Disclaimer: I own Jason and Mr Lanyon...even though I don't want Mr Lanyon...anyone want him?

Notes: Everyone, please welcome my new partner in writing, witchbsword! Witch and I cowrote this chapter, and we're trying to synchronize our watches for the next chappie...wish us luck.

(pauses) I don't hear any clapping!

(the room breaks into applause)

Much better. See, witch, I told you they'd love you...

Okay, enough clapping. On with the fic!

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Chapter 5

Grissom barricaded himself into his office after giving Greg his DNA sample to be tested with Jason's. He wanted time to think while he was waiting for the results and for Doc Robbins to finish the autopsy. He knew Catherine was right- if Jason was indeed his son, he needed to be there for him. At the same time, he felt himself being pulled in. How many times has he told the others to never get emotionally involved in a case? He was already contaminating a piece of evidence – as though he needed to prove it to someone, he pulled the photo Brass had given him out of his pocket.

It was taken in front of a rose garden at a local park. Grissom had his arms around Lee Nha and she was leaning into him; the two smiling at the camera.

The day couldn't have been more beautiful and perfect. Grissom remembered the day clearly- it was the one before the date on the plane ticket from Beijing to Las Vegas. The two wanted to spend the last remaining hours together.

"I'll be back again one day," he whispered in her ear at the gate before he boarded. And returned he did, only to find out she disappeared. He never found out about any pregnancy, though, which wasn't surprising, actually, considering how Chinese people considered it a great shame when their children married or slept with foreigners. It made sense now to see why she was here in America.

Questions ran through his mind. "Did she try looking for him? If she knew Jason was his son, why didn't she contact him? What has she been doing all these years?" For some odd reason he remembered the lyrics to an old ABBA song.

"Mamma mia, does it show again

My My, just how much I've missed you?

Yes, I've been broken-hearted

Blue since the day we parted

Why, why did I ever let you go?

Mamma mia, now I really know

My my, I should not have let you go."

The interrogation came back to him. It was obvious that Mr. Lanyon tried to get together with Lee Nha and that there was bad blood between him and Jason. He hoped Mr. Lanyon didn't hurt either of them, or he would not be responsible for his actions.

A knock at his door interrupted his musings. "Come in- door's unlocked!" Grissom called.

The door opened and Nick walked in holding Jason's hand. "Hey Grissom, can Jason see your tarantula now?"

Looking in the tiny boy's eyes, Grissom could almost see a future entomologist. 'Why not?' he thought. 'What harm could it do?'

Actually, he didn't want to answer that question just yet.

"Of course," he said to the waiting Nick. "Come on in."

The three walked over to the shelf where the cage was, and Grissom started gently explaining about the arachnid, while Jason listened, wide-eyed, not missing a single word. "His name is Fred. He's from the family…"

Seeing how enthralled the two were in the spider, Nick smiled a charming Texan smile to himself, and quietly slipped out to leave the two alone.

Neither of them saw him go.

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"Okay, Mr. Lanyon, how much does a Kit-Kat and some answers cost?"

"Uh, well, the Kit-Kats are 65 cents, but answers cost more... How do you know my name?" Mr. Lanyon stammered.

After Doc Robbins confirmed that the TOD was the same time as when the neighbors heard the shots, Brass and Sara traveled over to the grocery where Lee Nha had worked.

Theodore Lanyon was a middle-aged, balding man with greasy hair the color of a mouse's fur. He had crooked yellow teeth and a ring on all ten of his fingers, and a body odor that reminded one of a dead cat that had been slowly rotting away inside an oven. Sara couldn't for the life of her imagine why anyone would want to come within ten feet of him, let alone work for him day after day.

Then she remembered that Lee Nha had a son, not a lot of job options, and had probably needed the money.

Brass flashed his badge.

"I'm Detective Brass with the LVPD and this is Sara Sidle from the Crime Lab. We know your name because one of your employees was found murdered this morning."

"Oh, man…" Lanyon hung his head. "It's Lee Nha, isn't it? She's the only one who hasn't shown up and she's never late."

"I'm afraid it is her, Mr. Lanyon. What did she do for you?"

"She is- was- my accountant, a real whiz with numbers. She worked the counters as a store clerk too. That girl brought in money just standing there and smiling, I always said."

"I bet she was dedicated and loyal, too, right Mr. Lanyon?" Sara sneered.

"Yes, she was. What are you implying, Miss Sidle?" replied Mr. Lanyon, cocking his head to one side.

"Where were you this morning around 5 am?" questioned Brass.

"Home, asleep. What-"

"Can anyone confirm that?" asked Sara, cutting him off.

"No, I live alone. Am I a suspect? If this is an interrogation I'm calling my lawyer."

"Relax, Mr. Lanyon. We're talking to everyone who knew her. I suggest you cooperate. You do want to help find out who killed her, right?"

