Chapter Four – Home Sweet Home.

Grissom pulled into the parking lot outside the crime lab; he had a headache from lack of sleep and was feeling tense from last nights shift. The evidence he collected at the crime scene was enough to prove that two suspects were present but neither would admit to the crime and both had explanations that would tally with the evidence. Despite returning to the scene and collecting some more traces of evidence, and the amazing work the new DNA tech had done, he still hadn't been able to prove anything to convict either suspect. All he was looking forward to now was getting a strong cup of coffee to wake him up before reviewing the case from yesterday in the hope that he might find something.

As he walked towards his office he saw a familiar figure approaching him, obviously on his way out after finishing the day shift.

Great, this is all I need, he thought, as the person got closer. A run in with Conrad Ecklie. There's nothing I like better than swapping insults when I've got more important things to do.

'Hey Gil,' Ecklie said with a sly grin that could only mean some form of criticism was going to follow 'You working your staff too hard?'

'My staff are all hard working, Conrad, I don't need to work them,' he shot back.

'Well there's a difference between working hard and moving into the lab. Sort out your new DNA tech, she's making the place look untidy.'

'Harriet?' Grissom enquired.

'We left her alone for today but it can't happen again,' Ecklie stated sternly.

'What?' Grissom asked, impatient and confused.

'Break room,' Ecklie jerked his head in that direction and then continued on his way out.

Grissom pulled a face, none the wiser, made his way to the break room and found Harriet curled up on the sofa snoring very loudly.

'You stupid boy!' Harriet shouted, looking at the mess on the floor of her lab. 'It's taken me ages to get those samples sorted.'

Greg laughed 'oh well, you're a whiz kid you can get everything done in double the time I can, what's the problem?'

'The problem is,' Harriet screamed 'that you've just knocked all the evidence on the floor and I am going to have to go back to the crime scene and retake all those swabs.'

'Oh dear, what a shame, have fun,' Greg taunted 'Try not to get your nose brown whilst you're at it'

He turned to leave the lab. Harriet picked up the microscope nearest to her and threw it at him. It struck him on the head and he fell to the floor, a pool of blood flowing around him. Harriet let out a blood-curdling scream.

'Harriet? Harriet?'

She yelped and her eyes shot open. Oh, thank god, she thought, it was just a dream. As much as shutting up Sanders is an appealing idea, murder wasn't her thing. She looked at the person who had woken her. It was Grissom and he looked very puzzled.

'Did you sleep here all day?' he asked.

Harriet sat up and yawned.

'What time is it?' she asked.

'It's nearly seven,' he replied.

'Well then that's a yes,' she stifled another yawn and got up, walking over to the coffee machine.

Grissom looked at her in disbelief 'why?' he asked her.

'Oh sorry,' Harriet said realising she hadn't explained. 'I got a phone call last night that I lost my apartment, didn't even get to move in so I had nowhere else to stay and I guess I just fell asleep on the sofa.'

She poured some coffee into a mug and was about to put the jug back when Greg walked in, alive and well without any microscope injuries. He looked at her and his eyes widened in horror.

'That's my coffee!' he said loudly.

Harriet felt her stomach sink. Great, I'm barely awake and already this guy is starting on me.

'I'm sorry,' she said 'I didn't see your name on it.'

'Very funny,' Greg said, pulling a face.

He reached for the pot but Harriet backed away, poured some more into her cup, took a large gulp from it and looked at him.

'Greg, it's just coffee,' she said, seeing the look of horror on his face.

'Yeah, it's just coffee,' Nick said, walking into the break room, followed by the others.

Harriet offered Nick the pot and he took a cup from the cupboard and held it out for her to fill. The rest of the group followed suit until there was only a cupful left in the bottom of the jug. Harriet turned to their supervisor.

'Grissom you want some?' she asked.

Grissom looked like he was trying to suppress a smile.

'Yes, thank you Harriet,' he replied.

