of Doc Robbins getting to the post tonight are slim."

Disappointment at the idea of leaving the investigation at this juncture was clearly written on Grissom's face. "But if he does get to it," he began.

"Then Sara and I will be there," Catherine cut him off. She almost wanted to laugh at his insistence that he be allowed to stay. In some ways, he was very much like a little boy protesting nap time. She held her laughter in check, though. She didn't think he would react very well to that. Catherine took a different tack. "What, don't you trust us?"

That worked. Grissom's expression immediately became apologetic.

"Of course I do," he told her. "But…."

"But nothing," Catherine insisted. "Even Spiderman takes a day off now and then."

That produced the beginnings of a grin from him. "Yeah," Gil retorted, "but can Spiderman do a complete entomological analysis of a crime scene?"

Sara laughed at that. "No, but I bet you can't defy gravity by slinging web either."

"Point taken," Gil said, giving in to a lopsided smile that teased the edges of his mouth.

"Go home and rest," Catherine told him. "If we need you we'll call you."

"You won't forget to feed the maggots," he reminded them both.

"We'll feed them," Sara said.

"Because they'll die and that will hurt our chances…"

"We'll feed them, I swear," Sara promised again. "We have done this before, you know."

Grissom nodded and turned to go.

"A time or two," Sara added.

Gil looked at her with mock exasperation.

"Or three or four," Catherine chimed in.

He threw his hands up. "I get it, I get it."

Picking up his field kit, he headed toward his Tahoe. Before he was completely out of earshot, he heard Catherine and Sara behind him, "Or five. Or six. Or seven." He just shook his head, smiled and kept on going. He did have a good team and he did trust them. It's just that he had always trusted himself more.