Disclaimer: I do not, unfortunately, own any aspect of CSI. I don't even have the episodes on DVD yet. Though I may own those within the next four months, along with the books. -grin- No profit is being made through this story. And now, on to the story:
Chapter Two
Over the next two weeks, Greg and Lia became almost inseperable at the lab. Any time they were together and not working, there was some chat going on about music or movies or something of the sort. Most of the team had at one point or another come in while the two were in the middle of a conversation, which they promptly stopped mid-sentence, and the moment the intruder left, whoever had been speaking would continue while looking over the information, exactly where they'd left off. Neither of them ever seemed to get tired; it was almost like they were feeding off eachother's energy.
One night after a long, tiring shift, however, Warrick came into the lab to find Greg asleep in his chair, with Lia sitting next to him leaning her head on his shoulder. Seeing Warrick, she yawned and said,
"I dunno if we should let him drive home, 'Rick, he'd probably crash or something." Warrick looked at Greg, who resembled a kid when he was asleep, and after a half second of deliberation,
"Right, wake him up, he can take the couch or something. I gotta stop at the supermarket on the way home though, we're out of milk and a few other things." Lia stood slowly and stretched her arms above her head, groaning.
"Man, how often are shifts like that?" She shook Greg's shoulder. He waved a hand at her and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like 'buzz off'. "Oh, come on, Greg, you don't want to sleep at the lab, do you?" His eyes finally opened.
"What?" Raising his hands to his eyes, he rubbed them as if trying to get the sleepiness out of his head that way.
"You're too tired to drive, you can crash on the couch at home, Warrick'll bring us to work tonight."
"Right, that sounds good." Greg stood up, yawning, and promptly almost walked into the counter. He turned around with a sheepish smile on his face and commented, "Good thing I won't be driving!" Lia just laughed as they both took off their lab coats, then she took his arm as Warrick lead the way to the car.
Half an hour later, Warrick pulled into the parking lot of his apartment and looked back at Greg and Lia as he switched off the ignition. They had both sat in the back and had been chattering on about some movie for a few minutes before falling asleep again. Lia had her head against Greg's shoulder and he was leaning his head against hers by the time Warrick stopped at the grocery store. He marveled at how quickly they'd bonded. Lia had always been the kind of kid other kids didn't want to be seen with, generally. She was smart beyond her grade level in a neighborhood where if you were different in any way, you were generally cast out. She hadn't seemed to mind much, but the way it turned out, she had only had one real friend by the time she hit high school, Matt, who'd been almost like a brother to her. In university she'd kept in touch with Matt and kept to herself, so people generally saw her as an introvert when really she could be as outgoing as anyone. But being friends with Greg maybe wasn't that much of a surprise. He was practically a Lia in male form, they were so alike. They'd heard of the same weird bands, same wacko movies, were interested in the same things. Warrick just shook his head and opened Lia's door.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, the chauffeur wants to get to sleep as much as you do." She stirred a little before actually waking up. She seemed surprised to find that she had slept most of the way.
"You should've let me go into the store with you," she said indignantly, "you've probably gotten the wrong kind of milk or something." In spite of their joking on her first night, she had in fact become a good cook, and had taken control of the kitchen quite quickly.
"Give it up, Li, I got exactly the same kind of milk you got last time you took me food shopping. Now wake the other beauty over there and let's go so I can lock up the car." In response to this, she gently punched Greg's arm, mimicking Warrick's earlier comment:
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." Greg opened his eyes.
"Ha ha. Funny. I prefer 'hot', thanks very much." But he managed to gather his bruised ego enough to get out of the car.
"Actually I fell quite rested," commented Lia. "We slept a grand total of what, twenty minutes? But I think I'd be up to making supper and watching a movie, what d'you guys think?"
"I'm in on supper, but I haven't been sleeping so I'm gonna catch a few winks," came Warrick's reply.
"I think I can handle both. What's for eats?" was Greg's response.
"It depends on what Warrick got. If I remember correctly, what we have at home is the makings of a salad, hamburgers, chicken burgers..." Lia continued through a short list as they went up the stairs, finishing as they reached Warrick's door with "...or tuna salad." Greg shook his head in amazement.
