"What the hell was that?" Greg shouted
"I dunno, maybe a bear with a cold." Grissom replied
True they were all adults, but in a situation like theirs (being in the woods at night, exposed, processing a very strange case and the very real possibility of a dangerous creature about) it was very understandable that they might let their imaginations run away with them. For his part, Grissom was usually very stoic and sensible, but with his weenie hanging out of his pants like it had been, there was just something, a feeling, that made him run for dear life. Looking back at him, Greg asked again, followed by him rolling down his window and being very creative in his method of urination.
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In Jim and Sara's truck she was still breathing very rapidly and Jim was calming her as best he could, but she was virtually inconsolable. Normally not one to freak out so easily, she just kind of sat there and stared out the window while Jim reached into his pack.
"Here, take this." he said, handing her his flask
"Its not enough that I'm scared shitless, now you're trying to get me drunk?" she managed
"No, once you're drunk you won't be scared, you'll be"
"Yeah, I get it." she replied, glaring at him
Jim just let a twinkle show in his eyes and reached into his pack again, pulling out a deck of cards. Seeing them, Sara smiled and took them, breaking the deck. A glint in her eyes as well, she smiled and set the terms of the game.
"21 wins and the loser has to take a drink. How much do you have?"
Reaching into his pack again, Jim pulled out half a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label. Both of them laughing maniacally, Jim set the bottle between them and opened his flask and taking another nip, he handed it back to Sara as if to challenge her. Eyeing him, she tipped the end up and swallowed hard, exhaling through her nose so as not to burn her throat.
Dealing him a card face down and one to herself, face down, she took note of the expression on his face. If she didn't know any better she'd have thought that he was scared, but as he wasn't one to scare easily, she dismissed the thought. The next card was face up for both of them.
"1 or 11 showing." Jim said, lifting the edge of his face down card
"10 showing." she replied, lifting hers
Dealing him another card, she growled when she saw it.
"Hah! 21. Drink up girl." he virtually shouted, handing her the flask
"Not so fast, fancy pants."
She dealt herself a card and grudgingly snatched the alcohol from him and tilted it back, taking a long tug. A bit concerned that she'll get trashed too soon, he took the drink from her and grinned.
"Winner doses the loser." "Deal"
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In their truck Greg was gloating about his ingenuity regarding his pee pee and since neither of them felt as if they'd be able to get back to sleep, they tossed theories back and forth about the case.
"So, you think that it's a combination of factors that caused this, whatever it is to show itself?" Greg asked
"I'm thinking a lot of things. I'm thinking that whatever it is, they attacked two people who were most likely too close to the creature's home or habitat, so it was maybe scared or felt threatened. Most of the time when animals attack its out of fear or self defense." Grissom said thoughtfully
"So you're convinced that it is, in fact, some missing link of some sort that's in search of its kin"
"Like I said, it may have felt boxed in or maybe he was just having a bad day. But one thing I am sure of is that we need to find this whatever it is, be it man or beast, in order to protect it as well as other hikers that might come out here for some of Mother Nature's Goodness."
"So you don't agree with Jim and Sara then, that its just some guy in a fur suit with a predilection for death and dismemberment?" Greg asked
"The variables are virtually limitless, Grasshopper." Grissom replied, raising a brow
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"You lose again. Bottoms up." Jim said, extending his arm and dosing Sara
At present she was bordering on cross eyed and drooling, but by the same token, Jim was a bit more pickled than he had been in quite some time. The liquor was mostly gone and Sara was getting quite warm. She knew she'd lose the next hand, so making sure she was wearing her bra and that her jumblies were properly hoisted, she removed her shirt. Wondering what she was doing, but not really wanting to fight her, Jim just sat and stared. Seeing this, Sara offered an explanation.
"As Sting said in "Dune", "Why prolong the inevitable?". I know I'm gonna lose, I'm just doing it now so I don't have to do it later."
"Uh-huh." was his only response
Taking the cards from her and dealing them, there was a Queen of spades and a 7 of hearts down and a King of hearts and an ace of spades in Jim's favour. Forgetting that she had already removed an article of clothing, Sara took her sock off.