She poured him a cup and put the pot back on the worktop. Handing Grissom his cup, she sat down on one of the chairs and took another drink of her coffee.

'Mmmmm,' she said, eyeing Greg and swinging around arrogantly on the chair.

Greg looked like he was trying not to care about his precious coffee. Harriet grinned to herself and swung around to speak to the others. This is brilliant, she thought, he's lost for words. She leaned back into the chair and screamed as the back fell off and she landed on the floor with a thud, giving herself a caffeine shower.

'Oh yeah,' Greg said 'I forgot to mention, that chair is broken,'

'Are you all right?' Nick asked offering her a hand and pulling her up.

'Yes thanks. I'm going to get changed,' Harriet said, wiping coffee from her face.

She stood up and walked past Greg with her head held high as he held his fist against his mouth and tried not to laugh which made him go red in the face. As she left the break room, she heard him give in and laugh hysterically until Grissom told him to shut up and sit down. She made her way to the locker room and changed into some clean clothes before heading over to the lab.

'Seriously Greg, stop laughing,' Warrick said

'Yeah you're getting on my nerves,' Nick added.

Greg had managed to remain quiet long enough for Grissom to hand out the assignments for the evening but couldn't hold it in any longer and erupted into high pitched squeaks as he tried desperately to stifle them.

'You sound like a mouse,' Sara said.

'Anyone got anything else they would like to add before we get to work?' Grissom asked, giving Greg a stony look.

'Yeah, I have,' Greg said, in between squeaks. 'I need a day off.'

'Ooh can we send him home now?' Catherine asked 'Because if he's going to squeak like that all shift I can't work with him.'

Greg looked enthusiastic about that idea.

'No he can't,' Grissom said. 'You can book a day off like everyone else'

'But I haven't got any days coming for another three weeks and I need to find a new apartment ASAP,' Greg pleaded.

'What's wrong with the one you have?' Nick asked.

'I can't afford it. The pay cut I took is starting to make itself known, not that I'm complaining, I just don't wanna end up homeless,' he explained.

'Unless someone forfeits their day off I'm afraid I can't help you until you're due your holiday days, Greg,' Grissom explained.

Greg looked around the room hopefully at his colleagues. They all avoided his eyes. Catherine took a sudden interest in a notice on the board, Nick picked a piece of fluff off Sara's shoulder as she slapped him on the hand for touching her while Warrick seemed to have seen something interesting on the ceiling.

'We really should get that repainted,' he said.

Everyone looked up simultaneously and mumbled in agreement as Greg rolled his eyes and sighed.

Later that evening…

Harriet was busy analysing a blood sample, this time deciding to look at the DNA and the DNA only, she didn't want the nose of the tech in the tox lab getting out of joint. Besides tonight was a busy night and matching samples to the evidence was taking priority over screening for everything else as she often did – it was almost an obsessive compulsive streak she had.

'I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies…' she sang along with her CD as the printout from the last sample she had run came through. She glanced at it for a second and then dashed off down the corridor in search of Nick.

On her way she bumped into Grissom, knocking the box he was carrying onto the floor, losing her footing and falling over for the second time that day.

'Careful!' Grissom snapped.

'I'm sorry Grissom, I didn't see you,' she apologised and stood up again.

She felt a tickling sensation on her leg and looked down to see a tarantula trying to climb up her trouser leg, apparently the inhabitant of the box. She knelt down and picked it up confidently.

'Hey there little guy,' she said

She looked up at Grissom and smiled 'He's cute'

'Were you going somewhere?' he asked.

'Oh yeah, taking DNA results to Nick,' she replied.

'Ok, I'm going to put him in your lab, I want you to look for any hairs or fibres that don't belong to him,' Grissom instructed.

'Who? Nick?' Harriet asked.

'No him,' Grissom pointed to the tarantula that was trying to climb up her arm. He took it from her and placed it back in the box.