"Tell me again why Warrick need to get groceries?"
"Because we were out of milk, orange juice, and brown bread, which I can't live without, and something he said he needed." Warrick unlocked the door.
"Hurry up and fix some food, Li, I'll take Greg to find something better to sleep in." Greg, unnoticed by Warrick or Lia, paled slightly at this. He hadn't talked to Warrick alone since he'd met Lia and he felt that Warrick had a little something to say to him.
"That's quite alright Warrick, I can sleep in this, I keep a change of clothes in my car, I can change when we're back at the lab..." Warrick just shook his head and gestured toward the hall.
"Come on, Lab Rat, I'm sure I have something that'll fit you." The tone in his voice indicated that nothing would stop him, so Greg, resigned to his fate, followed the direction of Warrick's pointing thumb.
(Warrick POV)
'Poor kid, he looks kinda apprehensive. But then again, I probably do seem kind of imposing...being Li's cousin and all...' I mused, watching Greg go down the hall in front of me. When he reached the two doors to mine and Li's rooms he turned back, as if asking me which one. I nodded at mine. No perverted thoughts here folks- I just don't like the thought of him being in the vicinity of my cousin in his boxers, because no matter what he says, he doesn't normally sleep in jeans. I walked over to the dresser next to the door and pulled open the top one, where I seemed to remember stashing a few pairs of pyjama pants. Surely one of them would fit Greg. As I searched, I started the inevitable.
"So, after two weeks of watching you two, I must ask...what do you want from Li?" The question was loaded with possibilities for Greg. To deny, or not to deny, that is the question.
"Er- what exactly do you mean?" I could see it, anyone could see it; but maybe not him or Li, the two people who matter in this. Forgoing my pretend search for the pants, I just pulled them out and tossed them unceremoniously to Greg, then opened the next drawer and grabbed a shirt for him. Whether or not they saw it...
"What do you see in my cousin? I can see it in your eyes, Greg, no use trying to keep it away from me... you want her, don't you?" Blunt and to the point, yes...neccesary, yes.
(Greg POV)
"What do you see in my cousin? I can see it in your eyes, Greg, no use trying to keep it away from me... you want her, don't you?" 'You want her, don't you? You want her, don't you?' The question echoed through my mind, but this time, in Warrick's voice, not my own, as it had been for...well, I don't know. Maybe finding myself twice in one night with her against me was what was doing it now, but...
"Want her as a friend, yeah, what else?" Warrick just fixed his eyes on me. The eyes that make girls swoon- and guys like me want to pass out from fright. No doubt about it, this guy'll murder me, probably no matter what I say. 'Honesty is the best policy, Sanders,' I tell myself.
"Well, okay, she's hot- no, scratch that, gorgeous, she's a brainiac, she's my best friend. What more do you want me to say?" Warrick just sighed and got up.
"Never mind, Greg." he turned back and fixed me with that stare again. "Just one thing- I've only seen her cry once over a guy. If you end up the second, and I find it was your fault, you're gonna be next on Doc Robbins' table." What was that supposed to mean? He turned back towards the door. "You can change in the bathroom, it's the last door down the hall." I guess he went back to the kitchen.
(Li POV)
I looked up from the mixing bowl as Warrick came back in- minus Greg.
"Murder him yet?" I ased jokingly. Warrick just sighed and shook his head.
"Maybe he should tell you, but I think he's into you, Li..." I couldn't help it, I cracked up at that.
"Um, 'Rick, reality check: one, he's my best friend. Two, what idiot would conciously, in his right mind, want to be seen with me as anything more than a friend? Three...come on, he's my best friend for goodness' sake!" Warrick just made a tired, noncommital noise at the back of his throat. I rolled my eyes- I've become very practised in that aspect these past two weeks. I handed him a plate with one of my 'famous' tuna sandwiches on it.
"Eat and go to bed," I told him, "you're just tired. Me and Greg will watch a movie or talk, then we'll go sleep."
"Where's he gonna sleep?"
