Beth was fresh out of college and was looking for a job as a forensic chemist. She applied to many different crime labs, the Las Vegas Crime Lab being one of them. Most of them were eager to hire her. With her Master's degree in chemistry, she could have worked anywhere, but there was something about Las Vegas that had always captivated her. Maybe it was the fact that she grew up in New Hampshire, and her idea of a big city was slightly skewed. She had never been to Las Vegas; she had only heard stories of it, or seen it on the television, but it was enough to make her fall in love with the city. Another thing that drew her to Vegas was Gil Grissom, the night-shift supervisor at the crime lab. He was a nationally known forensic investigator and had once been a guest speaker at her college. So when she received a letter from him stating that she had a job on the LVCL night-shift waiting for her, she essentially dropped everything and moved out to Vegas.
When she arrived at the crime lab for her first night of work, she felt out of place. Everything about Beth screamed of a rural life, but here she was, working in Las Vegas. She looked around her and saw people hurrying from room to room. They were like bees in a hive, always moving from place to place. She continued to observe her surroundings until a voice interrupted her thought.
"Can I help you Miss?"
The voice came from a young woman seated behind the front desk. The woman had soft, naturally blonde hair, and appeared to be about the same age as Beth. Beth awkwardly approached the front desk.
"Hello, my name is Beth Morstan-"
"Miss Morstan, it's a pleasure to meet you. I had heard rumors of a new chemist, but I wasn't expecting someone as young as you. My name is Mary Stevens and I'm one of the secretaries here. I work the night-shifts, as you do, so you'll probably be seeing more of me." Mary smiled, and Beth suddenly felt welcome in the bee's hive of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. "Now, Miss Morstan-"
"Call me Beth."
"Now Beth, if you'll be so kind as to follow me, I will take you to Mr. Grissom's office. He told me that he would be waiting for you there."
The two chatted as they walked towards Mr. Grissom's office, but when they neared it, Mary dropped her voice out of respect for the man who they were about to interrupt. Beth took the hint and finished her thought quietly. Mary quietly knocked on a door that said "Gil Grissom" on it, and a familiar voice from inside mumbled something to the extent of, "Come on in."
Beth followed Mary into the room and they found the man sitting behind his desk, engrossed in a crossword puzzle. Beth was speechless. Gil Grissom was probably one of the best forensic investigators in the United States, and here he was, solving a crossword puzzle. She was almost overcome by the urge to ask him for his autograph, but then she realized that she would be working with him. She was so elated that she couldn't suppress the huge smile that beamed from her face.
Mary spoke up, shattering the serene scene before them. "Excuse me Mr. Grissom, but Miss Beth Morstan is here to see you."
At the sound of her voice, he looked up. He had the same striking blue eyes, salt and pepper hair, and boyish face that she remembered from the guest lecture he gave at her college. He smiled and stood to introduce himself as he extended his hand to greet her.
"Hello. My name is Gil Grissom, and welcome to the Las Vegas Crime Lab night-shift, Miss Morstan."
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you Mr. Grissom. I've heard quite a bit about you."
"I've heard quite a bit about you, too, Miss Morstan. You graduated at the top of your class, and I had the pleasure of speaking with a few of your professors. Dr. Schay and Dr. Clark are two of my good friends and they had nothing but the highest regards for you and your talent. Oh, and you can call me Grissom. The only people that call me Mr. Grissom are telemarketers. And I never really cared for them."
Beth didn't know what to say. Dr. Schay and Dr. Clark were two of her chemistry professors and she had worked closely with them, but she never realized that they knew Gil Grissom personally. Here she was, a novice, receiving praise from one of the greatest forensic scientists in the United States. And he was telling her to forget the formalities! She began to blush and he smiled.
"Well, at least we know she's human. She blushes. Now that I seem to have embarrassed you, let me show you around your new workplace."
Grissom led her out of the room and down the hall. As they passed various labs, rooms, and offices, he explained to her what the purpose of each room was or to whom the office belonged. As they approached a room he called the break room, Beth noticed a small crowd inside.