'Ohhh,' Harriet laughed, feeling stupid. 'Is he a suspect.'?

'No but he could be a witness.' Grissom said, with a half smile.

'You're serious aren't you?' she asked.

Grissom nodded and handed her the DNA results she had dropped. She smiled in thanks and headed back up the corridor.

'Oh and I think I might have a solution to your housing problem,' he called after her. 'I'll explain later.'

'OK,' she called back, not turning around.

She found Nick in the layout room with Greg who looked up when she came in and then looked straight back at the trash he was searching through so she acknowledged Nick instead.

'Hey Nick, here's the results. The blood you found wasn't a match to the victim but in fact the victims father.' She announced.

'That's great; we've been trying to place him at the scene. He's got motive but denies even being there.' Nick replied.

'Glad to be of help,' Harriet smiled.

'I guess that means I don't need to search through this anymore,' Greg said putting a hand in front of his nose to block the stench.

'Well, really, you should still check the trash there might be more evidence that places your suspect at the scene. The more evidence you have the stronger case you'll have in court,' Harriet stated, instinctively.

'And how would you know that?' Greg asked, bitterly. 'You're a lab tech not a CSI.'

Harriet froze. She hadn't intended on saying anything about her work back home, it was something she was trying to leave behind. Luckily for her, Nick spoke up.

'Greg she's right, don't be such an ass. Besides you were a lab tech once.'

'Thanks Nick, I'll see you later I've got a tarantula to examine,' she said and clapped her hands like a child who had just been given the best Christmas present ever.'

Greg shuddered 'Eww, give me a trash can any day.'

'Aww he's adorable, you should come and see it,' she said, enthusiastically, forgetting for a second that she didn't like him.

'I think I'll pass on that,' was the reply.

Harriet looked at Nick and rolled her eyes. He smiled and thanked her again for the results. She left them and headed quickly back to the DNA lab in time to find the spider trying to escape.

'Whoa there little buddy,' she said, scooping him up carefully and putting him back in the box. 'Flippin' heck, two days around Americans and I'm already starting to talk like one,' she told the spider, not that he was listening.

'You find anything?' Grissom asked when he walked into the lab twenty minutes later.

Harriet looked up from the spider that she was cradling in one hand whilst she wrote something with the other.

'Yeah as you probably know, tarantulas are covered in hairs but I doubt even the rarest breed of tarantula could shed a hair this colour,' she said, indicating the microscope 'It must have got caught up on his leg.'

Grissom took a look into the microscope and saw a blonde hair.

'Human?' he enquired.

'Yes, I'm running a comparison with your suspect as we speak.'

'Is the spider keeping you company?' Grissom asked, looking at the way she was keeping it with her whilst working.

Harriet smiled 'I love these creatures, they're fascinating and this one is just so gorgeous, look at his colouring, its beautiful.'

'Well be careful with him because he's evidence.'

Harriet looked up suddenly, a thought crossing her mind.

'What's going to happen to him?' she asked, concerned.

'Don't worry, once the case is over I'll find somewhere for him.'

'OK, as long as you're not going to kill him or anything.'

'You should, it's disgusting,' said a voice.

Greg was standing in the doorway, keeping his distance.

'You're disgusting shall we kill you?' Harriet spat back.

'Grissom, you wanted to see me?' Greg asked, ignoring her comment.

Grissom looked from Harriet to Greg and back again as if debating whether he should speak or not.

'Yeah, I was wondering if having a room mate might solve your problem?' he asked.

'It'd split the rent in half so yeah I guess it would.' Greg said.

'OK Greg meet your new room mate,' Grissom said, indicating Harriet 'She doesn't have anywhere to live at the moment so she's coming to move in with you.'

Grissom quickly exited the lab and headed down the corridor.

The response from both Harriet and Greg was simultaneous and the disapproval in their voices was mutual.

'What?'

A/N - I'm sorry, you totally saw that coming didn't you?