"He can sleep with me." I notice Warrick's look before he managed to comment. "Oh shut up! In the completely literal sense, he can sleep with me. Or take the couch. But the bed is more comfortable." Honestly, I can't believe Rick sometimes. But in any case... "Get to bed, Warrick," I said as gently as I could. "It's been a long shift, don't worry about me and Greg, we're adults, we'll be fine."
"Adults, yes, mature, got a long way to go there, cousin," was all I could hear as he walked down the hall to his room.
(3rd person POV)
The bathroom door opened once Greg was sure Warrick had gone into his room. The first interrogation- if you could call it that- had been nerve-wracking enough. He took a deep breath and thought, 'Come on Sanders, where's the old charm? She's your friend, you're perfectly comfortable around her, Warrick was just being paranoid.' 'Yes,' said that annoying little voice in the back of his head, 'but all the same, you are nervous, he might not've been paranoid...get out there and show her what you've got, Sanders!' God, he hated that thing...so annoying, yet somehow always managed to be right. He sighed, then walked back to the kitchen, where Lia was. He paused in the doorway, watching her. When Warrick had left, she'd popped a CD- probably her 'favouritest' mix CD, as she put it- into the CD player, and was singing along to the voice of Billie Joe, of Green Day fame, in Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life). It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right, I hope you had the time of your life... Greg somehow thought the lyrics fit. Two weeks ago he'd been happy- well, alright, content- with his life of the Lab Rat, he'd accepted that Sara would probably never be into him, and started moving on, and then suddenly, voila, in came Lianne Fox, his amazing Canadian twin. He hadn't missed the break-room chatter by any means. He knew some people thought they'd be 'cute' together, and some people said they were so alike, that their kids would be the next Einsteins. He laughed at the memory of when he'd overheard that particular remark- hilarious moment, priceless, really- and Lia heard it. She spun around with a surprised look on her face, and he noticed a blush slowly creeping up her neck.
"I- I didn't know you were there, you could've told me so I could've stopped singing." Greg quizzically raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why? You have a beautiful voice, and you always sing at the lab." Alright, maybe he hadn't meant the compliment to come out that quickly...he could feel heat rushing to his face and was surprised to see Lia blushing too. They stood in silence for a minute.
"Yeah, well, the lab music is always turned up loud enough to block out pretty much anything, including my horrible voice," she said jokingly, trying to ease up the moment. "Anyway, I hope you like tuna salad, that's what I ended up making, it's fast and easy." She pointed at the plates on the island counter and told him, "Grab a stool. I'm just getting the chips. Or we can eat in the living room if you want, and watch a movie." Greg walked over and sat down
"It's not that loud. That's just the Griss influence." He paused. "What movie?" Lia came over to the island counter with a bowl of nachos and some salsa, and sat down herself.
"Well," she said thoughtfully, trying to remember, "Warrick's got a bunch of weird stuff, some sci-fi, documentaries, that kind of stuff...me, I brought my Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, a few Monty Pythons, Spiderman, A Series of Unfortunate Events...a few more, but I have a horrible memory."
"I've either seen or heard of most of those, but what's Monty Python?" Greg asked curiously. Lia just stared at him.
"You don't know Monty Python?" She asked incredulously. "They're only the greatest comedy group to walk the face of this earth! We are so watching Monty Python."
And, true to her word, ten minutes later when they'd finished eating and Greg was curled up on one end of the couch, in front of the TV, Lia had found the Monty Python movies Greg could choose from.
"Well, there's And Now For Something Completely Different, that's basically a collection of the best skits from their TV show, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is pretty funny, not too many sickminded remarks, it has to do with King Arthur, and not for anyone too religious...Monty Python's Life of Brian is about this dude who's always being mixed up with Jesus Christ, it's slightly more perverted but still funny, also not for anyone religious...and then there's Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life, which is very sickminded in most places, but probably the funniest of the bunch, in my opinion, and, once again, definetely not for anyone too religious." Greg shrugged.
"Pick one, just make sure it won't scar me for life," he joked. She made a face at him.
"Fine, I pick The Meaning Of Life, it's my favourite, and it's funny...Warrick didn't like it much, I wasn't too surprised though." She put the movie in and went back to sit on the other side of the couch.
