Title: A Roaring Good Time
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I still have no affiliation with CSI :-(
Spoliers: Through S5 to be safe
Notes: My response to the latest Unbound Challenge. First and last lines provided and a 1000 word limit, which I haven't exceeded – yay!
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Grissom froze suddenly; the growl was soft, but dangerous, and coming from below his waist.
Looking over at him, Sara was unable to control her laughter. Standing in front of Grissom was a young boy, around five years old, and he was growling, loudly.
When Grissom looked down and found the source of the noise, he quickly dropped to his knees in front of the boy.
"Where did you come from?" he asked gently, looking around for anyone that might be responsible for the child. They were at a crime scene, examining the area surrounding a house for signs of the access and egress used by the perpetrators, and all 'spectators' were supposed to be behind the yellow tape.
Taking pity on Grissom, who was only receiving growls in response to the questions he was asking the boy, Sara called over to the crowd, "Anybody here know this little guy?"
A woman's head suddenly whipped around and tried to push past one of the officers, who automatically held her back.
"It's okay, don't start doing your job now," said Sara sarcastically, "the kid's possibly already compromised the scene." The officer shrugged apologetically and let the woman pass, while Grissom glanced at Sara and cracked a half-smile at her comment.
"I'm so sorry," gushed the woman as she raced to a stop beside a now-standing Grissom, who was quickly joined by Sara. "We live across the street and got curious. Trying to keep Nicky under control is virtually impossible at the best of times, but with this many people around, it's a nightmare."
Grissom bit back his instant response of, "That's why you shouldn't bring kids to crime scenes," and instead settled for saying dryly, "I understand, I have a Nicky that's impossible to control as well." A chuckle from Sara caused the two CSIs to share an amused look.
"Nicky, come on, these people have work to do," said his mother. A growl came in reply. "Nicky, not this again," she sighed.
"He does the growling thing a lot?" asked Grissom with raised eyebrows.
"He's not growling, he's roaring. He does this every time he sees 'The Lion King'. I swear, I'm gonna kill my husband for buying him the dvd."
Grissom looked at Sara again and she started to explain, but he cut her off.
"I know what 'The Lion King' is, Sara." Turning again to the young boy he said, "Okay, young Simba, I think it's time you practiced your roar at home."
Nicky stretched out his arm in an attempt to paw at Grissom, but his mother quickly pulled him away, chastising him verbally all the way back to the crime scene tape. "I'm really sorry," she called over her shoulder as they ducked under the tape.
"So, have you actually seen 'The Lion King'?" queried Sara in amusement as they returned their attention to processing the scene. As she expected, he ignored her question, but she didn't want to let it go so easily. "Did you see it, or did you just hear about it and decide to try and make yourself hip with a pop culture reference?"
Arching an eyebrow, he finally turned and looked up at her from his kneeling position. "Hip? You've been hanging around with Greg too much."
"Hey, you're the one who sets the assignments," she retorted, watching him closely for his reaction. When he didn't even flinch, she pressed him again. "Have you seen it?"
"A flight from Vegas to Newark, 1997."
"You watched it on a plane?" She didn't know why she was surprised, she certainly hadn't expected him to have voluntarily gone and seen it in a movie theater, but she was still taken aback that he'd seen it at all.
"We don't all have the opportunity to join the Mile High Club on planes," he said casually, turning his head to focus on the ground before Sara could catch his expression. However, she was glad he'd turned away, as she was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open in shock, and she'd lost all muscle power to slam it shut.
A commotion near the boundary tape grabbed both of their attentions for a moment, as they heard Brass yelling at an officer. A worried glance cast in their direction caused Grissom to stand once more.
"Keep processing, I'll find out what's rattled Jim's cage," he told her. She nodded in acknowledgement and was then left to stare after him as he said quietly in passing, "Oh, Sara? I forgot to tell you earlier, we're attending a seminar next month, flying into Newark. I'll tell you all my thoughts on 'The Lion King' during the flight, and then maybe you can help me practice my roar."
A shocked Sara followed her boss's profile as he made his way over to Brass and she muttered to herself, "No way did he say what I think he just said!"
Upon reaching Jim, Grissom ascertained that the detective was complaining that there weren't enough officers present to deal with the crowd. He added fuel to fire by commenting that the lack of manpower possibly explained how a child had broken through the barrier earlier.
With a shake of his head, Brass pinned the officer in charge with a glare and demanded to know, "How did this happen?"
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Fin