Chapter 3: All Aboard
"Like I've been in Taiwan!" Sara laughed as she and her friends hugged a wall to try to fill out the bright blue sheets. The four of them were shouldering only their carry-ons now as the porters had already taken the rest of their luggage to the ship. The four were a sight to behold, juggling passports, picture IDs, and cruise documents in one hand, trying in vain to fill out the questionnaire with the other.
"Oh, c'mon Sara, we all know you have SARS!" Keri elbowed her in the ribs with the comment laughing.
"One more comment like that out of you munchkin, and I'm telling them you lied and LIVE in Hong Kong!" Sara laughed back at her, almost dropping her birth certificate in the process. "Damn it! Why do we need these again?"
"Because Bermuda is British- we're technically leaving the country. Now finish that stupid form so we can go get on the boat and be at the welcome party! Pina Coladas and hot waiters! C'mon!" Erika began dragging MB to the metal detectors. "I want to meet hot waiters!"
Keri and Sara looked at each other, rolling their eyes before following.
Sara couldn't help but shout out, "Well, if YOU want to meet hot waiters, then I guess we have to go!"
From farther up the terminal she heard a "Damn straight!" echo back to her. Sara and Keri broke into fits of laughter and made a run for the end of the hallway.
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"Welcome to the Royal Empress. I see you're with the entomological convention?" The young man smiled at Grissom and pointed to his badge that identified him as part of the special group on the cruise. Grissom nodded. "Please," the boy paused to read the name tag, "Dr. Grissom, right this way."
Setting his briefcase's strap more firmly on his shoulder, Grissom followed the young man down one of the halls. The little of the ship he was able to see was truly spectacular. No less than any of the more upscale Vegas Hotels, he mused. Grissom made a mental note to explore the ship further after the primary meeting that he was on his way to.
The young man led him to a door marked "Conference Center," then wished him a good voyage before disappearing back down the hall. Entering, he found seven men, sitting around the table, well on their way to getting drunk.
"Gil!" Dr. Bob Vincent shouted, "C'mon in!" Pleasantries and handshakes were exchanged around the large table as a drink was shoved in his hand. This was going to be a very good vacation, indeed.
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Sara, Keri, and Erika had settled themselves on the pool deck at a small table. Having planted themselves on the top deck, the vistas of New York climbed high into the sky around them. The three ladies, however, daiquiris in hand, didn't seem to notice.
"Ok, ten o'clock, blue shorts, navy shirt, sunglasses." Keri pointed out her choice of "hook-up" for her friend. "Your turn Erika." Keri smiled evilly at the girl.
Erika almost spit out her drink when her eyes found the guy Keri was talking about. "Well, besides the fact that he's about as hairy as Chewbacca the Wookie..."Sara and Keri burst into laughter. "...He's balding!" She took a sip from her tropical drink. "I want a guy who knows where hair is supposed to grow.. And where it's not!"
The three girls tried to stifle their laughter as they were drawing stares from other passengers.
"Hey, where's MB? Shouldn't she be back by now?" Sara asked after their laughter had died down.
Erika twirled the straw from her drink around the glass. "Nope. You should have seen the Purser's Desk. Seriously, if she gets her key fixed by dinner I'll be surprised."
Keri leaned back and took her sunglasses off, putting them on the table and blinking at the sunlight. "Totally sucks her key didn't work." A smile crossed her face. "But that nice cabin boy said that a lot of people were having trouble with their keys. At least she's not the only one."
"Nice cabin boy, huh?" Sara smiled and nudged her.
"Mine!" Keri shouted, throwing Sara a playful yet predatory glance.
"Ok, ok... back down!" Sara leaned back in her seat, letting the sun hit her face. She thought about the possibility of actually getting a tan. Night shift kept her pasty white and she envied the tans her other three friends sported. A sigh escaped her lips as she thought about how early she'd have to wake up to get a deck chair. A smile crept across her face; it would be well worth it.
"Yo, Sassy? Earth to Sassy!" Erika snapped her fingers in front of Sara's face, startling her to attention.
"What?" She sat up in her chair to the amused stares of her friends.
"You totally zoned out there." Keri said.
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking about getting up early tomorrow to snatch a deck chair and maybe get a tan. You guys game for that?" Sara leaned back in her chair again, tipping her face back to let the hot sun hit it.
"Definitely."Erika agreed. "But while you were zoning out, we elected you to go get food." Erika pointed toward the doors at the other end of the deck that led to the lunch buffet. Sara raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, that's what you get for zoning out on us. Now go, and when you get back we'll have picked out the perfect guy for you to get your hands on during this cruise!"
Grumbling, Sara stood. "Ok, fine. But no more Wookies." Sara pointed an accusing finger at Keri, who just shied back, an innocent expression on her face. "What do you guys want?"
Erika smiled, "Desserts, Sara. Go right for the chocolate. Everything else is just wasted calories."
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"Dr. Grissom, I must say I am a huge admirer of your work. I was fascinated by the paper you published on the homicide where the suspect used bullets made of meat." The young Dr. Daniel Williams was the newest addition to the study group, having only received his doctorate a few years ago. He continued to ramble on to Grissom, who nodded his head every so often, accepting the compliments the young man offered.
Affectionately known as "Danny Boy" by the rest of the group, this was the first time Grissom had met him. His enthusiasm, knowledge, and intent need to please reminded him of Greg, Grissom thought with a smile. It was actually refreshing to be talking to someone with the same love for entomology that Grissom had, but who lacked the jaded quality that years of working as a CSI brought.
Grissom and the young Dr. Danny Boy had escaped the "meeting" on pretense of getting some air. Grissom had asked the young man to join him after he noticed the strained expression on his face; a mix of confusion and discomfort. The rest of the men were quite inebriated, and Bob had laughingly explained that no real work would be taking place until tomorrow morning at the earliest, and the next order of business was to visit the cigar lounge. Grissom quietly wondered if there was going to be any actual work taking place this week, but was slightly surprised to find that he didn't really care if there wouldn't.
Grissom and Danny stepped from the elevator and walked out the double doors to the pool deck. Danny did a three sixty, falling behind Grissom a bit, as he watched a tall brunette make her way to the dessert table at the buffet. As Danny caught back up the him, Grissom cocked his head to the side in a silent question.
"Sorry, I uh... something caught my eye." His mind still in CSI mode, Grissom's face again asked a question. They young man turned red and stammered over his answer, "Uh, rather, a leggy brunette caught my eye."
Grissom smiled at him and let out a little laugh. He gave Danny a pat on the shoulder and led him towards the back of the ship where there was supposed to be a good view of Liberty Island. "Unattached?" Grissom asked as they walked.
"Very." Danny smiled.
Out of the corner of his eye, Grissom saw two young women pointing in their direction as they passed the small tables in front of the bar. The small dark haired Asian woman and the lithe blonde sitting next to her watched as he and Danny crossed the deck, surprised looks and smiles on their faces. He figured they must be checking out the young Danny and smiled inwardly. The uncomfortable young man would probably have a blast this week.