A/N: Once again, I apologise for the super-short chapter 5! I wasn't really able to concntrate on it as much and I have NO idea why but- here's another chapter, hopefully with more concentration points!
Disclaimer: CSI is not mine, though I really wish it were. I don't even own it on DVD or own any of the books, I've had to resort to the library for the DVDs.
Chaper Six
The faint sound of humming followed an otherwise silent- for once- Greg Sanders up to the lab. He was still thinking about last night, not being able to shove the thoughts from his mind. As he turned the corner, he became aware of the music coming from the lab. Good, he thought, she's already here. He knew he probably had a huge grin on his face, and he didn't care. He saw her sitting at one of the microscopes, making notes on a clipboard with one hand and flipping through a reference book with the other. He snuck up behind her and slid his arms around her waist from behind and she let out a yelp and spun around. She grinned when she saw it was him.
"Hey," she said, "I was wondering when you were going to get here!" Greg laughed.
"Well, i was thinking some things over." A serious look settled on his face. "I didn't make you uncomfortable earlier, did I?"
"Greg, if I'd been uncomfortable earlier, I wouldn't be this close to you now," Lia pointed out with a grin, resting her arms on his, since they were still around her.
"Okay, just making sure." Now Greg knew for sure he had a huge grin on his face. "So, any chance you might want to go catch breakfast after shift?" He asked hopefully. She grinned back at him.
"Of course." Stretching a little bit since she was still sitting she gave Greg a quick kiss. "I better get back to this though, or Sara will kill me," she said jokingly.
"What is it?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be looking through reference books, now, would I?" she pointed out.
"Guess not. Let me take a look." Lia slid her chair back to give Greg access to the scope and leaned on the counte, her chin resting on her folded arms. She watched as he made a few ajustments and a grin spread slowly across his face.
"Dude, I haven't seen this stuff in ages. I guess you wouldn't know what this stuff is." He turned with a grin and waved a hand in the scope's direction. "Liquid latex." His grin grew wider at the look on her face, half confused and half apprehensive. "It's used at fetish clubs, stuff like that, you paint it on and it dries," he explained.
"And you know this how?" Lia asked with a wink.
"Case a few years back," Greg replied with a wink of his own. "You're gonna have to check components to make sure, cause I could be wrong, but I doubt I am. I'm surprised someone else didn't think of it."
"Well Sara just handed me the little piece. Maybe they didn't have much and couldn't tell as fast as you," she teased.
"And speak of the Devil!" Greg said as Sara herself peered around the door. "Angel," he hastily amended as she shot him a weird look. He sent off his trademark grin- though not with the wattage now reserved for Lia. Sara smirked as she noticed that.
"Got any results on that weird black stuff yet, Lia?" she asked.
"Well, I didn't, but Greg gave it a glance and he tells me it's liquid latex, says it came up in a case a few years back."
"Oh, I remember that case. Switch killed at Lady Heather's Domain. Yup, Greg knew a lot about liquid latex then too." She flashed a grin in the direction of the two lab workers and let the door swing shut. Lia turned to Greg with a raised eyebrow.
"Knew a lot about it even then, hmm?" She asked playfully.
"Research," Greg said somewhat smugly.
"As long as it wasn't first-hand research," Lia threw back with a grin, before replacing the slide on the microscope with the next sample from Sara.
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A few minutes after shift was over, Lia poked her head into th locker room looking for Warrick. She spotted him and called over,
"Hey Rick, me and Greg are heading out for breakfast, catch ya later!" And she was gone before he really had a chance to respond. He rolled his eyes. Turning back to the task of finding a shirt that didn't have gravel residue on it, he couldn't help but worry about Lia. Given what had happened with Luke... He shook his head to clear it. Ancient past, Brown, she said so herself.
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Greg and Lia made their way down to the parking lot.
"So, what's a switch? I think I'm used to the idea of painting rubber on yourself...sort of."
"Well Lady Heather's Domain was a fetish club. The girls who worked there were either dominatrixes, who dominated their clients, or submissives, who were submissive to their clients."
"So a switch is just that- someone who switched?"
"Yup."
"What'd they use?"
"For what?"
"They've gotta dominate using something."
"Oh. I don't know exactly. My guess is, whips, that kind of thing. The girl who was killed, she was chained up with a mask over her head, she could only breath through straws, that's how she died, the dominator didn't let her breath. The was a disturbing case. I never looked at liquid latex the same way again," he teased her. "Anyway, car a-hoy." Greg unlocked the car and gallantly opened the door for Lia before getting in on his side.
"So where are we going?" Lia asked.
"Well, there's a choice of two places. One is a little breakfast-oriented place near my apartment. They make probably the second-best breakfast I've had in Vegas, and they're part of the reason I've got my apartment. Friends of my mom's cousin," Greg said as he pulled out of his parking spot and headed for the exit.
"And the other place?" Lia asked.
"Well, that would be the place that makes the best breakfast in Vegas," Greg explained, "at least in my opinion. Once again, near my house, and I stop there almost every day. It's owned, operated and visited solely by a Mr. Greg Sanders and rarely has any other patrons," he finished with a grin. Lia laughed.
"Well, I don't know, but that second one- the chef sounds interesting," she teased.
"Yeah, he is," Greg answered. "And can't forget, he's seen your apartment and had his reputation damaged by your cooking, time to save it," he teased back.
"What, your reputation or your cooking?" The playful banter kept on over the music of the CD Greg slipped in the player at an intersection, and a few minutes later found them both singing along. Half an hour later found them making their way into the apartment building. As they made their way up the stairs to Greg's floor and stopped in front of his door, a door down the hall cracked open.
"Well if it isn't little Greggo!" Came the voice of a woman from the crack. He glanced over and a smile grew on his face.
"Hey, Emma!" He exclaimed, walking over for a hug. He motioned Lia to come over. "Lia, this is my neighbor Emma Wood. Em, this is my girlfriend, Lia Fox." Emma grinned at Lia. She looked like a very nice lady, mid-40s, with brown hair and bright blue eyes.
"Nice to meet you, Lia. Glad to know Greggo finally made his move on you, you know, he wouldn't stop talking about you since you moved here." She winked. "Now I'm sure you're both going to be hungry so I won't keep you." She waved goodbye and closed the door. Lia glanced over at Greg, who was blushing furiously.
"Wouldn't stop talking about me, hmm?" She teased. Greg gave her an embarassed grin and finally unlocked the door.
"Well, I came home the day I met you and she took one look at me and said 'Who is she' and wouldnt stop questioning me. She's like the big sister I don't have in Vegas. And she likes you, I can tell already. She forms opinions really fast," he explained. Lia laughed.
"She seems really nice. I can't believe you wasted time talking about me though," she commented, following Greg through to his kitchen.
"Definetely not a waste of time. Well, actually, it kinda was, 'cause I could've asked you out before now if I hadn't been busy being scared out of my mind." He smiled at her then pulled the fridge open. "So, Lady Lia, what would you care to dine upon this fine morning?" He joked in a faux-British accent. She giggled.
"Doesn't matter. Your house and you're the master chef, let's see what you can do."
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A/N: Well, this one's a bit longer. Next one should have a bit of tie-in stuff for hints that've been in previous chapters.
saraandgreg4ever: Wow, risking getting grounded? I'm flattered :D Glad you like the story!
CatherineLouise: I think you've reviewed for what, almost every chapter so far:) Wow. Here's another chapter. Still not as long as I would like. But I can't stay on one scene for too long or I get writer's block so we'll see where the next chapter goes!