Mr. Lanyon simply glared. Brass got the feeling that the interrogation was over.

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Back at the lab, hunched over computers, were Warrick and Nick. One sorted through fingerprints to search through AFIS while Nick ran the bullets recovered from the body through NIBIN. They were so involved in the work that they jumped when Greg bounded into the room demanding to know where Grissom was.

"Greg," Nick sighed, "Have you heard of these two inventions called a beeper and a cell phone? Try reaching him with those two objects."

"I have, but he won't answer. He either has trouble hearing them or they're off," whined Greg.

"Or he just doesn't want to talk to you," muttered Warrick under his breath.

"What was that Warrick? Sorry dude, but I can't hear you when you mumble. Got something to say to my face?"

Nick, who had heard Warrick and was trying hard to not laugh out loud, said, "Greg, man, obviously Grissom is not the only one with hearing problems. Anyway, just look for him. Can't you see we're busy?"

Defeated, Greg shook his head and walked off.

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Half an hour later, the DNA lab technician still had not found his boss and was starting to feel the irritating feeling commonly known as frustration.

He'd gone over every square inch of the lab by now, except the women's bathroom, and he was pretty certain Grissom wasn't in there.

Then again, this was Grissom they were talking about…

After being yelled at by two female lab techs and Sara, Greg backed out of the women's bathroom and headed back to the DNA lab.

"Where have you been, Greg?" a very familiar voice asked. "I've been looking for you."

Gil Grissom was standing next to the GCMS, leaning on the table and looking much too calm to the frazzled Greg. He refrained from making a witty comment, though, both because he was too tired to think one up, and because Jason was peering uncertainly at Greg from behind Grissom's legs.

"Got your results back," he told Grissom.

The supervisor raised an eyebrow, and Greg said quickly, "I mean, from the cigarette butt Warrick found at the scene. The DNA is female, but it's not Lee Nha's."

"My mom didn't smoke," said Jason, his voice muffled as he hid his face in Grissom's jacket. "She didn't like people who did. She said it's a dirty habit, like when I bite my nails."

Turning, Grissom gently but firmly pried the little boy from his person, before sending Greg a look for help.

"Hey, Jason? You wanna come see Nick doing stuff with fingerprints?" asked Greg, feeling certain that he wouldn't be able to satisfactorily explain AFIS and NIBIN to a five-year-old, and especially not this five-year-old.

Though he had only been in the lab a few hours, Jason was starting to scare Greg, who felt certain he knew the boy's parentage even without the results of the paternity test. He was curious about everything around him, and not shy to ask questions. He loved Grissom's spider, and had asked more than twenty questions about the fetal pig Grissom had in a jar in his office.

Now, his eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly, before letting out a big yawn.

"I think a nap first would be a good idea, Greg," noted Grissom.

"Yeah," Greg agreed. It wasn't until Grissom gave him a pointed look that he realized that Grissom wanted him to put Jason to bed.

"Come on, Jase," he offered. "There's a really comfortable chofa in the break room."

"A what?"

"A chofa. It's not a couch, and it's not a sofa." Greg picked up the little boy. "Let's go."

"But I want to see Nick!" protested Jason, as Grissom quietly picked up Greg's results to start running them through CODIS, sneaking out while Jason was distracted.

Greg had no idea how he did it, but he managed to get Jason to sleep at last, with the promise that Nick would check up on him when he found the time.

And then, the dreaded results came in, and Greg sighed as he took the printout to show Grissom.

He wasn't quite sure how Grissom would respond to the results, but just in case, he put Catherine on speed-dial and kept his hand on his phone, hoping all the while that he wouldn't need it.

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Shout-outs go to:

cadrina - Yeah, well, a spider isn't really a bug...and we don't know for sure that Grissom is his father, now do we?

bubblecat - heh, thanks. Glad to hear I wrote him right.

Daisyangel - Nick has five sisters and a brother and goodness knows how many nieces and nephews. I figured he'd be good with kids.

Charmed-angel4 - You and your leprechaun gold...one day you'll get caught, and I won't... (rolls eyes and mutters) ;)

csifan - Sorry. I've been busy, and getting busier...And i thank goodness that witchbsword was willing to cowrite with me.

eac-dudette - Good to hear it! Hope you loved this chapter too!

Tracy - Whoa...this fic's got some ways to go. Hold on to your horses, girl! We're far from finished just yet!

SpectralLady - He likes spiders. Spiders aren't bugs, they're arachnids. But hey, Griss likes spiders too... ;)

And with that, I will now leave you.

But before we go, everyone, give witch another clap! She did great work on this chapter.

(room explodes with applause once more)

Good. I'll just leave witch to take the bows, then. Carry on.

(grins and sneaks out)

Gee, I hope they won't forget to stop clapping and review...