BITE ME

Part two

Drama, fantasy.

Spoiler: Mea culpa

A spider who appreciates Shakespeare? Hey, when you're Grissom's pet, anything's possible.

The story's told from the spider's point of view.


Something terrible happened today. We lost our home.

I didn't understand at first. When Grissom started taking down all his diplomas and putting them in boxes, I thought he was going to do something about the color on the walls. But when he emptied his desk and his filing cabinets, I knew something else was happening.

He was collecting the jars on the far end of his office, when his friend Jim came.

"Sorry, pal." Brass said

"You warned me." Grissom said simply.

"I didn't think he'd go this far. Taking your office to give it to the day shift supervisor seems petty."

"Ah, that's ok." Grissom shook his head, "I'll get used to the smaller one."

Brass sat on the only empty chair available.

"You're taking it far too calmly, Grissom."

Grissom paused.

"Jim, I don't mind paying for my sins."

Brass scoffed,

"What sins?"

"Vanity? Arrogance, at the very least." Grissom admitted, "I never missed a chance to put him down or to point out his shortcomings as a scientist-"

"Eckley deserved it." Brass muttered.

"Yeah, but I forgot my own shortcomings, Jim." He said softly, "I just thought that solving cases was enough and it wasn't. And now others are paying for it." He took a deep breath, "I told Sara and Greg to request a reassignment-"

"What?" Brass frowned, "Why?"

"They'll be better off without me, Jim." He smiled faintly, "I'm a bit smarter now, and I've realized that Eckley's not finished yet. He'll make matters difficult for me and for anyone who works with me -He won't authorize overtime, he won't authorize requests for new equipment-"

"Well, then you should think of your own skin, too." Jim said, rising from his seat, "I mean, what are you going to do? Quit?"

"I've been thinking about it." Grissom nodded. "The truth is…I never learned to deal with this kind of situation. When I was a kid I got out of fights by using words. That won't work now. What am I going to do, fight Eckley to death?"

Jim chuckled.

"Maybe that could work." He said, and then he got serious. "Just don't do anything hasty. Look; Eckley maybe powerful right now, but if the Department suffers because of his decisions –and it will- there'll be hell to pay. Give it a little time and keep me posted, ok?"

Grissom nodded and continued packing.

I can't believe he's talking of quitting. This is our home.

But then I realize that his family has been taken away from him.

Everybody turned to watch as Grissom carried my crystal bowl along with a few other belongings to his new, smaller office. I was with him as Hodges leant out of his lab and waved.

"Bye, boss." He said, only to do a double take, "Oh, wait. Sorry. Ex-boss, I mean."

Ah, Hodges. How I would love to do a little tap dance all over your face…

Greg and Sara came to help Grissom. They tried to make everything fit, but it was a losing battle. The office was just too small.

"I guess I'll have to take home some of these boxes," Grissom said after a moment.

"I'll take them to your car." Greg offered.

Greg left and Sara looked around.

"You brought most of your equipment," she smiled, "Eckley will be pissed off."

"All the equipment is in my name." Grissom explained, "I got gifts from factories all the time."

"You took this lab from the dark ages onto the XXI century," Sara said softly.

Grissom looked down, and for a moment they were both silent.

"I won't request any reassignment, Grissom." She said.

"Sara-"

"I'm not leaving you, and Greg isn't either. We want to stay with you. To the end." She turned and put some jars in a box. "I'll take these to your car."

Grissom watched her go. He smiled faintly.

Later, while Grissom was out on a case Eckley entered the office and looked around. He smiled when he noticed the boxes on the floor. He frowned when he saw the equipment gleaming in a corner of the office. He scoffed when he saw the diplomas on the wall-

The bald devil was really enjoying himself, touching a book here, a jar there.

I simply stared at him. I stared and stared…

Eckley glanced at me. He glanced away, and then he glanced back.

I stared at him and willed him to come close…

Come heeeeere, boy. Come on… come on…

And he did.

Whoa. Could this be so easy?

Come on, Eckley… come on…

Eckley looked at me through the glass and I stared back, willing him to put his hand inside the bowl.

Touch me... Tooouch me-

I'm sure he was going to reach in, when he was interrupted.

"Eckley?"

Noooooo! Grissom, you returned too early!!

"Hey, Gil." Eckley said, blinking as if he had been asleep, "I dropped by to see how you were doing in your new office."

"I'm fine." Grissom said.

Eckley leant on Grissom's desk.

"No hard feelings, right Gil?"

"Right." Grissom said, picking up a report from his desk.

Eckley seemed put off by Grissom's calm attitude.

"Good." He approved, "Because I need a team that works for a common goal, Grissom. I expect your people will behave accordingly-"

"My people will always do their job, Conrad." Grissom said, sitting down, "That's what we're paid for. There's just not enough money in the world to make us kiss anybody's ass -"

"Gil, Gil, Gil." Eckley shook his head, "You disappoint me. I thought you'd learned your lesson."

Grissom looked up.