"Excuse me Mr. Grissom, but if you don't mind my asking, who are those people in the break room?"
"Those are your co-workers. Miss Morstan, allow me to introduce you the employees of the Las Vegas Crime Lab graveyard shift." Grissom announced her as they entered the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, meet Miss Beth Morstan."
Beth scanned the room and found two women and three men. The first to approach her was an older, yet still beautiful, blond woman. The woman stretched out her hand towards Beth.
"Hi, my name is Catherine Willows. Welcome to the Las Vegas Crime Lab." Leaning in towards Beth's ear, she whispered, "If any of these guys give you a hard time, let me know." Beth felt a laugh escape her lips as Catherine moved out of the way and a handsome young man approached. He had short, brown hair, and was well-built. She reached out her hand to shake his, but instead of shaking her hand, he raised it to his lips and kissed it.
"I'm Nick Stokes. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Morstan. I hear you'll be working in the DNA lab with Greg. If he ever gets on your nerves, let me know and I'll be more than happy to rescue you." He spoke with a slight Southern drawl and she couldn't help but laugh at what he had said to her.
"Oh, that was smooth Mr. Stokes. If you want to ask me out, I suggest you either do it straightforward, or not at all." She winked at him as he started to blush. Another attractive gentleman came to Nick's rescue. He was a tall African-American man who walked with a slight swagger. He radiated self-confidence.
"Hi, I'm Warrick Brown. You'll have to excuse my buddy Nick here. He's not used to having such a beautiful woman around the lab."
"I heard that Warrick," Catherine shouted from the back of the room.
"Now if you'll excuse me Beth, I need to go and work myself back onto Catherine's good side." Beth started laughing as she watched Warrick shuffle up to Catherine and make a comic attempt to appease her wrath. While Beth was observing the humorous interplay between Catherine and Warrick, a young brunette approached her.
"Hello, my name is Sara Sidle. Welcome to the Crime Lab." Beth was about to respond to her, but Sara walked away before she could say anything. Beth got the impression that Sara did not do well with people.
The last person to approach Beth was an older gentleman. He shook her hand firmly as he introduced himself.
"My name's Jim Brass. I'm the homicide detective here. If you need anything, let me know."
"Thank you, I will." Beth appreciated their efforts to make her feel welcome. She knew that she was going to love working here.
After a few minutes of conversation and brief bios, Grissom led Beth out of the break room to continue her tour of the crime lab.
The tour ended outside of a lab filled with machines and instruments that she recognized. She could feel a smile stretching across her face as she realized that this was where she would be working.
"Beth, this is where the DNA and Trace labs are located. This will be your own personal corner of the Crime Lab. There is only one hitch."
Beth groaned. "I hate when there's strings attached."
"I think you'll like this string. This lab has a current resident, and he will be your partner." He opened the door and she entered the lab. She was vaguely aware of Grissom's voice as she gazed around the room, marveling at the various machines and instruments. She was brought back to reality when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Beth, did you hear a word I said?"
She shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry Mr. Grissom, I mean, Grissom. I've only read about some of these machines in magazines. You'll have to excuse my drooling and apparent ignorance. I was not trying to be rude."
Laughing, Grissom accepted her apology. "As I was saying, you have a partner in this lab. His name is Greg Sanders." He turned to a young man her age who was sitting on a stool, staring at a computer screen, apparently in another world. He had headphones on and was listening to some type of heavy metal music. He must have the volume turned all the way up because she recognized the song and could have sung along if she had wanted. Grissom lifted one of the headphones away from Greg's ear. The young man jumped, almost falling off of his stool. "Greg, this is your conscience. You need to come back to planet Earth." Beth laughed as Greg apologized over and over again. "Relax Greg. I just wanted to introduce you to your new partner."
There was a noticeable spark in Greg's eye as he extended his hand to greet her. He was younger than the others she had met earlier, and she found him extremely attractive. He seemed to be a very energetic and creative person, and she was very much looking forward to working with him.