"Oh, no, missy. Socks are one item, take em' both off"
"You're just a dirty old man, you are." she snapped
"Yeah, but hey, whatcha' gonna do about it?" he replied
At this they both laughed aloud and Jim thought to himself that the whole "take a drink and lets play cards" was working very well, maybe too well, as both of them had totally forgotten about the big nasty thing-a-ma-bad in the woods. The next couple of hands went in Sara's favour, much to her pleasure, and as Jim took the last drink of the bottle and shed his shirt, she saw that he had a scar on his left bicep. Slowly and carefully she reached out and traced a finger along the length of the scar tissue.
"What's that from?" she asked, still tracing and with her tongue peeking out slightly
Jim just memorized her face and for a moment he forgot her question; that was until she reissued it. Trying to purge the naughty thoughts from his very fertile imagination, Jim thought about his scar and how he got it.
"I was a rookie back in Jersey and one day, in my infinite wisdom, I rushed into a house that had yet to be cleared. Some crack head came at me with a Ghurka and it nicked me." he explained
"That's a nick"
"Well, when you consider what a Ghurka looks like and the shape of it, I got out easy."
The sensation of Sara's finger on his wound was slight and tingly, and as she pulled her hand back and placed it in her lap, he wondered if it was the alcohol or curiosity that made her reach out and touch him. Not wanting to dwell on it for too long, he started to deal again.
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"So, how do you think you're doing as a level 1 CSI, Greg?" Grissom asked
"Do you know something I don't?" he replied
"No, I'm just asking. I want to see if your beliefs gel with the facts"
"For a newbie, I think I'm doing fairly well. I know there's still a lot for me to learn, but with experience, I believe I can only improve." he explained
"And what areas do you think you need improvement in"
"Well, pretty much everything, save for DNA. Everything from glass breakage and poisons to methods of strangulation and modes, manners and causes of death. Grissom, I'm the first to admit when I'm wrong or lacking in something..."
"Slow your roll, Greg. There's nothing wrong with you, in fact I'm really rather proud of you. I like to think that I've seen you grow up, so to speak and in that time you've continually impressed me in just about every way possible."
Greg was a bit unsure how to respond to Grissom and his honesty, as its usually a challenge for him to even say how he feels about something personal, but right here, right now, he was being unusually candid. He wondered what brought all this on, but at the same time he wasn't going to fight or dispute compliments from his mentor and supervisor.
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"Don't do that, it tickles." Jim said in very assertive tones
Sara had reached past Jim to get something from her pack and lightly grazed his exposed love handle. At present they were both nearly entirely naked and Jim, being the man that he was, let Sara keep her bra on and remove her jeans instead. Truth be told she'd rather be sitting in front of him naked from the waist up, bare breasts and all, but there was a certain amount of wisdom in his suggestion, as right now they were both just in their underclothes.
"Ahh, so you're ticklish, are you?" she said, lunging at him and landing him on the flat of his back
"Get off me, you...you..."
Sara had tackled him and was right now straddling his midsection, dangerously close to his "little detective". Her fingers at his sides and him writhing around between her legs, Sara grabbed one of his nipples and twisted it, causing him to shout out.
"Aggghhh."
Seeing the crazy look in her eyes, Jim tried to fight her off, but she had him pinned, her centre on his stomach and one hand on each wrist, restrained above his head.
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"What the hell was that?" Greg shouted
"It sounded like Jim." Grissom said, jumping up
Greg opened his door and Grissom popped the hatch and they both got out and ran over to the other truck. They couldn't see it shaking in the moonless sky, but there were some very loud sounds coming from within and they didn't sound like sounds of joy, they sounded like someone was being beaten.
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Hearing the approaching footsteps and not sure if it was man or beast, Sara, still straddling Jim, froze up and strained to hear. His head spinning from the tickling and the alcohol, he took the opportunity to place a small kiss on her neck. He guessed he didn't know what he would have expected when he kissed her, but he certainly wasn't expecting her to reciprocate. Slowly turning her head to face him, she dipped her head down and placed a moist kiss on his lips.
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"Hey, is everything ok in there" Grissom shouted, knocking on the hatch