"Lesson?" he scoffed, "You know, Conrad," he said slowly, "sometimes you remind me of high school; there was always some guy who was too wimpy to hang out with the jocks and just too dumb to hang out with the science geeks. All that was left for him was to grovel-"

Eckley reddened, but he didn't lose the smile.

"Yet look how far I have come-" he said.

"Conrad." Grissom said coldly, "Stop this bullshit. You have a problem with me, not with them; deal with me, then. Don't destroy other people's lives-"

"It's all your doing, Gil." Eckley said, pulling off the desk, "Think about it."

Eckley was reaching the door, when Grissom spoke again.

"All this just because I didn't write a speech for you, Conrad?"

"Of course not." Eckley said with a smile. "But now you wish you did, don't you?"


A month later we're at one place I've never been before, although Grissom seems very familiar with it. It's bigger than his two offices put together, so maybe things are improving.

It seems he wants to be alone today; the phone rang for a while, but he ignored it; then the answering machine picked up a few messages until he turned it off.

The messages told me something that I knew nothing about.

BRASS: Hey, Gil? I heard the judge dismissed your case. If you want to talk, call me.

CATHERINE: Gil? Eckley's been making my life hell. How am I supposed to solve cases if he assigns me the least-qualified personnel? By the way, I heard about your case. I guess I'm not the only one having troubles, huh. See ya.

SARA: Grissom, are you ok? Greg says you took the night off. Do you need anything? Call me, ok?

WARRICK: Hey, Griss? Just thought I'd give you a call. Someone told me you were held in contempt of the court, and that the judge retaliated by throwing your case out. Man, what were you thinking? They tell me the Judge was blatantly siding with the defense, but come on, Griss? You never lost it before. Give me a call if you need to talk.

DOC ROBBINS: Gil, I thought I'd remind you of something you told me when I was having a rough patch in my marriage. 'The job isn't all you have.' Remember? I hope you do. It applies to all of us.

Grissom had been lying on a couch while he listened to all this. Judging by his appearance, he had one hell of a migraine.

After that last message, he said something I barely caught.

"All I have is my reputation." he said quietly.

After a while, he rose from the couch. He turned off the answering machine and turned on his CD player, something else he brought from his office. For weeks we had been listening to some plays; Shakespeare mostly. The latest was Anthony and Cleopatra, and we hadn't had a chance to finishit.

I huddled in a corner of my bowl and listened as Anthony mopped about Cleopatra and planned his own death.

Grissom didn't stay idle while listening to the recording; he brought a pile of papers and a paper shredder and sat down to work. He shredded papers methodically; barely looking at contents. That was so odd; he rarely shredded anything-

And suddenly he stopped. He closed his eyes and began taking deep breaths.

He was hurting, and I knew very well that it wasn't because of the migraine.

I knew this moment would come. Everybody thought that he was pissed off because he lost his office and his parking space, but I knew that it was the loss of his family that he regretted the most. It is the one loss he doesn't know how to deal with.

When I glanced at him again, I realized that he was entranced by Shakespeare's words. I paid attention again. Apparently, Mark Anthony wanted to die, but he needed his former slave's help. Anthony wanted Eros to kill him. Grissom started mouthing the words along with the actor.

Anthony:

Come, then; for with a wound I must be cured.

Draw that thy honest sword, which thou hast worn

Most useful for thy country.

Grissom glanced at me, and suddenly I knew what he was thinking.

I turned away; I didn't want to look at him, I didn't want to see him come-

I felt his fingers, prodding at me. I tried to ignore him, but it was difficult; he really wanted to provoke a response from me. Soon I wouldn't be able to help myself-

Please, buddy, don't make me. I prayed, You don't know the damage I can do. You think you know, but you don't, believe me. If I do this, you'll be in excruciating pain; you'll get cramps; your limbs will swell, and suddenly you won't be able to breathe- I don't want you to go through all this-

I escaped by crawling up his arm, and he froze for an instant. When he realized that I had simply taken refuge under his collar, he impatiently brushed me off. I fell on the little table, among his papers, I looked around for a place to hide, and once again I felt him draw near.

Anthony:

… Do it at once;

Or thy precedent services are all but accidents unpurposed.

Draw, and come.

Grissom's fingers were about to touch me-

Now, Eros.

I ran to the paper shredder. It wasn't on, but I knew that it could do a lot of damage if I crawled into the blades; they looked like a row of ferocious teeth… But jumping in wasbetter than doing what he wanted me to.

Eros:

Why, there then: thus I do escape the sorrow

Of Antony's death.

Eros killed himself rather than hurting his master.

I stood by the abyss, willing to jump in if he came any closer.

But Grissom didn't. He seemed to understand my intentions, because he took a step back. I crawled back an inch. When Grissom took another step back, I crawled away from the blades, but not too far, just in case. Grissom stood there looking at me for a long time. I guess he couldn't believe what had just happened, but after a moment he simply took a deep breath and walked away.I watched as he stood in the middle of the room.

"What am I doing." He whispered.

Over and over.


The End… Because I have no idea what Grissom is going to do.