Through most of the movie, she watched Greg's reactions. She already knew most of the movie by heart- having been introduced to Monty Python when she was very young- so she just watched Greg. He didn't seem too appalled at it, laughing at most of it. He acted a lot like Matt had the first time he'd watched it, actually, only he was more into it. Kinda iffy at some points, but other than that... 'Jeez, we could be twins,' she thought to herself with a silent laugh.
Greg was pretty surprised with the movie, personally. It wasn't something his parents would like him watching. Well, to put it mildly. But it was funny. It was sickminded, as Lia had warned, but hey, this was Greg. He generally joked about this kind of stuff all the time. And now, look at that, some new jokes to spring on the team with Lia.
When the movie was over, the two of them just sat in comfortable silence for a moment.
"So, what'd you think?" said Lia finally.
"I think.." he said slowly, "some of those quotes..." she raised an eyebrow at him, "were absolutely hilarious and need to be thrown at our team fast!" he finished, with a wink. "We haven't had any good jokes in a while, it's getting boring...I think 'every sperm is sacred' would do the trick to get Sara pissed!" The two of them burst out laughing. After a few more minutes of laughter and then silence, it was Greg who broke the silence.
"Are we going to sleep now?" Lia shrugged.
"I guess."
"Where am I going to sleep?" Greg asked.
"Well you can sleep in my bed, or you can take the couch...the bed's more comfortable though, I can assure you."
"Where will you sleep if I take your bed?"
"It's a queen size bed, there's enough room for two people." Lia said with another little shrug of her shoulders. Greg made a show of gulping.
"What'll Warric say, though?"
"Warrick has already been informed of the possibility. He also knows we're adults and he knows I trust you." Lia stood and started walking toward her room. "Go on in, I'll be there as soon as I change." She said back to him. He followed her down the hall in time to see the bathroom door close behind her.
Opening her bedroom door, he grinned as he noticed it was exactly like he'd pictured her room would look like. Her desk in one corner, one wall completely covered in bookcases full of books on everything under the sun, her dresser, her bed, and a tank with a snake in it. The walls not covered in bookcases had posters and photos everywhere. You could hardly see the white paint underneath. But everything in the room, you could tell it was hers.
Suddenly, a hand covered his mouth and an arm grabbed him around his waist. He jumped and tried to turn but his attacker pushed him into the room. Suddenly he was let go.
"I told you to go in, not stand gawking in the doorway," said Lia with a hint of laughter in her voice. Greg turned to look at her and suddenly realised that, underneath the layers, she did indeed have a female's body. Right now she was wearing a black tank top and black pyjama pants. She had let her hair down and it fell down her back in subtle waves. Not wanting to look like he was staring,
"CSI instincts: know your surroundings," he said with a grin. She smiled back and walked over to her bed, falling onto it and putting her hands behind her head.
"You're not really tired, are you?" she asked, staring at the ceiling as Greg followed and sat down next to her. He shrugged.
"Not really sleeping-tired. More like resting-tired than anything, I've already slept enough."
"Good, I don't really want to sleep either..." They lay there in companiable silence for a few moments before Greg's voice broke the silence again.
"Let's play Truth or Dare." Lia turned her head to look at him.
"Any particular reason why?" Greg shrugged.
"Something to do. Only I suggest no dares, Warrick might get pissed." Lia chuckled at this.
"Yea, probably. You go first, I can't think of any questions yet."
"Yeah,and I have to think of something I haven't already asked you," Greg shot back. "Hmm...what are you most scared of?" Lia thought for a moment.
"Death, I guess. And bees, I hate bees." She shuddered. Greg laughed.
"The invincible Lianne Fox, scared of bees? Wow."
"Childhood thing. I stepped on a hornet's nest once, by accident, and I've been absolutely petrified of anything that stings ever since. I seriously like, run the other way."
"Ah. Anyway, your turn."
"Yeah, and I have to think of something I haven't already asked you," mimicked Lia. "What are you most scared of? I won't take all your questions, I promise." This time Greg had to think.