Grissom took the opportunity to introduce the two young chemists. "Beth, this is Greg Sanders. Greg, this is Beth Morstan." She smiled and shook Greg's hand. Grissom was feeling confident that his new recruit would learn the ropes quickly with Greg leading her, so he left the two chemists alone. As he exited the DNA lab, he thought about the spark in Greg's eye. Gil knew that something was bound to bloom between the two; it was only a matter of time.
When Gil was gone, Greg took a moment to check out his new partner. As soon as she had shaken his hand, she quickly left him to look over the machines that made up the lab. He watched her as she moved from instrument to instrument, adjusting herself to the different resources available to her. He didn't realize he was staring until she spoke.
"Is there something wrong? You seem to be staring."
"Oh…uh, sorry about that. It's just that…Well…I'm not used to people…uh…"
"You're not used to people? I don't think I'm following you." Beth watched in amusement as Greg's face began to turn bright shades of red. She was pleased to know that she had this effect on her cute co-worker. She flashed her winning smile at him and he gathered his senses. He straightened up and then did an over-exaggerated bow towards her.
"Pardon me for the unexpected detachment from reality. I seem to have been flustered by your presence, yet at the same time, I am strangely thrilled by it. Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Greg Sanders, but to those here in the crime lab, I am known as the Master of the Lab. For now, you are to be my side-kick. If I approve of your work ethics and styles, I may decide to promote you."
"Side-kick? Who you calling side-kick? In a few days, I plan to overrule your reign of terror over this poor helpless crime lab, my friend. And when I do, you'll be lucky to be my side-kick." Beth used her wit to reply to Greg's unconventional apology and welcome, and she succeeded in making him laugh. She knew that this was going to be a beautiful friendship. Greg reminded her of herself. He appeared to have the same sense of humor and outlook on life as she did. They both found humor in the simplest things and enjoyed laughing. Though she had only known him for a few minutes, she felt like she had known him for a few years. She loved everything about him. She loved his eccentric personality, charm, and even his wild hair. She wanted to get to know him before she jumped to conclusions, but she couldn't help but think that he was the perfect guy.
From that point on, the two chemists worked as the ultimate team. What one missed, the other caught. What one didn't understand, the other knew. When one was tired, the other was raring to go. Gil's choice in hiring Beth was reaffirmed every time he saw her working alongside Greg. Gil knew that she wasn't the only qualified chemist yearning to work at the renowned Las Vegas crime lab, but he could tell that she was "the one." She had the same enthusiasm as the rest of his team and she loved her work. She put all of her effort into whatever task was at hand, and in doing so, she became the epicenter of a new wave of passion that rippled through the night-shift.
As the weeks went by, Gil realized how mature Beth was for a 24-year-old chemist fresh out of grad school. She was the most trustworthy and caring person he had met in a long time. The team also learned how open and willing to listen she really was. Gil would occasionally walk by the break room and find Beth listening intently as one of her co-workers would share his or her deepest thoughts and concerns with her. Sometimes these thoughts were related to a case, and sometimes they weren't. Something about her brought the team closer together. Gil even felt himself drawn to her compassion. Once or twice when he needed to verbalize his innermost thoughts on a case, he verbalized them to Beth.
Nowhere was Beth's passionate persona more apparent than when she was working with Greg in the lab. Any outsider would have chalked it up to the fact that they spent most of their working time stuck together in a relatively small lab, but the night-shifters knew better. They could see what was happening. Her youth, beauty, and enthusiasm had an effect on most of the people she met, but Greg seemed to be the central focus of all of her qualities. They made a tremendous team, both during and after hours. Even in the first few months they often ate meals together, went to the movies together, and had nights where they would just veg together. In fact, one would have been hard-pressed to find one of them without the other. Despite this, it took Greg almost four years to finally ask her to become his girlfriend. But when he finally did, it was a match made in heaven.
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