"I've never actually thought about that."
"Oh come on, you've gotta have an answer somewhere."
"Well, death...I mean it's one thing pretty much everyone is scared of, isn't it?"
"'To the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure,'" quoted Lia. "Professor Dumbledore, I forget which book." Greg rolled his eyes at her, at which she promptly hit him in the stomach lightly.
"I saw that."
"What, so you can do it, but nobody else can?"
"Precisely. And it's your turn to ask."
"What's the first dream you remember?" Looking over, Greg saw that Lia had her eyes closed tightly, thinking.
"It was my first nightmare," she said slowly. "I was pretty small...three maybe...we had this dog, Maggie...and our house was pretty big, with this big weird staircase, my room was the first after it...and in the dream, the house was on fire, and I couldn't get out...and I was standing in my doorway, looking out at the flames, I could hear my parents yelling...and then I saw Maggie coming up the stairs, and she was on fire, and she was screaming like a human...and I saw her burn away, I couldn't save her, and she was my favourite thing in the world." Lia's voice broke and she sat up, leaning her face against her knees. Greg sat up too and put his arms around her. She leaned into him. "I'm sorry...it's stupid, I'm still getting worked up about it, and it's just a dream," she said quietly, barely audibly.
"It's alright, it's not stupid...Maggie was something you cared about, nothing you care about is stupid. And it was only a dream, you were just little...something like that would scare me even now." Greg reassured her, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked..." Lia lifted her face and smiled at him.
"You didn't know, it's not your fault, don't apologise." She pulled away and for a split second Greg thought it was because of him...but no: she got up and walked over to her desk, grabbed a book, and came back to sit next to him. He tentatively put his arm back around her and she didn't pull away. She opened the book- which he now saw to be a photo album- and flipped through a few pages, stopping at a picture of a house.
"This was my family's house in England. It's where we lived until I was ten, and then my mother decided that she wanted to be closer to her sister...but apparantly not too close, since we ended up in Canada." Lia said with a smile. She pointed to a picture window on the front. "That was my room." She turned the page, to a picture of two adults, two children, a dog, and two cats. "That's my family. Mum, Dad, me, I'm the older one, and Victoria, Vicky, she's my little sister. The dog, obviously, that's Maggie...the cat I'm holding is Legolas, I was a big fan of the Lord of the Rings books, even at that point. Legolas was always my favourite. Vicky's cat was named Leia, Vic took after Dad and liked Star Wars more than books." Lia sat in silence, looking at the picture, and Greg just watched her. A tear slipped out of her eye and she brushed it away.
"You miss them." Greg stated quietly. Lia just nodded and put her face in her hands again, and Greg pulled her onto his lap, holding her close.
"I haven't cried this much for years," she mumbled against his chest.
"It's because you're strong. But it's fine to let emotions go...you miss them, you wouldn't be human if you didn't, you're in a new place and homesickness is a normal part of that."
"Yeah...it's still kind of a strange way for your first time here to be..."
"For a first time anywhere, this was great. I got to spend time with my best friend, I didn't run the risk of crashing my car, I was introduced to Monty Python, I get to annoy Grissom even more tomorrow." As expected, that comment brought a giggle from Lia and she sat up a little, looking at him.
"As long as I get to join in."
"Deal. And now I think we really should sleep. It'll probably be a long shift tomorrow."
"Oh, yay, we can watch Life of Brian tomorrow then." She yawned in spite of herself. "Actually that does sound like a good idea."
Greg let go of Lia and lay back, and was surprised when she lay down right next to him. He mentally shrugged; he wasn't complaining.
Later, when Warrick woke up and went to check on Lia, the scene he saw was one he hadn't quite expected: Lia and Greg asleep with their arms around eachother and a blanket over them and a photo album on the foot of the bed. Maybe he'd been wrong about Sanders.
A/N: Ok, second chapter! This one is quite a bit longer, as you can tell. I've decided to post this right away, instead of waiting for reviews- although maybe I already have one or two- simply because I'm a)impatient and b)might forget otherwise. So, hope you enjoyed, R&R and tell me what you think!